Jack pulled back, watching the muscles quivering beneath the spot he'd just kissed.
He still couldn't help but feel conflicted over his decision to take this step, but he truly believed it was the only way to resolve the issue, to bridge the gap that had opened up between them, and once and for all draw Ianto out from the consumptive gloom which had clung to him for so long now.
Though it hurt to push Ianto to the absolute brink, it equally pained Jack to see the way he was slowly sinking into himself and away from the world around him. The façade he still hid behind might fool most, but Jack could see beneath the mask, he knew how to recognise the pain now, the nameless need, and if answering that need filled the hollow slowly engulfing Ianto, then Jack was willing to do whatever it took to answer it.
It was for that reason he had been determined to keep going, no matter what Ianto declared he wanted, or didn't want. He had, however, remained conscious of the other man's reactions, both verbal and, in particular, physical and Jack had hoped to be able to tell before things went too far, for he wanted only to show Ianto the abyss, to take him to the edge and let him peer into the shadows, before gently easing him back into the light.
The younger man's use of his safeword had surprised Jack, he'd thought Ianto so close to breaking that his resistance would be minimal. He had feared his last chance to help Ianto cope was lost, but when he'd gone back into the office, concerned when Ianto hadn't immediately stormed past him, the fact that the half-restrained man hadn't moved at all to untie his other bonds resurrected Jack's dashed hopes.
Smiling faintly, Jack removed his cap and tossed it onto a nearby chair. His greatcoat swiftly followed, as he reluctantly conceded that Ianto had been right to mock his outfit. He'd dug the gloves and cap out from his box of tricks for all the wrong reasons, naively believing this kind of play demanded such props. Instead he'd managed to cheapen the experience, to give across the tone of insensitivity, as though he found the matter trivial; nothing more than a game.
The intent had been there, however, the wish to mark this occasion with something that made it personal, something that would distinguish him from Alex. At the time, becoming the 'Captain' seemed the ideal solution, but Jack now saw the folly in that notion.
He glanced towards the chair. It really was a shame he'd been so hasty. He'd been saving that cap for a while now, tucked away with the riding crop amongst a collection of items that he hoped to surprise Ianto with at random points in the future. He had even made sure to keep them safely hidden in his bunker, the one place he refused Ianto permission to tidy – a man had to take some pride in his own home – but after all that effort, he'd just used them without true consideration of what was best for such an affair.
Jack set his jaw and began to roll up his shirt sleeves. It was too late to change that now, just as it was too late to fully prepare for this entire situation. Having only realised what he had to do earlier that day – whilst watching Ianto polish the boardroom table for the fourth time – it hadn't left much time for research, especially as he'd first had to send the others away and then reroute the Rift alarms to Tosh and Owen's phones so he wouldn't be interrupted at a pivotal moment.
After a few minutes, Ianto started to regain his composure, pushing himself back up on shaking arms. Jack waited, expecting any number of sharp insults or demands for freedom from the Welshman, but there came nothing. The flare of defiance after he'd submitted and allowed Jack to bring him to orgasm had suggested Ianto would continue to play the insolent captive, but maybe Jack had read that wrong and instead he was simply going to be silent and let everything wash over him.
The Captain didn't like that idea at all. He needed to hear Ianto's speak to make sure he was doing the right thing, so he decided to take another route.
Reaching out, he combed his fingers through the younger man's hair, down the side of his face to his chin and tilted it around to better see his expression. Ianto's lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes directed firmly aside.
Jack smiled faintly at his lover's stubbornness. He hadn't expected any different and he would have been surprised, if not suspicious, had Ianto suddenly begun to respond amiably. Releasing the other man's face, Jack moved his hands back onto Ianto's shoulders and started to gently knead the rigid flesh.
"You're still very tense," he observed. "You need to learn to relax, Ianto. Remember how I'm always telling you to relax...?" He said the last in a purr, pushing his hips just slightly against Ianto's backside.
Ianto snorted lightly in derision, but he still said nothing, which simply served to drive Jack to work harder for a reaction. He slid his hands down a little, pressing his thumbs into the muscles running alongside the young man's spine whilst his fingers skimmed gently over the heated skin.
"It's amazing that you have no obvious scars here," the Captain commented idly. "It takes skill to whip someone without breaking the skin too deeply."
The comment hung in the air and Jack fancied he could actually feel the intrigue building within the muscles he lightly massaged.
"What do you know about that?" Ianto finally asked. His voice was tight, like the question had been unwillingly torn from his lips.
Jack gave a short and bitter laugh. "I've been whipped in my time. It was a favoured punishment in some of the places I visited for the Agency. Of course they weren't trying to avoid leaving marks."
Again the heavy pause, whilst Ianto's curiosity struggled against his stubbornness. "You haven't got any scars on your back."
"No," Jack agreed, "not anymore. Fortunately the Agency had access to some rather clever medical tools that took care of them."
"Why were you-"
"That isn't a story for right now," Jack cut him off, digging his fingers harder into the flesh of Ianto's lower back. "And you aren't going to distract me by asking to hear it."
There came a grunt of discomfort at the increased pressure. "Jack," Ianto murmured quietly, "you can stop now."
Jack didn't even pretend to consider the suggestion. "Nope, don't think so." He briefly continued to work at the tense muscles, before dropping his hands abruptly to Ianto's ass and grabbing it hard. The younger man's body jerked but he made no noise nor protest and Jack marvelled at the continued obstinacy.
"It's fascinating," Jack declared absently, kneading Ianto's buttocks as he spoke, "all the times I've touched you in the past, all the times I've been back here with you spread before me..." He paused, giving the memories the time they deserved. "All those times, and you never once trembled like you're trembling now."
Ianto remained silent, his head dipping as though too heavy to hold up any longer.
"I'm curious," the Captain went on. "Is it because you're tied up? Is it because I'm not being gentle?" he asked. "Or is it because you want me to keep going?" His thumbs slid closer together as he continued to massage Ianto's ass, passing dangerously close to his twitching hole, and the sharp intake of breath that followed told Jack all he needed to know.
He freed one hand and brought it around to Ianto's face. "Suck them," he ordered in a low voice, curling his fingers towards the other man's mouth.
Ianto moved his head back, away from the presented digits, refusing to comply. "Suck them yourself," he growled rebelliously.
"Suck them or I'll stick them in dry." Jack let the words hang in the air for a moment, realising too late that the threat might not be suitable to encourage Ianto's cooperation. He moved his other hand down between Ianto's legs, grasping his testicles and causing him to spasm once more in surprise.
"Do it," Jack urged, squeezing Ianto's balls to make clear the consequences of further disobedience.
The Welshman was evidentially not prepared to risk quite that level of pain just yet and he opened his lips to take Jack's fingers into his mouth.
"Good," the older man purred, working his fingers in and out of the wet heat as Ianto hungrily wrapped his tongue about them. Jack's other hand continued to cup the young man's balls, massaging them as he'd massaged Ianto's shoulders.
"When it's on your terms, it doesn't feel like this, does it?" Jack eyed the slick skin of the captured man's back, tempted to taste the dampness there. "Even though you gave him control over your body, you were still ultimately calling the shots. You let him know what you wanted, what he could do to you and the limits of your tolerance."
Ianto's arms were shaking again by the time Jack withdrew his fingers from his mouth.
"It makes me wonder if being utterly out of control would come as a shock to you." Jack shifted position and pressed two wet fingers firmly into Ianto's ass, then gave into the lure and ran his tongue over the glistening shoulder blade beneath him. He hooked his other hand beneath Ianto's stomach, holding him up as his entire body rocked with each rough pass over his prostate.
"Ah!" Ianto gasped, his head dropping further as his back arched and his hips surged forwards, instinctively seeking escape from the intrusion, but his thighs bounced off the edge of the desk, pushing him back onto Jack's fingers and merely compounding the issue.
Jack refused to grant him any reprieve, encouraged by the physical responses to his touch, especially as Ianto's cock once again hung heavily between his legs, engorged and dark with blood. He added a third wet digit and took another lick of the sheen upon Ianto's skin before pulling back a little, watching his fingers plunging into the tight ring of muscle and considering how to push his lover even further towards the edge.
His eye caught upon the riding crop he'd discarded earlier, lying abandoned on the floor by his feet. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully and abruptly removed both his hand from Ianto's stomach and the fingers from his ass.
The young man crumpled onto the desk with a cry of surprise as he was released, panting at the sudden freedom. Jack gave him no time to recover, however, as he straightened from retrieving the crop.
"What do you suppose this would feel like...?" he asked, trailing the handle of the short whip up the back of Ianto's thigh.
They hadn't played with toys before, it never even coming up as an idea during their casual sporadic nights together. Jack hadn't been sure how Ianto would respond to them; he wasn't close-minded and could well have played with his female partners in the past, but he hadn't brought up the subject and Jack had decided to give it time, wishing to make sure Ianto was definitely okay with his first male lover before taking things further.
Jack was almost positive that once he'd experienced the variety toys could add to intercourse, Ianto would be converted. He wasn't shy in bed, or wherever else they might end up, and though the image he presented to the outside world was normally so perfect and pristine, Jack had witnessed the playful imp that resided within the sharp suits.
Ianto jumped at the unexpected touch on his leg, yelping gracelessly and surging forward in surprise. He banged his legs against the edge of the desk, turning his cry into a hiss of pain, and Jack leaned in to hook his arm beneath Ianto's torso again, pulling him back up as he dragged the thin leather shaft over the swell of his backside.
Ianto struggled, guessing his intent. "No," he moaned, though he'd voiced more fervent protests that evening.
The Captain chuckled and held on tighter to the squirming man.
"Haven't you done enough?" Ianto asked. He tried to move away from the nearing object but his bonds held firm.
"You tell me," Jack countered. "How much does it take for you to really let go?" He flattened his hand, crop handle rolling beneath his palm across the firm flesh of Ianto's buttock.
There was a moment of tense hush, broken only by Ianto's ragged breathing, and for a brief second Jack thought that he might have finally asked the right question at the right time; that perhaps Ianto would now tell him precisely what he really wanted.
That or Ianto thought he'd stepped over the line and would once again call a halt to proceedings.
But instead the Welshman shook his head and declared, "It's disgusting." It sounded so petulant that Jack actually forgot about his ministrations for a moment and bent down to see the other man's profile, enjoying the sight of Ianto pouting
"I swear it's clean," Jack pointed out, intentionally mistaking him.
Ianto huffed and rolled his eyes, then jerked to the side, his shoulder in reach to hit Jack where he was leaning one elbow on the desk to see Ianto's face whilst still caressing his backside. The Captain almost lost his balance but recovered quickly and responded with a smack of the crop's tongue against one rounded cheek.
"Behave," he warned, "or I'll make you regret it."
"I already regret it," Ianto muttered.
Jack hesitated briefly, then smiled again to himself. He knew the younger man too well to believe that. Ianto had consented and they'd established how he could stop things already, so his words now were nothing more than hot air.
But they did present an interesting opportunity...
"That's a shame."
Ianto's head whipped around as Jack stepped away from his body again, leaving him cold and exposed. He blinked, alarmed by the sudden desertion. Surely that couldn't be it; surely Jack wouldn't give up now, after everything he'd done, from a mere suggestion of regret?
"Wait!" he said, watching in amazement as a silent Jack moved to the front of the desk, one hand drifting to the nearest of Ianto's bound wrists, as though to unfasten it once more. Surely not. Surely not. Ianto stared up at him, eyes wide with confusion and panic. "Wait, no, please! Please!" he went on, terrified that it was all about to end, when they'd come so far.
Jack settled his hand lightly over Ianto's, his own eyes flickered up to meet the unnerved gaze of the younger man and Ianto's mouth froze on the cusp of further pleading. The knowing glint in those blue eyes was offset by familiar warmth and humour and Ianto realised just how easily he'd just been played.
"Told you you'd beg," Jack smirked, removing his hand from Ianto's without even touching the cuff.
Ianto swallowed a laugh, then a curse, then finally dropped his head, unable to look at the immortal anymore. His face was hot with excitement but also embarrassment; he was laid completely and utterly bare before the Captain for the first real time, no longer able to deny that he wanted this, wanted Jack to own him, that Jack already owned him and always had done, right from the moment they'd met.
Ianto mentally chided himself. No, that wasn't right. When they'd met he had belonged to Lisa still; he'd pledged his life to her and promised that nothing would stand in the way of bringing her back to him. It was after her death, after Jack had killed her but refused to kill Ianto, that was when it had happened.
That was when Ianto had realised the void in his heart, a void that had been growing ever since Lisa had been caught by the Cybermen, could be filled by Jack, by loyalty to Jack, and he could live again, really live, because that devotion gave his life meaning, a purpose for his existence in the universe.
"So," Jack murmured, his low husky voice bringing Ianto crashing back into the moment, "what shall we do next?"
There was another question hidden beneath those words, lurking in the brightness of his eyes that hadn't been there before. Jack had proven, to both Ianto and to himself, that he'd done the right thing; he'd exposed Ianto's true desire for this situation, for Jack to take a dominating role in his life and now all that remained was to see if Ianto would accept Jack's triumph or continue to fight him.
Of course, as far as Ianto was concerned, his answer had been given the moment he'd shown his dismay at Jack's act of falsely retreating. What good was there now in trying to deny it had happened, when he knew that the truth had been scripted across his face for anyone to see?
The silence dragged on and Ianto was unable to do anything but stare up at Jack, his mind numb with defeat after being bested by the unquestionably stronger man.
"Answer me," Jack insisted, a little more authority in his tone this time and a lot more satisfaction in his expression, as it became clear that Ianto finally realised he had nowhere left to hide.
A curious lightness settled over the young Welshman, a mix of both acceptance and relief. It was over, the fight had been lost, and Ianto felt like he'd been broken into a thousand pieces with no idea how to start gathering all the shards together again.
He said the only thing that made sense.
"Whatever you want."
"Oh?" Jack asked, leaning forward with interest. "Behaving now, are we?"
Ianto's gaze drifted to the side, unable to counter the strength in Jack's intense eyes and a little unwilling to see the image of himself reflected within them. He didn't reply, the answer so plain it hardly needed reiterating.
Fingers threaded through Ianto's hair to his neck and Jack tipped the young man's head back. "Well in that case, I want a kiss," Jack said, bringing his face down towards Ianto's. "I want a nice, convincing, kiss."
Ianto immediately opened his mouth, just in time for Jack's to crash hard against it. The Captain went about the kiss with the same enthusiasm he always employed for such activities, massaging Ianto's lips with his own until they tingled with sensitivity. There was no resistance as Jack snuck his tongue inward, flicking mischievously at everything it encountered, never lingering, and Ianto responded greedily to the well-known sensation.
There might have been some obstinate part of Ianto's mind still opposed to the liberties Jack was taking with his body, but it stood no chance at being heard beneath the roaring in Ianto's ears, as his heart began to race with the intensity of Jack's kiss. There was always such feeling in Jack's ministrations, and this was certainly no exception; though it was perhaps the first contact they'd engaged in that night which could be considered physically intimate.
The hand upon Ianto's cheek was warm and the fingers curled around his neck stroked gently at the short hairs there, sending a shiver along his spine that only heightened the already overwhelming feeling of the kiss.
Little by little Jack pulled back, forcing Ianto to follow, and when they broke apart, gasping against damp lips, Ianto found himself leaning up on fully extended arms, straining forward. He remained there, breathless, eyes hooded, his desire for more of the Captain's touch clear in the way he stretched forward.
Jack grinned down at him, smug at the reaction he'd drawn out. "Good," he murmured, tilting Ianto's head just a faction further upwards, as though to reiterate the needful position into which the young man had allowed himself to be moulded. Jack licked his lips. "Very good."
The praise warmed Ianto just as much as the devouring kiss, but at the same time the pleasure he felt at hearing that approval made his cheeks flush even deeper with shame for his longing. He wanted to jerk away, but it seemed the gentle hold Jack still had upon his face was enough to keep his muscles from obeying his brain's commands.
"I think you've finally learnt," Jack went on, exploring Ianto's face with light fingertips that left designs of fire upon his cheeks. He leaned forward; not to kiss, but to whisper against Ianto's lips. "Here endeth the lesson."
The Captain's tongue darted out to taste him and Ianto mindlessly reached to capture it, but he met only air as Jack backed off without warning. Ianto's mouth formed an 'O' of surprise, another ice-cold thrill of panic surging through his veins as yet again it seemed everything was about to end.
With a knowing leer, Jack took advantage of the young man's confusion to move around once more to the other side of the desk, where he plastered himself to Ianto's back, covering the naked body with his own. He wrapped strong fingers around Ianto's bound wrists and pushed his lips against one red ear. "But the night has just begun," he growled hotly. "And I couldn't stop now if I tried."
Ianto gasped, body jolting as rising disappointment was swept away with those simple words. His head fell back, hitting Jack's shoulder and the immortal licked greedily at his damp neck whilst rocking his still-clad groin against Ianto's ass.
"Ah!" yelped the young man. What had seemed an age of satisfying distress now morphed into something new and even more wonderful and he cried out eagerly. "Jack!"
Chuckling, the sound deep with lust and need, Jack quickly unfastened his trousers to release his burning erection. It was the first time Ianto had been aware of Jack's hardness, and when he later looked back on the incident, the more rational part of his mind would suspect it was also the first time Jack had responded physically that night, but for the time being all Ianto could think of was how Jack was about to claim his reward for his evening's work.
His hole, already partly stretched and slick, was still tight around the head of Jack's cock as he guided himself in without further delay. The older man didn't wait for the muscles to adjust, instead sliding in with determination and hunger.
Ianto's hands moved clumsily forward to grip the edge of the desk, seeking an anchor to counter Jack's immediate powerful thrusting, and his thighs were bashed into the wood again, hard enough to bruise, yet not nearly hard enough to make Ianto cry out in protest.
Each inward push, though smoothed by sweat and experience, reached so deep that Ianto was convinced he was about to split right up the middle. His insides churned, making him feel almost nauseous at the intrusion, but the sensation of being so thoroughly filled, of hard flesh rubbing over his prostate with every plunge, twisted that ache around and lifted him higher than ever.
Jack grabbed at his hips, using the leverage to change his angle, making his thrusts even longer and deeper and Ianto's body tried to fold back on itself, simultaneously seeking and retreating from the source of such delicious torment. The dried semen on his chest pulled the skin painfully tight and his cock, raw with over-attention, stung with every accidental brush against the desk.
"I have a confession," Jack said suddenly, and, though he continued to fuck Ianto with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, his voice was only just showing signs of breathlessness.
Ianto gave a strangled sound of objection, unable to form real words as he was slammed repeatedly against the unrelenting furniture, but also unwilling to hear any declaration that could come to Jack's mind at a time like this. Why couldn't he just grab the poor neglected dick jutting out in front of Ianto and focus on the task at hand?!
"Back then," the immortal went on, directly into Ianto's ear, so that warm air accompanied each word and made him shiver at the new stimulation. "When Lurrelia made my touch give you pain and I couldn't stop myself..." Jack slipped his hands around beneath the bound man, pinching hard at abused nipples. "When I hurt you and you loved it..." He pulled back further than usual and for one horrendous moment Ianto was terrified he was about to withdraw completely. "When I made you cry out with pleasure and agony..." Jack thrust in so deeply that Ianto was forced up onto his toes, ankle restraints cutting into his skin, and then froze, holding a tableau of unexpected, incomplete, impossible need.
Lips moved against Ianto's ear, so close it seemed the words travelled no distance at all before swelling to fill his mind.
"I loved it too."
Then the final push: fast jolts over the last line of pain, contraction, nerves set afire and muscles pushed too far. The air broke with a strangled moan loud enough for two or else the combination of entwined lovers. White fingers gripped the edge of the desk, warm fingers caressed spent flesh that tingled as though sparks of electricity danced across the damp skin.
Lazy circles of hips, the descent of fervour, perhaps reluctance to finish, and a kiss to the sensitive spot behind an ear.
Satisfaction.
Agonizing, absolute, satisfaction.