Dr. Z

Christa Tomlinson

Torlina Press

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DR. Z – Arch City Guardians #2

Superhero Romance

Published October 15, 2021

Kindle Unlimited

Sale Price $4.99

DR. Z

Copyright © October 2021 Christa Tomlinson

All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

Editor: MK Wilkes

Cover Design: Christa Tomlinson

Publisher: Torlina Press

This book is a work of fiction. References might be made to existing events or locations, but all names, characters and events are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is coincidental. All trademarked names are the property of their respective owners and no ownership claims are intended by the author.

Warning

This book contains sexually explicit scenes and graphic language that may be offensive to some readers. It is intended for adults as defined by the laws in your country. Please take care to store this story away from under-age readers.

Acknowledgements

This one goes out to the burn out, anxiety, depression, and quarantine stress that tried to keep this book from happening. You lost and I won. Suck on that.

Christa

Message from the Author

Hello, Reader! I want you to have a fun and sexy good time with Dr. Z and Stardust, so here’s a few content tags:

On page social drug use

Light Kink: Body Worship, Praise, Collaring

Descriptions of action movie style violence

Brief off-page mention of domestic violence

Fiery Smol / Gentle Tol

Scarred Hero

Reluctant Partners

Battle Couple

Slow Burn

Enjoy!

Christa

Newsletter Sign Up

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www.ChristaTomlinson.com

Table of Contents

Dr. Z

Message from the Author

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Epilogue

Beast Preview

Author Note

More by Christa Tomlinson

Chapter 1

“I like this bad guy. He’s big, dumb and hung.”

“Stardust!”

The stern voice cracked like a whip into Stardust’s ear piece.

“Yeah, boss?”

“Stay on task.”

“You got it, boss.”

“And don’t call me boss.”

Stardust grinned but didn’t respond as he got ready to fight. He, Frost, and Sonica had been sent to take down a group of people rampaging up and down the Delmar Loop, one of St. Louis’s entertainment districts. It was a busy Thursday the first week in September, when nights were the perfect temperature to sit outside, and the street was filled with people who’d come out to have a beer and listen to music. Now, they were panicked. Screaming and running to get out of the way as five men caused indiscriminate destruction in front of the shops and restaurants.

Stardust took in the scene. Tables flipped on their sides, food and drink spilled on the sidewalk, plates shattered, and cups crushed beneath fleeing feet. Several shop windows were broken, with their displays and merchandise tossed into the street. One of the rampagers was naked, with the exception of a face mask, a pair of thick white athletic socks, and mountain climbing boots. The naked man yanked back and forth on a lamp post, which despite his efforts, wasn’t coming loose from the ground. Still, he continued mindlessly yanking. Stardust shook his head in disgust at the pitiful sight.

Sonica took charge. “Frost, you get the two at the other end of the street. I’ll grab the two in front of Iron Age and check inside the building to make sure there aren’t more of them in there causing a ruckus.”

“Got it,” Frost answered.

“Guess that leaves me with Mr. Nakey,” Stardust said, already looking forward to the fight.

“You both be careful,” Sonica said before she teleported away to the legendary tattoo shop.

Frost took off in the opposite direction in a swirl of cold air, whooshing down the street on an ice slide they created with their powers.

With his partners after their targets, Stardust walked up to his own. He kept his hands loose at his sides, easy and non-threatening. The multicolored lights from the Blueberry Hill sign above the naked man reflected off his pale sweaty skin. Stardust couldn’t see the guy’s face thanks to the mask he wore, but he could see his blue eyes, cracked open wide and rolling in their sockets. The wild eyes were a clear sign that he’d overdosed on Croton — a drug that increased a user’s physical capabilities and blocked fear receptors but caused mindless rage and massive heart attacks after prolonged use. His assumption that the guy was on Croton wasn’t an official diagnosis, but anyone who stripped naked in the middle of a busy entertainment district and tried to rip a lamppost out of the ground had to be on something.

“Hey, big man!”

At the sound of Stardust’s voice, the naked man stopped his attempted vandalism, and turned to face Stardust, giving him a good look at his mask. It was acid yellow, with blood-red slash marks across the mouth and eyes. The mask was clearly meant to instill fear. But seeing this guy standing there bare-assed naked, with his dick literally swinging in the wind, Stardust wasn’t at all intimidated.

“I don’t know how far gone you are in that Croton rage but I can help you if you let me.” He stepped closer. “Don’t get me wrong, I like to fight. But you probably want to put your pants back on and go home, right?”

Naked guy threw back his head and roared before stomping toward him, fists clenched, veins bulging in his forearms.

“Guess not.”

The guy was huge. He had a foot and a half in height and at least thirty pounds on Stardust. But this was one occasion where he didn’t care about size. Stardust pulled his sai from their thigh holsters. He twirled them around to grip them by their handles, pommels up, blunted blades held against the inside of his forearms.

As the naked behemoth charged, Stardust sprinted forward to meet him. Right before they crashed into each other, he jumped up in the air, flipping over naked guy’s head to land behind him. Spinning around, he punched out with his sai, hitting the man in the kidneys. The rampager roared with pain but didn’t go down. He turned to face Stardust, swinging with massive fists. Stardust wore his own mask, but he still preferred not to get punched in the face. He dropped down to avoid the hit, sweeping his leg out in the same motion to kick at naked guy’s ankles. The man stumbled and fell in the middle of the street. But to Stardust’s unpleasant surprise, the big man had speed too. He rolled and leaped back to his feet.

Although he was impressed at the move, Stardust sighed in annoyance. “You should have stayed down, man.”

The naked berserker finally spoke.

“I don’t stay down.”

“Oooh! A challenge.” Stardust spun his sai again. “I accept.”

They rushed at each other once more. This time, Stardust met him head on. Before his opponent could strike, Stardust double-punched with his sai, hitting him dead center in the solar plexus each time. When the big man doubled over in pain, struggling to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him, Stardust jumped up with a flying high knee, catching him on the chin. He caught a glimpse of those wild eyes rolling back in their sockets before the berserker crashed to the street, landing flat on his back. This time, he didn’t move.

“Guess you were wrong about not staying down,” Stardust mocked as he straightened from the defensive pose he’d landed in. After sliding his sai back into their holsters, he put a booted foot on the big man’s shoulder, rolling him over to his front in order to restrain his hands behind his back. Once the guy was secured, Stardust turned his attention to the people who were standing nearby.

“Everything is all right, everybody.” He looked toward a trio who appeared relatively calm. “Can you help right some of the tables and chairs?”

An older woman in the group snapped out of her shocked daze.

“Yes. We’ve got it.”

She started directing those around her to help the staff put the sidewalk dining to rights. Stardust left her to it, moving on to see if anyone had been seriously hurt. Thankfully, there were only a few people with minor injuries and no one with anything major. Mostly scrapped palms and knees from falling on the sidewalk or cuts from broken glass. The rampagers hadn’t seemed set on personal harm, only destruction of property.

Stardust made his way back over to Naked Guy, who was still out cold in the middle of the street. Frost walked up at the same time, leading the two rampagers they’d been tasked with subduing, both with their wrists restrained in manacles made of ice. Neither of them struggled, but they shivered violently, teeth chattering, lips nearly blue from cold. Cold wind and icy vapor swirled around Frost as they looked down at Stardust’s felled opponent.

“Should we try to dress him?”

“Pffft. I didn’t tell him to take his pants off. That’s on him. Besides, he’ll get a nice orange jumpsuit to wear when he’s booked at the county jail.” Stardust crossed his arms over his chest, fingertips tapping his bicep. “But I suppose I should get him out of the middle of the street.”

“It’s what a hero should do.”

Stardust cut his friend a quick side-eye. Frost didn’t react, either because they were sincere, or because they were trying to get Stardust’s goat. It was hard to tell with them sometimes.

Stardust rolled the man back over to his front then bent down to thump him on the forehead and wake him up. His powers didn’t include super strength, so he wasn’t about to drag this hefty bastard up onto the sidewalk. After a second forehead thump, the man came to yelling, cursing, and straining to get free. Unfortunately for him, the cuffs around his wrists were made to hold enhanced strength individuals, which meant, even hopped up on Croton, he wasn’t getting loose.

“Hear those sirens? That’s the police coming to get you. You’d better get out of the street if you don’t want them to run you over.” At Stardust’s warning, the man sat up, scooting backward on his naked rear end across the concrete until he reached the curb. Stardust followed to make sure he didn’t try to make a run for it as the sirens grew closer.

The approaching sirens were also the cue for Stardust and his crew to get out of there. Their group didn’t have any type of official working relationship with police, and could be charged with vigilantism.

Sonica popped in, dusting off her hands as if she’d just finished a tough job. “Already dropped mine off at the police station. We’ve done all we can do here. Let’s go.”

“You’re right,” Stardust agreed. “I’ll see you two back at the firehouse.”

Sonica nodded and put her hand on Frost’s shoulder to teleport them both away.

Stardust jogged up the street to where he’d left his motorcycle. Throwing a leg over the sleek black machine, he started it up, the bike roaring to life with a throaty rumble. He pulled out of the space and took off, zipping through the city streets, the air rushing over him, whipping the tail of his heavy braid of hair back and forth. The mask he wore identified him as Stardust, while hiding his true identity from everyone he passed.

As he approached his destination, he turned right and sped down a side street. Up ahead was the brick wall of a dead-end alley. Stardust headed straight for it. When it seemed as if he would crash, the wall rippled and he passed through without incident. The “dead end” was a mirage, a visual barrier created to hide the headquarters of the Arch City Guardians—the group of heroes who’d banded together to protect the citizens of St. Louis. As an extra precaution against unwanted visitors, if you got too close to the mirage, a sonic alarm went off. Unless you were wearing the tech that muted the alarm, you’d be hit with the extremely unpleasant sensation of what felt like several giant mosquitos buzzing at the back of your skull. The sound was too high-pitched for regular humans to realize they were hearing anything, but the uncomfortable sonic vibrations made people instinctively turn around to avoid them nonetheless.

Past the barriers, Stardust pulled into the small parking lot next to their headquarters, killed the engine and hopped off his bike. The headquarters was an old firehouse, decommissioned nearly a decade ago, and recently purchased to serve as the center for the newly created superhero team. Constructed from tan brick with white stone accents, the building was longer than it was tall. Multiple satellites and electronic towers were mounted on the roof. Thanks to Bulldozer, a member of the ACG team, the grounds were in immaculate condition, with mature greenery, and not a single crack in the driveway. The two wide fire truck doors were down, so Stardust entered through the pedestrian door.

Inside, where firetrucks were once parked, two men sat at a U-shaped trio of tables that held a multitude of computers, monitors, and other tech equipment. The younger of the two men sat directly in front of the largest computer screen in the center, the overhead lights shining on his bright blue hair, while the older was off to the side, typing onto the electronic pad he held. Frost and Sonica were already there, sitting in two of the club chairs set up in front of the command center.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Stardust said as he took off his mask and plopped down on one of the three remaining chairs.

Caleb spoke up first, brushing the blue strands of hair back from his forehead. “More Croton freaks. But you guys stopped them before they could do too much damage or seriously hurt anyone.”

Strong gave an approving nod. “Nice work.”

“Thanks.”

“Blaze is going to be furious when he hears what happened. He fought so hard to keep that drug from hitting the streets.”

They started discussing the drug that was steadily taking over the city. Caleb brought up a map of the city on one of the big viewing monitors to highlight areas where Croton incidents seemed to be the most widespread when an alarm went off, signaling that someone was approaching their headquarters. They all turned to look at the outside camera feed on one of Caleb’s giant monitors. A dark SUV was driving down the street at a steady pace, headed straight for the barrier.

Stardust frowned in confusion. “What are they doing? Shouldn’t they have turned back by now?”

“They’re invited and were told to signaling continue past the auditory defense line,” Strong answered.

Stardust and the others settled back into their chairs at Strong’s announcement that the person approaching was expected. The conversation switched to a mundane discussion of the weather while they waited for Strong’s guest to arrive. They heard the faint sound of a truck door closing, then a few seconds later, the front door opened. Stardust looked back over his shoulder to get a look at their visitor.

A Caucasian man walked in, tall, broad in the chest, thick in the thighs, biceps bulging beneath the thin material of a forest-green, long-sleeved T-shirt. He had dark brown hair cut short with a neat side part. His jawline was firm and clean-shaven, a perfect fit to his strong nose and sharp, bright green eyes. But his mouth... Stardust stared a second too long at full lips with a pronounced Cupid’s bow—a spot of softness in that otherwise hard face.

“Who’s the beefcake?” Stardust faux whispered.

He didn’t get an answer, but when the mystery man walked up to Strong to shake hands, Stardust immediately recognized the similarities in their precise bearing and movements. This guy was military too.

“Mike, it’s good to meet you in person,” Strong greeted him. “Welcome to the Arch City Guardians headquarters.” The older Black man turned to his team. “Everyone, this is Mike Zielinski. Former Army medic and newly relocated to St. Louis. I’ve invited him here to take a look at our operation. Mike, this is Caleb, our tech specialist. Sonica, Frost, and Stardust are field members. Helios is across town helping Ignite with a building fire and we have a few other heroes who aren’t here right now as well.”

Zielinski briefly made eye contact with each of them in turn. “Good evening,” he said crisply.

Stardust ran his gaze over Zielinski during Strong’s introduction. He assumed the other man was enhanced and wondered what his powers were. Maybe he was a super soldier like Lieutenant Strong. Going by his height and muscular build, that was definitely a possibility. When Zielinski made eye contact with him, Stardust pursed his lips and silently blew him a kiss. The Army man didn’t react, other than a slight stiffening to his already stiff posture. The restrained reaction intrigued Stardust. Was the man shy or impossibly uptight? If Mike Zielinski was going to be sticking around, Stardust wanted to find out the answer to that question sooner rather than later.

After the brief introductions, Strong and Zielinski disappeared into Strong’s office behind a closed door, and Sonica popped into their quiet room to lay down. Stardust turned to Frost. “What do you think?”

“What do I think about what?”

“About the possibility of adding a new guy to the team.”

Frost shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me.”

“Might throw off the group dynamic. We’ve already got one uptight superhero.”

“I’m not uptight. I’m reserved.”

“If you’re not uptight, then how did you know I was talking about you?”

Frost narrowed arctic blue eyes. They brought a hand up, ice and snow quickly swirling into a small ball in their palm. Once it was solid, they flung it at Stardust.

Stardust quickly twisted in his chair, snapping a leg up to kick the snowball away before it could hit him. It went flying across the room, sailed over Caleb’s command center, and hit the opposite wall with a wet splat. Both of them looked at the slush sliding down the wall, then at each other, before they burst out laughing.

“Hey!” Caleb snapped. “If you two damage any of my equipment, I’ll put the emotional suffering of every fan disappointed in the latest Star Wars movie into your heads.”

The threat was enough to have both of them straightening up in their chairs and apologizing.

“Sorry, Caleb.”

“Won’t happen again.”

After Caleb’s reprimand, they sat there and quietly speculated about the possible recruit for a few minutes before Frost pushed up from their chair.

“I have to go. I have an appointment to keep.”

Caleb nodded in acknowledgement without taking his eyes off whatever he was looking at on his screen. “We should be fine for the rest of the night. Don’t forget that we have an official meeting coming up soon. Everyone needs to be there.”

“It’s on my calendar. See you guys later.”

After Frost left, Stardust cast a quick glance at Strong’s closed office door. “I think I’ll stick around for a little while longer.”

Caleb nodded again, his fingers now flying over one of his three keyboards.

Stardust settled back in his chair to wait for the meeting to end.

∞∞∞

When Mike walked into the headquarters for the Arch City Guardians, he took the time to look around. The building was an old firehouse the heroes had taken over for their use. It was impressive, but clearly still in the early stages of use. For one, it was too neat, missing the personal clutter of a broken-in headquarters. But the bones of a good set up were there. The technology was in place and top of the line, apparently run by the young Hispanic man with the royal blue hair. There were several club chairs facing the main command center. To the right, a vending machine, open shelving, and a locked cabinet took up the wall in the front of the room. In the back area, a small gym had been set up, with three treadmills, a couple of bikes, a multi-purpose weight machine, and a thick blue floor mat for sparring. On the loft above, there was a small kitchen area, with a long table taking up most of what he could see of the space. And on his left were several small offices, all with their lights off and doors closed except one.

After everything Mike had learned about Strong and his history, he’d expected to be greeted by the organized, high-tech set up. He hadn’t expected to walk in and come face to face with the most beautiful man he’d ever seen in his life.

Slender and elegant, the man lounged in one of the club chairs, an arm tossed across the back, one leg crossed over the other at the knee. Skin tight liquid-latex black pants with a holographic gold shimmer on the fabric clung to those long legs. Black boots embellished with thin gold chains laced up to his knees, and an intricately tooled leather holster was belted around his waist, with straps to hold a pair of gold sai buckled around his thighs. A cropped jacket made from the same material as those sinful pants opened to a smooth, bare chest. Black half-palm gloves partially covered delicate hands, and a gold face mask dangled from his fingers. The man’s hair was as dark as a country night sky, confined in a long braid that reached to his narrow waist with shorter strands framing his face, while his skin was pale as moonlight. His lips were a rosy pink, the top lip slightly fuller than the bottom, making them appear as if they were just shy of pursing for a kiss. And his eyes. Set beneath gently arched brows and framed by long, thick lashes, they were a shocking intense gold, like a tiger’s eyes caught in sunbeams.

He was gorgeous. The name Stardust suited him, as he appeared to be touched by ethereal starlight. Mike didn’t let on that he was affected by the other man’s beauty, however. He ignored the beefcake comment, greeting him politely along with everyone else.

“Good evening.”

“Come into my office and we’ll talk,” Strong said.

Mike followed the retired superhero across the room to the one office with its lights on. Strong closed the door but left the blinds on the big window facing the main area open. The older man gestured at one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

“Have a seat.” He went around to sit in his own chair once Mike sat down. “I’m glad you came in.”

This was their first time meeting face to face. They’d been put in contact through a mutual acquaintance in the military. After a couple of phone conversations, Mike had agreed to come in for an in-person discussion. Lieutenant Strong’s appearance fit what Mike had expected. Other than the slight bit of salt to his dark, low-cut hair, the lieutenant barely looked old enough to have retired. He was handsome, with an unlined, medium-brown complexion, dark eyes that were clear and direct, and a solid build with upright military posture. The former superhero turned director gave off an aura of calm competence, the type of demeanor that would have instilled unfailing loyalty among his soldiers. Mike liked him on sight.

“I’ll be upfront with you, Lieutenant. I didn’t have any plans to become a superhero. Receiving my powers was unplanned and unexpected. I’m still getting used to the fact that I’m an enhanced human.”

“That’s understandable. There are many people with powers who are at first reluctant to become a superhero. And not everyone who has special powers chooses to become a superhero. But there are many others who are unable to ignore the chance to do good with the powers they have and eventually overcome their initial reluctance.”

Mike acknowledged Strong with a brief nod. He did have power. Only recently acquired, and one he hadn’t asked for. Honestly, he’d give it back if he could. But according to the top secret doctors he’d seen, the change was irreversible. And since he couldn’t give it back, he might as well do some good with it, as the lieutenant said. “I didn’t plan for it but now that the opportunity has presented itself, I’m willing to put in the work.”

Strong leaned forward in his chair, hands folded together on his desk top. “Perfect. We’ve only been a team for about two months but we’re coming together well and doing good work. I believe you’d be an amazing asset to add. Your military training will help our missions run more smoothly out in the field. Especially on ops where our more experienced members are otherwise occupied.”

“And you’d have an in-house medic.”

Strong smiled. “That too.”

“What about privacy?”

“Identities are as secret as you choose to have them. You’ll be assigned a code name of course. Some of the team are open to the public with their alter egos. While others are private with the public but open among the group. It’s completely your choice which way you go. In addition, Caleb has implemented various protocols to keep the team and those closest to us safe.”

“That’s good to know.” It was good that they were protecting the members and their families, but that wasn’t a concern for Mike. He didn’t have anyone close enough to be concerned with keeping safe. Orphaned at nine, the Army was the only family he’d had for most of his life. Strong must have recalled that piece of information from his file because he leaned back in his chair, his voice taking on a more personal tone.

“I think it would be good for you to belong to a group again.”

It was true that Mike missed the camaraderie of being part of a team after being reassigned from his original Army unit. He would like it if he could find another team to bond with. But he had a few more questions before he made his decision.

“Why did you form this group?”

“In general, because I’ve had a sense for some time that things are changing in St. Louis. More specifically, we had an incident two months ago, where one of the local superheroes almost lost his partner in a villain attack. I’d already decided that the heroes could serve the city more efficiently if we worked together, but that situation pushed me into getting the ball rolling.”

“That makes sense,” Mike agreed with a nod. “A team can always accomplish more and achieve better results than individuals working on their own.”

“Exactly.”

“Who is your team leader?”

“We don’t have one yet. I’ve been watching to see who is a good fit for leadership roles, but ultimately it will be up to the team to choose. I’ve also been feeling things out, rotating partners to see who works best with who. We have a meeting coming up where we’ll solidify roles and address a few more housekeeping items.”

“And does your team have any official government sponsored backing?”

“Officially? No. Especially not in St. Louis proper, where other parties have tightened their influence on local government.”

“You don’t take orders from any government arm?”

“No, we do not. We serve the people directly and that will always be our mission. Does that work for you?”

Mike nodded. “Yes, that works for me.”

Strong smiled. “Another reason you’ll be a good fit with us.”

Mike thought so too. In fact, he was eager to join up but wanted to take some time to consider all the angles before giving Strong his answer. “I’ll think about all of this and get back to you.”

Strong rose and extended his hand and Mike followed suit. They shook hands, concluding their meeting.

Out in the main area, the room had cleared except for Caleb typing away at one of his computers, and the elegant tiger, who was still lounging in his chair. The man barely moved at Mike’s appearance, other than a slight tilting of his head towards the now open office door. Still, Mike had the feeling that the other man had been waiting for him.

“It was nice to meet you both,” he said in their direction.

Caleb looked up from his computer with a distracted smile. “I hope we see you back soon.”

The tiger gave him a quick two fingered salute. “Bye, Beefcake.”

Again, Mike ignored the beefcake comment. “You have a nice night.”

Chapter 2

The next morning, Mike stood in the large atrium at his new place of employment. He lingered near the back of a group of his co-workers, listening with half an ear to their conversation. The area where they congregated was beautiful, with a quietly tinkling fountain, plants with thick green leaves in colorful pots, and big arched windows looking out onto a wide, deep green lawn that led to a small copse of trees. Every morning, the Marin’s Outdoors employees gathered here, networking while drinking a professionally acceptable morning drink.

Marin’s Outdoors main business was selling hunting and sporting gear, but they also hosted camping trips and other wilderness events. The morning social hour was a time for the people in different departments to bounce ideas off each other for joint projects that would benefit the company as a whole.

Mike held a mug of coffee, taking prolonged sips as a way to avoid actively participating in the conversation, which had shifted from work to discussing going out to an exotic dance club that evening. His tactic worked, up to a point. Eventually his co-workers turned their sights on him, pulling him directly into the conversation.

Rebeca, a petite Afro-Latina woman with a short, wavy haircut, and a diamond stud earring in each ear was the most excited. “Come on Zielinski you’ve got to join us. The Flirtatious Fox is one of the best exotic dance clubs in the Playground.”

“The Fox has lots of variety so you’ll definitely see someone you like,” chimed in a guy from finance.

“And it’s For the Troops night. Former military get in free and drinks are half-off.”

The last wasn’t exactly a selling point. They made good money at Marin’s and he didn’t need the discount. But maybe he should go. He hadn’t done any socializing since moving to St. Louis and he did want camaraderie. If it turned out that he couldn’t find what he was looking for with Strong’s superhero team, maybe he could find it here at work instead. Several of his co-workers were also former military so they had that in common. He looked down at the brown leather glove covering the hand that held his coffee mug. And he was willing to bet that at least some of them were hiding scars under their clothes, just as he was.

“All right. I’ll meet you guys there.”

Rebeca clapped him on the back. “Yeah! I knew you were good people.”

Thanks to practice, Mike didn’t flinch at the uninvited touch. He did however, subtly shift out of range to make sure he wasn’t touched again. “It sounds like it’ll be a good time,” he said politely.

Soon after he agreed to join them, the morning coffee break ended. Mike returned to the marketing floor, greeting the administrative assistant he shared with two other employees as he passed the man’s covered but organized desk on the way to his office. The office he’d been assigned was small but nice. Thick, gray carpet covered the entire floor. An L-shaped bamboo wood desk was the focal point of the room while bamboo shelves and wood fronted filing cabinets took up most of one wall. The office had three large windows with a decent view of downtown St. Louis. He hadn’t brought many personal items in yet, but the framed poster-sized nature shots that had come with the office gave it somewhat of a lived-in feel.

In his current position, he handled the influencers and other signed talent contracted to represent Marin’s on social media. It was decent work, but a far cry from the Army life he was used to. Adjusting to wearing slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie every day was a big change. Mike knew he was lucky to have found such a good position so soon after leaving the Army. He hadn’t wanted to return to his home state of Oklahoma, so when a friend mentioned they had a contact in St. Louis who hired veterans, he’d immediately applied. Then, deciding St. Louis would be a good place to live whether or not he was offered the job, he’d made the move to the city on the river as soon as his discharge was complete.

A little over a month had passed since his move, but he still didn’t feel settled in. He’d joined the Army as soon as he’d aged out of the foster care system at eighteen, and remained enlisted for ten years, so it stood to reason that he was lost without that familiar structure.

Determined not to waste office hours dwelling on his personal life, Mike turned on his computer to get started with work. His first task of the day was to review his stable of influencers’ social media feeds, check to be sure there wasn’t anything controversial attached to their names, and that Marin’s products were featured as scheduled. He was diligent, carefully going over a full day’s worth of Instagram posts, TikTok videos, and Twitter profiles for a half-dozen influencers, looking for red flags. Thankfully, nothing negative caught his attention. There were only pictures and videos of attractive people in front of idyllic campsites, artfully splashed with mud while straddling four-wheelers, or paddling canoes across serene lakes. Even his one problem case had been on his best behavior lately. It had been nearly two weeks since he’d had to ask the popular outdoorsman to remove a post that didn’t align with Marin’s brand.

Once that task was finished, Mike moved on to reviewing submissions for people who wanted to collaborate with Marin’s. There were a lot, the coming fall and cooler temperatures inspiring many social media personalities to think of outdoor activities and working with a company who could sponsor them. Mike worked quickly using a Yes, No, Maybe system. The Yes and No submissions received one of the two form emails he’d created to speed up the response process. The Maybes he flagged to review their platforms in more detail before making a decision.

For the rest of the morning, he tackled the remainder of his task list with the same smooth efficiency. He was so focused that he almost worked through lunch. He might have done so if his phone hadn’t rung with an inter-office call, taking his attention away from his computer.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Zielinski. It’s Rebeca. Wanted to give you the details for tonight.”

Mike grabbed a pen and memo pad. “Okay, shoot.”

“We’re meeting at seven in the Fox’s parking lot. It’s toward the front of the Playground on Mars Street.”

Mike jotted down the information Rebeca gave him before asking a question. “What’s the Playground?”

“Oh, goodness. You’re so new,” Rebeca said with a friendly laugh. “The Playground is the red-light district in East St. Louis. It’s on its own little island, where adults can go to get up to all sorts of fun and shenanigans. Pretty much everything is legal and it’s all play all the time. That’s how it got the nickname the Playground.”

“I see.”

Another laugh. “You’ll definitely see when you get there,” she teased.

She finished giving him directions, telling him which highway exit to take. Once they hung up, Mike went to the break room to get his lunch. He returned to his office, eating the contents of his protein box while he stood at one of the large windows. It was a clear day, and the early afternoon sun glinting off a massive, amber-glass sky scraper drew his eye to the tall building and the giant gold P perched atop it. The building housed Pruitt, Inc., a large corporation based in the Gateway City. Spread out on the grounds surrounding the golden tower on the hill were smaller buildings for the company’s manufacturing plants, distribution, and other facilities.

It was a huge campus. Taking up that much real estate in the middle of a major city must have been expensive and had more than likely displaced lots of businesses and homes. Pruitt products were everywhere in the country and the resulting jobs and corporate taxes had bumped the aging city on the river to a level of prosperity that hadn’t been seen in decades. Still, even as a new resident, Mike was aware that many St. Louisans weren’t completely happy with Pruitt’s invasive presence in their city. He’d seen the anti-Pruitt graffiti and heard people complaining about the company while he was out and about.

Finished with his lunch, Mike turned away from the window and thoughts of giant corporations. He had a lot of work to complete before he could go off to play tonight.

∞∞∞

Around six-thirty that evening, Mike finally walked out of Marin’s. He crossed the nearly empty parking lot to his dark gray Chevy Blazer. Inside, he took off his tie, tossing it on the passenger seat before he put the vehicle in drive and headed for East St. Louis. As he drove over the Eads Bridge into Illinois, the Gateway Arch shone silver and orange in the light of the setting sun. His tires whirring on the pavement, he looked over the guardrails at the wide expanse of water below him. It was a muddy brown, gently waving in the wake of the traffic on the river.

After exiting the bridge, he drove a few miles down a dark street with squat brick buildings on either side. They were plain, missing the charm of many of the older buildings in downtown St. Louis. Then he turned a corner. He came to another bridge, this one stretching over a lake and leading to a small, man-made island. At the end of the bridge was a sphere of colorful lights, beckoning him closer. The closer he got, the brighter the lights became. A digital billboard stretched over the bridge at the mid-way point. On top of the sign in bright red neon letters read Welcome to the Playground! And on the display, a woman with a white fur coat opened to reveal the red lingerie beneath swung back and forth on a wide swing. She leaped off, arms stretched forward as if she was reaching for someone to catch her. The image faded to black before she was caught. Mike drove beneath the sign right as the display began to repeat.

And then he was in the Playground. Up close, the kaleidoscope of colors separated into distinct signs, every one of them bright and determined to catch his eye. Mike drove slowly, exactly at the speed limit so that he could take in everything the red-light district had to offer—which was a lot more than strip clubs. A sign with old-fashioned flashing bulbs as a backdrop to pinup art of a woman kneeling in black stockings, coyly looking over her shoulder, offered live peep shows. Above a building with a glass front a giant green pot leaf glowed, advertising the smoke house below. A deck of cards lit to give off the effect that they were shuffling from one end of the sign to the other identified one of the many casinos he passed. There was a white stone building with tall narrow windows, all lit by a red light, with a bright purple sign proclaiming it as Madame Blyth’s Bordello.

He passed a cybersex chat cafe, a tantric massage parlor, and an outdoor boxing ring sheltered by a pavilion. There was a corkscrew water slide inside a giant glass tower, and they even had go-kart racing on a neon-lit track that swirled above the island like a life-sized Hot Wheels race set.

By the time he reached his destination, Mike was nearly on visual sensory overload. But he still admired The Flirtatious Fox. The building’s exterior was constructed from pristine white brick. A black and gold marquee with a digital display of exotic dancers flashed over the entrance. Above the marquee, a red and white neon fox perched, its tail flicking back and forth, the right eye blinking closed in a saucy wink.

Mike parked and got out of his SUV, making his way across black asphalt to where his co-workers had already gathered in a group on the sidewalk. He was the only one still dressed in his work clothes. If he’d gone home to change, there was a big chance he wouldn’t have come back out. Removing his tie was the best he could do for a casual look.

“You made it!”

“What do you think of the Playground so far?” Rebeca asked.

He looked around at the dizzying display of lights and entertainment and crowds of people walking the streets. “It’s a lot more than I expected.”

“Come on inside,” she said happily. “There’s even more good stuff to see.”

They herded him across the street to the Flirtatious Fox, through the gold framed doors, and into an explosion of color and sound and beautiful people. The club floor was a glossy dark red, the ceiling painted gold with flecks of glitter to make it sparkle. In the center hung a huge stained-glass globe, the light within it casting colorful reflections all around the room.

At the moment, the Fox’s dancers were in the middle of a group burlesque routine. They swept through the crowd, shimmying so that tassels on breasts and chests swung in delighted patrons’ faces. High kicks flashed secret places barely covered by the tiniest of thongs. Go-go dancers in boots and lace briefs dipped and twirled in gilded bird cages scattered throughout the club.

“Let’s sit over there!”

Rebeca spoke loudly so that the group could hear her over the music and cheering crowd, pointing out a section three rows back from the stage with several empty tables and chairs grouped together. They agreed but stayed where they were until the music ended. A shower of gold confetti rained down, the audience clapping and whistling as the performers took their bows before disappearing backstage in a swirl of color and glitter. Then their group headed for the spot Rebeca had chosen.

As soon as they settled in, a cocktail server came over to take their drink orders. The young man was dressed according to the theme for the night in green camouflage booty shorts, combat boots, and Army green tape over his nipples in an X. He efficiently took their orders, clearly at ease in his bare skin. Mike remembered a time when he’d been comfortable going without a shirt in public. Those days were over for him.

Their group talked and Mike easily joined in, appreciating that they were making the effort to get to know him and include him in their social group. It wasn’t long before the server returned and set Mike’s glass of rum and Coke in front of him. Mike had just taken a sip when the DJ’s voice boomed throughout the club.

“And now, patrons of The Flirtatious Fox. The act you’ve all been thirsting for. Please welcome to the stage the titillating, tantalizing, and always tempting...Glimmer!”

“Yes, we’re right on time,” Rebeca said as she excitedly straightened in her seat. “I love his performances.”

Eli put his drink down on the table. “Hell, I’m straight and I love seeing this guy dance.” He leaned over to look at Mike. “What about you Zielinski?”

“I’m bi.”

“Then you should like this performance.”

“If he’s Mike’s type,” someone put in.

“Glimmer is everybody’s type,” Rebeca said with a laugh.

The music changed to the slow, sultry bass beat of a popular hip-hop song. The red velvet curtain parted and a slim Caucasian man stepped through it, gliding onto the stage with a long-legged stride. He was dressed in a sexy version of Air Force dress blues. A pale blue shirt tied in a knot above his navel revealed a narrow waist and hard abs, the short sleeves rolled up over lean muscled arms. Tight, dark-blue shorts rode low on his hips and cut high on his thighs. Shiny, black over-the-knee boots, and a brimmed service hat pulled down low to shield the upper half of the dancer’s face completed the look.

The man started dancing, and Mike overheard a low conversation between Rebeca and the woman next to her.

“God, I would love to peg him.”

“Does he like women?”

“In my fantasies he does.”

The dancer gripped the pole and jumped up to swing around it, removing the hat and tossing it to the side. He flung his head back and a sheet of ink-black hair spilled down over his shoulders, flaring out like a silken flag as he spun. When he raised his head back up and looked out over the crowd, Mike’s mouth dropped open. His heartbeat paused before it picked up speed double time.

Even from three rows back he recognized those eyes. Tiger’s eyes. It was Stardust, the man he’d met yesterday at the firehouse.

Chapter 3

Mike was so surprised to see Stardust there in front of him, that he sat unmoving with his mouth open for several moments. It took an ear-splitting whistle of appreciation from the table next to him to jar him out of his shocked freeze. He managed to close his mouth, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from the stage—away from the man on stage. Mike had thought the other man was beautiful during their first meeting but seeing him now with his creamy skin dusted with gold glitter and sultry dark makeup enhancing his golden eyes, he was in awe.

Stardust’s, or Glimmer’s, lithe body moved in sensuous waves, hips rolling, spine arching as if in the throes of a climax. His long-legged stride carried him to the front edge of the stage, where he ripped open his shirt. Glimmer spun around in a slow circle as he shrugged out of the mock Air Force uniform top and tossed it to the side, leaving him in nothing but his boots and those little shorts. But a heartbeat later they came off too, Glimmer’s hands sliding over his hips and ass before he unzipped and shimmied out of the shorts, revealing a pair of skimpy dark-blue square cut briefs. The underwear decorated with sparkling rhinestones over his groin somehow managed to be even smaller than the miniscule shorts he’d discarded, the sheer material giving the club patrons a tantalizing peek at the bare skin beneath.

With that sheet of black hair swinging against his back, Stardust returned to the pole. He made it appear effortless to climb and spin and hold himself suspended, but the lean muscles revealed the strength required to clasp the pole and hold his entire body up with nothing but his thighs and core strength. Mike watched the raven-haired man’s every move, completely enthralled with his glowing, seductive presence.

∞∞∞

As Aiden reached the middle of his performance, he gracefully dismounted from the pole for more floor work. Now was the time to really get the club patrons riled up, teasing and flirting until the cash in their pockets ended up at his feet. Looking out over the cheering and whistling crowd, he noticed a pair of broad shoulders a few rows back. Something about the build was familiar, but that section of the club was in shadow, preventing him from seeing the person’s face. He was about to mentally shrug and move on, when the strobe lights flashed over that area, giving Aiden a quick glimpse of a hard, clean-shaven jaw, skin tanned by the sun, and a sharp haircut. It was enough for recognition to hit.

Aiden let his lips curl in a grin. The set of shoulders belonged to the beefcake from the firehouse. The poor guy looked uncomfortable, sitting with his neck stiff and back ramrod straight. But despite his apparent discomfort, his eyes were locked on the stage, following Aiden’s every step. Aiden kept dancing but instead of casting suggestive glances over the patrons as he usually did during a performance, he watched Zielinski. Aiden knew the exact moment the other man realized Aiden was staring at him, because he immediately averted his gaze. Aiden chuckled to himself and looked away too, whipping around to strut back over to the pole.

He rolled his hips and dollar bills flew onto the stage before he even laid hands on the pole. He grasped the cool metal with one hand and walked around it, lifting up into a fireman’s spin before transitioning into attitude. Still spinning, he brought his knees together, legs bent and toes pointed, sitting back into chair before landing lightly, feet spread wide to bend over and twerk. The audience roared with approval. Aiden grinned, flipping his hair back as he straightened. Gliding away from the pole to the right side of the stage, he paused for patrons to slip money in the waistband and leg holes of his sheer briefs. Each patron who slipped him singles was rewarded by Aiden standing right in front of them so they could watch him make it clap up close and personal.

When there was about a minute left of the song, Aiden gracefully ran back to the pole for one last combination of spins and flips. He grabbed onto the pole, pulling himself up near the top before flipping upside down into an inverted split. The crowd was still cheering when he rolled it to a Superman, one arm stretched forward, both legs extended in a straight line behind him. He slowly spun with the pose until he was inches above the floor and then flipped over, landing in a split. Aiden eased to his back and rolled around, sweeping his hands through the money scattered across the stage and gathering it up to rub it over his near naked body. Building to the end, he threw a handful of money up in the air, letting it flutter down around him, which of course inspired the people near the stage to throw their own cash, adding to the rainfall of dollar bills.

Aiden rose up onto his knees, and crawled to the center of the stage. Lips parted in a sultry smile, he popped up into a squat, bounced it twice with his knees coyly pressed together, then flashed his legs open wide. He stayed in that pose, snapping his right hand up for a sharp salute when the final beat of the music hit. The Flirtatious Fox exploded with applause. Aiden winked at the crowd, unabashedly reveling in the cheers and loving the admiring whistles. But like the song said, what he truly loved was the money that continued to rain down around him. It was still falling when he got up, bowed, and sauntered backstage.

“Nice job,” the director said.

Aiden grabbed the bottle of water he’d left there and sucked back a huge gulp. It was hot under the stage lights. “Thanks.” He waited in the wings as his money and the parts of his costume he’d discarded were collected by a member of the staff. When they brought it back and handed everything over, Aiden thanked them and gave them a tip.

In the dressing room, he tucked his cash into his boots. He made a quick stop in the bathroom to freshen up, then returned to the mirrored vanity in the dressing room to reapply his deodorant, gulp down more water, and change into another outfit. This one was a sleeveless black leotard, with red military piping, gold decorative buttons and a deep V to show off his chest. Black gloves and an officer’s hat finished the look, giving it a Dom vibe, which suited him fine.

“Gonna hit the floor and see what the crowd is like tonight,” he said to the house mom.

She handed him a snack bag of mini-pretzels, which he gratefully accepted.

“It’s wild out there. Have fun.”

Aiden nodded. He took a few minutes to eat before he left the dressing room. The second he strolled out into the club, several regulars called out to him. Aiden waved and blew flirtatious kisses to everyone. But he didn’t want to get sidetracked before he reached his goal, so he didn’t stop to chat with any of his fans as he headed to the section three rows back from center stage. When he reached the group Zielinski sat with, they all perked up, looking excited and eager that he was among them. A guy in the first seat spoke up, his eyes bright and face flushed from alcohol.

“Hello, darlin’. I love your work.”

“Thank you,” Aiden said. He smiled at them all. “And thank you everyone for coming out tonight. How many of you were members of our armed forces?” Nearly the entire group raised their hands. Aiden cocked his hip and gave them a saucy salute. “Thank you for your service.”

He strolled down the line of patrons, giving each of them a moment of his attention, asking if they were having a good time, signaling the server to come over and freshen their drinks. A woman with short, dark hair and warm brown skin stared up at him with heart eyes, so he paused and flirted with her for a moment before moving on. Finally, he made it to where Zielinski sat, looking as if he were in a game of Duck, Duck, Goose and desperately hoping he wouldn’t be picked to be the goose. Aiden stopped and smiled down at him.

“And who is this? I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before.”

The happy drunk from the first table spoke up again.

“That’s Mike. He’s new in town. We had to drag him out tonight but I bet he’s glad he came now,” he said loudly, ending with a boisterous laugh.

Aiden put a hand on his bare chest, smiling as if he was delighted. “Ah, a newbie! Welcome to St. Louis. I should welcome you properly.” He cast an expectant glance at the patrons closest to him and they reacted predictably.

“Get him a lap dance!”

Cash immediately appeared, waving from several hands, all passed down to contribute to Mike’s lap dance. Aiden took the bills and slipped them into his boot. When he looked back up, a ruddy flush had appeared on Zielinski’s cheeks.

“You up for a dance, soldier?”

Bright green eyes focused on his for a long moment before Zielinski gave a tight nod.

“Good,” Aiden put both palms on his thighs, slowly caressing his own skin. “Just one rule. No touching.”

Zielinski gave him another one of those tight nods to show he understood.

The next song started and Aiden began to dance, rubbing his palms over his body in sensuous sweeps as he swayed his hips from side to side. He moved in close, teasingly trailing his fingers up Zielinski’s thighs, feeling the firm muscle beneath the slacks. Aiden straddled the big man’s lap, lowering himself until he felt the heat of those muscular thighs against his bare skin. He had a reason for instigating this lap dance and he got to it as soon as he and Zielinski were face to face, close enough that they could speak low without the others hearing them.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again this soon,” he said as he lightly touched a hand to the perfectly broad chest in front of him.

“They’re my co-workers,” Zielinski said with a slight head tilt toward the people seated next to him. “They wanted me to come out.”

Aiden kept dancing, moving on autopilot while he spoke. “But you didn’t want to come.” He said it as a statement not a question. Zielinski answered anyway.

“Not really.”

“Strip club isn’t your scene?”

“I don’t have a scene. I usually stay in.”

Aiden continued with his questions, and their eyes stayed locked through what had become part lap dance—part interrogation. Zielinski’s voice remained even with each response, but the flush still on his face gave him away. And when Aiden braced his hands on those broad shoulders, using them as leverage so that he could tease with body rolls, he brushed against more proof that Zielinski was affected—a thick, hard length hidden by those crisp business slacks. Aiden raised a brow, and let the tiniest hint of a grin curl his lips. “Impressive.” He shaped the word with his lips but didn’t speak it aloud. Still, that flush deepened on Zielinski’s cheeks and Aiden felt his shoulders tense beneath his palms. Aiden backed off and returned to his questions, learning what he could about this man that he might be working with soon.

“And you’re looking to change that with our mutual friend?”

“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”

“What made you want to become a superhero?”

For the first time Zielinski didn’t respond.

“Too much to explain during a three-minute lap dance?”

“Something like that.”

“Strong wants you. He doesn’t reach out to anyone unless he really wants to partner with them.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Hmmm... But what do you want?”

Zielinski swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. But the song ended before he could answer.

Aiden leaned in close to whisper in the other man’s ear. “Hope I see you again, soldier. Here or at the firehouse.” He pulled back, speaking louder for the benefit of his friends. “Welcome to St. Louis. I’m sure you’ll love it here.” He swung his leg over Zielinski’s lap to stand up straight, then strolled off, leaving longing glances and piercing wolf whistles in his wake.

∞∞∞

After leaving Zielinski and his friends behind, Aiden roamed the club floor for another hour, giving two more lap dances, sitting with groups to add to their party vibe—which led to a bigger bar tab, and chatting with people who simply wanted someone to talk to. At the end of his shift, he made his way back to the dressing room.

Here the music was muted, thanks to the soundproof blankets hanging on the walls. The carpet was old but free of tears or holes, and a ceiling fan whirred overhead to keep the scent of dozens of body sprays and perfumes from becoming too cloying. A stand of metal lockers, its tan factory paint covered with doodles and rude messages written in Sharpie, stickers, and pictures of patrons who were shitty tippers stood in the far corner. Mike went over and unlocked his locker to grab his backpack.

He peeled off the black body suit and boots, then stood there in his briefs to let his skin breathe for a few moments before he changed into a pair of black joggers and a crop top t-shirt. He sighed with relief when he slid his feet into the cushioned comfort of his tennis shoes. After nearly twenty years of dancing, his feet were a mess of almost constant soreness, and the boots and pleasers he wore on a near nightly basis didn’t help.

Once he was dressed, he sat down at his assigned spot on the long vanity table to remove his makeup and tie his hair back. He’d just wiped the last of the glitter from his eyelids when the dressing room door opened. A moment later someone called his name.

“Hey, Glimmer, you’ve got company at the front door.”

Aiden turned to look over his shoulder at the club staff member. “Who is it?”

“It’s Steve. And he’s got The Look.”

At that answer, a chorus of sympathetic groans from the other dancers rolled through the room. The Look was one they all knew. It was the tell-tale expression of a man who was ready to push for the dancer they were dating to quit the stage. Aiden shook his head, disappointed but not surprised. “Right on schedule,” he muttered to himself. “Thanks. I’ll be right out.”

He quickly braided his hair, snapping an elastic band around the end of the braid. Then, he shrugged into a light jacket and grabbed his bag. He said goodnight to his fellow dancers, kissing a few cheeks and smacking several sequined covered butts as he left the dressing room and walked down the narrow hallway that led to the front of the club. Near the entrance, a tall, broad shouldered red-head waited for him.

“Steve. How are you, sweetheart?”

“I’m good. Can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure. Let’s go outside.” Aiden led the way through the small lobby, giving the bouncer a nod on his way out. Management didn’t like it when their dancers were involved in disputes inside the club. Romantic conflict was bad for the club’s vibe, and it reminded the patrons that the dancers weren’t actually as available to them as they pretended to be.

Once the club door closed behind them, Aiden walked a few steps away from the building, but still within shouting distance of the bouncer if things got out of hand. He turned to his probably soon to be ex-lover with his best smile. “What’s up?”

Steve stepped closer and took hold of his hand, looking down into his eyes with a loving gaze. Aiden wanted to groan but managed to remain silent. They were really about to have what Steve clearly wanted to be a romantic conversation, outside of his place of work while a group of people across the street engaged in dueling chants of Show us your tits! Show us your dicks! with the tarts hanging out on the balcony above them.

“Aiden, baby. I’m ready for us to take the next step in our relationship.”

“Oh yeah? And what step is that?”

“You and me together.”

“Aren’t we already together?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want either of us seeing anyone else.”

“You want to be exclusive.” It wasn’t a question. Aiden knew from experience what Steve wanted. He was just waiting for him to come out and say it.

“Yeah. And I want you to quit this job.”

And there it was. “Oh, I see. What you actually mean is you don’t want anybody seeing me. Or more precisely, seeing my body on stage.”

Steve flashed a cajoling smile, one that Aiden was used to seeing. He usually gave in to the harmless requests that accompanied that smile. That wouldn’t be happening tonight.

“I want you to be mine, baby,” Steve said with a light squeeze to Aiden’s hand.

“And I want to keep dancing. You know that.”

“But—.”

“No buts.” Aiden kept his voice soft as he cut in. “I made it clear when we started seeing each other that I love my job and I’m not going to give it up for anyone or anything.”

“Not even this?”

Steve dropped his hand to pull a square, black velvet box from his pocket. He opened the lid, revealing a ring with a wide platinum band and an impressive inset canary yellow diamond flanked by white diamond chips. The ring was gorgeous, sparkling brightly against its black velvet backdrop. But as far as Aiden was concerned, it might as well have been a pair of jeweled shackles.

“Steve,” he started gently. “You’re sweet. And I appreciate the gesture. But this isn’t what I want.”

“But—.” Steve’s forehead crinkled with a frown as he began to realize this wasn’t going the way he’d obviously hoped for. “I love you.”

“I don’t feel the same way,” Aiden said, turning him down with kind firmness.

Several increasingly uncomfortable moments of silence followed his statement. Steve’s expression morphed from hopeful, to disappointed, and finally to anger. Aiden braced himself in case that anger exploded verbally or worse, physically.

“You might be gorgeous, and hot in bed, but the truth is you’ve got a heart as cold as ice.”

The insult set off a spark of anger in his gut, burning away his determination to be gentle during this break up. “I’m not cold,” he snapped. I just know what I want. And quitting my job because a man wants to take ownership of me isn’t it.”

“Fine,” Steve bit out from between lips tight with anger. He snapped the ring box closed and shoved it back into his pocket. “I won’t bother you again.”

It was on the tip of Aiden’s tongue to say something placating and soothe Steve’s feelings. But he knew if he did, it would only give the man hope to try again, and they’d be right back in this uncomfortable situation in a few weeks’ time. He kept his mouth closed. Steve stared at him for a long moment before he whipped around and stormed off to the parking lot.

Aiden watched him go with only a little regret. They’d had fun together, but he wasn’t surprised their relationship had ended this way. They always ended this way. The guys he dated always wanted him to quit dancing and they were never able to fully give him what he wanted. He needed to take a break. Or better yet, swear off dating the type of guy that for some reason he was always attracted to even though they could never match up with him on what he wanted in a relationship.

Aggravated with Steve and all the guys who’d come before him, Aiden made a snap decision. “I’m done with dating guys like Steve.” Satisfied with his declaration, Aiden sighed and moved to lean back against the wall behind him. He was prepared to wait a few minutes to make sure Steve had actually left the premises before he went over to his bike. But at the soft scrape of shoes on asphalt he realized he wasn’t alone. He whipped his head to the side to see who was out there with him. Zielinski stood a few feet away, half-hidden in the shadows.

“Eavesdrop much?” Aiden snapped as he straightened again.

“I wasn’t,” Zielinski said. “Or, I didn’t mean to. I’m waiting for one of my co-workers since he had too much to drink and I agreed to give him a ride home.”

“And you got a free breakup show for your trouble.”

“I’m sorry your relationship ended.”

Aiden shrugged. “No need to apologize. Breakups happen.”

“You don’t seem torn up about it.”

“Because I’m not. I like to have a good time. When the times are no longer good, I end it.”

“Hmm.”

Aiden felt the censure in that green gaze, the color somehow still clearly visible in the shadows where they stood. “Whatever. My life. My rules.” He looked out to the parking lot. Steve’s car was gone which meant he was free to go. “See you around, Beefcake.”

He started walking down the street to the crosswalk, headed to where he’d parked his bike when a furious yell came from the alley he’d passed.

“Stop! What are you-? No! Stop!”

Aiden didn’t have his mask or his sai, but he didn’t need either to fight if someone was being attacked. He turned back and ran around the corner in time to see a tall, heavy-set man dressed in a plain brown sweatshirt and cargo pants, with his hair covered by a gray skullie, backhanding one of their club’s cocktail servers across the face. The young man cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

“You’re gonna regret that,” Aiden snarled before he dropped his bag and charged forward. The guy spun around to face him, but Aiden was on him before he could get his guard up. He didn’t go for the obvious punch, instead he swooped in close and jumped up to hit him with a headbutt. The guy yelled out with his own cry of pain, a sound that was immensely satisfying to Aiden. But the mugger didn’t back down after the nose-crunching blow. He squared up, so Aiden got ready to fight.

∞∞∞

Mike stood outside in the warm late summer night, his ears buzzing as they adjusted to the absence of bass-heavy music thumping against his eardrums. His co-worker had been pretty green around the gills when he’d rushed to the bathroom, so he expected to be there waiting for a while. Running into Stardust again when he’d exited the club was unexpected. He looked different from the first two occasions he’d seen him. Gone were the tight pants and weapons of his superhero outfit and the makeup and exotic costumes from his time as Glimmer. Instead, he appeared relaxed and casual in sweats and sneakers. But his mood had taken on a hard edge, no doubt attributed to the breakup he’d witnessed. His unintentional role in the scene as an eavesdropper probably hadn’t helped. Realizing the situation must be awkward for the other man, Mike didn’t try to prolong their conversation. Besides, lap dance aside, they hardly knew one another.

Stardust walked off but barely thirty seconds after his departure, there was a cry of pain, followed almost immediately by sounds of a scuffle. Mike instinctively jumped into action and ran toward the fight. He might not be a superhero yet, but he wasn’t going to sit there and do nothing while someone was hurt.

He made his way around the side of the Flirtatious Fox to where the noises were coming from. A slim young man huddled on the dirty, uneven pavement, torn dollar bills scattered around his feet. He’d obviously been assaulted and mugged, but Stardust was there fighting off the assailant in the narrow space between two buildings. The dancer had the upper hand with swift punches and elbow strikes, until the attacker got in a punishing blow dead center on his chest and sent him stumbling back.

Without even thinking about it, Mike activated his power. Twin beams of bright green energy blasted from his eyes, knocking the assailant off his feet and throwing him back several paces before he could land another hit on Stardust. The beams also clipped the side of the building opposite, tearing loose a few bricks before Mike blinked and stopped the blast.

He rushed over to check on Stardust and the victim. “Are you guys okay?”

“I’m fine,” Stardust said. He kneeled down to help the other guy sit up. “How about you?”

Mike stayed alert while Stardust checked on the victim, who he recognized as the camouflage wearing cocktail server, in case the guy came in for another attack. But he was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he’d done the smart thing and taken off when he realized the odds had turned against him.

The young man gingerly touched his bright red cheek. “Going to have to go heavy on the makeup to cover the bruise I’ll probably have, but I’m okay.” He started trying to gather the money at his feet but it was torn into so many tiny pieces, there was no way to salvage it. “Damnit! That guy yelled that I shouldn’t make money peddling sin and ripped up all my cash.” He flopped back to the ground in frustration. “An entire night’s tips. Gone.”

Stardust opened his backpack and pulled out a thick stack of bills folded and held together with a rubber band. Without a moment’s hesitation, he held the money out to the young man. “Here.”

“What?” The server slowly sat back up, his eyes wide. “I can’t take that. That’s your money and it’s way more than I made tonight.”

“Yes, you can. I know you’re new and you’re working your way up the ladder in the club. I remember those days and how tough they can be. Take it. And don’t worry about paying me back.” He took hold of the server’s hand and pressed the money to his palm.

After several seconds of prolonged silent shock, he finally let his fingers close over the money. “Thanks, Glimmer. This means a lot.”

“You’re welcome.”

They exchanged a hug, the blond’s face tucked into Stardust’s chest. When they parted, the guy smiled up at Mike.

“Thank you for helping too. A round of drinks on me next time you’re in the club.”

“No thanks necessary,” Mike said politely.

“We’ll watch you walk to your car,” Stardust said as he helped him to his feet.

The server grabbed his bag and brushed himself off, giving Stardust one more quick hug before he left.

Together, Mike and Stardust walked to the end of the alley, both of them watching the young man make his way across the street to a small, beat-up pick-up truck. The old Ford pulled out of the lot, the kid honking twice when he drove by. Before Mike could say anything, Stardust turned and looked up at him.

“I could have handled that by myself.”

Mike sucked in a sharp breath, ready to tell Stardust off for his ungrateful attitude. Before he could say anything however, Stardust continued.

“But I appreciate you stepping in. Thanks.”

It was obvious that the thanks was grudgingly given but Mike accepted it without complaint. “You’re welcome.”

Something caught Stardust’s attention, as his gaze flicked to the side.

“I think that lost little duck is looking for you,” he said with a nod at the club door.

Mike looked over at the front of the Fox. His co-worker stood there, one hand braced on the wall, peering across the street to the parking lot, clearly looking for his ride. Mike turned back to Stardust to say goodbye, but the other man had already taken off, strolling down the sidewalk without looking back. At the crosswalk, he jogged across the street to a motorcycle parked in the first row of the parking lot. As he watched, Stardust climbed on the back of a black and gold bike, bouncing once as he kickstarted it to life. He slowly drove off the lot, then went roaring past the Flirtatious Fox on his way out of the Playground. Mike stood there, watching the single red tail light until it disappeared around the corner.

What a strange night this had turned out to be. Seeing the superhero he’d met yesterday on stage tonight as an exotic dancer, getting a lap dance from him, then helping him fight off a mugger. Maybe the universe was telling him that he was indeed meant to work with the members of the ACG. Mike shook his head and went to collect his co-worker.

Chapter 4

A few evenings later, Aiden sat at the vanity in the dancer’s dressing room. He was already in costume for his upcoming performance, but he wasn’t scheduled to go on stage for another hour. Too lazy to move from his seat, he decided to give himself a fresh manicure to pass the time. He grabbed a bottle of black polish, slapping it against his palm a few times before he opened it up. The scent of the lacquer was nearly buried beneath the smell of perfumes and body sprays floating in the air as he painted his nails in broad, even strokes.

He’d finished his left pinkie when Suzie, a dancer known for her pastel kawaii themed burlesque performances, burst into the room, her eyes wide and upset.

“You guys, there’s been another attack! A dancer from that rave club down the street was robbed not even an hour ago.”

Aiden immediately twisted around in his chair to face her. “Were they hurt?”

The petite woman nodded. “Roughed up a little. Although she’s mostly mad she lost a night’s wages. But get this. The mugger ripped up the money just like he did to our little newbie cocktail server and the courtesan from Madam Blythe’s yesterday. It’s got to be the same guy.”

“Why would he do that?” a dancer on the other side of the room asked.

Suzie sat down at her spot at the vanity. “I don’t know about the Blythe girl but the rave dancer said he ranted about sinful earnings. I guess he doesn’t want our ho money.” She looked at Aiden. “Didn’t he say something similar to Brandon?”

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he said the same thing to the courtesan, we just haven’t heard about it. Tearing up cash is too specific. It’s got to be tied to his rants.”

The dancer in the seat next to Aiden spoke up. “Oooh! That makes me mad! If you’re gonna rob my ass you better do something good with that money, don’t tear it up and toss it on the ground.”

Aiden nodded in agreement with the others. It was horrible to steal someone’s hard earned cash. Destroying the money right in their face was adding insult to injury. But to himself he worried that this could be escalating into a serious problem. Dancers were sometimes mugged—they were known to carry large sums of cash on them, making them a popular target for thieves. But this guy had now robbed three people so far and for whatever reason, he wasn’t keeping the cash. That and his ranting meant he was no run of the mill mugger. Aiden had no idea why this was happening, but it might be a situation for his alter ego to look into.

Maybe he’d ask Blaze for assistance. The electric-powered hero didn’t usually patrol this side of the river. However, he was adept at working nights and dealing with low-life scum. But that conversation would have to take place later. Right now, Aiden needed to make sure his fellow club workers were safe.

“Everybody be cautious out on the streets,” he said to the room at large. “Don’t flash any cash around and keep your personal protection in hand.”

“I’ve always got protection, baby,” Suzie said, pulling a condom from her makeup bag and waving it above her head.

Whistles and catcalls followed Suzie’s deliberate misunderstanding.

Aiden grinned but the matter was too serious to let drop with a joke. “I don’t mean condoms, Suzie. If anyone needs pepper spray or a stun gun, let me know and I’ll hook you up.”

The group of dancers agreed to be careful and watch out for each other. Aiden was glad they were all aware of the extra need to be safe, but that wasn’t enough for him. Something about this mugger set off serious alarm bells in his head. He blasted his nails with Express Dry to make sure they wouldn’t smudge, then grabbed his phone to send a text to Strong.

Hey, Boss. We’re having a situation with a mugger over here in the Playground. The guy has a weird M.O. which makes me think he’s got some kind of nefarious goal beyond robbing and that he doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. Zielinski backed me up on the first mugging the other night. And there was another one this evening. I think we should look into it.

Strong’s response came through quickly.

Zielinski was with you?

Purely coincidence that he showed up at my job. But he can verify everything I’ve reported.

No need for that. If you think we need to look into this situation then we will.

Thanks. Aiden typed. Maybe Blaze can help. This sort of deal seems right up his alley.

I’ll take that into consideration. Be prepared to patrol soon.

Aiden sent a thumbs up emoji before he set the phone back down on the table. He cared about this little glittery and exotic world. When he’d been at his lowest, hurt and pissed off because he was unable to continue dancing ballet, he’d come here. At first, he’d taken to the pole out of spite and anger. But it wasn’t long before the Playground Players showed him that they welcomed him as one of their own, and had his back when he needed them. Now, he was loyal as hell to the people who danced in heels while adorned with glitter, and he would do everything in his power to protect them.

∞∞∞

Mike sat at his desk, a print out of a contract for a new influencer in front of him. He stared down at the document but he wasn’t seeing it. Instead, he saw a delectable round ass barely covered by a skimpy black leotard. He saw lean thighs split open wide to straddle his lap. He saw black hair sliding over the curve of a spine, daring him to touch, even though he knew that to do so was forbidden.

The images were burned into his mind’s eye, thanks to the number of times he’d called them up over the weekend. They’d been on his mind enough that he’d actually considered returning to the Flirtatious Fox on his own for another chance to see Stardust dance. But he’d held himself back from following that impulse. Showing up once to Stardust’s place of employment without knowing he worked there was one thing. Going back after he had that knowledge was another. He would have to be satisfied with the highlight reel playing in his head over and over while he tried to ignore the erection that accompanied each viewing. Like the one that was starting now, his cock thickening in his pants as he remembered Stardust rolling his hips forward until their bodies touched in the most intimate of places...

“Mr. Zielinski.”

Mike guiltily jumped in his chair, snapping to attention at the sound of his admin’s pleasant voice coming through the desk phone speaker. He took a moment to get himself under control, making sure there wouldn’t be any hint of arousal in his voice before he hit the flashing button to respond. “Yes, Leo?”

“You might want to take a look at Johnny’s Twitter feed before you go home for the evening.”

Mike clenched his jaw to hold back a curse. “I will. Thank you for the head’s up.”

It seemed that his problem influencer’s streak of good behavior had ended. Mike logged on to the social media network and went to Johnny’s profile to check it out. He’d posted a thread of polarizing political tweets, leading to a firestorm of fury in the replies. Mike looked at the clock. It was almost time for him to leave. Unfortunately, the tweets were incendiary enough that he needed to stay and address the situation. They were too inflammatory to leave up overnight. Mike would have to contact Johnny, get him to delete the thread and tweet an apology, then have yet another discussion on what was expected for a representative of Marin’s Outdoors.

Mike sighed in resignation. Talking to Johnny was always a pain in the ass. If he wasn’t so popular, bringing in millions of views to Marin’s products each month, Mike would have cut him loose him as soon as he’d taken over this position. He was reaching for his office phone to make the call when his personal cell rang. Grateful for the reprieve, he changed course and answered his cell instead.

“This is Mike Zielinski.”

“Mike, it’s Strong.”

“Strong. How are you?”

“I’m doing well. Do you mind swinging by the headquarters after work? I’d like to talk to you about the other night.”

“Not at all.” He wasn’t surprised to receive this call from the director of the ACG. Stardust would have filled his commanding officer in on the incident with the mugger and included Mike’s involvement in the report.

“Great, I’ll see you here in a few hours.”

His reprieve over, Mike ended the call and pulled up his office phone to call Johnny.

∞∞∞

After work, Mike drove to the firehouse. He had to grit his teeth and push to keep driving forward when he got close to the barrier. The ACG auditory defense device made him itch beneath his skin. Thankfully, once he drove through the mirage the buzzing stopped, and Mike shook off the unsettling feeling. A minute later, he walked into the Guardian headquarters. Strong was there, along with Caleb. A young East Asian man was in the back workout area, doing chin-ups on the exercise machine.

“Thanks for coming in,” Strong said as they shook hands. “You remember Caleb?”

Mike nodded at the young man with his bright blue hair and a pair of icy blue headphones on his head but tilted behind his ears.

“Hello.”

“And that’s Ignite over there working out.”

Ignite paused in counting out his reps to call out a greeting.

“‘Sup!”

“Hey,” Mike called back.

“Let’s talk,” Strong said after the quick introductions.

Mike followed Strong into his office. The lieutenant closed the door behind them, waved Mike to one of the chairs in front of his desk, and took the other for himself. Then he got right to the point.

“I understand from Stardust’s report that you helped him out the other night.”

“Yes,” Mike answered. “Someone robbed and assaulted one of the employees at the club where he works.”

“And you stepped in with the assist. Stardust appreciates that. And so do I.”

Mike wasn’t sure that Stardust appreciated his help after the grudging thanks he’d given, but he let that go unmentioned. “I was happy to help. I couldn’t stand by while someone was in trouble.”

A satisfied smile spread across the lieutenant’s face.

“You know what you sound like.”

Mike laughed. “I don’t think helping out one person one time makes me a hero. It was all spur of the moment. A random bystander probably would have done the same. With that being said, I do want to join your team.”

“Excellent!” Strong said, clapping his hands together once.

“I do want to join up, but there’s something I need to tell you first. I don’t want to come on board without being honest about my powers. They’re not as precise as I’d like. And I’d hate for there to be collateral damage in the middle of a fight because they got away from me.”

Some of Strong’s excitement faded. “What do you mean?” he asked with his forehead creased in a frown.

“I can’t always pinpoint exactly where I aim. I can take out a cow. But I’d probably take out the barn behind the cow too. If we can solve that problem then I’ll join up with no hesitation.”

“Hmmm...” Strong leaned back in his chair for a moment before he pushed himself to his feet. “Let’s see if Caleb can assist with that. Come with me.”

They went back out into the main area, where Mike explained to Caleb that he could hit the general vicinity of what he was aiming at but that he couldn’t strike with precision.

“Can you come up with something to help him control his aim?” Strong asked.

Caleb grinned. “Oh yeah. I can definitely help with that. Do you mind giving me a demonstration of your powers? I need to see you in action to know what I’m up against.”

“Here?” Mike raised a brow. “Might punch a few holes in the walls of your new headquarters.”

“That’s only funny because I know you’re joking,” Caleb said with a laugh. “There’s an open field not too far from here. We can go there.”

“Sounds good,” Strong said. “I’ll come along too. Nick, you stay here and keep an eye on things.”

Caleb grabbed his laptop. “I’ll be watching remotely,” he said to Nick as he slid the computer into a gray nylon messenger bag. “Try not to burn the place down while I’m gone.”

Mike cast a glance at Ignite, who’d switched from chin ups to hanging upside down to do crunches, wondering what Caleb meant by that comment. Maybe the man had fire powers he couldn’t control?

Ignite flipped and dropped down from the chin up bar. “He’s kidding,” he said to Mike as he walked over to join them. “I’m a fireman.”

“Who doesn’t know how to watch his popcorn in the microwave.”

“I don’t get why they’d put a popcorn button on the microwave if it’s not timed to exactly pop your popcorn.”

Caleb dropped his head back with a groan. “I told you that you’re not supposed to use it for those small personal bags of popcorn.”

“Then why’d they put a button on there that you can’t use?”

The two were clearly gearing up for what sounded like a repeat argument, when Strong stepped in and put a stop to their squabbling. “That’s enough. Ignite, eat chips if you get hungry. Let’s go,” he said to Mike and Caleb.

Outside, they walked over to a big black SUV with dark tinted windows. Strong took the wheel and Mike waved Caleb to the front passenger seat.

“It must be hard getting used to driving after flying everywhere for so long,” Caleb said once they were underway.

“I haven’t been active as a superhero for nearly ten years,” Strong answered.

“Come on, you really expect me—us,” Caleb said with a look to the back at Mike. “To believe that you haven’t used those wings not once? Not even for runs to the grocery store?”

It was quiet for a moment.

“Maybe if I only need to get milk and bread.”

Caleb laughed. “I knew it!”

Mike grinned. “I would use them too, sir. You’ve earned the right.”

“It saves time. And I’m all about efficiency,” Strong said as he turned into the parking lot of a corner market.

Caleb twisted in his seat to look at Mike again when Strong put the SUV in Park.

“How is it the Army didn’t perfect your powers when they gave them to you? I know the Air Force did multiple tests and trials on Strong and the others in the A-Wing initiative before they turned them loose.”

“My powers weren’t part of an initiative. And I wasn’t born with them either. They’re from an accident. A completely unplanned side-effect from an experiment gone wrong.”

“Oh, wow,” Caleb said with his dark eyes wide. “That’s unexpected.”

Mike held back a snort. Unexpected hardly covered it.

He and Caleb stayed in the truck while Strong went in to the store. While they waited, Mike explained in brief detail about the night he’d received his powers, how they worked, and what they did, Caleb typing notes on his laptop while he listened. After a few minutes, Strong returned with two twelve-packs of bottled water and set them in the back with Mike. They left the corner mart, heading to the open field Caleb directed Strong to, which turned out to be an abandoned construction site.

Caleb looked over the area as they exited the SUV. “This should be perfect.”

Mike agreed. It was an open space with nothing around for miles in three directions. His beams dissipated before they reached that distance, so he could demonstrate his power to Caleb without worrying about hitting an innocent bystander or causing property damage.

They set up the bottles of water on tree stumps, sawhorses, and mounds of dirt left behind by the unknown construction company. The arrangement gave him targets at various heights and distance.

“Ready when you are.”

Mike faced the first bottle. Activating his beams was like walking. His legs moved because he needed to move. It wasn’t necessary to think left, right, left, right to get him going. It was the same with his blasts. The green beams shot across the expanse of grass. He didn’t hit the bottle, but the radius of the force’s energy knocked it over anyway, sending it hurtling across the field. He achieved the same result with the second. The third he actually hit. The bottle exploded from the impact, sending water spraying into the air.

By the time he made it through all of the first pack and most of the second, his eyes were dry and hot, as if he’d just woken up after sleeping in front of a space heater pointed directly at his face. And a headache was already building steam in his temples. He blinked a few times to work up some moisture in his eyes and turned to the two men behind him.

“See what I mean? Very little precision.”

Caleb sat cross-legged on the ground, his computer open on his lap. “You’re right. Your rate of precision is only about sixty-five percent. I can design you a pair of glasses,” he continued as he started to type. “Using prisms, the lenses will narrow the radius of the blast, allowing you to focus and hit only what you’re directly looking at.”

“That would be very helpful. I’d feel much better about using my powers in public spaces if I had tighter control over them.”

Caleb nodded. “I’ll get you fixed up right. You two pick up the trash for recycling so we can get back to HQ and I can start working on these.”

By the time they returned to the firehouse, Caleb had already come up with a preliminary design. He put a 3-D image of them on one of the monitors for everyone to see.

Ignite walked over to get a closer look at the screen. “Make him look cool, Caleb. Don’t give him a pair of superhero Blue Blockers.”

“The important thing is that they’re functional,” Lieutenant Strong said. “Doesn’t matter what they look like.”

Mike was inclined to agree with the lieutenant. But that didn’t mean he was completely on board with wearing an ugly piece of equipment on his face.

“Guys, have some faith in your local tech genius. I can make them stylish and functional. But don’t ask me to make them affordable. The materials needed for these are going to cost a pretty penny. No worries about that either. We’ve got plenty of funding to cover it.”

“Good,” Strong said with a determined nod. “Get them worked up as soon as possible so we can get him in the field.” He turned to Mike. “Once you have the glasses you can test them out on a mission and use that time to see if joining the ACG is truly right for you. You can work with Stardust again once the tech is ready.”

At the mention of Stardust, a vivid memory flashed in Mike’s mind—silky black hair flowing over pale skin, golden eyes lit with a teasing smile, and warm thighs straddling his own.

Caleb suddenly started coughing loudly, as if he’d choked on something.

Mike shook off the memory and looked down at the techie in concern. “Are you alright?”

“Sorry. Just errr... swallowed wrong,” he said after his coughing fit was under control.

Caleb appeared to be okay so Mike answered Strong’s question. “Working with Stardust would be fine,” he said politely. “But I think it would be a valuable exercise for me to work with various members of your team, sir.” Between his attraction to Stardust and Stardust’s apparent annoyance in dealing with him at the scene of the mugging, he thought it best that they didn’t work together.

“Hmmm. Of course. Well, we’ll worry about partners later. For now, let me fill you in on how we operate. Have a seat.”

Mike pulled one of the club chairs closer and gave his attention to Caleb and the lieutenant. As he listened, he breathed a silent sigh of relief that he’d dodged the bullet of being paired up with that golden tiger.

Chapter 5

Mike had music playing, keeping him revved up while he did a short evening cardio workout. His living room space wasn’t that big, but as long as he pushed the coffee table out of the way he had room to move. Tonight’s workout alternated between repetitions of speed jump rope, push-ups, and squat thrusts. He was nearing the end of his final set of reps when his phone rang. Mike stopped jumping, switching the rope to one hand so he could grab his phone and answer the call coming in. The cell screen showed a mix of symbols and numbers but no name, a sign that the call was from an encrypted line.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mike. It’s Caleb. Your new tech is here.”

“Already?” Mike was impressed. A short two days had passed since he’d discussed the limitations of his powers with Caleb. “That was fast.”

“I was excited to see how they would turn out so I bumped the project to the top of my to do list. If you don’t have anything scheduled for this evening, Strong wants you to come by for your trial run. You can pick them up and then go try them out.”

Mike snorted under his breath. His schedule was embarrassingly open every night this week. “Nothing on tap for tonight,” he answered Caleb. “I’ll be there.”

“Great. See you soon.”

Mike tossed his phone on the couch then completed the rest of his reps. When he finished, he took a few minutes to catch his breath, then stretched to cool down. He made his way to the kitchen to grab a protein shake from the fridge. Leaning against the counter, he drank the shake while he considered what he was about to get into.

Superheroes were common throughout the world and major cities like St. Louis often had several. Many worked on their own while others had corporate sponsorship. Some were connected to the military as super soldiers. Lieutenant Strong was an example. Born with super strength and rapid healing, he’d entered the A-Wing initiative and been fitted with retractable wings that allowed him to fly as naturally as an eagle.

As part of the Arch City Guardians, Mike wouldn’t have the military structure and training that he was used to. But he’d be joining a group of heroes with various levels of experience, led by a director who’d served both in the military and as a superhero. The operation should be a perfect fit for him. He knew nothing about being a superhero, had only become an enhanced human a few months ago. He could learn to be one with the Guardians. And he couldn’t discount the fact that he was looking to find his spot in St. Louis—the place where he belonged. There was no guarantee he would bond with the members of the ACG but he hoped that he would be able to form some positive connections on the team.

The shake finished, Mike went to take a shower to wash away the sweat from his workout before dressing in fresh clothes and tactical gear. As he sat on the bed to lace up his combat boots, excitement bloomed in his chest. He’d missed the thrill of being in the field. His time in the Arctic had mostly involved standing guard. The position had allowed him to return to active duty soon after recovering from the attack that had resulted in his reassignment from his unit. But the work was boring and uneventful, since there weren’t too many villains or evil regimes who wanted to freeze their asses off in the Arctic while carrying out their schemes. And although he was grateful he now had a civilian job after his discharge, he couldn’t deny that he was—for lack of a better word—restless working at Marin’s. Now, he was filled with anticipation, ready to do something more than stand in front of a lab door to keep watch over scientists or sitting behind a desk reviewing social media accounts.

Eager to hit the road and get started, Mike grabbed his keys and left the apartment, locking the door behind him.

After making the drive from his apartment complex to the neighborhood that housed the ACG headquarters, he approached the now familiar brick wall hologram. The top of his spine itched, as if a dog-sized mosquito buzzed behind the back of his neck. Even though he expected it, he still recoiled from the unpleasant sensation, rolling his shoulders in a futile attempt to shake it off. The corners of his mouth turned down in distaste as he drew abreast of the brick wall mirage, instinct urging him to turn around and drive away to escape the unsettling feeling. Once he passed through the barrier, the buzzing sensation began to fade. It was gone completely by the time he parked in the small lot next to the firehouse. Mike sighed with relief as he turned off the engine and stepped out onto the pavement.

Surrounded by darkness, the brick firehouse was a welcoming beacon with warm light shining from its windows. Inside, Caleb sat at his command center. He had what looked like a Sugar Daddy candy stick dangling from his mouth, while he stared at the computer in front of him with his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. Ignite was up in the loft, relaxed back in a chair with his feet up on the table. Mike gave him a quick wave, then looked again at Caleb, who’d jumped up from his seat.

“Good, you’re here.”

He went over to the locked cabinet against the wall, typed in a code on the electronic key pad, then pressed his thumb to a small glowing screen. There was a beep and a click before the cabinet slid open. Caleb grabbed two boxes, relocked the cabinet, and brought them back to where Mike waited in front of his work station. A grin on his handsome brown face, Caleb slowly lifted the hinged lid of the bigger box, as if he were presenting Mike with a piece of fine jewelry.

“Ta-da!”

Inside the box lay a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses with sturdy gray metal frames and emerald green lenses. They didn’t look like anything special, but Mike knew they had to be if they were going to help him with his blasts.

“Go ahead and put them on,” Caleb said eagerly.

Mike took the sunglasses from the box and settled them on his nose. Looking through the lenses, his vision became tinted with a green hue. He faced one of the offices to get a look at his reflection in the window. “I look like I’m auditioning for a background role in Top Gun.”

Caleb gasped with mock offense. “A classic film filled with the finest male specimens.”

Mike grinned at that assessment of one of his favorite old movies. “They look good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. As we discussed, the glasses will focus your beams, giving you the accuracy you need in the field. If they aren’t as accurate as you’d like, let me know and I’ll make adjustments.”

Mike removed the glasses in order to study them. Looking closer, he could see the lenses weren’t one smooth surface as they appeared from the front. There were minute cuts in the glass, creating prisms that directed the focus to the center of each lens. And although they were easy to see through, the lenses had an odd sheen to them that hinted they were made from something more than average eyewear glass.

“And next, your ACG field tech.”

This time Caleb gave him the box to open himself. Mike removed the lid to find an ear piece and a watch. The earpiece was small, clear, and fit snugly over the shell of his ear. The watch was black with a big face, several buttons, and a thick strap. Once Mike had it fastened around his wrist, Caleb sat down and spun around to his main computer. After he tapped a few keys, the earpiece clicked once, and lights on the watch rapidly blinked before going dark again.

“Okay, both are activated. You are ready to go.”

Ignite slid down the fireman’s pole and came over. “Check you out. Very tactical-chic.”

Since the other man was geared up in a red hero suit and black mask, Mike assumed they’d be partnered up. “I’m looking forward to working with you. What’s our mission?”

“Oh, no,” Ignite said, shaking his head. “You won’t be working with me tonight.”

Caleb spoke up. “Your partner isn’t here yet.”

At that moment, the roar of a motorcycle could be heard approaching outside.

“But he should be here in just a minute,” Caleb continued.

Mike tensed, hoping that there was more than one person on their team who rode a motorcycle. The sound of the bike grew closer, until it was right outside. Then it cut off. A few moments later, Mike realized his desperate hoping was in vain. Stardust strolled in, the light gleaming off his tight black pants, his gold mask pushed up to rest on top of his head. Mike clenched his jaw to hold back a frustrated curse. He wanted to work with someone uncomplicated during his trial but it seemed it wasn’t to be.

Strong came out of his office at the hero’s appearance. “Perfect timing,” he said to Stardust. “Zielinski is geared up and ready to help you patrol the Playground tonight.”

Stardust froze, his golden eyes wide and locked on Mike long enough for Mike to see that he was unhappy with Strong’s announcement before he spun around to the team director.

“Strong, I asked to work with Blaze on this.”

At that clear rejection by the hero, Mike’s shoulders stiffened. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have questioned an order from a superior, but this wasn’t the military. And if Stardust didn’t want to work with him, he had no problem requesting to be partnered with someone else. “Yes, Lieutenant. It might be best to pair me with someone I haven’t already worked with to help me get to know the other members of the team.”

“Blaze is otherwise occupied,” Strong said to Stardust before turning to Mike. “And since at this juncture you’ll mostly be doing recon while we learn the scope of this situation, this is the perfect mission for you to get acclimated to our squad.” He paused to clasp his hands behind his back, one eyebrow raised in question. “Is that going to be a problem for either of you?”

Mike immediately fell in line at the ring of authority to Strong’s tone. “No, sir.”

Stardust cast Mike an annoyed glance before he answered with obvious reluctance in his voice. “It’s not a problem.”

“Good. Hit the streets. Contact headquarters with anything we need to be aware of or if you run into trouble and need back up.”

Mike looked at the face of his new watch, which was basically a mini-computer. Several lines of data flashed on the glowing blue screen. The address for their start point was on the top row and he scrolled down with his thumb to read the mission parameters on the next three. He nodded to himself after reading it through, clear on their goal for the night. “Got it. I’m ready.”

“Fine,” Stardust snapped. “Let’s go.”

Ignite looked back and forth between them, questions in his dark eyes. If he was wondering why he and Stardust were like two alley cats with their backs up, he wasn’t the only one. Mike had no clue why he and Stardust sparked off each other like this.

“Have fun,” Ignite said.

The two of them went outside, Mike slightly behind Stardust’s quick and clearly annoyed stride. He couldn’t make it any more obvious that he didn’t want to work with Mike. And Mike didn’t want to go where he wasn’t wanted. But orders were orders so they’d both have to suck it up and deal. “We can take my truck and ride together,” he said when they reached their vehicles.

Stardust cast his SUV a derisive look then rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think so. You’ve got the address, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll meet you there,” he said as he swung his leg over his bike. “Try not to fall too far behind.”

Mike bit back a retort. It wasn’t as if he drove an old beat-up van that Stardust would be embarrassed to be seen in. And even if he did, so what? Mike yanked open the door to his truck to get in. By the time he had the SUV in gear, Stardust had already zipped out of the parking lot. Mike pulled out after him, barely restraining from stomping on the gas and speeding to catch up. As he drove past the barrier, he didn’t have that awful auditory itch buzzing at the back of his brain. Either the earpiece or watch must have the tech to cancel it out. He was grateful that he wouldn’t have to deal with that anymore.

Giving his attention to the road, he followed Stardust through dark streets lit by softly glowing streetlamps, heading for East St. Louis. As he drove, he hoped he wasn’t making a mistake. Lieutenant Strong had been highly recommended to Mike by someone he trusted. Through that contact, he’d learned that Strong had years of both military and superhero experience. He wouldn’t have put Mike with Stardust if he didn’t believe that the two of them could work well together. More importantly, he wouldn’t have allowed Stardust on his team if he didn’t believe the other man was capable of living up to the role as a superhero. Therefore, they should be able to get along for the mission. He hoped.

By the time they were on the bridge leading to the colorful lights of the Playground, Mike had eased back from his annoyance, determined instead to trust Strong’s decision. Arriving in the red-light district was just as visually extravagant as the first time he’d come. The multicolored neon lights washed over his windshield as he drove through the busy streets, but tonight he didn’t take the time to cruise and look around.

Near the center of the district, he pulled into the parking lot of a strip club. This one was decorated in blinding hot pink neon accents and advertised Furries Gone Wild! Stardust was already there, straddling his bike with his mask again pushed up to rest on the top of his head. Mike got a good look at the motorcycle for the first time. It was a glossy black with gold accents, built heavy for power and stability. Focusing on his decision to trust Strong’s methods, Mike offered his temporary partner an olive branch. “That’s a nice bike.”

“Thanks.”

Stardust swung off the bike and Mike found himself watching the sensuous way that lithe body moved as he approached. He was dressed as he had been the first time he’d seen him: skin tight black pants with gold shimmer to the fabric, black boots and gloves, and a cropped jacket. His long black hair was confined in a single braid. He must only wear it loose when he was in his Glimmer persona, like the night he’d seen him on stage at the Flirtatious Fox. Mike assumed this was the other man’s official look as Stardust.

Mike didn’t have any official hero gear yet. For tonight, he’d dug through his collection of military supplies for a black flak vest to throw on over a long-sleeved black T-shirt, worn with black tactical pants. His right hand was covered by a glove. Boots and the glasses provided by Caleb completed his uniform. Mike didn’t think he looked much like a hero, but it would do for now.

Stardust pulled his mask back down to cover his face. Up close, Mike saw that the mask was all gold, except for three columns of glittering black stars under his left eye. It had holes for Stardust to see through, but no openings for mouth or nose. Mike assumed that the mask was designed in a way that allowed the man to breathe through the material.

“We’re patrolling the red-light district tonight,” he said from behind the mask. “Is that going to be all right with you? Protecting strippers and whores?”

The implication underlying Stardust’s questions raised Mike’s hackles. He forgot his own olive branch from seconds before to snap back. “I was there when Strong said where we’d be patrolling, and I read the mission brief. Did I give any indication that I had a problem coming here?”

“No. But there are plenty of folks who keep their disdain for sex workers hidden. That’s not the kind of guy I want watching my back.”

“Like I said. I don’t have a problem with the area, or the people working here. A job is a job. And I’m not a hypocrite to enjoy watching exotic dancers while judging them for their job choice.”

“So, you did enjoy watching me dance.”

Mike’s shoulders stiffened at the question and the slight change in Stardust’s tone and posture: a hip slightly cocked to the side, chin canted low. How could anyone go from surly to flirty that quickly? “I meant dancers in general.”

Stardust stared at him, those golden eyes watching him closely. Mike stared back, refusing to give in and admit that he’d enjoyed Stardust’s performance. Or that he’d replayed it in his head multiple times while imagining that Stardust was dancing for him alone. Stardust tilted his head to the side, continuing to stare for several seconds. Mike stood still, outwardly calm, while on the inside his heart pounded so hard, he could hear the rush of his pulse in his ears. Finally, Stardust shook his head, making the end of his braid swish past his hip once as he broke their tense face off.

“Okay. I’ll work with you.”

Mike relaxed slightly. “I didn’t realize I had to pass a test first. And you did tell the lieutenant that you would work with me.”

“I know what I said. And I meant it. I just wanted to be sure that I could trust you out in the field.”

“And do you trust me?”

“I trust you to do the right thing. That’s enough for now.”

Mike sucked in a breath through his nose but didn’t say anything in response. He was going to end up with indigestion if he kept swallowing things down with this man. For now, he let it go.

∞∞∞

They walked through the entertainment district, down both dark alleys and well-lit streets. Music thumped from the clubs and businesses they passed, revelry spilling out into the parking lots every time a door opened on an exiting group. There didn’t seem to be any issues, or more precisely, nothing that wasn’t already being handled by the bouncers and club security.

Stardust looked at the man beside him out of the corner of his eye. He’d been a bit of an asshole when asking him how he felt patrolling the Playground. But he needed to be sure he wasn’t teamed up with someone who might end up doing more harm than good. Especially since he was giving off Call of Duty: Black Ops vibes in the outfit he’d chosen. It wasn’t exactly a style that would engender trust in the bright and shiny Players of the Playground.

Although, Stardust had to admit that Zielinski looked pretty damn sexy in the all-black gear. His broad shoulders easily carried the tactical vest he wore over his torso, and the defined muscles of his biceps were perfectly outlined by the thin material of his shirt. With arms like that, Stardust had to wonder why Zielinski always seemed to wear shirts that kept them covered. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make out the beefcake’s chest or abs behind the vest. But the cargo pants he had on were tight enough to show off his thick thighs, and allowed Stardust to check out the muscled curves of his ass whenever Zielinski managed to get a few steps ahead of him. Stardust grinned behind his mask. It’d be a waste if an ass like that had a stick of the not-fun variety shoved up it.

After several minutes of walking in tense silence, his partner for the night asked him a question.

“Have there been any more muggings since the one I witnessed?”

“Yeah. There was one the next day actually. Another that I heard about right after it happened and then one on my night off that I didn’t learn about until two days later.”

A short, low whistle came from the big man as he shook his head. “That’s a lot of muggings in a short period of time. Is that normal for this area?”

“Nope. Several years ago, we took measures to take back and clean up the red-light district. Crime happens, but not this often or with this type of regularity.”

“We? The ACG?”

“No. We reclaimed this area long before the ACG came on the scene. By we I meant the sex workers. This is sort of a for us-by-us part of town.”

“How did you—.”

“Help!”

The frantic scream pierced the night, immediately grabbing Stardust’s attention.

“Hold that thought.”

They sprinted toward the panicked cry, Stardust’s speed easily keeping pace with the taller man’s longer strides. In the back parking lot of one of the smaller clubs, they came upon an ugly scene. The man he recognized from the previous alley attack was trying to rip a bag away from a woman, while she valiantly struggled to hold on to it. The man switched tactics, grabbing her by both arms to slam her up against the wall of the building behind them. Her head went flying back from the force of the blow. There was a sickening crack of bone against brick as her head hit the wall, and she went limp in the mugger’s grip.

“Assess the scene, see if there’s anyone else-”.

“Screw that!” Stardust yelled before he rushed in. He sprinted toward the attacker. When he was right next to him, he jumped up, tucked his knees into his chest, then kicked out hard with both feet, striking the mugger on the side and knocking him away from the woman. Stardust landed on his back but instantly flipped upright in time to catch the woman as she slid down the wall.

A warning shout came from behind him.

“Look out!”

There was a loud buzz and a flash of light. Acting on instinct, Stardust held on to the woman as he dove to the side, protectively cradling her head when they fell to the ground. A red ray shot across the space, hitting the spot where he’d been standing. He looked in the direction the ray had come from. There was a second assailant. A woman dressed in all white, holding what resembled a big Super Soaker water gun, except it was gray metal instead of colorful plastic. He hadn’t noticed her in his rush to rescue the mugging victim.

Another ray shot down the alley, this one a deep emerald green. It knocked the woman to the ground and the gun went flying from her hands. Stardust snarled, ready to go after her and retrieve the weapon. But the first attacker leaped forward to grab the strange looking gun and brought it up to aim it at Zielinski. Thinking fast, Stardust pulled one of his sai from its thigh holster and threw it with practiced aim. It twirled end over end, striking the man’s hand in the split second before he fired. He yelled, recoiling in pain, causing the shot to go high and wide, and thankfully not striking Zielinski or anyone else.

“Let’s get out of here!” the man’s partner shouted.

The two took off running. Stardust growled in frustration as he watched them escape. He hated to let them get away, but they had an injured victim who needed their help.

“We need to get her medical attention,” he said when Zielinski rushed over to them.

Zielinski pulled a phone from one of the pockets in his tactical pants and kneeled down next to the victim. “Calling 9-1-1 right now.”

Stardust nodded while watching the woman. He listened with half an ear as Zielinski talked to the operator, in case he needed to supply any information. At the sound of sirens wailing in the distance, the woman opened her eyes. She moved to sit up, but Zielinski stopped her with a light hand on her shoulder.

“Stay still,” he said in a firm but soothing voice. “You took a hit on the head and it knocked you out. EMTs are on their way to look you over.”

“My bag!” she said in a panicked whisper.

Stardust grabbed the dropped bag and held it up for her to see it. “Everything is right here. Relax.”

“Okay.”

She went still, her eyes sliding closed again.

“Keep her awake,” Zielinski directed in that same calm voice.

“Hey.” Stardust lightly squeezed her hand. “Keep your eyes open, just in case, okay?”

“Okay.”

The woman agreed but her eyelids were still drooping. Stardust knew he’d have to get her talking to keep her awake. “Tell me about your night. Are you a dancer?”

“Yeah. At the Barbed Wire.”

“What’d you dance to?”

“I went old school. Teased the hell out of my hair and stripped to Warrant’s Cherry Pie.”

“Classic.” Stardust grinned down at her even as Zielinski shone his phone’s flashlight in her eyes.

“Both pupils are responsive,” he said to the 9-1-1 operator.

He kept talking and a minute later, the blue lights of an ambulance washed over the alley. Zielinski told the EMTs what happened, then stepped back to let them take over.

They quickly got the victim on a backboard, then up onto a gurney, and into the back of the ambulance.

“Thank you, guys!” she called out before the EMTs closed the doors.

Right before they drove off, Stardust thought to check in with his partner for the night. “Are you hurt? Do the EMTs need to look you over?”

“No, I didn’t take any damage.”

“Yeah, not with the way you blasted that woman from the other end of the alley.” He went to retrieve the sai he’d thrown. “How did you do that?” he asked as he slid the weapon back into its holster. “All I saw was the green light just like the other night. You got your own laser gun hidden under that vest?”

“No. The light came from me. From my eyes.”

“Laser eyes then. Wow.”

“They’re not lasers. It’s a voluntary magnetic pulse powered by the Aurora Borealis moving at jet turbine speed.”

Stardust hadn’t paid much attention to his classes outside of dance, so he had no idea what the beefcake was talking about. He tilted his head to the side in question. “What?”

“It’s basically a really strong and tightly focused wind.”

“And you can control it.”

“I can activate it at will. And the sunglasses Caleb gave me tonight allow me to aim it with precision. That was my first test of their accuracy and they did great.”

“I’m glad to know you aren’t wearing sunglasses at night trying to look cool.”

A smile twitched the corners of that serious mouth. “I assure you that was not my goal.”

“Damn. Your superpower is a knockout blast from your eyeballs. That’s pretty boss. You might be on a level with Helios.”

Mike shook his head. “Probably not. We received our powers in similar incidents, but he has far more abilities than I do.”

“You’re saying you can’t fly?”

“No, I can’t.”

“Well, thanks for stepping up and taking care of the second assailant. I didn’t even see them.”

The small smile began to fade. “That’s why I wanted us to wait and scope out the situation first.”

“That woman needed help. And neither of us were hurt so it worked out all right in the end,” Stardust said with an unconcerned shrug.

Zielinski pressed his lips together, the smile completely gone. He clearly didn’t agree with Stardust’s assessment.

“Running an operation like that is a surefire way to get someone hurt. You can’t just charge forward and hope it works out all right in the end. You need a plan.”

“There isn’t always time to plan. Especially not in the heat of the moment.”

“Then you need to learn how to make time.”

Stardust scoffed. “I don’t need to learn how to do anything. I’ve been patrolling the Playground for two years now and managed to help plenty of people. I don’t need some military man with a plan coming in here telling me how to handle my business.”

A muscle bunched in Zielinski’s jaw. Stardust couldn’t see the eyes behind those glasses, but he had a feeling if he could, he’d see the beefcake glaring at him. That was too bad. As far as he was concerned, what was done was done. If Zielinski didn’t like it, tough. “I’m going to report in to Strong then do a sweep for the rest of this area to make sure those assholes don’t attack anyone else. Are you coming or are you going to stand here and bitch about drawing up battle plans some more?”

Again, a muscle clenched in that hard jawline before Mike responded.

“Let’s go.”

Chapter 6

The September night had a chill in the air, a hint of autumn on the wind as Mike approached the firehouse. On his first visits to the Arch City Guardians headquarters, there’d been only a few cars in the parking lot. Tonight, the lot was full. The superhero team was having a meeting this evening, and everyone was scheduled to be there. Although Mike hadn’t officially joined the team yet, Strong had requested his presence to meet the rest of the members, and see how they interacted with each other to help make his decision. Knowing how important it was to have good vibes between the members in a unit, Mike appreciated the invite.

Inside, the lower level was empty of people, Caleb’s many monitors glowing a soft blue in the vacant room. Following the sound of conversations, Mike went upstairs to the loft. The space was typical of older firehouses. Like the lower level, it was clean and nicely organized, yet missing the personal touch of the members who used it.

There was a large space for what had probably once held entertainment for the firefighters on duty, but now had a couch and two armchairs with a small coffee table in the middle of the seating arrangement. Three large windows on the back wall had their blinds raised to show the slowly darkening evening sky. In the area farthest from the steps, there was a small kitchen with stainless steel appliances that were obviously recent installs. The floors were polished hardwood and near the loft railing was a fireman’s pole, with a metal safety guard around it.

The center of the room was dominated by the long butcher block table where everyone had taken a seat. Strong sat at the head. Caleb had a seat in the middle, in front of his laptop and a holographic projector, and the others had filled in the seats until there were only three left. As Mike walked up to one of the empty chairs, a young Black woman with her dark hair in a ponytail, wearing a T-shirt that said, Bi, Black, and Bougie, looked at him with her eyebrows raised in question.

“New team member?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Caleb answered. “But he’s here to meet you all so everyone pretend like you’ve got some home training for the next couple of hours.”

Strong rose from his seat. “Mike, I’ll introduce you to the group. ACG, listen up.” The side conversations quieted at the lieutenant’s call for attention. “This is Mike. He’s considering joining us as a permanent member.”

Mike paid attention as Strong began introducing the heroes one by one.

“Of course, you already know Caleb and Ignite. And that’s Frost. You met them previously.”

The hero known as Frost was a young Caucasian with hair so white it was nearly silver. It didn’t look dyed but their dark eyebrows were a sign that they hadn’t always had platinum hair. Beneath those dark brows, blue eyes shone as bright and hard as Arctic ice, and there was a cool, bluish undertone to his smooth skin.

“Their power is cryokinesis,” Strong continued. “They can create ice and snow from the water molecules in the air, and freeze the temperature.”

“They were a big help when my air conditioner went out this summer,” Caleb joked.

“It’s good to see you again,” Frost said in a low, reserved tone.

“Likewise,” Mike replied.

Before Strong could move on to the next person, there was a soft pop, followed by the sudden appearance of a red-haired Caucasian woman. She wore her hair in a bob that swung directly above her shoulders and was dressed casually in a long, slouchy tee, leggings, and sandals. Mike didn’t recognize the woman’s face, but the red hair was familiar.

“That’s Sonica, who you’ve also met before.”

The woman waved and went to sit in one of the two remaining empty chairs.

“As you can see, she’s a teleporter. She also has a devastating sonic scream.”

Sonica opened her mouth, as if she was going to demonstrate, but Strong stopped her.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned sternly.

Sonica winked at Mike. “He falls for that every time.”

“Next to her is Blaze. He controls electricity.”

Blaze was a light-skin Black man, dressed in a dark gray, short-sleeve T-shirt, with a black baseball hat pulled down low over his face. He sat leaning back in his chair, muscular arms crossed over his chest.

Ignite looked down the table at the hero. “Show him your power.”

Blaze’s answer was short and to the point.

“No.” He nodded at Mike. “Nice to meet you.”

Mike returned the short greeting with a nod of his own.

“Down the table is Bulldozer. He’s indestructible, can move rock and soil, and can punch through solid brick.”

Mike knew immediately who Strong referred to. Only one man at the table could have earned that code name. Bulldozer was massive, every muscle as hard and defined as if they had been chiseled from an immovable boulder. He said hello to the man with skin the color of rich soil and eyes a sharp, flinty gray.

“Glad you could join us,” Bulldozer said in return.

Stardust strolled into the loft as Mike was greeting Bulldozer. Mike caught his eye for a moment before they both looked away from each other. His temporary partner was once more in relaxed clothes—a crop top hooded sweatshirt and snug-fitting joggers that rode low on his hips, revealing a stretch of abdomen that caught and held Mike’s gaze for several long seconds before he managed to look away. Tonight, Stardust’s hair was in a loose ponytail instead of his usual long braid. The man looked amazing no matter what he wore, but Mike thought he liked his casual look the best. Not that it mattered of course. He gave his attention back to Strong.

“And the woman next to him who has already dipped into the chips is Amina.”

The woman who’d first spoken when Mike arrived raised her shoulder in a shrug.

“What? I’m hungry.” She turned to smile at Mike, her dark eyes sparkling and friendly. “I don’t have any powers by the way. I’m just a well-trained badass.”

Mike smiled at her in greeting, thinking that he liked her and her energy.

“Across from you is Helios.”

Helios was also African American, and looked to be in his late thirties, with dark skin, a close shaven beard, and low-haircut. He was dressed a little more professionally than everyone else at the table, in a russet orange Polo and dark khakis. The lenses of a pair of tortoiseshell glasses glinted in the light as Helios stood and reached across the table to shake Mike’s hand.

“I hear we gained our powers in similar circumstances. Mine are thanks to a telescope and an unusually powerful solar flare.”

Mike tapped the corner of one eye. “The Northern Lights and an energy harvesting experiment gone wrong.”

Helios’s face lit up with excitement. “Ah! Interesting.”

Caleb cut into their conversation with an amused grin. “We don’t have time for you to nerd out over the science bits, Helios. We have several things to discuss tonight.” He clicked a button and a line-item list appeared on a blue holo-screen floating above the table.

Strong rapped his knuckles on the table. “Let’s bring this meeting to order. Before I turn it over to Caleb, I want to say a few things. First, I’m impressed with how quickly you all have adapted to working on a team. No one has given Caleb any guff about the missions he’s sent you on and I appreciate that. Second, I’ve been keeping track of statistics for the time it takes to carry out missions, the number of casualties, and property damage. All of those stats are either equal to or improving over pre-team data. I know that in a short time, your team efforts will surpass the already amazing work you all accomplished as individuals. And last, for the most part, superheroes in St. Louis have always had a good reputation in the city. Now, it’s even better. According to social media, the people like seeing you working together. That will be to your benefit as we move forward.”

“Thanks for the positive feedback,” Helios said.

“Can we get two snaps for the lieutenant for bringing us together?” Ignite propped his elbows up on the table, fingers poised to snap.

Strong threw another one of his stern glances at the pyro hero. “We’re not doing that.”

But the team ignored him and started snapping to show their appreciation. Almost immediately, Strong’s stern face eased into a smile, and he shook his head in amusement at their antics.

“That’s all I have for now. Caleb the floor is yours.”

“Okay, first item of discussion: uniforms. Should we have everyone on the team wearing the same thing or do you all want to continue wearing your own gear?”

“There are pros to everyone on the team having the same look,” Sonica said. “It will help identify us to the people of St. Louis when we show up to help.”

“What are the cons?” Amina asked before popping another chip in her mouth.

Caleb answered her. “Everyone is comfortable in different types of gear. We don’t want anyone to feel like they’re losing their individuality because we stuck you guys in identical suits. And I’d hate to get between a man and his yellow Spandex,” Caleb said with a sideways grin aimed at Helios.

Helios adjusted his glasses. “As you are aware, the material of many of our costumes isn’t Spandex, but a proprietary blend designed to offer maximum protection and withstand damage.” Then he grinned. “But yes, I do like yellow.”

“And I like my black latex,” Stardust added.

That kicked off a conversation with everyone discussing the merits and drawbacks of each option.

Ignite waved his hand to get the team’s attention. “How about everyone continues wearing their own gear but we add a patch or something to our suits for identification?”

“That’s a good idea,” Bulldozer rumbled in his deep voice.

Ignite leaned back in his chair and smirked at the big man. “Bet you wish you’d thought of it.”

Bulldozer returned Ignite’s smug look with a single eyebrow raise but didn’t otherwise respond.

“I’m okay with either choice,” Strong said from the head of the table. “This will be decided by a team vote since you’ll be the ones affected by the decision. Are there any other options anyone wants to suggest before you decide?”

Collectively, the team shook their heads, so Caleb called for the vote.

“I’m not participating on this since I won’t ever be in the field. All in favor of individual uniforms with a team patch?”

Around the table, all of the hands went up, except for Strong and Caleb who wouldn’t be wearing hero gear, and Mike who wasn’t on the team yet.

“All right, that was easy.” Caleb hit a button on his laptop and the first item disappeared from the list. “Next. We have a team name. Arch City Guardians. I love it by the way.”

Sonica playfully flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Thank you. Glad you all liked my suggestion.”

“But we don’t have a symbol. We’ll need one designed before we can create the uniform patch. Blaze?”

“I’ll talk to Danny and see if he wants to do it.”

“Thanks.” Caleb typed a quick note onto his laptop before continuing. “And the big-ticket item. It’s time to appoint a team leader.” The holo screen changed to a list of all the ACG members.

“Isn’t the lieutenant our leader?” Stardust asked.

“I’m the director,” Strong answered. “Which means I’ll only be working behind the scenes. You need someone who can lead the team during missions out in the field. Someone who can make tough, on the spot decisions when necessary. You’ll also need someone who can speak as the team representative when the media shows up, or whenever you have to address a crowd.”

“Got it.” He turned his golden eyes from Strong to the man in the black hat. “Blaze, what about you? After Strong you have the most experience working as a superhero.”

The answer that came back was so swift that Blaze must have expected the question and already had his answer prepared in response.

“I’m on the team. I’m not looking to lead it.”

Caleb swiped his hand to the left and Blaze’s name disappeared from the screen. “Sonica? You’ve got crowd control experience. And social media loves you.”

The teleporter shook her head. “You can take my name off the list too. I’m happy with my role as emergency transport.”

Caleb swiped left again. Then Frost spoke up for the first time.

“I nominate Helios as the team leader.”

It was quiet for only a second before a chorus of assent went around the table.

“Makes sense.”

“Yeah, he’s my choice too.”

“Frost, you beat me to it.”

Again, Strong rapped his knuckles on the table to quiet the room. “I think that’s a great choice, but we need to make it official. Everyone text Caleb your vote in case someone wants to keep their choice private.”

The team pulled out their phones and started texting. Caleb’s phone immediately began chiming with incoming messages. He focused on the screen, checking each one as it came through. Once the phone stopped dinging, he set it down on the table. “Okay, Helios. Looks like you’re our fearless leader by unanimous decision.”

Helios stood. “Thank you,” he said with a warm smile. “I appreciate your confidence in me and I will do my best to be a leader you can all be proud of. But I can’t be everywhere at once. I’d like to nominate Bulldozer and Amina as co-second in command to take the lead when I’m not there.”

This time Strong called for the vote.

“All in favor?”

Again, all of the hands went up. Amina hid her face in her T-shirt for a moment. When she emerged, she expressed her thanks along with Bulldozer. Then the two of them high-fived each other.

“One final thing,” Caleb said. “Vehicles. Now obviously, some of you don’t have to worry about transportation.” He paused and looked at Mike. “Sonica can teleport and Ignite and Helios can fly.”

“Got it.”

Caleb turned back to the group at large. “Blaze has that souped up muscle car, but the rest of you will need something that isn’t registered to you. We don’t want anyone, villain or otherwise, getting your plates and using that information to find out who you are and where you live.”

“I’m actually finishing up modifications to the ride I plan to use specifically for when I’m out being a hero,” Amina said. “It’ll be ready by next week.”

Caleb typed another note to himself. “Okay, I’ll get you a set of plates and registration that can only be traced back to the ACG. Bulldozer, Frost, and Stardust?”

Stardust shook his head. “Thanks, but I like my bike.”

Caleb objected with a frown. “It’s too recognizable. I’m worried that eventually someone will notice an exotic dancer and a superhero are riding the same motorcycle.”

“Don’t worry about it. Most of the time I’m going too fast for anyone to get a good look at it anyway.”

Mike wanted to interject that Stardust’s plan had far too many holes in it. Stoplights for example. But given the way the man usually reacted to his suggestions, he didn’t think it would go over well. Thankfully, Helios interjected.

“I understand that you want to continue using the ride that you feel most comfortable with. But I’m sure Caleb can work with you to find something that suits you just as well for when you’re out as Stardust. And remember, it’s not only your own identity that you’re protecting.”

Mike watched from the corner of his eye as Stardust wrinkled his nose as he thought.

“You’re right. Okay, then. New bike it is.”

Caleb shook his head. “I can’t believe you almost turned down a free motorcycle that’s going to be supercool because it’s for a superhero. Sonica, face palm him for me.”

Sonica popped over to Stardust’s spot at the table, but she didn’t smack her palm to his forehead. Instead, she kissed the spot. “At least you’re pretty,” she teased before popping back to her seat.

Mike watched, fascinated with the pink that washed over Stardust’s high cheekbones. The man always seemed so confident, it was a surprise to see him blush.

“Frost, what about you?”

“I don’t drive or ride in cars unless I absolutely have to. A vehicle would be a waste for me.”

Frost’s answer was given in a quiet yet inflexible tone that made it clear there’d be no changing their mind. Mike wondered what had prompted their dislike for being inside a vehicle. Maybe it had something to do with the use of their powers in close spaces.

“I’ve been teleporting them with me and it’s worked out fine so far,” Sonica said.

“And I’m working on strengthening my powers so I can travel farther and faster with them,” Frost added.

“Sounds good.” Caleb checked Frost off his list without teasing them as he had Stardust. “Keep me posted on your progress and let me know if I can design any tech to help. What about you, Dozey?”

“Since you’re passing out free rides, I’ll take something that works with rough terrain, like a big four-wheeler,” Bulldozer answered.

Caleb drummed his fingers on the table, an excited grin tugging at his lips. “I saw something recently that would be perfect. Let’s get together and I’ll show you. We can go from there on design specs.”

“Let me know when and I’m there.”

“And last but not least—Mike.”

Mike looked at the tech genius in surprise. He’d been quietly listening to the conversation but he hadn’t expected it to involve him. “I’m not on the team,” he pointed out.

“Yet,” Caleb said with a cheeky wink. “And since it can take time to get everything in place with funding and special tech builds, it’ll be helpful if I have everything in place when you decide to officially join.”

The explanation made sense, so Mike took a moment to consider what he could use. “I don’t need anything flashy. Something able to transport the wounded if the occasion calls for it would be helpful.”

“Good thinking,” Helios said approvingly. “Are you a doctor?”

“Army medic. Former.”

“Ooooh, you’ve got skills skills,” Amina said.

Mike smiled at her. “I guess.”

After Mike’s answer, Caleb swiped the final item off the hologram list.

“That’s it for official business.” He looked at Amina. “You’re now free to go ham on the chips.”

The team laughed and started rising from the table. Some brought out more snacks from the fridge and grabbed those waiting on the counter to bring them to the table, while others got the drinks. Mike noticed that they all appeared to be comfortable with each other. Even Blaze, who didn’t seem like the most social person, was relaxed and chatting with Bulldozer and Sonica. Mike rose too, but stayed by his seat. Strong walked down from the head of the table to stand next to him.

“They’re a good group of people,” Strong said as he looked them over.

“They seem like it. All handpicked by you?”

“Yep. I trained three of them personally. Blaze was the first. He approached me a little while before I retired. Amina is his cousin. He brought her to me a few years later after he found out she was hitting the streets by herself. He wanted her trained for her own safety. And Ignite sought me out after he received his powers much like Blaze did. As far as the others,” he paused to again look over the group. “I heard about your current partner through the grapevine, he was doing good work in the red-light district. Bulldozer is a natural talent from a family of earth-based heroes. Sonica was born with her sonic scream and is a former cop. She left the force after Anderson Pruitt moved in and populated it with the Artificial Intelligence police bots. And Frost...”

Mike waited for Strong to finish when he trailed off and looked at the pale haired young hero talking to Stardust.

“Frost is the youngest and most recently enhanced. They were reluctant to become a hero. But their power is amazing and it would have been a shame to waste it. I convinced them it would be worthwhile to use their powers to help stop events such as what happened to them from occurring again.”

“What happened?”

“That’s their story to tell. But by the time I decided to start a team, they were on board.”

“And Helios?”

“Ah. The strength of his powers is off the charts and the list of them is practically as long as my arm. But I didn’t have any hand in training him. After he received his powers in the incident he mentioned to you, he disappeared off the grid for a few years, and came back ready to be the hero of St. Louis.”

“Sounds like an impressive group.”

“They are. And I have faith that together they’ll be able to do good work for this city.” He turned and looked at Mike, his dark gaze steady and direct. “I feel the same about you.”

Mike looked around at the gathering of heroes. all with good vibes toward each other, determined to do their best to protect their city and its people. This really could be the place where he made a difference and found his home.

∞∞∞

“How’s it going partnering up with Zielinski?”

At Frost’s question, Aiden glanced over to where the man in question was talking to the team’s director. “I wish Strong hadn’t stuck him with me.”

“Is he not pulling his weight?”

“No, he puts in work.”

Frost raised a dark eyebrow. “Then what’s the problem?”

“He’s too stuffy for one thing.”

“And?”

Aiden looked at his friend, his own eyebrows drawing together in a questioning frown. “What do you mean and?”

“You said for one thing. Which means there has to be some other reason you don’t want to work with him.”

Aiden turned back to Zielinski. He was dressed in another of those tight, long-sleeved shirts that he apparently favored. This one was dark blue, a color that looked good with his chestnut brown hair. His broad chest and thick arms filled out this shirt as nicely as the others Aiden had seen him in. Not for the first time, he found himself wondering what those biceps looked like beneath the snug cotton.

Frost cleared their throat. Aiden snapped his gaze back to his friend to answer them. “I don’t know. He’s just...stuffy.”

“You said that already.”

“Because it’s relevant.”

“Hmmm...”

A smile started to curl Frost’s lips and Aiden knew he wasn’t going to like what they said next.

“I think you’re bothered because you like him,” Frost whispered.

Aiden rolled his eyes. “I’m not some middle school kid with a crush. The man is hot, I’ll give him that. But I’m not interested in him in that way. Besides, my only concern right now is working with someone who can help me with this situation in the Playground, and I don’t think he’s the best man for the job.”

“Mmmm-hmmm.”

“Whatever. Why don’t you go make sure everyone has enough ice for their drinks?”

Frost’s smile widened into a full grin. “I see I touched a nerve.”

Aiden allowed the teasing since his friend’s eyes—normally glacier cold—were warm and sparkling with amusement. Keeping his voice low, Aiden teased the icy hero right back, clasping his hands together and pressing them over his heart. “Please don’t tell Zielinski that I like him! I’ll be so embarrassed.”

Frost laughed and knocked their shoulders together, a rare move since they didn’t normally initiate physical contact.

“Give him a chance. He’s new, feeling all this out. And from what he said, he wasn’t born enhanced. His powers came about like mine. And you befriended me.”

That was true. Frost was his opposite, quiet and reserved while he liked to dance and play and fight. They meshed well, balancing each other as friends. But for some reason, Zielinski set Aiden on edge. He wanted to poke and poke until he got a reaction from the other man. Like the night at the Fox when he’d practically dared him to accept the lap dance. Yeah, he’d wanted to know more about Strong’s recruit, but he could have just as easily sat his ass down in his own chair and talked to him.

The lap dance had been a way of getting a reaction out of him. Unfortunately, Zielinski hadn’t really given him one. He’d gotten hard, but that was a standard response when you had a stripper grinding on your lap. He wanted a reaction that let him know who Zielinski was a person. It was the wondering what that reaction was going to be that had him on edge.

Aiden drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Fine. I’ll consider being nicer to him,” he said with a covert glance at the big Army man across the room.

It was as if Zielinski realized they were talking about him. He looked up at that exact moment and locked eyes with Aiden. After a moment, he stepped away from Strong and made a beeline straight to where he stood with Frost.

“Hello,” he greeted them both politely.

Frost nodded at Zielinski then immediately said excuse me and stepped away, the air where they’d been standing warming slightly after they walked off.

Aiden glared at his friend’s retreating back. Anything Zielinski had to say to him he could say in front of Frost. There was no reason for them to leave them alone together other than being a little shit in their own quiet way.

“I thought I’d report in and see if there’d been any more suspicious activity in the Playground.”

Aiden was playing nice, so he held back on the sarcastic salute he wanted to snap out in response to Zielinski’s very military sounding request for information. “Nope. Guess the mugger took the night off.” He paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side before he asked a question of his own. “Why do you even care?”

Aiden was legitimately curious. It’s not like Zielinski knew anyone in the red-light district. As a newcomer, he should be more curious about the big-time villains that popped up to be a nuisance in the rest of the Metropolitan area. That’s where the media and public interest usually focused.

“Why are you resistant to me working on this operation?” Mike asked instead of answering the question.

“Because I can take care of it by myself.”

“You didn’t seem to mind having a partner when you thought you’d be working with Blaze. Is he your lover?”

Aiden’s mouth dropped open in surprise at the audacity of Zielinski’s question. “Oh, that’s rich. Jump right to accusing the sex worker of wanting to work with somebody he fucks. Do you think we’ll sneak off into an alley for a quickie while we’re hunting bad guys?”

Zielinski did that thing where his already perfectly straight posture somehow got even straighter.

“I don’t think anything of the sort. I simply thought you’d feel more comfortable working with your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. And don’t let him catch you saying that. He’s got a partner that he’s very much in love with. So much so that he dove off the St. Louis Arch to catch him even though he had no way to stop his fall.”

Emerald green eyes went wide with surprise.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. So, trust me when I say I have no designs on that man. He’d probably zap me for even thinking I had a chance at taking him away from Danny.”

“Then what is your problem working with me?”

Aiden looked him up and down, taking in the rigid military posture, hard jawline, and precise haircut. “You’re the Riley.”

“I’m the what?”

That was another strike against him. The man had never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Aiden skipped explaining who Riley was and got to the meat of what he meant. “You’ve got the training and you’re excited to jump in and fight, but you don’t really understand what you’re dealing with. I don’t want you coming in to my world and disrespecting or scaring the people I’m trying to help.”

“Do you think I’m going to call someone a slut after I save them from being mugged?”

Aiden arched a challenging brow. “Aren’t you?”

“No,” Zielinski bit out through lips pressed together in obvious annoyance. “And why do you keep insisting that I will?”

“Because I know your type.”

Zielinski sucked in a sharp breath. “And what type is that?”

Before Aiden could answer, Caleb called out from across the room.

“Hey, Mike! Come here, I want to show you something.”

Zielinski looked over at Caleb then back at Aiden. He clearly wanted to stay and hear the answer to his question, but was too polite to keep Caleb waiting. Aiden smirked, refusing to give him what he wanted.

“Run along, Riley.”

Zielinski fixed those piercing green eyes on him in a hard stare before he turned and walked away.

Chapter 7

The night following the ACG meeting, Mike was back on the streets of the Playground with Stardust. They’d barely started their patrol when a yell caught their attention over the din of the Playground’s vibrant night life.

“Get off me! Help!”

Mike tensed, while Stardust’s head whipped toward the direction the shouts had come from.

“Here we go again,” Stardust said grimly.

Together they ran toward the panicked shouts, dodging a group of lively old ladies exiting a casino, boots pounding pavement as they sprinted down the side of the building to reach the back parking lot. They came upon a woman being shoved up against a car. Her assaulter was a different man from the previous night. And he was dressed entirely in white. For a second, Mike thought this might be an unrelated incident, but then the man’s venomous shouts carried across to them.

“Filth! You won’t keep that filthy money!”

“Get off! Get off!” the woman yelled back in his face as she struggled to escape from the rough hold.

Stardust took a step forward, clearly ready to jump in and fight. But Mike grabbed his arm, preventing him from rushing in as he had on their first encounter. “Remember what happened before. Assess the scene first.” Those golden eyes narrowed in anger. Stardust clearly didn’t like being told what to do.

“You’ve got ten seconds to make your battle plan and then I’m going in.”

“Just look and see if there is a second person hiding.”

Stardust jerked his head in a short nod. They both did a quick visual scan of the area. Stardust found what they were looking for.

“There. Hiding behind that blue truck.”

Mike looked to where Stardust indicated, spotting a small statured man also dressed in white, squatting behind the bumper of a pickup truck, with another of those unusual guns cradled in his arms. “I’ve got him,” he whispered. “As soon as he’s down you go after the big guy.”

Stardust nodded. He silently pulled both of his sai from their holsters, the green neon light above them gleaming off the gold blades. Mike moved to the left to get the best angle. Then he let loose with his blast. The ray shot across the dark space, colliding with the hidden assailant and knocking him off his feet. The weapon he held flew from his hands and clattered to the pavement.

“Now!” Mike shouted.

Stardust sprinted forward and leaped at the big attacker. Mike lost sight of him as Stardust’s momentum caused them to tumble away, but he could hear their fight while he went after the second assailant. He stayed low in case there was someone else they hadn’t spotted, running across the parking lot in a half-crouch to where he’d seen the mugger’s accomplice last. Mike reached the truck but there was no one there. Either the blast had knocked him really far back, or he’d taken off to hide again. Unfortunately for him, he’d left his weapon behind.

Mike carefully grabbed the abandoned gun, determined to keep it from being used against them. He remained alert, keeping his eye out for the accomplice as he made his way back to where Stardust had engaged the mugger. When he arrived, they were still fighting.

Watching Stardust fight was as thrilling as watching him dance. The raven-haired hero spun, his long braid snaking behind him, gold blades flashing as he pressed forward with his offense. His opponent had size, strength, and some fighting skill on his side. But it was plain to see that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Stardust’s speed and training. In a quick move, the hero angled his upper body low on the left and kicked up with his right foot, leg perfectly extended, the flat of his boot catching the mugger on the chin. The big man stumbled back, arms pinwheeling as he tried to regain his balance.

Mike didn’t see the need to get involved. Besides, without any prearranged signals or tactics, it could be reckless to intervene. He tore his gaze away from Stardust and moved to check in with the victim. She too was watching the fight, her eyes wide, fingers clutching her bag so hard the skin on her knuckles was stretched tight over the bones. Mike called out softly, so that he didn’t startle her.

“Ma’am.”

Even with his quiet voice, she jerked around to look at him, eyes still wide and every muscle tense, her fight or flight reflex clearly on a hair trigger.

“You’re with the mask guy, right?” she asked shakily.

Mike nodded. “Yes.” The woman relaxed slightly from her stiff defensive posture at his answer. Under the amber glow of the parking lot light, he could see that her lip was split and bleeding and a bruise was darkening on her cheek. “Do you mind if I treat your face?”

She shook her head, so Mike set the gun at his feet and opened one of the pockets of his cargo pants to pull out single-use first aid supplies. He cleaned the cut with an alcohol wipe, then dabbed it with an antiseptic gel. “Any other injuries?”

“No. Guy’s got a wicked backhand but my teeth are all still in place.”

Mike smiled. “That’s good to know.”

He was putting the used supplies in another pocket when headlights suddenly swung over the scene, accompanied by the sound of a big vehicle gunning right for them. Nearly blinded by the high beams, Mike grabbed the woman and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. A van roared up, screeching to a stop a foot shy of where he and the woman had been standing. The sudden distraction gave the mugger the opportunity to shove Stardust away and dive into the open sliding door of the vehicle. The door wasn’t even fully closed before the van took off, tires squealing on the pavement as the driver floored it.

“Get the plates!” Stardust yelled.

Mike was already on it. He only caught a partial, but he typed what he saw into his ACG tech watch for safe keeping.

“Damnit,” Stardust cursed. “I thought for sure I’d be able to wear that guy down enough to hold him still and get some information out of him.” He stood there glaring in the direction the van had gone, fists clenched tight around the grips of his sai. After a moment, his shoulders lifted, held, and lowered with a long deep breath. He sheathed his sai before turning to their latest mugging victim.

“Are you okay?”

“Banged up and bruised but that bastard didn’t get my money,” she answered with her jaw jutting forward with stubborn pride.

Stardust nodded in approval at the woman’s tough response. “Good. Do you want to go to the medical center?”

“No, your partner already hooked me up with first-aid. I can take care of the rest at home with an ice pack and ibuprofen.”

That gold mask abruptly turned toward Mike, surprise showing in those tiger’s eyes before Stardust turned back to the woman.

“Okay, we’ll walk you to your car and you can get going.”

Mike retrieved the gun, and they took her two rows over to where she’d parked. She opened her car door, but paused before getting inside.

“Word is getting around about this asshole robbing and assaulting the Players. It’s nice to know that you guys are out here watching our backs.”

“Tell your co-workers to stay alert and be safe. We’ll do what we can to catch him.”

She thanked them again then got in the car and closed the door. Once she drove off, Stardust turned to Mike with his hands on his hips.

“Well, that answers one question.”

“What?”

“That this is more than some random guy on an anti-sex worker crusade. The matching all-white outfits, the getaway van, the weapon,” he said with a nod at the gun in Mike’s hands. “This is too coordinated. Something deeper is going on.”

Mike looked down at the weapon he held. It wasn’t like anything he’d seen in the military or as a civilian. “We’ll figure it out whatever it is.”

“We?”

“You might not like it, but we’re partners on this.” Mike raised his chin, daring Stardust to say he wasn’t a part of catching these people.

Stardust tilted his head to the side, his mask gleaming in the light as he studied Mike for a long moment. When he answered he skipped over acknowledging Mike’s declaration that they were partners. But he didn’t deny it either.

“Your plan worked out well.”

“Wasn’t so much a plan as a hold on for a second and look.”

Stardust rocked up on the balls of his feet. “Which is more than I ever do,” he said. He held out his hands for the gun. “May I?”

Mike passed it over. Stardust examined it carefully, muzzle down and finger away from the trigger.

“This is different from anything I’ve ever seen. One of the reasons Strong wanted to form the ACG was because of high tech weapons like this falling into the hands of the bad guys. He’ll want to know about this gun and Caleb will want to inspect it. We should get this to them tonight and let them know about the coordinated attack.” He looked up at Mike. “Are you okay with heading back to HQ?”

Now it was Mike’s turn to be surprised. “You’re asking my opinion?”

“Yeah. And I’m already regretting it.”

“Well, since you asked. I think it’s a smart plan.”

Stardust rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go.”

∞∞∞

Aiden sat on his motorcycle, mask up, the gun they’d confiscated strapped to his back, waiting for Zielinski. He’d seen his gray SUV get caught behind a train, and had arrived at HQ a few minutes ahead of him as a result. Aiden could have gone inside and shown Caleb and the others the weapon Zielinski had managed to confiscate without waiting for him. But he wasn’t a complete dick. Zielinski had been the one to snatch the thing up. It was only right that he should be there to show it to the team, and get the credit for his quick thinking in grabbing it. So, he’d wait.

A minute later, Zielinski’s SUV pulled into the parking lot. Aiden swung his leg over his bike to dismount, pulling off his gloves and tucking them in his waistband as he walked to meet him halfway.

“Hey,” he said as Zielinski approached.

Zielinski removed his glasses, putting them into one of the pockets on his vest. “Hey.”

“Let’s go show the team what we’re working with.”

They walked into headquarters side by side. Strong was in his office, on the phone but with the door open. Caleb sat behind his command center, and Blaze, Frost, and Sonica sat in the chairs in front of him. The four of them paused their conversation when he and Zielinski walked in.

“We come bearing a gift,” Aiden said. He swung the gun around to his front, making sure the safety he’d found was engaged before passing it over to Caleb.

“Interesting,” Caleb said with a note of hushed excitement in his voice as he took the weapon and set it on the table.

Sonica stood. “I’ve seen that somewhere before,” she said as she came over to look at the weapon.

Blaze got up too. “It’s a stun gun.”

Caleb looked up at him in surprise. “How did you know?”

“I’ve seen what it can do.” He turned to Aiden. “Where’d you get it?”

“Zielinski took it off a couple of muggers who’ve been assaulting people in the Playground. At first, I thought the guy was a rando who had a hard-on for harassing sex workers. But now he’s got weapons, back up, and a secondary team of muggers. Combined with the all-white uniforms some of them were wearing tonight, it’s starting to look like they’re a paramilitary religious cult or something.”

“You said they were in all white?” Blaze asked in his gravelly voice.

“They weren’t at first,” Aiden answered. “But yeah, tonight, two of them were.”

Blaze straightened from studying the stun gun and crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re members of the Purity Alliance.”

Aiden had never heard of them. “Who?”

“A group that’s against adult themes in media. The only art they find acceptable is pure—nothing sexual and easy on the violence. They were the group who attacked the convention Danny attended this summer. They dress in all white and they used this same type of weapon.”

“I’ve heard of them.” With a few quick keystrokes, Caleb went to their website and put it up on the main monitor for everyone to see. “I thought they were only in fandom, but maybe they’re branching out.”

Stardust supplied more info on the culprit “Every time he mugs someone he goes on rants about filth. And he always tears up the cash if he gets his hands on it, which means money isn’t the motive. The Players he’s robbed are extra pissed about that part.”

“Yeah, the ranting sounds like them.” Blaze turned his dark eyes to Aiden. “You’re lucky you didn’t get hit by this thing. It completely freezes you. I used my electricity to zap the people who’d been stunned at the con back to consciousness but I have no idea what it would do to someone who was frozen for a prolonged length of time.”

Caleb suddenly bounced in his chair, a gleeful grin spreading over his face.

“Ooooh! That means I’ll have to test it out.”

“You can’t play with the bad guys’ weapons,” Sonica chided.

“We need to know how it affects people and what works on un-stunning if one of you gets hit by it. Or, what happens when the effects are allowed to wear off on their own.”

Frost quietly agreed. “You have a point.”

“Okay, then,” Caleb rubbed his hands together. “Who is going to be my guinea pig?”

Everyone went quiet, none of them making eye contact with Caleb. Aiden studied his nails. The black lacquer was chipping.

Caleb sighed mournfully. “I guess I can test it on myself. Even though I’m the only one here without any level of advanced healing. And it will probably take me much longer to recover from the hit.”

It was a masterful guilt trip, complete with a sad little frown and slumped shoulders, and capped off with another mournful sigh. They didn’t stand a chance. Everyone groaned before they all volunteered to take turns being hit by the stun gun after Caleb finished studying it. Only Blaze was exempt, since Caleb wanted him at the ready to shock each volunteer out of their freeze.

“Good job grabbing it,” Aiden said to Zielinski. “You gave us our best clue at who we’re dealing with.”

Zielinski cleared his throat before responding. “Thank you.”

Aiden noticed the tips of Zielinski’s ears turned pink when he accepted the kudos. Assuming he was embarrassed at being praised in front of others, he let the topic drop and turned his attention to Strong, who’d just come out of his office. Aiden gave their director a quick fill-in, then went quiet as Strong turned to Caleb.

“What do we have on this group?”

Caleb ran through the information he had so far, typing to search out more details as he talked. “If they’re a bunch of fandom purity police I wonder why they’ve decided to attack the Playground. It’s not really their area of disdain. They don’t appear to have any major backing, but you never know when there’s a shadow corp hiding behind a group of seemingly low-level bad guys.”

“Could the Purity Alliance be branching out from fandom to try and bring in more supporters for their cause?” Sonica asked.

Caleb shook his head. “If they’re doing this to spread their message they’re failing. The muggings haven’t even made the news. And I’m not seeing anything about it on the internet.”

Zielinski offered his opinion. “Maybe they simply wanted an opportunity to get violent. They’ve assaulted several people, even sent someone to the medical center with a head injury.”

Aiden put his hands on his hips, drumming his fingers as he considered what the Purity Alliance could be up to. “Or maybe this is the beginning and they’re gearing up for something bigger.”

“You think so?” Frost asked.

“They’ve gone from one unarmed guy to working in teams, wearing uniforms, and carrying high tech weapons,” Aiden said with a nod toward the stun gun in front of Caleb. “Something in my gut tells me these white shirts have a plan to cause as much trouble in the Playground as they can.”

“I agree,” Zielinski said.

Aiden was surprised that Zielinski easily agreed with him but he didn’t voice it aloud. But he must have given something away in his expression, because Strong looked back and forth between them.

“Your partnership is working out then?” he asked.

His head canted low, Aiden cast a glance at the big soldier boy from the corner of his eye. Zielinski crossed his arms over his chest and returned Aiden’s side glance with a direct one of his own, a challenge clear in the green depths.

That look of challenge sparked something to life in Aiden’s chest. His pulse quickened, fingers tingling as the urge to... No. Aiden quickly pushed the feeling down and flicked his gaze back to Strong. “We’re getting stuff done.”

“Good. And I agree that something bigger is probably going down,” Strong said. “You’ll continue to do your patrols in the Playground. I’ll bring a few of the others in to work the area when you’re unable to be out. Blaze?”

The big hero nodded. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” Frost added quietly. “Whatever you need.”

Sonica crossed her arms over her chest, her brows pulled together in determination. “Maybe I can do some undercover work, see if I can draw one of them out.”

“And I’ll keep cyber digging to see what I can discover about their plans.”

Aiden was grateful for all of their offers of assistance. The Playground was important to him and he appreciated the team taking the threat seriously. The reason the Playground was for us by us was because they’d gone years without anyone helping them. Now to have a group of superheroes ready to step up with the assist meant a lot. “Thanks everybody.” A hint of emotion beyond simple gratitude slipped into his voice. He rocked up onto his toes in an attempt to shake it off.

“We’ve got your back,” Sonica assured him with a quick shoulder squeeze.

“Not bad for your second night out as partners,” Strong said with an approving smile. “We’ll have you both patrol the Playground on a regular schedule from now on. If anything different happens or the situation escalates, contact headquarters before taking any major steps. If this is bigger than a few people causing trouble for the hell of it, we want to know who we’re dealing with. But we don’t want the Purity Alliance to go to ground to avoid us because we played our hand too early by letting them know we’re on to them.”

“Understood,” Zielinski answered crisply.

Strong looked at Aiden, waiting for his answer.

Aiden gave him a little salute, then grinned. “Sure thing, boss.”

Strong returned to his office and the other four went back to whatever they’d been discussing before he and Zielinski had arrived. Aiden caught Zielinski’s eye. He jerked his head to the side, signaling that they should step away for a little privacy.

“I’m going, but I wanted to say thank you for treating my fellow Player tonight.”

Zielinski crossed his arms over his chest, looking as if he didn’t quite trust Aiden’s thanks. But he truly meant it, without any reluctance or sarcasm. Patrolling for villains was one thing, but treating a Player’s injuries when he could very well have considered his job done after stopping the attack was another. And Aiden appreciated it. “I’m serious. Thank you.”

Zielinski inclined his head once. “You’re welcome.”

Aiden made to walk past him and leave, but Zielinski grabbed his arm.

“Wait.”

Aiden looked at him with his head tilted to the side in question.

“You’ve dodged the question twice tonight.”

“What question?” he asked as if he didn’t know perfectly well what Zielinski meant.

“Are we partners or not?”

Aiden turned his body, leaning into Zielinski until the rough material of the former soldier’s vest rasped against his bare chest. Head lowered, Aiden looked up at him from beneath his lashes. “You sound desperate to tie yourself to me, Beefcake,” he said in a soft whisper.

Zielinski dropped his arm as if Aiden had the power to burn him with his flesh. He stepped back, away from Aiden, before he spoke again.

“No. I just want clarification. To know where I—where we stand.”

But Aiden wasn’t going to give up his game that easily. He took a single step forward, pursuing the big man into the space he’d tried to put between them. His thigh bumped Zielinski’s as he came an inch shy of sliding his leg between the other man’s. “You need me to set the rules for you?” He paused to bite his bottom lip, then slowly released it. “Interesting,” he whispered, drawing the word out so that each syllable was distinctly pronounced.

A flush crawled up the strong column of Zielinski’s throat, matching the pink that had returned to his ears. But he didn’t back down either.

“That’s not what I meant. I want to know if you and I are going to work together on this situation in the Playground.”

Aiden didn’t get why Zielinski, a newcomer to St. Louis with zero ties to the Playground, was so determined to get involved with the muggings, but if the man was willing, he might as well accept his help. And he had helped—Aiden couldn’t deny that. Saving him from getting hit by that stun gun their first time out, strategizing so that they eliminated the mugger’s accomplice, and giving aid to a mugging victim. “Fine. We’re partners. On this mission only,” he emphasized.

“Good,” Mike said with a stiff nod.

The matter settled, Aiden backed out of Zielinski’s personal bubble. He watched him for a long moment before he spun around to leave. Blaze, Caleb, and Sonica weren’t paying them any attention, but Frost was staring at him with a quizzical expression on their face. “What are you looking at?” he asked as he walked up to his friend.

“I was wondering that myself.”

Aiden decided to ignore that. “C’mon.”

They went out to the parking lot, both climbing onto Aiden’s bike. Frost held on to him with the lightest grip required to stay steady and kept as much space as safely possible between their bodies on the small bike seat. Even so, Aiden could still feel the cold against his back. He was used to it by now, so he didn’t shiver as he used to. He started the bike, roaring out of the parking lot a second later. They flew through the streets, heading for his house. When they arrived, Frost hopped off first. The night was clear with no sign of rain so Aiden left the bike out instead of pulling it into the multi-car garage.

Inside his home, Aiden shrugged out of his jacket and sat down to remove his boots before pulling on a soft, worn hoodie over his bare chest. Frost took off their white combat boots, leaving them dressed in gray skinny jeans and an oversized white sweatshirt that swamped them and covered their hands nearly to their fingertips. Barefoot, the two of them made a beeline to the kitchen to heat up a late evening snack.

“I’m starving after all that running and fighting I did tonight,” Aiden said as he pulled open the freezer. He took out two boxes of two-pack Hot Pockets, one for him and one for Frost. Then, he took out another box, opening it to slide out one more Hot Pocket for himself. “Don’t judge,” he said to his friend.

Frost shook their head. “No judgement from me.”

It took several minutes for the snacks to all be heated. Aiden leaned against the counter, checking his social media accounts on his phone while Frost readied napkins and drinks. The microwave beeped for the final time and they each grabbed a plate and glass of water to take out to the living room.

“I love junk food,” Aiden said as he plopped down next to Frost on the big, squishy couch. “Can’t believe I went years without being able to enjoy the greasy goodness of microwaved ham and cheese.”

Steam rose from the Hot Pockets. Frost blew a small breath over theirs, cooling the snack before they bit into it. “Back to earlier. Seriously, what was that?” they asked after taking and swallowing their second bite.

“What was what?”

Frost cast him a look that clearly read don’t play dumb. But they clarified anyway.

“You. With the new guy.”

“What do you mean? I was only teasing him. You know I flirt with everybody.”

“I’ve seen you flirt. That wasn’t what that was.”

Aiden was genuinely curious what Frost thought he’d done differently than he usually did when he flirted. He cocked his head to the side in question. “How so?”

“I can’t explain it. Except...you looked like you were about to eat him up.”

“Again, I was only teasing him. I look at people like that all the time when I’m on stage.”

“If you say so.”

“I do,” Aiden said with a firm nod before changing the subject. “Now, tell me about this new dom you’re working with online. How is he?”

“He’s working out well so far. I get a good vibe from him.”

“And he’s cool with your restrictions?”

“Yeah. He keeps his face hidden too so I have no idea what he looks like. But he has really nice hands.”

“You think you’d ever want those hands to touch you?”

“Nope. Virtual is all I want or need.”

“Virtual domming. Brilliant. If I had time, I’d consider doing it myself.”

“You mean you can’t squeeze it in between choreographing routines, dancing on stage, being a superhero, and brushing that absolute massive mass of hair?”

Aiden grabbed his long braid and playfully whacked his friend with it. “Respect the hours of work that goes into the care and feeding of my glorious mane.”

Frost laughed, then told him more about his virtual Dom. They were taking things slow and Frost seemed pleased with him so far. That was enough for Aiden to be happy for his friend. The other hero struggled with their submission and had recently started the process to get back to where they felt comfortable in their role as a sub.

The Hot Pockets gone, the two of them curled up on opposite ends of the couch to talk, moving easily from topic to topic, until their conversation started to slow. His eyes heavy with sleep, Aiden rolled his head on the back of the couch to look at Frost, noting they were nearly asleep too.

“You sleeping on the couch tonight or outside?” he asked quietly.

Frost often stayed over. They liked to sleep outside, and being on the grounds of the Saliette’s gated property let them do so without worrying about their safety.

Frost was quiet for a moment, their gaze turned up to the high ceiling. “I think I need to be outside tonight.”

“I figured.”

They both got up and took the dirty dishes into the kitchen, putting them in the dishwasher.

Frost opened the closet off the kitchen and grabbed the pillow and blanket Aiden kept for them there. “I’ll see you in the morning,” they said before heading out to the back patio.

Aiden went upstairs to his bedroom. He took a quick shower, then got into bed, sliding naked between the sheets. Laying there in the quiet darkness, his thoughts turned to Zielinski. He found himself wondering once more, was the former soldier simply shy or was he uptight? After their patrol tonight, Aiden was almost positive the man belonged in the uptight camp. It was disappointing. And a reason for him not to get too close.

When he realized he was lying in bed thinking of Mike Zielinski, Aiden immediately slammed the door shut on those thoughts. He was curious about their hero recruit, but he wasn’t think about him while he was naked under the covers curious. Turning over, Aiden bunched up the pillow beneath his head and closed his eyes ready for sleep. As he drifted off, a vision of Zielinski and his big, muscular arms in his tight shirt sleeves rose behind his eyelids. Thankfully, he was off to dreamland before he had a chance to be annoyed about it.

∞∞∞

After Stardust and Frost made their exit, Mike said goodbye and went out to the parking lot as well. He opened the truck door and got in but he sat there for a moment with one foot still on the pavement and the key loose in his hand. There, in the near empty parking lot, he thought for a minute. Thought of the people he’d helped save twice now.

They needed help, help that was more immediate and less invasive than a large armed force coming in to their area. And thanks to the glasses Caleb had produced for him, he was now confident in his ability to use his power during conflicts with minimal risk of collateral damage. He wanted to help and he was able to do so. So, what was he waiting for?

His decision made, he got out of the truck, closed the door, and went back inside the firehouse. He waved at Caleb on his way to knocking on Strong’s open office door.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked when the director looked up from his computer screen.

“Of course. Come in.”

Mike stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He stood at parade rest in front of the lieutenant’s desk. “Sir. I wanted to tell you that I have made my decision. I’m honored that you asked me to join the Arch City Guardians and I would like to accept your invitation.”

A satisfied smile took over Strong’s face. He rose from his seat. Leaning across his desk, he held a hand out for Mike to shake.

“Welcome to the team.”

“Thank you.” Mike relaxed from his stance and accepted the handshake, a firm clasp to seal the deal on a venture he was excited to undertake.

He was now officially a superhero.

Chapter 8

Mike walked the streets of the adult entertainment district with Stardust for another patrol together. He was officially a member of the Arch City Guardians now and had received messages from every member welcoming him to the team—including Stardust. His official superhero status hadn’t changed anything between them, not that he expected it to.

Their interrupted conversation from a few evenings ago during the team meeting was on his mind tonight. He’d been wondering ever since what Stardust meant by, he knew his type. The obvious assumption was that it had something to do with his military background. Especially after he’d hit up Google to figure out what it meant to be the Riley.

It took some searching, but eventually he’d found his answer at the bottom of a Wiki rabbit hole about a vampire slayer and her lovers. Riley had been the strait-laced soldier to come into the world of vampires and demons as an outsider, without a true understanding of how that world worked. Now that Mike understood the comparison, he was less than flattered. He wasn’t about to put on a long leather coat to prove that he was cool enough to fight villains on the streets of the Playground. But he understood it would take time and effort to gain the trust of both Stardust and the Playground Players. Conversation would be a good way to start building a rapport with Stardust. Unfortunately, they’d been walking next to each other in silence for ten minutes. Mike cast a glance at Stardust out of the corner of his eye, searching for a topic that wouldn’t have them immediately sniping at each other. He figured asking what made him decide to protect the Playground couldn’t hurt.

“I know that you work here, but you seem to care a lot about protecting the area more than someone who is just an employee would. Why is it so important to you to keep the Playground safe?”

Stardust’s gaze remained straight ahead when he answered.

“They had my back when I needed it.”

“The whole district?”

“No, but enough to show me that the people here care for their own.”

That had Mike even more curious. “What did they help you with?”

Stardust stopped and looked up at him. Mike didn’t know what he was expecting to see, but it wasn’t for those golden eyes to be uncharacteristically somber behind the mask.

“That’s none of your business,” Stardust said stiffly.

Regretting that he’d inadvertently brought up what was clearly an uncomfortable memory for the other man, Mike immediately backed off. “Understood. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

Stardust watched him for a moment longer before he resumed looking straight ahead. They walked in silence once more.

Mike sighed to himself. Mission failed.

∞∞∞

Stardust was surprised at Zielinski’s attempt at learning more about him. Although he couldn’t fault him for it, since much to his chagrin, he’d spent far too much time over the past few days thinking about his partner. He wondered about basic stuff, like where Zielinski was from. It couldn’t be St. Louis with that hint of a country boy accent. He wondered how he’d come by his powers. He wondered what he looked like beneath those damn long-sleeve shirts that he always wore. And he wondered why the hell he couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Stardust didn’t let on that thoughts of his partner were on his mind however, even now when they walked side by side, keeping an eye out for trouble in the Playground. They didn’t speak, walking in silence after the short conversation that he’d shut down, until he spotted something that was out of place.

Three vehicles turned onto the street they were on, the purple lights on their rooftops joining in with the rest of the colorful lights that lit up the dark night. “Purple lights. That’s weird.”

“What’s weird about purple lights?”

Stardust answered without looking at his partner. “The purple emergency vehicle lights are only used for Pruitt Inc.’s artificial intelligence police bot units. They don’t usually come to this side of the river, since Pruitt’s power isn’t supposed to bleed over into Illinois, and definitely not into the Playground. There’s a local precinct that works this area and we don’t even call them unless it’s really necessary.”

He watched with narrowed-eyed suspicion as the vehicles continued through the streets of the Playground. “I wonder why the P-Bots are here tonight,” he said mostly to himself. Deciding there was no point in wondering when he could easily follow them and see what they were up to, he picked up his pace. “I’m going to check it out,” he said as he started to follow after the P-Bots.

“I don’t think you should,” Mike called from behind him. “We’re supposed to be watching for any sign of the muggers.”

Stardust didn’t stop but he did slow down and turn to walk backward so he could speak to his partner face to face. “It’s cute how you think you have any say in what I do.” He shrugged. “Come or don’t. It’s up to you.”

“You really need to learn what it means to be partners,” Zielinski grumbled. But he jogged forward and followed along without any further complaint.

Thanks to the crowded streets keeping the speed of the vehicles low they were able to easily keep an eye on where they were going and caught up to them soon after they stopped. The bots had arrived in front of a small club. On the roof of the building, a giant red heart wrapped in black barbed wire spun in a slow circle.

“That’s the Barbed Wire. One of the mugging victims works there. That can’t be a coincidence,” Stardust said with even more suspicion than earlier. “Let’s go and check it out to see if something else happened.”

They made their way to the Barbed Wire, which was on the other side of the street and down toward the end of the block. When they arrived, the three silver SUVs were parked in front, their sliding doors open, purple rooftop lights swirling in unison. Six of the Pruitt Inc. police bots had exited the vehicles and lined up in front of the club.

The bots were big—seven feet tall with a frame built like that of a human skeleton. Except instead of white bone, its limbs were gun metal gray. The head was also human shaped but the front was absent of features, an unbroken expanse of metal with the exception of a narrow black screen where the eyes should be. The torso was solid, in that same gray metal with the Pruitt name and logo stamped across it in purple and black.

Zielinski and Stardust hung back in the shadows, hidden from view behind a party bus, but close enough to watch and listen. The manager of the Barbed Wire had come out to see why the P-Bots were there. One of the bots spoke, it’s machine voice loud and carrying.

This is address 794 Henley Avenue. Business name: Barbed Wire. We received a report that one of your employees was the victim of a crime. We are here to prevent another crime from occurring.

The manager frowned and scratched the back of his head. “Ummm, thanks. But we’re fine. We don’t need any type of protection.”

We are here to prevent another crime.

“And I said we don’t need any protection. So, you guys are dismissed. Or whatever the codeword is to get you to leave.”

Unfortunately for the club manager, the bot simply repeated itself.

We are here to prevent another crime.

Despite the repeated robotic statement, the manager continued to try and get the bots to leave, his face growing redder with each attempt. But the P-Bots remained steadfast, refusing to budge from the line they’d formed in front of the Barbed Wire’s front door. As a result, no one was going inside the club. People walked past the bots, quickening their steps until they reached the club next to it. Some even crossed to the other side of the street to avoid them. The patrons who exited the Barbed Wire nervously edged around the P-Bots before rushing off to their car or the next location.

Stardust leaned over to whisper to Zielinski. “Notice anything wrong with this scene?” He waited as Zielinski scanned the area, hoping he would see the problem.

His brows drew together. “No one is stopping here.”

“Yep. People come to the Playground for a good time. They don’t want to get hassled while pursuing their fun,” Stardust said in annoyance.

Zielinski nodded in understanding. “Even though everything here is legal, no one wants to walk past the P-Bots to go into the club.”

“You got it. And I think it’s time we made them move along.”

He stepped forward but Zielinski grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“What are you doing?”

Stardust tilted his head to the side, staring at Zielinski as if his goal should be obvious. “I’m going to get those bots out of here.”

“They’re not hurting anyone.”

“Maybe not physically. But they’re hurting the wallets of the people inside who are just trying to make a living.”

Zielinski shook his head. “That’s not enough reason to go and tangle with a police force. And Strong asked us to report in if there was any change. We should contact HQ and find out what action they want us to take first.”

Stardust glared up at his partner. He couldn’t see his eyes behind those green lenses but the hard set of his jaw made it clear he wasn’t going to budge on this. “I don’t need your help to take down those damn bots.”

“Maybe you don’t. But do you really think taking them on will be the best move? They’ll send reinforcements to triple their presence in the area, which would be even more damaging to business—the Barbed Wire’s and all the clubs and bars around it.”

What Zielinski said made sense but Stardust didn’t want to admit it. “You don’t know that.”

“I could be wrong. But why risk it?”

Since Stardust didn’t have an answer for that he cursed under his breath. Damnit. His first instinct was to rush in and knock those metal heads together. But Zielinski had a point. He didn’t want to cause additional trouble for the clubs on this street by doing something that would end in a truckload of P-Bot reinforcements.

“At least wait a few minutes to see how this plays out.”

“Fine.” Stardust relaxed and resumed his position leaning against the party bus.

While they’d argued, several of the Barbed Wire’s staff had come outside to see what was going on. One of the bots turned and faced the small group of employees. The purple light in its visor slid back and forth, as if it was scanning them. Apparently, it was scanning. Because the light stopped moving, locked onto a familiar blonde woman. Stardust recognized her as the mugging victim they’d saved the night of their first patrol together. The machine broke rank from the line of P-Bots, marching through the knot of people with single minded purpose until it stood in front of her. It reached out and latched onto her arm.

Positive identification has been made to victim 87358. Please come with us for questioning.

The woman reared back, tugging ineffectually against the hold the bot had on her arm. “What the hell? I’m not going anywhere with you damn robots. I already gave my statement to the police.”

But like earlier when the club manager had tried to get the P-Bot to leave, it refused or was unable to listen to her. It maintained its hold on her arm without budging, no matter how hard she pulled to get away from it. Some of her coworkers tried to help get her free. One of them pushed the P-Bot. It took a single step back to maintain its balance but didn’t release its vise-like grip on the woman’s arm.

By now people from the clubs surrounding the Barbed Wire had started to gather across the street, watching what was going down. It didn’t take long for the growing crowd to get agitated. Voices grew loud, expressing their dislike for the P-Bots and their presence in the Playground. Someone yelled across the street.

“Why are you even here?”

Cheers and whistles followed the shouted question before someone else yelled out.

“Get back to your side of the river!”

Another Player started a chant. “Leave! Leave! Leave!”

The rest of the crowd quickly picked it up.

“Leave! Leave! Leave! Leave!”

Stardust tensed. The mood was shifting, becoming ugly and angry. More people had poured out into the street and the crowd was starting to press forward toward the P-Bots. No way this ended without altercations. And then it happened. Someone threw a rock. It hit one of the bots, striking it with a loud clang.

Hostile activity detected. Appropriate measures will be taken.

The purple glow in the visor of the P-Bot that had been struck changed to a bright white search light, sweeping back and forth over the restless crowd in the street, almost certainly looking for the person who had thrown the rock. Whether it found the person or not, three of the P-Bots started moving toward the crowd. Some people immediately took off running, or retreated back into the clubs. Others stood their ground against the advancing police bots, still angrily chanting for them to leave. Those who remained would undoubtedly be taken into the custody of the private Pruitt police force and that rarely ended well for anyone. Stardust had to stop this.

He pushed away from the party bus and looked at Zielinski. “You can sit here like a lump if you want but I’m going to help my people.”

Without waiting for a response, Stardust stepped forward from his place in the shadows, running over to put himself between the line of P-Bots and the crowd of Players. He didn’t take his eyes off the P-Bots when he yelled back over his shoulder. “Anyone who doesn’t want to see what the inside of a Pruitt holding cell looks like needs to get the hell out of here, now!”

Thankfully the Players heeded his warning and took off. But the retreat wasn’t orderly. Along with the decision to escape came panic. People pushed and yelled, running to evade the police bots. Unfortunately, by now, the bots were on them. A fleeing Player tripped and fell down in the street. One of the P-Bots changed direction to go after the easy prey.

Stardust sprinted over to him. He leaped and flipped in mid-air, landing in front of the downed man and facing the bot. The bot raised its arm and a light began to glow from a spot on its arm above its wrist. Stardust had seen these things in action enough times to know what was coming next. An immobilization light to daze a person enough that they could be taken into custody without resistance. In order to keep it from hitting him or the Player, Stardust threw up his shield, deflecting the light and giving the man time to get back on his feet.

“Thank you!” the man said from behind him.

“You’re welcome.” He opened the protective sphere in a single spot behind him to allow the man to break free. “Now get out of here.”

The guy nodded then took off running again. Once he was gone, Stardust dropped his shield completely and backflipped out of the stun light’s range so he wouldn’t be affected by it. He went after another bot, darting in and out with quick blows to keep it focused on him long enough for the people in its sights to get away, then rushing forward to repeat the tactic with the next bot. Stardust noted from the corner of his eye that Zielinski had joined him in taking on the P-Bots. His power flashed occasionally, lighting up the night in emerald green. But he mostly seemed to be playing defense and not set on destroying the machines.

Within minutes, they’d accomplished their goal. All of the Players had managed to escape—and the P-Bots hadn’t apprehended a single person. The Barbed Wire’s employees, including the mugging victim, were back inside the club. Whatever programming ticked inside the bots’ computer heads gave them the order to retreat. Moving in near unison, the bots returned to their vehicle. Except for one.

While the others loaded back into the SUVs, one of the P-Bots stood in front of the vehicle and faced Stardust. That purple light slid back and forth along its visor as it had when it’d been scanning for the mugging victim.

Sai still gripped in his fists, Stardust faced the robot head on. That thing could scan him all it liked, as long as he wore his mask, it wasn’t finding out his identity. After a few moments, the purple light stopped scanning and the thing pivoted on a robotic heel to join the others in the SUV. They drove off, the purple lights on the top of the trucks now dark and still. Feeling victorious, Stardust smirked and shoved his sai back in their holsters.

He was about to stride off and resume the patrol when someone grabbed his arm. Still on edge from the fight, he spun around and threw his guard up, but it was only Zielinski. Stardust relaxed his stance, lowering his fists to his sides. “Don’t grab me like that, Zielinski. I almost punched you in the face.”

“What was that?” Zielinski asked with his jaw so tight his lips barely moved.

Stardust cocked his head to the side in question. “What do you mean what was that?”

“I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to engage with the Pruitt bots.”

“I didn’t agree to that. And even if I did, that was cancelled when those fucking things started trying to arrest Players.”

A muscle flexed in Zielinski’s jaw. “Damnit, Stardust! You can’t just rush into situations like that without a plan.”

“Fuck a plan!” Stardust shouted back in the face of Zielinski’s dogged insistence on strategizing. “Once those things get their hands on you and suck you into the Pruitt detention system, you’re lucky if you ever get back out.” He threw a hand out to encompass the clubs on the street. “Those people don’t deserve to have their lives royally screwed because of one altercation. You’d understand that if you weren’t the fucking Riley.”

“Stop calling me that,” Zielinski snapped.

The nickname was clearly a sore spot for Zielinski. Stardust decided to poke at it. He pushed up his mask so the other man could see his taunting smirk. “Or what? What are you going to do about it...Riley?”

Zielinski didn’t verbally respond to the taunt but the emerald green of his power flashed once behind his glasses. Stardust’s smirk widened into a triumphant grin when he saw it.

“You want to go weapons hot, soldier boy?” He spread his stance and put his hands on his hips. “Because we can do it. I’ll have you on your knees begging for mercy by the time I’m done with you.”

“You won’t,” Zielinski said from between clenched teeth.

“Let’s try it and find out.”

They stalked toward each other with furious intent. When they met, they both swung at the same time. Neither of them landed their punch, their reflexes fast enough to block the coming blow. Stardust recovered first. He took advantage of that tiny opening to go after Zielinski with a flurry of strikes. Each one was aimed at a different target on his body, forcing Zielinski to react quickly to block them. But he wasn’t fast enough to block them all.

Stardust landed a jab to the side of his torso where it was unprotected by his flak vest. Zielinski hunched over slightly and dropped his elbow to protect the area from a second hit. But Stardust had already moved on to another target. He spun around, the chains on his boot jingling as he raised his foot high to kick Zielinski on the arm. Stardust had made first contact but Zielinski wasn’t defeated. He shook off Stardust’s attack and pressed forward.

Ready to take him on, Stardust swung but Zielinski caught his wrist. Zielinski swung with his other hand but Stardust caught his fist. Locked in an impasse, their grips unyielding, they pushed and pulled, both trying to gain the upper hand. Stardust’s heart pounded, an odd sense of elation humming in his blood as they strained, muscles flexed, neither of them gaining ground, both of them refusing to give in. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold up for much longer against Zielinski’s greater strength. Lucky for him, strength wasn’t the only thing that won fights.

With a wicked grin, Stardust threw his head forward, aiming for a headbutt. Zielinski jerked to the side, avoiding the blow in the nick of time. But the evasion knocked the big man off balance and his grip on Stardust’s wrist eased up slightly. Stardust stomped hard on Zielinski’s foot, the vicious move finally obtaining him his freedom. But the fight wasn’t over. Zielinski came back at him and Stardust drew in a deep breath, skin tingling with anticipation. He raised his fists, ready for the attack.

∞∞∞

Mike wasn’t surprised that he and Stardust had come to blows. The friction between them could only go on for so long before it sparked into an inferno. He couldn’t speak for Stardust, but he needed this outlet. He released some of the frustration that had been building within him with each strike, uncaring if it landed or if Stardust managed to block it.

Neither of them managed to land any decisive blows on the other. It was more like hyper-aggressive sparring than an actual fight where they were determined to cause harm. That wasn’t what mattered. Mike needed to do something to relieve the heated tension under his skin and if this was what it took, he’d gladly spar with Stardust all night. Either by unspoken agreement or the natural path of their brawl, they ended up in a narrow, dimly lit alley, taking their fight out of sight of the public eye.

As they fought, Mike’s attention drifted, caught by the sparkle of the gold earrings swinging at Stardust’s ears. Then his eyes naturally moved to the fierce look of concentration on the hero’s face, his parted lips, the rosy flush of exertion on his cheeks. Even fighting, Stardust was gorgeous. When Mike realized he was giving in to his attraction to his partner in the middle of a brawl, he snapped back to attention, getting his focus back on their fight. Unfortunately, his moment of distraction cost him. Stardust came at him with a flying knee aimed at his chest and Mike stumbled backward to avoid it, boots slipping in a slick puddle on the uneven pavement. He lost his footing and went down, landing on his back hard.

His fall had an unexpected consequence. In that moment, the two of them were so close to each other that his feet tangled with Stardust’s, tripping him up as well. The hero cursed as he followed Mike down, slamming on top of him, Mike grunting from the sudden impact of Stardust’s weight across his torso. Stardust immediately moved to get up, but his knees slipped to either side of Mike’s hips. Mike choked on a breath, arousal flaring to life and sizzling through his veins as the ass he’d spent so much time trying not to look at settled on top of his dick as if it had found its home.

Damn near panicked with the urgent need to get Stardust off him before his body betrayed him and revealed exactly how much he liked where the man was perched, Mike reached up and grabbed Stardust to push him off his lap. That was his intention, until his hands landed on the bare skin of Stardust’s waist. Instead of pushing, his fingers tightened, sending the message to his brain that the skin under his hand was soft and velvety smooth. Stardust’s full, dusky-pink lips parted, and the dark wings of his eyebrows drew together in a frown.

“You...”

Mike braced himself for another of the man’s sarcastic verbal attacks. But to his shock, Stardust leaned down, his gold earrings swinging as he slid in to Mike’s personal space...and kissed him.

Time seemed to stop as Mike froze for a breathless second. Then, as quickly as it stopped, everything started moving again at a frantic, rapid speed. Mike reared up on his elbows to return the kiss. Their lips crashed together again and again, in kisses that were fast and rough and hard. Each one felt almost like a punishment. Stardust nipped at Mike’s bottom lip in a sharp love bite, then sucked it into his mouth. His lips stung, still, he continued to seek out the plush ones furiously kissing him. Uncaring that he was on the filthy ground in an alley, with the sound of traffic and muted club music in the background, he smoothed his hand up Stardust’s back under his jacket, savoring more of that velvet soft skin beneath his palm. This this was the real release of tension he needed.

The kiss gradually changed, becoming gentle enough for Mike to breathe and savor it. Stardust licked into his mouth once with a slow curl of his tongue that intensified the heat building low in his belly. His partner tasted of vanilla lip gloss, his breath cool and peppermint sweet. Mike chased after that tongue with his own, desperate for another taste, but the other man had already withdrawn.

Stardust abruptly rolled off him and jumped to his feet. He stood there, towering over Mike for the length of a single pounding heartbeat before he spun around, the long tail of his braid whipping behind him.

“Patrol is over,” he tossed over his shoulder before he stormed from the alley without looking back.

Left alone, his breath still racing and lips tingling, Mike pushed himself to his feet. He shook off the filthy alley water clinging to his clothes. But he didn’t think he’d be able to shake off those kisses quite as easily.

Chapter 9

Aiden leaned down to his toes, body moving with ease as he stretched, placing his palms flat on the floor. He held the position until a pleasant burn warmed his muscles. Then he smoothly flowed into the next pose, reaching high above his head, balancing on one foot then rising up onto his toes. Breathing out, he went into a back bend, pressing up into the arch then rolling through a back flip to land on his feet. From there his movements gained speed, turning into a combination of dance poses and martial arts stances, gradually building to shadow strikes and kicks.

Elation filled Aiden as he swept across the floor. He loved to dance and he loved to fight. Warm ups like this, where he combined his two loves, always got his heart pumping and the blood flowing in the best way. And they were a perfect distraction to get his mind off things for a while. Things that he was determined not to think about—like last night’s fight and back alley make out session with Zielinski.

He would have kept going until he reached that stage where the sweat dripped and his muscles ached, but it was nearly time to go out for the night.

Slowing his pace, Aiden transitioned to cool down stretches, bringing his heart rate and breathing down as well. Once he finished, he grabbed the towel off the barre to mop the sweat from his face. After a quick shower, he turned on the TV, switching to a local news channel to listen to while he geared up. As he was running the brush through his hair in preparation to braid it, a familiar PSA began to play. Arial shots of the Pruitt golden tower and grounds and a montage of smiling Pruitt employees filled the screen. Anderson Pruitt’s voice rose over the obnoxiously triumphant music.

I’m glad I moved Pruitt Incorporated to St. Louis. And my artificial intelligence bots are here to protect not only my investment, but also your investment in your future by keeping the city safe for us all. The image switched to show a trio of P-Bots standing shoulder to shoulder, sunlight gleaming off their metal frames. A small child walked up to them, giving the first bot a yellow daisy. The robot accepted the flower, and a spot of purple light twinkled in the thing’s visor, as if it were feeling some sort of emotion at the gift.

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Give me a break,” he muttered. Those things weren’t the friendly, neighborhood safety patrol Pruitt presented them as in his little vignettes. Getting caught by them wasn’t the same as getting caught by the regular police—which wasn’t exactly a treat itself. If a police officer brought you in for breaking the law, you’d at least get your day in court. Not so if a P-Bot brought you in. To start with, it didn’t take you to a police station. It took you to the detention center on the grounds of the massive Pruitt complex. From there, you might be released, if your crime was small enough and you had someone who knew where you’d been taken and could navigate through the convoluted Pruitt channels to get you out. If not...you’d disappear for a while. No one phone call, no visitors, no court date. You’d be released after the amount of time they assigned to your transgression based on the undisclosed code the Pruitt complex used.

Aiden knew a few people who had been through the Pruitt system. And not a single one of them would speak of what they’d experienced there. Most simply refused to discuss it. Others would have a blank expression take over their face before they blinked and changed the subject. It was eerie. Aiden half-believed they’d had their minds wiped of their experience in Pruitt Detention or maybe were chipped with a program that wouldn’t let them speak about it. Thankfully, he didn’t know any of the extremely unlucky few who were detained by Pruitt Inc. and never seen again.

It was a messed up arrangement, essentially allowing Pruitt to function as a private criminal justice system in the city of St. Louis. But the freedom to do as he pleased had been part of the stipulations set down by Pruitt before he agreed to relocate his company. The mayor had taken one look at the money the company would bring to the aging city on the river and lobbied the council hard until all motions for Pruitt Inc. had passed. It was obvious that the mayor had received personal gains as well, since he now drove a sleek black Mercedes on the weekdays and tooled around town on Sundays in a shiny red Corvette. He didn’t even try to hide his Pruitt cash. But the people in power were happy and apparently that was all that mattered. The rest of the citizens were merely serfs beneath Pruitt’s feet.

His workout finished, and thoughts of last night completely pushed aside by his annoyance with Pruitt, Aiden headed down to the kitchen to get something to eat. His ACG watched beeped with a message when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Stardust. Please come in to HQ before your patrol this evening.

Damn, that sounded ominous. After a quick pause to hit the button that sent an affirmative reply, Aiden continued on into the kitchen. He had a feeling he knew what that specific request was about.

∞∞∞

Later that evening, Aiden walked into the firehouse, feeling as if he’d been called into the principal’s office. A feeling he was well acquainted with from his school days. The first thing he noticed was Mike sitting in one of the chairs in front of the command center. Neither of them spoke, but their eyes met and locked in a silent moment that expressed a thousand thoughts. Or maybe not a thousand thoughts. Maybe one thought on repeat a thousand times.

We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed...

He’d kissed that stiff, uptight soldier.

What the hell had he’d been thinking? The answer was he hadn’t been thinking. He’d got an eyeful of Zielinski beneath him with his face flushed and eyes full of fire and he’d slammed their lips together as if kissing him while the thrill of a fight hummed in his blood was as natural as breathing. And his partner had responded to each kiss, desperate and hungry, as if he’d been starving for a taste of Aiden’s lips. Touched him as though he’d been dying to get his hands on his skin. Why? Zielinski had never looked at him with so much as a hint of attraction, so where had that white-hot passion come from?

“You’re in trouble,” Caleb called out in a sing-song voice.

Aiden snapped out of his musings to look at their tech genius. “What?”

“Trouble. You.” Caleb pointed the half un-wrapped Sugar Daddy in his hand at Strong’s office door, just as Strong yanked it open and strode out, his dark eyebrows drawn together in fury.

“Did I or did I not ask you to contact the team before taking action if the situation escalated?”

“You did,” Stardust warily confirmed.

“Then why did you engage with the Pruitt bots last night?”

Aiden hesitated, considering the best answer to give. He had a feeling that they started it wouldn’t be an acceptable response. Strong plowed on before he came up with anything to say in his defense.

“We do not want to set ourselves up as being against the Pruitt private police force.”

Aiden looked at their director in disbelief. “You can’t actually think those things are on the side of the people.”

“Not at all. But we have to be cognizant of the way the city perceives us. As individuals we’re there to help when the need arises. It’s all well and good and no one has a problem with it. Now that we’re a team—we are much stronger. And some people might see that as a threat. St. Louis doesn’t have an official charter for heroes—yet. You know Pruitt has a lot of influence here. If we get on the wrong side of him and his company, we could end up under a city regulation board which would no doubt have Pruitt oversight. Or, we could be forced to disband our team or kicked out of the city all together.”

Aiden deflated as Strong named all the things that could go wrong as a result of his actions. “I didn’t think of that. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the bots showed up at the job of one of the mugging victims last night.”

“You’re probably right. But at this stage I didn’t want the humans behind the bots to know that we’re working on this. The plan was to lay low while we figure out who is involved and what their ultimate goal is. Now, we’ll be on their radar. You risked more than you realize jumping in and facing off against them.”

“Damnit, I’m sorry.” Aiden said with true remorse. He didn’t normally reflect on his past decisions. What was done was done. But Strong had raised several valid points that had him regretting his characteristic impulsiveness. As Aiden stood there with guilt rolling in his stomach, footsteps sounded behind him. Zielinski stepped up to stand at his side.

“Sir. When the bots arrived in the Playground our plan was simply to observe the scene and report back with what we saw. But the crowd got involved and the Pruitt-Bots reacted according to their protocol. It all happened very fast. It seemed best to intervene in order to keep the situation from escalating and resulting in civilian injuries or arrests. We avoided causing permanent damage to the bots and only created enough of a diversion to give the people time to disperse.”

After listening to Zielinski’s explanation, Strong flicked his gaze back to Aiden. “Is that true?”

Relieved that Zielinski had broken it down in a way that didn’t make his decision to engage look like complete incompetence, Aiden nodded. “Yes. We knocked the bots around a bit and yelled at the people to get out of there. Once they were clear, we left.”

Again, Strong looked back and forth between them. “Okay. I don’t love that you engaged with the bots, but your de-escalation tactic undoubtedly kept several people from falling into the blackhole of Pruitt police custody. However, if the bots are involved in the future, contact HQ before engaging.”

“I will.” Aiden gave the director a sincere assurance this time. He understood now why it was important.

Strong’s phone beeped and he excused himself to return to his office and take the call.

Once the director was gone, Aiden turned to look up at Mike. “Thanks for having my back with Strong.”

Zielinski dipped his chin once. “Of course.”

Caleb’s chair squeaked as he leaned back to look up at them both. “Looks like your partnership is coming together.”

“I guess he’s not the worst person to work with,” Aiden conceded with a sideways glance at his partner.

“Thanks for that high praise. I’ll add it to my resume.”

The dry comment made Aiden laugh. When an answering smile curved Zielinski’s lips, Aiden’s eyes dropped to his mouth. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. At the return of that litany, Aiden realized the two of them needed to talk. “Do you need us for anything right now?” he asked Caleb.

“Nope.”

Aiden looked at Zielinski. “Can I talk to you outside for a second?”

He nodded so Aiden turned to head back out to the parking lot. He went around to the side of the building, his partner following close behind. Aiden leaned back against the brick, propping a foot up on the wall. Zielinski stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. As always, he was covered from collarbones to wrists by a long sleeve shirt. Today it was maroon. “I want to apologize,” Aiden started.

Zielinski lifted an eyebrow. “For what exactly? There’s been so much.”

Aiden glanced off to the side, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “I deserved that,” he said when he looked back at him. “For kissing you last night. That was out of line no matter how pissed off and riled up I was.”

“I kissed you back.”

“That’s not the point.”

“What is the point?”

Aiden pushed off from the wall, crossing his arms over his chest to mirror Zielinski’s stance. “That it won’t happen again. For whatever reason Strong wants us working together. I have to admit that for the most part, we’ve been successful as a pair. I jeopardized that success with my kiss. From now on, I’ll keep it professional and refrain from taking my frustrations out on you like that again.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it? Just okay?”

Zielinski shrugged. “What else is there to say? It was one kiss. You apologized and it won’t happen again. Let’s forget about it so we can work together in peace.”

Aiden stared at the big man in front of him, wishing he could tell if Zielinski really was as blasé about their kiss as he appeared. Unfortunately, mind reading wasn’t one of his superpowers. He had no choice but to take him at his word and let the matter drop. “Fine. It’s forgotten.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

Chapter 10

It wasn’t forgotten. Mike couldn’t stop thinking about the scorching hot kisses he’d exchanged with Stardust while he walked the streets with him for another night patrolling the Playground. It was a nice evening, the temperature cool, the dark sky clear. The red-light district was crowded, visitors strolling in large groups, Players hanging outside the clubs and bars to tempt guests to come inside.

On such a busy evening, he should be focused on keeping an eye out for trouble. But he couldn’t stop replaying the way Stardust had stared down at him in that breathless second before their kiss. The moment was on loop as they walked side by side, their arms often brushing together, neither of them moving to put space between them to prevent it from happening again. He was so attuned to Stardust that everything about him caught his attention: the jingle of the chains on his boots, the way the light reflected off his mask, the scent of his cologne. His fingers twitched with the urge to slide them over the thick rope of his braid and his gaze drifted more than once to the perfect curves of his ass. Because of his focus on his partner, he almost missed the man in head-to-toe white stealthily following someone who’d exited the all-male revue strip club across the street.

“Heads up,” he said, gesturing to the white shirt and his prey. Mike noticed that Stardust seemed distracted as well before he got his head in the game and looked to where he was pointing. Stardust nodded and lead the way to where the two men had disappeared behind the club. They arrived in what looked to be a small employee parking lot right as the white shirt rushed up behind the dancer to grab him and spin him around, slamming him up against the side of a car.

“Give me your wallet,” he demanded in a rough snarl.

Mike held back, scanning the area for hidden assailants while Stardust stepped forward into the circle of light cast by one of the parking lot lights above.

“He’s not giving you anything,” Stardust called across the space between them and the mugger.

The man’s head whipped up at Stardust’s challenge. He froze for a second, eyes narrowed as if he were weighing his options. He must have decided escape was the better bet because he shoved the dancer toward them and sprinted away in the opposite direction.

“Check on him!” Stardust yelled to Mike before he chased after the white shirt.

Mike was moving to follow the order when Caleb came on the line in his ear piece.

“Mike. A street light camera in the Playground just picked up that van with the partial plate you gave me.”

“Stardust is in pursuit of a white shirt who was about to mug someone,” he responded before asking the man if he was okay. He received a thumbs up so he took off to catch up with Stardust and the white shirt.

“He’s probably headed for that van. If you go after it, you might be able to catch him and anyone he’s working with.”

Stardust slowed his pursuit, watching as the white shirt disappeared into the crowd of pedestrians. “What street is it on?”

Mike caught up to him, then he too slowed to a stop.

“Bollefer and 4th.”

“That’s only two streets over,” Stardust said. “Let’s get after it.”

They took off, running in the street in the scant space between traffic and the sidewalk to avoid having to push through the crowd.

Up ahead, the van door opened and a half-dozen white shirts poured out. They immediately started harassing pedestrians, going after Players and guests alike, shoving them, and blocking their path into the clubs.

“That’s new,” Mike said in surprise.

At his side, Stardust’s fury came through in his clenched fists and the rigid line of his body. Every muscle was tense, telegraphing his readiness to fight.

“It’s new but it’s not about to become a habit,” he bit out.

Mike touched his glasses but didn’t activate his blasts. “There are too many people around. I don’t want to use my power and risk hitting a civilian.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to put those fists and boots to work,” Stardust said before he dove into the crowd.

The hero took on the first white shirt he came to, catching them off guard with a stomp to the back of the knee. The man’s leg buckled and he went down, giving the women he’d been harassing space to get away. Mike joined in, putting his body in between two white shirts and a Player who’d been dancing and spinning a sign to advertise the smoke house he worked for before they started bothering him.

When people realized a fight was underway, they started to run, getting out of the path of destruction. Now that he had more room to work, Mike prepared to activate his blasts. Before he could do so however, the white shirts all fled, scattering like roaches when someone turned on the kitchen light. He understood why when the van rocked up and slammed to a stop with a squeal of tires, the side door open. The white shirts raced to the van and jumped in. It took off with all of the white shirts inside, leaving Mike and Stardust thwarted and frustrated on the sidewalk.

“Damnit!” Stardust cursed.

They both watched as the van ignored the speed limit, tearing down the street, weaving in and out of traffic. They’d never be able to catch it on foot.

“I don’t think they’re going home after that.”

“Neither do I,” Stardust answered, watching the van cut across traffic to make a left at a red light.

Mike tapped his earpiece to call HQ. “Caleb, where is that van headed now? Are they leaving the Playground?”

“No. They’re driving to the other side of the district, away from the bridge connecting the island to East St. Louis proper.”

“Thanks.” He turned to Stardust. “They’re probably making sure they’re far enough away that we can’t run them down on foot again.”

“Good thing we have wheels.”

Mike nodded in agreement. “If we hustle to get our rides, we should be able to catch them with Caleb guiding us.”

∞∞∞

Two minutes later, Stardust was bent low over his bike as he whipped through traffic, following Caleb’s directions. Mike was behind him in his SUV, engine roaring every time he accelerated to keep up with Stardust’s bike.

“Next street over. Turn left at the light,” Caleb said in his earpiece.

They turned left, tires squealing, arriving at an acrobatic show taking place on an outdoor stage in time to see the van leaving the scene. But they’d left a few of their members behind to cause mayhem. Stardust parked his bike and Zielinski pulled up next to him, immediately jumping out of the SUV. Stardust cracked his knuckles. He was determined to get some real action this time.

“One thing about those all-white outfits, it makes them easy to spot.” He unsheathed his sai, gaze locked onto the three white shirts headed for the crowd watching the show without any clue that trouble was coming their way.

He and Mike sprinted across the street, determined to stop the white shirts before they could cause any harm. Mike took one out as soon as they hit the scene, his blast sending him hurtling back and crashing into a big trash can. The can tumbled over, waste spilling out onto the white shirt as he rolled on the ground, groaning in pain.

Stardust grinned at the man’s plight. He deserved to be covered in garbage. The other two stopped and turned to face them. Stardust hoped like hell they wouldn’t run and they didn’t. Both of them aggressively moved into their space. Zielinski took one on and Stardust started fighting the other.

A few seconds into the fight Stardust realized something was off. He’d fought plenty of people—regular humans, enhanced humans, and humans on Croton. The strength with which this guy swung on him was beyond that of a regular human. He’d think he might be enhanced, but the wide eyes were a dead giveaway. This guy might not be in the middle of a Croton rage like the group they’d faced in the Loop, but he was definitely on the drug. That didn’t deter Stardust from the ass-whipping he was about to hand out. In fact, he was glad that the fight might be more even-handed now. Deciding to have a little fun, he half-turned to Zielinski, catching a confused frown on the big man’s face as he squared off with his opponent.

“If you’re wondering why that guy is so strong, he’s probably hopped up on Croton.”

The frown cleared from Zielinski’s forehead. “That explains it,” he said as he threw another punch.

Stardust flipped backward, out of range of a barrage of punches coming his way. “I bet I can take mine down before you beat yours.”

“What do I win if I beat you?” Zielinski asked.

It was on the tip of Stardust’s tongue to say anything you want. But he remembered his promise from earlier—he would keep it professional—which meant no flirty bets. “Bragging rights,” he said instead.

“You’re on. Any stipulations?”

“No powers or weapons. Hand to hand only,” Stardust said as ducked to avoid a kick aimed at his head.

“Agreed.”

Stardust popped back up, sliding his sai back into their holsters in one smooth motion. He faced off with his opponent, fists raised and ready to engage.

“Are you gonna chat with your boyfriend or are you gonna fight?” the man growled impatiently.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Stardust snapped before he spun around with a round house kick. The move connected to the guy’s jaw with a satisfying crack. But the white shirt worked his jaw back and forth, shaking off the blow with ease.

“You’re gonna have to hit me with more than that, sweet thing.”

The taunt upped Stardust’s anticipation for this fight. He bounced twice on his toes. “Oh, baby. You shouldn’t have said that. I’m about to make you hurt.” He sprinted forward, gunning straight for the white shirt. His opponent punched out hard in a blow that would undoubtedly have caused serious pain if it had connected. But Stardust hit the spin move, and the white shirt’s swing went wild with a miss, while Stardust ended up behind him. He grabbed the man’s shoulders and jumped up, using his strength and momentum to drag the man down with him. Stardust drew his legs up so that when they hit the ground, he stabbed the white shirt in the back with his knees. Something in the vicinity of his ribs cracked and the man yelled out in pain.

“Aaaagh!”

The white shirt rolled free of Stardust’s hold, clutching his side, but only managed to make it to his knees. Without an ounce of sympathy, Stardust snapped his foot forward and kicked him on the chin. Those wide eyes went impossibly wider before they fell shut and the man crumpled to the ground in a heap of defeat.

Stardust turned around, ready to gloat that he’d won their challenge. But Zielinski was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, his opponent out cold at his feet.

Stardust tilted his head to the side, a grin tugging at his lips. “I’m going to choose to believe that your guy didn’t fall at the exact same time as mine and give you the win on this one.”

“Good. Because I only had about a second to get into place and look smug before you turned around.”

Stardust laughed, but before he could say anything else, the faint sound of panicked yells and shouts drifted to them on the breeze.

“Another attack,” Zielinski said grimly.

“Fuck,” Stardust cursed as he threw a quick glance at the two white shirts on the ground. They could wait until the two came around to try and get answers from them, or they could go and help whoever was in trouble. The decision was easy and they reached it simultaneously. They abandoned their defeated opponents, and once again raced toward the sounds of trouble. Unfortunately, they’d just come within sight of the scene, when the white shirts spotted them. The group ran to the van that was idling at the curb a half block up, jumped in, and took off.

Stardust drifted to a stop, chest heaving from exertion and frustration. “What the hell is going on? That’s four attacks tonight. And who knows if we’ve missed any others.”

“We can’t keep running up and down the streets on our own like this,” Mike said. “We need help.”

“You’re right.” He could keep going as long as necessary, but this game of whack-a-mole wasn’t effective.

“I’m calling Caleb.”

Stardust impatiently prowled back and forth, ready to keep fighting, while Zielinski tapped his ear piece to activate the line to headquarters.

“The Purity Alliance are on some sort of extreme productivity spree. They’ve attacked four times so far and I suspect they’re not finished for the night. Can we get some back up down here?” He paused to look at the street sign. “We’re on Hughes Avenue in front of the bakery.”

Caleb’s voice came through the line clear as a bell.

“You bet. Sonica and Frost should be there in two shakes.”

A pop sounded behind him and Stardust turned to see Sonica and Frost rushing toward them.

“Thanks,” he said to Caleb. “We’ll keep you posted on the situation.”

“We had a feeling you’d be calling us,” Sonica said when she reached their side.

“What’s the plan?” Frost asked.

The icy hero looked to Stardust but Stardust gestured at his partner. “I think Zielinski might have a strategy for us.”

Zielinski looked at him, eyebrows shooting up over his glasses in clear surprise at the concession to his leadership. But after his chiding by Strong, Stardust finally understood why’d they’d been paired together as partners. Zielinski was there to temper his hot-headed, fight first, ask questions never method. It made sense to let him take the lead on this.

“You’re the better strategist,” he said in answer to Zielinski’s questioning glance. “You know my only plan is to jump in and fight.”

At his explanation, a small smile quirked Zielinski’s full lips before he stepped up to address them all.

“The white shirts are working on a series of hit it and quit it attacks. They roll up, drop off a few of their operatives to harass people or attempt a mugging, then flee the scene before Stardust and I can catch them. Now that you’re here, we’ll split up to cover a wider area and be ready for these blitz attacks. If you can, capture one of them. It would be good for us to try and get some information. I haven’t seen another one of their freeze rays tonight, but if you come across one, try and confiscate it. Our main priority is to prevent them from harming any civilians. Frost and Sonica you’re together. Stardust you stick with me. Everyone keep the radio line open at all times. Any questions?”

All three of them shook their heads.

“Okay, let’s move out.”

The new heroes on the scene jumped into action. Sonica teleported forward half a block at a time, checking for signs of the white shirts along the way. Frost followed behind her, sliding down the street on a sheet of ice, propelled forward by gusts of icy wind.

Stardust turned to his partner. “We don’t have super traveling powers but we need to cover more ground than we can on foot. Let’s go back to where we left our vehicles.”

“It would be better if we rode together,” Zielinski suggested as they jogged back to where they’d parked.

“We can take my bike,” Stardust offered, fully expecting Zielinski to protest. But the big man agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

“Good idea. Your bike will be better for navigating through the district.”

They quickly reached their vehicles. Stardust threw a leg over his bike then gave a short nod to Zielinski, letting him know it was okay to join him. Zielinski climbed on. As he settled on the seat, the warmth of his thighs bracketed Stardust’s.

“Hold on,” Stardust said, his voice suddenly huskier than usual.

Zielinski leaned in and slid his arms around his waist, enveloping him in muscled heat from shoulders all the way down to his ass. Oh, he liked that. And his cock twitched as if to prove it. Fuck. He could not get aroused right now. He needed to concentrate on catching villains and not embarrassing himself with an ill-timed erection.

Stardust wiggled his hips once, as if that would give him more room on the small motorcycle seat. All it did was shift his ass back and forth between Zielinski’s thick thighs, rubbing it against his groin. Zielinski made a small rough noise at the movement. The sound gently rasped over Stardust’s ear, sending tingles shooting down his spine. That noise, that low, rough noise, sounded as if Zielinski was in a similar half-aroused state as him. Stardust immediately locked his muscles down tight, determined not to move again. They had villains to defeat. Besides, they were partners. Professional partners who absolutely did not get turned on by each other in the middle of a patrol.

With renewed focus, Stardust sped down the streets, looking for hints of white shirts and listening for Caleb to come on the line and tell them where they were moving to next. But there was nothing. It seemed now that he and Zielinski had help, the white shirts had decided to call it quits. The frustration building in his chest was about to erupt in a string of curses when Sonica’s voice sounded in his ear piece.

“Got one!”

He listened as she gave her location. Stardust slowed his speed, carefully checking it was clear in all directions before he flipped a U-turn and sped back the way they’d come.

Several lights and two turns later, they came upon Frost and Sonica waiting on the sidewalk. A white shirt was in front of them, an older woman, her hair in a tidy, steel-gray bun. The bottoms of her sturdy boots were encased in Frost’s ice, preventing her from moving. Stardust jumped off the bike and walked up to the trio, Zielinski close at his side. The others held back while Stardust stood face to face with one of the people causing trouble in his district. He had lots of questions. The most important one, why were they doing this? He wanted answers, but decided to have someone else ask the questions.

“Sonica, why don’t you handle the interrogation.”

Stardust was itching to have a go at the white shirt himself but he was so pissed off after chasing them all over the Playground, that he worried he wouldn’t be able to focus his powers enough to keep from affecting anyone close to him—including his teammates. Besides, Sonica had interrogation experience so it was probably best to hand this task off to her. He stepped aside, and the redhead moved in to take his place in front of the shivering woman.

“We have some questions for you and I hope you’ll be a good girl and answer. Who is behind the attacks on the Playground?”

The woman said nothing. She stood there, glaring at Sonica.

Sonica tried again. “What’s your ultimate goal with this targeted harassment?”

“I’m not talking,” the woman said from between loudly chattering teeth.

At the refusal, Sonica’s face went hard and she canted her head low.

Stardust took a cautious step forward when Sonica’s demeanor changed so abruptly. Sonica had a... history. As much as he wanted answers, he didn’t want the hero to drift into old behaviors. “Sonica?” he said her name quietly, making sure she was all right. The hero’s answer was swift, accompanied by a roll of her shoulders.

“I’m good.”

Trusting that she would keep her cool, Stardust eased back. He, Zielinski, and Frost watched and waited as Sonica continued to question the woman—what organization she was with, what were their group’s goals, how many people were involved. But the white shirt doggedly refused to answer anything put to her. She kept her mouth shut while her eyes remained bugged open wide, a sign that she too had taken Croton. Stardust was starting to realize this was pointless when sirens sounded, too close to be ignored.

“We’re not going to get anything out of her,” he said. “And we need to go.”

Everyone agreed, and they left in their respective pairs, disappearing into the crowd as swirling police lights came around the corner. The woman would either be taken in, or the ice would melt and she’d escape back to her group of harassers. Her fate was of no concern to Stardust. His focus was on locating and stopping the next attack.

He and Zielinski patrolled several streets on foot but they didn’t see any sign of white shirts appearing in the middle of the crowds of revelry. When they came upon an alleyway, Stardust jerked his head toward it, indicating that Zielinski should follow him into the dark space between the two buildings.

“Let’s wait here for a bit. Maybe they’re watching for us and that’s why they haven’t come out again.”

“Makes sense.”

They took up spots on the walls opposite each other. Car horns blared, the smell of roasting meat came from the building behind him, and the wind picked up a discarded plastic cup, sending it skittering over the uneven bricks between them. Their location wasn’t exactly conducive to romance. But an alley exactly like this one was where they’d kissed a few nights ago, so it was only natural that he thought of it now.

He looked to Zielinski, who was turned to observe the entrance to the alley. His partner seemed as business-like as usual and Stardust assumed his mind was on their patrol. But then he turned away from the alley entrance to face Stardust.

Stardust couldn’t see his eyes, but he knew without a doubt that Zielinski was thinking about their kiss. There was something there in the tense line of his jaw and the way his fingers flexed once before curling into loose fists. Stardust’s stomach lifted lightly in a slight rush of desire. They stared at each other, tension crackling between them while they stayed at the ready, listening for shouts or sounds of a scuffle. But it appeared as if the white shirts were finally done with their attacks on the Playground for the night. Eventually, Stardust straightened and tapped his earpiece for one final check-in to HQ.

“Caleb, we haven’t seen any white shirts for a good twenty minutes. We’re going to call it and head home.”

“Okay. You all did good work tonight. Get some rest.”

The call finished, Stardust returned to leaning against the brick wall behind him. Across the narrow alley, Zielinski mirrored his pose. Stardust ran his gaze from the top of his wind-mussed brown locks, lingering on his full lips before moving down past the tactical vest that hugged his tight torso, to the thick thighs straining against his black pants. Damnit. Why did that man have to look so fucking good? He looked big and strong and perfectly capable of throwing Stardust down and wrecking him just the way he liked. He watched as Zielinski’s gloved hand rose to push his glasses up into his hair, revealing the intensity to his bright green gaze as he stared.

Stardust slowly pulled of his mask, letting it dangle from one hand. And still Zielinski continued to stare. The heavy glance felt like both an invitation and a challenge. Whatever it was, Stardust accepted it, professionalism be damned. He pushed off the wall, stalking across the short space between them.

Zielinski licked his tongue out, running it over his bottom lip, leaving it wet and shiny. When Stardust reached him, he didn’t speak, he simply wrapped a hand around the back of Zielinski’s neck and pulled his head down to his level. Their lips met and their eyes drifted closed. This kiss wasn’t furious as their first had been but there was still a ton of heat between them. Stardust kept a firm hold on the big man, pushing his body in tight against him as they passionately kissed again and again. Zielinski’s hands settled on his waist. When Stardust gave an encouraging hum into their kiss, his grip tightened, pulling him in even closer.

Heat pooling low in his belly, Stardust shifted his stance to slightly spread his legs. He was seconds away from straddling one of Zielinski’s muscled thighs and taking it for a ride when rapidly approaching footsteps caught his attention. Stardust released his partner, jerking away from him at the same time Frost jogged around the corner.

They drifted to a stop, dark eyebrows shooting up, blue eyes moving back and forth between them. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to—.”

Stardust cut them off. “You didn’t,” he said even as he fought to bring his breathing back to an even pace. “We were just talking. I think we’re done here, right?” Stardust asked with a quick glance to Zielinski.

The other man answered with a tight nod.

“Good. Let’s go, Frost.”

“We’re going back to your place?”

“Yup.” He came abreast of Frost but they didn’t turn to follow him.

“Zielinski you should come with us. We usually unwind and eat junk food while we enter our report to Caleb. It’ll help you start feeling like a part of the team to hang out outside of superheroing. And you two can continue the conversation you were having.”

Stardust stopped. His back to Zielinski, he threw Frost a hard look at the unexpected invitation. He wasn’t sure he wanted to spend any of his off-hour’s time with his partner, but Frost had boxed him into a corner. It would be rude to tell Zielinski not to come after Frost had invited him and he didn’t roll like that. He fixed his expression as neutral as possible and turned to the man whose lips were still red from his kisses. “Yeah. You should stop by and hang out with us.”

Zielinski faced him for a long, silent moment, his expression as flat as Stardust’s even though a flush warmed his cheekbones.

“All right,” he finally said.

Stardust yanked his mask back on. “Follow behind my bike.”

Chapter 11

Aiden unlocked his front door and went inside, Frost and Zielinski following behind him. Frost shrugged out of his hoodie and threw it on a hook on the standing coat rack. Aiden swapped his jacket for a fleece pullover. “Get comfortable and take off your vest if you want,” he offered to his partner.

“Thanks.”

Zielinski unbuckled the closures on the sides of the tactical vest he wore and pulled it over his head, leaving him in the thin long-sleeved black t-shirt that clung to his well-defined torso. Aiden gestured at the bench next to the coat rack and Zielinski carefully set the vest down on it.

“Where’s your bathroom? I want to wash up.”

Aiden pointed in the direction of the lower-level guest bath and Zielinski headed that way. “We’ll be in the kitchen when you come out,” he called after him. As soon as the door closed behind his partner, Aiden whipped around to his friend. “I’m going to murder you,” he said to Frost.

Frost walked past him to go into the kitchen, not at all afraid of the threat. “Why?”

“You know why,” Aiden said as he followed, flicking on the lights in the spacious white and stainless-steel kitchen when he walked into the room. “What were you thinking inviting him here?”

“Why wouldn’t I? He’s your partner. You two are getting along now so it should be cool.”

“We worked our shit out so we can function as a team. That doesn’t mean we’re besties.”

“Hmm...” Frost leaned against the counter, fingers plucking at the hem of the long blue sweater they wore over a pair of ripped white jeans. “Maybe not. But you’re definitely something.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know what I walked in on and it wasn’t you two talking. Nobody has a conversation with their faces that close to each other.”

“It didn’t mean anything,” Aiden said with a nonchalant shrug as he washed his hands in the white porcelain sink. “It was only left-over adrenaline that found an inappropriate physical outlet. It won’t happen again.”

“And how many times have you had these moments of left-over adrenaline?”

Annoyed at the question and what Frost would construe from his response, Aiden answered from between clenched teeth. “Twice.”

Frost snorted a dry laugh. “He wants you, Aiden.”

“He doesn’t.”

“He does. When he looks at you, he has this soft, admiring expression, as if he’s about to throw down a carpet of rose petals for you to walk on.”

That was so far-fetched that Aiden audibly scoffed as he yanked open the freezer to grab their snacks for the night. He took out three boxes of frozen Hot Pockets and tossed them on the counter next to the microwave. “Be serious. I’ve never seen him look at me like that.”

“I’m not surprised you haven’t. One, because you don’t want to see it. And two, he’s pretty good at changing his face whenever you do look at him.”

Aiden ripped open the boxes for the Hot Pockets. He didn’t want to believe what Frost said was true. Zielinski wasn’t the man for him. He might enjoy looking at him in those tight shirts. And maybe wondering what was beneath them was slowly driving him wild with the urge to rip off one of them to see for himself. And sure, they’d exchanged a few hot kisses. But Zielinski was too uptight. There was only one way a relationship with a man like him would end.

“What are you going to do about it?” Frost quietly asked.

“Nothing.”

“He’s your type.”

Aiden didn’t have a rebuttal for that because it was true. He loved big, clean cut, hard-jawed men. He loved it even more when they were kneeling at his feet. “Doesn’t mean I’m his. Or that he wants what I have to give.” He meant to answer flippantly, but a hint of wistfulness slipped into his voice. Frost’s eyes widened in surprise before their expression gentled into something uncomfortably close to sympathy. Luckily for Aiden, Frost didn’t get a chance to say whatever it was they planned to say because Zielinski strolled into the kitchen. Aiden was relieved to see him—only because his presence brought an end to the ridiculous conversation he was having with Frost.

Aiden cleared his throat. When he spoke again all hints of vulnerability were gone from his voice.

“I actually have more than one flavor Hot Pocket tonight so you guys can pick what you want.”

Frost smoothly went along with the change of subject.

“Good, I was getting tired of Ham and Cheese.”

∞∞∞

Mike walked further into the kitchen. “You guys eat Hot Pockets after your nights out patrolling?”

“Yep,” Frost answered. “I’m taking the pepperoni so you get either the ham or Philly steak and cheese.”

The snacks were a far cry from the protein boxes and energy bars Mike usually ate, but he was fine with it. “The Philly steak and cheese works for me.” Mike stood to the side and watched as Stardust and Frost moved around the kitchen, heating the turnovers and getting drinks. Frost went straight to the correct cabinets and drawers, indicating that they were here often. The two heroes were clearly comfortable with each other. They conversed easily, most of their conversation spent bickering and snarking at each other without any real heat.

As Mike listened to them argue over which fast food place had the better milkshakes, a dull pain began to throb at his temple. “Do you have any painkillers?” he asked. “I have a headache.”

“Sure. Frost do you mind getting them for me?”

Frost opened the cabinet above them and took out a bottle of Tylenol. They tossed it across the counter to Mike.

He caught it, noting that the bottle was already slightly chilled from the few seconds it had been in Frost’s hand. “Thank you.” He shook out two pills and washed them down with a drink from the glass of water Stardust set in front of him. The headache was small as he’d only used his power once tonight. Taking the Tylenol as soon as the pain started should put a stop to it completely.

Once everything was ready, Mike took his plate and glass of water and followed the other two out to the living room, where wine-red, oversized seating was arranged in a sunken conversation pit. Frost and Stardust sat on the couch and Mike settled in a big armchair across from them, balancing his plate on his lap.

“So, Zielinski. What do you do when you’re not helping Stardust stop crime in the Playground?”

“I’m an influencer wrangler for Marin’s Outdoors.”

Frost took a bite of their Hot Pocket, pulling a long string of cheese into their mouth. “What does that mean?”

“I sign influencers to our company to promote our brand on their social media platforms. I also monitor their accounts to make sure the promotion posts look good and that their general posts stay in line with our image.” He took a bite of his own snack before asking, “What about you?”

“I’m a server. Shocking right? A superhero should have something more glamorous going on with their life than waiting tables.”

Mike shook his head. “Not really. It can be to your benefit to have a job that isn’t stressful.”

The corners of Frost’s mouth quirked with amusement. “I wouldn’t say waiting tables is stress free.” They gestured at Stardust. “And he’s a—.”

“He already knows what I do,” Stardust interjected.

“Yes, I saw him at work a couple weeks back.”

Stardust languidly folded his legs beneath him on the couch. “I gave him a lap dance. Did some of my best work,” he said with a wink aimed at Mike.

Mike’s ears burned when Stardust volunteered that information.

“Interesting.” Frost took a sip of water, their blue eyes moving to connect with Stardust’s golden gaze.

The two were silent for a moment and Mike was certain they were having an unspoken conversation. He felt the urge to reassure Frost that there wasn’t anything personal between them. Especially after the look the icy hero had given them when they’d come upon them in the alley. “I didn’t request the dance. My co-workers lead the charge on that. And they didn’t know that I’d already met Stardust in a different capacity. There wasn’t anything personal to it.”

“See?” Stardust said while still staring at Frost. “Nothing personal.” After a prolonged moment, Stardust broke the stare down to grab the laptop on the coffee table and slide it over to the silver haired hero. “Let’s get going on our report.”

Finished eating, Frost accepted the computer and opened it up. Together the three of them recalled everything they’d seen that night for Frost to record and send to Caleb.

“You were definitely right about them ramping up to something bigger,” Mike said while Frost typed. “It looks as if their goal is to cause fear and unrest in the Playground. Tonight’s multiple attacks make that clear.”

Frost paused and looked up from the keyboard. “I wonder what their plans are once they reach peak unrest.”

“Whatever it is, it can’t be good. We need to stop them before it happens.”

“We will,” Stardust said in a hard voice that made it clear he would do whatever it took to stop the white shirts.

They talked about the harassment in the Playground for a while longer before the conversation turned to other things. Mike eased back into his chair, getting more comfortable. It was nice to see Stardust in this setting. The dynamic between him and Frost was interesting. Often when Frost spoke, their voice was so dry it was hard to tell if they were being serious or sarcastic. Stardust was more animated and would verbally poke at his friend until he got a small smile to tilt the corners of their mouth. Frost didn’t seem given to loud expressions of humor. While Stardust practically glowed every time he threw back his head and laughed.

Mike was entranced watching him. Everything about him was beautiful—his low, husky laugh, his pink lips curved in a smile, the elegant way he cradled his head with one hand as he leaned against the back of the couch.

“Zielinski.”

Mike jerked his gaze away from Stardust when Frost called him.

“Do you prefer to go by your last name?” Frost asked.

“Not since I left the Army. Stardust is the only one here who calls me that.”

“What do you prefer?”

“Mike.”

“Then Mike it is,” Frost said with a nod.

He didn’t ask their names, although he was curious what they were. But they’d introduced themselves as Frost and Stardust so that must be their preference. Mike figured if they wanted to divulge their true names, they would do it when they were ready. He cast a quick glance at Stardust while he was preoccupied talking to Frost. Mike mentally chided himself for constantly sneaking glances at the raven-haired hero. Drooling over his partner was the last thing he should be doing. They might have found a way to get along as colleagues and maybe even become friends, but acting on his attraction would be unprofessional.

Except...they’d kissed. Twice. The first could be explained away as getting too heated from their fight. But the second. The second kiss had been deliberate on both their parts. He hadn’t spoken a word, but he’d issued an invitation that Stardust had seen, understood, and accepted. Should he dismiss that kiss too and assume there was no real meaning behind it? Or maybe there was meaning to it and Stardust wanted him for more than a few rushed kisses in dark alleys.

Mike sighed to himself. That was unlikely. Someone as beautiful as Aiden undoubtedly already had a lover. And even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t want to be touched by a man as scarred as he was. At that reminder, Mike frowned, staring unseeingly at the polished hardwood floor. He needed to remember that he was different now. He was no longer the man he’d been before. His body was changed and not for the better.

∞∞∞

Aiden found himself surreptitiously watching Mike whenever his attention was on Frost. He was different tonight. Relaxed, both in posture with the way he’d settled back into the chair, and in attitude. Maybe Frost had been right to invite him over. He was getting to see Mike outside of their role as heroes. This relaxed version of Mike, along with the glimpses of humor he’d shown previously had Aiden convinced that he finally had his answer. Mike wasn’t uptight—or at least he wasn’t when it came to matters outside of work. Aiden liked this side of his partner and could see a friendship developing between them.

Of course, there was the little issue of their second kiss. He couldn’t blame that one on the heat of the moment. What did that mean for them as partners? Did it mean anything at all? Did it have to mean anything?

All Aiden wanted was to fight and have fun. If every now and then a kiss was slipped into the mix then so be it. It didn’t have to be a big deal. They could keep it professional even if they sometimes let the adrenaline and their physical attraction get the better of them. They could be professional superhero partners who sometimes kissed. Surely that was a thing that happened with some of the other superhero teams in the world.

Pulling himself from his musings he looked up and noticed that Mike’s mood seemed to have changed. The big man was staring at the floor with a dejected air, a slight frown creasing his forehead. Aiden shifted, moving on instinct to go to him and soothe him, smooth that frown away as he asked what was wrong. He had one foot on the floor when he realized what he was doing—about to go and offer comfort to a man who wasn’t his to care for.

Aiden forced himself to relax, swallowing down a quiet, self-deprecating laugh as he settled back on the couch. He loved to dominate his submissives but he loved caring for them just as much. And that’s where the problems in his relationships usually came in. He was attracted to big, strong men who were alphas in the public eye but had the urge to submit between the sheets. Unfortunately, their submission didn’t continue on past that. Outside of aftercare, the men he’d been involved with wouldn’t let him caretake. It frustrated Aiden and led to so much friction in his relationships that they all invariably ended when his partner wouldn’t submit outside the bedroom. Or they ended because the guy wanted Aiden to change who he was. Like Steve wanting him to quit dancing.

He had no reason to believe that things would be any different with Mike. Physically, he might be everything he wanted in a partner. And he did like his personality, now that he was seeing more of it. But he’d been burned so many times that it was a safe bet to assume that even if Mike was interested in bedroom submission—it wouldn’t extend beyond that.

In addition, there was the added complication of them working together. He didn’t want to cause any strife within the Guardians by dating Mike since it was inevitable that they would break up. It would be best if he didn’t start anything with him. Regardless of the fact that he had to clench his fists to contain the pulse of excitement that beat in his chest when he imagined Mike Zielinski on his knees before him, shirt off to finally see those muscles for himself. That desire would have to stay as a dream. Bringing it to life would be selfish and cause problems, he was sure of it.

“It’s getting late. I should go.”

“Yeah, I’m ready for bed,” Frost added with a small yawn. He stood and disappeared into the kitchen with his empty plate and water glass.

Startled from his thoughts, Aiden looked at the clock. It was late. He leaned forward to reach for the dishes he’d set on the coffee table to take them into the kitchen but Mike beat him to it, shooting up out of his chair to grab the dishes himself.

“I’ll take these in for you. Since you cooked.”

Aiden looked into green eyes that sparkled like emeralds with Mike’s teasing smile. He pulled his hand back from the plate but didn’t move out of the space that they shared.

“Very funny. Are you dissing my culinary expertise? Because if you are, I might have to vow never to cook for you again.”

“Nope. But I’m a big boy. It’ll take more than a couple of Hot Pockets to fill me up.”

Aiden let his gaze drift from the teasing green eyes down to the broad shoulders and muscular chest in front of him. “Hmmm...You are big.” He raised his eyes up to Mike’s in time to see the teasing light turn heated, before Mike’s gaze dropped to Aiden’s mouth. Aiden barely stopped himself from sliding his tongue out to lick his lips. With the way Mike was looking at him right now, Aiden knew without a doubt that the man wanted him. After years spent arousing people’s sexual interest, he was an expert at identifying someone’s attraction to him.

He wanted Mike and Mike wanted him back. He needed to decide. Resist the attraction or go for what he wanted?

∞∞∞

This close to one another, Mike couldn’t miss the tiny smile that briefly touched Stardust’s lips. He could assume it was related to their teasing, but something told him it was something else. Something more...intimate. Especially since those pretty eyes turned to molten gold as they stared into his. Feeling that he was in dangerous territory and mindful that with Frost in the other room they weren’t truly alone, Mike dropped his gaze. He collected the plates and straightened.

“Thank you for the snack,” he said before taking all of the dishes to the kitchen. He went over to where Frost waited next to the open dishwasher, a knowing gleam in their arctic blue eyes. They didn’t say anything however, so Mike kept his mouth shut too.

After putting the plates and glasses in the dishwasher and tossing the napkins in the trash, Mike returned to the living room, prepared to head out. He turned to Frost who’d left the kitchen as well, remembering that they’d arrived there on the back of Aiden’s bike. “Do you need a ride back to your place?” he politely asked.

“No, but thanks. I’m crashing on his couch tonight.”

Stardust rose from said couch. “I’ll walk you out.”

In the foyer, Mike grabbed his vest from the bench, holding onto it rather than putting it back on. Waving goodbye to Frost, he opened the door and stepped outside, Stardust following close behind. They were silent as they made their way to his truck, the light tinkling of the chains on Stardust’s boots the only sound in the quiet night other than their footsteps. When Mike reached his truck, he stopped and turned around. Stardust slowed to a stop a few feet away. He could get in his truck and go, but he wanted to talk to Stardust for a few minutes more. Remembering his curiosity from before about his partner’s name, he decided to go ahead and ask him about it.

“Should I keep calling you Stardust?”

“Only if you want to. But if you don’t, my name is Aiden. Aiden Saliette.”

Mike stuck his hand out. “Hi, Aiden. I’m Mike. Nice to meet you.”

A small smile curled Aiden’s lips. He drifted closer and accepted Mike’s handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Mike,” he said with that smile still teasing.

“Does this mean you’re going to stop calling me beefcake?”

Aiden ran his gaze over him from head to foot, his eyes lingering on Mike’s biceps before he answered.

“Absolutely not,” he teased. “But I am going to stop calling you Riley.”

That answer caught Mike off guard, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise before his expression softened into a genuine smile. “I appreciate that.”

They both went quiet again. The conversation was at a nice, natural ending point. Mike could go home. But he didn’t get in his truck. Didn’t even make a move to open the door.

Instead of leaving, Mike spoke into the silence. “Looks like we have more kisses to forget about.”

That comment instantly changed the mood—charging it with tension that crackled in the air between them.

“Hmmm...” Aiden tilted his head to the side as he hummed soft and low in his throat, the dangling gold earrings gently swinging with the movement. “The thing is... I don’t think I can.” Aiden took a step closer, watching Mike with a steady gaze. “Can you?”

Mike’s answer was immediate. “No.”

Another step.

“And do you want more kisses from me?”

“Yeah. I want to kiss you right now, actually.”

Aiden gave another one of those low, sultry hums, the sound of it tugging behind Mike’s navel. He leaned in, resting a palm against Mike’s chest. Without his vest, the heat of Aiden’s palm burned as if it were a brand on his skin. When Aiden lifted his face, lips softly pursed, Mike lowered his head, ready for another kiss. But Aiden didn’t kiss him. He stayed just out of reach—close enough to feel the soft warmth of his breath but too far to connect.

“Before we kiss again,” Aiden whispered. “You should know that there’s something specific that I want from the men I share intimacy with. And I’m not sure if you’re capable of giving it to me.”

“Tell me what it is that you want.” Mike’s desire was obvious in the roughness to his voice but he didn’t care. There was no point in hiding it anymore. “I’m positive I can give it to you.”

Aiden pulled his plump lower lip in between his teeth, then slowly released it to smile up at Mike.

“I like your can-do attitude.”

Mike was normally a patient man, but here now, with the promise of a kiss hanging in the balance and possibly more on the horizon, patience went out the window. “What is it that you want?” he prodded.

“What I want from my partners is for them to let me take charge. To submit and give up their control to me. I tell them what I want and how I want it and they give it to me.”

The fingers on Mike’s chest drifted down as Aiden spoke, grazing over his stomach, tapping at his belt buckle...and then lightly brushing over his cock. Mike sucked in a breath at the intimate contact but he didn’t move an inch to escape it. He wanted that hand on him.

“They worship my body,” Aiden continued. “They praise me and please me. Sometimes they sit patient and quiet at my feet until I give them permission to touch me.”

He increased the pressure of his hand on Mike’s shaft, rubbing slowly and steadily, bringing him to full hardness there under the night sky with no one but the stars above to witness.

“Do you think you can do all of that?” he asked in a throaty whisper.

“I...” Mike didn’t know what to say. Aiden asking him to submit to him was the last thing he’d expected to hear. And the last thing he’d ever expected to do.

“I’ve surprised you.”

“A little. Yeah,” Mike answered with a small, jerky nod. He could barely think to respond coherently with Aiden’s delicate fingers still stroking his cock.

“It’s okay. All you have to do is be a good boy for me,” Aiden said as he squeezed Mike’s shaft.

Mike groaned and rolled his hips forward, seeking more of that touch.

“You’ll serve me and in return I’ll take care of you.”

Mike swallowed down another groan. Before he could get his tongue in working order to answer, Aiden released him and backed up a few steps.

“You don’t have to answer me now. Take some time and think about it. Give me your answer when you’re ready.”

Confused and aroused, Mike only managed a short answer. “I will.”

“Good. Get home safe,” Aiden said before he turned to go.

Mike watched him walk away. His cock was stiff and aching, every muscle in his body strung tight as he resisted chasing after Aiden to tell him that yes, he would do whatever he wanted. But something held him back. Giving up control wasn’t something he’d ever contemplated doing before. He needed to think about it—as Aiden had said—before he made any decisions that he might regret later. Disappointed that he hadn’t gotten his kiss, Mike finally got in his truck to leave.

The entire drive home, he imagined what it would have felt like to have those sinfully plush lips beneath his once more.

Chapter 12

Aiden hung upside down on the pole, gripping it with his thighs, spine arched as he spun around in a slow circle. He was working early tonight, in that twilight time before the majority of day jobbers were home from work and freed of responsibility for a few hours. The crowd was light, which he’d expected. But the vibe was wrong. The audience wasn’t rapt on his performance as they usually were. Instead, people kept glancing toward the door. And the guests who came in looked rattled.

Aiden flipped backward off the pole. He kept a come-hither expression on his face as he rocked his hips to the beat, but as soon as the music ended, he jumped down off the stage without looking back, foregoing the pause for applause and a final push for tips. He snapped his fingers to get the attention of the staff member in charge of stage collection.

“Hold on to my cash and clothes for a few minutes and I’ll double your tip out.”

“You got it, Glimmer.”

“Thanks.”

Aiden quickly made his way across the club to the exit. As he got closer to the door, the sound of shouting could be heard over the music. Heedless of the fact that he was dressed in nothing more than knee high boots and a gold studded black leather jock strap, he pushed the door open and walked outside, right into an in-progress protest.

“What the fuck?”

The bouncer looked over her shoulder at Aiden’s outburst and snorted. “Yeah.”

She didn’t move from her crossed-arms position at the curb. But Suzie, who was next to her, came over to stand with Aiden. Josephine, the club manager, was a few steps in front of the bouncer, imploring the crowd to disperse. On the other side of the street, there were about thirty people standing together in close formation.

Aiden looked them over. Members of the group held up signs cursing the Playground Players to damnation. Others used megaphones to amplify their demands that they close their business and get respectable jobs. And mixed in with the crowd were several people dressed entirely in white. They—or at least some of them—had to be the Purity Alliance.

A woman stood in front of the crowd. She didn’t have a sign or a megaphone, but her bearing and appearance made it clear that she was in charge of the protestors. Her hair was perfectly styled in a side-parted bob, the ends tightly curled under. A modest strand of pearls circled her neck. She wore a pink cardigan with a lapel pin over her left breast, pleated khaki slacks, and brown loafers. The woman looked like a creepy caricature of a suburban mom, especially since she stood there completely still, unphased at the shouting coming from behind her, with a smile on her pretty but not too pretty face. When she held up a hand her band of protesters immediately quieted.

“We simply want to clean up this area of the seedier acts and businesses,” the blonde woman spoke calmly, but loud enough for her voice to carry across the street.

“And which acts would those be?” Suzie called out.

The woman cast a glance over Suzie in her pink, ruffled Lolita costume, then Aiden, who might as well be naked.

“From what I can see here in front of me, this particular establishment could use a lot of restructuring.”

Aiden lazily flipped her the bird. His outward demeanor appeared bored and over it but internally he was busy taking mental note of everything, committing faces and whatever important details he could suss out to memory. He’d need to report everything he could remember back to Strong and the team.

The woman lowered her hand and the crowd went back to their chanting right as a police cruiser rolled up. The siren was off, but the police lights on the roof of the car went round and round, red and blue lights competing with the bright glow of the Flirtatious Fox’s marquee.

Aiden didn’t recognize the officer who exited the patrol car. He looked at the group of protestors, then at Josephine, the Fox’s manager. He took a few steps closer to Josephine and directed his question to her.

“What seems to be the problem, ma’am?”

“This group showed up about an hour ago and started shouting and causing a ruckus. They’re making our customers nervous and I would like them to leave.”

Aiden held his breath as he waited for the cop’s response, half-expecting him to say as long as the protestors stayed on their side of the street it was fine. For the most part, the businesses in the Playground had developed a good relationship with many of the officers who worked this area. But there were some who were either too new to understand how the Playground worked, or too set in their ways to even consider building a rapport with the denizens of a red-light district. But to his surprise, even though the cop wasn’t one he recognized, he sided with the club manager. He walked toward the sign-bearing group with his arms out to his sides, waving his hands as if he were shooing them away.

“Okay, folks. You’ve been here for an hour and had your protest. I think it’s time to move it along.”

“We have the right to assemble!” one of the protestors shouted.

Others joined in with their own shouts but Protest Barbie held up her hand again. The yelling cut off as fast as it had begun.

“Of course, Officer. We’ll be on our way.”

At her comment, the group began lowering their signs and turning off the bullhorns. Aiden watched, reluctantly impressed as they marched away in two orderly and eerily quiet single file lines. The group marched to the parking lot, piled into three vans, and drove off. Aiden wished they’d parked close enough so he could see if any of the vans’ registrations matched the plate they’d been chasing the other night. Unfortunately, he couldn’t follow them to check and see without drawing unwanted attention to himself, so he stayed put.

“That was weird,” Suzie said after they’d driven away.

“Yeah,” Aiden agreed. “Very righteous Old West town folks here to run the whores out of town vibes.”

“But this is our town and we’re not giving it up.” Suzie crossed her arms over her chest, looking adorably like an angry porcelain doll in her ruffled costume.

Aiden grinned and tugged at her pinafore strings. “You tell ‘em.” He glanced over to the street, where Josephine was speaking to the policeman.

“Thank you for your assistance, Officer,” the manager said gratefully.

“Easiest call I’ve had tonight. You all be safe.” He politely nodded at the porcelain four of them and climbed back into his cruiser. The emergency lights went dark and he slowly drove away.

As soon as the protestors and the officer were gone, car doors began opening in the parking lot across the street, and patrons started making their way over to the club.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to get hassled by them,” a regular said to Aiden with a sheepish smile on his round, bearded face.

Aiden returned his smile with a flirtatious grin of his own. “No worries, babe. You deserve to have a little fun without getting hassled for it first.”

“Did I already miss you dance?”

“Yep, I was on early tonight.”

“I’ll be sure to catch your next show,” he said before he disappeared into the Fox.

Josephine walked up to the three of them, pausing to light up a cigarette before she went inside. “Damn. We don’t need that kind of nonsense around here. Did you see the way people stayed away until those protestors cleared out? And there’s no telling how many people drove right on past us to visit one of the other clubs when they saw that crowd.”

“Yeah,” the bouncer popped her bubble gum as she agreed. “That was bad for business.”

“It’s been a while since we had to deal with anything like that, especially after we got the crime rate down in the Playground. Have any of you heard of anything that might have set those weirdos off?”

Suzie shook her head, corkscrew pigtails swinging. “I haven’t.”

Aiden suspected that they were the group behind the recent muggings. But he didn’t have one hundred percent confirmation on that. In addition, he didn’t know their ultimate goal other than harassing people who worked in the Playground. Until he had more information, he wouldn’t discuss it with his boss or co-workers. “Same,” he answered her.

“Well, if any of you hear anything let me know. And put the word out to the rest of the crew that we might have some people hanging around causing trouble.” Josephine took one last drag on the cigarette before she snuffed it out on the bottom of her snakeskin boot. “I’d better get back inside and make sure it hasn’t turned into a jungle in there. Cupcake is probably giving away free lap dances.”

Music poured out into the night when she opened the club doors and went inside. The bouncer followed to return to her post in the lobby, leaving Aiden and Suzie standing alone on the sidewalk.

“I’m cold,” Suzie said with a shiver.

“You’re cold? At least you’ve got layers of ruffles to keep you warm. I’m standing out here in my skivvies.”

Suzie laughed and grabbed his hand, tugging him along behind her. “Come on.”

They went back inside the Fox, the warm air of the club chasing away the goosebumps on his bare arms and legs. The two of them separated, Suzie to do a round of the club while Aiden returned to the side of the stage. He collected his money and costume from the staff member, doubling their tip-out as promised. Tips and costume in hand, he finally made it back to the dressing room and plopped down on his seat at the vanity. Aiden unzipped his boots, sliding his feet out of them with a grateful sigh.

The dressing room was busy with the arrival of the night shift. Dancers bustled around getting dressed, asking to borrow curling irons and checking out their costumes in one of the full-length mirrors. Aiden remained still in the midst of the activity. He was in his head, considering what he should do.

He and Zielinski were supposed to have the night off from patrol. But after that protest, he wanted to be out there on the streets to see if the Purity Alliance was going to put in another appearance. However, he was unsure if he should call his partner in on this. The other night, he’d decided to say fuck it and go for it. He’d let Mike know that he was interested in a physical relationship with him, one where he was the dominant. In every relationship, he was upfront about that from the start. But he hadn’t received his answer yet, and he didn’t want to come across as if he was trying to be in Zielinski’s face in order to speed up getting his answer.

It wouldn’t be a problem for Aiden to patrol alone. But Zielinski had said more than once that he wanted to be partners and he seemed earnest in his determination to help. Aiden realized that he couldn’t let their personal relationship get in the way of doing what was best to protect the Playground and stop the Purity Alliance. If they were going to be in a relationship, they would have to learn to put it aside in order to take care of ACG business. Might as well get started on that now.

With that inner struggle settled, Aiden decided that he’d call. If Zielinski was able to come out and help him patrol, great. If he couldn’t, Aiden wouldn’t take it to mean anything more than the man had other stuff to do on his night off. He jumped up to throw on his street clothes, then grabbed his cell and went to find a quiet spot in the back of the house to call his partner. The call connected on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Aiden. I know it’s our night off, but are you up to a patrol tonight?”

“Sure. What’s the op?”

“We had a visit from what I suspect was the Purity Alliance a little while ago. They held a little protest out in front of the Fox, shouting about our sinful ways and demanding we be shut down.”

“That can’t be a coincidence.”

“That was my thought. Groups like that come by from time to time. But them showing up tonight after we stopped their last few assaults and confiscated one of their weapons has to mean something. It’s got to be the next step in their plan or whatever they’re building towards. I want to keep an eye on the area tonight just in case they have something else up their sleeves.”

“Sounds good. I’ll contact Caleb and let him know we’ll be on the ground.”

After they made plans to meet in an hour in front of the Lucky Lady casino, Aiden thanked him with sincere gratitude.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you in an hour.”

Aiden hung up, glad he’d decided to make that call.

∞∞∞

All you have to do is be a good boy for me.

Those words stayed on Mike’s mind over the next couple of days. Although he’d never thought about engaging in a Dominant and submissive relationship, he wasn’t ignorant of D/s dynamics. He understood, but he needed more than his surface level knowledge about them before he gave his answer. Which is why he was currently sitting on the couch with the Google app open on his phone, researching what it meant to submit. There were many different types of relationships and various levels of dominance and submission. He would definitely have to talk to Aiden to find out exactly what he wanted. Still, even without being fully informed, he was already leaning toward saying yes.

He didn’t know what he would get out of it. But Aiden saying, I’ll take care of you, had struck a chord deep within him. What would it be like to be cared for? Imagining Aiden caring for him set off an ache in his chest, a yearning for something he hadn’t even fully realized he wanted. Mike wasn’t ready to examine that emotional want yet, so he shook off that ache to think about the physical aspects of a possible D/s relationship with Aiden.

The golden eyed dancer wanted to be praised and pleased. The heat of arousal chased over Mike’s skin and his fingers unconsciously tightened on the phone. Sexually pleasing the gorgeous man who glowed like the star dust he was named for? That didn’t sound like a hardship to him. Not at all. He’d gladly worship Aiden’s elegant form with his hands and mouth and every other part of his body.

There remained a kernel of doubt however. Would submitting be something he enjoyed? Mike supposed that if it turned out that he didn’t enjoy it, he could always end the relationship. And if it became too uncomfortable to work with Aiden after that, he could ask Strong to assign him to a new partner. Strong was a reasonable man. Mike was sure that he wouldn’t force him to continue working with Aiden if there was genuine friction between them.

But thoughts of the lieutenant brought another roadblock to mind. He and Aiden were on the same team. In the military, fraternization would be out of the question. He had to consider it might be the same with the ACG. Maybe not officially, since they weren’t an official group. But for the good of interpersonal relationships on the team, it might be a rule, whether codified or unspoken, that members did not get sexually or romantically involved with one another. Or perhaps the team’s director and leader wanted to be kept informed of any relationships that went beyond teammates and partners. If he was going to say yes to Aiden, he might have to consider making an official disclosure to Lieutenant Strong and Helios first.

His phone rang, the call app sliding in front of the website he had pulled up. It was Aiden on the other end, asking him to go for an unscheduled patrol. That was a question where he had no hesitation in saying yes. Once they ended the brief call, Mike immediately went to his room to gear up. If the Purity Alliance were out to cause more trouble in the Playground, he wanted to be there with his partner to help stop it.

Chapter 13

After he tipped out for the night, Aiden ducked out of the Flirtatious Fox, walking to the end of the street. There he stepped into an old ATM vestibule he often used to change. Even though he wasn’t scheduled to patrol tonight Aiden had brought his gear with him, stored in the bottom of his backpack. It was a habit he’d developed before he joined the Arch City Guardians. He liked to be prepared in case he needed to address a situation in the Playground as Stardust.

Aiden quickly stripped out of the casual clothes he’d thrown on an hour before and stuffed them in his backpack. He pulled on his Stardust pants, jumping once to get them up over his ass. They were skin tight but the specially designed liquid latex material stretched and moved with him. His custom leather weapons holster went on next. He buckled it around his waist and cinched the straps closed around his thighs, then slipped the two golden sai into their holders.

To put his boots on, Aiden sat down on the small window ledge. The knee-high boots were made of soft, durable leather with steel toes to protect his feet, and thickly padded insoles for comfort. They were functional but sexy, the flat heels painted gold, and thin gold chains with dangling star charms decorating the shafts. Finally, he shrugged into his jacket. He’d braided his hair before he left the Fox so all that was left was his mask.

Aiden pulled the gold mask from his bag. The hard material protected his face, deflecting nearly all blows without harm. The only openings were for his eyes, but the gear maker had designed a mesh so fine that it was nearly undetectable to fit over his mouth and nose, allowing him to breathe. Aiden inhaled a deep breath as he fixed the gold mask over his face. When he was in this gear he became Stardust. Nothing could hurt him.

He left the vestibule, making a quick detour to store his bag under his bike’s seat before he strolled to the area where he’d agreed to meet Mike. It was five minutes before their scheduled time to meet, but Mike was already there. He stood waiting in front of a casino, the big neon money sign above him casting gold and green lights over the black of his outfit. “Hey, Beefcake,” Stardust called out once he was within speaking distance.

Mike turned around. “Hey.”

“Thanks for coming out.”

“No problem. Let’s get started and see if anything turns up,” he said.

They set off through the busy streets. There was so much weird to see in the Playground, that no one looked twice at Stardust with his gold mask and weapons holstered on his thighs or the big man with green tinted sunglasses at his side. They kept their eyes open, watching for any hint of trouble, but after nearly an hour of patrolling, they hadn’t encountered a single sign of the muggers.

“Damnit,” Stardust cursed in frustration. “I thought for sure they’d be out tonight after what happened earlier.”

“Maybe they’re pacing themselves. A protest one day. A mugging the next.”

Stardust snorted a dry laugh. “Maybe. I’m sorry I made you come out on your night off for nothing.”

“It’s not a bother. Really.”

Stardust slowed to a stop and looked around. He wasn’t ready to give up yet. A familiar building caught his eye, giving him an idea. “Let’s go sit on one of the rooftops. We’ll have a good vantage point to spot any trouble brewing. If we don’t see anything after twenty minutes, we’ll call it a night and go home.”

A single eyebrow rose above those green glasses. “I told you I can’t fly, right?”

“Come on. It’s not that high up.”

Stardust led the way to a building a block up on the other side of the street. Before they could cross, they had to wait for a mini-parade of red and black costumed harlequins to pass, leaving a glittering trail for guests to follow back to their erotic acrobatic show. Unlike most of the other establishments in the Playground this one was dark. Not a single neon light flashed, there was no sign on the roof, and all the windows were blacked out.

“Is this place open?” Mike asked.

“It is. But it’s a speakeasy so they keep a low profile.”

This time both of Mike’s eyebrows rose high above the green lenses of his glasses. “I thought everything was legal in the Playground. What are they serving in there that they need to keep a low profile?”

Stardust laughed. “Oh, it’s all legal here, baby.” He turned around to skip backward in front of his partner, leading him forward with a beckoning finger. “Drinking, drugs, gambling, sex. But for Bessie’s Lounge it’s all about the vibe. You have to know somebody who knows somebody to give you the password to get in. They have a strict dress code too. Even with the right password, if you show up in jeans or any basic bitch outfit you won’t make it pass the bouncer. See?”

He pointed at a couple walking up to the front door. Two women, the first a short brunette in a skinny gray suit and silver stilettos, face beat to the gods, and hair slicked back into a high ponytail. Her taller partner wore a form fitting red silk dress with a side slit so high it was clear she wasn’t wearing any panties beneath it. They paused in front of the entrance, the brunette’s hand casually resting on her partner’s ass as she leaned in to speak into a small window set into the door. She must have given the correct password because the door opened and they disappeared inside.

“I don’t own anything nice enough to get into that club.”

“Doesn’t matter since we’re not going in. We’re going up. Come on.”

They ducked into the alley next to Bessie’s Lounge, where Mike grabbed the fire escape ladder and pulled it down. Stardust went up first, his boots hitting each rung with a metallic clang, the chains on his boots lightly jingling with his movements. Once they were on the roof, Stardust led the way to the edge. From there, they could see over a good portion of the entertainment district. Bright lights were all around them, flashing and sparkling and strobing in a chaotic kaleidoscope of colors. But in their spot on top of the Lounge it was a peaceful oasis of darkness.

“Good choice,” Mike said.

“Thanks. I know all the good spots for whatever you need in the Playground,” he said with more than a little pride in his voice.

“You always sound happy when you talk about this place.”

Stardust smiled as he stared out over the sea of colorful lights, listening to the muted sounds of music floating up to where they stood. “Yeah, I guess I do. I love it here.”

“It’s nice. I’ve seen plenty of adult entertainment districts around the world but this one seems different.”

“That’s because it is.” Aiden pushed his mask up and turned to face his partner. “I never got to tell you how we took control of it for ourselves. Do you want to hear the story?”

Mike nodded. “Absolutely.”

“It started with a grassroots campaign of some of the long-time club employees. They pooled their resources and raised money to lobby city politicians to end the predatory practices that club owners use to keep their employees at a disadvantage. The next step was to form unions, and get them recognized by local government. We found investors willing to give us low interest business loans. Once we had cash, we bought out or kicked out the thugs who’d been running the show. These days, lots of the bars and clubs are owned either by former dancers and sex workers or a collective of like-minded people. Money went into making the area safer, with more street lighting. We fixed the streets and put in sidewalks to help people easily walk from club to club. With all the improvements, tax revenue increased and we fought to make sure that money was put back into the Playground and surrounding areas, rather than funneled somewhere else to projects that didn’t benefit us. “

“That’s impressive. It must have been a huge effort.”

“It was. I arrived when the overhaul was already well underway and there was still so much work that had to be done and unsavory folks that had to be cleared out. But once the U.S. decriminalized sex work, it made it a lot easier for us to take control of our own destiny. It’s not perfect, the stigma around us and our jobs didn’t disappear overnight. But at least now, we can come to work and have insurance and sick days. We even have our own medical clinic right in the center of the district.” He pointed to a building that had a large sign in front of it—a white H on a blue background—the easily recognizable symbol for Hospital. “There are people who don’t like what we’ve accomplished of course.”

“Like the Purity Alliance.”

Stardust touched a fingertip to his nose. “You got it. I’m sure they either want to wipe us out entirely, or force us back to the days of dangerous working conditions without rights or protections. But we’re not going back to those times no matter what scheme they’ve got up their sleeves.”

“And the ACG is on board to help you keep that from happening.”

“They are,” Stardust said with a nod.

“I understand now why you were cautious, making sure I actually wanted to help protect this place you love.”

“That’s right.”

“And do I pass muster for caring?”

“Well, you’re out patrolling on your night off because I had a feeling something was wrong so yeah, I’d say you care.”

“Thanks. Glad to finally have your approval.”

∞∞∞

Even though they hadn’t had a chance to face off with the Purity Alliance again, Mike was enjoying his night out with his partner. Clouds had started to roll in, bringing the scent of petrichor with them. They stood close to one another as they talked about this place that was so important to Aiden, hips often brushing together, the cool wind carrying Aiden’s soft vanilla scent to Mike’s nose. Every so often, Mike’s gaze would drop to Aiden’s lips. And although he was attentively listening, he couldn’t help think of kissing him, which of course brought to mind the reason why they hadn’t kissed again the other night. Aiden hadn’t mentioned the offer so he wouldn’t either. They were there to work as superheroes—not out on a date. But he couldn’t help thinking about it.

Finished with his story about the transition of the Playground, Aiden quieted and drifted a few steps away to look out over the red-light district. Mike watched him, taking him in from his glossy black hair down to his boots. As always, Aiden was in the skintight outfit that offered zero protection to his body. After the near miss during their first patrol, Mike had often wondered about that uniform choice. Tonight seemed as good a time as any to ask him about it.

“Aren’t you worried for your safety having your chest exposed?” he called out.

Aiden turned back to face him and shrugged. “Not really.”

“Why not? Are you made of steel?”

Aiden tossed him a devilish grin.

“I get hard but I’m not made of steel.”

Even in the dark, Mike could see the amused glint in those bright tiger’s eyes. He laughed at Aiden’s word play, but he still wanted to know why Aiden wasn’t concerned with protecting himself. “You must be if you’re running around fighting crime with your chest out.”

“I’m not.” Aiden returned to stand directly in front of him and issued a challenge. “Touch me and see for yourself.”

“Excuse me?”

“Touch me and see that I’m not made of steel.” His voice changed, becoming smokey, with a mischievous lilt, as if he were inviting Mike to come and play.

Mike didn’t know why he went along with it. Obviously, Aiden wasn’t made of steel. And he should have been able to resist what was clearly a dare to get him flustered. But he wanted his hands on that elegant body. And as long as Aiden was offering... He reached out and touched the fingertips of his left hand to Aiden’s chest. His skin was warm, smooth, and taut over hard muscle. Definitely flesh and blood.

“See,” Aiden said in that same smokey voice. “I’m not made of steel.”

“No. You’re not,” Mike agreed in a husky almost-whisper. He raised his eyes from the sight of his broad fingers pressed to that slim chest, to see Aiden watching him. The playfulness glowed bright in his golden gaze, but there was something else there. Something intense and heated. It would be easy to give his answer right then and unleash the heat hiding behind Aiden’s playfulness. But Mike wasn’t one hundred percent certain of his answer yet, so he reluctantly pulled his hand back.

“Then how do you protect yourself?” His question was genuine, as he realized he had no idea what Aiden’s powers were. He hadn’t ever mentioned them and Strong hadn’t listed them during his round of introductions, probably under the assumption that Mike already knew. The fact that he didn’t know served as a reminder that up until now they’d only been partners in the loosest sense of the word. When he’d been with his unit, they’d known nearly everything about each other. With Aiden, they were on the verge of falling into bed together and yet, he didn’t even know how his powers worked.

“Ah. I’ll show you.”

Aiden looked around the rooftop, searching for something. After a moment he found whatever it was he was looking for. Mike watched as Aiden jogged over to pick up a rock from the ground.

“Take this,” he said, returning to Mike’s side and slapping the rock into his gloved hand. He walked backward several paces. “Throw that rock at me. And put some real force on it don’t just toss it.”

Mike’s eyebrows shot up in question. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

Aiden put his hands on his hips, the move spreading open the jacket to reveal more of his slim torso—the shadowed line of his waist flowing down to hips barely covered by those shiny black pants. Mike swallowed hard, jerking his eyes back up when Aiden spoke again.

“Throw it as hard as you can.”

Mike looked down at the rock in his hand for a moment, before pulling his arm back. He didn’t throw it with all his strength, but he put some force behind the throw as requested, keeping his eyes on Aiden to see what would happen.

The hero didn’t move or even flinch as the rock hurtled toward him. A second before it made contact with his chest, a shimmering aura appeared from thin air, surrounding Aiden in a sphere of golden light. The rock abruptly stopped when it hit the aura, as if it had slammed into a concrete wall, before falling harmlessly to the ground.

Meanwhile, Mike had lost interest in the rock. Unable to look away, his attention was completely locked on the glowing aura. It was beautiful. Soft and nebulous, with tiny golden lights dancing in the air. He wanted to touch it, but he wasn’t close enough. Mike took a step forward. Then another. Before he could take a third step, the glow faded, disappearing into the night as if it had never been. Mike shook his head, attempting to clear it of the warm haze that seemed to hypnotize him.

Aiden sauntered back to his side. Reaching up, he tapped Mike on the nose.

“I could probably convince you to kiss me again if I turned up the power enough,” he said in that sultry, teasing lilt.

Still slightly befuddled from that glow, Mike answered without restraint. “You know you don’t need a superpower to do that.”

Aiden took another step closer.

“Hmm...That’s right. You want my kisses.”

“Yeah.” Kisses. He wanted to kiss Aiden. But there was something he had to agree to first. Mike opened his mouth, ready to give an affirmative answer to Aiden’s question so that he could finally kiss those soft, lush lips again. But Aiden’s leather covered palm slapped over his mouth before he could speak.

“No. You’re a little under the thrall of my power right now so whatever you’re about to say, don’t.”

Oh. That’s why his mind felt fuzzy. Mike shook his head back and forth, snapping fully out of his daze. Aiden watched him for a moment longer, then dropped his hand from his mouth.

“Thank you for that,” Mike said.

“You’re welcome. Believe me, I want your answer. And even though I’m pretty sure I know what it’s going to be I want it freely given.”

Mike nodded. He was almost certain of his answer as well, the small doubts and hesitations he had outweighed by his desire to do as Aiden wanted, to use his body to make the other man feel good. They gazed at each other without speaking. Unlike their previous icy standoffs, this one crackled with heat and expectation. Mike took a step closer. Aiden matched the movement, his lips slowly parting...

Suddenly, an alarm blasted into the night, a piercing siren wail reaching up to their private spot above the street.

Aiden immediately pulled back from the charged moment between them. He ran over and stepped up onto the roof’s ledge. When Mike looked at him in surprise, Aiden raised an eyebrow.

“You coming?” he asked. He tugged his mask back into place then jumped off the roof. Mike leaned over the side to watch him drop. Aiden flipped in mid-air, landing in a crouch when he reached the ground.

His partner stared up at him from the street below.

“Take the fire escape if you need to,” Aiden called up.

Mike recognized the dare even if it wasn’t phrased as one. He didn’t need to take the fire escape. Many humans enhanced with special physical abilities had bodies that were stronger and sturdier than regular humans. For him, jumping from this height was no more harmful than a kid jumping off a swing set. He stepped up onto the ledge and leaped into the air. The street came rushing up at him, and a small puff of dust kicked up around him when he landed in a crouch as Stardust had, one fist pressed to the ground. Mike straightened to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

Aiden’s eyes twinkled with amusement behind the mask. “I knew you could do it. C’mon. Let’s go fight some crime.”

Chapter 14

The alarm turned out to be a robbery at the casino two building’s down from Bessie’s Lounge. Four culprits on souped up Segues fitted with huge, intimidating spikes on the wheels whizzed through the casino floor, grabbing money from game tables, snatching purses, and wreaking havoc while three others cleaned out the casino cage.

Together, he and Aiden were able to take out the entire gang before the police arrived on the scene. With his glasses accurately focusing his beams, Mike knocked the thief on the far side of the room off his Segue without causing damage to anyone or anything else in the vicinity. He left the thief to be cuffed by one of the casino guards and rushed to the money cage. Feeling confident in his new tech, he aimed more blasts straight through the hole the robbers had blown into the wall to take them out as well.

Within minutes they had all seven casino thieves apprehended. He and Aiden high-fived each other. “Nice work.”

“You too.”

Back on the street, the cacophony of slot machines dinging, the gang members whooping and hollering as they merrily stole, and casino patrons yelling in fright was replaced by the noise of traffic and the muted thump-thump-thump of bass from the club next door. Mike walked with Aiden a few paces away from the casino.

“Now that we’re true-blue partners and all we have to follow tradition,” Aiden said.

“And that is?”

“Go back to my place, chill and eat while we get the report together for Caleb.”

“That’s going to be our tradition too?”

“If you want it to be.”

With the mask in place, Mike couldn’t see Aiden’s expression. But he heard the smile in his voice, noted the relaxed vibe to his body language. Aiden’s entire demeanor was welcoming and Mike was one hundred percent on board with the new attitude.

“I’m in,” he said without hesitation.

It started to rain by the time they made it back to their vehicles. A cold, wet spray to remind them that fall in St. Louis wasn’t only pretty leaf colors and golden sunsets. Mike looked at his partner through the spitting rain drops. “I can drive us so you don’t have to ride in this.”

“Sounds good.” They worked together to retrieve Aiden’s bag from beneath the bike’s seat and quickly tie the cover over it. Then they both hopped into Mike’s SUV.

Mike mostly remembered the way to Aiden’s and only needed a few directions after they drove across the Eads bridge and back to the Missouri side of the river. After about fifteen minutes, they reached a community where the houses were set far back from the tree lined road, the driveways disappearing behind tall gates. He turned into Aiden’s drive, and pulled up to the small access booth.

Aiden popped off his seat belt. A second later, a warm palm landed on Mike’s thigh and Aiden leaned in close.

Not expecting the intimate contact, Mike went completely still. “What are you doing?”

“Relax, Beefcake. I have to put in the entry code. Roll down your window.”

Mike hit the button to lower the driver’s side window without taking his eyes from Aiden. Those full pink lips curled in a small grin before Aiden braced himself with the hand on his thigh and half-crawled over his lap to lean out the window and punch in numbers on the lit key pad. While Aiden was occupied, Mike cast a quick glance at the gentle curve of his bare back, admiring the smooth skin leading to a round, latex-covered ass. He got his eyes back on the windshield in front of him as the keypad beeped. Aiden slowly eased off his lap while the gates swung open on silent, well-oiled hinges.

“You could have told me the code,” Mike pointed out. “I’m sure you have one for guests.”

Aiden’s smile was smug.

“I know and I do. But where’s the fun in that?”

He settled back into his seat and Mike drove up the long, curved driveway until he reached a cream brick mansion. The home was a graceful beauty, with arched windows and multiple wrought iron balconies. Manicured rose bushes lined the front of the house and stood on either side of three wide steps leading up to a robin’s egg blue double front door. A fountain with a rearing Clydesdale at its center stood where the drive widened into a circle. His first time here he’d been surprised to see that Aiden came from such wealth since he never gave any indication of it. But now that he was aware, he could see it in the confident way Aiden interacted with everyone around him and the effortless grace in which he moved.

Mike followed the softly glowing path lights around to the guest house at back of the property. At the end of the drive, he parked the SUV and turned off the engine.

Aiden opened his door and got out. “Come on.”

Mike exited the truck and followed Aiden into his home. Inside, the lower level all flowed together on an open floor plan. The kitchen was bright and spacious, with balcony doors leading to a patio. A large living room had multi-paned windows looking out onto the pool, and a massive white brick fireplace. Across the room from the front door was a short staircase leading to the second floor, where Mike assumed the bedrooms were.

“I didn’t mention it the last time I was here, but this is really nice,” he said, looking around while unbuckling his vest. He removed it, laying it on the bench in the small foyer.

“Thanks,” Stardust said as he led the way into the kitchen. “I’m lucky. My mom is the chief financial officer at one of the big beer companies and my dad is from family money. They’re both good people and it’s not exactly a hardship to live on this property. So, when most people would have moved out, I decided to stick around.”

“Do you pay rent?”

Aiden laughed. “No. I wouldn’t be able to afford what it would actually cost to live here and it’s not like they need it. I donate what I would pay in rent and utilities for an apartment to charity every month.”

“That’s decent of you.”

“Like I said, I’m lucky,” Aiden said with a shrug. “Might as well share the wealth.” He went over to the stainless-steel refrigerator. Opening both fridge and freezer at the same time, Aiden stared inside them for only a moment before he looked at Mike over his shoulder.

“I’ve got Hot Pockets and leftover pasta. Take your pick.”

“Frost wasn’t kidding when he said that’s what you guys usually eat after patrol.”

“Nope.”

“I’ll go with the Hot Pockets.”

“Excellent choice,” Aiden said as he took out the box of Hot Pockets and closed the doors. “I don’t remember how long that pasta has been in there.”

Mike watched through a green filter as Aiden moved around putting the Hot Pockets on plates and popping them in the microwave. Realizing he was still wearing his glasses, he took them off and hung them from his collar.

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Grab us some glasses for water,” Aiden answered, pointing at the correct cabinet.

Mike went over and grabbed two glasses, filling each with ice and water from the ice maker set into the fridge. The snacks were finished heating soon after he had the drinks ready.

“Let’s eat.”

Aiden bypassed the kitchen table and went out to the living room. They sat on the couch as they had during his first visit, discussing everything that happened that night and what they needed to put in the report as they ate. It was comfortable, a true sense of partnership growing between them. They shared information, mentioning details one had seen but the other had missed.

“Okay, let’s get this submitted,” Aiden said once he finished eating. He wiped off his hands and slid the laptop on the coffee table onto his lap. It required a thumb print pressed to a small touch pad on the top of the computer before he could even open it. Once the computer was online, Aiden started to type with his two forefingers.

A strangled noise of surprise slipped from Mike’s throat at Aiden’s slow pecking at the keyboard.

Aiden looked up. “What?”

“You’re a pecker.”

A soft blush tinted Aiden’s cheeks a rosy pink. “I never learned how to type. Caleb is always horrified whenever he sees me at a computer.”

Mike held back a smile at seeing Aiden embarrassed for the second time. “I can’t say I blame him.”

“You can do better?” A single black eyebrow rose in challenge and he held the computer out to Mike.

Mike accepted both the challenge and the computer. “It’s not going to self-destruct on me, is it?” he asked once he had the lightweight machine balanced on his lap. “I’m not the authorized user.”

Aiden worried his lower lip with his teeth. “I don’t think so. Frost uses it all the time. Start typing. If it acts weird, I’ll take it back and put my thumb print in again.”

Mike nodded absently, his gaze caught on the full lower lip that was now bitten berry-red. Aiden shifted on the couch and Mike snapped out of his daze, hoping he hadn’t been caught staring. He took a moment to glance over the screen, reviewing Caleb’s set up for the report program. Then he got to work. He wasn’t as fast as the ACG tech genius, but practice working with similar programs in the Army allowed him to enter the information at a nice, steady speed.

Aiden leaned in, watching the cursor moving from field to field. Mike flicked a covert glance at him. This close he could see how light reflected off the dark strands of his hair, the smoothness of his skin, and just there, beneath his jawline, a small beauty mark that he’d never noticed before. A faint stirring of desire hummed in his blood as he imagined tonguing at that spot while Aiden writhed beneath him. He wondered if there were other spots to discover on Aiden’s pretty skin.

“You’re much better at this than I am. Thanks.”

The low, husky voice drew Mike’s attention away from his search for more beauty marks on Aiden’s creamy throat and collarbones and he looked up to find Aiden watching him. A blush burned the back of his ears when he met those golden eyes, the irises twinkling with amusement. He’d definitely been caught staring that time. “You’re welcome.”

Aiden started to shrug out of his jacket, then paused to look at Mike.

“Is it okay with you if I take this off?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thanks,” he said as he finished taking off the jacket. Now topless, he tossed it over the arm of the couch then eased back onto the couch cushions, watching Mike work.

Mike flicked another glance at him, taking in the slender lines of his bare arms and torso. Shorter strands of hair escaped from his braid to frame his delicate jawline, drawing focus to the tempting curves of his plush lips. Mike yanked his gaze away only for his eyes to land on Aiden fingering the end of his long braid. Mike hoped he didn’t plan to take his hair down. Seeing that silky black mass spill free would remind him too much of the night he’d watched Aiden dance, and then later when he’d had him on his lap.

“Anything else?”

Again, Aiden leaned in close to look over the screen. Warmth bloomed on Mike’s arm where Aiden momentarily pressed against him.

“Nope. That’s it.”

Mike hit submit. After he got the form received message, he rubbed his eyes. The lights had started to bother him while he was typing, a throbbing kicking up in his temples. He’d pushed the discomfort aside in order to finish the task. Now that it was complete, the pounding in his temples was too much to ignore. He winced at a particularly sharp stab of pain.

“Are you okay?” Aiden asked in concern.

“Yeah, but do you have any more Tylenol?”

“Sure, hold on.” Aiden got up from the couch and left the room, returning a minute later with the requested pain relief.

“You needed painkillers the other night too,” he said as he handed the small bottle to Mike. “Is everything all right?”

“I’ll be fine.” Mike paused to take two pills, washing them down with a big gulp of water. “I get headaches sometimes after I use my powers. But it’s nothing serious.”

Aiden dropped back onto the couch. “Let me help. Sit on the floor and I’ll rub your temples for you.” He tossed down one of the large, squishy throw pillows between his feet.

Mike hesitated. Was this a way to get him at Aiden’s feet as he had said that he wanted? “You don’t have to do that.” Aiden must have realized what he was thinking because a look of understanding passed over his face.

“Relax, Beefcake. You backed me up tonight and you did that report for me. It’s the least I can do.”

“Okay.” Mike slid to the floor, moving over to sit on the pillow. He maintained his posture, preventing his back from resting against the couch in order to keep some small distance between them. Still, the warmth of Aiden’s thighs bracketed his shoulders. And that was... nice. Cool, slender fingers lightly pressed against his temples. Aiden began to rub them in slow circles. The gentle touch helped ease the dull throb that always took over his head after using the blast.

Mike relaxed, gradually easing out of his stiff posture to lean back against the couch. He let himself drift into a soft mental space, closing his eyes to block out the light and focusing on the gentle fingers leeching away the pain in his head. It was nice to be in this position—soothed and cared for as he let his pain float away. He told himself that sitting at Aiden’s feet had nothing to do with the contentment wrapping him up in its warmth. He was simply happy because his partner had been kind enough to give him a massage, taking away his pain. That’s all it was. Except...it wasn’t. This feeling matched the way he’d felt when he’d read what it was like for a submissive to be at their Dom’s feet—only experiencing it in real life magnified that feeling times a thousand.

“Is that better?” Aiden asked softly.

“Yes. Thank you, Sir.”

The fingers stopped moving.

A second later, Mike realized what he’d said. He lurched out of his relaxed state, eyes flying open, the sudden light an assault on his pupils. Panic chilled away his peaceful warmth. He wasn’t ready to give his answer yet, was he? He made to rise, but Aiden raised a leg and crossed it over his chest, the chains on his boot jingling with the quick movement.

“Don’t get up. I haven’t finished yet.”

Mike hesitated only a moment before he obeyed the quietly voiced order. He sank back into his previous position and Aiden resumed the massage. Neither of them spoke for long moments. Mike became aware that there was a ticking clock somewhere in the house—Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock—counting the seconds of tense silence. After an excruciating number of ticks, Aiden finally spoke, his voice hushed.

“Was that a habit from the military?”

Mike recognized the out, he could take that excuse and run with it. But he wasn’t going to lie. “No. It wasn’t.”

“Then was that your answer?”

Silence fell between them again. He could say no. He could say he wasn’t ready to give his answer. But he wanted Aiden. And he wanted to know what it would be like to do the things Aiden had described. Mike drew in a deep breath and gave his answer on a soft exhale.

“Yes.”

∞∞∞

“Come here.”

Aiden beckoned Mike to rejoin him on the couch. As soon as Mike was seated, Aiden moved, swinging a leg over to sit astride his lap. Mike’s eyes went wide at the bold move but Aiden only smiled.

“I’m not too heavy, am I?” he asked teasingly.

“No.”

He looked like he had more to say so Aiden rubbed his chest and waited.

“I know I gave my answer already. But are you sure this is all right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is fraternization allowed between members of the ACG?”

Aiden leaned back. Mike’s question was serious and he deserved a serious answer. Besides, it was something he’d thought of himself. “There aren’t any explicit rules against members of the team dating or hooking up. To be honest, we’re so new as a group, this situation has yet to occur. So far, Blaze is the only one in a relationship, but he’s involved with a cutie pie normie. Knowing Blaze, and how protective he is of his little lover, there’s no way he’ll let Danny get involved working with the ACG. Which means it’s more than likely that we’ll be the first to test those waters.”

“That’s a big responsibility.”

“It doesn’t have to be. We’ll take things nice and slow. Honesty and communication will be key. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then are you going to let me kiss you?”

“Yeah.”

Aiden leaned in again, gently touching his lips to Mike’s. A soft breath escaped from him, whispering over Aiden’s lips before they kissed. Aiden pressed their lips together, again and again until he couldn’t stand it anymore and licked his tongue into Mike’s mouth. Mike groaned, his thighs tensing beneath Aiden.

“More?” he whispered the question with his lips brushing over the line of Mike’s jaw.

“Yeah. More.”

He cupped Mike’s face between his hands, holding on to him as their kisses grew deeper.

After a few moments, Aiden eased back to check in with Mike. Mike looked up at him, his bright green eyes wide. He raised a hand then stopped. It hovered in the air, just shy of touching him.

“May I?”

Aiden smiled at the request. “Right now, you can touch me wherever you want,” he said.

To his surprise, Mike’s hand went first to his shoulder. He smoothed his palm over the curve, thumb sweeping out to caress his collarbone. Mike leaned forward, his eyes focused on the spot where his fingers played. Warm lips pressed to his skin as Mike trailed kisses along his shoulder, then up the line of his throat, stopping just beneath his jaw. Aiden shivered at the delicate kisses pressed to that sensitive spot. He tilted his head to the side, giving Mike better access. A soft breath blew over his skin a heartbeat before Mike licked him there with the tip of his tongue. The intimate caress had heat pooling low in Aiden’s belly and his cock stirring with arousal.

“Was that okay?”

“Very okay. I like the way you touch me.”

“You’re beautiful. I thought so from the moment I saw you. You should be touched as if you’re precious.”

Aiden’s lips curled in a slow smile at the compliment. “That’s the kind of praise that will get you everything you want.”

“I want to touch you,” Mike said as he smoothed his hand over Aiden’s shoulder once more.

“Then keep touching me,” Aiden said before he renewed their kiss.

Now that Aiden had Mike’s answer, he was eager to teach him what it meant to please and serve him as a lover. But for now, he wanted them to have these moments of soft, quiet intimacy—their first kisses in the privacy and comfort of his home rather than rushed in a dirty back alley.

Their lips pressed together hotly, Aiden sucking on Mike’s lower lip, letting his teeth scrape lightly over the flesh before he released it. Mike groaned in response, so Aiden did it again before licking into his mouth. Aiden trailed his hands up Mike’s chest then up to cup the back of his head with both hands, holding him captive while he kissed him. When Mike didn’t resist him taking control, Aiden decided to give him a little reward.

He shifted slightly, spreading his knees wider so he could work his hips. He rolled forward and back, coming closer to his goal each time. At the first brush of his cock on Mike’s they both sucked in a breath. On the next pass he brought them together fully, pressing his cock against Mike’s, grinding against him.

“Fuck.” Mike drew the swear word out in a long groan.

“Does that feel good?”

“Yeah. You feel good.” Mike arched his head back against the couch, his neck going taut. He began caressing Aiden’s naked back, his palm rough and warm against his skin.

Even as he rocked in Mike’s lap, he was aware that Mike only touched him with one hand. His ungloved hand. The other remained unmoving on the couch. He didn’t want to risk spoiling the mood, so he didn’t mention it. But he was curious.

Aiden leaned down to scrape his teeth along the strength of Mike’s collarbone then over to lick at the dip beneath his Adam’s apple. He dragged his tongue up to beneath his ear. A little love bite to his earlobe had Mike’s thighs flexing beneath his own. “You’re gonna be good and submissive for me. I can already tell. Won’t you?”

Mike looked up at him, eyes still bright behind lust-heavy eyelids, lips swollen and red.

“Yeah. I’ll be good.”

“Can’t wait to have you on your knees. Bet you’ll look so pretty, ready and waiting to please me.”

“I don’t even...I don’t understand it, but I know I want it.”

“You’ll love it. I promise,” Aiden whispered before he kissed him again. It quickly became messy and desperate, their lips barely connecting as their bodies thrust and rolled.

They were getting too worked up, dancing on the edge of where Aiden planned to stop them. He was tempted to toss that idea out the window and keep going when a loud beep sounded from both his wrist and Mike’s.

The kisses stopped.

Aiden regretfully pulled back, resting his forehead against Mike’s. His heart was still racing, body flushed with arousal when he spoke. “That’s HQ. We’d better check in.”

Mike groaned, his fingers tightening on Aiden’s waist. “Want to keep kissing you.”

Aiden laughed. “It’s okay. We have plenty of time for more kisses. And next time, it’ll be naked kisses.”

Mike let his hand drop from Aiden’s waist and Aiden slid off his lap. He wasn’t wearing his ear piece, but the watch had two-way radio call capability. After drawing in a deep breath and slowly releasing it, he pressed a button on the watch and a blue light flashed.

“What’s up?” he asked when Caleb beeped in.

“There’s a video you should see regarding the Playground. I sent you a link. Mike should see it too since he’s involved on this but he hasn’t checked in yet.”

“I’ll tell him. He’s with me.”

“Mike is there with you?”

Aiden didn’t think it was the right time to mention that he’d been getting hot and heavy with his partner on the couch, so he skirted telling the whole truth about why Mike was with him. “Yeah, we were working on our report for you—same as Frost and I always do.”

“Okay. Well, watch the video and we’ll discuss it at the firehouse tomorrow.”

“Got it,” Aiden said before clicking off.

There was no need to repeat what Caleb said since Mike was sitting right there and heard every word. Aiden dragged the laptop back to the couch and clicked on the link Caleb sent him. A video started playing, with a neatly dressed blonde woman on screen. Aiden slowly straightened, his eyes locked on that face, fury already starting to build in his chest.

“That’s her. That’s the woman who led the protest in the Playground today.”

Mike sat up and gave his attention to the screen too.

The woman started to talk, her voice pleasant and well-modulated.

“Hello. I’m Alice Iverson and I’m a concerned citizen of St. Louis. The Red-Light District in East St. Louis is a blight on the Metropolitan area. I have formed an alliance of other concerned citizens who want to reform that dangerous and immoral area. Our goal is to bring the clean, wholesome values of the Midwest to the Playground. And we hope that you will join us in our effort. Thank you.”

The video ended. Aiden angrily smashed the laptop’s mouse to close the window on the screen. “Nobody asked them to clean up the Playground. And it wasn’t dangerous until they showed up and started assaulting us. Everything would be fine if they minded their own damn business.”

“Fanatics of any kind never see it that way. In their view, they’re doing the right thing by showing you the best way to live your life.”

“Well, the next time she and her self-righteous little protestors show up in our district, I’ll happily teach them the consequences for butting their nose in where it doesn’t belong.” He balled up his fists, ready to go back out and find Alice and the rest of the Purity Alliance to kick their asses right now.

Mike put a hand on his clenched fist. “I’ll help you. I’m your partner in this and I’ll help you put an end to whatever they have planned.”

Aiden calmed at Mike’s touch and sincere promise. The flash-fire of fury in his chest cooled, and he relaxed his hand, entwining their fingers together. “Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that.”

Chapter 15

Mike leaned against the wall, listening with half an ear as the members of the ACG discussed what they’d been working on and the patterns they’d seen this month. They’d been called in that afternoon for a weekly meeting, something Helios had initiated as the team’s new leader. Mike should be paying more attention, but his mind was too filled with thoughts of how relaxed he was today, and what had led to that relaxed state to fully focus on anything else. His shoulders were loose—his head and spirit calm. And he smiled often, not a big goofy grin, but a small peaceful smile as he thought about last night.

After returning home, he’d laid in bed, at first burning with embarrassment at calling Aiden Sir. But as the green glow of his bedside clock ticked past two A.M., the embarrassment faded, leaving him free to remember the feeling of sitting at Aiden’s feet and everything that had come after. He’d fallen asleep with the warm glow of contentment in his chest.

Now, those thoughts were on his mind again. Thinking of the way Aiden had kept him in place, ordering him to stay still made his heart rate spike and had him closing his eyes in order to visualize it once more. Submitting sexually wasn’t something he’d ever considered before. But the thought of serving Aiden while the gorgeous, long-limbed man took control filled him with an eager, tingling anticipation that was hard to ignore.

Unfortunately, there was one problem that would interfere with learning to give Aiden what he wanted. Mike frowned, the thought of that issue stealing some of his contentment and excitement. What if Aiden changed his mind about sharing an intimate relationship with him once he discovered what Mike was hiding beneath his clothes?

“Yo, Zielinski!”

Mike abruptly snapped out of his daze, raising his head to see that everyone in the group was staring at him. “Errr...” He’d been so in his head he had no clue what they’d been discussing or what he could offer up as a response.

“Uh-oh. I’ve seen that expression. That’s the look of a man whose been bamboozled by a new love interest,” Ignite said from his spot on the floor.

Ignite’s comment earned good-natured chuckles and teasing from the rest of the team.

“Yep,” Caleb agreed. “Since you’re new to the team we’ll give you a pass and let you slide.”

Mike cast a quick glance at Aiden to see his reaction. He appeared unbothered, sitting serenely with his legs crossed at the knee, his attention on nothing in particular. Mike looked back at Caleb.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” he said, having no idea what he’d been allowed to slide from. Grateful for the reprieve and mindful of the fact that he was there to discuss protecting the people of St. Louis and not to daydream about one raven-haired dancer, Mike put his concerns about his body and visions of learning what it meant to please Aiden from his mind and focused on the heroes in front of him.

∞∞∞

Aiden didn’t join in with the others teasing Mike. Instead, he wanted to reassure him that what happened between them last night wouldn’t be mentioned to anyone else, and that whatever desires he’d unearthed within himself were okay. Yes, Sir. It had slipped easily from those lips—as had the answer to his question. And now Mike Zielinski—the beautiful six-foot-tall man with the soft brown hair and unyielding posture—was going to be his submissive. He’d thought about it all night until he’d finally drifted off with an image of his soldier man on his knees, collared and leashed, following him into sleep.

Now, this morning, he surreptitiously watched him, observing every changing expression on his face and wondering what were the thoughts behind them. Were the smiles because he was thinking about last night? Aiden hoped so. He’d love it if Mike’s head was as full of him as his was of Mike. But when Mike’s smile faded, the corners of his mouth pulling down into a small frown, Aiden tensed, a second away from rising from his chair to go to him, soothe him, and find out what had stolen his good mood. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time or the place for him to offer comfort to his soon to be lover.

With an internal sigh of regret, Aiden snuck one final glance at Mike from beneath his lashes. He was focused on Helios, no longer lost in his thoughts. Aiden gave his full attention to their leader as well. Just in time, because Helios turned to him.

“Stardust, can you bring me up to speed on the situation in the Playground?”

Aiden straightened in his chair. “Of course.” He quickly explained everything that had happened, from the first mugging, to confiscating the stun gun, to the protest. Aiden paused a few times to let Caleb fill in with his online discoveries and asked Mike to share his input as well.

Helios used a single finger to push up the glasses he wore out of habit rather than necessity. “That definitely warrants the involvement of the Guardians.”

“And I should mention that the white shirts are using Croton now. Probably because they realized they were up against superheroes and wanted to even the playing field in our skirmishes.”

“Damnit,” Blaze cursed. “More of that shit.”

Strong typed on his e-pad and a chart showing the growth of Croton over the past few weeks appeared on the main screen. “I’d hoped Leon’s arrest would disrupt the Croton trade enough to slow the spread of the drug in the city and give us a chance to stop it.”

“So did I,” Blaze agreed with his face still drawn in angry lines. “Since that didn’t work out, I’m going to bring down whoever has taken Leon’s place.”

“We’ll plan out a strategy and some of the members will help you,” Helios said.

Blaze nodded at the team leader. “Thank you.”

“And we’ll continue assisting Stardust and Mike in the Playground until that situation is resolved,” Strong added.

Both Aiden and Mike expressed their appreciation for the assistance and the meeting moved on to the next topic.

∞∞∞

About fifteen minutes later, the official meeting came to an end. All of the Guardians lingered for a few minutes, interacting socially. Aiden’s heart rate picked up when Mike approached him.

“Hello.”

“Hey.”

Their greetings were short, nothing special. But a new awareness hummed in the air between them. They were vibrating on a different frequency now—no longer merely partners. But the rest of the team didn’t know that. Aiden rose from his seat. Determined to keep up their business only facade, he picked a topic that had no personal connotations.

“Croton is getting to be a big problem in the city. Have you run into it yet?”

“Only during that marathon patrol the other night.”

“It’s not something we often deal with in the Playground. The occasional winner taking it for an all-nighter visit to one of the bordellos but that’s it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, right? You said it’s all legal in the Playground. Drugs. Gambling. Sex.”

Aiden didn’t miss the heavy-lidded look Mike gave him and slight dip in timbre to his voice when he mentioned sex. Aiden would give him the best sex of his life. He would chain that big body to his bed and ride his dick until Mike begged to be allowed to come. And Aiden would let him, if he was a very good boy.

Unable to resist the occasional way Mike drew him in, Aiden stepped close, able to feel the other man’s body heat since he wasn’t wearing his flak vest. He pitched his voice low when he answered, so that only Mike would hear what he had to say, creating a bubble of privacy for the two of them in the middle of a room full of people.

“Of course, it’s legal. And I guess I can’t fault a man for wanting to go all night. Some people don’t have the natural stamina for it.” He paused, tilting his head to the side and letting a little smile play on his lips. “Just out of curiosity, what’s your cardio level like?”

“Hey, Mike!”

The sudden shout popped the bubble of playful intimacy he and Mike were in. Aiden whipped around in surprise. Caleb was behind him, looking at Aiden with his dark eyes wide.

“Caleb! What, uh...” He paused to clear the huskiness from his voice. “What do you need?”

“I wanted to ask Mike about his ACG tech.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Aiden moved aside, clearing the way for Caleb to speak with his partner.

“Any problems adjusting to our tech?”

Mike shook his head. “Not at all. It’s smooth, and the connection is always clear.”

“And your glasses are working okay too?”

“Yes. They function exactly as you said they would. I can probably hit dead center on a dime when I’m wearing them.”

“Good.”

Aiden chimed in on the conversation. “I can’t believe you accomplished that with a pair of sunglasses.”

Caleb’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! You weren’t here when I explained how they worked.” He reached for a keyboard with his right hand, and rapidly clicked a few buttons. A 3-D image of Mike’s glasses popped up on one of the smaller monitors and Caleb immediately dived into a spiel on how the glasses functioned.

The explanation made sense to Aiden, in as much of the techno-science talk he could follow. The prisms funneled the beams in a straight line. Sounded good. But he remembered Mike’s comment from last night.

“Yeah, the glasses are working out great. But can they do anything to help with his headaches?”

Caleb stopped his rambling and looked up at Mike, his brow creased in question. “Headaches?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Mike answered. “My eyes burn and I get headaches after I use my powers. Both problems eventually go away.”

“But we don’t want you suffering after every mission.” Caleb picked up a pen and stared off into the distance, spinning the pen between his fingers as he thought. “I’ve got it! Your powers have a magnetic polarity of exceedingly high strength and concentration. What we need is an opposite magnetic reaction to counteract their effect. I’ll install magnetic inserts on your glasses. They won’t affect your beams but they should alleviate the pressure that’s causing your headaches.”

“Thank you,” Mike said. He turned to Aiden. “And thank you for raising the issue.”

“No problem. Although, I suppose now that you’ll have something to keep you from getting those headaches, you won’t need my touch anymore.” He pouted playfully, as if he were disappointed. The fact that he actually was disappointed he kept to himself. He couldn’t wait to have Mike tucked between his thighs again.

“I can always use stress relief,” Mike replied.

Caleb coughed and suddenly got busy typing on his laptop.

Mike’s eyes went wide and a flush flamed high on his cheekbones. “I meant a massage. He gave me a massage on my temples. Because of the pain. He also gave me Tylenol to help me feel better.”

As much as he was enjoying the adorableness that was Mike desperately trying to convince Caleb that nothing had happened between them, Aiden wanted those green eyes back on him. He stepped close, a little too close for two guys who were supposed to be nothing more than superhero work buddies, and lightly poked him in the stomach. It was an effort to drop his hand without spreading his palm over the hard abs beneath his fingertip. “I like it when you blush,” he whispered.

Mike blinked. Cleared his throat. Straightened his spine. All while his cheeks remained as red as strawberries. “I guess we’re finished here?”

A blushing six-foot-tall man. Aiden could just eat him up. He was going to—very soon. Right now, however, he’d have to let Mike off the hook. There’d be time later to make him blush again.

“You’re right. I’d better get going. I’ve got a shift at the Fox this evening before we patrol.”

He nodded politely at Caleb, who he was well aware was reading the excited and horny vibes rolling off of him. Turning back to Mike, he threw him one last glance full of promise.

“I’ll see you later, Mike.”

“You have a good night at work.”

∞∞∞

Aiden did have a good night at the Fox, his stack of tips bigger than usual thanks to a big-name celebrity’s bachelor party. But the moment his shift ended, Aiden immediately left the floor and made a beeline for the dressing room. Eager to leave the club and meet up with Mike, he hustled to change out of his last costume for the night. While braiding his hair, he decided to skip washing off his makeup, reasoning that he’d be wearing a mask so it didn’t matter if he left it on.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Suzie asked.

“Yeah, you should stay,” Cupcake chimed in. “Josephine put out word that everyone can work an hour overtime if they want since Mr. Big Shot out there has the place so packed.”

“Any other time I would stay but I have plans tonight,” Aiden said as he stuffed his feet into his shoes. “You all get those dollars for me.” He gave them both a kiss on the cheek then he was out the door.

After a quick stop at his vestibule to change into his gear, Stardust rode up to their pre-arranged meeting spot. As expected, Mike was already waiting for him. Stardust was on time. But to Mike fifteen minutes early was on time and on time was late. It was hard to believe, but Stardust found the habit endearing. He liked his always prepared and punctual soldier man.

Stardust shut off the rumbling bike, swinging a leg over to dismount. He strolled up to his partner, excitement that had more to do with the big, black-clad superhero in front of him than the upcoming patrol bubbling beneath his skin like sparkling champagne.

“Ready to get your patrol on?”

Mike nodded, the green lenses glinting in the light. “Let’s do it.”

They set off, Stardust giddily wanting to hold Mike’s hand or tug him into each alley they passed to make out. That brought back a memory that made him laugh.

“What’s funny? Mike asked.

“Remember when I accused you of assuming I wanted to fuck my partner in an alley during a patrol?” He trailed his fingers down Mike’s hard bicep and tilted his head toward the alley they were passing.

Mike raised an eyebrow. “We’ve already made out twice in an alley while on patrol. If that was what I’d been assuming, I’d have been right.”

Stardust laughed again at Mike’s smug response. But a panicked shout for help brought their teasing to a halt. Stardust instantly switched to Defend, Fight, Attack mode and ran with Mike in the direction of the shouts.

They came upon three white shirts playing keep away with a Player’s bag, while a fourth held back another Player. Both Players were in tears, one unable to get her bag or escape the ring of white shirts surrounding her, the other desperately calling for her friend and struggling to break free.

Stardust watched the scene for a moment, eyes narrowed with fury, but determined to control his emotions. “I want one for questioning,” he said to Mike.

“Which one?”

Stardust eyed the bullies. One of them, a short stocky man with tattoos, seemed to be taking particular glee in tormenting the woman they had trapped in their circle. “The one with the neck tattoo,” he answered Mike.

“He’s yours.”

They stepped into view at the same time. The white shirt holding the woman back on his own saw them first.

“We were wondering if you freaks would show up,” he snarled.

Stardust drew his sai from their holsters, holding them loose and ready. “Here we are.”

The white shirt pushed the woman he’d been holding back aside. His brethren let their prey go, tossing her bag in her face. Finally free, the women ran to each other, colliding in a tight hug.

Stardust flicked a glance at them. “Stay together and get home safe. Now.”

Once the Players took off, there was a moment of quiet stillness, fraught with violent anticipation. Then, as one, the five white shirts rushed at him and Mike. They tried for a blitz attack, using their numbers to their advantage. It was a smart move. The combination of being outnumbered along with the Croton they’d taken to give them greater than usual strength meant he and Mike would have to put in work to win this fight.

And work they did. Mike used his blast to knock one of the white shirts back and out of the game. Stardust fought fast and hard, spinning, kicking, striking with his sai. Tonight, the two of them worked seamlessly as partners. Sometimes they fought back-to-back, protecting each other, pivoting to switch positions and change-up opponents when needed. The sweetest adrenaline flooded Stardust’s system as he fought with his lover by his side. And though his mind stayed on the fight, he felt a zing of pleasure every time he and Mike touched. It was the best fight Stardust had ever been in.

But it didn’t last forever. One by one, the white shirts realized they were up against adversaries they couldn’t handle and beat a hasty retreat from the parking lot.

Stardust was breathing hard by the time they’d run off all but one of the white shirts. And it wasn’t only due to the exertion from the brawl. He turned to Mike, who stood there, holding on to the man singled out for interrogation. Mike’s shoulders were back, chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. The wind ruffled his hair and the parking lot lights gleamed on his glasses. He looked so damn good and strong and confident that Stardust would have happily jumped his bones right then. But they still had work to do.

“Let him go,” he said.

Mike complied. The white shirt immediately tried to run but before he took a full step, Stardust kicked him in the chest with the flat of his boot. The man stumbled back, falling on his ass with his legs sprawled wide. Stardust casually stepped between them, calling up his power as he did so. His hypnotic glow was in full force by the time he squatted in front of the white shirt. And because he had control of his emotions, he was able to direct it at the mugger only so that Mike wasn’t also affected by it. The mugger went still, arms falling to the side, eyes rapt on the golden lights sparkling in front of him.

“I have a few questions for you and you’re going to answer them,” Stardust said.

The man nodded slowly. “Yes. I’ll answer.”

“Who are you and the other people in all white with?”

“The Purity Alliance.”

Stardust nodded. Confirmation of what they already suspected.

“How did you come to join them?”

“I was recruited in an online chatroom.”

Stardust got the name of the site. He’d give it to Caleb and hopefully the tech genius could do something about the recruitment tool. He moved on to the next question. “What does your group plan to accomplish by harassing the Playground Players?”

“Disrupt. Bigger things planned. We want the Playground shut down.”

“Is there anybody on the outside helping your group?”

A slow nod.

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know.”

Stardust glared. He focused, drawing in a deep breath and turning up the force of his power when he exhaled. “Don’t lie to me. Who is helping your group?”

The man raised a hand, reaching for the lights, wiggling his fingers to try and touch them.

“I don’t know,” he repeated. “There are bigger people involved but I’m not on a level to know who that is.”

Stardust believed him. The man was completely enthralled. There was no way he’d be able to hold anything back. He had all the information he wanted, which meant it was time to end the interrogation. The glow began to fade.

“You need to think about your life choices,” he snapped in annoyance. “Leave the Purity Alliance and stop harassing people minding their own business.”

“Leave Alliance,” the white shirt echoed dreamily.

Stardust wished it were that easy to make these guys stop. But he couldn’t force people to change their behavior. The second this man was free of the hypnotic glow, he’d go back to doing what he wanted.

The white shirt frowned, reaching again for the lights that had disappeared. After a few moments of waving his hand back and forth, he roughly shook his head, coming out of the trance.

“What did you do to me?” he angrily demanded.

Stardust thumped him on the forehead. “Nothing permanent. Now, get out of here before I make you cluck like a chicken whenever you hear a bell for the rest of your life.”

The white shirt scrambled to his feet. He stumbled off, clutching his chest that was probably sore as hell from Stardust’s kick. Maybe that would keep him out of the assault game for a while.

Stardust pushed himself to his feet. Mike was right behind him when he turned around.

“Did you get what you wanted?”

“I did.” He slid a hand over Mike’s hip. “I like working with you. You did a good job tonight.”

“Thanks. I like working with you too.”

There was enough light in the parking lot for Aiden to see the red flush that flamed to life along Mike’s cheekbones.

There was no one around, so Aiden pushed up his mask. “You’re blushing. You turn red every time I give you a compliment. Are you embarrassed?”

“No.”

“Hmmm...” Aiden thought about that for a moment. Mike said he wasn’t embarrassed to receive compliments but the blush couldn’t be denied. He tilted his head to the side, wondering... Oh. “Maybe you have a praise kink.” Aiden watched, delighted as the blush deepened before Mike answered.

“I’ve never heard of a praise kink before but I can guess what it means.”

“You don’t have to guess when I can tell you. You like it when I tell you you’ve done a good job. But it’s more than that,” he said while lightly drumming his fingers on Mike’s hip. “You get pleasure from it. It makes you feel good deep inside. Does that sound right?”

“I do experience a different type of satisfaction when you give me praise.” Mike’s voice deepened, becoming low and husky. “And sometimes it almost feels like arousal.”

Aiden let a slow smile curl his lips at that admission. “That is a turn-on.”

“Is it?”

“Mmmm-hmmm...” Aiden prowled forward. Mike walked backward and Aiden matched him step for step until his big, blushing submissive was pressed up against the side of a truck. “You have no idea how much of a turn-on it is.” He curled a single finger, beckoning Mike to get on his level. “Get down here.”

Mike leaned down and Aiden pulled off one of his gloves. He cupped Mike’s cheek with his bare hand, wanting to feel the warmth of that blush against his palm. With deliberate slowness, he slid his hand around and up to Mike’s nape, lightly scraping his fingers through the soft, short hairs there. Mike shivered, the tip of his tongue sliding out to slick over his bottom lip. Only then did Aiden lean in to kiss him.

He moaned at how perfectly Mike’s lips fit against his own. They kissed, soft but full of fire—from the fight and from their desire for each other. Mike’s hand latched onto his braid, lightly tugging. That set off little sparks of pleasure on his scalp and a swoop of desire low in his belly. He loved having his hair pulled. To return the pleasure, Aiden slipped a thigh between Mike’s legs, pressing up to rub against the bulge in his black pants.

Aware that they were in a space that prevented them from taking things too far, Aiden eventually pulled back from their kiss, but kept his body pressed to Mike’s. This close, he could make out that his eyes were heavy-lidded behind the green lenses of his glasses.

“Too bad this isn’t an alley,” he teased.

“Why, are we about to fuck?”

Aiden smirked. “You wish. You’re going to have to work to earn this ass. When you’re on your knees begging for it, then you can fuck me.” He brushed his thumb over Mike’s lips. Tiny golden sparkles trailed behind his touch. Aiden’s eyes widened. His powers had never come out like that before.

“That felt nice,” Mike said.

“I like having my hands on you.” Wanting to feel more of Mike, Aiden tried to slip his hands under his shirt to caress his back in the space beneath his tactical vest. But Mike flinched away so hard, it startled him into immediately pulling away.

“Are you okay?” he asked in concern. “Did you get hurt in the fight?” He brought his hands back up to hover over Mike’s chest, wanting to check him for injuries, but Mike shook his head.

“No injuries. Or, not any new ones rather.”

“Ah,” Aiden said in dawning understanding. “I see.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize.”

Mike hung his head, looking like a scolded puppy.

“I ruined that didn’t I?”

“Hey.” Aiden tucked a finger beneath Mike’s chin to raise his head back up. “You didn’t ruin anything. We got hot and heavy for a minute and I enjoyed it. Just because we stopped doesn’t mean it was ruined.”

“I...” Mike trailed off, his throat visibly working as he swallowed hard. “Thank you. I guess I should tell you why I don’t want to be touched on my bare skin.”

“You don’t have to share anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“I want to let you know what my land mines are. That way you won’t trip over them again.”

“Okay,” Aiden said as he soothingly rubbed Mike’s arms. “As long as you want to share them and you’re not doing it because you think I’m impatient to hear it.”

“I do. I want to get this out.”

Mike cleared his throat but didn’t say anything for several seconds.

Aiden remained quiet, giving him the space to gather his thoughts. Finally, Mike straightened his shoulders, shifting his stance so that he appeared as if he were delivering a report to a superior.

“I’ll give you the basics. A couple years back, my unit was on a mission in Montana. There was a hostile there that had the enhanced human ability to spit an acid-like venom. I took a severe hit from the substance. As a result, I’m scarred. Heavily on my back. Down my right arm and thigh too. And my right hand is damaged.”

“And you don’t want to be touched in those places?” Aiden asked for clarification.

“Right.”

Aiden understood without him saying that if Mike didn’t want to be touched there, he didn’t want to be seen either, which explained the ever-present long sleeves and the glove. Now that he knew the shirts were more than a fashion choice, he inwardly cringed at all the times he’d wished Mike would take off his shirt or wear short sleeves. “I’m glad you told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

Aiden gently tapped Mike’s lips with a single finger, halting the apology. “Stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know my aversion for skin-to-skin contact might make it difficult for us to be intimate. For us to have naked kisses like you said you wanted. So, I understand if you change your mind about being —.”

Aiden popped his finger right back on Mike’s lips, pressing firmly this time to prevent him from finishing that sentence. “None of that. We’ll figure out how to work through this together. Okay?”

After a moment, Mike nodded, so Aiden removed his finger.

“Come on. We’ll finish our patrol for the night. Hopefully you’ll earn more compliments and I can see you blush again.”

Chapter 16

Mike couldn’t help but smile as he walked into his empty apartment and turned on the lights. He’d confessed his hang up about his body to Aiden. It was only a first step, he wasn’t ready to totally bare himself yet. But taking that step and Aiden’s easy acceptance of the issue made him feel good—giving him the confidence that he would be able to reveal his body one day.

He went in the bathroom and turned on the shower to warm up the water. When he undressed, his smile began to fade. Mike stood in front of the mirror over the sink, looking at his body. He was fit, he stayed in shape from years of habit and care for his physical well-being. But...he turned around and looked over his shoulder into the mirror. The back of his body wasn’t pretty.

Shiny burn-like scars marred his right shoulder, the top of his back, and down the rear side of his right arm. Along his torso, close to where Aiden had nearly touched him were more scars. They continued over his hip, down his ass, to the top of his thigh. And that wasn’t all. He pulled off his glove. His hand was so damaged that he preferred to wear a glove rather than deal with stares or invasive questions.

The heat of the shower steamed up the mirror. Mike swiped a hand over the glass to clear it off so he could torture himself by looking at his reflection a little longer.

Aiden wanted naked kisses. Of course he did, that’s what most people in relationships wanted. But he wasn’t most people. He was scarred and marked and unpleasant to look at when he was naked. He held up his right hand, staring at it. How could he touch someone as beautiful as Aiden with a hand this ugly?

Mike sighed and let the mirror fog over. As much as he wanted to feel a lover’s touch on his skin and to give touch in return, he wasn’t sure that he could open himself up to doing so out of fear that they would be repulsed by him. He hadn’t shared intimate touches with anyone in the two years since the attack. The lack of intimacy had him starved for physical affection. Kissing and caressing Aiden had taken the raw edge off that aching need for a lover’s touch, but still he craved more. Craved Aiden’s hands on his body. Mike braced both hands on the countertop. He longed for Aiden’s touch, but he was afraid that the very thing he desired would be what drove Aiden away.

∞∞∞

Aiden thought about Mike’s confession the entire drive home from the Playground. It stayed on his mind as he showered. It was still on his mind when he slipped naked between the sheets. That urge to caretake pushed at him to make sure Mike was okay. Revealing something that was obviously painful for him couldn’t have been easy. And to do it after a fight, in the harsh setting of a chilly parking lot must have made the telling even more unpleasant.

Even though Mike had said more than once that he was fine after sharing his story, Aiden didn’t like it. It felt wrong, and left him unsettled—as if he’d dommed a sub and then abandoned them without giving them aftercare. Aiden needed to call Mike and check on him.

Rolling over, Aiden grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He tapped it awake, thumbed to his newest speed dial contact, hit call, and waited for Mike to answer. The phone rang. Then continued to ring. Aiden sat up, worry already blooming in his chest. He knew that people weren’t obligated to take every call that came through their cells but after their talk he couldn’t help but be concerned that Mike wasn’t answering his phone. He was a second away from hopping out of bed to throw on clothes and go check on Mike when he finally answered, sounding slightly out of breath.

“Aiden?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Are you home?”

“Yes. I had to run from the shower to catch the phone.”

Relieved, Aiden settled back against the pillows. “Good. I was worried about you.”

“You called to check up on me?” Mike asked with surprise in his voice.

“Yeah. You have a problem with that?” The question was asked teasingly, but he really hoped Mike didn’t have an issue with being looked after.

“Not at all.”

That was a relief. And a positive sign that gave Aiden hope for something it was far too early to even consider. “You said you were fine. But is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“I am fine. There is more that’s bothering me. But I’m not ready to share it yet.”

“Okay. I can respect that. If you change your mind, just say the word and I’ll be ready to listen.”

“Thank you.”

“Now that I know you’re all right, there’s something else that I’ve been thinking about.”

“What’s that?”

“You called me Sir.”

There was a sharp intake of breath, followed by total silence for several long moments.

“I did,” Mike finally answered.

“Is that something you want to do more of?”

“I...”

Aiden remained silent, listening to the sound of Mike’s now calm breathing while he patiently waited.

“I think so. When I was reading about dominance and submission online, I came across the names that subs call their Doms. I didn’t consciously plan to call you Sir that night. It surprised me when it came out actually. I understand if you don’t like it.”

“I love it actually. But I think I might have to make you earn the privilege of calling me Sir.”

“Really?”

Aiden hummed in assent. “Mmm-hmmm. Do you think you can handle that?”

“Yeah, I can.”

“But do you want to?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

Aiden smiled at the eagerness in Mike’s voice. He loved the way his soldier was always ready to serve. “Good. I think I’ll let you get started on that right now. Unless you’re busy?”

“No. I’m in bed for the night.”

“Okay, then. I want you to tell me why you think you deserve to have me.”

There was quiet for a moment. Aiden thought he might have stepped wrong. He liked to hear his lovers talk and tell him what they wanted to do to him, both in foreplay and during sex. But if Mike wasn’t used to verbally expressing his sexual desires or didn’t like to do so, he’d have to adjust his expectations. However, to his pleased surprise, Mike began to talk, his voice low and husky.

“I deserve to have you because I’d be the best lover for you. I’d worship your body from the top of your beautiful head all the way down to your feet. With my hands. And my mouth. And my tongue.”

Aiden closed his eyes, trailing his fingers across the bare skin of his stomach as he listened to Mike. “Anything else you’d worship me with?”

“I’d use my cock too.”

“Hmmmm...What if I wanted you to use your cock to fuck me real nice and slow?”

“I’d do whatever you wanted me to do.”

“Is that right?” Arousal trembled low in Aiden’s belly and he started to get hard. Biting his lip, he teased himself, delicately brushing his growing erection with the very tips of his fingers.

“I’ve been dreaming about touching you and making you feel good since the night you gave me the lap dance. If you wanted it slow, I’d push inside you and stay completely still until you cried for me to move.”

Aiden gasped, thighs clenching at the thought of Mike thick and hard inside him. “And then what would you do, Michael?”

“I’d fuck you.”

The bold, unadorned statement sent a shiver down Aiden’s spine. This conversation with Mike was the most delightful surprise. As he ghosted his fingers over the silky length of his stiffening cock, he wondered if Mike was doing the same thing.

“Are you touching yourself right now?” The husky rasp of Mike’s response traveled over the cell line and into Aiden’s ear.

“Yeah.”

“Fuck, Michael. I’m so tempted to let you keep going until we both get off. But we’re going to end this call because I do not want our first orgasm together to happen when I can’t see or touch you.”

A harsh exhale came across the line before Mike responded. “All right.”

Aiden blew out a hard breath of his own. “Soon you’re going to answer me with Yes, Sir. And I can’t fucking wait to hear it. Good night.”

Chapter 17

The next afternoon, Aiden went up to his parent’s house to have lunch with them. He usually did so at least twice a month, spending time with his family before they went off to their recreational or business pursuits. His brothers often dropped in as well, but neither of them had made it today. The meal was as delicious as always, the menu consisting of French Onion soup, sandwiches, and fresh fruit. Aiden was full and ready for a post-meal nap as he crossed the foyer to leave. His mother walked with him, her arm linked with his.

“Our fall fundraiser party is coming up. You’ll be here, right?”

“You know I will.”

“And are you bringing a date?”

Aiden thought about it. He didn’t usually bring the guys he was seeing to his parent’s parties. And his relationship with Mike was so new he really shouldn’t even consider it. But he would like to spend a fancy evening with Mike and see how he looked in a suit. “I might.”

His mother exclaimed in surprise and squeezed his arm. “I would love to see you bring someone you care about.”

“I said might. Don’t get too excited.”

“Of course, I won’t.”

But Aiden could see from the sparkle in her gray eyes that she was definitely excited and hopeful that he’d found someone. And well, he was hopeful that he’d found someone himself, so he couldn’t fault her for her excitement. Aiden dropped a goodbye kiss her on the cheek, called out a goodbye to his father, and stepped outside. The fall air was cool and crisp, the sun warm and bright. Orange and red flowers bloomed next to the greenery in the flower beds he passed on his way back to the guest house.

As he walked, his mind turned to thoughts of his aborted parking lot make out with Mike last night. From Mike’s reluctance to touch him with the hand that was always gloved, he’d suspected that Mike had some type of issue with his body. Now, his suspicion had been confirmed. Truthfully, he didn’t care that his lover was scarred. However, it was obviously a concern for Mike. Which meant it was a concern for him as well. Mike was now his responsibility to care for and Aiden took that responsibility seriously.

He appreciated Mike’s honesty in admitting he was bothered, but not ready to discuss it. But since they wanted to be physically intimate, they’d have to find a way to accommodate Mike’s touch aversion while exploring their desire for each other.

First, and most importantly, he would make sure that Mike knew he was comfortable with his body no matter what it looked like. Once that happened, hopefully Mike would become comfortable with it too. But that would take time. Right now, he needed a way for Mike to be comfortable during intimacy. Aiden stopped in front of his door, hand still on the doorknob.

The answer was obvious. Intimacy and sex didn’t have to equal nudity. He’d let Mike know that he could remain clothed as long as necessary, that Aiden wouldn’t touch his naked body except for where he wanted to be touched, and that he was fine with the restrictions. With the worry about being seen or touched in places he was uncomfortable removed from the equation, Mike should be able to relax so that they could move on to the next stage of their sexual journey.

Aiden went inside and pulled out his phone. He’d get started on that right now.

∞∞∞

Mike was restless at work again. The feeling had increased over the past few weeks, rather than fading away once he settled into the position as he’d hoped. He repeatedly reminded himself that he needed to give himself time to adjust to being out of the military. Enlisting in the Army at eighteen when he’d aged out of the foster system meant that the military had been his entire existence for nearly a decade. Sitting behind a desk five days a week was vastly different from what he was used to. A bit of struggle adjusting to civilian life was to be expected.

Mike determinedly refocused his attention and got back to work. There were two influencers that he needed to assist with setting up their next outdoor adventure. All of it would be filmed and photographed, with Marin’s Outdoors equipment in prominent view. One of the upcoming excursions was with Johnny, their most popular influencer. Unfortunately, his behavior was starting to swing back toward the problematic side. He’d have to speak with him to make sure there wouldn’t be any online ill-will tied to his name and by association the Marin’s brand before the event.

A knock on his open office door brought his head up. The company owner, Mr. Marin waited in the doorway, hands gripping the handles of his crutches.

“May I come in?”

“Of course, Mr. Marin. How are you today?”

“Excellent as always,” the older man said as he crossed the office to sit in one of the chairs in front of Mike’s desk. “I wanted to stop by and let you know what an excellent job you’re doing. Your contributions are giving each new project exactly what they need to have a top-notch launch.”

“Thank you, Mr. Marin.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Jaime.”

Mike agreed with a small nod. “Jaime. Thank you.”

They talked for a few minutes about the upcoming excursions and the plans Mike had for the role of the influencers to spread the word about the events before his boss rose from his seat.

“Keep up the good work. With folks like you on board, we’ll be the number one outdoor sporting goods empire before long.”

“Thank you, Jaime. I will.”

Once his boss was gone, Mike turned his chair to look out the window. In the distance he could see the highway leading to the entertainment district. As he gazed at the faraway bridge and barely discernable cars driving over it, he thought of his reaction to his boss thanking him for a doing a good job. It was nice to be recognized for his work. But Mr. Marin’s praise didn’t set off the delicious burn of pleasure that zipped down his spine every time he got a simple nice job from Aiden.

A praise kink Aiden had called it. No matter what it was called, Mike couldn’t deny that he loved receiving praise from Aiden for doing a good job. And there was something that danced on the edge of his pleasure when receiving praise. A vision of silky black hair sliding over slim shoulders as he received his reward bloomed in his mind. Because rewards were supposed to go along with praise.

His phone dinged with a text notification, interrupting his fantasy of Aiden rewarding him for a job well done. He picked up the cell and swiped it open to a message from Aiden.

Hey, Beefcake.

Surprised at the coincidence that Aiden was texting him when he’d just been thinking of him, Mike immediately texted back.

Hello.

I’m off tonight and I wanted to come over and see you. Do you have plans for dinner?

I don’t. Would love to have dinner with you.

Perfect, Aiden sent. I’ll take care of everything. I only need a little input from you for the plan for tonight.

Plan?

Yep. You like planning, right?

Mike had to smile, remembering their contentious start where he’d always wanted plans and Aiden wanted nothing to do with them. You know I do.

All right, I have two questions for you. I’ll give you two options for each question. All you have to do is pick one for each.

Okay.

Fries or onion rings?

Mike wrinkled his nose as he typed his answer. He didn’t like onion rings. Fries.

Your place or mine?

Mine.

See? That was easy.

You make it easy, Mike texted in response.

And do you like that?

Mike swallowed thickly. Lately, he was learning all sorts of things that he liked. Yes, I do.

That’s good to know. I’d better let you get back to work.

Mike didn’t want to stop texting Aiden, but he was right. He needed to finish up his tasks for the day. Okay. Looking forward to tonight.

I’ll be at your place tonight at seven with dinner.

Their text conversation over, Mike had an even harder time than before keeping his focus on work. He kept thinking about Aiden making the decisions for their date that evening. Thanks to his field experience, Mike was used to taking charge. He’d taken the lead in his previous relationships as well. But now, he was discovering the pleasure of stepping back and letting someone else lead. Naturally, he imagined what that would mean in bed with Aiden. He liked that thought. He liked it a lot. And that was the final blow to his concentration.

For the next hour and a half, Mike killed time with busy work that didn’t require much focus. After what felt like an endless eternity, five o’clock arrived. With a relieved sigh, Mike shut down his computer in preparation for leaving for the day. He’d cleared his desk and stored his files away when his cell phone rang. The encrypted number on the screen meant that it was either Caleb or Strong.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Caleb. I’ve got your updated glasses. Can you swing by the firehouse tonight?”

Mike did a quick calculation. It was a few minutes after five. Aiden wasn’t scheduled to arrive at his place until seven. Even with a detour to ACG headquarters to pick up the tech, he should still have time to get home and change before Aiden got there.

“I’m on my way.”

“Cool.”

They ended the call and Mike hurried to finish wrapping up so he could get out the door.

∞∞∞

On the drive to ACG HQ, traffic was heavy with the usual rush of everyone leaving work at five o’clock. Mike made it to ACG headquarters just shy of five forty-five.

“I’m here,” he announced as he walked in. As he’d come to expect, Caleb sat behind his big U-shaped desk. Amina was also there, on the mats practicing her martial arts, which looked to be a mix of Escrima and kick boxing.

“Excellent. Here are your updated glasses.” Caleb took them from the open box sitting in front of him. “The frames are lined with magnets that should counteract the polarity of your blasts. If you’re still getting headaches while wearing them, let me know and I’ll make adjustments.”

Mike took them from him and put them on. He couldn’t test the glasses without activating his power, but he could tell they were slightly heavier than before. He pulled them back off. “Thanks, Caleb.”

“I’m here to help,” Caleb said as he picked up a small black squirt bottle from his desktop and tossed it to Mike. “And for your post battle recovery.”

Mike caught the bottle and looked it over. His name was printed on the white label. Other than the personalization, it looked like any over the counter bottle of dry eye lubricant. “The solution to my eyes burning is eye drops?” he asked doubtfully. He’d tried Visine before with little to no result.

Caleb looked offended. “Hey! This is a highly advanced, medically engineered ocular solution.” He dropped the offended expression to grin. “But yeah, essentially they’re eye drops. You’ve got a solar wind beaming out of your eyeballs, man. And it’s giving you the worst case of dry eyes ever. You need moisture to ease the burn and this should do it.”

“Okay. I’ll try it.” He slipped the small bottle into his pants pocket. “Thanks again.” This hadn’t taken long at all and soon he’d see Aiden. An excited smile tried to tug at the corner of his mouth—he barely managed to pull it back.

“You’re in a good mood,” Caleb said as he returned to his chair. “It’s nice to feel that. I’ve had stress and worry in my head all day.”

“I’m sorry you were stressed. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh, no.” Caleb shook his head. “Not my stress.”

Mike frowned in confusion. “You have someone else’s stress in your head?”

Caleb turned halfway in his chair to look up at Mike with his eyebrows raised in surprise. “You don’t know? I’m an empath. I pick up other people’s emotions. And today seemed to be a stressful day for a lot of people. I got bombarded with it at the coffee shop this morning and just about everywhere else I went. It wore me out.”

All this time, Mike had thought that Caleb’s powers were his technological abilities. He suddenly remembered the time Caleb had fallen into a coughing fit when he’d thought of Aiden giving him the lap dance. “Can you read minds too?”

“No, I’m not that powerful. But sometimes I get a snapshot of a person’s thought if they’re focusing on it hard enough.”

“Don’t let him feed you any nonsense that he’s not powerful,” Amina called out from the mats. “The man not only senses emotions, he can influence other people’s feelings too, which makes him a pathokinetic as well as an empath.”

“That’s impressive.”

Caleb shrugged off the compliment. “It’s not really. I’m not that strong with that side of my powers. I mostly use it to calm people when I see they’re having a rough time. This morning I sent a wave of chill over the Starbuck’s crowd. Hopefully all those people ended up having a good day.”

“Well, I still say it’s impressive.” Caleb had two superpowers that were tied to emotions and a genius level intelligence for technology. That had to be a rare combination.

They talked for a few minutes longer about Caleb’s powers and the few occasions he used his pathokinesis. Mike learned that the tech genius adamantly refused to call himself a superhero and had no interest in further developing either of his enhanced mental abilities. He found that interesting and wondered at Caleb’s reasoning for it. But he wasn’t going to pry, and he needed to head out before it got too late. Mike said goodbye to Caleb and Amina, then hustled out to his truck to get ready for a night in with Aiden.

Chapter 18

Mike made it home in time to take a quick shower. He had to rush a bit, but he was clean and dressed in a pair of light wash jeans and a long-sleeve white Henley, with the leather glove on his right hand when the knock sounded at his door.

Mike crossed the living room and opened the door. Aiden waited on the other side, looking effortlessly beautiful. His long, ebony hair was in a loose braid over his shoulder and he’d dressed casually in a dark green sweater with a deep V that showed off his elegant collarbones, black jeans, and boots. He held a big takeout bag, a delicious smell wafting from it to tease Mike’s nose.

“Come in,” Mike said as he stepped to the side.

Aiden walked into his small but neat apartment.

“Hi.” Aiden greeted him with a small smile, his eyes warm and bright.

“Hello.”

Mike led the way back to his kitchen, where he’d already set out plates, silverware and glasses on the dinette table.

“How was work?”

Mike shrugged. “It was fine. My day got better when I heard from you.”

“I’m glad I could help cheer you up.”

“Well, you promised me food and I’ve been thinking about it all day. What did you bring?”

“Dinner from my favorite diner,” Aiden answered as he unpacked the to go containers and began plating the food.

He’d brought big, juicy burgers on buttery toasted buns. The cheese was hot and melted, the lettuce cool and crisp. The bacon and thin sliced tomatoes looked mouth-wateringly good. And they both had a heap of fries that were perfectly cut and salted.

Mike got them drinks then sat down across from his dinner date. “This looks amazing,” Mike said as he eyed his plate full of food.

“Try it. I guarantee it’s the best cheeseburger you’ve ever tasted.”

Mike picked up his burger and took a bite. That was all it took for him to agree with Aiden’s guarantee. The burger was full of flavor, and it tasted even better than it looked. He gave Aiden a thumbs up while he chewed. “Perfect,” he said after he swallowed.

Aiden smiled and picked up his own burger. “Good. I’m glad you like it.”

Mike couldn’t answer. He’d already taken another bite.

They were mostly quiet as they ate, but once they were half-way through the meal Aiden spoke.

“While we’re eating, you know what I would like to hear?”

“What?”

“Your origin story. How did you get your powers?”

Mike hesitated. He hadn’t told the full story of how he’d come about his powers to anyone outside of the military. When he remained silent, Aiden prodded him.

“I’ll tell you how I got mine.”

Since he wanted to know more about his partner and now lover, Mike gave in to the light bribe, speaking in between bites. “The story of how I got my powers ties back to my injuries. I told you that we were sent to Montana. Our mission was to bring in a cell of domestic terrorists. Somewhere there was an intel breakdown. They had an enhanced individual that we were unaware of. We were already on the ground by the time we learned that this woman could spit a venom-type substance that ate through our gear and uniforms. A few of our soldiers were hit. Some of our team drew her away while I went in to retrieve the wounded. But she came back before I could get them out. She attacked again and I covered one of the downed soldiers with my body to protect them. That’s when I was hit.” Mike frowned. Telling the story brought back the putrid smell of the venom and the viscous feel of it on his skin.

“I was injured severely enough that I could have received a medical discharge. But the military was all I knew and I didn’t want to leave. When I told them I preferred to remain enlisted, they pulled me from my unit and gave me a new placement. I was assigned to be on staff as a grunt for an experimental team in the Arctic where they were studying the Northern Lights, trying to find a way to harness that power.”

“Like wind farms or solar energy?”

“Yes. But they probably didn’t plan to use it for anything as benign as electricity for suburbia. One night they had the machine geared up for its first test run. It appeared to be working. And then everything went to hell.” Mike stopped, remembering the explosion of green light. The control panel smoking and spitting sparks. Rushing in to manually shut off the machine because no one else could or would. Standing there frozen, his hand somehow magnetized to the switch as energy rolled through him in overwhelming and sickening pulses.

Shaking off the worst of the memories, Mike continued.

“I had to fight the energy going through the machine into me to shut it down. Once it was off, I dropped to my knees as the energy faded from the room. I hadn’t even caught my breath when the first beam shot out from my eyes. In my panic, I damaged equipment and hurt several people before it clicked that I needed to shut my eyes to make it stop. After that, I had to wear a weight band to keep my eyes closed for weeks before I learned I could control the power.”

“Damn,” Aiden said with a sympathetic frown creasing his forehead. “That sounds pretty traumatic.”

Mike shrugged off the memory of that night, managing a smile as he looked at Aiden. “What about you?”

Aiden looked as if he wanted to press for more, but Mike kept his expression neutral and his mouth shut. He was done talking about that night. Aiden got the message because he started talking about his own enhanced event.

“Nothing as dramatic as your tale. I literally woke up one day sparkling.”

“You’re kidding.”

Aiden grinned. “Nope. I was in the dormitory at the New York Ballet Academy when it happened. I had no idea what was going on or how to turn it off. I just sparkled non-stop. It wasn’t long before I realized I was hypnotizing people as well. I took a medical hiatus from ballet school and went home to figure out what was happening to me. My parents called in doctors and sent me to specialists for enhanced people. Like you, I eventually learned to control my powers. But when I tried to go back to the academy, they informed me I was no longer a part of their program and would not be allowed to return. Ever. I tried several different programs but they’d all been advised of my shiny new ability. I received rejection after rejection, each one stating something along the lines of they couldn’t risk me being on stage and suddenly lighting up like a Christmas tree to blind the audience or hypnotize the other dancers.”

“Ouch. And that’s how you became an exotic dancer?”

“Eventually. First, I spent a lot of time locked in my room, depressed that my dream had been stolen. Then I went through a rebellious stage. I started growing out my hair and eating all the junk food I hadn’t been allowed while in ballet training. It went on like that for a while, until my oldest brother got married. He had his stag party at a strip club. I watched the workers on stage, unashamed of their naked bodies, glitter sparkling on their skin. It hit me that I’d found a place where it would be fine if I sparkled while I danced. So, I figured, why not trade in my dance shoes for a pair of pleasers?”

“How’d your parents take that decision?”

“Oh, they were scandalized of course. What would their friends think when they found out their classically trained son was twerking on stage with dollar bills in his thong?”

Aiden laughed, but the sound was fond, hinting at the good relationship he had with his family.

“My dad came around first. He was a danseur too, so he understood that I needed to dance no matter what. And after he accepted that he wasn’t going to steer me into teaching or anything involving classical dance, he threw up his hands and installed a pole in my bedroom for me to practice on.

When I first got on stage, it was a big fuck you to the classical ballet world. My original signature performance started with me wearing a tutu. Since then, I’ve found my place as a sex worker outside of thumbing my nose at ballet, and let go of the regret and bitterness. Most importantly, I discovered I love riling up the crowd with my body.”

“You’re very good at it,” Mike murmured.

“Ah! So, you did like my performance.”

Mike realized he might as well come clean and admit it. “I did.”

“I’m flattered,” Aiden said with a smug smile curving his full lips.

“It was a shock to see you at first, but once I got over it, I really enjoyed watching you. Is that okay to say? I’ve never known anyone who is an exotic dancer and I don’t know what the boundaries are.”

“Compliments are welcome. Stripping is a job and I appreciate when people like what I do.”

“In that case, you’re the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t know anything about dance styles, but the way you move—elegant and sensual and powerful all at once—I couldn’t take my eyes off you. And the way you command the crowd. You had them so eager to watch you I think they would have given you their first born if you’d asked.”

Aiden’s smile went from smug to unabashedly pleased while a blush dusted his cheeks with pink.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I hope I get to see you dance on stage again someday.”

“Consider yourself invited to come and see me perform whenever you want.”

“I’ll take you up on that.”

“Can I ask you something else?”

Feeling good that he’d shared his story with Aiden, Mike answered right away this time. “Of course.”

“Does your right hand give you trouble?”

Woah. He hadn’t expected that. Mike instinctively stiffened at attention being called to his hand but he answered the question. “No, not at all.”

“I wondered because you’re right-handed, but you rarely use that hand.”

Mike didn’t know how to express that he purposely kept his right hand out of sight as much as possible so that people didn’t notice the glove and ask him about it. But Aiden continued on without waiting for a response.

“This leather is really soft,” he said as he reached out to brush his fingers over the back of Mike’s hand.

Mike dropped his eyes down to where Aiden’s long, elegant fingers with neatly manicured nails polished a pearlescent gray were sliding over his gloved hand. “Yes. I chose a high-quality glove since I wear it often.”

Aiden traced idle patterns over the brown leather—the polish color shifting with the light.

“I bet it would feel great against my skin.”

Heat pooled low in his belly at the mental picture that arose from Aiden’s words—his gloved hand sliding over the smooth perfection of Aiden’s body. He looked up from watching Aiden’s fingers dance over his hand. “Aiden.”

Aiden lazily raised his long, soot-dark lashes to look at him.

“Yeah?”

“I...” Mike stalled out, having no idea what he’d planned to say once he looked into those pretty golden eyes. They’d sparkled at him in that exact same way when they’d been on the couch kissing.

“Is something wrong?”

Mike’s answer was a simple shake of his head, as he was slightly lost in the warm place that was memories of his intimacy with Aiden.

“Good.”

Aiden laced their fingers together, stroking his thumb back and forth over Mike’s palm. He sucked in a breath at the touch, his nostrils flaring. But he didn’t pull away. Aiden brought their linked hands close to his face to brush his lips over Mike’s leather covered fingertips

A slow smile curled Aiden’s lush, pink lips.

“You think you can sit across from me in a tight white Henley giving me compliments about my dancing and I won’t want to make out with you?”

Even though a low-thrum of arousal hummed beneath his skin, Mike smiled at Aiden’s teasing. “I wasn’t trying to entice you.”

“But you did. So, let’s go.”

Aiden stood and Mike followed, his chair scratching across the floor when he pushed back from the table. Once they were both up, Aiden adjusted their hands so that they stayed linked as they walked to the living room. Mike was so busy watching the sensual roll of the slim hips in front of him that he forgot to be bothered by someone holding on to his damaged hand. Aiden stopped and faced Mike when they reached the couch.

“Get down here,” he said, crooking a finger.

Mike bent until they were on eye level with each other. He stared into those tiger’s eyes for several breathless seconds before Aiden leaned in and kissed him. Their lips met and clung in a soft exploration that made Mike’s heart beat double time. They didn’t touch anywhere except for their lips and linked hands, but the connection to Aiden and the pleasure of their kiss tingled all over his body. With his eyes closed, the delicate sounds of their kiss were magnified, their low moans, their soft, slightly rushed breaths. Mike was about to wrap his arms around Aiden and bring him closer to deepen the kiss when Aiden pulled back and gave him a slight push to stand straight again.

“It’s time for me to teach you a few things,” he said once they separated.

“About dominance and submission?”

“Yes. First, safe words. You’ll have one every time we scene or have sex that isn’t vanilla. We’ll start off with the red, yellow, green system. If I check in with you and you feel good and want to keep going, say green. If you’re feeling off in anyway and you need a moment to catch your breath it’s yellow. And if you’re hurting or bothered physically or mentally in any way and you want an immediate halt call for red. I’ll stop, no questions asked and help you however you need. And you don’t have to wait for me to check in with you to ask for red or yellow. Does all that make sense?”

Mike had no trouble understanding Aiden’s clear and to the point explanation. “Yes,” he answered.

“Good. You can change to a personal safeword later on if you want to. But for right now I don’t want you to have to worry about remembering it.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

A smile curved Aiden’s lips and sparkled in his eyes. “You’re so polite. I am going to take such good care of you.”

Mike didn’t know why his saying thank you pleased Aiden so much, but he loved the smile he gained from it.

“We’re going to keep it low-key tonight. I want to give you a reward for sharing your story with me. What can I do to make you feel good right now?”

Mike’s gaze went to Aiden’s hair. He raised a hand and brushed it over the thick braid. “I really like your hair. But I’ve only seen it down once. I’d love to see it down again.”

“I can do that. Have a seat.”

Mike sat down on the couch. He expected Aiden to quickly undo his braid. He should have known better. Aiden was a performer, he loved to tempt and seduce anyone watching him. With a confident air, he made a show of taking down his hair.

First, he drew the braid over his shoulder and slowly removed the elastic band on the end. Some of the hair unraveled on its own, but Aiden didn’t otherwise touch it. Instead, he crossed his arms at the wrists and grabbed the hem of his sweater, tugging it over his head. He tossed it on the couch next to Mike. But Mike didn’t move, his gaze locked on the gorgeous man in front of him. Aiden tilted his head to the side and combed his fingers through the loosened braid, occasionally throwing flirtatious glances at him from beneath his lashes as he worked. When the braid was gone, he shook his head, and the entire silken mass fell behind his shoulders where Mike could barely see it.

Disappointed, he raised his gaze to Aiden’s. Aiden breathed a soft, knowing chuckle. He stepped forward until he was standing directly in front of Mike, in between his legs.

“I want to get naked for you, Michael. Is that okay?”

“Yes.” Mike answered without hesitation, but his shoulders tightened, assuming he would be expected to get undressed as well. But Aiden surprised him. He leaned down, some of his hair spilling over his shoulder with the movement.

“You’re going to keep your clothes on the entire time. Don’t worry about me asking you to take anything off because I’m not going to.”

The tension disappeared as fast as it arrived. “Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome, Michael.” Aiden stood up straight again. After kicking off his boots, he raised a hand to push his hair back behind his shoulder, then let that hand drift down to the waistband of his jeans.

“Help me take my pants off?”

“Of course.” Mike reached out to unbutton and unzip the jeans. He was about to push them down when Aiden quickly stepped back out of reach. Aiden took over, shimmying out of the jeans with little twists of his hips that were clearly designed to capture Mike’s attention. He watched as the jeans slid down, revealing his toned legs. Aiden kicked out of them without getting tangled up or any of the usual awkwardness most people experienced when they took off their jeans while standing. The shirt and jeans gone, Aiden was left in a pair of tight black briefs with a small pink heart embroidered on the hip.

Aiden turned around to face away from the couch, hair swinging before it settled against his naked back. He slipped the tips of his fingers into the waistband of those tight little briefs, bending over slightly as he tugged them down. Mike’s mouth went dry as the naked skin of his round ass came into view. The perfection of it far surpassed all of his imaginings. Plump, with the sweetest curve. Two thick handfuls to grab on to when Aiden was bouncing on his cock or riding his face. Mike shifted on the couch, spreading his knees apart to accommodate his stiffening cock.

When Aiden spun back around, he was gorgeously, gloriously naked. With another one of his flirtatious smiles curling his full pink lips, he raked his fingers through his hair, draping all of it in front of his shoulders.

“Here’s your reward,” he said as he smoothed his palms over the ebony strands.

Mike hardly knew where to look first. All of that moonlight pale skin with midnight black strands of hair sliding over his torso, shielding and revealing in turn. Delicate fingers danced down the silky trail of hair beneath Aiden’s navel that led to the small patch of trimmed, dark curls. Just below, his cock was slightly hard, the tip flushed the same pretty pink as his lips. While Mike stared, Aiden moved to stand in between his feet again.

“Touch me,” he softly demanded.

Mike reached forward with his right hand without thinking. When he realized what he was doing he tried to pull away and switch to his left. But Aiden grasped that hand and brought it to his cock.

“I said, touch me,” he said in a firmer tone before releasing Mike’s hand.

His heart pounding, Mike obeyed the command. He cupped Aiden’s balls, squeezing gently, then stroked up the length of his cock with his gloved hand. Aiden moaned, his head falling back, unashamedly letting Mike see how much his touch pleased him.

Mike pushed aside his initial discomfort in touching Aiden with his damaged hand, and gave in to the urge to explore Aiden’s body as he wanted. He pumped his cock with long, languid strokes, brushed his thumb over the dip in his hip bones, smoothed his hand around to cup Aiden’s ass, tapping it lightly to feel it jiggle against his palm. Then back to stroke his cock some more, his own breath growing short in his chest as Aiden grew stiff, hard, and flushed with arousal.

Aiden brought his head back up. “That feels amazing,” he said in a husky whisper. “But I need you to tell me, Michael. Do you like touching me like this?”

“Absolutely. I’ve wanted to touch you and pleasure you for days now.” It was the honest truth. And now that he had Aiden naked in front of him while he rubbed his hands all over his cock and ass, his own arousal was throbbing behind his jeans. He started to open his pants to work on pleasuring himself at the same time but Aiden stopped him with a sharp command.

“No. You don’t touch that unless I give you permission. Hand back on the couch.”

Mike’s eyes went wide. His hand fell still, back on the couch as ordered while his cock throbbed at being denied attention. Heat spread from his chest throughout his entire body at the bossy way Aiden told him what to do and his instinctive compliance to the order.

“What’s your color, Michael?”

His answer was immediate. “Green.”

“Tell me why you like touching me.”

Remembering that Aiden said he wanted his partners to worship him, Mike closed his eyes and thought about what he could say to please him. After the first words came to mind, he opened his eyes, letting them drag from Aiden’s flat, toned stomach up his smooth chest, past those sinful lips, to the golden eyes watching him with calm expectation.

“I like touching you because you’re gorgeous, but also because I want to make you feel good.” Mike paused after that admission. He’d always cared about making sure his sexual partners enjoyed themselves, but tonight Aiden’s pleasure was at the forefront of his mind. He had an emerging sense that his main purpose was to please the raven-haired man in front of him. He took a breath, ready to continue but Aiden spoke first.

“Mmmm.”

Aiden hummed that low sound that set off lifting swoops of arousal behind Mike’s navel and made his cock twitch every time he heard it.

“I like hearing that, but I think it would sound even better if you were on your knees.”

Mike nodded and easily slipped to the floor to kneel. But then he froze. He’d been on his knees to give oral to partners before but this was different. There was more to his current position than giving physical pleasure. More even than the surprise enjoyment he had obeying the simple commands Aiden had given him so far. He was discovering a part of himself that he hadn’t even known existed and offering it to Aiden. The realization sent a small shockwave through him.

Aiden reached out and brushed a gentle hand through Mike’s hair.

“What’s your color, Michael?”

A heartbeat passed before he answered this time. “Green.” He was fine. He was. He’d simply needed a moment to process the emotional impact of being asked to submissively kneel.

At his answer, Aiden arched a brow, the demand clear in that single move.

He started stroking Aiden’s cock again, resuming his compliments as well. “Having my hands on your beautiful body is a gift. Dance has sculpted your body to the point of perfection. And I like the way you take care of yourself. Every inch of you is groomed, smooth,” he said as he smoothed his palm over Aiden’s abs, pelvis, and one slender yet powerful thigh.

“Maybe I’ll let you shave me one day.”

“I would love to.” “Lots of people get to see you and admire you. But I’m lucky enough to get to touch you.”

While Mike spoke, Aiden began rocking his hips, sliding his cock back and forth in his grip. Mike licked his lips. The sight was too much temptation to resist. He wanted that gorgeous cock in his mouth. He leaned forward, lips parted, ready for a taste.

Aiden abruptly pulled back.

“Did I give you permission to do that?”

Mike blinked, caught off guard at the unexpected denial. He looked up at Aiden. “No. You didn’t,” he answered.

“Then I guess you’d better apologize for overstepping.”

The words Aiden wanted to hear came surprisingly easy. Mike apologized and begged, even as his cheeks warmed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry for assuming I could do whatever I wanted. You’re in charge and I know that. Please don’t end this. Please let me continue giving you pleasure.”

His eyes glowing with satisfaction, Aiden came close again. “That’s better,” he said, stroking Mike’s hair. “I like it when you’re a good boy for me.”

The embarrassment faded, replaced by the newly familiar feeling of pride and happiness that came whenever Aiden praised him. He was good and he’d pleased Aiden. Mike spoke quietly, almost to himself as he resumed pumping Aiden’s cock. His gloved hand moved faster now, the leather slipping and sliding over Aiden’s wet shaft. “This... I didn’t know this was inside me, but it feels good to let it out with you.”

“I knew,” Aiden said with a gasp. “I knew you belonged at my feet pleasing me like this. Now make me come, Michael, using only your hand.”

The direction was clear. He wouldn’t be sucking Aiden’s dick tonight.

Mike stroked and squeezed, watching as more pre-cum spilled free. Aiden tightened his grip on Mike’s hair, holding on to the short strands and using him as a base to keep himself steady as he thrust his hips back and forth, his body trembling with his building release. He glowed slightly, just enough to be noticeable, his cheeks were flushed pink, parted lips bitten cherry red. He was a vision of pure erotic bliss.

“I want to see you come,” Mike whispered.

“You’re going to. I’m almost there...”

His own cock aching, Mike stroked faster. Aiden cried out, his stomach sucked in tight, then he came, his cum spilling all over Mike’s leather covered hand.

Mike went to pull back, but Aiden grasped his wrist and brought his hand up to his mouth. He locked eyes with Mike. After a moment, his tongue flicked out, licking over the leather to clean a single drop of cum there. He sucked that finger into his mouth then released it with a pop. Then he dropped down and straddled Mike, leaning in close for a soft, wet kiss.

“In case that was too subtle,” he whispered against Mike’s lips. “I don’t mind that you have a scarred hand or that you wear this glove to cover it. I want you to touch me with the glove or without it.”

A smile bloomed in Mike’s heart, and he had to let it out even as he returned Aiden’s kisses. “I think you missed the vocabulary lesson on subtle.”

Aiden let out a satisfied sigh. “I guess you’ll have to get me a word of the day calendar then.”

Mike pressed a kiss to Aiden’s shoulder, laughing against his skin. “No, I’m okay with your definition.”

Aiden leaned back and cupped Mike’s face with both hands. “You made me feel amazing. And now it’s time for me to return the favor.”

He pushed at Mike’s shoulders, getting him to stretch out on the couch. Aiden stayed on top of his lap after he changed his position. Leaning down, he planted a hand on the armrest next to Mike’s head.

“I’m going to get you off. But you don’t have to take off your pants for that.” He trailed his fingers along the hard length pressing against the front of Mike’s jeans. “All you have to do is unzip. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead and unzip for me,” Aiden whispered.

Mike wanted to push past his hang up about his body and take off his clothes. But he couldn’t. Not yet. So, he reached down and unzipped his jeans.

“Very good.”

Mike pulled his hand away and Aiden replaced it with his own. He pulled Mike’s shaft out through the slit in his briefs and wrapped cool fingers around his length.

“Tell me if anything I’m doing doesn’t feel good, okay?” he said as he began to slid a snug fist up and down his cock.

Mike nodded, jaw already tight. “I think whatever you do to me will feel good.”

“You’re a treasure.”

Aiden leaned down and pressed a kiss to Mike’s mouth. He rose slightly, his hair swinging forward, enclosing them in a curtain of black silk. Mike reached up and tangled his fingers in the soft strands, gasping into their kiss, hips frantically curling up as he chased his first release with his new lover. Aiden pumped his cock with increasing speed.

“You’re going to come for me, Michael,” Aiden ordered huskily.

Mike closed his eyes, groaning in agreement. “Yes. Yes.” He was close, so close, heat building low in his belly, his entire body on fire with it. The climb toward release was steady, until suddenly, Aiden bit his lip and pressed a thumb to the sensitive place beneath the head of his cock at the same time. The dual sensations tossed Mike straight into a pulse pounding climax that had him shaking from head to toe.

Aiden coaxed Mike through his release with soft, throaty whispers. “That’s it. Keep coming, baby. You’re so good for me, Michael.”

Mike listened to Aiden’s voice as the orgasm rocked him, then slowly released him from its grasp. When the waves of pleasure eased back, Mike opened his eyes. Aiden stared down at him, his gaze heavy-lidded.

“All done?”

Mike answered on the exhale of a deeply satisfied sigh. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

Aiden pressed one last kiss to Mike’s lips before he reached to the floor and grabbed his briefs, using them to wipe their hands clean, then tossing them back to the floor. After the quick clean up, he stretched out on top of Mike.

With Aiden sprawled across him, Mike dared to caress the naked curve of his lover’s back with his gloved hand. Aiden snuggled into the touch with languid movements and a content sigh. Emboldened by that reaction, Mike continued to stroke and caress him. With each pass of his hand, he lost more of his hesitance to touch perfection, until finally he let go of it completely and simply enjoyed their quiet cuddles.

Chapter 19

Tuesday afternoon, the firehouse was a comfortable hub of quiet activity. The treadmill whirred under Amina’s running feet. A TV played softly in the background. The light clack-clack of Caleb typing on his keyboard and the soft ring of metal on metal as Mike lifted weights. They’d had a meeting earlier that day but most of the team had cleared out to either patrol their assigned areas or have personal time. Aiden and Mike were going to patrol the Playground later that evening and had decided to hang around until the sun went down.

A born night owl, Aiden had been listless and having trouble staying awake. To kill time, he’d gone through one of his strength and flexibility routines. He’d finished a few minutes ago. Now, he lay on his side on the mat, watching his new lover work out on the exercise machine.

Mike was already dressed in the uniform he wore to patrol: a tight, black long-sleeved shirt, black cargo pants, and black boots. He was minus his vest, which allowed Aiden to watch his back muscles bunch and flex while he did lat pull downs. The heavy weights he’d racked went up and down with smooth ease. With strength like that, it was no wonder Mike was shaped like a Dorito, with wide shoulders and a strong back tapering down to a narrow waist. Aiden pushed himself up to a sitting position.

“Pssst,” he whispered to get his lover’s attention.

Mike carefully let the weights settle before he looked over his shoulder at Aiden. “Yeah?”

“Come here. I’ll hold your feet while you do sit-ups.”

Mike looked confused for only a second before he shrugged and got up from the exercise machine to walk over and join him on the mat. He sat down and got into position for sit-ups, feet together, knees raised, arms crossed over his chest. Aiden scooted close and grabbed hold of his feet.

“Go.”

Mike laid back until his shoulders touched the mat, then rose up until his chest touched his thighs and elbows went over his knees. His time in the Army had given him perfect sit-up form. Aiden teasingly slid his thumbs beneath Mike’s pant legs to stroke his calves while he counted.

“One. Two. Three.”

Mike gave him a wide-eyed look of What are you doing? when he came up.

Aiden grinned. No one could see what he was up to. They hadn’t yet told anyone about the change in their relationship status. It was kind of fun, having this secret between them. When Mike rose up for his tenth sit-up, Aiden blew him a silent air kiss. As expected, a flush spotted his soldier’s cheeks but Mike shook his head and kept going with his sit-ups.

It was nice to be relaxed and joking.  Lately, the mood in the Fox was the complete opposite—all the dancers and staff were tense. They kept up the fun and sexy atmosphere out in the club. But backstage they let their worry show. The attacks by the white shirts hadn’t stopped. In fact, they’d increased. And for some reason, the Fox’s Players suddenly seemed to be targeted more than any other sex workers in the Playground. As a result, management had increased security and no one walked to their car or waited for their ride alone. Aiden had brought in a box of self-defense aids to hand out and taught a crash course on how to use them.

The safety measures helped. A Fox bartender and dancer on their way out to their cars had been attacked by a white shirt. But they’d fought back, both of them macing the guy. The white shirt had run off, and everyone in the Fox was proud that they’d managed to stop one of the muggings. But they couldn’t stay constantly on guard forever. And although the attacks might have slowed around the Fox after the mace incident—they continued in other areas of the Playground. The Purity Alliance had to be stopped.

A familiar instrumental began to play. Aiden looked at the TV, the usual sneer whenever this PSA came on already curling his lips.

I’m glad I moved Pruitt Incorporated to St. Louis. And my artificial intelligence bots are here to protect not only my investment, but your investment in your future by keeping the city and surrounding areas safe for us all.

Aiden frowned. “Wait. That was different.”

“What was different?” Mike asked.

“The speech in that Pruitt Inc. PSA.”

Caleb spun around in his chair to face him. “Are you sure?”

“Trust me. I’ve seen that obnoxious PSA enough times to know it by heart. He normally says keeping the city safe. In this version he said city and surrounding areas.”

“Okay, give me a minute.”

“That long?”

“Funny,” Caleb murmured. He was already typing, fingers flying over the keyboard.

Aiden got up and went to sit in one of the club chairs in front of Caleb’s desk. He watched as Caleb worked, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed in concentration. After a few minutes of typing and mumbling to himself, he sat back in his chair.

“I found our shadow corp.”

At that announcement, Aiden leaned forward in his seat. Mike and Amina both came over and sat down to listen.

“I’ve been monitoring the Purity Alliance’s accounts since this whole thing started. But someone there is smart—all of their deposits are cash which left me nothing to trace. But what I can check is locations. They aren’t working out of one of their mom’s basements. There’s too many of them for that. So, I figured they had to be renting somewhere. They are and I found it. The rental is registered to a Blue Cove Real Estate.”

“Doesn’t sound familiar.”

“It’s a holding agency. Which links to a dummy corporation. And behind that dummy corp is JLR Inc.”

“I don’t know them either.”

“No one does. It’s well hidden. But they started getting involved in St. Louis, buying real estate, and funding city council elections about ten years ago. The same time a company you do know arrived in town.

Aiden’s mouth dropped open at the only company it could be. “Pruitt Incorporated.”

“Yep. They’re the evil shadow corp funding the Purity Alliance on this operation.”

Amina whistled. “I’ll be damned.”

“Why is Pruitt getting involved in East St. Louis?” Mike asked. “Is he not happy with the chunk of St. Louis he’s taken over?”

“Megalomaniacs like him are never satisfied,” Amina answered. “They always want more.”

“But why the Playground in particular? There’s plenty of other spots up for grabs. Entire blocks of abandoned commercial properties he can purchase. Why come after us when we’re our own little island of fun?”

“Maybe he doesn’t like fun.”

Caleb shook his head. “Or he likes it a little too much.”

“What does that mean?” Aiden asked, frustration at the entire situation churning in his chest.

“It means I know what his plans are for the Playground. An attempt was made to hide them,” Caleb said with a smirk. “But I slid into their files like a thirsty dude slides into a pretty woman’s DMs. He wants to take it over and replace the strip clubs and casinos with more highbrow and family friendly entertainment.”

Aiden jumped up from his seat. “He wants to gentrify our red-light district?”

“In a nutshell, yes. You all did such a good job revitalizing the area that it must have caught his attention. And now he wants it for himself.”

Aiden’s outburst drew Strong from his office. The older man came out and listened to Caleb’s explanation.

“Pruitt plans to take it over. But he can’t just waltz into the Playground and start buying businesses. Even using holding corporations to hide the buyer’s true identity, people probably wouldn’t sell—not after all the work you all did to gain control of the area. And if Pruitt did manage to obtain a few locations, if he started changing them over to kid-friendly arcades and high-class jazz lounges, people would raise a stink. And that would be the end of his buying spree.

“He needs you all out of the Playground, so that there’s no one there to protest his machinations. Step one to achieving that is stirring up fear and unrest in the Playground. Make it a place people don’t want to work. Shame guests for being there and scare them into not coming back. That’s where the Purity Alliance came in. With their no sex agenda and record of violence, they were a natural choice for him to use in his scheme. He’ll use the chaos that they create to turn public sentiment against you—pointing out how dangerous the area is.”

“That part is Alice Iverson’s role—the blonde woman in the link you sent me.”

“Exactly.” Caleb nodded. “After the white shirts have run enough people out of the Playground, and Iverson has worked up her coalition of citizens who want to bring wholesome values to the area, Pruitt will swoop in with his plan to make it a family friendly location. And everyone will rally behind him. Once that happens, city government will get involved and it’ll be only a matter of time before the entire island is re-zoned.”

“Damnit!” Aiden cursed. The plan was smart and had a high probability of success. Sex work, gambling, and marijuana might all be legal now, but there were plenty of people who didn’t like it and wanted to turn back that clock.

“This isn’t a problem that’s going to go away,” Mike said. “It’s bigger than the Purity Alliance versus sex workers. Much bigger.”

Aiden’s temper flared white-hot. “I won’t let him steal our district to put up some goddamn bed and breakfast inns and a mom-and-pop banjo show! People can go to fucking Branson if they want that kind of entertainment.”

Strong crossed his arms over his chest. “Stopping this means going up against Pruitt.”

“I know you didn’t want to set the ACG against Pruitt Inc.,” Caleb said. “But if we don’t step up, they will take over the Playground.”

Aiden yanked one of his sai from its holster, hand tight on the grip. “I’m not letting that happen! I’ll stop it even if I have to fight every white shirt and P-Bot by myself.”

Strong turned to face him. “You won’t be fighting alone. The ACG will be by your side.”

“Yeah, all of us,” Amina added.

A hand landed on his shoulder. It was Mike, gently squeezing his shoulder in an attempt to draw him back from the edge of rage. It worked somewhat, a little of the tension draining from his body before Mike pulled his hand away.

“Thank you.” Aiden was glad to know that his team would be with him in this fight. But that didn’t stop his urge to run out and put a stop to Pruitt’s scheme at that very moment.

“We’d better get going,” Mike said quietly. “We have a patrol tonight.”

Aiden nodded, grateful for that reminder. He needed to get out there and hit one of those white shirts right in the face to work off some of the fury Caleb’s revelations had caused.

“Ready?” Mike asked.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Aiden thanked Caleb for his work and the two of them said goodbye, promising to check in if anything came up. Once they were outside the firehouse, Mike grasped Aiden’s hand, halting his quick strides over to his bike.

“Are you okay?” he asked with concern shining in his green eyes.

Aiden answered honestly. “Not really. I wasn’t expecting to hear that Pruitt wants to bulldoze the Playground and build a damn family friendly resort on top of it.”

“That’s what he wants to do. But we won’t let it happen. We’ll stop him. Together.”

Aiden sucked in a breath, trying to rein in his temper. He nodded, reassured by Mike’s calm confidence. “We’ll whip his ass together.”

∞∞∞

They arrived in the Playground for their patrol. It was quiet, the crowd thin—which was typical for a Tuesday night. There wasn’t any sign of the white shirts. Mike could see that frustrated Aiden, who desperately wanted the physical and emotional outlet of fighting them. He strode down the sidewalk at a rapid pace, fingers hovering and twitching over the grips of his sai. Unfortunately, there was no one for him to fight. Until a trio of SUVs drove down the street, the purple lights on their rooftops a beacon announcing the presence of unwanted intruders on the island of fun.

Aiden slowed and so did Mike, both of them waiting to see where the Pruitt bots were going to stop. They chose The Cosmos, a space themed bar and grill. The choice surprised Mike. Other than the serving staff’s skimpy silver lame space suit uniforms, the place appeared relatively tame.

“Of course, those fucking things are here tonight,” Aiden snarled. “No jurisdiction, no permission, just waltzing in here because Pruitt thinks he can do whatever he wants.”

As they had at the Barbed Wire, a group of nine P-Bots lined up in front of the Cosmos’s entrance. Mike and Aiden moved in close, watching as guest after guest either turned and went back to their cars or moved on to other locations when they met the intimidating P-Bot blockade.

“This is bullshit,” Aiden snapped. “The take for everyone inside is being affected by the presence of those things.”

The bar’s manager must have come to the same conclusion because she stepped outside. She approached the bot in the center of the line blocking her establishment’s entrance.

“Can you guys move this elsewhere? You’re scaring off our customers.”

We have been instructed to guard Sector 42. This is Sector 42. We will remain as ordered.

“Radio back to your computer overlord and tell them I don’t want or need you here,” she said, giving one of the bots a hard tap on the chest.

You have become aggressive. You must be taken into custody. The bot moved quickly, spinning the manager around and securing her arms behind her back.

“Hey!” the woman cried out in surprise.

“I would hardly call that aggressive,” Aiden said.

“Me either. But how do you reason with a robot?”

“You can’t.” Aiden adjusted his half-palm gloves. “Guess we’ll have to let our fists do the talking for us.”

He looked at Mike, waiting for his response. It was clear Aiden was itching to fight those bots. And after everything they’d learned about Pruitt’s plan for the Playground, Mike knew there’d be no holding him back tonight. “I think they’ve caused enough provocation to warrant physical intervention.”

“You could have just said you want to kick a little robot ass.”

Mike’s lips twitched in a grin. “That’s what I meant.” He pressed a finger to his earpiece, activating the comm link to Caleb. “The P-Bots are in the Playground tonight. They’ve started with their provoke and grab routine. We’re going to intervene.”

“Do you need backup?” Caleb asked.

“No. We’ve got it handled.”

“M’kay. Keep us posted.”

Aiden started forward, ready to go to work but Mike called him back.

“Hey.”

Aiden turned, impatiently flipping and catching his sai. “What?”

“I know you want to wreck those bots, but I need you to stay calm and fight with a clear head.”

“Can’t. Too angry.”

“Fighting angry is dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Aiden stopped flipping his sai. After a moment, he slid them into their holsters and walked back over to Mike.

“Okay, then. How ‘bout this? I’ll turn it down some as long as you turn it up. I’ll even give you a little incentive to go all-out.”

He reached up and grabbed Mike by his vest, yanking him down until they were face to mask.

“If you destroy one of these P-bots I’ll let you fuck me tonight. If you destroy two bots...”

He leaned in so close that Mike could see the individual flecks of gold on his mask.

“I’ll take charge and boss you around while you fuck me,” he finished in a silky whisper.

Pure, hot arousal pulsed through Mike at the vision of Aiden directing him, telling him what to do and how to do it while they fucked. He quickly forced it away so that he wouldn’t have to fight with a distracted mind and rock-hard dick. That’d be as bad as fighting angry. The vision was gone, but Mike didn’t hesitate to accept the offer. “You’re on.”

Aiden released his vest, pushing him back a little.

“Good luck,” he said with a wink.

Mike didn’t need luck. He had determination. He’d been aching to fully consummate his relationship with Aiden. And if demolishing a couple of robots was all it took to finally have what he wanted, he’d happily smash those P-bots down to their motherboards.

During their negotiation, a few Players had come out of the Cosmos to try and help their boss. And people had come out from a couple of the clubs on either side of the Cosmos as well. They needed to act quickly to prevent anyone else from getting involved.

Mike activated his blast and hit one of the P-Bots in the back. The blow made the bot lurch forward, letting go of the club manager it had in its grasp as it tried to right itself. Once it was steady, it pivoted to face Mike.

As he sized up the artificial intelligence robot coming toward him, Mike guessed that the machine’s visor was its weak spot. Making sure he was looking directly at the visor, he hit it with a direct blast. It cracked the glass and the P-Bot slowed, rocking back and forth. Mike sprinted forward, drew back his fist, and punched the damaged area. The P-Bot went still, powering down with a low hum, the light in its visor fading to black. After that, the P-Bots focused all of their attention on him and Aiden, leaving everyone else in the vicinity alone.

Now that he’d confirmed the A.I.’s weak spot was in the head he made that his target. Up against his second bot, he used a blast to the visor to slow it down. Then he rushed forward, gripped the metal head with both hands and twisted. The head came off, torn wires sparking, cogs and gears falling into the street. It was almost too easy—as if these machines hadn’t been designed to face real opposition.

Throughout the skirmish, Mike caught glimpses of Aiden fighting. His partner moved with grace and speed, spinning to attack and evade, gold blades flashing with deadly purpose. He’d discovered the Pruitt Bots’ weak spots as well and had taken one out with a sai jammed into its visor.

When there were only four bots still functioning, they retreated to their vehicles and drove away without further incident.

The fight was over. The Players who’d been watching clapped and whistled, but Mike didn’t pay them any attention. He stood still, feet braced wide apart, facing down his lover with a robot head in each hand. Two P-Bots destroyed.

Mike lifted the metal heads, one by one, presenting them as battle trophies and silently demanding his reward. By now he didn’t even need to see Stardust’s face to know he was grinning behind the golden mask. It was easy to read in his body language, the hands on slim hips, head tilted to the side, and the sparkle in his eyes. Stardust raised a hand to crook his finger at Mike.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Mike dropped the heads, letting them fall to the street with a metallic crash. His blood pumping hot and skin tingling with anticipation, he followed Stardust out of the Playground.

Chapter 20

They raced back to Aiden’s. Naturally, Aiden won on his faster motorcycle, but Mike wasn’t far behind. Aiden used the remote on his bike to open the gates as they sped up the drive. He shot through without stopping, Mike barreling in behind him. Aiden had already swung off his bike by the time Mike jumped out of his SUV, remembering at the last second to close the door before he walked away from it.

Aiden pulled off his mask, staring at Mike with a look so heated it singed the chilly air between them. He spun on his heel, the chains on his boots jingling, ponytail whipping behind him. Without waiting for Mike, he strode to the house. Mike jogged forward, catching up to him just as he opened the front door.

They barely made it inside before they were on each other with hungry kisses and greedy touches. Headed for the bedroom, they stumbled up the wide staircase, still kissing, falling twice before they reached the landing. Aiden’s mask was left on the third step. Mike’s glasses were abandoned on the fifth step. They were still in all of the rest of their gear when they reached the closed door to Aiden’s room.

His hands gripping slender thighs, Mike picked Aiden up. Aiden wound his arms around his neck and wrapped his legs around his waist, heels crossed at his back. Mike held him up against the bedroom door, grinding against him, chest going tight when his cock got friction rubbing between Aiden’s thighs. They remained there, frantically kissing until Aiden gripped him by the hair and tugged his head back.

“You think you’re gonna fuck me right here?” Aiden asked haughtily.

Mike’s eyes were locked on his lover’s lips—red and plump from their kisses—when he answered. “No.”

“No what?”

Another tug on his hair, this one a little sharper. Mike got the hint and dragged his gaze up from Aiden’s mouth to meet his eyes.

“No, Sir.”

“Open the door.”

Holding Aiden up with one arm, he reached down with the other to twist the doorknob. The door swung open and Mike carried him into the dark bedroom, stopping at the foot of the bed.

Aiden pressed one last lingering kiss to Mike’s lips. Then he slipped down to the floor, keeping their bodies pressed together even after he was on his feet.

Mike suddenly wanted his stiff tactical vest off in order to truly feel Aiden’s hard, tight body against his own, but he waited, hands twitching with impatience for Aiden to tell him what to do next. However, Aiden didn’t speak. Instead, he began to silently undress.

Aiden shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on the floor. Then, he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants but he didn’t take them off.

Mike devoured his lover with his eyes. Ink black hair against pale skin washed silver by the moonlight spilling into the room. His lips, lush and red from their kisses. Slim frame tight and defined with muscle. Beautiful. Mike wanted to do more than look. He wanted to touch and taste. Hopefully he would be allowed to do so soon.

Aiden crawled onto the bed, liquid latex stretching tight over his ass. Body moving in a sinuous wave, he slid down to lay on his front before rolling to his side. Looking at Mike over his shoulder, he gave his next order.

“Unzip, Michael.”

Mike obeyed, doing nothing more than what he was commanded. The metallic rasp of the zipper was loud in the quiet room as he pulled it down.

“Take out your cock. Let me see if it’s worthy of fucking me.”

Aiden sounded almost bored, which perversely made Mike even more eager to please his pretty lover with what he had. Reaching his gloved hand into the opening of his pants, Mike gripped his cock and pulled it through the slit in his briefs and out of his pants as directed. Cool air touched the heated flesh of his shaft. He stroked it once, then held it firmly, displaying the stiff length to its best advantage.

“Impressive,” Aiden said with a little sideways smile pulling at his mouth.

The single word took Mike back to that night when Aiden had given him a lap dance. Who would have thought back then that this is where they would end up?

Aiden’s golden gaze burned bright with passion as he issued another command.

“Touch it for me, Michael. I don’t think it’s all the way hard yet.”

His fist wrapped around his cock, Mike began tugging it lightly, working himself to full hardness. Heat prickled along his spine, a mix of arousal and slight embarrassment at being told what to do by the man on the bed intently watching him warming him from the inside out. His cock was now stiff and hard against his palm, but he continued stroking, shivering when he brushed a thumb over the head. Mike bit his lip to hold back a groan. He could get off like this, squeezing and stroking his cock in front of Aiden until he —.

“Stop.”

Mike stopped. He lowered his hand to his side, even as his fingers twitched to grab his cock and finish what he’d started.

“Be a good boy and get a condom and lube from the nightstand.”

Mike walked around the bed to the nightstand, his hard cock bobbing at his hips. Aiden watched him, eyes hot as they slipped from his face to his cock and back again. Opening the nightstand drawer, he took out the requested items, tossing them on the mattress when directed.

Aiden rolled to sit up on the side of the bed right in front of Mike, hands braced behind him, feet planted on the floor, and legs spread wide.

“Take off my boots.”

“Of course,” Mike answered. He would do whatever Aiden asked him to do, especially if it helped get him naked.

Without changing his position, Aiden lifted his leg high in the air, showing off his strength and flexibility.

Mike gripped his calf, running his palm over the supple boot leather, fingers tangling in the gold chains. When he reached the top of the boot shaft, he pulled the zipper down from below Aiden’s knee all the way to his ankle. Then, he pulled off the boot and let it drop to the floor. Aiden wiggled his toes and Mike smiled before pulling off his sock as well. He stroked a thumb over Aiden’s bare instep before Aiden pulled his foot away and lowered it back to the ground. In the next second, Aiden raised his left leg with the same grace and ease. Mike repeated the process with that boot as well. Both feet now bare, Aiden held a hand up. The black glove gleamed dully in the moonlight.

“Gloves too.”

Mike slowly rolled the half-palm glove down Aiden’s delicate fingers, letting it fall near the discarded boots. Holding Aiden’s slim hand in both of his own, he pressed a kiss to his palm, and brushed his lips over the soft skin of his inner wrist. Tonight, his nails were painted a glittery gold. “Such pretty hands,” he whispered as he gently bit down on the pad of Aiden’s middle finger.

“Thank you.”

Mike nodded, then switched hands to remove the other glove. Once it was off, Aiden stood, so close that Mike’s bare cock brushed against the silky skin of his stomach. He assumed that Aiden was going to tell him to take off his pants next. But he turned around and hooked his fingers in the waistband of the tight pants himself. Aiden tugged them down, hips swaying slightly as he worked them over the swell of his ass. Beneath them he wore a pair of bright white briefs trimmed in black lace. Mike loved that Aiden wore such pretty underwear beneath his fighting clothes. He was still admiring them when Aiden pushed them off and let them slide down his legs.

Naked, Aiden climbed back onto the bed. He picked up the bottle of lube and poured some over two fingers. The slick liquid dripped, making the gold nail polish shine even brighter. Settled back on his knees Aiden lowered his body to rest on his elbows.

“Watch me,” he whispered into the quiet room.

Reaching between his spread legs, Aiden teased and played with his hole with his slick fingers, rubbing in slow circles before finally pressing one, then the other inside. “Ah!” He moaned, lips parted, eyelashes fluttering closed. “This feels good, Michael,” he said huskily as he worked himself on his fingers. “But you’ll make me feel even better, won’t you?”

Mike’s throat was so dry it clicked when he swallowed. His large muscles trembled from the strain of remaining still and not moving to join his lover on the bed. “Yes. Yes, Sir.”

“You’d better. You’d better make me feel amazing,” Aiden gasped as he pushed his fingers in deep. He opened his eyes and looked straight at Mike. “I told you what you had to do if you wanted to fuck me.”

It only took a second to remember what Aiden was referring to. Mike dropped to his knees, zero grace to the movement, but he didn’t care. His voice full of urgency, he begged the gorgeous man on the bed to let him fuck him. “I promise I’ll make you feel so fucking good if you let me have you. I’ll fuck you just the way you want—better than you’ve ever been fucked. Let me have you, Aiden.”

Aiden pushed his fingers in faster and faster as Mike watched. Groaning in desire and frustration at the enticing sight, Mike pumped his cock once to get a little relief. “Fuck, I need to be inside you so bad.”

“Say please, Michael.”

“Please.” The single word came without a moment’s hesitation.

“Since you asked nicely and your cock is hard for me.” Aiden pulled his fingers out but stayed in the same position. “Get up here and fuck me.”

Finally, he had permission. He rose to his feet then got on the bed, taking up position behind his lover. The condom was next to him, he snatched it up and rolled the latex sheath down his cock.

“Get your cock nice and wet for me, Michael.”

Mike grabbed the bottle of lube he’d thrown on the bed earlier. He squeezed a few drops onto the head of his cock, then stroked himself to spread it along his length, the leather of his glove sliding easily over the slick latex. Now, he was ready, but he was still in all his clothes. “Should I undress?” He didn’t actually want to take his clothes off and risk having this end because Aiden was repulsed by his scarred body. But he couldn’t stop the question from bursting free.

Suddenly, Aiden straightened, rising up on his knees. He twisted around to look at Mike, his brows sternly drawn, lips pressed together in a disapproving line. “Did I say that I wanted you to undress?”

“No, but—.”

Aiden turned all the way around to grab Mike by the vest again. With a sharp tug, he yanked him down into a bruising kiss. “Do only what I say, Michael.” he said once he released him. “Don’t worry about anything else.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Aiden waited a moment, as if he was checking to be sure that Mike wasn’t going to object or ask another question. But Mike had no intention of expressing anything that would prolong him getting inside his lover. Apparently satisfied that the questions were over, Aiden lowered the front half of his body again, elbows braced on the mattress, long black braid curled beside him.

“Now Michael.”

Mike pressed the head of his cock to Aiden’s glistening entrance and slowly pushed inside. His head dropped back on his shoulders, chest going tight at the wonderful sensation of sliding into Aiden’s snug, hot channel.

“So good,” he groaned.

Once he’d bottomed out, groin pressed against the smooth skin of Aiden’s ass, he stilled, waiting for his next command. It came immediately.

“Fuck me, Michael. Slow and easy.”

With a hiss of pleasure, Mike pulled out until the ring of muscle caught on the head of his cock, then slipped back inside. After he twice repeated the motion, he sought approval from his dom. “Like that?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

Aiden answered in a husky whisper of his own. “Mmmm... Yes. Like that.”

Mike continued with the slow pace, dragging his cock along Aiden’s hot, silky walls. With each maddeningly slow push and pull, the urge to go faster and harder grew, until his thigh muscles quivered with the strain of holding back. Unable to resist, he thrust in hard once, withdrew, then quickly did it once more before resuming his even strokes.

“Mmmm...Michael. That felt good.”

“Yeah?”

“Do it again.”

With several quick snaps of his hips, Mike gave Aiden what he asked for. Then he paused, heart pounding, breath suspended, waiting for Aiden’s command.

“Keep going, Michael. Hard and deep and fast,” Aiden breathlessly ordered.

Mike shifted to get closer, twisting his hips to push his cock in deeper. Settled in, he started with a new pace—long drags out, quick slams in. The power behind each thrust rocked Aiden on the bed and made his luscious ass jiggle. Even with that, Aiden still demanded more.

“Harder. Harder!”

Mike gladly gave into the demand. He gripped Aiden’s slim hips, fingers digging in to hold his lover steady while he pistoned into him. Each thrust was hard and deep, the sound of their bodies slapping together loud and satisfying. Heat built up low in his belly and his balls drew up tight, he was close, so close, to exploding. But then...

“Don’t come until I tell you to.”

Mike growled low in frustration. He needed to come; his cock was absolutely throbbing with the urge to climax. But he held on, jaw clenched hard, nostrils flaring as he breathed in the warm scent of their sex. He spied Aiden’s hand moving, reaching between his legs again. This time he gripped his cock, and began stroking in rhythm with Mike’s thrusts. Mike ran his eyes over his lover as they moved together, the curve in his spine, the flex in his bicep as he jerked himself off.

“Ah!” Aiden gasped. “Ah, Michael! I’m... Ah!”

It was worse... no... better when Aiden came. Hips jerking wildly, he worked himself back and forth on Mike’s cock, moan after moan issuing from between his parted lips. His channel squeezed Mike’s cock tight as his inner muscles clenched with his release—so tight he could barely keep up his thrusts. Mike’s breath caught in his chest, sweat trickling down his spine as he fucked Aiden through his orgasm while holding back his own. It seemed as if it was forever before the tight clenching of Aiden’s channel eased and his moans dwindled to softly panting breaths. Blissed out, Aiden went limp, hand dropping to the mattress. A soft, lazy whisper drifted up from the bed.

“Be a good boy and come for me, Michael.”

Allowed to let go, Mike threw his head back, a raw shout of pure pleasure erupting from his throat. A flash of green appeared on the ceiling. Alarmed, Mike clenched his eyes shut before his power could fully activate and punch a hole in the roof. Eyes closed, he slammed his cock into Aiden with short, stiff thrusts. The release was coming, rising within him. His cock throbbed, his balls heavy and tight. And then, it hit him all at once. Tingling from his head to his toes, the pulsing pleasure magnified in his cock as his climax burst free. Mike shouted again, working his hips until he’d wrung every ounce of sensation from the explosive release.

As the orgasm faded into gradually disappearing ripples, Mike stayed on his knees. He maintained his hold on Aiden’s hips, but loosely now, heart racing as he caught his breath. Aiden moved forward in slow increments until he disconnected their bodies. Mike’s fingers flexed, tempted to try to keep him in place so he could stay inside him a little longer. But he was already softening, which meant he wouldn’t have been able to anyway. He slipped free of his lover, the cool air in the room replacing the lovely warmth he’d been engulfed in.

Aiden wiggled up to the head of the bed. He settled on a pillow, laying on his side, propped up on an elbow. As he lay there, he was the picture of sexual satisfaction—face flushed and dewy, eyes heavy-lidded, lips curled in a small content smile.

“Come here,” he said patting the spot next to him on the mattress.

Mike drew in a single deep breath and let it out before he moved to join Aiden where he indicated. Aiden pushed him to lay on his side too. He brushed the short strands of hair back from Mike’s damp forehead, then continued running his fingers through it. Mike closed his eyes, basking in the attention.

“You did good,” Aiden said as he stroked his hair. “Made me feel amazing, just like you said you would.”

Warmth curled in Mike’s belly at the praise. He pushed his head closer to Aiden’s petting fingers, seeking more of his touch. “Thank you, Sir.”

“I think I’m gonna like you calling me that,” Aiden said as his fingertips trailed down to brush over Mike’s lips, and then slide along his jawline.

Mike opened his eyes and looked up. Tiger gold eyes stared down at him—the blazing heat of passion within them now banked to glowing fondness.

“I know I’m going to like it,” he replied. He did. His urge to please was like nothing he’d ever felt before when he called Aiden Sir.

Aiden’s smile widened a tiny bit. “Good,” he whispered before he leaned down and pressed his lips to Mike’s in the gentlest of kisses.

Chapter 21

Mike had settled into his role as a superhero. He loved everything about it—the excitement, working with a team, helping people. He’d even fully embraced using his powers. Work was fine. And his time fighting with Aiden was amazing. The two of them were often teamed with Frost. They’d established a rhythm that had them finding quick success on their missions. After a patrol they’d usually go back to Aiden’s to eat and relax while they did their reports. Frost had dubbed them the Hot Pocket Trio. Mike liked the name, even though he’d convinced them both to add veggies and protein to their post-patrol snack menu.

And of course, he was exploring his sexual relationship with Aiden. The more his pretty, raven-haired Dom bossed him around, the more he loved it. It was freeing, to give up control to Aiden and let him tell him what to do to make him feel good. He loved following Aiden’s orders and eagerly waited for the affection and praise he received after pleasing his lover.

Mike enjoyed their quiet times together too. Like now, where they were post battle, post shower, and post sex. He sat on the floor in a loose, long-sleeved tee and sweats. Aiden sprawled on the bed on his stomach, clad in a pair of little blue shorts, the athletic kind with white piping on the hem and up the sides. His ass looked amazing and plump in them Mike wanted to take a bite out of it.

“I can’t believe that I am still riled up.”

Mike dragged his gaze away from his Dom’s ass before he answered. “So am I. Fighting a villain with hundreds of killer drones as their weapon of choice really gets the blood pumping.”

Aiden laughed. “I don’t think it was hundreds, but yeah. That was an extremely stimulating fight.” He paused, rolling over to hang off the side of the bed. “You know what we can do to calm down and take the edge off?”

“What?”

“We can smoke a joint. Have you ever smoked before?”

“Yeah.”

“Soldiers get high?”

Mike snorted a laugh. “You have no idea.”

“Okay, then. Let’s do it.”

Aiden got up and went to the armoire in the corner, opened the top drawer, and took out a small box. He brought it back to the bed and sat down cross-legged on the mattress. The box was one of those old school pencil cases, with an attached flip open lid. This one was brightly colored, with unicorns and candy-colored tigers cavorting amongst pink clouds.

“Classy,” Mike teased.

“Nothing wrong with a bit of whimsy,” Aiden said as he flipped up the lid. Inside the box were several baggies of weed with colored labels, rolling papers, and a lighter. “My favorite smokehouse in the Playground has an excellent selection.” He chose the baggie with a light purple label. “This one gives a nice, mellow high and it’s got a great scent too.”

Mike watched as Aiden’s elegant fingers prepared and rolled the blunt. He passed it and the lighter to Mike once it was ready. It had been a while since he’d smoked, but Mike lit up and took the first inhale without any trouble.

“Look at you, you’re a pro.”

He held the smoke in for a moment, then blew it out in a long stream. A pleasant scent started to fill the room. Mike looked at the blunt in surprise. “It smells like... lavender? How did they do that?” he asked as he passed it to Aiden.

“No idea. I just buy and enjoy.” He brought the joint up to his mouth, plush, pink lips wrapping around it as he drew in the smoke.

Aiden moved slightly to sit directly behind Mike on the bed, his legs dangling on either side of his shoulders. It was a perfect position. One, Mike got to be at Aiden’s feet—a place that he’d surprisingly really come to love. Two, it was easy to pass the blunt they were sharing back and forth. And three, his lover’s long, toned limbs were within easy reach for him to caress.

“You have such nice legs,” he said as he stroked his fingertips up and down the front of Aiden’s calf.

“You can thank years of dance for that.”

“Thank you dance,” Mike whispered as he pressed a kiss to the leg brushing against his right arm.

Aiden giggled. “I didn’t mean literally.”

Mike simply smiled. He was already starting to feel nice and loose. “How did you get into domming?” he asked as he took the blunt back for another hit.

“One of my first jobs in the red-light district was as a dancer in a BDSM themed club. But the real good money there was in professional domming. So, I took the training and started getting paid to tell guys to lick my boots. It wasn’t long before I realized how much I liked bossing men around. I thought it might be something I wanted in my personal life and not just for work. I gave it a try with a willing partner and that’s when I knew I fucking loved domming.”

“You’re good at it.”

Aiden tipped his head back and blew out a thick plume of smoke. “Thanks. I’ve had lots of practice.” He smiled at Mike through the haze. “Does that bother you?”

Mike turned his head and kissed the inside of Aiden’s calf. “Nope. I’m glad that you can use that experience on me.”

“And you like it?”

Finally calm and relaxed, Mike let his So, head loll against the side of the mattress. “Duh,” he said in answer to Aiden’s question.

“Damn, Mike Zielinski, the good soldier boy said duh. You must be high.”

“I meant yes, Sir. And yes, I am high, Sir.”

Aiden laughed at that and the happy sound set Mike off laughing too. Aiden was still giggling when he leaned down and gently bit the shell of Mike’s ear.

“You’re perfect,” Aiden whispered.

Mike shivered at the soft breath and intimate touch on such a sensitive spot. “Hmmm... I’m not. But thank you.”

Aiden stayed in the curve of his neck, nuzzling against him and whispering more words of how good he was.

“You’re an amazing fighter. And lovely and polite to the people you help. You look so damn good when you’re submitting to me. Big and beautiful and eager to please.”

Each compliment filled Mike with a happy glow that fit perfectly with the peaceful vibe from the weed. Finally, Aiden sat up straight again.

“What do your parents do?” he asked before drawing in another inhale of the lavender scented weed.

“They were bank robbers.”

Aiden choked and coughed on his inhale, short puffs of smoke bursting from his mouth.

“They were what?”

“Bank robbers,” Mike repeated as he calmly took the blunt back for his turn. “Down in Oklahoma where I’m originally from.”

“You said were. Are they in prison?”

“No. They’re both dead.”

“How?”

“Short version, they were killed during a heist.”

“And what’s the long version?” Aiden asked in a tone of hushed shock.

Mike turned to the side, resting his shoulder against the mattress so that he could look up at Aiden as he told his story. “We moved around a lot. When I was nine, I figured out why and what my parents did. They admitted to it when I asked them but they swore me to secrecy. I was never to talk about the family business.”

“Kids aren’t exactly the most reliable secret keepers.”

“I certainly wasn’t. I was trying to find a way to fit in at my latest new school and bragged about how cool my parents were. Told the kids on the playground that they knew how to pick locks and crack safes. Of course, those kids told their parents and eventually the talk made its way to the police. They were ready for my mom and dad when they tried to rob their next bank. Things went bad and there was a shootout. Both my parents were killed that day. I didn’t speak for years after that.”

“I’m sorry.” Aiden carded his fingers through Mike’s hair as he offered words of sympathy.

Mike shrugged. He missed his parents and it did hurt to think of them. But the pain had long since stopped being an open painful wound. “Thank you.”

“You blamed yourself,” Aiden accurately guessed.

“Yeah. They told me not to talk about it but I did. Plus, the shock... Anyway, my mother’s family had cut their ties with her long ago and they refused to raise or even acknowledge her child. And my father’s parents were already deceased. With no family to take me in, I ended up in the foster care system. I wasn’t young enough to be snapped up by a family that wanted a cute blue-eyed baby. And the fact that I didn’t speak, combined with my family history, meant the families that were interested in an older kid gave me a wide berth on visitation days. I stayed in the system for years, moving from group home to group home until I aged out at eighteen. I went straight to the Army because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Wow. I would never have thought you had that kind of background. I pegged you as an Army brat following family tradition.”

“If I’d followed family tradition, I’d be one of the guys you took out with those flashy gold sai of yours.”

“Hmmm.” Aiden tipped his head to the side, his loose hair spilling over his shoulder. “But maybe I’d convince bad guy you to come to the good side.”

“You beckon I follow.”

“Like a good pup,” Aiden softly said as he stroked a single finger down Mike’s throat.

“Yeah,” Mike whispered back. He sensed that there was something more behind Aiden’s statement. But his head was too swirly and cloudy to try and decipher any hidden meanings. So, he sat there, caught by golden tiger’s eyes, unable to look away. Aiden wasn’t using his powers, but he still felt hypnotized. And he knew that he would do whatever Aiden wanted him to do.

Both of their phones pinged at the same time—ending the charged moment. Aiden broke their eye contact and grabbed his cell first.

“I hope it’s not Caleb calling us back out. I’m way too high to fight crime.”

Mike groaned. “I would not even attempt to aim at anything with my powers right now.”

He quieted while Aiden checked his phone.

“It’s Caleb but he doesn’t need us. He sent the logo for ACG that Danny created. I like it.”

He held the phone down so Mike could look too. It was a shield outlined in navy blue and white, with a deep red background, and ACG in bold gold letters.

“Nice. That’ll look good and be easy to identify.”

“Yeah.” Aiden let his hand drop but held on to the phone. “You know what else we should have?”

“What?”

“Personal symbols. If we’re gonna have a team logo, why not have a symbol for each superhero?”

“I like that idea. We can tell Caleb tomorrow at the firehouse since we’ll be there for the weekly meeting.”

“Nah, I’ve got Danny’s number. He’s probably gonna be the one to design them anyway. I’ll call him and tell him myself.”

Mike shrugged, listening as Aiden dialed then put the phone on speaker.

The call connected, the person on the other end sounding slightly out of breath when they answered.

“Hello?”

“Danny! It’s Aiden. It’s not too late to call, is it?”

A soft laugh came through the phone. “Kind of. But what’s up?”

“I saw the logo you made for ACG. I love it. And I have an idea for you. Don’t you think symbols for all the team members would be cool? Blaze, Ignite and Helios already have a symbol but everyone else could use one too. It would make us all official and shit.”

“That does sound like a cool idea.” He paused for a moment. “Jordan likes it too.”

“Blaze is there? I’m surprised he’s back from patrol already. Does that mean you’ll do it?”

“Yes.”

“You’re awesome. Okay, I’ll let you go. Tell Blaze I said hi.”

It was quiet for a moment, a muffled voice speaking on the other end.

“He says don’t call us this late again.”

“Ooops! Sorry about that. Bye Danny!” They ended the call and Aiden fell back against the bed laughing. “They are definitely about to fuck,” he said through his giggles.

“Probably,” Mike agreed with a grin.

Aiden pushed up onto one elbow. “But it’s cool.” He crooked a finger at Mike. “So are we.”

“Wait.”

“What?” Aiden asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Let’s get something to eat first. I’m hungry.”

Chapter 22

The next afternoon, the team met in the firehouse. They were in casual clothes, except for Amina and Bulldozer, who were both geared up to go out soon.

Blaze was the last to walk in, a petite dark-skin man with him. He was cute, with a bright happy smile and big dark eyes. He wore skinny jeans, an over-sized sweatshirt, high-top Chucks, and had a canvas messenger bag slung over his shoulder. A thin, black leather band encircled his throat, with a small charm dangling from the center.

“I’m here to design some superhero logos,” he called out excitedly.

“I couldn’t stop him,” Blaze said. “Seems like he got a call from someone,” he flicked an annoyed glance at Aiden. “Suggesting that the team members all needed personalized symbols.”

Aiden grinned. “You couldn’t stop him? He’s gotta weigh what? A buck twenty soaking wet with lead weights in his shoes and you couldn’t stop him?” He shook his head. “You are so whipped.”

Blaze shrugged, not at all bothered by Aiden calling him whipped. But the smaller man at his side protested.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I’ve put on some muscle since I started training with you.”

“Of course you have, Danny boy.” Aiden pinched Danny’s cheek, which earned him a disgruntled swat. Laughing, Aiden ducked out of the way and turned to Mike. “This guy was a villain magnet a few months ago. He decided to learn some self-defense techniques so he’d stop getting kidnapped every five minutes.”

“Yeah, apparently I was like catnip for bad guys.” He stuck his hand out to Mike. “Hi. I’m Danny, Jordan’s boyfriend.”

“Mike. Nice to meet you,” Mike said as he accepted the handshake.

“To give you all an idea of what I can do I’ll show you how I revamped Blaze’s logo.” He sat down in one of the chairs in front of Caleb’s work station and took out his tablet. “Caleb, do you mind if I hook my tablet up to your big screen?” he asked, pulling out an HDMI cord from his bag.

“Not at all.” Caleb tapped a few keystrokes and one of his monitors changed from a view of the Mississippi River to Danny’s home screen.

Danny’s dark eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Okay, I don’t even want to know how you did that.” He stuffed the cord back in his bag, then tapped the screen to open up the image file for Blaze’s logo.

“I like it,” Helios said.

“Thank you, Helios. I didn’t change the bones of the design. Just jazzed it up a bit. Aiden, since you were so eager that you called me in the middle of the night, we’ll do your symbol first. What ideas do you have? Something with stars? They’re in your name and on your mask.”

Aiden froze at Danny’s question. From the blank expression on his face, it was clear he hadn’t thought of what he should have for a symbol.

“I guess I should have thought of that when I called you.”

“Yeah. But I’ll let it slide since you teach me cool self-defense moves.” Danny tapped his tablet pen on his lips for a few moments. “How about...” He trailed off without finishing and started sketching.

With Danny’s tablet cast to Caleb’s monitor, they were able to watch as he drew. From the mention of Aiden’s Stardust mask, Mike thought that Danny would sketch out something that included it. But instead, he’d drawn two gold sai crossed at the blades with black stars inside the space where they intersected.

“What do you think?” Danny asked once he finished the rough sketch.

Aiden nodded in approval. “Nice. I like it.”

“I’ll polish it up and let you see it before I do the final render.”

“Thank you, Danny. You’re the best.”

“That’s one down. Mike, you’re new, right? Let’s do yours next. Tell me about your powers.”

“I shoot a solar wind blast from my eyes.” He thought about what else he could add. “It’s green, if that helps.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I can definitely use green as a color, but I need something more for your symbol. How’d you get your powers?”

“They’re from the northern lights. I was stationed at the Arctic circle when it happened. “

“At the North Pole? How about taking the North Star as your symbol?”

“That could work.”

“Okay, give me a second.” Danny went quiet and started sketching again.

While they waited, Aiden rested a hand on Mike’s knee. Without even thinking about it, Mike put his hand on top and laced their fingers together. Someone coughed. Someone else cleared their throat. A soft laugh was quickly cut off. Mike looked up at the noise. Several members of the team were staring at him and Aiden with various expressions of amusement on their faces. He realized he was sitting there holding hands with Aiden in front of everyone. Heat scorched the back of his neck.

“Uh...”

Aiden looked up too. “Oh, yeah. I guess we should tell you guys that we’re seeing each other,” he said with total nonchalance.

Caleb snorted. “Yeah, we kinda figured that out,” he said with a pointed look at their entwined hands.

Mike straightened his shoulders and addressed Strong. “I apologize, sir. We should have done an official disclosure of our relationship.”

Strong shook his head. “It’s not that kind of team. I don’t have a problem with what you do in your personal lives, as long as it doesn’t affect the ability of the team to do its job.”

“You hear that?” Aiden asked, leaning into Mike’s space. “We’re free to smooch away anytime we want.”

“That’s not what he said actually,” Frost said.

“Funny, that’s what I heard,” Aiden teased, leaning over to smack a loud kiss onto Mike’s cheek.

Frost rolled their eyes. “Anyway. It’s about time you guys came clean.”

“We figured something was going on with you two with the way you went from constantly sniping at each other to being the perfect partners,” Ignite added.

Danny glanced up from his tablet. “You guys make a cute couple.”

Mike was glad that the team was taking finding out about him and Aiden well. He looked at Helios. The team leader seemed okay with it too—going by the way he was good-naturedly ribbing Aiden. Once everyone finished teasing and congratulating them, the tall sun-powered hero reminded them of the other reason they were there.

“Danny finished the team logo and we had the patches made for everyone to attach to their suits.”

Caleb passed their leader a box. Helios went around and gave each team member two patches with the logo Caleb had sent last night of the red and blue shield with ACG in gold.

“Thanks,” Mike said to Helios as he accepted his patches. “I guess it’s time for me to get an official super suit to attach it to. Where do people go to buy superhero costumes?”

“We prefer the term gear. There’s a couple of gear makers in the city but I can take you to the one I use if you want,” Aiden offered.

Bulldozer leaned forward in his chair to get Mike’s attention. “Watch out going gear shopping with Stardust. If you’re not careful he’ll have you covered head to toe in liquid latex.”

Mike laughed. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“What’s wrong with latex pants?” Aiden asked with an eyebrow raised.

Mike choked off his laugh when he realized he might have put his foot in it. “They look great on you,” he assured his lover. “It’s just not the style for me.”

Aiden didn’t say anything, he simply continued to stare at Mike.

The blush from earlier returned to the back of his neck. “I love the way you look in them,” he added.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm.” Aiden crossed his legs, a sultry smile curling his full lips. “Maybe I’ll let you tell me exactly what it is you like about me in those pants later on.”

“As much as I hate to interrupt wherever this is going,” Caleb loudly cut in. “Mike, I have something for you that hopefully is your style.”

Although he had to force himself to look away from the sensual gleam in his lover’s eyes—he was glad for the change in subject Caleb had given him. He wasn’t used to such blatantly sexual flirting in front of other people. “What is it?”

Caleb had another box on his desk, which he passed over to Mike. Leaning back in his chair, he folded his arms behind his head and waited, a smug look on his face.

Curious, Mike opened the box. Inside lay a wraparound eye visor, black with silver accents, the single lens the same deep green as his sunglasses.

“Wow.” The single word didn’t do the beautiful tech justice.

“The sunglasses were only meant to be a temporary tool while you decided if you wanted to be on the team or not,” Caleb said. “Once you made the decision to join us as a permanent member, I got going on these. With the visor style, you won’t have to worry about your tech getting knocked off if you take a hit during a battle.”

“This is amazing, Caleb. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Keep the sunglasses, you can use them if an emergency pops up and you don’t have your regular gear on you. Try it on.”

Mike held the visor up and settled it over his eyes. It automatically clicked closed at the back of his head with a quiet snick. His vision was colored with the now familiar green tint as he turned his head to look around the firehouse, checking to be sure that his sight wasn’t impeded in any way.

Frost held their hands up, swirling one on top of the other until a small disc of ice with a smooth, flat surface appeared in the air. They held it up in front of Mike so he could see his reflection. It was slightly blurry but he could see that the new visor fit well and looked undeniably cool. He’d had no complaint with the glasses he’d previously been given but the high-tech style of this new eye-wear looked more like something a superhero would use.

“What do you guys think?” Caleb asked the team.

Aiden was the first to offer his opinion. “I love it. It looks cool.”

Ignite agreed. “It’s bad ass, Caleb. Nice work.”

The rest of the team gave their feedback—all of it positive.

Caleb grinned at the compliments. “Thanks. Now all he needs is a superhero name.”

“Oh, yeah!” Sonica clapped her hands together in excitement. “You gotta have a code name.”

Everyone started throwing out suggestions.

“The Green Man.”

“Super Arctic Man.”

“North Star.”

“I think that one is taken,” Strong said.

Amina slid her foot over and tapped it against Mike’s to get his attention.

“What about Dr. Z?” she asked.

Mike shook his head. “I wasn’t actually a doctor.”

“It’s a superhero name,” Amina said with an unconcerned shrug. “It doesn’t have to be exact.”

“That’s true.” Mike thought about it. He did like that name more than any of the others that had been suggested.

Danny looked up from his sketch for Frost’s symbol. “Take it from me, a superhero fanboy and artist who makes a living selling superhero fanart. I like Dr. Z. It’s catchy and it’ll look cool on a T-shirt.”

That sold it for him. “Okay, Dr. Z it is.”

Aiden got up from his chair. He plopped himself onto Mike’s lap and hugged an arm tight around his neck. “Welcome to the team, Dr. Z.”

The rest of the team offered their welcomes as well. Although technically he’d already been welcomed to the team, Mike didn’t protest. It felt more official now that he had a symbol and a code name.

“Thank you everybody. I’m honored to be a part of the group and I can’t wait to fight by your side.”

“We’re happy to have you. But don’t do anything freaky while you’re wearing that visor,” Caleb playfully admonished.

Aiden leaned back and winked at Caleb. “No promises on that.”

∞∞∞

A few days after Mike received his visor from Caleb, he had his full Dr. Z gear as well. Aiden had taken him to the gear maker he used—a young woman with a shop frequented by superheroes all over the Midwest. He was surprised to receive it this soon, but she’d bumped him to the top of her list as a favor to Aiden. Plus, she had a low-level enhanced speed ability that allowed her to work much faster than the average gear designer.

At Mike’s request, she’d given him a long sleeve black shirt, constructed from a custom material that could withstand damage and deflect harm. It was as if Kevlar was woven into the fabric. The suit’s pants were form fitting, but not the liquid latex Aiden had playfully pretended to convince him to try. They were black with green and white stripes down the sides. His tactical vest had been replaced by a black leather battle harness. Aiden did have a say in that design. His gold eyes had sparkled with mischief as he’d told the gear maker to create something with straps that someone could hold on to. With Aiden’s input, it wasn’t a surprise that it resembled the leather chest harnesses that might be seen in a BDSM club.

Centered on the harness’s chest plate was his new Dr. Z logo. Danny had created a stylized North Star, drawn in bright green with white accents against a black field. Along his belt were small attached pockets for him to store the first aid supplies he liked to carry with him during missions. He had new boots, reinforced to protect his feet from weight as heavy as a truck rolling over him. And of course, he had the new visor to center his blast.

Dressed in his new gear, Mike held the visor up, waiting for it to click closed before he dropped his hands. Now he looked like a superhero.

“Damn, you look hot,” Aiden said from where he sat, running his eyes over Mike in a long, slow perusal.

“Thank you.”

“Six feet of muscular superhero in a tight black suit. You’ll be a fan favorite before long,” Frost joked.

Aiden pursed his lips in a pout. “Hmmpf. I might have to mark my territory to let the thirsty superhero groupies know he’s taken.”

Caleb laughed. “How are you going to do that?”

“I’ll think of something,” Aiden said with a devilish smirk.

“Are you cool with being tagged, Dr. Z?”

“I don’t mind,” Mike quietly answered Frost. Belonging to Aiden felt right. To be claimed by him for one and all to see? Yeah. He liked that idea. He looked at Aiden who was gazing at him with a fond, satisfied expression. They shared a moment, lost in each other’s eyes, forgetting everyone else in the room. From reluctant partners to lovers. With the speed and force of the change in their relationship, it seemed almost inevitable that they would end up this way.

A light began flashing, the distraction pulling their attention away from each other. Caleb spun around to his computer.

“There’s a bank robbery in progress. Several of the culprits are either enhanced or on a Croton power trip.”

Aiden pushed himself to his feet. “We’re on it.”

“Address is sent to your watches and the comm link is open.”

“Got it,” Mike said crisply, mind already on possible tactics they could use.

“Let’s go.”

The three heroes hustled outside. Aiden and Frost hopped on the back of Aiden’s bike while Mike jumped into his SUV. He hadn’t received his ACG vehicle yet, but Caleb assured him it was on the way. The two vehicles sped out of the parking lot, Mike following Aiden as he zipped through the streets on his motorcycle. Aiden kept his speed down, staying just ahead of him so that they rolled up to the bank at the same time.

The three of them cautiously approached the building. A security guard was outside on the wide steps leading up to the bank, her uniform torn, blood on the corner of her swollen mouth, and a bruise darkening her cheek.

“Are you guys the police?” she asked with a confused frown creasing her brow.

“No. We’re the Arch City Guardians,” Frost said pointing to the new ACG patch on the front of their oversized white hoodie.

“Where’s Helios?”

“He’s saving somebody else somewhere else,” Aiden impatiently snapped. “You got us. Tell us what’s going on inside.”

The woman pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it before answering. “Six bad guys. Two of them are armed with some type of dart guns. The others are super strong, although I couldn’t tell if they were enhanced or on that Croton drug. There’s a lobby full of customers, five staff members, and another guard who’s knocked out from their darts. They threw me outside and locked the door behind me.”

“Okay, stay here and help any hostages we’re able to set free.”

The woman nodded. “Got it.”

Mike took charge. The building was older, constructed of big gray stones with a heavy wooden door. It was beautiful old St. Louis architecture, but the lack of a glass door common to modern bank buildings limited their ability to see inside and made it harder to enter.

“We need to get inside without causing harm to anyone on the other side of the door. Frost, you’re up.”

Frost stepped forward and put a hand on the thick brass door handle. The temperature around them dropped and ice crept over the handle. Once it was frozen solid, Frost stepped back.

Mike took their place and grasped the door pull. The ice and metal beneath it were so cold it burned his palm even through the leather glove he wore. Mike pulled hard. The lock broke and the door handle fell, shattering into frozen pieces when it hit the pavement. “Stardust, shield up.”

Stardust activated his shield. He kicked the door open and they went in behind his protective golden sphere. A good thing too, since one of the armed bank robbers immediately fired off a barrage of deadly sharp darts. But thanks to Aiden’s shield, they all fell harmlessly to the ground. The woman cursed and retreated.

The retreat gave them an opening. Frost threw up an ice wall between the robbers and bank customers, which allowed them to escape. But the bank staff, including the unconscious guard, were still in harm’s way, all of them behind the robbers. They would have to go through them to rescue the employees.

The trio of superheroes went after the villains without hesitation. But it wasn’t an easy fight. They had to avoid the darts fired at them from two different directions. One of the culprits was armed with long knives. With a gleeful shout, Aiden faced off against her with his sai. Mike found himself up against two behemoths with giant fists and super strength. He used both hand to hand and his blasts in his efforts to take them down. And since he didn’t have Aiden’s shield or Frost’s ability to throw up a protective ice wall, he strategically used the villains’ massive bodies as a barrier between him and the dart guns.

“Hey, Dr. Z!” Aiden called across the bank lobby while fighting the blade-wielding woman. “I gotta say, I love to watch you fight.”

Mike was taken aback at the compliment in the middle of the battle. “Thanks.” He threw out the acknowledgment, assuming that would be the end of it. But Stardust wasn’t finished.

“Did you know that when you use your power, you clench your fists and all of your lovely muscles bunch and release? I especially enjoy the way your ass muscles flex when you use your blast.”

At that, Mike choked on air even as he shot off a blast at one of the villains. And yes, now that Aiden had drawn attention to it, he did feel his glutes flexing when he used his power. Before he could think of a response, or if he even should say anything, Caleb popped into their earpieces.

“Did you know that this comm link is open and everyone can hear you?” the techie asked with exasperation clear in his voice.

Stardust’s clueless tone when he responded was clearly fake.

“Oh, is it?”

Frost snickered.

A long-suffering sigh came from Caleb. “Stardust, I’m a fan of the whole power couple vibe you two got going on. But let’s keep the lovey dovey chatter to a minimum when we’re on a group line.”

“Roger that, Caleb,” Mike said in easy agreement. “We’ll keep it professional.”

“Stardust?”

“Caleb, you need a code name. We can’t keep calling you by your government name. What if someone hacks the comm link and they find out who you are?”

“First of all, no one is hacking my secure line. Second, I don’t want a code name. I’m not a hero. Just the guy in the chair.”

“Fine. But if you change your mind...”

“You’ll be the first to know. Now, please finish handling those bank robbers. I’ve got the police holding on standby outside with direction not to barge in with guns blazing, but that won’t last for long.”

“Roger that,” Aiden said.

Mike rolled his eyes at Aiden copying him. But they got to work following Caleb’s order. Stardust defeated his initial opponent, then used his hypnotic glow to convince one of the robbers to drop her weapon. Mike fired off a blast to knock the other dart gun free of its user’s grip. Frost created ice spheres as big as bowling balls. They sent them hurtling across the lobby to slam into two of the robber’s chests, knocking them back like ten pins. In less than two minutes, all the robbers were down and restrained, their weapons secured, and the employees safe.

Stardust stood in the middle of the lobby and struck a power pose. “The evil has been vanquished. Let’s go get Slurpee’s.”

Mike looked down at his lover. “Caleb is going to murder you if you don’t focus during missions,” he said, although his exasperation was a lot more fond than Caleb’s had been.

His eyes crinkling with a grin behind his mask, Stardust spun his blades then slipped them back into their holsters. “I was focused. I can’t help it if I like to multi-task.”

“Your multi-tasking is shit,” Caleb said in their ear pieces. “But enjoy your victory Slurpee’s.”

Chapter 23

The three of them went to get the Slurpee’s Aiden was craving, enjoying the icy treats in the 7-11 parking lot. Afterward, they dropped Frost off at his apartment then headed back to Aiden’s.

“Let’s shower,” Aiden said when they walked into his bedroom.

Mike nodded, but his shoulders went stiff in that way that meant he was uncomfortable or worried.

Aiden had meant for them to shower separately but clearly Mike thought that he wanted him to join him. Aiden would love to press his naked body up against his lover’s. But Mike wasn’t ready to show his body with its scars and Aiden’s stance on waiting until Mike was ready hadn’t changed. When they were finally naked together, he didn’t want Mike to be stressed and worried his body. He wanted him relaxed and fully enjoying the sensual things they were doing to each other. Determined to reassure his lover, Aiden moved in close and wrapped his arms around Mike’s waist in a loose hug.

“Small miscommunication, Beefcake. I meant for us to shower on our own.”

“But you’d like us to shower together.” Mike raked a hand through his short hair, lips briefly pressing together in frustration. “I’d like us to shower together.”

“Yeah, I would like that. But there’s no rush to get to that point,” he said softly. “We’ll get wet and naked together whenever you’re ready and not a second before.”

Mike gazed down at him, green eyes shining with emotion before his shoulders relaxed.

“Okay.”

Aiden smiled and gave him a quick squeeze, then released him to head into the bathroom. He took a quick shower, keeping the water slightly chilly the way he liked it after a fight or a long night dancing. Fifteen minutes later, he walked back out to the bedroom wrapped in a short robe, feeling cool and fresh. Holding a change of clothes, Mike passed him on the way to take his turn in the shower. Aiden reached out to caress his hip as he passed, silently reaffirming his pledge that he was fine with waiting.

When Mike emerged from the bathroom, damp hair slicked back, and dressed in a loose-fitting top and thin athletic pants, Aiden was sitting cross-legged on the bed waiting for him. He’d put on a pair of drawstring joggers and pulled the front section of his hair into a bun, leaving the rest to fall down his bare back. The playful mood from earlier lingered, and he’d decided he wanted to channel that energy into a scene with his submissive. Eager to get started, he boldly stated what was on his mind.

“I want to leash you.”

Mike stopped his approach to the bed, one foot comically hovering in the air for a full second before it hit the floor.

“You want to what?” he asked with his eyebrows raised.

“Leash you,” Aiden repeated.

“Like an actual dog collar and leash?”

Aiden tipped his head to the side, deliberately letting his hair slide over his shoulder because he knew Mike liked to see the movement of the long locks. And sure enough, those green eyes dropped to watch. “The collar and leash I have for you weren’t made for dogs. But yep. That’s what I want to do.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to say that,” Mike said.

That wasn’t a no. Aiden slowly uncrossed his legs and got up from the bed. Mike stayed rooted to the spot, watching as he approached at a confident, measured pace, his footsteps quiet on the polished hardwood floor. He stopped when he was right in front of his lover, sliding his feet in between Mike’s and forcing him to step out wide to accommodate him. Aiden looked up, holding Mike’s gaze directly even as he let his fingers play with the hem of his shirt, teasingly letting his knuckles brush over the hard abs beneath it as he did so. “You’re mine, right?” he asked in a soft whisper.

“Right.”

“And I’m in control of you, right?”

Mike nodded, a flush already starting to sweep up his neck.

“So, I get to have what I want.” Aiden dropped the shirt hem so that he could move his hands to Mike’s throat, following the trail of that delightful flush. “And what I want is for you to let me put a collar around this thick, strong neck of yours.” He stroked both thumbs from collarbone to the spot just beneath Mike’s jaw. “Do you want me to leash you, Michael?” He switched to calling him by his full name, their signal that they’d entered Dom and sub space. Mike responded by addressing him as he expected.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Are you still okay with red for stop, yellow for pause, green to keep going?”

Mike nodded.

“Out loud, Michael.”

“Yes. That system is fine with me.”

“Good boy.” Aiden gently patted his cheek. “Stay right here.” He went to the armoire and took out a recent purchase—a black leather collar and matching leash. The collar was thick with an easy open buckle closure—selected in case he needed to quickly release his sub—and an O ring. He took both back to where Mike obediently waited. Aiden looped the leash over his shoulders while he reached up to fasten the collar around his submissive’s neck. Mike stood still and quiet as he worked, his eyelids lowered to half-mast while Aiden adjusted the fit.

“How’s that feel?” Aiden asked, slipping a finger beneath the collar to make sure it wasn’t too tight.

“Feels good.”

His submissive’s voice had dropped to that low, rough timbre that revealed his building arousal. Aiden smiled. “I’m glad you like it.” Pulling the leash off his shoulders, he attached it to the collar’s O-ring. At the sound of the hook clicking closed, Mike swallowed hard, making the collar raise and lower with the movement of his Adam’s Apple. Aiden eyed him closely, checking that he showed no signs of stress. He appeared calm and didn’t call for yellow so Aiden slipped his hand through the leash’s loop handle.

“Follow me,” he said giving a slight tug to the leather strap. After a slight hesitation, Mike started walking, pulled along by the leash.

He led his sub across the room to the mirrored wall behind his barre, positioning him to stand facing it. When Aiden stepped behind Mike, he all but disappeared behind his greater height and muscular bulk. He leaned slightly to the side to look at their reflections.

“See how good you look collared for me?” he asked as slid his hands up his lover’s torso. Aiden spread his fingers wide in order to cup Mike’s pecs through his shirt. He squeezed the meaty flesh, then dragged his fingers down to pluck at his nipples. He’d learned that his submissive was sensitive there. As he continued to play with the taut peaks, he watched as Mike’s cock started to harden behind his thin lounge pants.

“You like the way it looks, Sir?” Mike asked with gravel in his voice.

“Mmmm... I like the way you look.” Aiden pressed a kiss to his lover’s shoulder after the gentle correction. “Stand absolutely still. Don’t move unless I say you can. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He kept one hand on the leash while the other he let drift down to Mike’s waistband. Slipping his fingers into the loose pants, he came into immediate contact with his sub’s silky hot length. “No underwear. You knew I wanted this cock, huh?”

Mike ducked his head, but Aiden caught the small grin he tried to hide.

“I had a feeling.”

“Well, thank you for giving me easy access to what I want.” Aiden eased the pants down just enough to bare both his thick cock and heavy balls. “Hold your shirt out of the way for me.”

Mike gripped the shirt in his gloved hand, holding it so tight the material twisted. Aiden played his fingers over Mike’s cock, measuring, teasing, weighing. It made a pretty picture in the mirror. Engorged, flushed, little beads of pre-cum spilling free from the slit to drip down the length. Aiden began to stroke him, sliding his fist from base to tip, slowly at first, then increasing his speed when the thick shaft pulsed against his palm. Knowing what that pulsing signaled, he gave his lover a warning.

“Don’t come, Michael.”

The fingers on Mike’s free hand twitched but he didn’t otherwise move.

“I won’t.”

“Good boy,” Aiden whispered the praise as he continued to stroke. “You’re doing amazing.” Aiden’s own cock throbbed as he watched his obedient pup stand there and take the pleasure he gave him, his lips shaping silent curses.

A part of Aiden still feared he’d experience the usual fall-out with Mike—where he decided that he could only submit in the bedroom and anything else was out of the question. But another part of him dared to hope that Mike was that perfect submissive he’d been looking for: big, clean-cut, and ready to submit both in and out of the bedroom. Only time would tell if he’d finally found what he’d been seeking.

He was pressed so tightly against Mike he could feel the minute trembling in his muscles and by now his cock head was soaked with pre-cum. Aiden knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. He eased back from stroking, lightly tracing two fingers along the vein on the underside of his shaft. “You held back for me. How close are you?”

Mike swallowed hard. “Very.”

“Okay. Since you let me play with you the way I wanted I won’t make you wait too long before I let you fuck me.”

Aiden wrapped the lead around his hands a few times, taking away some of the slack. Keeping Mike on a short leash, he led him over to his bed. He turned to face him, tugging him down until they were at eye level.

“Tonight, you’re going to serve me well with your big, powerful body. You’re going to wreck me, Michael. I want you to make me cry when I come on your cock.” He took the handle of the leash and used it to lightly tap the head of his lover’s swollen cock. “Understand?”

“Fuck.” No longer silent, the curse rolled out on a desperate groan. Mike briefly closed his eyes, nostrils flaring as he pulled in a breath, before he opened them again and answered. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”

“Good. Now get on your knees for me.”

Mike dropped to his knees in front of him. He looked up at Aiden, green eyes heavy-lidded and hazy with lust.

“Undress me, Michael.”

It was Aiden’s turn to stand still as his submissive reached to untie the string at his waist and tug the sweatpants down over his hips. He stepped out of them and Mike grabbed the joggers and swept them away out of sight. Beneath the joggers, he had on a pair of dove gray lace panties, designed especially to accommodate and showcase dicks. Mike reached for them, curling his fingers into the waistband, but he didn’t pull them down.

“I almost don’t want to take these off.”

Aiden shrugged. He wasn’t precious about his underwear and didn’t mind if they were ruined during sex. “I can leave them on.”

“No,” Mike declined the offer with a quick shake of his head. “I want to see you.”

“Then keep going.”

Mike pulled the panties off, the lace lightly scratching Aiden’s skin as they were removed. Once he was naked, he pressed his cock up against his body, coyly hiding it behind his hand. “What do you want, Michael?” he playfully asked.

“Whatever you want.”

Aiden let a small smile curl his lips at that answer. “I want you to suck me.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Mike leaned forward, lips already parted, pink tongue peeking from between his teeth. But Aiden stopped him with a gentle tap of the leash handle against his nose. “Not yet. First, I want you to tell me that you like my cock.”

Mike immediately complied, offering his verbal worship in a throaty rumble. “I love your cock. Love having my hands on it.” He paused to run his tongue over his bottom lip. “Love taking it in my mouth and making you feel good.”

The enthusiastic answer pleased Aiden. Still, he pouted, keeping his hands over his shaft. “Is it pretty?” he asked in a soft whisper.

“It’s a very pretty cock. And you have such soft hair here.” Mike nuzzled into the juncture of Aiden’s thigh, breath blowing hot against his skin. “And you smell delicious.”

Mike pressed his nose between Aiden’s fingers and breathed in deep. Then, he took advantage of his position and darted his tongue in between Aiden’s fingers, finding his shaft and stealing small little licks. Aiden groaned and gave in to the manipulation. He let his hand drop. Within seconds, it was replaced by his submissive’s mouth. Using the flat of his tongue, Mike licked him up and down, getting the entire shaft wet. Once the hard length gleamed from head to base, Mike gripped it in his gloved hand, holding him steady as he sucked him in.

Aiden gasped as slick, wet heat engulfed his cock. Mike slurped and licked, pulling back to flick his tongue over the head. As he took Aiden’s shaft in his mouth nearly all the way to the base, his eyes drifted closed. Aiden wouldn’t allow that.

“Look at me, Michael.”

Mike slowly raised his lashes and Aiden stared down into brilliant green eyes. They sparkled overly bright, as if his super power was about to be unleashed. But just as Mike trusted Aiden not to hurt him while he was in control, Aiden trusted Mike to stay in control of his power.

He held Mike’s gaze as he was pleasured, whispering praise in between soft curses and silky moans.

“Your mouth is perfect. So hot... Ah! Exactly like that, pup. Love the way you pleasure me. Whoever taught you to suck cock deserves a medal.”

With every word of praise uttered, Mike increased his efforts, sucking faster, taking him deep, the lewd sound of his mouth wetly sliding over Aiden’s engorged length so loud it filled the room. Mike’s free hand landed on Aiden’s ass with a loud slap and he squeezed his cheek before tugging him closer. Aiden jumped at the sharp contact. With a groan, he started rolling his hips forward, fucking into his submissive’s hot mouth, watching as his cheeks hollowed and his lips grew red as fairy tale apples from the friction.

“You look fucking gorgeous like this,” he whispered hotly.

Aiden was enjoying the blow job but he wanted more from his lover tonight. And he didn’t want to be sated from a climax while he was experiencing it. He wanted to ride the edge of pleasure for as long as he could while Mike pounded him into the mattress.

Aiden ran a thumb over Mike’s lips stretched wide around his cock. “That’s enough, pup.”

A defiant frown creased Mike’s forehead, his eyes narrowing as he continued to suck. The defiance lit a spark in Aiden’s chest, the urge to bring his sub back into line making him tingle all over. He was ecstatic he had a submissive who enjoyed giving head as much as Mike, but he couldn’t allow the disobedience. Gripping Mike’s hair, he yanked him back until he released his cock with a loud pop. Aiden shoved his hips forward, sliding his wet shaft over Mike’s cheeks and parted lips.

“You give the best head, baby. But disobey me again and I won’t give you the privilege of having my cock in your mouth for a month.” He threatened the punishment even as he continued to rub his cock all over Mike’s face. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Apologize.”

“I’m sorry for disobeying you, Sir.”

The apology was slightly distorted since Aiden pushed the tip of his cock between Mike’s lips as he spoke. It was a test. He held there, waiting, but Mike kept his mouth slack, not giving in to his desire to resume sucking him off.

“Very good,” Aiden said in approval. “Now, get up and put me on the bed.”

Mike got to his feet, picking Aiden up by wrapping his arms around his thighs just below his ass and lifting him as he rose. After he laid him down in the middle of the bed, Aiden rolled to stretch out on his front. Leash still in hand, he tugged on the leather strap hard enough for Mike to lose his balance and shift forward to brace his palms on the mattress. Aiden pulled again and Mike followed the silent direction, climbing on to the bed. The muscles in his biceps bunched up as he leaned down to whisper in Aiden’s ear.

“Where do you want me, Sir?”

“Behind me.”

The mattress dipped slightly as Mike moved to get into the position Aiden had ordered. Mike was behind and over him, completely blanketing him with his bigger body. He loved it, the way he was in control despite the fact that Mike could break him in half if he chose. Reaching under the pillow, he pulled out the lube and condom he’d stashed there earlier.

“I want you fucking me within the next two minutes.” He looked at the clock. It was 7:32. “If you’re not inside me by 7:34 then—ahhh!”

He didn’t get to finish his threat because Mike’s tongue in his ass, licking him open, momentarily took away his ability to speak. Mike didn’t stay in that position long however. He rose up to drizzle lube over Aiden’s entrance, using a single finger to work him open more. Aiden relaxed his muscles. He’d told Mike that he wanted to hurt tonight and with the time limit he’d imposed he wouldn’t spend too much time prepping him. Mike made good use of his time, using tongue and fingers on Aiden until he was restlessly writhing on the mattress. Then he pulled back to grab the condom.

“Thirty seconds, Michael.” He looked over his shoulder, observing the determined look on Mike’s face as he rolled the condom down his length. The seconds ticked past while he snapped open the lube.

“Three.”

Mike gripped his cock, sliding it between Aiden’s ass cheeks before pressing the head against his entrance.

“Two.”

Mike pushed his way inside, all the way, until his groin pressed against his ass. “Mmmmm...One.” Mike stretched out above him, using the strength in his arms to brace himself. “Hold still,” Aiden ordered before Mike could start moving. He wiggled his ass, savoring the feel of Mike’s heavy cock throbbing inside him. “Whose cock is that filling me up so nice and full?” he demanded with a pull on the leash.

“It’s yours,” Mike groaned desperately.

“That’s right, it’s mine. Now use it to wreck me.”

Mike drew his hips back, then thrust back in hard. Their bodies repeatedly smacked together when Mike set in with a rapid-fire pace. But that wasn’t enough for Aiden. He tugged on the leash again. “I need more, Michael.”

“I’ll give you more then.”

Mike shifted so that his knees were outside Aiden’s thighs. Aiden shivered when his lover’s big hands grasped onto his shoulders. The new position gave Mike the leverage necessary to fuck him faster and harder. Each slam in jolted Aiden from head to toe, pushing the breath out of his lungs on sharp exhales.

“So strong, Michael,” he breathed out between thrusts. “Making me feel so good.”

“I can make you feel even better,” Mike promised.

He moved again. Grabbing one of Aiden’s legs, he pushed it up, tucking his knee into the side of his body. Still gripping Aiden’s other shoulder, he held him caged in, unable to move and escape the deliciously brutal fucking. The mattress bounced and the bed thumped, moving over the hardwood floor from the force of it.

Loving every second, Aiden yanked on the leash. “Fuck! That’s it,” he gasped. “Harder, Michael. Show me how strong you are.”

Mike slammed his cock into him over and over, a rough almost furious grunt accompanying each hard thrust. Beneath them, the bed shook and creaked, struggling to hold up under the onslaught. But it was no match for Mike’s power. One of the legs snapped. That corner hit the ground, the bed listing at an angle. Mike didn’t let that stop his merciless pounding. With each rock forward and back, the frame shuddered ominously, until with a loud crack, the three remaining legs simultaneously broke, and the bed crashed to the floor.

Aiden didn’t give a fuck about the bed. All he cared about was the pleasure coursing through his veins, throbbing in his cock. It was so much the very strands of hair on his scalp tingled with it.

“Keep going!” he shouted breathlessly. “Don’t stop!”

Without missing a beat, Mike changed his position. Gripping Aiden’s hips in both hands, he dragged him up onto his hands and knees and proceeded to yank him back to meet every punishing thrust.

Aiden moaned at being man-handled, his cock dripping pre-cum onto the sheets beneath him. He ached in the best way. Tension coiled behind his navel, his balls drew up tight. There was no need to touch his cock. He was so stimulated that he was about to come untouched—a rare occurrence for him. As Mike jackhammered into him, the pleasure built to a nearly unbearable level, and tears began leaking from the corner of his eyes. It had reached the point where it was overwhelming. He would explode if he took much more.

“Make me come, Michael,” he sobbed.

“Gonna make you come hard, Sir,” Mike gritted out from between clenched teeth.

Mike tightened his hold on Aiden’s hips and lifted him up until his knees left the bed. The new angle had Aiden seeing stars. Every stroke of Mike’s cock slid over that wonderfully sensitive spot inside him. At a particularly hard thrust, Aiden screamed his climax. His vision went black, the world fading away until he knew nothing but the release pouring from his cock.

When he came back to awareness, Mike was still fucking him. A near constant groan rumbled in his chest and his fingers dug so hard into Aiden’s skin that he would undoubtedly leave bruises. Aiden gave his submissive the permission he needed.

“Come, Michael,” he said in a tired whisper. “You were perfect. Come for me.”

Mike didn’t need any more prompting that that. He pressed in deep, then held himself tight against Aiden, groaning, body jerking slightly with his release.

Once Mike’s groans dwindled to silence and the tension drained from his muscles, he let Aiden go to fall to the bed, then collapsed on top of him. He was heavy, hot, and sweaty but Aiden didn’t mind. His pup had worked hard and deserved a moment to catch his breath. Completely and utterly wrecked, Aiden lay still beneath his lover, feeling his heartbeat pound against his back, until Mike rolled off and to the side.

After removing Mike’s collar and leash, Aiden arranged them so that neither was in the cum he’d gotten on the sheets. Mike lay with his head on Aiden’s chest. Aiden held him close, caressing his back and stroking his hair.

“I broke your bed,” Mike said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. The bed can be replaced. What’s important is you gave me exactly what I asked for. Like a very good pup.”

“Okay.”

They lay there, Mike silent while Aiden whispered continuous praise. He wanted to coo when Mike practically head butted his hand when it fell still. He held the noise back, instead dropping a kiss on the crown of his lover’s head before he resumed gently raking his fingers through the short brown locks. Mike was cute and submissive like this and Aiden loved it. Six feet of muscled superhero in his arms sweetly demanding and accepting aftercare.

After their heartbeats had calmed and they’d relaxed almost into sleep, Aiden asked his lover a question.

“Mike?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you like being with me like this? Are you happy submitting to me?”

“Yes. It feels amazing. Better than what I imagined when you first asked me.”

Aiden smiled at that answer. In that moment, he couldn’t help but feel that he’d been born under a lucky star.

Chapter 24

After the night Mike broke Aiden’s bed, they became closer than ever. Aiden leashed Mike often, regardless of whether or not they were having sex. Sometimes Mike even asked for it himself. It was as if the leash bound them to each other in a way that went past the physical tie of the slim strip of leather. And they both enjoyed that feeling.

Today, Mike lay back relaxed on Aiden’s new bed. The collar and leash had been removed earlier and safely placed on the nightstand. Mike watched his lover across the room. He was dressed in a brief pair of black dance shorts, a cropped, off the shoulder sweatshirt, and a pair of black leg warmers that came up past his knees. Aiden stood at his barre, going through a series of stretches and moves, his toned body gracefully gliding from position to position. Even though the moves were simple, it was as if Mike was front seat at a private show. He was at peace laying in the spill of late afternoon fall sunshine that turned everything warm and golden while soft music played and his lover danced.

The music came to an end. Finished with his workout, Aiden took a drink of water and blotted his forehead and chest with a towel before he came over and sat on the bed next to Mike.

“My parents are hosting a cocktail party fundraiser for the St. Louis Metropolitan Ballet. I’d love it if you came as my date.”

The sudden invitation surprised Mike, but his answer was easy. “An invitation to spend an evening with you is always a yes.”

“You’ll be meeting my family. Are you okay with that?”

Mike nodded. “I am as long as you are.”

A small smile curled Aiden’s lips. “Good.”

“What are you dancing to tonight?” Mike asked as he caressed his lover’s bare shoulder.

“I’m doing my diamond routine.”

“Hmmm... I like that one.” It was a slow, sexy dance to the Ariana Grande song. Mike especially loved the outfit Aiden wore during the performance. Sheer black leggings with sparkling rhinestones with a gem encrusted jockstrap beneath them and a domino eye mask covered in crystals. The gloves he wore were also black and sheer, elbow length and fingerless. “If you want, I can put your crystals in your hair for you before you go.”

“I might take you up on that.” Aiden leaned down and pressed a kiss to Mike’s lips.

When they parted, Mike stared up into his lover’s golden eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Aiden smiled at him and brushed a thumb over his mouth. The sparkles that followed his thumb left a pleasant tingle on his lips.

“What?”

“I want to show you my scars.” The words surprised him—he hadn’t planned to say them. But now that they were out there, he didn’t want to take them back.

“Are you sure?” Aiden asked with a small, concerned frown. “You know you don’t have to.”

“I know. But I’m ready,” he said as he sat up. Aiden sat up too, scooting back a little to give him room. Mike closed his eyes, pulling in a deep breath. His hands gripped the hem of his shirt but they didn’t move to pull it off.

“Take your time.”

Aiden rubbed his arm, the material of his sleeve shifting between his palm and Mike’s arm. And in that moment, Mike was certain that he no longer wanted this cloth barrier between them. He took in several more of those deep breaths before he finally tugged the shirt over his head. Holding it bunched up in his fist, he looked at Aiden. His golden eyes were still on his face. This time he was the one waiting for permission.

“You can look,” Mike told him

Mike turned to the side so that Aiden could see his back. He knew what he looked like. Now, he waited for Aiden to take it all in for the first time.

“This is all from the venom attack?”

He nodded, breath too tight in his chest to speak.

“Is it okay if I touch you?”

The heat of Aiden’s hand hovered over his skin as he waited for his answer. Mike appreciated that he asked first. “Yes.”

Warm fingers gently touched one of his scars. Mike shuddered. It was the first time since the injury that anyone other than a medical professional had touched his bare skin. Aiden’s fingers glided over the raised flesh, dipped into the pits of dented muscle.

“Does it hurt?” Aiden immediately made a noise as though he were annoyed with himself. “Sorry. That’s a silly question since this is a couple years old.”

“It’s not silly, actually. Some of the scar tissue can ache sometimes. One of the reasons I regularly work out is to keep the skin and muscles from tightening up. Applied heat helps as well.”

“What about massages?”

“They would probably help too. But I haven’t allowed anyone other than Army docs to touch me since it happened.”

“If you allow it, I would be happy to help you with massages.

“That...” Mike had to clear his throat and start again. “That would be nice.”

“I’m glad you survived this.”

Warm breath blew over Mike’s skin then lips ghosted over one of the biggest scars on his shoulder.

“So glad,” Aiden said as he pressed a kiss to another scar.

The tension began to drain out of Mike as his lover continued to press gentle kisses to his damaged skin. The kisses couldn’t physically heal him, but it was as if each caress of breath and touch of his lips and fingers soothed something deeper than the physical manifestation of his pain.

“I think I’m going to skip work tonight,” Aiden whispered against a scar on his arm.

Surprised, Mike turned to look at him over his shoulder. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to be here with you.” His soft palms glided over Mike’s back as he spoke. “You shared this with me and I need to be with you right now.”

Mike’s throat grew tight at Aiden’s decision to stay with him. He was happy that he’d finally revealed this part of himself to his lover. It was freeing not to have to hide anymore, and he was relieved that Aiden hadn’t turned from him in disgust or horror. But even though that was all positive, the weight he’d just put down rocked his axis, leaving him off-balance. He could use Aiden’s steadying presence.

“Thank you for staying and for giving me your touch. You always give me touch when I need it. Even before this, without skin-to-skin contact, having your hands on me soothed me.”

Mike twisted around fully to face Aiden again. “It’s not vanity that makes me hide the scars. I don’t want to deal with the effects of leaving them exposed. I don’t want to force people to choose between staring or trying not to stare. I don’t want pity. I don’t want disgust. I don’t want to be tense, trying to guess what reaction people will have to them so I can have the right reaction prepared in response. I just want to be.”

“You can just be with me.”

A small grin touched Mike’s lips. “You’re a poet,” he teased, hoping to lighten the heavy mood his vulnerability had caused. But Aiden’s face remained serious.

Aiden pulled off Mike’s glove. He kissed each finger and rubbed his cheek over the back of his hand. “You could never disgust me. Purple foods disgust me. Slugs disgust me. But you, you could never disgust me. I don’t pity you and if you ever catch me staring, it’s because you’re so hot that I’m trying to calculate how fast I can get my pants off and climb you like a redwood.”

Mike closed his eyes and leaned into Aiden’s space, silently requesting more caresses, to which Aiden immediately obliged. “Might take you awhile,” he quietly said as Aiden rubbed his shoulders. “Those superhero pants you wear are really tight.”

Aiden laughed. “Yeah, they are. Maybe I’ll have them remade as tear-aways.”

He suddenly stopped petting Mike and drew back. Mike opened his eyes when he took his hands away. Aiden briefly leaned in to press a reassuring kiss to his mouth. Then he tugged his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor.

“We’re halfway there.”

Mike’s brows drew together in confusion. “Halfway to what?”

“To naked kisses.”

“Ah...” His frown cleared as he remembered Aiden’s remark from the night he’d given his answer—that he wanted to share naked kisses with him. They were halfway there, and he wanted to take that final step.

Mike rose from the bed. Without hesitating, he unzipped his pants and pushed them off. His briefs too. And just like that, he was naked in front of his lover for the first time. As he stood there nude, he felt as though he were baring more than his body and the scars that marred it. But what he didn’t feel was shame or embarrassment. The patience Aiden had shown him, allowing him to work up to this moment on his own time, and the attraction and desire shining in his golden eyes eliminated any chance of those negative feelings growing.

Aiden rose from the bed too. He shimmied out of his shorts and briefs, pushing the leg warmers off his long legs as well. When he was naked, he took a step forward, pressing their bodies together.

“You feel good against me,” he said. “Let me feel all of you.”

Aiden tugged at Mike’s hand, pulling him down. Together, they sank onto the bed. They lay there, skin to skin, arms wrapped around each other, pressed together from chest to thigh. Aiden gently kissed him, sipping at Mike’s lips as if he were the small and delicate one. He pulled back, a small smile on his mouth as he brushed their noses together.

“Now we’re all the way there.”

They were together. They were kissing. And they were naked. Nothing else mattered.

Chapter 25

Mike rubbed the back of his neck. His task list was longer than usual today, thanks to the major event coming up for the company. Many of their influencers were in town, put up at a hotel until they all left for a weekend of camping, sporting, and floating on the Meramec River. There was lots of publicity planned for the event, including a social media blitz and multiple YouTube live streams.

Over the past few days, he’d worked extremely close with all of the influencers, making sure that they checked into their hotel rooms okay, they were promoting the event, and that they had all of the Marin’s gear they needed before departing to the Meramec. After sending a message to Sporting Goods, asking them to deliver a smaller hunting bow to one of the influencers, Mike opened Twitter for another look at Johnny’s profile. For his own peace of mind, he’d been reviewing the outdoorsman’s feed three times a day. His earlier check didn’t find any problems. This time, he wasn’t as lucky.

An hour and a half ago, Johnny had posted a tweet disparaging the US military and what it took to become a member of the armed forces. It was his worst yet. The tweet was particularly egregious as the owner of the company he promoted—as well as a big portion of the company’s fanbase—was former military. The replies were filled with people furiously denouncing his statement, asking if he’d ever done anything more than put on fancy camo outfits to play solider in his backyard.

There would be no backtracking on this. Screenshots were being shared fast and wide. And the Marin’s Outdoors account was repeatedly tagged in tweets all with a variation of This is who you use to promote your products? Johnny had to go.

His shoulders tight, Mike picked up his office phone and dialed Johnny’s number. The fact that he knew the number by memory was an unpleasant testament to how often he had to call the popular influencer. The call connected and Johnny immediately started talking.

“Zielinski, I know why you’re calling. My tweet was a little problematic.”

“A little? Johnny, you disrespected everyone who has ever put on a US military uniform.”

“That wasn’t my intention. I only meant that the new crop of soft soldiers we’re getting makes us look weak.”

Mike clenched his hand tight on the phone in anger, but he kept his voice calm. “There is nothing weak about any of the people willing to risk life and limb for their country. Your tweet is nothing but ignorance and bigotry.”

“Fine. If you feel that strongly about it, I can delete the tweet.”

“Unfortunately, Johnny, the time for tweet and delete has passed. Marin’s Outdoors is releasing you from your contract.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Johnny. Your contract with Marin’s Outdoors has a good reputation clause that you have violated again and again. As a result of your actions, we can no longer afford to have our name associated with yours. Effective immediately, your contract as an influencer for Marin’s is terminated. Human Resources will contact you with further information.”

After a pregnant beat of silence, Johnny screamed a barrage of curses into the phone. Listening to that abuse wasn’t in Mike’s job description so he hung up.

Aggravated, Mike rocked back in his chair. With Johnny’s release, he’d added several tasks to his list. His first step was to put in a call to HR informing them of the end to Johnny’s sponsorship deal with Marin’s. Then he contacted everyone involved with planning the event, letting them know that Johnny was out. Schedules would have to be moved around to accommodate his absence. He was sorry to put extra work in his co-worker’s laps when they were all extremely busy but it couldn’t be helped. And last, he drafted an official statement explaining that Johnny was no longer affiliated with Marin’s Outdoors, and shared it across their social media platforms.

An hour after Mike sent out the memos and social media posts, Jaime Marin showed up to his office.

Mike set his pen down on the desktop. “I take it you heard about Johnny.”

“I did,” Marin said with a nod. He closed the door and took a seat in front Mike’s desk. “I came by to tell you that you did the right thing.”

“It was past time to release him. I gave him more chances than I should have because of his popularity.”

“The decision to keep him on for as long as you did was understandable. But we’ll find someone else who can bring eyes to our product without the negative baggage trailing along behind him.”

“True. I’ve got—.”

“I want to see Zielinski right now!”

Mike paused at the loud voice angrily demanded to see him. A second later, the door burst open and Johnny stormed into the office, Leo frantically trailing behind him.

“Mr. Zielinski, Mr. Marin, I tried to stop him!”

“It’s okay, Leo,” Mike reassured his assistant.

Johnny shouted over him.

“You can’t release me over a tweet!”

Both Mike and Marin stood.

“The decision is final,” Mike said firmly. “Barging in here and throwing a temper tantrum isn’t going to change my mind.”

“He’s right,” Marin added. “Your behavior right now is simply more justification for releasing you.”

“And who are you?” Johnny sneered in response.

“I’m Jaime Marin and it’s my company’s name that you’re tarnishing with your online antics.”

When Marin identified himself, Johnny calmed somewhat, a schmoozy smile instantly taking over his face.

“Jim. Man to man, you know how hard it is to speak your mind without all the softies out there getting all riled up over every little word. You understand what I tweeted isn’t that big of a deal, right?”

“No. I don’t.”

Marin’s no-nonsense answer made it clear that he wouldn’t be taking Johnny’s side on this. When Johnny realized that, the schmoozy expression dropped from his face as fast as it had appeared.

“Do you know how many customers I brought to your company?” he shouted. “You’re going to miss the sales I gave you!”

“Probably not as much as you’ll miss my brand sponsorship paychecks,” Marin coolly replied.

Johnny’s face went so red with rage, Mike thought he’d explode like a cartoon stick of dynamite.

“Fuck this company!”

Johnny turned to storm back out, but Leo was right behind him. Rather than going around, he roughly shoved the assistant out of the way. Leo stumbled and fell into the corner of the file credenza next to the door. He cried out in pain, clutching his hip.

Fury pulsed in Mike’s temples. He knew better than to activate his power but he vaulted over his desk and caught Johnny before he made it out of the office. A quick grappling hold and flip had the influencer face down on the floor. Cursing, Johnny rolled over, but he didn’t make it farther than that. Before he could get up, Mike had a foot pressed to the downed man’s throat.

“You will apologize to Leo,” Mike furiously snapped. “And you will wait for him to decide if he wants to press assault charges against you before you make a single move.”

The room went dead silent while Mike stared Johnny down. Johnny blinked first. He turned his head slightly to speak to Leo.

“I apologize for pushing and injuring you. I was out of line.”

“Leo? Do you want to press charges?” Mike asked without taking his eyes off Johnny.

Leo released his hip, but there was still a pinch of pain between his eyebrows. “He’s fired, right?”

“Yes,” Marin answered. “Marin’s Outdoors won’t work with this trash ever again.”

“Then that’s enough for me.”

Once Leo gave his answer, Mike took his foot off Johnny’s throat.

“Get up and get out of my building,” Marin said. “And be out of that hotel room my company is paying for by the end of today.”

Johnny scrambled to his feet. Without making eye contact with anyone, he ran from the room, making sure to give everyone in his path plenty of space as he passed them.

Mike moved to check on his assistant. Leo insisted he was fine, but Mike sent him home for the rest of the day and the next to recover from the incident.

The confrontation over, Marin cleared his throat. “As I was saying, you did the right thing in releasing him.”

With a dry laugh, Mike dropped back into his desk chair. “Definitely made the right decision.”

∞∞∞

After work, Mike called Aiden from his truck. He’d barely spoken two words when Aiden broke in to ask him what was wrong.

“You sound tense.”

This wasn’t the first time Aiden had picked up on his tension without him mentioning it. He loved the way Aiden easily read him. “Yeah. Had a tough day at work,” he answered.

“How about you come over and let me help you destress?”

“I’d like that.”

“Then come straight here.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

Thirty minutes later, Mike knocked on the door to Aiden’s. His shoulders were so tight he thought the tendons there would snap from the movement. Aiden’s blurry form came toward him through the wavy glass in the front door, the outline of his body steadily growing clearer as he got closer. The moment Aiden opened the door, a tidal wave of emotions rolled through Mike. Relief. Desire. Happiness. It was so much and so powerful, it left him light-headed.

Aiden reached for him and pulled him inside.

“Look at my poor pup all tense. Come in and let me take care of you.”

Aiden cupped the back of his head, guiding him down to the crook of his neck. Mike allowed himself to be held, breathing in the scent of his lover’s skin. Aiden’s hair was down and Mike dragged his fingers through the long, soft strands.

“What do you need right now in this moment?”

Mike thought about it. And his answer was something he couldn’t have imagined himself saying a month ago. “I want to serve you and suck your cock.”

“Okay. Come on.”

He almost whined when Aiden released him, but Aiden immediately re-established contact, lacing their fingers together to lead him over to the couch. Aiden wore a long, satin maroon robe, embroidered with a swirly black print. He untied the robe and let it fall open, revealing the matching square cut briefs. Mike barely got a chance to admire them before Aiden pushed them off. He kept the robe on and sat down on the couch with his legs spread.

“Kneel,” he ordered softly.

Mike dropped to his knees. He only had to wait a second before Aiden crooked a finger at him, beckoning him to come closer. Mike crawled on all fours to his lover, then kneeled up to wedge himself in between Aiden’s spread thighs.

“Serve me, Michael. Make me feel good.”

Mike immediately lowered his head, lapping gently at the head of his Dom’s cock. He moaned; Aiden always tasted so good. But this was about serving so he took Aiden into his mouth and began a slow, gentle rhythm up and down on his cock.

Aiden crooned gentle praise, softly threading his fingers through Mike’s hair.

“Good boy,” he whispered. “Is this what you needed?”

Mike nodded but didn’t stop sucking.

“You’re here with me, now. I’ve got you. Take as long as you need.”

Although Aiden’s voice was tight with restrained arousal, the words were a cool balm of peace settling over him. Mike closed his eyes. He kept working his mouth up and down his Dom’s cock until his aching jaw forced him to stop. With a final lick, he pulled off, then rested his cheek on Aiden’s bare thigh. The skin there was soft, the muscle beneath firm. Mike loved the contrast.

Aiden covered his still hard shaft behind his hand.

“Get comfortable and tell me about your day.”

Mike changed position, sitting sideways on the floor and wrapping a hand around Aiden’s calf. “Today I had to release our top influencer. His online behavior reflected poorly on the company and he refused to see that. The situation turned ugly. Since he’s in town, he came down to the office, barged in and pitched a fit. When I and Marin told him he was out, he shoved and injured my assistant.”

Mike squeezed Aiden’s leg. “I wasn’t about to let him leave after that, so I jumped over my desk, caught him and wrestled him to the ground. While he was down, I demanded he apologize and gave Leo the opportunity to decide if he wanted to press charges.

“Wow, you’re a superhero by day and by night.”

Mike breathed a soft laugh. “I don’t know about that. Leo didn’t want to press charges so I let Johnny go. I thought that would be the end of it.”

“But it wasn’t.”

“Nope. As payback, Johnny filmed himself burning all of his Marin’s Outdoors clothing and equipment. We don’t ever want that type of negative publicity, but it’s an especially bad time right now because we have one of our big outdoors events scheduled soon. The company can’t afford to have fans and customers turning against us right now. I spent the rest of the day taking care of that situation and there’s more waiting for me when I go back tomorrow.”

As he talked, Aiden continued to run his fingers through his hair, petting him, soothing him.

“You did a fine job. I admire your patience in handling the situation.”

The praise warmed Mike from the inside out, chasing away more of the tension he carried. He nuzzled his face against the nicely scented skin of Aiden’s inner thigh. “Thank you, Sir. And thank you for helping me relax.”

“You’re welcome. And I have something that’s going to make you feel even better. Do you want to know what it is?”

Mike tipped his head back to look up at Aiden. He was beautiful, the lamp light warming his skin and shining on the long, ink-black strands of hair around his shoulders. Simply looking at him helped to ease Mike’s tension.

“You don’t have to do anything tonight. I’m going to use your body to make us both feel good. All you have to do is lie there and enjoy it. Would you like that?”

Mike sighed, a shudder of relief running through him. Letting go of everything was exactly what he needed right now. His chest swelled with emotion at Aiden giving him the perfect way for him to relax. “Absolutely,” he answered.

Aiden stood. “Come with me.”

He held a hand out, tugging Mike to his feet when he accepted it. Mike followed as Aiden lead the way up to his bedroom, his silk robe flaring behind him.

In the bedroom, Aiden undressed him quickly and carefully before guiding him to lay in the center of the bed. Mike turned his head to watch as Aiden went to his dresser and took out several silk scarves. He came back to the bed, pretty colorful silks fluttering in his grasp as he walked.

“I want to restrain you tonight, pup. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes,” he easily answered. Aiden really did want to ensure that he didn’t do any work. And he was okay with that.

Aiden kept one of the scarves—a black one—in hand and let the others float to land where they would atop Mike’s nude body.

“Raise your arms.”

Mike obediently raised his arms over his head. Aiden grasped his wrist and wrapped the red silk around it, tying it in a secure knot. The material was cool against his skin. He kept his gaze on Aiden as he tied the other end of the scarf to the bars in the headboard. When he finished, Aiden leaned over to press a short kiss to Mike’s lips.

“You look good tied up,” he whispered against his mouth.

“Thanks,” Mike said.

Aiden smiled, but he’d already moved to the end of the bed, grabbing another scarf—red—along the way.

He tied Mike’s ankle to the footboard. Then, he moved to the other side of the bed, snatching up a blue scarf to bind his right foot. After that, there was only Mike’s right arm remaining. Aiden took up the final scarf—a deep emerald green—letting it trail over Mike’s chest and up his arm before he began tying him to the headboard. Once Mike was completely restrained, Aiden gently tapped him on the nose.

“I know you have super strength and can easily get out of these bonds. But I want you to allow the feeling of being tied up for your Dom’s pleasure relax you, okay?”

Mike drew in a deep breath through his nose and slowly let it out. This was his first time being tied up. It affected him exactly as Aiden had said it would. Flat on his back, without the use of his hands, he didn’t have any thoughts other than what Aiden was doing to him. He was bound, but he felt completely free. “Okay.”

After his agreement, Aiden climbed onto the bed. He straddled Mike’s hips, warm thighs pressing against him, their intimate places brushing together. Aiden leaned down, the strands of his hair tickling Mike’s arms. The sweet-smelling ebony curtain of hair enclosed them together, blocking out the world right before Aiden kissed him. In that moment, Mike decided that black was his favorite color.

They kissed for long moments. Their lips softly clinging, then parting on an inhalation. Aiden licked into his mouth, riling him up with playful curls of his tongue until he flipped a switch and began kissing him deeply. His Dom completely took over the kiss, practically controlling Mike’s every breath. Mike sunk into the kiss, focusing only on what was happening on the bed in that moment and letting everything else float away.

After a final tiny bite to his lip, Aiden rose. He reached out and brushed a thumb over the spot he’d just bitten. A tingling sensation followed behind the touch and Mike shivered in response.

“What was that?” he asked in surprise.

“Did it feel good?” Aiden asked from atop him.

“Yes.”

“It’s something I’ve been practicing for you.”

Aiden reached out to drag his fingers down Mike’s throat, bringing more of that effervescent sensation along. When Aiden got to his chest Mike looked down. Golden sparkles shimmered around his Dom’s fingertips as he moved them over his skin.

“I didn’t know you could use your power like that.”

“I couldn’t—not until I met you.”

Mike was thrilled he’d discovered the ability. The touch was many things all at once. Bubbly like champagne. Warm as early morning spring sunshine. Softer than feather down. Using that magical ability, Aiden played with his nipples, tugging and squeezing until they were both taut peaks. He groaned when Aiden bent again—except this time it was to take his nipple into his mouth. Aiden sucked, each pull resulting in an echoing throb in Mike’s cock. When Aiden moved to his other nipple, Mike twisted his upper body slightly to help him get there faster. Aiden flicked his tongue and sucked and nibbled. Mike squirmed, and pre-cum began leaking on to his stomach. “It’s too good,” he mumbled.

With a sharp pop, Aiden released the oversensitive flesh from his mouth. “Love that you’re so responsive here.” He brushed a final touch over the reddened nub. “Would love to see how you react to nipple clamps,” he added with a wicked grin.

The smile still lifting the corners of his mouth, Aiden trailed his fingers over Mike’s torso and down to his cock. The tingling, feather-light touches weren’t enough to send him over the edge, but they were perfect for ramping up his arousal until continuous moans fell from his lips. But when those warm, sparkling fingers teased and stroked his erection, a full-body tremor went through Mike, hard enough to rattle Aiden’s new bed.

“You like that.”

It wasn’t a question, and thankfully Mike didn’t have to answer.

Aiden stroked a thumb up the underside of Mike’s cock—that delightfully sparkly touch making his hips jerk and his balls ache. Aiden kept using his new power even as he slid his lips over the head of Mike’s cock.

“Ahh! The sound of pleasure he let out came from deep within, and still it couldn’t alleviate the buildup of aroused pressure in his veins as Aiden began to suck. He burned with it, every slick drag of Aiden’s mouth on his cock fanning the flames higher. Mike closed his eyes and let the fire roar.

Aiden sucked his cock with skill and enthusiasm for what felt like an eternity of bliss. When he finally stopped, Mike’s orgasm was pulsing in the head of his cock and shivering over his skin. He barely heard the tear of foil through the blood rushing in his ears. By the time Aiden rolled the condom down his throbbing length he was shaking and restlessly tugging at the silk that bound his limbs.

“I’m going to ride you now, Michael. Say yes if you want that.”

“Yes. I want it,” he answered hoarsely. “Want it, want you so much.”

Aiden adjusted his position, holding Mike’s cock and lining it up to his entrance. The sleeves of the robe fell to the crook of his elbows. With the silk draping around him, his waist-length hair in disarray, lips red and swollen, and his beautiful flushed cock rising up against his stomach, he was a living portrait of decadent arousal. Mike couldn’t take his eyes off him as Aiden sank down onto his stiff length. Once he was buried deep inside, Aiden closed his eyes and let his head fall back on his shoulders. When he lifted his head and opened his eyes again, his irises were glowing molten gold.

“Remember what I said. I’m going to make us both feel good. All you have to do is take it.”

“Yeah.” Mike ran his tongue over his lower lip. “I’ll take it.”

“Don’t move.”

Aiden braced a hand on Mike’s chest, the light weight doing more to restrain him than the silk scarves that tied him to the bed. He wouldn’t move an inch if Aiden wanted him still.

Thigh muscles flexing, Aiden began his ride. He rose up, dropped back down, circled his hips, and squeezed his inner muscles.

“Can I use my power on you? Just enough to send you into a good space.”

“Yes. Please.”

The golden glow shimmered to life. Through it, he saw Aiden’s lips move and heard his words.

“Relax, pup. You don’t have to worry about anything but the way you feel inside me. Forget about everything else.”

Aiden’s words flowed over him and through him. Mike gave himself up to them, his world narrowing to the tight grip sliding up and down on his cock, the slap of skin on skin, and the pleasure that pulsed throughout his body. It was the best, most intense sexual experience of his life.

Mike was in a cocoon where the only thing that mattered was the pleasure Aiden gave him. Still, he managed to restrain his impending orgasm, waiting for his Dom’s permission. But to his surprise, Aiden didn’t want him to hold back tonight.

“Let go for me, Michael,” he gasped as he bounced. “Come whenever you need to.”

Mike wanted to enjoy the feel of Aiden riding him a little longer before he came. But he also wanted to experience the mind-blowing orgasm that was waiting for him. Instant gratification won out. He let go and his climax shot from his cock in a bolt of pure ecstasy. Mike gasped at the force of it, fingers curling into fists as he throbbed and poured his release into the hot sheath gripping him with exquisite tightness. He moaned his lover’s name, desperate for the feeling to continue forever.

“Aiden.”

“That’s it. That’s it, baby. I can feel how hot you are inside me. Keep coming, Michael.”

His eyes locked on his flushed, glowing lover, Mike clung to every tiny iota of pleasure within him. Even when the climax eased, his body still hummed with lingering pulsations.

“It’s my turn, pup.”

Mike might have managed a nod. He wasn’t sure. But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was Aiden’s hand wrapped around his cock, stroking the glistening, slick head. It wasn’t long before the entire shaft became drenched, allowing Aiden’s hand to slide freely. His stomach muscles drew in tight and he gasped.

“Michael, I’m going to come. Your beautiful body made me come. Watch me. Watch me! Aaah!”

He threw his head back, his climax erupting from him in a pearly arc.

Mike sighed, pleased and content as he was splashed with the liquid heat of his Dom’s release all over his torso.

Aiden didn’t immediately pull off. He stayed on top of Mike, grinding his hips against him, letting him feel every single clenching moment of his orgasm. Mike floated dreamily throughout it, his only movements involuntary ones, a trembling thigh muscle, twitching toe, flexing fingers.

When he finally, and not a little reluctantly swam up from that sea of bliss, Aiden was there, gently stroking his hair. Mike realized that he’d already been untied.

“You alright?” Aiden quietly asked.

“Yeah. Better than actually.”

“Here. Scooch.”

Aiden sat up against the headboard and guided Mike to lay between his spread legs. After he settled, Aiden began massaging his shoulders. The ache from having his arms over his head for an extended time melted away under his touch.

“You’re going to sleep, and if you want, we can talk more about your job in the morning.”

“Sounds good.” Mike took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slept.

Chapter 26

When Mike woke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the absence of the tension that had made him feel like human piano wire. He stretched between the sheets, his shoulders aching slightly from having his arms restrained over his head last night. The ache felt good, and he stretched again to feel it once more. As he sighed and sat up, the man who’d given him both the peace and the aches came into the room, carrying two mugs of coffee. Steam rose above the rims, the scent wafting over to tease Mike’s nose.

“You are a god among men to bring me coffee. Give me a second.” He threw the covers back, striding quickly across the room to the bathroom to take care of his morning routine.

When he returned, Aiden sat toward the foot of the bed, one foot drawn up beneath him, the other braced on the floor. Mike sat down at the head of the bed, next to the nightstand where the other mug had been placed. He picked it up, breathing in the scent of the brew before he took his first sip. It was hot, slightly sweet. Heaven on his tongue. “That’s good,” he said after he swallowed.

Aiden smiled at him over the rim of his mug.

“You look much better this morning.”

Mike returned his lover’s smile, happy to sit there and drink his coffee while he admired how soft and ethereal Aiden appeared sitting in a ray of sunshine. His dark hair was loose around his shoulders, and he wore an oversized gray sweatshirt and black leggings. Even without using his powers, Aiden seemed to glow. “I definitely feel better,” he finally answered.

“Do you want to talk about last night?” Aiden asked.

Mike thought about it. Although he felt immeasurably better after his scene with Aiden last night, taking the time to work out what was bothering him with someone who wanted to listen would help as well.

“Work is difficult,” he began. “And I don’t mean the job is difficult because it’s not. It’s difficult because I’m always restless there. Struggling to focus, chafing to leave. I know a big part of it is adjusting to civilian life after so long in the Army. But telling myself that hasn’t done much good to help me settle down.”

“You never seem happy when you talk about work.”

“That’s life, right?” Mike asked with a resigned shrug. “Is anyone really happy with where they work?”

Aiden took a long drink of his coffee before answering. “Other than my wrecked feet, yeah I like what I do and I’m happy with my job.”

“You’re lucky then.”

“Luck is a part of it.” Aiden acknowledged. “But I had to try out several clubs before I found the one where I’m most comfortable. Maybe that place isn’t for you and you should quit.”

Mike straightened his spine in disbelief at Aiden casually tossing out that he should quit. “I can’t just quit my job. My bills don’t care if I’m restless at work.”

“Hmmm...”

“What?

Aiden met his gaze directly as he spoke.

“You could move in with me. Then you wouldn’t have any housing related bills to worry about. And I can take over anything else that still needs to be paid.”

Mike sat there in stunned silence at Aiden’s offer. He had to shake himself in order to give a response. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not? It’s not like I’m hurting for money. As long as you don’t eat too many Hot Pockets, I should be able to cover your keep.”

“But you shouldn’t have to. It’s not your responsibility to take care of me financially.”

“Doms take care of their subs, don’t they? This is another way of doing it.”

That answer startled a laugh out of Mike. Aiden taking care of him sexually or even emotionally wasn’t nearly on the same level of being supported as if he were a 1950’s house wife. “It’s not quite the same,” he said aloud.

Aiden lowered his mug, balancing it on his knee. “You want to tell me why it’s not?” he asked with his jaw taking on a stubborn tilt.

Mike sensed he was on shaky ground. He tried to more clearly explain what he meant. “It’s one thing to submit sexually or to accept comfort from a lover. You know how much I enjoy that. But I can’t let you take over my life like I’m a child.”

“I see. It’s cool for me to Dom you and take care of you in the bedroom but anything outside of that is ridiculous.”

“I’m a grown capable man. How would it look if I’m sitting at home all day while you’re out earning a living for us?”

“Who gives a fuck how it looks?” Aiden snapped. “It’s our life and we can do whatever we want.” Aiden closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “When I asked you if you were happy with your submission and what we were building you said yes.”

“I thought you meant in bed! I never—it never occurred to me that you meant or expected anything other than that.”

Aiden rose from the bed. He strode across the room to deposit his coffee mug on the dresser and stood there with his back to the room for a long moment. When he turned to face Mike again, his expression was hard, the usual sparkle missing from his golden eyes.

“You’re exactly like all the others. It’s fine to let the femme pretty boy tell you to lick his boots behind closed doors but in public everybody has to know that you’re the real man in the relationship.”

Mike mentally flinched. That accusation stung—mostly because there was a big barb of truth to it. “Even if I was on board with letting you take care of me, why should I trust you to honor what you say?”

“What does that mean?” Aiden asked with his jaw clenched so tight his lips barely moved.

“You rush into everything, Aiden! And rush out of things just as fast. You run headlong into fights, damn the consequences. And I remember what you said that night at the Fox—if a relationship isn’t fun you move on. If I give up my job and apartment for us to rush into living together and three months later the arrangement isn’t fun for you anymore then what? What am I supposed to do then? You’ll be fine to move on but I—.” Mike stopped. He crossed his arms over his chest, but Aiden wouldn’t let the sentence go unfinished.

“You what?” Aiden demanded.

There was a dare in Aiden’s question. Mike knew if he answered the wrong way, he might damage their relationship in a way that couldn’t be repaired. But he didn’t want to lie, so he said what he felt. “I don’t bounce back as fast as you.”

The words dropped between them, bringing with them a quiet as heavy and dense as a black hole.

When Aiden finally spoke, it was in a voice so low and hushed that the two words that left his mouth barely disrupted the thick blanket of silence.

“Get out.”

“What?” He asked the question even though he’d heard Aiden perfectly. It was more out of surprise than anything. Unfortunately, when Aiden repeated himself, he made it clear exactly what he meant.

“Get your shit and get out. I’m done with this conversation and I’m done with you. Wondering how fast I’ll jump out of this relationship? Well, guess what? I’ve just jumped.”

Chapter 27

Aiden lay on his back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had his phone connected to a Blue Tooth speaker, a playlist queued up, the volume loud in an attempt to block out the thoughts in his head. Unfortunately, the attempt was failing miserably. He kept going over the fight with Mike, the entire scene stuck on a Technicolor loop. Mike hadn’t called him cold like Steve had. But saying he’d be able to bounce-back quickly was nearly as bad, insinuating that his feelings for Mike didn’t run deep. And they did! He cared for Mike, obviously. More than anyone else he’d ever dated in fact. But what the hell was he supposed to think after Mike flung his offer to help him back in his face?

Aiden knew what he wanted in a relationship. He wanted a man comfortable enough in his manhood or psyche or whatever to allow himself to be the submissive one. If Mike couldn’t do that, then there was no point in continuing on with their relationship, falling more in lo— growing closer when they were doomed to clash over such a major issue again and again. Aiden thumped his fist against the mattress. Why was it so damn hard to find a man who would let him take care of them?

His phone rang, interrupting the music and his frustrated brooding. Aiden hoped it wasn’t Caleb calling him to go save a citizen in danger. He wasn’t feeling very heroic at the moment. Flopping on to his side, he reached out to grab his cell from the nightstand and look at the screen. It was his mom. Aiden knew why she was calling. With a resigned sigh, he swiped the green button to accept the call.

“Hello, Mom.”

“Hello, sweetheart. I’m calling to verify that you’ll be at the party tonight.”

“Yes. I’ll be there.”

“And you already have your suit? Or do I need to make a call and have it couriered over?”

“I have my suit. Picked it up a few days ago.” He didn’t fault his mother for checking in. Halima Begovic-Saliette liked to stay on top of things. That trait had helped her rise to the top in an extremely competitive industry.

“All right. Well, if you need anything, buzz the house and someone will help you.”

“I should be fine but thanks for the offer.”

“Okay, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon.”

They hung up and Aiden returned to his previous position.

He wasn’t exactly thrilled about this party—the guests weren’t the type he ran with—but it was important to his parents. It was important to his father because it helped to raise money for the St. Louis Metropolitan ballet, the company where he’d performed for years as the male principal. And it was important to his mother because it gave her a chance to reinforce her status amongst St. Louis’s elite.

That type of life wasn’t for him. Aiden wasn’t foolish enough to say he didn’t care about money. But he didn’t need to be on the near stratospheric economic level of his parents or be seen as important by the city’s movers and shakers. He simply wanted to dance, live comfortably, kick ass as Stardust, and have a gorgeous, strong and sweet submissive kneeling at his feet. Except he didn’t want just anyone. When he pictured a man kneeling before him, it was Mike’s broad shoulders and soft brown hair and those bright green eyes staring up at him with adoration that came to mind. Too bad Mike didn’t want the same thing.

Aiden rolled off the bed. It was time to get ready and laying there feeling sorry for himself wasn’t helping. He went to the walk-in closet and retrieved the garment bag that held his custom suit. He’d already showered and shaved, so he pulled on a pair of square-cut briefs and black dress socks. After that, he unzipped the bag and began dressing.

Once Aiden finished getting ready, he checked himself over in the mirror. His look for the evening was probably flashier than anything anyone at the party would be wearing but he didn’t believe in dimming his shine. The suit was slim cut, fitting close to his body. The jacket was a standout piece, brushed satin in antique gold with black velvet lapels. He wore a black dress shirt beneath the jacket and his pants and J-Boots were black as well. A skinny gold tie, a tiny gold lace rose pinned to the left lapel, and diamond and gold earrings flashing at his ears completed the look. His long black hair was loose, blow dried, and flat ironed until it hung in a smooth curtain down his back. For makeup he’d applied concealer to cover any blemishes, liner and gray shadow to give himself a smokey eye, and a quick swipe of clear lip gloss.

No, Aiden didn’t believe in dimming his shine. And since he was about to be among the people who’d literally rejected him for shining too bright, he perversely wanted to sparkle even more.

Confident in his appearance, Aiden left the guest house and made his way to his parents’ mansion. The path was more brightly lit than usual. The fountain was on tonight, water arcing and splashing around the rearing Clydesdale. A line of cars dropped off guests before valets took the luxury vehicles away to be parked off-site. All of the windows in the house were lit—giving the mansion an inviting glow.

Aiden walked inside. It was decorated in the same style as all of the other parties his parents hosted a few times each year—extravagant yet tasteful. Tonight, the event planner had utilized warm fall colors of amber and mulberry for the decorations.

Spying his parents, Aiden went over to them to say hello. They looked amazing together as always. His mom wore her chestnut brown hair in an elegant upsweep, the style framing the fine bone structure that he’d inherited from her. Delicate sapphire and pearl drop earrings swung at her ears, matching the massive cocktail ring worn on her right hand. Her indigo blue dress had a velvet empire bodice with a bias-cut satin skirt.

His father had coordinated with his wife, in a dark blue brocade suit jacket. He’d never been one to subscribe to the all-black style. Aiden and his father were alike in that way—their artistic personalities demanding they wear something richer than the standard black jacket common for evening wear. The senior Saliette had styled his short, silver-laced black hair back from his forehead, which showcased his dark eyes and the elegantly arched eyebrows he’d passed on to his sons.

“Ah, here’s our little black sheep,” his father said before pulling Aiden into a hug.

“Where is your date?” his mother asked after brushing past his cheek with an air kiss.

Aiden flinched slightly before smoothing his expression and answering calmly. “We broke up.” Unfortunately, his mother knew him too well and caught the millisecond of turmoil he’d revealed.

“You seem bothered by it.”

“Aren’t I usually?”

“Actually? No.”

Halima gently touched his arm—a look of concern on her face.

“If you need to talk...”

“Mom, you’re in the middle of hosting a fundraiser. Now’s not the time to sit down and gab with me about boys.” Now wasn’t the time, but he appreciated the offer. He expressed his thanks with a quick squeeze to her hand.

“Well, tomorrow, come by and we’ll have a couch cuddle.” She leaned up and kissed his forehead. A real kiss, followed by rubbing his forehead to remove any lipstick marks. As if any of her expensive, imported from Korea cosmetics would dare to smudge and come off. His father gave him another hug as well.

Aiden accepted a drink from a server—something bubbly and cranberry flavored as he lingered for a few moments of small talk with his parents and the two couples they’d been conversing with when he’d arrived. He was about to excuse himself when someone new approached. Aiden recognized the silver-haired man immediately. Anderson Pruitt. Of course, the most important man in the city would be here where all the other important people had gathered. Aiden went still, reminding himself to keep control of his face so his hatred wouldn’t show and embarrass his parents.

“Anderson. I’m glad you could make it.”

His mother gave their guest an air kiss and his father followed up with a hearty handshake. Aiden merely offered the man a polite smile—his teeth clenched behind his closed lips.

“Of course. I love supporting the arts,” Pruitt said with perfect graciousness. He turned gray eyes so light they almost appeared clear to Aiden. “And this is your son, Aiden, correct?”

“Yes. Our youngest of three,” Halima said proudly.

“Your mother talks about her three sons whenever we meet. You’re the one who works as an exotic dancer.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s a shame about what’s happening in the Playground.”

Aiden doubted the sincerity of Pruitt’s concern. Considering he was the one responsible for the entire situation. And even if he wasn’t directly involved and it was his company acting without his direct edict, it was unlikely that someone as highbrow Pruitt cared about anybody in the lowlands of the red-light district. “It is. But we’ll get through it. We survive and thrive no matter what,” he firmly stated while staring into those glass-like eyes.

And that was all the conversation he was willing to exchange with this man. Aiden excused himself and left their group.

He moved through the crowd, eventually ending up with a small group of people that included his brother, his wife, and several young dancers from the Metropolitan.

After Aiden greeted the people he knew and introduced himself to the ones he didn’t, a tall, dark-skin dancer addressed him.

“Tell us about working in a strip club. What’s it like?”

“Why? Are you thinking about auditioning?”

“Goodness no! I’m a real —.” His eyes went wide and he cut himself off before finishing his sentence.

Aiden finished for him. “A real dancer?”

The man pressed his lips together and glanced to the side, clearly embarrassed over his tactless remark.

“I meant to say that it’s a different discipline than the one I’m trained in.”

Since the man seemed genuinely curious and Aiden wasn’t ashamed of what he did, he disregarded the snobbish verbal slip and answered. “Take it from someone who’s done both. The disciplines may be vastly different, but one thing they have in common is that you have to work hard to be good enough for the stage. Your stage presence is crucial as well. In ballet, if you know the moves, but perform like a wooden marionette, you’ll be in the corps forever. In the club, if you get up on that pole and spin without any passion, the pile of dollar bills thrown your way will be thin at best. And nobody likes a pity tip,” he said with a grin.

The guests in their small group laughed and the man who’d asked the question relaxed and laughed as well.

“As for differences. Costumes obviously. We strip right there on stage rather than in a mad dash behind the curtain. Our music is a touch more lively. And lifts for ballerinas are aided by a human partner, while for exotics we get air with a pole.”

A South Asian woman with tawny brown skin, her curly black hair pulled up in a classic ballerina’s bun spoke up.

“I imagine the foot pain is another commonality,” she said in a soft, lilting accent.

Aiden smiled at her. “Yes. My feet are completely wrecked.”

The lovely dancer guided the conversation to a new topic. Aiden joined in on occasion but was content to remain on the edge, letting his attention drift as they talked about the stages for their upcoming season. It was strange to think this would have been his life if he hadn’t turned out to be an enhanced human. He might not be here in St. Louis with the Metropolitan, but he would be somewhere in the country, at a cocktail party just like this one, mingling with high rollers to encourage their continued patronage of his company. Aiden realized now that although he would have thrived as a danseur, he was probably better suited to life outside the structured, insular world of classical ballet.

As he tuned out even more from the conversation, thoughts of Mike and their fight started to creep in. Thankfully, his ACG watch beeped, interrupting before he could get to melancholy. Relieved, Aiden raised his wrist, turning slightly to the side to read the screen without anyone seeing.

We have a situation. Report to HQ first for a quick briefing.

“Is that Pruitt, Inc. tech?”

Aiden looked up in surprise at Pruitt’s voice. When had he joined their group? The older man stood almost uncomfortably close, his eyes darting between Aiden’s face and his watch.

“No,” Aiden said coldly. He was done pretending to be polite to this megalomaniac. He gave his back to Pruitt and quietly got his brother’s attention. “Tell Mom and Dad I had to leave.”

His brother arched an eyebrow. “Already?”

“Yes. Can’t be helped.”

Aiden gave his sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek and excused himself from the others in the group. Quickly slipping through the crowd of guests, he was back outside in less than a minute. He hustled back to the guest house and grabbed his bag with his Stardust gear. It would be foolish to ride off wearing it and risk being seen, so he shrugged the backpack onto his shoulders and ran to his motorcycle. A quick kick start and the bike roared to life. Aiden zipped down the long drive past the still arriving guests, headed for the firehouse.

∞∞∞

Mike’s balance had tipped away from peace. He still had the purpose and joy of working as a superhero. But it was his relationship with Aiden that had weighted the scales. He missed everything about being with his pretty Dom. But he couldn’t come to terms with what Aiden wanted from him. And the pain at Aiden so easily casting him aside couldn’t be denied. He needed to trust that Aiden would be there for him. Would be the person he belonged to. His home. Aiden’s cavalier attitude in ending their relationship had seriously damaged that trust. But still, Mike wanted to be with him.

Tonight, he would see Aiden for the first time since their breakup. He tried to keep his cool, but at the familiar sound of a motorcycle approaching, his heart started beating faster. Mike turned to watch the front door, waiting for Aiden’s arrival.

Aiden came in, his loose hair in a windswept tangle, wearing a gold tuxedo jacket and black pants. Mike was confused for a moment before he remembered that the Saliette’s fundraiser was that evening.

“Give me a second to get changed,” Aiden said before disappearing into the locker room.

Mike was staring at the door, his heart aching, when a warm sense of calm suddenly washed over him. His heart still ached, but it was as if someone had applied a soothing balm to the raw wound of his soul. He turned to Caleb.

“Did you...?”

Caleb looked up at him with sympathetic eyes and nodded.

“I need you focused out there, big guy.”

Realizing that he did indeed need to have his head in the game, Mike accepted the gift of momentary calm Caleb had given him. He straightened his shoulders. “Understood. Thank you.”

Aiden came back out dressed in his Stardust gear, sai holstered and mask in hand. At the same time, the throaty roar of a muscle car came from the parking lot. A moment later Amina walked into the firehouse, dressed in her hero suit. It was black leather trimmed in glowing purple. The cowled mask to the suit was currently down, her hair wrapped in a purple silk scarf.

A few moments later, Frost walked in too. They were the only one on the team who didn’t appear to wear a traditional superhero costume. They were always dressed in white, grays, and blues but they favored hoodies or sometimes even fur coats worn with jeans. Tonight, they had on an oversized gray sweatshirt, black jeans with multiple rips and loops, and silver Doc Martens.

“Okay, everyone is here,” Caleb said. “Here’s what’s going on. Some wannabe villain prankster...”

Mike paid enough attention to get the basic details of who and where they were fighting. But his mind was mostly on Aiden—half missing him, half angry at him for ending their relationship. It was a frustrating situation to be in. He wanted answers. Their discussion or argument felt unfinished. He needed to know why Aiden made that offer and why he’d been angry when Mike turned him down. And was he supposed to assume that they were over, truly over, due to what felt like to him was a non-issue? He turned to look at Aiden, all of his thoughts and questions bubbling within him, ready to rise up for him to blurt out—.

“Got it.”

Mike snapped to attention when Amina spoke. She pulled up her cowl, settling it to cover half of her face down to her nose. They were about to depart. Embarrassed that he’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even realized the briefing was over, Mike got his head in the game and put his visor on. They left the firehouse, Mike and Amina in their own rides, Frost on the back of Aiden’s motorcycle.

When they arrived on the scene, Amina took charge.

“Frost, freeze over that fountain to keep anymore goblins from spawning. Stardust and Dr. Z, we’re keeping these disgusting little creatures occupied until Frost can freeze them all over.”

Every one jumped into action. Mike focused on the fight but he couldn’t help but notice the difference from all of the previous missions he’d carried out with Aiden. Fighting with his lover was fun. But fighting with his former lover was joyless. Gone was the fraught tension with underlying sexual attraction from their first outings. The flirty banter from their time as lovers had disappeared as well. Now, it was simply impersonal tones and basic courtesy.

“Behind you!” Mike called out when he saw one of the water goblins sneaking up behind Stardust.

Stardust spun and kicked the goblin away. “Thanks,” he called back.

And those were the only words they spoke to each other.

When the fight was over, Mike turned to Aiden out of habit, ready to receive his praise. Aiden looked up. Their eyes met and Aiden took a single step toward him. Then he stopped. Averting his gaze, he spun on his heel and went the other way.

Something cracked within Mike’s chest as realization struck with a brutal hit. There would be no good job offered tonight. No reward given. No good boy whispered in his ear as he pleasured his pretty Dom.

Mike clenched his fists, turning away to hide his wounded expression from the others. He must not have been fast enough however, because Amina touched his arm.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Mike cleared his throat, forcing a smile before he answered. “I’m fine. Just frustrated those things did all this damage.”

The petite hero eyed him for a moment, clearly not buying his excuse. But she let it pass. Looking around at the busted streetlights, overturned cars, and broken shop windows, she nodded in agreement.

“Ugh, me too. I know there’s funds and crews to cover villain attacks but it still chaps my ass every time. Well, at least the mission was a success, right?”

Mike, glanced at Stardust, who stood with Frost, poking at one of the shards of ice that had previously been a water goblin. “Yeah. I guess the mission is all that matters.”

∞∞∞

“So, are you going to bring it up? And if you say bring what up? I’ll turn your house into a meat locker.”

Aiden moved around the kitchen, getting the post-fight snacks ready for him and Frost. He’d noticed his friend eyeing him and Mike tonight. And of course, Mike’s sudden absence was a dead giveaway that something was wrong, so he’d expected this question. He answered with prepared nonchalance. “We broke up, exactly like I knew we would. I’m surprised it happened this fast but other than that I’m unbothered.”

“What happened?”

“I made him an offer he was easily able to refuse.”

“Which was?”

Aiden answered while punching in the time on the microwave. “He hates his job. Came over one night so tense from work I thought he’d shatter if I touched him wrong.” Aiden watched as the light came on and the plate of Hot Pockets began to spin. “I calmed him down and the next morning I told him to quit, move in with me, and let me take care of everything. He thought the idea was absurd and we split.” When he finally turned around, Frost was leaning against the counter, their arms crossed over their chest.

“You sprung being his sugar daddy on him and he reacted with adverse surprise. Shocking.”

“I wasn’t offering to be his sugar daddy!” Aiden protested. “We’re in a relationship. I simply wanted to help with his problem and taking care of him seemed like a good way to do it.”

“Had you had this conversation before?”

“No.”

“Did you try to talk about it with him or work out a solution that satisfied you both before you broke up?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because he basically said he can’t trust that I won’t abandon him on the side of the road when I move on to the next shiny new boy toy that catches my eye.”

Frost winced, dropping their arms from their crossed pose and clasping them behind their back. “Ouch.”

“Yeah.” Aiden relaxed now that he had Frost on his side. “That comment stung and as far as I’m concerned was completely undeserved. That’s when I told him we were over.”

He’d thought Frost was on his side, so he was caught off guard when a slushy ball of ice splatted against his forehead.

“Ow! What the fuck?” he angrily demanded, glaring at his friend.

Frost glared right back. “That was to cool your hotheaded ass off.”

Aiden stood there, ice cold water dripping down his nose before he spun away and grabbed a towel. “I wasn’t being hotheaded,” he snapped as he dried his face. “He made an assumption and I gave him what he expected. It was ridiculous for me to think he’d be down with submitting the way I want a partner to submit. Really, I don’t have anyone to blame but myself.”

“Aiden, he’s new to submission. You are literally his first fucking Dom. He knows nothing but what you and Google teach him. And you expect him to be on board with putting himself completely in your hands without any type of assurances or even knowing what that means? You’re lucky he didn’t laugh in your face.”

“He did laugh a little,” Aiden mumbled.

Frost snorted. “You deserved that. Listen, I know you two fell hard and fast for each other. But you’re both adults so you should have talked this out. Especially you. You want to be his Dom then you should have acted like one.”

“I can’t believe you said that many words at once just to read me the riot act.”

“I speak when I need to. And I’m not finished. If Mike was only a fun fling for you, then don’t worry about the breakup. But if you really thought you could have something with him, it’s not too late for you to fix it. So, what do you want to do?”

Aiden knew what he wanted. But deep down, he was afraid. Afraid of what would happen if he really did try to build a long-term relationship with Mike. And that was the true reason he’d so easily pushed him away. As a superhero, Aiden didn’t let fear get to him. But as a man falling in love, he couldn’t defeat the fear that dogged him.

Chapter 28

Mike returned home after an early evening patrol with Amina. He’d enjoyed working with the one non-superpowered member of the team. Her fighting skills were beyond impressive. She would have been an amazing soldier to have by his side in his Army unit. The hero was also fun to talk to. She easily switched from taking down villains to discussing cars—her favorite topic. And they were both bisexual, so they’d high-fived over having that in common.

But he’d missed Aiden’s flirtatious teasing during fights. He missed returning home to eat late night junk food snacks followed by making love. He missed the tug of the leash pulling him close to his lover.

Mike sighed and dropped onto the couch, turning on the TV to a previously recorded football game. He followed the plays and he knew who was up but he didn’t have any investment in either team’s victory. Watching the game was simply something to kill time, while the cheers and ref whistles and sports casters talking was sound to fill the silence of his empty apartment.

The whistle blew for half-time and the announcers faced the camera, ready to break down everything that happened in the first half. Mike stood to get another drink when he noticed an abrupt change to the temperature. It was cold. So cold that goosebumps prickled up on his arms. Instead of heading to the kitchen, Mike went to the hall to check the thermostat. By the time he reached it, the temperature had plummeted so far his breath was fogging the air in front of him.

“What the...?” Mike suddenly realized it would be useless to even bother with the thermostat. The freezing temp was neither a natural occurrence or mechanical malfunction.

A knock came at the door.

“Fuck.” Mike cursed under his breath, the evidence of the rough word drifting in front of him. He knew who it was. Still, he went over and checked the peephole just to be sure. The person he expected to see stood on the other side. Mike opened the door.

“Hey, Frost,” he greeted the superhero while trying not to shiver.

“Mike. Can I come in?”

It seemed foolish to say yes, what with the snow swirling around them and the frost spreading across the ground beneath their feet. Mike stepped back to let them in anyway. “I know why you’re here,” he said when he closed the door.

Frost raised a dark eyebrow. “You do? Go ahead and tell me why I’m here.”

“You’re here because Aiden is your best friend and we broke up.”

“And you think I’m here to bully you?”

Mike flicked a glance to the ice creeping across the glass balcony door. “Aren’t you?”

“I’m pissed,” Frost said crossing their arms over their chest. “And yeah, I could happily lock you up in a block of ice right now for hurting my friend. But I need you to help me understand why you turned down his offer. Was it the suddenness of the ask or are you not interested?”

“I’m interested in Aiden, you know that.” Unsure how much of his and Aiden’s relationship he could reveal, he hedged explaining the reason behind their breakup. “It’s what he wanted from me that’s the problem.”

“Why is it such a struggle for you to submit one way but not another?”

“You know...?”

“Yeah, I know you’re a submissive. Aiden is my best friend. You think I didn’t know he’s a Dom? For that matter I’m a submissive too.”

“I didn’t realize.” It made sense that Aiden and Frost would share that interest with how close they were. He’d simply never thought about it.

Frost’s lips twitched in something close to a smile even as snowflakes continued to swirl around them. “I think you’ll find that D/s dynamics are prevalent on the ACG team. But we’re not talking about me or the team. We’re talking about you. You turned Aiden down because of what? Pride? Societal notions of what it means to be a man?”

There it was again—that uncomfortable flinch from the grain of truth settling under his skin.

“Just because I enjoy submitting in the bedroom doesn’t mean I want to submit anywhere else in my life.”

“But you do want to.”

That bold declaration had Mike’s eyebrows rocketing up to his hairline. “Why would you assume that?”

“Because I’ve seen you. The way you serve him. The way you like when he cares for you. Granted, its only glimpses, but from what I’ve seen, the dynamic the two of you have makes you happy. And yet you’re telling me that you only submit sexually? I don’t buy it. And I bet if you think about it, you don’t either.”

“What about the way he rushes into things? That’s a big issue for me.”

“He rushes into things he’s passionate about. The two of us were practically besties within a day of meeting each other because he liked my vibe. When he doesn’t care he doesn’t bother.”

Mike sank back down to his spot on the couch as he took in Frost’s words. He knew that Aiden didn’t give much of his energy to things that he didn’t care about. And that what looked like Aiden blindly rushing forward was often exuberant enthusiasm for things worthy of his passion. But that didn’t stop him from being afraid that Aiden would leave him. And it wasn’t because he was worried about what would happen to him financially if he quit his job and let Aiden take over. It would suck, but he had the resources, skills, and mental and physical abilities to start from zero if he ever needed to. It was the emotional abandonment that he feared. He’d belonged to very few people in life—his parents who’d died and left him. And his Army unit that he’d been force to leave after his injuries.

He’d previously dated people and ended relationships. But those didn’t hurt the way he knew in his heart it would hurt if Aiden were to take him in and then later, turn him loose. He would be devastated. Because with Aiden, he wanted to belong to him in a way that he’d never experienced with any of the others he’d been involved with.

“Aiden took a chance, hoping that you wouldn’t turn out like the others who—for whatever reason—couldn’t or wouldn’t submit. Right now, he’s pretending as if he’s not surprised how things ended, and that he’s not bothered. But I know he’s hurting.”

At that, Mike snapped his head up to look at his icy friend. “He’s hurting?”

The swirling snow dissipated. “Yeah, he is,” Frost quietly said.

“Oh.” He didn’t like the thought of Aiden out there hurting, just as he was.

“Listen, Z. I’m not here to tell you what to do. But I hope you’ll consider whether what you had going with Aiden is worth fighting for before you both toss away something that had the potential to be really good.”

∞∞∞

After Frost left, Mike thought about what they’d said. He didn’t have any immediate solutions to heal the rift between him and Aiden. And he didn’t know what Aiden’s feelings on their breakup were, other than Frost’s assertion that he was hurting. But he did know that he missed seeing his pretty, raven-haired lover.

He was about to do something foolish. What he was planning was ill-advised. That didn’t stop him from grabbing his keys and walking out the door. Twenty minutes later, he drove onto the Flirtatious Fox’s parking lot.

The cold wind at his back pushed him forward, quickening his steps to the Fox’s entrance. At the door, the bouncer raised an eyebrow when she saw him.

“You’re not here to cause trouble, are you?”

She obviously knew that he and Aiden were on the outs.

Mike shook his head. “Scouts honor I’m not. I only want to watch the performances.”

The bouncer was of equal height to Mike and she stared straight into his eyes for a long moment. Mike calmly held her gaze, hoping that she wouldn’t deny him entrance. Finally, she nodded, but gave him a warning.

“If I catch even a hint of a problem from you, I’ll boot your ass out and you won’t be allowed back ever.”

“Understood.”

She stepped aside and Mike opened the door. Inside, the club was as much of a feast for the eyes as the first time he’d seen it. Unfortunately, tonight the bright, rich colors mocked the dull glumness of his mood. He choose a spot at one of the smaller side bars, in the corner, where most of the light didn’t reach. In the dark, he ordered a drink and settled down on a stool to watch the stage.

Mike sat through two acts, a dancer who had the crowd eating out of her hand with each layer of ruffles she removed and a set of male twins that performed a double ariel hoop routine full of dramatic stunts. And then, the DJ announced Glimmer.

“And now, patrons of The Flirtatious Fox. The act you’ve all been thirsting for. Please welcome to the stage the titillating, tantalizing, and always tempting...Glimmer!”

Mike straightened on his stool, his eyes locked on the man strolling onto the stage. The costume was new, one he hadn’t seen before. Aiden wore black liquid latex leggings, cut as if they were chaps. He had on a thong beneath the chaps, which left the plump curves of his ass on full display. A harness adorned with green rhinestones that sparkled beneath the stage lights caged his chest. Black gloves covered his hands and he’d tied a triangle of lace around the lower half of his face like an old-time cattle rustler’s bandana. His hair was pulled back from his face, half of it up into a tight bun, the rest falling down his back.

Mike’s chest ached as he drank in the sight of his former lover. Aiden was beautiful. He wanted to go up on the stage and tell him how gorgeous he was. Thankfully, he had the presence of mind to know that a move like that would definitely have the bouncer throwing him out. So, he sat there, drink glass clutched tightly in his hand as he watched Aiden dance.

This routine was different from the first time Mike had watched Aiden on stage. Tonight, every move was slow and sensual, coaxing the eye to follow the lines of Aiden’s body as he glided and spun across the stage. Aiden caressed the pole as if it were his lover, touch delicate and light before he grasped it to flip and spin. When his feet touched the floor again, he reached out to the crowd, almost as if in supplication. When no one grasped his hand, he gracefully sank to the stage. On his knees, Aiden pulled the tie free and the rest of his hair cascaded down around his shoulders in thick black waves. He rolled across the stage, getting tangled in his long hair, sometimes touching himself, others reaching out to the whistling and cheering crowd.

Aiden rose back to his knees, body swaying side to side, hands ghosting over his thighs. As the song built to its finish, Aiden reached out one last time, expression filled with longing. And then the dance was over. Aiden kneeled with his head bowed, hair swinging forward to hide his face while dollar bills and gold confetti rained down all around him.

In awe of the performance, Mike clapped along with everyone else. But when Aiden left the stage, Mike wondered, did the dance have meaning? Was Aiden hurting too as Frost had said? Or was he projecting something onto Aiden’s dance that didn’t exist in order to make himself feel better? Mike didn’t know and he wasn’t going to ask either. Coming here tonight was bad enough. He wouldn’t up the creepy spurned lover ante by seeking Aiden out face to face at his place of work. If he wanted to talk to him, he would call and speak to him in a time and place where Aiden felt comfortable telling him no if he wanted to.

Knowing that Aiden usually worked the floor after performing, Mike realized it was time for him to go. Raising his hand to get the bartender’s attention, he reached for his wallet, ready to pay his tab and leave. Before the bartender noticed him however, a dancer showed up at his elbow. He had a buzzed haircut that showed off his big, long-lashed brown eyes, and full lips slicked with glittery pink lipstick.

“Hey, there big guy. You all alone tonight?”

“I am. Just came in to have a few drinks.”

“Great, I’m thirsty too.”

The dancer waved a hand and the bartender immediately appeared in front of them.

“Slippery Nipple for me and refill whatever he’s having.”

Mike started to decline, but a group number was now underway. He didn’t want to be the guy bumbling his way through the dancers in the middle of a club-wide performance so he accepted another drink while he waited out the song.

His plan was to leave right after the group performance. But somehow, it was three and a half songs later and the dancer was still there talking. Aiden had explained to him that most dancers would leave if after a song or two, a patron didn’t offer to buy a lap dance or pay for their drink. Maybe this dancer was new and didn’t understand that etiquette yet. Mike was going to have to politely excuse himself in order to leave before Aiden discovered him there.

∞∞∞

After leaving the stage, Aiden slowly returned to the dressing room, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, clutching his wad of tips with the other. Although his take was as big as always, he barely cared about the money tonight. Every movement on that stage had served to expel the pent-up emotions within him. The fact that he’d also pleased and entertained people enough for them to give him cash was so far down on the list of his cares that he might as well be gripping a pile of Monopoly money.

Aiden slowly sank down onto his seat at the vanity. His body felt heavy, limbs dragging as he tucked the tips into his boot. He’d left so much of his energy and emotion out on the stage, he barely had any left to get dressed to work the floor. Instead of changing his costume, he sat there for several long moments, staring into the mirror. But he didn’t see his reflection of pale skin slightly flushed from dancing and tousled black hair. He looked past his reflection into memories of his time together with Mike. The taste of regret was bitter on his tongue. He should never have gotten involved with Mike. Not with his certainty of what would happen if he did. And yet he’d thrown caution to the wind and done it anyway, only to end up with a new record for fastest end to his relationships.

He tried to shake off the melancholy and picked up his hair brush. However, after a single drag of the bristles through his hair, he set the brush back on the table with a quiet clack. There was no way he could work the floor tonight. He didn’t have it in him to smile and flirt and be sexy. Going home to catch up on whatever showed up in his Netflix continue watching list before he fell asleep sounded like a much better plan. Grateful that he could afford to miss a night of work, Aiden grabbed a makeup wipe. But before he could start preparing to leave, Suzie appeared in the mirror behind him.

“It finally happened to you,” Suzie said as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

“What finally happened to me?” Aiden asked her reflection.

“You fell for someone. And I mean really fell for someone. And now you’re heartbroken.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “I am not heartbroken. I’m moody.”

“Moody is dancing your way through your usual routine with an attitude. Maybe throwing in a sexy scowl for good measure. You choreographed an entirely new routine with a coordinated outfit and danced as if you wanted everyone in the audience to feel your pain.”

Aiden didn’t have anything to say to that. He didn’t want to acknowledge the truth behind Suzie’s words. If he did, he’d have to also acknowledge the hurt wrapped like a vine of thorns around his heart.

“Anyway, the guy who according to you didn’t break your heart is out in the club. I saw him when I was working the floor.”

“He is?” Aiden’s heart skipped a beat before it started racing. But he quickly smoothed out his expression in a belated attempt to pretend as if he didn’t care. He picked up his brush again, forgetting that he’d already decided not to go back out on the floor. “Whatever. I don’t want to see him.”

“Hmmm.... He was talking to Cupcake.”

“We broke up,” Aiden said with a shrug. “He can talk to whoever he wants.”

“Okay.”

A frown tightened Aiden’s forehead at the tone of that single word. “What?”

“What do you mean?” Suzie calmly asked.

“You said okay.”

Suzie continued playing with his hair, starting a tiny little braid in the black strands. “I did.”

“You said okay like it’s not okay but you’re not going to say what you’re really thinking.”

A soft hum was her response. “Hmmm.”

When Suzie didn’t say anything else, Aiden cursed. “Damnit.” He slapped the brush down onto the vanity and jumped up from his chair. Frustration making his fingers twitch, he strode over to the dressing room door, yanked it open, and went out to the club. If anyone called his name he didn’t notice, he was too focused on finding one guest in particular. On the raised seating area in the center of the club, Aiden looked around, closely scanning every face in the room until he found Mike. He was tucked away in a dark corner of one of the small side bars, cozied up with Cupcake. Aggression in every step, Aiden marched over to them, his hair swinging against his naked back. Cupcake looked up and smiled when he reached them.

“Oh, hey Glimmer. I was just—.”

“Move.” Aiden swiftly hip checked the veteran dancer out of the way, then immediately moved in and took his place next to Mike.

“Hey!” Cupcake cried out in indignation.

Aiden whipped back around to face him. “Now is not the time, Cupcake.”

“Fine,” Cupcake sniffed with his nose in the air.

He turned to go, but Aiden caught a glimpse of a grin before the other dancer hurried off. Aiden cursed under his breath. He realized now that he’d been set up by Suzie and Cupcake, but he was here now so he might as well talk to Mike.

Aiden turned back to his ex. “What are you doing here? You know club policy is not to cause a scene with the dancers.”

“I’m not the one causing a scene. I’m having a drink.”

“Why are you having one here? There are dozens of places that serve drinks between your place and the Fox.”

Mike shrugged, idly pushing his glass back and forth on the bar top.

At that non-answer, something caught fire in Aiden’s chest, kick starting him into action.

“Follow me,” he snapped.

At the order, Mike instantly slid off his stool. Aiden spun on his heel and strode off, Mike following close behind. He walked quickly, not stopping until he reached the hallway to the champagne rooms where dancers gave guests private lap dances.

“I need a room,” Aiden said to the attendant sitting in the little mock ticket booth at the hall’s entrance.

The attendant shook their head. “Glimmer, you know the rules. No personal time in the champagne rooms.”

Aiden normally adhered to the rules of the club without a problem. But tonight, he needed privacy and he needed it now. He pulled a twenty from his boot and slapped it on the counter in front of the attendant.

The attendant looked down at the twenty then up at him. After a moment, they slipped their beringed hand under the plexiglass window and swiped the bill off the counter. The money disappeared into their pocket.

“Room number two. You’ve got the normal amount of time—fifteen minutes,” they said as they buzzed open one of the locked rooms.

“Thank you. And turn off the camera.”

“Camera stays on. No sex in there, Glimmer.”

Aiden whirled back around, yanked another twenty from his boot and slapped that one on the counter too. “Camera off.”

This time the twenty disappeared immediately. The booth lights reflected on sparkling jewels as they reached a hand out and flipped a switch on a small black machine. “It’s off.”

“Thank you.”

Aiden flicked a glance to Mike, silently ordering him to follow him again as he went to the room the attendant had opened for them. Mike had barely made it in behind him when Aiden slammed the door shut. He grabbed his ex-lover by the front of his shirt, towing him over to the straight-back chair in the center of the room. Before he made another move, he looked up at the security camera, making sure the red light was off. It was dark, as he’d requested.

“How many drinks did you have?” he asked as he shoved Mike down into the chair.

Mike looked up at him with his eyes wide.

“None. That was plain Coke in my glass.”

“Good. What’s your safeword?”

“Red.”

“Are you using it?”

“No.”

“Then shut up. Don’t speak unless I give you permission and keep your hands on the chair.”

Mike shifted once, reaching down to grab the back legs of the chair. Then, he waited.

In the champagne room, soft, sexy jazz played on loop while dim lights that slowly shifted from red to blue to purple helped set the mood. His back to Mike, Aiden started to dance, letting the music flow through him, taking the edge off the churning energy he’d stormed into the room with. He knew what he wanted to do, but he needed to make sure he wasn’t doing it in anger.

When he spun around to face Mike, the other man was watching him, heavy lidded eyes dragging over his bare chest, down to his thighs and back up to the black thong that cupped his cock. Aiden strolled forward, Mike’s eyes going wide again as he got closer. He stopped in front of him, lifting a foot to put it directly between Mike’s spread thighs on the chair seat. “I’m a fool.”

“You’re not,” Mike replied with a shake of his head.

Aiden pressed down with his toe. “I didn’t give you permission to speak.”

Mike’s eyes darted down to the high heeled boot pressed against his crotch. He clamped his mouth shut.

“I’m a fool—not because I thought it might be different with you. But because I didn’t want to know how you felt about submitting outside the bedroom. I avoided the topic because I knew what your answer would be and I was right.”

The urge to talk burned bright in Mike’s emerald eyes, but he stayed silent.

“Stupid of me to keep hoping for anything different.” He put a finger beneath Mike’s chin, raising it up with a sharp push. “But you like when I dom you, right? Answer.”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll dom you and finally accept that what I want doesn’t exist. At least not for me.”

Mike’s jaw jutted out, his lips parting. He was about to disobey Aiden and speak. Aiden gave him an order before he could do so.

“Take off my underwear.”

The straps of the leggings he wore went over his underwear. Mike had to unsnap the button hooks on them first before he could get to his thong. When the straps dangled free, Mike looked up, green eyes locked on Aiden’s as he drew the thong down his legs. Aiden arched an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

Once the thong was at his ankles, he stepped out of it and kicked it away. His cock and ass completely bare now, Aiden slowly lowered himself to straddle Mike’s lap. “Put your hands back on the chair,” he ordered. Aiden waited for Mike to comply. Then he started rolling his hips to the beat of the music, back and forth, coming close to but never letting his naked cock touch Mike’s clothed one. Even without the direct contact, Mike’s arousal was obvious—from his deeper breathing, to his tongue snaking across his bottom lip, and the erection straining against his pants. Aiden reached down and rubbed his palm up the stiff length.

“You are rock hard. You like having me in control of you? Answer.”

“I do. You know I do.”

“And you like when I say this cock is mine?” he asked as he squeezed the head.

Mike groaned. “Yes.”

Aiden started rubbing his cock up and down. It was hot against his hand, even through the material of his pants. Mike’s breathing grew more rushed, the chair creaking as he gripped it tighter.

“I should make you come right now. Make you walk back out there with the proof of what I made you do all over the front of your pants for everyone to see.”

“I don’t care,” Mike rasped. “Do whatever you want to me.”

Aiden surged forward to suck a love bite onto Mike’s jaw, stopping to lean back after he’d left a dark red passion mark on the spot. “I will, but first you’re going to tell me something.” He switched to rubbing slow, barely there circles over the curved head of Mike’s cock. “Okay?”

Mike responded with a tight nod.

“What do you want from me?”

“I just want you.”

Aiden blinked at the twinge of hurt those four words caused. “You don’t. Not really. You don’t want all of me. Only pieces.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is. You want the superhero. And the Dom—as long as its behind closed doors.”

A frown creased Mike’s forehead. “You think I don’t want the side of you that performs on stage?”

“You might want it now. But that’ll change. It always changes.”

“Maybe for others you’ve dated. But I love to watch you on stage. And whether I’m watching or not, I know that’s where you’re happy. I would never ask you to give that up.”

Aiden blinked again. “You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not.”

He said it so firmly, with his gaze steady and direct that Aiden was inclined to believe him. But there was something else.

“What about me as your Dom?” Aiden asked as he leaned in close and brushed their lips together.

“I want that part of you too.”

“Liar,” Aiden whispered against his mouth.

“I do. But I need more time to understand everything.”

Aiden pulled back, tilting his head to the side in question. “Time?”

“Yes.” He swallowed hard, Adam’s Apple bobbing. “Please.”

“I want to give that to you. But I’m afraid that when that time is up, you’ll decide that submitting to me isn’t what you want after all.” Aiden closed his eyes after that admission. He hadn’t felt naked until that moment. Admitting his fear left him exposed in a way that he wasn’t used to.

“Aiden—.”

Aiden stopped whatever Mike was about to say with a kiss. He didn’t want to hear anything that would set him up to hope—only to leave him disappointed in the end.

They kissed, deep and passionate. Aiden led as always. His fingers on Mike’s hard jaw held him in place as he licked into his mouth and softly sucked at his full bottom lip. And Mike followed where he led, kissing him back with such hunger, as if he’d been starving for a taste of him.

Aiden slid his hand around to cup the nape of Mike’s neck and let the other drift down to unzip his pants. When the hot length of Mike’s cock hit his palm, he wrapped his fingers around it and started to stroke. Mike desperately groaned into their kiss. He moved his hips in shallow thrusts, pushing his cock deeper into Aiden’s fist.

A bell quietly chimed, indicating that they only had three minutes left.

“Fuck,” Aiden cursed. He started stroking faster, determined to get him off. It was a rough and dry hand job but Mike didn’t seem to care. He buried his face in Aiden’s neck, lips closing over the space right above his collarbone to suck a bruise onto his skin. Aiden pumped his throbbing cock again and again, until Mike’s big body shook with his orgasm, his cum spilling over Aiden’s fingers in a hot rush.

Aiden brushed his lips over Mike’s hair, prepared to let him rest and calm his ragged breathing in the time remaining. But Mike lifted his head, his eyes bright and intense.

“Let me suck you. Please,” he begged in a husky whisper.

They had a minute left.

“Do it,” Aiden said.

He expected Mike to switch places and put him in the chair while he kneeled, or push him off his lap to stand in front of him. He did neither. Mike rose from the chair with Aiden in his arms, boosting him up as if his weight was nothing to toss his legs over his shoulders. Aiden held on, wrapping his hands around the back of Mike’s head as he walked them to the closest wall and pressed him against it. Then with a hot, wet mouth, he began to suck Aiden off.

It was fast and loud and messy and it drove Aiden to the edge in record speed. Moaning, eyes squeezed shut, he gave himself over to the lips dragging over his shaft and the tongue licking and teasing the head.

“We’re almost out of time, pup. Suck it faster.”

At the order, Mike furiously bobbed up and down on his cock. When he focused on the head while flicking the sensitive spot beneath with his tongue, Aiden’s balls drew up tight. He cried out, a rough shout torn from his throat as he came. His body tingled from head to toes, thighs involuntarily squeezing around Mike’s head as his cock pulsed his release.

He had no time to enjoy the aftershocks of his orgasm. The bright overhead lights came on as Mike lowered him to his feet.

Their fifteen minutes over, they righted their clothes and used the napkins discreetly tucked in the corner of the room on an end table to clean themselves up. Nothing was resolved as they slowly walked out of the champagne room, physically and emotionally wrecked.

Mike cleared his throat. “Maybe we can talk go somewhere and talk—.”

Someone screamed, cutting him off.

“It’s a riot!”

Chapter 29

Aiden and Mike looked at each other in surprise before they joined in with the throng of people rushing for the exit. When they made it outside, they saw that the person who’d yelled was right. It was a riot. White shirts were everywhere. The scene was reminiscent of the previous time the white shirts had showed up en masse. But tonight, there were dozens of them. And they were hell bent on harming both property and people. They shoved guests to the ground. Hit Players. Smashed club windows with bricks and baseball bats.

Rage burning in his chest, Aiden was about to dive in and start swinging on anybody dressed in all white when Mike grabbed his arm. Aiden spun around to look up at him. “I need to get out there and fight!”

“You will. But first, I need you to calm down and focus. Second, remember you’re not in disguise and you don’t have your sai.”

Fuck. Mike was right. He was barely even dressed. His gear was in his bag but he didn’t want to take the time to go and change. He sucked in a deep breath, forcibly pushing down his rage so that he could fight with a clear head. “Anything else?”

“I’m calling for backup.”

Aiden nodded. “Good. We can use the help.”

Mike released his arm.

“Be careful.”

“You too.”

They shared a lingering look, no time to verbally express anything they were thinking in that moment. Mike broke the eye contact by putting on his emerald sunglasses. He left and Aiden strode off in the opposite direction.

Fists clenched, Aiden went after the nearest white shirt. When a cold breeze blew over his bare skin, the absurdity of fighting in high heeled boots with his hair loose and his ass hanging out hit him. Now he knew what every female video game character ever had to deal with. Aiden had no trouble with his punches. But when he kicked, his balance was all wrong. He pitched backward on his heels and fell on his ass, the pavement roughly abrading his bare cheeks.

The white shirt he’d been battling laughed and ran off.

“Damnit!” Ignoring his embarrassment and stinging ass, Aiden jumped back to his feet. The next time he kicked he made sure to adjust his stance, tensing his thighs and shifting forward slightly on his toes, determined not to fall again.

The situation was a nightmare. Fighting while watching out for screaming, fleeing guests and Players. Saving people from assault by the white shirts. Dodging cars speeding away to escape the Playground every time he had to cross the street to rescue someone else.

Sirens suddenly wailed over the sounds of shouts and breaking glass, signaling the arrival of the police. For once, Aiden was glad the police were coming. But he didn’t stop fighting. He’d just taken down a female white shirt armed with a 2x4 when a cop came up to him.

“Okay, buddy. You’re under arrest for—.”

“Fuck that.” Aiden didn’t let him finish. He wasn’t masked but he didn’t care. Wasting time getting arrested was not on his agenda. He set his glow free, enough to momentarily ensnare the officer’s attention. Then, he sprinted off before the man was fully enthralled, looking for someone else to fight.

After what seemed like hours—but in reality was less than thirty minutes—the riot was over. The white shirts disappeared, leaving the Playground in shambles. Many of the colorful neon signs blinked erratically or were completely dark, thanks to the bricks thrown at them. Smoke rose from several small fires the Players had quickly acted to put out while firemen battled larger blazes. Broken glass was everywhere—multiple expensive plate glass windows shattered and car windows busted.

Aiden stared at the wreckage, fists clenched, tears clogged in his throat. He was hurt and angry, but he was also more determined than ever. Pruitt, the Purity Alliance, and anybody else involved in the scheme to steal the Playground were not going to get away with this.

Chapter 30

The next day, the Fox and many other establishments in the Playground were closed to the public. But many Players had shown up to help with the post-riot clean up. Aiden arrived in old jeans and a sweatshirt, ready to pitch in. He swept up glass and tossed trash in Dumpsters, working up a good sweat despite the chill air. Although there was anger and sadness over the events that had caused the mess, the mood on the street was positive. The Players worked together to clean and repair, determined to get the area back into shape in order for them to return to work.

Around lunch, a few of the bars and restaurants brought out platters of quick snacks and sandwiches to feed the hungry workers. Grateful for the food, Aiden sat down on the curb to eat. After a few minutes, he noticed that people near him were huddled in small groups and talking in low, angry voices.

“What’s going on?” he asked a woman angrily glaring at her phone.

“New video from that Iverson lady.”

She held out her phone for Aiden to see and hit the rewatch button.

A face Aiden recognized all too well filled the screen. His mouth immediately turned down in a frown of dislike.

“The so-called Playground has been allowed to fester with the sins of drugs and sex and gambling for entirely too long. It’s a poison to the Metropolitan area and should be shut down. Just last night there was a massive drunken brawl in which many people—most of them innocent bystanders—were seriously hurt. What other dangers will the people who succumb to working there face? What violence will the unwitting citizens tempted into visiting the Playground face? Shut the Playground down before anyone else gets hurt.”

The video stopped. Shaking his head in disbelief at what he’d just watched, Aiden thanked the woman for showing him. She moved a few feet away to join a group furiously discussing the video. Aiden listened to some of their conversation.

“I can’t believe this! Those white shirt punks did all this, but they’re putting the blame on us as an excuse to shut us down?”

“They can’t do that! We won’t let them.”

“We’re not bothering anyone. Why can’t they leave us alone?”

The mood on the street had sharpened, comradery and determination turning to anger and frustration.

Aiden was right there with them. Except, he also recognized the thinly veiled threat behind Iverson’s words. Someone else would get hurt before this was all over.

The angry discussions continued, many wondering why they were under attack now when the Playground had thrived without incident for years.

Aiden’s phone beeped with a text notification. It was a message from his boss, Josephine.

Come by the club in twenty. We’re having a meeting.

He sent off a reply that he would be there. After finishing his sandwich, he helped clean for another ten minutes before making his way to the club.

At the Fox, the marquee was dark, the fox’s tail still. Inside, a small group of people had gathered. It was mostly owners from businesses in the Playground, as well as some of the veteran and prominent performers.

“Aiden, welcome.” Josephine greeted him. “We’re having a meeting to discuss the situation happening in our district.”

Aiden took a seat in one of the chairs arranged in a loose circle.

Josephine continued. “I asked you to come because I know a lot of our staff look up to you and you’ve been vocal and proactive in making sure everyone is being careful in regards to the muggings.”

“I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

They discussed everything that had happened over the last couple of months. Aiden shared what he could without revealing his secret identity. And it was too dangerous to name a man as a powerful as Pruitt without proof, but thanks to Alice Iverson’s interview, they knew that someone wanted to shut them down. Eventually, the conversation turned to solutions.

“We need to do something to show that we’re not scared and that the Playground is here to stay no matter what.”

Aiden thought for a moment. “How about we get all the clubs and businesses involved for a big Playground wide outdoor festival? We can hold it over Halloween weekend, which is always a busy time for us.”

One of the club managers agreed. “That sounds perfect. But something like that will need lots of security.”

“We’ve got a good relationship with the local precinct but I don’t like the vibes of a large police presence in the Playground,” Josephine said. “Especially on a night that’s supposed to be all about fun.”

“Who else can we call on to help us?” a dancer asked.

Aiden smiled. “I know a group of people who would be perfect for the job. Have you heard of the Arch City Guardians?”

∞∞∞

Aiden returned home after the meeting. He was tired, but he didn’t want to wait until tomorrow before mentioning his idea to the ACG. After a quick shower, he flopped on the couch, and pulled out his phone. He hit the speed dial for Caleb, connecting with a video call.

Caleb’s forehead and blue hair came into view first before he adjusted the angle so Aiden could see his entire face.

“What’s up?”

“We’re doing a big festival in the Playground soon and I need your help. Yours and the teams.”

“Okay. What do you need?”

“We’re throwing a district wide festival and we need security to work the event—to keep an eye out in case the Purity Alliance tries anything. The clubs have bounce staff but this isn’t their area of expertise and there aren’t enough of them for the job.”

“And you can’t request assistance from the police because they might scare off the people you’re trying to draw in. Plus, they might bring the P-Bots with them.”

“Exactly. The festival organizers plan to hire a small security company but I thought as an extra precaution...”

Caleb grinned. “The Arch City Guardians could be there to keep everyone safe. It’s perfect. The event could push the Purity Alliance into taking their next big step. And if we’re already on the ground, we have a better chance of stopping and catching them. As an added bonus, it’s a chance for us to get some good PR in for the team.”

“Look at you thinking of all the angles.”

“I’ll run it by Strong and Helios but I’m sure they’ll be on board. Send me all the details for the event and we’ll get it set up on our end.”

“Will do. And thanks, Caleb. I really appreciate it.”

∞∞∞

They had less than two weeks before Halloween. Everyone jumped into high gear to plan the festival and get the word out about it. Flyers were printed and passed out to every guest who set foot in the red-light district. Playground businesses with digital billboards flashed news of the event every hour on the hour. And the Players blasted it out on their social media accounts to get St. Louis Twitter and Facebook talking about it.

By the time Halloween night rolled around, they were ready to go. Two large, connected parking lots and the streets surrounding them were blocked off and transformed into the main festival grounds. There were food carts, vendor stalls selling T-shirts and artwork of popular entertainers, and tents where dancers put on small intimate strip shows or demonstrations for those who wanted to learn exotic dance. Everyone was hyped and excited. The Players didn’t usually get a chance to work with from people from other clubs. And they were finally doing something to fight back against the people who wanted to bring them down.

On the biggest stage, each club was allotted time slots to showcase three of their best performers. Smaller stages scattered throughout the festival gave every dancer an opportunity to perform. Josephine had given Aiden and Suzie two of the Fox’s main stage slots.

Honored, and excited to show everyone what he could do, Aiden had choreographed a new routine using a special extra tall pole. And to make sure he’d stand out under the night sky, he’d eschewed his usual black for an all-gold outfit. It was one piece, the top a sheer mesh tank with a neck scooped so low it dipped beneath his nipples. The bottoms were gold lame shorts with a heart cutout on each butt cheek. Glittering gold ribbons crisscrossed and wrapped around his legs all the way down to his bare feet. And he’d sprayed gold glitter in his hair.

Suzie’s eyes went wide when she saw him.

“Wow. You look great.”

“Thanks. You do too.” Her Lolita dress was a soft powder blue, with red hearts on the fabric, and white lace trim. She’d dyed her hair silver and tied her signature corkscrew pigtails with blue satin bows.

They stood off to the side behind a curtain, waiting while the first exotic from their club danced.

“Have you had a chance to talk to your heartbreaker?” she asked.

“Not really.” He and Mike had exchanged a few texts, mostly just to stay in touch with the promise that they would talk once Aiden wasn’t so busy with the festival. “I’m waiting until all of this is over.”

Suzie tsked. “You’re stalling.”

Aiden blew out a breath. “Yeah, I am,” he admitted. “He’s saying the right things—that he wants me for me. But I’m not ready to trust it. And to be honest, he doesn’t fully trust me either. Not after the way I ended things between us so quickly. So, we’re stuck.”

“You’ll work it out,” Suzie said with a sympathetic smile.

Aiden sincerely wanted that to be true.

“Glimmer! You’re up!”

Aiden signaled to the stage manager that he was ready. He took a second to center himself, before strolling onto the stage to loud applause. The extra tall pole waited for him, spotlights reflecting off the silver metal. He’d asked the house DJ to put together a mix for him since his time slot was longer than the usual three minute and thirty second song. The music started with Cardi B’s Money, one of his favorite songs. Aiden began to dance. He coyly avoided getting on the pole, dancing around it, stroking it, working up the audience for what he knew they wanted.

When the cheers, whistles, and shouts of Climb! Climb! Climb! nearly drowned out the music, Aiden finally shimmied up the pole. He paused several times during his ascent to spin and flirt with the audience. Then, when he was near the top, he went all out. High above the stage, he rolled through a complicated series of flips and spins. As he whirled around the pole, hair flaring behind him like a glittering black cape, Aiden thought of the situation with Mike. He was fearless right now, when a single slip could lead to serious injury. He was also fearless when he had his sai in hand, facing down villains. It was time for him to let go of his fears when it came to one strong and sweet superhero.

Now that he finally understood what he needed to do, Aiden smiled, happiness warming his chest. The second his performance was over, he’d find Mike and tell him how he felt.

∞∞∞

The entire team had rallied behind Aiden to help guard the Playground during their Halloween festival. They couldn’t all be here at once, since there were other places that needed their attention as well. Mike had made it clear he wanted to be assigned to the group working the event and Strong had granted his request. Now, the festivities were underway, and Mike took up a position that allowed him to keep his eye on the main stage where Aiden would be performing.

So far, everyone was having a good time. There were a few incidents, arguments and scuffles, but they were due to alcohol and overexcitement, not the Purity Alliance. Throughout the evening, multiple acts entertained the crowd—a bawdy juggling trio, a contortionist, and of course, the exotic dancers. According to the program, Aiden was next.

There was a short break while the stage hands set up a heart-stoppingly tall dance pole. Once it was in place, the lights went down except for the spotlights shining directly on the pole. Music started to play and Aiden appeared, strutting as if he owned the stage, and knew every eye was on him. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he started to dance. When he climbed the pole, they went wild with cheers and applause.

Mike smiled as he watched his beautiful dancer effortlessly spin and flip at the top of the pole, his sensuous movements capturing the attention of the screaming crowd below him. It was plain to see that he loved performing, loved dancing. Mike almost wanted to hit the pretentious fools who’d rejected Aiden with a light tap of his blast, except their decision to oust him from the classical ballet world had ultimately led to Mike meeting him. They hadn’t had a chance to talk after their emotional time in the Fox’s champagne room, but Mike hoped that they would soon, so that he could get back to worshipping his pretty dom.

Near the end of the performance, something drew Mike’s attention away from Aiden. He’d caught sight of a purple light from the corner of his eye. It was the Playground, so everything was lit in a multitude of neon colors. And lots of festival attendees had glow sticks in various colors—including purple—waving them about as they celebrated. But something about this particular purple light had Mike on edge. He remembered what Aiden had said before. Purple meant Pruitt A.I. Police.

Mike turned away from the stage to get a better look at the purple glow that had him unsettled. The light was still and unblinking. And its location gave it a direct line of sight to the stage.

An icy chill of apprehension shivered down Mike’s spine. His instincts warned him something was off about that light. Activating his comm link with a quick touch to the ear piece, he started to alert the team about his concern.

“Team, I’ve got a suspicious light behind the —.”

Before he could finish reporting the intel, a bright purple beam shot over the crowd, aiming for the man high above the stage. Mike watched, horrified, as the beam hit Aiden in the vicinity of his heart, the light punching out the back of his shoulder before dissipating into nothing.

For one endless moment, Aiden was frozen in place, his face twisted in shock and pain before his body went slack. His legs dropped, and both hands fell loose from the pole. He started to fall, moving in seeming slow motion at first, then gaining speed until he crashed to the stage floor with a sickening thud.

Chapter 31

Mike raced to the stage. His training dictated that he should go after the shooter and catch them before they could escape or harm anyone else. But screw training. He had to get to Aiden. Mike’s single-minded focus was getting to Aiden, but he managed to yell information to the team on the comm link in between shouting at people to get out of the way.

“Shooter was in the northwest quadrant near the food stalls! Long range weapon—some type of laser gun. Did not observe any other hostiles.”

Directly in front of him a knot of frightened people huddled together. “Move!” he shouted as he plowed right into the middle of the group in his path. They scattered and Mike continued to sprint through the screaming, fleeing crowd. He leapt over lawn chairs, jumped the crowd barrier, and ran up the steps to the stage. He didn’t stop until he reached his fallen lover.

Aiden lay on his back, sprawled in a tangle of bent limbs like a broken toy tossed aside by a careless child. His eyes were open but dazed and he was deathly pale, his lips bloodless. Beneath him, a pool of blood steadily grew bigger, spreading across the stage, leeching away his life force.

“Oh my God,” Mike choked out when he got a look at the wound. Whatever that weapon was, it had ripped a hole in Aiden’s shoulder, leaving the skin around the entry point an angry glowing red. If the shot had hit a few inches lower it would have destroyed his heart, and Aiden would already be gone.

Now, Mike let his training take over. His first priority was to stop the bleeding. He dropped to his knees, yanked open one of the pockets on his belt, and pulled out a packet of clotting agent. Quickly tearing it open, he poured the entire contents over the hole in Aiden’s shoulder. Then, he pressed thick squares of gauze to both the entrance and exit wounds.

Aiden stirred when the pressure was applied to his shoulder.

“I’m shot,” he rasped in a barely there whisper. “Fell.”

“I know. But you’re going to be okay.” Mike didn’t know if that was true. But he had to say it for both their sakes. He didn’t want Aiden to become stressed and as for himself...he refused to entertain the thought that Aiden wouldn’t survive this.

There was a pop behind him. His instincts on high alert, Mike threw his body over Aiden to cover him from any threat. He looked over his shoulder, ready to hit the enemy with a blast. But to his relief, it was Sonica teleporting in.

Her eyes went wide with shocked horror as she stared down at Aiden laying there in a pool of his own blood. “I can get him to the hospital immediately. But I can’t take two people at once. You’ll have to let him go.”

Take his hands off Aiden? Let him out of his sight when he needed to protect him? What if he died while they were separated?

“Mike!”

Sonica shouted his name. Mike blinked and realized she’d called him more than once.

“Do you want to wait for the ambulance or do you want me to take him?”

Sonica taking Aiden was the fastest way to get him medical attention. And he’d already wasted precious seconds spiraling in fear. Sonica needed to get him to the hospital immediately. In his head he told her to take Aiden but nothing came out of his mouth. Not wanting to waste any more time, he gave his answer by taking his hands off Aiden and backing up.

Sonica dropped down next to Aiden and put her hands on his uninjured arm.

“I’ll come right back for you.”

Mike nodded, again without saying a word. She was gone before he drew in his next breath.

He was still kneeling, his hands slick with his lover’s blood when Sonica popped back in. She touched his shoulder and the festival disappeared. For the length of three heartbeats, everything was gray and spinning, then suddenly he was kneeling on the floor in a hospital emergency room lobby.

Medical staff had already jumped into action, Aiden lay on a gurney, with people rushing around him. Mike got his bearings and rose to his feet in time to watch them start running, pushing the gurney with them as they burst through a set of swinging doors. His eyes stayed locked on the doors long after the med staff was gone, hoping, praying that Aiden would be okay.

∞∞∞

Aiden came to slowly. His sense of smell kicked in before he opened his eyes, that familiar and distinctive hospital scent assaulting his nose as he drew in a breath. Eyes still closed, he did an inventory. His head pounded. The bones in his right wrist and arm throbbed mercilessly. And his shoulder burned as if someone had jammed a hot poker through it. He was in so much pain that even the simple act of breathing hurt.

Aiden finally opened his eyes. At first, he saw nothing but blurry moving colors. Then his vision sharpened and solidified. People in masks and hospital scrubs rushed around him.

It all came rushing back. He’d been on the pole in the middle of his performance when a sudden searing pain ripped through his left shoulder. He’d fallen off the pole, crashing to the stage. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was Mike’s panicked face hovering over him.

“Mike.” His voice was a hoarse whisper so low it didn’t manage to rise above the noise in the room. No one heard him. He tried again. “Mike.” One person paused to look at him then immediately went back to whatever they were doing.

Aiden silently cursed in frustration. He needed to get their attention, damnit. Bracing for the pain he was about to cause himself, he pulled in a deep breath in preparation for a yell. “Mike!” He didn’t quite manage a shout. But he was loud. And a machine started beeping faster. More than one person stopped.

A nurse came up to him and lightly touched his non-injured shoulder.

“Sir, you’ve been shot. We’re prepping you for surgery.”

Surgery? No, he couldn’t wait that long, the surgery would last hours and then he would be under from the anesthetic for even longer. Mike was worried for him, probably thinking the worst. He needed to see him and tell him that he would be okay. That they would be okay.

“Not yet.” Pushing past the pain gripping his entire body, he forced the words out, making sure the nurse heard him. “Need to see Mike first, let him know I’m okay.”

“Sir, you’re not okay.” He glanced off to the side. “We’re going to sedate you.”

The nurse signaled to someone out of Aiden’s limited range of sight and a doctor stepped up to his bedside. She was presumably the anesthesiologist, because she reached for Aiden’s IV line. Aiden slammed his fist down beside him. He had to choke back a scream of agony at the impact to what was surely a broken wrist. But he’d managed to startle the anesthesiologist into taking a step back.

“You try to put that stuff in me before I get a chance to talk to Mike and we’re going to have a serious problem.”

The anesthesiologist froze, looking unsure. Then she gathered herself and reached for the line again. “Sir, please relax.”

“I’ll relax after I talk to Mike.”

Sucking in a deep breath that sent pain screaming through his shoulder, Aiden called up his power. It hit the two at his bedside first. They went still, hands dropping to their sides, eyes straight ahead and staring. But that wasn’t enough. Aiden didn’t want anyone to stop what he was about to do. Sweat poured down his face and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes from the strain, but he turned up his power until everyone in the room was affected. They all stood there completely enthralled by the brilliant glow coming from the operating table. Aiden looked directly at the nurse. “Get me Mike Zielinski. Now.”

In a daze, the nurse turned and walked out the operating room door.

∞∞∞

Mike paced back and forth in the waiting area. The scene kept repeating in his head, Aiden up on the pole spinning, head thrown back, joy on his face. And then the fall. And the blood. So much blood.

“Did anyone get a look at who fired the shot? Z? Did you?”

Mike mentally tore himself away from the horrific visions tormenting him and turned to Sonica. He nodded.

“Who was it?”

He couldn’t answer. He couldn’t...speak. Aiden was going to die because he hadn’t protected him.

Sonica stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to answer. When he continued to stand there saying nothing, her mouth dropped open in surprise before she snapped it shut.

“Oh my God. You can’t talk.” She moved toward the nurse’s station. “We need someone over here to look at—.”

Mike put a hand on her arm, halting her call for help. When she turned back to him, he shook his head. He didn’t need to be seen. There was nothing a doctor could do for him right now. It would only waste their time and take them away from someone they could actually help.

After a moment, Sonica gave his arm a reassuring squeeze before she went to sit in one of the plastic chairs. Mike was still in the same spot when one of the nurses he’d seen rushing off with Aiden came down the hall and through the swinging doors. Mike frowned. It was too soon for them to have finished operating on Aiden. Unless...

He stumbled back, light-headed, blood rushing in his ears. No. Aiden couldn’t be gone.

“Mike Zielinski?” the nurse called out.

His heart pounding, Mike stepped forward, pointing to his chest.

“The patient wants to see you.”

Mike’s brows drew together in confusion. Why would Aiden be asking for him now? He should be in surgery. But as he approached the nurse to go with him, he saw that his eyes appeared dazed and unfocused, as if he’d been hypnotized. That had to be Aiden’s doing.

The nurse turned and quickly went back the way he’d come. Mike followed, so closely he nearly stepped on the man’s heels. In the operating room, Aiden lay on the table, his lips bloodless and skin gray beneath the golden shimmer keeping the staff enthralled. Mike yanked off his visor and rushed to his side.

“I’m okay,” Aiden said in a hoarse whisper. “Those assholes didn’t kill me.”

Mike nodded. Words still wouldn’t come however. The terror of possibly losing Aiden hadn’t left him yet.

“Hey. It’s all right,” Aiden rasped. “I’m not going anywhere.”

His hand twitched on the table and Mike reached down to gently take it in his own.

“I’m not going anywhere. And I love you. Okay?”

It was as if Aiden’s declaration released the lock trauma had snapped closed around his vocal cords. Mike opened his mouth and sound actually came out. His voice was dry and cracking but each of the words he spoke was clear. “I love you, too.”

“I know you do, Beefcake.”

Mike wanted to say so many things. But what he wanted most was for Aiden to have his surgery. There would be time later for them to talk about their feelings, because he believed that Aiden was going to be all right. “Sleep. Let them operate.”

Although his face was pinched with pain, Aiden gave him a small smile.

“Okay.”

He relaxed, his eyes slipped shut, and the golden glow began to fade.

Mike stayed with him until the doctors and nurses came out of their daze.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” the nurse closest to him demanded.

“Someone remove him.”

Mike released Aiden’s limp hand and stepped back from his side. Without any more prompting, he quickly exited the room to let the medical staff do the work of helping the man he loved.

Chapter 32

Mike opened the passenger door of his truck and helped Aiden out of his seat. Once Aiden had both feet on the ground, they slowly and carefully made their way to the house. A regular human would still be in their hospital bed recovering, but Aiden’s enhanced human healing had allowed him to be discharged the day after the surgery. The broken bones had already healed to the point where he didn’t need a cast. However, he was still in pain, evidenced by the sweat beading on his lip as they walked the short distance to the front door. Inside, Mike helped Aiden over to the couch.

“Stay here and I’ll get you something to drink.”

Aiden nodded, settling back onto the couch cushions with a tired sigh.

Mike quickly filled a glass with water from the fridge dispenser. “I spoke with your mom,” he said as he returned to the living room. “She said she’d make sure that everything was taken care of for you and she’d be by in the morning.”

Aiden accepted the glass and took a long drink. “She’s the best.” He winced when he lowered the half full glass to rest on his lap. “I can’t wait until I’m back to one hundred percent.”

“You will be soon,” Mike assured him.

Aiden nodded, then slowly raised his arm to finish off the rest of the water. “Can’t believe how thirsty I am.”

“Your body is working overtime to get you healed up. Staying hydrated is necessary.”

“True. I’ll drink a dozen glasses of water if that’s what it takes.” He tugged the collar of the T-shirt Mike had brought to him at the hospital to the side and looked at his shoulder. A square white bandage covered his wound. “I’m scarred now.”

“Maybe not. With the cream they prescribed and your enhanced healing the wound may not leave a mark at all.”

“It’d be okay if it does.” Aiden smiled, his eyes taking on their familiar teasing sparkle. “You know I don’t mind scars.”

Mike laughed. “You should be too tired from surgery to be flirting right now,” he teased back.

“Fine,” he said with a pout. “You know what would be amazing?

“What?”

“A hot shower. I smell like hospital.”

“Okay, stay right there.” Mike jogged to the kitchen to grab a box of Saran Wrap. When he came back, Aiden stood up from the couch. Mike swung him up into his arms bridal style before he could take a single step.

“I am a superhero you know,” Aiden said in mild protest as Mike carried him upstairs.

“Who was just shot, fell nearly twenty feet to the stage, and broke several bones in his arm,” Mike pointed out.

Aiden stuck his tongue out at him, which made him laugh.

In the bedroom, Mike set him down on his feet.

Aiden went to the dresser, getting clean pajamas and underwear to put on.

Mike watched, ready to step in and help if necessary. At the bathroom entrance, Aiden stopped and leaned against the door frame.

“Okay, that took more out of me than I expected. I don’t suppose I could get you to help me in the shower?”

Mike immediately moved toward him, already stripping off his shirt. “Is this because you want to shower with me or because you really need the help?”

Aiden laughed softly. “Both. I want to be naked with you. But I’m also pretty sure I’ll fall over if I try to shower by myself.”

Mike finished taking off his clothes. He helped ease Aiden out of his, covered up his bandages with the Saran Wrap, then helped him into the shower. After turning on the water, Mike grabbed the body wash and mesh shower pouf.

“Wrap your arm around my neck and lean on me,” he instructed. Aiden did so, and Mike slowly and carefully washed him, smoothing the soapy sponge all over his body.

Aiden tilted his head back, letting the warm spray splash onto his face. “Clean. Feels good to be clean.”

That peaceful sense of contentment returned full force as he cared for Aiden, lifting his lips in a small smile.

Aiden raised his head, blinking crystal drops of water from his lashes.

“You look happy.”

“I’m with you,” Mike replied simply.

“Oh.” Aiden’s cheeks became tinged with pink. “I’m happy too, that you’re here with me.”

“I sorta guessed that from the way you hypnotized an entire operating room full of people so that you could see me before you received medical attention. I loved it, but don’t ever do that again,” he gently chided.

“Hey, I’d already made my mind up while I was on the pole that I wanted to be with you. No laser ray through the shoulder was going to stop me from letting you know how I felt.”

Mike laughed, indescribably happy that Aiden was alive and together with him. The rest of the shower was spent exchanging tender kisses in between getting clean. After the shower, Mike did his best drying and brushing Aiden’s hair. With unsure, fumbling fingers, he braided the long mane, hoping that it wouldn’t be too tangled tomorrow.

“What do you need now?” he asked once he finished.

“Twelve hours of sleep.”

“Then let’s go to bed.” Mike turned off the lights and they slipped between the sheets. They lay on their sides, Mike spooned behind Aiden.

“Thank you, for coming to my rescue.”

“No need to thank me for that. All I cared about was making sure you were going to be okay.”

“I didn’t get to ask before, but when you first came into the operating room you didn’t say anything. Did you lose your ability to speak?”

“Yeah. I had a short relapse, I guess. The fear that I would lose you took over and that part of me froze. It was as if I could barely even think.” He nuzzled his face into the silky softness of Aiden’s hair. “But when you told me you loved me, I relaxed and trusted that you would be fine.”

Aiden shifted to look over his shoulder. “I do. It wasn’t the pain or fear of death talking. I truly love you.”

“I love you too.”

Aiden closed his eyes for a moment, then turned in Mike’s hold to face him.

“That feels wonderful to hear. It’s what I needed,” Mike said as he caressed Aiden’s back.

“I want to give you whatever you need.”

“What if all I need is you?”

Mike answered without hesitation. “Then I’ll give you every part of me.”

“You’re only saying that to make a boy blush.”

“I mean it. It’s difficult to put into words the peace and security I feel with you. I just know that you feel like home to me.”

Suddenly, Aiden sat up. “Speaking of home. I want to apologize.”

“You’re tired. We don’t have to do this now.”

Aiden shook his head, a familiar stubborn tilt to his jaw. “Now is the perfect time. I want to wake up tomorrow with a fresh start to our relationship.”

“All right then.” Mike sat up too and waited to hear what Aiden had to say.

“I jumped the gun asking you to move in with me. And my reaction to your hesitation was typical of my quick-tempered bullshit. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”

Mike acknowledged the apology, happy to have received it. “Thank you,” he said leaning over to press yet another kiss to his lover’s soft lips. “You want to tell me why my refusal set you off the way it did?”

“I guess I do need to explain that.”

Again, Mike waited quietly as Aiden pulled in a deep breath and gathered himself before beginning his story.

“Soon after I realized I liked domming men in the bedroom, I realized that I also wanted to be the one to take charge in other areas of my relationships. I don’t mean I wanted a full-time submissive. What I wanted was someone who would let me take charge and let me care for them. Maybe D/s light,” he said with a soft laugh. “Finding lovers who were on board with me domming them in the bedroom was easy. Getting those same guys to submit outside of it was a different story. They couldn’t accept that I wanted to be the caretaker. And worse, they wanted me to give up dancing.” A hint of bitterness crept into his voice. “Because casually dating a stripper is hot. But when they started thinking long term, it was time for me to clean up my act.”

“That sounds like a direct quote,” Mike said.

“Not far off from one. Anyway, I went through several of these failed relationships. The worst was a guy who decided to show his displeasure at my refusal to quit stripping with his fists. A group of dancers from some of the nearby clubs saw him assaulting me and came to my rescue. They beat his ass with their heels and makeup bags until he took off. I never saw him again. After that experience I started learning how to fight. At first it was only to protect myself. But it pretty quickly turned into protecting others in the Playground—paying forward what those dancers did for me. That’s how I became Stardust.

“The night you showed up at the Fabulous Fox, I’d just sworn off dating after yet another guy tried to get me to exchange the stage for a ring. That’s part of why I was so prickly with you all the time. You’re my type and I was attracted to you. But I’d already sworn that I wasn’t going to go down that road again because I knew it would end badly. Lucky for me, you were impossible to resist.”

“That’s a lot. I’m sorry. If I’d known —.”

“No. It was my responsibility to share that with you but I didn’t. And even if I had, you still didn’t do anything wrong in expressing your honest feelings to my out of the blue offer. I went into our relationship half expecting it to turn out like all the others. So, when I saw a hint that I might be right, I nuked us. Turns out I was extremely wrong.”

“Thank you for sharing that with me. It really helps me to understand what happened in that argument.”

Aiden leaned over and rested his head on Mike’s shoulder.

“I promise I won’t ever put you in a confusing situation like that again.”

“I believe and trust that you won’t. We can work out what relationship roles mean for us another time. For now, let’s lay down. You need to rest.”

They laid back down, this time Mike on his back and Aiden draped across his chest.

“I messed this up before. And I’m groggy and in pain and probably not saying it right this time either. But I’m going to say it anyway. It’s clear that you aren’t happy with your job. What can I do to help you with that?”

Mike thought that Aiden said it exactly right this time. He took a moment to come up with the best answer.

“It’s true, I’m not happy with my job. But I do like the company.”

“Maybe you can do something else there. I know you can’t walk into HR and asked to be reassigned, but if you pitched a new position for yourself and really sold why you’d be best for it something good might happen. What would you do there if you could have any job you wanted?”

Mike stared out the bedroom window for a few moments while he thought. An idea suddenly came to him—one that surprised him with how much he liked it. “Remember that influencer I had to release?”

“The problematic asshole?”

Mike laughed. “Yeah, him. Maybe I could take his place and become an in-house influencer. I know how to do all the activities he does on his channel and I’m former military which our customer base will appreciate. I think I’d be happier with a role that lets me be physically active outside rather than indoors behind a desk all day.”

“And you’ll look amazing on camera so that’s a bonus. I think that’s a great idea! You should go for it.”

“If they say yes, I’ll have to spend time learning what it takes to work both behind and in front of the camera. Since the role would be experimental, they might put it on a lower pay scale. The company might not even consider the role a full-time position. Either way, I’d take a substantial pay cut. Or Marin might not go for it and decide to let me go instead.”

“The offer to move in here and let me help out financially still stands.”

“I want to,” Mike quietly admitted.

Aiden gently rubbed Mike’s chest as he whispered his question into the dark that surrounded them.

“What’s holding you back?”

Mike thought about it. What was holding him back? Archaic beliefs about who did what in a relationship? What did it matter as long as he was with the one he loved? That’s what he wanted more than anything—a place to belong. A home. He could have that with Aiden. He just needed to let go of old beliefs and reach out to take it.

“Nothing is holding me back. Not anymore. I’ll move in with you.”

Aiden breathed a soft, happy laugh against Mike’s chest. “Welcome home, Beefcake.”

Chapter 33

Aiden didn’t quite sleep for twelve hours. But it was close to it. The rest was exactly what his body needed. When he woke up the next morning, he was almost back to normal. His shoulder had a slight dull soreness, and twinged when he moved his arm. Everything else was fine. Before breakfast, he did a light stretch routine to work the stiffness out of his muscles. After another hot shower, this one on his own, Aiden felt even better.

Mike came into the room as Aiden finished getting dressed. He glanced at Aiden’s bare wrist before he spoke.

“You haven’t put your ACG watch back on yet. Caleb just called us into HQ. Bring your gear.”

Aiden immediately shifted into battle-ready mode. He had a hunch something big was about to go down and that it had to do with the Playground. Aiden grabbed his bag with his gear and weapons and strapped on his watch.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

∞∞∞

“It’s going to be a battle.”

At the first words Strong spoke when the team he’d called in arrived, Aiden knew his hunch had been correct.

“Caleb’s cyber monitoring uncovered a new plan. A force of both Purity Alliance white shirts and Pruitt police bots are going to mount an offensive on the Playground today.”

“I guess he decided he didn’t want to play the long game of stealthily sowing hate and disorder before swooping in with the buyout,” Caleb said. “He’s going for an extremely hostile takeover instead. With the force he’s gathering, Pruitt Inc. will have control of the Playground by the end of the night unless we stop him.”

“If it’s a fight he wants. It’s a fight he’ll get,” Aiden angrily bit out from between clenched teeth.

“You’re still recovering,” Strong pointed out. “You can stay back and let others on the team handle it.”

Aiden vehemently shook his head. “Absolutely not. The Playground is a second home to me and the people in it are my family. I’ll be there to defend them.” He pressed a hand to his shoulder. “I’m healed up more than enough to join the fight.”

“Okay then. The team will be you, Dr. Z, Sonica, Blaze, Frost, and Amina. If you get into trouble, Bulldozer is on standby. But I’m positive the six of you will be able to handle this.”

Aiden nodded. He turned and caught Amina staring at his shoulder with her brown eyes narrowed and arms crossed over her chest. “What’s wrong. You don’t think I’m ready to fight?”

“No. It’s not that. It’s something that I’ve been suspicious of for a while and now I’m almost sure I’m right about it. Pruitt knows who you are.”

“Yeah, he’s social buddies with my parents. I’ve met him a few times.”

“No.” Amina shook her head. “He knows that you’re Stardust.”

The room went completely silent.

“Think about it,” Amina continued. “The first protest was at your job and for a while a lot of the white shirt attacks were focused there as well. Plus...” She gestured at Aiden’s shoulder. “And the fact that the one instance of violence at the festival didn’t happen until you were an easy open target is a definite sign he knows your identity.”

“Fuck,” Caleb breathed the curse word. “You’re right, Amina.”

It clicked for Aiden too. “No wonder he brought up the Playground at my parent’s cocktail party. And he was all creepy and in my personal space when I looked at my ACG watch. The first time we tangled with the P-Bots one of them scanned me. I thought for sure it couldn’t identify me with my mask on, but I guess I was wrong.”

“That’s good intel to know,” Caleb said.

Blaze spoke up. “That tells us two things. One, Pruitt is definitely directly involved and it’s not his company or a bunch of executives acting without his knowledge. And two —.”

“He made it personal and tried to have Aiden killed,” Mike angrily growled with his hands clenched into fists.

Taken aback at the visible display of anger from his usually calm lover, Aiden laid a hand on his chest to soothe him. “Is it my turn to tell you to stay cool while you fight?”

Mike looked down at him, lips pressed into a hard line, brows drawn down, and eyes burning an intense bright green. After a moment, the fierceness in his expression eased and his eyes banked to their usual color.

“No, I’m good. I’ll have a cool head when it’s time to fight.”

“If not, let me know,” Frost said. “I can always make you an ice helmet. One hot head on the team is enough.”

Aiden threw his friend a bit of side-eye for that bit of snark that he knew referred back to him calling Frost and Mike uptight. “Funny.”

Frost shrugged, but restrained laughter glowed in his icy blue eyes.

Aiden smiled outright, glad to have the tension in the room somewhat lightened.

Something beeped at Caleb’s command center.

“They’re mobilizing,” he said after a quick look at his screen.

Strong nodded and started typing something on his electronic pad. “Then so are we. Keep the Pruitt force off the island. That’s all you need to do. After you defeat them, Caleb has a plan to put a stop to this once and for all.”

“Got it.” Aiden looked at Mike who gave him a confident nod.

Amina cracked her knuckles. “Let’s do this.”

Aiden left the firehouse with his team. He straddled his bike, Frost climbing on behind him. Once Aiden pulled his mask into place, he felt settled. Ready to fight. They were going to win. Pruitt was not going to get his greedy hands on the Playground.

Chapter 34

It was cool, a slight breeze blowing, the sun beginning its descent to the horizon when they took up their line of defense on the center of the bridge. All of them were determined that Pruitt’s group would not set foot on the Playground. Aiden and Mike posted up in the center of the line. Frost was on Aiden’s right, snow swirling all around them. Blaze and Amina were on Mike’s left, electricity crackling over Blaze’s fists and sparks shooting off of Amina’s dual maces. Sonica stood at the end of the line next to Frost, her shoulders rising and falling as she sucked in deep breaths, clearly eager to release her sonic scream. Caleb was back at HQ, watching and feeding intel into their ear pieces, while his drone hovered above them.

In the distance, Aiden spotted what they were waiting for. A line of vehicles approached, purple lights swirling on their rooftops.

“Here they come,” Stardust said.

The line of purple lights grew closer. Moments before they arrived, the sound of footsteps, many footsteps, came from behind them. Aiden turned around. A huge group of Players marched onto the bridge. Most were in their costumes, but they were all armed with chains, pipes, and brass knuckles. Suzie, incongruous with her pigtails and ruffles while wielding a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, lead the way. The group stopped while Suzie continued on a few more steps to meet the line of superheroes. She smirked at Stardust when she reached him, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

“Like I said before, this is our town and we’re not giving it up.”

Stardust’s eyes went wide at the realization that she knew his secret identity. Then he grinned behind his mask and nodded. “We’re glad to have you here.”

Mike started showing the Players where to position themselves for the best defense of the bridge, while Blaze shouted quick instructions on where to hit the P-Bots to take them out of commission. That was all the time they had to prepare. The army of P-Bots and white shirts had arrived. Their adversaries exited their vehicles, moving forward in a well-ordered mob to face off against the Guardians and the Players. Their numbers were bigger than any of their previous attacks on the Playground. Several dozen white shirts and P-Bots combined. It wouldn’t be easy taking them all down.

There was a brief stare down but impatience rolled off both groups in almost visible waves. Everyone was itching for this battle. There was no prearranged signal. No call to action. Still, both sides moved at the same time, rushing at each other into what immediately became a wild melee.

Aiden was as eager as everyone else for this fight. Diving in without hesitation, his blades sliced against both metal and flesh, a fury of kicks and headbutts taking down multiple foes. He used his shield to protect himself and others when he could and gladly absorbed every punch and kick from an opponent when he couldn’t. His adrenaline kept him from fully feeling the pain from the blows, but it was there just beyond his awareness. The pain didn’t matter. All that mattered was defeating as many white shirts and P-Bots as possible to stop them from entering the Playground, and sending a message back to Pruitt that they were not to be fucked with.

As Aiden fought, he caught a glimpse of blonde hair and a pink cardigan through the violently shifting mass of combatants. Hardly daring to believe what he saw, he ducked a punch, then straightened to get a better look. It was her. Alice Iverson. The face of the movement against the Playground. Protest Barbie.

If she was here, she must have intentions of joining in the brawl. Aiden tossed a bot over the bridge, already diving back into the fray before it splashed into the water. If she was down to fight, she wouldn’t be fighting anybody but him. It took time and effort, but eventually he broke free of the crowd and stood alone to face her.

Iverson stepped forward when she saw him. She smiled her polite, Protest Barbie smile.

“Tell your corporate overlord Mr. Pruitt that we are not shutting down,” he yelled across the space separating them. “Not now. Not ever.”

Her smile stayed fixed and calm as she stared at him. She was still smiling when she sprinted forward and jumped, leaping over the bridge faster and farther than any human, any non-enhanced human, should have been able to leap.

Stardust was so surprised that he dropped his guard and went down when she slammed into him. He hit the ground hard enough that the asphalt burned his back even through his jacket. But his training kicked in. He ignored the pain and rolled with the momentum of his fall, taking her with him, and flipping her over his head.

Iverson landed on her feet facing away from him. Her head turned all the way around to face him. Her body followed.

Aiden took a step back. “What the...?”

She ran at him in a full sprint, fists clenched, arms pumping, and the creepy smile still on her face.

Aiden punched her hard, right in the throat. A human would have choked. Whatever this was blinked and... glitched. Iverson’s head jerked to the side, mouth stuck open with that smile turned to a grimace before she recovered and came for Aiden again. He planted his feet, guard up, his grip on his sai sure and steady. His left blade flashed out, catching Iverson across the cheek, opening a wide cut. When she jerked back, the skin peeled away, revealing shiny gray metal and glowing purple wires. Aiden stared at the sparks shooting from the slice on Iverson’s face in shock. Alice Iverson wasn’t human. She was a robot.

“Did anyone else know Protest Barbie was a robot?” he called out to the bridge at large.

No one answered him before she came gunning for him again. Ready to end this fight, Stardust threw up his shield to block her attack, then immediately went on the offensive. The golden blades glinted in the purple light emanating from Iverson’s face as Aiden struck again and again, faster and faster until the robot looked dazed, unable to keep up.

Aiden hit her with a final punch directly on the spot where the flesh-like substance had peeled away. He suffered a shock that made him involuntarily jerk and clench his teeth when he made contact with the still sparking wires, but it was worth it. Alice Iverson went off-line and crashed to the ground.

∞∞∞

Mike fought, knuckles aching from all the times his fists crashed against metal or a jawbone, firing off his blast to knock back bot after bot. But if he didn’t get a close and direct hit to take their system off line, they’d get up and keep coming back. Purple light was everywhere, swarming all over the bridge, making them easy to identify targets. They were all indistinguishable from one another. Until an unpleasant tingle shivered down his spine and the hair on the back of his neck lifted.

Mike turned his head, looking for the source of that negative energy. A purple light glowed—one he immediately recognized even though it appeared the same as the others. He halted his forward momentum, going into defense only mode while he kept an eye on that one purple light. Now that he was seeing it up close, he noted that this P-Bot looked different from all of the others. But that was him. The A.I.—the thing that almost killed his lover. His fists clenched with rage, Mike went after it with single minded purpose.

Caleb suddenly spoke into his ear piece.

“That’s Commander 5.”

“What?”

“Commander 5. He—or rather it—leads the other P-Bots.”

“It’s the one that shot Stardust,” Mike answered while still making his way toward the A.I.

“Are you sure?”

A white shirt was sneakily rushing behind one of the Players. Mike picked up a damaged, off-line P-Bot and threw it at them, knocking the white shirt to the ground. “I’m sure. And I’m taking it down.”

“Be careful. That thing is lethal.”

“Will do.” Mike stopped talking to face off with Commander 5.

The A.I. turned from watching the battle when Mike approached it. It tilted its head to the side. After a pause, the A.I. raised its arm. But before it could do whatever it planned to do, Mike hit it with a blast. He hit it with another one as he ran forward, itching for a chance to go hand to hand. Thankfully, the P-Bot engaged, and Mike unleashed his fury at what this thing had nearly done to Aiden with unrelenting punch after furious punch.

As they fought, Mike observed that the way Commander 5 moved was different from the other bots. When it ducked to avoid his blasts, its movements were fluid and instinctual, rather than jerky and robotic. Was it a human inside that suit?

Mike cursed. He couldn’t gain the upper hand in their fight. If it actually was a robot he was facing, its martial programming was so advanced that it was as if he was up against an unbeatable Final Boss. But Commander 5 didn’t have the upper hand either. Until suddenly it spun, fast as lightning, gaining momentum for a brutal punch to the side of Mike’s head. It happened so fast that he barely saw the hit coming. But he definitely felt it.

The blow to his head had his ears ringing, stunning him to the point that he couldn’t think straight enough to activate his blast. With a pained grunt, Mike stumbled and collapsed to his knees. Commander 5 strolled forward to stand directly in front him. Down and defenseless, Mike braced himself for what he knew was coming. A laser shot—the same laser shot that almost killed Aiden. At such close range, he doubted he’d survive it. He didn’t want to die. There was too much he wanted to explore as a person, as a hero, as Aiden’s partner and lover.

A familiar voice shouted from nearby.

“No!”

A split second later, Aiden landed in front of him. The golden shield went up, protecting them both.

Commander 5 fired the laser anyway. But the shield held. Relentless, the A.I. took a step closer. Aiden yelled, his dirty, sweaty face fierce with concentration. He was straining to keep up the protective sphere under the powerful onslaught.

“Drop it,” Mike said.

“What?” Aiden shouted with his eyes wide.

“Do you trust me?”

“With my life. Which I’m guessing I’m about to prove.”

A smile quirked Mike’s lips. “You are. Drop the shield and hit the ground.”

“All right.”

“On three. One. Two. Three!”

The shield disappeared and Aiden dropped flat to the pavement.

Mike immediately lunged right, out of range of the laser. Before Commander 5 could adjust his aim, Mike let loose with his blast. For the first time, he didn’t simply use it, he put the full strength of his mental force behind it. The beam was wider, and a bright neon green instead of dark emerald. His power was so strong that the visor cracked over his left eye. Then the glass shattered over his right. Mike got back on his feet. Focused. Determined. He clenched his fists and suddenly, Commander 5 went hurtling back under the force of the blast, slamming into the windshield of one of the Pruitt Force trucks.

His ears still ringing, Mike pulled his power back and dropped to his knees again. “Thank fuck that worked.” His temples instantly throbbed with a headache so excruciatingly painful that he swayed, bracing himself with a hand on the ground to keep from crumpling to the pavement. The intensity of the power he’d used was so strong that the magnets in his visor hadn’t been able to counteract it. But he didn’t care. As long as he and Aiden were alive, he could deal with a headache.

Across the way, the commander must have called for a retreat. Because the rest of the force, robot and human alike, stopped fighting and began making their way to their vehicles. A few of the Players gave chase but Stardust stopped them with a yell.

“Let them go! We did what we came to do.”

They watched as the still functioning bots and the white shirts able to walk climbed into their self-driving trucks, abandoning the bridge in a disorderly retreat. The Players started cheering at their victory.

Stardust stood and helped Mike to his feet. He put a hand on Mike’s jaw, tilting his head down to look at him.

Mike returned his gaze, minus the green tint to his vision.

“Wow. You actually destroyed your fancy visor. Caleb is going to murder you.”

“It was worth it to protect you, these people, and this place that you love.”

Aiden smiled. “Awww, Beefcake. You say the sweetest things. I hope you always love me enough to fight artificial intelligence robots on my behalf.”

“You know I will.”

Flushed with victory and love, Mike leaned down to his lover, sealing his promise with a kiss.

Chapter 35

After the battle, the Guardians stayed to help clean up the bridge. Mike focused his efforts on tending minor injuries, while Sonica popped those with more severe wounds and breaks to the hospital. Their work done, they left the Players to celebrate their victory against Pruitt, and made their way back to the firehouse.

As soon as they walked in, Caleb took one look at Mike’s cracked visor and hunched over as if he was in pain. “How?” he croaked.

“An intense will to live,” Mike answered as he passed the damaged tech over to him.

Caleb stared forlornly at the shattered glass. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I’ll rebuild it stronger.”

Mike clapped him on the shoulder in thanks and sympathy. Then he moved to start checking over the team. Remembering that Amina didn’t have super powers or healing, he went to her first.

“Did you take any head blows?” he asked while giving her a quick examination.

“No, but I saw from a distance that you did. Commander 5 really rocked you.”

Mike winced both in memory and pain—his skull was still throbbing. “Yeah, that wasn’t fun.” Amina’s skill and suit protected her well. She was fine, other than a few abrasions and bruises so Mike moved on. He grasped Aiden’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze as he passed him. “I’ll take care of you at home,” he said softly. Aiden nodded and squeezed his hand in return.

Blaze waved him off when he approached.

“Fastest super healing in the group,” he said.

Mike nodded and kept going until he’d checked everyone on the team. No one was seriously hurt thankfully. And their advanced healing would take care of any needed recovery.

Aiden sat in one of the club chairs in front of Caleb’s command center. He crooked a finger at Mike.

“Come here.”

Mike went over and sat on the floor, tucked between Aiden’s thighs. His shoulders relaxed with a sigh of relief as Aiden began rubbing gentle circles on his temples, chasing away the stubborn tendrils of pain that refused to be defeated by the painkillers he’d taken. He listened as Aiden started speaking to Caleb and Strong.

“We gave the Purity Alliance and Pruitt’s bots a righteous beatdown. How do we stop them from coming back?”

“I already have,” Caleb answered from his usual seat behind his desk. “I anonymously uploaded the bridge defense video to all the major social media sites. I also included narration and captions detailing that the Pruitt artificial intelligence bots had no jurisdiction to come into the Playground and spliced in clips from street cameras showing the white shirts harassing and assaulting Players and visitors. People are outraged on your behalf and have taken the side of the common citizen over big business. There are even multiple threads on Reddit about corporate greed and overreach. Pruitt’s plan to try and takeover the Playground is out there now. He failed, and he won’t want the negative publicity that goes with a second attempt. Especially since it hurts his bottom line.”

Caleb clicked a button and one of the screens flipped to show a stock market ticker. Pruitt Incorporated stock showed a small drop for the day.

“You’re a genius, Caleb,” Aiden tiredly praised.

“Thank you.”

“I don’t know if either of you caught it on the drone footage, but Alice Iverson was an A.I.—.” Aiden paused. “I just caught that. Ugh. It’s like Pruitt was daring us to notice she was a robot.”

Strong nodded. “I did catch it. I’m aware that A.I. have made huge strides in advancement. But I didn’t realize civilian companies had reached that high a level. The ones I’ve seen could be clocked as an A.I. without much difficulty on close inspection. I guess that’s something we’ll need to be on the lookout for in the near future. But there’s nothing to be done about it right now. We won today. Now go home and get some rest.”

Everyone started preparing to do as Strong suggested.

“I need three to five business days to recover after that fight,” Amina said as she stretched and cracked her back.

“I’ve never used my sonic scream that many times in one day. I need some hot tea.”

Mike rose and stepped to the side so Aiden could get up from his seat. Aiden called out to the group before they could leave.

“Everyone, thank you so much for helping me protect the Playground. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Sonica smiled and came over to give him a hug. “You’re welcome.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Strong said.

Frost simply nodded, as did Blaze. After the team acknowledged Aiden’s gratitude, he turned to Mike.

“Ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” He had a second’s warning before Aiden jumped on his back, wrapping his limbs around him. Mike quickly adjusted his stance to bear his weight, holding him beneath his thighs, and walked out of the firehouse. He started toward Aiden’s motorcycle but Aiden stopped him.

“Leaving my bike here. I’ll ride back with you.”

“All right.”

The trip home passed with low music playing on the radio and quiet recollections of the fight. When Mike pulled into the driveway and turned off the key, Aiden reached for his hand, entwining their fingers together. They both still wore their gloves, but Mike could feel the warmth of his lover’s hand against his own.

“I’m glad the fight is over. And I’m really glad we won.”

“Me too. Let’s head in and get some sleep.”

Inside, they headed up to the bedroom. Mike took off his boots and harness, then went to wash his hands and retrieve the first aid kit. When he came back, Aiden had undressed down to his underwear—a pair of briefs with green and black horizontal stripes. His hair was unbound, cascading over his shoulders as he sat cross legged on the bed. Mike smiled at Aiden wearing underwear in their colors. His hang-ups about showing his scarred body to his lover long gone, he took a moment to undress down to his briefs as well.

After he undressed, he began to examine his lover. With gentle fingers, he grasped Aiden’s chin and raised it to look him over. His elegant, fine-boned face hadn’t suffered any damage. “Still as gorgeous as ever,” he said.

A smile lit Aiden’s golden eyes. “Thanks, Beefcake. You were magnificent out there. I saw you throwing roundhouses left and right.”

Mike grinned. “Did you also check out my ass again when I used my powers?”

“Oh, you know I did.”

That made him laugh as he checked Aiden’s shoulder wounds next. Both entry and exits were already healed to a faint pink scar and hadn’t reopened during the bridge fight. There were a few bruises on his chest, but it wasn’t until he moved to Aiden’s back and swept his hair aside that he found something that needed treating. His shoulder blades were red and abraded. Several of the deeper scratches were tacked over with dried blood. “What happened here?”

“That damn Alice-bot knocked me down so hard I went sliding across the pavement.”

“Ouch.” Mike winced in sympathy. Making sure Aiden’s hair was out of the way, he got ready to treat the area.

“Gonna make me feel better, doctor?”

“Of course.”

He started by cleaning the abrasions with alcohol wipes. Aiden hissed at the sting. “Sorry.” Mike added a kiss to Aiden’s nape to his apology. Next, he squeezed out antibiotic ointment and began applying it. Using his fingers, he lightly smoothed the ointment over all of the abrasions until both shoulder blades were covered. Aiden sat quietly and let him work, head lolling forward so that his hair draped nearly to the floor.

“Your hands feel wonderful on me,” he whispered.

“Glad I could help,” Mike whispered back.

Once he was finished, he pressed another kiss to Aiden’s shoulder, right above the start of the scratches. “All better. Don’t lay on your back for a bit until that heals some. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Guess I’ll have to find another way to sleep then.”

Aiden twisted around to push Mike onto his back on the mattress then stretched out on top of him.

Mike was fine with the new position. He wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist, holding him in place. “Comfortable?”

Aiden hummed his answer with a satisfied smile curling his lips. “Mmmm-hmmm.”

They were warmly pressed together, skin to skin. Neither of them were hard yet, but with the subtle movements of Aiden’s hips grinding against him, it wouldn’t be long before they were.

“How’s your headache?” Aiden asked.

“Suddenly gone.”

“Good,” Aiden whispered before he leaned down and kissed him.

The kiss was as powerful as all the others they’d exchanged. Mike lost himself in the soft lips pressed against his own, a quiet moan escaping him as he let Aiden in to sweetly torment him with wicked curls of his tongue. Each kiss aroused his body and touched his heart, until every inch of him grew warm and shivery with both desire and love.

Aiden ended the connection in gradual stages, their lips slowly parting with a final shared breath between them. Mike stared up into golden tiger’s eyes that were full of tenderness as they watched him in return.

“I want to fuck and fight with you forever,” Aiden whispered softly.

Mike laughed and squeezed Aiden in a hug, thankful and happy that he’d found love with his beautiful, passionate partner. “That sounds like the perfect forever to me.”

Epilogue

Six Months Later

“Honey, I’m home!”

The front door closed after Aiden’s cheerful announcement.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Mike called back.

Aiden came into the kitchen, hair tangled around his shoulders from his windy motorcycle ride. He was dressed in his usual after performance wear, joggers, crop top t-shirt, sneakers, and a hoodie. Usually, he came home with a bare face, but tonight his eyes were still made up and glitter dusted his cheekbones.

“How’s my favorite sexy influencer, superhero-partner, lover?” Aiden asked with a teasing smile.

“I’m your only influencer, superhero-partner, lover.”

“You forgot sexy,” Aiden whispered as he grabbed Mike by his gear harness and tugged him down into a kiss.

Their lips met in a soft, sweet hello. Mike slid his hands through Aiden’s hair to feel the ebony silk on his skin.

“How was your day?” Aiden asked when they separated.

“It was good,” Mike answered while moving to pour his boyfriend a glass of ice water. “I talked with Marin. My subscriber count is growing by the hundreds every hour and sales linked to my videos are bringing the company a lot of money. He let me know that he’s making my in-house influencer job a full-time position.”

“Nice! And what about house hunting?”

“I found something in our price range that I really like. It has a finished basement that I can use for recording, so I won’t have to spend too much time fixing it up before I can put it to use. And there’s room for your barre and pole as well. I made an appointment for us to go and check it out together.”

Aiden gave him a soft smile, happiness glowing in his golden eyes.

“Sounds like you had a good day.”

“I did. What about you? You’re home early and you still have your stage makeup on. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. I wanted to make sure we had a few minutes to talk before we went out to patrol tonight.”

“What’s up?” Mike asked with some concern.

Aiden looked nervous, an expression he didn’t normally wear since he was usually nothing but confidence.

Mike waited, curious but patient until Aiden nodded.

“Fuck, I’m just going to do it.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box in a distinctly recognizable shade of blue.

Mike’s heart started pounding. They’d talked about marriage, but he didn’t want to assume...

“Mike Zielinski. I love you so incredibly much. Love the way you make me eat vegetables with my greasy junk food snacks, love the way you kick ass by my side, love the way you’re six feet of muscle but also the sweetest teddy bear. I love you. And I would love it if you said yes to being my husband.”

Aiden opened the little blue box. Inside lay a thick silver band inlaid with green and gold gemstones.

Mike silently reached for the ring. Aiden stood there, nervously biting his lip while he brushed a single fingertip over the sparkling jewels. “I like that this has our colors in it. Emeralds and topaz?”

Aiden stopped chewing on his lip long enough to give a one-word answer.

“Yeah.”

Mike took the ring from the box and slid it onto his ring finger.

“Is that a yes?”

“You know it is,” Mike said with a grin.

“Woooot!”

Aiden tossed the box aside and jumped up, throwing his arms around Mike’s neck with an excited laugh. Mike caught him in his arms, pulling him in close. Aiden wrapped his legs around him then leaned in for a kiss.

“You said yes,” Aiden said through happy pecks and breathless laughter.

“I said yes.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. You’re my favorite exotic dancer, superhero-partner, lover, soon-to-be husband.”

They were about to kiss again when their ACG watches simultaneously beeped.

Flustered and moving awkwardly while holding Aiden, Mike accidentally hit the video button, activating the camera instead of voice only to answer the call. Caleb’s face came into view.

“Have you guys left yet? Because there’s a big —.”

He stopped, eyes moving over their flushed, close together faces.

“Oh! You two look busy. I can have someone else take care of this.”

“No, it’s fine,” Aiden said. “We have the rest of our lives together to celebrate.”

“Right,” Mike agreed.

“Okay, then. I’ve sent you both the location for the mission.”

The screen went dark.

The two of them shared one last lingering kiss before Aiden slid back down to the floor. He tugged on Mike’s harness, pulling him along as he headed out of the kitchen.

“Come on, fiancé. Let’s go fight some bad guys.”

As always, Mike followed behind his beautiful lover without a moment’s hesitation.

Beast Preview

Caleb loved his apartment—except for one thing. The parking. If he didn’t make it home early enough—which he rarely did—he lost out on the available street parking and ended up having to walk quite a way from where he left his car to his building. Tonight was one of the nights he wasn’t lucky enough to find parking on his street. After parking in the commercial lot where he’d purchased a year-long pass, he grabbed his messenger bag and set off for home.

His neighborhood was nice and quiet, a mix of families and singles from many diverse communities, and Caleb didn’t usually worry about anyone bothering him. But tonight, for some reason, the back of his neck prickled with uneasy awareness. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something was behind him...watching him.

Caleb quickened his footsteps. Then, over the sound of his own shoes slapping against the pavement, he heard a noise. It was indistinguishable, but it felt out of place, setting off his internal danger alarm. The news reports from earlier today sprang to mind, that people had seen some sort of monster around the city. His heart pounding now, Caleb broke into a jog. His building wasn’t far. He could just make out the antique cast iron street lamps wrapped with autumn garlands that lit the sidewalk out front.

As he jogged, he tried to tell himself that he was being silly. That he would turn around and there would be nothing there. Just like when he was a kid and he’d sworn there was something in the closet, only to work up the nerve to yank open the doors and find nothing inside. But then he heard it again—the sound close enough now to be distinct—leaving no doubt as to what it was. The beat of wings. Large wings.

Caleb whipped around in time to catch a glimpse of something huge flying through the yellow glow of a street light before it was cloaked by darkness once more. A winged...beast. And it was headed straight for him.

Author Note

Ah, Aiden and Mike. I doubted the story they brought to me and thought it should be something else. I had to find my chill and let them tell the story that was theirs to tell. And I’m so glad I did! Aiden came to life in the best way. Sexy and femme and bad ass. And Mike, lovely soldier Mike. Strong and calm and sweet. Fiery smol and gentle tol is one of my favorite couple dynamics, so I loved watching it unfold between my heroes. I love them a lot. *insert sob face emoji*

Can I tell you a secret? These guys popped into my head with the X-Men’s Wolverine and Cyclops vibes. You know, the hot head and the cool leader, always arguing, sparks always flying. That constant bickering and tension between Aiden and Mike was a blast to write. I could feel strait-laced Mike’s frustrated annoyance in response to Aiden’s flirting and ask no questions—just fight personality. Wolverine and Cyclops might never, but Stardust and Dr. Z were definitely going to smash to alleviate that tension.

I think Aiden and Mike match in a beautiful and exciting way and I’m thrilled I was able to share their story with you. They’re going to be in love and brawling against villains as superhero partner lovers forever.

We’re now two books into the Arch City Guardians and I can’t wait to bring you the next in the series. So, I’ll see you later with Caleb and Beast.

P.S. Follow the special link below to sign up for my newsletter if you would like a newsletter exclusive Stardust and Dr. Z short story and a character interview featuring our boys!

www.ChristaTomlinson.com

More by Christa Tomlinson

Arch City Guardians Series

BLAZE

DR. Z

BEAST—Coming 2022

Heartthrob Heroes Shorts

Valentine’s Day Hero

The Sergeant Series

The Sergeant

The Detective’s Pleasure

The Sergeant: A Christmas Story

An Officer’s Submission

A Sniper’s Devotion

Heartbreakers Series

Gage

Nate

Max

Star Force Fighters Series

Starlight Dreams

Starlight Desire

Between the Ropes Series

The Rookie and the Vet

In His Corner

Free Reads

A Second Chance for Three

The Supreme Might of Love

Thank you for reviewing DR. Z! The links to post your review on Amazon and/or Goodreads are below.

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JJX2ZTQ

CAN: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09JJX2ZTQ

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09JJX2ZTQ

DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09JJX2ZTQ

AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09JJX2ZTQ

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58505609-dr-z

DR. Z – Arch City Guardians #2

Superhero Romance

Published October 15, 2021

Kindle Unlimited

Sale Price $4.99

Table of Contents

Dr. Z

Message from the Author

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Epilogue

Beast Preview

Author Note

More by Christa Tomlinson