Chapter 34: Leliana

“Nathaniel,” she sighed, her tone embarrassingly breathy. She was overwrought, her aching muscles clenching every time she touched herself, every time he buried himself inside her; she didn’t think she could firm up her voice if her life depended on it. It was too much, but at the same time it was too good to stop – she never wanted him to stop.

This was her punishment, she was sure of it. He was trying to pleasure her until she gave out. And as much as they’d both been joking about the punishment, she couldn’t be completely sure she’d survive it. Her heart raced so quickly she felt dizzy, and she was already wrung out like a wet rag.

She circled her bud once more at his urging, turned on as much by the sound of his frantic, deep voice as by his body entwined with hers. She could picture him, his dark hair wild around his head, his face contorted by pleasure, his full lips pursed as he prayed, his arms trembling, trying to hold off until she came for him one more time.

It had been a long time since she’d cared for anyone – longer since she’d cared for a man – but she knew nothing in her past could compare to the way he made her feel. No one had ever been so focused on her pleasure, so dedicated to fulfilling her, so devoted to loving her. And he did love her – there could be no mistaking it, though he’d never said the words. Leliana had thought that Marjolaine had felt the same way for her as she had for her mentor, but it was suddenly, clearly apparent that she’d never really cared. She’d used Leliana for pleasure and used sex as a method of manipulation, but had never spared a thought for Leliana’s needs.

And Leliana couldn’t bring herself to care. If not for her betrayal, Leliana would still be that girl, shallow and naïve and unfulfilled. She couldn’t romanticize her time in the dungeon – Raleigh and his men had tried, and nearly succeeded, in breaking her completely – but it had been a necessary awakening to bring her to where she was meant to be. And she had no doubt that the Maker had ensured she was here, with the people she was meant to help, and the man she was meant to love.

And she did love him; she couldn’t deny it. She’d never loved anyone the way she loved him.

Any further thoughts on the subject were interrupted when he leaned over her, the angle driving her fingers against her clit, the hair on his chest rubbing against her nipples, his lips on her ear. “Please,” he begged, his warm breath giving her goosebumps. “Please, you feel so good, please come for me.”

He thrust once more, then twice, his arms snaking beneath her limp shoulders to hold her to him; she shuddered, and then fell apart. He swallowed her hoarse cry, using her lips to muffle his roar as he stiffened and came inside her, the two of them riding out their shattering orgasms together. The world greyed out around Leliana, so that all she could feel was him, cradling her and protecting her even as he spilled deep inside her.

Later, when their racing hearts had slowed, and their bodies settled together into a comfortable tangle, she stretched her legs experimentally and groaned.

“Well, tomorrow should be interesting, yes? I’m not certain I can even walk, never mind ride.”

She could hear the smirk in his voice when he replied, “And that’s your punishment, naughty girl.”

She couldn’t do anything but laugh.