Bodie made his way up the path in front of Susan's flat and was surprised to see his partner already waiting at the door.

"Oi, Ray, what are you doing here?" Bodie asked with suspicion, thinking he'd come over to muscle in on his date. Neither of the CI5 agents were above doing just that.

"'Ave a date with Betty, I do. What are you doing here?" The same suspicion laced his voice.

"Had an invite from Susan. Been working months on that," Bodie confided.

"Must share a flat. Didn't know the Cow let operatives do that." Doyle stated his puzzled thoughts aloud.

"Well, Betty's not field personnel, now is she?"

"True."

Doyle knocked on the door while his partner fidgeted by his side.

Betty opened the door with a smile and ushered both men into the front room. "Drink?" she asked as she openly eyed the good-looking men.

Doyle glanced at his partner before answering Betty, "After dinner would be better, driving and all."

"Oh, we're eating in. Susan and I made dinner, should be ready in ten minutes." Betty held up a glass in silent question.

"Scotch."

"Whisky."

She poured the requested drinks, carried them in and placed the glasses on the coffee table. Within the promised time they were called into dinner and after an excellent chicken meal, a raspberry torte was promised.

Doyle, already replete, delayed his dessert by suggesting he'd have some later. He sat back and picked up his glass of wine, the rosy glow was much welcomed after another harrowing day on the job.

Bodie knew no such restraint and eagerly received the homemade confection. He smiled his thanks through his own rosy glow, taking the constant refilling of his wine glass a sign that his date planned on being accommodating at the end of the evening.

They moved to the front room and instead of being offered coffee or tea, they were plied with a full-bodied port. Taking it as another portent of things to come, both men drank with enthusiasm.

Betty joined Ray and sat on the arm of his chair. Ray grabbed at his date and made to pull her into his lap. Cowley's secretary twisted out of reach like a seasoned pro. She did tease him by whispering in his ear.

"How `bout a game?"

"Yeah," Ray agreed with gusto. With frisky thoughts, he made another grab at his date but she only moved out of his way entirely.

"Let's get Bodie and Susan to play as well." Betty suggested.

"A foursome?" Ray perked up after the momentary disappointment at losing his hold on Betty.

"Something like that."

Ray sighed and nodded his agreement. He had little choice by the look on his date's face.

"Susan," Betty called out, "Up for a little game?"

Susan stuck her head out of the kitchen and nodded. She turned and motioned Bodie to follow.

Bodie, who hadn't even got a hand on his date, asked suspiciously, "What game?"

"Truth or Dare," both girls answered simultaneously.

Bodie recoiled in distaste. Doyle was more pragmatic.

"Why?"

"A few secrets shared, inhibitions tossed away, quite a turn on, that." Susan told them excitedly.

The two CI5 men shared a look, understanding immediately, unerringly that they stay in control, thus protecting each other from embarrassing indiscretions.

"Just how is the game played?" Ray inquired.

"Dice and daring," Susan replied with a twinkle in her eye.

Both men wore dubious expressions.

Betty sat down opposite the men and refreshed their drinks. "My, my, after years of hearing endless adventurous exploits, I can't believe you two could be afraid of a few questions."

"Questions can strip you naked even faster than hands," Doyle clarified their reluctance. His eyes followed Betty's fingers as she unbuttoned the top of her blouse. His breathing picked up at the thought of the night's anticipated outcome.

Bodie knew this could be dangerous, he had more to lose than his partner with the in-depth questioning, but he could read Ray's capitulation and had to stay to protect his back. Bodie decided that he could always take the dares. There was very little he would shy away from doing.

Reading the men's acquiescence to the game, the girls pushed the furniture back against the wall and pulled out the bulbous beanbag backrests. Coasters were placed by each man, which would provide a solid resting-place for the alcohol glasses.

"We each take a turn. You roll the dice first. Doubles - we all drink two shots. Evens - girls drink a single. Odds - men drink a single. You can hear the question and then you decide truth or dare. We all agree that if a truth is chosen, each must speak the truth."

The male agents exchanged a knowing look before nodding their understanding of the rules.

Susan placed the shot glasses in the centre of their cosy circle alongside each player's chosen drink.

Betty flipped a coin and giggled, "Tails - you two pick between you who goes first."

Entering into the playful atmosphere, the partners decided without words to go with their standard hand game in determine who would start. Scissors, paper, rock and Bodie won with a rock to Doyle's scissors. He rolled double threes.

Bodie rubbed his hands together before directing his question, "Betty ..."

"Wait! First we drink," Susan interrupted to remind them as she reached for the bottles. "Two shots, first."

After the downing of the fine malt Whisky, Bodie began again, hoping to set the tone of the questions. "Betty, when and where was your first time?" Wagging eyebrows made his meaning clear.

Cowley's secretary smiled, having already anticipated the question, Bodie was so predictable. She had never answered that while they dated. "Seventeen, in a lift on Boxing Day."

The mysterious smile that accompanied the answer only made Bodie all the more curious, but Doyle picked up the dice and the moment passed. Doyle rolled a seven and they each took a drink.

"Okay, Susan, your first time and where?" Doyle used the same question as his partner.

"Sixteen. Open field." Susan answered with an amused smile. She then picked up the dice and rolled. "Odd again."

"Are the dice fixed?" Doyle joked as he downed another drink. He smiled at Bodie as he watched him throw back his shot.

Susan's voice broke into his musings. "Bodie, what animal would you use to describe Ray?"

Bodie snickered, not expecting that question. He looked his partner over, head to toe. "A cat. A big, dangerous cat. He makes you want to pet him, but he'd sooner strike out at you as accept the touch." Bodie was pleased with his answer, not realising how much it could reveal.

Betty picked up the dice next and rolled double sixes. "Two drinks each." She looked at Ray and asked, "Your most embarrassing moment on the job?"

Doyle smiled ruefully, "Off the top of my head, on the Rahad assignment, when we enlisted the aid of the call girl. She thought I wanted sex on the porch in full view of all. She was so serious about it." He chuckled at the memory.

Betty and Susan exchanged looks, an unreadable expression to outsiders.

Bodie picked up the dice and rolled, "Evens, finally." He watched as the girls took their drink. "Susan, the most risqu place."

Susan knew exactly what he was asking. "Glass lift between ninth and sixth floors."

Bodie loved the image. It shot straight to his groin, waking it up slightly despite the alcohol consumed.

Doyle picked up the dice for his turn and threw them across the carpet. "Even again, maybe their not loaded after all." He paused as he looked between the two girls deciding, "Betty, what made you go out with Bodie and how was he?" Doyle grinned at his partner's intake of breath.

Betty just kept the same smile on her face, "I was curious if he could live up to his reputation, and ... he did indeed."

The answer wasn't as forthcoming as Doyle could have wished but he had seen Bodie in action and knew that he usually put his all into it.

Susan picked up the dice for her turn and rolled a nine. Bodie and Doyle downed their drink, waiting expectantly for the next question.

"Bodie, love, when and where ... your first kill?"

Bodie frowned, nonplussed. It had been going so well. Now, this was the type of question he had feared. If it got more personal he'd switch to dares. A painful shadow clouded his eyes before he answered. "Fifteen; Atlantic Ocean." The tone broadcast loudly that nothing else would be forthcoming. Bodie further decided, upon reflection of what this answer cost him, that from this point on he would accept the dares.

Betty grabbed and rolled the dice before any comment could be made. She was happy to see a double. She poured her two drinks from the bottle that she and Susan were using; a water-downed bottle of Scotch. After her drinks were gone she eyed the men cautiously. She decided on Ray.

"Ray, what was the meanest thing you've ever done?"

Ray Doyle certainly didn't mind if others bared their soul, but he hated to do it himself. "Knifed a bloke." His tone, like Bodie's before, brooked no further probing.

Bodie gathered up the dice and tossed them a few times in his hands before rolling. He hoped to return the game to a lighter tone. "Doyle, how many times in the shortest time span?"

Ray sighed with relief, "Seven times in one hour." Bodie merely raised his brows at the boast. Doyle whispered loudly, "Was seventeen, mate." The men shared a conspiratorial moment.

Doyle picked up the dice and rolled double threes. Drinks consumed, Doyle was torn between a question for Bodie or the girls. He elected Susan, "Are you going to sleep with Bodie?"

Bodie choked.

"Haven't decided yet, have I. Still waiting to see how this turns out."

"That's not an answer," Doyle retorted.

"Was an honest answer. Do you want me to lie?"

"No. Honesty is all that's expected." Bodie interjected, not at all put off.

Susan picked up the dice for her turn and tossed them out hard. They scattered under the Ray's legs, but displayed a clean seven.

Resigned, Bodie and Doyle tipped back another shot.

Susan recognised the signs from previous CI5 parties that Bodie was inebriated enough for the next part of their game. She looked to Bodie, figuring he was ready for the second option, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Okay, Bodie," Susan grinned mischievously, "Girls in the typing pool raved over your kissing technique more than Ray's ... show Ray your technique."

"Okay, which of you is volunteering?" Bodie leered at both girls, rubbing his hand together.

"Not us. Ray. Show Ray by demonstrating it directly." Susan's expression was openly challenging.

"What?" Dumbfounded by the stipulation, Bodie's mouth dropped open.

"You can answer a truth, if you'd rather?" Betty offered as an alternative.

Remembering the last two questions posed, Bodie didn't care for that option. He shook his head, took a deep breath and moved next to his partner. They shared a matey smile.

Ray unconsciously read Bodie's body language and knew that his partner would hate to expose more of himself through the possible probing questions. So he decided he would make this as easy as possible for Bodie. His look conveyed all this.

Bodie acknowledged the look as he fingered the rust coloured curls before lowering his head. He gently pressed his lips against Ray's and found enjoyment in the male scent and hidden hint of whiskers. Bodie tested the reactions to his tongue and was welcomed in. His exploration was met with equal strength instead of the usual timid response. Arousal flared and he consumed the lips and man beneath. He revelled in the answering plunder.

Whistles and giggles finally penetrated and forced them apart. Stunned at the sensual fire that had been ignited.

Betty picked up the dice and rolled. Double shots were consumed all around when the cat's eyes appeared. Cowley's secretary didn't look much like the consummate professional when she smiled across at her flatmate, "I'm not sure you were very fair to Ray, Susan, I'm sure he has a very winning kissing technique." Betty moved her gaze over to the curly-haired agent nodding his head in agreement. "I think he should demonstrate his skills on Bodie."

Doyle sighed; he'd half expected this. He knew the probing questions would become more unpredictable and as the kiss from Bodie hadn't been half bad, he agreed. He moved over to Bodie's beanbag and straddled his partner's lap. Ray ran his fingers through the thick short cut hair, liking the texture. He lowered his head slowly to claim the surprised `O' on Bodie's lips.

Knowing what to expect this time, Ray took his time to explore the inner reaches of the moistness, the male scent a pleasant change from the perfumed necks he was used to. He slid his tongue around the passive mouth until it reacted and joined in the venture.

Finally eliciting the throaty sounds he remembered from a foursome, he planned to retreat and break off the kiss but he was pulled tighter into Bodie's lap. The kiss continued until Bodie pulled him tighter still and their groins rubbed together. The electric-like pulse that flashed through his body had Doyle off his partner's lap and back into his beanbag before his next full breath. He worked to control his laboured breathing while he tried to forget the intensity of his reaction.

The girls giggled, "That was so cute. You fellas are such good sports." The knowing look that passed between the two girls was unseen by the two men still lost in their own thoughts.

Betty swooped up the dice, "It's Bodie's turn," she passed the cubes to the out stretched hand.

Bodie's normal level of cautiousness was gone due to the amount of alcohol in his system, and he found himself wanting to explore the sensations Doyle had started, but he wanted a bit of his own back, as well. He rolled and evens finally appeared. That decided him.

"Susan, would you kiss Betty?"

"Certainly." Susan answered confidently.

Both men leaned forward to watch.

Startled, Susan defended herself, "I answered the question, I didn't take a dare."

Bodie looked at his partner, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

"Oh, for goodness sakes," she got up and walked over to Betty, leaned over and kissed her on the lips. She sat back down and looked at the two agents, "Satisfied?"

"Adequate."

Doyle picked up the dice and rolled it Susan's way. Odds again.

"Susan, could you kiss Bodie in front of us?"

Susan sighed, she should have realised that this pair would push at the boundaries of the rules. "Yes." She moved next to Bodie and sat in his lap. She kissed him, not as passionately as Ray had, but a kiss that held its own.

Bodie smiled a cat-got-the-canary smile, but he couldn't help be confronted with the realisation that Ray's kiss had aroused him more than Susan's.

Susan picked up the dice and rolled doubles. Her look promised retribution.

"Truth or dare, Bodie?" Challenge evident in her tone.

Bodie took refuge in the knowledge that a dare could never expose as much as some truths. "Dare."

"Is your hand as good as your mouth? Make Ray hard through his trousers with your hand." Susan looked daringly at the players. By her expression, she was expecting one or both to refuse. She was pleased when Bodie rolled over to Doyle.

"No kissing, Bodie, just your hand. We already know what your kisses can do."

The alcohol had done its job, inhibitions were almost non-existent and Ray was easily aroused when sober. Still simmering from kissing Bodie, he spread his legs apart in a silent message of acceptance.

Bodie locked his eyes with Ray's as his hand ran up his thigh before cupping the ample groin area. He felt it throb against his fingertips and he forgot his audience. He concentrated his efforts to elicit a more wanton reaction. He ran his thumb edge along the length from base to head, in exactly the kind of pressure he enjoyed himself. When Ray pushed his hips up to increase contact, Bodie lowered his head to ravage the lips opened in silent sound.

"No kissing, fellas."

Startled by the female voice, both remembered where they were and the game that got them there. Bodie scooted back to his seat.

Betty giggled as though she realised they had been forgotten. Ray's moan of genuine frustration was ignored until Betty finished rolling. The girls drank on the even roll, eyes fixed on the two men.

"Well, Bodie, you obviously haven't lied," Betty mused aloud, "But you can't leave Ray like that. I've heard tell it can be almost painful to be abandoned so suddenly."

She seemed so genuinely concerned, it was hard for Bodie to tell, in his inebriated state, if Betty was serious or mocking. He wasn't really surprised to hear, "I dare you to finish him off with your mouth."

Bodie was hard within his own trousers and his mouth watered at the prospect. He found he was aroused at the voyeuristic tendencies the women displayed as well. He would have never guessed.

"Well, Bodie?"

The voice broke into his thoughts. Blue eyes sought green, he could not violate Ray's trust, but he saw a genuine acquiesce and cast the girls from his mind. He moved back over to Ray once more. He claimed Ray's lips as his hands explored Ray's groin. First through the material, then after undoing the buttons and zip, he explored the actual flesh. The man never wore underclothes.

One hand cupped the furry testicles as the other fingered the length. When he encountered moisture at its tip he broke off the kiss and swivelled his position to swallow the head and savour its flavour. The scent of Ray's musk intensified about his nostrils and his flavour exploded in his mouth as his sucking served up Ray's essence.

He nuzzled the softening member, reluctant to remove himself. Fingers carding his hair had him looking up into the softest, most welcoming green gaze.

Ray shifted his partner closer so he could unbutton trousers and place his hand on the hot flesh. He was rewarded with a pulsing beneath his fingers. He manipulated Bodie's erection with practised finesse and within seconds achieved his goal, Bodie's warm essence covering his hand. He brought his slick and sticky fingers to his mouth and licked them clean.

So erotic the gesture, Bodie found himself hard once more.

Satisfied sighs went unnoticed as Susan and Betty left the room. Their last glance back left them with the image of Doyle sucking Bodie's erection into his mouth.

---

Early the next morning, Bodie woke with Ray in his arms, their legs all a tangle. Never had a morning bed partner been more welcome and he knew with an innate assurance that he would never tire of this partner.

Bodie froze his thoughts, Ray was waking and he was aware this new world could soon shatter.

"Unexpected, but somehow perfect. Could get used to this." Doyle muttered hopefully.

Bodie could hear the uncertain question buried in the words. His response was easy, "Already am. Don't want to give it up."

"Okay then. Let's go home and expand our explorations."

"Which home?" Bodie asked as he tucked in his shirt.

"Yours, you've got the bigger bed. I'll pick up breakfast."

"A man after my own heart."

Doyle paused and dared, "Makes us even, then." Doyle needed no answering words as he looked into Bodie's eyes. All was right with their world.

---

Susan and Betty approached the front window after they heard the front door close. They watched heads bent close together as the agents walked to their vehicles.

Betty smiled, "Next weekend. Let's invite Lucas and McCabe. McCabe's been sniffing around my desk way too much."

-- THE END --

December 2004