Title: A Week to Remember
Part 3 of 3
Author: PhoenixDove1
Game: Post Dragonage 2
Relationship Pairing: fHawke, Cullen
Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything
*This was supposed to be a quick one shot but I think it's a bit longer. This is set after the events of DA 2 and before whatever happens in DA 3. Between Marian Hawke and (hopefully soon to be romanceable) Cullen*
Marian
Once they reached the main floor through the kitchen she called for Bodahn.
He came from the library and bowed to her, careful to not show any reaction as he took in Cullen standing next to her holding her hand. "Yes Messere?"
She hesitated a moment then asked. "Is my bath water ready?"
Bodahn, ever the professional, kept his face on her. "Yes Messere. Just as you requested."
"Great, thank you. Please inform Orana and Sandal that you all have the rest of the night off."
He bowed deeply. "Thank you Messere." Not wasting any time, he went off to find the others, giving her and Cullen the house to themselves.
When he was gone Cullen asked her, surprised. "You make them keep your bath water ready?"
"Oh, no. Well, sort of." She tried not to smile at his baffled expression. It was nice seeing him like this. Completely unguarded. She let go of his hand and preceded him up the stairs.
"I told them because of how dreadful the temperature was today that when I got home I'd need to scrub down. They put water in the tub as the sun started to set." She wiggled her hand at him sheepishly as he walked up behind her, "I can keep the water warm myself."
He smiled at her comprehending. "That's a handy trick."
"It can be." She smiled at him, her stomach doing flips as they walked into her room. The tub was at the end of her bed in front of the fireplace, a little table with her soaps and a towel next to it. Moonlight spilled through the open window, no wind moved the shear curtains. She heard the door latch and she turned as he walked up to her and gave her a quick kiss.
"I can't tell you," he kissed her neck, "how much I want to throw you on that bed and rip your clothes off, but I need help getting my armor off first." He stepped back to look at her.
His tone of voice sent a shiver of both anticipation and nervousness down her spine. "Not a problem." She said.
They spent a good five minutes taking off his chest armor, chainmail, gauntlets and boots. His gloves were still in her cellar.
"You do this every day?" She asked.
He gave her a half smile but didn't answer her. With his armor off, he came towards her and kissed her as he pulled at the ties on her corset. He pulled it forward, purposefully brushed his hands across her breasts as he took it off of her and threw it to the ground. Then he lightly grabbed the tie at the front of her dress.
"I've been picturing doing this all night." He tugged the bow and it slowly came undone. She felt his fingers pressing into her shoulders as he slowly pulled the dress down over her body. Her breath hitched in her throat as it puddled on the floor. Her smalls followed, leaving her completely bared to Cullen.
He stepped back to look at her. The predatory look in his eyes should have scared her, but it only excited her.
"I want to see you." She said, hardly recognizing her own voice.
He immediately pulled the rest of his clothes off. He was magnificent; better than her wildest fantasies. Years of rigorous Templar training had given him a rock hard, muscled body. She felt the impulse to lick him. When he dropped his pants his erection sprang free, thick and long, and sticking straight out. She couldn't take her eyes off it. While her body felt an animalistic hunger, she started to worry about how it would fit.
Her anxiety must have shown because he walked back to her and gently tilted her face up to his, forcing her eyes to look at him. "Is everything alright?"
The concern in his voice touched her. "Um… well…" She said hesitantly, she didn't know how to tell him, it embarrassed her. She looked around trying to find a way to stall but a voice inside told her she needed to pull herself together. She'd taken down armies and demons, among other things, she could tell the man she loved what was causing her apprehension.
"Ok, the thing is… I've never done this before." She said trying to keep her voice steady.
She saw surprise briefly flit across his face. She braced herself as he ran his thumb over her cheek. He gave her a wicked smile. "I'm glad you told me."
Her shock and relief that he didn't care she was a virgin was quickly swept aside by pleasure. He gathered her in his arms and the feel of his skin on hers set her on fire.
"I will make sure to take," he placed a few kisses on her collar bone, "extra special care of you." He captured her mouth in a devastating kiss.
When he released her lips, he turned her towards the bath. "How about we make use of your bath my lady?" He teased.
She smiled at him. "The lady insists."
He helped her in but didn't get in with her. He waited, she assumed, to see which spell she used to warm the water then soaped up his hands. She had no idea a bath could be so sensual. The sensation of his hands slipping over her breasts, legs, abdomen and her most intimate area had her physically squirming. He was thorough but agonizingly slow. It felt as if her whole body ached for his touch. He helped her stand up, grabbed the towel and started to pat her dry.
"Give me five seconds." Giving her a quick kiss, he quickly jumped into the water to clean himself up.
She put the towel on the little table for him and went to the bed, slipping between the sheets. The cool sheets touching her overly sensitive skin only added to the sensory overload she was still feeling from his touch.
A moment later he slipped in next to her, laid the towel under them, and pulled her on top of him, kissing her again. Her legs straddled him and she had the inexplicable urge to rub against it like a cat.
He pulled her lips to his, kissed her again and began to stroke her body. He flipped them over, laying on top of her. He nibbled her ear lobe and kissed down her neck to her breast, which he sucked into his mouth. She moaned when she felt his teeth lightly bite her nipple, his goatee abrading her delicate skin. He continued kissing her and moving lower on her body.
She jumped a little when she felt him kiss her inner thigh. She was thrumming with desire as he purposely kept avoiding her center. She was contemplating begging when he finally rubbed his tongue across her most sensitive spot. Her back arched off the bed.
"Cullen!"
He continued to suck and lick her.
"You're so wet." He muttered sliding one of his fingers inside her. The ache in her loins only slightly abated at having his finger inside of her. As he continued to caress her, she felt something inside her slowly start to build. He slipped another finger inside her and continued the pumping motion while swirling his tongue over her bud. Her breathing was ragged. She was on the precipice of something when he stopped.
She whimpered at his sudden withdrawal.
"Don't worry love, you will have your release." He left a path of searing kisses on her as he moved back up her body. He settled over her. His weight on her was intoxicating and she felt the tip of his erection at her entrance.
He slowly entered her. She bucked her hips but he didn't go in all the way. Instead, he pulled out a little then plunged in a little deeper. She felt herself stretching to accommodate him and she wrapped her legs around him to encourage him to continue.
"Faster Cullen, please." She begged willing him to go harder with her eyes; her hands digging into his shoulders.
He was clenching his teeth. "You will be the death of me woman" he ground out, but the whole time he was touching her, kissing her or caressing her body with his slowly moving hands. It was exquisite torture.
"My love, this next part will hurt," he said and placed a kiss on her nose looking into her eyes, "but I promise it won't last long."
She nodded, a little nervous but trusting in him completely. He then kissed her like he was claiming her and pushed past her barrier in one swift movement of his hips. She squeezed her eyes shut at the pain. Almost as quickly there was a warm tingling that seemed to come from him that had her squirming in pleasure, making the pain disappear. He didn't move inside of her but kissed her again.
"Are you ok?" He asked with such distress that if she hadn't known she loved him before she would love him now. All she could do was nod through her ecstasy and kiss him back. Then blessedly he started to move. He pulled himself out and with one long thrust sank all the way back in, filling her completely. They groaned together and he repeated the action again, and again, faster and faster. What he'd brought her to before was nothing compared to where he was taking her now.
"Oh Maker…" She cried out. "Cullen don't stop!" She felt her body tighten and coiled as he rhythmically thrust inside of her.
She cried out as her body shuddered and then shattered around him. He groaned out his climax as she milked him with the force of her orgasm.
Cullen
After a few moments he moved off of her, pulled her into his side and just lay there, their breathing becoming slower and more normal. That had been the best sex of his life. She reacted to him with abandon and he'd barely maintained control of himself. He felt her making lazy circles on his forearm with her finger. He loved her so much, this could not be a one night thing. In the quiet he tried to figure out how to prolong whatever it was they had.
She turned her luscious body towards him. She was stunning and he would never get the image of her naked out of his mind. She looked satisfied and relaxed, and unbelievably sexy.
"I'll be right back ok?" He said to her.
"Alright." She said.
He got up, taking the towel with him he'd laid down earlier. Put that on the table next to the tub and dipped the washcloth they hadn't used, into the still warm bath water and brought it back to the bed. Gently he pressed the moist cloth between her legs, cleaning away the evidence of her lost virginity. Then he laid back down, pulling her to face him, and began running his hand along her back.
"So, not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I have to say that was, just wow. Is it always like that?"
His male pride preened. "No. Only with you."
Once she'd admitted to him she was a virgin getting it right for her had become his singular goal. "You're sure you're Ok? I sent out a little healing spell so it shouldn't have been painful for very long."
"That's what that was? No, it worked. Very well."
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know, I thought for a second you were really going to blast me down in that cellar."
She yawned and then smirked. "I thought about it."
He leaned in and kissed her with all the love that he felt, that he couldn't yet express. "Let's get some sleep."
She smiled up at him. "Ok."
Marian
Marian woke up several hours later to Cullens' hands stroking her body. It was still dark outside and her back was to him, nestled up against his hard warm chest. She draped her leg over his, inviting his play. He moved his hand down her body and impaled her with his fingers. She turned her head and he captured her mouth as he moved his fingers in and out. The now familiar tightening began deep inside and continued to build. Before she could find the release she craved he stopped and gently rolled her face down into the mattress, pulled her bottom up and replaced his fingers with his rigid manhood. She whispered for him to use the healing spell again as he gripped her hips. She moaned her pleasure as the warm tingling spread through her again as he thrust inside her and drove them to bliss for a second time.
It had gotten a little chilly in Kirkwall, a complete one eighty from earlier. He pulled her into him to snuggle. She didn't know how long this would last. Cullen didn't seem the type to engage in casual liaisons but she couldn't afford to be fanciful. She ignored the twinge of sadness that threatened to invade her. She would take whatever he was willing to give. She wouldn't think about tomorrow until it happened.
"I meant to ask you," he said to her. "What in the blue hells were you doing at the pub?"
She grinned from ear to ear. "Well, I always caught you glaring at me like you were waiting for me to mess up, even before then, and I just couldn't stand it anymore so, well, I thought I'd try to give you a different reason to look."
He leaned up on his elbow. "You wench. You purposefully tried to tempt me!"
"So you… liked it?"
"Yes." His voice was so deep and gravelly. "I don't remember a time when my armor has been so uncomfortable or that I'd ever been so glad to have it on." It was shameful how quickly it aroused her knowing he'd been lusting after her as she had imagined. She wanted him again and she didn't care.
She moved to straddle him and kissed his chest. "Do you have this problem often?"
"Only under special circumstances" He said, looking at her like a predator stalking its prey.
He went to grip her hips but she pushed away from him. "No Templar, don't you remember your training? You aren't allowed to play with the mages. No matter how naughty they are behaving!"
She purposely slid across his growing erection, sitting back on her knees next to him, supporting her body with one hand. His eyes burned into hers as she started using her other hand to fondle her heated skin. Boldly moving down her body to her swollen center, legs wide so he could see, she let her head fall back as he watched.
Marian – one week later
She and Cullen had met up at her estate almost every night for the past week. The nights he couldn't make it to her were long but it was never two nights in a row. During the day they sought each other out, helped by the fact that their duties overlapped much more than before. She'd learned a lot about him during that time, as they'd talked about everything from their pasts and interests to their hopes for Kirkwall's future. He was everything she'd thought he was and more. He had integrity and compassion and inspired loyalty in his men.
There was no Viscount yet but he set to work instigating new behaviors in his Templars towards mages. Most of them were happy to no longer feel like prison wardens anymore, making it easier to weed out those few that remained dedicated to Meredith's cause. It was still a long road.
When she saw him in public she would subtly flirt with him, either with words or, if he was part of a security detail, she'd get a little too close or flash some skin when no one was looking. If anyone suspected, they either never noticed the Templar who always stood around her or were too programmed to even conceive the two were involved.
Once they even snuck off to an alcove in the Chantry's library. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. She loved being reckless with him, stealing the moment when they had the chance. She understood Isabela more than she ever had before.
She suspected Aveline knew something was different about Marian but her friend never brought it up. She wanted to tell Aveline. She hated keeping it a secret but she was still afraid it wouldn't last. It would be just one iota easier to get over if it ended and no one knew, so she kept it to herself.
The temperature had dropped to the normal fall weather so she had her fireplace burning when he walked in. He unceremoniously removed her clothes as she did his. A touch was all it took. They laid down on the bed and she forced him to his back. He didn't stop her as she traced kisses down along his torso, pausing to play with his nipples.
When she placed a kiss below his belly button his stomach contracted. She looked at him. He was staring at her, his mouth slightly open in anticipation.
She brought her mouth to hover over the tip of his erection and couldn't help herself. "You'll let me know if I hurt you?"
Glazed dark amber eyes shot to hers. "What?"
She laughed and took him in her hand. It was silky and hot. She placed a kiss, then licked him. She heard his breath suck in at her ministrations and it empowered her. Holding the base of his shaft she swirled her tongue over him as he had so often done to her, then took as much of him into her mouth as she could.
Her core involuntarily spasmed as he groaned out loud and grabbed a handful of her hair. He wasn't holding her back so she kept sucking, moving up and down over the satin sheathed steel. The control she had over him was intoxicating. It didn't last too much longer because her body was aching for him. She climbed on top of him and guided him into her.
Later, while she thought he was sleeping as evidenced by his steady breathing tickling her neck, she laid awake, thinking, content. He reached for her in his sleep. She smiled. Who knew such a controlled and dangerous Templar could be such a loving and compassionate man?
As he gathered her to him he mumbled. "I love you."
Cullen
Cullen laid awake. He'd never felt so invigorated in his life. The changes he was making by merging the old school with a new way of thinking were progressing quite well. Marian had accepted him into her bed every night and she was continuing to blow his mind, quite literally, as she blossomed into a glorious and sensual woman.
He watched the even rise and fall of her breast as she slept. They had learned so much about each other in only a week and he wanted to know more. He hoped it endeared him to her more. He couldn't imagine his life without her. He never wanted to go back to the way things were before her. He reached for her and snuggled her to him, softly sighing 'I love you'.
He hadn't realized that he'd actually spoken those words until he felt her almost unperceptively stiffen in his arms.
"Did you say something?" She asked quietly. She sounded normal but he felt a panic beginning to rise in him. Had she heard him? Should he tell her, or pretend he'd said something else? What if she wasn't ready for love and telling her would just push her away?
He took so long in deciding that she slowly turned towards him, her gorgeous sapphire eyes unreadable.
Drowning in her eyes he knew he wouldn't lie to her. Time for truth he thought. "Um, y-y-yes I did."
She propped herself up on her elbow and asked on a whisper. "What did you say?"
Irked that his stutter had made an appearance, he sat up, pulling his knee up to him so he could rest his arm on it, the sheet forgotten as it fell to his waist. He looked at her. "I love you."
She exhaled and sat up next to him bringing the sheet with her, shock clearly written on her face. Dread crept into him and he started to talk. "I know that's crazy, we've never really spent all that much time together, and the little bit of time that we have had, most of it has been about work. I know there's so many obstacles stacked against us. We are slowly turning the tide, but I'm still a Templar and you are still a mage."
He chanced a glimpse at her and saw a tear streak down her face. It crushed him but he wasn't ready to give up. He ever so gently used his thumb to wipe it away.
"I just…, this feels…, it's just right and I want…" She put her fingers to his lips to get him to stop talking but he couldn't. He couldn't lose her. He took her hand in his.
"Please, Marian, I've been in love with you for so long, I'm just asking for a chance to win your heart… as you've stolen mine." He pleaded.
He saw her swallow hard. "You," more tears escaped but she was smiling at him. "You already have it. I love you Cullen. So much."
He let out a ragged breath. She loved him. "Impossible" he muttered, but cupped the back of her head, pulling her in for a soul searing kiss. He wouldn't give her time to change her mind. She wrapped her arms around him and he held on to her as tightly as she held on to him.
"So, can't live without me huh?" He said to tease her.
Marian
She laughed at him. She still couldn't believe it. She framed his face, her heart soaring, and said. "No, I can't. I guess that means you're stuck with me."
He smiled back and kissed her.