“I got beaten by a girl, huh?” Talk about a blow to his manhood card.
Denver patted Jeremy’s hand. “She’s a shifter, babe. There’s no way you could have won.”
It didn’t make him feel particularly better, but there’s not much he could do about it, so... “What’s going to happen to her?”
Denver sighed. “I’m not sure. We don’t have rulers or anything, even if Dominic is trying to change that, so it’s really every Alpha who decides what to do with his prisoners. Dominic won’t hurt her unless she hurts someone, but I’m not sure he can keep her behind bars for long.”
“She wanted to sell Adam.”
Denver eye’s widened and Jeremy knew he would have raged if Adam hadn’t been there, sleeping on his lap. “What do you mean?”
“She told me someone had promised her a lot of money for a half-breed. I don’t know who would want to buy a child, but maybe you should talk to her and see if she can tell you more, or at least go through her things. It wouldn’t hurt.”
“We’ll think about it tomorrow. Now, I want you to rest and heal while I put this cutie in bed.”
Jeremy nodded, but he was already drifting into sleep. When he awoke the sun was shining brightly into his room and Denver was wrapped around him, lightly snoring into his ear. Jeremy took a moment to look at him. Denver’s face was so relaxed in sleep, the almost perpetual frown he always sported gone, the light playing on his tanned skin. Mmm, maybe Jeremy could give him a wakeup call of a special kind.
He didn’t have the time to put his plan in action, though, because the door opened. Jeremy frowned. He hadn’t heard Adam’s footsteps, so who was it? Everyone knocked before entering any room in the mansion, and Jeremy had learned to do the same when he had walked in on Nate and Derick going at it in the Beta’s office. He had just meant to leave him some documents, and he had walked out of there red from embarrassment and horny as hell.
Jeremy disentangled himself from Denver and rolled over, leaning toward the door and froze in place when he saw who had opened the door. He reached behind him and shook Denver. “Love. Love! Wake up, please!”
“What?” Denver jerked awake, wildly looking around to find the threat, but Jeremy stopped him and pointed at the floor. “Look. Do you think it’s...?”
Denver gasped and leaned over him, grabbing the small, pure white wolf who was waiting on the side of the bed. He settled him between the two of them and Jeremy slowly reached to touch him. “It’s Adam, right?” The fur was so soft under his fingertips, and he laughed when Adam nipped at them playfully.
“Yeah, it’s Adam all right.”
“Do you think he shifted during the night?”
“It’s possible, I guess.” Denver was rubbing the cub’s belly and Adam was wiggling his tail around. Okay, so it was weird, but in a strange sort of way Jeremy recognized his son in the little wolf. He had a way to move, to pose himself, that was all Adam.
“How do we make him shift back?”
Denver chuckled as Adam grabbed his hand between his teeth and shook his head. “We don’t. It’ll happen naturally. He’s going to want something that he can’t have or do in his wolf form and he’ll shift back. It’s going to be like this for a while, but it’ll pass as soon as he understands how it works.”
Jeremy looked at the small white bundle on his lap. Adam chose that moment to look up and Jeremy smiled, at least until Adam decided to give him a bath with his tongue. The raspy appendage ran on Jeremy’s cheek, making him jump and laugh. “We’re going to have to teach you not to do that, pumpkin.”
* * * *
Most of the pride was in the dining room, which was more like a dining hall, really, since it could house all the members of the pride plus the children, even if it was becoming a tight fit. The number of members had rapidly increased in only a few months, going from thirty to more than forty members, and even with as big as the mansion was, it was becoming a little too crowded for Denver’s taste. He had an idea about how to solve the problem, but he would have to talk to Dominic. He would go right after he finished watching the little scene in front of him, though.
Adam had quickly gotten the gist of shifting, and the little rascal was using it in a creative way. Every time Denver or Jeremy wanted him to do something he didn’t want to do, he shifted. Usually it was right before his bath, or like now, when Jeremy insisted he ate his veggies. The kid had an aversion for all things green, and he had discovered that he couldn’t stay at the table if he was in his wolf form, which meant he shifted as soon as he finished eating what he liked.
Jeremy had accepted without problems that his son was a shifter, and Denver was glad they had found each other. He could only imagine how hard it would have been if Jeremy hadn’t known about shifters before Adam started shifting.
As soon as the meal was over, Denver walked Jeremy back to his office. It might be Saturday, but his mate wanted to check something. Denver hadn’t understood what exactly, but then he seldom understood Jeremy when he talked about his job. Numbers weren’t Denver’s best friends.
He then left Adam at the nursery. The had had to move it on the second floor for obvious reasons, and it was a little smaller, but they were working on upping the security system so that the kids could go and play outside in the spring without having to fear for their safety.
Denver found the Alpha on the back porch, lounging in his lion form next to one of the heaters. Damn, he should probably come back later. Dominic didn’t often find moments during which he could relax, and Denver didn’t want to interrupt it, but before he could walk away Dominic shifted and reached for his clothes.
“Denver?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“Kitchen or office?”
“Kitchen is fine.” It’s not like what he had to say was a secret after all. He just wanted to talk to Dominic about it before leaving for New York on Monday. He had to bring that scientist back, and he didn’t want to think about anything else.
Luckily for them someone had made coffee, so they sat at the table with two hot mugs. Dominic didn’t say anything, he just waited for Denver to spit it out.
“So, I was thinking that the mansion is getting crowded, and it’s probably going to get worse if we manage to save other shifters. Since we have to stay close, I was wondering if we could build cabins in the woods behind the mansion. It’s still pride property, and with the right security it would be just as safe as the house.” Wow, that had to be the longest speech Denver had ever done. He held his breath, waiting for the Alpha’s answer.
Dominic nodded and smiled. “I’ve already thought about something like that, to be honest. I think it’s a good idea. We’ll plan something with Ward and Bryce as soon as you come back from New York.”
As he exited the kitchen, Denver couldn’t believe it. For the first time, he would have a real home. Not a rented apartment, not a house he shared with others. It would be just Jeremy, Adam and Denver.
He practically bounced his way to Jeremy’s office, earning himself strange looks from those he encountered, but he was too happy to care. He entered without even knocking, knowing he had a big smile on his face and that Jeremy would understand from the start that something was up.
“What has you so happy?”
“What would you say if I asked you to move?”
Jeremy’s browns shot up as his eyes widened in surprise. “Well, I just moved here, and I like it. It’s also safer for Adam.”
“Okay, and what if our new home was in the woods behind the mansion?”
Understanding dawned into Jeremy’s eyes. “Then I would say yes, of course.”
Denver stepped around the desk and hauled Jeremy out of his chair, crushing their lips together. It didn’t take long for the happy kiss to morph into a sensual one, and soon their tongues were dueling and stroking. Denver was suddenly glad he had locked the door on his way in.
Pushing Jeremy against the desk, Den
ver reached for his mate’s shirt and pulled it out of his pants. He didn’t have either the time or the patience to open each button, so he gripped the two lapels and pulled. Buttons flew everywhere and Jeremy gasped as Denver licked a wet trail down his neck.
“Maybe...we should...bedroom!”
The fact that he could make his mate lose his mind that much made Denver feel like a god. “The office is perfectly fine. The door is locked, Adam is in the nursery. Relax, babe,” Denver mumbled from Jeremy’s neck. He bit the flesh, not hard enough to penetrate but hard enough so that Jeremy would feel it for a bit. He liked to mark his mate that way, even if the mating bite was always present and reminded everyone that Jeremy was spoken for.
“Shit!” Denver stopped, the fact that they were in Jeremy’s office and therefor didn’t have lube, jerking him out of his heated thoughts. “Lube. We don’t have lube.” He grabbed Jeremy’s hand and tried to pull him away from the desk. Denver would have to give his shirt to Jeremy because there was no way anyone would see his mate half naked if there wasn’t a good reason for it. He also prayed they would make it to their room, because he was so hard it hurt by now.
“Wait.” Jeremy pulled back. “I, uh, I have it. In the drawer.” He blushed, the pretty pink color extending down his neck. Denver arched a brow, wanting to tease his mate.
“Yeah? And exactly why do you have lube in your office?”
“Well, it started as a joke with Keenan, but, well, sometimes I think about you, and you know...”
Aaah, so his mate jacked off thinking about him during the day. Damn, that was hot! It also solved their only problem, so Denver quickly worked on Jeremy’s clothes until his man was naked and panting. Sliding his hands under his mate’s butt, Denver moved him until he was sitting on the desk, his ass right at the edge and his feet next to it, giving him a splendid view of his mate’s most private place. The pink muscle was fluttering in anticipation and Jeremy groaned when Denver lightly ran the tip of his dry finger on the small opening. The desk was the perfect height for him to hammer into his mate without problems.
He didn’t think he could last right now, so he had to find the lube, like, yesterday. He opened the first drawer and moved things around until he recognized the small travel sized tube and grabbed it. By now his dick was pushing against his zipper, making his pants damn uncomfortable, but there was something highly erotic in the fact that Jeremy was completely naked while he was still fully dressed. Still, if he wanted to get laid he would have to take his dick out anyway, so Denver opened his pants and let out a relieved sigh when his erection sprang out. Yeah, this was going to be good.
Chapter Seven
Jeremy’s heart was about to rocket out of his chest as he watched his mate open his pants and his erection appeared. Denver was still dressed, and it made Jeremy feel naughty and a bit embarrassed since he was buck naked, but he couldn’t have cared less. Denver had seen his body plenty of times, and if the hard cock pointing at him was a clue, he found Jeremy hot. He was the only person—man or woman—who’s opinion mattered anyway.
He knew he was absolutely wanton right now, with his legs up to expose his hole, and the only thing he could think of, was to feel the hard rod jutting proud in front of him in his ass.
Denver didn’t waste time. He snapped the tube open and oiled first his cock, then his fingers, before leaning down on Jeremy and capturing his lips in a heated kiss that made Jeremy squirm. The wood of the desk was hard under his back, but at least it wasn’t as cold as it had been in the beginning.
Jeremy felt a slick finger prodding at him and he tried to relax, wanting, needing Denver to take him. He wasn’t much for the pain, though, so he knew he needed to be prepped. He couldn’t ask Denver to just fuck him, as much as he wanted to.
Denver’s lips slid along Jeremy’s neck, down to his collarbones as he felt the finger breaching him. God, he never would have thought that something like this would feel so good.
Denver quickly stretched him as he nipped, licked and sucked at Jeremy’s upper body, until he had three fingers sawing in and out of Jeremy’s hole. Jeremy had about lost his mind by then. He was writhing on the desk, his hips moving on their own as he tried to pull his mate’s fingers deeper inside him. His hands were clutched into Denver’s shirt as he tried to get even closer to him. The only way he could think to do that was to move his legs, so that’s what he did.
Jeremy wrapped his legs around Denver and pulled, but his man was a big man, and he wasn’t that easily moved. “God, please, Denver!” He felt more than he heard the chuckle that escaped Denver as he moved his hands to the man’s hair and pulled his face away from where he was torturing Jeremy’s nipple. “Please!”
Denver smiled softly and finally, finally, Jeremy felt the fingers in him retreat. It left him feeling oddly empty, but he knew what was coming. He was going to feel even fuller very soon.
Denver moved, wrapping Jeremy’s legs more securely around him as Jeremy felt the head of his cock nudging him. He tried to lever himself on Denver to get that big cock inside his waiting hole, but Denver was having none of it. He was in full control, and Jeremy liked it that way.
Denver pushed and Jeremy felt the head pop in, but Denver didn’t stop. He slid in to the root and immediately started to move his hips, setting the rhythm as he opened Jeremy’s legs, sliding even deeper. Jeremy whimpered. He couldn’t get close enough to his mate. He wanted to crawl into Denver, to become one with the man above him.
“God, babe. Won’t last. Touch yourself. Make me feel you come.”
Jeremy couldn’t say no, even if he wanted to stay like this forever. He reached down and grabbed his swollen cock, whimpering at the sensation when his fist closed around it. Yeah, he wouldn’t last either. He started moving his hand up and down in time with Denver’s hips, and as Denver quickened his thrusts, Jeremy’s hand flew on his erection, his orgasm close, so close.
Denver grunted and leaned down, closing his jaw on Jeremy’s neck and biting down. Just the feeling of those teeth penetrating him was enough to make Jeremy explode, jets of semen spurting from his slit on his hand and chest. He felt Denver tense, his hips jackhammering into him until the big man growled and a flood of hot lava filled Jeremy’s chute.
Jeremy wound his arms around Denver, holding him close and breathing his mate’s scent in. Denver was a little heavy, but it felt so good that Jeremy didn’t care if he lost a bit of oxygen.
He felt Denver’s teeth pulling out of his skin and his mate’s raspy tongue cleaning and sealing the bite, making him shiver and his cock jerk. Then Denver moved, but he didn’t go far. He grabbed Jeremy around the waist and sat down on the chair, pulling Jeremy on his lap.
Jeremy knew he was making a mess, he could feel Denver’s cum dripping out of him, but since Denver seemed okay with it, he would worry later. Right now he wanted to soak in this moment. Denver’s hand was making soothing circles on his back while the other one was holding him close. He stroked Denver’s short hair, then down his mate’s neck.
“Will you marry me?”
Jeremy froze. He couldn’t have heard that right. Yeah, he probably had heard it wrong. It was possible since his mate currently had his face tucked close into Jeremy’s neck, and his voice had been muffled. Jeremy squirmed, trying to put a little space between them so that he could hear it better. “Umm, I don’t think I heard you right.”
Denver chuckled, his chest rumbling under Jeremy’s hands. “You heard right. I asked you to marry me.” Denver moved until they were looking into each other’s eyes. “I know that we’re already mated, but I want everyone to know you belong to me, not only the shifters. I know Andrew told us it would be good for Adam’s situation, and even if that’s not a problem anymore, it got me thinking. I know it’s important for you, so yeah, marry me.”
Jeremy didn’t know what to say. The man in front of him was his future, and he didn’t need a piece of paper or even a ring to know that. “You know it
’s not even legal in Wyoming, right?”
“I don’t care. We can ask Dominic to perform the ceremony, and we’ll both have rings. I know your previous marriage wasn’t good, so let me show you it can be good.”
Jeremy could feel the small tear trying to escape from the corner of his eye, and he really didn’t care. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
About the Author
Catherine lives in Italy, country of good food and hot men. She used to write fantasy as a child, but it was reading her first gay erotic romance novel that made her realize that that was what she really wanted to write.
After graduating from college in English language and translation, she divides her day between writing, reading, taking care of her son and reading some more.
You can find her on Facebook and Twitter or on her website: authorcatherinelievens.wordpress.com
Email: [email protected]
Jeremy Page 11