Uniting the Souls (Souls of Chicago #6)(23)
Traffic was lighter than usual so it didn’t take me very long to get to the club. I’d met with Rylie, who was the drummer of the band and a close friend of mine, earlier in the week for a counseling session and he’d invited me to the party. He’d told me that his husband, Lachlan, had rented out the entire club for the evening and had security in place so that no paparazzi or overzealous fans could make it into the private party.
Still, I was surprised by the sheer number of screaming fans and photographers lined up outside the building, hoping to get a peek at their favorite rock band. I pulled up alongside a stern-looking guard who took my name and scanned the list of names he’d been given. Once he saw I was on the approved list, he let me inside the parking area where another guard waited to escort me from my car into the club. The whole thing seemed so bizarre to me, but I supposed it was the way of life for the rock stars inside.
The guard left me at the door and I took a moment to let my eyes wander around the club. There were easily over a hundred people there, all friends and family members of the band. I recognized a few faces from the grand opening of Agape House and some I had met when they came in to volunteer. I scanned the crowd for Matt and Isaac, but didn’t see either of them. I turned when someone shouted out my name and I grinned widely when I saw Micah Hamilton approaching me along with his husband, Landon Greene.
I’d been introduced to Micah when I was still living in L.A. and began counseling Lachlan after his brother, Spencer, was killed by insurgents who had taken both Spencer and Micah hostage. Micah had been the one to break the news to Lachlan and they became very close friends. Micah insisted on meeting the person who was counseling Lachlan through his grief and he and I had quickly become friends as well.
“Hey, man, it’s good to see you,” Micah said, grabbing me up into a fierce hug.
“You too,” I told him. I returned the hug, but was surprised by the gesture. In all the years I’d known him, Micah had always been a little standoffish and more than a little unapproachable. The new side to him could only be explained by the handsome man who stood beside him, with a friendly smile on his face. I’d only met Landon once before, but I’d immediately liked him and could see how just his nearness seemed to soothe the rough edges of his ex-military husband. It made me happy to see Micah finally looking so happy.
“Come on, we’ve got a table. Some of us have already had a few drinks so you might want to catch up,” Micah said, nodding his head in his husband’s direction with a grin.
“Hey! I saw that,” Landon huffed indignantly. “I haven’t had that many.”
“Oh really, so your grabbing me right in front of your sister was normal behavior for you?” Micah teased.
“I can’t help myself,” Landon insisted, wrapping his arms around Micah’s waist. “I’m drunk on you.” He waggled his brows at Micah who threw his head back with a laugh. It was undoubtedly one of the cheesiest lines I’d ever heard, but it obviously worked because Micah pulled his husband in for a quick yet heated kiss.
I followed them around the crowd of people on the dance floor, the bass playing loudly through the speakers and thumping out a steady rhythm in my chest. They led me to a large round table full of people and I smiled when I saw Isaac there. He smiled back shyly, his blue eyes sparkling in the flashing lights of the club. He looked completely edible in a black shirt that showed off his tight little body and I wished I could steal him away into some dark, secluded corner so I could peel it off him. Circling around the table, I sat in the empty chair beside Isaac and he turned towards me, his smile widening.
“Hi!” he said. I watched, mesmerized, as the tip of his tongue darted out to wet his plump, pink lips. There were a lot of people who worked hard to perfect the art of seduction, but with Isaac, he didn’t even have to try. Being sexy just came to him as naturally as breathing.
“Hey! How are you?” I reached over and took his hand in mine. Isaac’s eyes darted down to our hands and then around the table before landing back on me. “Is this okay?” I could sense his tension and didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.
“Yeah, of course. It just took me by surprise. I wasn’t sure if you’d want anyone to know we were seeing each other yet,” he told me, shrugging his shoulders. I narrowed my eyes at him and leaned in so I could whisper in his ear. If he’d thought I was going to treat him like a dirty secret, then I wanted to clear that up right away.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world to get to be with you and I want everyone in this club to know that you’re here with me,” I informed him, leaving no room for doubt. I watched the movement of his throat as he swallowed and all the blood rushed to my cock, filling it and making it uncomfortably hard inside my jeans. He turned his head to face me and he must have seen the need in my eyes because he visibly shuddered. The tension between us was palpable and I was seconds from taking his mouth in a passionate kiss.
Luckily, the music switched to a different song, reminding me that we weren’t alone and Isaac drew in a deep breath as I pulled away from him. I looked across the table, and immediately caught Lachlan’s eye. He looked down pointedly at Isaac’s and my clasped hands and then looked back at my face, raising his brows questioningly. I gave him a single, discreet nod and he grinned at me, obviously pleased. I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. Ever since Lachlan had met and fallen in love with Rylie, he’d been after me to go out and meet someone, so I knew the sudden turn of events had made him very happy.