"Inquisitor...?"

He winced the moment the word left his mouth, spoken more on instinct than choice. But it flopped past Cullen's lips as if the title came with barbs attached. Her head lifted, a smokey eye burning through him a moment before she sighed.

"What did I say about titles in the bedroom?"

His gloved hand drew back to his neck, rubbing so tight into the skin he could feel the flush rising through the leather. The Inqu...Mira was stretched out on the floor beside her fireplace, her hip digging into a padded Orlesian rug. She took a sip of a crimson wine before placing the glass on the floor and cradling her head in her hand. The eyes beamed at him like mage fire flickering in the back of a crystal cave.

Cullen gulped again, feeling more fumbling than he had in an age - though probably not as bad as when she plucked him up to the battlements and... His eyes traversed the exposed sliver of skin outlined by the edge of her grey leathers. She only popped open the first button, barely reaching past her clavicles, but Cullen felt his body warming. Though, it could be the fire that was burning through half a tree trunk.

He tried to focus his glare upon the hearth because it was preferable to the two stacks of cards sitting between them. While Mira lay almost coquettishly upon the floor, he sat straight as a board, his boots barely under him in the event he needed to leap into action. They'd been staring at the dreaded decks for a few minutes now, Mira slowly draining her wine while Cullen felt his soul draining itself.

You agreed to this, why? Because refusing without any good reason would have seemed cowardly. It was easier by light of day to find attempting this easy enough. Faced with the abyss directly before him now, it was taking a lot more of Cullen's courage practically rammed into the sticking place than he'd like to admit.

"Well..." she drew the tip of her finger around the edge of her lips, delicately dipping it into the adorable bow at the top before slicking away any excess wine. "Shall we?"

"Maybe..." Cullen shifted in place, his body twisting back and forth uncomfortably as if he intended to leap upward and bolt, "perhaps we should start at a table."

Wine stained lips lifted in a smile and for a moment the burning node of fear evaporated. He'd do anything for that smile, a fact that came into being sometime before Haven was destroyed. Twisting her head back and forth, Mira sighed, "This kind of game doesn't work well on tables."

"Right," he nodded, remembering far too well what little she'd explained of it.

"The bed however..." she jerked a thumb back and the color drained from his cheeks.

"Here's fine! I mean...we should, right. Go ahead," he gestured to the two piles of cards. The backs were rather nondescript, a bloody chocolate color with no text. It was what was on the face that had Cullen doing his best to not hyperventilate.

Mira drew a hand up her thigh, his eyes trailing the movement and the curve of her body. No doubt he looked dumbstruck by the simple reminder that her body bore certain topographical landmarks that his did not. Some of which he'd dream of so often it was starting to crowd out the nightmares.

Before she reached for the first card in her deck, she paused a moment. The light of the anchor cast over the small tableau she set up, giving a sickly pallor to the cards. Was she as uncertain as he? Mira shook it away, never one to let fear get in the way. With a steady hand, she flipped over the card to the middle between them.

The text faced her, but Cullen bent his head down towards it even as she read aloud, "Choose an article of clothing for your lover to remove and they in turn do the same to you." Still trying to force the script into focus, Cullen wasn't aware how close her face was until the full force of her eyes fell upon him. Maker's breath, she was beautiful.

"That's not so bad," Mira smiled, her nose crinkling at the top as she did. He had to nod in agreement. "Well, you go first. What do you want me to take off?" To emphasize it, she paraded her hands up and down her body.

Cullen took in a deep breath, weighing the options before him. There were a lot, but not too much when one considered the limitations of clothing upon the body. And she's staring at you in anticipation. Come up with an answer! "Your boots?" he tossed out.

"My..." her face fell into confusion as she whipped down to her shod feet. "You want me to take my boots off?"

"So you can be more comfortable while...reclining up here. On the rug. They can grow stale if worn for too...I'm not very good at this," he spat the last part out fast, aware his cheeks were burning.

Mira held up a hand, "No. Boots it is." There was no sexy way to remove boots, especially the shin high ones of the Inquisitor, but she did give a little sigh of contentment once her feet were free. "Oh, what about the socks?"

She pointed at the wool swaddling her feet safely save a hole where a toe poked through. Cullen had no idea if that was part of boots or not, so he shrugged. Returning it, Mira yanked off her socks fast and added them to the boots. If everything went well, there'd be more clothes tossed onto the pile. Maybe. Assuming he didn't muck it all up, which was highly likely to happen.

"My turn," she twisted around in place, crossing her legs under her. After setting her chin in her palm, her eyes canvassed up and down Cullen's armored body. Maybe he should have chosen less intimidating attire for this, but he feared that his walking through Skyhold in a simple tunic and trousers would arouse suspicion. The idea of anyone else under his command knowing what was occurring up in the Inquisitor's quarters drained his cheeks of all color.

After taking another sweep, she patted her finger against her lips and whispered, "Your shirt."

Cullen absently touched his breastplate, as if he forgot what a shirt was. At the clang of metal, Mira's eyes lifted up to his and she smiled. He could handle that part. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen him without the armor before. They were often moving through the hold in various states of dress when the weather turned warmer, and...

You're overthinking this. Shrugging off the surcoat, he breathed deep as the no longer smothering fur and velvet let cool air across the overheating skin. It took far more time for Cullen to take off his breastplate, the gauntlets going to join it as well as the gloves. By the time he paused in what would be a typical disrobing for the night, he was only in his tan shift. He waited, uncertain if he needed to do anything else to seem provocative - Maker, please no dancing - when Mira coughed.

"I said shirt, not armor."

A foolish blush erupted on his cheeks, but Cullen obediently grabbed both hands onto the collar of his shirt and yanked it clean over his head. She'd seen this state of him too, but usually with the candles low or by the fading moonlight to flit through the holes in his roof. With the fire so high and the snow reflecting back the fading dusk light it was practically high noon inside the room.

What if she...? It wasn't as if he was cut from some marble statue. There were plenty of scars, odd moles, his chest and body hair that seemed to grow in haphazard tufts, darkening in strange patterns where it felt like it.

"Mmm..." The sound of eternal satisfaction that erupted from her lips caused Cullen's head to snap up. Her eyes were swiping back and forth over his naked chest, as if she wished she could be doing it with her hand instead.

When she didn't respond for a few seconds, he called out, "Mira?"

"Huh?" she shook off her stupor, her face flush. "Oh, but uh, put on the surcoat." Reaching over towards the coat he abandoned, she pushed it towards his lap.

Cullen folded his eyebrows together in confusion. "Why?" Was not the point of this to become...unclothed?

"It's..." Mira stirred her finger along the floor, trailing the grout of the stones before she sighed, "Just a thing that I...always wanted to..." Whatever she was thinking faded to a few pops of her lips.

With an internal smile, Cullen shrugged the coat back onto his naked arms. The fur poked more than usual, but it was worth it to watch her entire being light up. For a breath her lip hung open in awe, practically crying out for Cullen to tug her mouth to his. Maker, how he wanted to suck her lip in between his, to taste the wine on her tongue on his own. But there were rules and he was nothing if not a stickler for rules.

After taking another gulp of the wine, Mira clapped her hands together, "Your turn."

On to the next step of this very slow dance. Cullen drew his fingers over the card pile, the callus on his pointer digging into the stack. With his eyes shut, he flipped the card over and lay it upon the ground. It took a moment before he found the courage to see what he walked himself into.

"Massage a part of your lover's body for one turn of the timer," Mira read to him before she reached for the tiny sand dial. It fit into the palm of a hand and probably lasted for 2-5 minutes. Hardly seemed worth bothering most times, but she looked excited to play with it.

Before she moved to turn it over, Mira glanced up at him, "Do you want to pick which part you massage or...?"

Maker's breath. Cullen's head shook no instantly. He was hanging on by a thread and wondering why he didn't think to bring mead or brandy. Something to loosen his spine before starting. Mira smiled, the edge of her lips lifting so high a dimple dug into her cheek.

"My back?" she pointed towards her shoulders and Cullen sighed. He could handle that.

Sliding out of the way of the cards, lest they be disturbed, Mira went to lay stretched upon her bed when she paused. Rubbing her hands together a moment, she shrugged. "I don't see a reason to keep this on." Quicker than a firefly darting over the fields, her fingers worked apart the buttons on her leather tunic.

Cullen's eyes obediently snapped off to anywhere else, even if other parts of him kept trying to drag them back. "It...it didn't say you should disrobe," he tried to vouch for the cards.

She tossed her black braid over a shoulder and the same mage fire eyes burned into him, "What's the point of a massage if you can't have skin to skin contact?" With that final bit of wisdom, she scurried onto her bed and lay waiting for him.

Not like that. Not...yet, anyway. Cullen stared down at the thick dual decks and sighed. Perhaps not ever.

Still, he wasn't about to turn down a chance to touch her warm skin. Climbing up over her, Cullen straddled her body on his knees, his ass bumping into hers. When his palms smoothed over her soft back, savoring in the tense play of muscle just below her inviting flesh, she suddenly sat up.

"Cold?" he asked, well aware that he could easily lose feeling in his hands.

"No, the timer," she jerked her head back to the game piece. Trying to not sigh in consternation at the collar, Cullen dutifully flipped the sand dial over then resumed his duty. At the first dig into a knot, she sighed. With the second she gasped, nearly the same way she would when he'd slip a finger...probably not best to have such thoughts yet.

Maker, parting over her silken skin made him ache to remove the few bits of clothing in the way. He could act fully professional around her even in more friendly down times, even if there'd been a touch too much drink in his veins and she was practically sparkling to him. Why was this proving impossible?

"Mmm," Mira moaned, her throaty voice starting to rev up his fantasies, "Cullen, you are really good at this."

"It's..." he blushed a moment, his fingers skirting up to cup her shoulder blades before traipsing down against her spine. "I try."

"I can't believe I've never taken advantage of this before," she said before moaning in bliss and curling her arms under her head.

"I suppose," he pulsed the tips of his fingers against her skin preparing to go deeper. Leaning far forward, his breath skimmed near her ear as he said, "we can always do this again."

"Sounds love-"

A great beam of blue light erupted off the tiny sand dial, causing Mira to wiggle out from under him. Cullen lifted his hands away, but was so thrown he was in the full line of sight to watch her breasts sway and tremble as she flipped around. "That's time," she declared, getting her legs under her. Mira dug a hand into her shoulder, seeming to stretch to match his attempt at a massage, while Cullen was lost.

He knew his name. He knew he was in Skyhold.

Everything else in his life was forfeit because there was a pair of breasts bounding about freely in the firelight air. "Do you..." he fumbled backwards, "want to put on your shirt?"

Mira shrugged, "I don't see much reason, since this is supposed to eventually end in both of us nude." Reaching across the gap, she lay her palm flush against his chest - right overtop his heart which had to be beating like the drums of war.

The logical part of him wanted to argue with her because Cullen knew that there was no chance his brain could handle the difficult task of reading words and following them as long as she was shirtless. Being in the mere presence of such a perfect pair of breasts rendered him to goo. Mira's fingers pirouetted through his chest hair, twirling a tuft around a moment before the palm began to slide lower.

Did she want to end the game here? Call the 'organized fun' over and get to the more primal option?

Tongue darting over her lips, she smiled at him and in a breathy voice ordered, "Your turn."

To pull her remaining clothes off and...no, the cards. "Of course," he nodded, trying to will himself back.

Cullen was aware that he was not a romantic sort. Candles, flowers, dripping poetry from wine soaked lips. If he attempted any of that, he'd probably trip into a candle, causing a bouquet of half dead flower to catch on fire, and use the book of epic battle poems to quench the flames. He'd never cared before until he met her.

Well, not until he strolled by her side out towards the lake beside Haven speaking of nothing important. In those soft moments he stopped seeing her as a miracle of the Lady sent to them in their darkest hour, and instead as a woman. A very beautiful woman with eyes that'd shine from within the pits of the earth. One who deserved all of that wooing he was fully incapable of.

He shook away his navel gazing to notice her hand was fluffing about the fur collar at the back of his neck. Just get through this part and then maybe later he could ask Josephine for advice on how best to court someone. Not court, she'd taken the reins on that happily, as if there was anything in thedas the Inquisitor didn't command. No, what he wanted was whatever trick was needed to keep her. To prove himself worthy to be here, to be with her. Forever.

Just...did it have to involve a pile of cards?

Shuffling towards his spot, Cullen sat hard on the floor and prepared himself. He nearly had it until Mira plopped down on the rug across from him. Her naked breasts scooped together as she lay on her hip, the top slightly larger cup practically hiding away its fellow.

"Well..." she prompted, seeming to be fully unaware that Cullen's entire being was under her control and the gentle rocking of her bosom.

He willed his eyes up to hers, but she seemed to only find her breasts ensorcelling him funny. The bright smile was slightly marred by a swipe of red wine against her two front teeth. He'd need but a moment to lap the wine away while their lips entwined, but this was not the time. Nodding his head, he watched as Mira turned over her card.

This time she kept it in her fingers, reading it silently to herself before laying it flush upon the ground. Before Cullen had a chance to contemplate it, she said, "Wash any part of your lover's body for one turn of the dial."

He scoffed a moment, glancing around at her bedroom. This was hardly the place to be sloshing around suds. Picking up the card, Cullen twisted it in his fingers before smiling, "I suppose this one will..." Before he could finish, Mira leapt to her feet. His brow crinkled, "Where are you going?"

"To get water!" she shouted, a laugh beginning to trail her.

"Mira, this doesn't seem..." he tried, but she was already halfway down the stairs. When the lone stair creaked, he suddenly remembered her breast freed state. "Wait!" he shouted loudly, his limbs thumping against the floor as he raced to stand.

"What is it?" she sounded slightly perturbed as if he might call off the whole thing.

Rounding towards the top of the staircase, Cullen looked down at her shadowed head before hurling his shirt. "You're half naked," he explained.

As his old shirt landed in her hands, a bright red blush burst on her cheeks. "Damn," she cursed to herself, "nearly forgot. That'd make for..." wiggling into his oversized tunic, so many of her tempting features vanished. While he was sad to see them go, at least it afforded him the opportunity to concentrate now, and he wouldn't have to share.

"Be back soon," she called before hauling on the door and vanishing deeper into the Keep.

Cullen had no idea what to do with himself. He wandered about her room like a bear that foolishly found itself at a campsite. His fingers would pick up book covers, eyes trail over a handful of knick knacks, but he didn't have anywhere that felt as if he belonged. Around a lap of her bed, he noticed a small wad of fabric stuck between the headboard and end table. Trying to be helpful he reached in for it, only to find instead of a sock unrolling in his grip it was a pair of soft pink smalls.

That sent him scampering to sit right on the edge of her bed, hands digging into his knees to find focus. Blessed Andraste, he wanted her in that less than wholesome way the chantry sometimes tried to train out of them. There weren't enough freezing cold baths in thedas to drain away that want.

Then why was he so terrible at asking for it? They'd stumble into bed almost seeming on accident, Cullen the one terrified to start it. He managed it once, his hunger overcoming all of the shortcomings built into his brain. He wanted to do better, to be better at sweeping her off her feet and into his bed...or desk. Or any available surface when the mood struck.

Still... His weary eyes swung towards the game cards barely spent when the door closed below him. Taking a deep breath, he watched as Mira scampered up the stairs, a wooden bucket clutched in her hands. "I got...what are you doing there? Come on," she jerked her head towards a pile of stones near the fireplace, "sit here."

With a slow lift of his body, Cullen trundled over towards her. She stood framed by the firelight, the flames caressing her features as she bent over to place the bucket safely on the ground. In doing so, the deep cut of his tunic was pulled even lower by her descending breasts. Both seemed to be trying to flee from the top, aching to return to their freedom. Cullen rather liked the idea, but... As she rose up, removing the image, he shook the thought away.

Dutifully, he sat down right at her feet. Behind, he felt Mira lower to her knees, her hand mussing about in the fur of his surcoat to steady herself, before it dipped across his chest. Her hand grabbed onto the coat and began to tug it back. For a beat Cullen didn't fight her, but he didn't help either. He craned his head back, confused.

"I thought..." his lips foolishly asked even as he finally slithered his arms out of the warm folds.

"Don't want it to get wet," Mira explained, bundling up the surcoat to lay atop his pile of armor and her boots. Cullen sat up higher, the primal parts of him wanting to ask her to take off the shirt she borrowed. Or to tug it off himself.

Was that right? Maybe it'd be best to let her choose if she wants to or not. Though, sweet Maker, he wanted to curl his palms over her chest. Instead they lay uselessly in his lap as Mira slid in behind him once again. She tugged the bucket closer, a bit of the water sloshing out.

That caught Cullen's eye. He glanced down into the dark water to find nary a bubble. Doubtful she intended to really wash him, just give it all a good rinse. Digging her fingers in deep, Mira wrung the sponge a moment before placing it to his back.

He'd anticipated a cool shock but warm water beaded down his skin, falling quickly in a cascade when it found the spine. "This is warm," Cullen said as if she was unaware.

"Mm hmm," the voice whispered from behind his ear. Her breath wafting just against the tip of his lobe caused Cullen to shiver. Sloshing the sponge into the bucket, Mira began to draw the warm water back and forth over his lower back.

"How did you manage to get it heated so quickly?" he asked.

"What?" the soothing sway of the sponge paused at his question.

"It takes awhile to bring well water up to temperature, especially in this Keep. I was only curious how..."

With a hand clamped to his shoulder, Mira leaned over to stare him dead in the eye. "It was a fire rune, and stop worrying about it. You're supposed to be enjoying this." Her voice pinged a moment like ice about to crack, before she drew the sponge forward to circle his stomach.

It did feel delightful, the warm and wet sponge gliding up and down the peaks and valleys of his body. Enjoy it. Close your eyes and let yourself just be in the moment. He did as he himself ordered, taking a deep breath beforehand as if he were about to plunge into a lake. Mira's sweet scent wafted near him, the press of her balancing hand sliding higher up his thigh. She was working the sponge against his pecs, sopping his chest hair until it mushed all to one side.

A beautiful woman was soaping up his body, a woman who could make him laugh, make him feel calm, make him feel safe. A woman he loved more than he felt he deserved. Her loving hands were caressing over his chest, the pecs expanding with not only each breath, but a need to have more of her pressed to him. The smell of her body drifted under his nose and he could taste her in the back of his tongue - the sultry spice that'd haunt him at night long after she retired to sleep.

When Mira began to reach over towards Cullen's right bicep, his eyes flew open. She must have caught the change as she paused a moment, the sponge barely in her fingers. Lifting both hands off the cold stone, Cullen cradled her face. Hungry in his soul, he pulled her to him for a kiss. Mira melted in surprise, her lips barely puckered. Cullen took advantage, gently nibbling at the slack bottom one and savoring the wine she sipped earlier.

As her fingers threaded into his hair for balance, Mira's tongue curled around with his. A pressure began to grow near his groin, warmth spreading quickly across his entire loin. Maker's breath, how did he wait this long in agony to kiss her? No longer caring about the game, or whatever rules there were, or even what his brain kept trying to hold back, Cullen gave into the kiss.

Needing a breath, Mira twisted her head to the side a moment, but he couldn't cease tasting her. His lips pressed to the corner of her mouth and moved south. At her jaw, he grazed his teeth, causing Mira to squirm and gasp. His hand that'd been keeping her propped up began to swirl from the indent of her waist upward. It ached for her breast, to massage and cup it, to thumb her nipples until she begged for more.

Grabbing onto the edge of his shirt, Cullen moved to yank it clean off and free her. He got as far as lifting it above her belly button when a bright blue light erupted around them. With a resigned pop, Mira disentangled from his lips. "That's time," she sighed to herself.

The game. Damn it. His hand fell away from the shirt, Mira slowly staggering away to a respectable balance. She seemed to have a bit of trouble as if she was growing tipsy, but she'd only had one glass of wine. "I forgot," she began to pat the back of her hair where Cullen's fingers foraged into the braid, "how great of a kisser you are."

"Perhaps we should do it more often," he coughed out, his voice lodged deeper in his chest.

Her bright smile would light up a cathedral, "Oh yes. Damn near every chance we can and..." Her eyes darted down towards his crotch. He wasn't certain what to expect, but Mira gasping, "Oh no" and pulling away was not it.

"What?" Cullen asked before he began to feel a cool breeze seep in through his pants. A massive wet stain emerged on his inner thigh where, in the throes of his kissing her, Mira accidentally pressed the sponge. Even with the cold trying to douse his mood, the rise in the middle of his trousers couldn't be denied.

"I'm so sorry. I guess maybe getting fully naked would have been smarter," she babbled a moment to herself while wrapping her arms around in a self hug. Staggering to her feet, she stepped towards the cards and read over it as if it might have some suggestions.

Patting his hands on his thighs, Cullen stood up. She looked so concerned, as if she'd ruined what moment they'd had. Fingers digging into his belt buckle, Cullen quickly undid the clasp and began to worry his trousers off. At the sound of them hitting the floor, Mira glanced over. Dressed in nothing more than a tiny pair of off-white smalls, Cullen spread his arms wide.

"We were hoping to wind up without clothes in the way, after all."

Mira bobbed her head, her cheeks burning as her eyes darted down towards the wetly outlined erection nearly tugging the waistband of his underthings off. And there was she, still fully dressed. It seemed unfair. Cullen began to march towards her, his arms reaching for the hem of his shirt, when he nearly kicked into the game.

The belt buckle fanned his deck out on accident, drawing both their eyes to it. For a moment, Mira's lips opened, then she shrugged. "It's your turn."

"Right, I..." he fluffed up the back of his hair, "I suppose it is."

Plopping to the ground he realized was freezing, Cullen struggled to get his boots off and finally remove the last of the trousers. His feet were proving uncooperative, wishing to remain warm and dry, but with a bit of sneering Cullen managed to pop them off. Not caring, he hurled his boots to the side along with his pants. It wasn't until he heard a snicker that he glanced over first at the pile of clothing, then Mira.

"It's just...our boots are knocking into each other," she laughed a moment again before hiding it away behind her hand.

Next card. How long until he could find the one that said bed your partner until neither of you can see straight? That was all he wanted now. But she seemed curious and...who was he to ruin the game for her. Trying to not sigh, while also attempting to will back his straining girth with thoughts of the Chant, Cullen picked up the next card on his stack.

And then promptly hurled it to the ground. "No!" he thundered, popping to his bare feet, "I will not. Not under any circumstances. No!"

Quietly, Mira picked up the cruel card and read its instructions, "Strip naked and run through the halls declaring your love for one and all to hear."

Cullen sneered harder at her giving breath to the outlandish idea. "Never. No. There is no way that you can get me to...to be seen naked by everyone under my command. It would..."

Reaching forward, Mira caught his hand that'd been cutting through the air in vengeance to try and obliterate the words themselves. "You can skip one," she explained, causing Cullen to pause.

"I can?"

"Yes, at any time, but if you do then you must do whatever the next draw says."

Rustling his palm over his forehead, Cullen sighed. Do whatever came next regardless. What if it was worse? What could possibly be worse than eternal humiliation mixed in with frostbite? Maker's sake, who knew with this contrivance. No, best to risk it.

With his heart beating erratically from the flush of anger, and his entire face red, Cullen slammed down to the ground. "I'll take the next one," he announced as if this was being refereed. Maker's breath, please don't let the next card be about bringing someone else into this private affair.

Trying to not let his cruel imagination get the better of him, Cullen picked up the card and turned it over. He didn't realize he'd squeezed his eyes shut in a panic until trying to read through the blackness. "Kiss your lover on three different parts of the body. None on the lips."

Mira looked up after he finished reading, her face mere inches from him. Her eyes darted to the side before softening to uncertainty, "That doesn't sound so bad?"

She was blushing under her cold Inquisitor exterior. Same as on the battlements when he took a chance and kissed her, before fearing in an instant if it was wrong. Same as at the Winter Palace, staring out over the cold Orlesian fields before he asked her to dance. On his knees, Cullen walked through the cards, not caring what scattered in his wake as he got closer to her.

"No," he smiled, one hand sliding up her waist, trailing the curve until it flared out with her hips. His famished lips landed upon hers, pressing kisses while the hunger stirred deep in his belly. The heat enveloped them both, whipping around like a circling dragon. "No it's not," Cullen finished, sliding back so that his amber eyes burned into hers.

Their noses glanced over each other, Mira smiling. She placed her hands behind his head, her forearms snuggling closer to his jaw. "I thought you weren't supposed to kiss my lips."

"I have...better ideas in mind for the three," Cullen said, "but couldn't help myself." He circled his thumb and forefinger along her jaw, wanting to pull her back for more. But there were the rules.

As he was about to tug his hand away, Mira caught it and pressed it tighter, "You don't have to hold yourself back either. I...I want you to..." Whatever she was going to say faded in the flickering light of the fire.

Lapping his tongue over his lips, Cullen brushed his forehead over hers. He felt the fool for worrying about following some protocol that didn't even exist. Tucking his palm against the nape of her neck, he whispered, "Understood," and savored one last kiss from her lips.

Mira tried to follow him, not wanting to let go as he pulled his head back, but Cullen had much better ideas of where to kiss her. Placing his palm at the top, dead center of her chest, he began to slowly trail his fingers down as if cresting over the surface of a still pond. Below his shirt he could feel her warm skin trembling as he placed more of his flesh to hers. Mira took in a deep breath, lifting her chest higher for his palm, but he continued downward.

At the hemline, he tugged his shirt up until it rested right under her breasts. The shadow of both hung above him, begging for his attentions, but it was to her stomach he placed his lips. She giggled a moment at the touch, not expecting it, and causing the gentle roll of her flesh to bound against his mouth. With a bit more force, Cullen placed both of his hands flush under her breasts, pinning the shirt in place. He drew his hungry lips from the center of her stomach down towards the belly button. A trail of kisses followed, Mira no longer giggling.

Her fingers nested in his hair, the tips pulsing against his scalp to match each kiss. Upon reaching her belly button, Cullen pressed his lips tight around the divot. Before breaking contact, he let his teeth scrape a moment. Nowhere near enough to leave a mark on her beautiful skin, but it caused Mira to gasp and draw her fingers tight to his skull.

Lifting his head up, Cullen caught her eye and she smiled, nodding her head that it was good. That ache he had to kiss her soft stomach, to suck and nip upon it was okay. Now for the next part.

"Can I..." he released his grip on the shirt, letting it fall back from his small red line of kisses upon her stomach. Gripping onto the waistband of her trousers, Cullen continued, "take these off?"

She responded by hooking her hands along the top, struggling to try and wiggle them off while on her knees. Laughing at her determination, Cullen tried to help as Mira tumbled to her ass and yanked harder on her pants. They wound up around her shins, Mira doing her damnedest to tug them off, when he slid his first two fingers from her wrist upward.

Her struggling stilled in an instant, a line of goosepimples trailing his soft touch before he rounded her elbow. After taking another lap, Cullen smiled, "Allow me." His hands worried up and down her calf, following the smooth flow of her skin as he lightly massaged her. Upon reaching the ankle, he freed it from its trap then moved to the other leg.

Smiling from her eyebrows down to her chin, Mira - now pantsless - planted her heels into the stone floor. She glanced over at her trousers, which joined with the pile, before checking on Cullen. "Um," she coughed a moment, "second kiss?"

He was lost in the thrum of his knuckles dragging up and down her calves, how the muscle bent and swayed at his attentions. There was a second place he wanted to kiss her, but he'd never found the words to explain it. To ask for it. His soul smiled as he flattened his palm against her knee and began to lean closer.

Beginning with a peck, Cullen drew his warmed lips up Mira's inner thigh. She shifted a moment, and at first he paused afraid that it was not right. But her leg moved even closer to him, Mira having to adjust to match the stretch. Curling both palms under her thigh, he puckered tighter, pressing a trail of kisses higher towards the crease.

A few hairs poked out of the edge of her panties, the reminder tormenting him that an amazing treat lay hidden below. Cullen brushed his cheek right against the warm fabric and her temptation. That caused Mira to wrap a hand around his forehead, her lips parting a moment. Nuzzling his cheek tighter to her smalls, he felt a glance of wetness upon his jaw.

With the reminder her body was enjoying this, he plunged his lips deep onto her thigh and kissed with voracity. Teeth and tongue both plied into her skin, his nose rampant with her arousal but a thin strip of fabric away. Mira gasped at his force, and dug her fingers into his curls. Concerned, Cullen moved away, though he planted one final soft kiss to the red spot he left behind.

Perhaps it was too much. Perhaps he should not have...

Before he could even rise, Mira's head shot up and her eyes caught him. She looked wild, as if she'd been running alone through the hills for a week. "What are you doing?" she cried at him, her voice raw. He tried to find the words to explain his odd obsession when her eyes gleamed, "Do it to the other one."

The smile nearly shattered his cheeks, Cullen's heart leaping in joy as he swept his fingers to her left leg. Above him he heard her say, "Not fair to leave the other out. Sweet Maker!"

His love bites were a bit stronger, which he sandwiched with petal soft kisses. After each one he'd glance up at her, but Mira was smiling widely, her head swaying too and fro. "Do you..." Cullen coughed out, swiping his lips back and forth over her thigh as if they were a brush attempting to paint a dawn's skyline. "Like this?"

"Yeah, yes, um..." she began to sit up, her legs sliding away as he remained perched upon his hands watching. The blush burned against her cheeks, Mira pursing her lips a moment before she nodded, "I do. More than I would have thought before, uh..."

Her train of thought faded as she caught him in the eye and both smiled at each other. Only the crackle of the fire filled the air, Cullen's hands raising from the ground to caress her naked knees. "Where...?" she swallowed a moment, her lips flushed red as she flexed them back and forth. Were there parts of his body she wanted to kiss as forcefully? "Where do you want to do the last one?"

That took no thought. Bypassing all of the rules he put in his brain, all of the concerns of impropriety, Cullen drew both of his index fingers down the swoop of her thighs. Mira's lips parted, her head tipping down to watch even as she felt him slip past where he tasted her. His fingers continued on, trailing over from her thighs to the panties.

Right at the center he paused and smiled, "Here."

Her eyes flared a moment, white teeth nibbling on her lip. She opened her mouth, but no sound save a small squeaking erupted. Bobbing her head, Mira moved to tug off her smalls, when Cullen smiled, "I have this."

Sliding around on his stomach, the cold stones trying to tamp down the burn rising in his body, Cullen drew both of his fingers against the side of her smalls. They weren't very tight and rather easy to tug out of the way, which was what he did. Mira gulped as he drew back the curtains on the show to take it all in.

He'd thought of it often, of tossing the other advisors out of the war room, hurling her onto the map, sliding away her underwear because there was no time to remove them, and lapping her up. How she'd squirm about, knocking over hours worth of work while he brought her such pleasure. It was a fantasy of his he never thought he could mention.

Smiling in his gut, he kissed against her inner lips. It was innocent and almost pure, the chastest kiss one could manage next to such an intimate place. At least until he rolled his tongue from the bottom of her slit up to the top and back, bathing both lips and paying special attention to the longer one. Mira groaned in ecstasy and Cullen lost all pretense of being coy or collected.

One hand dug under her leg to snatch onto her ass and pull her tighter. His tongue circled incessantly, pirouetting and twisting against her clitoris and up the hood. Above him, he could feel Mira digging into his hair, then backing off. She'd nearly pull it a few times before flexing her fingers, her body trembling when he'd increase the pressure.

The edge of her panties grew wetter from their combined lubrication. Perhaps he should stop before he made sitting in them uncomfortable. Cullen began to slip back, prepared for whatever next card she had to turn over, when her hands formed a barricade behind his head. She didn't tug him back to work, but he heard a whimper rise out of her throat.

"Don't stop," Mira begged, her fingers fanning out over his shoulders. Her forcefulness faded a moment as she padded against his flesh and tacked on a, "please?"

How in the Maker's name could he ever say no? Scrambling forward, Cullen dived back to the warmth he never wished to leave. The breath in Mira's body began to puff out like smoke signals, her chest weaving with each lap of his tongue. "That feels...mmmm, good. Great. Fucking fantastic," she babbled.

Cullen dug his cheek against the edge of her panties, freeing up his hand. While the tongue remained pressed to her clitoris, he circled a finger down against her inner lip. The folds curved and danced with him before he rested right outside. He was about to thrust it in, when Mira slammed down on his wrist.

"No. Wait, I am...so damn close," she cried, her toes digging into the stones.

Abandoning his plan, Cullen returned to the same trio of licks, his bottom lip nibbling up against her at the end of each. Around him, her thighs began to close, Mira raising her body higher to try and grind tighter to the pleasure he was bringing. When they locked against his ears, he could hear the ocean pounding through his body. But it was no calm crush of waves. This one was beating fast, aching for its chance to swell in a crescendo.

Maker, just hold out a little longer. Jaw, don't fail me...

Her heels dug into his back, Mira's entire body snapping rigid and rising off the stone floor as she tipped onto her head. "Fucking Andraste," her raw voice cried from the bottom of her chest. The pulses were strong enough from inside, he could feel her clitoris bouncing against his stilled tongue - as if it was sending him a message. She rolled around more, her toes sliding up and down his back while her words became more garbled.

"That..." Mira gasped. Struggling to sit up, Cullen wrapped an arm around her back and helped her to rise. "Was some kiss," she finished with, her eyes sparkling. Not caring about the game or rules, she caught his jaw in her palm and took him in a deep kiss of her own.

Her forehead looked almost feverish, the hair twisted about as she shook her head a moment and guzzled in more air. "You are...full of surprises. I had no idea that...just, damn."

Cullen snorted at her praise, feeling both foolish for waiting so long and proud beyond reason. "I have wanted to try that, all of that, for some time."

The smile was not one he expected. Cullen was preparing for one of pity, or perhaps marred concern, but she seemed to sparkle at his admission. Her arms wrapped tighter around his neck, her cheek nuzzling against his. It buffeted the edges of his scruff upward, awakening the nerves below.

For a moment, he hung there - his hands glancing under the shirt to envelope her back, the beautiful woman's bare legs sliding back and forth over his. It was perfect. "Should we..." he muttered, glancing down at her hooded eyes.

Coughing a moment, Cullen struggled to speak the right words, "play the next card?"

Mira's hungry vision drifted towards the two decks and her empty wine glass. Firelight flickered back and forth over them, lengthening the decks until their shadows grew like towers. "What do you want to do?" she asked, her head quirking to the side.

Control. Maintaining it in any situation, at any possible point, regardless of whatever foolish flights of fancy darted through his mind. That'd been the life he signed up for at thirteen. The life he begged to have. To let go, even for a moment, even if everything in his soul told him he was safe was...

His fingernails pulled against the flesh of her back, the intimate scratch causing Mira to sigh a moment. Both hands coming forward, he paused, his palms resting safe upon her hips. The naked hips of the woman that asked him to be so much more with her. To let go for once and see what happened next.

Brushing his cheek beside hers, his hot breath bounded towards her ear, "This." In a quick tug, he yanked his shirt off of her body. Not caring where it landed in his blind throw, Cullen's palms found their proper place around her breasts as his lips descended upon hers.

When he cupped both palms under them, Mira gurgled a moment. And when he drew first the right, then left palm upward - knocking into her hard nipples - she gasped inside his mouth. Cullen began to smile, accidentally tugging away from the kiss while his hands lavished all the attention upon her breasts. First with her bottom lip, Mira began to scrape up from the dent of his chin towards his mouth. Before returning to the kiss, she added her teeth.

Whatever was in that twist of magic, Cullen's eyes shut tight and he moaned. His fingers squeezed around her breasts, the flesh giving in to his demands while he turned to putty from hers. "You're not the only one," Mira whispered, her hand starting at the tuft of his chest hair. After batting the wet mass around, the fingers walked one by one down towards the fold of his stomach.

"Who's wanted..." she spoke before kissing hard against his mouth. Cullen was about to return it when her hand glanced at the top of his cock. Like a flower closing its bloom at sunset, her fingers curled around and slid lower. Cullen gasped into her mouth, Mira smiling as her face pulled away to finish, "to do this."

Eyes burning into each other, her fingers pumped up and down his cock hidden behind a tissue thin scrap of fabric. The sponge induced wet-spot tugged over in the excitement, and Mira's fingers circled it right against the crown of him. Blighted Maker! It felt almost as if she was touching the bare flesh.

"More," Cullen groaned, set in what he wanted.

"Faster?" she quirked her head, about to do what he asked, but he shook it all away.

Bundling his arms around her, Cullen twisted Mira in a circle fast. Her warm, naked, perfect body folded against his as Cullen spun her about on the stones. With the hunger driving him, he lay her upon the rug - the cards flying through the air as her shoulder shoved into them. "No," he shook his head again, staring down at the impossible woman below him.

She walked through the fade. She survived what no one else did. She saved all of them at Haven against a dragon and would-be god. She was the woman he loved.

There was nothing in her life that wasn't impossible.

Yanking off his smalls, Cullen pulled her legs up. He pressed one devouring kiss to her knee, then the other. Never ignore the other. Drawing his hands to circle her thighs, he slid closer to her - aching for the body his mind kept out of reach.

With both hands splayed beside her waist, Cullen bent down to her. A whisper beside her ear, he declared for both Mira and the world, "More."

She gasped at the conviction in his voice, how he'd torn away the old locks and chains, and cracked open another part of his life he'd once thought ruined. Running a hand down her calf, Cullen guided the right leg to circle around his waist. Mira added her other almost immediately on her own, her smile threatening to engulf her face. It already had his heart.

Fingers digging into her thighs, Cullen positioned himself right before her and thrust in. Blessed Maker, this was true perfection. Her body shifted, molded, welcomed him in deeper. Every twist and turn cried out for more, for him and only him.

His need took control, the thrusting increasing in speed. Mira began with her hands digging into his biceps, but when he plunged deep at a new angle they fell to the floor beside her head. A great gasp lifted her chest as she struggled in a breath.

"More?" Cullen asked, his voice strained even as his body intended to carry him to the seas and back.

"Never end," she cried.

He dipped his head down, willing the strength inside of himself to flow freely. Each pump increased in speed, Cullen tipping back when he felt her ankles lock right above his bottom. That brought a fresh panting to Mira's hungry lips, her breasts bobbing with each one.

In the throes of ecstasy, her hands began to thrash about her head. One suddenly whipped too far to the right and smacked straight into the bucket. Warm water poured over the stones and into her hair. Cullen grunted, about to stop and tug her away from the mess, but her legs locked in tighter and those mage fire eyes warned him to keep going.

More.

More than survival. More than the order. More than rising every dawn in a cold bed and returning to it at sunset. So much more.

Gripping onto one of her ankles, he pulled her leg up and rested it upon his flushed chest. His thrusting paused but a moment in the shift while Cullen grazed the edge of his teeth against the fine skin around her ankle.

"Fucking Maker," Mira gasped, her voice whimpering after each vowel.

Lashing onto her other leg, Cullen brought it forward, his teeth biting harder into her calf and causing Mira to squirm in pleasure. The position tightened her beyond belief, his vision starting to swirl. "This is..." Cullen spat out, ready to give in to the rising tide inside of him.

He thrust himself thrice more, each one raising the bar higher and higher until the mountain erupted underneath him. Digging his fingers deep into her calves, he continued to lightly thrust even as his balls constricted high to pump everything inside of him into her.

When the spray slowed knocking away the pressure built up through his spine, his neck gave out, his forehead brushing lovingly against her ankle while Mira began to laugh. Cullen had to take a moment, his breath erratic in his lungs, before he could look up at her. She was smiling wide, her head surrounded in a halo of bathwater.

"That was..." she began while sliding off of him and then suckering her naked body to his. Cullen's greedy arms entwined around her chest, his head burying into her neck. Whatever she wanted to say remained hidden in the wind. He didn't mind. He could tell by how tight she was holding him, how her heart was throbbing as erratically as his what she meant.

Cupping his hands around her face, Cullen tried to pull back all the hairs his exertions tugged from the braid. "I love you," he whispered.

Mira smiled, her lips turning towards his palm before she said, "You know I love you too."

The foolish pair kissed deeply, their naked and spent bodies circled by a moat of warm soapy water. Some of the erotic cards floated in the makeshift river, drawing Cullen's eye as they danced by the firelight. He returned to the safety of her neck, breathing in the calm scent before saying, "I was worried about this night."

"You don't say," she laughed causing him to join in.

"But," he wiped a hand over her sweet cheek, "I need not be. I...I never need be."

"Cullen, I," she blew air up her face a moment before sighing, "I want you to feel safe with me."

"There is no one I," he spat out fast before her great eyes turned to him. Snorting to himself, he leaned back on his haunches. Mira remained in his arms, cuddling to his chest. He placed a kiss in her hair while speaking, "I will do my best to be more open. With my wants. With my..." he drew his fingers down her arms, watching the dip and swell of her muscles, "desires."

"Good," she smiled, her lips fanning out over his before he could kiss her properly. The way he adored. The way he never wanted to stop doing.

Opening himself up so was a struggle, but so was leaving the order, forming the backbone of the Inquisition. Falling in love. Wrapping her tight to him, heart beating beside heart, flesh warming flesh, Cullen felt peace swell out of the marrow of his bones. All it took was some silly little cards to shake the fear out of him.

"Mira?" he whispered, his voice heavy even as his soul grew lighter than air.

"Hm...?" she too sounded wiped, no doubt wanting to slip into her big bed. One with enough room for him to cuddle in behind her.

Fishing up one of the floating scraps, Cullen held up the soggy card to the light, "Where did you get this game from, exactly?"

"Oh," she shrugged, her voice nonchalant, but he was quick to notice a blush rising on her cheeks. "Varric printed them up."

He'd feared as such, the dwarf was known to have ties to nearly every printing press in thedas. Cullen nodded his head at the thought before realizing she left out one other vital piece of information. "And who came up with them?"

At first he assumed it was her, or perhaps her and the other women. Not Cassandra. Though the running around naked screamed of Sera. But as her eyes darted around the room, Cullen's color drained. Mira popped her lips a moment, then snuggled tighter to him. With her sweet mouth brushing against his ear, her legs wrapped over his, and her arms cradling his weary body, she whispered, "Dorian."