Fenris stood in front of the wine rack, pondering the merits of various vintages. Hawke was due soon for a reading lesson, and he liked to have a bottle or two around to take the edge off. It was slow, frustrating work, but he understood the necessity of it, and the least he could do was share the fruits of Danarius's cellar.
It wasn't too early for wine, was it? Of course not. He chose a serviceable red and headed back upstairs.
He was just getting out the glasses when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to discover Bodahn, slightly out of breath, bearing a note.
Fenris was barely able to suppress his glow of pride when he received it. It felt good to be able to use his new skill in a practical way. But pride turned to a vague sense of foreboding when he deciphered the note's contents. Today, he was getting a substitute. Hawke had business to take care of and wouldn't be able to make the lesson. Isabela would be coming instead.
He enjoyed having her as a friend, comrade-in-arms, and occasional lover, but somehow, he just couldn't imagine her teaching. That required quiet patience. She'd get bored. And when she got bored, trouble started.
As if his thoughts had summoned her, he heard the telltale scratching of a pick in his front door's lock. He opened the door to find Isabela crouched down at eye level with the keyhole.
"Hello," she said, brushing past him, striding through the foyer and into the large main room. She sat down on the floor and made herself comfortable. He followed suit.
"I brought you something new to read. Hawke's books are so dull." She opened the book she was carrying and pointed to the beginning of a passage. "Start there."
Dubious, he took the book and began to read aloud. "He stood proud and erect, sideburns bristling with manliness. Guard-Captain Sabeline ran her hand over...wait a minute." He shot her a suspicious look. "Is this one of your friend-fictions?"
"Of course. I wanted to hear you read it in that sexy voice of yours."
Naturally. Fenris skimmed down the page and chose a new paragraph at random, hoping that he'd missed the undoubtedly lengthy descriptions of glistening body hair.
"Ass...assume. Assume the pos..." He paused and lowered the book. "Isabela. I don't think this is what Hawke had in mind."
"You're reading, aren't you? What difference does it make what you read? It's educational."
So many objections popped into his head, he couldn't decide on just one. He settled for looking disgruntled.
She sighed. "How about this? You read it out, and I'll demonstrate."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You'll see. Read."
Fenris knew Isabela could argue for hours if she really wanted something. He decided to humor her, at least for the time being. "She k-nelt between his legs," he read. There was a rustle as
Isabela moved his knees apart and settled herself between them. "His trousers could hardly contain his throbbing erec...erection. Soon his laces were undone."
She performed a couple of quick tugs, and before Fenris even realized what she was doing, his own laces came apart and he was exposed to the open air. He cleared his throat and continued.
"Sabeline nearly swooned at the sight of his rock-hard pole." He frowned. "I can't picture Aveline swooning."
Isabela waved away his concern with an airy gesture. "It's artistic license. Keep reading."
"But she had to taste him. She ton...goo...ed..."
"Tongued."
"She tongued the pebbled sacks at the base of his c-gah!" He jumped as he felt her tongue on sensitive skin. She looked up and smirked.
"Do you want me to stop?"
He gave her a stern look over the top of the book. "I do not want you to stop."
Isabela ran the flat of her tongue from the base of his shaft to the tip, and he hissed as his entire body tensed. She caught his gaze and raised her eyebrow. "Go on," she murmured.
He forced his voice to remain steady. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of making him cave so easily, no matter how incredible it felt when her tongue swirled over the head of his cock.
"Sabeline's tongue twined like an eel around Donnell's mag...nifi...cent manhood. He bucked into her mouth like a wild stallion." Isabela's mouth slid down his shaft, excruciatingly slowly, until she was all the way down. Fenris lost concentration. "Malum," he muttered. He searched the page, trying to find where he'd left off.
Then she swallowed.
Fenris gave up. He tossed the book aside and leaned back, wasting no more attention on anything but the wet heat of her mouth and the pleasure coiling low in his belly. She wrapped her hand around the base of his cock and stroked, sure and firm, and it was all he could do not to cry out.
He clenched his hands as she slicked him down. She knew where all his sensitive spots were, and she pinpointed them as confidently as she'd exploit an enemy's weaknesses. The feel of her tongue gliding over the slit at the head of his cock made his eyes roll back.
She quickened her pace, sinking down fully and withdrawing almost completely. The way her tongue danced over his prick was absolutely maddening. He couldn't hold back a groan as he slipped closer and closer to the edge. She gave him one final hard suck and he thrust into her mouth as he tipped over it and came, hips jerking in time with her licks. Once he'd spent himself, he collapsed, panting.
She swallowed and smiled. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked.
He struggled to find his voice. "No," he said.
"Told you." She patted his head.
It was several minutes before he spoke again. "Your voice is pleasant."
"I know. What of it?" she replied.
He handed the book to her. "Read."
She took it and flipped through the pages, finally settling on one. "Here's a good part. He licked his way up her leg, an explorer hunting for the treasure that lay between her strong, freckled thighs. Oooh. Keep doing that."
She was right about one thing; it was educational.