A Taste of Home Ch. 03

"His name is Jack Lancelot Miller, and he's my ex-lover." Micah went on to describe the entire encounter, from learning Jack worked for Micah's grandfather, to the attack that caused him to lose control.

Upon learning about Johan Taylor's involvement, Ryan ordered Jack held at the FDPA secure holding cells with constant monitoring. Because of their investigation into Johan, they would keep him isolated and question him in hopes of gaining more information. It would also keep him from reporting in. Perhaps that would cause Johan to act in some way that would allow them to track and catch him doing something illegal. They had more rights now to investigate and go after the man, because he had sent an associate here into their jurisdiction.

Ryan refused to do anything with Jack that night, instead helping Micah into his car to drive them home. They would go to Pen, who would fuss over Micah and help him feel better. Ryan felt protective of his husband's cousin, likely because of their physical similarities, but he didn't feel the same attraction. As similar as they were, they weren't the same to him and his emotions.

******

The food was delicious, even though the portions were small and barely satisfied the appetites of the diners. Micah glanced around at everyone and admired his surroundings. He'd never been in such a posh place as the Grand Regent Hotel and it was slightly overwhelming. Pen and Ryan had been wonderful to him, Pen fussing over him as soon as he learned what happened, insisting that they could stay at home if that's what Micah preferred. Micah, on the other hand, thought he might dwell too much on the occurrence without something to distract him, so they dressed and attended the function.

There was a lot of attention on them, many people dropping by to exclaim over the resemblance between Pen and Micah. The two of them grinned at each other, and soon were taking false wagers on just what any given person would say about it before they even reached the table. A few times, they had to restrain their laughter when one of Ryan's co-workers refused to believe that they were who they said they were, believing them to have switched identities to try and fool them.

With everything going on, Micah should have been too occupied to dwell on things, and he was for the most part. It made him angry that he wanted to have Simon with him. Simon should be the last person on his mind tonight. He should be thinking and fretting about what he'd learned from Jack. The thought that their entire relationship was a sham instigated by his grandfather, made him feel somewhat sad. His judgment must be lacking if he let himself be deceived. No, it was better to believe that his grandfather approached Jack later in their relationship, perhaps it was at that point that Micah's feelings for Jack had changed. Not that he was ever madly in love with the man, of course.

"Finally! I thought I would never get the chance to stop by, Ryan. Your table has been the most popular one of the evening." A beautiful woman, with black hair and skin nearly as pale as Micah's, leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to both Ryan's and Pen's cheeks. "My goodness, this must be the cousin I've heard so much about."

"Yes. Carlie, this is Pen's cousin, Micah Taylor. Micah, this is my partner from work, Carlie Simmonds."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure's mine I assure you. Do you know that we've already nearly met?" She grinned at Micah and moved around the table to occupy the chair beside his. "It was about two weeks ago. Simon and I were staking out a club and we saw you go in. Neither Simon nor I could imagine what Pen was doing in such a place, especially without Ryan. When we couldn't reach Ryan by phone, Simon went inside to get a closer look. He told me it was just a remarkable resemblance when the other agents and I went in and found him."

Micah blinked and smiled at the story, but inside he was a wreck. It was his Simon she talked about, he just knew it was. Hadn't Simon said that his partner, his work partner, was waiting outside for him? Simon obviously was acquainted with Pen and Ryan, yet he'd never breathed a word. Just as obviously, he'd never breathed a word to the others that they were acquainted, either.

"That's amazing," he murmured, certain that this lovely woman expected some kind of response from him. "I thought you were Ryan's partner?"

"Yes, but when we work on cases with the NCB, we partner with one of their agents. Ryan is usually partnered with Simon, but he was off that night."

Ryan nodded and laughed. "I wonder what I would have thought if I'd been on duty that night, seeing you there. You would have thought me mad when I ran up to you and started demanding to know why you were there, thinking you were my husband." Everyone laughed at the thought and didn't seem to notice how his laugh was strained. Maybe Pen noticed, but he probably put it down to Jack's attack and didn't make an issue of it.

"I haven't seen Simon at all since that night," Carlie continued, once the laughter died down. "Do you think he's here tonight, Ryan?"

"Jimmy said he was when I saw him at the bar earlier, but I haven't seen him. Hell, I haven't seen him since we all met for drinks a couple of weeks ago. He brought Audrey again this year, and apparently her dress is even more revealing than last year's."

The others continued with their conversation but Micah wasn't paying any attention. He could excuse Ryan for not mentioning the encounter, since their time together was limited, but not Simon. For Simon to not mention it meant that he wanted to hide the truth from Micah. The night they met outside Pen's apartment building, Simon had to know who he was visiting, yet he'd lied. Any mention of his work was avoided, Simon changed the subject just as quickly as when Micah asked about family.

He'd suspected that Simon was using him, either just for sex or for the sensations caused by being a feeder, yet Micah felt deep pain at knowing it for a fact. Like Jack, Simon was with him for ulterior motives. For several minutes, Micah allowed himself to wallow in self-pity, bemoaning the fact that he was unworthy of love. Why didn't anyone love him for himself? His mother and sister didn't count. Pen and Ryan didn't count, since they were also family, after a fashion.

That's enough of that, he told himself sternly. He had chosen to stay with Jack even though he knew they didn't suit. He had also chosen to keep seeing Simon. Jack's betrayal really hadn't bothered him, so crying about him like a lost love was stupid. As for Simon, just because the man tasted so delicious, didn't mean anything. Micah had simply taken what his father told his mother, that she tasted like home, and assumed that was how Simon tasted to him. It was nothing as dramatic as that, just a different taste. Everyone tasted slightly different, and if there was something special about Simon's taste, it had nothing to do with them being meant for one another. He'd simply latched onto that explanation with his subconscious.

"Do you want to leave, Micah?" Pen looked worried as he leaned close to whisper his question. "We've been here long enough that we can slip out."

"If you guys want to stay, I don't mind going by myself. I have to find another motel to stay in, since Grandfather likely knows where I'm staying. Do you have any suggestions about where I can go?"

"You can stay with us, Micah. I've already talked it over with Ryan, and he agrees that you should stay with us."

Micah shook his head even before Pen finished. "I'll take you up on your offer, for tonight and during the day tomorrow. I wouldn't feel comfortable staying any longer than that. I love you both and I know you're sincere, but it isn't...easy having a nightwalker as a houseguest."

Pen stared into his eyes for a long moment, before nodding his agreement. They stood and started going around the room to say their goodnights. Neither man wanted to stay any longer, nor did they feel comfortable letting Micah go off on his own. One of the last tables they stopped at before taking their leave was the one table Micah didn't want to stop at.

With no thought to the people surrounding them, the man and woman almost devoured each other, kissing so deeply it was a wonder they could still breathe. Ryan grinned and knocked on the table, causing the couple to jump apart. Judging by the bottles of wine scattered across the surface, and the slightly glazed look in their eyes, the two were probably drunk. Simon hung back, not caring if he was introduced to this co-worker of Ryan's.

******

Simon jumped back from Audrey when he heard the loud knock on the table and for a moment, his head spun so much he thought he might pass out. The dizziness was as much from lack of air as it was from the amount of wine he drank with the meal. Audrey had done her level best to give him the most in-depth tonsil massage in history. Fuck. It had taken all that wine to make him comfortable kissing her, since all the while, a pair of blue eyes replaced her soft brown ones whenever they looked at each other.

After several deep breaths, Simon looked around and caught sight of Ryan. He smiled at his occasional partner, then let his eyes move to find Pen. Damn, Pen looked incredible in a pale gray suit and a green tie that matched his eyes. Funny, no matter how alike he and Micah were, there was nothing more than appreciation for a beautiful man when he looked at Ryan's husband. There wasn't really a sexual response, or at least, nothing like what he felt when he even caught a glimpse of Micah.

As though his thoughts summoned him, Micah appeared beside Pen. He wore nearly identical clothes, the tie blue instead of green, yet Simon felt his pulse speed up and his mouth go dry. The blue eyes he'd imagined all evening looked different. They were cold and reserved, rather than twinkling or darkened with passion. It confused him for a minute, until he realized that Audrey was still wrapped around him, nuzzling his throat in spite of their company.

With a determined effort, he brought his eyes back to Ryan and stayed as relaxed as he could manage. "Ryan! I haven't seen you for a while, man. Pen, good to see you. And this has to be the cousin I've heard so much about." The blue eyes turned even colder, if that was possible.

"Yes, this is my identical cousin, Micah Taylor. Carlie was just telling us the story of how you saw him outside a club you were staking out and thought it was me. Ryan didn't tell me that story, but I can just imagine what you and she must have thought. Micah, this is Agent Simon Rousseau, of the NCB."

"Nice to meet you, Micah."

"Apparently we met briefly at the club, Agent Rousseau, but yes, nice to meet you as well." The soft voice revealed absolutely nothing of what Micah might be thinking or feeling.

"Simon, you're working tomorrow?" Ryan's question interrupted the litany of silent apologies Simon was chanting in his mind. He gave the man a quick nod and focused his attention. "Good, I'll need you for an investigation we're running. Meet me in the briefing room near the FDPA holding cells around nine."

"No problem, I don't have anything urgent on the go. What's the investigation about?"

"I don't want to get into it right now, so I'll fill you in before we interview this guy. He's cooling his heels in the holding area until we can find the time to talk to him." Both men grinned, knowing that the guy would be ready to talk come morning. Those holding cells were small and very empty. "I get to be the bad guy, though. It won't be a stretch, because I'd like nothing more than to pound the guy after the way he attacked Micah tonight."

It was after midnight. Simon pounded on the motel room door for the third time, wondering where the hell Micah could be. His mind kept repeating the words Ryan spoke earlier at the dinner. Micah was attacked. Worry and fear stayed with him the longer he stood there with no idea what was going on.

Who would attack Micah? He remembered what Micah said the first night they came to the motel together, about how he was strong enough to stop an attack by regular humans, and that he could safely bite other nightwalkers. His worry eased a bit, because obviously nothing bad had happened to Micah -- he hadn't looked injured -- and the man was in custody. Still, Simon didn't like the idea. Micah was so small that it brought out all his protective instincts, whether Micah could defend himself or not.

He took out his cell to call Micah, but there was no answer. As soon as it rolled to take a message, he cursed and put it back in his pocket. There was nothing left to do but go home and hope he could see Micah soon. Tomorrow he would learn the facts of the attack from Ryan. Even if the thought of facing the guy made him want to growl and pound something, he knew he had to get himself under control. Ryan wanted to be the bad guy during the interview, which meant that, no matter how difficult, he had to act as if he completely understood what motivated the asshole who dared attack Micah.

It wasn't until he got home that he realized that, no matter what happened, he might not ever get to hold and touch Micah again. Fuck, he'd been kissing and wrapped around Audrey at the dinner, right in front of Micah. The memory of the way those blue eyes stared at him froze his body.

Well, it didn't really matter, he told himself. Being with Micah was an aberration for him. They weren't in a relationship; it was merely convenience. Micah got to feed from someone without worrying about any possible danger from revealing his status as a nightwalker. As for him, Simon got some sex. It was just sex, anyway, even if it was with another man. Nothing major, Micah was just...someone to get off with. After all, having Micah feed made his cock hard, and fucking took care of that problem.

That's probably why the guy attacked Micah. Micah approached someone to feed from, and it spooked the guy into attacking. He ignored the fact that such a thing wouldn't prompt the FDPA into making an arrest. An attack on a nightwalker wouldn't bring in the FDPA unless the guy was a daywalker.

Putting it from his mind, Simon got ready for bed and closed his eyes.

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.

I'm thrilled with the responses I've received from the first chapter. The comments were less than favorable for the first little while (all of them private and anonymous), but they soon changed to mainly favorable. There are two more chapters after this one. Since I'm finishing up with re-reading and editing, who knows? I might decide to add more and get another chapter out of it.