Zarra put the finishing touch on her hair, studying the simple style that sent her snow-white curls tumbling over one shoulder in a deliberate cascade intended to hide a silvery scar from a skirmish with a Banite. Her dress was a daring off-the-shoulder number that would leave her shoulders and collarbone exposed, but she didn't want to field questions about her scars all night. Tonight was about Gale reentering Waterdeep's high society after his appointment as a professor at Blackstaff Academy and reinstatement as one of Mystra's Chosen. She wanted to fully support him, not be distracted and simmering with irritation at the underhanded remarks her marred skin was sure to receive from the society set.
He hadn't seen these people since everything happened with the Karsite Orb and his withdrawal from society almost two years prior. It made sense that he was nervous. Zarra was determined to support him through the night, and that started with making sure they both looked their best. Fashion was the armor of high society, after all.
She stole a glance at him in her vanity's mirror as she touched up the kohl around her eyes and the color staining her lips—wine red, to match the silk of her gown—and had to shake her head. The man had been a bundle of nerves all afternoon, unable to read for more than a few minutes before getting distracted, and now his frantic reevaluation of half his wardrobe was almost certain to make them late. His quiet muttering about the virtues of his black and gold coat and vest over the ivory and silver had her huffing a quiet laugh. He needed to expel some of his nervous energy or they'd never actually make it to the party.
"Gale, 'chev, wear the black. You look dashing in it. Besides, it will complement the new earring Tara and I got for you," she called, donning a pair of pearl earrings and a matching necklace.
"Are you certain?" he asked. His fingers hovered over the clothing in question and she could see him still mulling over the choice through the furrow in his brow. "It isn't too staid or dour?"
"You look roguish in black, confident. Powerful. And if there are any incidents with wine or sauce, no one will be any wiser." Zarra slid on the ivory satin gloves she was expected to wear to such a formal occasion and rose to embrace him from behind. "Think how stunning we'll look together."
Gale hummed and stroked her gloved hands. "There's nothing new about that, my love. We're arguably the handsomest couple in the city by a mile regardless of our wardrobe."
She rose up to brush her lips over the curve of his ear, delighting in the little shiver that ran through him. "Wear the black so we can match."
"What do you mean? Darling, in case you haven't noticed you're wearing—" His eyes went wide as her hands disappeared under her skirt and tugged down her underwear. "—red."
She retrieved the delicate fabric and pressed it into his hands, smirking at the dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at the black lace. "I think those will look better in your pocket tonight, don't you?"
"You're a wicked, wonderful creature," he said, voice low and soft with desire, and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"I'm not done yet. Take off your robe."
Gale couldn't remove his robe fast enough, leaving himself bare save his underwear. When he turned to collect his clothes, Zarra couldn't help the pulse of excitement at the way the fine cotton highlighted his hardening cock. She knew he was sensitive to her teasing, but his quick reaction was better than she'd hoped. Still, she wasn't one to waste an opportunity when she saw one, especially when it could serve to boost his confidence.
Before he could move away to dress, Zarra stopped him with a gentle touch to his wrist and tugged him over before their full-length mirror. She slowly sank to her knees in a pool of burgundy silk, smirking when his eyes went wide as she took her time unlacing his briefs and pulling them back to reveal his erection. He couldn't seem to decide where to look, his attention darting between her kneeling before him and their reflection.
She didn't care where he looked so long as he was watching. Her attention was firmly on the erection jutting towards her face, weeping pre-cum with its need for her attention. His cock was a masterwork, truly. Long and thick, slightly curved, beautifully veined like fine marble, and nestled in a tidy nest of dark curls. Gale was always meticulous in his grooming, which she appreciated endlessly. He was a beautiful man with a beautiful cock, and her mouth watered at the thought of tasting him.
Gale took a shuddering breath when she stroked him with a gloved hand, the creamy satin cool against his heated flesh. She loved teasing him like this, denying him the feel of her skin on his while wordlessly reminding him that she was fully dressed, untouchable and in control. His pleasure was in her hands—literally—and she held all the cards. Zarra pumped him at a leisurely pace, occasionally cupping his heavy sac, and watched him watching her.
When his eyes were bright and cheeks flushed with color, she pressed a tender kiss to the head of his cock and admired the perfect kiss mark left from her lip color.
Gale noticed it in the mirror and he twitched in her hand. "Zarra—"
"Let me worship you, 'chev."
She took him in her mouth as deep as she could manage, cutting off whatever else he planned to say. The neatly trimmed curls at the base of his cock tickled her nose and she swallowed around him.
"Fuck."
His groan reverberated between them and sent a rush of liquid heat through her, drenching her with her own desire. She shoved her wish to be filled and stretched aside and set to work sucking his cock.
The salt of his skin and the heady scent him filled her with need. Her own desire had her rubbing her thighs together in a bid for some friction, but it wasn't enough. Zarra moved over him with practiced ease, retreating and teasing his slit with the tip of her tongue before taking him down to the base again. She worked him over and over, her wine red lip color staining his skin with every pass. Her tongue traced the veins lining his cock and swirled about the head, making his muscled thighs twitch.
She knew he was fighting to control himself, holding back from fucking her mouth like he wanted. His hands would ordinarily be buried in her hair right now, but he was keenly aware of how much care she'd taken with her appearance tonight so he simply smoothed his hands over her cheeks and teased her sensitive ears instead.
When she looked up at him through her lashes, the sheer want on his face made her moan around him. His fingers drifted to cup her jaw, but he forced himself to relax his grip as she continued moving over him. She needed friction, needed to feel herself filled and stretched, needed to play with her clit—she needed him. If she so much as hinted at her throbbing desire, she knew he would gently pull her up and take her like she wanted. It was tempting, but she couldn't do that. This was about him.
Zarra redoubled her efforts, working him with her hand and mouth together. It was a powerful feeling to be in control of another's pleasure, to be so trusted that he let her see him like this: undressed, vulnerable, and needy. He'd always been so self-conscious of his body that he'd never played with mirrors before, but he was trusting her with it now.
Now, he was watching their reflection as she worshipped him with her mouth, her cheeks hollowed to create suction, and pulled back, revealing his shaft stained with her lip color and glistening with her saliva. Gale was rapt, his dark gaze locked on the picture they made and breathy nonsense spilling from his lips. He was all but bare and holding himself taut to keep from fucking her face, and Zarra was dressed in her finest clothes, neatly made up save for the smeared lipstick as she worked his cock.
He twitched in her mouth and his balls grew taut in her other hand. She knew he was close, so she worked him faster, heedless of the mess she was making. Adoration could be like that, turbulent, desperate, messy. They'd straighten up before leaving, but right now was about catching him as he fell apart. She laved him with her tongue, tracing frantic patterns on the underside of his cock and teasing that sensitive spot where the head of his cock met the shaft.
"Zarra, I-I'm close," he panted, quivering with the effort to hold himself back.
She couldn't have that. With a lewd pop, she pulled off his cock, though one gloved hand continued massaging his balls. "I want you to watch as you cum in my mouth, understand?"
Gale gave a tight nod and stared down at her as she slowly, deliberately took him in her mouth once more. He panted, chest heaving as she sucked him exactly the way he liked, leading him to the precipice. She worked faster, hollowing her cheeks and taking him as deep as she could. Gale bit out a curse and went over the edge, spilling himself into her mouth. The salt of his spend coated her tongue and Zarra swallowed it all as he pressed forward, pumping shallowly into her as he rode the aftershocks of orgasm. She took it all, stroking his belly and thighs with soothing hands and carefully cleaning his cock with her tongue, until he couldn't take anymore.
He gently extricated himself, panting and trembling, as his cock softened once more. The only evidence of what they'd done was the red stain around the base of his shaft and the matching shade smudged around her lips.
"Divine," he murmured, ragged with the aftershocks of pleasure. Gale tucked himself away and began dressing. "You're utterly divine."
Zarra paused as she worked to remove a glove, intent on righting her mussed appearance. "Tonight is about you, Gale. If you worry, just remember that I'm willing to get on my knees for you any time, any place, and I'll enjoy every second of it."
"Thank you, but this is beyond awkward. I haven't seen these people since–since everything with Mystra. They all know about my ignominious separation from Her, they all know what an utter wreck I was in the aftermath…" He raked a hand through his hair and hurriedly tucked his shirt into his soft, black breeches. The jerky movements gave away his mounting nerves.
"You're a hero, Gale," Zarra murmured, watching him mournfully. "You're brilliant, talented, creative, passionate, kind–They'll remember that, even if I have to shout it from the rooftops."
"Let's save the shouting for after the party in case the charm offensive fails," he joked dryly. He was soon fully dressed, and moved behind her to straighten his hair in her vanity mirror.
"If it helps, just remember that I'm willing to get on my knees for you any time, any place, and I'll enjoy every second of worshiping you with my mouth."
He nearly choked at that and buried his laughter in the crook of her neck.
Grinning, Zarra finished with her cosmetics and tugged her glove back on. His mirth broke the hold of his anxiety, and she resolved to be as filthy as he needed to get through the night. The only opinion that mattered to her was his.
She moved to rise, pausing when he took her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. Color bled from the spot his lips touched and he repeated with her other hand, smirking as she gaped at the spellwork. Gale chuckled and stroked his hands over the corseted bodice of her gown and down to her hips, kissing a path over the exposed side of her neck as the magic changed the satin of her gloves from ivory to black.
"So we match."
The party was in full swing, and Gale clutched Zarra's hand like a lifeline. He'd strode in proudly with her on his arm, his skin still tingling from the thunderclap of an orgasm she'd wrung out of him, and it gave him the confidence he needed to meet everyone's eyes. Smiling nobility and welcoming colleagues greeted them. Gale managed to snag them both flutes of sparkling wine before they started making the rounds and he introduced her to everyone he knew.
She met each new person with a warm smile and fell into easy conversation with everyone, asking questions about their work, their family, their pets, and one woman's rock collection. Her genuine interest endeared her to all and her sharp humor soon had them clamoring for her attention. The other academics in attendance were eager to talk to Gale, his former reputation as a schoolboy prodigy turned Mystra's Chosen—not once, but twice—was incentive enough for them to vie for introductions. The beautiful drow on his arm only sweetened the appeal.
Gale was all too happy to brag about her accomplishments as a bard and regale them with stories from their rescue of Baldur's Gate and the world. More than one person gaped at the petite, lilac-skinned elf in silk and pearls, trying to reconcile her with the larger-than-life warrior from the stories in the paper.
"I'm the luckiest man alive to know her, and luckier still to have been gifted her heart," he heard himself saying to a group that included the deans of the Colleges of Divination and Illusion and a politely nodding couple—a minor lord and his wife, if he recalled correctly.
"She's a lovely woman," Professor Dimbold agreed, chortling. "It seems you've had quite the adventure, young man. You'd best be ready to lose a significant amount of class time to fielding impertinent questions."
"Too true. Students these days have a way of shirking their lessons even in lecture…"
Gale stopped listening when Zarra caught his eye from where she stood with a few women she'd struck up a rapport with. A few men hovered at the edges of the women's conversation, more than one trying to interject for Zarra's attention. When one particularly persistent man with an elaborate mustache leaned over her shoulder to interrupt the ladies, Zarra barely avoided rolling her eyes. She glanced towards Gale as the mustachioed man droned on and shot him a wink.
His heart skipped a beat and Gale couldn't hide his foolish smile. That was the woman who loved him. Her cheeks darkened under his stare and she sipped at her wine to hide her flush, but he'd already seen it. Unfortunately, so had the mustachioed man.
Gale's mood soured as the man shifted, separating Zarra from the group and moving into her space. He knew she was capable of handling herself, but gods did it burn to see her treated like so much chattel. Hadn't the villain seen her arrive on another's arm? Didn't he realize she was engaged? Didn't he realize she was better than him, than all of them?
His sipped his wine in an attempt to cool down, one hand slipping into his pocket and freezing. His fingers met the soft lace he'd seen earlier that evening—the black lace of her discarded panties now resided in his pocket. She must have slipped them into his coat before they'd left the tower. Gale barely stifled a groan as he realized she was utterly bare under her skirts. The slit offering tempting flashes of her toned leg barely concealed the soft, smooth skin of her delectable cunt. Her delectable, bare cunt.
He couldn't stop himself from wondering if her little secret left her wet with excitement. If he were to somehow touch her delicate nether lips, would she be slick with the knowledge that only a scant few inches of silk hid her dripping arousal from view? Gale's pants grew uncomfortably tight as he fingered the lace, mind flashing to the way she'd watched him through dark lashes while she'd taken care of him in their bedroom. At that, the room grew unbearably warm. Gale only just managed to swallow a groan as he hardened further, his finger still stroking Zarra's naughty gift.
He needed to be with her. Now.
He finished his wine with a single swallow and left his conversation with only a terse "pardon me." He hadn't heard a single word that was said since the mustachioed man approached his betrothed.
Her brittle smile and tight eyes made Gale move faster, drawing near in time to hear the man say, "—perhaps I could show you somewhere a little more private."
"That won't be necessary," Gale said, wrapping an arm about her waist at the same moment she said, "I think I've seen enough."
He smiled down at his lover and dropped a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Hello, darling. Care to introduce me to your friend?"
"Gale, this is Jace…? I'm sorry, I missed the last name. Anyway, he was just telling me that he's recently enrolled at Blackstaff Academy as a senior abjuration student. Perhaps he'll be in one of your upper level classes." Zarra leaned into her betrothed's firm embrace then, stroking gentle circles on the small of his back as she delivered the final, damning blow. "Jace was offering me a private demonstration of his skills."
The young man gaped at Gale, eyes darting between their familiar greeting and the ballroom door. "I, uh—"
"Is that so?" Gale asked, feigning interest when he wanted nothing more than to cast Otto's Irresistible Dance on the impertinent young man and leave him to dance until he collapsed. "That sounds like a real treat. Perhaps we should make it a more public spectacle, really show the donors what they're paying for. What do you say, Jace? Do you feel up to wowing this crowd?"
"I couldn't—"
Zarra smiled sweetly. "Surely anything you wished to show me is more than impressive enough for everyone else."
Gale had to stifle a laugh at her innocent act, knowing full well the young man had meant to make a pass at her and wouldn't be able to improvise on the spot. "Stage fright is a cruel mistress, my love. Let the poor boy off the hook and set your hopes for entertainment on a more practiced conjurer."
"What tricks do you have in mind?" she hummed, leaning further into him. The move effectively cut the young man out of their conversation and left him to wander awkwardly away.
"If you come with me, I'll happily demonstrate." Gale turned to pull her flush against his front, lowering his voice for her ears alone and allowing his fingers to slip dangerously low at the small of her back. He pressed a kiss to her nose and murmured, "It may involve making a sausage disappear."
Her indelicate snort of laughter buoyed his heart and hardened his cock.
"Lead on, good wizard."
That was all the permission he needed to steer Zarra out of the ballroom and into the hallway where he easily dismissed a parlor and smoking room, their doors thrown open and voices spilling out. Creamy white plaster walls replete with delicate molding and gold-framed paintings and mirrors lined the corridor, the dark parquet floors softened with plush runners led him ever onward. Gale paused at a pair of tall, cherrywood doors and peered in. The comfortable silence beyond seemed promising, so he tugged his giggling betrothed in behind him.
A library greeted them, each wall lined with shelves full of books and scrolls save the one at the back. That wall played host to a grand fireplace with a large mirror above it and was flanked with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the ocean below. The smell of vellum and ink surrounded Gale and he was instantly reminded of his favorite haunts, places that offered security and peace and privacy. A long table dominated the center of the room, stacked high with books and candelabra, littered with quills and ink pots just waiting to be used—and empty save for the pair of them. It was perfect for what he had in mind.
Gale closed the door behind them and wasted no time in capturing her lips in a hard kiss. He needed to taste her, to feel her moving against him and know that her passion matched his. He caught her face between his hands, staying mindful of her hair and her delicate ears, as he swept his tongue over the seam of her lips in a request for admission. When she let him in, he surged forward with a groan to taste the sweet wine on her tongue even as he pressed her backwards into one of the sturdy bookcases running the length of the room. He needed her with a desperation he rarely felt, needed to claim her and thank her and adore her all at once. The events of the evening came to a head—her wicked mouth on his cock, her easy charm of his peers and colleagues, her clean deflection of another man's attentions—and he needed her as he needed air.
He pinned her in place with his hips and held her wrists in one hand, pulling a plaintive mewl from her when he tore his mouth from hers. Gale's voice was ragged when he said, "Tell me to stop."
"Never," she panted, her lips beautifully swollen from his rough kiss.
His lips sucked and nipped down the column of her throat to the swells of her breasts as he swallowed a needy noise. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop if they went much further, but some dark and possessive part of him needed to lay claim to her. The young upstart had stirred this need in him, a need made sharper with the knowledge that her perfect cunt was bare beneath her skirts, and Gale's usually iron control was eroding.
"I don't know if I'll be able to stop if we go any further," he warned her, words muffled as he mouthed at the tops of her breasts.
"Then don't stop." She tried to free her wrists from his grasp, but to no avail. His hold was unrelenting and left her completely at his mercy. Gale ground his straining erection against her belly, his free hand skating up her ribs to grasp the corseted bodice containing her glorious breasts.
"What's the safe word, Zarra?" he demanded, hot breath ghosting over her lilac skin.
"'D-discombobulate," she hissed. Her back arched into his touch, and her mismatched eyes were dominated by the blacks of her pupils.
There was no mistaking the desire running through every line of her body and flooding her skin with heat. Gale could only smirk and drop a discordantly sweet kiss to the tip of her nose.
"Good girl."
With that, the hand at her bodice gave a fierce tug and had her perfect breasts springing free. Her violet nipples hardened in the cool air of the library as the corset top pressed them unnaturally high. He immediately lowered his mouth to one of the dark peaks and flicked his tongue over it, drawing a breathy mewl from her throat. He couldn't resist alternating between her breasts and teasing her sweet nipples until they were painfully hard and glistening with his saliva, suckling and nipping at each until she was a panting, writhing wreck. If anyone were to walk in, they would be rewarded with a view of her perfect breasts and lewdly darkened nipples, leaving no doubt what, exactly, was about to happen.
Gale wasn't certain he'd be able to stop if someone were to walk in. The soft purple of her skin against the rich burgundy silk of her gown was so perfect—her pert breasts and delectably peaked nipples were so invitingly perfect—that he would be tempted to fuck her with an audience if they were to be interrupted. And he knew Zarra would let him. She'd told him as much that day in Rivington with the drow twins; she would happily take him in a private clearing or in a crowded barroom. She just wanted him, however he was willing to give himself to her. It was a thesis she'd proven over and over again everywhere from their bedroom to their balcony to a hard, fast coupling in an alleyway mere feet from a crowded thoroughfare in the heart of Baldur's Gate. It was how he knew she'd be alright fucking him here, in this library only an unlocked door away from a posh party where anyone could barge in and catch them.
His pants were uncomfortably tight. He needed to be inside of her, and soon.
With a low noise, Gale tore himself away from her and tugged her over to one of the long tables in the middle of the library. Her soft laughter had his heart fluttering, warming him from the inside. He loved her sheer boldness, relished how she'd opened up to him and indulged both of their desires.
He pressed himself against her back and ran his hands down her arms, pressing her hands to the tabletop. If anyone were to walk in, they'd see her bare, heaving breasts as he kissed a path down her neck and over her exposed shoulder.
"Keep your hands on the table," he commanded silkily.
When she nodded, his fingers trailed up to pinch and roll her nipples. Zarra's head fell back to rest on his chest and her hips undulated each time he tugged the hardened peaks. Gale couldn't get enough of her and how responsive she was to his touch. He nipped at the curve of her ear, smirking at her breathy moan, before withdrawing.
"Gale—"
"Patience, my love." He placed a hand between her shoulders and pushed her down over the table. "Spread your legs."
Her skirt rustled as she obeyed and he didn't waste any time lifting the wine red silk to expose the bare skin beneath. She was dripping with arousal, her skin glistening with the evidence of her desire for him. Gale nearly groaned as her scent greeted him but bit it back at the last second. He just needed to control himself a little longer.
His hand smoothed over the curve of her ass and down the outside of her thigh, noting her quivering muscles. A dark curl of pleasure wound tighter in his chest, and Gale skimmed that same hand up her soft inner thigh and between her soaked folds.
Zarra keened at the teasing touch, rocking back in search of more. He knew that she wanted him to touch her enflamed clit, to slide his fingers into her tight channel, and drive her over the edge. He also knew that they'd both enjoy a hard, fast fuck more than this teasing.
His gaze trailed to the doors as voices drifted by, loud enough to make them both freeze. "I have a confession: I didn't lock the doors." Her breathing stuttered at that, and he dipped his fingers between her silken folds to tease her entrance. "Anyone could walk in and see us, and there wouldn't be a trace of doubt in their minds what we're doing."
She barely bit back a whimper, but a flood of liquid heat on his fingers told him all he needed to know. She liked this.
Gale smirked and began circling her clit just how she liked it. "They could come in and see your perfect breasts swaying as I bring you to the brink of pleasure. They could walk in here at any moment and see me fucking you, and I don't know if I'd be able to stop. Do you want that, Zarra? Do you want them to watch as you come around me, and as I mark you as mine?"
She moaned at that, rolling her hips back against his hand. "Please, Gale. Please."
"'Please' what, my darling?" His fingers never stopped working her clit despite his aching cock begging to be buried inside her.
"Please fuck me," she breathed.
He wasted no more time in releasing his cock from his trousers, not even bothering to pull them down, and lining himself up at her entrance. Her wet heat teased the head of his cock, and it took what little control he had left not to sink fully inside her. However much he wanted it, he wasn't about to hurt her by going too fast. Pain had no place between them.
Instead, he gripped himself and teasingly drew the broad head over the length of her slit, coating himself in her arousal. His other hand gently cupped the curve of her hip, the touch a stark contradiction to how he intended to fuck her. That could wait, though. First, he needed to be inside her and allow her body time to adjust.
Gale eased himself into her, groaning as the hot, tight, velvety heat of her cunt enveloped him. She squeezed him almost painfully, the entrance only made easier by how wet she was.
"Breathe, Zarra," he coaxed, voice rough. "Relax for me, my love."
She did as instructed, her muscles loosening just enough to offer relief. But that momentary ease fled when she rolled her hips back, taking him fully inside her in one go.
Their curses mingled, and Gale tried to claw back the shreds of his control as she quivered and fluttered around his cock. It took everything in him not to withdraw and slam back into her.
But Zarra had other ideas. She moved again, and Gale could only gape at the sight of his thick cock glistening with her juices and splitting her open. He groaned again, louder than before, when she pressed back against him, fucking herself on him. It was one of the more erotic things he'd ever seen.
He massaged the globes of her ass as she undulated against him, spreading them to watch as her tight cunt stretched around him. His skin glistened with her arousal every time she pulled back and Gale couldn't stop himself from moving a hand to circle her clit. The rush of liquid heat on his throbbing cock was reward enough, but Zarra gifted him with a breathy moan at the touch. He swirled his fingers in her slick arousal, toying with her aching bud the way she liked best and earning himself a few more delicious noises from his beloved's throat.
The hand still on her ass kneaded at her plump flesh, the other coming back to press gently against the tight, dark ring of muscle hidden there. Zarra whimpered at the touch of his wet fingers on that previously untouched spot, and her walls fluttered around his cock in response. They'd never ventured into this particular arena, but the way she flooded him with a rush of desire and her delicate muscles tightened around him made it worth a conversation.
Gale made a mental note to discuss it before he grasped her hips firmly. Gods, he wanted to leave bruises to mark her skin and remind them both that there was no one else. His hips snapped into her, pulling strangled sounds of pleasure from her throat as he fucked her into the table. She was so hot and wet and eager, her walls gripping his cock perfectly as she met his every thrust. He loved how she took him, how she was the perfect combination of ferocity and pliancy.
The sounds of their breathy moans and skin slapping filled the room as the table shook with their movements. Her fingers grasped the edge of the table, knuckles nearly white as she used the leverage to slam back against him.
He could feel that she was close. She clenched around him and her thighs trembled, even as her body tried to take him deeper. His own orgasm wasn't far behind, coiling at the base of his spine and tightening his balls. But he'd already finished once that night, and he refused to find his end before she did.
One hand circled back around her to find her clit, pressing against the swollen bud and circling it. Her breathy curse was echoed in her body as she flooded him with another wave of desire. He smirked and bit down on her shoulder, redoubling his efforts between her legs.
"Fuck, Gale, I'm—"
Her words were cut off with a sharp gasp as she trembled and clenched around his cock, coming sharply.
His thrusts became erratic as his end slammed into him. He buried himself inside her when it crested, bursting bright and blinding behind his eyes. Her tight walls quivered as he pulsed inside of her. Gale dropped sloppy kisses to her shoulder and back as he filled her with his seed. Marked her as his.
The hand at her clit drifted to rest over her belly and he distantly wondered what it would be like to fill her with life, indelibly claiming her in the most primal way. Realistically, neither of them was ready for that, but some possessive, primordial part of him didn't care. He'd painted her cunt with his seed, it wasn't a great leap to filling her belly with his child. There were few rawer, undeniable ways than that to show the world that they belonged to each other.
Her simple silver ring glinted in the firelight then, the same ring enchanted with a contraceptive spell to prevent exactly that scenario from coming to pass. Gale dropped another kiss to her heated skin as he tore his mind away from that path. They weren't wed yet, much less ready for that step. By the gods, they were still at a party with his softening cock buried inside her and only an unlocked door standing between them and discovery. He couldn't imagine a more definitive example of "not ready for parenthood" than the moment they were still living.
Gale withdrew from her then, cleaning the evidence of their coupling from his cock, and tucked himself back in his pants.
Zarra didn't move, save a shiver at the loss of him filling her. She was still bent over the table, panting and boneless. Her expression was serene and her cheeks flushed. If he were an artist, he'd paint her exactly like this, utterly happy and still warmed with sated lust.
The dreamy grin she sent him had his heart fluttering. Gods, he loved her.
Gale knelt behind her and parted her folds with his thumbs, unable to stop a proud smirk at the sight of his cum pooling at her entrance and seeping down her thighs. He briefly considered leaving her like this and making his earlier fantasy come true. He knew Zarra would find it just as thrilling to have his spend coating her thighs, possibly visible against her lilac skin through the daring slit in her skirt. But he forced down his excitement at such a base claiming, reminding himself of how much she wanted to make a good impression on their peers.
With that in mind, he quickly cast a prestidigitation to clean her up, leaving her swollen lips and trembling legs as the only evidence of their coupling. He kept her spread open a moment longer to press a gentle kiss to her swollen clit, earning a delighted shiver that had goosebumps rising on the soft skin of her legs. Satisfied that he'd thoroughly debauched his bride-to-be, Gale rose and tugged down her skirt once more.
She spun around to catch his lips in a kiss, her gloved fingers tangling in his hair as she grinned into the embrace and nipped his lower lip. "You're wicked, 'chev."
He grinned back and gently kneaded her breasts, rolling her nipples to hardened peaks. "Trust me when I say that wasn't even half of what I want to do to you."
Gale kissed her again, swallowing her gasp when he pinched her tender nipples before gently covering her breasts once more. If they didn't have to stay at the party, he'd have already opened a portal to their home so that they could strip down and bask in each other's bodies all night. But he had obligations and she wasn't the sort to let him shirk. It was more than enough that they'd stolen this time alone.
He entwined their fingers, pumping her hand, before leading the way out of the library. The swell of music and laughter hit them like a runaway horse the moment he opened the library door. Gale wondered how obvious their quick fuck was to the other partygoers, whether anyone knew that Zarra had been stifling her wanton moans as he rutted desperately into her mere moments before. He was certain it must be obvious in their swollen lips, flushed cheeks, bright eyes, mussed hair—all the signs were there.
No one looked twice as they slipped back into the crowd.
"They didn't notice." He tried not to sound miffed.
"Did you want them to?" Zarra asked, shooting him a veiled look from under her dark lashes.
"For how quickly you came unraveled for me—a record, even for us—a little recognition wouldn't go amiss."
"And all this time I thought you averse to exhibitionism."
He spluttered, "I don't want them to watch, but hearing and suspecting is altogether different."
"That's not what I learned all those nights in camp when we Silenced the tent or snuck off for some privacy." Zarra was teasing him and he knew it, but couldn't resist rising to her bait.
"Similar, but still distinct." He waved a finger in the air as he donned his professorial voice, as if gearing up for a lecture. "We don't have to face these people in the morning, for starters. And none of them are so crass as Astarion who tried more than once to sneak a peek, or Halsin who tried to join in."
"Would you want one of them to join in or try to steal an eyeful?" Her tone was too innocent, too coy as she played to his jealousy.
"No." Gale tried not to sound possessive, but knew he failed at the delighted smirk on her lips. "I only want them to know—without seeing or joining—that you are mine and that I've thoroughly debauched you mere feet away."
Zarra's smirk was his only warning before she grabbed his jaw and kissed him deeply, earning a few scandalized gasps as gentlemen dragged their partners away and ladies began whispering behind their fans. Her tongue stroked languidly over his and she rolled her body against his, sinuous in the way only an utterly satisfied woman could manage. She let them whisper and stare, her fingers curling into his loose hair as he returned the kiss and drew a breathy whimper from her throat.
Gale didn't bother trying to hide his lovestruck grin when she pulled away, eyes bright and breasts heaving against her bodice. "You're perfection, my love."