Title: ‘Crocodile’ Ellison
Author/pseudonym: Tinnean
Fandom: The Sentinel/ ‘Crocodile’ Dundee
Pairing: Blair/Jim, Blair/Richard Mason, implied
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Petfly claims them. If these gorgeous
guys were mine, I’d never get out of bed! And ‘Crocodile’ Dundee belongs
to Paul Hogan and Paramount.
Status: new/complete
Date: 11/01
Series/Sequel: Not on your life!
Summary: Blair Sandburg, working as a
photojournalist, is given an assignment to meet with a man who survived a
ferocious attack by a crocodile. He finds more than he bargained for.
Warnings: m/m, spoilers for the movie
Notes: This first appeared in the e-zine The Many
Movies of the Sentinel. Thanks to Patt for offering this opportunity to me, to
Silk for helping me keep track of the guys, and to Gail for all her invaluable
comments. // signifies thought. ~~ signifies a dream sequence.
‘Crocodile’ Ellison
Part 1
“Naomi, you
can’t send him to Peru on this story! He’ll wind up getting eaten by a
crocodile, or a jaguar!”
“Richard…”
“I’m telling you, he’s a dilettante!’’
“Who’s a dilettante?” Naomi’s son strolled into her
office.
“Blair, sweetheart, I have a job for you.” The CEO of
the Cascade Post-Tribune smiled fondly at her son, and then glared at her star
reporter. “Richard is just worried about his fiancé.”
Blair glanced at the tall man who lounged casually in the
chair beside his mother’s desk, and his mouth tightened. “I’m not his
fiancé yet, Naomi!”
“Now, dear.”
Brushing the riot of curls out of his face, Blair Sandburg
refused to be drawn into another of his mother’s matchmaking schemes.
“What’s the job? And why does Richard think I’m too incompetent to do
it?”
The other man sighed in exasperation. “Blair, I don’t
think you’re incompetent! Why do you twist my words? You’re just…You
flitter from one job to another. You’ve been an anthropologist, a policeman, a
teaching assistant, for chrissake! I think it’s high time you settled down.”
“Oh, really? Doing what? Staying home and having your
babies?” Blair was really tired of everyone telling him the only thing he was
suited for was looking pretty. What did he have to do to prove how capable he
was? His glare shifted from his soon-to-be former lover to his mother. “And
what do you think, Naomi?”
She got up and walked around her desk. “I want you to be
happy, darling. That’s why I’m sending you to Peru. I think you’ll find
this assignment extremely interesting. And you’ll get to play …I mean
you’ll get to use those cameras I bought you when you got your doctorate.”
His scowl cleared up. “Excellent! What’s cooking in
South America?”
“It’s a human interest story, sweetheart, and it should
be right up your alley.”
“In Peru?” he mused, and his face lit up. “About a
sentinel, Naomi?” He began to bounce on the balls of his feet. “That’s
just so cool!”
The man sitting beside Blair’s mother felt his cock
twitch. When his young lover became enthusiastic, he was damned near
irresistible. Things had become a trifle distant between them recently, but
Richard Mason had no doubt he would be able to tie him down whenever he chose.
He wanted Blair Sandburg, and not only because it would guarantee him a position
as managing editor of Cascade’s widest circulating newspaper.
“Er, no, dear. It’s about an American who was attacked
by a crocodile and managed to survive nine days in the jungle.” She
determinedly ignored his crestfallen expression. “You know there are no such
things as sentinels, darling.”
“No. Of course not.” Blair looked as if someone had run
off with his shiny new fire engine. “I’ll just stop at home and throw some
things in a bag. What time does my flight leave?”
“I’ll drive you to your apartment, Blair, and then see
you off. I don’t mind dropping you at the airport. It’s on my way to a
story, anyway.” Richard got to his feet and urged Blair toward the door, his
hand on the small of the shorter man’s back.
Blair stepped away from his touch and waved to his mother.
Naomi smiled, but sighed as the door hid them from sight.
She regretted her son’s disappointment. She had also noticed Blair’s cool
attitude toward his lover.
Because of an assignment that had to take priority, it had
been impossible to send Richard to Peru with Blair, which would have been ideal.
They obviously needed some quality time together.
She firmed her resolve to see that her baby boy was married
as soon as possible. He needed to be in a stable relationship.
****
Blair hopped out of Richard’s car and leaned down to grab
his bags. “Thanks, Richard. I appreciate the lift!” He slammed the door and
ran for the terminal, afraid that the older man would park in the forbidden
white zone and come after him for a good-bye kiss.
Richard was becoming not only too possessive, but too
complacent as well, and Blair was extremely dissatisfied with the way their
relationship was going. He had found more and more excuses not to have the older
man in his bed. They had been getting more and more flimsy, but Richard just
wasn’t getting the message.
Maybe this separation would do the trick. Blair was not a
fool: he knew that Richard cruised the bars whenever they were parted, and he
was tired of it. He wanted fidelity from his lover.
Blair hated confrontations, but if the other man hadn’t
found someone else to share the dubious pleasures of his bed, then Blair would
break it off between them once and for all.
****
The young anthropologist cum photographer walked into the
bar in Machu Picchu, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dimness within. The
heavy odor of stale beer permeated the place. Silence descended like an uneasy
blanket.
“Que, muchacho?” The bartender was a greasy-looking
individual who spat casually in the glass he was holding before drying it with a
dirty rag.
Sandburg swallowed hard. “Uh, I’m looking for a man, un
hombre? Um, Jim Ellison?”
The sound of a chair being scraped back against the hard
wood floor was like fingernails over a blackboard. A tall, muscular man got to
his feet and approached him. “I’m
Ellison.”
“Blair Sandburg.” Blair began to tingle with sexual
heat, and sternly reminded himself this was business. “I’m here to do an
article on your adventure, and get some pictures.”
The big man grinned, his pale blue eyes drawing Blair to
him as if he were a fish on a line, and Blair went, a willing sacrifice to the
frying pan.
The warmth of Ellison’s hand enfolding his made Sandburg
blink. He returned to reality, surprised to find he was standing a few feet from
the American, and not flush against him, rubbing his erection against the other
man’s muscled thigh.
Silently he blessed the fact that even in the tropic heat
of this portion of Peru he was dressed in his usual layers. “Let me buy you a
beer and you can tell me your story.”
“Sure.” Rapid words in a language that was not Spanish
fired between Ellison and the bartender.
“Um, make sure it’s bottled?” Blair whispered, and
obligingly, Jim added the caveat.
The bartender grinned around the toothpick between his
teeth and handed Ellison two bottles of beer. He offered a glass as well, but
Blair smiled weakly and refused it. He passed over a handful of pesos and noted
the surprised look on the American’s face.
“I learned Quechua when I was working on my
dissertation.” He followed Jim to his table and observed that his companion
sat with his back to the wall, his eyes never leaving the inhabitants of the
bar.
“Not your regular course of study.”
Sandburg shrugged. “I found it interesting.” He watched
as Ellison hit the bottle cap against the edge of the table, knocking it off,
then followed suit, pleased that once again he had surprised the big man. “So,
tell me what happened, big guy.”
****
Ellison watched in fascination. The young man who sat at
his table listened with parted lips as he unfolded the tale of what he
considered sheer stupidity on his part. He had been careless, trailing his catch
over the side of his canoe instead of placing the fish in a basket inside it.
An unusually large croc had been desperate for food, and
decided it wanted an easy meal. Jim had strong objections, and fought it for the
string of fish. The canoe had tipped. He’d been dragged under the water, and
the reptile had gone into a death roll. Then it had stuffed him unceremoniously
into its storage shelf, the crocodile needing to wait for his flesh to become
tender enough to be shredded.
Jim had other ideas. He’d gone up to the surface for a
quick lungful of air, and then submerged to find and do battle with the
creature.
He’d returned to civilization with a prime hide and
enough meat to keep an entire village of Chopecs supplied with croc nuggets for
the rainy season.
Blair’s blue eyes gleamed with admiration. “And
you’ll take me to the spot where this happened?”
“I don’t know, Chief. This is tough country.”
“Please.” The younger man reached across the table and
touched his hand.
Ellison had been having problems with his senses, which was
why he’d returned to the land where he had first discovered them. He thought
they were back under control, but found he was wrong when he felt the caress of
Sandburg’s fingers. Heat zinged straight to his cock, and he was swamped with
the need to take Blair to bed and bury himself in that compact body.
He moistened lips that had gone desert dry, and his eyes
widened as he realized that the other man was staring at his movements avidly.
The former Ranger swallowed. “All right, Chief. We leave
at first light.”
“Cool! I’ll be ready!”
****
Of course, Jim didn’t believe the city boy would be ready
to leave that early in the morning, and he was pleasantly surprised to find
Blair fussing with the numerous pockets on his khaki cargo pants. A backpack was
waiting at his feet in the hotel lobby, a sleeping bag fastened across the top
of its frame.
The younger man grinned at him and swung the pack up
easily, sliding his arms through the shoulder straps. Ellison noticed that it
was a brand that had gotten an excellent write up in Consumer Reports, and while
the material was faded and worn in spots, it was in good repair.
Blair looked up to see what was causing the delay, and
found Jim’s cool blue eyes examining him with hot intent. He was suddenly so
aroused he wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk upright.
Ellison’s nostrils flared, and Blair was relieved he had
awakened early enough to shower. He would have sworn the big man was scenting
him!
Jim nodded to his jeep, and Blair walked toward it, unaware
that his companion’s gaze was riveted to the bunch and release of the muscles
of his thighs and butt. The big man discreetly adjusted his trousers and
followed him.
Blair glanced curiously at the mestizo who sat in the back
seat.
“Raphael will drive the jeep back, and return for us at
the end of the week.”
Sandburg had his camera out and was busy snapping pictures,
murmuring over the beauty of the scenery that they passed. From time to time
he’d ask Jim a question, and it wasn’t until later that Ellison realized how
much personal information the younger man had gotten from him.
“Uh, Chief, that’s strictly off the record.”
“No problem, man. That was just me wanting to know about
you.” Blair’s lush lips parted in a smile that made Ellison want to throw
him to the ground and have his way with him. Jim sighed and went back to
watching the road, what little there was of it. “How much further do we need
to go?”
“We’re almost to the spot where we leave the jeep. We
hoof if from there.”
“Good thing I brought my hiking boots, then.”
“Do you do much camping, Chief?”
“Not recently, but when I was working on my diss I did.
My dissertation,” he explained. “I had found an old treatise by Sir Richard
Burton. The explorer, not the actor.” Blair grinned, letting his companion
know he had answered this question many times. “He suggested that in
pre-civilization there were sentinels, individuals with enhanced senses. Their
job was to guard and protect the tribe.” He turned away, but not before Jim
saw the expression of regret on the young man’s face.
“What happened, Chief?”
“I never found him, my sentinel.” He shook himself out
of his gloom. “Anyway, I’ve camped all over the world. I won’t hold you
back!”
Jim grinned and murmured, “Umhmm,” and began to whistle
between his teeth.
“Santana? Cool, man!”
Before much longer they had gone as far as they could go in
civilized transportation. Until they reached the spot where Jim had had his
run-in with the crocodile, they would be walking.
“Be careful with the jeep, Raphael!” Jim warned as he
settled his pack comfortably on his back.
“Sure thing, boss. In a while, Crocodile!”
Blair’s eyes were slitted with humor, and Jim grunted.
“Rafe has a penchant for 50’s music. Since they started calling me
‘Crocodile’ Ellison, he’s been tossing that at me whenever he can!” He
reached for his shotgun and saw Blair’s questioning gaze. “The jungle is a
dangerous place. This is just in case!”
He waved the mestizo on his way and watched as he drove out
of sight. Then he turned and pulled a machete from his belt. As he strode
through the undergrowth he swung it with a steady rhythm that Blair admired from
his position bringing up the rear.
Jim was uncertain how much stamina the handsome young man
had, so he decided not to push it that day. After some hours of trudging through
the jungle, he found a small clearing and called a halt.
The beautiful curls were plastered to Blair’s skull, and
sweat dripped along the curve of his cheekbones, but not once had he complained.
In fact, he had been enthralled by the view, and had snapped away like mad with
his camera.
“Why are we stopping, big guy?” The closeness of the
humid air had him slightly out of breath.
“We’ll camp here for the night. I’ll set up the tent
and then start supper.”
“Let me do the cooking.”
“That isn’t necessary, Chief.”
“Please, Jim. Let me help!”
Jim wasn’t happy about letting the other man near his
supplies, but he couldn’t see a gracious way out of refusing his help. He
nodded grudgingly and set to work putting the compact tent together. Meanwhile,
he kept an eye on Sandburg.
To his surprise, Blair seemed to know his way around a cook
fire, and prepared a tasty meal from the staples Jim had brought along.
They ate in companionable silence. Once the aluminum
utensils were cleaned and put away, Jim gave in to his desire to touch the young
man’s shoulder, although he really didn’t need to.
“I have to… um… scout the terrain, Chief. Stay put,
okay? I don’t want to go searching for you in the dark.”
“All right. I’m kind of tired anyway.” Jim didn’t
know Blair, or else he would have questioned his ready acquiescence to his plan.
Not for one minute did Blair believe the excuse the Ranger had given him. Well,
not one hundred percent, at any rate.
He had every intention of following this intriguing man.
****
The scene Blair captured through the telephoto infrared
night lens of his camera had never been seen by civilized man. The Chopecs Jim
met with greeted him as an old friend. He stripped off his clothes, and was soon
as naked as they. Blair’s soft gasp was swallowed by the night, but Jim’s
head shot up as if he heard him.
The Chopec beside the big man said something, and Jim
turned to acknowledge it. Blair released the breath he hadn’t realized he was
holding. He adjusted the lens for a more focused view.
They passed around a pipe that soon had the air above their
heads foggy with smoke. A cup went from man to man, to be refilled again and
again as they all took deep gulps. Around the circle, sticks began to
rhythmically strike hollow logs. Thin reeds that had been fashioned into flutes
sounded in counterpoint. One by one the men rose, and began to shuffle and stamp
their feet, leaping and crouching, re-enacting in dance a tale of some memorable
hunt.
Blair parted the brush that was interfering with his vision
of the event. His camera clicked and whirred as he shot frame after frame of the
fascinating sight. Suddenly, his view was blocked, and he growled in irritation,
to hear a growl in response. His eyes widened as Jim’s head turned in his
direction, and blue eyes seemed to bore into blue eyes. He toppled backwards
onto his ass, then scrambled to his feet and, keeping low, raced back to the
camp.
It had to be his imagination. There was no way Jim could
have known he was watching. Not unless he had Sentinel senses, which was
impossible!
Blair crawled into the tent he would share with Jim, tucked
his camera into its bag and undressed quickly. He was in his sleeping bag,
giving a good imitation of being in the arms of Morpheus, when Jim returned to
camp.
He was dressed, as Blair could see through his lashes, and
the memory of him naked had the younger man’s heart rate speeding up.
A very satisfied smile curled Jim’s lips. He removed his
clothing, tempted to strip to his skin. His cock was hard, but he decided this
was not the night to pounce on the man he was certain destiny had selected for
him alone.
Since Jim’s senses had come online, he had often resented
them. This night, however, he wished they were even more enhanced. He could just
make out the bulge that tented Blair’s sleeping bag.
He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. The air in
the enclosed space was redolent with the pheromones his tent mate was shedding.
Wasn’t the big guy ever going to go to sleep, Blair
wondered a little frantically? Finally the steady rhythm of Jim’s breathing
convinced him that he dozed.
His cock was throbbing, and he needed to come in the worst
way. Perhaps if he moved casually, as if turning over in his sleep… Blair
rolled onto his belly, his shaft trapped between his groin and the soft material
of his shots.
Heat zapped through him, and he moaned soundlessly, his
hips rocking forward in short jerks, trying to achieve an unobtrusive climax.
His hands fisted the pillow and he bit it to stifle his groans. Blair enjoyed
sex, and he wasn’t in the habit of coming quietly, but this time he forced
himself to swallow his cry as his orgasm ripped through him.
With a silent sigh, his sated body relaxed.
In the other sleeping bag, Jim Ellison had timed his own climax to take him at the exact same moment as the younger man’s. His senses nearly overwhelmed him, and he shivered as he came down from that ecstatic high. //Next time, Chief, I’ll be the one to make you come!//
####
Part 2
The following morning they made a quick breakfast and broke
camp. “There’s a tributary about halfway between here and where we need to
go. The rainbow bass that swim there are as long as your arm!”
“Cool! I learned a neat way to cook them over a
campfire!”
“Then let’s get a move on, my little guppy!” Jim
smiled at him and Blair wished he had the nerve to kiss that smile.
It was a hot and sweaty trek. Piece by piece, Blair shed
the layers of clothes he wore until he was down to a tee shirt that was molded
to his torso by sweat.
The scent was rousing Jim to the point that a couple of
times he actually zoned on it, returning to reality only when Blair’s voice
called him back.
“Focus on my voice, man!” Gradually Ellison got control
of himself, and Blair breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you all right, Jim?
Where’d you go?”
“Sorry, Chief. I’m fine. This hardly ever happens here
in Peru. That’s one of the reasons I live here and not in the States. I go
into these…zone-outs, I guess you’d call them. It was worse there, it was
happening all the time.” He realized that Blair’s arms were around him,
grounding him. For the first time Jim was able to talk about his senses with
someone he felt might understand. “Anything could trigger them off. Sounds
that were too loud, sights that were too intense, touch, taste, odor, any of
those could cause problems!” He grew embarrassed by his confession.
Sandburg’s eyes were huge. “Do you realize what you
are, Jim? You’re what Burton talked about! You’re a living, breathing
Sentinel!”
Jim scoffed at that, but as they resumed their trek he
pondered the young man’s words. If they were true, it explained
quite a bit. But it also left him at a loss. How could he possibly handle
those senses when they went raging out of control? He glanced sideways at the
young man who strode along beside him. Blair knew so much about sentinels.
Maybe he’d have a clue to that as well?
****
There were still a couple of hours until sunset when they
reached the spot that Jim spoke of with such enthusiasm. He shed his pack,
pulled out the case that held his rod and put it together. Peeling back a mass
of rotted bark, he found plump larvae and slid the hook through one. Blair
watched in admiration as Jim cast it into the middle of the slow moving water.
“I’m going to set up camp, okay?”
“Sure thing, Chief,” Jim answered absently, lost in the
concentration that outwitting a fish required.
Blair backtracked to a clearing that wasn’t too distant,
and prepared it for their overnight stay. He laid out kindling for the fire, put
together the tent, and laid out the sleeping bags. There wasn’t enough water
left in their canteens to start a pot of coffee, so he decided to go down to the
river and fill them.
Blair crouched down at the water’s edge, one canteen
still dangling from its webbed strap around his neck while he filled the other
one. He was so wrapped in examining the ramifications of finally finding the
real thing, of finally finding a Sentinel, that he didn’t pay as much
attention to his surroundings as he should have.
Water exploded around him as the crocodile lunged forward
to seize him, just missing the young man who jerked away, and tangling his rows
of deadly teeth in the canteen’s strap. Blair gave one cry of dismay, and then
saved his breath for the life or death struggle. The croc was winning,
succeeding in pulling him deeper and deeper into the river.
A roar of rage shattered the stillness of the jungle, and
then Jim was there, leaping between the young man and the huge reptile. The
machete glinted in the late afternoon sun, severing the webbing and setting
Blair free, before descending into the wedge-shaped head. With a vicious twist,
Jim drove the blade deep into the brain. The creature’s tail flailed
reflexively for long moments, and then sagged as all life left it.
Blair was shivering, struggling to regain his breath, to
bring his fear under control. Jim turned and grabbed him up in an embrace that
threatened to crack the younger man’s ribs. Blair didn’t care; he burrowed
deeper into Jim’s arms, trying to bury himself in the safety they promised.
“Oh, God, Jim! Oh, God!” Terror clogged his voice.
“Shhh. Shhh. It’s all right, Chief, I’ve got you. I
won’t let you go!” Jim continued to murmur soothing phrases into Blair’s
ear, the soft curls caressing his lips. He was starting to grow hard, from a
combination of the adrenaline rush of the danger that was just past and the
luscious body in his arms. Gently he eased his lower body away from Blair’s.
Blair knew he should tell Jim he was okay, that he had just
been frightened, but he loved being held by the other man. Never had he felt
this way before, so connected to another human being. And he knew it was highly
unlikely he’d ever feel this way again.
When he realized that Jim was trying to move away from him,
he thought his heart would break. But he allowed the distance and brushed the
moisture the croc’s violent movements had splashed on him from his face.
“I’m sorry, Jim! I’m better now.” A massive shudder tore through his
body as reality continued to settle in. “That croc was going to eat me
alive!”
Jim exhaled in relief and the soft puff of air teased
Blair’s ear. “I wouldn’t hold that against him.” The Sentinel released
him, and Blair turned to make his way back to the camp. “I had that thought
myself once or twice!”
The last words were spoken so softly that Blair almost
didn’t hear them. But he did, and he hugged them to himself.
Jim gathered up the canteen that the croc had latched onto
and gripped it until his knuckles turned white. Deep punctures had gouged its
sides, demonstrating the power of those huge jaws. He thought of what those
teeth could have done if they had reached the younger man instead, and he felt
sick.
****
Blair was positive he would be unable to sleep that night,
but the knowledge that there was a Sentinel in the tent with him soothed him to
such a degree that he fell quickly asleep. And when he dreamed, it was not of
crocodiles.
~~~~
A dark, feline shadow circled the tent he was in, but Blair
felt no fear. It was as if the animal, so much larger than the average panther,
was his own personal bodyguard. Its angular head peeked through the tent flap,
then pushed it aside and entered, and still Blair was unafraid.
It had been so hot and humid that night that he crawled
into his sleeping bag clothed only in his boxers. Now the large cat hooked the
waistband with a wickedly curved claw and stripped it down, leaving Blair
exposed. The warm nose nudged his buttocks, urging him up on his knees, and the
dreamer languidly complied, resting his head on his folded arms. A broad, moist
tongue rasped over him, over the skin behind his balls, over the crack of his
ass.
Blair gave a hum of pleasure and spread his legs wider to
give the animal better access to his ass. The sandpapery tongue probed the young
man’s anus, and before Blair realized what was happening, it slid into him,
preparing him to be mounted. He knew that if the panther mated with him, the
spines that covered its cock would make their coupling too painful for him to
enjoy, but for some reason that didn’t matter.
He wanted the beast to possess him.
However, when the cock did breach his hole, it was a human
penis that fucked him, and human hands that stroked his own dick until he came
with a throat-rending cry.
Blair sank down onto the material of his sleeping bag,
tilting his head so the side of his neck could be laved by the tongue that was
licking its way across his shoulder as his lover thoroughly plundered his back
passage. And then sharp teeth sank into him, marking him, as hot semen flooded
his bowels.
He smiled in his sleep as the heavy body relaxed on his,
and the roar of a satisfied jungle cat that had claimed its mate split the
night.
~~~~
Blair roused slowly, recalling the events of the previous
night’s dream. He marveled at how real it had seemed. With tentative movements
he stretched, disappointed that his body didn’t evidence the tangible aches of
a body well-loved.
The side of his neck was sore, and he reached for his
shaving mirror. It was the burn left by the canteen’s strap when the croc had
tried to make a dinner of him. Although if he squinted his eyes and turned the
mirror just so, it could almost look like a bite mark!
“Hey, Chief! Breakfast is ready. Come and get it!”
Ellison called. “I let you sleep in, but we have to get a move on!”
“Be right there, big guy.” Blair unzipped his sleeping
bag, surprised to find his boxers had somehow wound up around his knees. He
dressed quickly and was surprised at his appetite. He polished off the eggs and
bacon that Jim had prepared for him, mopping up the remains with some sourdough
bread.
They dismantled the camp and were on their way by mid
morning. Jim assured the younger man that they would reach their destination
that day. Blair fell into step behind him and they started the final leg of
their journey.
“Say Jim, will there be anyplace where I can get a bath?
I feel really grungy after yesterday!”
“And I’m sure you won’t want to take a dip in the
Amazon!” Jim remarked drolly.
“Damned straight!”
Jim chucked. “I know a perfect spot. A little pool
that’s fed by a mini waterfall. It makes the perfect shower!”
Blair sighed. “How long until we get to this Eden?”
“It’s where we’ll camp tonight!”
The day was passed in conversation, and they learned a good
deal about each other. Jim touched on the fact that he had been married once,
but his wife hadn’t been able to tolerate his job as a detective or his
growing need to find a place that didn’t play havoc with his senses. The
marriage had lasted about eighteen months, although for a good portion of that
time Jim hadn’t even been there.
Blair revealed that his mother had never married his
father. He didn’t even know who his father was, although he had strong
suspicions. “Did you ever read All the President’s Men, Jim?”
Jim looked awed. “You mean…?”
The younger man nodded solemnly. “That’s right! Deep
Throat!”
Jim laughed, and Blair was so proud of himself for bringing
that laughter to the man he was becoming more and more drawn to.
“So. Were you ever married, Chief?” The thought that
his companion might have shared his life with someone disturbed Ellison.
“No, none of my relationships ever got that far. I could
never trust if they loved Blair Sandburg, the …the dilettante,” there
was a trace of bitterness in his tones, “or Blair Sandburg, Naomi Sandburg’s
son. And to top it off, Naomi is really getting on my ass about settling
down.”
“She’s impatient that you didn’t marry any of your…
girlfriends?”
“*Boy*friends,” Blair corrected in a preoccupied
manner. Jim was somewhat surprised by the younger man’s casual acceptance of
his sexuality. It had taken the former Ranger a long time to come to grips with
his sexual orientation. He was roused from his musing by Blair continuing,
“She wants me to be happy.”
“That’s what all parents want for their children,
isn’t it?”
Blair shrugged. “I guess. Only her notion of happiness is
me married to Richard Mason.” He
missed Jim’s quick frown of displeasure. “Unfortunately, neither one of them
is willing to accept the fact that Richard isn’t what I want!”
Jim released the breath he was unaware he was holding.
“So you broke up with him?”
“Um, not yet. Not exactly. It’s not easy! He doesn’t
hear what I say!”
“Maybe I ought to go back to the States with you and make
sure he gets the message!”
“Don’t kid about something like that, man!” This time
he saw the look Jim sent him. “You mean it, Jim? You’d come home with me?”
“Yes.” Ellison turned and continued the journey, not
waiting to see if Blair followed him, certain he would.
Blair sighed with relief that the end of this assignment
didn’t mean the end of his association with his Sentinel. He hurried to catch
up.
****
“The spot where I was attacked is about a hundred yards
through those bushes, but I don’t think the light is good enough for any
photos. Why don’t you get cleaned up while I set up camp, and I’ll join you
in a bit?”
Blair rummaged through his backpack for a towel and clean
clothes, and followed Jim’s directions to the waterfall.
It wasn’t hard to find. The splashing sound of the water
hitting the pond below was like music, and seemed to refresh him even before he
stripped off his sticky shirt and dirt-stained pants. Surrounded by the colorful
tropical flowers that abounded in this portion of the Amazon, the pool was a
small, green oasis.
He couldn’t see the bottom and wasn’t sure if it was
deep enough for him to dive in, so Blair entered it cautiously. A noise behind
him had him spinning to find Jim watching him, his blue eyes hot. The sight
caused his cock to swell, and he took a step back, uncertain how much such a
reaction would be welcomed by the other man.
The movement cost Blair his equilibrium, and he tumbled
backwards into the water.
Jim was beside him before he had a chance to panic, pulling
him to the surface. Blair sputtered and shook his head, the long strands of his
hair whipping around to strike Jim’s naked chest and tangle on his nipples.
He wound his fingers in the long, brown curls and pulled
Blair’s head back, only to find his eyes captured by Blair’s serious blue
gaze. Jim’s eyes dropped down to settle on lush lips that were parted in
helpless desire. He almost zoned on the sight, but managed to break the trance.
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to do this?” he breathed as he
settled his lips on the younger man’s.
Blair expected his mouth to be assaulted. It was what he
had come to expect with Richard. But Jim’s kiss was soft and teasing. His
tongue licked gently at the seam of Blair’s mouth, asking to be invited in.
With a muffled groan, Blair parted his lips and waited.
Still Jim did nothing but trace the line of his
companion’s mouth. He tested the edges of Blair’s teeth and touched the tip
of his tongue to Blair’s.
Tantalized beyond bearing, he wound his arms around Jim’s neck and rubbed his aching erection against the other man’s hip. Jim’s aroused cock was jutting upward imperiously from its nest of light brown curls, and Blair shaped it tentatively.
“Yes!” Jim hissed as he backed Blair under the
waterfall and braced his back against the moss-covered wall. He parted Blair’s
legs and fitted himself in the notch between his thighs. “Squeeze me, baby!”
Blair’s cock was trapped between their bodies. Jim
wrapped his fingers around it and pulled strongly while his hips thrust forward,
sliding his dick against his lover’s crack, rubbing over the puckered opening.
Ellison let Blair draw his tongue into his mouth and suck
on it voraciously. Sooner than either of them would have liked, they both began
to come, Blair’s semen smeared over Jim’s chest; Jim’s hot essence
spilling into the pool.
Their legs were too unsteady to support them after that
satisfying climax. They floated on the still surface until their breathing
returned to normal.
****
They sat across the flickering fire, their slow consumption
of the evening meal almost an act of seduction in itself. Once they were
finished, they made a rapid job of tidying the camp and retreated to their tent.
Jim connected their sleeping bags and sat back on his heels
to watch his lover strip out of his clothes. As Blair pulled off his tee shirt,
Jim leaned forward to touch the mark on his neck.
“This looks like something bit you, Chief!”
“Oh, no, that’s just the welt from the canteen’s
strap.”
“Could have fooled me. It looks like a bite mark!”
Blair’s eyes were wide, and Jim wanted to lose himself in
the dark blue depths. “Hurry and get naked,” he growled, pleased to see the
effect of his words on his lover’s body. Blair’s nipples peeked through the
swirls of hair on his chest, tight pebbles of flesh. He pushed the soft sweats
he had changed into down around his thighs, and his cock sprang free, rising
from the curls that covered his groin.
Jim couldn’t wait any longer: he pounced, his voracious
mouth swallowing the younger man’s shaft. Blair fell back on the sleeping bag
and moaned as Jim’s tongue probed the slit at the tip of his cock, causing it
to weep salty tears.
Blair quivered, vibrating like an expertly played
instrument, as his lover sucked his dick. Before he could come, Jim released him
and brought him to climax with his hands. “Roll over!” Jim ordered hoarsely,
and Blair complied with a graceful movement.
For long seconds there Jim just crouched there, observing
the firm curves of his lover’s buttocks, and Blair wondered if he had zoned on
the sight. But then Jim began to stroke Blair’s semen over his hole, pressing
his index finger past the tight muscle, preparing the younger man for his
assault.
Blair was on his hands and knees, his hips rocking back to
take more of that finger into him. Jim coated himself with the remainder of the
thick fluid and fitted the broad head of his cock to Blair’s anus. “Breathe,
Chief! Breathe!” he urged as he rubbed the younger man’s back.
With a groan, Blair accepted the entire length of his
lover’s cock, the wiry hair of Jim’s groin tickling his ass.
Jim scattered kisses over Blair’s back, trying to
distract him from the burn deep in his body, keeping his thrusts shallow and
gentle.
“Ride me, Jim. Please!” Blair begged as he bucked back
onto his Sentinel, needing to be taken ruthlessly. “Oh, my God! You’re
making me hard again!”
Those words were all the big man needed to release the
tight control he had held over his motions and started the rhythm that would
drive them both toward fulfillment.
“Jerk yourself off for me, baby!” he whispered
hoarsely, and Blair whimpered and obeyed his order.
Ellison slammed relentlessly into his lover, nudging his
prostate, and Blair came with a wild cry. His inner muscles clenched tightly
around the cock in his ass and Jim started to come, filling Blair with his heat.
The two men collapsed onto the sleeping bag, Blair sprawled
wantonly beneath his larger lover.
Jim found the bruised spot on Blair’s neck and licked it,
then bit down.
“You’re mine, Chief!”
“Always!”
####
Part 3
“Jesus! Oh, sweet Jesus!”
Blair Sandburg’s voice was tight with horror. Jim Ellison
gazed in surprise as the younger man turned sheet white.
“Chief, what’s wrong?”
Sandburg’s eyes were enormous, the pupils so enlarged
that all that could be seen of their glorious color was a slim blue ring. His
mouth opened and closed, but he could get nothing out. He just continued to
stare in disbelieving shock at the remains of Jim’s boat.
The canoe was partially submerged, its bow buried deep in
the bank of the tributary. A huge chunk had been torn out of the side, leaving
jagged wooden splinters that stabbed at every angle, like the razor-sharp teeth
that had caused them, threatening the unwary. Deep gouges scored the stern, and
punctures were scattered randomly over what could be seen.
Ellison hadn’t paid much attention to the condition of
his canoe at the time. He had been determined to exact a little payback from the
creature that had stolen his catch. And then he needed to recover from the
injuries he had sustained before making the long trek back to civilization, such
as it was in that corner of Peru.
But it was extremely obvious to him that Blair was not
taking his little pas de deux with the croc lightly. Sandburg whirled and threw
himself into Jim’s arms, holding him tightly, shivers vibrating through him.
The Sentinel ran his hand gently over the shorter man’s
curls while he held him close to his body. “It’s all right, Chief. It was no
big deal!”
Blair looked at him with agony in his eyes. “You could
have been killed!”
Jim brushed his lips over his lover’s lush mouth. “I
survived, Blair.”
Blair shook his head. “You don’t understand! You could have died, and I
never would have known…”
“That there really was a sentinel?” Jim’s mouth
turned down in disappointment, and he would have released his companion, but
Blair refused to let him go.
“*Not* what I mean, Ellison! Don’t put words in my
mouth!”
“So what were you trying to say?”
“Jesus, Jim. You can be such a dick! I … I care
about you! Do you think I let everyone I photograph fuck me?”
“Well… well, no, of course not! I just… You care
about me, huh?” For some reason that didn’t make Jim feel better. What had
he expected, a declaration of undying love?
Blair cuffed his shoulder lightly and stepped away from
him, dismayed that the idea of losing Jim before he had found him had almost led
him to a premature declaration. He knew Jim liked him. He knew Jim liked fucking
him. But how would the Sentinel feel when Blair finally confessed his deep
feelings for the man?
“Let me finish getting these shots while the light is
still good. Then if that’s all there is to see here, I’d like to return to
Machu Picchu.”
Jim nodded and stood close by, his shotgun at the ready. So
far they hadn’t had any encounters with predators on the land, but he was
taking no chances.
****
The journey back from the Amazon was a journey of
revelations.
Blair taught Jim that if he considered his senses on a
dial, he could turn them down and gain better control of them.
Jim learned that the sound of his lover’s heartbeat had
the power to keep him grounded.
Neither man was in a hurry. Each night, in each other’s
arms, they didn’t have sex, they made love.
But neither of them realized it.
Although Jim had volunteered to return to the States with
him, Blair was uncertain if the Sentinel would remain with him. From what he had
told him, Jim had had a very difficult time of it when his senses came online.
He had to leave a job he loved working in Major Crimes in the Cascade PD, and he
had no fond memories of that period.
Blair had to decide if he was willing to give up
everything, possessions, friends, Naomi, and come to live with his love in the
rainforests of the Amazon.
If he could get Jim to admit he loved him.
Although Blair had seemed to jump at the idea of Jim
accompanying him back to the States, Jim wondered if it was because he was
reluctant to confront the man he left behind, who seemed to be using Blair as a
stepping stone in his career. From what he had told him, Blair had never allowed
himself to believe he had been loved for himself alone.
Jim had to decide if he was willing to give up the peace
and solitude and beauty of the rainforest.
If he could only get Blair to admit he loved him.
****
“Richard. How kind of you to finally show up.” Naomi
Sandburg studied the man who stood before her with cool eyes.
The reporter was suddenly struck by their similarity to her
son’s. Blair had often regarded him with just such an expression. “I’m
sorry, Naomi. Was it important?” Never offer an excuse, he had learned early
in his career. It made people think you’d done something that needed to be
excused.
“’Was it important?’ I rather imagined that you would
have thought so, Richard. Blair’s flight should be landing within the hour.
Why aren’t you at the airport waiting to pick him up?”
Richard Mason felt a sinking in the pit of his stomach.
Blair was already returning? Damn! Richard had fully intended to meet the
younger man, but he hadn’t expected Blair to return to Cascade for at least
another couple of weeks.
Now, he thought sourly, he’d have to hurry if he was to
get to the airport in time. And there was no way he’d be able to bring Blair
back to his apartment, not for a couple of days, at least. That’s how long it
would take to erase all traces of the luscious rent boy he’d had staying at
his place. Not to mention all the toys he had purchased to use on the boy.
He brushed his hand over his hair and pasted a smile on his
face, hoping his face revealed nothing of his thoughts. It would never do for
Naomi to discover his secret life. “I just needed to tie up a few loose ends
on that story I’ve been working on,” he assured his boss. “I would have
been on my way there if you hadn’t sent for me!”
Naomi’s eyes didn’t warm, and Richard wondered if it
was possible for the old bat to know about his extracurricular activities. He
smiled sickly, gave a brief nod and hurried out of her office.
Richard arrived at the terminal just as the jet was rolling
up to the gate. He waited sullenly. If Blair had only arrived when he was
supposed to, Richard would have brought him to his apartment as planned and
fucked his brains out, thereby reinforcing Richard’s possession of the younger
man. Maybe he would have even tried some of those toys on him!
In the wave of humanity that poured from the passageway, it
was easy to spot the russet-streaked curls that tumbled about Blair Sandburg’s
face. His head was turned as he spoke to a tall man who was at his side.
The man had only average looks: dark brown hair cropped
short, and a widow’s peak. That looks like the start of male pattern baldness,
Richard sneered to himself. He imagined that Blair had taken pity on the older
man, something Blair had often done. It was an action that irritated Richard no
end. Blair had no qualms about striking up a conversation at anytime, with
anyone, and often with people whom Richard deemed quite unsuitable.
Once he got Blair to commit to him, he would put an end to
that annoying habit.
Richard wiped his face clear of all irritation. “Blair!
Here I am!” He strode over to his lover. “I’m so happy to see you again,
cupcake!” and he leaned forward to kiss him. Blair turned his head, and the
kiss landed on his cheek. Richard frowned.
“Richard, this is James Ellison, the man I went to Peru
to find.” Blair seemed a little tense as he made the introductions. “Jim,
this is Richard Mason.”
“Oh, you’re the crocodile hunter.” Richard’s tone
was patronizing.
“This is the boyfriend?” the average-looking man asked,
and he smiled at Blair.
Richard sucked in his breath sharply. That smile
transformed the tall man into someone dangerously attractive. And a serious
threat, if the way Blair was gazing back at him was anything to go by.
Well, Richard Mason was nobody’s fool. He’d get rid of
this backwoods hick, and lay claim to his lover once and for all.
****
As soon as the Sentinel had realized what a poor flier
Blair Sandburg was, he had gone into Protector mode and done everything he could
to distract his lover. He had massaged the tense muscles of his shoulders and
the base of his skull, and his companion had practically purred his
appreciation, nearly driving the other man toward a precipitate climax.
Just when it seemed that he might convince Blair to remain
with him, this had to happen!
Ellison had seen the tall, dark haired man who was waiting
impatiently across the concourse, trying to get Blair’s attention, and a
sinking sensation took up housekeeping in his gut. He noticed the immediate
change in Blair, who had spotted the attractive man at the same time. The
younger man had gone from effervescent to vexed in the blink of an eye.
Blair introduced the man at his side to his former lover
and Jim’s nostrils flared briefly. There was another man’s scent on his skin
and clothes, mingling with this man’s, hot and sexual. Jim’s blue eyes
seemed to go flat, and his mouth tightened.
They shook hands, and it became an obvious power play. But
Richard didn’t have years of surviving in the jungles of Peru to fall back on,
and he surrendered first, signaling his defeat with a grunt of pain.
Jim’s grin was feral in satisfaction. He hurried to wipe
the expression from his face before Blair could see it.
Richard surreptitiously tried to rub feeling back into his fingers and glared at the former Ranger. “The car is this way, cupcake.”
“Richard, please! I’ve told you I hate that
nickname!”
The reporter ignored him. “We can drop off Jungle Jim and
I’ll take you out to dinner. Then we can go back to your place then to
celebrate your return!”
“Richard, don’t be a dick. I can’t leave Jim alone on his first night in Cascade.”
Jim held his tongue, hoping Blair would be as unhappy with
the idea of his Sentinel on the loose in the city as Jim was with the idea of
Blair taking that smooth operator he had once had a relationship with home with
him.
“No. Jim’s coming to dinner with us, and then he’s
going to stay at my place!” For someone who didn’t deal well with
confrontations, Blair was surprising everyone.
Jim let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
“*Blair*!” Richard was not happy about this turn of
events.
Blair ignored him and went to baggage claim.
****
Dinner was not a happy affair. Richard had insisted on
going to Chez Henri, Cascade’s only French restaurant and then tried to
embarrass at the Sentinel by offering to allow him to order. Since the menu was
in French, Richard was certain Ellison would make a fool of himself.
“That’s okay, I’ll do it!” Blair interjected
hastily.
“Nah, Chief, I’ll give it a shot!” Ellison, regarding
Blair’s former lover as if he were a particularly annoying bug, had picked up
the menu and scanned it briefly. “Hmmm.” He looked across at another table
and his eyes lit up. “I don’t know what that woman is having, but it looks
really good!”
He pointed, the gesture knocking over Richard’s water
glass and spilling it into his lap.
“*Shit*!” Richard jerked to his feet, his chair rocking
behind him. “You asshole! You did that on purpose, Ellison!” He stormed off
to the men’s room, hoping the attendant would be able to assist him, muttering
under his breath and drawing the attention of other diners.
“I’ll go help him, this was my fault after all!” Jim
hurried after the man who thought he still had a claim to Blair. He’d be
straightened out on that matter quite soon.
The only occupants of the men’s room when he got there
were Richard Mason and a tired-looking old man who had no choice but to listen
to the reporter pour out his vitriol.
“Amigo.” Jim gestured toward the door, and the old man
took one look at his face and gratefully hurried out.
“Hey!”
“Richard, you’re going to go home now.”
“Oh, yeah? Why? What would I do at home?”
“I don’t really care. Fuck yourself! Or fuck the piece
of tail you’ve got there.”
Richard eyes became panicky. “I don’t know what
you’re talking about!”
“No? Next time you stick your dick in someone before you
go to the airport to pick up the person you’re supposed to be in love with, I
suggest you take a shower and change your clothes! I can smell sex all over
you!”
Richard’s mouth resembled a hooked fish.
Jim curled his lip at him. “I’ll tell Blair you
weren’t feeling well and decided to make a short night of it. You can consider
your relationship terminated.”
“Well…well…”
“Ever see a knife, Mason?” Jim drew a huge hunting
knife from the sheathe at his back. “This is a knife!”
There was a soft, hissing sound, and both men looked down
at the yellow puddle that was spreading between Richard’s shoes.
Jim grinned, turned on his heel and walked back to the
table where his lover waited.
Only to find that Blair wasn’t waiting.
****
Blair had wandered disconsolately through the streets of
Cascade until he had finally gone to Naomi’s penthouse apartment and poured
out his woes to her. “And to top it off, I was walking away as slowly as I
could! I don’t know how many shop windows I stopped to look in. He just
didn’t come after me! Naomi, what am I going to do? I love the macho
schmuck!”
Naomi had never seen her son so distraught. Then again, she
mused, perhaps he had never been in love before. “How did you expect him to find you, dear?”
He gave her an exasperated look. “I’m not stupid,
Naomi! I left both addresses on the table!”
“Rather obvious, don’t you think?” She struggled to
prevent a smile at his disgruntlement. “Explain to me again how you discovered
Richard was seeing someone on the side.”
“I gave them time to get to the men’s room and then
followed them. Jim called him on it, said he could smell the other guy on
Richard!”
“He could smell that Richard wasn’t faithful to
you? I don’t understand how that was possible!”
“Um, something I neglected to tell you, Naomi.” Blair
paced restlessly back and forth before his mother. He looked a little flushed.
Which was how Naomi came to learn of Jim Ellison’s
Sentinel senses.
“Can you believe Richard didn’t even have the smarts to
shower before he came to pick me up? I mean, plain, old-fashioned good manners
would indicate…”
Naomi glanced away. “I’m afraid that was my fault,
darling. I beeped him. When he called, I ordered to my office, and never gave
him a chance to say yes, no or maybe. He had forgotten you were coming home
today, sweetheart! I’m so sorry, Blair. Richard Mason was not one of my better
ideas.”
Her son sighed. “I know you just wanted me to be happy.
You had Richard all picked out for me, Naomi; you were actually hearing wedding
bells! And you know how I am about confrontations.” Blair threw himself down
on the couch beside his mother. “Well, I guess it was for the best. He’s out
of my life for good now, Naomi.” He wasn’t sure to whom he was referring.
“I hope that doesn’t bother you too much.”
His mother’s glance was pensive. “The only thing I
regret is that you’re alone, dear.”
Blair sighed again. “I had hoped…”
The doorbell chimed sweetly and he bolted upright, his hair
whipping around as he stared hopefully at the door. The pretty Jamaican maid
went to answer it.
“Is Blair Sandburg here?”
The soft cadence of Jamaican patois was heard.
Naomi caught her breath at the expression on her son’s
face.
“Never mind,” the voice from the hall was saying,
“I’ll announce myself!”
Jim stalked into the living room, his blue eyes hot as they
sought his lover. Blair jumped to his feet and put the couch between him and his
lover. “Jim!” he squeaked.
“So you love me, Chief? It would have been nice if
you’d told me first!”
“Just one moment, young man!” Naomi placed herself
between her son and the alarmingly intense man who had invaded her home.
Jim stepped around her, pulled Blair out from behind the
couch and into his arms. “Yes, Mom?”
With a pleased smile, Naomi announced it had been a long
day, and she, for one, was going to bed!
“You’re not alone. You’ll never be alone!”
The only sound that disturbed the silence of the room was
the needy moans of both men as they kissed hungrily.
****
Blair Sandburg was sprawled out on the bed in their loft,
aching pleasurably from the thoroughness of Jim Ellison’s lovemaking.
“It was really nice of Naomi to find this apartment for
us, wasn’t it, big guy?”
“Mmmm.” It was a sated rumble.
“It’s so cool that you’ll get your old position on
the police force back again!”
“Mmm.”
“They really missed you in Major Crimes!”
“Mm.”
“I can’t believe you lived here in Cascade all the time
I was here, and I never knew it!”
A soft snore greeted his last remark.
Blair grinned happily and relaxed into sleep.
~End~
