There and Back Again Ch. 147

"Just what do you think you're doing, little minx?" he demanded, his grin ruining the serious, disapproving expression he was going for.

I struggled against him unsuccessfully, once, unable to get any satisfaction for my aching breasts or my dripping sex as he held me taut between his hands, and I kicked my feet uselessly behind me. Giving up, I slumped in his grasp and decided to beg instead.

"Please," I gasped, shimmying slightly to make my breasts wobble in his face, as enticingly as I could manage. "I need...I want...oh, please, don't tease me. I don't want gentle. Please, just..."

Flushed with arousal, he smirked at me mischievously. "What do you want, my love?" Zevran would be so impressed with him right now.

I closed my eyes, embarrassed as always by the prospect of saying the words, of asking for what I wanted. "Please..." I tried again, trying one more time to wriggle my hips.

"Please what? I will give you anything you ask for, Sierra. What do you want?"

I opened my eyes again, scowling at the mirth in his voice, desperate and needy and angry that he was taking so much joy in teasing me. "Fuck me, you colossal ass," I spat out. "Stop fucking around and take me!"

He groaned, as usual turned on as much by my dirty talk as he was by the thought of the act itself. "Your desire is my command, my love."

And then I found myself suddenly being pulled by the arms, one of Alistair's hands lifting my pelvis, and before I could react I was on my knees and elbows on the bed, ass in the air, Alistair behind me with his hands on my waist. I felt something warm and impressively firm nudge my opening from behind, and then I was crying out as he sank into me in one fell swoop.

"Like this?" he demanded, pausing once fully sheathed to allow me to adjust to his thickness stretching me deliciously. "Is this what you want?"

I pushed with my arms, grinding my ass back against him and encouraging him on. "Yesss," I hissed, squeezing my internal pelvic muscles to caress his length. He groaned, and then he was finally giving me what I needed, deep firm thrusts, driving himself in and out of me with abandon, pounding into me while I gripped his pillow and did my best to push back against him. "Don't stop," I commanded breathlessly.

Alistair cursed and curled forward over my back, one hand questing down to tease my button with dexterous fingers, the other arm wrapping around my shoulders, lifting my chin to give him access to my neck and ear. He tortured my sensitive earlobe with his teeth while he drove both of us closer and closer to completion. "Come for me, Sierra," he whispered, voice husky and hoarse with lust and effort. As his teeth delved into the place where my neck and shoulder met, his fingers pinched one nipple and attacked my pearl, and I shrieked and came, slamming back against him again and again as my orgasm overwhelmed me and the world greyed out. There was only his voice, his fingers, his length, and the feeling of warmth as he shuddered and spilled inside me.

After an eternity, when I started recovering my breath and my wits, I was kneeling in his lap, leaning back against his chest, his arms the only thing preventing me from collapsing bonelessly on my face. My head lolled on his shoulder as he pressed gently kisses to my jaw, whispering sweet nothings in my ear.

"You're going to be the death of me, do you know that? I'm never going to get enough of you. You've ruined me." He didn't sound particularly upset by it.

"Me? Ha. I thought this insatiable need was supposed to wear off. Everyone on Earth says married couples hardly have sex. But you...even now, I can't move, but if you asked me to go again, I'd find a way."

He groaned, and I felt his length twitch, making both of us shiver involuntarily. "You can't just say that sort of thing to me," he complained. "Some unnamed part of me is going to take it as a challenge."

I giggled, and felt his chest rumble with a chuckle. I shuddered as he slipped out of me, and both of us collapsed forward onto the bed, rolling until we laid facing each other, legs intertwined, my head on his shoulder. He interlaced his fingers with mine and pulled my hand up to kiss my fingertips. I snuggled in as close as I could, trying to use the sunshine sensation radiating from him to banish the dark thoughts that recurred every time I wasn't actively distracted by something else.

It didn't work.

"I killed her," I finally whispered, burying my face in his chest.

"I know." He tightened his arm around me, offering silent support as he waited for me to go on.

"It was the right thing to do."

"Yes," he agreed.

"Her life was awful. And she did terrible things. And letting her go would have made her suffer more, and put others at risk."

"I know," he assured me.

I hesitated. "I don't even feel awful. What does it say about me that I can kill someone in cold blood, and not feel anything?"

"Oh, Sierra." He sighed. "All it says is you've seen too much, and you've been forced to re-examine your priorities. It's normal, not that I expect that to make you feel better. I wish I could have protected you from this. There's nothing I can say that's going to make this alright. It's going to take time. Just keep in mind...no one blames you. No one is angry. You really did the right thing. And...I love you."

I nodded, unable to respond, and wiped an errant tear off my cheek. Alistair just held me close, humming softly under his breath, until I fell asleep feeling warm and safe and loved.

The next morning, it took us a few hours to pack what we needed, arrange Faren comfortably in a cart --the Architect uncomfortably tied up in another, and the eluvian well-padded in a third -- and settle affairs with Nate, Varel, and Trevian.

Alistair reiterated his promise to Trevian to help them retake Kal'Hirol and the Thaig in the Tarcaisne ridge once we were settled. The Legion were planning to return to Orzammar -- through some better-known tunnels evidently mapped by Shale and Caridin in their search for golems -- and promised to send word when they would be back in the area.

Velanna had negotiated a treaty between her former clan and Nathaniel that would benefit both; Nate would allow them some land in the more heavily wooded areas in the Wending Wood, and they would monitor for darkspawn and trade with the Arling at supervised sites under the protection of Amaranthine's enlarged guard. Velanna and Seranni were to accompany us, and Velanna would undergo her Joining once Aedan met us there.

And Varel promised to send me more books and information on protocols, politics, and anything else he thought I still needed to know as Steward of Soldier's Peak. Oh joy, I can't wait!

Finally though we were all set. We bid goodbye to the Legion, and I was surprised to realise how sad I actually felt at the separation. Sigrun seemed to be handling it well, though I caught her hugging Trevian a little too tightly, making the Commander bluster and roll his eyes -- and hug her back just as tightly, I noticed.

"Take care of yourself, lass." He bowed to me formally, his seriousness belied by his wide grin and a wink. "You keep all them Wardens on their toes, you hear?"

I grinned and waved, turning to Nathaniel. If I felt sad at leaving the Legionnaires behind, I felt worse at leaving Nate.

"Come visit, okay? I'll show you around exciting Soldier's Keep. Levi assures me we have guest quarters adequately furnished and everything." He promised, and then offered me his hand to shake. I ignored it, and pulled him into a hug. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

I heard him chuckle. "I'll manage, your Highness. I've been alone before, and supposedly I was raised for this." I stuck my tongue out at him, and he grinned. His smile faded slowly, and I knew he was thinking of Leliana.

"She'll be back. You'll see."

He nodded half-heartedly, and I squeezed his hand. "And I'll be waiting," he muttered, forcing his lips back into a smile. "Travel safe."

When everyone else's goodbyes had been said, with a last wave at Nate and Trevian, I climbed up into the cart holding the Architect, settled myself in a nest of cushions I'd made to try and stay comfortable, and we headed away from Vigil's Keep to begin our new lives at Soldier's Peak.