Page 83 of Laken's longing

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?

Epilogue

Laken

Two month later

“Tiny devil, this isn’t funny.” Okay, it kinda was. He’d nicknamed Isley’s animal because it was a tiny devil disguised in the cutest body. “We have a meeting in five minutes. Please?” he cajoled now he was sure the iPad hadn’t clouted the sugar glider after it fell post shift.

Laken had been proven wrong on an epic level as to how much control Isley had over his animal side when it got something into its head.

Isley had warned him, and Laken had laughed off his concern.What’s the worst he can do now?Yeah, a lot when he got into a devilish mood. He really was a tiny devil who could disappear so easily and cause mischief, like now. His head tilted as he strained to hear. Was that a squeak?

He got down on the carpet, looking under his desk.

It was bad enough when Isley’s animal had taken an instant dislike to a client from Hales, Edric, who got a little handsy with Laken—as in, he’d touched Laken’s arm three times—and Isleyhad to leave during a meeting because his animal tried to take control and shift.

Isley had been very apologetic, tearful even, when he’d explained what happened after the man had left. Laken got it now.

At the time, he’d been cross, not understanding exactly how Isley couldn’t control his animal side. He’d gone and spoken to Dad who had laid it out in a way that made Laken feel like a heel. Those with a pure animal side were in a constant state of working to find a balance between what it wanted and what the human half wanted. What he took away most from the conversation was that the human half didn’t always win.

It truly explained what Isley’s animal side had done at the ranch all those months ago. It wanted something, and nothing was going to stop it. That time, Laken had gone and bought the biggest bunch of flowers to apologize.

Right now, his amusement at its antics warred with the need to have Isley, dressed and ready for their meeting. If he thought talking to Isley’s sugar glider would change things, he’d been mistaken. It had wanted some cuddles at the office right before a second meeting with Edric. Isley hadn’t been able to stop it from taking charge, and the iPad hitting the floor had signalled the end of the discussion. It left Laken in a cold sweat until he’d not found a squished glider under the iPad. Except there was no sign of him and Laken worried.

“What the heck are you doing crawling around on the floor?” Jupiter asked, sailing into the office unannounced.