Wow! Thanks so much Eynla, koguma, BlessedArrow, Morninglight, Graymalkyn, CouslandSpitFire and Anon for your awesome reviews! Special thanks to my beta friends CouslandSpitFire and Eynla for their support and suggestions! A huge thanks to all of you who have put this fic on their list of favorites and who are now following it! Cookies for everyone! :D

There is a scene after the beginning of this chapter with mature content in it, so it's NSFW! Just thought I'd give you all a heads up, though you probably already know since it's kind of hinted at in Chapter 2! :D

A word to describe my female Hawke: Whirlwind!

Enjoy!

As usual my disclaimer: Bioware owns everything!

Chapter 3

They arrived at the Blooming Rose and Madame Lusine actually met them at the door. She looked at Anders up and down with a smile on her face.

"Let me know if you're looking for work, handsome," she said in a sultry voice, then turned to talk to one of the girls. Anders's eyebrows shot upwards and his eyes widened slightly. Then he burst out laughing.

"And they don't even know about the electricity thing!" Isabela smirked.

"Electricity thing?" Varric echoed curiously and then shook his head when he saw Isabela and Anders exchange a look. "Never mind – I don't want to know."

They advanced into the main room, Anders giggling manically as he grasped Isabela's arse and squeezed it once. She gave a squeal of delight and hurried behind Varric, while Anders surveyed the room with interest. He was still a little tipsy, but not so tipsy to keep him from admiring the whores on display. There were elven girls in lovely tight bodices and shapely human women too. He spotted a handsome-looking guy that winked at him and Anders winked back, a lopsided grin on his face.

"Ah! There's Farcal over there," Varric said, pointing to a dwarf sitting at a table next to the stairs. As Isabela and Varric made their way over to Farcal, Anders turned left to head up the stairs. He just wanted to take a look at one of the empty rooms. Just then, a beautiful young woman with dark hair who was coming down the stairs burst out laughing at something her companion was saying. She tilted her head to look up at him as she reached the landing, turning around suddenly with a smile on her face and accidentally bumping into Anders.

"Oh! Excuse me, Serah!" She exclaimed happily, looking up at him.

Anders opened his mouth to say it was alright, but he got a good look at her and his mouth dropped open.

She had the most delicate features he had ever seen: Full lips, curled up in the sweetest smile and a lovely delicate nose that turned up slightly at the end. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright violet and her dark lashes were very long. Her skin was a pearly white, but her cheeks were pink, probably because she was laughing and a little drunk, Anders guessed. His eyes traveled all the way down to her chest. Even though she was wearing some kind of leather armor, he could see that her breasts were large and straining to be free. He felt his cock spring up attentively and his eyes widened slightly.

He tried talking to her, but discovered to his dismay that he was struck speechless. He just could not utter a single word.

The girl shrugged and turned back to her companion, giggling at him as he led her down the stairs and away to another table far across the room where they ordered something to drink.

Anders stood there, enthralled, still staring at the lovely creature. Varric suddenly elbowed him and he turned back to look at him with a dazed expression on his face.

"Blondie, wake up!"

"Aww, he saw something he likes! Let him be!" Isabela laughed, standing next to Anders and winking at him.

"That could be a potential problem," Varric said. "That girl isn't a whore."

"Ah! I see Lucky has just arrived and is talking to Farcal. That can only mean that Farcal is telling him about the job," Isabela smiled. "I'll just go hire Lucky once and for all so we can leave."

"You know this girl?" Anders asked Varric as Isabela walked down the stairs over to Farcal's table to talk to Lucky.

"Well, not exactly. I have heard of her though. She arrived from Ferelden about a year ago and works with Athenril," Varric explained. "Her sister works with her, too."

"Who's Athenril?" Anders asked.

"She leads one of the smaller circle of thieves and smugglers in Kirkwall," Varric replied just as Isabela returned with a smile on her face.

"Let's go, sweet thing," Isabela purred into Anders's ear. "I want my sparkles like you promised, remember?"

Anders pulled himself together. "Of course, Isabela. Let's get back to The Hanged Man," he smiled.

When they turned to walk to the entrance, he glanced at the table where the young woman had been sitting, but it was empty. He looked around for her rather frantically, but he could not find her.

She was gone.

…

"What other spells do you know besides the 'sleeping spell' you used on that Warden?" Isabela crooned at him, a half-smile on her face as she straddled him on the bed.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Anders asked innocently, hissing a few moments later when she took his arousal in her hand and squeezed slightly. She straightened up above him and discarded her white tunic. Her breasts were a sight to see and looked absolutely fabulous. Anders hummed appreciatively, his hands reaching out and massaging them gently.

"You know what I mean…I saw you flicking your hand at him when he tossed around on the bed. I know you put a sleeping spell on him so he wouldn't wake up. What I want to know is if you can cast a spell that can…keep us… awake all night…" Isabela's hand was now pumping him and he was having a hard time controlling himself. It had been a while since he'd had sex.

"Oh…" he managed to breathe out. "I think I may know a spell or two that would…ah!" he cried and grabbed her hand, then pulled her down, kissing her passionately. Reaching through the Veil, he focused on the sparks she had been asking for and started to caress her. He sat up and swung her around, kneeling on the bed behind her, then forced her on her knees. One of his hands fondled her breasts and tweaked her nipples and the other one caressed her arse. When his hand reached her nub, she was soaking wet and Anders smiled.

Bending over her, he let his throbbing cock slide over her back, then graze her nub, but did not make a move to enter her yet.

"As a mage I'll make this a night to remember…as a Grey Warden, I'll last longer than any other…" he whispered, trailing light kisses from the nape of her neck down her back between her shoulders.

"That's what I'm hoping for, Sparkles," Isabela managed to say, leaning back and rubbing against him.

…

Anders smirked as he looked down at Isabela who was fast asleep, then got up and hurried to get dressed. The sun was already rising when he walked down the stairs of The Hanged Man and stopped at the counter.

"How much for a hot bath?" Anders asked Corff.

"Ten silver, Serah," Corff replied.

"How much for a hot bath today and a hot bath every day at nightfall?" Anders asked again smiling at the bartender.

"Ten silver for the first bath, five silver afterwards for each one,"

"No discount? Not even if I come in and get drinks, too?" Anders replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Fine!" Corff finally relented. "Five silvers for each bath – this first one is free of charge. But you will have to pay in advance, Serah."

"You've got yourself a deal," Anders grinned as he gave Corff a sovereign and waited for his change. He had more than enough to get some ingredients for his potions right after his bath, and would still have more than a sovereign left. Smiling, he went back up the stairs and down the corridor, turning right at the very end. Opening the door, he found himself in the back part of the inn. A large copper tub was in the middle of the room, and there were towel racks all around.

Anders ignored the racks and opened his backpack, extracting a jar of salve and a towel from it. He smiled at the girl filling the tub with buckets of water and asked her to leave once she was done, then undressed. He put some of the contents from the jar in the bath water and used magic to heat the water. The salve was a special concoction he made from different herbs that cured most – if not all – sexually transmitted diseases. While he had enjoyed his night of passion with Isabela, he was not stupid.

When his bath was ready, he sank into the hot water and lay there for a few moments, savoring the heat and relaxing while he waited for the salve to do its magic. The vision of the beautiful creature he had run into at The Blooming Rose suddenly popped into his head. He shook his head, but try as he might, could not stop thinking about her. His found himself sexually aroused again and he groaned.

Leaning over with a frown, he grabbed his backpack and took out a bar of lemon soap. He then proceeded to wash himself thoroughly and vigorously, forcing himself to think about the ingredients he needed to buy for his potions and salves. Once he was done, he dried himself and got dressed.

By the time he left The Hanged Man, it was almost noon. His stomach grumbled and he stopped at one of the food stands in the market to buy some ham, cheese and fresh bread. Then he made his way to the lady who sold potions and ingredients, deep in thought.

He focused on the vendor's different herbs and roots, hardly paying attention to anything else. After a while, he found some much needed embrium for some of his potions and a number of hard to get roots for his salves. As he was about to pay, he walked straight into a person who was talking to the lady merchant and laughing, causing the different plants and roots he was holding in his hands to fall to the floor.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" A female voice hurried to say. "Let me help you…"

He looked directly at the woman to protest and say that he would take care of it, but was surprised to discover it was the dark-haired beauty he had seen in The Blooming Rose the night before. She stopped talking and tilted her head, a confused look on her face.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked, her lips curling upwards as she smiled graciously up at him.

Anders grinned. "The Blooming Rose," he blurted out, elated that he would meet her so soon after their first encounter.

"I see…you work there?" She chuckled.

"Me? No," Anders grinned. "Not yet, anyhow."

The girl burst out laughing and Anders smiled as he scooped up some of the ingredients lying on the ground, his heart hammering in his chest.

She had a smirk on her face when she handed the embrium over to him. "You're a healer, then?"

"I try to be," Anders replied with a lopsided grin on his face. "Thank you." He grasped her hand unintentionally as he took the embrium, silently thanking the Maker and various others for this fortuitous encounter.

Say something witty, you idiot!

"It looks like rain, doesn't it?"

Very good! Now kill yourself, why don't you?

"Can I have my hand back?" she giggled. Anders quickly realized he was still holding it and released it immediately murmuring an apology to her.

She turned back to the lady vendor with a smile on her face, paid her for the potions she had bought and turned to leave, walking down the stairs that led to another area in the market. Anders quickly paid for his ingredients and dashed down the steps to catch up her as soon as he could. After all, the least he could do was ask her what her name was. He saw that she wasn't around, so he went up the stairs directly in front of him and stopped to get a better look.

He scanned the whole market area, but after some time he realized that she was gone. Sighing, he turned to head to the staircase that led down to Darktown and continued on.

Andraste's knickerweasels! Why does she keep doing that? I'm going to have to tie her down next time!

A mental image of the mysterious dark beauty he kept running into tied to a bed and completely naked came to his mind and he groaned – for he was now sporting a terrific erection.

Talk about adding insult to injury.

…

Anders was busy enough in the days that followed. He had a lot of people to heal at his clinic and he also had to make more salves and potions to give to his patients. Five days after his romp with Isabela, he was busy healing a young boy who was near death when the door to his clinic swung open.

"Clinic is closed," he called, then smiled at the young boy who had finally opened his eyes. The boy's parents thanked him and he leaned against one of the wooden beams of the vast room to catch his breath and sighed, completely exhausted. A nice hot bath was the only thing that he had on his mind at the moment.

"Hey, Blondie!" Varric called out and recognizing Varric's voice he turned with a grin on his face, even though he was exhausted.

"Hey Va – oh!" Anders froze. Standing right next to Varric was the elusive dark beauty herself.

"Hello! Varric and Isabela tell me you're a Grey Warden," she grinned, fixing her eyes on him.

"Among other things, yes." Anders smiled back, giving her a wink.

She laughed, her violet eyes twinkling merrily, but seemed otherwise unimpressed. "Isabela also happened to mention that you have a map of a number of entrances to the Deep Roads?"

"I do," Anders replied quickly. "You're interested in the map, I presume?"

If she's just asked you for the map it already means she's interested, you moron!

"I'm organizing an expedition to the Deep Roads," she smiled sweetly, her eyes darting around and taking in the shabby surroundings. "I'll pay for the map in question."

"Ah! Well, what if I didn't want to sell it?" He teased.

"Everyone has a price," the girl shot back quickly. "Name yours."

He could tell she was a bit annoyed and wondered what he had said or done to cause this.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" He gave her a lopsided smile. "I can be very expensive when I want to be."

"Isabela, you said he was smart," she turned to the pirate, who burst out laughing. It was now Anders's turn to be annoyed. I am smart…miss…miss SMARTY PANTS!

"Fine, you want to go there, be my guest!" He exclaimed. "And here I thought we could be friends…"

"I never joke with strangers," she laughed, then shook her head. "I want no trouble with a Grey Warden…"

"And a healer!" He was quick to add.

She burst out laughing again, a hand on her face covering her mouth. "You're right! I want no trouble at all from a healer! They can HEAL you to death!"

He glanced at Varric, who seemed to have taken upon himself to count the wooden beams crisscrossing the ceiling. Sighing, Anders turned back to her.

"Let's start over, shall we?"

She shook her head to this. "I don't have time for all the formalities. But if you must know, my name is Hawke and I would like to buy the map you have of the Deep Roads."

Isabela chuckled behind her.

"Fine! My name is Anders, and I'll give you the bloody map for free!" He turned around and headed to his small room at the back of the clinic. He could hear Varric saying something to her, while he dug out the map from his backpack and walked back to the main area of the clinic, stopping right in front of her and holding out the map so she could take it.

"How much?" she asked in a sing-song voice.

"Just take the bloody thing already, will you?" Anders frowned.

"You aren't going to sell it to me? You'd give it to me just like that? Why?" The puzzled look on her face only annoyed him more, but he couldn't say why. He only knew he was experiencing a roller coaster of emotions he didn't even know existed.

Hawke was now looking at him with a thoughtful expression on her face. She was clearly used to people asking either for money or favors in exchange for whatever she wanted.

"Why not?" Anders asked, shrugging.

"I can clearly see you need money, so I'll just give you a percentage of whatever we find in the Deep Roads."

"That sounds fair to me," Anders retorted.

"If you are a healer, I may need your help with a job," she continued, eyeing him with an amused expression on her face. "All you have to do is help with the fighting and heal our wounds. In return, I'll give you some of the coin that we'll get after completing the job."

"Why is it that you are under the impression that I do everything for money?" Anders shook his head, unable to comprehend what he was feeling at the moment.

What in the Fade is wrong with me?

"Hey, Blondie, that isn't what –"Varric began, but Anders turned to look at him – the look on his face clearly asking Varric to butt out so Varric shut up immediately and chuckled.

Hawke sighed. "You didn't tell me he was cranky, Isabela!"

"He wasn't! I swear!" Isabela protested.

"I'm not cranky!" Anders hurried to say.

"Maybe he just needs to get laid," Hawke mused, a finger on her chin as she murmured the words.

"What?!" Anders exclaimed. "I can get laid whenever I want to! Also, I'm standing right here! Please don't speak of me as if I wasn't in the room!"

"Well, I haven't seen you at the Rose lately, so I just…assumed," Hawke smirked.

Anders rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Can I ask what we'll be doing tonight?"

"I'm certainly not having sex with you, that's for sure," Hawke smiled sweetly and then winked at him.

"I meant the job!" Anders said through clenched teeth, clearly exasperated while Varric and Isabela snickered behind Hawke.

"Oh! I just have to find a runaway mage in The Wounded Coast, who needs help…running away some more," she grinned. "You'll come with us, then?"

Anders nodded to her question vehemently. He once again seemed to have lost the power of speech.

"Splendid! Let's get going, shall we? I don't want to miss all the bandits we'll run into along the way!" Hawke cried out, clapping her hands eagerly and turning to head to the door of the clinic. "I love killing things!"

"She's a real gem, isn't she?" Varric commented with a grin on his face as he turned to follow Hawke out of the clinic.

…

Excerpt from a page in Anders's journal written the following day:

Exhausted! Don't even know what day it is today!

Maker's breath!

Note: Buy a new pair of boots! Preferably black.

…