by Jet Mykles
Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw Izzy watching, nodding slightly. He patted Cash’s shoulder. “I’ll go with, if you want.”
Relief washed over Cash’s face first. But then he blinked, glancing between the two of them. “I, uh, is this normal?”
“No,” Danny said. Then, “Hey”—the latter for Luc, who sat down on the arm of the couch beside him.
Luc leaned one arm on the back of the couch behind Danny. “Hey.”
Danny fought the urge to gulp. He’d met Luc, been at his wedding, seen him in a casual setting. But the Luc that now hovered over him was the Lucas Sloane in all his radiant glory. Luc had turned on the star power tonight. “Luc, this is my friend Cash. Cash, this is Luc Sloane.”
Cash had learned enough to know who Luc was. He smiled big and shook Luc’s hand. “Really nice to meet you.”
Luc grinned. “Likewise.” It was almost believable too. “Hey”—this back to Danny as he dug in his pocket once again—“Johnnie wanted me to give you something.”
Danny blinked. “Me?”
“Yeah.” Luc dangled a long silver chain from his fingers. The pendant hanging from it was an intricately detailed knight’s helm, silver except for the plume, which was painted a deep, dark blue. “He said he thought of you when he saw it. He had the color put on special. For the Knights.” He let the pendant and chain drop into Danny’s open palm. “Thought it might bring you good luck.”
Danny stared, speechless, at the precious gift that lay in his hand. His idol had given him a token for luck. Was this for real? “Tell him thank you,” he said with a dry throat.
Luc smiled and nodded. “Will do. He almost came tonight, but he decided to get some late-night work done without the dictators there.”
“Dictators?” Cash asked, sounding way too calm for how Danny felt.
Brent appeared at Luc’s shoulder. “That would be me and Hell.” He gave Luc’s arm a “friendly” slap that might have been a touch heavy. “Our coworkers seem to think we’re hard on them sometimes.”
Luc rolled his eyes at Danny. “Yeah, don’t know where we’d get that.”
“Five minutes, guys!” They heard the roar of the crowd again as Gordon left to go work the front of the house.
Luc stood. “Gotta go.” He gave Danny a thumbs-up. “Break a leg.”
Brent waved and nodded, then followed him out into the roar.
“Whoa.” Danny sank back into the couch, getting real preshow jitters for the first time in his life. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might throw up.
“This is a big deal, huh?” Cash asked softly.
Danny looked at him, and suddenly Cash seemed far more real than he ever had. He was solid and warm and sitting right there. He was witness to the miracle that was happening to Danny, and he made it more vivid with his presence. “Oh yeah. This is a big fucking deal.”
Cash smiled. “But it’s good, right? They’ll bring in more people.”
Danny glanced at the bustle of people around them. Now everyone seemed busier tonight. “They will.”
Cash patted his shoulder. “Congratulations.”
Danny laid a hand over Cash’s. “Don’t say that yet. It’s bad luck.”
Cash frowned.
Danny laughed. “Okay, I know this isn’t your kind of thing. We picked a bad night for you to be here. You should go.” A few feet away, Izzy squealed as Rabin hugged him. Danny squeezed Cash’s arm. “Thanks for coming.” He wanted to kiss Cash but wasn’t sure it would be welcome. Everyone in the room knew about Cash and Danny, but Cash didn’t know that for sure. Danny didn’t want to make him any more uncomfortable. “I gotta go.”
It killed him, but he tore himself away from Cash to finish his makeup. In a hurry, he ripped off his T-shirt and slipped on the leather vest he’d chosen to wear tonight. With all the reverence it deserved, he carefully drew the silver necklace over his head and let the pendant drop against his sternum with a good, solid thump. He might never take it off again. He was primping his hair, making sure the indigo stripe fell right, when he saw in the mirror’s reflection Izzy leading Cash out of the room. He took heart that Cash’s gaze was on him as he left.
Then he had to empty his mind of everything but the performance. If Archangel Luc—God, he was going to get a kick out of that—was going to bestow a blessing on them, Champion Danny was going to lead the charge.
* * * *
Izzy: We’re still here. We got a booth across from the bar. It’s crazy out here!
Still breathing hard, Danny stared at the text on his phone. He’d just come off the stage and now stood in the makeup room, trying to catch his breath and cool down before he plunged into the crowd. What a crowd! Jefferson Douglas was filled to the max, and supposedly there was a line outside waiting to get in for the Knights’ second set. The towel someone had handed him was damp with his sweat, and he’d picked up his phone just before checking his hair.
“He’s still here.” Danny’s mumble was lost in the jostle of bodies around him, but he kept his focus on the little screen of his phone. How the hell had Izzy convinced him to stay?
“What’s up?”
Danny looked up at Lance. Like him, the bass player was drenched in sweat, blond streaks of hair curling around his ears and down his neck. He was flushed, and his eyes held a gleam of excitement Danny had yet to see in those calm blue depths.
Danny held up his phone. “Cash is still here.”
A minor frown squeezed Lance’s brow. He didn’t know as much about Danny’s situation as Rabin or Noble, but he knew enough. “He didn’t bolt?”
“I thought he had.”
Lance clapped Danny’s bare shoulder. “That’s great. Maybe he enjoyed the show.”
Danny grinned. “I hope so.”
They both glanced toward the door as it flung open to spill a few reporters into their midst.
Lance swiped his neck with his towel once more, then tossed it aside. “Let’s hope you can get to him eventually.”
Danny walked out into a sea of attention. Two journalists introduced themselves at the same time, one an older woman who thought dyed black hair could make her look younger and the other a paunchy guy with a great-enough smile that he was actually kind of attractive. That they knew each other was obvious by the way they painstakingly ignored each other.
“Danny, Jenny Keip from the Fold.” She held a business card toward him with two fingers. It took Danny a moment, but then he recalled the Fold was a big-time music blog, unaffiliated with any particular record company. She moved closer so her breasts brushed his arm. “I’d love to do a post on you—”
“Roger Gold from Sun Times,” said the man, also flipping a card Danny’s way. “We’d love to hear more about the Knights and your relationship with Heaven Sent…”
Two journalists turned into three, who were pelting Danny with questions so fast he was glad he’d practiced a lot of the obvious answers ahead of time. Then there were the girls. No sooner had the journalists let up than a group of four girls who might have been in their twenties surrounded him, begging for autographs and pictures. He gave both with a smile and even managed to pluck a roaming hand off his ass without making a big deal about it. As all this was going on, Danny saw Rabin and Noble suffering similar fates. Lance was nowhere in sight, but presumably he got his own dose of the same.
When a glance at his phone told him he had maybe twenty minutes before the second set, he begged away from the girls and maneuvered his way across the club to the booths in the back. Izzy’s bright blue shirt helped as a beacon. Cash sat against the wall, with Izzy blocking him from most of the crowd. A break in the wall of people allowed them to make eye contact, and Danny smiled. Waved.
Then a body hit him. Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around the other person to steady them both. Thin, strong arms snaked around his neck, and a palm flattened at the back of his skull to yank his face toward another. Lips locked hard with his, mashing into his teeth. He was so startled,
it took him a minute to push away. He was pretty sure a flash went off. The girl was a few inches shorter than him, with sleek black hair in a short, hip cut. Her dark eyes shone at him with a lot more than just excitement.
“Danny!”
He mustered a smile but knew it didn’t reach his eyes. “Hey.” He reached up to grab her wrists from around his neck.
“Danny, I love you.”
“Love you too, darlin’.” Gotta remember the fans. Gotta remember to schmooze. Even if they were just plain rude. “Just not that way.”
“No, no.” She resisted being untangled, but drink and whatever made her clumsy. He held her arms between them, blocking her. “Danny, take me home with you. I’ll do anything.”
“Sorry, sweetheart.”
“But—”
“No.” With a very slight push for emphasis, he let her go and backed away, unsure if she’d follow. But although she watched with longing, she didn’t jump at him.
He made a mental note to keep an eye out for her but then turned back toward Cash. Great. From the look on his face, if Cash hadn’t seen the whole thing, he’d seen enough. His delicious lips were drawn down at the corners, and his head was tilted down toward the half-finished drink set before him. Izzy was turned away from Danny, speaking urgently to him. Across the booth, Fiona was nodding emphatically.
Just great. Distracted by deciding what he was going to say, he was again startled when an arm wound around his waist, stopping him for another body. This one was larger and definitely male. Danny had to look up an inch or two into a face that would have captivated him if a better one weren’t a dozen feet away. Frosted blond hair fell artfully over a high forehead, shading but not hiding eyes that weren’t brown, though Danny couldn’t tell the true color in the club’s lights. Again, the eyes gleamed with intoxication that probably wasn’t all from watching the Indigo Knights perform.
A killer smile flashed at him. “Danny.”
Danny kept his head averted as he tried to subtly push away. The guy’s shirt was fully unbuttoned in the front, and Danny’s palm ended up spread over smooth, creamy flesh. It was then he recognized the guy. Didn’t know his name, but he’d seen the face and body plastered on enough billboards. A model, and an expensive one at that. “Hey.”
“What do I need to do to get you into bed?”
Forward. Why’d he pick on Danny? Noble would love this. “Sorry, not available.”
“You sure? I can be discreet.”
That made Danny laugh as he managed to put some distance between them. “Like now?”
Confusion and then genuine embarrassment flushed over that handsome face. But he was a trooper and didn’t let it bother him too much. “That’s just a little fun.” His smile came back. “We could have lots of fun.”
“I’m sure we could, but I’m taken.”
“Taken?” This was another voice. Female. Dismayed, Danny turned to see Jenny Keip come up to his side. “Is there a love in your life, Danny?” She had a scary, pit bullish look in her eyes. “Is it a man or a woman?”
Danny just managed not to glance at the table where Cash sat. He swallowed. “I…”
“Come on, Danny.” Her grin would have made any snake proud. “Your fans want to know.”
He pushed out a breath, again stopping himself from glancing over her shoulder. Besides, the model was still standing there. With effort, he summoned his sunniest smile. “Sorry, no deal. It’s a brand-new thing. I don’t want to jinx it.”
“But aren’t you going on a club tour? What does your sweetheart think about that?”
Danny put on a grin. “Don’t know yet, really. I’ll have to ask.”
“Is he here tonight?”
No pronouns. Everyone who cared to ask knew Rabin was bi, but Noble and Danny had agreed to play the rock stars and not commit to a sexual preference. It had worked for Heaven Sent. Lance just rebuffed everyone. “Not tonight,” Danny answered. He put a friendly hand on the reporter’s shoulder and smiled. “Will you excuse me? It’s time for me to get ready for the next set.”
Resolutely, he put his back to her—and to Cash beyond—and headed for the door backstage. But there was no refuge there. Lance and Gordon were holding court with a few more reporters. Danny waved but headed for the lockers for a clean shirt.
Before he changed, he pulled out his phone and texted Cash. Sorry. That was a reporter.
He put his phone on the shelf in his locker and pulled off his shirt. A loud click got his attention, and he turned to see a man smiling at him from behind a smartphone, having just taken a picture.
“Ladies and gentlemen”—that was Gordon speaking up—“I’m afraid I’ll have to move our interview to another room. The boys need to get ready for their next set.”
Danny’s phone chimed as Gordon herded people from the room.
Your show was great. I’m going home. Can’t handle the crowd.
Danny’s heart fell. Understand. Thx for staying. C u later. “Fuck.” Danny thunked his forehead slightly on the next locker’s door.
“Trouble in paradise?”
A glance showed him only Lance at his side. Gordon and the reporters were gone, leaving the room oddly quiet and tomblike.
“I didn’t get to talk to Cash.” Angrily, he pulled on a ripped white T-shirt. “And I didn’t get to explain about the girl who kissed me or the guy who manhandled me right before his eyes.”
“Ouch.” Lance chuckled. Looked like he’d been back here for a while. He was already changed and cleaned up. “You think he’ll take it badly?”
Sighing, Danny pulled his new pendant outside of the shirt. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure he will.”
Chapter Fifteen
The lights and the television were on when Danny got home at three a.m., but Cash was out cold on the couch. Danny stood over him for a moment. Studied him. He lay somewhat between his side and his back, one arm draped over his middle and the other hanging off the front of the couch. Wool socks, blue sweats, and a dark gray, long-sleeved thermal kept him warm in the slight chill of the apartment. His lips were parted, and his glasses had been knocked crooked off his nose. That soft, mussed hair hid most of his forehead and brows, but one eye was clear of both glasses and hair, and Danny stared at the shine of golden eyelashes for far too long.
“I love you,” he whispered, words kept low so even if Cash were faking sleep—which Danny didn’t think he was—he wouldn’t have heard. Because it was true. He did. If he didn’t, the model would have gotten him into bed. Or, if not the model, about a dozen other prospects who had made themselves available after the show. But beyond admiring the scenery, Danny hadn’t been interested. His sole purpose had been to get home to Cash. If that wasn’t love, he didn’t know what was.
He knelt in front of the couch and slid his hand over Cash’s chest. “Hey.” Cash startled, smacked his lips, then settled back into sleep. Heart blooming at how adorable this was, Danny shook Cash a little. “Hey, wake up.”
Another start, and this time those lovely eyes opened. Sort of. “Hey,” Cash greeted him in a gravelly voice. He blinked as he glanced around. “What time is it?”
“Late. After three.”
“Mmph.” He rubbed at his eyes underneath his glasses. “Must’ve gone okay after I left.”
Danny just watched him. “Yeah. It went okay.”
Somehow the rubbing had helped right the glasses, because they were in the correct spot on his nose when Cash brought his hands down. He frowned at Danny. “What?”
“What?”
“You’re staring at me.”
Danny allowed himself a fond grin. “I like staring at you.”
That got him a deep frown. “Quit it.”
“Just because you don’t like hearing it doesn’t make it any less true.”
Cash pushed up to sit, avoiding Danny’s gaze. “You had tons of people hanging all over you, most of ’em way better lookin’n me.”
Danny watched him stand. “Not to me.”
His back to Danny, Cash’s shoulders sagged. “You’ve got to stop saying junk like that.”
Danny stood, following as Cash headed for the hallway. “Why?”
“Because.”
Danny let that go, let Cash disappear into the bathroom. He stared at the door, wondering what to do. A relationship between them could work. Johnnie and Tyler did it. From what he’d heard, there were times where Luc and Reese didn’t see each other for weeks or months, and they made it work. But Cash had to want it too, and Danny just wasn’t sure he did.
Quietly, Danny removed his clothes and climbed into bed. He smelled of sweat, alcohol, smoke, and any number of perfumes, but he wasn’t in the mood to shower. He lay there with his bedroom door open, allowing in the only light from the hallway. He heard Cash emerge from the bathroom. Pause. Then pad to Danny’s door. His shirt was gone, but the sweats still hung low on his hips.
“You awake?”
“Yeah.”
Another pause while Cash’s hand played with the edge of the door frame. “Want company?”
A flush of emotion filled Danny’s chest. Tears of relief threatened to fill his eyes, but he held them back. He pulled the blanket aside, clearing space beside him. “Always.”
Cash turned out the light in the main room, then navigated back to Danny’s mattress with only dim moonlight to show the way. Danny turned on his side to cuddle him close, draping one leg over Cash’s hip.
Cash’s hand slid down his bare side to rest on his thigh. “You’re naked.”
“Mmm.” Danny nuzzled at the hair covering Cash’s forehead.
“You smell like the club.”
Danny kissed his brow. “That happens.”
The hand on his thigh slid forward. The backs of Cash’s fingers brushed the underside of Danny’s half-hard cock. “You sleepy?”
Danny laughed and pulled Cash closer. “Not that sleepy.”
The kiss they shared was deep and slow. Cash was a tad distracted, no doubt concentrating on the hand he closed around Danny’s cock. Danny lowered his leg enough to free Cash’s hip, allowing him to push the sweats down far enough to grab Cash’s cock in return. They stayed that way for long, glorious minutes, lazily jerking each other off, neither of them in too much of a hurry to move on to something else. Danny would not—could not—believe Cash wasn’t into this, into him. True, he was Cash’s first sexual experience, and that was always special, but even if it was hesitant and unsure, Cash was reaching for him and was a full participant.