Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1999 18:58:35 EDT
From: LouisdPdL@aol.com
Subject: SEN, Midnight Bonding Ritual

Title: Midnight Bonding Ritual
Author: Scorpio
Email: LouisdPdL@aol.com
URL: http://thesleepydragon.com/nesting/scorpio.html
Archive: Yes please...

Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: All things Sentinel belong to Pet Fly, not me and it doesn't
really matter since we are all cogs in the great Sci-Fi Channel machine
anyway... So welcome to the machine...

Warning: Explicit m/m sex and some Blair biting... (My Muse was feeling sexy)

Note: This story is SLASH! The characters are from the tv show, The
Sentinel. This   is purely fan fiction. In no way does this story reflect an
the attitudes of the actors or of the shows producers. If you do not like or
approve of Slash, don't read... No infringement is intended and I am making
no maney from this.

Disclaimer: Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg and all things Sentinel are the sore 
porperty of Pet Fly Productions. The show is currently being aired by the 
Sci-Fi Channel. No money was made by me for writing this story and no 
infringement of anyone's rights was intended nor does this story reflect on 
the attitudes and beliefs of the writers or actors. Ths story plot is mine.


Summary: Sentinel and Guide bond after a long day...


Sentinel & Guide - Midnight Bonding Ritual
by Scorpio

A slightly sad and overly tired sigh-escaped his lips as
he closed his eyes. Jim stepped forward under the warm
spray of water. He stood still, enduring the hot temperature
of the shower as it rinsed the soapy lather off of his skin
in slick rivulets. Slowly, he turned, letting the deluge
strike all across his tense shoulders and sore back. With a
slight twinge of relief, the big cop could feel the moist
heat begin to penetrate his stiff muscles. Another soft
sigh escaped him. This one was filled with low pleasure
from the sensation of muscle and flesh relaxing. Jim stood
there a few moments longer, letting the tension and strain
wash down the drain.

Finally, he turned and shut off the shower. The sudden lack
of noise and heat from the running water closed in around
him, enveloping him in cold silence for a second. He closed
his eyes. The emptiness receded just as quickly and he
allowed himself the tiniest of grins. His sense of touch
amused him with the gentle caresses of the swirling steam
and his sense of hearing carried to his ears the most
beautiful and soothing music he could ever hear. Blairs
heartbeat.

Suddenly feeling better than he had all day, Jim stepped
out of the shower and began to dry himself off. As he went
through his nightly ritual of getting ready for bed, he
tried hard not to think about work, or anything else for
that matter. Only Blair. He focused his attention on the
rhythm of his Guides heart. Strong. Steady. Pure. Jim
calmed even further. It would probably startle anyone else
to realize that the Shaman had such power over the Sentinel.
Living music to soothe the savage beast. A flesh and blood
mantra with which to center himself in the swirling chaos
and crush of sensory overload.

Stepping nude from the bathroom, Jim allowed himself to
enjoy the whisper soft play of air currents over his
sensitive skin. Looking around, he noticed that while all
the lights were off, there was a trail of lit candles, one
on every third step, leading up to their bedroom. The golden
glow of the candles transformed the loft apartment. It
softened the harsh edges, muted the colors, and deepened
the shadows. The loft suddenly becoming something more,... a
den, a lair, an exotic sanctuary - both primitive and modern.

Indulging himself, Jim took a deep breath in through his
nose, letting the different scents mingle, separate and
then mingle once more. His grin became a gentle smile as
he recognized the different smells. Coffee and oranges from
the kitchen. Soap and toothpaste from the bathroom. Lemon
furniture polish from the living room. Melting wax from the
candles. Some of the candles were scented. He noticed vanilla,
jasmine, and a hint of lavender. The residue of sandalwood
incense still lingered in the air from earlier in the evening.
Permeating and enhancing everything, and yet at the heart
and center of it all, was the deep musky scent of Blair.

With the scent of his Guide and Mate in his nose and the
beloved heartbeat echoing throughout his whole being, the
Sentinel began to move. With an instinctual need to protect
his Guide, the Sentinel made his nightly tour of the
downstairs. He was barely aware of double checking the doors
and windows, securing the locks and checking for intruders.
It was habit. It was ritual. It was an instinctual need to
patrol and defend his territory, his lair, his Mate. The
spirit of the jaguar would have it no other way, and the
modern-day cop in him agreed wholeheartedly.

Turning back towards the step, he followed the trail of
golden candlelight that lead to the heart of his lair and
the center of his personal universe. Jim allowed his senses
of vision and scent to focus on the bedroom, shifting
concentration from one to the other.

Candles were lit in here as well. Some tapers were on the
dresser, reflecting golden light off the shiny surface of
the mirror back into the room. Some small votives in glass
jars sat along the floor and in the corners, casting a rich
tapestry of soft light and velvety darkness upon the walls.
The scents of the candles, herbs and incense were stronger
and the scents of the downstairs were more muted, like a hazy
background.

Slowly, calmly, with a growing feeling of reverent awe, Jim
shifted his attention to the naked form in the middle of his
bed; to his partner, his best friend, his Shaman, his Guide,
his Mate. Blair.

Golden candlelight played upon his silken brown curls. Honey
colored highlights nestled among deep dark shadows creating
a living halo. His bronze skin glowed with a healthy sheen
of vibrancy. He was a vision of beauty. A living mix of
golden light and rich brown shadows. His stunning blue eyes
were open, but unseeing. Lost in a Shamanic trance, his
Guide was looking upon a Realm beyond this reality.

The Sentinel focused on his hearing. The strong steady beat
of his Mates heart thundered through him. It was a familiar
and well loved sound. Slowly, little by little, his own heart
took up the same rhythm . Beat for beat. Pulse for pulse.
Without conscience thought, his breathing also shifted and
soon matched the slow deep breaths that filled his partners
lungs.

Each deep breath he took in filled him with the musky,
earthy scent of Blairs body. Spices, herbs and a male musk
all mingled into that certain something that spoke to Jim on
a primitive level.

//Love. Home. Mate. Mine.//

The Sentinel could feel himself slide down into the spirit
of the jaguar. It almost always happened when he focused
his senses on his Guide while he was in a Shamanic trance.
His senses softened, became velvety in texture, took on an
unreal quality. He was calm, centered, and the last remaining
rational corner of his mind recognized that he  had followed
Blair down into a trance. Visions would come to him. He knew
that his visions differed greatly in texture form his Mates.
Blair was a Guide, a Shaman. Jim was a Sentinel. Two halves
of the same coin. Rational thought left him as the vision
took over.

His fuzzy senses blurred dizzily for a heartbeat, then
sharpened to a dramatic intensity. Modern thought processes
eliminated, the Sentinel knew himself as the primitive
warrior he truly was. Instincts most humans kept buried
flooded through him, flowing to the surface with a natural
grace. A deepening of the darkness beside him coalesced
into the midnight black fur of his spirit guide, his animal
totem, his true self. Jaguar. Graceful beauty, powerful
strength, deadly hunter.

The Sentinel watched with silent understanding as the big
predator slowly stood and stretched. Large, powerful muscles
shifted and bunched under thick silky fur with a sensually
fluid grace. Razor claw extended and then retracted in their
sheaths and the deep yawn stretched the big maw wide,
exposing lethal fangs for a long moment.

With a single minded purpose, the black jaguar silently
padded across the floor of the lair, candlelight and shadow
dancing over his silken fur. He walked to the beautiful
silver wolf sitting calmly in a golden halo of candlelight.
The dark feline circled his Mate, once twice, a low rumbling
growl deep in his throat. A warning to other alpha males.

//My Guide. My Mate. My Guide. My Mate. Mine. Mine. Mine.//

The silver wolf leaned into the restless body of the jaguar,
it's long muzzle caressing against the powerful jaw and cheek
of the sleek cat. The calming and soothing effect was
instantaneous. The big black form settled next to the
smaller silver form, a deep throaty purr of contentment
rumbling loudly from within the powerful chest.

The Sentinel turned from the two spirit guides to the naked
Shaman seated in the middle of his bed. Territorial instincts
surfaced from deep within. //My lair. My bed. My Mate.//
Without conscience thought, he let his senses scan the area
for intruders, challengers, threats. Nothing. No one.
Finding nothing to defend against, his focus shifted once
more to his Guide.

Delicate beauty. Strong spirit. Blinding intelligence. Gentle
wisdom. Unconditional love. //Mine. My partner. My best
friend. My Guide. My Mate. Mine.//

His very being thrilled and pulsed with Blairs presence. He
could feel the heat radiating from his body. He could hear
the rhythm of his heart begin to change, quicken as the
Shaman slowly awoke from his trance. He could see the bluest
eyes in the world turn outwards, to him, as the Realm of
Spirits was left behind. He could smell the mix of herbs
and spices hide behind the earthy musk as Blairs arousal grew.

He registered his Mates gaze upon his skin as a silky
caress of love. He could see and smell the rising passion
course through Blair. The increase in body temperature,
the deep husky breaths, the fast heartbeat, the dilated
eyes, the wave upon wave of pheromones that washed over
him.

"Jim."

The barest whisper breathed across the candlelit room.
The velvety sound poured over him like honey, tracing
a silky line of passion down his spine. As if the calling
of his name had been a signal, the Sentinel walked forward
to the bed which held his Mate. Deep purpose flowed from
his every graceful movement. He was going to claim that
which was rightfully his.

When his knees touched the edge of the king sized bed,
Jim dropped onto it on his hands and knees. Never breaking
eye contact with his Guide, he crawled forward; intent,
passionate, stalking. He watched Blairs eyes darken with
lust even as he lay back against the bed. He reacted
instinctively to the way his Guide stretched out on his
back, spreading his long muscled arms and legs wide open
to him. The primitive tribal Sentinel recognized and
accepted the deliberate vulnerability, the conscience
submission, the modern-day cop saw it as an act of love
and trust. The burning need to join physically with his
Mate, to enact the ancient bonding ritual between Sentinel
and Guide, to heed the call of the savage garden which was
at once both sacred and profane, rose dramatically within
him. His rock hard cock began to throb with his heartbeat.

The musky, earthy smell of his Guides desire rose around
him, caressed him, possessed him. As he crawled up along
the beautiful length of his soulmate, a deep growl began
to rumble in his throat and chest. A warning to all others...

//Mine. Mine. Mine.//

When he finally made his way up Blairs body, knees pressed
tight against either side of the younger mans thighs,
body tensed and poised directly above, he allowed the
growl to deepen and expand. With instincts forged thousands upon
thousands of years in the past, the Sentinel glanced around his lair,
senses reaching out, searching for signs of a challenger.
The warning growl issuing forth louder still.

//My Guide. My Mate. Mine. Mine. Mine.//

A warm hand reached up and softly caressed his jaw and
cheek, pulling his attention back to Blair.

"Shhh... No one else is here. I'm yours... Yours alone." The
beloved voice soothed and calmed him. It stirred him to
action.

"Mine." Husky, dark, possessive.

It wasn't something either of them consciencely thought
about. It was necessary, instinctual in both of them. A
biological response ingrained by evolution, a part of the
bonding ritual between Sentinel and Guide. Moving in
unison, the Guide turned his head to the side, exposing
and offering up his neck to the powerful Sentinel above
him. With a throaty growl, he lunged downward, teeth bared.
With animal need to mark his Mate, create a visual sign of
his territory, he bit down hard on the tender flesh of
the Guides neck. Pressing his lips tight against the hot,
living, pulsing object of his desire, he sucked in hard,
breaking blood vessels, bruising, claiming, marking.

"Mine." Aggressive, threatening, passionate.

"Yours." Soft, seductive, submissive.

Calmed, enchanted, mesmerized, he released his grip upon
the tender flesh, only to lick at it gently, to soothe and
comfort. To love. The amazingly sensual taste of his Mates
skin exploded upon his tongue an his weeping cock twitched
in pleasure.

Lifting his head, he looked into Blairs flushed face,
noting the blue eyes were dilated to almost black with
desire and need. Jim leaned forward and gently brushed
his lips against Blairs.

"Mmmm... Love..." The soft whisper thrilled him to the
core of his being.

He felt his Guides hands reach up and run gently along
his muscled back. Each fingertip left a trail of fire
in its wake. Desire pulsed through his veins, and he
deepened the kiss, crushing and bruising the soft lips
beneath his with passion. Blair opened for him, inviting
him in. His tongue delved in, plundering, conquering, and
finally, mating with his Guides tongue. Hot. Wet. Sweet.
His senses reeled from the intense pleasure that rolled
over him in erotic waves. His body threatened to zone-out
on the sensations created by kissing Blair, so he quickly
turned down the mental dial controlling his senses by
just a notch.

Jim leaned back a little, breaking off the kiss. Blair let
out a throaty whimper of protest and stretched his neck
up and forward, seeking for, and finding the Sentinels
lips once more. Jim relented to the pleasantly erotic
demands of his Mate and returned the kiss with passion.
He never once lost sight of the fact, that while the jaguar
was the alpha male, his Mate was a wolf, a cunning and
ruthless predator in his own right, with a hunger and
passion that matched his own.

The Sentinel broke off the kiss again, but this time he
did not pull away, rather he traveled down the Guides
throat to his chest, leaving a wet trail of licks, nips,
and kisses. Blair moaned, rolling his eyes back in his
head, arched his back and thrust his hips up into Jim in
a wordless plea for more. He moved gracefully down the
sleek supple body of his beloved, worshipping with his
hands, his lips, his tongue. A litany of words raced
through his fevered mind, over and over, like a mantra,
or maybe a prayer.

//Want you. Need you. Love you.//

He lavished generous attention on the Shamans nipples.
Sucking and licking them into hard nubs of excited flesh.
Biting down gently, he marveled at the amazing
responsiveness of his partner. Blair moaned and writhed
under his touch and it furthered his own excitement
and desire to please.

Shifting lower, the Sentinel licked down his Guides body,
following the path of thick curly hair. The taste of
Blairs skin combined with the silky texture of the hair
sent thrills shooting through his body. The heat pouring
off of his Mate seared him with pleasure and he felt
slightly drunk from the massive amounts of pheromones
washing over him.

//Want you. Need you. Love you.//

Gently shifting his beloved's thighs wider, he lovingly
ran his tongue along Blairs ballsack. The taste of his
Mate exploded through his body with a deep shudder of
excitement. He had to quickly turn down the mental dial
on his sense of taste and scent before he came on the
spot. He focused on his hearing in an effort to help
regain control. The sound of Blairs racing heart
thundered in his ears and he could clearly hear the
breathy murmurs escaping through soft lips.

"Yesss... pleeease... oh love... oh yesss..."

With a soft purr of pleasure, he ran his tongue from the
base of Blairs cock up to the glistening tip. He lovingly
traced his tongue in a swirl around the swollen cockhead
and then dipped into the piss-slit to lick the pearly
pre-cum pooled there. The taste and smell were so
exquisite, so sweet, that bursts of color flashed
before his eyes and his own throbbing cock jerked and
pulsed with raw desire.

He wrapped his lips around the throbbing shaft of his Mate,
thrilling to the sexual heat that seared him. Slowly, he
began to bob up and down, creating a deep suction as he
built the rhythm. He licked with his tongue all along the
underside on each stroke and squeezed his lips in tight.
He worshipped Blair with all of the skill and passion at
his command.

Blair moaned and writhed in pleasure beneath him, all
semblance of thought forgotten. He could feel his Guides
long finger running through his hair and brushing gently
across his neck, sending thrilling shivers across his skin.
His senses told him of his Mates orgasm building long before
Blair tried to tell him, to warn him.

"Ohhh Jimmm,... Gods, ohhhh,... I'mmmm gonna,... I'm,...
Oh! Jimmm!"

The essence of pure Blair Sandburg exploded in his mouth
and throat, sending his senses reeling. Greedily, he sucked
it in and swallowed it down. The heat, the taste, the
texture, the smell, the sounds, all combined and mingled
together in his mind, only to separate into its component
parts once again. Exquisite pleasure vibrated through him
like a warm hum traveling along his spine.

As he sucked and licked his Mates softening cock clean, he
absently noted that the world was shivering slightly.
After a few vague seconds, he focused in on that fact only
to realize that it was Blair that was shaking, not the room.

With a soft rumbling purr of pleasure, the Sentinel crawled
up along the body of his Guide once more. Mindful of his
greater weight, he settled his body down upon the twitching
form below him. He enjoyed focusing his senses upon Blair as
he slowly drifted down from an orgasmic high. He always
seemed to glow with rich, vibrant, sexual energy, the human
embodiment of all that was beautiful in Jim's world.

The Sentinel could feel each of the Shamans tremors pass
into him like a mild electric tingle, and the heat pouring
from his beloved seared his sensitive skin deliciously.
Blairs rapid heartbeat thundered in his ears; strong, fast,
and wonderful. He never felt truly comfortable or happy
unless that heartbeat was in his ears, thrilling along his
veins like golden honey and sunshine.

Slowly, sensually, Blair opened his bright blue eyes. Jim
looked into them and was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of
them and the wave of overwhelming love that they evoked in
him. Golden candlelight played across his bronzed shin,
burnishing it and highlighting his brown curls and eyelashes.
The living, dancing flames flickered within the deep blue,
catching and releasing flecks of color. Jim felt himself
falling into the glorious wonder that was his Mates eyes.
The shifting, swirling colors calling to him, enchanting
him, bringing him down into a zone filled with pleasure,
comfort, and a sense of being loved.

"Jim,... Lover,... Come back to me, man." A soft voice
caressed him, thrilled him as it gently, slowly, started
to peel back the oblivion.

"Jim,... It's Blair, Jim,... Come to me Lover." The velvety
voice called to him once again, this time with the touch
of warm satin fingers along his cheek. And a scent,...
a scent of heat, musk, herbs,... Blair.

As if waking from a dream, the Sentinel pulled himself out
of the zone and into his Guides arms. //Home.// He could
feel a smile grow on his face as he leaned down and rubbed
his cheek along the stubble on Blairs chin and jaw. The
feeling was so amazingly raw it sent a shudder down his
spine and a purr up from his heavily muscled chest.

"Welcome back big guy." Soft, seductive, loving. "Where
were you?"

Jim buried his face into the mass of silky brown curls
splayed across his pillow, exulting in the rich texture
and scent.

"Lost in your eyes." Deep, husky purr, full of awe and need.

Jim could feel his throbbing cock, trapped between his body
and his lover, stir as his senses awoke once more, flooding
his being with Blair.

Reaching one hand up to entangle in the brown curls he
craved like air, Jim lifted his head and kissed Blair
gently. The soft full lips of his partner caressed his skin,
then nibbled and sucked on his bottom lip before opening up
before his questing tongue. The taste of Blairs mouth
mingled with the lingering taste of his seed and Jim moaned
with pleasure. Gentle hands trailed along the heated skin
of his back, leaving memory sensations like liquid light
absorbing into his body.

The Sentinel moaned into the willing mouth of his Guide and
thrust his hips, grinding his raging erection into the
muscled abs beneath him.

//Want you. Need you. Love you.//

Jim deepened the kiss, making it more aggressive, demanding.
Blair returned the kiss, matching his passion and desire
with his own. Tongues battled and mated, hands and
fingertips roamed and explored. Desire and need rose and
expanded.

The Shaman stretched out an arm towards the nightstand,
hurriedly, almost frantically, trying to yank open the
single drawer. The Sentinel took a moment to luxuriate in
the movement and sensation of the sleek muscles of his
beloved stretch and bunch under him before he reached
out with his longer limbs and greater leverage to retrieve
the object that the Shaman sought. Curious fingers soon
located the cool, smooth surface of the bottle of lube. He
grabbed onto it and pulled it over so his lover could see it.

"Looking for this?" Dark, seductive, passionate.

"Want you,... inside me,..." Throaty, demanding, vibrant.
"I'm yours,... take me,... please." Silky, breathy, pleading.

Lust and adrenaline coursed through his veins at those
words, burning him from the inside out. A low rumbling
growl of passion issued from his throat as rational
thought receded from him, the spirit of the jaguar growing
strong once more.

"Mine." Aggressive, possessive, a challenge.

The Sentinel lunged down, teeth clasped tightly on the
tender flesh of the Guide, marking, claiming, possessing.

//My Guide. My Mate. My Guide. My Mate. Mine. Mine. Mine.//

His Mate moaned and writhed in submissive pleasure under his
heavy, muscled weight. Arms and legs wrapped gently around
him, caressing, touching, in constant motion, rubbing and
thrilling his hot skin.

"Yours. Yours alone,... oh Jim,... take me." Begging,
pleading, needing,

The Sentinel broke off the bite and gently ran his tongue
over the abused flesh, a silent apology for an
uncontrollable reaction. Pulling his weight off of his
lover, and rocking back to rest on his knees, the chill
of the air rushed into brush his chest, and he mourned the
loss of Blairs skin against his for a quick second. He
quickly opened the bottle and poured some of the clear lube
out onto his hand. The cool, thick liquid felt wonderful.
Wet, slick, cooling to his fevered touch.

Forcefully reigning in his senses and taking a firm grip on
his self control, he gently, slowly, tenderly prepared his
love. He knew from experience that it was better to take
the time to do this right and get Blair as ready as possible now,
because once he was buried inside his Mate, all thought,
all control, all reason would vanish.

With first one finger, then two, Jim tried to get as much
lube into the tight hot opening. He could feel the lube
slicking and coating the hot velvety channel. He could feel
the strong muscles twitching and stretching, opening for
him. A little more lube and another finger slid inside of
Blair. Gently, slowly, Jim twisted his fingers, moving them
in and out, spreading them apart, loosening and relaxing the
tight muscles.

The younger man moaned and whimpered with lust and began
to buck and writhe, pushing back against his fingers.
With a grin, Jim searched for and found the Shamans sweet
spot. He swirled a fingertip around it, circling the
perimeter, and then rubbed across it once, twice, a third
time. Blairs eyes snapped open as he gasped in a huge
draught of air.

"Now Jim!! Fuck me now!"

Jim quickly pulled out his fingers and lubed up his thick
cock. He took careful aim at the entrance to Blairs body.
The heat pouring off of his Mate onto his throbbing cock
almost made him cum and he hurriedly turned down the mental
dial on his sense of touch. Slowly, gently, inch by hard
throbbing inch, Jim sank into Blairs body, until finally,
once again, they were physically one.

//Mine. Mine. Mine.//

The Sentinel held very still. He felt the muscles along
that hot moist channel slowly loosen and shift to
accommodate him. Liquid waves of erotic pleasure pulsed
from his cockhead throughout his whole body. He could feel
his Mates heartbeat throbbing all around his stiff shaft.
Sentinel and Guide, bonding, mating, two becoming one.
Destiny.

He almost zoned on the sensations, lost in the pleasure,
until Blair shifted his hips, rocking onto the cock deep
within him. Jim tried to go slow, to be gentle, but after
three, maybe four strokes into the body of his lover, he
lost control.

Senses on fire, he rotated his focus, shifting from one to
the next in an instinctual effort not to become lost in any
one of them. Mating with Blair became an erotic blur of
taste, touch, scent, sound and vision. Crimson tremors
hummed along his spine and his heart thundered like doves
wings in his ears.

In and  out of his beloved Guide. Faster, harder. He claimed
Blair. He made the young Shaman his. Love and lust. Light
and dark. Savage and civilized. Exquisite pain and
unbearable pleasure. In and out. Loving. Mating. Taking.
Claiming.

Yet, even in all the passion, the heat, with the spirit of
the jaguar rolling through him, possessing him, the Sentinel
was very aware that his Guide, his Mate, his love, was
pushing back on him, pulling him in, meeting him thrust for
thrust, passion for passion. The Guide was claiming the
Sentinel for his own, even as the Sentinel claimed the
Guide. Bonding. Mating. Loving.

Pushing. Pulsing. Thrusting. Throbbing. They joined.
Spiritually, emotionally, physically. One.

The Sentinel could feel the pleasure building within his
Guide. His own pleasure coursed through him, gathered deep
in his groin, glowing a deep golden color. Expanding and
shifting. He was going to explode, shatter into a million
pieces.

With one final thrust, burying himself balls deep into his
Mate, he flung himself down upon Blair and gripped his
tender throat in his teeth. Hard. //Mine.// The coppery
taste of blood exploded on his tongue and he came. Humping
tightly against Blair, he shot his seed deep inside his Mate.

The Sentinels orgasm triggered the Guides as if it was a
chain reaction. His cock twitched and jerked between the
two bodies, coating hot skin with blast after blast. As the
last shot poured out of him, the Guide lifted his head,
biting the throat of the Sentinel, sucking, bruising,
marking, claiming him for his own.

//Mine.//

Slowly, very slowly, the two men came down from the high of
their shared orgasm. In the mindless swirling chaos of
pleasure blasted senses and tumbling reeling emotions, the
Sentinel faintly became aware of something familiar and
cherished above all else. He focused on it, drawing it to
him, letting it calm and soothe him, enchant and captivate
him. After a moment, he knew what it was. His Guides
heartbeat. Strong. Steady. Pure.

As the sound of his beloved's heartbeat drew him back, his
other senses slowly awakened as well. Little by little,
he became aware and he was not surprised to find himself
purring loudly with utter happiness.

Gently, tenderly, he licked the sorely abused flesh under
his mouth. He winced inwardly at the hot taste of Blair's
blood on his tongue. He didn't always draw blood, but it
happened enough that it was no longer a shock.

Carefully lifting his heavy weight off of the slender Shaman,
Jim rolled over onto his back. Before he had a chance to
reach out and pull Blair to him, the younger man had
scrambled over to him. He draped his leg and arm across
Jim's body and rested his head against Jim's powerful
shoulder. He felt his Mate snuggle up close, sigh
contentedly, and relax deeply, almost melting against him.

"I love you, Blair Sandburg." Tender, loving reverent.

"I love you too, James Ellison." Sleepy, happy, loving.


The End