A/N: Omg, how has it been so long since I posted?! Sorry! I hope this chapter is worth the unintentional wait!

The deluge of rain had not decreased at all since morning, leaving the outside world waterlogged and grey. Ianto failed to notice this, however, as he drove through the slick roads of the city: so focused was he in escaping the oppressiveness of the Hub that his usual instinct to be aware of his surroundings failed him completely.

The argument with Jack had left him knotted inside, his stomach clenching until he felt physically sick. It disturbed him to hear words of distrust from someone who played so large a role in his life and yet worse still to hear they applied not to his work or his treatment of others, but to the manner in which he lived that life.

Ianto had found his control stretched to the limit as he resisted the urge to rage at the older man. It would have served only to give Jack even more reason to doubt him and Ianto really didn't want to provide any further ammunition so freely. He'd managed to hold his tongue long enough to get out of the base, but as he'd climbed into his car, all the stress and emotional anguish of the incident clamped down upon him.

He was driving before even realising that he'd switched on the engine, and when he pulled into the small private parking lot, he wasn't at all surprised at his location.

Ianto locked up and headed for the apartment building, his thoughts upon the voice mail left for him in the early hours of that morning. There had been such worry in Alex's voice over Ianto's well-being, and he couldn't help but feel warm at the memory of that unexpected concern.

He hadn't returned the call, hadn't given it any thought before now, and as a result he felt guilty for being so rude. The fact, however, that it would have been easier to simply pick up the phone than come all this way didn't even register in his mind, as he reached the door and pressed one of the many buttons there.

There came no answer and after a moment he pushed it again to no avail. He shifted his feet, feeling uncomfortable lingering outside the building and pressed the button once more, holding it down impatiently. Still no answer. He looked around, knowing he should give up and leave but hesitant to do so, when suddenly he saw someone else making their way through the lobby towards the entrance. As the woman emerged, he stepped aside to let her pass and then caught the door before it could shut again, slipping though quickly in case she queried his right to go inside.

Upstairs, Ianto knocked loudly on Alex's door, feeling more and more restless, the question of what he was doing there finally edging towards his conscious thoughts. He didn't want to think about the motives which had brought him to that place, didn't want to consider how he was seeking someone who had expressed concern for him when he'd only just walked out on Jack for doing the exact same thing.

He knocked again and the door was yanked open to reveal a scowling man.

"What?!" Alex demanded, only for his expression to relax the moment he saw who stood before him. "Ianto," he said, his tone instantly warm and low. "What are you doing here? I'm just about to start a session."

Ianto blinked, the thought having never occurred to him and he glanced automatically into the room behind the other man. He couldn't see anyone else inside, but apparently just looking was enough for Alex's professionalism to kick in and he stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door shut as he did so.

"Is something the matter? Why are you here?"

"I, uh..." Ianto frowned. What was he doing there?

"Another bad day?" Alex asked, a wry smile twisting his lips upwards.

"Yes," admitted Ianto, looking away in embarrassment. He realised with a start just how many times he'd seen Alex lately. How had things gotten so out of hand; how had he lost so much control over himself?

He was too logical not to realise where this need of his had stemmed from. Being used by an alien, being psychically forced to betray himself and his friends was a serious blow to his inherent self-restraint and this was the manner with which he'd chosen to reclaim that control. But the recent escalation, the increase in his hunger, that was something he could not account for.

Or rather the reason for it was not something he could admit to himself.

"Did you have a fight with Owen?" Alex asked, interrupting his vexing thoughts.

Ianto only just stopped himself from asking why a fight with Owen would have brought him there; the recollection of his lie about Jack's name emerging just in time to save further confusion.

"You didn't even call to ask if you could come over," Alex was saying, not waiting for an answer. "So something serious must have happened."

The younger man shrugged, still troubled by the fact he had hurried there without any true consideration of what he was doing. What had he hoped to achieve? Another quick session in the playroom to calm his rage and then back to work like nothing had happened? Or perhaps another of the new kind of sessions, the ones that took place in Alex's bedroom...was that what he'd come looking for?

Alex stepped closer and lifted a hand to cup Ianto's cheek. He peered into his eyes, the dark orbs piercing, seeing into his very soul. "You're too good for him," the older Welshman murmured. "He doesn't know what he's got in you."

Ianto blinked, the words taking him by surprise. "What?" he asked. Where had that come from? Alex didn't know anything about Jack and yet here he was judging the immortal Captain.

But Alex didn't reply verbally, instead he leaned forward and caught Ianto's lips in a hard kiss. Ianto grunted a protest but couldn't break away from the larger man and found himself crowded back against the far wall of the hallway.

Alex's tongue forced his lips apart, delving in to explore his mouth with such greedy power that Ianto couldn't help but respond, opening his lips wider as his pulse began to race and air became harder to drag into his lungs. Kissing this man in such a manner was definitely something new, and yet the force with which Alex was claiming his mouth almost managed to obliterate the tiny voice in Ianto's mind attempting to protest this development.

Almost, but not quite. How? it asked, how had a specifically non-sexual arrangement turned into spanking, then into hand-jobs, and now toe-curling kisses?

Ianto made a shamefully weak keening noise at the conflict between his common sense and the way this man was dominating him. He hadn't wanted to link his need for pain and submission to sex, but he was letting it happen for a second time without complaint.

"Inside," Alex said in a commanding voice, stepping back but pulling on Ianto's arm so as not to break the contact between their bodies.

Ianto's mind swirled, head dizzy with confusion and need. "But..." he stuttered, "...your client..."

"Fuck," growled Alex, before shrugging carelessly. "Oh well, can't be helped." He reached behind him and opened the door, dragging Ianto with him. "You're more important."

Inside the apartment, Alex finally turned away, though he still did not let go. "Sorry, Mr. Smith," he said, sounding not the least bit apologetic, "I'm going to have to cancel your session today. Bit of an emergency, you see."

The dour-looking man sat on one of the sofas glanced between them with suspicion in his narrowed eyes. "Doesn't look like an emergency to me," he said, unimpressed. "Looks like you intend to get laid when you should be doing what I'm paying you do."

Alex was entirely unperturbed by the accusation. He shrugged again and reached into the pocket of his jeans to pull out a thick handful of neatly folded twenty pound notes. "I'll give you a full refund, of course," he replied smoothly. "But I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Mr 'Smith' glared at Ianto, but said nothing more as he rose to his feet, snatched back his money and disappeared out the door. Ianto watched him go, the man's words echoing in his mind.

Looks like you intend to get laid...

He grimaced, pulling away from the older Welshman slightly. Hearing it spoken aloud made it clear just how wrong this was.

"You told me you didn't offer any 'personal'services," he said quietly, not looking at Alex.

"That's right." Ianto's chin was grasped and his head turned towards the other man. "I don't take money for sex and I don't have sex with clients."

Ianto relaxed almost immediately; hearing that clarification made him feel like he was finally back on solid ground. At the beginning, when they'd established the rules, Ianto had been more than capable of handling this secret of his, but Alex's recent behaviour had knocked him off balance, pushing his control to the limits of tolerance.

It was reassuring to know that, although Alex might be expanding their sessions in certain directions – like spanking of all things – the line that Ianto was unwilling to cross still stood firmly in place.

"But you're not a client anymore."

The words crashed against Ianto's relief like a blunt axe. He stared at Alex with wide eyes, his lips open but unable to form the words of bewilderment clamouring for attention in his mind. So much for feeling like he had a grasp on the situation.

Alex laughed at his expression. "You're a smart man, Ianto, but I think sometimes you purposefully ignore what is right before you. Didn't you realise the moment I took you into my bedroom that things were different? That the rules were changing?"

"I-I don't understand," Ianto confessed.

"I know you were afraid to ask for what you really needed," Alex said, "which is my own fault because I told you I didn't provide anything sexual for money. But now that I've seen how beautifully you respond, how you revel in the pain and submit so willingly, I know we could have so much more together." Alex smiled at him and Ianto was surprised to see fondness in his dark eyes. "You're so attuned to your need, more than anyone else I've ever worked on. You seem to have such intensity within you and if we could only draw it out fully..." He trailed off, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"But..." Ianto started to protest, though he hadn't yet figured out what needed protesting.

"You liked what happened the other night, didn't you? It gave you the release you've been seeking all along, the complete surrender to another person." Alex was still smiling, the happiness clear in his entire being. "It's okay to want that, you know. If you keep such a tight reign over yourself all the time you'll eventually fall apart from the strain. But you can find a balance of the two and I can help you do it. I can provide you with the outlet you need to truly reassert your self-control."

Ianto blinked at him. "But before...my scenario..."

"Wasn't enough," Alex finished for him. "I know this must be difficult for you to take in, Ianto, but it is what you need. Your body knows that, even though your mind may still hesitate." He took a step forward and ran a finger along Ianto's jawline.

The young man shuddered at the light touch, his eyes unwillingly sliding shut. "You really do want to sleep with me," he said quietly, the words emerging without any true strength behind them.

Warm breath ghosted over his face as Alex moved even closer. "You've practically been begging me to take you for the past week," he murmured, amusement colouring his tone.

Ianto shook his head in denial. "I only wanted the release," he blurted out, feeling distinctly uncomfortable at Alex's insistent tone. "To forget myself for a while. I wasn't looking for another lover."

"Lover?" Alex laughed. "Oh I'm going to be so much more than your lover, Ianto. I'm going to be what you've been looking for all along. I'm going to be your master."

Ianto couldn't stop his sharp intake of breath at that declaration. The word 'master' reverberated through his mind, gaining power as the full meaning of the situation finally hit him. "I don't think-"

His words were cut off as Alex pressed himself up against Ianto's body. A hand wrapped around his throat, not squeezing, but merely holding him in silent warning.

"You shouldn't think," Alex rumbled at him in a lust-filled voice. "Thinking made you deny your true needs for so long. Thinking makes you doubt what I'm telling you now, but I'll soon prove it to you. I'll make you see that all you've ever wanted is a master and that master will be me."

Trapped by the older man, Ianto's heart began to race. He knew – couldn't deny it having seen him at work – that Alex was a dangerous man. His extensive knowledge of both weapons and the human body had swung Ianto's mind on choosing Alex to provide him with the pain he needed; he'd wanted someone who could hurt him without leaving too obvious a mark behind and Alex's experience, his references, had convinced Ianto that he'd found the right person.

"I don't thi-" Ianto began, but quickly stopped himself from finishing that particular word in case he was silenced again. "That isn't what I want."

Alex laughed, a soft huff of warm air rolling over Ianto's face. He pressed his body harder against the other man, fingers tensing around his throat, just enough to remind him they were there. "You'll learn," he murmured. "You need me; you need what I can offer. You won't deny it for long."

"Stop it," Ianto said, his voice barely a whisper.

Alex laughed again and slid his fingers around to the back of Ianto's neck, tightening his grip and using it to pull the young man into another deep kiss. With his other hand he unbuckled Ianto's belt, drawing it free and then swiftly twisting it around one of Ianto's wrists. By the time he broke the kiss from need of air, Alex had caught Ianto's other wrist and tied it tightly to the first behind his back.

Ianto blinked, then tested the bonds that had been so deftly applied. Alex smiled down at him, returning one hand to Ianto's neck whilst the other slipped within the waistband of his trousers. He cupped Ianto's backside and jerked their hips together. "Are you going to behave or do I have to bind you further?" he murmured.

Ianto's lips parted in a quiet moan at the pressure on his groin and Alex dove in to claim his mouth again, tongue twisting skilfully around Ianto's until he began to return the kiss. Alex pulled away almost immediately and replaced his lips with two fingers. Ianto sucked on them greedily, his senses bombarded by the hand gripping his buttock, the ache of his trapped arms and the hardness grinding against his crotch.

The fingers soon vanished from Ianto's mouth to join the other hand down within the confines of his clothing, easing past the material of his trousers and underwear to delve into the cleft of his ass.

"When were you last touched here?" Alex asked in a thick voice, one finger ghosting over Ianto's entrance.

The young Welshman shuddered at the light contact, rocking back as he closed his eyes, lips still parted and wet.

"When did Owen last fuck you?" Alex purred into his ear and Ianto shook his head, biting his tongue to keep from correcting the other man. "If you don't answer me, I'll have to punish you."

Ianto jerked as a damp fingertip slipped into his hole. He contorted, trying to escape the touch and succeeding only in pushing against the other man. He felt lips beneath his ear and the playful nip of teeth against the skin there.

"Tell me or I'll leave a mark."

"No," Ianto groaned and the finger pressed further into his body. "Ah! Sunday! It was Sunday!"

Alex licked at Ianto's neck. "Is that so? Did you have an argument then? Is that why you came over here all 'out of sorts', as you put it?"

"It was after," Ianto gasped as Alex pushed in another nearly-dry finger.

The older man paused then leaned back just enough to look at Ianto through narrow eyes, though he continued to hold him firmly in place. "You little slut," he said, lips curving up into a wicked smile. "You went from my bed to his." He parted his fingers, stretching the sphincter muscles wide.

Ianto grunted in pain, trying to ignore the other's words.

"What about today?" Alex was asking. "You're not planning to run back to him again, are you?" He pushed his hips forward, letting Ianto feel the hard bulge in his jeans. His fingers worked deeper into the young man's body whilst Ianto struggled against the pulling ache of the penetration. "Because once I'm through with you, your hole will be so loose he'd know straight away what you've been doing."

Ianto squirmed, troubled by both the promise and the rough treatment. "No," he said weakly. "Don't."

"Don't what? Don't do this?" The fingers opened again and Ianto's entire body jolted in response. "I'll do whatever I want." He pressed his lips to Ianto's neck and began to suck in earnest.

"A-Alex!" Ianto protested, trying to pull away. "Stop!" If Alex kept on sucking at his skin, Ianto was going to be sported a large bruise above the collar of his shirt, right where he would be unable to hide it. He attempted to dislodge the older Welshman, only to be squeezed tighter by the arms holding him.

Another finger joined the pair already stretching him wide, distracting Ianto momentarily from the suction on his neck. He squirmed uncomfortably and then regained his composure. "No marks!" he yelped, but the other man showed no sign of obeying, or even of having heard him. Ianto groaned, his body reacting strongly to the stimulation and he struggled not to simply give in and let it happen. "Please, no...NO!"

A loud crash suddenly filled the air and Ianto jerked away from Alex, knowing without having to look that it was Jack who had just burst through the door. He was yanked back again by the hand still clamped around his buttock.

The fingers in Ianto's ass were withdrawn as Alex turned to confront the fuming man who had just broken into his apartment, but Ianto didn't doubt that Jack had seen precisely what had been going on. He found himself unable to even look in the Captain's direction, shame tensing his captured body. "Let go," he murmured helplessly, though he doubted Alex would listen.

"Get the FUCK off him!" Jack roared, evidentially having recovered from the initial shock and storming towards the two men.

Ianto cringed, again trying to escape Alex's grasp and failing. Alex seemed intent on keeping him in place, even though there was a stranger bearing down upon them with murder in his eyes. "I guess you'd be Owen then," Alex said, impressively calm in light of Jack's fury.

The unexpected statement brought Jack up short, the possibility of him being Owen so abstract that it actually pushed aside his anger for a brief moment. "What?" he asked. "No. Why would I be Owen?"

Understanding instantly, Alex turned away from the intruder to look at Ianto, who met his gaze far easier than he met Jack's. "You lied to me," he said, tone light and his eyes full of promise. He gave the young man a knowing smirk. "You'll have to be punished for that."

Jack's fist swung in a wide arc, giving the well-trained Welshman just enough time to move aside so that the punch missed his jaw and instead caught him on the shoulder. Ianto was finally released from Alex's hold, though he could do little with his arms still bound behind his back.

As he stepped away, Ianto thanked whichever deity was listening that Alex had only loosened his clothing; he could imagine just how much more embarrassed he would have been if stood there with his trousers puddled around his ankles.

"Jack, wait," he said, completely failing to project any of his usual confidence into his voice. The blood rushed in his ears as he watched the other two men struggling. He felt impossibly useless when normally he would take such things in his stride. Did he really find Alex's home such a refuge that even now, with Jack's discovery of his secret, he could not take control of himself again?

"You sick bastard," Jack growled, landing a punch to Alex's gut and receiving one instantly in his side.

The large Welshman did not appear greatly troubled by the attack, his close relationship with pain perhaps giving him some rather more receptive feelings towards combat. His expression as he easily countered Jack's strikes was one of fierce enjoyment. "Sick?" he countered. "What's sick about doing an honest day's work?

"You consider rape honest work?!" the Captain roared in furious astonishment.

Alex caught Jack's wrists with surprising ease and brought the fight to a hiatus, though the immortal struggled so much that Ianto was sure it would resume before long. Alex glanced across at Ianto. "You told him I raped you?"

Ianto shook his head. "No."

"He didn't have to," Jack declared, glaring at the man gripping his arms. "I saw what you did to him. I heard him just now, begging you to stop."

"Well, yes, but you know he didn't mean it, right?" Alex looked to Ianto again, something akin to amusement in his eyes.

"Oh really? And here I thought no meant no," Jack sarcastically retorted.

Alex laughed and Ianto fancied he could see the moment the pieces slotted together in his mind. "He has a safeword, you fucking idiot. If he'd really wanted me to stop he would have used it."

Jack froze, no longer even attempting to get free of Alex's grasp. "What?" He turned for the first time to look at Ianto, as though only just remembering he was in the room as well.

"Not to mention this is what he pays me for. It would be kinda stupid for me to stop now, wouldn't it?"

"Ianto..."

There was both alarm and disappointment in Jack's eyes and Ianto turned away, unable to bear the weight of that gaze upon him. And yet, though all of Ianto's fears came to a head with Jack's discovery, that look of bewilderment had at the very least served to snap him from the numbness that had kept him frozen in place. "Untie me," he said, his voice once again perfectly even and firm.

Jack made no move at all, but Alex clearly recognised the change in his bearing to mean that Ianto was back in command of himself. He released Jack's arms and stepped over to free the young man.

Ianto took back his belt and slid it through the loops on his trousers in silence. He avoided Alex's gaze as well as Jack's, feeling uncomfortable not only because his lover had caught them, but also because of what the other Welshman had started before Jack had burst in.

And even more so because Ianto had been about to submit entirely; allowing Alex to take their business arrangement to a completely different and inappropriate level.

Jack couldn't tear his eyes away from Ianto as the young man calmly fastened his belt and adjusted his suit as though nothing untoward had happened. He simply couldn't get his head around what he'd just discovered, it being so far from what he'd guessed that it didn't seem at all possible. Ianto was paying this man for...for what?! After what the big Welshman had just said about Ianto's safeword, Jack couldn't even be sure what he'd actually walked in on.

"Thank you," Ianto said politely, glancing at Alex before taking a step away from him. "You'll send me the bill for the door, yes?"

Alex nodded and glanced at Jack. The Captain couldn't give a damn about the other man's broken door; what annoyed him more was that the accusatory glare was clearly not for the splintered wood, but rather for the interruption of the bastard's plans for Ianto.

Whilst the two stared each other down, Ianto swept past Jack, heading for the hallway without another word. Alex moved forward a few steps as well, a smirk twisting his lips now that Ianto's back was turned. It was obvious he thought he'd won a battle that Jack hadn't even been aware existed.

The helplessness he felt caused a surge of fury to wash through Jack's body and he closed the gap between them, swinging his fist again and punching the man fully in the face at last. Anger lent him strength, and where he had been holding back before he had no such qualms this time. The Welshman dropped to the floor, his complacency working against him.

Jack reached down before Alex could react and grabbed the collar of his t-shirt. He hauled the large man halfway to his feet, only to punch him again, causing his head to snap violently backwards. Blood poured from Alex's nose and Jack lifted his hand once more, but his arm was caught in a vice-like grip before he could bring it down.

"That's enough," Ianto said quietly.

Jack looked from the hand on his arm to the other man's blank face. "Like hell it is."

"This has nothing to do with him." Ianto pressed on his arm. "Put him down," he insisted in a cold voice.

Alex fell to the floor with a thud and a groan as Jack opened his hand, not caring at all that he'd been the only thing holding the dazed Welshman up.

Jack turned to stare at his lover, hands balled into fists at his sides. "Ianto..." he said, then stopped, lost for words.

Ianto glanced down at the bleeding man on the floor, brow creased in thought. Jack could tell he was running through the choices for his next action; did he help clean Alex up, did he make Jack do it, or did he walk away before anything worse happened...?

"Let's go," Ianto said firmly, apparently having chosen the latter option, and then turned away before Jack had a chance to respond.