Chapter Thirty-Seven
Laken
Desperation poured off Laken as Bessie plated up a chocolate torte and a pumpkin pie. He did his best not to make eye contact with his brothers as he listened to Isley explain about his sugar glider.
“So when you scent marked me it was what, an accident?” Jupiter, the shit, questioned in a sultry voice that he knew would piss Laken off.
Isley was the shade of a ripe tomato as he stuttered, “A-accident.”
“Leave him be,” Laken growled, hating how mortified Isley was.
“Boys!” Dad said in a firm voice full of warning. “Enough.”
“It’s fine, sir—”
“Derick is fine.”
Isley nodded, cheeks glowing brightly. “When I touched you Jupiter, my animal was… already in a state of excitement, and when in that state it can excrete more marking scent than normal. If transferred to, say, the inside of your lip in this case, the scent sinks past the membrane into the cellular tissue, creating a permanent mark. I’m sorry. ”
The catch to his voice signalled his distress, and Laken pushed back his seat and Isley’s, catching his alarmed look before effortlessly lifting him into his lap.
“You don’t need to say any more,” he assured Isley, tucking him into his chest.
“How lovely,” Popi murmured, all sappy eyed.
“When did you scent mark Laken?”
Kodi’s question got a growl from Laken, but the damage was already done because everyone was looking at Isley for an answer and he knew Isley. Lying would not be what he would do.
“At the ranch,” said Isley in a quiet voice.
“Oh,” Frey coughed out.
Claim him.
What! We’re with my family.
I don’t mean the bite, stupid. You already see him as your mate. Tell them. I can sense his distress. This is me talking later. You called him your mate in your mind. He’s ours.
Laken flashed back and could recall the exact moment he’d done just that. He wasn’t ready to rush into a claiming bite, he wanted that to be special. A memorable moment for them both. He massaged Isley’s tense shoulder, considering his words carefully.
“Isley chose me, scent marked me to tell the world that. He wanted me even when I didn’t feel I was deserving of him.
Until I can show him fully that he hasn’t made a mistake, he’ll hold my heart.
As for the rest, for mating, it will happen when the time is right and not just because my nosey family pushed.
” He cast a hard stare at the table? “Got it?”
Bessie clapped him on the shoulder, giving a squeeze. “Well said my boy. Isley is a very lucky man, if I do say so myself.”
Laken could hear the pride in her voice, and she’d been as much a parent to him as Popi and Dad. He rested his head against her hand, blinking rapidly.
“I know,” Isley answered in a tear thickened voice.
“Gods, he’s a crier, too,” Kodi exclaimed, scowling, but the twinkle in his eyes betrayed him.
“Fu—get stuffed.” Laken groaned and rolled his eyes, in the hopes to give both him and Isley time to get a hold of their emotions.
Jupiter laughed hard, pointing a spoon at Laken. “Told you, you should never mock the afflicted.”
“Jup, go and swivel,” Laken said around a wide, toothy grin that was all threat.
Isley’s wet chuckle eased a little of the tightness in Laken’s chest. The rest of the meal was the same, Jupiter lobbing taunts and Laken hitting them back.
Several hours later, exhausted but feeling elated, he pulled up outside Isley’s apartment.
He’d put an overnight bag in the trunk when he’d gone to use the bathroom.
He just wasn’t sure how to voice his lack of enthusiasm about leaving.
Staying the last two weekends had revealed how much he loved waking up next to Isley, feeling his body tucked into him. He wanted more of that.
In the dimness of the car interior, it was hard to get a read on Isley as he sat looking at the building.
“What you said tonight, did you mean it?” he asked quietly.
“Which part?” Laken hedged, but pretty sure he knew what Isley was referring to.
“The part about me holding your heart until you can show me you’re worthy.” As he spoke, he twisted in the seat, the lights from illuminated windows casting shadows over his face, making it hard to read when his voice was cautious.
“I did, yes.” Laken bit his lip, worrying it as he waited to see what was going on in Isley’s head.
“How can I do the heart holding if you spend your nights somewhere else?”
Oh fuck.
“What are you saying?" Please say you want me to stay.
“I know my feelings for you have had longer to develop, and I’m possibly jumping all kinds of guns right now, but you said you needed to prove to me I’d not made a mistake.
I believe that can only happen if you move in with me,” he blurted out in a rush.
“I’m happy to wait for you until you’re ready to claim me, but until then, wouldn’t it be best if we lived together? ”
Laken hardly heard anything after ‘if you move in with me’.
That pretty much blew his mind. The eagerness and nerves came across, but under it was want.
He could taste it like it was his own, and it was.
It matched his desire to always be close to Isley, something he’d pretended for a long time wasn’t true.
Isley’s shoulders hunched, and he turned to reach for the door handle, taking Laken’s silence as a no. Shit.
“Yes,” he screeched in panic when the door opened.
“Yes, I want that,” he said more calmly, but still sounding like his voice box was being squeezed. He reached out to grab Isley’s hand, finding it cold.
“Yes,” he reiterated, pulling Isley forward, their chests touching with an oomph, Laken’s mouth greedy as he traced his tongue over Isley’s plump flesh, encouraging him to open.
When he did, Laken tasted the sweetness of the chocolate dessert.
He groaned in approval, deepening the kiss until they were both breathless.
“Why is it that we always start the sexy times outside?”
Isley’s question made Laken chuckle. “A morbid curiosity at what it would be like to be done for indecent exposure?” he joked.
There was a second of silence, then Isley howled with laughter, full body shaking as he got out of the car. Laken followed, grabbing the overnight bag and walking to Isley, who continued to laugh as he eyed the bag.
“You could have said you’d packed a bag and saved me waffling,” he accused, the chuckles taking away any heat.
Laken swooped in for a brief kiss and grinned, his cheeks aching at the width. “Now what fun would that have been?”
“I’m not sure I like this teasing Laken. I prefer grumpy Laken,” Isley huffed.
Laken swapped the bag to the other hand when Isley opened the door to his apartment, and he scooped him up onto his hip to kiss him soundly. “Don’t worry, grumpy Laken hasn’t gone far. He’ll sit and wait like before, longing for a little sugar glider to swoop in and—”
“And rescue Laken’s longing heart to protect it and keep it safe,” Isley finished earnestly.
Isley’s sniffles came with big, serious eyes that brought a lump to Laken’s throat. It thickened so much he couldn’t speak. Words sat on the tip of his tongue, and he knew in that longing heart, Isley deserved to hear them.
He used his backside to shut the door, giving himself a moment. Dropping the bag to the floor, he freed up his hand to get a better hold on Isley so they were facing each other. This gorgeous man chose him. He didn’t care what came before. How could Laken not love him?
“I love you,” he said, with all the depth of emotions this man created in him. “I don’t know when it happened. I just know that my life was different… better, the moment you walked into my office and smiled like you’d won the boss lottery.” As he spoke he knew it was the truth.
“Well, I had.” Isley kissed him hard on the mouth until they were both panting, before easing back, grinning cheekily.
“Then, for a while, you spoiled it by taking the grumpiness too far.” He smacked his lips together and winked slyly, something about his eyes looking different.
“But we showed you the error of your ways.”
Then, all Laken held was a pile of clothing as sneakers bounced off his shoes.
A shocked laugh escaped when the tiny devil launched himself out of the pile and a tiny hand caught on the corner of his lower lip.
Its gossamer wings spread over his beard, tickling more laughter out of him as it scrabbled up the side of his face and up into his hair, tugging—though he could barely feel it—playfully.
“You’re gonna keep me on my toes, aren’t you?” Another tug agreed and Laken picked up his bag, holding onto Isley’s clothes, being careful not to move his head too much, unsure how much of a grip Isley had on his hair.
He placed his bag in the closet and placed Isley’s clothes on the chair he used as more of a coat hanger than a seat.
He sat on the corner of the bed, reaching up and offering his hand.
There were several barks and chirps as the sugar glider transferred to his hand.
He brought it up to his face. The big eyes were watchful.
In either form, Isley was beautiful, and Laken’s heart felt constricted by a boa of emotions squeezing it. The whole time, those big eyes were staring, conveying feelings that made it hard to take a breath with how tight his chest felt.
“You claimed me first, even when you didn’t know about—”
A bark and a head shake stopped him.
His lips trembled at the simple acceptance from both sides of Isley.
Acceptance he’d been seeking, whether he knew it or not.
He’d found it in this tiny creature. Its love was bigger than Laken’s chest could hold.
Size… it really didn’t matter when it came to love.
“You might be small, but you sure know how to make your feelings known.”
There were some squeaks with the chirps this time, along with a tiny, sticky paw touching his lip.
“I love you, too,” he choked out, eyes damp.
He lay back on the bed and placed the sugar glider on his trembling heart, treasuring the moment between them.
Sometime later, as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness, Isley shifted and moved until he was plastered to Laken’s side, throwing an arm over his chest, his hand covering his heart.
“He loves you, too,” he whispered sleepily. “Now let's hope he doesn’t bug me for more cuddles when we’re at work.”
Laken turned on to his side, tucking Isley into his body, too content to bother to get undressed. “As long as he keeps those tiny, excited paws off everyone but me, we’ll be fine.”
Isley’s groan was no more than a whisper. “Now you’ve done it.”
Laken kissed the top of Isley’s head, inhaling his scent, lips tugging into a tired smile. “It’s alright, he loves me. He’ll behave.”
Isley’s sleepy laugh said differently.
Laken’s last thought as he drifted off was: What’s the worst he can do now?