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a year, Kevin checked out the homes himself. There were twelve homes in all with another two currently being built. Uncomfortable with being a philanthropist, Kevin didn’t want to share that part with Payce. It made him look too goody-goody which wasn’t the way to draw a sexy man to his side.
    Men like Payce wanted bad boys.
    Kevin could be as bad as needed to get the man he wanted.
    Payce left his apartment, letting out a sigh of relief. As much as he liked Kevin and wanted him for his mate, this whole kid thing threw him for a loop.
    Male jaguars didn’t do kids. They left them with their mother after inception. Payce didn’t even know who his father was and had no interest in knowing. The fact that Kevin not only knew his kids, but also was a part of their everyday life said good things about the man.
    However, it opened up a bunch of insecurities Payce never knew he had.
    A glimpse at Kevin’s phone, as he passed, told him they were happy, loved children.
    They practically bounced with the joy they had in life.
    Had he ever had that joy, even as a kid?
    Thinking back, Payce didn’t think so. He wasn’t abused by any means, but his mother never glowed as much as Kevin did when his kids got on the phone. Payce didn’t mind the interruption by the children, even if his body was screaming for the sexy werelion. He did mind that Kevin didn’t want him involved.
    When they finished the mating cycle, Payce would be a permanent part of Kevin’s life.
    He wasn’t going to be the third wheel—a man introduced as Kevin’s mate, instead of his kid’s second father. If Payce was in this relationship, he was going to be in it completely.
    Payce reached the worksite just as he realised he’d talked himself from clueless about kids to becoming father of the year in the space of a few miles. Shaking his head at his silliness, Payce got out of his truck. It took him a few minutes to realise what that pain in his chest was all about.
    Yearning.
    He really wanted to become a part of that happy family.
    He wondered what Tia was like.
    “See you made it in.” The foreman’s hard voice broke into Payce’s thoughts.
    A PRIDEFUL MATE
    Amber Kell
    27
    He glanced at his phone. “I’m right on time.”
    “Hmmm.” Jim Thompson was a big man with a huge gut and a mean streak a mile wide. If he didn’t pay so well Payce would’ve left long ago, hell, half the men would’ve. “I’m going to put you in a new section. The bathrooms on the lower floor need tiling. The boxes are in the hall.”
    Payce nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll clock in and get started.”
    “Good.” Jim gave him a careful look over. “There’s something different about you this morning.”
    Payce shrugged. He wasn’t going to tell his boss he had that ‘just bit by my mate’ glow.
    “Get to work.”
    “Yes, sir.” Walking away, Payce had to struggle with controlling his erection as memories of his mate surfaced. “Shit.” He tried to think of boring things as he made his way to the lobby bathroom on the bottom floor.
    Why they needed a bathroom at the lobby level he didn’t know, but he suspected they were adding a restaurant and some commercial enterprises. It wasn’t really any of his business as long as they paid him regularly. They could put in a zoo and he’d tile the stalls. It was all the same to him. Payce only got interested when he was hired to do mosaics. That was the tile work he loved. There was a deep satisfaction in creating a picture from a gazillion little pieces that he didn’t get from setting a million white tiles all in a row.
    However, with the current economy, those kinds of jobs were few and far between.
    Not one to fixate on bad fortune, Payce walked through the marble halls, his professional eye checking for errors in the tile he’d helped lay last week.
    “Looks good.” Dennis Wills, his best friend and the only other shifter on the job site, sauntered up. His coyote eyes scanned the tile, even as he discreetly