After so much trouble and heartbreaking, we all deserve a little love!

I dedicate this chapter to all of you who followed the story so loyally: LauraK, eleanor of aquitania, Juisa, shiningstar07, Peacockgirl, Just A reader, avrilk, Chunk Li, Dastmina4ever...YOU GUYS ROCK!

Have fun and there are more chapters to come, btw...

10. The Final Reunion

Dastan closed the door behind him, before he turned around to Tamina who had sat up in the bed, now sitting weak on the bed's edge, looking down to her feet so he couldn't see her eyes. He approached her slowly and when she didn't twitch back from him he knelt down in front of her, but she avoided his glance. However, not because of him, but because of what had happened today and what almost could have happened. Her thoughts were still uneasy, he could see it by the way her eyes went back and forth, from one side to another.

Dastan, not knowing what to say to calm her down, looked down on her hands and for the first time he noticed the bruises and scratches on them. He threw a concerned look up to her, but again she didn't meet his glance. He got up and walked over to the table, after providing himself with a can of water and a few sheets of fabric he returned to his place. He knelt in front of her, dipping the sheets of silken fabric into the water before he started to clean her hands off the dirt and the dried, old blood. They both twitched when he went over a bruised spot on her right hand, Tamina hissed in pain and he flinched because of her sound of pain.

"Sorry." he whispered without looking up and continued more carefully now, surprising her with the tenderness he treated her scratches, for she had thought him nothing but a soldier. Dastan felt her look on him, she watched him while he washed her hands, but he didn't stop. When he stroked again over a sore spot, he shook his head in disapproval.

"Really, Tamina, I wish you would have listened to someone else than yourself, just for once in your life." he stated and Tamina didn't need to ask what he meant. However, she didn't counter him with her usual stubbornness, and she was shocked how weak and thin her voice sounded.

"I couldn't leave. I took the Dagger and stayed with the Acolytes in the temple, to protect them..." she answered and even Dastan didn't miss the hoarse tone of her voice, his hands stopped in their movements and she knew he was listening and waiting for her to continue. But she didn't.

Meanwhile, Dastan had started to wash her arms now and she couldn't have brought herself to say something if her life had depended on it. She shivered heavily and he must have sensed it, since his hands instantly stopped in their movements and he looked up to her, straight into her eyes. She felt embarrassingly exposed to his eyes and yet she couldn't look away, she simply couldn't.

This time, neither of them dared to look away, their eyes stayed locked as if an invisible force kept them in their place, and neither of them dared to break the silence of that moment as well. They simply stared at each other as the minutes passed them, looking into each other's eyes as if they hoped to find something in them. It wasn't clear who made the first step but somehow, magically, they leant forward, slowly, and their lips met light as feathers touching the ground. He kissed her carefully, sweetly and they had hardly ever shared a kiss like that, so full of tenderness, of deep emotion, so full of a sweet feeling that he wanted to cry in joy.

However, when he felt how she grasped his shirt within her little fists, trying to pull him closer to her, to pull them both onto the bed, he stiffened in her grip. Tamina broke up the kiss to look into his eyes and to understand why he'd stopped, but he avoided her glance, his chest heaving, caused by the kiss they'd shared. A few moments passed them in silence before he finally spoke again, his voice shaking with barely contained emotion, but still he couldn't look up into her eyes.

"You said, you never wanted me to touch you again..." he whispered with a low, hoarse voice, closing his eyes in order to calm himself down and his heart that bounced heavily in his chest. His body yearned for her, but he didn't dare to touch her, not without her permission to do so. So he waited, waiting for her to say something, to push him away, now that his words had probably cleared her mind and she remembered what he'd done to them. But she didn't push him away, instead her hands came up and took his face within her hands to make him look into her eyes.

She smiled at him, though it was a sad smile.

"I've lied, Dastan..." she whispered in a soft, tender voice, "I told you so many lies...".

Her words echoed in his head while he still looked into her deep, brown eyes and when he finally read the permission he'd needed, he slowly leant forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. This kiss resembled the one they had shared only minutes ago and yet it felt different, maybe because he now knew that he wasn't doing something she didn't want. No, she wanted this, she wanted him, needed him as much as he needed her. Tamina clung to him, her hands wandering through his hair while their kiss deepened, her lips opened up to him like a freshly blossomed rose under his heated mouth. Air came short and flat between their kisses but they didn't care, they breathed into each other's mouths, feeling the heat and softness of the other one.

Dastan's arms came around her, his left arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him while his right hand settled on her thigh, still covered by her night gown. He assumed that she would shake his hand off, even now still fearing that she would reject him. But she didn't push him away. Her one hand came down and pulled the hem of her night gown up, exposing her thighs to him before she took his hand and placed it on her skin. Dastan broke up the kiss, looking up to her in surprise, but she simply lent forward and reclaimed his mouth with a not so soft kiss. He was hesitant at the beginning, but her skin was hot and soft under his touch and his fingers slowly travelled up her thigh and every new millimetre he claimed made her shiver heavily.

It was an astonishing feeling to be able to experience her reacting like that to him again, though, it was a wonder that they both were still alive, that he was still able to hold her in his arms. A sudden memory of old fear flashed through his mind and she must have sensed the change in him, for her hands, which were in his neck, slowly pulled him closer to her, finally pulling him with her onto the bed. He had followed her demand without protest, his lips growing more passionate on her opened up mouth as she pulled him on top of her, letting him sink between her legs to be even closer to her.

Yet, it was still not even enough. The fabric of their clothes rubbed against each other, creating a new heat, increasing an old need.

It was her who broke up the kiss this time and slowly she moved to get up. Dastan who had sensed what she wanted rolled off of her, though he looked confused for a moment: had she possibly changed her mind? But she wouldn't reject him, no more. She moved her hands to the hem of her night gown before she pulled the dress over her head, then throwing it away, not even caring to look where it fell on the floor. Dastan stared at her, for a moment his look remained fixed on her face before he lowered his eyes, slowly taking her all in, remembering everything, every curve of her body, every soft, sensitive spot. She could see how his Adam's apple jumped when he swallowed hard and then he locked eyes with her again. There were no words in her language that could have described the way he looked at her, as if she was some kind of goddess for him, sacred to him, and his eyes worshipped her.

However, his looks didn't make her feel uncomfortable as they usually did when he stared at her for so long. On the contrary, her cheeks started to burn, not in shame, but in a completely different fire.

Slowly she leant forward, grasping the hem of his shirt with her hands, and pulled it over his head after he'd raised his arms in order to help her. The shirt vanished into nowhere and she already wanted to kiss him again, when he suddenly, to her surprise, jumped off the bed. She wasn't sure what he was up to again, but when his hands went to his trousers she understood.

Tamina didn't look away when he pulled down his trousers, she simply let herself fall down into the sheets, her eyes never leaving him while she stretched out her arms to welcome him. And the king always followed the wish of his queen. Dastan climbed onto the bed again, leading her one hand to his lips to kiss it before he placed himself on top of her. However, the hand he had just kissed suddenly caressed his face and he looked into her eyes, so full of an emotion he barely dared to read. Her brown eyes looked up to him and he shivered in the power of her glance, it was as if she looked at him for the very first time, her eyes trying to mesmerise every curve and every fold of his face. It felt as if her eyes saw him for the first time, really seeing him. She leant forward, but instead of kissing him she simply pressed her forehead against his' and both closed their eyes. Dastan drowned in the feeling of her, the feeling of her soft skin, the beating of her heart, it was overpowering, intoxicating. She was intoxicating.

After a few moments he believed to feel tears on his face and when he leant back a bit he came to know that she indeed cried. At first he tried to wipe away her tears, but when she didn't stop he simply pressed his lips on her mouth again and immediately her arms came around him, keeping him close to her while they lost each other between kisses and touches. After a while, Dastan didn't even bother trying to wipe her tears away, anyway, for he knew not all tears were of bad nature.

His hand started to explore her body again, his fingers travelling along the curves of her flesh, leaving her face to admire her breasts which rose and lowered in hectic movements, responding to his touch. She withered beneath him, her lips shaking under his mouth as his hands still continued to move on and on, still heading south. His quick fingers passed her waist and her breath hitched when his hand sank even slower. It amazed her, fascinated her that these hands, usually ready to draw a sword, fighting with the sheer power of a lion, could yet be so soft and tender with her. She moaned lowly into his mouth, shivering within his arms as he touched her just as light as a feather between her thighs, his fingers penetrating into the hot, sensitive centre.

Tamina broke up the kiss, she needed to breathe, but everything she managed was to gasp for air, mixed up with moans and low sighs that escaped her mouth while she closed her eyes. She knew he was looking at her while he touched her in that mysterious way, but for the first time she couldn't bring herself to care about it. The only thing she felt way joy, and pleasure, endless pleasure, and there was no place for shame or shyness. And so she slowly opened her eyes to look up at him and she could see the surprise written all over his face when suddenly her hand came up and lay itself on his heaving chest. She was hesitant at first, but not because she felt uncomfortable and she soon lost her shyness. Her fingers headed south, on and on until they disappeared between them to not come up again.

Dastan growled deep in his throat when she touched him for the first time and his eyes fell shut.

She had never touched him before, not like that, never, and so the sensation of her fingers on his sensitive skin was overwhelmingly powerful. Her hand on him was soft and strong at the same time, going back and forth in slow movements that made his breath quicken in response. He couldn't but voice his pleasure, a pleasure she brought him. Then, he suddenly felt her move under him, her legs trying to wrap themselves around his waist, and when she had succeeded he finally sank into her. For a moment none of them could breathe, the sensation that rushed through them was too overwhelming and they clung to each other, simply overpowered.

She sought for his lips and as he lowered his mouth to kiss her, he moved for the first time. Both their moans were swallowed down by their kiss and her arms came around him to keep him in place, to press him against her, her fingers digging deep into his hair. He moved in slow and deep pushes, drowning in the feeling of her hot tightness that gripped him so hard he could barely breathe. He placed his arms on beside her head, on each side, offering him a better angle and her breathing faltered immediately. Dastan raised his head a little to look into her face; her eyes were closed, her head buried deep into the sheets as she struggled for breath.

Th picture of her pleasure made a heavy shiver run down his spine and gave him an involuntary hard push that made them both gasp in shock and lust. Her eyes sprang open and those deep brown, almost pitch-black, stones stared at him in an expression he had never seen before in her eyes. He couldn't look away, fascinated, paralysed by what he saw written all over her face and it was her who reached for his mouth again. Now, there was no reservation in the way she kissed him any longer, no shyness, no suspicion, only the sweet taste of joy, the fire of pleasure, a fire that steadily burnt within their bodies to grow on and on with every move.

His arms left their place beside her hand snuggled themselves beneath her body, pulling her even closer to him as he moved to push deeper into her while she twitched and sighed and moaned.

And then, suddenly, too fast for her to realise, he rolled them both around so that she found herself on top of him. For a moment they remained still, their eyes locking in the dark as they struggled to catch their breaths while his hands placed themselves on her hips. Dastan appeared to search for something in her face and when he'd found it he slowly started to push up into her.

Tamina gasped in joy, her hands immediately looking for something to hold onto and she put them on his heavily raising and falling chest. She had never believed husband and wife could do this like that, no one had ever told her that it was also possible in such a position. It felt different, not in a bad way, though, just different. It gave her much more power over him. She looked down on him, his face distorted in painful pleasure while he groaned deep in his throat as his hands guided her up and down. Yes, she felt the power she had over him but for the first time she didn't really care about it. As she looked down on him, she could see the pleasure she gave him and she felt that she enjoyed it. The thought that she was able to give him pleasure, that she was the one who gave him pleasure was...it was arousing...

Another hard push stopped her thoughts in its tracks and she closed her eyes as her head fell back.

It was almost too much and for a moment she could do nothing but sigh before she lowered her head again, only to see that Dastan had opened his eyes and looked at her. There burnt a deep, black fire in his eyes that reached out to singe her, to consume her. She couldn't look away. The way his eyes looked at her was like nothing she had ever experienced between a man and a woman before.

It scared her, it fascinated her – she felt captivated and didn't mind it the least. Her fingers left his chest and wandered to his hands on her hips, she grasped them and slowly pulled him up to her, him following her lead without hesitation.

She kissed him hard and hungry when he sat completely upright, with her sitting in his lap. His arms came around her and pressed her against him when he started to move again, his hips slowly pushing up and she couldn't maintain the kiss for long now. She broke away from him, gasping for air, moaning hard as he started a faster pace. Her head fell back again and the only thing that kept her from falling down were his arms that pressed her against him. She could feel his lips on her throat and her skin felt burnt where he kissed her and his tongue licked her and where he did things with his mouth she never even dreamed of. Tamina twitched in his arms when she felt the familiar hotness between her thighs, this tightening feeling in her lower body, Gods, she was so close...

Apparently, Dastan must have sensed the change in her or maybe he was just simply feeling the same, because, again, he rolled them both around, burying her beneath him, knocking the breaths out of their lungs as they moaned deep in their throats simultaneously. He breathed almost hysterically and she felt him shiver within her arms, one look into his face, his eyes squeezed shut, told her what she needed to know. He always tried to hold back, always tried to make sure that she enjoyed it, he always took care of her pleasure.

Tamina lifted her head, slowly pressing her lips against his eye lids and she felt him calm down instantly under her tender touch. He sighed heavily and when she leant back again she saw a soft smile on his lips before he lowered his head to kiss her again. Within that movement he started to push his hips into her again and she moaned and breathed into his mouth, her hands in his neck, their legs intertwining, marking their reunion. His pace grew faster now, harder as he felt that they both were so close that they could almost touch it, so close that the tension in their bodies almost bordered on pain, too sweet, too overwhelming to bear it. And she met him in his movements, their bodies now moving in complete unison.

Their climaxes hit them like a thunderstorm, a sudden flash of light, a heat burnt through their bodies, like a lightning strike that blinded and deafened them. They could only see pleasure. They could only hear pleasure. They could only feel pleasure. She screamed beneath him in a voice he had never heard before as her nails dug deep into his back. She felt like she was dying. He breathed and growled helplessly, occasionally joining her screams as he yelled her name into the night. It was too much for one being alone to take but as they clung to each other they became one, sharing each other's pleasure, with no more barriers between them any longer.

Gasping for air they slowly came down from their high, covered in sweat and still shivering in the aftermaths of their lovemaking they smiled at each other, before he rolled off her, falling down onto his side of their bed. He expected Tamina to turn around and go to sleep, but to his surprise she sought for his arms, seeking to be close to him. He was a bit shocked, though, she had never done that before, but he welcomed her nonetheless. She lay her head on his slowly rising and falling chest and his arms came around her, tenderly, unconsciously caressing her back. Dastan listened to her breathing until it calmed down and grew deep and regular, telling him that she had fallen asleep and after that it didn't take long before he joined her and fell asleep, too.