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Bad enough he’d nearly lost his mind when that fucking asshole had sucked Gavin’s cock. Playing with him was one thing, but no one used a mouth on Gavin without permission, and especially not some deviant slave with ties to a gangbanger from Detroit.

Cleaning, then fucking Gavin, had cemented his position as Master, as one in control. No more jealousy, no more ridiculous fear for his partner. Gavin had been unnerved about the incident, though he hadn’t thought as much. But Aidan had caught a tendril of Gavin’s unease about that asshole blowing him, and he’d nearly gone ballistic. Stupid, and so unnecessary. Yet he couldn’t help it. He was taking this Dom shit seriously; Gavin belonged to him.

He shot down the hallway like a man possessed, digging into minds as he passed, searching for Carl’s study. Though he’d caught glimpses of it in Carl’s head, every hallway around here looked the same. He wished to hell he didn’t have to be so close to read minds. If something happened to Gavin while he was gone, Aidan wouldn’t know until he returned to his lover’s—partner’s—side. Christ, he had to stop thinking about Gavin in a personal sense. They were on a job. A mission. Success meant everything.

Yet part of him realized it paled next to Gavin being safe and happy. Next to another tomorrow spent with Gavin in his arms.

He grimaced and finally struck pay dirt when he came upon another man currently getting blown against the wall by a guard.

Turning in another direction, Aidan walked away from the wing where the guests were staying and moved toward a corridor guarded on either side by large men with guns.

“Stop, please.” They moved to meet him.

He thought quickly. “I need to speak with Mr. Kerr. It’s urgent.” Aidan lowered his voice and looked around. “There’s an undercover federal agent downstairs. I recognized him from the last time my cousin was busted. We need to fix that. Pronto.”

The guards didn’t blink. One of them quickly radioed Samson to explain the situation. “Yes, Sir. I understand. Yes. But I agree with Mr. Castle. This is urgent.” After a moment, he signed off and turned to Aidan. “Sir, please come with me.”

Time to find that book and leave. Aidan felt a chill pass over him and resolved to hurry. He couldn’t let anything happen to Gavin. He wouldn’t let anything happen. Life without Gavin didn’t bear thinking about.

Chapter Nine

Gavin dressed himself in a pair of loose-fitting lounge pants and paced. He lay down. He sat up. He tried to pass the time by watching TV, but the only thing he could see on the closed-circuit television was the party in the dungeon. A live feed. Oh hell, he’d been broadcast to anyone and everyone who’d wanted to watch.

He should have been embarrassed. Before Aidan, he would have been. Now, whenever he wanted to hide from his needs, he recalled Aidan telling him not to be ashamed. And he was right. Gavin wasn’t hurting anyone. He didn’t ask for others to watch him, but if they did, he enjoyed it. So he had a thing about exhibitionism. And submission. And bondage…

Aidan would shrug it off as no big deal. And that approval forced Gavin to reevaluate his need to please. Why did he care what everyone else thought, as long as he, and the man he was afraid he loved, accepted him?

He had to admit Aidan played a huge part in his wants and needs. He’d had a crush—from a purely physical perspective—on the blond giant for years. Even though he’d thought of Aidan as a dickhead and brutish asshole, he couldn’t deny he liked the look of him. So to find out he’d been wrong about the man under all that muscle turned Gavin inside out.

Aidan liked domination. He read books, fiction and nonfiction, and had an extensive art collection. The image he projected—a large thug with little more on his mind than the job—wasn’t the real man at all.

Though their conversations had been few, they’d been deep. Gavin knew enough about Aidan from what he didn’t say to know what made the man tick. He needed affection; he just didn’t know how to ask for it. Lying on Aidan’s chest while they rested or readied to play, Gavin had felt Aidan stroking him. The almost incessant need for contact told Gavin that Aidan wanted a tight connection, even if he wouldn’t say it out loud.

His obvious possessiveness had to be more about their relationship than the job. It had to.

Gavin continued to think about the impossible dream of a future with Aidan beyond this case while the minutes slipped into an hour. Then two hours. Worried when Aidan still hadn’t returned, he unlocked and opened his door, only to find two men standing outside. With guns.

One of them growled, “Mr. Castle will return shortly. Mr. Kerr suggests that for your own safety, you remain inside.”

Gavin swallowed. “Okay. Thanks.” He quickly closed the door and locked it again. Then he tried to decide what to do. Aidan had mentioned the possibility they’d be separated, and if that happened, to wait it out. Best case, Aidan would get Gavin a message. Either by note or thought, if the shit hit the fan. And so far, Gavin had heard nothing. Worst case, if Gavin went more than four hours without hearing from Aidan, he was supposed to leave Aidan behind and get the hell out of Dodge. He’d pretend to be nothing more than Aidan’s pawn and tough out his stay at the mansion if he couldn’t escape.

Aidan gone wasn’t an option.

Gavin refused to panic. Panic had caused him to be booted out of the program years ago. Aidan depended on him.

He forced himself to sit down and watch the television, thinking he might catch a glimpse of something useful if he stared long enough. At first the sexual acts and lusty lack of inhibition turned him on, but after a while, all the fucking blended together. As he waited for Aidan to return, he realized the case wasn’t what he’d thought it would be.

It came as a shock to understand that he actually preferred sitting in his office at the gym. He’d spent months trying to get back into fieldwork, and now that he’d arrived, he wanted nothing better than the safety of his computer and calculator. And Aidan.

Gavin looked inside himself, honestly considering the notion that what he’d been searching for wasn’t a better job or more exciting career. Sex with Aidan had given him a connection and a confidence he’d been wanting for a long time. But it was more than Aidan. Gavin sat half-naked on a strange bed, in the home of a man with ties to organized crime. Hell, guards with guns stood right outside the room. And he’d just attended his first orgy, where he’d had sex in front of people he didn’t know.

But he wasn’t freaking out. He could handle this.

And now he knew it.

Things would probably get worse tonight before they got better, but Gavin refused to desert his partner. He wouldn’t lose his composure or flake out on the job. For too long he’d doubted himself, and it had robbed him of the pleasure his real work actually afforded.

He liked making the numbers fit. He liked keeping Jack in the black. Getting the business tax breaks and figuring out the bottom line, then stretching it to make ends meet, gave him a satisfaction this field job couldn’t. Because Gavin understood he wasn’t the best man for action. Aidan was.

Being dominated by Aidan was enough of a thrill. Finishing this case would be hard work, but he knew they could do it. Just so long as Aidan returns in one piece. Gavin let the worry wash over him, accepted it, and owned it. He refused to let it rule him. None of this could possibly be scarier than trying to convince Aidan to give their relationship a chance when the mission ended.