...As the last echo faded, the sound of slow applause startled him. “Beautiful. It has been long since I heard the like.” The voice was like smoky, crushed velvet against Sinjen’s sensitive ears, sending a frisson of awareness through his entire body.

He whirled to face the intruder, his wings rustling dangerously as a man stepped on the stage to join him. “Who—?”

The question died unspoken on his lips. He blinked, certain the dim light of the hall played tricks on his eyes. The vision remained the same—a pale angel’s face with a bad boy’s pouty lips.

The man moved toward him with slow, sinuous grace, the thin silver chain looped about his hips swaying slightly with the movement. From the corner of his eye, Sinjen could see the guardbots remained in place, not reacting to the stranger’s presence. Before he could initiate the subvocal command that would turn the bots’ weapons on the intruder, the stranger was beside him. “Don’t,” he said, the soft command almost a weight against Sinjen’s skin. He lifted a well-formed hand and trailed his fingers delicately down Sinjen’s throat. “I only want to talk.”

Sinjen trembled under the light touch, his wings fluttering and rustling at his back. Though the touch had been cool, almost cold, it had left behind a trail of heated flesh.

It didn’t occur to him to disobey, and it wasn’t fear that held him fast. It was something else, something other than surprise that caused the hot, fluttering in his belly, that made his wings shift and quiver.

The other man was slightly taller than Sinjen’s own six-feet-four, with broad shoulders and chest that tapered to a narrow waist. His dark leather pants molded powerful thighs and strained to contain his erection.

Sinjen’s mouth grew dry as he dragged his gaze upward. He swallowed convulsively, tremors shaking his body as he met the hot, golden gaze of the other. He shifted as his cock swelled.

Inhaling deeply, he tried to steady himself. Instead the scent of lily and rose overwhelmed his senses.

His eyes closed and he swayed slightly.

“You are truly gifted, Sinjen. Why then are you retiring?”

Sinjen opened his eyes. His visitor stood beside the piano, looking back over his shoulder; his carelessly styled white-blond locks tumbled over lowered black wings that were an intriguing combination of feather and fur.

The urge to stroke those wings, to know if the stranger would shudder under his touch as Sinjen had his was overwhelming. It took a surprising amount of effort to keep his hands still. A private man himself, he had never been so tempted to invade another’s space before.

The other man waited, his fair eyebrow cocked in question.

“Who—?” Sinjen cleared his throat. “Who are you? And how did you get in here?” He shot a quick glance around the theater. They were alone. A thought struck him. “I don’t give interviews.”

He had been a favorite target of the paparazzi since his first public appearance at the age of four. With the announcement of his retirement a mere thirty years later, the scrutiny had intensified. He felt a stab of disappointment at the thought that this man was just another reporter looking for a headline.

The pouting lips curved into a smile. “I can assure you, Sinjen. I’m not interested in an interview.”

The rough purr of his voice stroked against Sinjen’s already sensitized skin. “What do you want then?” His own voice sounded breathy and eager to his ears. If this man wanted to fuck him, he’d lie down on the stage and let him.

Heat pooled in Sinjen’s loins. His pants tightened as his cock responded to the image the thought produced.