Jeremy (Members From Money Book 4)

by Katie Dowe

  “Taking it slow. Honey, I have no intention of jumping into something that I am going to regret. I am just finding myself and I kind of like the single life right now. It’s funny,” she said with a sigh. “I thought I could never be without a man and used to wonder how you did it but I find that working and going into your apartment,” she stressed. “makes me feel independent and my own person.”

  “How about buying it and making it yours?” Deidre asked her.

  Deena’s eyes widened as she stared at her sister. “You mean it?”

  “Of course,” she nodded with a smile. “I was keeping it as a safety net, but I don’t need it anymore. I will ask Jeremy to draw up the paperwork and it’s yours.”

  “Thank you,” she mouthed not wanting to wake her nephew.

  **********************************

  “He was sleeping so peacefully that I tiptoed out of there.” Jeremy told her as he took off his clothes. He had asked her if there was anything she wanted to change in the suite or the entire house and she could do so. “I saw grandfather slipping out of the nursery when I got there.”

  “That kid is going to be spoilt beyond measure!” Deidre bundled up her curls and pinned it on top of her head.

  He came up behind her and started rubbing her shoulders. “How was your day?” he asked her softly.

  “A lot better now,” she leaned her head back to rest against him. “That feels good.”

  “Are you sure about us not hiring a nanny?” he asked her as he continued the motion.

  “I want to be a mommy and get the hang of it before I decide if we should,” he stopped rubbing her shoulders to reach down to take her into his arms and placed her on the bed.

  “Are you sure?” he asked as he fixed the pillow beneath her head.

  “I am sure.” She brought his head down and kissed him softly. Her breasts were heavy with milk and even though she had expressed some in bottles, she was still heavy with the liquid.

  “Deidre,” he groaned as he lifted his head.

  “I am leaking,” she whispered pulling her nightgown away and her maternity bra. The milk was seeping from her nipples. He bent his head and took the nipple inside his mouth pulling on it gently. Deidre dug her fingers into his shoulders as her body arched. He stopped and went to the other nipple and drank down the liquid. He lifted his head, his eyes blue and stormy as he looked down at her. Her hand went to his erection and squeezed gently as he groaned.

  “Baby not a good idea,” he murmured as he bent his head and took her lips with his. She unzipped him and took him into her hands running her nail over the tip of him. He gasped inside her mouth, his body stiffening.

  “Take off your clothes and get back here,” she told him biting down on his lip.

  “You are killing me,” he muttered as he eased back and hurriedly took off his clothes.

  “I hope not.” She whispered as she bent her head to his pubic area.

  *********************************

  Robert took down the picture of his son and stared at the classically good looks and the firm chin. His dark brown hair was slicked back from his head and his sharp blue eyes looked out insolently at the world. He had been wearing a dark blue suit with red pin stripes and red silk tie with a grey cotton shirt inside. He had not smiled but there was a knowing smirk on his face. He had inherited the Langley’s looks and mannerism and his grandson whom he had never gotten a chance to meet looked more like him than his father. He felt a sharp pain inside his chest as he looked at his only son. He had tried to infuse love inside him but he had failed. He had loved him but had also failed him. He had never loved the boy’s mother and had not bothered to put in the effort in the marriage. He put the photo back onto the wall and stepped back to look at it. He startled as he heard a sound behind him. “Oh my dear, you startled me!” he said with a laugh as he noticed his daughter-in-law standing in the doorway of his sitting room. “You okay?”

  “Why were you looking at Richard’s photo just then?” she asked him as she came further inside the room.

  “Just thinking of all the things I did wrong with him.” He said with a sigh. He took her hand and led her to one of the sofas. She had been more of a daughter to him than he had been a son to him. “I failed him, Rosalind.”

  “You are being too hard on yourself,” she patted his hands and sat back on the sofa. “Richard was his own worst enemy and thought everyone was out to get him.” She smiled slightly. “I remembered when I told him I was pregnant and how happy he was. I thought that then surely he would love me the way he was supposed to, but I was wrong. He nodded and told me that at least I was worth something.”

  “My dear, I am so sorry. You deserved so much more” Robert said softly feeling ashamed for his son.

  “For a long time, I thought I did not and I let him get away with treating me like dirt and I am the one who is ashamed. I should have stood up for myself and not let him mold our son into another cold and lifeless him.” She said with a sad smile. She turned and looked up at the picture, staring at the man who had caused her so much misery. “I was not strong enough and I should have been, if not for myself then for Jeremy.” She turned back to Robert. “He has found a woman to love and who is in love with him in spite of what his father did to him and for that I am extremely grateful!”

  “But what about you?” Robert asked her softly.

  “I am contented to be this way Robert. I have a daughter-in-law whom I love and a beautiful grandchild and you of course. My son talks to me now like a normal son to his mother and I am thinking of going back to my nursing before I met your son.”

  “You have it all figured out?”

  “Not quite, but I am getting there. He is such a beautiful child, isn’t he?”

  “The best I have ever seen,” Robert said with a grin.

  “We are finally a family!”

  Chapter 11

  “Look at you, a mommy and a wife. I never thought I would see the day,” Brian drawled as he bounced one month old Jaden on his knees. He had been away when she gave birth but had called her and now was back after a month and couple weeks. He had come straight to the manor to look for her and her son and exclaimed over how beautiful the boy was! “I see modeling in his future,” he had teased.

  “Not if I have anything to say about it,” she told him darkly as she sat beside him and curled her feet beneath her. It was midafternoon and almost the end of July. They were sitting by the pool and Rosalind had gone inside to give them some privacy.

  “Not all of us are gay darling,” he said reproachfully.

  “I am not concerned about that as much as I am about the lifestyle. You are promiscuous as they come Brian.” She said dryly leaning over to wipe the drool from her son’s mouth. He was getting so big and she was finding it hard to leave the house without him. She had yet to decide whether or not she was going to go back to work just yet even though her clients kept calling.

  “Not anymore,” he said lightly putting Jaden back into his mobile bed. “I met someone.”

  “Where?” Deidre turned her back so he could rub the cream onto her shoulders. She was in a brief red shorts and white tank top which showed the rise of her creamy flesh. She had worked hard at getting back her figure and her stomach had returned to the flatness it was before the pregnancy, and she was so happy about that! Her husband had been jogging with her in the mornings as well.

  “In Barcelona,” he shrugged a little bit. “He is hot-blooded and hot!” his grin was infectious.

  “When do I get to meet him, or is he still in Barcelona?”

  “He came back with me. He was an entertainer back home.” He avoided her gaze.

  “What kind of entertainer?” Deidre asked, her suspicions aroused.

  “A stripper,” he said throwing up his hands in the air. “I know what you are going to say darling, but we are in love and he wants to do something else with his life.”

  “You are also a stripper but a higher paid one,”
Deidre said with a mischievous smile.

  “Touché darling,” he said wryly. “I don’t take off all my clothes now. I am better than that.” He paused and looked out over the rippling blue water of the pool. It was so peaceful here. The gardeners had finished for the day and the only sounds were the tweeting of birds and something like squirrels scurrying up the towering trees further back. “He is a little possessive and you know how free-spirited I am darling.”

  “How possessive?”

  “A tad too much,” he said with a laugh. “The only reason he did not insist on coming with me today to see you and little Jaden was because I told him that I would end it if he followed me.”

  “Brian, that does not sound healthy,” she said with a frown.

  “I gave him a good talking too, darling, and we are good now. He started crying and told me that it was because he was so in love with me. I think that is so sweet.”

  “I think that is so sick!” Deidre calmed down and looked over at her son to see that he had drifted off to sleep. “Get rid of him Brian before he messes with you.”

  “Honey, calm down!” he touched her cheek gently. “You know I can take care of myself.”

  “Brian, promise me that if he starts to be so possessive again, you will tell him to leave.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but he saw the serious look on her beautiful face and made the promise!

  *********************************

  “How about dinner and dancing?” Jeremy asked her as soon as he came home one Friday afternoon. He had come upstairs and saw her putting their son down for a nap. He had spent the day at the club seeing to the tournaments and the different activities for the summer.

  “That sounds like a good idea,” she said with a smile as he put his hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Jaden’s impossibly long lashes laid on his soft pink and white cheeks and his hair which had grown somewhat curled closely around his scalp. “I am beginning to get the color of the house.”

  “There is a function at the club which starts at eight. It is nothing fancy, just some party for the out of towners to welcome them and make them feel at home.” He turned her to face him and brushed the curls from her forehead. She had on a thin see-through cotton dress and he could see her curves outlined. “T-shirt and jeans.” He murmured bending his head to nibble at her full bottom lip.

  With a sigh, Deidre melted into him. They had started making love a week ago even though she was still a little bit sore and uncomfortable. Jeremy felt the mad passion catching a hold of him right there in his son’s room and he broke away from her, his eyes cloudy with passion. “Christ Deidre!” he whispered, his hands tight on her arms. “I cannot seem to control myself around you.” He hauled her back into his arms and took her lips in a hungry kiss that had her going faint against him.

  He finally released her and they left the nursery to go their suite.

  **********************************

  She invited Brian to come along. “Bring him, so I can look at him for myself. I want to know if he is good enough for you.

  She was laughing at something Leesa Wellington said when she saw him come in. The man had his hand on Brian’s and there was an intense look on his dark and handsome face as he scanned the room. Deidre waved them over.

  “Who is the hot European with Brian?” Leesa asked as they came towards them.

  “His latest love,” Deidre said briefly.

  “Girls, this is Claudio,” he said with a flourish. “Honey, this is the love of my life, Deidre, and of course the beautiful Leesa and Diana. I think I see Carrie around somewhere.”

  “I thought I was the love of your life,” the brooding man said to him.

  “Of course you are,” he squeezed his hand. “Isn’t he sweet?”

  “Claudio, how about fetching us girls something to drink?” Leesa asked him with a sweet smile. The man hesitated and then with a shrug he went towards the open bar.

  “Honey isn’t he a little clingy?” Leesa asked him with a tiny frown.

  “A little bit but I am trying to convince him that I have changed my ways so there is no need for him to be so jealous.” He said with a laugh.

  “He does not look convinced Brian,” Diana said to him.

  He came back a few minutes later with the drinks, so the conversation was cut short.

  Later while, she was on the dance floor with Jeremy watching as he stayed close to Brian, not leaving him an inch.

  “What’s wrong?” Jeremy asked her softly, his hands tightening around her small waist. She was dressed in tight faded denims and white silk shirt with her hair loose around her face.

  “Brian’s boyfriend has not moved from his side.”

  “New love,” he whispered against her ear. “I have been with you for a year and I still cannot leave your side.”

  “Is that so?” she looked up at him, momentarily distracted at his statement.

  “Hmm,” his hands drifted to her tight butt and he squeezed bringing her up to him to feel his erection.

  “Jeremy,” she moaned. He had made love to her before they had left to come out for the night but it felt like it was not enough.

  “Want to go to the office and make out?” he said half-jokingly.

  “How about we leave early?” she suggested.

  “Good idea.”

  ************************************

  She was coming out of the pool the Saturday after the party at the club when he came towards her. He had taken their son for a spin in the afternoon and had gone upstairs to put him down for his nap.

  “How about joining me? Robert and Rosalind have gone out for the day and the staff are on their way home so we have the place to ourselves.” She told him with a smile as she reached for the towel to dry her curls.

  “Baby, why don’t you have a seat?” he took her hand and led her to one of the lounge chairs.

  “Jeremy, what’s wrong?” her heart tripped as she looked at him. He had taken the seat opposite to her and was holding her hands.

  “I have some disturbing news.”

  “Mom? Deena?” she gripped his hands.

  “Brian,” he told her.

  “He was in an accident?” she still had a tight grip on him.

  “He was found dead in his apartment this morning. It came over the news.”

  “No,” she shook her head. “I spoke to him last night and he was supposed to go to Hawaii for a shoot later today. There has been a mistake.”

  “I am so sorry.” He murmured trying to pull her into his arms.

  “Stop!” she said sharply springing up from the chair. “I am going to call him.”

  Before she could do so her cell phone rang. “Darling did you hear?” It was Leesa and she sounded as if she was crying.

  “It’s not true. I spoke to him last night Leesa.” She said numbly.

  “That bastard killed him, darling,” she said in a muffled tone. “The same one we warned him about. The police have him in custody, and he has confessed. It is all over the news, darling.”

  She hung up and looked at her husband.

  Jeremy had gotten to his feet. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I have to go and make some calls,” she shook her head. “He had no family. He was grown up in a foster home and I was – I am his only family. I have to make some calls.” She stumbled and almost fell but Jeremy held her. She shook off his hand and turned and walked away before breaking into a run. Jeremy ran after her and caught her just as she reached the foot of the curving staircase.

  “I am here and I want to help you through this,” he told her firmly, his heart quaking at the look on her beautiful face. If she did not cry soon she was going to be a wreck. She nodded and he took her hand and they went upstairs. He could not stop her from turning on the television as soon as they went into their sitting room. “Twenty-eight-year-old male model Brain Lawrence who became popular when he strutted the runway in nude colored pants suit three years ago w
as found stabbed to death in his apartment earlier this morning by one of his colleagues who had gone by to bring him some things for his upcoming trip to Hawaii. Police now has his live-in boyfriend Claudio Ramirez who confessed that he had killed him in a jealous rage.” The camera panned several pictures of Brian walking the runway and one with him smiling at a beach party in Malibu. Jeremy took the remote from her and switched off the tube. “I warned him about it,” she said tonelessly. “I saw the signs and when he was here and told me about how possessive he was, I told him to be careful.” Her eyes were still dry as she stared across the room. Jeremy took her into his arms and with a slight hesitation she allowed him to hold her.

  *************************************

  The funeral was held on a rainy day in August. Deidre had made the arrangements with the help of Leesa and Diana who had been colleagues of his. The crowd was somber as they gathered at the cemetery to say their last goodbyes to a man his friends described as being beautiful and full of life. The lawyer had contacted her and said that he needed to meet with her right after the funeral. Jeremy held her hand as she stood there looking down at the mahogany casket. Brian was gone, she thought as she watched the box descending into the earth. He was not coming back. His life had been taken from him so senselessly. Claudio had been charged and sentenced and was on a suicide watch. Her friend who had laughed and talked with her and who had broken through her cool reserve was gone. She had picked up the phone several times during the past few days to call him but had just remembered that he would not be answering. She had gone into her son’s nursery and saw the enormous stuffed bear he had given Jaden and had held it in her arms. But the tears still had not come. She had been ignoring her husband and son but she could not help it, she needed to grieve alone. She looked over to where Leesa, Diana and several other models were gathered. They were dressed as if they were posing for the camera and she supposed once a model, always a model. Brian had told her one day in a teasing tone that if he should ‘drop out’ he did not want any somber colors at his funeral.