Chapter 19: Nathaniel

Now she’d managed to distract him with imagining their first time – and the second, and the third, preferably all in the same night. They’d both laughed uncomfortably, and then avoided eye contact as they’d extracted themselves from the rather intimate embrace they’d found themselves in.

Getting dressed had been somewhat awkward; there was little room inside the tiny cave, so they nearly couldn’t avoid accidentally bumping into each other as they attempted to don their respective armour. Both sets of leathers were still damp, making it rather like they were squirming into clingy second skins rather than armour. Not that he didn’t enjoy the view he had of the bard as she attempted to get her armour over her legs without accidentally exposing anything else.

Making the decision to wait, instead of taking her up on her implicit offer was one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. She’d been there, half naked and gorgeous and grinding herself against his lap, and he had been stunned by just how badly he’d wanted to break his celibate streak right then and there. But he wanted so much more than just sex with this woman, and he wouldn’t take the chance that she felt pressured – or just unimpressed with his effort. She deserved to be romanced, showered with gifts and read poetry, not tumbled on the ground of some nasty cave. He was going to have to up his game if he ever hoped to deserve her.

But she had nice legs, and the view as she shimmied herself into her armour ... yeah, the view was nice.

He blushed when she caught him staring – and then chuffed out a surprised laugh when all she did was wiggle her hips at him, purposefully provocative now, with a wide grin. His own armour grew even more uncomfortable, and he sent a brief prayer of thanks to the Maker that the thick leather would at least disguise that fact.

And then, when he bent over and preceded her out of the little cave, she whistled – a loud, obnoxious, appreciative whistle. He laughed, right out loud, for the first time in...

He didn’t want to think about that.

They walked in comfortable silence, back in the direction Leliana indicated. There were obvious marks where she’d dragged him through the underbrush on her improvised sledge, so it was easy to follow them back to the main path where they’d been ambushed. He tried not to stare at her while they walked, but despite his best efforts, she caught him looking several times anyway. Each time she’d giggle, and he’d blush; they’d both look away, but it wasn’t long before he’d find himself watching her again.

He helped her over a fallen tree blocking their way – not that she needed it, but it was only polite. Once she’d stepped down, he kept her hand, and his heart beat a little faster when she just curled her fingers around his with a light squeeze.

Finally he could take the silence no more. “Leliana?”

She smiled at him. He swallowed, trailing to a halt, his grip on her hand pulling her to a stop as well.

“Do you wish to let people know about...” He wasn’t sure what to call it. Maker, he was making such a fool of himself.