Page 17 of Conquest

Jesse eased his hand back and lowered his eyes. Now that was stupid. Just because he’d give his sunburst Strat to have Evan touch him, it didn’t mean Evan felt the same way. Sure, when they were loading the equipment he thought he caught some flirtatious comments or looks from Evan, but he couldn’t be sure if it was real, or if his wishful mind made him see hints that weren’t there.

From what he knew of Evan’s personal life, which Evan had guarded fiercely from the media, a different woman decorated his arm for every award show. Models, actresses, female musicians, Evan was used to being in the company of the most gorgeous women in the world. The last thing he’d want would be a male wannabe superstar drooling all over him. He needed to make himself realize that and calm down.

Jesse lifted his eyes to Evan’s. His breath stopped at the way Evan looked at him. People often admired him with the desire to have him, but Evan’s gaze held a heated carnality like he’d never seen in anyone before. His eyes, so intense, spoke a silent secret that made Jesse’s heart drum a beat of attraction in harmony to the pulsing rhythm in his groin. A light breeze lifted, bringing the scent of Evan’s cologne to him.

Without thinking, he blurted out, “What kind of cologne do you wear?”

Evan shifted closer to him. He stretched his right arm out, bracing it on the tailgate near Jesse’s head. “Platinum Egoist by Chanel. Do you like it?”

Evan’s nearness enveloped Jesse in his scent. His heartbeat reached a more rapid pace, fueling the supply of blood rushing to his cock. All night he had fought against the organ, commanding it to stay calm every time Evan neared, only to have it defy him. Now he knew he had fully lost the battle.

“Yeah,” Jesse said, his voice soft. He glanced to his left at Evan’s hand resting so close to him. His eyes fell on the eagle ring, and he found himself captivated by the blood-red ruby. “That ring, it’s really cool.”

“It’s dear to me. It belonged to my father.”

Evan pulled his hand away from the truck and held it toward Jesse. Realizing Evan was offering to let him have a better look at the ring, Jesse gently placed his hand under Evan’s so their palms rested over each other and lifted Evan’s hand closer to his eyes.

Evan’s gaze moved over Jesse’s face. “So now that your equipment is loaded, where would you like to go?”

Jesse looked up from the ring. “Wherever you want. If you’re hungry, I know a couple all night places, but it’s greasy food, so you might not like it. Or we could go to a club, or—”

“How about my place?”

Jesse felt an inward start at the suggestion. “Your place?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of a drive, but it’s not too bad.”

His eyes locked on Evan’s, Jesse nodded. “Okay.”

The sound of a cell phone chiming interrupted them. Jesse allowed a burst of relief to pass through him that it wasn’t his since he had Evan’s ballad, “One More Time,” set as his ring tone. He imagined if Evan heard it, his opinion could change of him not being a rabid fanboy.

Evan sighed and reached in the left front pocket of his jeans. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Still softly cupping Evan’s right hand, Jesse slowly dropped his hand away. Evan’s hand followed, his fingertips brushed across Jesse’s palm before drawing all the way back and he turned his attention to his phone.

Jesse paced away to give Evan privacy and himself a moment to gather his emotions. Being wishful had nothing to do with it. Evan wanted him. The looks, the comments, the smiles, that touch, his senses weren’t so desire laden he couldn’t see the obvious. A net of nervousness tightened around his heart. He was going to Evan’s home. He would be completely, totally, absolutely, alone with him. Elation filled his chest to the point where it almost broke through his nervousness. Only his worry held it in place that with someone like Evan, older, undoubtedly more experienced, who had to have countless lovers, probably male and female, where would he fit in when morning came? For all he knew, Evan could be on the phone at that very moment with one of his lovers.

From the moment he met Evan’s eyes, something inside of him had started to awaken, and with each moment he shared with Evan, that roused part of himself became more alert and whispered to his heart, mind, and body, one night wouldn’t be enough. Neither would two, or a week, or a month. Jesse looked over his shoulder at Evan, still on his phone. His mind forced a thought how he should just be grateful for the chance to be with Evan and not be greedy about wanting it all. But the newly stirred part of himself countered, when had he ever settled for anything less than it all?

Evan snapped his cell phone closed. Greg. He claimed to be calling because he forgot to ask him to come over to his house for dinner the following week, but he knew damn well what Greg’s real reason for calling was he wanted to see if he could hear Jesse’s voice in the background. Part of him understood Greg’s concern. Most of him wished he’d mind his own business.

He turned to look for Jesse and saw him leaning back on the driver’s side door of his truck. The streetlight shone over Jesse and gave the illusion of him being surrounded by an aura of gentle golden light. During his music career and time on the road, more beautiful men than he could remember had crossed his path, many making their way into his bed, yet he could honestly say he had never seen anyone who compared to Jesse.

Truthfully, he was moving faster than he meant to. He only intended to bring Greg to see Jesse, knowing Greg would want him for the label. Then he planned on stopping by occasionally when Jesse was in the studio to build some comfort between them and see what happened from there. But being close to Jesse made him drop all ideas of waiting to be with him.

He saw the clear signals of attraction Jesse put out, but he also felt an underlying nervousness coming from Jesse that made him tread cautiously. He knew all too well the influence his celebrity had on other people, and it made him wonder, was Jesse being compliant because he truly wanted to go home with him, or was Jesse hoping to win his way into the music business through his bed? There was another thought that Jesse could be nervous because he might not be very experienced, but he disregarded it. With as gorgeous as he was, Jesse must have a different guy for every day of the month. A jolt of possessiveness shocked Evan’s chest, and he moved toward him.

“Ready?” he asked.

Jesse smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”

Evan pointed up the street. “My car’s parked that way in a garage. You want to give me a lift to it?”

“Sure.”

Jesse jumped in his truck and reached to unlock the passenger door for Evan. After Evan got in, he put the key in the ignition and turned it. The truck let out a discontented rev. Jesse stared down at the key. This couldn’t be happening. He had the beautiful rock star Evan Arden in his truck, was getting ready to go to his home, and the stupid thing had decided this was the perfect time to break down again. He turned the key a second time. Same response.

He glanced at Evan, giving him a tentative smile. “It does this sometimes.”