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Steve Sloan didn't pretend to be the culinary expert that his father was, but even he suspected that ketchup wasn't supposed to be green.

"Jesse," the tall detective called out to his lover. "Your ketchup looks like a penicillin experiment. Do you have any that isn't covered in mold?"

The young doctor came out of his small apartment's bedroom, barefoot and buttoning up a fresh shirt as he headed for the kitchen. "Oops. Sorry about that, Steve. I don't use it much, mostly I just keep some around for you." Seeing the grimace on the older man's face, he opened up the refrigerator door and started rooting around for a substitute. "There's some mango chutney I got from your dad, that's pretty good. Or, hey! Here's a bottle of jerk sauce I've been saving, it oughta be spicy enough to set your taste buds free...."

Each suggestion was worse than the last. Steve was about to point out to his lover that normal people didn't even know what mango chutney was, let alone were willing to eat it, when he realized that his bad mood had little to do with the topping for his hamburger and everything to do with a stressful week at work. His dad was right, he did need to take a few days off.

One thing was sure, no matter how foul his mood was, the sight of Jesse's butt wiggling as the younger man bent to search the refrigerator was one that was certain to improve his frame of mind.

"Don't worry about it, babe," Steve said. "They say that the test of a good burger is how it tastes naked."

The other man either didn't hear or chose to ignore the detective, knowing the bigger man's comment about a plain burger was likely made just so that he wouldn't feel bad. Steve Sloan was a man who took his burgers very seriously.

"How about," Jesse asked, standing up and presenting a distinctly yellow bottle with a flourish, "mustard?"

"Gimme." Steve quickly abandoned his attitude of self sacrifice and eagerly grabbed the familiar condiment from the younger man's hands. Mustard wasn't ketchup, but at least it was a burger topping that he actually recognized.

A few moments later, the detective regretted his decision. The last person who'd used the bottle must not have put the cap on correctly and, when Steve had shook it up prior to using, he soon found himself doused in gummy yellow mustard.

Jesse couldn't quite stifle his snort of laughter.

Calmly - too calmly - Steve picked up a handy paper towel and wiped the worst of the sticky stuff off his face. "Think that's funny, do you?"

Jesse backed away, hands raised in a defensive gesture. "I'm sorry, Steve. It's not funny, not funny at all."

Steve looked at the suppressed mirth on his lover's face, realizing that it had been a while since he'd seen such amusement on the young doctor's face. Both men had been working long hours of late, Steve on a rash of carjackings and Jesse trying to cover extra shifts as a nasty strain of flu swept through the hospital's staff. Apparently the detective wasn't the only one in need of some stress relief.

"If it's not funny," he asked gruffly, playing the situation up for all it was worth. "Then why are you laughing?"

Early on, Jesse had learned to read his lover's face and he immediately realized that the expression of disgruntlement currently there was feigned. Time to play.

"I'm not laughing at you," the younger blonde said in mock seriousness, "I'm laughing with you..."

At Steve's growl, Jesse gave in to his laughter and then immediately darted into the living room in an attempt to escape the retribution that would surely follow. He got as far as the chair before the bigger man tackled him, both of them falling into its soft pillows.

"Dr. Travis, you are under arrest," Steve announced, pinning his lithe young lover underneath him.

"On what charge?" Jesse's indignant yelp of outrage was marred by the twinkle in his eye and the smile playing about his lips.

"For starters, using your refrigerator for unauthorized hazardous waste storage." The detective dipped his head down to snatch a kiss before continuing. "And let's not forget, abuse of an innocent condiment."

"Those charges sound serious," Jesse said gravely, then brightened as he asked, "Are you going to frisk me?"

Steve allowed his hands to run up and down the younger man's body, using pressure from his hips to keep Jesse from moving. "I don't know, are you carrying a concealed weapon?"

Instead of answering, the doctor wordlessly thrust his pelvis up to press against his captor's, causing the detective to groan in appreciation as their rapidly filling erections brushed against one another. Even with the fabric of their clothing acting as a buffer, the contact was electric.

"Ooooh yeah, I don't know how concealed it is, but I definitely can tell you've got a weapon stashed in your pants." Abruptly, the older man hopped up, breaking their embrace. "Okay, it looks like I'm going to have to frisk you. Up."

Jesse blinked at him, keenly feeling the loss of Steve's body pressing down on his own. "Wh- what?"

"Up. You have to assume the position."

Steve held his hand out, helping Jesse up. Then, as he arranged his lover in the stance he wanted, he was careful to keep up a series of softly spoke instructions, the younger man's sexual daze making him pliant.

"That's it, babe, put one hand on each arm of the chair. Perfect." The next adjustment the bigger man made was to lift Jesse's head, making sure his "prisoner" had a clear view of the mirror on the back of the closet door that was facing them. "See that?" Steve asked, using his jaw to point at their reflection. "That's me and you. A hardened criminal," the detective made quick grope between his lover's legs and then corrected himself. "Make that, a hard criminal and the cop who's gonna take him in."

The doctor grinned weakly. "Take me in? Don'cha mean you're just gonna take me?"

The younger man's impudence was rewarded with a sloppy kiss to the side of the neck, instantly rendering him speechless.

Satisfied that he'd insured his prisoner's cooperation, Steve continued to position his lover to suit his needs. "Now, bend over and spread your legs. Just a little bit wider, that's it...." As Jesse spread himself before him, the detective quickly moved to take advantage of the situation. Continuing his soothing monologue, he began to "frisk" his prisoner.

To start, Steve stood behind the young doctor and reached around, untucking Jesse's shirt from his jeans. "Okay, we're going to check the torso area first." Fingers nimble for such a large man, the shirt buttons were quickly undone. Steve let it fall open, hands ghosting in to caress the revealed skin. He ran a palm over each of the smaller man's nipples, smiling in satisfaction as he heard his partner's breath hitch in response. Then he moved his hands around to Jesse's back, striping away the shirt as he did so. Soon, his lover was bare from the chest up and Steve's hands were busy stroking from Jesse's lower back to up and over his shoulders in order to tweak already taut nipples. As he did, he could feel the minute quivering as the younger man tried to control his response to the sensations.

Steve grinned. "Okay, looks like the torso is clear. But we'd better check the lower body." The detective's hands came around again to the small of Jesse's back. Only, this time, they continued traveling lower, fondly cupping his jean-clad ass and giving a squeeze.

Leaning in, he whispered into his captive's ear. "Hmm... we might have to do a body cavity search later."

He grinned evilly at his lover's whispered, "Oh, God."

Pulling away from Jesse's ass, Steve's hands traveled over the doctor's hips, his long fingers dipping down into the front of the smaller mans jeans. "Oh, my. What do we have here?" He gently grasped Jesse's penis with one hand, while the other moved back to fondle his lover's balls. "Dr. Travis, do you have a permit to carry this weapon?"

"Ummm...."

Steve shook his head in mock sadness as he continued the massage. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you into custody. We don't like for our citizens to be running around with a weapon like this, you just never know when one of these things might go off."

"Ste-e-e-v-e...."

The whine in Jesse's voice told Steve just how ready to "go off" the younger man was. Steve took pity on his lover and pulled him up out of his bent over position, one hand divesting the younger man of his jeans and boxers while the other supported Jesse's body. The doctor didn't stay pliant long. As soon as the rest of his clothing was gone, he turned in Steve's arms, all but climbing the detective in order to demand a kiss.

Steve enthusiastically returned the kiss, finally pulling back to catch his breath. Bending down to touch his forehead to Jesse's, he made a suggestion. "How about we move this to the bedroom?"

Jesse didn't answer, just grabbed his lover's hand and headed for the room in question. Steve smiled despite the difficulty his erection made walking. His highly educated lover was normally the most erudite of men, if not always totally coherent. The detective took it as a point of honor that their love making often excited the younger man to the level were he was hard-put to string a sentence together.

Besides, a non-verbal Jesse was typically a horny Jesse and that suited Steve's purposes just fine.

Once in the bedroom, Jesse turned and started working on Steve's clothes, growling at the fabric that was in his way. When he got the bigger man stripped, he stepped back and looked him over, licking his lips at what he saw. "Mine, all mine."

"Really? Just who's the arresting officer here?"

Jesse stalked his grinning lover, Steve backing up until his knees hit the edge of the bed. Sitting abruptly, he watched as Jesse approached. The younger man's eyes were dark with desire and when he put a hand on Steve's chest, the detective could have swore it burned a hand print there. Pushing gently, Jesse got Steve flat on the bed and then enthusiastically kissed his way down the other man's body until his face was at the bigger man's groin.

As Jesse's moist lips descended on his cock, Steve groaned and just barely kept from thrusting up into that welcome heat. He was a well-endowed man and it had been necessary early on in his sexual life to learn to curb that instinct if he didn't want to choke any of his lovers. Jesse made it hard, though, his talented mouth teasing Steve to the uppermost of his limits. The blonde detective grabbed the headboard with both hands, holding on tight in the effort to keep his hips from lunging. "Oh, God, Jess! On second thought, I think your mouth is the weapon that needs to be registered."

The mouth in question being full at the moment, Jesse hummed his agreement, the vibrations of his throat nearly causing his lover to orgasm.

Knowing that he wouldn't last long under those circumstances, Steve's hands abandoned the headboard, one arm groping for the nearby night stand. Finding the supplies stashed there, he quickly grabbed a tube and squirted some lubricant into one of his hands. "C'mon up here, babe. I've got something for you...."

Using his other hand to urge his lover up from his suckling, the large police officer maneuvered Jesse until the smaller man was laying partially over him. Jesse wrapped his arms around Steve's waist, one leg up and over one of Steve's so that he was half-straddling the older man. Face hidden in his lover's neck, Jesse held as still as he could, his body's shaking giving away his eagerness.

Steve gently rubbed Jesse's hip with his clean hand while the lubricated one was snaking around to the crevasse between the younger man's ass checks. "Gonna be good, babe. So good. Gonna be so deep in you that you don't know where you end and I begin..." A lubricated finger slipped into Jesse's passage, tight with his usual pre-coital tension. "Relax, babe. It's gonna be good, I promise. Just relax, that's it..."

Crooning similar encouragements, Steve persisted until he could easily work in three fingers. Using his other hand to tilt up Jesse's head, he asked, "Ready?"

Jesse reached up to grab Steve's shoulders, pulling himself up for a fierce kiss, moaning in loss as his change in position caused his lover's fingers to slip from his body. Taking that as a permission to proceed, the detective gently helped Jesse to fully straddle his body, quickly using another dollop of lubricant on his cock. Then, with Jesse's hands pressed against Steve's chest and Steve's hands firmly gripping Jesse's hips, the two lovers carefully situated Jesse's body for penetration.

Sometimes Steve wished there was another position they could use but he was too large for Jess to take on his back. While Steve liked being bottom once in a while, Jesse really got off on it - even if he categorically refused to be taken from behind, either on his knees or with his lover spooned up behind him. Steve had actually been taking a risk with their early frisking game, hoping that the playfulness of the situation would allow the younger man to be comfortable with it. The cop in Steve couldn't help but wonder about the reason for Jesse's preference and could come up with all sorts of nasty conclusions as to why Jesse seemed to obsessively need to see his lover's face during sex.

The lover in him tried hard not to think about it.

But at other times, like now, when his penis was nudging the delicate opening to his partner's body, it didn't matter. All that mattered that his lover was generous enough to allow this joining of their bodies. It seemed a small matter to let that mating take place in whatever position Jesse preferred.

As much as Jesse obviously enjoyed having his lover within him, initial penetration was always difficult for the younger man. It wasn't as much that he didn't want Steve inside him, rather, it was that he became frantic to be joined with his partner, causing his body to tense up and making achieving the state that much more difficult. Steve felt the characteristic resistance to penetration begin and moved his hands to Jesse's back, rubbing soothing circles as he murmured encouragement. "Let me in, babe. Just relax and it let it happen. That's it, babe, relax and let me in. We're gonna be together and it's gonna feel so good, babe. Just let me in... that's right, sweetheart, just like that..."

His soft words had a calming effect and, one by one, Jesse's muscles unclenched. As they did, Steve carefully controlled the easing of his lover down onto his hard cock, each inch connecting the lovers that much more. He was anxious to bury himself to the hilt, but slow and steady insured that the younger man didn't get hurt. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Jesse was seated against Steve's groin, his lover fully sheathed inside him.

"Oh, God," Jesse panted. "Good.... So full... N-need...."

"Breathe, Jess," Steve reminded him. "I'm right here. Not going anywhere."

Blindly, the young doctor reached out and Steve moved his hands from Jesse's back to firmly grip his lover's. Intertwining their fingers, the detective braced himself as his lover lifted up, using their clasped hands as the leverage he needed to glide his body up and down on the hard shaft impaling him.

Steve laid back and let his lover dance above him, knowing that his partner needed to work off some energy. It was a beautiful sight, Jesse's head thrown back, eyes closed, lower lip snagged between his teeth, as the younger man concentrated on the sensation of his lover filling him. The world seemed to drop away from the two men on the bed, the wet music of flesh sliding on flesh and soft murmurs of pleasure the only sounds heard in the quiet room...

As his movements became faster and more frantic, Jesse tried to wrench his hands free from Steve's larger ones. The older man, however, held on tight. He knew from past experience that if he let go at this point, Jess would then brace against the bed and really start to slam himself down - likely hurting himself from overenthusiastic thrusting. Any injury for Jesse was unacceptable, but Steve also remembered a recent lecture he'd received from his mate about height not equaling strength... and cops that had a tendency to be overbearingly protective. Still unwilling to take the chance that his lover would yet again let passion overwhelm his good sense, Steve compromised by lifting his hips in pelvic thrusts of his own. It was a good choice, a moan from his partner indicated that the added stimulation was appreciated.

"Steve...more...."

At the strained demand from his lover, the detective relented, moving their clasped hands up and back, relinquishing his hold on Jesse's so that the younger man could grip the headboard. The shift in position allowed Jesse to lean forward, trapping his erection between their two sweating abdomens. Jesse shook his head from side to side, wild with pleasure at the added sensation. Blue eyes popped open to establish eye contact, the pupils widely dilated in pleasure. Steve knew then that his lover was close and that he himself wouldn't be able to last much longer. Since his hands were no longer clasping Jesse's, he brought them to the small of the other man's back. He splayed his fingers across Jesse's ass and kneaded the firm cheeks, damp with sweat from the younger man's exertions.

"Come for me, baby. Come on my cock, sweetheart. Let me see what I do to you," he encouraged, lifting his head just enough to lick at a sensitive spot on Jesse's neck.

Whether it was the endearments or the final physical sensation was unclear, but it didn't really matter to the men coupling. Jesse came, gasping as his body released itself into orgasm. Steve knew from the look in his lover's eyes that it was happening, even before the younger man's body started to clench around his own. Reaching up to wrap Jesse in his arms, he pulled him down, his seed releasing deep into his lover's body as Jesse's semen bathed them both.

Gasping from their efforts, Steve's hands stroked up and down Jesse's spine even as his mouth sought out the smaller man's for a kiss of thanksgiving. Jesse's answering grin was tired but happy and he broke off their kiss to lick the cleft in Steve's chin before tucking his head into the older man's neck.

"Mmmm..... nice."

"That's an understatement, babe," Steve murmured, placing a tender kiss against Jesse's temple and smiling when his younger lover yawned. "Tired?"

"Mmmm hmmm...."

"Then go to sleep, we'll eat lunch later."

"`Kay."

Steve watched as his lover's eyes drifted close but was surprised to see them flutter back open. "What's the matter, Jess?"

Jesse's smile faded into another yawn. "Just thought of something. You didn't read me my rights."

Steve was confused for a minute, but then remembered the theme of their love play before it turned into love making. "You're right, I didn't. Okay, you settle back and I'll read them to you now."

He waited until Jesse curled up on top of him, and then began.

"You have the right to remain..." Steve hesitated for a moment to stroke his hand down his lover's back, enjoying the sensation of the younger man using him as a full body pillow. "...exactly where you are,"

"Good," Came the sleepy answer, "`Cause I don't wanna move." To emphasis his reluctance to leave the comfort of the detective's arms, Jess wrapped his arms around Steve's neck.

"I just said you didn't have to," the older man laughed, kissing the inside of the arm closest to his mouth, "Now hush up and let me continue. Let's see, where was I? Oh yeah, you have the right to mind-blowing sex, whenever you want it..."

Jesse opened one eye to regard the policeman. "Mind-blowing, huh? Somebody's full of himself, isn't he?"

Steve chuckled and softened his voice, all but purring as he continued the modified litany. "You have a right to have your lover present now and during any future bedtimes..." As he felt the man in his arms surrender to sleep, Steve let his voice taper away, until the final statement was uttered in a hoarse whisper. "You have the right to be loved." Then, with one last fond kiss to Jesse's temple, he allowed himself to embrace sleep too, grateful that he had the privilege to be the one fulfilling those rights.

~finis~