Before their meeting in his office, he had gladly avoided her. Her. The Inquisitor. The Herald of Andraste. The most beautiful and outrageously bold woman he'd ever met.
Now, he couldn't get enough of seeing her.
Call me Trev.
It seemed so intimate, what she had asked him to call her. He'd never heard anyone else calling her that. It seemed to be... only for him. He shivered with pleasure when he thought about it.
He siezed every opportunity to see her. He began taking more walks through the places he knew she frequented, be it in his free time or on the way to a meeting. His heart leapt in his chest when he did bump into her. She would walk past him smiling that breathtaking smile, saying his name in a sultry voice as a greeting when she passed him. This was very distracting for him since he never remembered where he was going after she'd passed him. More often than not did he end up somewhere else before he could remember.
A week had passed since she was in his office and whispered that... Oh, Maker. Cullen's insides felt like they were on fire when he thought about it. She hadn't come to him in private again, but he was reassured that she still meant what she said by the looks she gave him when were in the same room. She was the epitomy of a professional when she was in her role of Inquisitor. But when no one else was looking, she turned her radiant face towards him and her expression said it all. She wanted him.
He couldn't really understand why, though. He didn't feel like someone even worth noticing. He didn't doubt his importance as Commander of the Inquisition's forces, but his personality in private?
Cullen didn't have much experience with women, and certainly not of anyone like her. He doubted the likes of her even existed. It wasn't as though he'd never been with a woman before, but never with someone he cared that much for. It had always been chance meetings, mutual needs for physical relief, but never anything more. Truth be told, Cullen hadn't exactly had an easy life, and he'd never had a quiet time in his life where duty didn't come first. His sense of duty now was stronger than ever, but she beat all the reason and logic straight out of him. He was still doing his job as Commander, and doing it well. But he just couldn't stop thinking about her. He didn't really know what to do, as this was not a familiar feeling for him.
But he could tell, more and more with each passing day, that he had caught her interest in a very I-want-to-be-more-than-friends-kind of way. Or more like I-want-to-tear-your-clothes-off-kind of way. And, oh, he would let her do that anytime she liked.
One evening, just after dark had fallen over Skyhold, Cullen found himself walking aimlessly in the lower floors of the keep. He'd been on his way back from the kitchen to his office grabbing a late snack, but was disappointed that he hadn't seen her. So he walked around down there for a bit before going back, enjoying the unusual quiet of the normally bustling keep. He felt comfortable down there in the torchlit corridors. In some places bookshelves lined the walls, and he almost felt at home.
He could smell her before he saw or heard her. That lovely jasmine-honey-scent, he would know anywhere. He turned around just as she was about to jump at him and scare him.
"Aww! You ruined it now! Bad, bad Cullen."
He couldn't help but laugh at her as she stood with her hands on her hips, those painfully gorgeous swelling hips, and her head to her side with one eyebrow up, looking at him with a sceptical and at the same time amused look.
"You may be sneaky, my Lady, but I'm not so easy to sneak up on," he snickered.
"Oh, challenge accepted! When you least expect it, I swear!" she exclaimed in a dramatic voice.
He laughed again, and couldn't wipe the grin off his face after.
"And Cullen, tsk tsk, what have I told you to call me? We are alone, remember?"
Oh, he remembered. It was all he could think of right now.
"I beg your forgiveness, Trev. Can you? Forgive me?" he said, mimicking the same dramatic tone she had moments before.
She laughed, and a ripple of pleasure went through Cullen's body at the sound. The fact that he could make her happy and laugh excited him.
Her expression quickly went from laughter to mischievious smile, as she took one step closer to him. She was standing right in front of him now, so very close. He breathed her in, and felt almost intoxicated by her scent. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest, and when he saw her hand moving towards him, he thought that maybe the world had ended and this was just a dream.
Holy Maker, she's going to touch me.
Her fingertips brushed the stubble on his cheek, and Cullen couldn't breathe. A heat spread through his entire body in a second, a desire to have her touch him more, everywhere, and to touch her back. But he didn't dare move.
"Yes, Cullen. I forgive you." She leaned in and he felt it. Her soft lips on his cheek. She lingered there for several seconds, her lips no longer kissing him, but hovering so close he could feel her breath on his skin. She ran her fingertips light as feather down his neck and whispered in his ear: "You are positively... delicious."
With that, she took a step back and watched his face intently. He stood with his mouth slightly open, breathing heavily, eyes burning almost black with desire. She seemed to like his reaction. She smiled and blew him a kiss in the air before turning and walking up the stairs.
Cullen stood, as ususal, frozen in place. He raised his hand to touch the spot where she had kissed him. He had wanted her to kiss his lips so badly, and cursed himself for not having been able to move. What was he so afraid of? She obviously wouldn't have objected if he had kissed her, but Maker, he wouldn't have been able to stop at just a kiss.
And the fact that this goddess seemed to want him was still utterly incomprehensible to him. He needed time to wrap his head around this now very obvious fact. But what he needed most was an ice-cold shower. He groaned when he thought, for the thousandth time, of what she had said in his office.