Page 64 of Conquest

Greg frowned at him. “You know firsthand how these things work. It’s not that there aren’t gay or bi performers out there, but most of them only come out after they’ve been around for a few years, and let’s face it, in this country it’s safer to start out pretending to be a straight entertainer to build up your fan base. With Jesse, I could almost believe his talent would carry him past the prejudices, but add him singing to the world that he’s Evan Arden’s lover and it’d be a disaster. You may not have released new material in a while, but you’re still one of the most loved singers in the world, and for this new singer to come out saying you’re a couple, can you even begin to imagine the consequences?” He paused, and spoke his next words cautiously. “That is, if you’re genuinely serious about him.”

“I’m real serious about him.” Evan sighed and turned to walk across the street toward the parking garage, talking more to himself than to Greg. “It’d figure I’d fall in love with someone who wanted a life in the spotlight.”

Greg stopped walking when he heard Evan’s words.

Evan reached the sidewalk on the other side of the street and turned around. “I know this is a surprising revelation, but you should probably get out of the road before you get run over.”

Greg blinked his shock away and hurried across the street. He walked beside him into the parking garage and put his arm around Evan’s shoulders. “You’re going to be the death of me, I know it. The next thing you’re going to tell me is you want to start recording again.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

Greg stopped, his arm dropped off Evan’s shoulders.

Evan faced him. “How long would it take you to get me a band? I’ve got some new material I want to lay down.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jesse stood behind Evan, waiting for him to unlock the access door to the house, unable to move his eyes away from his black leather clad ass. All afternoon he had been tortured by the sight of it, tormented by the need to grab and grope it, so much so he nearly bowed out of having dinner with Kenny to get Evan to himself. But after hearing Trish and Julian play, he and Kenny decided they needed them in the band and taking them out to dinner was the right thing to do, despite it leaving him unbearably hot for Evan a few hours longer.

Evan opened the door and stepped in. “How’s your throat feeling? I know you said it was still bothering you at dinner.”

Jesse leaped up the steps and kicked off his shoes by the door. “It still feels a little scratchy. I really don’t think it was necessary for Greg to be so damn hard assed today. I’ve never sang so much in one day in my life.”

Evan headed into the family room. “He was testing you to see what you’re capable of, but I agree, I thought he was pushing you too hard. I almost stepped in, but I thought you might get upset.”

Jesse flopped down on the couch and sprawled out. “I wouldn’t have.”

“I’ll remember that for next time. The last thing you need is to get nodules on your cords.” Evan turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll make you some green tea. It’ll make your throat feel better.”

“Thanks.” Jesse closed his eyes to recharge his body and be ready for the physical actualizations of the fantasies he’d had about Evan throughout the day. His mind drifted to Julian and Trish.

When Julian took to the piano, he sat beside him, awestruck by his ability as he watched Julian’s graceful fingers work the keys in Chopin’s Polonaise No. 6. Not to be upstaged, he felt it necessary to combat Julian’s artful style with his own by playing the Rondo alla Turca from Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 11. When he finished in triumph, he glanced at everyone’s stunned expressions, except for Evan and Kenny, who both knew his classical capabilities. Julian had laughed and flung up his hands, asking what the hell he needed him for, and he knew then that Julian would be a perfect addition to Conquest, especially after hearing him play “Shattered” without a single misstep and seeing him handle the synth and keyboard with masterful skill.

Trish was without a doubt the best drummer he had ever played with, despite a couple errors during his song “Vanish,” but he didn’t hold that against her considering how heavy and fast the rhythms had to be and it was only her first time playing them. It nagged at him that his first impression of her flirtatiousness was accurate since Kenny picked up on it, too. He imagined her hope of anything with him got pretty well squashed with his declaration of his sexuality and Evan’s appearance.

Even with Evan’s footfalls silent on the carpet, Jesse didn’t need to open his eyes to know he had entered the family room. He was so tuned to Evan’s presence, he no longer needed sight and sound to detect him.

Evan stopped in front of him and held out a warm mug. “Here you go.”

Jesse opened his eyes and sat forward to accept it. He blew away the tendril of steam rising from the liquid and took a sip. He let it trickle down his throat, the heat of the tea comforting the scratchiness he felt. He took a longer drink, then set the mug down on the coffee table. He smiled and looked at him. “Thanks for coming to the studio today. I was really surprised when I saw you standing in the control room.”

“Why? You asked me to come down there, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but it was when we were at the museum, and you didn’t answer. You just walked off to go look at that funky prehistoric turtle.”

Evan stroked his fingers through Jesse’s hair. “Whenever you ask me to do something for you, you should know the answer will always be yes, even if I don’t say it. I would never deny any request you ask of me.”

Jesse’s smile brightened further. He wrapped his arms around Evan’s waist and laid his head against Evan’s firm abdomen.

Evan continued to softly stroke his hair. “Is your throat feeling better?”

“A lot.” Jesse nosed under Evan’s shirt. “But I know what’ll make me feel even better.” Near the button of Evan’s leather pants, he took the top fold in his teeth, gave it a sharp tug, and freed the button. “That little appetizer you gave me on our way to the restaurant wasn’t nearly enough.” He stood, sliding his body up Evan’s, and with both hands, grabbed Evan’s ass in a squeezing grip. “I’ve been dying to do that all day, and you’ve been such a tease strutting around in these things. It borders on cruel.”

Evan laughed softly. “Sorry. I won’t wear leather pants ever again.”

“Don’t you dare make a threat like that.” Jesse dug his fingers into Evan’s ass cheeks and jerked him forward.

Evan sucked in a sharp breath, his head fell back slightly.