Alright my lovelies! This is the 4th and final part of this fic. Basically Valek and Yelena having fun times in the straw. aka SMUT. There's a bit of a gap between the last chapter and this one, since I didn't really feel like writing the whole cell escape thing. It should be pretty clear where this fits in with the book though.

Again, all characters belong to the author.

Enjoy!

As I led Yelena back through the dungeon, I felt a twinge of guilt. This was a place of her nightmares, the place where she had been taken just moments after the worst moments of her life. The place where she had revealed those moments to me. My hands clenched at the thought. The thought of Reyad hurting her, touching her….

I drew in a sharp breath to regain my focus – now was not the time to be thinking such thoughts– and started throwing open cell doors.

"Are you insane?" Yelena whispered, needlessly, as the creaking of the cell doors would have alerted anyone close enough to hear her talk. "Freedom's that way." She pointed off behind us.

I knew how she felt; basic human instinct was telling be to run like hell, get out as fast as possible. Which is what they'd expect. "Trust me," I murmured, unlocking the last cell door and tucking the keys into my belt – never know when those might come in handy. "This is the perfect hiding spot. The mess we left will soon be discovered, the open doors proof we've fled." I paused to usher her in front of me, a bit harder than I'd intended in my haste. "Search parties will be sent out. When all the soldiers have left the manor, we'll make our move. Until then, we lay low."

A glance in her direction saw her pondering this, a slight furrow between her eyebrows. I suppressed a smug smile and moved to gather the straw in the room into a rather large pile, bending and trampling some of the pieces to form a slightly less prickly hollow in the center. I reached over pinch out the flame of our lantern before pulling Yelena down beside me and quickly covering us with the remaining straw.

It was only then that I noticed her shivering, caught up as I had been in devising our "escape". I threw an arm over her and pulled her close, my head rationalizing that she would need the shared body heat, while my body thrilled at the feeling of her soft, if wet, form pressed up against me. At first, her muscles were tense and I worried that I'd over-stepped somehow, but soon enough she relaxed and leaned up against me with an almost inaudible sigh. Part of my mind noted how unexpectedly muscular her thin frame felt. Her training with the Power Twins and Maren had bulked up her shoulders and back, while the running had filled out her long legs. I wasn't complaining. I found myself even more attracted to her, if that were possible, feeling the toned athleticism of her body.

The sound of raised voices broke me from that line of thinking and I smirked slightly, thinking of the chaos we'd just created. Brazzell and Mogkan were called down, both believing we'd fled under the assumption that the Commander was as good as lost. That stung. I grumbled. "They actually think I would abandon the Commander. They have no concept of loyalty."

Yelena's shoulders shook slightly with a repressed snort.

After a time, the prison emptied and I allowed myself to relax, tucking my forehead against the back of Yelena's head and breathing in her scent. It would be awhile before we could leave.

At some point, Yelena impatiently pushed some of the straw off of us, breathing in the slightly fresher air that didn't smell quite so much of rat droppings and moldy grain. I grinned, wondering how long it would be before her impatience overcame her fear and caution.

It wasn't long.

"Can we go now?" Her sigh lifted my arm slightly and pressed her a bit tighter against me.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to focus on her question and not the feelings that stirred within my lower abdomen. "Not yet. I believe it's still daylight. We'll wait until dark."

She huffed at that, but didn't argue. Instead she turned her head slightly towards me. "Why don't you tell me a story to pass the time?"

I snorted. "A story?" What was she, five?

"Yeah. Like how you met the Commander, for instance."

All humor gone, I paused, thinking. Though I'm sure there were those still alive who could piece together parts of that story if given the chance, it was not something I openly discussed. Too many of the associated memories were painful, and I was not exactly proud of the person I'd been then. A part of me recoiled at the thought of opening myself up to her like that, while another worried that she would cringe away from me at the things I'd done. And yet… And yet she had done nearly the same for me the night before. At long last she had revealed to me the immeasurable pain of her past, had trusted me with that part of her. It was only right that I do the same.

I took a deep breath. "My family lived in Icefaren Province before it was named MD-1…" As I told her my story the words seemed to come easier and easier. It had been near ten years since I'd told the Commander the same story and at first I struggled with what to say. Eventually, though, I just let the words come, removing the ironclad filter that separated my thoughts from my mouth and letting the words come without censorship. "Throughout these years, I've watched him achieve his goals with single-minded determination and without excess of violence or pain. He hasn't been corrupted by power or greed. He's consistent to his people. And there's been no one in this world I care for more. Until now."

I stopped. I could feel her tense beneath me as those words, words I had not entirely intended to say, registered with her. But it was like I had opened the floodgates, and suddenly I could not stop, letting the emotions awakened last night pour out of me in a torrential tide. "Yelena you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you. But you've slipped under my skin, invaded my blood, and seized my heart."

"That sounds more like a poison than a person," she whispered in reply. I repressed the sudden urge to laugh because that comment was so very her, so typically Yelena, that it made my heart sing.

"Exactly," I replied, grasping her shoulder and gently rolling her over to face me. "You have poisoned me." Her lips were slightly parted in surprise and before I knew what I was doing, before I could stop to think, stop to analyze as I so often did, I kissed her.

Her lips were dry from the agony she'd endured the previous night, but they tasted so sweet, I couldn't be bothered to care. Instead, flame engulfed my body as she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me back with equal desperate passion.

That, the kiss, was as far as I intended it to go, I swear. The rational part of my mind reminded me that we were still in danger. Still in a place where Yelena had been abused, tortured, and raped, no less.

But she pressed her body against mine, sighing into the kiss and gripping me closer like she was afraid to ever let me go. And for all my years of disciplining my body to become the perfect assassin, I was helpless before this woman.

Of their own accord, my fingers stroked lightly up and down her sides, causing her to shiver. Her mouth pulled away from mine to gasp for air and I bent my head to her neck, wanting to taste her, all of her. Dimly, I registered her hands fumbling at the buttons of my shirt, and I smiled against her neck, shrugging my shoulders so the garment slid off them and into the straw. I moved to return the favor, efficiently slipping each button through its hole and desperately trying not to think too much about what lay beneath. Yelena lay back watching me, panting slightly, wide eyes filled with what I hoped was lust.

When I'd finished with her shirt, I sat back, lifting my white undershirt over my head and discarding it as well. I watched Yelena's eyes travel the length of my chest and wondered what she saw there. The relentlessly toned muscle of a killer? Or the numerous white scars that ran over top, the price of a life time of killing?

Whatever it was, her eyes came back to meet mine, and she reached up, calling me back to her. I settled myself half on top, half beside her, sharply aware of the shape her breasts made against the fabric of her undershirt. She buried her hands in my hair and pulled my face back down to hers, my hand coming to rest at her waist. We kissed with fierce passion and I cautiously let my tongue explore the edge of her lips. They parted beneath mine and I pressed further into her mouth, our tongues touching. At this point, her hands had moved, roving over my back and arms with restless energy. My hands, too, had begun stroking up and down her abdomen. When one brushed the underside of a breast, she gasped, arching her back and biting down on my lower lip. I growled, returning the favor and moving to cup her breast; it fit nicely in my hand and I squeezed slightly. She gasped again, mumbling something incoherently against my mouth.

I pulled back slightly. "What?"

She grinned, gripping my shoulders more firmly and shoving until she sat above me, straddling my hips. Shocked, I let her wrestle me over, caught in that wicked grin.

"Off," she whispered and reached down to pull her undershirt over her head.

I could only stare, transfixed. I have seen naked women before, in spite of what palace rumor would have one believe, nicknaming me Valek the Virgin. In my younger assassin years, I'd once spent a bit of coin I'd earned in the town's pleasure house, out of curiosity more than anything else. While enjoyable, I'd felt hollow and uncomfortable with myself afterward, never repeating the experience. The number of lovers I'd taken could be counted twice on one hand, neither lasting more than a week and none occurring within the past 7 years.

With Yelena, it was different. How many times had I spent restless nights imagining her in just this state, attempting to divine what she looked like beneath the amorphous uniform? In reality, she was smooth and round, tiny pink nipples erect from the cold or desire, I couldn't tell. A flush swept her and she looked down at my hands, reaching for them and placing them firmly against her chest. That broke my trance. I stared into her eyes, trying to convey how beautiful she was to me, because I had no words.

She smiled and bent to kiss me, while my hands worked at her chest, squeezing gently and rolling the nipples between my fingers. Something between a sigh and a moan sounded against my mouth. I smiled mischievously, breaking the kiss and ducking down to catch one nipple between my lips. She gasped, arching into me and gripping my shoulders hard. I grinned, pressing my tongue against the hard bud and nipping lightly with my teeth. The sigh-moan came again and she squirmed, her hips pressing firmly into mine.

I groaned, the erection I'd been trying to stalwartly ignore rising to press up against her. She froze, and I beneath her, unsure how she would react to the very obvious proof of my desire. Then, slowly, she rocked her hips against me, pressing harder than she had before. I gritted my teeth, hips arching unconsciously back. I heard her breathy giggle, and she pressed down again, this time rolling her hips around in maddening circles atop me. Faster than thought, I had her hips gripped solidly in my hands and flipped her over so that she lay beneath me again.

She looked up at me in mild shock, before a grin split her face. "Can't stand to not be in control, Spymaster?" she asked wickedly. I groaned and bent down to nibble below her ear. "Shut up."

She laughed and turned her head to capture my mouth again. Her nails stroked up and down my chest, eventually pausing at my belt buckle. "Remember the last time we were in this position?"

I chuckled at that. How could I not? The memory of that 'last time' had kept me up nights on end. "As I remember, you were quite drunk and had significantly more clothes."

She grinned, fingers beginning to work at the buckle. "Well, I'm certainly not drunk, though I still think I'm wearing too many clothes."

Her bluntness shocked me, though I was largely distracted by the movement of her hands, removing my pants and undergarments in one fell swoop. I flushed slightly, wondering what she made of me. But her hands only paused briefly before reaching to stroke along my length. I drew in a sharp breath, resisting the urge to thrust into her hand as she eventually wrapped her whole hand around me, moving up and down with gentle pressure.

Nervous eyes glanced up to meet mine. "Yes?"

I grunted, chest heaving. "Definitely, yes."

She smiled, squeezing a bit harder and moving with more confidence. I could barely put two coherent thoughts together at this point, but I knew she had to stop soon before I lost all control.

I reached down to stop her, moving my hands to her belt when she looked at me in confusion. "Your turn."

Her lips parted in a small "o", and a pale pink flush brushed her cheeks. I grinned and worked at the buckle, fumbling slightly with the buttons of her pants before slipping them and her undergarments off her hips, just as she had done me.

I glanced up to see her panting slightly, a small spark of nervousness piercing the lustful haze in her eyes. I kissed her softly as I knew how, hoping to calm her fears. "Just say the word, love."

She nodded, but didn't say anything as my hand drifted between her legs, parting them just slightly. I stroked her then, barely touching with a single finger. She gasped, hips arching and legs falling apart a bit more. "Yes?" I whispered, copying her earlier words.

She only nodded, unable to form words.

I smiled and pressed a bit deeper, glad to find her wet and wanting me. Encouraged, I began to run my finger up and down, occasionally pressing a bit inside her and watching her face carefully the whole time. Her eyes stared up at mine, but I don't think she really saw me, glazed over as they were. Her lips were parted, occasionally letting out small, high-pitched cries that drove me mad. I wanted her, so badly in that moment, as I have never wanted anything in my life. "Yelena?"

Her eyes focused on mine, piercing me with their green depths. "Yes?"

I swallowed. "Do you… are you sure…that is, do you want…?"

She nodded rapidly before swallowing too. "Yes, Valek. Yes, it's what I want."

Relief washed through me and I moved, placing myself between her legs. I took most of my weight on my forearms, bending as close to her as possible and brushing her lips with mine. Then, slowly, cautiously, I moved forward pressing my tip against her. She gasped and arched beneath me, taking me a bit deeper inside.

Though I wanted nothing more than to be fully inside her, I moved as slowly as possible, weary of how she might react after everything that had happened to her. I needn't have worried. She gripped my back, drawing me closer and spreading her legs wider. I groaned, burying my head in her neck when I was fully inside her. She felt so terribly good and far more right than anything I'd experienced before. I could feel her pants against my neck, her breath cooling the sweat there. Cautiously, I began a rhythm, drawing in and out with as much control as I could manage.

Her breath came faster. "Harder," she whispered, then flushed bright red.

I rose slightly to look her in the face. I lifted one hand to stroke her cheek. "Never, never be embarrassed to tell me what you want, love."

She nodded, meeting my eyes. "Then harder. Faster."

I grinned letting a little control slip away as I pushed into her. She moaned, deep in her chest, and arched her hips to meet me. I concentrated on the rhythm, hoping to distract myself from the growing feeling in my groin. I wanted her to feel just as good as I did. I had heard…

Hesitantly, I reached between us, fingers seeking the small nub a bit higher up.

"Ahh," she moaned. "Yes."

I bent to kiss her gasping lips, then focused on my movements. Her cries were beginning to come more often and louder, eliciting answering groans from me. I could feel a throbbing, coiling in my lower abdomen, tightening by the second. I met her passion-hazed eyes. Her hands reached up to twine in my hair. Her cries had died down and she was panting heavily. Her lashes fluttered and that was the only warning I got before she cried out, arching her back and tightening around me. I groaned, watching in amazement as she rode out her climax in shudders and gasps. I thrust blindly a few more times before the coil inside me burst and I cried out into her hair, spasming inside her.

When my senses cleared, the first thing I felt were her fingers running through my hair. I lifted my head, meeting her eyes briefly before settling back against her chest, sighing.

We were quiet for a time, reveling in the experience, before Yelena spoke. "Is it dark yet, do you think?"

I frowned, drawing back a bit. Why in the world would she want to know that? But the rational part of me kicked in and formed the answer anyway. "Likely not. The soldiers discovered our absence about six hours ago and the guards awakened us just past dawn, so I'd say there's a few hours yet."

She smiled. "Good. I was hoping for at least another go before we had to get back to the real world."

I'm certain I had some sort of foolish grin on my face, but I couldn't have cared less. "Oh, yes. I would say it's nowhere near dark."

She giggled mischievously, rolling me onto my back and straddling me. "Well, then."

Whew! So what do you guys think?

I'll admit, it was pretty weird writing the sex scene from a male point of view. I think I got it right but any male reviewers can correct me if I didn't.

Also, I know a lot of people see Valek as a virgin because of what Dilana says earlier in the book, but that just didn't make a lot of sense to me. He's powerful, attractive, and nearly thirty years old after all. Not to say he gets around or anything, but I assume he's had the experience at least once. Particularly since sex is such a huge part of espionage and he would have to be able to advise his sneaks on that front.

Anyway, I hope everyone liked it! This will be the last part since my inspiration kinda ends there and with college picking up I have very little time to write.

Thank you all for reading! I really appreciate it.