Touch And Go - Aiden Bates Page 0,24

been hallucinating. Maybe the concussion was nastier than I’d thought because a solid wall of testosterone had popped up out of nowhere and blocked my path to the door. A semicircle of hot men closed in and I took in the diversity of handsomeness surrounding me while they looked me over in turn. Black, white, brown, tall, short, bodybuilders and lean queens—it was a smorgasbord of masculine perfection, and I literally rubbed my eyes. Oh, please do not let this be a dream.

“This would usually be my ideal type of fantasy, but I really have to get going…” The fiesta of fabulousness didn’t budge. And I didn’t have much chance of getting around a single one, and much less a chance of taking on…seven.

An insanely tall, built black man in a tight t-shirt with a DC Fire Service emblem on the sleeve cracked a smile, and a young Asian guy in hand-painted pajamas gave me a kind laugh. Eli, the Latino man I’d hit with a one-two punch-kick combo—the only badass move in my bag of tricks—scoffed and then passed a soggy bag of defrosted peas to the hot redhead who’d helped lock me in the bathroom and was now smiling kindly at me. But no one so much as inched to the left to let me pass, and all eyes were suddenly focused somewhere behind me.

I turned to find the good doctor smoothing his hands through his hair—probably checking for cuts—and for a moment, I regretted trying to knock him out with the surprisingly heavy toilet seat, until I remembered I was the one who had been kidnapped against my will.

“Can I just get through…here…” I moved toward two identical white guys who looked straight out of a military recruitment video. Shoulder to shoulder, they looked from me to Derek and back again without the slightest sign of an expression on their stubbled, damn handsome faces.

“Seb.” Derek looked at me imploringly. “We’re here to help.”

Help? Like I was going to believe that after having a gun pressed to my head, then being dragged out of my own home and into the middle of a…what? A crime ring of gorgeous hotties? But in my mind, their imaginary knuckle dusters disappeared, and they were suddenly dressed in hero costumes and capes, because no way could these beautiful brawny men be bad guys…

But I still didn’t know what I was running from, who had put a gun to my head, or how the hell the good doctor was involved. I was more confused than ever. The laptop, the guy with the gun… What I saw on the laptop. Where was Ben? Why was my apartment ransacked and why had the doctor sent Eli there?

“Why are you all here at once?” Derek asked, his tone gruff. He moved to stand beside me then glared at each of the guys staring at us.

“Your lucky day.” Eli smirked.

The glare deepened. Derek wasn’t feeling the luck. With all their attention on him, this was my chance. I dodged to the side, ducked around the guy in colorful pajamas, and almost made it two feet before the redhead came back to the group with a pack of frozen blueberries and almost collided with me. I huffed in frustration, and my chest started to tighten. Why wouldn’t they let me leave?

“Everyone get out. Leave us alone.” Derek motioned for the wall of men to scatter.

Not even a blink.

“Leave!” His voice boomed and the commanding tone went straight to my cock. It stirred, despite days of exhaustion and panic. Interesting.

The twins glanced at each other, then peeled away from the group. Eli rolled his eyes, grabbed the bag of blueberries from the redhead, and slapped it against his eye as the two of them headed out followed by the rest of the crowd.

A guy in a tank top who looked like a surfer bro pointed at Derek on his way to the door. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

Dr. Dish grunted.

I made to follow the crowd, but Dr. Dish dropped a hand on my shoulder, and I stopped to look at him as he smiled and squeezed it affectionately. “You have some explaining to do, too.”

“Me? I don’t know why I’m here or who thought it was a good idea to lock me in the bathroom or how your”—air quotes—“brother managed to find me.”

“And save your life.” There was nothing smug in the way he said it, but I knew the words for what they were. A reminder. Probably