Cullen

His head snapped around to where the voice was coming from and when he saw the man leaning against the window and recognized his face, he quickly put Ashe down on the bed and lunged for the man.

Cullen grabbed him by the collar and yanked it hard.

"You."

"Hey, hey, whoa!" The other man threw his hands up beside his head in a sign of surrender. "It's not what you think, Knight-Captain!"

Cullen smashed the man's head into the wall behind them, expecting a magical counter attack any second now. But it didn't come.

The hood of the other man's cloak had fallen back in the impact, and Cullen could see him more clearly now. He snorted, disgusted. "You fucking murderer. Abomination. What have you done to Ashe? You fix her right now or so help me I will snap your pathetic, little neck!"

"I didn't do this to her, I swear! Ugh, Maker, that's going to sting tomorrow," the man said and rubbed the back of his head. Cullen's patience was beyond emptied and he yanked the man to him again, almost choking him. "Maker's balls, just calm down! I, eh, realize how this looks, my entrance was a little dramatic perhaps, but there was no way I could just waltz into the palace, you know!"

Oh, Cullen knew. "Yes, last time I checked, blowing up a Chantry and murdering hundreds of people made it a little more difficult to receive an invitation to royal parties. Now, tell me Anders, what have you done?"

"Hard... to answer... when... you're choking... me!" Anders wheezed and Cullen reluctantly loosened the grip he hadn't even realized he'd tightened around the mage's throat.

Anders coughed and regained his breath. "I'm not the one who did this to her. But I think I know who did, and that's what worries me, that's why I'm here. I couldn't just let Ashe fall prey to him and do nothing."

Cullen stared at him. He was about to demand to know why he should believe him when he saw Anders look over to the bed, his eyes fixed on Ashe. Cullen didn't have a hard time registering the worry in the mage's face. But none of this made sense.

"How in the Maker's name do you know Ashe?"

"It's a long story. And I would prefer to speak with Ashe before I say too much to you, Knight-Captain." Anders never once took his eyes off her and Cullen shoved him back and placed himself between him and the bed.

"You're as crazy as I thought if you think that I'm going to let you near her."

Anders tilted his chin up at Cullen.

As infuriatingly defiant as ever.

"Shove off, Knight-Captain."

"Stop calling me that. If you're so well-informed, you know I'm not even a Templar anymore."

Anders snorted. "Once a T-man, always a T-man."

"T...man? Are you serious?"

"Yes, deathly so. Now move if you want me to figure out what's wrong with her. I should think that you do want that, since you're clearly not doing so well yourself."

"I told you, you're not getting fucking near her. Guards!" he shouted, and Anders shook his head as if disappointed while the door flew open and a half-dozen guards poured into the room.

"Seize this man, he's an intruder and a wanted criminal," Cullen said and pointed at the other man. Several of the guards moved forward and grabbed Anders' arms. "He's a dangerous blood mage. I'm sure the King has several cells at Fort Drakon with magical wards, yes? It's imperative that you put him in one of those, do you understand?"

The commanding officer looked unsure of himself. "Yes, Commander, but I have to consult with His Majesty first, I..."

"There is no time. You've apprehended a dangerous criminal, are you going to bring him to the King and put him in danger or are you going to tell him that you have a prisoner safely locked away behind magical wards?" Cullen's voice was stern and he made sure his expression did not invite any more arguing.

The guard nodded. "Yes, Commander." He waved his hand at the soldiers who had Anders in their grip. "Let's move out."

Cullen grabbed one of the guards that didn't have a hold on Anders. "Get me a healer, right now. Something is wrong with the Lady Inquisitor. And... get the King as well. He'd want to know," he said through gritted teeth. The guard nodded and hurried out the door. As the others passed Cullen with Anders, the mage jerked to a halt, obviously stronger than the soldiers.

"They can't help her. Come find me when you've come to your senses, Cullen. If you want her to live." He let the soldiers take hold of him again and Cullen watched them leave. It was strange that Anders let them take him, but it could all be some elaborate plot to gain his trust. His decision to not let him near Ashe was a good one, he was sure.

His eyes flitted back to the bed where she was laying. He hurried over there, his gut twisting with fear that she'd worsened while Anders had distracted him. He sat down beside her, unsure of what to do. She looked more peaceful now, at least. Her eyes were closed now and she seemed to be breathing fine. It was as if she were just asleep. Maker, how he wished that were the case. This wasn't right, any of it. She should be asleep in his arms after hours of making love to him, not unconscious because some crazy mage was obsessed with her or whatever the fuck was going on here.

He almost jumped out of his skin when Ashe flew up into a sitting position, drawing a breath so loud and sharp it was as if she'd dreamed she was drowning.

Ashe

Maker preserve her, she was on fire again. She couldn't remember anything but a dark, endless abyss and as she blinked and opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in a bed. She saw Cullen sitting right in front of her. She barely had time to register the look of surprise on his face before she felt the fire rage through her again. But this was nothing like last time, there was no pain. No, this was... desire. Maker, his face - so ruggedly handsome. Those golden waves of hair crowning his head, his broad shoulders trapped beneath all that armor... She felt light-headed, heat pooling between her legs as she pressed her thighs together while looking over him hungrily. It was consuming her, the need for him.

"Maker's breath, Ashe, you're awake! How are you feeling? You look... feverish," Cullen said, his tone hesitant. "Are you..." He was cut short when she leaped onto him, agile like a cat, and straddled his lap. He yelped in surprise but she silenced him by pressing her lips over his. It felt like he was about to pull back but Ashe wouldn't have any of that. She teased his lips open and stuck her tongue into his mouth and she purred with pleasure when that elicited a deep moan from him. But still he pulled back.

"Ashe, you're burning up... Are you really okay?"

"Cullen," she breathed. "I'm only burning because all I can see is you. You consume my every thought." She could feel how her words made him melt underneath her as he gripped her arms hard, almost like he couldn't control himself. Andraste knew she couldn't. "I need to feel you inside of me, Maker, how I want you to take me, to fuck me."

He growled and pushed her back into the bed.

"Fade, Cullen, if you don't take that armor off right now I'm going to start without you." His eyes were nothing but a burning shade of black now and he stood up and quickly shed piece after piece of metal off himself, staring at her while she tore off her own clothes. The chill of the air against her naked skin did nothing to cool her down and she felt dizzy as she drank in the sight of his now very naked, very chiseled body.

She leaned her head back down on the pillow and let her hair spill around her head, hoping that he would find her as attractive as she found him. She beckoned for him with her hand. "Come, I can't wait to touch every inch of you," she whispered, and he obeyed eagerly. He crawled over her and she spread her legs for him while pulling his face down to hers. "Feel how wet you make me, Cullen," she whispered and she could practically feel his pulse blowing up and his breathing was coming in short, ragged gulps as his hand traveled down her stomach before finally touching her where she was aching so badly for him.

He groaned and pushed his fingers against her in such a delicious way she had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming. "Your cunt is soaking wet, love..." he breathed. "I have to taste you." He slid under the covers and Ashe completely forgot every notion about trying to stay quiet when she felt his tongue slide all the way from her opening up to her painfully swollen clit. She moaned and breathed his name, over and over while clenching her fists against the sheet, desperately clinging to the fabric while he lapped and drank from her like no other man had done before. The fire she'd woken up with raged even stronger in her now, like a thirst that refused to be quenched.

"Please, Cullen, I need you to fuck me, fill me up, please..."

She felt him move and he kissed his way up her stomach and over her breasts, where he lingered, placing wet kisses over both of her hard, rosy nipples before continuing up. He kissed her again and she could taste herself on his lips. It felt so dirty – and so fucking good. He positioned himself between her legs and she reached out and grabbed the covers, pulling them up over his ass and her legs, craving the cool touch of the fabric sliding against their skin. He stared at her face, the dark, lustful but reverent look in his eyes making her shiver all over. She threw her head back when she felt the head of his cock push against her opening, biting her lip again as she felt him slide in the first little bit. He was so big that there was no way he'd be able to do it in one go, no matter how slick she was. He pulled out and pushed himself back in, reaching a little further each time, the rumble in his chest growing by the second. He finally managed to bury himself completely in her and it was everything. The sounds he made did something to her, made her burn even hotter. She wanted more, wanted him deeper, until she couldn't tell where she began and he ended. She moved with him, buried her nails in his back and whispered dirty things in his ear.

"Like that, just like that, Cullen... Maker save me, you feel too fucking good, fucking my dirty, wet cunt like this."

Cullen's eyes bore into her and his thrusts grew harder, just like she craved. "Fuck, I'm not going to last if you keep talking like that, Ashe... You're so fucking filthy, such a little slut... My slut, only mine," he breathed, his voice deep and ragged, making her feel like a little teenager again, in awe of the incredible man on top of her, in her.

"I don't want you to last, I want you to fill my cunt with your warm, hot sperm. I want to feel you explode in me, Cullen," she whispered.

"Fuck!" he yelled and grabbed her hands, pulling her wrists up above her head where he held them against the head of the bed with one hand while tightening his grip on her hip with the other. He was fucking her like a beast and she loved every fucking second of it. She barely noticed the door opening, she was so far gone in ecstasy.

She saw Cullen's head turn against the door but he never stopped moving. "Get the fuck out, you're no longer needed," he snarled before looking at Ashe again, leaning his forehead against her shoulder. Ashe bit her lip to stop a moan when Cullen angled himself to move even deeper inside her and she managed to at least look to see who had disturbed them. She saw the shocked face of some woman in healer robes and when the woman stumbled back and out, she saw another figure behind her.

Alistair. He looked seething, his fists clenched at his sides, but she was too far gone to stop now and she automatically threw her head back when she felt Cullen's fingers pressing against her clit while he kept fucking her like crazy. When she glanced back at the door, there was no one there and the door was closed. But she couldn't feel guilty now, not in the middle of the heavenly feeling of Cullen covering every inch of her. The pressure built in her so fast and it felt like a fucking river breaking free of its dam when she came, screaming Cullen's name and clenching around his hard, pulsating cock.

Cullen was moaning equally as desperately and pulled himself out in the last second and covered her stomach and her breasts with his hot seed.

They lay panting side by side for a few seconds before Cullen pulled her close. He kissed the top of her head. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Ashe Trevelyan. Don't disappear on me again," he mumbled against her hair. She stroked the arm he had wrapped around her.

"Shh, we'll talk about it in the morning. We both need rest now. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise." She looked out and it was so dark, it had to be the middle of the night. After a while, when she heard Cullen breathing heavily of sleep, she quietly slipped out of bed to wash herself up. Maker, it was so hot in there. She cleaned herself off at the wash basin and wrapped a robe around herself, but it was too hot. She felt like she was burning again. She felt something very familiar flutter in her stomach and she had to press her thighs together again, heat pouring into her. Shit.

Alistair

"Don't fucking disturb me again," he yelled to his guards and slammed the door to his quarters shut. He paced around the room, rage, hatred and jealousy filling every fiber in him. His guards had woken him up in the middle of the night. 'Come quickly', they'd said. 'Commander Cullen says it's urgent,' they'd said.

That cocky, fucking bastard!

Alistair took the nearest fragile object, a vase from the bookshelf, and hurled it against the wall, smashing it into a million tiny pieces. It wasn't enough. He swept the rest of the things on the shelf down to the floor. Cullen had fucking fetched him so that he would see how he claimed Ashe - like some fucking brute, making his rival watch as he won the grand prize. How the fuck could Ashe not see what a low-life her commander was? He'd poisoned her with his words, Alistair was sure of it. She was young, impressionable, and Cullen was a figure of authority. What in the Fade was wrong with him, anyway? Mahariel had just been murdered, Ashe nearly dying with her. This was not the time for any of this shit! Taking advantage of Ashe, when he knew she was vulnerable, when he knew that Alistair was so busy with the aftermath of Mahariel's murder. He would fucking kill him. He sank down into a chair in front of the fire and contemplated all the ways he could do it in. Cullen was a dead man walking.

He didn't know how much time had passed while he sat there when there was a knock on his door. He walked towards it and yanked it open. "I told you not to fucking..." He quieted when he saw Ashe standing in the doorway, barefoot and wearing nothing but a robe.

"Ashe?"

She pushed him inside and shut the door behind them. "I'm so sorry what about what you saw earlier, Alistair, I didn't mean to hurt you."

He felt confused. Did she come here in the middle of the night just to say that? "Why are you here, Ashe, when you've clearly..."

"I'm here to do this," she said, and then she placed both hands on his neck and pulled him closer and kissed him.