***SMUT WARNING***

Argis's face was like stone when Arianna slipped quietly back into the bedroom, her long pale hair dripping down her back. He eyed for a long moment before the tension eased slightly from his features.

"You weren't supposed to leave my sight," he growled and she could hear the underlying fear in his tone.

She quickly crossed the room and planted herself squarely in his lap, looping her cold, damp arms around his neck.

"Gods woman, you're freezing," he complained but his thick arms slid around her waist nonetheless and she nestled into the solid warmth of him.

"I just went for a swim," she said, reassuringly. "I thought you'd still be asleep."

"I've not been awake long." He shifted beneath her. "You're getting me wet, woman."

Arianna bit back a laugh and pressed her lips to his forehead. "You get me wet all the time," she countered and smiled as his arms tightened around her.

His tongue traced her collarbone to her neck and she shivered as he nibbled lightly to her jaw. His lips found hers, his big hand sliding up her back into her hair as he kissed her gently.

"It's nearly time for me to go to the Temple," he said, against her mouth. "You're sure about this?"

Arianna got a sense of his panic when he had woken up and found himself alone. "Yes my love, I'm sure." She slid off his lap and grabbed a cloth from the dresser to dry herself properly with. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, his expression turning to one of longing as he watched her peel wet underclothes down her legs and step out them, her breastband quickly followed and she stood, naked, in front of him.

"Gods woman. You are beautiful." He cupped her breast in one capable hand, thumbing her nipple to hardness. His other arm encircled her waist, pulling her closer until she stood between his knees. He leant forward, feathered light kisses across her stomach and ribs and drew back, a smile curving his lips as her fingers entwined into his hair and she tried, without success, to guide his mouth back to her body.

"Once we are married, I will kiss every inch of you," he promised.

Arianna laughed. "Oh, I think I would like that."

"I reckon you would," he agreed and stood up, holding her close to his body for a long moment. "It's time for me to go." There were strands of fear and pain in his voice.

"I'll be there soon. I just have to dress and do something with my hair."

He took a deep breath and she could almost see him take the leap into trust again. "Alright."

As soon as Argis left, Iona returned. "Do you need any help getting ready, my Thane?"

Arianna frowned. "He's leaving nothing to chance, is he?"

Iona shrugged. "You wounded his pride and hurt his feelings deeply. He does not want that to happen again. He also doesn't want you to be taken against your will."

Arianna coloured and bent over to dry her hair as best she could and hide her face.

"I do. Now and forever." Argis's voice was firm and confident as he spoke the words that would bind them. He looked at her and Arianna could tell he was holding his breath. He glanced towards the doors of the temple almost as if he expected a troupe of Stormcloaks to burst through and stop the ceremony.

"I do. Now and forever," she said at Maramel's prompt and saw relief surge through her husband's body.

Argis's hands were shaking as he slid the heavy gold ring onto her finger. "We need to decide where we're going to live."

"We'll stay here tonight and tomorrow." She moved closer to him. "I've paid for two nights at the Bee for Iona," she whispered. "We'll have the place to ourselves. Then I think we should go to Markarth."

He nodded briefly. "What if he summons you again?"

"I won't go," she answered, flippantly. "Let's worry about that if it happens. It's our wedding night, Argis."

Argis stared at her for a moment. "I'll see you at home then, love. Give me a little while."

Arianna hung back talking to the wedding guests to give him time to do whatever it was that men did when they first got wed.

Eventually she decided that enough time had passed and, with a last thanks to Maramel, she left the temple.

Arianna was nearly home when a deafening roar split the night. She looked up to see a huge, black shape gliding low over the city and frost spewing in a steady stream. She instinctively reached for her bow and cursed her under her breath; she was unarmed and her usual jewellery spelled with protective wards was in a drawer at home. She moved back under the overhang of the Blackbriar house, her back pressed against the rough, stone wall and watched the Riften guard rally and pepper the beast with arrows as it flew over again, spraying the market place with killing cold. She could see the door to Honeyside and, as the dragon circled away, she hiked up her skirts and ran towards the house. As she approached, the door flew open and she cannoned into a warm, solid chest.

"Dragon," she gasped as thick arms encircled her. "I need my bow." She was lifted over the threshold and the door slammed behind her. Breathing hard, Arianna looked up into Argis's face and found him shaking his head.

"Not tonight," he growled.

"Argis. I must-"

He shut her up with the simple expedient of covering her mouth with his. Arianna pushed against his chest, her mind dimly registering that he wore a pair of light trousers and nothing else. She had never seen him unclothed; he even slept in his armour. The second thing she noticed was that he smelled of soap and his hair was damp and combed.

She tore her mouth from his. "Argis, I have to."

His face shuttered. "Fine," he said, shortly, his arms dropping away from her.

Arianna hurried to the cellar and grabbed her bow and a quiver of ebony arrows. The weapons felt strange without her armour but there wasn't time to struggle into the skin-tight leather. She ran back up the stairs to Argis rifling through her jewellery drawer.

"Fire or frost," he asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"Frost."

He tossed her the gold frost ward and watched as she fastened it around her neck, an unfathomable expression on his face.

She smiled at him briefly and slipped back out of the house, immediately dropping into sneak and drawing her bow. When the beast flew low over the rooftops again, she aimed for its chest and let her arrow fly, hearing the savage roar of pain and fury as she hit the wide, black chest squarely.

With a thunderous crash, the dragon landed in front of the Jarl's mansion, its heading thrashing from side to side belching frost. It snapped at one of the guards who was foolhardy enough to get too close but the man stumbled back managing to escape the gaping maw. Arianna advanced, rapidly firing arrows at its head, watching as it's thrashing became weaker.

Her final arrow embedded deep in one eye and the creature died, spewing a final burst of frost that washed over her body before she was enveloped in the swirling maelstrom of magic that stripped flesh from bone and its soul poured into her frozen body along with images of fights and the savage joy of the hunt and of flying.

Arianna lowered her bow as the guards gathered around her and she heard "Dragonborn," muttered.

She turned slowly to go back to the house and saw Argis standing a few feet away, his arms crossed defensively across his still bare chest.

"Help me," she whispered through stiff lips.

"Ari." His body relaxed into movement and he was by her side in an instant, swinging her up into his arms and cradling her chilled form against his chest.

She looked up into his face, his mouth was pressed into a tight, angry line. "I'm alright," she said. "It was just a bit of a shock without my armour." She was already starting to warm up and reached to run her fingers over one defined pectoral and felt his arms tighten around her. "You can put me down."

He glared at her for a long moment and let her slide down his body until her feet met the ground. His arms remained locked around her.

"Argis, this is who I am. You knew that. Are you regretting being wed already?" she asked, softly.

"No! Never that."

Arianna, realising that his anger was based in fear, let her fingers play across his chest, curling into the fine almost coppery hair. He caught one of her hands in his, his face softening and lifted it to his mouth kissing her palm.

"Shall we go home now, my love," he murmured against her skin, his eye meeting hers.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. I believe that you have a promise to keep." She was relieved to feel his grin against her hand.

"Come then, wife."

He kept possession of her hand as he lead her back to Honeyside and once inside, he took her bow and lifted the quiver from her back.

"I'll put these away." His face suffused with desire. "Maybe you could change back into that dress," he suggested, his voice husky.

"Or I could just take this one off," she countered.

"That would work."

She watched his broad shoulders disappear down the steps to the cellar and pulled the simple blue dress over her head and let it fall in a puddle on the floor. She sat on the edge of the bed and bent over to unlace her soft leather boots, her hair tumbling around her shoulders.

Argis was suddenly kneeling in front of her gently working her boots off. "You nearly scared me to death," he muttered. "Chasing after that damn dragon with virtually no protection.

Arianna trailed her fingers across his broad shoulders enjoying the feel of his smooth, soft skin. She felt him tremble under her touch and his big hands pushing her knees apart so he could kneel between them. "Argis, I'm fine and it's dead." She looked into his face and saw worry lingering. "What's the matter?" she whispered, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. His hands settled on her waist and he buried his face in the warm curve of her neck, his lips kissing the smooth skin, pulling the flesh gently between his teeth.

His fingers found the ties of her breastband and tugged until they undid then both hands swept up her back and under the shoulder straps, sliding the flimsy material down her arms and throwing it to one side. His mouth travelled south, teasing a wet line to the valley between her breasts and up over the soft swell to tongue her nipple into eager hardness.

Argis rose up on his knees, covering her body with his as he forced her to lie back on the bed, his mouth moving from one breast to the other and back. His fingers stroked down her sides and found the ties that secured her panties at each hip. He passed over them, running his hands down her legs and back up, his thumbs tracing her inner thighs until they met the taut, increasingly damp material that covered her.

Arianna jerked uncontrollably when he ran his thumbs over her slit, circling lightly and his mouth trailed down, kissing her ribs and stomach until he met the edge of her panties and traced the line from hip to hip. He slid his hands under her thighs as he deliberately took one of the ties between his teeth and pulled until it came loose. His tongue described wet circles across her stomach to her other hip and teeth pulled that tie undone.

She reached down and entwined her fingers into his hair as his tongue slid under the material and into her soft curls. "I want to see you," she protested as his fingers hooked under the fabric and pulled it clear of her body.

"You will." His voice was muffled as his mouth covered her, his tongue working into her wet folds to find her clit.

His hands left her and she looked down the line of her body to see them busy pushing his trousers down his thighs. His mouth never left her as shifted his weight from one leg to the other and his trousers joined her discarded dress on the floor. He lifted his head to meet her eyes and the worry still lingered.

"Move up the bed," he said and his voice was strangely harsh.

Arianna sat up and shifted back until there was room for him to kneel on the bed. He didn't move for a long moment then, with a deep breath, and bracing himself with powerful arms, he pushed himself back up onto his feet.