and then yawned. “Nap time.”
He tugged off his shirt, and several of the smaller kids followed suit. By the time Nick had stripped and shifted into his lion form, he had a dozen or so cubs surrounding him. Others stayed in their human form but followed Nick as he slowly wandered up toward the rec hall and what everyone had begun to affectionately call the nap room.
Jedrek began scooping up abandoned clothes while keeping his eye on the Ropers. Victor honestly didn’t know which way to turn. Of course, he didn’t have to wait long.
“Gus, come down from there!”
One of the caregivers stood beneath the trees, gesturing to… a tiny red panda hugging an entirely too-high branch in a tree that swayed gently in the breeze.
Victor gasped. “Gus.”
“Don’t panic,” Riggs said. “He’s a climber. Just move slowly so you don’t scare him.”
“Scare him? What about scare me?”
“You trying to tell me you never did anything to scare the crap out of your folks? No flying when you weren’t supposed to?”
Victor shot Riggs a look before returning his attention to the tiny creature in the tree. “Maybe.”
“Yeah, me too. Climbed everything as much as I could get away with it.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
Riggs grinned as they reached the base of the tree.
“Hey, Gus, you gonna come down?”
The little guy tipped his head as if considering it.
“You better come get your bird. We’re gonna go bye-bye.”
And that did the trick. Gus scrambled down the tree and jumped into Victor’s arms. Victor let out a breath and tucked his face into Gus’s furry one. “You scared me.”
Gus chittered and waved his arms, exactly like he did in his human form.
“We’ve got him,” Riggs said to the caregiver, who hurried away to follow the rest of the kids.
Victor’s heart calmed. He couldn’t believe the instant of terror he’d felt when he’d seen Gus up in the branches. The little boy meant so much to him already. When they’d tucked him in the night before, it had been one of the most surreal moments of Victor’s life. They’d put him in Riggs’s room, which meant the bear would be spending the night with him. And Victor had felt so right. He’d curled up against Riggs’s larger body and slept. They were both exhausted from the past few days of nonstop work, and Victor had to confess, if only to himself, that he’d wanted nothing more than to go crawl into Riggs’s bed beside him when he heard the bear finally arrive back to the cottage after his long days of work. He’d resisted, though. Barely.
He still didn’t understand what was going on between them. The entire situation was the opposite of everything he’d ever wanted. He didn’t enjoy being cooped up, for starters. He loved his small estate on the island the griffins called home. He missed the smell of the ocean. He missed his yacht and the sting of salty wind on his cheeks. He missed expensive wine and quick trips to the city for shopping and galleries and dinners at the nicest restaurants. He missed having a private chef and a staff.
And yet, the mere thought of leaving Riggs and Gus, even for a quick weekend away, drew him up short. It wouldn’t be difficult. Nick would surely approve him leaving for a few days. His uncle could send the helicopter for him.
His throat tightened, the thought absolutely unbearable.
Gus suddenly shifted and was back in his little boy form in Victor’s arms. “Bird!”
“What is it, Gus? And remember what we discussed. We are going to work on our manners.”
“Peas?” Gus said.
“That’s right. We say please. Now, let’s go find a snack. I’m hungry, and I know both you and our bear are starving. It is a day that ends in Y, after all.”
“Nack,” Gus said sagely, as if the single word could cure all the problems in the world.
Hell, for all Victor knew, it could.
Riggs touched his back gently, drawing Victor’s attention, even as he managed to get a tiny T-shirt over Gus’s head. Victor spun the toddler around and Riggs managed to wrangle Gus’s legs into one of the little pull-up diapers he wore during the day.
Victor turned to watch their guests, knowing Riggs had Gus well in hand. The Ropers stood in a tight huddle with the two children who’d claimed them.
“Would anyone care for a snack?” Victor asked.
Joy’s head popped up, much like Gus’s did when the word was mentioned.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Sarah said with a smile.