Chapter 10

By the time they’d gotten to the cabin, their ardor had cooled a little bit. The two men had sat down on the couch and talked for several hours, and finally realized they didn’t want to rush into anything.

“It makes more sense to go slow and work through any problems or worries we might have than to hurry and leave our fears untalked about,” Blair had said reasonably.

Jim agreed with the observer, even though his body wanted to forget about being reasonable and jump the luscious body sitting in front of him. However, he realized the truth in what Blair was saying. He and Carolyn had met, gone on their initial date, jumped into bed that first night, and gotten married just a few, short weeks later.

It was only after they were married and already cohabitating that they realized they didn’t know very much about one another. The little, minor irritations and clashes in personal habits had been the killer of that relationship.

So, although he and Blair already knew a lot about each other, they put the brakes on rushing into sex. Their friendship, and relationship as Sentinel and Guide, was too important to risk.

‘Enough is enough,’ Jim decided with an internal moan.

In the five days since he and Blair had admitted their love to one another, the Sentinel had come down with what he was certain was a fatal case of blue balls. He was aroused all the time, and it wasn’t because of anything deliberate that the grad student did.

Sometimes, just the scent of Blair’s shampoo was enough to make parts of him twitch. Once, it was the sight of Blair drinking a glass of water. Ellison’s mind could imagine that mouth and throat working on different areas of his body. Other times, the way the sunlight glinted off the highlights in Blair’s hair…

“Jim. Jim!”

The Sentinel blinked, coming back to the here and now. The here being a field not too far from their cabin, the now was late in the afternoon. He and Blair had spent the morning fishing and were now lazing on a blanket by the creek.

“You okay, man?” Blair had rolled onto his side and was giving the older man a serious examination.

Jim nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Every time Blair moved, it seemed like sparks of fire flew off his hair. Ellison reached out to touch it, wondering if he’d be burned by the shimmer.

His hands sank into the fiery depths, and it was just as warm and soft as he dreamed of. The man with the ‘extra sensitive, touch-feelie skin’ reveled in the sensations that were being sent to his brain via his hand.

“Jim,” Blair whispered and in that moment they both knew the timing was right.

Blair leaned closer, his eyes asking for permission, and their lips met at last. This first kiss was tentative and delicate, like a butterfly’s wings on Jim’s mouth.

The Sentinel tightened his grip on Blair’s head and gently pulled his soon-to-be lover closer. This kiss was longer, involving lips and tongues and all of Jim’s senses.

The taste of his Guide exploded across his taste buds. His scent filled Jim’s nose. The sound of Blair’s moans sent shivers down his spine. The Sentinel had a complete sensory inventory of his Guide.

Jim slid his hand down Blair’s side, coming to rest on one hipbone. Blair murmured his appreciation into the Sentinel’s mouth and ran his own hand down Jim’s back, stopping to rub the swell of his behind.

“Let’s go back to the cabin,” Jim gasped. His heart was racing.

“No.” Blair shook his head. “I want our first time to be right here, with the meadow as our bedroom and the open sky as our ceiling,” he admitted.

The larger man rolled Blair onto his back and maneuvered himself on top. He made sure to brace himself over Blair, who was quite a bit smaller than he was. Bending low, he once more captured Blair’s lips with his own.

Jim looked down into intense blue eyes and gave the younger man a reassuring smile. “I love you, Chief,” he said reverently.

“I cherish you,” Blair told him back and Jim realized how much that one word encompassed.

Blair’s eyes popped open and he gave the room a quick, searching glance, looking for whatever had woken him. Jim moaned and tossed restlessly onto his side.

Blair watched his lover for a few moments, uncertain whether or not to wake him. The Sentinel didn’t seem to be having an actual nightmare, even though his sleep was disturbed.

The anthropologist leaned up onto one elbow and studied the other man. This wasn’t the first time Jim had been unsettled. Blair had been noticing an increase in Jim’s twitchy behavior, both during sleep and when awake.

Whatever was bothering the older man was affecting Blair too. He felt unsettled, sort of uneasy in his own skin.

The anthropologist had thought about their increasing uneasiness and wondered if it was because the two of them lacked a place in this society. Jim, as a police officer, had no real role in such a law abiding community. Likewise, Blair, as an anthropologist, had no new societies to study.

Their new friends had been happy to find things to keep the couple occupied, but the chores were more busy-work than real work and didn’t really satisfy the need to contribute. Besides, the jobs they were being offered were already being done by others.

Jim twitched again and Blair decided to compromise. He turned his back on the other man and then scooted back until the Sentinel was spooned up behind him. Their bodies were connected, from shoulder to feet. Ellison’s head rested naturally in the crook of Blair’s neck.

Even in his sleep, Ellison recognized a good thing when it snuggled up next to him. He wrapped an arm around Blair’s waist and pulled him closer. The detective then maneuvered himself around until his semi-erect cock slid in between Blair’s legs.

Blair moaned at the wonderful feel of Jim’s penis rubbing against him, from his butt to the underside of his own twitching cock. He didn’t move, however, and after a few minutes, it was obvious that Jim hadn’t woken up at all.

The observer took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves and sternly told his body to shut up for the night. Blair’s plan had worked, the close physical contact with his Guide had soothed the Sentinel’s troubled dreams. It didn’t take long for Blair to follow his Sentinel into sleep.