Illumined Shadows (Treble and the Lost Boys Book 3) Read online

  Colby stopped where the hallway opened up into the living room, and shrank back slightly. Vic kept playing, and waited. After a moment, Colby darted forward and hid behind the chair in which Adrian sat, then slowly leaned to one side to peek around it, his eyes still focused on Vic's hands.

  Somehow, Vic kept playing without any conscious effort. A small part of his brain wondered if he was even doing it right, except that Ryley hadn't called another stop to things, but all he could really focus on was Colby.

  The little guy was absolutely riveted.

  And the sight of it was doing all sorts of horribly delicious things to Vic's body.

  The piece came to an end, the final notes fading off into silence until Vic heard Ryley say, “Wow.”

  Vic blinked, tore his eyes away from Colby, and looked up at the man. “What?”

  Ryley was staring at him. So was Zac, for that matter.

  “I–” Ryley began, then blinked and shook his head like he was trying to get his thoughts in order. “I don't think I've ever heard you play with so much…”

  “Feeling?” Zac supplied, looking just as dumbfounded as Ryley.

  “I was going to say passion,” Ryley said.

  Vic frowned, not quite following what they were getting at.

  “What the hells got into you just now?” Ryley asked.

  Vic's eyes darted back to Colby's face. The little guy was still there, huddled behind Adrian's chair, staring intently at Vic and looking like he was both ready to bolt and hungry for more of whatever Vic could play.

  Hoping Colby couldn't see it past the chair, Vic held out his bow arm and pressed down as he looked at all the other men, silently telling them to stay still and quiet. Ryley frowned, then glanced in the direction Vic had been looking. The man leaned slightly, trying to peek around Adrian's chair, then his eyebrows went up and he mouthed, “Oh.”

  “What?” Zac whispered, leaning close to him.

  Ryley tucked his arm close to his chest and pointed. Zac started to look, then turned to Vic instead and raised his eyebrows in question. Vic nodded.

  Zac cleared his throat. “So, how about we try Celestial Light next?” he asked pointedly.

  Vic gave him a grateful smile when he saw everyone else catch on. They were going to pretend Colby wasn't there, not wanting to spook the boy.

  The three musicians raised their bows and started to play. Vic only got through the first few notes before he looked at Colby, and once again, the boy's complete attention was on Vic's hands.

  Vic's hands, playing a piece that Vic had composed, and it was enough to rouse the boy from his room despite his fears. The thought sent a bolt of desire right to Vic's core.

  Oh gods. He was in so much trouble.

  Chapter 10

  VIC LET out a heavy sigh when Ryley called for a break about an hour later. He was in such a state that he didn't dare set his cello aside quite yet, but he needed the music to stop. Even for just a few minutes. The sheer awe on Colby's face hadn't diminished one bit throughout the rehearsal, keeping Vic's heart racing the whole time.

  To say nothing of the uncomfortable crowding in his pants.

  It had to be a fluke. It had to be. He just hadn't been touched by another person in too long, and music had always been closely associated with arousal. That was all it was. Just a habitual reaction. He wasn't attracted to the boy. He couldn't be.

  But—Fuck!—now that he thought about it, Colby was exactly his type.

  Small, slender, almost fragile. Beautiful, with a touch of the fae to his features. Innocent in so many ways. And he needed Vic. That was the part that always got him. If someone needed Vic, it was impossible to resist.

  The others got up and stretched and moved around, and Vic glanced at Colby. The awe on the boy's face was slowly giving way to fear as he crouched behind the chair, listening to all the activity and waiting to be discovered.

  Shit. Colby needed Vic right now.

  Shoving arousal to the back of his mind, Vic set his cello aside, stood from the couch, and took the rocking chair right beside it instead, Colby's big, beautiful eyes fixed on him the whole time.

  Vic took a deep breath, wondering if this was a monstrously bad idea—for both of them—and held out a hand. “Come here, champ.”

  Colby let out a tiny whimper, then scrambled forward and crawled up into Vic's lap, his little hands clutching the lapels of Vic's jacket as he sat there, shaking.

  The room slowly fell quiet, and Vic risked a glance at his friends, certain they'd see on his face just how much he was struggling. Instead, all he found were looks of concern, their attentions all focused on the boy.

  After a brief hesitation, Ryley took a step forward and crouched down. “H-Hey, kiddo.”

  Colby ducked his head, clinging to Vic as he peeked out at Ryley from the corner of his eye.

  Vic took another deep breath. He needed to focus. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Do you remember Ryley?”

  Colby gave a tight shake of his head.

  “He was there when we found you,” Vic explained. “He got us to the hospital when you stopped breathing.”

  Colby's shaking stopped for a split second. “Oh,” he whispered, then took up trembling again, though it wasn't quite as severe as before.

  Ryley fidgeted nervously, then his eyes lit up. “Hey, you wanna see something cool?” He waved his hand, and a column of smoke swirled up from his palm, dancing and changing colors for a few seconds until it melted away.

  Colby lifted his head slightly, and Ryley grinned, all the tension fading out of him. Vic caught his eye, and Ryley gave him a subtle nod, telling him that he was alright.

  Then Asher came over and crouched down beside Ryley, slipping an arm around Ryley's waist. “Hey, kiddo,” Asher murmured. “I'm Asher. I'm Ryley's boyfriend.”

  Colby tensed again, eyeing him warily.

  Ryley nudged Asher with his elbow, and told Colby, “I know he probably looks big and scary, but he's a total softy. Just like Vic.”

  “Oh,” Colby whispered, still curled up tight but now looking at Asher with more curiosity than alarm.

  Vic bent down, just stopped himself from kissing the top of Colby's head, and murmured, “They won't hurt you, champ. I promise.”

  Ryley shifted aside and pointed up at Zac and Adrian, standing just across the room. “That's Adrian,” he introduced. “He's really shy and quiet, too, but he's super nice.” Adrian gave Colby a shy nod. “And that's Zac, Adrian's boyfriend.”

  Zac gave Colby a silly grin. “Hey, kid. Nice to meet you.”

  Adrian mumbled the same, and reached up to rest a hand on the back of Zac's neck, clearly needing to be grounded. He was doing so much better than he had in the past, but his social anxiety still popped up now and then, and Vic could only imagine that having to face a boy who had endured as much torment as Colby had was bringing up memories of the verbal abuse Adrian had suffered from his own father.

  Unfortunately, Colby's eyes followed Adrian's hand, drawing his attention to Zac's collar.

  Colby shrieked and threw his arms up over his head.

  “Colby?” Vic asked, seeing all his friends look on with concern as he tried to comfort the boy. “Hey, champ, it's alright.”

  Colby shook his head tightly from under his arms, and whispered, “Bad man?”

  “No, kiddo. No, Adrian is really good.”

  Colby shivered, peeked out at Zac again, then looked up at Vic from under his eyelashes. “But he has a collar.”

  Vic nodded slowly. How was he going to explain this? “Because he wants to,” he began, and Colby's eyes went wide. “Sometimes, people like wearing collars. It's…a sign of commitment. Zac loves Adrian, so he wants to show the world that he belongs to him.” He paused, then added, “And Adrian belongs to Zac, too, though he doesn't necessarily have to wear anything to show it.”

  “Um, about that…” Zac said.

  Vic looked up and saw a blush creep over Zac's cheeks as a giddy smile took
over his face.

  “Since none of you noticed earlier,” Zac continued, then he cleared his throat and looked at Adrian before grabbing Adrian's left hand with his own and thrusting both out for everyone to see.

  Vic stared for a long moment, taking in the sight of them wearing matching rings.

  Ryley gasped. “You got married?” He let out a shout of surprise and darted across the room to hug the couple.

  Vic blinked. Zac and Adrian were married?

  “When did this happen?” Asher asked, voicing Vic's own thoughts.

  Zac took both of Adrian's hands, looking up at his boyfriend—No, husband, apparently—and shrugged, still wearing a big grin. “Yesterday,” he said, turning to look at the others. “It was kind of on a whim. We ran into a little paperwork snag trying to combine our banks accounts last week–”

  Adrian actually spoke up, adding, “Which I'd been trying to get him to do for months.” He shot Zac a fond yet exasperated look. “I mean, we bought a house together, and we're committed to each other. It only made sense that our money should be our money.”

  “Even though it's mostly your money,” Zac pointed out.

  “Ours,” Adrian insisted, using a firm tone that Vic had never heard come out of the man.

  Zac shuddered just noticeably, blushing again, then said, “Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “The bank told us it would all be easier if we had a marriage contract on file, so…” He shrugged. “We just did it.”

  Ryley squawked. “And you didn't invite us?” he asked, gesturing at everyone in the room.

  Adrian ducked his head, so Zac answered, “We didn't want it to be a big deal. The thought of a big wedding was kinda overwhelming for both of us, and—hells—we were already living together, so…”

  “It was just a formality at that point,” Adrian mumbled.

  At that, Ryley seemed to finally remember that Adrian was nowhere near outgoing as him and probably couldn't have handled a big celebration, anyway. He took a step forward and gently hugged the couple again.

  “Sorry, you're right. Congratulations, though. I'm so happy for you guys.”

  Zac and Adrian hugged him back, the former more exuberantly than the latter, then Ryley whirled around and looked at Asher.

  “Maybe we should just do that someday,” Ryley joked. “Elope. Just run off somewhere and get hitched.”

  Asher closed his eyes and sighed, then looked all around the room before focusing on Ryley again. “I had this whole thing planned for after dinner tonight, but…” He pulled a ring out of his pocket and dropped to one knee.

  Ryley gasped and covered his face with both hands, then quickly lowered them. “Oh my gods, Ash! Are you serious?”

  Asher nodded shyly.

  Ryley let out an unmanly squeal and threw himself at Asher. “Yes! Oh my gods, yes!”

  Zac barked a laugh, and even Adrian grinned as Asher slipped the ring onto Ryley's finger and pulled his new fiancé in for a kiss.

  Vic held Colby a little tighter in his lap, his heart racing in his chest. Zac and Adrian were married, and now Ryley and Asher were engaged? A pang of longing shot through him. He wanted that. Gods, how he wanted that.

  “Vic?” Colby whispered, cutting into his thoughts.

  Vic blinked and tore his eyes away from the two happy couples before him, and looked down at the boy in his lap. He cleared his throat. “What's up, kiddo?”

  Colby eyed Ryley and Asher, then looked up at Vic again. “What are they doing?” he whispered.

  Vic glanced at the couple, then looked down at Colby. “They're kissing.” His eyes darted to Colby's lips, and he had to force his gaze away. “It's something people do when they love each other.” Or attracted to each other…

  “Why?” Colby asked.

  “Because…it feels good?” Vic answered, his tone making it almost sound like a question. How else could he explain the nuances of love and romance to someone who had never been exposed to either?

  “Oh,” Colby whispered, yet he still frowned, looking totally confused. “It looks…strange,” he said, but rather than showing more confusion, his face only registered a faint distaste.

  And no wonder, Vic thought, when he considered how Colby's mouth had been forcibly used all his life.

  Which instantly put an image in Vic's mind of using Colby's mouth the same way, those full lips stretched around his cock while those big, beautiful eyes looked up at him.

  Fuck. Vic squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking like that. Not now. Not ever.

  “Right, Vic?”

  Vic blinked and looked up. “What?”

  Ryley nodded at Colby. “He said kissing looked strange, so I told him it was perfectly normal. Right?”

  “Oh.” Vic cleared his throat, trying to focus. How the hells had he missed Ryley speaking? “Right.” He shoved the thoughts aside and looked down at Colby again. “Yeah, perfectly normal.” He scrambled for an explanation, and his brief fantasy, awful as it was, handed him the perfect idea. “What the Bad Man did? That wasn't normal. Not at all. But this?” He waved a hand at the two couples being all sweet and sappy in the middle of his living room. “This is what normal people do. Meet someone you like, fall in love, kiss, make a commitment to each other…” Vic trailed off before he could add make love to that list. Colby had a lot to learn about the real world, and Vic wasn't sure the boy was ready to handle the concept of sex that was not only pleasurable but consensual.

  And didn't that just put all sorts of delicious images in his head.

  Vic struggled to push the thoughts aside, trying to come up with anything that would keep his cock from going rock-hard right below where Colby was perched on his lap. That was the last thing the poor kid needed.

  To say nothing of himself.

  * * *

  COLBY CRAWLED up into the rocking chair after Vic's friends left. He nudged the chair into motion and drew his knees up, hugging them to his chest as he watched Vic lock the front door and walk back into the living room.

  “How are you feeling?” Vic asked, grabbing the big thing that made the pretty sounds and carrying it across the room.

  Colby eyed the thing, wishing he could hear it again even though he'd been listening to it almost all morning. He'd never heard anything like it before.

  “Colby?”

  Colby tore his eyes away from the thing and looked up at Vic's face. The man was just standing there, holding the thing and watching him.

  “Oh.” What had Vic asked? “Um…” Colby thought about it for a moment, and found himself almost smiling. Being out of the bedroom and around all those people had been nerve-wracking, but the pretty sounds had made it all worthwhile. More than worthwhile. He wondered just what he'd give to hear those sounds again. “Good,” he whispered.

  A smile slowly appeared on Vic's face. “Good.” He tucked the thing into a box, then sat on the couch a few feet away, watching Colby again. “I'm so proud of you, kiddo. You did so good today.”

  Colby found himself almost smiling again, and glanced across the room at the box.

  Vic glanced over his shoulder, then looked at Colby again. “You really liked that, didn't you?”

  Colby nodded.

  Vic frowned for a moment, then asked, “Had you never heard music before?”

  Music. So that's what the sound was called. Colby shook his head.

  “Hmmm.” Vic reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. He tapped through a few things, then set it on the table just as more music started playing.

  Colby gasped, staring at the phone. “It can do music, too?” he asked, blurting out the question without thinking.

  Vic nodded. “It's a recording.” He gestured at the room. “Zac, Ryley, and I recorded some of our music a while back for– Gods, I'm not even sure how to explain a recording contract,” he mumbled, then shook his head. “Anyway, this is one of my favorites. Just the cello.”

  Colby tilted his head.

  Vic poi
nted at the box. “That's a cello. What Zac and Ryley were playing is called a violin.”

  “Oh.” Colby looked from the phone to the box and back. He'd really liked it when they all played together, but he decided he loved the cello. It was so beautiful.

  “You know,” Vic said, getting that tone of voice that indicated he was going to suggest something he wanted Colby to do, “if you come out of your room again tomorrow, I can play some more for you.”

  Colby brightened at that. He could hear more music? And watch Vic play it?

  Definitely worth braving the expanse of the house and leaving the dark confines of the room.

  He gave a tiny nod, and Vic grinned.

  “And how was it having the guys here?” Vic asked.

  Colby froze, then nudged the rocking chair into motion again. It had felt so nice when Vic had held him in that chair and made it rock back and forth. He wasn't sure why it felt good, exactly, only that it did. He drew his hands into his sleeves and tucked them up under his chin.

  “They're good guys,” Vic said when Colby didn't answer. “I know new people must be scary for you, but I hope you'll give them a chance.”

  Colby gave a shy nod. It had been scary, but not one of them had made a move to touch him. Every other man Colby had ever known had gone straight to hurting him in some way. But not Vic. And not Vic's friends. They all talked to him nicely and kept their distance.

  Except with each other. All the men touched each other, but all in nice ways. It was so strange to see Asher put an arm around Ryley or Zac hold hands with Adrian. All those touches were so nice and gentle. Just like how Vic touched him.

  “Vic?”

  “Yeah, buddy?”

  Colby thought for a moment, then asked, “You said your friends weren't like Bad Man, right?”

  “Right.”

  Colby thought again. “So then they don't have sex?”

  Vic spluttered for a moment, then said, “No, they do. Just…with each other.” His eyes widened, and he rushed to add, “I mean Zac and Adrian only have sex with each other, and the same with Ryley and Asher. They don't share with other people, and definitely don't force anyone.”