Vincent woke up with a start the next morning. His head jerked side to side, taking in his surroundings as the morning sun poured into the bedroom. Ian was nowhere to be found. Vincent didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not. He was glad that Ian wasn’t there to keep trying to touch him, but he also had to pee so bad that it ached. He was still handcuffed, so there was no way for him to rush to the bathroom.

He pressed his legs together, grimacing as he looked around. He couldn’t believe what happened last night. Ian put his hands all over him and tried to have sex with him. It was impure and devilish. Vincent knew that, but why did he give into temptation?

Maybe he was being brainwashed while staying with Ian. The Devil himself was confusing Vincent, trying to convince him to allow Ian’s sinful behavior and even positively react to it. He was ashamed of himself for touching Ian back, for reacting to his wicked actions. He couldn’t imagine how upset God was with him. He needed to repent.

Before he could pray, the door to the bedroom swung open, and Ian stepped through with a tray of food. He brightened at the sight of Vincent awake and strode over to the bed.

“Good morning. Got us breakfast,” he said as he sat down on the side of the bed, placing the tray in front of Vincent.

Vincent looked down at two bowls of oatmeal, a plate full of buttered toast with grape jelly, and a side of crispy bacon. Admittedly, it looked and smelled delicious, but he wasn’t hungry after reflecting on his reactions last night.

“I need to go to the bathroom. Bad,” he told Ian.

Ian eyed Vincent for a moment, a smile crooking up on his face.

“Sure. I just need a hug first,” he replied, holding Vincent’s gaze.

Vincent narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t believe that Ian needed something in return to let Vincent use the restroom. He was growing sick of Ian trying to control him so much. He was his own person. He wasn’t some puppet to control. He needed to stand his ground before Ian tricked him into doing more unholy acts.

“No,” he said sternly.

Ian’s jaw clenched.

“Fine. Then, sit there and eat,” he replied.

“No,” Vincent repeated, not wanting to do anything that Ian wanted him to do. He would sit there and starve before hugging Ian. He had to start pushing back to let Ian know that he wasn’t about to be run over whenever Ian wanted something from him.

Ian scoffed, shaking his head at Vincent. He reached over to his nightstand, opening the drawer and grabbing his laptop from inside.

“Get comfortable then,” he said as he sat beside Vincent and turned on his laptop.

Vincent blinked his eyes in shock. Ian really wasn’t going to let him go to the bathroom? He watched Ian reach over to the tray and pluck up a piece of toast, eating and acting like Vincent wasn’t giving him a death glare.

“I said that I have to go to the bathroom,” Vincent said sharply. “And I want to be released from these cuffs and given back my clothes.”

“I asked for two things from you, and you refused. Why should I give you anything if you’re not going to work with me?” Ian asked as he typed away on his laptop, doing work for his organization.

“Because you should want to be a decent human being. What you’ve done to me is inexcusable,” Vincent snapped. He was bound and humiliated last night. Now, he was being denied his basic rights. How far would Ian go to get what he wanted? He was afraid to find out.

“You didn’t seem to mind what I was doing to you last night,” Ian replied, turning to look at Vincent with a raised eyebrow.

Heat immediately filled Vincent’s face. He didn’t even want to be reminded of last night, but it haunted his thoughts. Plus, everytime he looked at Ian, he remembered how his body reacted to being touched by him.

“That was cruel of you. I told you not to touch me,” Vincent gritted out. He thought that they had an agreement, but it seemed like Ian didn’t care about that. All he cared about was what he wanted.

Ian parted his lips to reply, but his phone started ringing. He turned away from Vincent, who gave him an offended look, and answered his phone.

“What is it?” he said.

Vincent remained quiet as Ian spoke into the phone, sounding more and more agitated by the second. He tensed slightly, wondering what was going on. There was so much complication surrounding Ian, his organization, and Eton. He wished that he wasn’t caught in the middle of it.

“Unbelievable,” Ian muttered once he hung up the phone. “De Leon found out we were planning to capture him in the Bahamas and has fled to Mexico.”

“You must not be good at staying hidden,” Vincent said with a bit of snide in his voice. It seemed like Ian was always losing this De Leon guy. Maybe Ian and his organization weren’t as impressive as he made it out to be.

Ian turned on Vincent in an instant.

“You should hope that I slaughter De Leon like the pig he is. He shot you!” he snapped before leaning away. “The only reason he found out is because there were two more spies in my organization. They fled after the incident with Lofton and headed to Mexico to join De Leon.”

Vincent remembered the man that he watched Ian kill, feeling an uncomfortable shudder rush through him. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting in bed next to a murderer. He used to be surrounded by pure, Godly men and women. Things had certainly changed.

“Who knows how many of my men De Leon bought off,” Ian sighed, rubbing his temple in a stressed manner. He then shook his head and went back to working.

Vincent remained quiet, deciding to let him cool down. The last thing that he wanted to do was piss Ian off more. However, he could only remain quiet and still for so long. He was starting to really hurt from having to pee so badly. He couldn’t wait any longer.

“Okay, I’ll hug you. I really need to go to the bathroom,” Vincent sighed, giving in. He hated himself for it, but he was in pain at that point.

A small grin crossed Ian’s face as he shut his laptop and set it to the side. He pulled the key to the handcuffs out of his pocket and released Vincent. However, his hand clamped around Vincent’s wrist to help him out of bed, making sure that Vincent couldn’t make a run for it.

Vincent faced Ian, staring at him for a moment before stepping forward to wrap his arms around Ian’s firm torso. He tensed when he felt Ian’s hands on his back. To his surprise, Ian didn’t try to grab him or touch him anywhere else. He felt comfortable enough to relax a little in Ian’s hold, finding his body to be warm and incredibly fit. He grimaced at his wandering thoughts, willing them away. It didn’t help that he was still naked and pressed up against Ian.

“Let’s go,” Ian finally said, pulling away from Vincent before leading him into the connected bathroom. “I’ll run the shower for you.”

Vincent felt his face heat up.

“You’re going to be in here?” he asked. He thought that he would be able to have at least a few minutes of time alone from Ian.

Ian smirked as he walked over to the shower.

“I’ve seen every part of you, Eton. Relax,” he said.

Vincent didn’t want to use the bathroom in front of Ian. He felt humiliated as he shuffled over to the toilet, keeping his eyes off Ian’s dark eyes as he finally relieved himself. He could feel Ian looking at him, making his face burn with embarrassment.

He tried to ignore Ian, remembering his time in boarding school when all the boys would shower together. Maybe he could pretend like this was another instance of that. However, it was hard to do that when another man was staring at him with lust. He just wanted to disappear.

When Vincent finished up, Ian turned on the hot water in the shower and pulled the curtain back.

“In you go. I’ll be waiting for you when you get out,” he said.

Vincent felt like he was in a prison at this point. He had no privacy and no freedom. At least he could hide behind the shower curtain for a little while. He climbed into the shower and stood under the hot water, wishing that it could wash away his sins. He spent more time praying to God than washing up.

He wanted to be saved from this situation. If God did send him here on a holy mission, he wasn’t sure if he was the right man for the job. He thought that he was strong, but lately, he felt so weak. He slipped up so much, committing acts that made him sick to his stomach. He was afraid of what he might do next.

Suddenly, the water was shut off, and the shower curtain was pulled back. Ian stepped into view, handing Vincent a towel.

“You can’t hide in here forever,” Ian said.

Vincent’s shoulders dropped when he realized that Ian knew what he was up to. He quickly took the towel and wrapped himself up in it, able to shield his naked body from view for the first time today. He dried off, wondering what was going to happen next. He hoped that Ian would leave him alone for a while to think, but he doubted that would happen.

Ian held his hand out for the towel.

Vincent clutched the towel tighter, shaking his head, but there was no use in him arguing. Ian took whatever he wanted, including Vincent’s towel. The cool air hit Vincent’s bare skin once the towel was snatched away. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.

Ian’s eyes swept over Vincent’s body, a longing expression filling his face.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured beneath his breath. He then looked up at Vincent and grabbed his hand, tugging him out of the shower and back to the bedroom. He forced Vincent back on the bed, leaning over him to put the handcuffs back on his wrists.

“You don’t have to do this,” Vincent said in a pleading tone. He was tired of being treated like some prisoner. Before all of this, he was a good, honest man. He lived by God’s words and treated others with kindness. Why was this his fate?

“I can’t trust you to not run yet,” Ian replied before sitting next to Vincent.

Vincent sighed, realizing that he would be stuck here for a while. His stomach growled as he glanced over at the food.

“Can I eat at least?” he asked. Maybe he could be allowed to have his hands free for that.

“If I can feed you,” Ian replied, grinning slightly.

Vincent wanted to protest, but he knew that arguing wouldn’t get him anything. Plus, he was starving. He hadn’t eaten much before the event last night.

“Fine,” he muttered. He didn’t like having to compromise with someone like Ian, who could manipulate his way into anything, but what other choice did he have? Whether he liked it or not, he had to play Ian’s game.

Ian grabbed one of the pieces of toast and held it out to Vincent.

Vincent leaned forward and bit into the toast, tasting the sweetness of the grape jelly. He kept his face straight as Ian fed him pieces of his breakfast. Whoever the house chef was did a great job. Vincent felt sorry that he had to work for Ian, though.

“Oops,” Ian said, accidentally spilling a few drops of oatmeal onto Vincent’s bare chest.

Vincent tensed as he looked down at the splashes of oatmeal. His eyes then trailed up, meeting Ian’s. There was a silence for a moment as they stared at each other, like they were waiting for the other to make the first move.

Suddenly, Ian placed the spoon down and leaned down to lick the oatmeal off Vincent’s chest.

A desperate noise sounded from Vincent when he felt Ian’s tongue on his bare skin. His face immediately flushed when he heard his own voice. He couldn’t do this again. He couldn’t act like he did last night. He tried to scramble away from Ian, but Ian grasped his face in his strong hands.

Ian’s thumb trailed over Vincent’s top lip, making him realize that there was a smudge of jelly on the edge of Vincent’s lip. He leaned forward, his tongue brushing against the jelly to lick it off. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he pressed his lips against Vincent’s.

Vincent’s eyes widened in shock. He was also surprised by how warm and soft Ian’s mouth felt against his. He tried to pull away, but Ian’s hands kept him still. Vincent's composure cracked, and he found himself leaning forward instead, leaning into the kiss.

Ian’s lips moved against Vincent’s, caressing every inch of his lips. He loosened his hold on Vincent’s face, stroking instead of gripping. He parted his lips, brushing his tongue against the crease in Vincent’s lips

Vincent found himself automatically parting his lips, letting Ian’s tongue brush his. He shuddered at the sensation, finding it new and thrilling. Guilt cracked through him, but the heat that coursed through his body was stronger.

Ian pushed his body against Vincent’s more, running one hand along Vincent’s side.

Vincent trembled under Ian’s touch, his excitement and anxiety clashing. His mind was a whirlwind. The kiss made him feel things that he had never felt before, but he knew that this was wrong. He shouldn’t be doing this, but why couldn’t he pull away?

Ian moved his hand lower, devouring Vincent’s lips with passion and intensity. It was like a thirsty man finding a pool of water. His fingers trailed over Vincent’s hips before wrapping themselves around Vincent’s hardening arousal.

Vincent’s eyes jolted open. What was he doing? This went too far. Way too far. He couldn’t be kissing a man and letting him touch him like this. He was surprised that God didn’t strike them down at that moment. He probably should’ve. He yanked himself away from Ian, kicking his leg out to knock the tray of food onto the floor.

Ian stumbled back as Vincent scrambled away.

Vincent’s heart thumped heavily in his chest, his eyes burning as he tried to hide. He couldn’t run, so he resorted to burying himself under the blankets. Tears stung his eyes as he pressed his face against the mattress, wishing that his mind wasn’t poisoned with such confusion.  Why did he do that? In his entire life, he had never felt so confused by his actions. Never felt so alone…so scared.