Indigo Knights: The Boxed Set

by Jet Mykles

  Behind him, Izzy laughed. “All right.”

  Rabin turned and walked backward toward the car. “All the doors are locked?”

  “Locked.” Both shoes in one hand, Izzy raised the other to rattle his keys. “Keys in hand.”

  Rabin nodded, his own spare keys in his pocket with his wallet. “Let’s go, then. I’ll show you how a rock star parties.”

  “Oh.” Izzy followed after shutting and locking the front door. “I can hardly wait.”

  * * * *

  Rabin had never had a particular problem picking up girls. He was reasonably good-looking, fairly charming, and the English accent usually cinched the deal—the main reason he’d never tried to lose it. He wasn’t terribly good at long-term relationships, but he excelled at short-term and usually managed to stay friends with a good number of his one-night stands. Good enough that some of them became regular one-night flings. Unfortunately, all of them were back in Virginia or New York, so they couldn’t help him out tonight.

  The club was hopping. After he purchased drinks for himself and Izzy, Rabin gravitated toward the band. They weren’t bad, although their arrangements were a little slow for his tastes. He lost Izzy after a song, then spied him a little later on the dance floor, bouncing with the crowd in front of the stage. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Izzy was all of eighteen, maybe twenty, especially with his long hair tumbling about his shoulders. Strangely, it turned out that Izzy was a chick magnet. Rabin gradually lost interest in the band in favor of watching Izzy draw them in, bumping into them, smiling, then dancing side by side. By the time the band took a break and a DJ took over, Izzy had at least five girls giggling and fluttering around him. The gaggle of them made their way to one of the small booths that lined the wall beside the dance floor.

  “Time to find someone,” Rabin told himself, abandoning his long-finished drink on a side table and wading into the crowd.

  But he wasn’t up for it. The urge for sex wasn’t gnawing at him, and without that, he wasn’t much in the mood. He made eye contact and smiled at a number of lovely girls but never found himself gearing up to talk to any.

  “Well, bugger me.” His lack of interest stranded him near one end of the bar, staring at the empty stage. His mind wandered as he listened to the music that surrounded him, mentally rearranging the chords how he might have worked them.

  A hand closed around his upper arm, startling him. He turned toward it and down and felt his heartbeat kick up to see Izzy’s dark gaze through the lacy filter of shiny black fringe. The lighting wasn’t great in Rabin’s corner, but he could see the telltale flush of exertion over Izzy’s cheeks and neck and a dark patch at the collar of his T-shirt indicating he’d worked up a sweat.

  Izzy tugged, and Rabin obediently bent his ear nearer so Izzy could be heard over the music. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I see that. Why?”

  Rabin shrugged. Why indeed? He hadn’t been able to answer that one himself. Judging by the way he was hungrily staring at Izzy, his priorities of the night seemed to be off. “I think I’m going to take off.”

  Izzy’s jaw dropped, and Rabin knew he had to clear his head when he caught himself trying to catch a glimpse of Izzy’s tongue. Shadows only let him see the darkness of Izzy’s mouth surrounded by soft pink lips. Okay, the pink he recalled—vividly—from memory, since the lighting currently made them dark gray.

  “Really?” Izzy was evidently unaware of Rabin’s scrutiny—thank Christ. He cast a glance over his shoulder. “Okay. Let me say good-bye, and I’ll come with.”

  “No no. You’re having fun. You should stay.”

  “What, the girls? No. It’s fine. They’re on the prowl anyway.” He hesitated, giving Rabin a look. “You want me to introduce you? They’d love you.”

  Although the girls Izzy had been with were all perfectly lovely, Rabin recognized that he’d now completely lost interest in hooking up. Best to leave. “Nah.”

  “You sure? I’m positive any one of them would be a sure thing for you. They’re really nice.”

  “Nah. Thanks, though.” He was not going to let a gay friend set him up with a girl. That was just wrong.

  “Okay, give me a few.”

  Rabin held up his valet ticket. “I’m gonna get the car. Meet me outside if you really want to go home.”

  Izzy nodded, then was gone. Only when he stepped away did Rabin realize Izzy had held his arm the entire time. He missed the warmth. “You’ve lost it, old man,” he told himself, wading through the crowd to the main entrance.

  The night air felt good after the cloying heat from inside. Rabin was surprised when a glance at his cell phone told him it was only midnight, much earlier than he’d thought. The valet was just stopping his truck at the curb when Izzy appeared with a girl in tow. She was slightly taller than him—probably the heels—with curly brunette hair. From a distance, they’d look like brother and sister. Close up, not so much. She was quite a bit darker of skin and not as young-looking. But she did have big brown eyes, now slightly glazed from alcohol. By that and the way she wove as she walked, he knew she was drunk.

  Izzy gave him a sheepish grin. “You mind if we drive Tina home? She says it’s not far.”

  The girl gave Rabin a weak, watery smile. Then she squinted, and her smile grew as she really saw him. “Hi.”

  Rabin shrugged. “Sure. Hop in.”

  It took Izzy’s help to boost the girl up into the passenger seat. Luckily, they were both small enough to fit in the one seat, although Izzy had to hug her close to keep her from pitching forward. Tina was aware enough to give Rabin good directions, though, and she was true to her word about it not being far. Ten minutes later, she had Rabin stop in front of a brick apartment building.

  “You guys wanna come up?” she asked, doing her best to focus on Rabin’s face. She’d tried to talk more during the ride, but giving directions had maxed out her ability to concentrate.

  He smiled and reached up to brush the back of one finger down her cheek. “No, thanks, love. Will you get upstairs okay?”

  She just stared hungrily at him.

  “I should probably walk her up,” Izzy suggested from behind her.

  “Good idea. I might have to drive around the block”—there was nowhere to park on the street—“but I’ll meet you back here.”

  He did indeed have to drive around the block once, but Izzy was waiting for him on the curb when he reached the building again.

  “I’m sorry about that.” Izzy climbed into the passenger seat. “I couldn’t let her stay there, and her friends weren’t going to help her out anytime soon.”

  “No problem. Glad we could help.”

  Chuckling, Izzy held up a small slip of paper. “She wanted me to tell you that you’re ‘fucking fine’ and are welcome to call her anytime.”

  Surprised, Rabin glanced over to watch Izzy tuck the paper into one of the cup holders. “You’re joking.”

  “Nope. In fact, I have the number of another one of her friends on my phone, and I was told to let you know she’s available. She’s cute too. If you like blondes.”

  That made Rabin laugh. “I never even met her.”

  “Didn’t matter. I pointed you out. They were all gaga over you. I was coming to get you for them when you said you wanted to leave.” Big eyes met his over the truck’s console. “Sorry. Should I have mentioned that back at the club?”

  He didn’t really seem sorry, but Rabin let that pass. “No. I wasn’t into it.”

  “That’s what I thought. What happened? I thought you were all set to get laid tonight?”

  “I was. Just…” He shrugged. Maybe it was because Zane wasn’t around. Usually the two of them went out together, even if they rarely came home together. “But what about you? No interesting lads?”

  Izzy sighed happily, settling down in his seat. “I do love when you turn up the accent. Is it conscious or just this time of the night?”

  “You c
an’t have missed that he has a thing for you,” Brent had said.

  “Both.” Rabin kept his eyes on the road, wondering if he was giving off the wrong signals.

  “I’ll bet it works like a charm on girls.”

  I bet it’d work on you. That was if Rabin was interested. He cleared his throat. “But what about you and the lads?”

  Izzy gave a wistful sigh. “Didn’t meet any tonight.”

  “Could be that you were surrounded by girls.”

  “Could be. But I wasn’t looking for anyone.” There was a hollow note to his words.

  Just like that, the mood in the truck changed. “Have you dated since you got to Chicago?”

  “Me? No.”

  “Why not? School doesn’t keep you that busy.” Izzy’s classes were only a few hours during the day, and he spent a lot of time at the school with his new friends. He also did some work around the house, mostly in the kitchen, despite Brent and Hell’s protests. But they let him do it so he felt he was paying them back for staying with them. In the time Rabin had been at the house, he could only remember Izzy going out at night with his friends twice, and he hadn’t stayed out that late.

  “That’s not it.” His voice trailed off, and Rabin glanced over to see him turned toward his window. “Did Brent tell you why I’m here? Why I left home?”

  Oh. “No. Just that you had some trouble, and your mom thought spending some time with Brent and Hell would be good for you.”

  “I guess that’s one way of putting it.” He sighed, adjusting in his seat to lean a shoulder against the door. “It’s so cliché. I slept with one of my teachers.”

  “Wow.”

  “That’s not all. He was also married, so he was very much in the closet. And he’s really well known in my town.”

  “I take it it was a small college?”

  “Tiny community college. Tiny little town. Practically everyone knows everyone.” Izzy folded his arms over his chest, drawing into himself. “We dated for three years. But we finally got caught by another teacher.”

  “Ouch.” Rabin did some mental calculations. If Izzy was twenty-two, then the affair started when he was nineteen?

  “Yeah. The other teacher told, and it was all over the school in no time flat. I got suspended; he got fired. Last I heard, his wife had left him and took the kids.” He sighed. The words were said by rote, like they were engraved in his brain. “My mom tried to be supportive of me, but my dad, not so much. He works for the school board and has a lot of ties to the college.”

  Rabin raised his brows and nodded. “I can see how that would be awkward. He didn’t know you were gay?”

  “I wasn’t out. Some of my friends knew, but…” He shrugged.

  Rabin wondered how much Izzy had changed that no one had known he was gay. Maybe they’d suspected but never talked to Izzy about it. “Damn. That’s harsh.”

  Izzy propped an elbow on the door, watching the sights whiz by. “Awful part is that if it hadn’t been for all that, he’d have been fine with me being gay. He told me so.” Izzy shook his head. “I didn’t expect that.”

  Rabin’s heart bled a little. He could only imagine what it was like to land that big of an announcement on your friends and family.

  “Anyway, Mom got in touch with Brent, and here I am. But Greggory…” He shrugged again. “I haven’t been much interested in anyone else.”

  “Understandable.” What else could he say? At a guess, the bright T-shirts with gay slogans were part of Izzy’s reaction to a bad experience. Rabin couldn’t say he blamed him.

  “What about you?” Rabin could hear in Izzy’s voice that he was pulling himself from melancholy. “Any heartache in your past?”

  “Not really. I’ve never had a lasting relationship.”

  “Never? Is it because of your music?”

  “Mostly, yeah. Zane and I have been pushing the Knights since we were in college. That’s over six years now.”

  Izzy twisted to watch Rabin’s profile, leaning his head sideways against the headrest. “So the Knights is your first love?”

  His small, romantic sigh made Rabin smile. “Music, yeah. Through the Knights.”

  “You must be good if Brent’s impressed. Everyone tells me he’s a genius.”

  Rabin chuckled. “He is.”

  “Yeah, I believe it. I don’t know much about music; I’m sure you can tell.” A giggle, almost back to his normal level. “I just know what kind of songs that I like. I can’t even stick to one genre.”

  “That’s not so bad. I’m the same way. I just like music.”

  “Yeah?” Izzy pulled one knee up and hugged it, continuing to face Rabin. “That’s what I think. Music is just music, some good, some bad, but just because they’re the same kind doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  * * * *

  They had a good talk about music for most of the ride home. Rabin even amused Izzy by admitting he had a few polka records loaded on his laptop. Izzy hooted with glee, but he made Rabin promise to let him listen sometime soon. They’d fallen silent by the time they reached the house. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but Rabin could practically hear the buzz of Izzy’s thoughts. He couldn’t tell what they were, though, and he didn’t think it was his business.

  He followed Izzy up the porch and into the darkened house but felt oddly reluctant to head to his room. He’d been having a good time with Izzy.

  “Want a snack?” Izzy stood, just a silhouette in the entrance to the kitchen, backlit by the moonlight from the bay window.

  Given an excuse, Rabin decided it was just that. “Nah. I think I’m just going to head on up to bed.” Bed. The word had a charge to it that made him look away. Even if he was feeling attraction—and that’s probably what it was, strangely enough—he wasn’t going to do anything about it. It was a weird night. One that should end before anything happened. “’Night.”

  “’Night.”

  Izzy didn’t move as Rabin headed up the stairs. It was a relief to walk into the darkness of the hallway. Rabin walked into his room, closed the door, and didn’t bother with a light. There was enough moonlight coming through the open window to see just fine. Besides, the chancy dark went with the feeling that he was missing something. It wasn’t even sex. It was… He shook his head, unable to come up with anything. Maybe he should head down to Brent’s studio and play for a while. Brent had told him he was welcome, and the guitar often helped him to make sense of his thoughts—or at least calm them. Yeah, do that.

  But first, he needed to change. The leather pants and boots were stylish but not all that comfortable. His shirt was off, and he was sitting on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes and socks when the knock sounded at the door. He froze.

  “Rabin?”

  Don’t answer. Stupid. Izzy knew he was there. “Yeah?”

  Without waiting permission, Izzy opened the door, a ghostly blue figure draped in the shadows that were his loose hair and dark jeans. His shoes were gone. He stared at Rabin, expression blank, unreadable.

  “What’s up?”

  Izzy approached, and Rabin had to force himself to remain seated, torn between equally strong desires to stand up and flee, or stand up and reach for the smaller man.

  Izzy stopped at his knees and tried a smile. Long, thick fringe mostly hid his eyes. “Thank you for tonight.”

  Rabin summoned a smile back for him. Nothing out of the ordinary here, nope. “You’re welcome.”

  Izzy searched his face—for what, Rabin tried not to know. “Rabin, I…”

  Rabin frowned, forcing his gaze from Izzy’s. “Look, Iz, we should call it a night.” He’d stay in his room; he’d go to sleep and not go downstairs. He’d do that as soon as Izzy left.

  “You’re right.” A palm cupped Rabin’s jaw. “You’re right.”

  Startled by the touch, Rabin tilted his face back up. Izzy was right there, swooping down like a falcon catching a meal. Lips. Soft lips. Eager lips. Pressed against his own. At first, Rabin’s ey
es stayed open in shock, but the blurred sight of Izzy’s long eyelashes caressing the soft ridges of his cheeks was too much to focus on when sensation ruled. He opened instinctively, his tongue seeking more. With a soft, happy moan, Izzy invited him in, tongue caressing tongue to coax Rabin to explore. So sweet. Rabin forgot he was kissing a guy and just concentrated on the mouth that easily melded with his. When Izzy straddled his lap, it was only natural to take hold of slim hips to pull that warm, solid body close. He fit so well, his slight weight perfect. Rabin slid one hand around back, teasing up the shirt hem to caress soft skin, encouraging gorgeous little moans he could barely hear. Fingers tightened in his hair, that little bit of pain egging him on to tilt his head and open wider. His blood heated with a fine tremor of pleasure.

  Slowly, as the kiss calmed, proper brainwave function reasserted itself. Rabin opened his eyes and tilted his head back, but not far enough to lose the little nips and licks Izzy gave his lips. Rabin’s cock was rock hard and uncomfortable in his leather pants, and Izzy’s body pressed warm and willing against him didn’t help matters any. “Wait.”

  Izzy didn’t stop, his fingers warm against either side of Rabin’s neck. His hips rocked forward.

  Rabin dug his fingers into Izzy’s waist and turned his head. “Wait.”

  “No no no.” Izzy’s breath caressed his lips, fingers tight on his skull behind his ears. “Don’t think. Please…just…” They were kissing again. God, it was fantastic. How could Izzy taste so good?

  Wait. “Izzy, no. This is—”

  “This is fine.” Tender kisses along his jaw. “It’s okay.”

  “No. I’m not—”

  “It’s fine. I promise. Just this—no promises, no expectations, I swear.” Finally dark eyes focused on his from inches away, pleading. Izzy was trembling—not a lot, but when he was pressed this close, Rabin could feel it. “I need to be close to…someone tonight. And I think you do too.”

  Rabin smoothed his hands over Izzy’s back, trying to still the shaking. “But I’m not—”

  “Gay. I know. It’s okay.” Another kiss, a tongue tip dragging his lip. “But this is nice, isn’t it?” Teeth bit gently into his bottom lip.