Title: It Was a Hearts and Flowers Valentine
Author/pseudonym: Tinnean
Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: Blair Sandburg/Jim Ellison, Eros/Hades
Rating: FRAO (fan rated adult only)
Status: new/complete
Date:
Series/Sequel: This is the last of the trilogy. It follows
It Was a White and Snowy Christmas, which follows It Was a Dark and Stormy
Night. :-D
Summary: It's Valentine's Day, and as luck would have
it, they'll be spending it at Hecate House.
Warnings: m/m, a touch of bestiality (oh, ok, more
than a touch.)
Notes: This story has taken a left turn at
It Was a Hearts and Flowers Valentine
Part A
It was hot and humid in this rainforest of
I stood in the middle of the clearing, taking in its wild beauty.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees that formed a canopy high
above the forest floor.
I blotted the sweat that beaded at my hairline with my sleeve, then
unbuttoned the neck of the
A hoarse, coughing grunt disturbed the silence, and my mouth went dry as
I recognized the grunt as that of a hunting panther. My shirt fell from suddenly
nerveless fingers. Exotically plumed birds took to the air with raucous cries,
while the other inhabitants of the rainforest scrabbled into their burrows or
scrambled to the safety of the uppermost branches of the trees.
I caught a glimpse of sleek black. Excitement flashed through me, my
dick grew hard, and I began to run.
I could hear the paws of the big panther rhythmically hitting the
vegetation that covered the forest floor, but they grew fainter, and I knew I
was going to escape.
That… that wasn't what I wanted. I slowed my headlong flight to a
lope, a trot, a jog, finally coming to a complete stop.
"Well, shit." My hands on my hips, I glared at the forest
behind me. There was nothing there. And then, "Ooof!" Suddenly I found
myself flying face first to the forest floor. Before I could spit the leaves
from my mouth, I felt a heavy paw on my spine, and then something smooth and
sharp dragged down my lower back, lightly scraping the skin and snagging the
waistband of my sweatpants. I held my breath, waiting to see what those lethal
claws were going to do. "What… *Hey*!"
They drew my sweats down off my hips, leaving my naked ass exposed to
view.
It finally occurred to me that this might not a good thing, having the
family jewels that close to the panther's mouth. I tried to scramble out from
under him, but a warning grunt had me freezing in place. A rough tongue licked
the skin behind my balls and probed my anus, and I shivered and moaned. It could
have been from fear, but it wasn't. I spread my legs wider and offered him my
ass.
Huge paws settled on each side of my head, and soft fur caressed the
length of my spine as the panther lowered himself onto my prone body. His long
cock slid out of its sheath and pressed at my hole, and I moaned again. Oddly,
the fact that this mating could be a painful one, that the big cat's penis would
be covered in barbs and that there was no lubricant to ease his way into me,
didn't even distress me.
The panther's hot breath bathed the back of my neck, and then his long,
sharp white teeth closed gently over the spot where shoulder and neck joined,
guaranteeing that I would hold still for his invasion. When his cock entered me,
there was no pain. It slid in easily, leaving me feeling full and possessed.
The panther's hips began jerking, and he drove his cock deep into my
bowels, gliding past my prostate with each thrust, hurling me headlong toward a
climax.
I was in a committed relationship, but I didn't give a thought to my
lover, asleep at home in Cascade.
I raised my hips, the feeling of that lush fur against my ass and back a
sensual torment. A black paw was beside my head, and I snarled and closed my
teeth over it. The panther purred and licked my face with his sandpaper tongue.
It distracted me enough to wonder what that tongue would feel like licking other
parts of my body.
I needed more, needed it deeper and harder, and I growled around a
mouthful of fur and rocked back on his cock, and his tongue lapped over my ear,
then dipped into it, tickling it, and I could see the cliff approaching fast,
knew there was no way I could stop this from happening, knew I didn't want to
stop it from happening …
"Come for me, Chief." Jim panted in my ear, bit down on the
lobe, and there it was, and I threw myself over the edge, knowing my lover was
with me.
Tremors ran through me like aftershocks, and Jim eased onto his side,
taking me with him, keeping his cock in me. And I realized that some of those
tremors were his.
"God, that was fantastic. I didn't know you had that in you."
"I'm cut to the quick!" But he laughed, his breath warm in my
ear, and I couldn't prevent myself from shivering. "So you had fun with the
role-playing?" His hand rubbed my semen into my abdomen and chest.
"You had to ask?" I brought his hand to my mouth and licked it
clean. I felt more than heard his purr of contentment. "Next time I get to
let the wolf run free?"
"You bet. I'm looking forward to feeling your knot stretch my
ass." He nuzzled my hair away from my face and kissed my jaw.
Before we had become lovers, neither of us had had a sexual relationship
in a long time, although Jim had been seeing all those women who seemed
determined to be the death of him. He had done a good job of faking it.
But then, so had I.
****
I had the reputation of being a horn dog, which wasn't fair. Up until I
moved in with Jim, I was simply an equal opportunity dater. Boys, girls, I was
easy.
It didn't surprise me to find myself in lust with Jim. He was a hottie.
What did surprise me was the realization that lust had somehow turned to love,
and I'd been terrified that if he learned I was ass over teakettle in lust with
him, he'd toss me out of the loft so fast I'd leave skid marks on the stairs.
I'd resigned myself to a sex life comprised of fantasies revolving around that
buff bod and tight ass and my right hand.
All that changed after we spent Halloween in Hecate House, the hell
house I'd inherited by a fluke of fate. It had a bad reputation, and two men had
been killed in the short time we'd been there.
William 'Buck' Bonney was bad, a gangster, a hood, a mobster with
issues. The main issue was he trusted no one, including the people who worked
for him, and for this reason, he carried around his will in his suit pocket. It
stated that whoever was with him at the time of his demise was his sole heir and
beneficiary.
And that turned out to be me.
I'd been tanking up my Volvo at the Union 76 when he'd pulled up to the
pump beside mine. Long story short, when the cops diverged on that particular
gas station, I became his designated getaway driver. And when the cops put a few
slugs into him and he died, I became his heir.
Jim was definitely one of the good guys. He came with me to check out
Hecate House, and if only for that reason, I would be forever grateful to
William 'Buck' Bonney for leaving it to me in his will. We'd gone there as
roommates who shared a condo, and returned to Cascade as roommates who shared a
bed.
Hecate House wasn't mine for long. Bonney also had an issue with paying
his income tax, and the IRS wound up taking it for his back taxes.
They could have it.
As if that wasn't bad enough, and to add insult to injury, I was paid a
visit at Christmas, not by St. Nick, but by Agents Swift and Moorehead, a couple
of clones from the FBI, who kidnapped me – oh, yeah, it was kidnapping, no
matter what they might have called it – and brought me back to that house,
intent on testing out their half-assed theory of something or other.
Jim, my hero, had come to rescue me, and we'd both wound up rescuing the
Feebs from the really weird-ass shit that went down in the basement. A panel in
the wall had drawn back, and an oil painting of the goddess of the crossroads
had been revealed. More than that, she had stepped out of her niche, swinging a
sickle with deadly intent.
Jim was sure it was the Mizpah that saved us, the charm that said, 'The
Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from the other.' He
wore one half and had given me the 'thee' half for Christmas.
I had a feeling it was his spirit guide who put in an unexpected
appearance.
Whatever it was, we made it out of the basement alive, dragging along
Swift and Moorehead, and tried to figure out where we stood and what was going
to happen next.
What happened next was that Assistant Director Sloan had come pounding
on my front door. I'd let him in, and he'd confronted his agents, torn them both
a new one, and sent them out, tails between their legs, to the gray sedan parked
behind a van at the curb.
I was seriously happy I didn't work for him.
He'd apologized and left, ostensibly giving them another chewing out in
the sedan.
It paid to have a partner who was a sentinel. Jim extended his hearing
and was able to tell me the whole night had been a set-up. Swift and Moorehead
had been acting under the orders of AD Sloan. They wanted to know why Jim and I
had been the only people to survive a night in Hecate House without winding up
dead or looney tunes.
Even we didn't know. We were just thankful. I hoped ET and Area 51 would
keep them busy and away from us.
****
Jim softened and started slipping from me, and he caught the condom.
"Two and a half more months, babe." I didn't have to explain
my meaning.
We'd been exclusive lovers since shortly after Halloween, and as soon as
we'd returned to Cascade, we'd gone for blood tests. We'd both tested clean,
which didn't really surprise me. In spite of my reputation, I hadn't had sex
since the beginning of the year…
~~~~
Jim and I had been invited to a New Year's Eve party. The man looked
awesome in a tux, and it was all I could do not to drool. As for me, I'd been
able to get a rental, and though there was no way it could compete with Jim's
Geoffrey Beene, I thought I looked pretty good. I'd thought Jim thought so too.
He had tugged on my hair until I tilted my head back, and he'd tied my bowtie,
and I'd fantasized about what it might be like if he'd leaned down and kissed
me.
He didn't, but even so, the evening had been going well. No matter what
we did, eat, drink, dance, or who we did it with, we always wound up together
again.
"Get me a Dewars on the rocks,
would you, Chief?"
That seemed odd to me, Jim didn't usually drink Scotch, but I was
feeling no pain, so I went to the bar. I turned around while the bartender was
pouring the dark amber liquor over ice, and I'd seen him with a big-busted bimbo
with curly hair down to her ass and eyes that were blue, but not as blue as
mine. Her dress looked as if one incautious breath and it would fall to the
floor, and from the hungry way Jim was staring at her, I didn't think he'd
object too much if that happened.
He'd swaggered out with his arm around her, and I'd knocked back Jim's
drink and ordered another one. I'd gotten blitzed and woke the next morning in
bed with a hangover and a fuzzy tongue, and the band's drummer, who was male,
and the bass player, who was female.
'Uh… Thanks, guys. Gotta go.'
They mumbled something, curled around each other, and went back to
sleep. My ass wasn't sore, so I hadn't been fucked, and there were used condoms
tossed all over the place, so I hadn't been stupid. I scrambled into my clothes
and left.
Jim had been my ride the night before, there were no cabs around on New
Year's Day, and it looked like I had a long walk home in the rain. I spent most
of it calling Jim every bad name in every language I knew.
When I got to 852 Prospect, I was soaking wet and miserable. When I got
into the condo I shared with Jim and found it empty, I was even more miserable.
I turned up the heat and started a fire in the wood stove, then stripped
off my rented tux and left it on the floor of my room. It was wool, and I had a
feeling it wasn't going to react well to the rain. I'd probably have to find a
part time job to pay for it. The Cascade PD paid me zilch as Jim's ride along
observer, and what I earned as a teaching assistant at
I pushed that worry out of my mind, padded barefoot into the bathroom,
and took a shower as hot as I could bear it. Once
most of the chill was out of my bones, which happened to coincide with the hot
water running out – if Jim came home any time soon, he'd only have very cool
water to shower in, I thought smugly – I wrapped a towel around my hips and
another around my head, and went to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.
There was an itch at the back of my throat, and I could feel a cold
coming on. I'd gotten a powerful remedy from the Mombatus in
Well, maybe not *quite* what ailed me. If my roommate had wanted
to sleep with someone who looked like me, why didn't he understand he could have
had me? I usually topped, but for him I would have bent over in a Cascade
minute.
I'd always tried to be honest with myself. I'd gotten drunk to blunt the
hurt of seeing my roommate leave with that woman.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks – I was in love with Jim
Ellison.
God, that was so pathetic. The bi boy and the straight boy? Talk about
clichéd.
//You're going to have to leave.//
"No!" I couldn't. I was Jim's guide, he needed me.
//Then you're going to have to keep your feelings a secret.//
"I can do that." It would call for obfuscation on the grand
scale, but I could do that.
The steam as I poured the boiling water over the herbs was enough to
clear my sinuses.
I left the tea to steep and put on sweats, then took my tea into the
living room, turned on the TV, wrapped an afghan around me, and settled myself
on the loveseat.
Fantasies were going to be the sum total of my love life from now on, so
I might as well get used to them.
I put the cup of tea on the coffee table, sat back with my legs spread
wide, and slid a hand past my waistband.
My palm was warm from the cup, and I liked that warmth on my cock. My
palm was smooth, too. I hadn't been on a field expedition since I'd just before
I'd moved in with Jim, so the only callus on my hand was the one on the middle
finger of my right hand, where a pen or pencil would rest.
I leaned my head back on the loveseat and closed my eyes.
I'd be so lost in the feel of my dick in my hand, in the teasing
strokes, that I wouldn't hear Jim's key in the door. He'd walk in, toss his keys
into the basket, and hang up his jacket, but I'd be completely oblivious.
Jim wouldn't be though. He'd see me on the loveseat, take in the wanton
sprawl of my legs, and he'd come to stand in front of me. Something would cause
me to open my eyes, and my breath would snag in my throat, and I wouldn't be
able to take my eyes off him. Usually Jim's eyes were a cool blue, but not this
time. This time they would be hot with promise.
He'd lick his lips. "Couldn't wait for me, Chief?"
"Wha… what?" My mouth would be dry, and I'd hardly be able
to get a single word out.
"Sandburg at a loss for words?" He'd drop to his knees and
ease those sweatpants over my hips, freeing my cock, and when he saw it, dusky
and hard and with pre come glistening at the tip, he'd suck in a breath before
he pulled the sweats off my legs.
One hand would tickle my balls, while the other tightened around the
base of my cock, and then moist heat would envelope it, and I'd rock up, driving
my cock deeper into his mouth.
Jim would pull off me, and I'd moan. He'd drag his tongue over the tip
and say, "Uh, uh, uh, Chief."
I'd stare at him with dazed eyes, wondering if he was trying to drive me
crazy by sucking his finger in and out of his mouth. And then he'd take his
finger out of his mouth and swoop down on my cock once again, and he'd start
sucking me in earnest.
And that wet finger would stroke across my hole, dipping in just a bit,
and the sounds that would come out of my mouth would be desperate and needy.
He'd work his finger in deeper, deeper, and I'd jam the heel of my hand into my
mouth or I would have screamed when he rubbed against my prostate.
"Want my cock there, Chief?"
"Yes! Please!" I'd be unashamed in my begging.
Jim would pull me close to the edge of the loveseat, shove my legs back
and spread my ass cheeks, and then I'd feel his tongue licking, probing, and I'd
be so out of my mind that when he finally took me with one, smooth thrust, my
eyes would roll back in my head and I'd be on the verge of passing out.
But the best would be that he'd lean up and kiss me, and that alone
would cause me to explode all over the two of us…
I did come, but alone – still alone – and I wiped my hand on my
sweats, then hauled myself up and staggered to my room. Jim would smell it the
minute he walked it.
That was one of the things that really sucked about having a Sentinel
for a roommate.
I stripped off my sweatpants, stuffed them in the hamper, and put on a
clean pair.
Not too long afterwards, I heard Jim's key in the door. He looked tired
but pleased and so sated, and I wanted to knock him down and stomp on his
straight ass.
"Have a good time, Casanova?" What I wanted to ask was where
the fuck he'd been since last night?
"Actually, yeah. I had a very good time. How about you?"
"My ride left me, and I had to walk home in the rain."
"Uh, Chief, it wasn't raining last night."
"It was this morning. My tux is a mess, and I'll have to pay for
it."
"I'll chip in, Sandburg."
I mumbled a 'thanks'. I wasn't that proud.
"So… uh… you were out all night?"
"What? You think you're the only one entitled to a love life? Are
you going to see her again?"
"Probably. What about you? Are you going to see her again?"
"Probably."
"I guess we'll both have a very happy new year." He gave a
lopsided grin and headed for the loft, and I watched his ass the whole way up.
It was going to be a very long rest of my life.
~~~~
But it turned out it wasn't. William 'Buck' Bonney died, we went to
Hecate House where two more men died, but we came away from it lovers.
"Who'd have thought, babe?" I stroked the arm that cradled my
head.
"What?" Jim's breath was warm as he laughed in my ear.
"That a tough, macho cop-of-the-year who'd also been a covert ops Army
captain and was a Sentinel to boot would like taking it up the ass for his
four-eyed geek?"
I turned my cheek and nipped his shoulder, then licked it. "I'll be
glad when we won't need to use condoms any more."
"Yeah. Once we have that follow-up blood test, and it comes back as
clean as the first one… "
"Ten more weeks, Jim. I'll tell you something. As soon as we get
those results, I'm donating every one of those suckers to Planned
Parenthood."
He shivered behind me. "Every time I think of you taking me without
a condom, being able to feel you come inside me – god, babe, I can't tell you
how hard that makes me!"
"You don't have to tell me. I can feel it." His dick was
hardening against my ass. "My turn?" I leaned up and turned my head to
capture his lips. Usually they softened and parted under mine, but this time
they didn't. He had gone still. "What is it, Jim?"
"We're about to have company. Better get dressed, Chief." He
rolled out of bed and reached for his briefs and jeans.
"Were we expecting anyone?" I was doing the same when I heard
someone knock on the door.
"Nope." The knocking became impatient. "Keep your shirt
on!" Jim yelled. He picked a shirt up off the floor where all our clothes
had been flung and struggled to put it on as he went down the stairs. I could
hear him muttering about the freaking cleaners shrinking his clothes.
"That's my shirt, Jim!" I found his under the bed. How the
hell had it gotten there? I grabbed it and trotted down the stairs, interested
in seeing who was paying us a visit at this time on… "Hey, it's
Valentine's Day!" Maybe the person at the door was delivering the flowers
I'd ordered for my lover? Though it was kind of early. I draped Jim's shirt over
a chair and dug out my wallet for a tip. "Who is it?"
He didn't say anything, just backed away from the door.
A short, matronly woman seemed to float into the loft, and the door shut
behind her.
Jim looked from the door to the woman, inhaled deeply, and then the
unease and tension smoothed from his face, and he smiled at her.
"Looks like we've got company, Chief."
"No sh… kidding."
There was something earth-mother-ish about her. She kind of reminded me
of Naomi, my mom. She wore an off-white garment that I recognized as a peplos.
It was pinned at both shoulders with large, open pins, the kind Herodotus had
written were used to kill the sole survivor of a disastrous battle. The ladies
of
This February in
A sharp whine drew my attention down. At her heels was a small, fox-like
dog – correction, bitch – with smooth, short hair, a wedge-shaped head, and
a sickle tail.
"She's an Alopekis?" I squatted down and held out a hand to the dog. She looked up at the woman as if to get permission to come toward me.
"Yes. You are familiar with the breed? Her name is Alastrina."
The woman must have given some signal, because the dog sidled up to me, her
movements almost coquettish. I ran the backs of my fingers against the white
blaze on her chest. Her jaws parted, her tongue lolled out, and I would have
sworn she was grinning.
The woman snapped her fingers, and Alastrina trotted under
the dining room table, turned a couple of times, and lay down, her head resting
on her paws and her dark eyes watching us with interest.
"The lady looks a little cold, Chief." Jim was turning the
heat up.
"Yes, I'm sorry." I straightened and took a sweat jacket from
its hook on the wall. "You must be freezing. The clothes you're wearing
don't look very substantial."
Somehow I had a feeling that she would be more comfortable in summer and
fall. She allowed me to drape the sweat jacket around her shoulders.
*Allowed*? That was an odd thought.
She murmured something in a foreign language.
My Greek was rusty, to say the least, but I remembered enough to reply,
"You're welcome."
Her gaze slid from me to Jim. His jeans rode low on his hips, and the shirt
he wore, *my* shirt, hung open to reveal his fine pecs and six pack abs.
"Want to give me my shirt back, Beau Brummel?" I took his from
the back of the chair and held it out.
Jim looked down at himself. Color ran up his cheeks, but he grinned and
stripped off the shirt to swap with me. It was still warm from his body, and
normally I'd take the time to savor it, but not this time.
"You're awfully comfortable with having this stranger in our
home," I sub-vocalized.
"I'll go make us some coffee. Entertain our guest in the
meantime."
"Excuse me." I smiled at the woman and hurried
after my lover. "Jim, what's up? And don't you say, 'Me, maybe?'"
"Okay." He didn't smile, as I'd hoped.
"Somehow, I don't see her as a stranger." He took out the
coffee beans and measured a portion into the grinder. "I… I can't explain
it, Chief. I do feel comfortable around her. I know this sounds crazy, but she
feels like … home? Nurturing? She smells of fresh-baked bread. She kind of
reminds me of Sally."
Sally was William Ellison's housekeeper. Jim had spoken of
her. She had taken care of him and his brother Steven after their mother left.
"Well, in that case I won't have to fight her for your
honor."
I started to button my shirt.
He tugged a lock of hair free from where I'd tucked it
behind an ear and brought it to his face, rubbing it across his lips and
inhaling. "You'd fight for me?"
"Are you crazy? Of course I would!"
"There's no 'of course.'"
That pulled me up short. The Sentinel of the
"Yes, I'll fight for you, Jim. All the demons in hell,
all the angels in heaven, and the odd bozo here on Earth. I'll never let you
go."
His blue eyes, usually so cool, were warm. "I'm
glad." He reached into the neck of my shirt for the chain he had given me
at Christmas. I was never without it, and he used it to draw me closer to him.
"My hero," he whispered against my lips, and then, in spite of the
fact that there was someone else in the loft with us, he kissed me.
"Jim, I… " His other hand dropped to my butt,
and he goosed me. I jumped, and we both laughed.
"Go entertain our guest."
"Anyone ever tell you that you were bossy?"
"Why, no. Why do you ask?"
"Smart ass."
"But you love me anyway."
"You know I do." I kissed him. "Get the
coffee done, will you? I need some caffeine." I went back into the other
room. The woman was standing by the French doors, gazing out into the gray
morning, and I crossed to her, dredging up my Greek. I started to welcome her in
that language.
"I thank you for that courtesy," she interrupted as she turned to
me, "but I speak your language."
I gave a slight bow. "Welcome to our home. I'm…"
"Blair Sandburg. Yes, I know. I am Demetria." Eyes the color of leaves in late summer stared into mine. "You are the owner of Hecate House."
"No. That would be the
Her smile was amused and tender, and she cradled my cheek.
I heard myself asking her, "Is there any way I can help you?" I
didn't question how I could be willing to do anything in my power to help her.
"You must return with me to Hecate House."
"No," I said with regret. "I'm sorry, Lady,
but that house is bad news."
"Not 'lady.' Just Demetria." She looked straight into my eyes.
"You and your man, you realized you loved one another there, did you
not?"
We had done our damnedest to be discreet about our relationship. How did
she know that? I cut a glance toward
Jim, who was entering bearing mugs of coffee. He shrugged.
She touched my hair. "You are a good man, Blair Sandburg."
"I always thought so." Jim offered her a mug.
"Always?" I took a mug too.
"Always, Chief." He touched his mug against mine. "From
the moment you shoved me under a garbage truck."
"You are a good man also, James Ellison." She smiled at him.
She didn't seem at all disturbed by the fact that Jim and I were lovers. Well, I
guessed her being Greek and all she wasn't too taken aback by men in a physical
relationship. Her smile broadened. "The Sibyl would have told me, had I not
been able to discover this for myself."
"The Sibyl?" This was getting really weird. It felt like we
had just stepped into the Twilight Zone. "You mean the lady in the cave?
There were ten of them. Which cave?" It would be way cool if it was the one
from
"It is not important." She sipped her coffee. "This is
very good. Thank you. Please, you must eat. Time is of the essence, and we do
not have much of it to waste."
"Would you mind explaining why we need to go back to Hecate
House?" Jim went into the kitchen, and we followed him. "Eggs,
Chief?"
"Why am I not surprised? Sure, that'll be fine." I put bread
in the toaster, took three plates from the cabinet, and began to set the table.
"Lady… " She looked as if she'd object, and I gave her my most
winning smile. She nodded slightly, and I continued. "Lady, suppose you
tell us why we need to return to Hecate House."
"You are aware of the vile reputation of this house."
It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. "Although isn't 'vile' a
little harsh? People are going to whore and gamble and drink, even when it's
illegal. Well, look at Prohibition. Didn't do a damn bit of good."
"Isn't what's forbidden always most desired, Chief?" He turned
to say something to Demetria, but she was staring at us, an eyebrow arched in
surprise.
"Is something wrong, Lady?"
"You do not quarrel."
"Sure we do."
"You do not quarrel now."
"Why should we?"
"If you will permit?"
I shrugged, and she placed the fingers of one hand on my temple and the
fingers of the other on Jim's. Abruptly, the words reverberated in my mind. 'What's
forbidden is most desired.' And
I found myself watching as I seemed to quarrel with Jim.
It was vitriolic and petty on Jim's part, mulish and childish on mine,
but in the end, I wrapped my arms around his waist; he wound his hands in my
hair; our mouths were a breath apart.
'You are mine.
Just as I am yours.' The words came from both of us.
And from somewhere I thought I heard a howl of frustrated rage…
"Chief? Blair!" Jim was shaking me.
"What the… ?" I blew out a breath and shook my
head. "I haven't had an experience like that since… "
"Where'd we go, babe?"
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was a hallucinogenic
experience. Lady, what just happened?
"I am sorry. I did not realize she would act so
quickly."
"'She'?" Jim pulled me to his side, his hand on
my hip, connecting us.
"Lady, perhaps you had better tell us exactly why you
need us to go back to Hecate House?"
Demetria touched a finger on my Mizpah, then did the same
to the one Jim wore. "This is what protected you from her venom. Sit and
eat."
"Oh, damn! The eggs!" Jim rushed to stove, and
hero that he was, he saved them in the nick of time. The toast, however, was
toast, a lost cause, and I threw the burnt slices out and reached for more
bread.
The eggs were a little cool by the time the bread was toasted, but once we sat at the table and Demetria began speaking, we didn't even notice.
****
Demetria finished her tale, and Jim and I sat there, both a
little shell-shocked.
"I think, perhaps, it would be best for you to change
into more appropriate clothing. I will wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen. Go.
Go."
"Get our stuff laid out, would you, Chief? I just want
to show Demetria where everything goes."
"Very anal, man."
"But you love me anyway."
"This is true. Hurry up."
I ran up the stairs to the loft, made the bed quickly, then
skinned out of my shirt and sweatpants. We'd need thermal underwear. It was cold
outside, and I didn't like being cold.
Our thermals were lightweight but they did a great job.
They were in the dresser that held our clothes.
I put Jim's set on the bed along with lined jeans and a
quilted flannel shirt, put my clothes beside his, and put on my thermals.
"Well, damn. I was hoping to catch you in the
buff." Jim crossed to the bed.
"That was quick. What's the skinny?"
"Chief, you're the anthropologist of the team. What do
you make of it?"
"That her daughter was kidnapped years ago and has
been held all this time in Hecate House? It doesn't make any sense."
"But we're still going to help her out." Jim
didn't bother unbuttoning his shirt, just pulled it up over his head and dropped
it to the floor, and dropped his jeans beside it. I was distracted.
"Hey! I'm not picking up after you! I may be your
guide, but I'm not your nanny!"
Jim chuckled and started to dress. His movements were quick
and efficient as he put on his clothes. I stood there, and when he realized how
I was ogling him, he blushed, tucked his shirt in and zipped his jeans.
"I hate going back to that house." I brought my
attention back to the present.
"I wasn't the one with a hood when he got offed."
"That wasn't… Dammit, Jim. How many times do I have
to tell you it wasn't my fault?"
"I'm sorry, babe." He came to me and pulled me
against him. "You know I was just yanking your chain."
"I know." I leaned into his embrace. "We're
going?"
"Yeah," he sighed, "we're going."
"Tell me why."
He shrugged.
"I don't get it, Jim." I stepped back, and he
released me. "We were there in December, and between us and the Feebs, that
house had a damned thorough going over." AD Sloan had loosed a sextet of
agents to scour the place.
"The only thing we found that time was the painting in
the wall in the basement." He sat on the bed to lace up a pair of boots.
"And the figure in the painting stepped out of
it." I shuddered. That had been a freaky moment, seeing those sightless
eyes turn to search for us. I sat beside him and laced up my own boots.
"Man, Jim. That's one fucking weird house. I get the heeby jeebies every
time I think about going back there. Again, I have to ask you why? Not why we're
going to help her, but… why?"
"I don't know, Chief. I just know we have to help
her."
"*We,*
Jim?"
"Yeah." He ran his hand over his hair. "We
both have to be there."
"Not that I'm objecting, but…"
"It has something to do with the fact that we spent
the night there and didn't die or go nuts."
"Well, you know me. Whither thou goest."
"Do you mean that?"
"Mean what?"
"That you'll marry me?"
I opened my mouth to say something glib, like, 'How did we
get on the topic of marriage?', but Jim's expression had become closed, and I
realized he was serious.
"Jim," I stood and pulled him to his feet, then
put his arms around me, and looped mine around his neck. "You should know I
don't say what I don't mean. As far as I'm concerned, we've been married since
you put this chain around my neck. But if you want a formal ceremony, I'm
game."
He relaxed, pulled me closer, and nuzzled the spot under my
ear. "As soon as we get done with this, we'll catch a flight to
"There's gonna be a lot of red tape, Jim. The blood
tests, the waiting period…" and most importantly, the fact that our
marriage wouldn't be recognized in the state where we lived.
"Simon will give me the time off. We can go to
There was more
to it than that. Chancellor Edwards wasn't going to be happy with me taking time
off, Jim's colleagues at Major Crimes weren't going to be happy with him
marrying someone who wasn't female.
But I looked into Jim's blue eyes. His heart was in them.
He knew the stumbling blocks as well as I did, and he still wanted to make our
relationship legal.
What choice did I have? I said yes.
####
Jim's POV
I'd learned long ago that I liked guys. Girls were nice,
soft and sweet-smelling, but guys – you didn't have to hold back with guys.
I'd also learned to conceal the fact that I liked guys.
Things were chilly between my father and me, but if he'd ever found that out,
there would have been no hope of even a cold relationship.
I joined the army and rose to the rank of captain. After
that debacle in
'Poor Jim,' I'd hear them say behind my back. 'He just
can't get over Carolyn.'
The fact was, I was long over her, but it gave me a perfect
excuse not to date any woman for longer than a few weeks, if that.
A couple of times a year I'd head for the big city, New
York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New Orleans, and satisfy my craving
for a hard body.
Only that craving was never really satisfied.
I could never find anyone I trusted enough to let fuck me.
I bought a dildo in Boston, feeling my face flame as I placed it on the counter
and reached for my wallet, but the clerk simply smiled and said, "Your
girlfriend is gonna love this model."
*I* loved that model, but it was rubber. I missed
the closeness of a lover.
That became the least of my worries when my senses went
berserk, and I thought I was losing my mind. That was when I met Blair Sandburg.
There was something about Sandburg. From the moment he
bounced into that waiting room in the hospital, telling me 'McKay' was the
Gaelic pronunciation of 'McCoy', to me shoving him against a wall in his office,
calling him a neo-hippy witch-doctor punk, and it taking all I possessed not to
press up against him, to him pushing me under that garbage truck…
I couldn't tell him, of course.
Macho-cop-of-the-year-with-a-case-record-that-couldn't-be-topped – I couldn't
say, 'Screw my senses, come to bed with me.'
I had a feeling, well, more a hope really, that he might
swing both ways – the curly hair, the mouth that seemed to beg to be kissed,
the body – Okay, that was shallow, but I was almost positive that I'd caught
him checking me out a time or two.
He never made a move, though. So, reluctantly, I'd come to
the conclusion that it had been wishful thinking on my part. Sandburg, horn dog
without rival, who would hump anything that stood still long enough, went
through almost as many women than I did.
That should have told me something, but I was too busy
being a hard ass to pay attention.
I'd always been lucky, though. The place he was living in
was blown up by his neighbors, the friendly, neighborhood drug dealers, and I
offered to let him move into the small room below the stairs in my condo. It
almost drove me crazy, knowing he was below me. There were nights… I could
hear the way his heartbeat increased, the slick sound of his hand on his cock,
the moans he muffled with his pillow, but which I could still hear, and it was
enough to get me off.
That was the way things stayed, until Simon 'ordered' me to
accompany Sandburg to that hell house he'd inherited.
Lucky. Because sometime during that night, he'd wound up in
my arms, and he'd sighed, "Jim. Love you, man." Granted he had been
asleep, and yeah, I'd been pressed up against his back, but he'd said it, and I
had every intention of holding him to it. He wasn't going to toy with my
affections.
He didn't. Blair trusted me enough to let me fuck him, even
though I found out later that he usually topped. He seemed happy with the way
things stood, didn't press for equal opportunity fucking, but I started to worry
that maybe one day he'd want more, and if I couldn't give it to him, he'd leave
me.
That was the first time I ever had anything up my ass,
other than my proctologist's finger and the rubber dildo. Blair took his time,
and he made it the most unbelievable experience I'd ever had, to the point where
I preferred to bottom for him.
I didn't tell anyone at Major Crimes. Well, most of them
didn't even know about my senses. They liked Sandburg, called him Sandy or
Hairboy, but as far as they were concerned, he was just the ride-along observer
who also happened to be my roommate.
But Simon Banks, captain of Major Crimes, must have
realized there was something more than that between us because he questioned me
about it on Christmas Eve.
"Don't make me have to choose between Blair and the
department," I told him, "because there won't be a choice. I'll pick
Blair every time."
He'd backed off, but when I'd called to tell him Blair had
been kidnapped, he'd gotten on the horn and notified Lewiston PD. We'd gotten
out of Hecate House before the local law enforcement turned up, but it was the
thought that counted.
Criminals have no sense of the holiday season. I had to go
in to work later on Christmas Day, and Blair came with me. He sat as his desk,
tapping away at his laptop, the same as he'd done since we'd become partners,
but that day, something was different.
I reached into the collar of my shirt and closed my fingers
around the charm that hung from the chain around my neck. It matched the one I'd
given my lover.
Abruptly I realized what the difference was. I felt
married.
****
I thought about it quite a bit after that. When I'd married
Carolyn Plummer, it had been an effort to convince everyone around me that I was
straight. I'd nearly had an anxiety attack when we'd exchanged vows.
But now, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it.
I knew Blair loved me, he'd told me so plenty of times, but did he love me
enough to exchange vows with an anal, compulsive detective who had a few years
on him? Well, maybe more than a few years?
I couldn't bring myself to ask him. Suppose he said no?
Suppose he liked things the way they were and didn't want them to change?
Suppose he thought I was being pushy, possessive, and he didn't like his lovers
like that?
Suppose he walked out?
I kept telling myself I'd bring up the subject. Soon. The
end of the week. The beginning of the month. Soon.
I kept putting it off. Finally, in desperation, I set a
date. Valentine's Day. I'd ask him on Valentine's Day.
We were in bed, and I opened my mouth, but instead of,
"Marry me, Chief," what came out was, "We're about to have company. Better get
dressed, Chief."
The interruption was caused by a small, Greek woman, who came in without
being invited. I relaxed when all my senses told me it was safe.
Over breakfast she told us why we needed to go with her to Hecate House.
"I think, perhaps, it would be best for you to change
into more appropriate clothing," she said once we were done eating. "I
will wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen. Go. Go."
"Get our stuff laid out, would you, Chief? I just want
to show Demetria where everything goes." It was the only excuse I could
come up with at short notice.
"Very anal, man."
"But you love me anyway."
"This is true. Hurry up." And Blair ran up the
stairs to the loft.
I turned to the woman. "Demetria, you have our
assurance that we'll do our best to return your daughter to you."
"Yes. And we… I thank you. You will be well
rewarded."
"That isn't necessary, ma'am. It's my job. But I'd
like to know why you selected us, Blair and me?"
"You stayed the night in Hecate House."
"Yes. So?"
"No one has done this."
"What about the… um… the girls who used to work
there?"
A blank stare, then she shrugged. Her dog began to yap,
high-pitched, and I flinched and lost track of the conversation.
"As I said, James Ellison, time is of the essence.
Hurry."
"Uh… okay." I found myself giving her a smile
and doing as she said. Maybe Blair would be able to figure this out. I thought
proudly of all his degrees. He was the brains, after all.
Only it made no sense to him either, and when I told him we
both had to be there, he gave me a smile and said, "Well, you know me.
Whither thou goest."
"Do you mean that?" My heart was pounding, and I
couldn't catch my breath.
"Mean what?"
"That you'll marry me?"
There were roadblocks, of course there were, but if he said
yes, I'd move heaven and hell to overcome them.
He said yes.
****
We could have stopped for lunch in
I continued driving along I 5. We were approaching the
lay-by where we'd made love this past Christmas, on our way home from that
house.
"Pull over, Jim." Only a Sentinel would be able
to hear his words.
"What?"
"Pull over. I'll drive."
"I can…"
"You can't." His lips were barely moving.
"You're picking up vibes from our passenger, and they're distracting you,
making it hard for you to stay on our side of the road."
He was right. "Thanks, Chief."
"What do you do?" Demetria demanded.
"Please. We must hurry."
"Blair's going to spell me."
"But we are almost there…"
"Jim needs a rest." The dog had been resting her
head on Blair's knee. Her tail thumped on the floorboard, but when he pushed her
away and got out, she gave an unhappy little whine. He paused long enough to run
his knuckles under her muzzle, then trotted around to the back of the pickup.
I left the ignition running and the heater blasting, got
out, and met him there.
"I've made this run before, Chief."
"I know. Humor me, okay?"
I touched his hair, leaned forward, "Okay," I
said against his lips, and then I kissed him.
We got back into the truck, and I buckled up. The dog
placed her head on my knee, and Demetria smiled at me.
"My Alastrina likes you. I like you."
"Lady," Blair sat with his hands on the steering
wheel, but didn't buckle up, "why didn't we see your daughter when we were
last in Hecate House?"
"I will tell you once we have arrived."
"I don't think so." He switched off the ignition.
I gave him a puzzled look, and he shook his head and faced the woman between us.
"We're willing to help you, but unless you tell us how your daughter could
be there, without eleven people finding her, I'll call this off right now."
I did some quick figuring in my head. Six agents beside the
two who kidnapped Blair, the AD, Blair, me… Yep, that made eleven.
She signed. "You did find her."
"Excuse me?"
"When you went into the cellar. A panel in the wall
had opened."
"The painting?"
"She has been trapped in that painting for long
centuries. Always we were just steps behind her. First she was a fresco on the
Ludovisi Throne. After that a mosaic, a caryatid, a lekythoi. That is a
vase," she clarified.
"Yes, I've seen them. The most beautiful was a
Bocotian black-figure. It was dated mid-7th century B.C." Was
there anything Blair hadn't seen?
We were all silent, and then she said, "You do not
mock me."
"Ma'am, we saw the figure in the painting step out of
it. She was swinging a scythe, she tried to kill us."
She opened her mouth, and Blair raised his hand.
"Please, don't tell us she's been misunderstood, that to know all is to
forgive all. We're going home."
"You cannot do this!"
"I can. Lady, I don't wish to seem disrespectful, but
I am Jim's guide. I protect the protector."
"We have to help her, Chief."
"Jim…"
"Trust me, Blair. Put the truck in gear."
He groused but buckled up and did as I told him.
"Demetria, we're mortal men. Yes, I got the impression
you're more than you appear."
Blair snorted. "Oh, yeah, Einstein? When did you
realize that?"
"Almost from the start, babe. It's not logical for me
to trust someone I've just met to the degree I trusted Demetria."
"But you trusted me, didn't you?"
"Yes, but that's completely different." I rested
my arm along the back of the seat and tugged his hair. He gave me a quick
glance, but it was long enough for him to see me mouth, 'I love you.'
"Watch the road, would you, Chief?"
Demetria touched my arm, then touched Blair's. "You
will not be unaided. I will help you, and Graeae. And my husband, if he wishes
to ever again share my bed."
The dog whined and licked the woman's hand, and she stroked
its head and smiled. In all my time in the army, in all my years on the Cascade
PD, I'd never seen a smile that cold or that cruel.
Blair and I exchanged glances over her head, and we both shivered.
End Part A
