The Desk

Distracting Commander Cullen while he worked was becoming Inquisitor Trevelyan's favorite pastime. The best part about it: there was always something meaningful to discuss, even when she had no plan prior to walking into his office. That particular evening, she did not expect to find three of his captains giving him reports. It was well past sunset, and a fire was already lit on the hearth.

It took him several minutes to notice her hovering back by the door.

"Ryland's men will monitor the situation," the commander was saying.

"Yes, Ser. We'll begin preparations at once."

"In the meantime, we'll send soldiers to"—he finally noticed her—"assist...with the relief effort," he finished weakly.

Holding his stern gaze, Evelyn felt a thrill run up her spine. She wondered if he felt it, too.

"That will be all," Cullen said, waving his captains away.

"Ser."

She watched the men throw some salutes and leave. Cullen held the door for them—an unnecessarily kind gesture—and then pushed it shut with both hands. The sound of it made her jump in her boots. Cullen leaned forward heavily and heaved a great sigh.

"There's always something more, isn't there?" he murmured.

Evelyn leaned against the wall beside him. It was rare to see him so exhausted—or in low spirits, for that matter. Feeling a bit impulsive, she said, "Wishing we were somewhere else?"

Cullen chuckled; it was a throaty sound that she loved. "I barely found time to get away before," he said lowly. She smiled to herself, remembering more than one stolen kiss on the battlements.

Turning away from the door, he continued, "This war won't last forever. When it started, I hadn't considered much beyond our survival." He stopped in the middle of the room and turned halfway to face her. "But things are different now."

She pushed herself off the wall to join him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I find myself wondering what will happen after," Cullen explained, locking eyes with her. "When this is over, I—" His expression grew tentative as she drew near. "I won't want to move on..." Hesitantly, he reached up to brush leather-clad fingers over her cheek. "Not from you."

Evelyn leaned into his touch, but it was gone all too soon. She beamed up at him, joyful at his words but wanting so much more. Cullen's sheepish smile strummed her heartstrings like a lute.

"But, I-I…" Suddenly, he glanced away, his brow furrowed with worry. "I don't know what you—that is…" He turned towards his desk unexpectedly; her gaze followed him, confused and a bit concerned. "I-If you, uh…" He placed both hands atop his desk and leaned forward, his gaze fixed idly on some reports.

"Cullen…" With a shake of her head, Evelyn stepped forward and placed herself close beside him, leaning back on the edge of his desk. "Do you need to ask?" she said incredulously.

Cullen straightened at her sudden closeness. With a look of amazement in his eyes, he watched her face as she shuffled back in an attempt to sit on his desk. "I suppose not," he breathed in disbelief. "I-I want—"

Suddenly, an empty wine bottle shattered to the floor. Evelyn lifted her hand off the cluttered desk and gave Cullen an apologetic look. Shaking his head, he flashed a small smirk before sweeping the remaining items off the desk. The sound of books and glasses crashing to the floor sent her pulse racing. When Cullen looked back at her, an electric current of excitement passed between the two.

The invitation of an empty desk was not lost on either of them: Cullen's hand guided her by the waist as she shimmied onto her back. He easily climbed onto the desk, crawling his way up to her with a glimmer in his amber eyes. She watched him breathlessly as he maneuvered over her; the anticipation of his kiss felt like a fire beneath her skin. He hovered over her with a satisfied grin for a beat too long, so she leaned up to press her lips to his.

His gasp of surprise was quite a treat. Granted, it was Cullen that initiated most if not all of their kisses to that point. His affectionate words, coupled with the fact that he was quite literally on top of her, seemed to spur her on. As their lips melted together, she worked up the courage to swipe his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. His hand lifted up to her face in response, and his tongue slid between her parted lips with shocking confidence. Evelyn felt a rush of heat spill through her.

They had never gone quite this far, but, then again, they usually didn't have this amount of privacy.

Cullen jerked his head up suddenly. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, no doubt referring to the tongue. "A-Are you...may I...?"

In the orange firelight, the adorable redness in his cheeks was enough to dispel her inhibitions entirely. "Yes," she breathed, "of course."

His lips crashed back into hers, more hungrily and forcefully than ever before. She cupped his face in her hands as his tongue rubbed against and twisted with hers. The little sounds he made as he kissed her so deeply caused her head to spin with arousal. Before long, her hands were drifting, feeling the stubble on his jaw and neck before encountering his breastplate. Blindly, she reached for the straps that she knew held it in place.

It took a minute or two for Cullen to catch on to what she was trying to do. When he pulled away from her, his eyes fervently took in her face: her heady gaze, her flushed skin, her wet and swollen lips. Finally, he sat up and unstrapped his armor with practiced fingers, never breaking eye contact. Evelyn stretched her arms over her head as she watched him slide off his armor until only his clothes remained. When he reached for her again, she batted his hand away.

"Don't stop there, Commander," she said cheekily.

A shy smile accompanied his laugh as Cullen straightened again. "As you say, Ser," he murmured, reaching for the hem of his shirt. He pulled it over his head in one, smooth motion to reveal creamy skin and broad muscles. Evelyn's wandering eyes made him blush.

Reaching for him, she ran her fingers down his abdominals and over his clothed hip. His muscles flexed under her touch, and he closed his eyes as a visible tremor ran through him. Without a word, he leaned down to place a lingering kiss on her neck. As he nuzzled her, he reached for the bottom of her tunic and curled his fingers around it.

Suddenly, he froze. His voice in her ear was quiet, hesitant, and extremely erotic. "Inquisitor...E-Evelyn…may I?"

She shivered in delight. "Cullen, if you keep asking, I'm going to say 'no.'"

Cullen met her eye with a brief smirk. "Duly noted."

As his bare hands hesitantly crept under her shirt, she pulled him into another kiss. She pressed her hands into the warmth of his muscular back as his fingers splayed over her stomach. She moaned softly into his mouth when his hands found her clothed breasts. He squeezed them experimentally before his fingers narrowed in on the hardened flesh of her nipples. Her moans grew in volume, seemingly encouraging him, until his hands withdrew and he sat up.

"Off with this," Cullen whispered, tugging at her tunic. She obliged quickly, already missing the intoxicating touch of his hands.

"Is that an order?" she teased, already throwing her shirt to the floor. She also unclasped her brassiere, letting it hang loosely on her shoulders.

"If you'd like it to be," he said softly. He took note of the small smile that spread on her lips.

With a hand on her bare chest, he gently pushed her back down. The cool wooden surface bit into the flesh of her back, but she wasn't worried about becoming cold. Cullen kissed her anew, quickly moving to her neck and collarbones. She dug her fingers into his curls as the new sensations rocked through her body. Each passionate moan and senseless mutter built his confidence and curiosity. Soon, the tip of his nose blazed a path between her soft breasts.

"Cullen," she gasped, craning her neck to watch him.

"Yes?" he hummed, moving her brassiere up higher. He cupped one perky breast in his hand and wet his lips.

Evelyn let her head fall back; she was quite lightheaded. "You're...teasing…"

"Oh," he said. "Sorry."

Cullen lowered his lips to her breast and took her nipple into the warmth of his mouth. If he wasn't fully aroused before, the guttural noise she made fixed that straightaway. He licked and sucked eagerly, following the responses she amply provided, while his hand massaged and teased her other breast. She dug her blunt fingernails into his neck and shoulders as a scorching heat spread through every inch of her body. The way his tongue swirled around her nub made her want to cry out in ecstasy.

When his mouth returned to hers, she devoured him like a starved woman. She wound her arms around his neck and lifted her legs to wrap around his hips. He continued to pinch and twist her nipples, driving her further and further into the depths of her arousal. Seeing her in such a state was enough to make any man dizzy with lust.

Adjusting himself on the desk, Cullen pressed his throbbing bulge into her pelvis with a clear deliberateness. She froze underneath him and held her breath as her heart continued to hammer inside her chest.

"Do you want me, Evelyn?" he asked throatily.

She gently tugged his hair so he would look at her. She only then realized that the hearth had gone dark and only candlelight remained. Regardless, the expression on his face was an unmistakable, undeniable desire. "Do you need to ask?" she repeated, her lips curling deviously.

His face reflected her enthusiasm. After reaching for her hand, he pressed her fingers to his lips with a revenant tenderness. He kept his hold as he maneuvered off the side of the desk.

"Stand up," he said, guiding her by the hand.

When she stood in front of him, he looked down at her with an approving smile. He was taking the lead, for once, and it was quite exciting for both of them. His hands found her waist before sliding down to her supple hips. She blinked up at him, anxiously awaiting whatever came next.

"Turn around," he instructed.

Without seeing his face, Evelyn's anticipation grew all the more. Cullen's arms slid around her, pulling her naked back into his warm chest as his face nestled into the crook of her neck. She shivered when he breathed in against her skin. Without warning, his hands slipped from her grasp and she felt him push her forward. But the desk was in her way.

"Cullen…"

"Lean forward."

Hesitantly, she folded her arms on the empty desk and rested her head on them. She gasped when Cullen's hands ran up her torso and then down to grasp her hips. He rolled his hips into hers experimentally; she gasped when his hardness pressed against her core. The unexpected, pleasurable sensation made her wiggle herself against him.

A low groan rumbled in Cullen's chest, and he leaned forward until his lips were pressed against the nape of her neck. He rocked himself against her slowly, panting in pleasure and seeing sparks behind his eyelids. "Maker, Evelyn…"

Where a taunting remark about their breaches should have been, Evelyn's lips loosed nothing but moans against the mahogany desk. The pleasure radiating through her was the thought-scrambling kind, and she did not want it to stop. Eventually, she felt Cullen's hands tugging on the waistband of her pants. As she felt the cool air nip at her bare bottom, she felt glad that he couldn't see the embarrassed flush on her cheeks.

His hands caressed her ass with a surprising amount of restraint, considering the heat of the moment. She wriggled her bottom with a laugh, causing him to softly chuckle. After one final squeeze, she felt him grip her hips and gently glide himself against her wet folds. She sighed at the feeling of him finally; she wanted him inside of her so, so badly. Cullen aligned himself with her entrance and slowly pushed inside—

"Ouch," she gasped.

"Does it hurt?" Cullen asked worriedly, pulling away immediately.

"I—well, a little." Feeling as though the moment was ruined, she pressed her face even deeper into her arms. "Have you...done this before?"

Cullen's voice was soft as if he was afraid to speak the words. "Long ago. Have you?"

"...No."

After a few beats of silence, Cullen urged her upwards with his hands. She stood and slowly turned around, afraid of the expression that she might be wearing. When she saw the intense devotion burning in his eyes, all her worries melted away. "No matter," he chided with a smile. "We'll get it right."

Lifting her by the hips, Cullen hoisted her onto the desk with surprising ease. Evelyn laid on her back with her breath quivering in her lungs. Cullen leaned over her, his length sliding against her core, and encircled her breast with his mouth once again. Her noise of surprise was quickly overtaken by moans and sighs. As she felt her body heating back up, she also felt Cullen's tip at her entrance once again.

Gentle prodding soon turned into shallow thrusts. As she felt herself stretching around his length, she closed her eyes in delight. Working with both his mouth and hands, Cullen concentrated on providing her as much pleasure and as little pain as possible. After as much of this as he could take, he very slowly pushed himself deeper until he was fully inside of her tight heat.

The groan that ripped through his chest was the loudest yet. "Dear Maker," he rasped, collapsing onto her heaving chest.

She could hardly breathe, let alone speak. She whimpered his name when he slid out of her and shouted it when he thrust back in. Beginning a slow rhythm, Cullen clutched onto her as he rolled his hips back and forth. Her hands scrambled to find the edge of the desk as her face twisted in pleasure. Cullen's eyes were tightly closed as he listened to every sound his lover made.

His slow pace eventually turned frantic and irregular, and the flame in her belly became a roaring fire. When she wrapped her legs around his hips to press him even deeper, he moaned into her neck. His breath on her skin made her even hotter, and she cried out at the nearly unbearable heat. Cullen plunged his hands into her hair, holding her there while his hips snapped against her again and again. He muttered words into her skin that neither of them quite understood. She felt as though she would combust at any moment—

"C-Cullen!" she cried out. Floodgates of pleasure erupted inside of her, spilling out in waves and filling every inch until she couldn't think.

"Evelyn," he breathed as she clenched around him, "Evelyn, Evelyn…" His thrusts slowed as he felt the rush of his release deep inside of her. Completely drained of energy, he went slack against her, still nestled close.

Then, there was only the sound of their breathing and the wafting flicker of candles. Minutes passed quietly. Cullen came to his senses before she did; he shifted his weight to his elbows and lifted his head to see her face. Her hooded eyes alluded to the fact that she was too tired to even move.

Sensing Cullen's gaze, she blinked to clear her vision. He was looking down at her with an intense appreciation that defied words.

"Sleep here tonight?" he asked gently, brushing her cheek with his fingertips.

She reached with trembling fingers to cover his hand, pressing it to her cheek. She held his gaze like it was a precious gem worth treasuring.

"Only if you carry me up the ladder," she joked.

He turned his head and laughed as if he was picturing the scene in his mind. The Inquisitor smiled to herself, knowing that if she truly desired it, Cullen would certainly make it so.