OK, so I was spoilt with reviews for chapter 8, but was sad to get such little response to c,hapter 9. So now am piling on the angst with the next two chapters. Well mostly the next chapter actually. This one is hardly angsty at all.

Next time you'll cry.

Well, maybe not cry. Feel bad for them. Maybe. I did.

Enjoy!

The spell from their time alone fell far too quickly from Ste and Brendan's bodies. They were dressing and tidying themselves far too soon, and it felt like no time at all before Ste was stocking the bar, missing the feel of Brendan against him. Brendan himself went to fetch Jacqui to help him, and Ste barely had his breath back when Danny's friends started to arrive it drips and drabs.

They did not look like the sort of people Ste wanted to spend lots of time with. Some were big and muscular, the type that could crush a man like Ste with a thumb and finger, some were scarred, threat carved into every line of their faces, and some were mean looking men who reminded Ste of Terry.

And they all loved Jacqui. She smiled at them, often coldly, laughed at their jokes and showed them to their seats. They aimed pinches at her bottom, and she gave them short shrift, which they loved. Ste hid behind the bar, serving drinks. No one seemed to be paying him any attention, and Ste was not going to complain about that.

Brendan appeared calm, keeping a steady eye on proceedings, and Danny was one of the last to arrive. As he entered the room, he swept it with his eyes, clocking the distance Brendan had put between himself and Ste, and probably a hundred other things that were of potential use to him. Ste hoped Brendan was trying to look disinterested in him so Danny would think there really was nothing between them, and tried to pretend not to take it personally.

Brendan was pretty good at looking disinterested.

He greeted Danny coldly, and led him to a seat. Danny's immediate party followed and sat with him. Ste saw Brendan glance his way, and though it was only the smallest of glances, Danny took less than a second to follow the gaze. Ste thought he saw a tiny shadow of a smirk. Danny didn't show emotion, but he somehow managed to look pleased with himself.

The very last to arrive looked nothing like the rest. He arrived alone, dressed smartly in dark colours, seeming keen to hide his face as he walked in. He wore a long coat over his stocky frame, a bowler hat on his head, and Ste would have guessed him as some sort of businessman, maybe the owner of a mill or something. He was jittery, one hand tapping against his thigh, the other holding his coat closed over his body. He seemed to calm a little when he saw Danny, removing his hat and handing it to Jacqui without giving her the smallest of glances. Jacqui took them looking surprised and slightly affronted by his complete lack of interest – it was clearly unusual for her.

"Alexander!" greeted Danny, with every impression of enthusiasm, holding out a hand for him to shake, and every pair of eyes in the room sprung to view their conversation. Alexander's return was cold.

"Daniel," he said, "You can address me as Sir Alexander." He didn't take Danny's hand.

Danny didn't answer straight away, putting his hand calmly in his pocket, and Ste wondered if he had taken that as an affront. He seemed to decide not to even address that right now, "Please, won't you take a seat. What would you like to drink? Steven!"

Ste took a moment to realise that he was the Steven Danny had just been calling for. He stumbled forward, through a small crowd of Danny's men. He wasn't sure what to say, and somehow managed to stay silent.

Sir Alexander looked Ste up and down, face getting less worried, body more sure of itself. "Wine. Red" he said, simply, "then you come sit beside me."

"Er…" Ste said, unsure if he should do such a thing as sit with them. He was there to serve drinks.

"Are you hard of hearing, Steven?" Danny said harshly, before Ste could say anything stupid. "Fetch Sir Alexander some wine, and then take your seat."

Ste nodded, and almost ran to comply, hardly noticing the jeering looks of the men around him, and avoiding Brendan's gaze. He heard Danny's quiet laugh behind him. "Well, we didn't bring him along for his brains, did we?" the blond man said with amusement.

Sir Alexander only grunted in response, and Ste felt curious eyes on him as he poured wine with shaking hands. Brendan made no move to help or support, instead he just leaned against the wall, his sharp sad eyes trained on Danny. Ste guessed there was no reason for him to intervene. It was just a drink and a sit down. There were worse ways to make money.

He brought the wine over and tried to smile at Sir Alexander. The man grunted at him, taking the wine and sipping it slowly. He nodded once, though Ste wasn't sure why he was nodding, as he had already sat down in the empty chair beside him.

"Talk," Sir Alexander ordered, and Ste looked at him in panic for a moment. What was he supposed to say? But Sir Alexander was no longer looking at Ste. Instead he was looking at Danny, who, apart from looking a little annoyed to be ordered to do anything, had no problem with following the command.

Ste didn't really follow it. There was a lot about ships and times of arrival, and getting things in without fuss. He didn't ask what 'things' were or where they wanted to get them 'in' to. It sounded like it was incredibly illegal, and Sir Alexander did not sound happy about it. He questioned every detail, he fidgeted, complained that he did not like most of the things Danny said. Danny hid his irritation less well than he hid every other emotion he had. After a while, it got the better of him.

"Fuck off," he said suddenly to the people around him. "You too," he said to the others. Ste stood, wanting to follow the instruction and go with the other men, but Sir Alexander caught his hand, pulling him back down. He didn't say a word to explain that action. Ste found himself on his own with Danny and Sir Alexander. Danny glared at him, then decided to ignore him.

"I don't think you understand what's going on right now, Alex," Danny said calmly.

"You think so?" Sir Alexander replied.

"This is your only chance, Alex," Danny continued, clearly finding Sir Alexander's response irrelevant, "your one opportunity to keep it all. If I turned away from you now, can you imagine what would happen?"

"Don't pretend this is one way, Danny," Sir Alexander replied, "you cannot succeed without me."

"I can pull out," Danny growled, "and then I'll have no reason to stay quiet."

"After all of this?" Sir Alexander replied, "I think not. You may have me at my weakest, but I am not in your pocket. This is all that's going to happen. If you even think of coming to me with any other 'ideas' of yours, you'll be hanging by the neck before you can say gibbet. You got that, Danny?"

Danny leant back in his chair, face sour for a moment. Ste decided to look anywhere else. He had no idea why Sir Alexander had kept him there, and he did not want to be part of a show down that could end in death. After a few seconds of intense looks of hatred between the two older men, Danny laughed.

"All this hostility!" he cried, "we're both on the same side! We want a smooth business transaction, that's all."

Sir Alexander grunted, "This is not how I conduct business."

"It is now," Danny contradicted. He smirked suddenly in Ste's direction. "Give my love to the wife, won't ya, Sir Alexander," he said, conversationally, then he got up and went to join the other men, who were now circling Jacqui who was trying hard to keep up with their orders.

Sir Alexander carefully stroked his hair, checking it was smooth, not out of place. His breathing was irregular, sharp, and his face filled with tension, letting Ste know he was not happy.

"Er… shall I get you a drink?" Ste asked.

Sir Alexander breathed out, "No," he replied, "is there somewhere we can be alone?"

Ste's eyes widened, "Er, I don't think so," he said, hoping he was right. Alone would be bad.

"Not for… " Sir Alexander started, irritably, but calmed himself immediately, "I just want someone to talk to."

"Oh," Ste replied, "Er, I don't think anyone's listening, so, we could probably talk here." He had no desire to be any further from Brendan than he needed to be.

Sir Alexander looked around, and grunted in agreement. Danny and his men seemed too interested in Jacqui and another girl that had just shown up. No one was paying him and Ste any attention. Sir Alexander seemed to accept this, and put one hand on Ste's leg.

"Er…" Ste said, staring at the hand, willing it not to move anywhere unless it was away, "what did you want to talk about?"

"Do you trust Danny?" Sir Alexander asked.

"Er… he's mi boss, so…" Ste hoped that answered the question.

"So, no further than you could throw him, then," Sir Alex concluded with a wry smile. "I remember my first boss. Sir William Tenby. Eighty five years old, and still counting every penny. No children to pass it on to, I think he just wanted to take it with him. I wasn't there long, of course; my father just wanted me to learn about business from the best. And Sir William was the best," he grinned to himself, "We used to move the things on his desk around to see if he'd notice."

Ste smiled, not because the story was funny, or even nice, it just felt like Sir Alex was behaving like a human. Ste had never met a Sir anything before, but if they were all like Sir Alex they couldn't be all bad.

"I only started here the day before yesterday," Ste admitted, "but no one's been unkind or anything."

Sir Alex smiled, "So maybe Mr Houston is not completely villainous."

Ste didn't want to answer that. "How did you get mixed up with him, though?" he asked instead. He couldn't imagine a man like Danny did much business with men like Sir Alexander.

"A boring mixture of debts and blackmail. Yourself?"

"Mouths to feed," Ste said simply.

Sir Alexander looked at him appraisingly, "Whose?"

"Mine," Ste replied, then hesitantly, "my kids."

"You have children?" Sir Alexander said with surprise.

Ste nodded, wondering if he was going to get a similar response not to the one he got from Noah. He wondered what that would do to Danny's plans.

Sir Alexander laughed. "You don't look old enough to have children."

"I've got two," Ste replied, not sure whether to be offended or not.

Sir Alexander nodded. "Two children. That's good; you not being a kid. Makes me feel less guilty for the thoughts I'm having."

His hand moved up Ste's thigh. Ste caught it.

"Look, you're really nice and everything, but I ain't a prostitute." He tried to keep his voice down. He didn't want to embarrass Sir Alexander.

Sir Alexander's hand stopped, but didn't move away. "Then what are you doing here?"

"Danny ordered me to. He's my boss, right, so…" he glanced in Brendan's direction, and was pleased to see Brendan's eyes glued upon them. "I'm sorry, you seem really nice, it's just, I'm not…" Not what? He couldn't finish the sentence without repeating himself, "I'm not a prostitute."

Sir Alexander's hand tightened on his thigh, and for a moment Ste expected anger, maybe a punch, maybe worse. He looked back at Brendan and was pleased to see him start to walk towards them, expression intense. Ste had a brief panic that Brendan would only order him to do as he was told, but it came to nothing. Sir Alexander removed his hands.

"I guess I can't be angry," he said thoughtfully, as Brendan made the movement swiftly appear to have the purpose of checking on another drinker, who he patted good naturedly on the back, while still watching Ste and Sir Alexander over the man's shoulder. "It's not like you led me on or anything."

"I really didn't mean to," Ste said quietly, "I can get you another drink if you want."

"No, that's fine," Sir Alexander replied, with a sad smile, "I need to finish up with Danny anyway." He got to his feet and Ste did the same.

Ste nodded. "I am sorry," he repeated.

He looked at Ste appreciatively. "Look, if you ever change your mind…" he dug a hand into his pocket, and pulled out a small piece of card, "that's the address of my office."

Ste took it, though he was pretty certain he wouldn't be changing his mind any time soon. "Ta," he said.

Sir Alexander used his newly free hand to stroke Ste's face gently. "You are very pretty," he said, almost to himself, "there's not many with a face like yours."

"Er, thanks?" Ste said uncertainly.

Sir Alexander smiled. "Look after that card," he added, then planted a kiss on Ste's surprised lips.

Ste did his best not to flinch away; he didn't want to upset Sir Alexander, who hadn't really done anything wrong, but he could feel Brendan's burning gaze upon him, and the scorn of a number of Danny's followers at the sight of two men kissing. It wasn't a long kiss, or very deep. Instead it was a token, the suggestion that this was something Sir Alexander would like to have more of. The moment Sir Alexander pulled away, Ste muttered 'Bye' and escaped behind the bar.

Alexander didn't stay for long after that. He trundled over to Danny and the pair engaged in some speedy back and forth, presumably finalising details of the upcoming whatever they had planned. Sir Alex left shortly afterwards, with very little fuss. About two seconds later, Brendan was behind Ste, too close, growling in his ear.

"Downstairs. Washing up."

Ste hoped he wasn't angry. It was hard to tell with Brendan, his expression nearly always seemed this intense. But he was happy to get out of this company. He nodded and nearly sprinted down the stairs.

He felt considerably more relaxed down in the cellar, with no jeers, no unwanted hands on him, no Danny making him feel uneasy. He could fill up the sink, and listen to the sounds of the normal people in the bar above him, and not panic or worry about what else might be going on.

Brendan arrived just as he was turning the taps off ready to start washing. The water was hot enough to steam into the air between them, making everything seem warm and misty.

"You alright?" Brendan asked from the doorway.

"I'm fine," Ste replied, "are… are you?"

"I'm Brendan Brady," Brendan replied, as though that were answer enough. "So, did you have fun with the fat snob?"

Ste scowled; that was unfair. "He was alright."

"Alright?" Brendan retorted. "Did you want to let him fuck you?"

"You what?" Ste replied, angry at the suggestion.

"Did you like it when he kissed you?"

"Course not!" Ste cried, "are you jealous?"

"Jealous?" Brendan snorted, though there was something in his voice that betrayed his confidence. Ste almost smiled. This was jealousy. "Jealous of some out of shape posh git!"

"He was quite nice actually," Ste contradicted, "he tried it on more than that, you know." He started on the washing up, putting the cups into the warm water.

Brendan stepped nearer.

"Tempted were ya?"

Ste looked at him through his eyelashes. "What do you think?"

Brendan narrowed his eyes. "Well, I'd hope I would be more tempting than a chubby aristocrat."

Ste bit his bottom lip. "Prove it," he challenged.

Brendan glanced back up the stairs, then grasped Ste's wrist, turning him around and pushing him against the sink. He put one hand behind Ste's head, letting go of his wrist, and used his other arm to hold Ste to him. When he brought their lips together, Ste couldn't help thinking that this was a real kiss was like. The sweet nothings he'd shared with Amy were mere pecks compared to this, and his moment with Sir Alexander completely left his mind. Brendan's tongue drove into his mouth, exploring, warring with his own. Ste wrapped his arms around Brendan's shoulders, clinging on for dear life, desperate for it to deepen, to yet again feel Brendan's whole body yearn for him.

Suddenly Brendan pulled away, a smirk playing about his mouth. Ste's mouth tried to follow him, almost unbalancing him. He hadn't expected the kiss to end so quickly. It had felt like it could go on forever. He had wanted it to.

"I think I made my point," Brendan muttered quietly. He spun on his heels, and walked out. "Enjoy the washing up," he added, teasingly, and Ste felt like running after him, forcing him to finish what he started. He was stupidly aroused. One kiss had him dribbling and weak at the knees.

He shook his head at himself. This was stupid behaviour. He had work to do.

But work was much less boring with images of Brendan in his head.

AN: I love to hear what you think, so please take time to review!

Thanks for reading! x