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The tie was a silk one. Blue, to match the color of Martin's eyes. Or at least that's what Danny had said when he'd given to him as a birthday present. Danny remembered the occasion well. It had been a few months after they had become a couple, and a hectic day had left him with little time to procure a gift. He hadn't even had time to wait for the store clerk to gift-wrap it for him, so eager had he been to reach Martin's apartment.
After dinner, Danny had ordered Martin to close his eyes, and had pulled the tie from his jacket. Unfolding it carefully, he had held it in his hands for a few seconds, admiring the delicate pattern of blue on blue, and mentally comparing the softness of the material to the texture of Martin's skin. And then he had draped it around Martin's neck, knotting it loosely, before using it to pull him close until their lips were touching. The tie had stayed in place for the rest of the night, even as all their other clothing had ended up on the floor.
Since then, the tie had been reserved for special occasions only, Martin refusing to wear it to work where it could get damaged or spoiled. Tonight, it being the one-year anniversary of their relationship was one of those occasions. Only this time, it was Danny's turn to wear the tie.
He lay on his back on Martin's bed. The tie wrapped loosely around his wrists and knotted to the head of the bed. It wasn't a secure bond; Danny knew that he could easily slip his wrists free should it prove necessary. But half the fun of playing like this was making sure that he didn't pull free. Danny wouldn't let just anybody put him in this sort of situation. He'd broken up with one girlfriend who had seemed to be taking an almost obsessive interest in his F.B.I. issue handcuffs, but this was different. This was Martin, and Danny knew that Martin would never hurt him. It had taken him a long time to be able to trust the man, but the rewards had been well worth it.
The mattress dipped slightly as Martin climbed on. Naked under his bathrobe, he settled himself astride Danny's body. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips gently against Danny's, providing just a hint at what was to come.
Danny raised his head slightly as Martin pulled back, trying his best to keep the contact, but to no avail. With an expression of frustration on his face, he let his head flop back against the pillow. "You're a tease, you know that?" he growled in mock annoyance.
"But you love me for it," said Martin, a smile flickering on his lips. Leaning forward again, he took Danny's head in his hands and kissed him a second time. To compare the second kiss to the first would have been like comparing the warmth of the sun to that of a candle. Lips pressed against lips, tongue pushed up against tongue, for a few minutes it was like they were a single entity, and Danny was left gasping when Martin finally pulled away.
"Still think I'm a tease?" Martin joked, gently stroking Danny's cheeks with his thumbs.
"More than ever!"
"We'll have to see about that!" Martin sat back a little farther and started opening the buttons of Danny's shirt. He took his time over it, and as each inch of skin was exposed, he ran his fingers all over it, kissing it gently before moving onto the next button.
Danny bit his lip and mentally recited the latest Mets starting line up. Anything to stop him coming in his pants as Martin's magic fingers strolled around his body.
It took Martin several minutes to unbutton the shirt and expose Danny's chest. When he was finished, he gently teased Danny's nipples, succeeding in eliciting a groan from his lover, followed by a muffled curse as his lips fastened upon one of them.
With his hands tied, and Martin sitting on top of him, there was very little that Danny could do to assist matters. "Dammit Martin," groaned Danny in frustration. "If you don't hurry up, I'll..."
Martin raised his head to look at Danny's face, thoroughly enjoying the way he could render him powerless with just a few touches in the right place. "You'll do what?"
"I'll come in my pants and have to raid your wardrobe!"
Martin slid a little further down Danny's body and cupped his groin in his hand. "Hmm, well it'd be a shame to let this go to waste."
"Just do something!" Danny knew that it would be a simple matter to slip his hands free from the tie, grab Martin, and take back control of the situation. But that wasn't the way the game was played. It was a matter of pride between them, that they possessed enough self-control to resist their urges when it counted. In some of his more cynical moments Danny figured it was good practice for their daily lives. Every day at work he had to keep a lid on his desires. Every day he had to have enough self-control to avoid revealing to all and sundry that he and Martin were more than just good friends. Oh it wasn't a question of simply stopping himself from dragging Martin into a toilet cubicle or having a quickie during their lunch hour. No, it was the little urges that he had to exercise control over. The urge to ruffle Martin's hair when he was trying to concentrate on typing a report. The urge to finish his sentences when he knew what sentiments Martin was trying to express. The urge to straighten Martin's tie at the end of a long day. The simple things that would flaunt their relationship to the rest of the team.
Danny was smart enough to know that others were aware of what was going on. He was certain that Viv knew - she seemed to know everything that went on with the team - and he guessed that Jack had his suspicions. But so far they had been careful not to give him any proof of those suspicions and nothing official had been said. Sometimes Danny wished that they didn't have to hide.
"If you insist." Although Martin knew Danny's body well enough to know that his orgasm was imminent, he was still determined to draw out the experience as long as possible. If Danny had been on top then things would have progressed a lot faster. Not that he was one of the 'Wham, bam, thank you man' variety of lovers. Far from it, he was always willing to make sure his partner's were equally as satisfied as he was, but there was nearly always a sense of urgency about their couplings when Danny took the lead. Almost as if he was afraid to delay the pleasure for too long, for fear that it would somehow disappear before he could take it.
Martin on the other hand preferred long drawn out sex. For him the act of reducing his lover to a quivering pile of nerve endings was part of the pleasure of the process. And when he finally took his own pleasure, it was always the more satisfying for having to wait that bit longer.
"You do know that patience is a virtue?" teased Martin, as he slowly pulled the belt through the loops of Danny's trousers, before unzipping them.
"Screw patience," growled Danny, raising his hips at Martin's touch in order to allow his trousers and boxer shorts to be pulled down and then tossed aside.
"I'd rather screw you." Martin gently stroked Danny's erection and was rewarded with a strangled gasp as Danny tried to hang onto the remnants of his self-control.
Finally taking pity on his lover, Martin rolled Danny over onto his side. Some lube and a condom later, he was lying behind Danny, slowly easing his erection into his waiting lover. Arms wrapped protectively around Danny, he thrust gently forward.
Danny groaned in relief as he felt Martin penetrate him. "Faster," he said, half ordering, half begging. "Harder." His hands stroked the tie, even as Martin's hands stroked his body. The friction of his partner inside him was matched by the friction of his shirt against Martin's bathrobe. Danny's nerve endings were already on edge from all the foreplay, and the sensation of the material against his skin only served to tip him faster over the edge. Martin's name was on his lips as he came.
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Martin got a damp cloth from the bathroom and gently cleaned up Danny before releasing his hands.
"I do you know," said Danny tiredly as he brought his hands down in front of him.
"Do what?" asked Martin, carefully folding the tie and smoothing out the creases.
"Love you."
The words were as much of a surprise to Danny as they were to Martin. His hands stopped in the act of replacing the tie in its box and his mouth opened but no words came out.
"I mean it," Danny said finally. "I love you." He bit his lip, wondering if he should have exercised his self control for just a little longer.
Martin sat down heavily on the bed. "I...I don't know what to say."
Danny sat up and put his hand on Martin's. "You don't have to say anything. Just forget I opened my big dumb mouth. Okay?" Danny was cursing himself for being such an idiot and ruining everything. "Let's just forget I said anything."
"No, not okay." Martin put a finger on Danny's lips to silence him. And then in case that wouldn't work, he put his own lips there instead. This time it was more like the warmth of an open fire. Comforting and satisfying, but hot enough to be dangerous. "Because I think I love you too..."
Danny's arms were wrapped around Martin and pulling him close before he could finish the thought. And the second time they made love it was faster than Martin's pace, but slower than Danny's, and somehow it was just right.
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The End