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It had been several days since they left Skyhold. They rode leisurely while taking Gherlen’s Pass down to the Imperial Highway while still making good time.
They only packed one tent for the two of them. But they still slept in separate bedrolls on opposite sides. Even though Cullen and Elsie had taken the first step in their relationship several months ago - a very public display where they kissed and told all of Skyhold simultaneously - they hadn’t yet discussed what came next. Cullen hoped this trip, with just the two of them, would give them some time to come closer together, to at least talk about taking that next step.
Just before they reached Redcliffe, they branched off and followed minor routes down into the village of Carrickstead. They didn’t bother to stop, planning on refreshing their supplies when they passed through Wylla’s Crossing about five hours later - then moving on for another two hours to their destination, Honnleath.
It wasn’t late, just before the fifth bell, but the sky was clouding. The breeze didn’t change, and the temperature didn’t drop, indicating a light summer shower was on the way. They decided to stop early and make camp just off the road. It would give them enough time to erect the tent to shelter from the rain.
They had just dismounted and were clearing the site for the tent’s placement when a lightning bolt struck a nearby tree. The accompanying crash of thunder was so loud it rang in his ears. It also frightened Al and Rose - the horses - and they took off down the road at breakneck speed.
Cullen started to chase after them, throwing his hands up when he realized he couldn’t. He turned to look at Elsie - who stood wide-eyed - when he realized that all their supplies were still on the horses. And then - then the heavens opened up, and a deluge of cold rain poured down on them. It was so frigid it left gooseflesh as the water ran down the back of his neck.
Elsie began to laugh and shriek. Their situation was so absurd he couldn't help but laugh as well.
“We need to find shelter,” Elsie nearly yelled over the sound of the pouring rain and rumbling thunder.
“You’re right.” Cullen looked around quickly. His first thought was he was glad he left his plate armor at home; it would have rusted. He opted for lighter leather armor for this trip, but soaked leather was uncomfortable, as it stuck uncomfortably to his entire body.
His second thought was they were two hours from Carrickstead and three from Wylla’s Crossing. But that was by horse. They were pretty much stranded. Looking around, he spotted a wide trail, wider than a game trail, just across the road. “Over there!”
They ran for the trail and followed it into the woods. A short way in, they came upon a small house. It looked abandoned, possibly a hunter’s cabin. Cullen looked at Elsie, who nodded and made a beeline for the front porch.
Out of the rain, they shook themselves out. Cullen knocked on the door while Elsie peered into one of the windows.
“Looks empty,” she said. Walking over, she gently moved him out of the door and tried the handle. The door opened unyieldingly. Elsie walked right into the house.
Cullen watched her from the doorway as she entered the house. Her hips had a way of swaying when she walked that he couldn’t help but notice every time. She ran a finger across the surface of a table, leaving a dark streak in its wake.
The one-room house was dark - the storm had blocked out any sunlight there was to see by. The room had a table with boxes for chairs, a small bed against one wall not too far from a fireplace, and a battered wing-backed chair in front of the fireplace on top of a fur rug. Some antlers decorated the walls, the windows had threadbare curtains, and a few crates were in one corner. On top of a barrel near the bed, there was a basin and pitcher. Outside, the wind howled, and the storm raged on.
“I don’t think anyone has been here for quite some time. We’ll probably be okay to hunker down here.” She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.
He had to shake his head to regain focus; he was thinking too much about her hips. He cleared his throat. “You’re right.” He walked over to the fireplace, inspecting it. Luckily the firewood didn’t look too old, the andiron wasn’t too rusted, and the flue looked clear from what he could see. There was even a kettle on a lug-pole.
“We should start with a fire,” Cullen said, adding a few logs to the fireplace.
“Good idea,” Elsie said as she walked over to the fireplace and pointed her finger at it. Immediately the logs took light, and a fire began to crackle as it came to life.
“We should probably also get out of these soaked clothes, too,” she said absentmindedly as she inspected the rest of the room. They were soaked to the bone, and the fire would only help them to dry and warm up so much if they continued on their clothes. Cullen knew they would dry and warm up faster out of their clothes. But the idea of stripping down to his smalls in front of her made him nervous. The most they’d ever seen of each other was in light clothing - maybe she had seen him shirtless before, but that was hardly the point.
The point was he was nervous about her seeing him and giddy about finally seeing her. He was beginning to shake, and he wasn’t sure which emotion was responsible. He tried to act as casual as he could when she started to unbind her wet hair so it could dry.
Cullen watched as she unwound the sodden cloth she wrapped around her waist and then grabbed the white scarf she wore around her neck and tugged it free, discarding them both on the floor beside her with a wet slapping sound. She shucked her coat and then hopped on one leg, then the other, to remove her boots and socks.
She was utterly oblivious to his staring. His eyes lingered on her hands as they deftly removed the brown leather jerkin that hugged her curves in just the right way. He wanted to grab those curves and kiss her senselessly. But he was frozen to the spot, captivated by the show she unwittingly gave him.
Her maroon shirt was now visible; it was soaked through, and if her jerkin showed off her curves, the wet material of her blouse left nothing to the imagination. Cullen could see the two pebbles of her nipples through the thin fabric.
Too mesmerized by her chest, he didn’t notice when she lowered her pants. But now her shapely legs were bare to him. Oh, to have those legs wrapped around his waist.
Elsie grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, bearing her chest, only covered by a solid white breastband that may as well not have been there - the water had made the cloth diaphanous. Cullen’s throat suddenly felt dry.
He lowered his gaze, drinking in every inch of her. Her time fighting with the Inquisition had her body lean and toned. But stretch marks remained a reminder of her more sedate time in the Circle.
She looked up at him with a grin once the shirt was over her head.
“Well, what about you?” She asked him playfully.
He whirled around, away from her, and rubbed the back of his neck. He was pretty sure he had turned red and that she saw. He always seemed to turn into a stuttering, bashful wreck around Elsie.
“I, uh… right.”
“Relax, it’s just me.” Her tone was comforting, and he could hear the smile in it. She then began poking around in the crates. “I’m going to see what I can find around here.”
He was hyper-aware of her presence now as he began peeling off the various parts of his armor and clothing.
If she was trying to make him more comfortable by not paying attention to him, it wasn’t working. In fact, walking around in only her underthings, laying out her clothes, and bending over crates was beginning to make him a whole new level of uncomfortable.
As soon as he finished with his garments, left only in his small clothes, she turned around to him, brandishing two bottles. “I found liquor!”
Her eyes went wide, almost imperceptibly. But she quickly schooled her features, however, only after Cullen noticed. A small bubble of pride took hold in his chest. She cleared her throat and went to sit in front of the fire, clearly feigning indifference - and failing. He joined her on the bear fur rug, and she handed him a bottle.
“Cheers,” she said, knocking the rim of her bottle to his and then taking a long pull from it.
The tension in the room was palpable. The silence that descended upon them was somewhere between companionable and awkward.
Elsie broke the silence first, arranging herself on the floor on her stomach, facing the fire. “Do you remember when we first met?”
"Yes, you couldn't stand the sight of me,” Cullen laughed and joined her in her prone position on the floor, holding his weight on one arm. “One of our first few conversations was about the dimples on your…” He coughed and rubbed his neck. Remembering that conversation about how she got her nickname made him redden again. He still wondered if she did, in fact, have dimples… down there.
“You know, you could always find out.” It was as if she read his thoughts. A weight dropped in his stomach at the statement. She was giving permission. Was this their way of discussing the matter? Is that something people did? Discuss the next steps. Or did they just know and take action?
He must have looked like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth, unsure of what to say.
Elsie must have understood his dazed expression because she suddenly surged forward and captured his lips. It was heated, more so than any time before it. All tongue and teeth. He closed his eyes and was more than willing to allow her to take control.
Her hand on his elbow slowly trailed up his arm to his shoulder. She gripped it tight and pushed him fully onto his side. Then, she brought her body close to him. He could feel the heat emanating off of her nearly nude body.
Cullen wasn’t sure what to do with his free arm, so he settled on resting his hand on her hip. That was when she hooked her leg over his hip, putting the heat of her core up against his hardening length.
The hand she had tangled in the hair at the back of his neck slowly moved back to his shoulder and pushed him. Before he could register what was happening, he was on his back, and she was above him - she never broke the kiss.
Reflexively, his free arm landed on her other hip. He lazily traced patterns up and down her sides. Slowly, he wandered higher and higher with each pass. When he reached her breast band, he dragged the back of his knuckles over the fabric along the side of her breast. Her response was instant. She took a sharp breath through her nose and arched her back, seeking more contact.
This time, when he took his hands back toward her hips, he tested the waters further and reached down and grabbed her ass with each hand. Her reaction was to grind her hips into his. The feeling was exquisite. Every fiber in his body was on fire. He wanted more. And he was sure she was more than willing.
Her body was calling to him, and he was only too eager to respond. Slowly, agonizingly slow, she moved down his body, placing kisses here and there as she went. His chest, his abdomen, his hip. His head fell back, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation.
Elsie hooked her fingers into his smalls, and his cock bounced free as she pulled them down. All the while, she continued downward until she was sitting between his legs.
He was suddenly self-conscious. What did Elsie think of him? Did his scars repulse her, or was she pleased with what she saw? He looked up at her, and that one look answered his question. She looked at him hungrily, pupils blown wide - the grey wholly consumed.
He watched, never breaking eye contact, as she brought her hands up his thighs and rested on either hip. She was chewing on her lips - as she did when she was nervous - asking a silent question: was this okay?
He nodded his head almost imperceptibly. Then, her tongue darted out to lick her lip, and she dove forward, taking him in her mouth. He threw back his head again at the sensation. It was all lips, tongue, and hands.
Cullen wasn’t sure if it was because she was talented - he did not have much to compare it to - or because it was just her; it was the best thing he had ever felt.
He was losing himself in the ecstasy. She was taking him to places he had never been, and if he weren’t careful, it would be over too quickly. He wanted to relish this moment, prolong it as long as possible. He wanted to have a turn worshiping at the shrine of her body.
She swirled her tongue around the head of his cock. It was too much; he was too close. Cullen sat up, and she looked at him, confusion on her face, and he assured her with a smile. Leaning in for a kiss, slow this time; he told her everything he couldn’t with his words.
His hand trailed from her shoulder to her hip and back again, working its way behind her when it reached her breastband, and he freed her from the garment.
She was divine. Her olive-toned, freckled skin begged to be touched, kissed, worshiped. Her chestnut locks she had freed earlier, flowed down over her breasts. Cullen wanted to run his fingers through it. He reached out to do just that but grew bold and changed course.
The feeling of her breast beneath his fingers was enough to make him harder, if that were possible. It was beginning to hurt, and though he wanted this to last, he also was ready for release.
Cullen gently pushed her down by her shoulders so she was lying beneath him and paid homage to her with his mouth. He wanted to leave no portion of her exposed skin unexplored. He gently lapped at one nipple while his fingers focused on the neglected one. The sounds she elicited made his blood boil; soft sighs and throaty moans.
His finger traced a line over her curves, down to her hip, ghosting over her thigh and coming back up the inside. He hovered a moment over his prize, asking her silently back, ‘Is this okay?’
Elsie was trembling beneath his touch. She answered by raising her hips toward his hand, desperate for the attention he was so eager to give her.
Cullen’s hand trembled too. Was it nerves? Would she find him lacking? He wanted to get this right. He met the juncture between her legs, slipped his hand inside her smalls, and gently massaged around her nub. Elsie let out a groan that went straight to his groin.
He captured her mouth again in a searing kiss. She was breathless and kept breaking the kiss to take in small gasps. On one such breath, he entered her with his finger.
As she writhed under his ministrations, he added a second finger, reveling in the feel of her heat.
Then a third followed. Cullen rubbed her with the heel of his hand while his fingers pulsed in and out. She was gone. He could feel her trembling increase in intensity. She had to be close.
He continued until he felt her clench and flutter around his fingers. And with the accompanying moan she elicited, he was close to following her right over the edge.
She wasted no time. No sooner than she had finished her climax, she was pushing him over again. After she removed her smalls, Elsie straddled him while she devoured his lips.
Cullen rubbed back and forth against her in an attempt to find any kind of friction. On one such pass, she tilted her hips so he could enter her. The surprise of it made him cry out.
His whole body trembled now. Or was it her that was shaking? He could no longer tell where he ended, and she began. They were one.
He loved this woman. He always knew that, but now it was all he could think about as she moved above him.
She moved in slow, rhythmic motions. Cullen wasn’t ready yet; he wanted her to have more, so he added his thumb to her sensitive spot, and within what felt like seconds, she threw her head back and came undone.
In her ecstasy, she began to bounce harder, faster. He met her movements with thrusts of his own, and the closer he got to the edge, the more erratic they became. Soon, he was following her over the cliff.
He’d follow her anywhere.
She collapsed on top of him, her energy spent, and he chuckled as he smoothed her hair out of her face. They lay like that for several moments, listening to the rain pelt on the tin roof and the flames crackle in the fireplace.
“Well,” he said once she rolled over, and they lay beside each other. “I guess we figured out the answer to the dimple question.”
She chuckled and rested her head on his chest, snuggling close. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”