Page 51 of Laken's longing

“How could you do this to me?” he slurred aloud to the empty room.

He swung the bottle, sloshing the remaining contents as he continued on. “It’s not you who will have to shoulder the responsibility. No. That’s always me when you get it in your head to do some harebrained scheme.”

He brought the bottle back to his lips, drinking what was left in it, then wine fountained out of his nose as he choked out an alarmed squeak at the heavy pounding on his door. Coughing and swiping haphazardly at his nose and chin to dry himself, Isley eyed the door warily.

“I know you’re in there, Isley. Open up before I kick this door down,” Laken growled menacingly.

“Oh dear,” he warbled and wobbled to the door, which seemed so much further away than normal. He’d never been one to hide, but right then, in his inebriated state, it was exactly what his brain was telling him to do.

“I mean it,” came through the door, and by the sound of Laken, he really did.

Isley gripped the empty wine bottle tighter and released the locks, opening the door and offering a lopsided smile.

“Hey. How’s did it goes?” he said, trying to get his fat tongue to move in his mouth.

Laken glowed from the cold, nudging him out of the way to come inside and shut the door behind him. Leaning against it, he crossed his arms over his chest, dark gray brows rising. The scent of the chilly night air clung to him. Those gray eyes, dark and turbulent, held Isley’s.

“What did you do to Jupiter?” he asked in a deadly voice that should have scared Isley.

What it did was give his traitorous dick ideas.

“Nothin’,” he slurred, “was my animal.” Another lopsided grin. “He’s so naughty,” he said with cheeky exasperation.

Laken’s lips twitched, but he never lost the turbulence. “Is that so? What did your animal do then?”

Isley took a swig from the bottle but, finding it empty, he eyed it sideways, going cross-eyed. He released a put-out sigh. Isley was usually great at gauging his audience, but not so much when he was seven sheets to the wind. He knew he was as the floaty feeling was making everything look so pretty, including the man in front of him. “You’re so pretty.”

“W-what?” Laken spluttered. “Let’s get back on track here. What did your animal do, Isley?”

Tipsy and horny, Isley gave his best innocent smile. “Promise us yous won’t be cross.”

He missed Laken’s alarm completely. “I can’t do that when I don’t know just how naughty your animal side is?” he reasoned—or so Isley believed.

Put the wine bottle down, and if he gets mad, I’ll shift and he’ll take one look at my adorable self and everything will be fine.

Isley was pretty sure this was a bad idea. The worst, in fact. For why, he couldn’t quite grasp with the wine making him feel very loose.

He wobbled over to his coffee table and put the bottle down with a clink. He spun back around, wobbled again, hiccupped and grinned at Laken, who’d followed.

“You’re not mad anymore,” he declared, giggling. “That’s good, ‘cause I don’t like it.” He swiped at his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. “Is it hot in ‘ere?”

He reached for the hem of his T-shirt and whipped it off, throwing it towards the couch, not noticing it slip to the floor.

“What are you doing?”

Why was his voice squeaking like that? “Can’t you see properly? Do you need to get your eyes tested?”

“No, I don’t. Tell me what you did, Isley.”

Isley shook his head, but when he stopped the room kept moving. “Oops.”

He swayed right into the warm, great smelling chest, his hands coming up to steady himself. Possibly more to stroke at the firmness beneath the clothing like he’d wanted to do for more than a year.

“You’re so hard,” he groaned in delight, “I knew you would be.”

“Am I now?” Laken chuckled and took hold of his wandering hands. “I think you need some coffee. You’re sloshed. How much of that wine did you have?”

“All of it, silly.” He shook his head, forgetting that was a bad idea when everything swam around him. “Oooh, wow, room spin.”