Wolves of Stone Ridge 17 - Freeing Demitri's Wolf by Charlie Richards

Author:Charlie Richards [Richards, Charlie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“S

o, is Demitri really not even twenty?” Kiernan paused in preparing the deviled eggs and glanced at Valerie. He frowned. “What? You think he lied to you?”

She lifted her hands in surrender. “Geez, I didn’t mean any offence,” she said, her tone sounding as if she was trying to soothe him.

Kiernan realized his question did come out a bit more sharply than he’d originally thought, but the idea that someone would question his lover’s word rubbed him the wrong way.

“You gotta admit, he acts a lot older than he looks,” Valerie pointed out.

Thinking about what his young lover had been through, Kiernan knew he had to grow up quick.

Evidently, something in his expression gave his thoughts away, for Valerie placed her hand on his arm and squeezed. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it. I know how he feels about you, so please tell me he’s really not your mid-life crises. He seems like a nice guy and doesn’t deserve that unless he knows the score.”

“Knows the score?” Kiernan muttered, taken aback. He stared at his daughter hard, and she had the decency to blush. It was somewhat heartwarming that she was now defending Demitri. Shaking his head, Kiernan stated, “He hasn’t had a good home life. That’s—” He frowned, hesitating, but then realized Valerie wasn’t likely to say anything to anyone. “That’s why he was here last night. His father took a bat to him when he found out he went on a date with me.” Ignoring his daughter’s gasp, he plunged ahead, focusing on the repetition of filling the egg halves to keep his hands busy. “I want to take care of him, protect him, and, god, the feeling I get when I hold him.”

“Whoa! TMI, Dad. I get it. You really like this guy, and he’s not a midlife crisis. That’s good.” She leaned on the counter, trying to catch his eyes. “So, his parents are assholes. Is he pressing charges? I mean, I’m all for parents spanking their kids if they’ve done something wrong, but beating them with a bat is not something you do out of love.”

“You got that right, and, no. I can’t seem to talk him into pressing charges,” he muttered.

“What?” she squeaked, obviously outraged.

He grimaced. Geez, how did he end up talking about this with his daughter? “I can’t force him to. That’s not how a partnership works. I can just be there to support him as he moves on from the experience.”

“Partnership. Holy shit, Dad! Isn’t that moving a little fast?”

Kiernan paused in his actions, realizing what he’d said. “Well, damn.” Did he really feel that strongly toward Demitri already? Even thoughts of the other man made him smile, and he realized that, although he’d only exchanged pleasantries with the man for the first couple weeks of their acquaintance, he’d been watching and learning about him. Demitri was openly friendly with customers, hardworking and kind, and even when someone was rude to him, he still acted with professional courtesy.

Fuck, I’m half-way in love with the man already!

Looking his daughter in the eye, Kiernan admitted.

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