Chapter Text
As their lips came crashing together once again, Astarion relished the heat of his lover’s body underneath him. He rested his forearms on either side of her head, running his fingers through her hair and pulling her closer as they kissed. A silent chant echoed through his head as he assailed her lips with his.
She’s real. She’s safe. She’s perfect.
He had spent more nights than he could count in rooms just like this one, atop so many lovers whom he would skillfully bring to rapture in his hands. His mind was instinctive in its ability to identify exactly what someone wanted and just how to give it to them. So many nights he had spent, thinking himself into the perfect vessel for someone else’s pleasure. But this was not one of those nights. Tonight, he would not think, only feel.
Feel his body hum with electricity as Tav’s skin brushed his own, her touches always so tender and soft.
Feel the safety of her body wrapped around his, like he was a delicate thing she needed to protect.
Feel her love, her life; and by extension, his own.
He gripped her tighter, pulled her towards him, pushed the full length of their bodies together, ached to get closer, ever closer. No amount, he suspected, would ever feel close enough. But he wouldn’t mind trying to find out for certain.
As he kissed her, nipping at her bottom lip gently, she brought a hand up to the side of his head and slowly traced a line along the sensitive skin at the pointed tip of his ear. He let out an involuntary shudder of pleasure. Gods, this woman would be his undoing.
Reluctantly, he put a stop to her delicious ministrations and pulled away, leaning back to admire her kiss-swollen lips and the obscene flush of her cheeks. Tonight, he was going to enjoy every part of the gorgeous little creature who had chosen him. He wanted to drink in every detail, to draw the most beautiful noises out of her, commit every little pant and moan to his memory. He would indulge in her and then he would take her, stake his claim to the world that she was all his; no one would steal her away from him, not even Death himself. Hope had come into his life, and still hope remained -- even when it had no logical business doing so. He had earned a moment to celebrate that.
She looked up at him, all doe-eyed and earnest. “I love you,” she breathed.
He whimpered a little at her words and began to kiss his way down her body, his longing increasing tenfold. His cock was straining for her already, but there were more pressing matters to attend to first. He wanted to taste her, to shelter himself in the glorious safety of her warm thighs and never leave. He ducked his head under her skirts and made quick work of her smallclothes, his need too immediate to tolerate the time it would take to disrobe her entirely.
“Oh hells,” she cried out as he buried his face into her core, desperate. She pushed her thighs in close to his face and he moaned. There could be no prelude, no teasing. He was a man starved, craving only the taste of her sweet folds on his tongue. He began to lick at her, intoxicated by her scent and the way the soft skin of her legs held him in place. She tasted divine, like pure sex and pleasure and absolution. He tongued her opening gently, desiring more and more of her sweetness. He let his tongue slip inside her just barely, teasing himself with how warm she was. Gods, she was going to feel so good wrapped around his cock. Fortunately, his centuries of existence had made him quite the patient man, because he wouldn’t be satisfied until she had well and truly come undone. Over, and over, and over…
He flicked his practice tongue over her bundle of nerves and swelled with pride as she immediately keened in response. Never ceasing his efforts, he adjusted her skirts and tilted his head just enough to be able to watch her face as he pleasured her, a sight that never ceased to awe him.
“Astarion… I…”
Her legs were practically strangling him now as she tensed and moaned, and he felt quite grateful in that moment that his condition left him with no need to breathe. He tongued her more urgently now, making swift swipes against her pearl again and again until she cried out for him so beautifully, names of gods and curses spilling from her lips. Her back arched and her hips jolted away automatically as the stimulation became too much, but he was not finished with her just yet. He pulled his tongue away but kept his face where it was, gripping her thighs and pushing them back against his ears in what he hoped was a clear signal that he wanted to continue.
And, goddess that she was, she let him.
He tasted her again, more gently this time, careful not to tax her tender flesh too much just yet. He lapped at her slowly, noting proudly how she was dripping even more now. All for him. She was all his. He relished the feeling of her cum on his face, sure he looked every bit as much a mess as she. He was grateful for the mess, the chance to worship the woman he loved. To truly lose himself in the safety of her arms was nothing short of awe-inspiring; he never felt better than in those moments. Well. Maybe when he was drinking her blood. A very close second, at least.
He returned to the task at hand in earnest now, working a single finger inside her and sighing at the debauched sound of her wetness, the way he slipped in without resistance. She was going to feel so good. She felt so good. She always did. He began to tongue at her most sensitive spot once again with a feather-light touch, more focused on pumping his finger in and out of her, rewarded with more of her delicious moans in response. She was being vocal, that much was certain, but there was not a single coherent sentence to be found on her lips. She seems to have lost the ability to speak properly, he thought to himself, feeling great satisfaction. Only “Astarion,” and “oh gods,” and some rather animalistic mewls he wasn’t sure he’d ever heard from her before. Delicious.
He pumped her faster now, crooking his finger and pressing more firmly into her as she pawed aimlessly at the sheets, the pillow, his hair. Her face was contorted in utmost pleasure, her eyes shut tight and her breaths coming in little gasps as she whined for him. “Oh please, please, please--”
How could he deny her? He increased the pressure from his tongue, licking her quickly and deeply, desperate to push her over the edge again. And oh, push her he did.
“Oh gods, Astarion, yes! Yesyesyes I--”
She cried out as she came apart for him, her thighs gripping him even stronger this time as she absolutely drenched his face with her slick. His fingers continued to stroke her masterfully as she clenched around him for dear life while he coaxed wave after wave of pleasure from her. Every contraction of her body, every whimper and jolt were going straight to his cock, his own desire building to new heights. He slowed his touches before gently pulling out of her, mesmerized by the thoroughly ravished woman catching her breath beneath him.
She had sung so beautifully under his tongue that a perverse part of him hoped there had been a lull in the festivities downstairs so that everyone could hear the sweet sounds he’d pulled from his lover’s lips. So that everyone knew she was here, that she was his.
“That was beautiful, my love.”
She grinned weakly and mumbled something unintelligible in response, still coming down from her peak. He moved to lay next to her, propping his head up to admire his little masterpiece, his lips still wet with her pleasure.
“But you know, darling, I think we’re both terribly overdressed.”
She stretched and groaned in response, her mind and body still recovering.
He chuckled at her little display. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
And so he finally freed her from her skirts and stays, allowing her a moment of reprieve before he undid her all over again. He was utterly aware of her eyes on him as he disrobed himself, but he felt warm under her gaze. She wasn’t just seeing his – perfect, obviously – body. She was seeing him.
She looked at him with her sweet smile, her mind slowly returning to her. “Gods, that was… oh!”
In an instant, he’d returned to her side and begun tracing an aimless pattern along her naked torso, fingers barely grazing along her sensitive skin. He stopped and chuckled devilishly, taking pride in her reaction to even the smallest touch.
“You were saying?”
“You’re terrible.”
“You love it.”
“I do.”
He would never get tired of hearing her say that.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you,” he cooed. He realized it was something he’d said so many times before, in so many other beds just like this one. But this was different – it was the first time he meant it.
She closed her eyes and nuzzled into him in response. “Good. Because I want more.” She was already eying him hungrily – insatiable little thing. Like she was made for him.
“Why, you little minx,” he teased, as if he wasn’t already hard as a rock at the thought. As if he hadn’t been planning on fucking her well into the morning hours.
He repositioned his body so that he sat upright in the bed, back resting against the headboard. She quirked an eyebrow at him curiously until he pulled her into his lap, sitting astride. Her weight atop him felt heavenly, and he allowed his hands to wander up and down her waist, thoroughly enjoying the sensation of her melting into him. She was so nice, so warm. But what was warmer still…
He acted on his thought and took her by the hips, directing them closer to his own. Tav rocked her pelvis a little, teasing him softly, sliding her wet, hot center along his length. Whatever relief her efforts offered to the inferno of desire burning within him was overridden by his need for more, more, more. So good. So soft. He was tempted to plunge into her right then and there, but he hesitated as she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their faces together.
“Thank you,” she breathed, her eyes trained on his. “For trusting me. For loving me.”
His mind was rapidly leaving him as she continued to tease his length. He gasped out what little words he could. “I want you. I need you. All the time.”
“Then take me,” she whispered, “I’m all yours.”
Mine, mine, mine.
He tilted his hips and slid inside her white-hot slit, a rumbling groan escaping him as he did. She met him halfway, sinking further onto him with a gasp as he bottomed out inside her.
She’s real. She’s safe. She’s perfect.
“Shit,” he panted, starting to roll his hips slowly and deliberately. He wanted to savor this, savor her. “You feel incredible. Always so incredible.”
She pressed a kiss to his forehead then moved to rest her lips next to his ear. He loved when she did this. He could hear every change in her breath as she met his thrusts; hells, he could hear her pulse. Her little heart was absolutely pounding. Something feral in him wanted to ruin her, to press into her hard and fast, to bite her. He knew from experience that she could’ve taken it all with ease. But the thought of being too rough with her – hurting her, gods forbid -- after everything she’d been through today was deeply unappealing. No, tonight he’d have to claim her another way. No bites, no bruises. Just pleasure.
He found a gentle rhythm in his thrusts, focused on seating himself deep inside of her, chasing some kind of sufficient closeness, willing two to become one. Tav’s lips found his and he worked on melding himself to her there as well. He wrapped one arm around her waist and tucked another under her chin, holding her as close as nature would allow, as if she were a light and precious thing about to float away from him at any moment.
She almost had floated away, today.
No. He shook the thought from his mind as quickly as it came. She didn’t. That’s all that mattered. This woman was his own personal miracle, gods damn it, and he was deciding, here and now, not to question that any longer. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop, no more bracing for the inevitable, no more setting himself up to fail. He needed to believe it was possible.
She’s real. She’s safe. She’s perfect.
How could he think of anything else while he had a miracle sitting in his lap? He sat back and let her ride him, drinking her in – not literally, although that did sound quite nice, but not right now – as his pleasure mounted. He could feel the tension building in him as she worked, his heightened senses utterly overwhelmed with the sights, sounds, and smells of lust all around him. Tav was so wet, so hot, and a truly debauched sight to behold. Her hips moved expertly, cunt gripping him like a vice as she made sounds that rivaled even the most eager of nymphs. But it all stood in contrast to that smile on her face as she pleasured him, that inextricable sweetness that permeated her very being. It was funny -- it didn’t matter if she was fucking him like a whore or stabbing someone to death, his Tav was still sweet down to her very bones.
How good it felt, to have some sweetness in his life.
He watched, dazed, as she rode him faster, and he began bucking up into her once again, little grunts escaping with each flick of the hips as he grew desperate for his own release. He was so close, now. So close to filling her, claiming her, releasing the ache which had plagued him all day. He began thrusting up into her erratically, hardly in control of his own body at this point. Feeling his end approach, he wrapped one arm around her waist and threaded his free hand into her hair, pulling her into a crushing embrace. He pressed into her hard, moaning unabashedly now as he took a few final thrusts into her impossibly tight, wet heat. She looked him right in the eye, poised to send him over the edge.
“I love you. I love you so much.”
So strong was his bliss as he spent himself inside her that the entire inn could’ve come crashing down around them and he wouldn’t have noticed. He keened and pulsed inside her, making noises that might’ve embarrassed him if he could’ve found it remotely possible to care. And she was there for him all the way, rubbing his back and egging him on until the waves of his pleasure began to ebb.
He was in no hurry to break their embrace and fortunately neither was she, so they sat entangled in one another until he regained a modicum of his sanity. He leaned back and grasped her hands in his. He could’ve sworn his cold heart was beating.
“I love you, too.” He knew he was probably beaming at her like a fool. For once, he didn’t care.
She’s real. She’s safe. She’s perfect.
“And here I thought the best romp of my life was going to be what we did in that graveyard,” Tav joked.
“I am full of surprises, aren’t I?”
She nodded and stroked his hair, a flash of desire apparent as her eyes met his.
“Don’t even think about it,” he chided, “you’ve absolutely drained me.”
She pulled away in a gesture of surrender, shifting to lay alongside him once again. “Better get used to that feeling, my love,” she teased.
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at her in mock-suspicion.
“Oh yes, beloved. Don’t you know? I’m not going anywhere.”
His instinct was to play along, to keep things light. But for once he resisted the impulse, wanting to make his true desires known. The mood shifted from playful to something more earnest as he spoke.
“Promise?”