Chapter 15: Pleasures Past and Present

The Crows had taken them by surprise, when they were on their way back to the inn that night, their minds taken up with the preparations for the impending Landsmeet. As they were crossing one of Denerim's numerous dark alleys, they found themselves suddenly surrounded by archers. Quickly they took up their fighting positions, the mages safely at the back, the warriors preparing to take a swing against the frontline of the attackers, Fluffy straining against his collar, raring to take down their opponents and shred them to pieces.

Then a tall, dark man strode to the front, his hand raised in what was both a greeting and a warning.

"Taliesin!" Cat heard Zevran hiss beside her. The two men looked at each other with a wary distrust. She watched Zevran's body grow tense as the other assassin glibly suggested a cover-up story for his prolonged absence and promised him a return to his position with the Crows - provided they kill her first, of course.

Zevran looked at her for a moment. There was no trace of doubt in her expression, only a firm assurance that he belonged with her. He smiled at his former partner.

"I can't, old friend," he answered softly. "I swore an oath, but even if I hadn't, other things bind me to her as well." He turned to look at Cat, ignoring Taliesin's derisive snort, his muttered insults. "I'm sorry, my love. I can't... I won't fight him. We were friends once, and more."

As he disappeared into the darkness, both sides took up arms, knowing that there was only one way this could end. It was a grim, dogged battle, but ultimately their swords and Morrigan's spells won over the assassin's skill and speed. He didn't flinch when Alistair's blade came rushing towards him, neatly taking off his head in a single blow.

When she returned to their inn later that night, Zevran was lying stretched out on the bed in their room, a faraway look on his face. She sighed and began to peel off her armour, not wishing to meet his eyes.

"He's dead. I'm sorry, Zevran, but there was no way we could spare his life." When she looked up, the expression on his face made her glad that she hadn't been the one to strike the killing blow. She threw off her remaining clothes and joined him in bed, nestling up close to him under the blanket, trying to read his face.

"He was your lover too?" she asked softly.

Zevran sighed wistfully. "Lover, brother, friend, partner... we used to be inseparable. But he was a Crow through and through. He would never have understood my decision to leave. When they made us kill Rinna, he didn't hesitate for a moment, just laughed at her and slit her throat." She heard the tiny catch in his voice and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

He turned to look at her and shook off the memories as if he was chasing away a fly. "Don't fret, cara, it's over, and he's gone. Dwelling on the past never did anyone any good." Cat let her hands run through his long blond hair, carefully untangling a few strands that had got messed up. She marvelled at his ability to live in the now, his refusal to let past pain intrude on their life together.

He turned over to look her in the eyes, his finger lightly tracing the thin white scar that ran across her eyebrow, giving her a rakish look. "Does it bother you then, that I have had male lovers?"

She shook her head. "Not really, no. I've always known anyway. Meeting Taliesin just brought it home for me, made it real and concrete in a way it wasn't before."

Zevran nodded slowly. "And how does that make you feel?" he asked.

She smiled a little crookedly, as she considered his question. "If anything the thought of the two of you together is... exciting. He is... he was very handsome, you know."

He closed his eyes for a moment at the memory of hot nights in Antiva, of Taliesin's strong, muscular body, the passion he had felt in the other man's embrace, when they returned from their assignments, flushed from the excitement of the kill. "That he was, and he had other talents as well. Still, it's good to know that you don't mind."

She snuggled up closer to him. "I just wonder..." she mused.

"What is it?" he replied, amused by her curiosity.

"Which do you really prefer, men or women?" she asked.

Zevran sighed. "I couldn't answer that, truly. It really depends on the person, be they man or woman. The beauty of it, to me, is that there's never been any need to decide. Both experiences can be hugely pleasurable, if done well, so why would one limit oneself to just one?"

Cat chewed her lower lip. "Well, but let's just assume for a moment that you had to choose," she persisted.

Zevran pulled her close into his arms. "Ahhh, if a cruel fate would force me to do so, I think I would have to choose... women." Not that it matters any more, since I've already chosen you.

He didn't voice the thought aloud, though, but proceeded to breathe soft little kisses down her neck and she gasped at the little shocks of pleasure she felt. "You see, there is just something about the soft curves of a woman..." He buried his face between her breasts for a moment, before looking up at her with a wicked smile. Watching her face, he gently pushed her breasts together, then he slowly, teasingly licked a soft path over both her nipples.

As she felt his tongue swirl around the hard tips, his lips nuzzle her white skin, she fought for breath. "So, it's all about the breasts, is it?" she managed to ask.

Zevran grinned like a cat. "No, not at all, carissima." She felt his expert fingers slowly stroke her belly. "You see, women, in my experience, have a superior capacity for enjoying sensual pleasures."

"They do?" she breathed as his hands softly spread her thighs, his fingers dancing over her warm, moist folds, teasingly entering her for a second, then withdrawing.

"Oh yes, they do. Most of them don't realize it, though." His thumb unerringly found her most sensitive spot. With just a few well-placed touches he had her violently bucking against his hand. She moaned, disappointed that it was over so fast. But to her surprise his hand never stopped moving.

"Let me show you," he whispered and softly, carefully kept on caressing her with the lightest of touches until she felt her body respond again, with increased urgency. This time the sharp, sudden climax nearly took her breath away, but still he wouldn't desist.

When she gave a small moan of pain at the intensity of the sensation, he pulled away his hand and slowly slid down between her legs, placing a long, lingering kiss on her hot wet core. The soft, insistent strokes of his tongue quickly made her whimper, almost sob in ecstasy as he brought her to another peak. She shuddered in his arms, overwhelmed by what he made her feel, completely taken by surprise by the reaction of her own body.

She would have been perfectly satisfied to cuddle up with him at this point, to relax against his warm, lean body. Yet he went on mercilessly, teasing, tasting, torturing her with his skilled mouth. With each release he made her climb new heights until her whole body tingled with pleasure, every nerve ending stimulated to the point of pain.

Only then did he thrust inside her, his hardness filling her, adding a new sensation, a rippling hot surge of pleasure that spread outward from her crotch to her toes and fingertips, consuming all thought along the way. When she finally arched up against him with a hoarse cry, the world went blindingly white, then black for a second and she was glad of his firm hold that anchored her to reality.

As she returned to consciousness, she looked up into his smiling face. "See, my love?" he breathed softly. "You really had no idea, no?"