Author's webpage: http://www.e-fic.com/xfreak/

Author's disclaimer: Disclaimers: The Sentinel, Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg, Simon Banks, Dwight Roshman, and Orvelle Wallace belong to Pet Fly Productions and Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended. This work of fiction is purely for enjoyment and no money is being made from it.

Author's notes: Notes: Thanks to Grey for beta reading and overall encouragement. This story is for her because I promised. =o) Feedback and constructive criticism of ALL kinds welcome. The first scene is taken directly from Three Point Shot with some minor adjustments. Warnings: m/m, Rimming, Spoilers for Three Point Shot

Holding Back
by XFreak
XFreak1@aol.com

Blair cradled his coffee cup between his hands, soaking up the warmth it offered. "Uh," he began, glancing at his partner and then quickly away, repeating the move as he spoke. "I've been holding something back from you and I was meaning to tell you, but I was hoping if I waited long enough, things would turn out differently. You remember that pebble-like thing you found next to Roshman's body?"

"Forensics said it was an animal hoof or antler or something."

"Rhino horn," Blair corrected, straightening his back and lifting his shoulders momentarily before slouching again. "It's an ornamental bead. It's made by the Samburu Masai in Tanzania. It was on Wallace's bracelet." The slamming door echoed loudly in his ears as he gathered the courage to look into angry, disappointed eyes.

"You realize what you've just done?" Ellison demanded.

"Yes. I have willfully withheld information vital to an ongoing investigation. Jim, I know." He recited the words almost defiantly, refusing to back down.

"You can't even claim ignorance on this," Jim's incredulous voice rasped. "Simon's going to kick your ass. I should kick your ass."

Desperately needing to break the tension, Blair stood and leaned his weight on his hands, pressing the palms flat on the table. Spreading his legs wide, he presented his ass.

"What are you doing?" Jim asked, his voice torn between anger and awakening arousal.

Mischievously, Blair looked over his shoulder, eyes twinkling as he tilted his head just enough to cause his hair slide down onto his back. He inwardly grinned as his lover's eyes diverted to follow the movement. "Oh. Sorry. You said kick my ass. I thought you wanted to lick my ass."

Jim's nostrils flared and pupils expanded while the muscles in his left arm and cheek flexed simultaneously.

Risking a glance down at his partner's lap, Blair noted a slight shifting of the material over his groin. Before anybody could walk in and discover the scene, he reseated himself and watched the older man expectantly.

Jim turned his face toward the window, dropping his mouth open and closing his eyes. After sucking in a calming breath, he looked back at Blair as if nothing had happened. "It's not too late to do some damage control on this. I know why you did it. We've just got to keep it between us, all right?"

Blair stepped into the loft ahead of Jim late that night and tossed his keys into the basket. "Not a three-pointer, but it'll do." As soon as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on a hook, he found himself grabbed by the collar of his tee shirt and hauled toward the living room. "Hey!" he yelled in token protest, but his tone lacked resolve.

Jim's accelerated breath tickled his ear, the warm air sending a shiver along every nerve ending, quickening his heartbeat to double its normal rhythm. Gulping for precious air, he forced himself to relax when the other man released him, tensing again when determined hands tugged his shirt from his pants. His lover's palms skated up over his trembling belly, fingers swirling in the abundant curls covering his chest. Quivering like a virgin on her wedding night, he jerked when teeth not so gently bit into the flesh of his earlobe.

An uncontrollable shudder racked him as another hot breath bathed his ear. Jim laughed huskily, an evil edge making Blair's cock swell inside his loose pants. Familiar with the older man's usual long silences, the current situation made him feel like an errant school boy who would be severely dealt with if he uttered a sound. He closed his eyes, regulating his breathing as he anxiously waited for the other man's next move.

Without preamble, his lover yanked his shirt up over his head, the fabric crackling as threads tore. Jim scooted them both forward with his body as he draped the bluish-grey fabric from the back of the couch down to the cushion. Running his palms down the younger man's arms and twining their fingers together, he stood them back upright.

Moaning aloud as a hard cock shoved against the crease between his buns, Blair's own length throbbed with need. * I am calm. I am calm. I am calm. * Breathing shallowly to hide his nervousness mingled with excitement, he realized fooling the sentinel clinging to him was a lost cause.

Jim brushed wet kisses along the rough skin of his neck, licking and nibbling along the way. He turned away as much as he could in his current position, challenging, knowing that the older man pushed to the end of his rope made love like a frenzied God.

Sighing as he nuzzled his temple against Blair's, Jim thrust against his ass once more. Closing his eyes, the younger man knew he was losing this game and fast, which in itself made him the victor. Feeling smug, he gasped when those warm hands slid over his stomach and back up to his chest.

Holding his breath as Jim circled the pierced nipple with his index finger, he almost creamed himself when the tip actually skimmed the pebbled flesh. "Oh, God, Jim!" He actually felt the smirk against his cheek as wicked fingers tugged on the ring, forcing him to arch his back.

Anchoring himself to the spot, Blair changed his mantra. * I will not come. I will not come. I will not come. I will not come. Yet. * His mind muddled by arousal, it only peripherally registered when the other man skillfully unbuttoned his pants with one hand. Suddenly desperate, he cupped his own hardness, groaning loudly as he dropped his head back, rocking his hips into his palm.

"I wouldn't advise that." The quiet words penetrated the fog surrounding him as a strong hand covered his own in a gentle grip, another stilling his hips. Clarity slamming him back into awareness, he realized that he'd been standing there putting on a show for his ruthless lover.

His need growing, he looked over his shoulder at Jim's tantalizingly moist lips, his own parting in an engraved invitation. Completely ignoring the request, the older man once again bathed Blair's neck in open mouthed kisses, his stubble burning the skin as he moved.

"You're killing me here, Jim. Can we get on with it?"

Before he could even blink, he found himself spun around, facing the most open desire he'd ever seen on that handsome face. Each of his lover's hands grabbed a mass of curls, pulling him closer. Dropping his lips back open, his brow wrinkled when Jim brushed a tender kiss over the tip of his nose. His eyes crossed to see those coveted lips just for a second before they pressed against his own, but refused to open when he flicked at them with his tongue.

Growling in frustration, he smoothed his hands over the back of the tight tee shirt hiding a body of fine sculpture. When he lowered them to caress firm ass cheeks, Jim rewarded him with a deep groan and thrust against him, landing too high to do his own feverish arousal any good.

Licking once more across the closed lips, Blair dove in when they separated and drank him in like a dehydrated man. He gave as good as he got, their mutual passion carrying them, tongues dueling as bodies rubbed wantonly against each other.

"Jim, please."

His voice breaking the spell, Jim pulled back and released him, turning him to once again face the couch and away from his lover. He moaned, frustration mounting quicker than his cock filled. The other man's hands circled his waist as silky lips traced his bare shoulder. Reaching inside his pants to protect him, Jim lowered the zipper ever so slowly with the other hand, torturing him, promising so many good things yet to come.

Carefully sliding pants and boxers down his legs, his lover simply waited for him to gather enough sense to step out, only electing to speak if absolutely necessary. Blair groaned as the other man carelessly tossed the garments to the side and then lightly scratched up the sides of his legs as he regained his feet. His skin humming with the electricity of the light touch, Blair fought to remain still as the digits detoured to the front, threatening to tickle.

The younger man whimpered when one hand circled his shaft, the other weighing the heaviness of his balls. He stood on his toes and attempted to thrust, aching to move things along. Jim released him again and dropped a kiss on his shoulder, making him want to scream with the unfairness of it all. Here he stood, hard and willing, and the sadistic bastard was torturing him with it.

Blair complied as those hands gently gripped his hips, guiding him toward the couch. Obliging, he climbed onto the cushion, allowing his hands to be placed on the back and his legs spread, displaying his ass for the man behind him.

Eyes widening as Jim reached between his legs to retrieve a pillow, he licked his parched lips before dropping them back open. He gasped when the strong hands parted his cheeks, breath caressing his hole. Mourning the loss as the warm current moved away, he debated pounding his head into the back of the couch.

"You were right, Chief. I want to lick your ass."

Jim leaned forward again, moist breath fondling him, teasing him out of his mind as his center twitched. He howled at the first swipe of tongue, the sensation indescribable. The closest thing he could think of was the most intense erotic tickling that made him long to bury something, anything hard, inside him and ride it for all he was worth.

Each light stroke of the evil tongue only made him crave more, never enough to satisfy his hunger. He clawed at the back of the couch, whimpering as Jim moaned into him. Finally giving up on pretense, he pushed back into his lover's face, rewarded with a hearty chuckle. Then, his brain melted down as the other man nipped him twice, then began to suck.

His cock leaking profusely, the delicious spiral toward orgasm tingled his thighs, hot blue flames licking at his balls. "Oh, God, Jim! I'm gonna come without you touching me!" His lover stopped and he keened, "No!"

He surrendered and lay his head down on the couch, sobbing his misery. "Why?" The feather light licks to his hole made him lift and offer his ass unconsciously, the feeling like no other he had ever experienced. Never would he have believed anything could feel this good if Jim had not proven it to him first hand. Placing one last affectionate kiss to the welcoming muscle, the older man moved away.

Jerking up off the couch, but leaving his hands anchored, Blair watched Jim retrieve lube and a condom from the candy dish. Had he not been so seriously revved up, he would have laughed at the memory of the bowl that flitted across his mind. Setting the items next to him, the older man meaningfully looked at him while unbuttoning and unzipping his pants, pulling them apart to reveal no underwear.

"Oh, Jim. You're not."

"I am," he affirmed, moving behind his lover to prepare him.

As the slick fingers worked him, Blair whimpered brokenly, fighting the swelling urge to come right then and there. His favorite fantasy, vanilla though it might be, was Jim fucking him fully clothed while he wore not a stitch. The older man made sure to only gift him with it once in a great while, keeping him thirsty for it, always guessing and yearning.

The condom wrapper appeared in front of his face, accompanied by a husky command. "Open it with your teeth."

He dove for it eagerly, snapping his head to the left, greatly satisfied at the tearing sound, almost panting when Jim patted his ass and praised him. "Good boy," the older man said and Blair had the strange urge to roll over and present his belly.

The cushion dipped as strong thighs rested against his own, pushing them apart to take away his leverage and redistribute it to his lover. One hand held his hip firmly while the other slowly guided the head of the thick cock into him.

"Good. So good, Jim." Forgetting himself, he let go of the couch in an attempt to sit fully on the stiff shaft entering him.

"Hands stay on the back of the couch, Chief."

Sighing, he moved back into position, resigned to take only what Jim felt like giving, which was usually way more than he could handle. The length continued to smoothly glide in, evoking a loud moan from him, wanting desperately to rock himself into a frenzy.

"Hold still," Jim ordered as he started to push back. He finally pressed himself in all the way to his balls and draped himself over the younger man's back. Kissing his arm, he took his hands in his own and asked, "Ready?"

"More than, Jim. Please." Thinking he would go crazy as his lover nibbled on his neck and shoulder, he willed his body to accept their joining, hoping for a furious lovemaking session. As soon as he relaxed completely, Jim did not disappoint him. Gripping his hands in iron fists, he pulled out to the head and slammed back in. So feverish was their coupling that they almost toppled the couch several times.

Knowing that Jim deliberately avoided his prostate to prolong the experience, he regretted that he could hold out no longer. He turned his head, biting into the strong arm next to his face, groaning long and low as his seed bathed the tee shirt draped in front of him. As the last spurt left him, his lover moved fluidly, lost in his own orgasm. Finally, they flopped sideways, knocking the "candy dish" onto the floor. Blair laughed out loud as it shattered, ceramic fragments skittering across the hardwood.

"Something funny?" Jim lazily inquired.

"Just thinking about how Simon looked in there trying to appease his sweet tooth and got more than he bargained for."

Chuckling, Jim affected Simon's gruff voice. "That's just a little more information than I wanted about you two."

Laughing together, they settled in for a snuggle before Jim asked, "Good?"

"Awesome, man. Maybe I should return the favor." Jim groaned. "I take it that you're agreeable with the idea."

"You could say that."

"Jim?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"You got something against linen?"

"No, why?"

"First, the sheets and now my favorite tee shirt."

Grinning, Jim kissed the curly head making itself at home on his chest. Blair relished the closeness, trying to cuddle even tighter, deciding that holding on far superseded holding back.

END