Jesus. They were both looking at him. Muscles especially, standing in the doorway with his arms over his massive chest. Aiden felt his cock twitch before he reached down, reflexively covering himself.

“You guys want to give me some privacy?”

“I'm going to stay here to make sure you don't pass out again,” Rob said from behind.

“Okay, but he can go.”

Steve smirked and stepped away. “Nothing I need to see here.”

“Dick,” Aiden sniped.

“Exactly.” Steve's voice floated back as he shut the door, leaving Aiden in the steaming shower with Rob. It wasn't the first such shower he'd ever taken, but it was probably the first he'd only been conscious of part way through – actually no, that wasn't entirely true either.

“I want to stand up,” he mumbled, trying to get to his feet. It wasn't easy on the slick tile but Rob's strong hands assisted him to do what he wanted. When he was up, he leaned shakily against the wall, putting what little distance he could between himself and the big wet bodyguard.

“You don't have to stay in here with me.”

“I know,” Rob said, wiping the water out of his eyes. “But it's safer if I do. You went out like a light. You're going to need one of us with you at all times until you feel better.”

“You,” Aiden said, turning his back to the flow of the water and letting it pound against his shoulders. “Not the other guy.”

“Steve's not as bad as you think,” Rob said. “He's just... conservative.”

“You mean he's a bigot,” Aiden said, feeling a hot flash of shame. He figured Rob was referring to the worst kept secret in his world: his sexuality.

“No, I mean he likes things done a certain way. He's strait laced.”

“But you're a party guy, right?”

“No,” Rob smiled. “Not really, but I'm more patient than he is. Here's soap. Get cleaned up.”

“Give me some room, then,” Aiden said. “You can spot me from outside the shower if you have to.”

“Okay, you feeling alright?” Concerned eyes locked on him and made his stomach act up for totally different reasons. Rob was fucking hot with his clothes off. He had the kind of body you could only get from using it in hard situations. There was no gym definition, there was ripped physicality, and Aiden was starting to feel the effects of it really fucking strongly.

“No,” Aiden said. “I'm not feeling alright at all, but I can wash my own ass.”

“Alright,” Rob said. He got out of the shower and gave Aiden some space.

Aiden couldn't help watching as the bodyguard stood dripping on the shower mat, reaching for a towel. His body wasn't as big as Muscles’s, but it was just as defined. Both these guys were built like gods.

Even though Aiden still felt like utter hell, there was a definite stirring down there as Rob reached to his boxers and peeled them down without any shame or hesitation, displaying his cock. He wasn't hard and it hung heavy between his thighs, a thick meaty weight. Fuck. Aiden swallowed and looked away, lifting his face to the water to try to clear his head.

Rob didn't say anything, but Aiden could feel the bodyguard's eyes on him.

He'd never been this thoroughly inspected before. Hell, he'd never been this under control before. His entire life, he'd done exactly what he wanted, when he wanted. That was one reason why this situation was totally outrageous, aside from the fact that it was totally and utterly illegal. They were literally holding him against his will.

“You know you're going to have to let me go,” Aiden said, rubbing the soap over his chest. “I mean, this is technically kidnapping.”

“Aiden, there's a mob boss with hundreds of men looking for you. Do you really want to be free right now?”

Rob had a point.

“Okay, but as long as you're with me, there's a mob boss with hundreds of men looking for you, too. Is that what you want?”

Rob smiled, his face brightening and becoming even more handsome. “We're not worried about Mr Cornoli.”

“Why? Because you're working for an even bigger mob boss?”

“Mr Malone is not in organized crime.”

“Not officially,” Aiden sneered.

“Not at all.”

Aiden had his doubts about that. Mason Malone's name came up way too many times in his circles for him to be unconnected. He kept his distance from Mason these days. They'd been very close all their lives, but once Mason went off to join the Marines, distance had sprung up, and then when he'd gotten back and not approved of Aiden's new lifestyle, they'd stopped having pretty much anything to do with each other. His old friend's sudden interference was confusing as hell.

“Why is Mason doing this?”

“Mason has Ellie, and he sent us to look after you.”

Aiden dropped the soap as his fists balled. Ellie hated Mason with everything she was worth. She'd never have gone to him of her own free will. Had Mason just kidnapped them both? What the fuck was going on?

He stepped out of the shower, not bothering to rinse, not stopping to turn the water off. He just walked.

“Hey...” Rob put a hand out to stop him. “Where are you going?”

“To get Ellie.”

Rob's gaze softened. “She's fine. She's safe.”

“She's with Mason, so she's not fine. She hates him.”

“Well I don't know about that,” Rob said evenly.

“I do,” Aiden insisted. He grabbed a towel and rubbed it half-heartedly over his body. “I need some clothes. I got to go get Ellie.”

“You're staying here.”

“Fuck off, I am,” Aiden growled. He wrenched the bathroom door open to unsurprisingly find Steve standing there. He had probably been listening.

“Get out of my way.”

“Can we teach this boy some manners yet?” Steve asked the question over his head.

“He's stressed about his sister,” Rob said from behind. “Go easy on him.”

“Get out of my way, Muscles,” Aiden growled again.

“Muscles?” Steve's lip quirked with amusement. “Okay, calm down, kid.”

“I'm not a kid. I'm not a boy. I'm not yours to worry about, so...”

“Right on the first two, wrong on the third,” Steve said, putting his hand on Aiden's chest. “You're absolutely mine to worry about.”

There was something in the rough man's tone that evoked a response deep inside Aiden. Something like arousal, but greater than that. Longing. Need. He pushed the feelings away as quickly as he could, utterly uncomfortable with them. He didn't need anyone, definitely not Muscles and not Rob either.

“Get the fuck out of my way,” Aiden growled. “Or I'll...”

“What?” Muscles smirked down at him from his great bestial height.

“I'll kick your fucking ass.” Aiden hated the way his voice shook.

“Settle down, boy,” Steve growled. “You'll only hurt yourself.”

“Fuck you. I'll hurt you,” Aiden scowled.

Steve let out a mirthless laugh which told Aiden precisely what he thought of the threat.

“Let me go,” Aiden insisted, uselessly. He was about fifty pounds lighter than either one of them, and had absolutely no condition on him. That wasn't going to stop him from trying to escape. He walked toward Steve, willing him to get out of the way. A second later, he bounced off the wall of a man and ricocheted back into Rob's arms.

“Cut your shit out,” the muscled monster growled. “You're staying here because if you leave this place, one of Cornoli's men will find you in days, if not hours. There's a bounty on your head, boy.”

“Just let me go!” Aiden heard his voice break and felt shameful tears leap to his eyes. He blinked them back, refusing to cry in front of this man. He was so damn frustrated he couldn't stand it. “I don't care if they kill me, do you get it? It doesn't matter! I'm fucking worthless anyway, so just let me go!”

“No.”

“You're not worthless,” Steve rumbled. “Not to Mason, and not to your sister.”

Aiden blinked and cocked his head back. These guys seemed to know way too much about Ellie. “Why does her name keep coming out of your mouth?”

“She's the reason we're here. A couple of Cornoli's goons tried to shake her down. Mason saved her before they really got started.”

Suddenly suffused with pure rage, Aiden tried to burst past Steve, only to be caught in the monster's arms.

“Let me fucking go! I'll fucking kill him!” He growled, his naked form pressed against Steve's jeans, his cock rubbing against the bigger man's leg. Steve didn't seem to notice, and Aiden was too angry to.

“She's safe. She's with Mason,” Steve repeated, grabbing his arm before he tried a flailing punch. “And you're with us. So just settle down, okay?”

“That asshole went after my fucking sister!” Aiden screamed in Steve's face.

“That's what these guys do.”

“She doesn't know anything! She's not connected.”

“She's connected to you, and that's enough.”

“Let me go. Give me a gun.”

“Ha. No.”

“They went for my sister!”

“She's fine,” Steve repeated. “She's with Mason. There's nothing for you to worry about.”

“What the fuck? Of course there's something for me to worry about. They came for my family!” Aiden didn't understand why they were expecting him to be calm when he'd just found out that his sweet little sister was being held because some asshole mobster had tried to hurt her. Why the hell didn't they understand?

“Settle down, or I'll settle you down,” Steve insisted.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

The large arm that had been around his waist moved away, then returned, the bodyguard's hard palm finding his ass in a hard slap. Aiden screamed as pain burst across his butt. It might just have been a slap, but it fucking hurt, jolting him against Steve's hard thigh.

“You need another one of those, or are you going to calm down, boy?”

“Let me fucking… OW!”

Aiden screeched as another hard slap found his ass, whacking him against Steve's leg again.

“Stop it!”

Steve's palm landed for a third time, blasting across his butt with infernal fury.

“Fucking stop!”

“I'm slapping your butt,” Steve growled. “There's guys out there who want to maim, torture and kill you, and you can't handle some heat in your ass?”

“That's enough, Steve.”

Rob's voice came from behind, deep and decisive. To Aiden's immense relief, Steve did actually stop. Instead of whipping him, he grabbed both his arms and held him in place, making movement impossible.

“I'm going to get you something to wear,” Rob said, slipping past him as Aiden and Muscles stared one another down in a battle of wills Aiden knew he was going to lose. His ass was burning, but he didn't want Steve to know how badly. It was hard to meet the man's gaze though. He had a damn hard stare, one that beat the Taylor-Chapman imperial sneer any day.

Aiden was glad when Rob came back with some clothes and gave him an excuse to back down. His relief at getting dressed was short lived though. Rob was the smaller of the two men, but wearing his jeans and sweatshirt, Aiden felt like the boy they called him. He was utterly swimming in them both, and even a belt couldn't keep the pants up. His physique had taken something of a hit over the past years, and he'd never been a tall guy to begin with.

“We'll get you something that fits soon,” Rob assured him with a gentle squeeze to his shoulder. “And don't worry, okay? You're in good hands and so is she. We've never lost a client.”

What choice did Aiden have but to accept the situation? He couldn’t fight these guys, not in his state. Looking like he'd been playing dress up in Rob's wardrobe was the least of Aiden's concerns. The withdrawals were really starting to bite and even inside the oversized sweater and in the heated room, he was soon shivering.

He ended up curled up on the living room couch, looking out at the skyline. Rob draped a blanket over him and fetched him a couple of Advil. Advil! As if that was what he needed. Aiden had a good mind to throw them away, but any drugs were better than no drugs, he figured.

Muscles was far less sympathetic. No, scratch that, Muscles seemed outright disgusted by him. Aiden could practically feel the man's loathing as he did his best to keep his distance. That was fine. In fact, that would probably work out just fine. Rob had to go to sleep sooner or later, he'd heard him talking about going to take a nap. When he did, Aiden was 99% sure Muscles wouldn't be keeping as careful an eye on him. That's when he'd skip out of here. Until then, he was going to play it cool.

He closed his eyes and let his head rest against the back of the couch. Thanks to the asshole with the hand like iron, everything fucking hurt, but it wouldn't for much longer.