Morrigan was not the first woman to have invited Rian back to her tent, so to speak, but as she smirked down at him, he knew it was the last he would take to. She rolled her hips, teasing him through his trousers, and he groaned, "Morrigan."
She let out a low laugh from deep in her throat as his hands came up to take hold of her waist. She leaned down, nipping at his lips, but refusing to kiss him outright. She moved to his jaw and then down to his neck, and he let out another low sound, resisting the urge to buck beneath her. "You are much improved from the first time we shared a bedroll," she breathed against his neck.
He was far too preoccupied to respond with more than a half-hearted chuckle as his hands moved, stroking up her sides and then to the base of her breasts. He heard her breath hitch, and might have missed her subtle recoil if he wasn't so intensely interested in her movements. His hands moved back down, but she pressed back against him, making a noise of disapproval at his retreat and taking his lips in a heady kiss. He turned a hand downwards, moving across her belly toward her center when he felt her lips press into a thin line against his.
"Morrigan," he said, frowning as he took hold of her waist again in an effort to put some space between them.
"What," she asked, tone sharp. She frowned as she leaned away from him, and for a second, Rian though he might have imagined her reactions.
He wet his lips, thinking on how to word the question for a moment. "Is this... what you want?"
She pressed her hands to his chest to push herself further away before she answered. "I am certain that I do not understand your meaning." Her tone was a warning that he had heard before, but it was rarely heeded, and she already knew that.
"Me- this." He moved a hand from his waist to motion toward their lower bodies.
"Do you truly think that I would be here if this was not what I wanted?"
He pushed himself up on his elbows and watched her for another moment as her hands dropped to her sides. Any conversation with her had the potential to turn sour, but he was already barreling in that direction; there was no need to shy from his course now. "Just because you're here doesn't mean we have to... lay together."
She took a sharp breath and looked away from him, glaring at nothing before she looked back to him. "If you did not wish for this, why did you invite me here? I told you anything more between us would be a delusion."
Rian let out a bitter laugh and lay back again, hands under his head. "And if this is not what you wanted, why did you come? You shy away every time I try to touch you. If this is not what you want, you only have to say so."
Confusion was a rare expression on Morrigan's face, and indeed, it lasted only a moment as she considered his words before relief spread over her features. "Truly?"
"There is more to being with someone than sex, Morrigan. Delusion or not."
Morrigan let out a breath and she looked away from him again. "If this is what you wished for, why did you not seek out Leliana? She is certainly more versed in these matters than myself."
Rian shifted and motioned. Morrigan allowed herself to be pulled down to him, and he cradled her face as he kissed her, slow and delicate. "Because I want you, Morrigan."
"Oh, you are a most frustrating man," she murmured against his lips.
"I know," he smirked. "You keep telling me. Are you going to move now?"
"Hm," Morrigan hummed as she moved to lay beside him. He rolled to his side, watching as she continued to consider him. "I wish to ask a question of you."
"You have my full attention."
Her brow furrowed for a moment as she looked down to his lips and then back up to his eyes. "I want to know your opinion of 'love'."
"Are you trying to tell me that you love me?" He teased, but her frown only deepened, and he cleared his throat. "Why are you asking?"
"You and I have been intimate, for one. We have been... close for some time now. You are... impressive... in many ways, and you protected me from Flemeth without hope of reward. And now, here we lay in each other's arms, and you say there is more that you desire than sex." She paused, taking a shaking breath. "I feel anxious when I look upon you. I dislike this sense of dependency. 'Tis a weakness I abhor. If this is 'love,' I wish to ascertain that you do not feel the same."
"And if I do?"
Her expression sharpened. "Then we are both fools, and we need to do something immediately. I have allowed myself to become... too close. This is a weakness for us both." Her face shifted to a determined expression as she wanted for him to answer.
"Love is hardly a weakness, Morrigan," he said, running his fingers through her hair before cupping her face again.
"You are not listening to me!" She frowned at him and sat up. "Do not be such a fool, Rian! This is for your own good. I would not... I am not like other women. I am not worth your distraction. And you... are not worth mine," she finished, as if not entirely believing her own words.
"You are worth it," he insisted.
"I... You are impossible." She paused, taking a breath and shaking her head at him. "Have it your way," she said as she lay next to him again, fitting her head beneath his chin. "But I will tell you truly now. You will regret it, in the end."
"Mhm," he mumbled, pressing a kiss into her hair.