Shrugging, he headed for the shower.
* * * *
Ward had been sitting in his car in front of Jamie’s apartment for about thirty minutes. He wasn’t late yet, but he would be if he didn’t get out and up the stairs. He wanted to, but he was dreading the moment Jamie would open the door. Would his mate regret what had happened between them? It certainly seemed so last night.
Ward didn’t understand what had happened. Everything seemed just fine until after the sex. He didn’t know if he had done something wrong, or if it was just that Jamie still had problems coping with everything that had happened to him in the last two days. He could understand that, really, but he wanted his mate to talk to him, not to throw him out the door without a word, leaving him to worry the whole night.
Sighing, Ward got out of the car and locked the door. The way he was both anxious and excited at seeing Jamie was unsettling. Knocking on the door, he could hear the TV roaring. Keenan was watching animal documentaries again, and Ward chuckled. He was amazed with the kid. He hadn’t had problems with accepting the existence of shifters, and that was uncommon for humans. They were usually shocked and unwilling to accept that something other than them could possibly exist, so it was nice to be accepted without problems for once.
“Oh, hey! Jamie will be here in a second,” Keenan gestured for Ward to enter then sat back on the couch. Ward could see he had been at it for a while, empty cans and snack wrappers littering the coffee table.
“Jamie told me what happened last night.”
Ward arched a brow. Of course Jamie would have told his brother. He had seen them together and he knew they were very close.
“Well, not everything, everything, but enough to know that he screwed up.”
“He didn’t screw up. It’s just…I’m not sure where I stand with him right now.”
“Give him time. I know it sounds cliché, but he really just needs time. Some things happened recently that made him…wary of relationships. He just has to understand you’re different.”
Ward wanted to find the person who had obviously hurt his mate and retaliate, maybe tear off a limb or two, but he wouldn’t. Everyone came into a relationship with baggage, and this man was Jamie’s. He just had to make him see he was different.
“Hey,” a soft voice said behind Ward. Turning around, he had to swallow several times before speaking, but it wasn’t easy with his tongue glued to his palate. His mate looked good enough to eat. He had on tight jeans that hugged his ass like a lover’s hands and a red t-shirt that was neither too ample nor too tight and showed how fit he was, and damn if Ward’s cock didn’t approve!
Jamie was smiling at him, and Ward hoped he’d gotten over last night. He wasn’t going to talk about it if Jamie didn’t want to, at least not right now.
“So, where are we going?”
“Picnic.”
“Picnic? Really?”
“Hey, I want to go to a picnic too!” Keenan said, pouting.
“Why don’t you ask Bryce if he can take you?” Jamie told his brother, making Ward curious about Keenan’s relationship with his friend.
“Maybe I’ll ask him. I’d come with you two but I wouldn’t want to stop you from having hot sex, so…”
Ward waited to see how Jamie was going to answer. His mate blushed, but didn’t deny anything. That brought a series of images to Ward’s mind and made his jeans suddenly uncomfortable, his shaft pushing against the fabric. Ward was relieved he’d decided to wear jeans—at least they weren’t tenting.
“Yeah, well, I’ll see you tonight if you get home early enough for me to still be awake. Bye, Keenan.” Jamie grabbed his keys and they headed out
Ward followed him to the car. Once they were both in he started driving, taking his mate to the place he had seen him for the first time. He wanted to take Jamie’s hand, to touch him, but he wasn’t sure how his lover would react, so he kept his distance. It wasn’t easy and his leopard was irritated, but Ward didn’t want to freak Jamie out.
They both stayed silent during the drive, until Ward reached the small parking area near the clearing where he’d been playing in his cat form.
“Hey, are we going where I was camping the other night?”
“Yep.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Why were you here alone in the middle of the night anyway?”
“I had…things to think about.”
Ward would have bet his left nut that those things were the same ones that caused Jamie to react the way he had last night, but he didn’t say anything. Guiding Jamie to the small clearing where he’d already brought everything they would need, he saw his lover’s eyes widen a bit when he took in the blankets spread on the ground. There was a huge basket of food and a single white rose Ward had left on the afghan.
“I know a rose is very cliché, but I don’t know what your favorite flower is. Hell, I don’t even know if you like flowers.” Okay, Ward was a closeted romantic, so what? He would gladly let the world know if it was for his mate.
“No, it’s perfect, thank you.”
Jamie sat down on the blanket, bringing the rose to his nose and inhaling its perfume. Ward sat down next to him and waited to see what his lover would do, unsure of what Jamie would accept from him.
“I, uh, I wanted to apologize for last night.”
Ward nodded and waited to see if Jamie was going to say more.
“I’m…I’m just coming out of a long relationship, and it didn’t end well, so…I’m scared.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“No, but I think you should know, so…” Taking a deep breath, Jamie continued, “I was with Colin for four years until he dumped me two months ago. He cheated on me with a woman and she got pregnant.”
Ward wasn’t sure what to say. Jamie was staring at the rose in his hand, his fingers softly fingering the white petals, and Ward could tell he was ashamed and embarrassed.
“Well, that’s his problem. If he wasn’t able to see how perfect you are, he wasn’t worth it.”
“I’m not perfect.”
“I guess no, no one is. But you are perfect for me. That’s why we are mates.” Jamie’s eyes shot up, and Ward could see so many questions in his eyes.
“What if I’m not enough for you? I wasn’t for Colin.”
“Jamie, you are the sweetest, most caring man I know. You’re interesting and funny, you take care of your brother, and let’s not forget that you’re hot.” Jamie smiled and Ward was happy he had succeeded in cheering him up. “You’re perfect, and once you are mine I won’t let you go, ever. I’m not a fool—where would I find another man like you?” Ward understood what the problem was now. Jamie was unsure of himself, thinking he wouldn’t be enough and that Ward would leave him like his ex had. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. “I don’t think anything I say will convince you of that, though. You will have to get to know me to see I’m very serious about this.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I just ask that instead of freaking out like you did last night, you talk to me. We can solve anything if we talk about it, and I want to know what the problem is instead of staying up half the night wondering what I did wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, in fact, you were very good,” Jamie said with a light blush. “I promise I’ll try to talk to you next time something’s wrong.”
Ward nodded and slid until he was right in front of Jamie. Cupping his cheek with his hand, he leaned down and kissed his mate, slowly licking his lips until he opened them. Ward dove in, trying to put all the budding feelings he had for Jamie in the kiss, but keeping his distance with the rest of his body. It was obvious Jamie wasn’t ready for anything more, and it was fine with him.
Ward stopped kissing Jamie when his lover moaned and the sound shot straight to his groin. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself if they continued.
“So, ready to eat?”
* * * *
; Things were going well with Ward. Since the picnic, they’d gone out several times and talked on the phone every day. They hadn’t gone further than kissing and touching a bit, and while Jamie couldn’t wait to finally sleep with Ward, he was glad they were taking things slow. He was really getting to know the man he would probably spend years with, and he liked what he knew so far. Jamie knew it wouldn’t take much for him to fall in love with the shifter. Ward really was the other half of him, as sappy as that might sound.
Jamie pushed away any thoughts of Ward, knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else if he continued to daydream. He had to hurry up and finish his sandwich if he wanted to get back to work on time.
Right now Jamie was sitting at a small table outside the café, enjoying the early afternoon sun. He wolfed down his meal and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and basking in the sensations. The sun was hot on his face, and he hoped he wouldn’t burn. It was still spring, but he had a pretty fair skin. The light breeze caressed his skin, and he couldn’t remember a time when he had been as happy as he was now.
He let his thoughts wander back to Ward, wondering where his mate was and what he was doing, when a shadow cut off his sun. Opening his eyes, Jamie looked up and found himself staring at Colin. He hadn’t seen his ex for the last three months, and he had to admit the bastard was still handsome, even if Jamie had hoped being a father would’ve taken its toll, but he would have rather gone without seeing him.
Jamie waited to feel something—love, hurt, maybe anger, but the only thing he felt was sadness. He was sad that things had ended that way between them, sad that he hadn’t opened his eyes on who his ex really was earlier.
“Hi, honey.”
“Colin,” Jamie answered, nodding a hello.
“You used to greet me with such sweet kisses.”
“Do you really expect me to be happy to see you after what you did to me?”
“Oh, come on, it was a mistake, I know it now. I’m sorry, okay?”
Colin sat in the chair in front of Jamie, making himself at home. What did the guy want now, after disappearing for three months? Jamie didn’t ask, because he didn’t really want to know. He just sat there, watching and waiting.
“So, what have you been up to?”
So Colin wanted to make this difficult. Jamie sighed and asked, “What do you want, Colin?”
“I…I need to talk to you.” Colin’s smile deflated a bit when he understood that Jamie wasn’t going to fall back in his arms right now.
“Go ahead.”
“Can we go somewhere more private?”
“Look, I have to get back to work, so if you want to say something, say it now.” Jamie was starting to find the whole situation irritating, and he wanted to get away.
Colin seemed to think about it for a while before saying, “I still love you, Jamie. I know I made a terrible mistake, and I know you won’t forgive me easily, but I want to try again, to be with you again.” Colin put his hand on Jamie’s and squeezed.
Jamie snatched his hand back as if something had burned it.
“You cheated on me and got the girl pregnant! That’s not a mistake, that’s…that’s being a bastard! How could you do this to me? Or to her? Shouldn’t you be with Darla right now, helping her with the baby?” Jamie knew the baby had to have been born by now, since Colin had waited until the end of the pregnancy to tell him about it.
“I want to be with you, not with her. I love you, Jamie.”
Jamie stood up, his chair scrapping on the sidewalk.
“You’re a father now. You should be responsible—be with your son, not coming after me. I’m sorry, but I can’t be with you again, ever.”
“You’d rather be alone?”
There was nastiness in Colin’s words, something that Jamie usually tried to ignore. Colin had never been violent, he had never raised a hand on Jamie, but he had used words to hurt him, and this time he couldn’t ignore him.
Squaring his jaw, he looked at Colin in the eyes and answered, “Yes, I’d rather be alone than with a cheating bastard.”
Jamie turned and walked away, hopefully leaving Colin behind, but his ex soon caught up with him, grabbing Jamie’s arm.
“You really think someone else would take you? You know I’m your only hope of having a relationship.”
That touched something inside Jamie, something he had tried hard to get over but that he hadn’t quite been able to. He always felt like what he had to offer wasn’t enough. Ward often told him that he was perfect just the way he was, but Colin was making him doubt it. Jamie knew that if it wasn’t for Ward, he would probably have caved in and taken Colin back, just because he felt that he didn’t have anything to offer to someone better.
“Don’t touch me! No matter what you say, I’m not coming back, so leave me alone, Colin!”
They were nearly at the grocery shop Jamie worked in, and he hoped someone would hear him yelling. He couldn’t seem to be able to get rid of Colin on his own, and the man grabbed him again.
“What’s going on here?” a deep voice asked, and Jamie could have cried in relieve. Ward was standing near his car, which was parked in front of the store’s door.
His mate walked to him, towering over both him and Colin. Colin seemed to realize he couldn’t win, because he finally let Jamie’s arm go. Jamie hurried to Ward’s side, where Ward slid an arm around Jamie’s waist while giving him a light kiss on the lips.
“Something wrong, babe?”
“No, Colin was just leaving.”
Jamie looked at his ex and saw he was assessing Ward. He also saw the anger swimming in Colin’s eyes, and it worried him. Colin wasn’t a nice guy when he didn’t get what he wanted, and right now he wanted Jamie.
Colin turned around and left as Jamie watched him while burying himself deeper in Ward’s side.
“What happened? Did he hurt you?”
“No. He wanted to talk. He wants to be with me again.”
Jamie felt Ward’s hand tighten on his hip. His mate turned him until they were facing each other.
“What did you tell him?”
“That there was no way I would take back a cheating bastard.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Ward said with a smile before softly kissing Jamie.
Jamie let himself bask in Ward’s presence for a bit before reluctantly stepping away.
“I have to get back to work. Did you want something?”
“No, I just wanted to say hi.”
“So…hi.”
Ward smiled and Jamie’s insides suddenly felt like jelly. God, that man was so gorgeous!
“I’ll see you later?” Ward asked.
“Why don’t you come by tonight? We can eat something with Keenan and watch a movie.”
“I’ll come if you promise me we won’t be watching one of Keenan’s documentaries. I see enough animals as it is.”
Jamie laughed. “I promise.”
With one last kiss he left his mate on the sidewalk, waving as he got back to work.
* * * *
Ward wanted to give Jamie all the time he needed, he really did. But it was getting increasingly harder to stop his cat from claiming what he saw as his. It had roared in anger earlier that day, when they had seen Jamie with his ex.
It had been obvious to Ward that his mate wasn’t happy to be manhandled by Colin, and his leopard had wanted to eliminate the threat to their mate and whisk him away to their bed. Now, more than ever, he decided to finish the claiming. He viewed Colin as a menace to Jamie and to the bond he had with Ward.
While Jamie had seemed convinced about his decision to not want Colin back, Ward wasn’t sure he could compete with the four years the two men had been together, and he couldn’t forget that Jamie would still be with Colin if Colin hadn’t dumped him. Jamie was still afraid of what mating with a shifter implied, and he was too rational to just follow the pull they felt toward each other.
Ward sighed and got out of the car,
discreetly readjusting his cock. He was always at least half hard when he thought about Jamie, no matter the circumstances, and he hadn’t jerked off so often since he’d been a hormone driven teenager. He had to take at least three cold showers a day, and he’d become the pride’s latest joke. Even Dominic found the fact that Ward and Jamie were only dating funny.
In their world, the mating was usually faster. Once you found your mate, it was a given that you would have sex and complete the bond as soon as possible. It was almost unheard of that someone refused the bond, and when it was, it was it usually involved a human mate. Every shifter knew that a mate was precious and completed perfectly both their human and animal half. Ward hadn’t even thought about the possibility that Jamie could refuse the mating until now. Now, Colin had come back, and Ward prayed Jamie chose him and not his ex.
Ward was pulled away from his thoughts by the feeling that someone was watching him. It felt like a tingling on his nape, the sensation that two eyes were burning a hole in his back. Looking around, he didn’t see anyone. He wanted to think he had imagined it, but he knew better. His cat had a strong instincts, and he knew something was off.
Climbing up the stairs, Ward knocked on Jamie’s door. Keenan opened it, waving him inside, and Ward gave a last look around before stepping in. He was surprised to find Bryce sitting on the couch next to Keenan, a cold beer in his hand.
“What are you doing here?”
“Keenan invited me. We were thinking of going out later, so he suggested I have dinner with you.” He turned back to the TV and started criticizing the way the guy on the screen was shifting into a wolf. Ward knew Keenan had been obsessed with animals and shifters lately, and he could understand it. It was the best way he’d found to cope with finding out shifters really existed.
“Hey,” Jamie said from the kitchen.
Ward went and kissed him, keeping his mate in his arms a little longer than necessary. He used the relative privacy the breakfast counter gave them to grab Jamie’s ass and hold him near, grinding their pelvises together and watching as Jamie’s cheeks turned pink. It amazed him that although they had been intimate more than once, sharing blow and hand jobs, his mate was still shy about it. Of course, humans usually were shy about their bodies, while shifters learned from puberty that it wasn’t an option, since they were naked before and after they shifted.
Whitedell Pride 1 - Jamie Page 5
