Page 69 of Laken's longing

He nodded before Popi had finished speaking. “I needed to make sure the authorities were clear about what had happened. And they were happy with so many witnesses to close the case.” He came forward and kissed Popi. “The threat is gone, my love. That’s all you need to concern yourself with.”

The heated stare between them was Laken’s signal to leave. He couldn’t put Popi down quick enough and offered the fastest good night before slipping out the door.

Jupiter was coming out of his bedroom and raised a brow. “Why are you looking like you had a lucky escape?”

He had, in more ways than one. Driven by the emotional turbulence of the evening, he strode to Jupiter and before he could dart away; he gave him a hard hug.

“W-what the f-fuck,” Jupiter spluttered, but his arms came around Laken and he hugged back, if not a little stiffly.

“Shut up. I love you.” He held him closer when he felt Jupiter tremble and pretended not to notice the choked noise he released that sounded suspiciously like a sob.

“I love you, too,” he whispered so quietly that his words were barely more than air leaving his lips, but Laken heard him and he clung on a little longer, unsure which of them needed it more.

Chapter Thirty-One

Laken

The week had been brutal. Work had taken up most of his time, and though he spent most of that time with Isley, it didn’t feel like they’d had any time alone. There’d been a few heated kisses, but fuck all else and Laken was ready for this week to be over.

He’d kept the chocolate making class as their next date a secret, and he was excited to see Isley’s reaction. Laken had taken a trip to the bakery twice through the week to pick up Isley’s favorite pastries because he’d wanted to see that shy smile aimed at him. If his brothers found out what a sap he was becoming, he’d never hear the end of it. He wanted to see Isley smile, and every time he did it brightened his day, giving him a warm feeling in his chest that made him greedy for more. And this week it had been in short supply with one of their orders having somehow ended up in the wrong country. The result was working longer hours to fix the mistake, and that caused a ton of extra catching up for both of them, meaning staying late everyday. Seeing how tired Isley was, Laken had not pushed for an invite back to his place.

Now it was Friday, all bets were off. All Laken wanted was to get Isley alone without the worry of interruption. Hopefully naked, but he’d take whatever was on the table, just to spend time alone with him.

A quick knock at his office door and Silas’s dark head appeared around it. “You up for coming to Ren’s for burgers tonight? Ziggy and the other PAs have plans it seems, and I’m not welcome.”

Isley didn’t look up from his iPad as he finished what he was doing, though his shoulders stiffened. It took a great deal of effort to keep his disappointment from leaching out at seeing his plans shot down in flames.

With no excuse, he nodded. “Yep, are you heading straight from here?”

“That’s the plan. We can take one or two cars and collect them tomorrow. Kari isn’t sure as yet, but everyone else is in.”

“What about driving home and dropping off the cars? Saves doing it tomorrow if anyone is feeling dicey.”

“I’ll get Ziggy to take mine. Sure Taylin could do the same and we can meet the rest of you there.”

“Great.”

Silas left, and when the door closed, Laken kept his gaze on Isley. “Plans? What plans are these? You going out?”

Laken didn’t like the feeling that came at thoughts of Isley out after the last time they all headed out together and ended up in a sex club frequented by Jupiter.

Isley gave him a teasing smile that sent a direct message to his neglected cock. “Nope, we are having a night in, drinking cocktails to celebrate Monty’s mating. It was the first time we were all free on the same night.”

“I had thought…”

Isley rose gracefully and placed his iPad down. Coming around the desk, he wiggled in between it and Laken’s thighs as he spread his legs to make room for him. “Thought what?”

He was not blushing. He was not. “That I might come around and…”

“And?” Isley prompted again coming closer, hands sliding up the front of Laken’s suit jacket and around the collar of his shirt to rest at the nape of his neck. His fingers stroked the short strands of hair that he found there. Whatever lusty thoughts were filling Isley’s head, they came with a prominent slick scent and glazed eyes.

Laken’s dick took notice, and as it thickened, his balls felt too big for the confines of his underwear, despite how his legs were parted.

“And?” he answered, distracted by Isley’s full lips that were close but not close enough.

Isley’s chuckle gave his heart a squeeze, right before his mouth claimed Laken’s and he tasted Isley’s happiness. It was as sweet as the man himself. The fingers threading through his hair tightened and Laken was hauling Isley to him, only satisfied once their chests touched. Even through the material, he could feel Isley’s heart pounding a fast tattoo.

Joy. Had he ever known such joy from just kissing someone? Taken the time to explore. To sample the different kisses and what they did to the other person. Listen to the sounds. The gasps. Whimpers. Groans. Each noise was different with a change of angle, soft to hard. Just a brush of lips to hunger.