Thanks so much to everyone reading, favoriting, and reviewing. I'm so glad you're all enjoying the story!
Note: this chapter is mostly smut, and is probably not suitable for work. It's also my first published smut, so please be kind! Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome.
It was entirely too many hours later that Kylon was finally able to enter the Pearl, reddening at the knowing look on Sanga's face as he crossed through the main tavern and climbed the stairs to room 220, the number on the little key that had been burning in his pocket all afternoon. He knocked first before turning the key in the lock, and slowly opened the door.
Below, in the tavern, a small rat-faced man pushed the whore off his lap and got up. He left the tavern, a distinct leer on his face, and made his way across town to the Arl of Denerim's palace, where he was expected.
Back at the Pearl, Kylon stepped inside room 220, his throat dry and his heart pounding. Would she be there? He let his breath out in a sigh of relief when he saw her turn from the window to smile at him. "Have you been waiting here all day?" he asked. He held out the bouquet of flowers he had brought.
"No. Just about half an hour. We were wrapping up a few things," she said. She took the flowers, burying her nose in them. He thought he'd never seen anyone so lovely in all his life. She had on different armor than before. This set was deep blue leather and pushed her breasts up enticingly. He found the expanse of creamy leg between the top of her boots and the bottom of her leather skirt entrancing. Judith bit her lip. "I'm afraid I'm only in town until tomorrow morning. Then we have to get back on the road."
He nodded, disappointed but understanding. "I'm just glad we have tonight," he said huskily, taking a step closer to her. "We do, don't we?" It suddenly occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't be taking the situation so for granted.
But Judith smiled. "Until sunrise," she said. She put the flowers down on the table, and picked up a bottle of wine that had been chilling. She gestured toward a glass and he nodded, his throat dry.
Taking the glass of golden wine she handed him, he said, "Where did the sword come from? That's new."
Looking at him out of the corner of her eye as she poured her own glass, she said, "It's called Spellweaver. I took it off of a mage cultist in the Temple of Andraste when we went to get the sacred ashes."
Kylon's jaw dropped. "You didn't." She nodded, her blue eyes twinkling. "You … The Urn of Sacred Ashes? I thought that was a myth."
"Apparently not, as it turns out."
"No wonder you didn't tell me where you were going. I wouldn't have believed you."
"Most people wouldn't believe half the things I've done," she said, sitting down on the bed with her wine glass in hand and crossing one long, slender leg over the other.
"Is it … almost over?"
Judith sighed, taking a long sip of wine. "I still have a couple of loose ends to tie up, and then after that … things get more complicated." She studied the glass intently. "You know they're calling for a Landsmeet."
"I'd heard."
She looked up, and her blue eyes met his, the look direct and uncompromising. "Where do you stand, Daniel? We intend to have Loghain off the throne. Are you with him?"
The question rocked him back on his heels, and he took a large gulp of the wine. "You know I don't agree with what he and Arl Howe have done here," he said finally. "But declaring myself on a side against them is … not what I have been trained to do."
"None of us have," she said wearily. "I was trained as a scholar, learning magic that would never—or rarely—be used outside the walls of the Tower. And now I'm a Grey Warden putting an army together to defeat a usurper and stop a Blight. Ferelden demands that we leave our comfort zones in this crisis."
"You're right," he admitted. He took a deep breath. "I am against the Blight and for Ferelden," he said. "I'm with you. In fact, I've been drumming up supporters for the Grey Wardens. You've impressed a large number of people," he grinned.
Judith smiled back at him. "I'm glad to hear it. I hope you're not putting yourself in any danger?"
"Not as far as I can tell. It's hard to say what Arl Howe knows—or how much he cares—but I think I'm in decent shape. I can't see it helping anyone if Denerim degenerates into anarchy." They sipped their wine quietly for a few moments. Then Kylon cleared his throat. "Er, Judith?" She raised her eyebrows. "About … what we're about to do?" She grinned wickedly. "Do you … Should we use some kind of … protection?"
"Ah," she said softly, looking suddenly sad. "Apparently it's time to let you know one of the less savory things that come with being a Grey Warden."
He hated to see the shadows in her blue eyes. He put the wine glass down on the table and sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "Tell me."
"I probably will never be able to have a child. There's a ritual … it's hard to explain."
It hadn't occurred to Kylon to think that far into the future, and he thought it sounded quite sad never to have a child—a little girl with blond hair, for example. "That's tomorrow's problem," he said quietly, taking the wine glass from her hand and setting it on the table with his. "We have enough to worry about today without adding more issues that belong to a future after the Blight." His fingers traced the side of her face, watching her eyes close as she leaned into his caress. "For right now, the only problem that concerns us is how to get this armor off you." He grinned.
"You're a clever fellow," she said. "I'm sure you can figure it out yourself."
"Minx," he growled. He bent, kissing the creamy soft swells of her breasts revealed by the lowcut bodice of her armor, as his hands slid down her sides, searching for the buckles. His fingers had trouble working the clasps, though, and she pushed his hands aside, laughing softly.
"Very smooth, Daniel."
"Maybe I can retrieve my reputation," he said, helping her lift the armor and padding over her head. He drew in his breath, seeing her sitting there in only boots and smallclothes. "You are amazingly beautiful," he said.
"Good save." Judith found the hem of his tunic, pulling it up and over his head. She ran her hands over the muscles of his chest and over his broad shoulders, enjoying the shivers produced by her touch. She threaded her hands in his red hair, pulling him closer, and their mouths met. They shifted so that she was straddling his lap as their tongues danced together. He moaned at the warmth of bare skin meeting bare skin for the first time, his hands searching for the clasp of her breastband, needing to feel her breasts against him.
They spilled forth into his hands as he tossed the flimsy piece of fabric across the room, and he broke the kiss as she leaned back, each movement of her body causing her to press against his length, still trapped inside his pants. "Ah, Maker," he groaned, stroking her breasts. Judith arched her back, giving him better access, as his mouth slowly trailed down over her throat and past her collarbones until he was softly nibbling at the very tops of her breasts. She moaned protestingly as he teased her by continuing to stroke and lightly bite everywhere but the hardened peaks.
Daniel laid her back gently onto the pillows, his mouth seeking one puckered nipple. Judith gasped at the sensation, fire shooting all through her. She pressed up against him as he moved to the other nipple. Then he sat back, his hands slowly making their way across her flat stomach to caress her hips, sliding under the edges of her smallclothes, thumbs resting just shy of the wetness she was begging him to touch.
Two could play at this game, Judith thought, sitting up and pressing her mouth to a white scar on his shoulder. "Where's this from?" she whispered, her hands roaming over his chest and stomach as her mouth trailed up to his neck.
"Knife fight," he gasped, cupping her rear through her smallclothes and barely able to speak as her hands slid down over his stomach to play with the button of his pants. "Downstairs. Should've seen … ah … the other guy," he managed, as she finished with the fastenings of his pants and began to push them down, her breasts brushing ever so lightly across his hard, aching length. He stood, shedding his pants and smallclothes in one swift motion, then climbed back onto the bed. Judith had finished undressing while he was distracted, and they lay naked together for the first time, both sighing at the friction between their bodies. Daniel's hand moved between her legs, feeling the wetness there and hearing her small whimpers as he caressed her core, sliding a finger inside her as she twisted underneath him.
"Daniel," she gasped, her hands reaching for him. He moaned as she made contact with his length. "Please, now, Daniel."
Nearly at the breaking point of his control, he couldn't deny her. He allowed her hands to guide him, his eyes closing in ecstasy as he felt her warmth close around him. Judith threw her head back, sighing in pleasure, as he began to move, their mouths meeting again and again as their bodies undulated together in increasing urgency, their tension building inexorably to its peak.
As their bodies cooled, the lovers lay in each other's arms. Daniel pressed soft kisses to her cheeks, her eyelids, her nose, until she drew away, smiling. "I don't suppose you're hungry."
"Who needs food?" he said, reaching for her hand as she climbed from the bed.
"I do. Grey Warden, insatiable appetite, remember?"
"I certainly hope so," he grinned, sitting up.
Judith blushed. "I'll have something brought up, then."
"You'll have to," he said, pulling her back to him and running a caressing hand down her back. "Because I'm not letting you out of here until I absolutely must."