Thanks so much Apollo Wings, Blessed Arrow, Morninglight, anesor, Violet Enigma and karebear for the wonderful reviews! Cookies and cake for all of you! I also want to thank all those of you who have put this fic on their list of favorites and are now following it! :D

A huge thanks to my lovely beta Eynla for her help with this chapter!

The beginning of this chapter has smut in it, so it's NSFW! If you feel it will offend you, then skip to the first break. You have been warned!

My disclaimer as usual: Bioware owns everything. I just play with the characters!

Chapter 17

Anders sank deeper into the hot water in the tub, closing his eyes briefly as he relaxed completely. He heard Hawke bump against something in the next room and her curses made him smile and chuckle softly.

He couldn't believe he was taking a bath and Hawke was waiting for him in the other room. Even though he didn't like what had happened with Velanna, things were really looking up again and Anders grinned at what was coming.

The marble tub he was in was fairly large – in fact, it could comfortably fit two. He imagined he would be taking a great many number of baths in it with Rhianna in the future.

So relaxing!

He didn't realize he had actually dozed off until the loud knocking on the door startled him and he sat up quickly. The once hot water was now lukewarm at best, and he shivered slightly, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"What in blazes are you doing in there?" Rhianna called at the door. "What about my bath?"

"Come on in, then!" Anders called. "I'd love to lather you really well. All. Over."

Hawke's laughter on the other side of the door caused his own laughter to fly freely from his lips. The happiness he was feeling at the moment was like a drug to him. He couldn't really remember when he had felt this happy before. Ever.

The door opened, and she appeared, her eyes twinkling, wrapped in a robe that was several sizes too big for her and her hair was wet, which told him that she had already taken a bath. He grabbed a towel and stepped out, wrapping it firmly around his waist as she watched, the desire in her eyes making him tingle with anticipation. When he finally stood before her, her perfumed scent reached his nostrils and he felt light-headed. It took a great deal of effort on his part not to sweep her up in his arms at that moment. Rhianna licked her lips seductively, causing his knees to feel weak.

"Your hair is wet," he said in low voice. "You lied to me…"

She giggled and stepped closer. "I had Orana prepare a bath for me in the guest bathroom. You've been in here for so long! Are you trying to ignore me? I've been waiting practically forever for you to come out!"

"I'm going to have to punish you for lying to me." His low voice was a rumble and his brown eyes were dark with desire as he took her in his arms and pulled her close.

Their kiss was gentle, but not without passion. She broke it off and a half-growl escaped his lips in protest, but she took his hand, leading him to her bed.

They fell on the bed, still entangled in each other's arms, Anders now trailing kisses below her ear as his hands slowly parted her robe. She tugged at his towel, which fell around him on the bed.

Her eyes were fixed on his erection and just as she was reaching out, he grabbed her hand, shaking his head.

"No. You aren't allowed to do that yet," he whispered with a lopsided grin.

He devoured her lips, cutting off her response, and held her hands together over her head against the pillow with his left hand, while his right hand caressed her breast. Rhianna let out a moan that nearly did him in. A hiss escaped his lips as his mouth made its way to her lovely breasts. Pausing for only a few moments to glance at her, he noticed her cheeks were flushed and she was slowly arching her back. She had never looked more beautiful to him than at this moment. His tongue flicked over a hardened nipple and she gasped, her teeth biting her lower lip momentarily.

He let go of her hands and then moved to her other breast with his mouth as his hand traveled lazily south. Anders then focused, reaching into the Fade and sparks flew from his fingertips over her skin. She gave a cry of pleasure that made him smile. His hand slipped past her dark curls and instead traveled up and down her thigh playfully while she suddenly opened her legs wide and arched herself up to him again.

His erection throbbed painfully, but he held on to what little self-control he still had and even though he knew what she wanted, he ignored her wish completely and continued to caress and lick and suck everywhere else.

"Anders, please!" she cried out at last, and he smiled before his hand finally parted her folds. He began to tease her nub, sending sparks out at intervals. He then inserted a finger in her core and she mewled with pleasure and arched her back again, her hands falling on his head, her fingers raking through his hair.

He took his time, pausing and kissing; all his movements maddeningly slow until Rhianna grew impatient again and cried out. He ignored her, and inserted another finger inside her. She sat up with a growl, moving against his hand desperately – seeking the release he was denying her.

"Anders, please! I need you!"

"What do you want me to do, my love? Tell me…," he said in a low voice as his lips now reached her inner thigh.

She lay back and his thumb found her nub again, and massaged it. He took his fingers out of her, and she protested with a curse.

"Language, love!" he whispered in a mock, shocked voice.

"I – I want you, I need you! Please, my love," she begged.

He finally buried his face between her legs, and licked her nub, then suckled it. She gave a cry of pleasure as he inserted his fingers into her core again, in and out, reaching her sweet spot over and over until he felt her shudder and tighten around them. He lapped up her juices and loved the way she tasted, loved the sounds she was making at the back of her throat.

When he lifted his head to look at her as she lay on the bed, she was breathing heavily. Her beauty nearly left him breathless, and he had to force himself to look away to continue kissing her all over. She sat up to kiss him after a while. Her hand found his erection and he hissed with pleasure when she started to stroke him gently. The sparks flying from his fingertips continued to entice her and she kissed him again, and then bent down over him, eager to take his arousal into her mouth, but he stopped her.

"If you do that, I'll not last, love," he whispered. "Let me be the one to cherish you tonight."

Very gently, he positioned her in the center of the bed, and softly caressed her, whispering words of endearment as he touched every inch of her soft skin. He bent over her body, his mouth finding his way over to her breasts and her pink nipples. He spent his time there, gently teasing and caressing, licking and suckling until she moaned repeatedly, once again on fire from his ministrations.

He positioned himself over her, using his hands to keep his body weight from crushing her and kissed her passionately again, his heart thumping madly in his chest, his mouth making its way to her ear. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you so much…"

One of her legs suddenly encircled his waist, and she ground herself against his arousal, which caused him to moan with pleasure. She smiled as she looked into his eyes and held his gaze, and he gave a gasp and captured her lips again, his fingers lightly touching her, the sparks flying over her skin, making her sigh and cry out, calling his name.

He couldn't take it anymore. He had to have her. He pushed gently into her, sheathing himself inside very slowly, until he was completely buried to the hilt. She pulled him down for another passionate kiss and then another, unable to stop, the sounds she was making etching themselves into his very soul.

She was so hot and tight, he thought he was going to lose control completely and had to stop himself from thrusting in and out of her – he first wanted to savor the moment: the feeling of being whole, of being one with her, which caused him to look down into her eyes with adoration.

"I love you, Anders," she whispered.

A gasp from him as he pressed his forehead against hers, and he began to move in and out, each thrust bringing him closer to his release. She matched her movements to his, her hands running lightly along his forearms and reaching his shoulders.

"Rhianna," he gasped, his pace quickening when she started to moan, moving with him in unison.

"Faster, my love, please!"

This time, he did not ignore her request, and their pace quickened. When she finally tightened around him, a cry escaped her lips as she came. A few moments later, with a final thrust, he followed her over the edge, crying out her name as he released his seed deep inside her.

He sighed deeply, pressing his forehead into her shoulder – his feelings for her making him smile – the joy in his heart quite unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Maker, how he loved this woman!

After a while, he pulled her with him as he rolled over to lie on his back. She put her head on his chest and his arms went around her protectively.

They lay there catching their breaths and snuggling against each other. She had a smile on her face and he chuckled as he kissed the crown of her head gently.

"That was…perfect," she whispered. "It was…like nothing I've ever experienced before…"

"That's because we didn't have sex, love," he murmured back, his hand caressing her head softly. "We made love to each other. There's a difference, you know…"

She hugged him and chuckled, lifting her head to look up at him, her violet eyes bright in the half-light of the room.

"Hmmm?" he asked, his hand raking her hair gently – the look on his face tender and loving.

"Want a sandwich?"

…

The following day they stayed in bed long enough to make love and then bathed together in the marble tub in the adjacent bathroom. They had a late breakfast in the dining room, discussing what they would do during the remainder of the day. Rhianna wanted to accompany him to the clinic, as she wanted to visit the woman that Anders had cured the day before.

After breakfast, she led him down to the cellars with a smile and showed him around. Even though Anders had thought the place was huge, he didn't actually know how big until they walked around the cellar and finally ended up emerging from a door into Darktown, right across from the doors of his clinic.

"I'm impressed," he said with a smile.

"I'm glad. I wanted to talk to you about the cellars. Most of the rooms are empty and they could be put to good use," Rhianna grinned.

"Good use?" Anders echoed curiously.

"A place for the people like the lady you saved yesterday. It would keep her from getting ill all the time, wouldn't it?" Rhianna replied, her eyes holding his.

Anders blinked back, totally surprised. He took a step forward and took Rhianna in his arms, the slow smile on his face turning into a grin and then a chuckle.

"I like what I'm hearing, even though most of the people in Darktown are proud and do not take kindly to charity," he said.

"I know that well enough," Rhianna smiled back. "But there will be some who will accept and that is enough for me." She then took two keys from a necklace she always wore, and gave them to Anders.

"What are these?" he asked looking down at them.

"The big one is the key to the door here into the cellars. The other one is the door that leads up into the estate for you to use when you…come home every night," she ended up saying, her cheeks suddenly pink.

The words he had just heard made his heart thump a little faster. He captured her lips in his, holding her as closely as he could and thanked the Maker for her.

"I was about to ask you if you didn't mind my moving in with you," Anders said with a twinkle as soon as they came up for air. "I didn't think you could read minds."

"I don't think I could live without you," she replied.

"Maker, I love you so much!" he cried as his lips descended on hers again.

Two days later, the woman and her son were safely led to one of the rooms in the vast Amell cellar. Two more families joined her not a week later, and Anders came home to Rhianna every night, overjoyed to finally have a place he could call home.

…

A couple of weeks later, Hawke and Anders met with Varric at The Hanged Man for a game of Diamondback. It was the first time any of their friends would be seeing them as a couple, which they made evident to the whole group when they arrived holding hands.

"Well, well, well," Varric said with a smile. "I see you both finally decided to come see your friends?"

Isabela smirked and Merrill smiled, although it was hard to tell if she was smiling because she noticed what was going on. Fenris, on the other hand, gave Anders a murderous stare and scowled. Velanna, who was sitting next to Fenris, merely looked at Anders with a bored expression on her face.

"Hello to you, too," Rhianna laughed as she sat on one of the two empty chairs in the room, pulling Anders down so that he sat beside her. As soon as Anders sat down, he dragged his chair closer to her and draped an arm around her shoulders.

"We decided to come and join you in a game, but the real reason is that Hawke needs some help with a problem," Anders said with a smile.

"What's the problem?" Varric asked with a nod, an amused gleam in his eyes as he glanced at Fenris first and then Anders. He then proceeded to calmly deal the cards and nobody spoke for a while as they focused on the game.

"The Viscount has sent me a missive. Knowing the Viscount, it's probably something dangerous, so I'll need your help for whatever it is that he wants done," Rhianna said, looking at the cards she held in her right hand and then placing her bet on the table.

"We'll help in any way we can, you know this," Fenris said a little too eagerly. He met Anders's bemused expression with a frown, staring back at him, the hatred in his eyes apparent to all who were sitting at the table.

Rhianna smiled sweetly at Fenris and turned her attention back to Varric.

"Well, I was thinking that if you wanted to help, you could come with us to the keep and wait until I've spoken to the Viscount," Rhianna said reflexively then smiled.

"Count me in," Fenris quickly said, his voice a little bit louder than usual, causing Isabela to snort at his reaction. Fenris bristled at this and glared at her, but Isabela didn't even look at him.

"I'd like to go," Isabela replied, looking at Anders and then stealing a glance at Fenris. "I'm sure things will get…interesting."

A chuckle escaped Rhianna's lips and Anders smirked, more to himself than anyone else.

After playing quietly for a while, Anders suddenly cried out triumphantly, slamming his cards on the table with a grin.

"Two Queens and two Priestesses," he smirked. "Can anyone beat that?"

Varric groaned a little louder than Isabela. "Andraste's tits! It's hard enough to get one Priestess! I wish I hadn't taught you how to play, Blondie! It was so much better when you sucked at this game!"

…

The Viscount wanted Rhianna to convince his son, Seamus, to come home. Apparently, the boy had left to join the Qunari at the docks.

Rhianna's jaw nearly hit the floor when she heard this. She shook her head and then frowned.

"Your son is of age, Your Excellency," she said softly. "He should be allowed to decide what he wants to do with his life."

"You must understand, Hawke. I do want to let him live as he wishes, but for a person in my position…This would be terrible if people found out. He is in the Qunari Compound. Just find him and talk to him, please. At best, my opponents will claim that my office is now in Qunari hands. At worst, I lose my son."

"You know this will only end in trouble," Rhianna shook her head.

"Fitting," Dumar replied. "That's where it all started. My son is not foolish. He will listen to reason. Please. Just do what you can, Serah Hawke."

…

Excerpt from Anders's Journal:

It's not that I like the Qunari, but I sure did dislike that Petrice and I know Rhianna felt the same way. Well, 'dislike' as in 'I want her dead'. Unfortunately, one of the Qunari showed up and shot her with an arrow – ah, I mean TWO arrows… Good aim, too! The first arrow landed in her chest, the second landed in her forehead, right between her eyes.

I glanced at Rhianna and I saw her muttering something to herself angrily. I knew she was angry because the Qunari had showed up and killed Petrice, beating her to it. I also knew because I had wanted to kill Petrice just as much as she did. Now Petrice lay on the floor at our feet, the blood pooling around her while we just turned to look at the Qunari in silence.

The Grand Cleric, who had turned her back on Petrice and was walking up the stairs turned to look at us then, and quietly asked us to get the Viscount.

The Viscount mourned his dead son and asked Hawke to leave, so we did. As we made our way down the stairs, we talked about what had just happened. Well, Varric and I talked. Liri was too busy scowling to offer any comment. He said good night to us and walked towards his mansion. The one he'd kept after Danarius left Kirkwall, rather…which I suppose was good enough for him. It would have been a nicer place if he cleaned it once in a while, though!

It's not that I disliked the elf. Well, maybe I did – just a little. I really wish he would stop staring at my Rhianna, already!

Just saying!

As soon as we got home, I took Rhianna up to our room (thrilling to write that) and pampered her. First, I prepared a bath for her, then I bathed her, and then I made sure she had something to eat.

And then, I showed her just how much I appreciated having her in my life.

All night long, in fact.

…