Chris sighed as he filled his mug with coffee, running a tired hand through his short, blond air. A brief look at the wall-mounted clock told him it was way past office hours, but he had no  real drive to go home. First of all, there was still work to do. Nothing that couldn’t wait till tomorrow, but he did it anyway. Then there was the fact that he felt lost and alone in his empty place. Not that he wasn’t used to being alone; he lived alone. Ezra’s quarters were next to his; his lover hadn’t moved in with him. But lately, the feeling had increased tenfold.
Could be because Ezra Standish had been undercover for almost two months without a break, living the life of Stephane Surree, an arts dealer, who smuggled antiques and invaluable prints all over the Joined Governments. Two months with barely any contact outside the official ones. Two months where the contact through the Bond was not enough to fill the place a living, breathing body did. He missed Ezra, whatever else he tried to tell himself. Hell, he was forty-two, had been married once, had been in this relationship long enough to survive the day without a sexual adventure, but he missed him.
With a sigh, Chris walked back to his office, ignoring the silent, dark area where his other Agents usually sat. As he stepped into his office cubicle, he became aware of two things: he wasn’t alone and the Bond was rippling with his lover’s presence.
“Ezra?” he exclaimed, surprise written all over his features as he took in the person sitting in his chair.
The first surprise was that Ezra was in uniform. The uniform he usually threw as far as he could the moment he was at home or off duty. Even if he had had to report in, back from his assignment, Chris wouldn’t have expected the uniform. The second surprise was Ezra’s presence at all. He shouldn’t have been back any earlier than tomorrow. But the biggest surprise and also something that stunned the commander, was Ezra’s expression. There was an intense aura around the man, his green eyes cool and controlled, his features a mask.
“Close the door,” the well-known voice told him in a rather unknown no-nonsense tone.
Chris found himself obeying, placing the coffee mug on the small sideboard. “Ezra…”
“Lock it,” came the cool command.
Chris felt something inside of him shiver. Again, he followed the order.
“Come here,” Ezra said calmly.
“Ezra, what…?”
“I said, come here!”
Chris frowned at both the words and the sharp tone, wondering what was wrong with Ezra. For a moment he felt fear clench his inside, his instincts screaming for him to grab a weapon just in case. Then a sensation tickled over the Bond, something that was starting to reflect itself in Ezra’s eyes. The sensation became more familiar, identifying itself as his Ezra Standish, no one else. Chris didn’t exactly know what Ezra had in mind, but reacted unconsciously to this ‘something’, his legs taking him over to his lover, who had pushed away from the desk, leaning back in the chair.
Chris stopped just in front of him, the desk at his back, eyes taking in the authority figure that was Ezra Standish. There was a flame in those familiar green eyes, like a volcano shortly before its outbreak, like a hurricane on the move, and Chris found himself just in the middle of it all. Something about the man spoke of intense power, one wielded over Larabee and only him. The officer inside Chris, the man used to be in command, rebelled. While he had left the reigns in Ezra’s hands many times, his lover had never taken over so completely, body and voice.
He had never been so aggressive and demanding, but Chris found his body reacting to it, wanting this man so badly it hurt. A part of Chris’s mind wondered about his own rather submissive reaction, but the far louder part seemed to tell him to just shut up, obey and enjoy the new sensation.
Ezra stretched out his legs, feet pushing between Chris’s and he was gently but firmly forced to take on a wider stance.
“Lean back,” was the husky instruction.
Chris did, his angle a bit awkward, requiring he used his hands to keep from overbalancing. His hips were pushed forward by the edge of the desk while his upper body was leaning back and his legs were spread. Ezra’s smile was decidedly nasty, his eyes raking over the uniformed body presented to him. Chris felt his breathing quicken just looking into those eyes burning with a fire born out of sheer hunger that threatened to engulf him, washing away every clear thought and just firing up his own need
“Ezra…” he tried.
“Shut up, Larabee,” came a growl. “I’m in charge, understood?”
He swallowed.
Ezra rolled forward on the chair, placing first one hand, then the other, on the muscular thighs. He ran them upward, thumbs spread, and Chris bit his lip. Light pressure was exuded on the slowly forming bulge in Chris’s crotch and he bit back a moan. The hand wandered higher, deftly starting to unbutton the uniform jacket.
Chris was about to move his arms to help his lover undress him when Ezra quickly pulled the jacket down, trapping his arms.
“Ezra, this is a bit uncomfortable…”
  “I said shut up!” came the command, voice hoarse and somewhat guttural, a tone that Chris had rarely, if ever heard before.
He let the protest die on his lips, and when Ezra’s fingers opened the shirt buttons, caressing the revealed skin underneath, he started to breathe faster. His lover took his merry time, fingers flickering over the tanned skin, teasing nipples into hard, puckered nubs, and Chris groaned loudly. Finally those teasing fingers reached his pants again and he found himself close to begging the thief to free him.
“Oh gawd, please!” he choked as nimble fingers teased and massaged the growing hardness.
“What did I say?” Ezra hissed, squeezing the arousal.
Chris closed his eyes, whimpering. Shit!
His pants were opened and hands grabbed him, releasing him from the confines. He sighed, the sigh turning into a hitched moan as Ezra’s mouth closed over him. There was nothing Chris could do but stay in this slightly uncomfortable position, hips twitching, as his lover used every trick in the book on him.
Well, nearly every trick and it really wasn’t the regular book – because Chris suddenly cried out as he felt teeth on his hard nubs, lips soothing the burn, while fingers ran all over his quivering body. Oh shit! Gawd! Ezra had learned fast since that little adventure three months ago. Chris’s fingers dug into the surface of the table and he cried wordlessly, needing release.
And then sensations stopped abruptly. Chris gasped in protest, but he had no time to voice anything. Ezra’s mouth slanted over his and he was pulled against the compact form of the thief, as he was taken into a demanding, overpowering kiss. Hands stripped the jacket from his arms, allowing him more movement as the shirt was equally discarded off.
Looking into the green eyes filled with raw lust and need, taking in the intimidating, almost menacing presence that was his normally so sensitive and gentle lover, Chris couldn’t help but shiver. He felt his own arousal at the thought of being so vulnerable in Ezra’s hands and he insanely wondered when that had come up. There was no doubt about who was running the show and the hands firmly stripping him of his shoes, socks and pants left no doubt either.
Ezra suddenly pushed him back against the desk and he walked around it. Chris blinked, dazed, but the loud clattering sound made him flinch.
“What…?”
“Larabee…” came a hiss and he clamped his mouth shut. But he knew that most of what had been on his desk was currently spread over the floor.
Ah hell…
And then Ezra was back, kissing him again, plundering his mouth, nipping as his lips, his jaw, his throat, overrunning him with his intense need and the fast pacing. He was pushed him roughly onto the cleared desk. Chris complied, too stunned and way too aroused to stop it now. The Bond opened wide, Ezra’s untamed need and lust hitting him, and he groaned. A lubed finger spread the gel substance over his entrance and Chris realized that there would be no further foreplay.
Hell, he didn’t need any. He was ready to scream if Ezra didn’t take him now.
“Aren’t you a bit overdressed?” he tried weakly, feeling the virtual fingers tease his nipples again as a virtual mouth planted little bite marks on his throat.
“No,” came the growled reply.
“Oh,” he managed.
His lover was fully dressed, most likely also armed. Chris himself was completely naked and at the thief’s mercy. As if to enforce that thought, his wrists were grabbed and pinned down, the glowing emeralds hovering above him, promising and threatening in one.
Pleasure ripped through him and Chris cried out, trying to remember what breathing was all about. It was hard. Ezra moved in hard, deep strokes, using the Bond to create the feeling of also closing down his mouth over Chris’s hard arousal. His lips, the real thing, kissed Chris deeply, and Larabee gave as good as he got. He drew Ezra into his mouth, enjoying the possessive kiss.
Chris lost all sense of reality as he cried out incoherently, release hitting him like a tidal wave. His scream was swallowed by the mouth over his. He only knew he was falling, while laying on the desk, and the world was turned into the liquid fiery sensation of Ezra inside him. When he came back, panting harshly, he became aware of his lover placing a light kiss on his cheeks and zipping up his pants, a burning expression of sheer, sated pleasure on his features.
<Don’t tell me. You missed me?> Chris silently asked when he was able to think again, his heart beat slowing down after a while, his breathing no longer as desperate.
He felt immensely pleased himself, the rough, possessive play having sated some driving inner need. It had been unusual and surprising to have Ezra come at him like this, to hear that tone of command from his lover, to obey so willingly.
<What gave it away?> was the amused reply as Ezra cleaned him up with a soft handkerchief.
<Oh, received a slight hint>
With a groan, Chris rolled off the desk.
“Getting too old for this,” he murmured, looking for his clothes and proceeded to dress. Slowly. With surprise he noted the mark on his shoulder. He hadn’t even felt it. He had been too far gone.
Finally he was more or less presentable again and his eyes took in the scattered office material on the floor. Chris sighed. He felt too tired and exhausted to clean this up and so he simply ignored it. He looked at Ezra and found green eyes watching him. There was a smirk on his lips, the eyes filled with a mischievous sparkle. There was no trace of the commanding presence from just now left.
“Need help cleaning up?” he asked innocently.
Chris snorted. “Help? Hell, you’ll be the one to get my office into order again!” he snarled in mock anger.
Ezra grinned even more. “Can I help it when you have a temper tantrum and assault innocent office supplies?”
“Me?!”
Larabee shot him a Glare, which glanced off Ezra as usual. His lover just wrapped an arm around his waist, using the other to pull down the compliant head. Chris found himself in a slow, gentle, loving kiss, answering it just the same. Warm, green eyes regarded him as they separated. The man in charge was gone; it was just Ezra.
<Wasn’t there some rule about the office?> Chris murmured, pulling Ezra closer. <Like, not having any kind of encounter throughout work hours?>
Ezra chuckled. <Way past office hours> he murmured.
Chris snorted. <What are you doing here anyway? Didn’t expect you till tomorrow>
His lover grinned. <I thought I’d come in early… for a special debriefing>
Larabee had to laugh. He kissed his lover again, then they separated. “One heck of a surprise,” he confessed. He didn’t just mean Ezra’s early arrival, but also the way he had been so fiercely intense, so intimidating and overpowering.
Ezra caught the meaning through the Bond. “I learned from the best,” he chuckled.
“Thank you,” Chris grumbled.
“Didn’t mean you.”
“Huh?”
“Your father.”
Chris opened his mouth to say something, but shock and confusion prevented any articulate reply. “My father?” he finally blurted, voice rising.
“The General is a very intense, commanding and intimidating presence,” Ezra answered non-chalantly.
“My father?!”
The grin widened obnoxiously.
“I need a bath,” Chris sighed.
Ezra’s smile was downright devilish at the words and Chris only groaned softly.
<Ezra …>
<What?>
<I’m getting too old for this>
<What happened to your stamina?> the thief chuckled.
<It’s trying to catch up to a certain green-eyed cocky tease>
The sparkles increased and Chris just rolled his eyes.
 

on to Christmas Interlude