Unconditional acceptance, Perian had learned, was actually rare and very clearly not the societal norm. But Perian’s father had loved him, had shaped their whole lives to protect him and keep him safe, and now Perian knew the truth. He still had a lot to figure out, but he felt so much better for having these answers.
“Oh, Brannal,” he sniffed. “I’m a child of two worlds.”
Brannal nodded, smiling at him. “All the ‘noes’ that went with all those ‘yeses.’ You’re a mixture of both human and carnalion.”
Perian nodded. It really did make a lot of sense.
“I couldn’t figure any of it out,” he confessed. “I wondered how I could come from another world and not know it, wondered if demon babies somehow arrived here, how Father could have ended up with me. But Iamhis son.”
Brannal kissed his forehead gently. “You were always his son.”
Perian nodded, sniffing back more tears.
“But I have roots again, Brannal, roots that I understand, a blood connection.”
And Brannal nodded. “I’m sorry if you felt lost.”
And that was exactly it. “It was like everything I knew in my life was suddenly a lie.Everything. It was like being tossed into the ocean, no land in sight, no idea which way to start swimming, and that was just… my new reality. Forever.”
Brannal’s arms tightened around him.
Perian blew out a breath. “And then you crested a wave and swam right out to me and declared that if this was my new home, that was fine, you’d join me here.”
“I’m a strong swimmer,” Brannal said, which made Perian laugh, though it was still a little shaky.
“This is like spotting land again. I would probably have found it just with you. You’re really good at grounding. But this was like finding myoldland again, and that means so much to me. It’s like—”
He tried to figure out how to describe it.
“Not needing to discover a whole new island in the middle of the ocean?” Brannal suggested.
Perian grinned at him. “Yes, exactly. There’s a foundation after all, and now we can keep building together, but there’s something already there.”
“Your father loved you so much.”
Perian sniffed, nodded, and nudged closer so that Brannal would hold him ever tighter, because there was nothing better than that. Perian laid his head down on the other man’s shoulder.
“Yes, he did. Thank you for being frustrated with the drawer.”
Brannal laughed, his hands sweeping up and down Perian’s back in a lovely, soothing caress.
“You’re very welcome, dear heart. I am always happy to be of service.”
And just like that, Perian got distracted. He peeked up at the other man.
“Be of service? Really?”
Brannal carefully moved the letter further out of the way and then slid to the floor between Perian’s thighs and sucked Perian off on the settee in his father’s room—which, if he’d thought about it, he might have avoided, but it turned out fine.
“Most people don’t recover this quickly, you know,” Brannal said, once he’d gathered the limp, entirely satisfied Perian up and carried him—and the letter, because he was smart like that—back to their own bedroom. He settled them in front of the fire.
“Hmm,” Perian said. “I’ve only ever had sex regularly with you. You seem to recover quite well.”
“Largely thanks to you, I believe,” Brannal admitted, and Perian could hear the smile. “I wasn’t having much sex before you, but I have certainly noticed that you’re able to coax a response out of me in pretty much any circumstance. I’m definitely not complaining.”
Perian grinned.
Brannal’s fingers ghosted down his back, sliding over the curve of his ass.
