Chapter 3

The fire had dimmed and the air in the chamber had cooled the skin of her back, but she could still feel his warm and solid weight against her chest. She buried her face closer to the curve of his neck, breathing in his scent, the remnants of sleep still upon her. She wanted to stay within this cocoon of warmth and half sleep and fought against the pull of the waking tide that tugged at her mind. Arms tightened around her and she felt him stretch, pressing their bodies closer, felt the muscles tense in his upper body as he arched like a cat. She opened her eyes and found him staring down at her, a rare sleep suffused smile on his lips. One of his hands slipped round to her waist while a well muscled thigh slid between her legs and pressed deliciously against her.

They had rarely been afforded such a moment like this at the camp, when it was necessary to get everyone moving as soon as dawn reared its ugly head. She gave a pleasant little shiver and his smile widened as he bent forward to capture her lips, the hand slipping to cup her buttocks firmly. It was clear to Vythica, as he pressed against her stomach, that he was very happy to be there. She couldn't help but smile and return the kiss with sigh of pleasure which turned to a low moan when his head darted to her ear, teeth taking it to task causing her body to react in just the right way.

He rolled on top of her with a sleepy growl and his eyes watched hers while a hand moved lazily to her abdomen, caressing the skin and moving lower still, fingers questing and finding. He captured every reaction her pale face gave him as those fingers explored, curling and twisting, bringing her breath forth in sweet gasps and shuddering sighs.

He spoke to her in Antivan, soft lilting words that she couldn't understand and yet the sound of them issuing from his lips served to do as much as his fingers. His thumb slid over that most sensitive of places and pressed hard causing a startled scream from her slackened mouth.

His grin took on a mischievous shine as he quickly removed his hand leaving her to whimper at its sudden absence, the build up of heat in her stomach not gone but simply laying trapped there. He brought two of his fingers to her lips, feeding them to her, watching her intently as she sucked them clean. She lifted her hips from the floor, a silent plea to him from her own body. He smirked and placed his warm palm to her belly, pushing her body back down on the stone.

"Not so fast little warden, you and I have unfinished business which must be discussed no matter how enticing those little noises you make are"

She sat up on her elbows, her body crying out in protest and her eyes narrowed.

"You little…you did that on purpose"

He nodded in admittance "yes and I have far more nefarious little entertainments planned for later, but now, we talk."

She had to admit she had about a hundred questions to ask him right now and felt somewhat ashamed of not thinking to ask them already, but then it was Zevran and her poor brain always seemed to lack full capacity whenever he was near her and using her need for submission. She nodded and rolled over on her stomach feeling that she couldn't ask serious questions while he had an unobstructed view of her. She couldn't help laugh when he gave a look of mock-disappointment, but he got the message and moved back, turning his body slightly to hide himself from her own glances.

"Very well, if we are talking, how about you tell me how and why I ended up here"

"A good question my dear. You were brought here under a certain amount of secrecy. You were being noticed by all the wrong people and it was no longer safe for me to simply let you find me in your own time. I devised to have you subdued and brought here to me"

She raised an eyebrow at this, "And drugging me, locking me in a cell, whose safety was that for? Honestly Zev, I would have preferred a simple hello"

Zevran had the decency to look a little sheepish at this. He sighed and stood, beginning to pace a little. Vythica waited patiently, whatever he wanted to say he clearly wanted to think before he opened his mouth. He stopped pacing, looked down at his feet then back up at her.

"I must admit I was still angry with you, in truth perhaps I still am a little" He held up his hand to silence her as she began to protest at these words.

"No Vythica, you have asked and so I will be allowed to answer whether you like it or not"

Her protests died on lips that set in a thin line, she thought she knew where this was going and it wasn't going to be any easier the second time round. Her stomach fluttered with phantom butterflies as she listened.

"You have and always will be an impossible woman. From the moment you chose to spare my life I pursued you as I would any other conquest, but you took my desire and turned it into something so much more. I will admit to being enthralled with the idea of becoming the dominant to so fierce a creature. It was enough for me to ignore the trap I was so willingly walking into."

She looked affronted at the implication that she had set some sort of trap for him, but remained silent, twirling her hand in the air indicating he should continue.

Fingers ran roughly through blonde hair as he tried to ease some of the tension, his thoughts were quite obviously building up inside his head and all seemed to be struggling to leave his mouth at once. She had seen this on a couple of occasions, such as when she tried to determine the nature of his giving her a gift one night in the camp. As always he would turn to one of two defence mechanisms.

Sex or anger.

The eyes that turned to hers had darkened with a promise of what seemed to be both.

"You were the wild thing that I wished to tame and yet it was you who tempered my hand to your whims on the field of battle. I consumed your body and desire whilst you snuck in like a little thief and stole my defences away. And when the battle was done and we were at each others mercy you cowered behind your duty."

Vythica scrambled to her feet, pointing at him, quite ignoring her nakedness now in a rush of her own anger. She almost tripped over the trailing chain as she advanced on him pushing a finger into his chest.

"You left ME Zevran, you gave me a look that would have flayed an archdemon and walked away because you wanted things your way or nothing at all"

He gave a short bark of derisory laughter and stared her down, his hands clenching into loose fists at his sides

"I advise you to think carefully on our last conversation before you rush to place all blame upon my shoulders little warden, or was your eager acceptance to Alistair's request simply my imagination." The last question was asked with more than a little venom and something flashed behind his eyes that made her withdraw the digit pressed against his chest.

Of course, she thought bitterly, it was only a matter of time before his name would surface. It had not been much of an issue between them when life was uncertain and each night together was a consummation of their victory in staying alive another day. However once the archdemon was dead it had quickly become a bone of contention between them and one not easily removed at that. The brief romance between her and Alistair had ended with only a stolen kiss to mark its passing. Logic had dictated to her the absurdity of a human and elven pairing, not to mention the impending possibility of his becoming the next king. So she had ended the tentative and clumsy relationship before either of them fell any deeper than they already had. Zevran's observant eye had seen this immediately of course, having met them on the cusp of this parting and had taken great delight in antagonizing the Templar mercilessly. Not until Vythica threatened him with several promises of pain did he desist. And only when their own strange relationship was consummated did he cease his taunting entirely.

It was only upon Vythica's acceptance to go with Alistair to amaranthine and rebuild Ferelden's population of grey wardens that questions arose where previously there had been no room for doubt. Zevran had felt as though she had taken his obedience for granted when she had informed him of her plans and her wish that he accompany her. Blinded by his own declaration of affection if not love, she had not even questioned the idea of him returning with her. They fought and he, perhaps in anger, had accused her of trailing after her fellow warden like a puppy and dragging him along for the ride because she thought she could. And his current tone of voice told her that he was yet to be completely dissuaded of this notion.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully for maximum effect. She placed both palms lightly against his chest and opened her eyes to meet his intense stare, willing herself not to flinch. She was a warden damn it and she would behave like one. And so with all the trepidation she felt when she stood before the archdemon she told him everything that had plagued her ever shrinking heart for the past year.

"I loved Alistair a little, and I would never deny him that small piece of myself, but whatever bond we now share is one of two people who fought for their lives every single day side by side. I did not wish to go to amaranthine because I wanted him, I wanted to go because I could not bear to think of him struggle in what incidentally turned out to be a hell of a task"

She paused for a moment, needing to get all the words out.

"I know that reason is just as selfish as the one you have devised for me, and I am truly sorry, but he was my friend and he had been hurt by this world far too much"

The apology seemed to faze him and some of the anger bled from his eyes.

"When you left the world shrank until I felt another breath would kill me, and he was there to keep me going, not as a lover, or even a friend. He became the commander he should have been and guided my hand to my swords to turn me away from the agony of losing you. And it worked, for a while"

She is trying very hard not to let the hot prickling behind her eyes become anything more than a minor irritation, she needs to say this, and to his credit Zevran was not interrupting her. In fact the elf had almost frozen on the spot, only his heartbeat under her palm betraying anything.

"I loved you Zevran Arainai, and no amount of blood or battle was going to make that go away. I broke my oath and betrayed my friend. I am a traitor to my order and a coward. I once crawled through the depths of the deep roads to get to you at one time, how could I not sacrifice a little more to get to you again, is that not enough?"

Her hand twitched minutely as she felt his heartbeat increase beneath it. He moved his own quickly to grasp her wrists, withdrawing her hands from his chest.

"I believe that particular trick is mine alone my dear, you are cheating"

She grinned, glad to hear a little humour return to his voice, and made a show of pouting.

"To think, the mighty Zevran, afraid that his pupil has surpassed him in mastering the art of seduction" She gave a look of mock horror.

Zevran raised an eyebrow in an attempt to look stern, not helped by the quirk in the corner of his mouth which belied his amusement.

"Are you aware that tutors in Antiva are permitted to cane impertinent students?"

She cocked her head to one side as if to consider this "Well if Ser wishes I could always curb such impertinence, become a sister of the chantry and be permanently in those delightful robes you defiled last night"

Zevran growled and shook his head, biting back another smile as he pushed her back gently. "You are enough to undo the maker himself at times woman, but we must address what has been said I think, and you are far too tempting to have within reach right now"

He took a deep breath of his own and stared at her levelly. "You say you loved me, do you love me still. You have sacrificed much in coming here, more than I would ever have imagined, but how much will you sacrifice in the end my dear?"

She wasn't sure what he was asking for and indicated this with a cant of her eyes and a furrowing of the brow. He gave her a look usually reserved for a patient teacher with a particularly troublesome pupil.

"Then allow me to make it simple for you my pet, my heart is yours if you have the strength to tell me that your duty would not cause you to take flight again"

This was not what she had expected at all, although she thoroughly believed that Zevran cared for her when they were together, he had never given up so much of himself as he did in this one sentence. He was offering her all that she had wanted when his heart had been a closed mystery to her before, something just out of reach. However the clause he had so artfully tacked on the end gave her serious pause for thought. Could she honestly say she would not be compelled to take up her duty again should another blight taint Ferelden.

She cast her mind back to that final night at the palace, a night that should have been filled with celebration and unrestrained love, instead turning bitter and black with each casually thrown word. He had told her that her duty was done. She had achieved her goal and owed nothing more than to live her life. His words had sounded childish and selfish to her ears and perhaps they were, considering they were tinged with his belief that her heart was not truly his. In her part she could not find the words to tell him that she was afraid that if she stopped fighting, there would be nothing left for her. She had of course been wrong and realized this as the hole he left in her heart grew to become a chasm no matter how hard she tried to bury herself in duty.

His words tasted different now though, and she had to consider the idea that maybe she had given enough of herself to a cause she had not been given a choice to take up, surely Alistair had proven to be more than capable of taking care of matters himself without her having to hold his hand. These thoughts fought with others until her head began to spin with the enormity of such a decision.

Zevran's voice pierced her thoughts, bringing her back to a sharp reality, a talent he had developed over the time he watched her make agonizing decisions that could save or destroy lives simultaneously.

"I can see that you still posses the ability to turn a simple decision into a web of such complexity that you can never find an answer through all the new questions you discover along the way"

His gaze was somewhat sympathetic, he seemed to have composed himself a little and moved forward to take her face in both hands.

"Allow me to make the decision even simpler for you my dear, whatever you decide, I fully intend to have time to, plead my case, as it were."

She only had time to look vaguely confused before one of his hands closed around the chain at her neck to wrap it around his fist, drawing her face closer to his. She gave a small choked sound and felt the heat, coiled and almost forgotten, stir.

"I would much prefer to have your agreement on this matter but if need be you will be held here against your will. It is my wish that you remain here for six months, after which time you will make your final decision and I will not stand in your way, nor will I choose for you"

She realised what he was doing, even though his tone told her that this was not a request, he was still giving her a way out, wrenching her away from her own tangled morality and need, to throw her naked and blinking into the glare of his command.

"You will be mine if only for this time, though know that I will never force myself upon you without consent" His free hand finds the inside of her thigh as he spoke, edging ever higher.

"All you have to do…" He reached the limits of her inner thigh and he cupped her in his hand gently.

"Is tell me to stop" He plunged his fingers forward sharply and buried them inside her again. He bent his head, bringing her ear to his lips while he continued to manipulate her body.

He whispered, his words taunting her while hers died on her lips and stuck in her throat with each skilled movement of his hand.

"Tell me to stop"

His thumb once again found the sensitive spot and pressed down, this time not relenting when her hips snapped forward and bucked against his grip. He brought her just to the edge of her pleasure only to withdraw once again. Releasing the chain, he spun her by the shoulders. One arm immediately caged her against his chest, she could feel his heart again, this time beating against her back.

Through the blur of need that ravaged her skin she could dimly see the door and for a fleeting second she felt like running. The power he had mastered over her was frightening in so many ways. But the wanting, the longing and the deep aching need for him would not go away, no matter how hard she ran.

Once again she gathered up her caution and threw it to any wind that would have it. Maker's breath she would not lose him again, not without putting up a fight. Even if such a fight required her to bend to both their desires and be at his heel she must try. And if she should lose this particular battle anyway, well perhaps she will be afforded some peace in the knowledge that she had tried to fight valiantly for her love.

His hand dances across her skin , moving dangerously low in teasing circles, only to deny her those final inches, changing course to hip or stomach.

Words that must be said fall from parted lips before she can think to change her mind again.

"You will not have to keep me against my will, I agree to your terms willingly, I am yours until my time is done, after which I shall be yours forever or not at all"

After delivering her oath to him, she felt her own brand of mischief rise absurdly from nowhere, the kind of mischief that made her want to poke at his perfect façade, because no matter how much she paid for it afterwards his reaction was always worth it.

"Incidentally, before we start, I love you"

She could not wipe the grin off her face as she felt his arm tense briefly, his heart changing rhythm to slam against her back. Zevran rose to the challenge beautifully by pressing his cheek to her hair and stating ever so sweetly;

"Darling I believe it is time for you to scream again"

That said, he pushed her to hands and knees, barely giving her time to register how her body had clenched at the sweet words with such indecent intent. His hands found her hips, tugging her towards him, one moving between her shoulders, pushing down her lower body to give him the perfect angle. He entered her with a single deep thrust, meeting no resistance until his hips were nestled tightly against her. This one move alone was almost enough to throw her completely off the edge and it was only by steeling herself against the sensation that she didn't. Her own teeth dug into the flesh of her forearm as he withdrew very slowly only to repeat that single hard thrust, he knew only too well what her body was doing and was only too willing to test her resolve with his own.

He used her own body for leverage, his hips slamming against her with every calculated thrust, each time almost withdrawing from her completely. If she bit down any harder on her own arm she was going to draw blood. She let go just as he delivered another of those thrusts and the scream escaped, piercing the chamber with echoes where only the sound of flesh meeting flesh had been before.

"Ah at last the siren sings, shall we see if you have another tune in you my dear", another deep thrust and he was leaning over her back, a hand reaching beneath her to find the sweet spot once more, at the same time his teeth found the back of her neck and latched there.

There was no fighting against this assault, the combined sensation of having him so deep within her, his fingers adding a maddening pressure, his teeth giving the whole effect a bright edge of pain. She gave him what he wanted as the orgasm hit causing her to quiver against him, only his weight pinning her. It was almost too much and she struggled to move away before it tore her to pieces. He growled a warning against her neck and this only served to send her over again, her muscles contracting violently around him.

He released her neck and both arms slid under hers, lifting her shivering upper body against his back as his moved again with his own urgency. His voice is thick with need as he makes his demand again.

"What are you?

Cruel fingers dug into the soft flesh of her breasts and this was the only thing holding her up as he used her body to find the end he needs.

"I am yours", there was no hesitation, simply this whispered declaration

She felt his rhythm stutter within the confines of her body, his nails drew cruel lines into pale skin and his breath had become one long growl.

He grunted with effort and with a final thrust he spilled within her, seeming first to grow impossibly big with need. His fingers dug deeper and she knew that the milk white skin would bear the marks of tonight's union.

….

When he left her she was sound asleep, curled by the fire, making no complaint when the end of her chain was fixed to the one of the iron rings imbedded in the floor. He had other things to do that she need not know about just now. After her promises and declarations he had almost wanted to tell her everything, almost. There would come a time when she would have to find out, for her own safety if nothing else, but as he looked at her from the doorway, curled under a pile of furs, he couldn't help but want to bask in her ignorance while he consumed her in every manner possible. He jumped slightly when something pushed against his leg and gave a little whine. He looked down at Ulfric and rolled his eyes. He almost felt a little guilty about toying with her mind so much she had forgotten about her beloved hound. Ulfric whined again and gave him one of those looks that couldn't be misunderstood while wagging his stump of a tail.

"I miss her"

"Being as I know the feeling all to well my smelly friend how could I possibly deny you" He gave a flourish of his hand and a mock bow towards the chamber. There was the scrabble of paws on stone. Zevran smiled and shut the door, locking it behind him It was time to go to work.