A/N: These one-shots are purely supplemental to my Affairs of the Heart story. If you're not comfortable reading them, and you think they will alter your view of the characters, by all means, ignore them. The story goes on in a way that doesn't actually require them (though I personally think they make the characters seem more real). Hope those of you reading enjoy them. Don't forget to review! Also, it's a little late, but Happy Valentine's Day, lovelies!

~R3d

For a second it appeared as if Weylan had completely stopped breathing. Is he okay?

"Weylan?" Ashe left his hand resting, seemingly frozen solid, on her thigh to touch his face. His brow knitted slightly as he responded with a question she'd somewhat been expecting, but had discarded as fair game once he'd jumped on top of her the first time.

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

Was it? She could decipher whatever myriad of feelings she'd be left with to sift through in the morning. She supposed if she added, "right now," to the end of his question she could more confidently answer him. Worried that her voice would betray her inhibitions, she stretched her neck up to kiss him on the lips. She was not entirely sure how to convince him of the passion crackling like a flame in her chest, searching for any ounce of kindling it could find to set it roaring off into the night. For the first time in a long time, she felt warmed from within, rather than by an external sensation.

Why am I so terrible at this? she thought to herself, annoyed. How do women learn how to do this stuff, anyway? A shot in the dark, she dragged her fingernails lightly down over the soft skin between his ear and his shoulder. The hand she'd pressed to her breast twitched slightly, but otherwise the man maintained his stone-like position next to her. She scratched again, a little harder, and earned a squeeze on her thigh. He pulled away from her lips to search her face, just like the night before in Ashe's Institute room. What is he looking for?

Whatever it had been, it seemed that he'd found at least some trace of it as his hands moved hesitantly over her. She paid particular attention to the one that was slowly snaking its way up to her hip under her nightgown, his fingers leaving behind a strange tingling that she'd never felt before. His index finger and thumb slid fluidly under the thin cotton of the dark-blue panties she was wearing. He drew small circles just inside the bone there over the small divot between her abdomen and the point of her hip. She let out a light sigh and relaxed her neck, letting her head fall back onto her pillow, still watching his face.

A mischievous squint gave her little warning before he tugged her underwear carefully, but persistently, up and slightly behind her. The sudden pressure between her legs startled her. She looked down at the silhouette of his hand under the silk of her gown before meeting his eyes in another question, which soon faded to a silent challenge daring him to keep going. At this, he smiled, pushed her leg gently off of him, and rolled back into his previous position over her, but this time with her gown gathered over her stomach and him on his knees between her legs. He brought himself closer to her and kissed her shoulder, taking the thin strap of her nightgown between his teeth and pulling before trailing back up her neck and across her cheek to her lips.

But this kiss was different. Weylan brought his hands up to cradle Ashe's head and took her lower lip in his mouth, sucking lightly before pulling back to look into her eyes again. She saw so many emotions there that she could only name a few. Happiness, adoration, playfulness, and, most prominently, desire. Emboldened by his want, she bit her lip coyly, and had to congratulate herself as she watched his eyes drop instantly to her mouth. Maybe this isn't so difficult after all. He again pressed his mouth to hers, tenderly running the tip of his tongue across her top lip. Taking the hint, she parted her lips slightly and allowed his tongue to explore the uncharted territory he'd discovered, and found it surprisingly more enjoyable than she'd imagined. Encouraged, she turned her head and opened wider. He deepened their kiss and twisted his fingers back into her hair. When he pulled away this time, he kept his eyes closed and went to work sucking on her neck. Though her mind screamed at her to remind him not to be rough in that area, the rest of her body shut her up. She arched her back and scratched at his shoulders while his hands worked smoothly to push her gown up to reveal her stomach, stopping just short of her breasts.

Sitting up again, he dragged his hands erratically up and down her sides, watching her face. She tensed and her back arched a second time, her hands clawing at the pillow under her head. He stopped to chuckle to himself.

"What?" she breathed, panting.

"It's just fun to watch someone experience this for the first time, is all. I like looking for different ways to make you writhe."

She laughed with him.

"It sounds like torture when you say it that way," Ashe mumbled.

"It kind of is like torture, isn't it?" the half-evil look on his face intrigued and somewhat frightened her at the same time, but he didn't leave her much time to dwell on it. He leaned down to place a wet kiss on her side, lingering just long enough to leave a small bruise. She squirmed under him. He switched to the other side, his hair tickling the plane of her stomach on his way. She giggled before tossing again in response to a careful nip on her side. His sudden confidence took her off guard.

"You don't need that nightgown very much, do you?" he asked, pointedly reaching under her back and up to her shoulders between the silk and her skin. She sat up and raised her arms so that he could pull it over her head, and leaned back on her elbows, forcing herself not to cover up. She did, however, allow herself to tightly shut her eyes against the situation. The warmth of his lips on hers softened her face and slowly coaxed her to look back up at him. He pulled away again to look at her. His face had also smoothed from its previously roguish expression to a look Ashe couldn't name.

"What's wrong?" Her eyes dodged his face. He reached out a hand and lifted her chin to force her to look into his amber irises.

"Nothing's wrong, Love. I've just never seen anything more beautiful than you." Blushing, she dipped her head to throw him a sly sideways glance before letting her eyes fall to his currently unoccupied hands. When their eyes met again, he leaned dangerously over her, holding himself up with his left hand and caressing her neck with his right. She laid back down submissively while he took to running his lips along her collarbone and nuzzling her neck. He left a long kiss at the hollow of her throat as his hand drew a wavy line from her neck to her now bare breast. She felt herself relax as he began to slowly knead her body there, but tensed again as a trail of kisses lead his lips to envelope the softest part of her other breast. His tongue was hot as it circled her nipple. Instinctively, she lifted her hips and ground into him, causing him to arch his back and meet her with a barely contained thrust. For the first time, she realized how aroused he actually was.

"Sorry," she began, worried she'd thrown him off.

"It's quite alright," he panted, clenching the fists he'd shoved down into the mattress on either side of her. As he caught his breath, Ashe's curiosity got the better of her. She reached down with one palm upturned and rubbed him through the flannel. Weylan tensed and opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. A low groan escaped him as his head dropped to watch her hand moving against his pants. It's really is kind of fun to watch him writhe, she admitted to herself. With new purpose, Ashe sat up and pulled herself out from under him.

"Where are you going?" Weylan whined.

"Oh hush," she laughed, pushing him down sideways across the bed and sitting on her knees next to him. "It's my turn."

Weylan was completely shocked as Ashe threw him the same scheming look he'd given her earlier. He bucked his hips forward in response to her tracing the waistline of his pants across his abdomen. She skimmed her fingers up his side and caught his nipple between her index and middle fingers. Leaning over, she gave him a cautious lick, eliciting another groan to push its way through forcefully sealed lips. Pleased with the result, Ashe hovered over him and twirled the sensitive area that was pulled taught over his lean-muscled chest around with her tongue, warming it with her breath. Then she snuck her hand up and pressed ice-cold fingers to his chest.

"Ah! Hey!" he laughed. "That's not very nice!"

"I'm sorry," she joked, laying her head on his shoulder and looking up at him with exaggerated innocence.

"You're enjoying this," he raised a brow.

She scooted up to suck on his earlobe while also reaching down and pulling at the drawstring on his pants. Her breath tickled the inside of his ear, sending a shudder down his spine. He subconsciously grabbed her wrist and pushed her hand down to touch him again through the now slightly wet flannel. She kissed her way down his neck and chest to his stomach and laid her head sideways so that she could see what she was doing. She then helped him push his pants down and away from her intended target. Ashe sat up again on her knees and Weylan propped himself up on both elbows. Not knowing exactly where to start, she placed a timid finger at the tip of it. Blushing, she shot him a terrified glance.

"Are you alright?" He almost didn't ask, worried she'd lost her confidence. He wasn't ready for this to end just yet.

"I'm fine," she smiled, "I just have no idea what I'm doing."

Laughing slightly, he took her hand and wrapped it gently around him, and then moved it the way he would himself. She continued slowly like that for a minute or two before an idea struck her; an idea that left Weylan barely clinging to his self-control. She looked up knowingly through the hair in her face at his stunned expression. He hadn't expected her to do that without a little begging.

"Ashe –" he tried, reaching for her. A particularly deliberate flick of her tongue stunted his progress. "Don't you w-want a turn too?"

She pulled away from him and sat back on the bed while he again had to catch his breath.

"Good?" she smiled.

"Amazing," he sighed, rolling over to crawl up to her. "Let me show you." He pushed her back against a pillow and kissed his way down her body, slipping her panties off without her even noticing. He breathed hotly over her before placing his tongue directly onto her and sliding it slowly around in different directions. She tore at the comforter under her while his hands drew shapes on her stomach.

She was barely able to suppress a moan as it rose in her throat. Covering her mouth, she pushed her hips into him. Her body began trembling under his ministrations. She arched her back once more and allowed a soft groan to slip through her lips before collapsing shakily to the bed. Weylan sat up and set his warm palm over her center and pressed lightly, calming the shaking to intermittent shudders. She pulled him up to face her and sighed.

"I love you, Weylan," she smiled contentedly.

"More than anything," he agreed, absentmindedly pressing himself against her. She ran her fingers through his hair and lifted her hips to him. "Ashe?"

"I told you, I don't want you to stop," she whispered.

"You don't have to do this for me," he murmured, concern crossing his face.

"I'm not," she insisted, grinding a small circle into his hips. It was all he could do not to push back into her.

"It might hurt at first." He was losing his resolve, but she needed to know.

"You think I can't get past a little pain?" He suddenly remembered who he was talking to. Though Ashe's body looked delicate, she was no warm-weathered flower. She raised her eyebrow at his silence. "Well?" Weylan resolved to be more careful than necessary until he was sure she was alright.

He finally answered her with the slow meeting of their hips. She winced slightly as he pulled back, but she pressed herself into his next thrust. It doesn't hurt that bad, she mused. Once he realized she would be just fine, Weylan focused more on ways he could make her first time more special. He tugged lightly on her hair and nibbled at her ear, earning himself a few impassioned scratches across his back. He continued to pamper her in any way he could think of; stroking her hair, kissing her neck, and whispering encouragements into her ear.

"Ashe, I'm gonna have to stop," he breathed after a while.

"Tired?" she asked. His pace was slowing.

"Not quite," he hinted. He pulled back and flopped down next to her. She looked confused for a few moments until it hit her.

"Ohhh… But what about you?"

"I'm fine. I couldn't have had a more perfect ni – hey!" Ashe had crawled down take him in her hands and placed a warm kiss that had him seeing stars again. A little more massaging sent him over the edge. Ashe got up quietly and made her way over to the bathroom. He had to chuckle a little at how she took it almost as a duty to reciprocate. He pulled his pants back on and flipped the comforter over himself. His eyes were closed when he felt her crawl under the covers and curl up next to him.

Ashe sighed heavily as he wrapped his arms around her. She'd never felt more complete.