Chapter 2

9:27 Dragon - 6 months later

"I really don't care if you don't like it, Ser Knight!" Bronwynn was yelling as First Enchanter Irving entered their quarters.

"I am going to perform this ritual!" The redhead turned on her heel and walked to her room. Irving marveled that she didn't stomp her feet as she did so. He chanced a look at the Templar who was her guardian and was amazed to see his face pinched in a fierce scowl. His body was tensed and ready for a fight and Irving stepped forward, speaking his name to intervene. When Cullen turned his blue eyes to Irving, they were so full of wrath that Irving took an involuntary step back.

"First Enchanter, have you any idea how she got involved in this ritual?" Cullen demanded. Irving frowned himself at the tone of the knights voice.

"She is quite capable of choosing which rituals she joins," Irving informed the irate knight. Cullen shook his head in disgust.

"The Enchanter performing this ritual has tried to harm her several times in the last six months, and he's going to try and keep the Templars out of the Ritual room again!" Cullen was shouting now, but not at Irving, he was directing it toward Bronwynn in her room.

"He cannot do so, I will not allow it," Irving said, and his voice was soft compared to the ringing tones of Cullen's shouting.

"I imagine you think that matters to Uldred and his followers?" Cullen asked venomously. Irving frowned in confusion. Uldred may be ambitious but he had no reason to want to harm the young mage. She was no threat to his position within the circle.

"Uldred would not…" Irving began when Cullen interrupted him.

"Uldred would not harm the girl? You have been blinded by the man, First Enchanter," he ground out from between his teeth.

"Uldred has threatened her in my presence. Not with punishment or reprisals for misbehavior, First Enchanter, but with physical harm for simply questioning his instruction for a spell!" Cullen spat at the older man. Irving was unsure how to answer the younger man. They had been at odds since the Templar first approached him regarding Bronwynn's tenure within the Circle. Irving had admitted that he had kept a lot of the trouble she'd had with the other mages from the Knight-Commander because he was concerned that the Templars would start being harsher with the mages. Cullen hadn't taken the response very well. Irving couldn't bring himself to believe senior mages were encouraging the others to hurt her or any other mages. Of course, Knight-Commander Greagoir often denied there was any wrongdoing among the Templars.

"Uldred is a senior enchanter, if he feels she is being insolent…"

"When is she not insolent to idiots?" Cullen asked him. Irving had no answer for that, for she truly was impatient with those she considered fools.

"What is the ritual for?" Irving asked on a sigh.

"Wards for the tower," Bronwynn answered as she came out of her room in her leathers, a contrast to the knight who was wearing breeches and a tunic instead of his own leather armor. Irving was pleased to see she was once more carrying her ebony staff, he knew she was feeling more confident since the Knight-Lieutenant had been assigned to guard her. He didn't know that the retired Knight-Captain Marline and Knight-Lieutenant had been working with her to improve her ability to fight with the staff as a melee weapon not just a focus.

When her reply registered Irving frowned. Uldred did not deal with the Tower's wards. Only Wynn and he led those rituals, Uldred did not even take part in them.

"Is there something wrong with Wynn that I do not know about?" Irving asked in alarm. Bronwynn shook her head.

"No, there isn't. I'm running late, excuse me." She moved to go around Irving only to find Cullen standing in front of the door. She growled in exasperation.

"I am going," she told him again.

"Not until you tell me why" he spat. She covered her heart and gasped in mock surprise.

"You mean you really want to know?" she asked as if it never occurred to her he'd care. Irving saw Cullen's eyes narrow and his fists clench until they were white. Bronwynn swallowed but lifted her chin. She would not back down. He was going to have to deal with it; she didn't need a babysitter, just a bodyguard. She had to make herself think of him as only a bodyguard because she was fast falling in love with the infuriating man.

"Why?" he ground out. If he didn't know better he'd think she was trying to provoke him into hitting her. Unfortunately for her he didn't want to hit her, he wanted to kiss her senseless every time she lifted her chin in defiance. Which was almost five times a day lately, which of course meant that he also started thinking about other things he could do with his mouth. This meant he was spending far too much time thinking about stripping her out of her leathers and not enough time making sure she wasn't getting herself in trouble.

"You won't like it," Bronwynn then hedged, he didn't usually push so hard, but they'd been arguing for over an hour and she was afraid he'd actually do something about her defiance this time. It might be a good thing Irving was here.

"Why won't I… no, what won't I like?" Cullen asked. He was going to tie her to her bed, that way she wouldn't drive him mad. Then realized that would drive him crazy in a different way.

"Yes, child, what won't he like?" Irving interrupted again, and though both heard the First Enchanter they both ignored him, watching each other with varying degrees of frustration and desire. Bronwynn took a deep breath to answer, but couldn't find the words at first. Cullen narrowed his eyes at her once more and took a step towards her, forcing her to take a step back.

"Well?" Bronwynn shivered, more from the rumble in his voice than the fear his growling at her evoked. She had spent the last six months listening to him through the wooden partition. She could hear him moving, stripping, bathing; she even knew when he was pleasuring himself. Six months of hearing his muffled shouts kept her from being as afraid of him as she thought she should be.

"I am trying to get proof that Uldred is using blood-magic in his rituals" Bronwynn said quickly and much more softly than she normally spoke. She did keep her head up, but only because she was afraid to take her eyes off the angry Templar.

"No." Cullen had opened his mouth, but the word did not come from him. It was Irving who spoke the denial, he wasn't about to have this young woman put herself in that kind of danger. She turned her green eyes upon him and they were shocked. Cullen, however, started smiling a very self satisfied smirk.

"I don't care what your reasons are for wanting to prove this, young lady, but no. You are not going to put yourself in harm's way. If you crave adventure that much I'll find something for you and your Templar to do that won't get you killed because you are outnumbered!" The nineteen year old huffed and puffed herself up to her full five foot five inches height only to deflate when Cullen added his voice to Irving's.

"I am not letting you out of this room, Bronwynn."

"Fine," she groused and this time did stomp into her room. Cullen and Irving both released a relieved breath.

"She believes he's the mage leading the young mages toward blood-magic?" First Enchanter Irving asked the knight quietly who merely nodded. Irving sighed in frustration. "I'll have to show her the proof she's wrong," Irving stated sadly.

Cullen shook his head but kept his silence. For the past six months he had seen how naïve many of the mages within this Circle were and it disturbed him to no end. Especially as the Senior Enchanters and the First Enchanter shouldn't be so blindly trusting of one another. Of course the Knight-Commander was guilty of trusting the First Enchanter far too readily as well, but Cullen understood they had been in the Circle together for so very long it may have been difficult for him to see the danger any clearer than Irving could. He nodded to the First Enchanter as he left the room and relocked the door behind him. Bronwynn stepped out of her room again, this time in plain robes; she then proceeded to ignore the Templar. Normally Cullen found this behavior amusing; but today he was far more agitated than usual. It had been a very long six months. He had spent so much time learning the routine of the Circle, as well as his charge's routine that he had not taken any time for himself other than when he was alone in his room. He chuffed a laugh at himself because when he was alone in his room he spent his time fantasizing about the woman sleeping in the next room.

He could still recall the first time he'd seen her masturbating. He'd come in from one of his talks with Greagoir and she hadn't heard the door open or close. He'd turned from locking the door when he heard a soft cry from the sofa in front of the fireplace. He'd taken a quick look but saw nothing when he heard another sound, this time a moan and then movement caught his eye. He took three more steps and was drawing his sword when he saw her lying on her back; her back arched and her breasts bare. His mouth had gone dry at the sight of creamy skin topped with strawberry colored areolas peaked with raspberry nipples. Cullen had stood rooted to the spot, his penis instantly harder than granite; his eyes had followed her bare arm to the junction between her thighs. How he had managed to not make a sound and disturb her he didn't know but his manhood had begun to throb in time with her hand as she stroked herself. Her hips thrusting against the movement of her fingers, her head thrown back and rosy lips open and glistening from her tongue darting out to lick them – Cullen didn't dare close his eyes or move lest he miss seeing her climax. His breathing had become harsher as she began thrashing on the sofa; when she cried out his name as she stiffened with her orgasm he felt the warmth of his own ejaculate. He waited out his body's reaction and managed to get into his room before he heard her moving around in the living room. His nights since then had either been sleepless as he listened to her crying out his name in ecstasy or him waking up to need release from his own dreams of being deep inside her.

He worried about her, worried that she was going to get hurt by the mages who wanted power beyond what they already had. He worried that he would be unable to help her when she performed the rituals she took part in. He caught himself fretting when the other Templars in the Circle looked at her askance. He did not worry she would use blood-magic or fall prey to demons. He knew she was strong willed enough to deny anyone or anything that tried to either offer or take her power. He did worry of late that she had developed a death wish.

"I am going to take a walk," Cullen informed the mage, who kept ignoring him. "Do not leave this room, Bronwynn," he ordered. That got her attention. She turned to face him with narrowed green eyes.

"I am not so foolish as to not recognize I'm safer with you around, so you don't need to order me to stay put!" she snapped at him. It was the final straw for Cullen; he wasn't going to let her think he was so easily ignored or pushed. He took two long strides and was standing before her; he reached out and wrapped his calloused hands around her slender shoulders and pulled her to him sealing her surprised open mouth with his own. His kiss stole her breath as effectively as it stopped her speaking, their tongues met in an erotic battle that left them both breathless. Before she could do more lean into him, her hands just coming up to grasp his biceps; he set her away from him. His blue eyes were dark with desire, his breathing as heavy as hers; he cursed himself for a fool when her eyes opened. They were a deep jade from her own desire. He clenched his fists then opened them his mind racing furiously. He watched her sway to him and gave in; he wanted her enough to take her.

His hands tangled into her hair and he dragged her mouth back to his to drown himself in the pleasure of the kiss again. She moaned and melted into his chest and lifted her arms to wrap around his neck. Her breasts flattened against his chest, he could feel the pebbles her nipples had become through his tunic and her robe. He shifted his right hand into the opening of her robe, skimming his fingers along the outside of her left breast delighting in the sound of her groaning into his mouth. Cullen slid his thumb around her nipple, lightly brushing the sensitive nub with the calloused digit. She tried to press her breast into his hand, a sound like please escaping her throat but he was determined he was going to take his time, he was going to enjoy her body today because he was fairly certain this was not going to be repeated.

Bronwynn heard alarm bells in her head when Cullen first kissed her; she silenced them with a vengeance. She had felt bereft for the few seconds they had been separated before he kissed her again. Part of her mind was screaming to stop him, not to let him have this power over her, but the rest of her mind was drowning in the pleasure his kiss evoked. When his hand began caressing her breast, the calluses sent shivers down her body causing the heat pooling in her loins to rise higher. His thumb brushed her nipple and her body reacted with even more wetness between her legs. She didn't hear herself say please into his mouth, but she felt his other hand slide down her body to the ties on her robes. She slid her own hands down his chest to the hem of his tunic; as he opened her robes, exposing her breasts to the cold air, she slid her hands under his tunic. He groaned into her mouth and yanked her hard against his chest, lifting her as he did so. She could feel the hard length of him against her abdomen, she sighed in delight.

Cullen suddenly shuddered and set her away from himself once again. He didn't remove his hands from her hips, though.

"Bronwynn," he growled; "Look at me." She whimpered and opened hazy eyes to look at the man she'd been dreaming about for six very long months. Her chest was heaving slightly, and she was already covered in a fine sheen of sweat; as was he.

"Why did you stop?" she asked breathlessly. He swallowed a groan at the sound. He remembered that breathless sound coming out of her mouth when she pleasured herself. He also remembered wanting to be inside her when she made that sound.

"I have to know you want this," He said. His own voice was husky with desire, he didn't want to let her go but he couldn't just take her. His conscience wouldn't let him.

"Maker, yes!" she exclaimed, and that was all he needed to hear. He slid her robe from her body as he lifted her into his arms. He made it into his room without tripping over the furniture, he laid her on his bed and devoured her mouth in a searing kiss that promised so much more than she could imagine.

"Don't move," he commanded and began divesting himself of his clothes faster than he ever had before. Her eyes widened when his boots hit the wall behind him. She licked her lips in anticipation as his chest was revealed, narrow but chiseled from years of sword work and wearing heavy armor. Her hands clenched into involuntary fists when he dropped his breeches on the floor. Her eyes widened in fright, but he was beside her on the bed and kissing her again before she could make a sound.

"Too late to change your mind, love, I can't stop now," he breathed against her throat. He traced her body with his hands; used them to memorize the feel of her skin, the shape of her breasts. He reveled in her cries of pleasure as he tasted her skin with broad strokes of his tongue. Her breathing was heavy once more when he leaned away to stare at her breasts.

"I have wanted to do this for months," He whispered roughly before capturing her right breast in his left hand and gently squeezing the full globe, lifting the nipple higher for him to enjoy. He flattened his tongue and licked a long stroke over the raspberry colored skin. He chuckled wickedly when her hands tangled in his hair and she tried to pull his head down. Cullen took his time with her breasts, teasing her with lips and teeth and tongue before giving in to her demand for more when she screamed his name in frustration.

Bronwynn squirmed beneath the man she had been dreaming about and wasn't sure how much more of his teasing she could stand.

"Cullen!" she shouted as she lifted her chest again in an attempt to get more of what he was doing. Her whole body was on fire and he had only touched her lightly, he hadn't done more than tease her breasts, and her vagina was so wet she felt sure she was going to leave a puddle on the bed. He finally took her breast in his mouth, which did nothing to quench the fire but made her burn even more. Her fingers flexed in his hair and on his shoulder, digging in her nails. She didn't hear herself saying please repeatedly, but Cullen did. Hearing her beg him to touch her made him even harder. He slid up her body once more to claim her lips in another kiss; he teased her mouth with his own while he trailed his fingers down her stomach to her pussy.

Cullen groaned as the heat of her core scorched his fingers pleasantly, her legs fell apart without his prompting and he slid his middle and index fingers between her labia.

"So wet," he groaned. His fingers brushed her clit and she squealed against his throat.

"Damn," he whispered before moving his body between her legs, he sealed her mouth with his own once more; lifting her hips he was happily surprised to find he didn't have to fumble to find her entrance. "Breath" he said to her, she took a deep breath and he plunged into her. She was so very wet, so ready for him that even though it was a tight fit his dick met no real resistance until he found her maiden-head. He didn't pull back; he couldn't have if he'd wanted to. He felt the thin membrane of skin tear under his onslaught and he kept pushing into her sheath until he was buried up to his balls. She stiffened under him and once he was fully sheathed inside her he held still to let her adjust.

"Maker" he growled in her ear when he started to move after he felt her relax underneath him. He lifted her knees so her feet were flat on the mattress, she moved with him instinctually; although he would not let her increase the pace. He wasn't so large a man that he was over endowed, but he was larger than most and she was taking every inch with every down stroke. She met him stroke for stroke; her nails digging into his shoulders.

"Come for me," he ordered as he slid finger and thumb between them to roll her clit between them. She arched her back, throwing her head back as she screamed incoherently. The walls of her pussy clenched around him even more tightly and he lost the battle of control for himself.

"Yes!" he shouted as she screamed his name with a second orgasm that wound itself up with the first.

They collapsed together, he wrapped his arms around her and they both slept.

Bronwynn woke slowly to an intense pleasure between her legs. She reached down and felt the silk of Cullen's hair.

"Don't wake up Bronwynn," she said aloud to herself as she tangled her fingers in his hair and lifted her hips to give him better access. She moaned when he slipped a finger into her passage and caressed the sensitive area just inside.

"Oh, Maker, don't let me wake up!" she begged; then she heard a deep satisfied chuckle. She gave an embarrassed squeal and tried to pull away only to have him thrust his finger in more deeply while he sucked on her clit.

"Cullen!" she demanded as she felt the orgasm sweeping her away. He simply chuckled against her vagina and lapped up her juices.

Cullen took his time pleasuring his mage, enjoying the unique flavor of her, her texture. Cullen not only drank in her juices, he drank up her cries of pleasure. When both her hands were tangled in his hair and she was pulling and begging him; although he was sure she didn't know what she was begging for; he licked his way up her body to capture her mouth in a searing kiss as he thrust into her snug passage again. He gritted his teeth against the sensation, determined to make her call his name again as she orgasmed.

This didn't take long at all. She wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her ankles at the small of his back; which allowed him to go even deeper into her. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her small nails dug deep into his shoulders. Their breathing synced as they each tried to get the other to climax; a race they were both determined to win.

"Cullen!" Bronwynn's scream echoed in the small room, her nails scored his back and she drew blood and Cullen didn't care. He held on to his control with bared teeth as she convulsed around him. He buried his head into the crook of her neck and shoulder; his hands gripped the mattress of the bed in a white knuckle grip as he rode her through her second orgasm. When she was limp and panting beneath him he wrapped his arms around her back and rolled them over so she was lying on top of him. He was still hard inside her and he had to fight the urge to move her on him.

"Wh-" she licked her lips and swallowed, then tried speaking again.

"What are you doing?" she asked, marveling at how full she felt with him inside her. He gripped her hips tightly to keep her from shifting.

She started to contract the walls of her vagina, gripping his dick in a rippling motion which caused him to flex his fingers more tightly on her hips.

"Y-y-yes," she panted through the pleasure. He lifted her hips in an effort to disrupt her efforts only to gasp when she gripped the head of his manhood before he could pull out of her. She braced her hands on his chest, locked her knees at his hips and pushed down just as he pulled her down and thrust up. He held her tightly against his hips, his eyes clenched and mouth open as he emptied his seed inside her, she groaned as she felt him pumping against the walls of her pussy and he groaned as he finished and decided he was going to teach her a lesson, he used his thumb and forefinger to grasp her clit and roll it between them. He grinned triumphantly when she gasped his name and came undone once again. When she collapsed against his chest he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

He breathed deeply and allowed himself to smile in satisfaction as she wiggled like she was trying to get closer.

"We should talk about this," Cullen started, but she interrupted him.

"No," she laughingly answered as she snuggled closer. He still had her lying on top of him; he was still inside her, even though he wasn't hard anymore. She had never felt this content or relaxed in her life. He was rubbing gentle circles on her back.

"We have to talk about this," he started again. She shook her head and raised herself up to kiss him to keep him quiet. Talking about this would mean losing it. He'd want to set rules, rules meant there was something wrong with what they were doing and how she felt and she didn't need the reminder. She knew how it was. She was a mage, he was a Templar and it wasn't meant to be. It didn't matter how she felt. She didn't realize she had started crying.

Cullen felt the wetness of her tears against his chest and rolled them over so they were side by side.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked her as he gently wiped away her tears.

"If we talk about this it won't happen again" she whispered. He shook his head and kissed her eyes.

"No, my love, if you are willing this will happen again, often" he said. She shook in argument and swallowed.

"You'll want to set rules, Cullen. You're a Templar, I'm a mage." She gave a bitter laugh. "I'm not supposed to have relations with other mages, or non-mages, much less a Templar," she reminded him. The sound of her heart breaking was clear in her voice and it was killing Cullen.

"I don't care if someone sees that I touch you, I don't care if someone sees you touch me," he trailed kisses along her jaw to her mouth. She allowed him to kiss her, allowed herself to feel the pleasure of him actually wanting her. For only a moment, then she pulled away.

"It won't work when the sun comes up," she whispered against his mouth. Cullen sighed sadly.

"Why are you so sure?" he asked her.

"I'm a mage, you're a Templar. No, don't shake your head as if it doesn't matter. This," she gulped and pressed herself against him, reveling in the feel of his skin against her own. "This is just lust," she said softly. She felt as well as heard his growl of denial.

"It is," she insisted. "It has to be, because I can't keep you."

Cullen narrowed his blue eyes at the naked woman lying in his arms. He let the silence stretch while he thought about what she was really saying. She wanted to keep him and that was good because he was going to keep her. She thought her being a mage mattered, and while he would always be afraid for her safety he knew she wouldn't give in to the temptation of blood-magic or fall prey to demons. Her being a mage was only part of who she was, not all of it. 'Besides,' he thought to himself, 'she's my mage,'

Her eyes were filling with tears again, and he couldn't stand the thought of her crying; for any reason. He wiped away the tears that started to fall with his thumb.

"No, don't cry, my love," he whispered to her.

"But … "he shushed her with his finger.

"No, we'll take it one night at a time," he whispered still. She opened her mouth and he covered hers with his own. He kissed her until she melted against him moaning.

"I'm yours until the sun comes up," he told her. It took her a moment to understand what he was saying. Then she smiled shyly but wickedly up at him.

"Does that mean I get to touch you now?" she asked him. He grinned back at her.

"Yes," he answered and was rewarded by her leaning up to kiss him. If he thought there was a bit of desperation in it, he let it pass. She'd figure it out; she belonged to him.