To say she was nervous would be an understatement, but after weeks of thinking of it, dreaming of it… to have him here with her was better than any thought or dream she could have had.

She wasn't terribly sure of what she was doing, but knew enough that she simply needed to get him where she wanted him, and he would help her take care of the rest.

She kept looking back to smile at him, to reassure him that she wanted him there. As she moved to start up the stairs, she felt him pull her back. She turned again with another grin. Maybe he can't wait until we get upstairs? she thought excitedly, smiling at him.

"Cat…" he said, and her expression became confusion at the graveness of his tone. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.

She turned to follow his finger, looking at the stairs, and felt a chill run down her spine.

"It… it looks like blood," she replied.

She wasted no time, gathering up her skirts and holding them up so as not to get anything on them, and started up the stairs.

"Cat, wait!" Hawke called, following closely at her heels.

She didn't reply, just followed the trail of blood, slowing so as not to step in it, and Hawke stepped in front of her, causing her to stop.

"Do you have a weapon?" he asked quietly. She nodded, pulling her skirt even higher to get her small blade from the holster strapped to her thigh. "Not the time, but I definitely want a closer look at that later," he murmured.

She steeled herself, letting him lead the way, his palm out with a small conjured ball of flame resting in it, ready to throw at a moment's notice. Any other time, she would have made him show her how he did it, demanded to feel it, or any other such things. But not now.

He followed the shimmering dark liquid, worried now, as they made it to the landing. The furniture was in pieces in the hallway, and there were sprays of blood on the wall. He could see a body lying halfway in the doorway to Cat's room, and started seething in anger and worry.

He heard her gasp behind him, pushing around him to run to Fenris' room. Following her there, they entered to find four more bodies strewn around.

"What is this?" she gasped, then running to the body slumped against the bed. "Fen! Fenris?!" she demanded, dropping her blade and shaking him slightly as she attempted to find a pulse.

Hawke worried, as he joined her, kneeling on the other side of Fenris who was pale and cold, and didn't stir. She looked back at him, the shock making her features twist. "He's alive, Hawke, but just barely." She grabbed his wrist, and he instantly extinguished the flame as she brought it closer to Fenris. "You have to heal him," she said.

"Are you serious?" he asked, incredulous. "This is Fenris! He'd kill me for using magic on him!"

"If you don't, he'll be dead in minutes!" she retorted harshly. "Hawke, please! I'm not asking you to completely heal him, just get him stable! PLEASE!"

He looked back down, nodding and moving quickly to help lay Fenris flat. "Where are the worst injuries?" he asked her, looking over the prone elf.

"As far as I can tell, he's lost a lot of blood," she answered. "There are several stab wounds," she started pointing them out, her fingers soon covered in blood. She leaned over him, looking for injury and the ends of her hair soaked it in as well. He had no idea, but assumed the dress was ruined too, though he knew she wouldn't care.

"Point me to the next one once I'm finished," he said, and his hands started glowing as he reached for his friend.

Cat let the tears fall, her heart twisting in knots of pain as she gripped her friend's hand, and brushed her other hand over his face. She knew Fenris wasn't aware of what he was saying, but the cries for mercy from the agony, the tears and apologies he gave were to a master he no longer had, and it tore her apart.

She could see Hawke's gritted teeth, and knew he was just as affected, but bless him, he didn't stop, wouldn't stop until Fenris was healed. Fenris squirmed and writhed beneath their hands, and she did all she could to try to calm him.

Eventually, Hawke's amount of mana could no longer support his spells, and the glow faded from his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said wearily. "That's all I can do."

Cat nodded, seeing the worst wounds healed, and rose, running to another room to find their stash of healing potions. Fenris hated the things, but they were his only alternative to magic in emergencies. If she could get a few into him, she thought the smaller cuts would close, and he would be stable enough to heal on his own from there.

Running back in, the potions in hand, she had Hawke tilt his head up, making it easier to pour them down his throat.

Fenris mumbled, falling into sleep, and both of them sighed in relief. Hawke glanced up, seeing the streak of blood and the tracks of tears on Cat's face, and he smiled softly. How can she look even more exquisite? he asked himself.

"Can you get him onto the bed?" she asked him, and he nodded, moving over to pick him up. Cat moved across the room, getting his washing bowl and towel, and placing it on the bedside table.

Hawke moved Fenris to the bed, Cat adjusting the pillow beneath his head. Looking around in dismay, Hawke glanced back to Cat.

"We need help, but I'm not leaving you alone," he said, remembering the body near her bedroom.

"I'm not leaving him," she said stubbornly, activating the small heating rune at the bottom of the bowl to heat the water.

"As I suspected," he replied, glancing around in thought. "I'll just be downstairs, yell if you need me," he said, and she nodded. He moved over to where her blade was dropped, and brought it back to her, then headed down the stairs, and to the front door.

He left the door open so he could hear her if she called, and shouted loudly for a guard, waiting a minute and yelling again. It took a few minutes, but a pair of guardsmen finally came running into view.

"Champion?" the older one asked as they recognized him. He panted, "What's the trouble?"

"An attack," Hawke replied. "We are safe and the men are dead, but I need the Captain," he told them. "I can't leave, I need you to get her for me. She should still be at the Keep," he looked at them seriously, which conveyed how grave the situation was. "Please, hurry."

While trusting their champion, the guards were uncertain of the matter, so Hawke showed them in to see the bodies at the top of the stairs, as well as all the blood. Now convinced, they ran toward the Keep as fast as they could, and Hawke returned upstairs, back to Cat.

"Maker, those two just can't catch a break. Perhaps they are cursed," Isabela muttered to Varric, who nodded. He had been thinking the same thing after all.

"I can't decide what would have been worse," he replied. "What did happen, or what could have happened to Little Dove and Hawke if Broody hadn't been home."

The pirate looked down at her companion. "You don't agree with the guard?" she asked, her eyebrow up in question.

"That they followed Broody home?" he said, giving her a skeptical look. "Those didn't look like slavers, did they?" He adjusted himself in his lean against the wall, as the two of them kept their ears open, waiting for the guard to leave, so they could get the real story from Hawke and Aveline. "We won't really know for sure until Broody wakes up," he added.

Isabela didn't move, she was pretty comfortable, but her eyes flickered to the room atop the staircase where Fenris lay unconscious in bed, and Cat sat by his side, refusing to move until he woke. Hawke had stayed by her side until they arrived and Anders took his place. Now, Hawke and Aveline, along with her guard, were investigating.

"I wish they'd just get out of the way, so I can see if anyone escaped from Fenris," she muttered.

"Knowing Hawke, he's using this to get regular guard rotations here," Varric murmured back, and Isabela grunted. They both knew too well how protective Hawke could be of those he cared for.

Isabela pulled out a small dagger and began cleaning her nails with it. "Hawke looks rough," she commented.

Varric gave a large sigh. "It seems to be one thing after another for our champion," he said, looking over at Hawke in concern. "I was really hoping tonight would help with that."

"Weren't we all," Isabela smirked. "The tension is getting unbearable, for all of us."

"Perhaps we should have everyone not show up for Little Dove's planned day away," he suggested, his eyebrows wagging at her.

She gave a small nod, conceding his point, and thinking it over. "While Hawke may appreciate it, eventually, he has commented numerous times about being together with all of us for the day. Besides, knowing those two, they'd probably be attacked, and knowing their luck, it would be by darkspawn or something."

"Don't even joke about those things Rivaini," he mumbled with a shiver. "They give me the creeps."

She chuckled darkly. "No, we'll give him his day," she said. "But that night? Let's just say they will have a few extra unseen bodyguards, to make sure nothing happens," she glanced down with a wink, then turned back to continued to glare at the guards.

"Of course, Broody will never hear the end of this," he muttered.

They were silent after that, waiting and watching as the guards finally left, leaving only Hawke and Aveline, standing together at the top of the balcony. Varric and Isabela made their way up the stairs to join them.

"Hi," Hawke said wearily. "Where's Merrill?" he asked.

"She went to keep your mother and Orana company," Varric answered, and Hawke gave a sigh of relief.

"That's one less worry then," he said.

Isabela listened with one ear, as she made her way around the hallway. She narrowed her eyes in thought, thinking that things weren't adding up.

"What can you tell us?" Varric asked the Champion and Guard Captain.

"From what we can tell," Aveline started, explaining what she had barely finished telling Hawke, "Fenris was already in his room when he discovered the intruders, meaning they came in after him. He came out and fought, killing the first man, there." She pointed to the spot where the body had been lying in Cat's doorway.

"Then, the others surrounded him, coming at once, and there was a fight, along with some injuries, which explains the blood." She gestured around at the walls that had several sprays of dried blood, and Varric nodded, and Isabela followed the explanation, viewing the evidence as she did.

"The fight then went into his room, where he eventually was successful in besting the four others, however he also received many injuries, enough that he was too weak to go for help. He ended up passing out, and was found later by Cat and Hawke."

"So this was all of them?" Varric asked skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"Would Fenris had been alive if there were more?" Aveline retorted.

"Isabela?" Hawke asked, watching as she moved over to Cat's room, and went inside, looking around for several minutes, while they waited.

"What is it Rivaini?" Varric finally asked, not liking the suspense.

Isabela came back to the doorway, looking out at her friends.

"While the motivation is unclear, there are a few things we know," Isabela spoke, and the other three paid attention, surprised at her solemnity. "One, these men were not slavers trying to get a runaway slave back."

"And how do we know that?" Aveline asked sternly.

"I could explain it all, but just trust me on this one," Isabela replied. "They were assassins. Yet any decent assassins could have killed Fenris when four against one. So why didn't they?"

Hawke and Aveline looked at each other in concern. "The second thing… Fenris came home to find them here, not the other way around."

Aveline knew first hand that the pirate had seen things her guards never had, and if she was so certain, there was a reason, but that didn't mean she would simply take her word for it. "Explain," Aveline demanded.

Isabela sauntered past her, pointing to a pack that was thrown in the corner of the landing. "There are plenty of signs in Kitty's room that someone had been there, going through her things. Fenris came home, heard something, and dropped his pack, pulling out his sword. Perhaps he investigated, or perhaps he called out for her, thinking she was home, but either way, once the first man showed his face, he was dead, here," she pointed to the doorway of Cat's room again.

"The way the blood ended on the walls, were due to his swings as he backed up, giving himself more space as the men came out of her room," she continued, swinging her arms as if she was using a large double handed sword, as Fenris did.

"There's no blood on this side of the hall," Varric noted, looking past Fenris' door at the guest room.

"My guess?" Isabela said. "He backed into his room, which would give him more space than the hallway. His swings are devastating to multiple foes at once, if he can get a full swing."

"Then what?" Hawke asked, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

"Then, they fought. He killed four more of them, but eventually they incapacitated him."

"Are you saying he lost?" Varric asked incredulously.

"Yes," she replied. "But they didn't want to kill him, they wanted information." She looked over at Hawke. "You said he had small cuts all over him?" she asked.

"Yeah, though several bigger slices as well," he answered.

"Most assassins use a poison on their blades," she mused. "But there are some that use a substance that keeps the blood flowing from wounds. Great for interrogations, making small cuts on their limbs. The subject gets weaker and weaker from blood loss, and tends to answer truthfully once they near death."

She took in their shocked expressions, and nodded gravely. "Then those that were still alive, I'm not certain how many… left, assuming he would bleed out and die."

"Are you sure?" Hawke asked, though based on what he had seen when he and Cat found Fenris, it all fit perfectly.

"The blood on the stairs," she said, pointing. "Fenris couldn't have bled that much and then fought this many men. And there are no signs of spatter on the stairs, just someone losing blood as they used the stairs. So that means someone bled as they left."

Aveline looked at Hawke and Varric before nodding. "It makes sense," she conceded, her face grim.

"But that means whoever these men were, they weren't here for Broody," Varric said as the implication hit him.

"No they weren't," Isabela replied.

"This is all my fault," Hawke murmured, though the other three were close enough to hear it. He looked around in panic. "I'll be back," he said, moving down the stairs.

"Hawke?" Aveline asked, shocked at his movement.

"The threats Aveline!" he said as he moved. "I have to check on Mother!"

Isabela and Varric watched as Hawke practically flew out the door, and turned to look at Aveline, both having brows raised in question, and Aveline sighed.

"Hawke has gotten a few threats along with the letters for help," she explained. "The letters have been mostly benign, usually blaming Hawke for bad things that have happened, and saying he should have gotten rid of the Qunari sooner."

"That's hardly Hawke's fault," Varric said with a frown.

"Yeah, so we didn't put much stock in them," Aveline said, rubbing her brow. "There were only a couple, and seemed more like complaining than anything else. But the last one was different."

"Different how?" Isabela asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"It said that Hawke couldn't understand, not until he lost something he loved."

The three of them were quiet, each understanding how the events of the evening would have affected Hawke with that information now a part of it. They turned at a noise, seeing Anders open the door of Fenris' room, and come out to join them.

"How is he?" Aveline asked quietly.

"He's hasn't woken yet," Anders replied, sighing. "I'm not worried though. He's strong, he just needs time to recoup what he lost. Not to mention the large amounts of healing magic Hawke used. That much healing would drain anyone of energy. I'm surprised Hawke is still on his feet."

He looked around, noticing that the man he spoke of wasn't there. "Where is he?" he asked. "Cat's been asking about him."

"He left," Varric replied. "Wanted to check on those at home."

"Ah," Anders said, understanding. He looked at the three of them, scrutinizing their expressions. "And what aren't you telling me?" he asked.

"Go ahead," Isabela said. "I'll go sit with Kitty."

Varric gave a nod, and pulled Anders away from the bedroom, explaining what had been discovered while he was tending to his patient.

Hawke practically fell into the seat next to Varric, his weariness was practically bone deep at this point.

"We'll find something Hawke," Varric spoke up, trying to console him, even as he looked over at Merrill in concern.

"We keep saying that, but I'm starting to wonder," Hawke replied, his anger coming back to the surface. "Six days and not one single clue, Varric!" he growled, slamming his fist on the tabletop, causing the table to shake.

"I know it's frustrating, but we can't give up," Merrill added, holding onto her cup to keep it from spilling. "Everyone is working together, and we'll find who is behind it, I just know it!"

Hawke took a few deep breaths, stopping himself from scowling at Merrill. She was just trying to keep his spirits up, he knew, but he didn't think that was possible at this point.

"Cat keeps asking why you haven't come by," Merill said softly, and Hawke could feel her hesitation, even as he sneered.

"What would you have me do, Merrill?!" he snapped at her, at his wit's end. "I put everyone I care about in danger by even talking to them!" His anger and disgust had him wanting to say something to get her to stop looking at him with such understanding and sympathy. "The only way to keep her safe, is to stay away," he said through gritted teeth.

"You should tell her that then," Merrill replied, feeling brave. She wasn't afraid of Hawke or anything, she just hated seeing him sad. And he was making Cat sad too.

"If your positions were switched, you would want to know what was going on," Varric added, holding his hands up at Hawke's glare. "I'm just saying," he murmured.

"Fenris wants to speak to you as well," Merrill said with a sheepish smile, and Hawke closed his eyes. He knew when he was beat.

"Fine, I'll go," he said, worried, and looking between his friends.

"We'll come with you," Merrill said with a smile, and Hawke felt a little better.

I just need to see her, make sure she's all right, he thought. She'll understand why I need to keep my distance until we catch these bastards.

"You're overdoing it again Fenris," Cat chided him, as she rushed over to help him up.

He scowled at her. "I know what I am capable of," he snipped at her.

"Oh of course," she said back, her sarcasm very apparent. "Just like this morning? How did that happen again?"

They glared at each other, neither willing to back down, and eventually Cat sighed.

"I don't like fighting with you Fen," she muttered.

"Or I you," he replied softly. "I need to start moving around a bit Cat, I'm feeling restless, and worthless in this bed."

She sighed again, giving him a nod. "I don't have a problem with you moving around the room, I just want you to let me help you until you are a little stronger."

He grumbled, but internally he knew he wouldn't be able to make it very far. He was already exhausted from sitting himself up. "I'll make you a deal," he offered, and she crossed her arms and gave him a smirk.

"This I have to hear," she said.

He scowled at her again, but he put his hand out for hers and she put her own in it. He pulled her over, and she sat next to him. "I'll let you help me until you deem that I am strong enough to walk on my own," he said, and she looked at him in surprise.

"And in return?" she asked.

"In return, you must promise me that you will not go anywhere alone."

She gave him a look. "Even the bathroom?" she asked sarcastically.

"Cat."

Her expression changed, and she tried to understand what he wasn't telling her. "Yes," she said. "There were men in our home, I get that. But Fen, we've always faced dangers, and you can't protect me from all of them. You're going to have to trust me, that I can protect myself."

"But you can avoid many dangers by not being alone," he said stubbornly, and she shook her head at him.

"Fine," she said with a cunning smile. "But that's not enough. I also want to hear about what you were doing on your trip."

He looked at her, debating. He didn't want to speak of any of it until it was resolved one way or the other, not wanting to jinx it. But, he wanted her safe even more. He nodded, "you have a deal," he said.

She lifted their joined hands and adjusted her grip to give his a shake, to seal the deal. Standing up, she put her arm under his, and braced herself. "Well, are you ready to walk around a bit then?" she asked, and he nodded resolutely.

Hawke knew if he saw Cat, he would probably ignore everyone else, so he determined to see Fenris first. But then it seemed Merrill was two steps ahead of him.

She opened the door, and called out. "Cat, I'm back!"

After a moment, Cat exited the bedroom and walked over to the balcony. "Oh, thank you so much for coming back Merrill!" she replied with a wave. "I've been looking forward to a bath all week!"

Merrill gave a laugh, and headed towards the stairs, and Varric stood in the doorway to the main room, looking back at Hawke.

"Are you sure you don't want to join the Little Dove?" he asked. "I can speak to Fenris for you."

Hawke couldn't say he wasn't tempted, but this was hardly the time, or the place to finally be alone with Cat. He had so much building up inside for her, he would certainly need at least a full day before he was sated, and even that was doubtful.

Hawke shook his head, giving Varric a glare.

"Hey, just trying to help," Varric muttered. "You're looking a little worse for wear."

"Thank you Varric, you always know how to flatter me," Hawke grumbled sarcastically.

"Do you need help getting water?" they heard Merrill ask.

"No, I'm all set," Cat replied. "Anders helped fill the tub yesterday, and Issy gave me a heating rune for my birthday."

"Oh, that's an amazing present!" Merrill replied.

Hawke looked over to Varric in surprise. "I missed her name day?" he asked, feeling guilty.

"Nah," Varric replied, waving it off. "Rivaini just happened to some across the rune on one of her jobs, and thought Little Dove would like it. She said it was for her name day so that if she forgets later she's covered."

Hawke breathed a sigh a relief, even as he shook his head at Isabela.

"And her name day is next month," Varric added, before he moved into the main room. "She said she wants to go to that wyvern hunt that duke invited her to."

"Wyvern hunt? What duke?" Hawke asked, but Varric was already moving to the stairs, and greeting Cat.

"Just here to visit Broody, see if he needs anything," Hawke could hear him say, and Cat's happy reply.

He waited where he was, until Varric called out, and he strode into the room, and up the stairs, glanced longingly toward Cat's room, before continuing on to see Fenris.

Hawke had hoped that Fenris would give him some new clue, but after hearing his account of things, he realized that Isabela had had the right of things. He told Fenris of the letters he received, and the conclusions they had drawn, as well as their investigation into the identity of who had sent the assassins.

Fenris was less than happy to hear that Hawke was the actual target of the assassins, through his friends. They continued to speak with Varric, straining their memories for any idea of who could want revenge on Hawke, but coming up empty.

"I really appreciate you guys coming over," Cat's voice carried into the room, and Hawke whirled around, his fingers clenching- itching to touch her. She stepped into the doorway, her hair still damp and hanging down in thick waves. Her skin was still pink, and Hawke wondered if it was from scrubbing, or the heat of the water.

He shook his head, he didn't need to think about that.

"Hawke?" she asked, surprised to see him. "I didn't know you were here."

She smiled warmly at him, and moved forward, why- he wasn't sure. Perhaps a hug, perhaps more, but he stepped back. The look on her face was like a knife in his chest, but he knew if he touched her now, he wouldn't be able to stay away.

Keep her safe… keep her safe… he told himself over and over.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking from Fenris to Varric and back to Hawke, her eyebrow raised.

"We've been trying to find out who sent the men here the night of the banquet," Merrill said, looking over to Hawke, trying to get him to take it from there.

"Okay," Cat said with a nod. "And?" she asked.

Hawke was silent, he didn't want to tell her that he was the reason she was in danger, that he was the reason Fenris was hurt.

"And there isn't much to go on," Varric answered, looking up at Hawke, and moving over to nudge him with his elbow.

"It's my fault."

Cat looked from Varric up to Hawke, her eyebrow raising even further. "How did you come to that conclusion?" she asked calmly.

He looked down, explaining shortly about the threats, and why he needed to keep his distance- to keep them safe. He stopped short when Cat started laughing.

"Oh of course!" she chuckled. "Never mind that we just went to a city wide banquet where we practically announced that we were together. Or the fact that all of us have been practically glued to your sides for years," she said, her voice becoming serious. "Maybe if you stay away from your home, people will think that you no longer care for your mother too!"

Varric held his chuckle in, giving Merrill a wink. He didn't know if she had prepared the Little Dove for this, or if she simply knew Hawke's tendencies, but either way, he couldn't have written it better.

Hawke on the other hand, was less than amused. "This isn't a joke," he said stiffly. "Fenris was almost killed, and who knows what would have happened if it had been you here alone."

"So what?" she countered nonchalantly. "All this tells me is that you don't trust us."

"What?" he said, shocked. "How can you say that?"

"Why do we train every day?" she replied, leaning on the door frame. "What's the point if anytime there is trouble you're going to hide away?"

"HIDE?!" Hawke's anger broke free of his hold at her words, and he snarled. "I'm killing myself to stay away from those I love to protect them! Not to hide!"

"Could have fooled me," she said, looking down at her nails, knowing it would piss him off even more. Her own temper was clawing at her to be let free, but she choked it back. The idiot. Being a martyr to keep us safe.

He stalked over to her, hurt and infuriated. And stopped in shock as she said, "I don't feel protected," and turning, walked away.

He looked at Merrill who shrugged, then Varric who was staring wide eyed at where she had stood. Glancing back at Fenris who was giving him a pointed look, Hawke snarled, and chased after her.

He moved out of the room, and looking around saw her already at the bottom of the stairs and heading towards the kitchen. His anger drove him forward. He would make her understand. He was doing this for her!

I hope I know what I'm doing… she thought, whirling around as Hawke came into the kitchen and slammed the door shut behind him. She swallowed hard at the look on his face. She had seen him angry before, but never directed so intensely at her alone.

Her eyes widened as he stalked slowly towards her, and she shivered, feeling like she was being tracked, or hunted.

He stopped in front of her, grabbing her shoulders, and she simply stared up at him, his eyes boring into her. "You don't feel protected?" he gritted out. "You don't feel safe?" She didn't know what possessed her, but she shook her head, and he snarled, "You shouldn't."

Before she could take a breath, he was on her, his mouth searing her own as he took everything he had been denying himself for the past week. Understanding that he was the cause of his fears becoming real- he was the reason she was in danger- how could he do anything but stay away?!

Now, he was the animal, he was the beast that would cause her to keep away from him. And while a part of his mind knew that, he couldn't make himself stop.

Using teeth and tongue, he proceeded to devour her. Her flavor sweeter and more tantalizing than any other, and even better than he remembered. His height causing him to lift her onto the tips of her toes, as his hands held under her cheeks- pulling her up where he needed her.

He hadn't known he was moving her, until they were stopped by a wall, and she gave a grunt from the impact. She used his momentary confusion to slip her arms inside of his, putting her hands up into his hair and gripping there. His hands, now displaced, began running up and down her sides, hesitating at the soft curves, and pressing in.

Her leg snaked up to his hip, and he moved his hand to help it stay there, even as he grabbed the other just as she raised it. He pressed forward, and her head fell back. His inner beast growled at seeing her neck bared before him.

Cat tried to breathe, that was all she could focus on. She had never felt so completely alive before. She knew she had been turned on before, but that had been a nice, warm, and pleasant feeling. This was heat, this was fire… molten lava, center of the earth… how else could she say it? Her entire body was sensitive, and his every touch was setting off sparks that left her skin tingling, and he had yet to actually touch her skin.

Her head fell back against the wall, she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, there were so many things to feel, and her hands in Hawke's hair felt like the only thing keeping her grounded.

She heard a low growl, and before she could process it, Hawke was suckling and nibbling at her neck. She gave a throaty moan, unable to keep it in. She could feel her body moving, though she felt like she wasn't in control of it. She was on fire and just knew that Hawke could help.

He was pushing her into the wall, his hips practically drilling into hers, and as she adjusted to move with him, the feeling intensifying and she moaned again. With each small push, she was moving higher, until she was above him, and her hands moved to his shoulders, her nails digging in, as she bent her head to attack his ear.

She heard the growl again, and she reveled in it, as his hands moved under her tunic at her back, and up her sides. They traveled up her rib cage, and she chuckled softly when he paused, realizing that she had nothing on to prevent him from all of her.

She felt something building within her, low within her. Her head fell back as she panted, trying to understand. We are both still fully clothed, and though his hands are under my shirt…

His hands were splayed beside her breasts, and she jerked as his thumbs brushed over them, causing her to shiver, as he groaned. She stiffened, and his hands stayed where they were, though his hips continued to push into her. Her thoughts were gone suddenly, and all that remained was the feeling, as her body tightened in pleasure, and then released. She sagged against him, panting.

After a few moments, she realized that he wasn't moving anymore either, and she raised her head as best as she could. When he felt her moving, he gently released her legs, letting her stand again. She smiled at him, but he was still looking down. He suddenly removed his hands from under her shirt, as if he was burned.

She said his name in question, uncertain what was going on.

"Garrett?"

He could cheerfully stab himself for how timidly she said his name. He had been wanting to protect her, to go slowly once he discovered her inexperience, to avoid this, exactly this. He hadn't given a thought to her, he had only taken and taken like an animal, unable to even control himself- trying to push into her through his clothes. He hadn't lasted long… how could he have, with having her as he wanted? and he had felt her stiffen in disgust as he lost himself.

Looking up in shame, he could see the marks he left on her skin. Her neck was red from his beard. Her lips were swollen from biting them, and he could feel where she had been trying to hold him off- even digging her nails into his shoulders to snap him out of it.

"I'm so sorry," he spoke, and he could see her looking up, but he didn't meet her eyes, he just turned and left.