I was deeply engrossed in a study about an aboriginal tribe, who performed a variation of the usual rituals to the Earth Snake, when I heard a strange sound emerging from the bathroom. It sounded like a whimper, but muffled and strangely echoing.

I could discount the echo, since it was the bathroom after all, but why would Jim whimper? I hadn't served anything too spicy lately, had I?

Checking the time before heading to the bathroom, I noticed that we still had plenty of time before we were due in at the station to start the day.

Opening the door and calling out to my big lover at the same time, I actually didn't notice anything out of the ordinary before having opened the door fully.

Jim was jacking off.

He was standing over the toilet, concentration and lust creasing his face, while he pulled hard and fast on his straining cock.

Cold fury raced through me, freezing me in my tracks and sending shivers down my spine.

"What do you think you're doing, pet?"

Shock stopped him in his tracks, but left him holding his cock. He turned to look at me, incidentally aiming his cock at me.

"Ehm... how did you... what... oh god..."

"I heard you moan, pet. I *thought* you were having trouble, but it seems like your trouble has only just begun. Haven't I told you often enough, that you belong to me? *All* of you?"

He blushed. I'm willing to swear to any deity that there isn't a sight more endearing that this big hunk of a guy blushing. It wasn't going to help him this time. His reaction wasn't helping him.

"I believe, I haven't enforced that strongly enough. For that, you'll go without. You're on your own, pet, until you can prove your fidelity to me."

I turned to go back out. How could he? He belonged to me, no one else. Already when we first had gotten together, had we determined that his body and his soul was mine for the taking, and I took it. And now he wanted to take it back?

I heard a strangled whimper from behind me. I stopped, but didn't turn.

"If you finish yourself off, it'll be longer before you touch me again."

"No... wasn't... please... *please*, Master."

I heard a low thud behind me. I couldn't determine the cause of it, but I didn't intend to look back at him. I was too angry with him for that. He's always been able to melt me with that wounded look of his, and this time he wasn't going to get it his way. A hitched breath and an even lower mumble stopped me only inches from the door.

"*Please*..."

A moan, choked off and desperate.

I turned.

Jim was on his knees, holding his hands out to me, cock deflated and forgotten. His face showed pure agony as if from physical pain. I knew it felt like that to him. He had never been able to handle me rejecting him. It always made me feel like shit to do it, but we had rules, dammit! And he had just broken one of the cardinal ones.

"Please, Master. Let me prove myself. I'll do anything, just... don't ignore me, please. I'll do whatever you want, accept whatever punishment except that. *Please*!"

I looked at him thoughtfully. Maybe there was a way he could prove it... I nodded once to him, then turned around and went to the office room to get our toy bag.

"Whatever I want, pet? Yes, there is a way for you to redeem yourself. You're not going to like it, but there *is* a way."

Grabbing the two items from the bag, I laid them out before me and thought for a moment. They had only seldom been used and never together before, but I had a feeling they'd do the trick.

The first was a modified chastity belt: a latex butt plug, of medium size, where the base had three fine steel chains fastened. Those chains went up to a belt, one in the back and one to each side of the front. The belt was closed with a padlock, so only I could open it again, when I deemed it right.

The other item was a Seven Gates of Hell, Jim-sized. One large ring to go around his balls and cock, and six consecutively smaller rings going down his cock, with the smallest nestled just under the head of his cock, all connected with a leather strap running the entire length of the device. All rings were just small enough that he couldn't get an erection without severe pain, but not so snug as to cause damage to the fragile tissues.

I called him to me. He entered the office, looking like a naughty schoolboy before the Principal. I couldn't help but smile in spite of my anger with him.

I looked him up and down, evaluating the way his body trembled slightly and his erection had completely vanished. I drew his attention by reaching for the items, and heard him suck in a breath sharply.

"Put on the Gates first, then lube up the plug and yourself. I want to see you put it in by yourself. I'm not going to help you out here."

He blushed, but complied right away. I did help a bit, though, by making sure that no hairs were snagged under the rings or in the strap, making sure he was as comfortable as he could be, wearing a kinky torture device.

When he got to the plug, he started to understand why I'd made him put the Gates on first, and I could see him shiver harder as he understood the full evil scope of my plan.

He'd never been able to play with his ass without getting hard, but the rings caused him pain whenever he got too hard, so he deflated again. Hissing under his breath, he finally managed to get the plug in.

He straightened before my eyes, visibly pulling himself together so he could present the result to me the proper way. I smiled approvingly and reached out to fasten the belt on him. He turned without me having to say so, and I snapped the lock in place with a final little click.

Swatting his very fine ass, I sent him on his way.

"Go get dressed. We have to be at the Station soon."

He looked at me with a hint of panic shining from his eyes.

"Yes, pet. You're going in with this under your clothes. You better hope we don't have anything strenuous to do today, other than paper work."

"Yes, Master," he murmured and went up the stairs.

Grinning evilly to myself, I decided to make this day as hard on him as possible, pun intended.

********

We hadn't been at the station long before I started talking to him, low enough to prevent anyone but Jim from hearing what I said.

"You know why I'm doing this to you, don't you? You broke the rules big time today."

I looked at him intently. Then, in a normal voice, I asked him to pass me the next file folder. He gave it to me without any protest.

"It's kinda funny, you know? You're the one making heaps and heaps of rules, I only make a few ones. I though expected more of you. I never would have thought you'd break this one, not when it's such a big one."

Going for normal again, I finished going through the folder and handed it back to Jim for signing.

"Why did you break it, pet? Don't I keep you happy? Is there something you need that I can't give?"

This time I looked directly at him. He looked around a bit before answering as low as possible.

"You keep me very happy. I don't know really, I got to thinking under the shower and I tried, really tried to get under control, but... you know what happened, Master."

The last word was said even lower. If I hadn't expected to hear the honorific, I wouldn't have heard it.

"What were you thinking of, pet? And was it worth it?"

He blushed faintly.

"Do you want me to guess?"

A tiny shake of the head.

"Then tell me, pet. You *know* you have to tell me everything."

His blush turned a deeper shade of pink and he looked around with those laser eyes of his.

As low as possible he mumbled, "I thought of when you gave me a helping hand. I was cleaning myself and got to thinking of your fingers in that place. It... it was so amazing, it blew my mind and still does."

He gave this little whimper of pain, and I just knew he was feeling the Gates really well now. I smiled evilly at him.

"You didn't tell me. Was it worth it?"

He flashed that quirky little half-smile of his.

"Ask me that again when this day is over."

I laughed, drawing the attention of the guys in the other end of the room.

We attacked the next folder, concentrating on work for a while.

I didn't give him much rest physically, though. I touched him even more than usual, never calling his name for his attention, but placed my hand somewhere on him instead. His occasional whimper told me it was working perfectly.

After lunch I started talking lowly to him again, building up the tension in him for later.

"Do you like sitting here at work, trying to act all normal? Do you enjoy that secret knowledge? That I know, and you know, you're sitting with a plug up your ass and a caged cock, but nobody else knows that?"

I couldn't help but smile as I saw Jim grip his mug hard enough to turn his fingertips white.

"I've seen you squirm, you know. Like the feeling of the plug invading you, do you? Makes you think of what I could do if no one else were around, doesn't it?"

He took a mouthful of coffee, or rather, he tried to. In his haste he missed his mouth and sloshed the coffee all over his sweater. I jumped up and went to get some tissues.

"Let me get something to mop that up with, Jim. You know it's my pleasure to help you."

No one but Jim caught the slight inflection on help. He blushed again, even though no one in the room except me knew the reason why.

I made sure to brush his nipples several times while "helping" him dry the coffee from his sweater. Even without enhanced senses I could feel him heat up, and his nipples hardened instantly. He moaned under his breath as something else tried to harden as well.

"There. Feel better now?"

Those that heard me say that didn't catch anything but the hint to Jim's neatness. Jim himself knew I hinted at his condition.

Over the next several hours I tried my very best, or was that worst? Anyway, I kept Jim on edge by switching between sexy talk, hinting at sex and play, while smirking every time he moaned in pain.

By the end of the afternoon I had succeeded twice in getting him to groan loudly and actually bang his head on the table once. I had tsk-tsk'ed at him for that. It was a very vain attempt to distract himself from the sensations running their course through him.

Fortunately for Jim, no one had seen him do it.

What they *had* seen him do, was being distracted and more inward turned than anyone had ever seen him before. I know Simon had noticed, because he had looked rather strangely at me a few times, then shaken his head, as if to indicate he didn't want to know.

I *knew* he didn't want to know.

About an hour before we could leave, Jim looked pleadingly at me.

"I need some help, Blair," he whispered. The use of my name turned me serious. He was calling a time-out.

"Anything, Jim."

"I need to go to the toilet."

I understood. I gave him the key to the padlock and sent him on his way. About 5 minutes later I made my way out to the men's room as well.

I checked to see if there was anyone else in the room, then blocked the door. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the lube. When the toilet flushed, the door opened, and Jim presented his ass to me.

Quickly I slicked his ass again, then the plug, and slid it home in his waiting hole. He hissed at the sensation, and I hesitated.

"Sore?"

"No," he grunted. "Just sensitive."

I smiled, even if he couldn't see it. I knew he could hear it in my voice.

"That'll get more intense before today is over. I want your ass to remember for days to come that *you* belong to me, your *ass* belongs to me, and, last but certainly not least, your *cock* belongs to me."

I hurriedly fastened the padlock, then turned him around to check on the Gates. His skin was red in places, but not chafed. I tugged on the rings a few times, making him hiss again.

"Too much?"

He moaned from deep in his chest.

"Too much and not enough. God, what you do to me."

I let him get dressed and we went out to his desk again, to finish up work for today.

********

Finally it was time for us to leave. Jim had been casting me a few begging looks, but I didn't hint at his release with so much as a smile.

I did smile when he stood up to grab his jacket, though. The prolonged teasing had left him in a state of almost constant pain, mainly due to his senses. I was willing to bet he was way too sensitive right now to feel much pleasure, which suited me just fine.

I wanted him to remember this day for a long time.

On our way out down in the elevator I grabbed his ass tightly.

"Who does this belong to, pet?"

"You, Master."

I slid my hand to his center and jostled the plug slightly, causing him to moan deeply.

"And this?"

"You, Master."

I released his ass, only to take him by surprise by grabbing his crotch with my other hand. I massaged his balls, rolling them in my hand.

"And this lovely piece of flesh?"

"You, and only you, my Master."

I let go of him completely, leaving him swaying for more sensation. So typical of him, overloaded already and still craving more.

"Remember that in the future, my pet."

I left the elevator, not looking back to see if Jim was following. I knew he was.

At the truck I just held out my hand towards him. He knew what I expected of him. He didn't disappoint me. Without so much as a silent complaint he gave me the keys.

I smiled to him and gave a slight nod. He relaxed at my obvious approval and slid into his seat a bit too fast.

I couldn't help but laugh at his hiss and immediate wiggle to get seated more carefully.

I drove off. He didn't know where we were going, but he knew better than to ask me. I know he was a bit surprised as I stopped at the Loft, but didn't turn off the engine.

"I just need to fetch something. Don't move, I'll be right back."

He looked puzzled, but didn't move a finger. Running inside and taking the stairs two at a time, I was quickly up and inside the Loft. Taking a quick look around, I grabbed a few essentials and stuffed them into our toy bag.

Back down again, I gave the bag to Jim without comment, and drove off again.

I know Jim was trying to guess where we were going, but I didn't tell him, and he didn't seem to figure it out on his own. In any way, he was a bit surprised as I turned the last corner and stopped at the usual parking place.

He got out willingly enough, and waited for me at the front door.

I knocked the usual signalling sequence and spent the time waiting for response with looking up and down Jim. I let him see in my eyes how much I enjoyed the sight of him and of his predicament.

He blushed and squirmed, just the way I like it. He doesn't know I like that, which is why I know he only does it when he feels really embarrassed.

Finally, Patrick opened the door and let us in. I'd called him earlier in the day to let him know we were coming over that evening, and he'd agreed to let us have the place to ourselves for a couple of hours.

I led Jim into the center of the dungeon and stopped him there.

"Strip. No fancy stuff, just get out of your clothes. I'm not in the mood for anything else."

He flashed me a worried look, but I ignored it and bent to open the bag. I heard him start to undress, so I continued on my mission. I took out all the items and put them in his line of vision.

I heard a gulp, but no protest.

Turning back to him, I gave him a once-over. Very nice. He was still valiantly trying to get hard, and still having just as much success as earlier in the day... i.e. none.

I continued looking until he squirmed again, then I bent to grab the cuffs. I reached out one hand palm up, and he gave me his wrist immediately. Quickly securing the cuff, I released it and waited for him to give me his other arm.

Repeating the gesture, I motioned him a tiny bit to the left side, so he was now standing dead center of the painted circle on the floor.

Moving back a bit, I got hold of the winch on the sidewall and lowered the chain going from that to the tackle fastened to the ceiling and further down to the metal bar attached to it. It was a slender steel tube with eyelets at each end, all in all about 3 feet long.

Jim lifted his hands to grab the bar, without me having to tell him. I guess he was trying to earn brownie points at this stage. Little did he know that he could do more or less anything now, he'd still get what was coming to him.

Attaching the snap hooks to each eyelet, I went back to the winch to raise the bar again. Stopping when Jim was standing with his arms completely straight, while still being on flat feet, I locked the winch in place.

"Spread your legs, pet. Wider. Bit more. There. Keep your feet that far apart at all times."

He was magnificent, the way he was standing there. His feet were now about 3 feet apart, same as his hands, and on his toes due to the chain keeping him up.

I let my hands glide over the tempting skin of his torso. Stretched taut, gleaming in the candlelight, shivering ever so slightly with anticipation. He was a sight for gods.

Sighing, I pinched his nipples to see them peak for me.

"You're so beautiful, my pet. And you're all mine!"

"Yours..." he whispered.

Stepping back, I looked him straight into his eyes.

"You forgot that today."

He lowered his head, a faint blush rising in his cheeks again.

"I need to make sure you won't forget that anytime soon. Do you understand that?"

He nodded and whispered, "I understand, Master. Remind me, please."

Bending over, I grabbed the heavy flogger first. It was in all ways an ordinary cat o'nine, but with heavy leather strings. I knew it would mark him, which was what I was after.

He saw it and closed his eyes. He knew already now that there would be no mercy, unless he safe-worded on me.

I landed the first lash on his back, taking care not to go too hard. He flinched anyway. The second was harder and landed in exactly the right spot to make him gasp for his breath: right between the shoulder blades.

I wanted to punish him, not damage him.

Working on his back for a while, I slowly turned his skin bright pink. Then I changed to the back of his thighs, giving them the same treatment. When he finally sagged a bit, dropping almost all the way to flat feet, I gave him a small break while untangling the strands of my whip.

Walking around to his front, I looked carefully at his face. His eyes were closed in concentration, and he took deep, even breaths.

"Don't you dare adjust your sense of touch, pet."

He opened his eyes to look at me, letting me see his pain and desire.

"I'm not, Master."

I flicked the whip slightly, letting the tips hit his balls. I flashed him an evil smile as he gasped and immediately went up to his toes again.

"Remember, don't move your feet from their place on the floor."

He shook his head.

Starting on his front, I let the whip kiss his pecs and bite his thighs. Every time I changed place, he gasped from the sensation. He was so hot.

I let him see me adjust myself in my pants as I took another break. His eyes immediately changed to an even deeper shade than before, now almost completely black.

I decided to give him the second to last reminder with this whip and started concentrating on his groin area. He whimpered with every hit to his sore cock and balls, but I didn't let up at all. I could see his thighs quiver from the urge to gather them, but he didn't move at all.

I noticed the way he filled out the Gates and realized he was getting way too turned on by this.

Dropping the whip to the floor, I rapidly changed to the second and last item of his punishment. His eyes widened considerably as he saw me wield it.

He didn't say a word, though.

I tapped my hand lightly with it as I walked a circle around him. He tried to follow my movements and yet stood still. I knew he was nervous and rightly so.

The tawse was not something to joke with.

I looked him over... his back was pink and sweaty, as was his front. His thighs were rosy striped on both sides, with some wicked marks on the inside. One area was unmarked, though. Time to remedy that.

I planted the first hard smack on his right ass cheek. He gasped and stretched upwards in a vain attempt to escape.

"Don't move, pet."

"I won't," he choked out.

Then the left cheek. Then the right again. Then dead center of his ass. I relaxed and let the rhythm take me.

Gradually building the force behind the strokes, I slowly painted his entire ass deep red. He was no longer just gasping, but moaning every time the heavy leather impacted on his no-longer-pale skin.

I wanted more from him.

I switched tactics, doing fast slaps from side to side, using both sides of the wicked tool. Normally a series of four to each side was enough to make him cry out, but this time he only moaned and clenched his muscles.

Putting more force behind the faster strokes got me closer to what I wanted from him. He cried out and reached up to hold the bar completely, no longer just standing, but hanging from it.

Never letting up, I varied the strokes ever so slightly, going from hard to softer and back again. Constantly keeping him on the edge of what he could handle, never letting him get a deep breath.

I could see I was close to my goal. He had started to shiver all over, no longer caring about his sounds. With every cry from his lips, I felt my cock twitch, loving the fact I could take him so far and still control him.

Sensing the end was near for him, I cut loose. No longer staying my hand, I let him feel every stroke full force, marking him deeply. My shoulder was burning, but the fever in us burned brighter, so I ignored it. I just wanted to take him the last few steps into this journey.

There. I could literally see the dam break. He shivered harder and tensed all over. He sucked in air between lashes and let it out on a little choked-off scream. Then he finally surrendered and screamed out his pain.

"Oooooooh GOD! Blair, please, please..."

I threw down the tawse and went to hug him tightly. Tears were streaming down his face as his surrender practically oozed out of him. For a long moment I just held him as he sobbed.

When he stopped shivering, I stepped back to release the winch. Wishing for just a moment that Patrick was there to help, I tried to loosen it and hurry back before Jim fell down.

I managed... just.

I let him slowly sink to his knees and cradled his head while he finished crying. I knew he could feel my need, but we both knew the comfort had first priority. I'd just managed to completely break all his barriers for the very first time.

It felt like hours later, when he finally took one last sniff and turned his head upwards again.

"I won't forget, Master."

"I know."

Releasing him, I took a step back and looked at him. He was more beautiful than ever before. Deeply flushed, eyes puffy from crying, cheeks wet with tears and the effects of a runny nose, body striped and red. It all screamed ownership to me.

No longer able to suppress my own need any longer, I quickly opened my jeans and pulled out my cock. He pleaded with his eyes, but I didn't let him touch me at all.

Holding his eyes captured, I started jerking my needy shaft, relishing the feelings sizzling through my system. Adrenaline was still pumping in my system, predicting this would be a fast one, but hard.

I looked at him, looked at the way he still was trying to get an erection, my smell getting to him in a major way. I took in the way he sat oh so gingerly on his heels, ass sore and hot. I was especially fascinated with all my marks on his magnificent body.

Helplessly, I gave in to the pleasure, only just succeeding in aiming correctly. My come splattered on his cheeks, his nose, and a few drops in his waiting mouth.

I'd never seen anything so hot in my entire life.

Slowly I sank to my knees as well, suddenly feeling weak after the release. Sighing, I leaned in to kiss and hold Jim.

His arms welcomed me gladly. He knew we were done here for tonight, so he didn't even ask before hugging me in return. Not that he needed to, we were done with the dungeon for the evening. The night wasn't over, but the painful part was done.

Finally, I pulled myself together and produced the key to the padlock. I looked at him and smiled.

"It's ok if you get hard, pet, but don't come. If you do, this night is over and we'll just sleep, since you haven't learned your lesson well enough."

He just smiled to me, that special little smile of his that never fails to melt my insides.

Working quickly, I removed first the padlock on the belt, then the plug. Pulling it out produced a pained little hiss from him. Sucking a finger I put it on his tender hole and rubbed gently. He squirmed, but didn't try to pull away.

"Feel good?"

"Yessss... even if I'm sore."

"I know you are, pet. That was also my intention."

He flashed me an indecipherable look, but got distracted as I slid the finger in to the first knuckle, thrusting shallowly in the loose canal.

Seeing a flash of pain on his face, I pulled out and let both of my hands go to his cock.

"Let's free this guy, so we can go home, shall we?"

I undid the Gates in record time, pulling the largest ring off him last, finally enabling his cock to get fully hard for the first time since I'd surprised him this morning.

He made good use of it, visibly sniffing me as he got completely hard. Then he squirmed a bit, and I saw his erection falter slightly.

Smiling, I rose to my feet, tucked my cock back into my pants and gave him a hand up. He rose to unsteady feet and together we got him dressed in jeans, t-shirt and shoes. He didn't need more, and we both knew that.

Quickly, I gathered our gear, stuffed it into the bag, and went to signal Patrick that he could lock up now. Then we went home.

Back at the Loft I sent him upstairs with orders to undress and wait for me. He complied silently, which was nothing more than I'd expected.

Locking up the apartment, I dropped the bag in the office and went up. He had obeyed perfectly. He was lying on the bed, naked but still messy. He was totally hard, but kept his hands to his side, not touching himself at all.

Undressing as I advanced towards the bed, I kept his eyes locked on me. His eyes turned darker by the second, and I could again see him scenting me. I wanted him to. I wanted him to sense my arousal, my desire for him, and smell the scent of my semen already clinging to me from that first round.

Lying down on top of him, I rubbed up against his hard body, making him hiss with the sensation of my salty sweat to his raw welts.

"Isn't there something you need to tell me, pet?"

He looked confused for a second, then his face cleared and his eyes shone with love and devotion.

"I belong to you, heart, body and soul. Especially body. I'll not forget that rule another time. I promise."

"That's right, my love. You belong to me. I own you. You're mine. And..." I looked at him totally serious. "I belong to you. I'm yours. And now you'll get me."

With that, I grabbed the lube off to the side and opened it. Still keeping deep eye contact, I slicked my fingers thoroughly before lifting up a bit and letting my hand wander down between his spread thighs.

"I'm going to ensure that you won't forget this evening that easily. Ready for me, pet?"

"Oh yeah... please. Master."

Sliding in two fingers caused him to hiss and clench for all of a second, then he relaxed completely and moaned. I could feel his ass flutter around my fingers, but I knew he wasn't in pain.

At least, not the bad kind of pain.

Driving my fingers in and out of his totally willing hole, I felt how buttery his tissues were from the almost constant exercise they'd had the entire day. It was driving me quietly out of my mind.

I let a third join them, deliberately going for his hot spot. I wanted to drive him so far over the edge that it would be totally obliterated. The sound of his scream was music to my ears. The distinct contractions around my fingers made my cock jealous as it wanted to be hugged exactly that way.

I denied it, as I kept driving Jim higher and higher.

His cries were reaching eardrum-shattering levels as he suddenly flung both his hands up to hold the railing. The contractions around me got harder, and I looked down just in time to see Jim explode over his stomach and chest.

Lubing my cock faster than ever before, I slid my fingers out and my cock in, in one fluid movement. Not giving him time to so much as breathe, I started fucking him fast and hard. Having come once already it would take me a while to get to the finish line. I didn't think Jim would mind.

His cries never let up, as he spread his legs even wider, offering his entire being to me. He still held on for dear life to the railing, but lifted his head briefly to look me straight into my eyes. Desire was rolling off him in tangible waves.

It went straight to my gut.

Grabbing his thighs, I held him even wider spread and started laying in to him, pulling back to my head and slamming back into his grasping hole.

Already feeling the tingles starting around my spine, I tried to hold back. I don't know how, but Jim sensed it.

"No, love. Don't hold back. Give it to me, give it to me GOOD! I need it, God, I need you."

Shrugging mentally, I relinquished my control and gave in to my more base desires: rutting like an animal.

I truly gave it to him. Never before had I fucked him that hard. One tiny corner of my mind screamed at me to be careful, the rest only listened to the screams of pleasure he emitted.

Feeling the silken hug turn to a death grip on my overloading cock was the last straw. Thrusting furiously in him a few last times, I was swept away. My cock felt like a veritable fountain, pumping streams of hot come deep into his bowels, filling it to the brim and over. I felt the overflow drip down on my balls, making the sticky-wet sounds of them slapping against his ass even more wet.

Distantly I heard his scream turn higher and higher in pitch until he suddenly became totally quiet. My own mind was overloading, making it hard to remember my own name, but at the last second I remember to brace my collapse so I wouldn't squish him completely.

Panting, I struggled to get my vision under control. I kept seeing a lot of pretty colours, but I wanted to see my Jim instead.

He had his eyes closed, and was utterly still. Shocked, I lifted a shaky hand and felt over his heart. It thundered along, and he was breathing. I took a deep breath and prepared to try and talk him back.

"Jim? Come on, man, come back to me. Can you hear me?"

Damn, even my voice was shaking. Fortunately, it didn't matter. He stirred slightly, blinked a few times and then looked at me with this look of total wonder.

"I've never passed out before," he whispered in this totally hoarse voice. "Thank you, Blair. I'll never forget this."

"Thank *you*, Jim, for letting me do this. I love you."

"Love you," he whispered, his eyes sliding shut again.

Cuddling, I decided to skip the cleaning part for now. I was simply too wiped, and Jim wasn't able to do anything right now. Planting a small kiss was the last thing I remembered doing, before slipping in to sleep, safe in the knowledge that we now knew exactly what we were to each other: everything and each others.

Sentinel and Guide belong to each other, heart, body and soul and no one else.

The End