Chapter Twenty-Six
Laken
He wasn’t sure what time it was when his phone bleeped. His movement was limited with Isley wrapped around him like a clingy blanket, but there was no hint of colors beyond the window he could see out of only darkness.
Laken had attempted to put Isley to bed the night before, but drunk Isley didn’t seem to like to be put down.
He clung so tight Laken feared suffocation, so had given in and gotten to the comfy couch, positioning them to keep Isley happy.
Moving carefully now, so as not to disturb Isley, Laken wiggled a hand under him to get to his pocket and, after a few sweat-inducing seconds, he managed to get his phone free of his pants.
He stared down at Isley, who was drooling on his top, and could see that it might take a lot more to wake the passed-out omega. He chuckled to himself before he checked to see who the message was from.
There was no crazy beating pulse at seeing Dad on the screen. His hand was steady as he opened the message.
Dad: The situation is contained. I’ll speak to you when you are home. You have nothing to worry about. Love you, son.
Laken blinked back the sudden rush of tears and, as if sensing something, Isley slipped a hand up his chest and wrapped those tiny fingers around the side of his throat in a possessive move that made Laken’s body heat with desire. It gave him the distraction to pull himself together.
How did he respond?
Laken: Thank you.
He stared at those two words, knowing they meant very little in terms of what Derick and Lane had given him.
Laken: Love you and Popi, very much.
He did, and he might not say it often enough, but they deserved to hear it.
They were actual parents, wanting to keep him safe.
And it was that reality that hit him harder than the blackmailing scumbags.
How did I end up so lucky? The show of support from his brothers, his found family, was what a genuine family did.
He released a shuddery breath, his eyes welling with tears he couldn’t hold back this time.
They slipped down his cheeks as he shut his eyes and turned to press into Isley’s hand.
It was this knowledge, the surety of his place in his family, that made who it was that was after hurting him so much less important.
And that gave him permission to cut away that part of him that served no purpose in the here and now.
Having easily drifted back off to sleep after the message, he wished he’d remained that way as he listened to Isley, aghast.
Dating.
He wants to date me.
A cold sweat beaded on his skin at just how unequipped he was for that. The tsunami of emotions at the clarity of Isley’s confession left him floundering, and then he’d thrown dating into the mix like it was a fucking wonderful idea. He’d rather deal with the shit show from last night than this!
He couldn’t decide if he should be furious that Isley—his animal side—had done something so primitive without permission.
Then Isley lobbed a ball right at his gut with this dating stuff.
He heard in Isley’s voice the conflict about what his animal side had done.
And initially Laken had assumed it was because Isley hadn’t wanted him.
Dating, he wants to date us, his animal supplied eagerly.
You aren’t the one who has to do that. So don’t need the reminder right now! He had other pressing things to deal with.
Laken had heard stories where one part of a shifter could want what the other part didn’t.
And although Isley was quick to allay those fears, a part of Laken couldn’t stop doubt from creeping in.
Jupiter had sinful good looks, was playful and laid back, fun even, when he chose to cut loose.
Laken wasn’t any of those things. How could he compete?
Isley was being sincere about Jupiter. Stop being stupid.
Isley’s explanation about what had happened with Jupiter made sense—it did now—if he discounted the comparison to his brother.
Why would Isley be interested in him when Jupiter was around?
Reasoning with jealousy wasn’t always simple, and he wanted to say he wasn’t that insecure about himself, but he had eyes. He also knew his own faults.
Jupiter was right there at the ranch, and Isley chose us. Left his mark on us.
Laken choked at a realization. You knew. You knew all along and never said a word!
You can get so human-like with your stupid thinking, and it was taking you forever to get to the point where we could get closer to the adorable sugar glider, so when it made the move first, I was elated. Why would I tell you so you could let your stupid mouth get in the way of things?
Jesus, I lost it with Jupiter you asshole.
The heated words they’d exchanged when Jupiter had materialized out of the darkness in front of Laken when he’d left the path leading from the lake, had nearly resulted in fists flying.
He gave a mournful groan at what it meant for when he got home.
He was going to have to apologize for his accusations and eat humble pie.
“Listen, I truly am sorry.” Isley’s eyes glistened like stars in a cloudless sky, and Laken frowned in confusion. He realized Isley thought the sounds he’d made had something to do with him.
It did, just not in the way he supposed. “I had a go at Jupiter… accused him of some things—”
“Oh no. You smelled me on him, didn’t you?”
His cheeks were a beautiful shade of pink, staring down into his coffee cup, avoiding meeting Laken’s gaze head on. He reached out and touched Isley’s hand, getting him to shift his attention back to him. “I didn’t, my animal smelled you on Jupiter. Your scent coming from me, what does that mean?”
“What can you smell that’s different about yourself?” Isley asked, all curious big eyes.
“When there’s distance between us, like in different buildings, I can still smell the undertones of cinnamon and citrus I get from you, lingering around me. Like it’s in my skin.”
The adorable blush deepened, and Isley nodded. “That would be our scent. I’m so—”
“Don’t say it again.” Laken rubbed at his bearded chin, working through the layers of tiredness to say the right thing to ease Isley’s obvious guilt. “I’ve felt an attraction for you from the moment I laid eyes on you,” he confessed in a rush, to get it out before he changed his mind.
“You did?” Isley’s hopeful smile always did him in. It upped the level of attractiveness from adorable to stunning.
Laken nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I told myself that it would never work out after hearing you tell Wilder what a grump I was and working with me was worse than having a tooth extraction.”
“You heard that!” Isley cried in mortification, burying his head in his hands, then peeking through his spread fingers. “That was just after the first time we worked together, and I tried everything to please you, and all you did was that curt nod thing, not even bothering to acknowledge me.”
“Self-preservation, pure and simple,” he confessed, hoping to get Isley to stop hiding.
It worked when the hands dropped to the counter and he squeaked, “It was?”
Perversely, Laken found he was enjoying himself, loving how alluring Isley was when he blushed so hard his skin glowed, causing the blue of his eyes to deepen.
“Yep. It’s true. I was grumpy because your scent drove me to distraction. I didn’t do a lick of work the whole week we worked on those shipping contracts,” Laken confessed with more humor than he’d felt at the time, as he recalled.
Isley’s starry-eyed look was irresistible, and Laken came forward and kissed those silky soft lips, capturing the whimper of need.
The sound resonated like a tuning fork against his dick.
There was an underlying sweetness that was pure Isley and the ever present citrus and cinnamon.
He traced his tongue delicately over the plumper lower lip, feeling the quiver as he slowly drew back from temptation, coming to a decision.
Quick pants hit his cheeks as their gazes met, and the longing he’d pretended wasn’t there, could no longer be denied. It would be easy to tumble into bed and have the hot, sweaty sex he’d thought about while Isley lay on top of him.
There were so many missteps in his life of late, he didn’t want whatever this was between them to be one of them.
“We have to work today, but this weekend, do you want to do something?” He kept it casual, shrugging like it didn’t matter when it really did. “Maybe a meal out, the movies, something like that?”
The lopsided grin from last night appeared as Isley clapped his hands together and bounced on his seat. “Yes. Yes. Yes, to all of it.”
Laken hadn’t lost the stupid grin all the way home to get showered and changed for work.
His damn face ached because of it, and wasn’t that a kicker when he’d completely forgotten about what had brought him to Isley’s door.
A door he’d struggled to leave through after Isley had sweetly asked for a goodbye kiss, all shy and charming.
He had left reluctantly, wanting to give them both what they deserved—time to find out if the feelings roaming free were indeed more than lust.
Of course, they are.
Laken didn’t disagree. Isley had done something to the part of his heart which had been trampled on by the stampeding rejection his family had done all those years earlier. He just needed to know what. Isley deserved that and so did he.
Slipping inside the house, he listened out for any sounds before creeping up the stairs going to his bedroom. He didn’t breathe easily until he had his hand on the handle.
“So you sorted it out between you?” Jupiter drawled, leaning against the wall just two feet from Laken.
Laken’s hand went to his chest as he glanced at Jupiter, who hadn’t been there a mere second ago. His pulse was irregular and pumped hard enough Laken considered Jupiter had just frightened ten years off his life.
“Have you been lurking, waiting for me to come home?” he questioned, a little breathless, eyeing Jupiter’s sleep attire and the dark circles under his eyes.