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 AidenSir. 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.”
