He drank some more beer and relaxed, passing time on brief conversations with his friends. The loud shrieks coming from the big party room marked the beginning of the sex show, and so many people gravitated toward the door to join the paying guests that Knight soon became the sole occupant of a couch that five minutes ago had accommodated five. The alcohol put his brain into a pleasant spin, and he sank deeper into the pillows, letting his eyes linger on Elliot’s elongated back.
And it looked like he wasn’t the only one staring. Ronnie, one of the hangarounds Knight knew intimately, approached Elliot from behind and put a hand on the small of his back. Elliot froze at first but looked back and after a few exchanged words, accepted a bottle of beer.
Knight tapped his fingers against the armrest, his head cooking when Elliot’s gaze briefly swept over him. The bastard was trying to make Knight jealous. As if there was any reason Knight would ever be jealous of anyone. He had no more rights to another person’s body than they had to his. That was the rule he lived by, one that had given him a variety of experiences and kept his mind clear of the mess of jealousy in monogamous relationships that society favored.
But he knew the rules of this game, and if Elliot chose to try his chances with Knight, Knight would pick up the glove.
He whistled.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Elliot glance his way, just in time to see Jake arrive by Knight’s side, ready to satisfy any craving Knight might have.
“You need anything?” Jake asked with a cocky smile.
Knight raised his arm meaningfully, and Jake slid under it, leaning his weight against him and settling his head on Knight’s shoulder.
“I was actually meaning to talk to you.” Jake’s smile was still there, but the movement of his eyes seemed fidgety. “You wanna go out? It’s kinda busy here.” Which was as good as a blowjob offer when it came from Jake.
The silky blond hair teased Knight’s arm, and he took his time gently scratching the back of Jake’s head to make sure Elliot spotted them touching one another. “Yeah, why not. Pull me up by my belt.”
Jake seemed confused for half a second, but then grinned and did as he was told. They got up together and Jake even dared to kiss Knight’s jaw. There. His eyebrows rose in question as he pointed to the door that would lead them to a corridor frequently used for quickies.
Knight grinned and trailed his hand down Jake’s back until his fingers slid into the back pocket of his pants. The rounded shape of Jake’s buttocks was so familiar Knight could recall the last time they fucked. In the garage, over the hood of the pink car he’d gotten for Jordan but never got around to giving her. Well, it was now stained with spunk. So there.
“What did you want to talk about?” Knight asked in the end, leading Jake toward the door. And past Elliot, who wasn’t anywhere near touching Ronnie in the same way Knight touched Jake.
“I… it’s probably nothing, just one of those spooky things. You know that time when we were looking for Elliot?” Jake slid his arms around Knight’s waist. “I might have gotten a bit overeager, and I went down to have a look in that creepy serial killer basement.”
Knight almost missed a step. As a prospect, Jake had no idea that there were dark forces living on club grounds. Had he encountered Fane? “Yeah?”
“And there’s… the other rooms. You must know of them, since you’ve been there lately. I really wasn’t meaning to stick my nose where I wasn’t asked to, but I was hoping that maybe you’d missed something, so I roamed around a bit. I found a latch in the floor under a carpet in one of the rooms, and… I thought he could be hiding there, so I opened it. I mean… have you seen something weird in that basement?”
Knight spun them so that Jake’s back was against the wall, with Knight standing so close their chests were almost touching. “I think the place’s haunted by that maniac’s victims.” The lie rolled off Knight’s tongue with ease, because if 45% of Americans believed in ghosts, so could he.
Jake’s eyes grew wide, but he was eating it up. “You think?” But his attention was getting scattered as his hands slid up Knight’s chest.
Knight felt his body sag immediately. He didn’t feel like fucking tonight. He just wanted beer and a rest, and maybe a movie once he got back to his apartment. This whole thing with Elliot was too draining for now.
He curled his fingers around Jake’s wrist and gently pulled it away. “There’s always weird noises coming from the walls when I am down there.”