TITLE: THREE LITTLE WORDS 12: Trapped upon a carousal

AUTHOR: PEJA

FANDOM: the Sentinel

PAIRING: Jim/Rafe/Blair Simon/m

RATING: NC-17

SUMMARY: Let the games begin..

Disclaimers: Not mine, but they like to come and play in my back yard

Archive: To The WWOMB. Others on request, provided all headers are kept intact, and the entire series, found on the WWOMB, is housed together.

URL: https://www.squidge.org/~peja

Feedback: The series only survives as long as there is a call for more. Any ideas on direction are gratefully considered.

Email: daltonavon@yahoo.com

Three Little Words 12: Trapped Upon A Carousal

By PEJA

"Take what you want, Blair," Rafe coaxed. "What you both want."

Blair’s gaze darted between the sleeping man and Rafe. "If I do.....He has you. You...."

Rafe slumped down on his back, staring at the ceiling. "I told you, I’ll bow out gracefully."

"You love him."

"What? Like that’s worth a bulletin." Rafe sighed. "Yeah, I love him." He sighed tiredly. "Look, Sandburg. Jim....If I thought I could ground him and keep him alive I’d snap your neck for what you’ve put him through and bury you in a lye pit, but I can’t do that. He’s gonna slip away if things don’t change, and change damn fast."

"So, you want me to give it up for the cause," Blair murmured, his lashes low over sparkling eyes. "Okay, yeah, sure. What’s one more fuck for a whore."

"You sorry fuck." Rafe was on top of him like lightening. His hand lashed out, backhanding Blair across the face hard then both hands dropped down with crushing force on his biceps, pinning him. "You damn self-absorbed sorry fuck."

Blair met his fury with a cold smile, his tongue dipping out to gather up the swell of blood. "Now you’re getting the picture, Rafe."

Rafe gave him a hard glare. "You are not a whore, Blair." He said firmly. "You’re a beautiful, caring man who just got lead off the path for awhile. Don’t you ever say that about yourself again. Do you hear me? Never again."

Mouth gaping, Balir stared up at him for a long moment.

Beside them, Jim stirred, Blair’s name a soft whisper on his lips.

"Are you going to..." Rolling off the smaller man, Rafe stumbled on the words.

Blair’s business smile curled and he whispered Jim’s name.

The semi-conscious sentinel murmured again.

"Wakey wakey, Jim." Blair spoke softly, using his voice to lure the wounded soul from its sheltering darkness. "You can’t leave me now, baby. Not now that I’m coming home."

Rafe reeled under the words, his own fears of loss coming down on him like a collapsing building.

Blair caught his eyes. "Rafe and I need ya, big guy."

A sigh broke roughly from Rafe’s lips and he nodded, his eyes closing on the relief swirling there.

Jim’s arm moved, seeking Blair’s compact body.

Blair went into the circle of that arm, his hand cupping Jim’s pale cheek. "Open your eyes, baby." He said, kissing the corner of Jim’s mouth.

Lashes fluttering, Jim’s lips sought to seal the kiss with a hunger born of starvation.

Blair let go of his safe anger and sank into the passion, drowning on the need Jim ignited as surely as he’d once drowned in a fountain of foul tepid water.

Groaning softly, Jim finally broke the kiss and lightly brushed the wild curls back from Blair’s face. "Am I dreaming?"

Blair’s lips curled in a money shot smile. "Not a dream, man." His hand curled around the back of Jim’ head, fingers splaying in the short cut lengths. "Not if you don’t want it to be." He drew Jim back to him, nipping hungrily at his lips. "I can’t keep you safe when I’m not with you, can I, baby? I can’t keep you grounded if I’m not around."

Jim pulled back, his blue gaze darting toward Rafe.

"He figured it out, Jim," the other man said with a shrug. "You weren’t doing so darn good hiding it, were you?"

"It doesn’t matter why I’ve finally come around," Blair murmured, nuzzling Jim’s neck. "What does matter is that I want you, Jim. You know I want you. I was only resisting out of fear. How my family would react. But it doesn’t matter, now does it. You need me more than I’m afraid."

"And that makes everything all right?" Jim stared down on him, his face grim. "That’s how you see it, is it?" 

His stomach plummeting, Blair’s arms loosened around him. "Don’t.....play with me here, man." He rasped, suddenly uncertain.

"You think I want you in my bed because you...pity me?" Jim sneered.

Flinching under the hard words, Blair shook his head. "No," he forced through colorless lips. "I wouldn’t do that to you. I...."

"I’m supposed to believe you." Jim ground out. "You’ve got lying down to a finely tuned instrument. Different levels for different reasons."

"Please...."

"You turned me down at every play. Slapped me away every time I wanted to touch you, then you find out about the .....fucked up senses and you suddenly can’t keep your hands off me. I’m supposed to believe you want to fuck me because you love me?" He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "I’m not stupid, Sandburg."

"Ah, this is too stupid for me," Rafe snarled, flinging himself off the bed. His head swung round locating his shirt and jeans and he jerked them on. "I’m outta here."

"What?" Jim squeaked. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"I’m gonna take Little Blair and head back to Cascade." He sneered, "You two....Well, you two can just keep this damn bullshit up until you kill each other, but I’m not gonna stick around to watch it going down."

He whirled on his heel, stalking toward the door.

"Rafe, don’t go."

"Why the hell not, Jim?" Rafe said, his shoulders slumping. "You two are so scared of getting hurt neither one of you is gonna take a chance. You’re ripping each other to shreds and I just can’t watch it happening. Not loving ya both like I do."

Jim threw a sheepish grin. "You think we should let him leave, Blair?"

Rafe turned back toward them. "You think you have a choice?"

"Don’t go, Rafe," Blair said, his voice toneless, but there was a deadly pain in the depths of his eyes. "Please."

"I can’t watch the two of you destroying each other."

"So we agree to take things as they come," Jim said. "I accept what Blair says as the truth. Blair stops pretending and just lets us take a new start. Would that work. Could you stay then?"

Rafe tipped his head backward, closing his eyes against the sigh trembling past his lips. "Can you do that. Either of you? Can you just be happy in being together?"

Jim met Blair’s tortured gaze and smiled a sad little smile. "I’m willing to try if you are."

"No....more accusations?" Blair asked dully. "You won’t come back at me about my mistakes when I piss you off. And you know I’ll piss you off, Jim. It’s just a fact of life."

Jim chuckled. "Yes, I guess it is. I can’t promise I won’t strike out. It’s the way I am, you know."

"Judgmental." Rafe agreed. "He can’t help it."

"Anal." Blair murmured, the shadows in his gaze slipping a bit. "Part of what I love about you, Jim. You don’t pull any punches....No matter how wrong you are."

Jim’s nostrils flared at the rebuke and for a heartbeat, Blair thought he was gonna shut him out again. His teeth found the edge of his lower lip, breaking the skin and drawing a bit of blood.

Jim’s head dipped, his tongue clearing up the dribble. "I love you, idiot," he murmured.

Blair cupped his cheek, his eyes shining. "Show me." He whispered, his glance seeking Rafe. "Please."

Holding his hand out to Rafe, Jim smiled. "Come on, lover, the boy wants to see how much we love him."

Rafe tossed off his clothes and joined them on the bed, his lips finding the crook of Blair’s neck and Jim’s mouth descended on Blair’s nip, suckling and teasing the tender nib to pebble hardness. Kissing his way up to Blair’s lips, Rafe swallowed a tortured moan from the young man

Jim’s hand traced over Blair’s ridged belly, pausing to torment his navel with a mini fucking motion that contributed to the man’s breathless pants. Then his hand traveled on, lower, tangling in the tight lower curls even as his tongue took up the navel fucking.

Blair bucked under his lover’s attentions as Rafe’s mouth took in the already excited nip, alternately grazing the tender flesh with his teeth and suckling at the man’s breast.

Jim kissed his way down Blair’s belly, lower, nuzzling the nest of curls before he licked up the length of Blair’s semi-hard cock. "I love you, Blair." He breathed against the pulsing flesh.

"Fuck," Blair cried out, his erection blossoming without the aide of pain. "Oh my god.....Oh fuck..."

"I do believe the boy’s got an honest to gawd boner," Rafe said, amusement thick in his words.

Jim eyed the throbbing tower of flesh critically. "Pretty, isn’t it?" He kissed the glistening head, before dipping his tongue in the slit and wrenching a writhing groan from his new love. "You do know what this means, don’t you?"

"Hm?" Rafe asked, nipping and kissing the overheated flesh of Blair’s chest and throat.

"He loves us, Rafe." Jim said triumphantly. "Pure and simple loves us."

A choking laugh burst from Rafe and he squinted a disquieting glare at Jim. "No shit, Jim. Funny you couldn’t get that straight away and save us all this crap."

Writhing with desire, Blair sent them both a slumberous glare. "Will you two stop analyzing this and fuck me, for god’s sake."

"Won’t fuck ya," Rafe said softly, his lips a breath away. "But we are gonna love you like you’ve never been loved."

Jim chucked, his own breath warming the quivering cock in his hand. "What Rafe said," he vowed, and the two men proceeded to make good on their promise.

EPILOGUE

It had been two weeks since Jim and Rafe had brought Blair home to the loft. Two weeks spent in quiet learning what pleased each other. Two weeks of accepting the love that wrapped them all in a place all their own.

And then Simon came calling.

Jim met him at the door, his glance narrowing on the second man at Simon’s side. "Why’d you bring him here?"

Nick blanched, stumbling backwards a step before Simon’s hand caught his and drew him back. "Nick wanted to see how things are going here."

"Everything’s fine." Jim said, still blocking the door with his body.

"Jim, whose at the...." Blair’s bouncing step ground to a halt at Jim’s side. "Nick...." He glanced at Jim. "What’s..."

"Nick wanted to stop by," Simon said softly, drawing a soft growl from Jim. "See how you’re doing, Blair."

Blair managed a weak smile. "Well, come on in." He laced his arm in Jim’s, pulling the man back so they could step past. "Jim, baby, take Simon and Nick into the living room. I’ve got some coffee on, fresh. You get them settled while I....go get it."

Blair darted away.

"Si, This might have been a mistake." Nick said softly.

Simon lifted the other man’s hand to his lips and kissed the trembling fingers. "He....they need to know, Nicky."

Eyes narrowing on the tender moment, Jim rasped. "What’s going on here, Simon?"

"Lets go get that coffee Blair promised and then we’ll talk," Simon said, pushing his way past Jim with Nick in tow. Jim had no choice but to follow behind.

Rafe looked up from the book he was reading on the sofa as Simon came into the room. His brown gaze swept over Simon and Nick and he smiled. "Got an announcement, Simon?"

"Announcement?" Blair asked, setting the heavily laden tray on the coffee table and handing out steaming cups. "What’s going on here, Nick?"

"Nick has moved in with me, Blair." Simon said, leaning back on the sofa and draping an arm around is lover.

The cup in Blair’s hand sloshed as he cut a glance at his past lover. "What?"

"Simon....well, we....I...Blair, you have to understand...."

A delighted smile lit Blair’s face suddenly. "Hot damn, Nicky." He turned a high beam smile on Simon. "Congratulations, Si. You do have proper intentions, don’t you?"

"I wouldn’t have asked him to move in otherwise, Blair."

"You’re getting a good man, there, Nick-o You treat him right."

Relief washed over Nick’s pale features. "Its okay?"

Blair caught Jim’s smiling glance and nodded. "Oh, yeah, Nick. Its okay. Everything’s okay now."

END: THREE LITTLE WORDS