Page 43 of Conquest

Jesse smiled, his eyes glazed over in a dreamy look. “All the way. I know you told me how good it can be, but I don’t think even you’ve experienced anything like what he’s capable of. He’s got skills you wouldn’t believe!”

Brandon stared at him in stunned silence for a moment. “You’re being careful, right? You’re using protection?”

Jesse heard the water turn off in the bathroom and glanced toward it. He looked back to Brandon, his smile dimmed to tentative. “Here’s the thing, I know I’m clean, and he said he was, so—”

“Idiot! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I trust him.”

“You trust him?” Brandon roared in disbelief. “How stupid can you be? If he had any respect for you, he would’ve wrapped it!”

“Can you tone it down, mouth?” Jesse said in a low voice. “He can probably hear you.”

“Good! Let Johnny No Condom hear me!” Brandon snatched Jesse by his upper arm and dragged him toward his bedroom. “Get your ass dressed and kiss lover boy goodbye. I’m taking you to get checked out.”

Jesse staggered behind Brandon, trying to keep his towel in place and free himself from Brandon’s viselike grip. “You’re not taking me anywhere, psycho! Let go!”

“This is the last time we do this at your place. Your hot water sucks,” Evan said, walking out of the bathroom wearing only his jeans and a towel over his head as he dried his hair. He brought the towel down, draping it over his shoulders, and looked at Brandon.

Brandon gasped and released his hold on Jesse. “You’re…you’re really him! I don’t believe it! You’re really Evan Arden!”

“Shit,” Jesse muttered, flopping down on the arm of the couch.

Evan startled back a step, peering at Brandon with a wary expression as he spoke to Jesse. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, but remember how I told you that he’s a freaky big fan of yours?”

Brandon raced toward Evan. Evan held out one hand to slow him down. Brandon snatched it with both of his. “I can’t believe this! I love your music! I actually saw you in concert for the Allegro Tour!”

Jesse scowled at Brandon. “Settle down, jerk-ass. You’re having a conniption and you’re creepin’ me out, so I can’t imagine what you’re doing to him.”

Evan met Brandon’s eyes, a smirk playing across his lips. “It’s Brandon, right? Jess has talked so much about you, I’ve been really looking forward to meeting you. And please, just call me Evan, or Johnny No Condom. Whichever you’re most comfortable with.”

“Yeah, about that—”

Evan held up his hand to silence him. “It’s alright. Jess told me how protective you are of him, and I think that’s awesome, so you don’t have to apologize.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Brandon said, his gaze unflinching from Evan. “You should’ve wrapped it, especially considering what you do for a living, I’m sure you’ve been with a few more people than the average guy.”

Jesse sprang to his feet toward Brandon. “What the hell’s the matter with you, asshole!”

“No, he’s right,” Evan said, looking at Jesse before turning back to Brandon. “But it wasn’t an issue of not respecting him. It was an issue of getting carried away in the moment. It happens to everybody, and I’m sure it’s happened to you. Regardless, I can assure you that Jess’s wellbeing is in better care with me than anyone else. So let’s move on, shall we?”

Jesse looked from Evan to Brandon. By Brandon’s expression, he could tell Evan’s less than subtle way of telling him to back off had slapped the last bit of star-struck daze from him. He knew this was difficult for his brother. Brandon had always been the number one person in his life, and he was the last person he wanted to have tension with Evan. It was bad enough Kenny was distant because of their relationship, he couldn’t let that happen with his brother. He smacked Brandon on the arm to get his attention and break the tense moment. “I guess now you know to believe me when I tell you who I’m hangin’ with.”

Brandon slowly turned his sharpened gaze from Evan to Jesse. “You can’t blame me for not believing you. Who would’ve thought that someone like him would put up with you for long enough to get your clothes off?”

“Well, I do have incredible patience,” Evan said. “So you saw me for the Allegro Tour. I hope I put on a good show for you.”

“It was an amazing performance. You were on stage for two and a half hours, then came back for two encores.”

“It was all he could talk about for days,” Jesse said.

Evan turned to Jesse. “Why didn’t you go?”

Brandon laughed. “Our parents wouldn’t let him. They said he was too young. And when you came around again for the One More Time Tour, the tickets sold out so fast we couldn’t get any and the scalped prices were ridiculous. It’s pretty hilarious when you think about it. When you were on your third concert tour, he was just starting high school.”

Evan’s smile shared none of Brandon’s humor. “Yeah, that’s pretty funny.” At the sound of Jesse sniggering, he glanced at him.