Talise twirled a moon flower in her fingers, the milky white petals spinning as she walked. Cullen paused a few steps behind her, tugging his gloves off. He watched her walk, she had picked a wandering path through the small garden, her hips gently swaying, the movement enough to draw his attention. The thick plait of her braid, her chocolate dark tresses twisted on themselves, was a tempting target, he wanted to undo it, as much as he wanted to hold it in his hand, to use it to tug her head back until the line of her throat was bared to him.
The soft skin of her shoulder called to him as she looked over at him, the smooth curve of her skin just a few shades darker than the flower he had picked for her. It was his shirt, he realized, that's why the neckline had continued to fall over her shoulder during the day, in her haste to get to her aunt she had pulled on one of his discarded shirts, and never taken it off. A predatory smirk curved his lips and he finally walked towards him, the calloused tips of his fingers trailing over her bared shoulder.
"You're wearing my shirt." From behind Talise, Cullen leaned down to whisper the words into her small, curved ear. One hand ghosted over her arm, almost brushing against her linen clad arm, feeling the warmth of her smooth skin through his shirt.
"You left it on the bed." Her small chin lifted as she turned her head to grin impishly up at Cullen, her summer bright gaze sparkling with a mix of mischief and desire. As she spoke she moved away from him, walking soundlessly towards the gazebo on the far side of the garden.
"If I leave it out, you get to steal it?" A tawny brow lifted as she slipped away from him, smirking as she grinned up at him, watching her with a predatory look as he followed her to the gazebo
"That seems fair to me." As if she had no care in the world, as if her skin was not prickling with awareness, her heartbeat was not racing, she leaned against one column of the gazebo, keeping her back to Cullen as she twirled the creamy white moonflower between slim fingers.
"Thief." She made it to easy to lose himself, to forget his responsibilities and cares. Standing in the moonlight garden, he was simply a man, pursuing the object of his desires. While Talise had taken a circuitous route, he stalked after her, and now he stepped up behind her once more, reaching out to run the backs of his fingers over the smooth curve of her shoulder.
"Templar." A shiver betrayed her, her skin pimpling in a rush of a goosebumps, even as she smirked into the darkness, well aware of the game they were playing.
"Assassin." Cullen smiled into the top of her dark head, feeling the silky strands catch on his stubble.
"Lover." She murmured the words, turning her head to brush her lips, just the barest of hint of a kiss, against his jaw, smirking when she heard a swift inhalation, and his fingers tightened over her arm for a moment.
"Good. Girl." He watched her body as he whispered the words into her shoulder, smirking as shivers broke out across her skin, "My good girl."
Cullen never used the words unless they were with each other, and now her body betrayed her when he spoke them into her ear, whispering them to her as his lips brushed against her bare shoulder. It was almost a chaste kiss, almost innocent, were it not for the gleam of arousal in Cullen's honeyed gaze, the way Talise leaned back into him, and the way his hand slid to her stomach, riding low over the taut muscles, pulling her back to him. The propriety spread of his fingers, almost brushing the laces of her leggings, turned the kiss he brushed against her shoulder into something far more carnal.
"Cullen…" One slim fingers slid to behind her to grip his thigh, her fingers digging into the leather breeches he wore.
"We should… go to my room." He pressed another kiss to her bared shoulder, this time his teeth nipped at her smooth skin, earning him a sharp gasp from Talise.
"Mine's closer." A shaking hand lifted to the rooms across the garden from where they stood.
He shook his head no at her words, running calloused fingers down her arm gently, tracing over the silvery scar on her arm, "And at least Amelia will need it. You've got clean clothes in my room, right?"
"Y..yes." Her voice trembled as she spoke, and she dug her teeth into the tender curve of her lower lip in an effort to hide the effect he was having on her.
"Then we're going there."
It took them ages to make it to Cullen's quarters, he deliberately took the long way, crossing the courtyard past the blacksmiths, where he backed Talise into a shadowy corner, captured her lips in his and devoured her mouth. Nearly half a candle had burned before he let her go, her lips swollen, and her cerulean gaze cloudy with desire. In one tower he pinned her to the stone wall, her legs curling eagerly around his waist, and they kissed for several more minutes, her fingers tangled in his hair while his hands held her hips. She squirmed and writhed against him, feeling his length strain against his breeches, uncaring of the bite of his breastplate into her stomach.
At what had become their spot on the ramparts, where they snuck to steal kisses or simply be with each other, he stopped once more, lifted her onto the edge of the stone merlon, and slid between her thighs, which parted easily for him. Half-hidden by the moonless night, he rocked his hips against hers, while she gasped into his mouth, mewling for more.
Once inside his quarters, he prowled around his office, locked each door, and stood at the last one he locked, tugging his fur trimmed surcoat off, tossing it and his gloves onto his desk. Talise watched him through bright eyes, one hip leaning against the side of his desk, her fingers tracing mindless patterns on the polished wood.
"Go upstairs."
"Are you coming with me?"
"Of course. Go upstairs sweetheart." He growled the words in her ear, his hands wrapping around the end of her braid, and tugging the ribbon that held it free, the black silk sliding from her tresses. As he watched her saunter to the ladder, hips swaying, he twined the ribbon between his calloused fingers, letting it drop on his desk, before following her up to the balcony.
As soon as his booted feet cleared the balcony, Talise was on him. Her talented fingers popped open the clasps on his armor with an ease that belied how often she had done it. Somehow, she had maneuvered him to stand next to his armor stand, and she placed each piece on the wooden stand carefully. The buttons on his quilted gambeson came next, when it hung open, Cullen moved, snapped out of the sensual reverie Talise had spun around him.
His arms wrapped around her, and he walked her backwards, until her legs bumped against the bed, and she sat down. Standing over her, he tugged off his gambeson, before his hands slid into her hair, and with a delicate touch, he unraveled her braid. When her hair slid over her shoulders, wavy from being pulled up, the dark strands gleaming with a faint touch of gold in the candlelight, he leaned down, until he could press a kiss to her forehead, "Would you indulge me?"
"Seeing as how indulging you always means good things for me, of course." She nodded, masses of dark hair sliding down her shoulders and over her back in a spill of wavy chocolate strands.
Turning from her, he rummaged through one of the giant chests in his room. Talise watched him, tilting her head to one side, rising from the bed in an effort to see what Cullen was searching for. The creak of the bed gave her away, and without looking up from his task, Cullen shook his head no, "Stay there."
"My curiosity is killing me." A pout curved her full pink lips, a tempting sight for the former templar, but she sat down, her sky touched gaze sparkling with curiosity.
"I know. The and that is part of it." He turned to her, his hand clenched around a mass of midnight blue silk. As Talise sat back on the bed, an eyebrow raised, he walked back to her, leaning forward and letting the edge of the silk trail over her bare shoulder, "You need a watchword."
Talise sucked in a breath when he spoke, her eyes round and wide as she gazed up at him, "A watchword?"
"In case you need me to stop." He nodded, watching her reaction carefully. Despite his outward calm, his gentle yet domineering demeanor, was unsure of her reaction. Truthfully, he was unsure of his reaction, he had been curious, having listened to the bawdy talk of templars and soldiers, of the men he knew, for years; but that curiosity was mixed with the painful reminder of his own past.
"You've been talking to Iron Bull", Talise grinned up at him, her slim fingers flipping the end of one midnight blue tie between her fingers.
As soon as that impish grin curled her lips, Cullen relaxed, letting go of a breath he had not realized he was holding. His own lips curved in a grin, pulling the tempting line of his scar up as he did so, "I may have picked up a thing or two from him. But this is something I've been wanting to try."
"You have a thing for tying up women?", she arched an eyebrow up at him, mischief and humor in her gaze while she continued to flip the end of the tie between her fingers back and forth.
"No. Just you." The muscles in his arms bunched as he moved to lean down until he could press a gentle kiss to her mouth, "Unless you don't want to."
"Miel", the word came tumbling out of her mouth as he kissed her, a shiver of anticipation racing down her spine.
"That's Rivaini, isn't it?" Cullen's lips took a meandering path down her cheek, his teeth nipping at the curve of her jaw.
"It means honey," Her teeth sunk into her lip as she spoke, a blush heating her cheeks as she looked up at him. It took several moments for her to finish her thought, and her fingers stopped their flippant play with the tie as she spoke, "Reminds me of your eyes".
A slight flush colored his cheeks as he continued to press gentle kisses over her face, in sharp contrast to the silken ties he held in his wrist. Talise reached for the end of one, an eyebrow raising as she realized these were not simply lengths of silk. Each one was hemmed, the ends delicately sewn shut, and she was sure she felt something padded in the middle of one it, as one slid from his grasp into hers.
"I…. may have had them made." He grinned at her, the scar that ran to his lips lifting.
"You've been planning this?" The impish grin returned as she looked up at him, realizing that these were something Cullen had made, that he had been planning these, "Didn't I tell you once that this was my favorite color?"
"Well… yes." It was his turn to blush now, his cheeks warming at her question, "And yes, you did."
She grinned up at him, curling the padded portion of the tie around her slim wrist. Against the rich, dark blue, her pale skin stood out, and her eyes seemed bluer somehow, as she looked at him, "Like this?"
"Minx", he cursed slightly, watching her wind the tie around her wrist, his eyes darkening in arousal. He was aware suddenly, that his heart was pounding, hammering in his chest as he looked at her.
"Wait… I should be naked first", she unwound the tie from her wrist, letting it drop to the bed. She kicked her boots off, stood on her knees and tugged on the laces of her pants, taking the time to loosen them before she tugged her leather leggings off, taking with her the tiny triangle of silk that hid her folds from him. With a smirk, she crawled onto the bed, turning her back on Cullen, and pulled his shirt off, letting it drop onto a heap on the foot of the bed.
The entire length of her naked back was presented to him, along with the taut curves of her ass, and she reached for the lengths of midnight blue silk one more, letting it trail over the rumpled sheets and blankets as she smiled at him, a gleam of challenge in her sky-touched eyes. She was testing him, pushing at his control, and he knew it, even as a bolt of arousal coursed through him, one calloused hand reached out, and trailed down her back, running over smooth, pale skin as he spoke, his voice deepening with his desire, "The nickname Ghost is very apt. You're as pale as one."
"I got it in Rivain." She shivered, her eyes closing at the touch of his calloused fingers, tilting her head to one side as his fingers ran back up over her shoulder, revealing the creamy curve of her throat.
"I can imagine you stood out there", Cullen murmured the response, leaning away from the bed long enough to tug off the last of his clothes. As his gaze turned back to Talise, who had turned on the bed just enough to watch him, he faltered. For a moment, the memories, the pain, rushed at him, and he lost the masculine confidence he had oozed earlier.
"Cullen?" As if sensing his sudden unease, she looked over her shoulder, brows furrowing as she watched him change from confident, to suddenly unsure. Realization dawned on her, and she waited, poised on his bed, uncaring of her nudity, or anything else, waiting for him to tell her what he was struggling with, even as she knew the truth of it.
For long moments he said nothing, but merely stared at Talise. She was studying him, watching him with a gentle gaze, and that look, one of acceptance, gave him the strength to speak once more, "I know… what it's like to be bound against your will."
The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Talise moved, sliding from the bed, and reaching for him, curling her arms around his neck, "Oh Cullen. Listen to me, if you want this, we can try it. Because I want to try. But it wouldn't be against my will."
"I…" Powerful arms wrapped around her automatically, holding her to him as she spoke, and Cullen buried his chiseled face into the curve of her neck, shuddering as her warmth pressed against him.
"Cullen, listen to me. I'm already bound to you. You just can't see it." She had to stand on tiptoe, the muscles in her legs stretching as she did so, to press a kiss to his jaw, and then the scar that ran to his lips, "But if you don't want to, then we won't."
"You trust me?" Chills ran down his arms as her lips pressed against his scar, his arms shaking slightly as he held onto Talise's slim frame.
"With my life." The words were pressed into his stubbled cheek as Talise spoke, brushing her soft, full lips against his skin gently.
A shiver wracked his form, and his arms slid around her waist, "I…."
"Sit down Cullen", she stepped away from him, and watched him through bright eyes. Knowing his fascination with her hair, her hands rose to the dark tresses, lifting the heavy mass in her hands, and tousling the strands, letting them flow down her back and over her shoulders in a gleaming river.
Even as he sat on the edge of the bed, his fingers were reaching for the ends of her hair, only for the silken strands to slide out of his reach, as Talise moved between his knees, and then slid down to hers. Slowly, she held her hands up, wrists pressed together, in a carnal offering, "Only if you want to. Only for you."
Calloused hands shook as he reached for one of the silken ties, wrapping it gently, but thoroughly around her wrists, tying it with a knot he could pull free in one tug if needed. His fingers slid between the silk and her skin, pulling it, making sure she would not chafe, even as his fingers trembled. Suddenly he was aware that he was hard, throbbing with want and need as she sat before him.
One hand held Talise's bound ones, and she looked up at him with acceptance, and love, as she sat, waiting for him. His free hand slid back into her hair, running through her strands gently, coasting over her high cheekbones, before he took her in, she was kneeling on the floor, atop his leather breeches, her high breasts mostly hidden behind a curtain of deep, chocolate dark hair, her bound wrists held by his hand, which dwarfed both of hers.
"Maker… I love you." Cullen was struck then, by a bolt of arousal, and by a current of emotion. Talise was giving him a chance to explore, a chance to heal his own wounds, she was doing something for him she would not do for any other man. No man would ever have her like this, he was seeing a side of her she gave only to him, and she was doing it willingly.
"Love you too." Her eyes traced of his features, the planes of his face, the scar that cut down to his lip, the stubble covering his cheeks, and she leaned up to brush a kiss against his cheeks.
Cullen responded, tugging her by her bound wrists to him, his free hand sliding down her back to cup the curves of her ass in his hand, holding her to him as her lips parted. He held her there for long moments, tongue twisting around hers, rubbing in an insistent rhythm, until they were both gasping for breath. When he leaned back, Talise squirmed, sliding from his grasp, and sunk back to her knees, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses over his chest, and down his stomach. Just below his navel, she raked her teeth across his skin, sucking on the mark she left behind, before glancing up at him through her sooty lashes.
"Can I use my hands?... Or just my mouth?" A very wicked grin lifted the lips of her mouth as she looked up at him, her tongue tracing a path downwards past his navel.
"Maker... Talise… what are you doing?" Cullen gasped, his arms shaking as he held himself up off the bed, amber eyes darkening with arousal as her lips and that talented tongue slid further down.
"Pleasing you." She slid further down, feeling his hips jerk as her chin slid over the head of his swollen cock. A gasp from Cullen, and her tongue slid down his length in tiny, barely-there flicks, her lips pressing kisses into his length, "Does this not please you?"
"You have no idea how much it does please me…" He ground the words out, falling back to the bed onto one elbow, pleasure rending him incapable of sitting up. One muscular arm lifted to press against his eyes, his free hand dug into the sheets, gripping a handful tightly, the image of Talise, sitting on her knees, hands bound in that deep blue silk, full pouty lips almost closed around the head of his length too much for him to bear, "Maker… please…"
"I live to serve", she whispered the words, her lips closing around him, cheeks hollowed as she sucked on his length. Each time she lifted her head she drew the flat of her tongue against his length, curled it around the head, flicked it against the sensitive underside in a pattern he couldn't make out, but it made his hips lift from the bed to press harder into her mouth.
Cullen lost all sense of time as Talise sat between his legs, occasionally lifting her head to nip at the inside of his thighs, leaving stinging marks on his skin, or to lick and trail her lips up and down his length, before returning to sucking on his length, her mouth sliding up and down his length in gentle movements. When she returned to flicking her tongue in against that most sensitive spot on his cock, he groaned, lifting his head to watch her; his warm honeyed gaze was met by her bright one, a gleam of mischief in her eyes as she parted her lips, letting him watch her trail her tongue over his length.
"What… what are you doing?" One hand slid over her dark, satiny tresses, his fingers shaking as she continued her pleasurable work. He was long past the ability to hold himself up, and he reached with his other hand towards the head of the bed, grabbing a pillow and stuffing it behind his head.
"Writing…" she leaned forward, tracing her tongue over his length once more, "My name…"
"With your tongue… Fuck…" He finished for her, his hips jerking up off the bed as she repeated her actions, a groan torn from his throat, his hands fisting in the bed.
"MmmHmmm..." she murmured her answer, tongue curling around his swollen tip. Her perspective gaze, trained to watch a target, focused on Cullen, and she watched the way his hands flexed on the bed, his hips jerked from the bed, the muscles in his thighs flexing.
His lashes obscured his gaze as his eyes fell closed, only to jerk open when she sunk her teeth into his thigh, harder this time, leaving a perfect impression of her teeth in his skin. The pain quickly faded into a pleasurable burn, and he gritted his teeth when she smirked up at him, one of his hands leaving the bed to curl into her hair, "Minx…"
"Just marking my territory." With a wide smirk on her face, her mouth moved back to his length, sucking him into her mouth in one smooth move, until she could not breath for a moment, and she swallowed, her throat closing around his length.
Cullen realized with a jolt that although she was on her knees before him, hands bound, they were sharing control. She had submitted to him, but there was power in that, he was the one gasping and squirming on the bed. The hand that held her hair tightened, and he groaned helplessly, his hips lifting from the bed to meet her lips. Talise murmured in approval, and she sucked on his length harder, no longer toying with him, dragging the flat of her tongue over him in the way she had learned he liked best, and was rewarded with a harsh curse, his hand jerking almost painfully in his hair.
"Talise… you have to stop…" He gasped out the words, hips lifting from the bed even as he struggled to speak.
"Stop asking… take what you need." She murmured the words to him, pressing a wet kiss to the head of his cock, her tongue flicking down over that sensitive spot once more.
"Maker Talise…." Cullen ground the words out, as she sucked on him again, and then speech was beyond him. He moaned, his hips lifting from the bed to meet her mouth. The hand not holding her hair twitched at his side, gripping the sheets restlessly, digging into the bedding as pleasure raced down his spine. When she sucked hard on him, her bound hands wrapped around the base of his length, sliding up to meet her pouty lips, he felt the ends of the silken tie trail over his skin, and he groaned.
Her name was a prayer, a curse, a plea, her mouth was too much, not enough, and then he was shouting, roaring into the night as Talise pushed him over the edge with the flick of her tongue. His vision went dark around the edges, his hips lifted from the bed, each movement sending more of his seed into her willing mouth, his entire body jerked as she swallowed, and then continued to suck on him. When he dropped back to the bed, his chest heaving, Talise let him slip from her mouth, her tongue trailing over his twitching length with a gentle lapping motion. He groaned, his hand falling from her hair to land limply on the bed.
"Did that please you?" she smiled up at him, pressing one last gentle kiss to the head of his cock, sitting back on her heels as she did so.
"Maker yes…" his hands shook as he reached for hers, her bound wrists propped on his thigh, and he curled his hand around hers, pulling her up to the mattress, until she could curl up against him. For a moment they rested there, Cullen's heart racing beneath Talise's smooth cheek, his hand trailing down her back in mindless circles, "Everything you did pleases me. But that… was… I saw the inside of the Black City."
His gaze dropped down to his stomach, where her wrists, still bound, rested, and one finger reached to trace over the silken tie. Gently he slid her from his side, and stood up, leaning to grab a bottle of wine from the table nearest his bed. Earlier this evening he had thought to bring it up here, and now he was grateful for it as he poured some into a goblet, and held it out to her lips, instead of handing it to her. Blinking in surprise, she sipped from the goblet as he held it, before pushing it away with her finger tips, and she watched as he drained it in one gulp.
Turning back to Talise, Cullen moved back onto the bed, sliding her further up the bed, until she was stretched across it, her small toes digging into the sheets. One hand reached for a spare tie, and he looped it around the headboard, tying one end loosely around the silken tie binding Talise's wrists. As he ran his fingers underneath the tie on her wrists, tugging on it to make sure it was loose enough to keep from hurting her, his gaze swept over her naked form, stretching out on the bed, "Remember your watchword?"
"Yes."
"Tell me."
"Miel."
"That's my good girl", he murmured the words hotly in her ear, his teeth nipping at the tender skin behind it. Mirroring her actions from earlier, he kissed his way down her chest, stopping at her high breasts, the cool breeze that filtered in to his room had her pale pink nipples drawn tight, and she squirmed as he ran his tongue over each one. His hands cupped the lush curves in his hands, plumping them up higher for his mouth, and he sucked and licked his way over her skin, his stubble leaving marks on the tender skin.
More of the candles had burned down before he lifted his head from her breasts, which were pink and swollen from his attentions. Talise was squirming on the bed, pressing her thighs together on the bed in a futile attempt to assuage the slick want that had grown with every pass of his tongue over her high breasts. Cullen smiled down at her, brushing strands of hair away from her sweaty, flushed face.
Calloused fingers slid down her side and up the inside of her thigh, slipping over the porcelain smooth skin, running up and down in a gentle, teasing pattern, his calloused fingers running up almost to the slick folds between her thighs, before sliding back down. When he felt the moisture slicking over even the tops of her thighs, he groaned, arousal flicking back to life in his golden gaze, "Oh sweetheart… you're already so wet."
Tied as she was to the bed, her arms stretched above her head, she could do little more than part her thighs, a whine in the back of her throat. She panted as she looked up at him, her fingers curling into her palms to keep from pulling at the silken ties that held her to bed.
"I know what you're expecting, that I'll tease you." He growled in her ear, leaning down to nip and suck on the tender skin of her throat.
"No… please… no."
"You're right. I'm not going to tease you." He grinned, the bed creaking softly as he moved, sliding between her thighs. He had not tied her legs, and now she suddenly knew why, with her legs free, he could drape her slender thighs over his shoulder. His stubble rubbed around the skin of her calf as he kissed her leg, going down to the arch of her foot, smirking when she jerked her foot away from him, his fingers tightening around her calf. His lips coasted back up her leg, he reached for her other leg, spreading it open, as he draped the thigh he was holding back onto his shoulder.
"What are you going to do?" She trembled as he spread her thighs, a blush darkening her cheeks, and then sliding down her slender throat. Even while she blushed she was spreading her legs further open for Cullen, offering herself up to him on a whimper.
"Give you what you want… over and over and over. Until you can't take the pleasure." The smile on his face was predatory as he drew one broad, calloused fingers over her slick folds, rubbing gently against the swollen bundle of nerves that caught his attention.
Talise hissed in a breath, gasping for air as her hips jerked. A blush colored her cheeks, the tips of her ears, and started to slide down her neck, her wrists jerked on the silken ties, her fingers gripping the dangling ends of midnight blue in a desperate bid to hold onto something. His breath ghosted over her as he touched her, rubbing against her swollen clit, dipping inside of her folds, and then slipping back out once more. The gentle teasing rhythm had her hovering on the edge before she could even breathe properly, she arched from the bed as her climax overtook her, her breathless whimper growing into a near scream as he slid one finger, then another into her. She pulsed around his fingers, her body shaking as her hips rocked to meet his fingers.
With a moan she fell back to the bed, blinking hazy eyes down at him, where he was propped up on one arm, her leg still hanging over his shoulder. His fingers had stilled, but he kept them inside of her, watching her face as she came back to awareness with a sigh. When the haze of pleasure cleared from her sky-touched eyes, he moved then, gently pressing his fingers up, searching for that spot within her.
Talise did not close her eyes so much as they rolled back in her head, and could not help the whimper that fell from her lips, a softly-whispered curse in Rivaini, his name. When the tips of his fingers rubbed over that tender spot, her legs jerked out of reflex, her arms pulled hard on the ties, and she squealed, her toes curling against Cullen's back. He smiled up at her, a lazy, predatory grin as he continued to press against her, his fingers sliding back and forth as they stroked in and out. She lost the ability to speak, her lips opening and closing as she gasped, her hips squirming on the bed, it was too much, she was too tender and swollen after her climax, but Cullen was relentless, continuing to rub against her as his fingers slid in and out of her body.
"Love… I don't speak Rivaini…" he smirked up at her, his hips pressing tightly against the bed, seeking any relief as his length suddenly swelled, throbbing with his heartbeat. A soft hiss left him as he slid against the smooth sheets, his fingers sliding into her harder than before.
"Don't… don't… don't…" she was torn between begging him to stop, and begging him not to stop as he continued to torment her. Her legs shifted restlessly, her smooth skin sliding over his shoulder as she squirmed, one moment she lifted up to him, and the next her hips jerked away.
"Don't?" His fingers gentled, sliding in and out of her, pressing against that swollen spot within her still, but slower, as she squirmed, his arousal-darkened gaze watching her face intently.
As soon as his fingers slowed down, she moaned, her arms pulling hard on the ties, not caring of the red stripes that decorated her wrists. Her hips lifted to his fingers willingly now, her legs spreading further open for him. Cullen responded as Talise curved up from the bed again, her back arching, and his fingers pressed insistently, but painfully gentle, into her slick folds. Overly sensitive, her body already tuned to his touch, Talise shuddered, pushed gently towards another climax. It washed over her in waves, and she pulsed around his fingers, slickness dripping off his fingers as he continued to slide them in her.
Even as she shuddered from her orgasm, he ducked his head, running the flat of his tongue over her swollen clit, sucking on it briefly. Talise screamed, her hips pushing towards her mouth, greedy for the feeling again, and Cullen was all too eager to give it to her. Remembering what she had done earlier, the tip of his tongue flicked over her sensitive flesh in repetitive motions, while Talise quivered beneath him.
She had just enough time to suck in a breath, before his tongue flicked out that pattern again, and Talise knew what he was doing, pressing his name into her willing folds as she laid tied to the bed. When he dragged the flat of his tongue over her again, parting her folds and then sliding over the swollen bud of nerves once more, Talise shrieked, her body pulsing as once more she climaxed. This time her arousal leaked onto the sheets, slicked the tops of her thighs, as she bowed from the bed, the muscles in her arms aching as she pulled on the ties.
The bed creaked, the wood protesting as Talise pulled on the ties, lithe muscles taut, without lifting his head from between her thighs Cullen reached a powerful arm up, sliding over her body, and pulled on the slipknot, tugging it free. His hand curled around the ties, holding her arms in place as he continued to lick her, feeling her folds pulse against his lips and tongue.
Miel. The word was on the tip of her tongue, her overstimulated flesh pulsing with each brush of his tongue against her. It felt too good to stop, but too much to continue at the same time, and she stayed where she was, sweaty and arching from the bed, her leg tightening against the shoulder. When he finally lifted her head she whimpered, suddenly aware that tears had gathered in her eyes.
Crystalline tears slid down her cheeks, and Cullen moved then, tugging her to him, gathering her trembling form in his arms, kissing her tears away as she shivered. Even as she struggled to breathe, gasping against the scar on his shoulder, her legs wrapped around his waist, and she rubbed shamelessly against him, hearing him growl in her ear.
"Talise… stop.." Despite his concern, he could not help but respond, rocking against her slick folds, feeling them part in wet welcome around his cock.
"No… don't want to…" She moaned the words out, lifting her still bound hands until she could fold her arms around his neck. Silken ties trailed over his skin as she moved, and he shuddered, burying his face in her dark hair, now damp with sweat and tangled from her tossing and turning upon his bed.
Trembling hands cupped her smooth cheeks, holding her still as he looked down at her. The tears were gone from her eyes, and she looked up at him with arousal dark eyes, the black of her pupils nearly overtaking the cerulean of her gaze. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, bruised from her own teeth, and she pressed them against his, sliding her fingers into his hair, "Please Cullen… please… I need you."
Heat flared over his skin, and he moved, pressing his length into her, groaning in relief as her folds parted for him once more, and he slid into her. She was swollen from his attention, puffy with arousal, and she pulsed around him as he moved, Cullen cursed out loud then, his hands tightening into the sheets around her head as he started to move. Talise whimpered, feeling the familiar stretch, even as wet as she was, it skated the edge of pain, until she relaxed, and he was buried within her.
Talise whined each time he slid from her, her legs tightening around his hips in a reflexive response to try and keep him buried within her, but each time he slid forward, he pulled away slower, until she was quivering in his arms. One muscled arm slid underneath her arched back, pulling her closer to him, the other braced himself above her, and he continued his slow torment of her body. When she started to shake, quivering against the bed, he smiled at her, leaning down to press a tender kiss to her forehead, the movement at odds with the carnal way he was taking her.
"Please Cullen… please please…" She was trembling on the edge once more, heat flicking through her body each time he moved.
"Stop asking Talise… take what you need my good girl." He whispered the words she had told him in her ear, teeth sinking into the tender lobe as he spoke, biting gently. Cullen knew what she was trembling for, what she was begging for, and his hips snapped against hers harder, the swollen head of his cock pressing against that sweet spot inside of her with each stroke.
Talise hovered on the edge still, her body tightening around his with each thrust, her fingers tightening in Cullen's golden curls, until finally, with one well-timed thrust, she came. Her back bowed, pushing her breasts against the muscles of his chest, her legs tightened around his waist, and she pulsed around him, squeezing around his cock tightly in rhythmic waves. It was too much, and Cullen buried himself in her, his hips pushing to try and get closer to her, deeper into her. As she squeezed around him, he let out a shout, his vision growing white, then dark as his climax over took him. Buried within her, his seed flooded her in spurts, his hips jerking with the force of his orgasm, toes curling into the sheets.
They rocked together, her hips meeting the gentle thrusts of his hips, as they panted, the pleasure slowly receding. His lips met hers, and he kissed her languidly, rubbing his hips against her lazily, finally easing from her body. One large hand slid down her body, cupping her slick mound in his hand, squeezing gently, pressing against her folds, as he leaned up, using his free hand to tug the ties that still bound her wrists free. The silken ties dropped to the bed in a wrinkled heap as he pressed his hand against her, a primal urge to keep his seed within her overtaking him.
Gently he moved, sliding his hand from her slick folds, gripping one slim thigh in his hand, he pushed her legs together. The cloud of arousal and masculine dominance had not yet left him, and he pushed her thighs tight together, murmuring in her ear as he did, "Don't waste any of it."
Talise blinked hazy eyes up at him, and she whined as he pressed his hand against her, the tips of his fingers slipping past her dripping folds, and pressing just barely into her, before his calloused hands pushed her thighs together, "Cullen… "
"I know love…" he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her lips once more, his hand coasting over her breasts, rubbing gently against her swollen, pink nipples. With a groan he stretched out atop the sheets, pulling her frame against his, burying his stubble-covered face in her dark hair and breathing the scent of her in.
For a few moments every care he had, the weight of responsibility, of leadership, it all left him, while he focused on drawing patterns against the milky skin of her back. Reality intruded as he heard the guards changing rotations, boots echoing across the top of the stone ramparts, with a heavy sigh, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I have no idea if we will win this war Talise."
Her answer was resolute, and determination shining in her sky touched gaze as she lay on his bed, her skin still pink and flushed, "I do. We are going to win this war. When this is all over, and we have peace again…"
He cupped her small chin in his calloused palm, searching her eyes with his own. She was certain, so sure of herself, and he suddenly found himself believing again, "When this is over, things will change between us."
"How?" a dark brow lifted in question as she looked up at him, her chin cradled in his large palm. In the last of the flickering candlelight, the candles now mostly puddles of wax, her eyes looked more luminous than usual, meeting his amber gaze.
Cullen could not keep the sigh from escaping him, as he looked into her shining eyes. Gently his thumb traced over her cheek, calloused from swordplay it rubbed against the smooth curve of her cheekbone as he spoke, "I won't want to be parted from you."
"You'll have me. I told you I'll follow you anywhere Cullen."
"And Nightreach?"
"Is home to more than just me. We can visit. We can live there, we can explore the world."
"I had thought to start a home of sorts. A place where templars could safely come off lyrium, a place where those who are lost to it can pass their final days." He whispered the words, as the candles started to wink out, slowly darkening his room.
For a long moment Talise said nothing, studying him in the dying candlelight, her teeth sinking into her lip as she gathered her courage. It took effort to keep her voice neutral, to keep her words even, "You know… there is a spot tucked away from the keep, it needs work, a new roof, but it could be a good place to start."
His head lifted from the pillow to look down at her, golden eyes wide as he moved, "Talise, you don't have to do that."
"I know. I'm doing it because I want to."
"Balancing the scales again."
She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his hand, "You don't have to… but it will be there if you want to."
"When this is over I will have to go home. Mia will kill me if I don't", he chuckled at the thought, his sister's last letter had practically demanded he come home.
"I want to take you to Rivain, there is a spot where the desert meets the ocean that is truly magical. The rains come once a year, and it grows lush and green." Talise smiled at the idea, her eyes turning soft and dreamy at the mention of Rivain, revealing the depth of emotion for the place she considered her second home.
They whispered to each other, making plans, dreams for a future threatened by an unimaginable evil. Locked in his room, wrapped around each other, Talise believed with an almost religious fervor that their dreams would all come true. She seemed so sure of things, so determined that things would turn out right, that Cullen could not help but believe her, and as the night drug on, they found themselves dreaming up plans, things to do, places to go visit, an entire life started to come into focus, just beyond the horizon.