Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed the Chorrol plotline of the Cyrodiil arc :) There is still a lot more action we'll see in the southern Province.

But after all that restraint the temple forced on them, what else could Bishop and Aeyrin do now? That's right, it's a smut chapter :D

Enjoy or skip at your leisure :) I hope you're all liking the southern arc so far :)

Chapter X – Golden

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to dawdle so much.

They had things to do, places to be.

For one, the sooner they got to their destination near Anvil, the better chances were that they would find the clan there. And also, they kind of had a deadline to think about. Literally. The meeting with Ri'zhassa was only a week away.

But who could ever resist this?

Their last few days in the chapel were even more pleasant with Master Therien around. Even Sevyen was afraid to throw nasty looks at the two of them with the man around. Or maybe he had a talk with her. He could always convince anyone of anything – to be a better person.

Aeyrin tried not to hog too much of his time, even though it was hard. The others wouldn't see him for a long time, but that wasn't her case. Bishop mentioned to her that they should go to the new chapel soon after they returned to Skyrim, to see how her mentor got situated. That was so sweet of Bishop to think about. Master Therien did promise to write the moment he could from the nearby farm there, but it was going to be for the best to see him in person too. Besides, he did mention that they had to establish some connections when it came to courier services there. The inhabitants of the new temple needed to receive their letters too, but it was too dangerous to have scores of them addressed to a small farm. But until that was resolved, Aeyrin could not write to him herself overly often. This was really the best option.

And after those few more days, everyone, Aeyrin, Bishop and Therien, had said their goodbyes to the residents of the temple again. Likely for a long time.

After the somber goodbyes, they all went outside the city gates to meet up with Brunwulf. Both Master Therien and Aeyrin took some time mourning their departure from the beloved city, but soon, they all set off on their way. And it seemed that almost no time had passed before they had to split up.

Bishop and Aeyrin were headed into a different direction after all. And while Brunwulf assured them that their journey would be safe and without any issues. He was meeting up with some contacts along the Orange Road that would accompany them and assure Master Therien's safe passage to Skyrim.

And Bishop and Aeyrin headed in the other direction – they continued off the major roads and opted to take a shortcut through the Colovian Highlands until they finally reached the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast. It was renowned throughout the Empire for its beautiful warm beaches and famed to have many pirate treasures hidden beneath the sand.

And while Bishop was not a fan of the extreme heat, or at least what he considered to be extreme, he definitely could not get enough of the scenery. And not just the acacia and palm trees, the golden sand and the shimmering water of the Abecean Sea. The best part of it all by far was Aeyrin's excitement.

"Gods, I missed this so much," she smiled as they walked along the coast, letting the searing sun fall on her upturned face.

"Yeah. Me too," Bishop nodded wistfully. "Although…" He couldn't take it anymore. He felt like his armor was melting to his body. He started to promptly unbuckle his chest piece, taking off his gloves, then yanking the large piece away over his head.

"What are you doing?" Aeyrin raised her brow at him curiously. They were in the middle of the wilderness.

"Taking this off. I'm fucking boiling in it," Bishop scoffed, eliciting a somewhat malicious giggle from her. It was a rare time when he was bothered by the weather and not her. "How can you stand walking around in all of that? I don't get it."

"Well… it is a little warm," she admitted. It was the middle of spring and the sun was high. It was kind of hot out when it was shining on them like this. Taking the heavy armor off was a bit tempting.

"Then take it off," Bishop smirked.

"But something might attack us here," Aeyrin shook her head.

"Pfft, we've fought a bunch of stuff unarmored already. Even a fucking dragon. Nothing worse than that is gonna jump us here," he urged her. At worst, they might run into a land dreugh here or a mountain lion.

"Well… alright," she smiled wryly. It really was tempting. And she promptly began to unbuckle her armor too.

They had to stop in their tracks for a moment because Bishop was determined to get all the thick leather off of him. And Aeyrin got the metal off too while they were at it. It was decidedly more pleasant that way. Feeling the western hot wind on her skin, the burning sun and to feel every soft brush of leaves as they waded through the vegetation along the shore, near the golden beaches.

"Hey, so… you wanna camp out here for a while? We can make camp on a beach," Bishop suggested. He kept watching Aeyrin enjoying the sun and it seemed like a fucking shame to end it all too soon by dealing with more shit and holing themselves up in another city. They could finally actually enjoy the wilderness without the fear of the Brotherhood or those fucking overgrown lizards.

"But what about the clan?" Aeyrin scowled at him. They would make it there today without any issues. And then there was only a week left before the meeting with Ri'zhassa was set up. They haven't even talked about how to handle that one yet.

"Come on, that shit will wait," Bishop waved his hand dismissively. And truth be told, he didn't mind the idea of postponing all that at all. Not even a little bit. "And Kvatch is not even a day away, we can get there whenever for the meeting, whatever happens. We have time. A lot of it. Let's use it for something actually fun and pleasant."

That was a persuasive argument. Kvatch was close and so was Anvil. They could get there whenever they felt like it after all. And clearly Bishop didn't feel like it yet. At least she got that impression. And besides, she would never complain about going to the beach. She missed sun-bathing properly on some secluded shore. She missed the proper heat of the sun so much. The Gold Coast had become her favorite part of Cyrodiil the second she saw its beauties for the first time. It would be such a shame to merely pass by it in their travels.

"Alright. Let's do it," she nodded as an excited smile decorated her face.

"Yeah? Great. You know some good spots we can hide out alone?" Bishop started planning promptly. This time, Aeyrin was the one much more well-traveled where they were. His family moved a lot, but he barely remembered the details and they weren't exactly enjoying the scenery like Aeyrin was in her travels. It all blurred together for him. And as a clan almost entirely made of Nords, they never really stayed near the western coast too long. Only Duful liked the heat.

"I know a perfect spot!" Aeyrin beamed at him. She knew just the place. It was well hidden by rock formations and it had a private tiny beach they could use just for the two of them.

"Lead on then."

…

"Really? This is how you sunbathe?"

Bishop chuckled at her while he continued dressing the ham they got in Chorrol in spices. It was a good piece of meat and Bishop was grumpy that the farmers around cities hogged all the pigs and he couldn't hunt them one for free. Cyrodiil was fucking expensive as it was. But it was too tempting to pass up when he was buying food for the road while Aeyrin took care of the rest of the supplies.

Now he could make them a really fucking good meal in their perfect camping spot. Aeyrin picked a great place – they couldn't even be seen here from anywhere but the actual sea, due to the tall rocks and hillsides around. But their little beach was spacious enough for their campfire and bedroll without issues. And here down south, they had no need for traps and shit like that. They could once again enjoy the carefree camping they used to.

Aeyrin took advantage of that right away. When the camp was set and Bishop started to work on the food, she excitedly sprawled herself on the sand on her back, away from even the tiniest shadow that might bar the sun from reaching her skin.

There was one problem Bishop had with that though.

"Why? How do you sunbathe?" Aeyrin smirked at him as she tried to give him a look, but her eyes couldn't open properly with the sun shining into them so brightly.

"I don't sunbathe. I would combust," he laughed. He did remain in the shade whenever he could. He was grateful that some of the rocks provided it, but not quite enough with the sun already slowly moving westward.

"So what exactly is wrong with the way I sunbathe, if you're such an expert? Despite never sunbathing yourself," she chuckled. She already had a feeling she knew what he was going to say though.

"You sunbathe in your clothes? Really? What the fuck's the point in that?" Bishop shook his head at her.

"I just like how warm it makes me," she shrugged. She didn't care that much whether she caught some color from it, that was inevitable whenever walking around anyway. And it made her clothes so warm. It was really nice.

"The sun isn't enough to make you warm? Come on, take them off. Even a great view can always be improved," Bishop smirked.

"I don't know," Aeyrin chuckled at him. She certainly wouldn't mind feeling the sun on her skin, but the sand could get quite annoying, especially if she took off her clothes. It wasn't as easy to brush it off her body like it was from the fabric. She felt like she needed a little incentive. "You want me to take it all off just for your benefit? What do I get out of it?" She giggled.

She was already expecting a suggestive response. She was hoping for one. But that didn't end up being the case.

"I don't know. No tan lines? And dinner," Bishop pondered a while.

"What? You're not gonna let me have dinner unless I undress?" She scoffed. She was going to get dinner anyway!

"You know what, yeah. That's right. No dinner unless you undress," he grinned victoriously.

"That's not fair. It's my dinner too," she scowled at him fiercely, though her anger was clearly just playful.

"Actually, I feel like you should work for it more. Look at this sorry excuse of a camp. You barely have to do anything here, unlike in Skyrim. And I made the fire today. So, what, you just tossed a bedroll on the sand and that's that? Nope. I gotta cook, you gotta pull your own weight too."

Aeyrin couldn't help but let out a laugh at his reasoning. It was true that they really didn't have to worry about the camp out here. Nothing to set up, nothing to ward off the cold, get rid of snow, make sure they're protected from freezing winds and that their fire wouldn't die out. It was refreshing, but it did leave her with less responsibilities to take care of.

Then again…

"You know, I did the scouting today. I found this place," she smirked. That was usually his job, but not today.

"Pfft, I would have found it eventually," Bishop scoffed in response.

"Well I would have made fire and cooked eventually," she chuckled again. What kind of answer was that?

But still… Bishop seemed surprisingly obtuse to what kind of rewards she wanted to hear about, so it was best to move things along.

"Alright. Just for you," she smiled wryly. "And for the lack of tan lines." Though those were inevitable with all the walking around in the sun anyway.

She sat up, brushed a bit of sand off her shirt and reached out to take its hems into her hands. But she was interrupted before she could take it off.

"Wait. Not yet," Bishop stopped her. An irresistible image just popped into his head and he wanted to see it in reality. "Stand up. Over there." He pointed towards the shore.

"A bit commanding today, aren't you?" Aeyrin smirked at him. Though she wasn't really complaining about that.

"Pfft, you love it," he smirked at her. He was right, of course, and she never really kept that a secret from him, but she did love to tease him before obeying too.

"This time, you better have something better in store for me than the dinner that I was gonna get anyway," she chuckled as she hoisted herself up from the ground altogether now. She brushed off as much sand as she possibly could and marched towards the shore. Her boots came off first and she dipped her feet into the wet sand, letting the slow and calm waves of the Abecean Sea wash over her heels and toes. The water was so warm this late in the day. So incredibly warm. It was such a stark contrast from any body of water in Skyrim.

Bishop was still dressing the large piece of ham in spices as she faced him, but his eyes were entirely on her. She stood there against the sun, letting him only see her silhouette as she tantalizingly slowly reached for the hems of her shirt again.

She had no idea how it was possible that after all this time together, he still made her feel like this. Both bashful and excited. He looked positively mesmerized as he watched every slight move she made, even though she knew he couldn't see anything properly against the sun like that. It was so enticing to be looked at like that. It would have actually been a reward enough for her for 'obeying' him, though she wasn't going to mention that. She was sure that he had other ways he would make it up to her yet.

Even though he couldn't actually see the details, she decided to make a show of it for him. She rolled the fabric of her shirt up slowly, inch by inch, letting the moment build. Bishop was barely moving, only doing automatic motions with the ham in his hands, but other than that, he just kept staring. She could have sworn that she noticed him take a deep inhale of breath when she finally draped the shirt over her head and tossed it aside into the sand.

She turned around then, burying her feet into the sand again as she faced away from him. She made a pose first that she thought may be a little seductive, but then she instantly got self-conscious about that and moved her hands to her trousers instead. Not seeing him looking made her feel ever stranger. She could still feel his gaze, but there was a little part of her that worried that he wasn't and that she had lost his attention. Was it strange that the tinge of that feeling made things even more exciting?

She did wonder why she had never asked him to strip for her like this before. He definitely should find out how both titillating and nerve-wracking it could get at the same time. She had to rectify that one day.

She rolled her trousers down slowly as well and she stayed like that for a moment. She did a little stretch that she thought might entice Bishop more, but then she promptly turned around once again. She really had to see his expression again.

His gaze was still transfixed on her, though now he kept squirming in spot. She noticed his hand twitch or jerk away from the ham every now and then as if he needed to readjust his trousers, but his fingers were all dirty from the spices. That ham must have been done ten times over, but he didn't seem to even consider that, as if it didn't exist at all.

She finally removed the last bit of her clothes and slid her undergarments down her legs. She kicked the pooled up clothes off her feet and aside into the sand again while Bishop continued to stare at her. He did look like he was trying hard to see more than he could with the light obscuring much. He looked… tense.

"Don't squeeze the ham too much," she giggled at him. She was starting to worry he would crush it in his hands.

"Fuck," Bishop looked into his hands as if he had only now realized he was still holding that thing. He was suddenly quick as a lightning. He grabbed the spit he had readied before and impaled the ham on it haphazardly. He almost dropped it into the fire at first, but it did end up on the legs he had built before for this purpose. Within a few seconds though, he was on his feet and on his way to her.

"I'll squeeze your hams instead," he snickered as he reached her.

She wasn't exactly sure which part of her that referred to just then, but that probably didn't matter. He was already right in front of her, finally able to look at her properly when the sun didn't blind the angle. And he was clearly not satisfied with just looking anymore.

"Hey! Wash your hands!" She chuckled at him before he could touch her.

"Pfft. It's food! As if you mind," he laughed. Alright, that was fair. But she didn't need it all over her body. There was a better solution though.

She grabbed a hold of his wrists promptly and she yanked him closer to herself. Bishop's body pressed against her naked form, but his hands were still held at bay. She took one of his hands and moved it towards her face. She only gave him one brief mischievous look before she enveloped one of his fingers with her lips, letting her tongue play around his digit, then she moved on to the next one, and the next.

Bishop was even more mesmerized by this display than before. It was almost adorable how he kept staring at anything she did, especially now that he could see her whole body properly, illuminated by the orange glow of the setting sun.

The spice mixture was delicious. Aeyrin was already thinking a bit about dinner, if she weren't constantly distracted by Bishop's stares and growls of approval. She cleaned off both his hands of the spices and residual grease as best as she could, even letting her tongue glide along his palm before she took three of his fingers into her mouth at once. The second one of his hands was left alone by her, deemed clean enough, he grabbed one of her asscheeks and pulled her even closer. He really was squeezing her hard, possibly more than the ham before, but it only served to spur her on. Especially when she could clearly feel the effect she had on him through the fabric of his trousers.

She knew all too well what he was imagining the entire time she played with his fingers. And there was really no reason to deny him just then. When she cleaned his hands off properly, she didn't even give him a moment to grab her before she lowered herself along his body and buried her knees into the sand.

It was so nice to have the warm water slosh against her legs like this. Sometimes the wave was a bit larger, submerging her legs and spraying her flank as it collided with her form, but that only made it better. She missed the warm sea. She missed the southern intensity of the sun. And she was so glad to be here at last with Bishop.

She promptly untangled the fastenings of his trousers to give herself access. As if Bishop couldn't stand not touching her anymore, she felt his hands in her hair a moment later as she pulled his trousers down his thighs. Bishop let out a sigh of relief at being rid of the fabric, followed by a loud groan of approval when she put her tongue to use again.

She decided not to waste much time with a frustrating preamble this time. She stroked his cock with one hand, teased his balls with the other, while her tongue circled the head. Soon enough, encouraged by his groans, she took him into her mouth, moving along his length to get as much in as she could.

Bishop's hold on her hair tightened, but he let her keep her own pace as he savored the feeling of her engulfing him. She continued the treatment for several minutes, sometimes stroking whatever part of his cock that wasn't in her mouth when she pulled back, sometimes trying to get as much of him in as possible, and always teasing his balls in the process. He was actually pretty proud of himself of how long he managed to hold out his release with her doing all that. He constantly felt on the edge of exploding.

After some time though, he couldn't hold back anymore. Her tongue kept writing around his length, sending overwhelming jolts of pleasure to his body. He gripped her hair even tighter as he felt his peak overcome him.

Aeyrin held still for a moment, swallowing his release until his tense grip eased and his body relaxed again. She really wanted to continue this in whatever way it would, but a telling smell interrupted that promptly and she pulled back from him with a startle.

"Fuck," Bishop let out a groan as his chest still heaved with exertion. "So fucking good." She was surprised that he himself hadn't noticed the smell. He seemed quite out of it.

"Uhm…" she panted, still trying to catch her breath. "Think something's… burning."

"Wha?" Bishop wasn't very coherent. As if he had no clue what she had just said. It took him quite a long time before the words sunk in. "Oh! Shit!"

He quickly pulled up his trousers again and directed his attention back to the fire. He needed to salvage their dinner.

Aeyrin only giggled at his panicked rush back to his 'station' as she collected herself off the ground. He would have his hands full now, but that was alright. She was sure that this was far from over.

And she really wanted to catch more sun, now that she could sunbathe 'properly' without clothes.

…

Aeyrin felt herself dozing off as strange nonsensical thoughts started to fill her mind.

It was such a nice place to rest in. The sun was burning on her naked skin, making her warmer than she had felt in ages. And then there was the pleasant smell of the cooking ham that filled the air all around. Bishop had been tending to the spit-roast now properly. He was getting rid of the burned layers before, but now he put the meat back on the fire and the lovely smell was back again.

The crackling of the fire was only interrupted by the waves on the shore. She moved further away from the water for her sunbathing, though she was already looking forward to dipping in, particularly to wash off the sand. It did feel better to do this without clothes, but the sand was sometimes annoying. At least her trousers protected her from the worst of it before.

But still it was not going to keep her from enjoying this. Gods, she could spend weeks on this coast and never get tired of it.

The sleep was already starting to claim her, but then something disturbed her rest.

Was that a shadow? From what? There was nothing between her and the vast sea where the sun was setting.

She was too lazy to actually look. And her eyes kind of felt melted shut from the heat anyway. But soon enough, the shadow was gone and she could rest again.

That is, before she felt a hand brush some of her hair from her shoulder. It was immediately followed by the brush of lips and tongue on that spot.

She let out a soft groan of pleasure. She was almost asleep already, but she couldn't really complain about this kind of wake up.

At the positive reception, Bishop doubled down right away. She still kept her eyes closed, it felt even better like that when she had no idea what was coming. And soon, she felt his hand on her breast, squeezing her flesh gently while his lips moved down to the other one. There was only one problem with this that came to mind.

"You're not gonna burn the dinner again, are you?" She giggled at him. Though maybe she wouldn't care that much? This was going to be even better than his food. And that was saying something.

"Nah, took precautions." She felt his lips quirk up into a grin as he mumbled against her skin. "Doused the fire a bit more. We got all the time Akatosh can pull out of his ass."

Hmm, that sounded good.

"And how the fuck," Bishop continued to murmur, interrupting his words only by nipping and kissing the soft flesh of her breast. "Could I resist you." He ran his tongue languidly over her hardened nipple before he took it softly between his teeth for a moment. "When you lie here like this."

As if he would be able to sit still and focus on food when he had a view like that. Her olive skin glistening in the setting sun, some sparse beads of sweat that haven't evaporated in the heat yet running down the curves of her body, her golden hair splayed on the sand taking up a color in the sun that almost looked like Dwemer metal. She was irresistible like that.

Aeyrin let out another pleased groan as his kisses moved down to her stomach. His hand didn't leave her breast and the other one soon moved on to knead the second one. The tension inside her only grew as he continued to kiss and lick her flesh, down her ribs, circling her belly button with his tongue, before he moved even lower and, with frustrating ministrations, he concentrated on the creases between her thighs and groin. He never got close enough to where she really wanted him.

But still, it was pleasant enough, even through the frustrations. She didn't urge him on or rush him. She was determined to enjoy all that time he had promised her. Besides, what could be better than feeling even warmer as the tension built in her body and arousal coursed through her with each caress of his hand and stroke of his tongue?

She let out a soft moan whenever his tongue glided over her lower lips. He still let the slow anticipation build in her steadily, but he was getting more and more focused on the center of her pleasure. And soon, his warm hands left her breasts and moved down to slide under her, into the sand, and grab her buttocks instead. She was pretty sure she was unpleasantly covered with all that sand, but Bishop didn't seem to mind. At least she didn't move in it too much during her sunbathing to really get it everywhere. He merely brushed some of the sticky grains off the back of her thighs as he raised them a bit to get a more accessible angle.

The slow teasing stopped soon after. Bishop had stepped up his efforts considerably, probing her instantly with his tongue and fingers everywhere. She closed her eyes and arched her back, pressing herself more towards him as the tense anticipation built. She never knew where the warmth of his touch would come next. His tongue ran over every inch of her, probing her everywhere, while his fingers joined in.

The pressure was starting to overwhelm her. She grabbed at the sand beneath her fingers, though it was hardly as satisfying as gripping at blades of grass or soft sheets, and she bucked against his probing. The heat was becoming almost unbearable and her legs were starting to quiver. Soon, she felt her climax approaching at last as Bishop's fingers thrusted deeply into her, thumb circling her clit while his tongue glided teasingly around the areas below.

Her body's tension took a while to leave her as she let her moans echo across the sea, drowning out the soft crackling of fire and the crashing of the waves.

She slumped down into the sand again when her peak subsided a bit. She was feeling all sweaty and clammy, but in the best way possible. She was still panting and trying to catch her breath as she only barely noticed Bishop clear his throat and brush his tongue with his hand. Why was he doing that? She got instantly self-conscious.

When Bishop noticed her expression, he only gave her a brief chuckle in response. "Sand."

"Oh," she smiled wryly. At least it wasn't on account of her. Still, it was to be expected. The sand really did get everywhere. "Sorry."

"It's fine. It's just sand," he laughed. Not exactly pleasant to get in one's mouth, but not a big deal either. He was actually surprised that she wasn't covered in more of it, but she had been lying so still while she was sunbathing – it wasn't like she was rolling in it.

But now she kind of was. She was squirming a bit on the sandy ground, stretching her muscles and relaxing the tension from her body. Bishop did really want to continue their ministrations, but the sand might actually make things quite uncomfortable for anything more than this.

No matter. There would be time for everything.

"So, what do you say, love? I think the ham will be ready soon. Then we can wash the sand off and continue all this," he winked at her.

"Yeah," she groaned with a pleased sigh as she stretched one more time.

Fuck, she looked so tempting when she did that.

Bishop wasn't sure how he was going to get through a whole meal and the bathing before he could take her.

…

Fortunately he didn't have to wait for long

Aeyrin seemed just as keen to continue their ministrations as he was. No matter how good the dinner was, no matter how warm and pleasant the water was, she inhaled her food, quickly washed off the sand and then they both eagerly returned to the beach to enjoy themselves some more.

There wasn't even much preamble to it this time. In several minutes, Bishop's hips were half-buried in the sand as he was resting in it, with Aeyrin bouncing herself on top of him, her back turned towards him and her eyes fastened on the beautiful sunset across the horizon of the sea. One of Bishop's hands was on her breasts constantly, squeezing her, pinching her and eliciting moans from her at every moment, while his other palm gripped her buttcheek with two fingers sliding in and out of her other hole teasingly. Fuck, the way she tightened against his cock with every motion he made with his hands was so fucking good. His whole body was tensed up and he had a hard time keeping himself steady, even in his position.

Aeyrin's fingers were digging into his thighs almost painfully as she held herself astride him like that, but it only made it all feel better. She kept her back leaning away from him, providing him a view that he thought was a thousand times better than the one she had. Who cared about some fucking sunset across the sea when he had her on display like this, rising and falling onto his cock with increasing speed.

This pace couldn't last very long though. And it certainly didn't help Bishop keep his composure when she let out a loud moan and her insides began to clench and pulsate around him in another climax. He felt himself follow her over the edge soon as well. And his groan of pleasure was even louder than hers, surprisingly enough. His hands moved so that he could wrap his arms around her midriff, pulling her back onto his chest in a tight embrace while he came inside her tight warmth.

They slumped against each other in an exhausted embrace when their bodies started to calm down a little. Aeyrin nuzzled into his embrace and laid his head onto his shoulder. There was the unobstructed view of the beautiful sunset now, but Bishop still couldn't help but stare at her content face instead, illuminated by the golden light that covered every inch of their secluded beach by now.

She looked so happy like this. And he was happy here too, despite the heat. The idea of going to chase after the fucking clan instead only filled him with unease.

"Hey, sweetheart, how about we stay here for a while?" He whispered into her ear. It certainly seemed like a very good idea.

"Are you sure?" Aeyrin murmured tiredly. She didn't even open her eyes and the content smile was still on her lips, but her brows creased a bit in concern. "What if the clan leaves in the meantime?"

Yeah, that wouldn't be the worst thing, probably. Bishop was not looking forward to seeing any of them. But having it done would also be a relief.

Still, no reason to cut this perfect stay of theirs short.

"I'm sure. We should enjoy this place for a while longer."

Aeyrin on only nodded in response as her eyes fluttered open towards the beautiful sunset.

She couldn't agree more.