The Dark Angels: Tied Together (10 page)

Robin didn’t argue he just took a slug of the orangey mixture and then another just to make him happy. Josh didn’t care if he was only placating him, just as long as Robin took care of himself. “You doing okay?”

Leaning into Josh’s body, Robin pushed the bass out of his way to give him a quick hug. “Yeah! Great show tonight!” Angel and the spotlight drenched them and caught them in the shine.

“Well, well well. Good evening, boys.” The audience hollered seeing them hugging. Usually they were careful not to be seen touching. Robin hated giving them anything that encouraged talk.

They broke apart awkwardly.

“How you feeling Robin?” A well-practiced group screamed out.

Angel looked out at the crowd and then back to Robin and Josh. “I bet if we ask Josh he would say Robin was feeling…

pretty damned good.”

The crowd screamed. Robin backed away further from Josh as if he were poison. Josh reached out.
No! Damn it!
He frowned at Angel who realized his blunder immediately.

“Lovelies. Lovelies! Come back from the disgusting side of your mind.”

“We love you Josh!” Another synchronized group yelled.

“Robin, we love you!” “Twincest!” One unruly but very loud fan screamed and the arena broke into a chant.

Angel frowned as he looked back at them. He knew he was responsible for the outbreak of insanity and it was his job to lead it. “Lovelies!” The crowd quieted. “These pretty boys aren’t twins. You all know that!”

“How is Robin feeling?” The original group bought the crowd back to the first question.

“Robin, how are you feeling?” Angel held out the mic.

Shaking his head slightly, Josh knew there was no way Robin was going near a microphone, unless it was pointed at his keyboards. He simply answered by holding a thumb up and then blew kisses of thanks. The kisses made several people attempt a stage rush. Josh moved in front of Robin, just in case, but their security detail conquered the invaders easily.

“So he is doing well. Give us a little something.” Angel asked and Robin played a bit of a beautiful piece they were working on.

It was soft and pretty. The lyrics Robin was struggling with were heart wrenching. Josh was still trying to convince Robin to end the song on a happier note.

“Very nice. And this is Josh. Josh, play us a little something.”

Josh decided to show off. He had Robin’s attention and he knew it turned him on. Making the most of the opportunity, he smiled over his shoulder at Robin and winked. Josh, for a moment, allowed himself to get lost in the mix of the music and the crowd. He even shook his ass a bit getting into the low vibrations the bass was singing.

When Josh was done the crowd went crazy with their appreciation but all he cared about was the appreciation Robin was giving him. After a minute to allow Josh to receive the love from the audience, Angel danced over to Dusty. “Hello, Dust!”

“Hey, Ang. Good show?”

“I don’t know. Is it a good show, lovelies?” Angel held his mic in the direction of the crowd, shaking his head to show his agreement of their assessment. “Yes, I agree. So yeah, Dust, good show.”

Dusty laughed and wailed on the drums giving his solo. Angel let him go on and on. Dusty could have played all night, but they had the rest of the show to finish. Angel looked over at Josh and Robin, who both gave him a nod, indicating that Robin was ready for the rest of the show. Angel let Dusty know he could draw it to a close. Dusty being Dusty took his sweet time in doing so. He ended by kissing his stick and throwing the love to the audience.

Again, mayhem broke out and Angel eventually was able to calm the demon audience members who were lunging for the stage.

The remaining songs were upbeat. The crowd still seemed to love
The Anthem of Heartbreak
but they also needed Darius’s song to Angel
With Wings
. Most of the crowd danced to Dare’s song, grabbing on to the person next to them. The arena seemed to fill with love and happiness.

Josh smiled over at Robin who was beaming back at him. The after show buzz had Josh on cloud nine. Apparently, Robin was right there with him.

It had been a long day. The band came back to the practice space after the East Coast shows. Angel called everyone in for a last minute practice of some changes he wanted to incorporate in the show. The change ups weren’t as easy to do as Angel originally thought, so they had been going all day. They were headed back out on the road tomorrow.

Josh collapsed in front of the bay windows. The room outside their soundproof practice space was setup to act as a living room.

It was a good place to relax and kick back. The area was done in primary colors, which might have been too much, but the modern art that graced the walls tied it all together perfectly. The art and color seemed to energize the space instead of overwhelming it.

After they had gotten their first chunk of change, Angel decided to buy this large warehouse and convert most of it into a practice space so they didn’t bug their neighbors at their own apartments. Down the road, they were hoping to turn it into their very own recording studio. Angel soundproofed the hell of out it and he had added a couple of bedrooms for anyone who needed to sleep. Though in the past few months, Angel was dragging Dare off to one during every break and he was pretty sure it wasn’t to sleep.

Josh stared out the window at the darkening sky. The stars were just starting to twinkle through the dusk. He sighed, tired down to his very soul.

The endless pretending that everything was just fine with him was beginning to wear on him. No one would understand. What could possibly be wrong? Robin was fine. He was a member of a rock sensation. He was raking in the dough. Guys wanted to be him. Girls were throwing themselves at him. What could possibly be wrong?

When he heard Angel and Dare sit on the bright blue couch, Josh knew he should have let it be known he was in the big red beanbag chair that he’d swiveled to face the bay windows. But he didn’t have the energy. Josh just wanted to hide from life for a little while.

They had just finished practicing for the day and he wanted to be alone. If he let them know he was there, they would talk to him and he did not feel like talking. The red chair was the perfect hiding spot. From anywhere in the room it was not obvious that someone was swallowed up in the oversized puffy chair until you were right on top of it. He wasn’t up for company so he continued to silently stare out the window.

He sighed quietly; maybe if he remained silent the two that entered the room would just go away.

Angel had given Dare a drink from the jumbo refrigerator Megan had the cleaning staff keep stocked for relaxing after practices.

Josh was trying not to pay attention, but Angel was talking about his birthday. He couldn’t help but overhear.

“It’s when I figured out what I was really missing in my life.”

Angel spoke softly as he talked about last year this time. This year, Angel made Dare take him to the Yaoi-Con for his birthday.

Josh hadn’t gotten all the details but it sounded interesting to say the least.

Through the reflection in the bay window, Josh’s angle let him see Angel and Dare clearly. Angel’s hand grazed Dare’s cheeks as he looked at him with complete and total adoration.

Josh wondered how much of Angel’s last birthday celebration Dare knew about. It was right before Darius had joined the band, so Angel was still single and quite available. He and Robin had ‘allowed’ Angel to talk them into a little sexual recreation under the guise of celebrating Angel’s birthday.

Josh knew his own participation had nothing to do with the celebration of Angel’s birthday. He did it to have time with Robin. When Angel jokingly suggested it he’d jumped on board and helped to convince Robin.

“What do you mean?” Dare asked in his semi-sleepy comfortable state curled into Angel’s lap as he sipped his cool drink. He had cuddled up with Angel on the leather couch for a moment to relax. Dusty and Robin could be heard milling around in the practice area though the open door, probably still toying with their instruments.

Angel cleared his throat and just started confessing. “This was before I met you. Actually, only a few weeks before I met you...”

Angel stopped again, he was clearly not comfortable. “Last year, the boys and I...” Angel let the sentence dangle but the implication was clear. “You know, for my birthday,” he finished, apparently wanting to be sure Dare was crystal clear on what occurred.

Shit. Dare really didn’t know and Angel was telling him.
Josh remained silent waiting to see how far Angel would go with the truth. He hoped like hell Dare didn’t get mad at him and Robin.

Dare sat straight up and almost yelled, “What?”

“Shhh, baby. Not public knowledge.”

Dare whispered angrily.”Right! Like you didn’t tell Dusty?”

He made it sound like that was quite an unbelievable possibility.

Angel told Dusty everything.

Rolling his eyes, Angel said, “Well, yeah. I mean, of course I did.” As if that weren’t even a question.

“Then it obviously is public knowledge.” Darius sounded like he was starting to get mad.

“Okay. You are right. I should have told you.” Ignoring the snort of irritation that came out of the little blond that had been curled on his lap, he clarified. “We just don’t talk about it.”

“Everyone knew but me.” Dare sounded a bit put out and more than a little pissed. To Josh, it seemed like Dare’s issue wasn’t jealousy, but that he was out of the loop.

“I didn’t know how to tell you. I am sorry. I wasn’t keeping it from you on purpose.” Angel sounded worried. Josh smiled a little, seeing how the lead singer was firmly twined around Dare’s finger. Dare’s face softened almost immediately as he melted into his lover. Angel continued to pet his Dare’s face as he continued.

“My original point was that’s when I realized what was missing in my life.”

“What do you mean?” Dare asked as he put his soda on the table to join Angel’s beverage.

Josh heard Robin leave the practice room to use the restroom, but then he returned to the practice room. Dusty was still engrossed in a heated debate with one of the roadies about proper storage of his drumsticks. Josh rolled his eyes as he saw Dusty come close to losing it because his protocol had been breached.

After Dusty’s silly outburst, Angel finally answered Darius.

“’Cause it was supposed to be a threesome for my birthday but it turned into a twosome almost immediately.”

Josh saw Dare trying to shut his open mouth, and knew damned well Dare couldn’t help but picture the scene of the threesome. “Which one did you pair up with?” Josh heard the jealousy even though it happened before he was even in the band.

Angel smirked a bit, obviously pleased with Dare’s show of possession. His smirk turned into a grin as he shook his dark head. “I wasn’t part of the pair.”

“What?” A quick intake of shocked breath almost choked Dare. “The two…of them…
together
? I mean I know there’s something but…”

Shit! Why does everyone make it sound like that? Taking it down to its
base form. Draining all the love and emotion out of it, seeing it only in a
disgustingly arousing way. Shit! I hope Robby’s not overhearing this!

“And it wasn’t their first time together.”

“Oh, that’s hot!” Darius groaned.

“Shhhh! What are you a damned fan girl?” Angel laughed as he tackled him so he could quiet him down. Josh saw him stroke down Dare’s face to lessen his reprimand. He kissed him on the mouth before he pulled the smaller man back into his lap sitting upright. “I think Yaoi-Con bent you even further from straight than I did.”

Josh knew swirling images of a hot passionate threesome were taking place in Dare’s head. The guitar player whispered fiercely, “Robin and Josh! Together.” Darius tried to justify his lust to Angel, “No, it’s just...” The poor guy couldn’t stop the groan that slipped past his lips. “I think you’re right. Yaoi-Con did twist me because the images I’m getting are like some of those DVDs they showed in the side rooms.” He licked his lips and moaned a little. “So hot.”

Angel chuckled. “I think I’ve created an addict.”

“No.” Dare seemed to think about it, then he shrugged and admitted it. “Yeah, okay you did. Look I have to say even though I am straight… some of those pictures…”

“Still sticking to the straight thing, huh?” Angel nuzzled his neck before claiming his mouth for an open mouthed kiss.

Trying not to grin at how ridiculous he sounded, “Well, I am.”

Dare frowned as he leaned into Angel for another taste of his mouth. “Except for you.”

Angel laughed. “I don’t know.” Josh saw Angel’s hand drop to Dare’s cock and give it a squeeze. “Pretty hard for a
straight
boy.”

“Mmmm, okay. Bisexual?” Dare pushed up into his lover’s very friendly hand as he closed his eyes.

“Sure,” Angel teased, biting Darius’s neck as he rubbed the front of his pants firmly. “But now you are fantasizing about Josh and Robin together. Aren’t you?” Angel’s sexy voice even affected Josh a little while it was clearly driving Dare crazy.

“No,” Darius said half embarrassed and very turned on. “I never think of our
twins
that way.” He used air quotes like the fans in the know did.

Angel chuckled. “Oh, you think of
other
sets of twins that way? You know real ones?”

“Oh shut up,” Dare playfully growled. Shaking his head, he continued, almost to himself. “I mean, I guess they are gorgeous.

Robin is just adorable, but thinking of them with you...” Dare’s voice trailed off onto what was obliviously a hot fantasy if the blush that stained his cheeks was telling tales on him.

“But you aren’t gay, hmmm?” Angel teased. He readjusted their position. Darius reached out to twirl a lock of the other man’s dark hair that was just over Angel’s ear. “But you think the boys are gorgeous, did you say?”

Darius pouted. “Oh, when you say it like that!” He playfully whacked Angel in the arm. He moaned and thrust his dick up for more direct attention. “And wait, didn’t I just agree to being bisexual?”