Alex awoke slowly, her emerald eyes blinking at the bright light from the window, only to see it was late in the morning. She moved her head to look up at the man beside her, seeing Cullen still snoring lightly by her side in all his naked, deliciously muscled glory. She smiled to herself before moving gingerly, as it felt like she had strained every part of her anatomy.

Cullen was right about Templar stamina, and she grinned to herself as she fished out her clothes from all over the room. They were at it almost all night that it felt like she had lost count. Cullen was rather ravenous of his need for her, and for a moment, she was, too. They did it fast, they did it slow… and in every variety of positions that they could come up with. There was even a point that when they were sure that everyone in the castle had fallen asleep, that they rushed back down the ladder into his office, to finish what they had started on his desk, the man pounding on to her from behind as she bent over like a Rivaini whore.

It also delighted her to realize something new about him. Cullen was, in fact, a growler. Whenever she did something he loved, that aroused him or when he was on the brink of release, he would growl, rather loudly, like a lion in the wilds. Perhaps other women would find such a thing as a fault, but she loved it. She loved every expression of ecstasy on his face, every sound he made, and every movement and thrust inside her depths, that the thought of last night even turned her on at the moment.

She continued to put on her clothes, watching the man as he slept, and she frowned a little to see him scowling in his sleep. And as she sat on the bed to finish tying up her boots, Cullen's breathing became labored, and she watched him worriedly as he began to thrash a little. She put a hand on his chest to feel his heart beating frantically in his chest, and she watched his face.

"No…" He had whispered in both anger and what seemed to be fear, "Leave me… leave me!"

Cullen jolted awake, almost throwing off Alex's hand on his chest, and his eyes opened wide. His eyes seemed to focus around the room, blinking in the morning light, before his gaze landed on her face, looking worriedly at him. At the sight of her bothered expression, he sighed and closed his eyes, as if he was internally berating himself.

"Bad dream?" She asked him as she laid her hand on his chest again, his heart slowing down a little now that his nightmare was done.

"They always are. Without lyrium, they're worse." He said, before looking up at her guiltily, and he raised himself up on his elbows as he reached out, his fingers weaving through her red hair by her temple, "I didn't mean to worry you."

Alex sighed smiling down at him as she touched his cheek, "Despite all the dreams, is it still a good morning?"

Cullen chuckled, before he silenced, staring up at her emerald green eyes in adoration, "It's perfect."

She smiled down at him before leaning forward, kissing him and tasting him. He moaned a little at her kiss before murmuring out, "You are… I have never felt anything like this."

Alex's heart felt like it was bursting as she leaned her head so that their foreheads touched, making Cullen sigh with contentment. She breathed in heavily, as her emotions seemed to be filling her chest, as she whispered to him "I love you… you know that, right?"

Cullen's eyes widened at her confession, but soon a very bright and happy smile spread across his features, "I love you, too."

Her smile widened into a grin, ecstatic that the commander felt the same way she did, and she leaned over again to kiss him hard, the strength of her emotion showing from the way she kissed him. Cullen growled again as he wrapped his arms around him, molding her body to his, and she chuckled.

"Still wanting? My, my… my commander is a rather feisty man this morning." She teased, earning a chuckle from Cullen as his face buried into her neck and licked her skin.

"That's because my love is a minx, who just loves to tease me." Cullen said as his hand ran down her back to her breeches, grasping at her bottom, "If it weren't for the fact that you're needed somewhere else, those clothes on your body would be gone, and I'd have you screaming my name again."

"I screamed it plenty of times last night that I doubt no one in Skyhold heard it." She said, as she pushed from him a little to get off the bed, earning a disappointed sigh from him. "But you're right, we're needed elsewhere."

"Of course." He said, and Alex smiled at him, giving one last gentle kiss before making her way to the ladder to leave, and he sighed back on his bed, exhausted from their trysts last night, but also happy that he had finally admitted his feelings for Alex.

His smile lingered on his face as he rested for a few minutes, before urged himself up to get dressed. His whole body hurt a lot, but he knew it was a good pain, as it also alleviated his lyrium withdrawal symptoms. He preferred this kind of bodily pain, especially since the thoughts of last night made him positively energized and ready to take on anything.

After he had finished his toiletries and headed down his ladder, he heard someone running towards his office, and he looked up to see his door burst open, letting in his love and making him smile brightly at her. But at the sight of her pale face and reddening eyes, his smile faded and he turned towards her, taking her shoulders, "Alexandra, what's wrong?"

Alex raised her eyes to him, panicked, and she muttered, "Blackwall's gone."