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Nervous was not quite a big enough word to describe how Evelyn was feeling. It felt like there was a boulder in her belly and she couldn’t stop pacing while clenching and unclenching her hands.
She’d bathed as soon as she’d arrived back at her rooms, pulling on whatever clothes were nearby when she was done. Then she moved around the room like a whirlwind, tidying and neatening anything and everything she could. But it was only just past noon by then, and Cullen wasn’t coming until after sundown, when he was done for the day. So she sat at her desk and attempted to drown herself in paperwork until there wasn’t enough light left to read the reports, invoices, and letters. Evelyn had risen reluctantly and went around the room lighting all her candles, bathing everything in a soft, flickering orange glow. Then, there was nothing left to do but wait.
She was seriously considering just going to find Cullen herself when a soft knock sounded at her door. Evelyn let out an involuntary choking sound when she heard it, but quickly collected herself and went to open the door. It swung back to reveal Cullen, slightly hunched over and still holding his right ribs. Evelyn moved aside and beckoned him inside wordlessly.
“You can go ahead and sit on the bed,” she said in what she hoped was a fairly normal tone as she closed the door behind him. Cullen responded with a low grunt, and the sound of her bed creaking indicated that he had followed her direction. Taking a steadying breath, Evelyn turned around to face him.
He looked pale in the candlelight, a symptom of pain that Evelyn had seen one too many times. He’d somehow managed to remove his armor, leaving him in leather boots, loose brown pants, and a loose white shirt. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was grimacing in pain.
“Do, uh – do you think you can get your shirt off? Can’t heal it if I can’t see and touch it,” Evelyn stuttered out. Cullen blinked his eyes open and nodded slightly. He tried to move his arms to undo the ties on his shirt, but the moment his right arm moved he let out a hiss of pain and stopped.
“Sorry,” he ground out, eyes apologetic. “Can’t really move my right arm too much. Do you think you can do it if I keep my shirt on?”
“No,” Evelyn said bluntly. She looked down at her feet before continuing. “But I can try and help, if you’re okay with that.”
Her eyes flicked back up to him, taking in the way his eyes had widened and his mouth had opened slightly. So far she had managed to keep a good distance away, remembering what had happened last time, and she was both dreading and looking forward to moving closer.
“Yeah, that’s okay,” Cullen replied, licking his lips. Evelyn took a deep, shuddering breath and moved closer.
Cullen was sitting on the edge of the bed, and for a moment Evelyn wasn’t sure how to approach him. Her eyes flicked uncertainly between the open space beside him and the space in front of him. His legs were open slightly, and Evelyn was a bit too shy to risk stepping between them; the tension was already suffocating, no need to make it any worse. She had to swallow to try and wet her suddenly dry mouth before speaking.
“Why don’t you lay back,” she suggested and he immediately moved to do as she said, toeing off his boots before sliding backwards into the center of her bed. He laid down carefully, trying to avoid slamming down his injured ribs.
Once he was settled with his head on her pillow and eyes locked on her face, Evelyn climbed up beside him. She sat on his right side, legs tucked underneath her and made careful, deliberate eye contact before stretching her hands out to grab the ties of his shirt. She untied them slowly and deliberately, loosening the strings that held the upper half of his shirt closed. Once that was finished, Evelyn moved her hands to the bottom hem of his shirt, slowly pushing it up towards his armpits, glancing at his face for any sign of pain as she did so.
Cullen’s eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and the hand closest to her was fisted tightly in her blanket. Thinking she’d hurt him, Evelyn immediately dropped his shirt halfway up his torso and sat back, worry creasing her brow.
“I’m sorry Cullen, did I hurt you? Are you okay?” she asked kindly, her healer’s instincts pushing her attraction to the side, for the moment at least.
“No, I’m okay. You can keep going,” Cullen replied, cracking his eyes open to look at her. Evelyn had never heard his voice so raspy, nor had she ever seen such a fire flickering in the back of his eyes. The combination brought her attraction back full-force, along with a heady rush of desire. She could feel her cheeks beginning to redden, so she turned her attention back to his shirt in an attempt to hide from his gaze.
Once she’d bunched the shirt under his arms, Evelyn carefully threaded his arms out of the sleeves, barely resisting the temptation to press kisses against his muscles. Finally, the shirt was just bunched around Cullen’s neck, and Evelyn licked her lips as she leaned over and pulled it over his head.
They made eye contact as Cullen’s eyes blinked open once the shirt was gone. Evelyn felt frozen, trapped by his closeness and the desire she was almost certain she saw flickering in his eyes. Some of her hair slipped out from behind her ear and bumped into his cheek; before she could reclaim it, Cullen tilted his head slightly to the side to push his nose into it, eyes fluttering shut as he smelled the herbal scent of the hair soap Sera had given her.
Now even more red in the face, but thrumming with desire, Evelyn practically leapt away from Cullen’s face and threw the shirt at her headboard. She licked her lips and turned her attention to his chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his eyes blink open and felt more than saw his gaze snap to her already-blue hands.
His ribs were an ugly sight. From under his arms to about midway down his ribcage, bruises of various colors spattered his skin in an area the size of Evelyn’s two hands put together. She examined the area closely, slipping into old healer’s habits as she checked for any sign of broken bones.
“I don’t think anything’s broken, just really badly bruised,” she mumbled absently as she finished her examination.
“I’m going to start healing now. It’ll probably be uncomfortable at first and then start to feel better,” she warned him as she drew more mana into her hands. She braced herself for any pained noises he might make and set her hands on his chest.
The first noise Cullen made threw Evelyn off because it wasn’t pained; as her hands first brushed against his skin he let out a soft sigh and his eyes closed. She felt his muscles relaxed under her hands and it was only instinct that kept the healing process going. Another wave of arousal shot through her and it was all she could do to hold back a tiny whimper.
She knew the discomfort had started when Cullen’s face suddenly twisted, his nose scrunching up and eyebrows drawing together while his mouth turned down. The bruises were fading under the blue light and Evelyn pushed more mana into the spell, both to end the pain quickly and make absolutely certain that it was healing correctly.
After another minute, it became clear that the pain had stopped and the relief had begun. The bruises had faded to a dull yellow and continued to recede into Cullen’s skin. But the real tip-off was the low groan that ripped from Cullen’s mouth as he pressed his head back into the pillows.
Evelyn was surprised there wasn’t actual fire coming out of her ears with how hot her face felt. Not only was she embarrassed, she was also incredibly, stupidly aroused by Cullen in this moment: the memory of the almost-kiss in the training ring didn’t help either. As she stared at him, Cullen’s face also reddened, but he didn’t open his eyes and didn’t tense up; apparently the healing felt too good for him to get properly embarrassed. Doing her best to push her embarrassment and dizzying arousal aside, Evelyn focused on her magic until the bruises had faded completely and she sensed that he was completely healed. The blue glow faded from her hands and she let them rest on Cullen’s ribs as she dropped her chin towards her chest and sucked in a few deep breaths, trying desperately to clear her head. She felt Cullen shifting beneath her hands and immediately snatched them away, face feeling even hotter, if that was even possible.
“Evelyn. Evelyn please look at me,” Cullen murmured softly. Evelyn shuddered at how low and rough his voice was and managed to drag her eyes up to look at him.
He was propped up on his right elbow, his whole body curved towards her, blond curls flopping about his face as he stared straight at her. Evelyn felt her breath catch in her throat; by sitting up he’d gotten very close to her, and her mind flashed back to the training ring again. But this time there was no one to interrupt, no one to stop Cullen as he slowly leaned closer and she moved down to meet him, just a little, and then waited for him to close the final gap, her eyes already half-closed. She felt his nose bump hers and felt the rush of air over her face as he spoke.
“May I?” he breathed out, and that only sent another small spike of arousal through her.
“Please,” she croaked out. The last sound had barely left her mouth when Cullen’s mouth was on hers and his free hand had come up to cradle her head. Evelyn slid her hands up into his hair and let him pull her down, until he was laying flat and her body was stretched across his torso. His right hand slid into her hair as his left moved down to grip her hip firmly. Evelyn pulled back and barely had enough time to gasp for air before Cullen was pulling her back down and kissing her hard. She felt him nip her bottom lip and opened her mouth with a groan, letting him slide his tongue inside. Cullen groaned in return, tugging at her hips until he could slot his right leg between hers.
Just as Evelyn pulled away for air again, Cullen flipped them over, lunging back down for another kiss as soon as they were stable. Evelyn let out a startled squeak as her back hit the bed, with made Cullen grin against her mouth and pull back to laugh. She laughed with him, feeling herself relax as Cullen pressed his forehead to hers, still chuckling softly. She felt both his hands slide down to the hem of her shirt as he moved his mouth to her ear.
“May I?” he asked again, breathless and excited. Evelyn pressed her cheek to his so he could feel her nod. His fingers curled under the hem; she felt his knuckles gently brushing her skin as he dragged it up. Evelyn arched up into him to try and make things easier, triggering a strangled groan from Cullen when she accidentally ground their hips together. He tugged her up slightly to pull her shirt all the way off, then sat back and openly gaped at her. Evelyn blushed, and instinctively moved her hands to cover herself. Cullen saw her move and intercepted her hands, linking his fingers with hers.
“Please don’t,” he asked shyly. “You’re just – you’re so beautiful I couldn’t help it.”
“You’re not so bad yourself,” Evelyn replied in an equally shy tone, delighting in the blush that coursed down from Cullen’s face to his neck and chest.
He moved their linked hands above her head and leaned down to kiss her again and Evelyn found herself grinning into the kiss. After a moment, Cullen pulled away and unlinked their hands. He began to kiss down her neck, making her tilt her head up and sigh contentedly while sliding her hands into his hair. He kept kissing down, across her shoulders and collarbone, until he reached the edge of her chest wrap. There, he propped his chin on her breastbone and looked up at her, fingers teasing the edge of the fabric. Evelyn nodded to give him permission and guided his hand to the loose piece that would pull the binding apart.
Once her chest was exposed, Cullen gave a low groan and kissed each one quickly before continuing his path down her body. One hand came up to gently squeeze and play with a breast, making Evelyn gasp and twitch with pleasure. She could feel him grinning as he kissed along her hipbone and was tempted to yank his hair, but a particularly hard squeeze distracted her and made her roll her hips up. Cullen pressed his down in response, grinding hard against her thigh. He nipped her hipbone and dug his fingers into the waistband of her pants before looking up at her.
“May I?” he asked for the third time that night.
“Of course,” Evelyn murmured in reply, scratching at his scalp a little. He paused for a moment to accept the head scratch, then sat up. Evelyn let her hands fall away and clench nervously in the blanket. Cullen gently tugged her pants over her hips, and she lifted them to help. As soon as they were pulled off her feet, Evelyn had a powerful urge to cover herself. Her arms twitched as if to wrap one across her chest and the other around her hips. Before she could move, however, Cullen turned back from tossing her pants onto the floor.
Evelyn felt pinned by the weight of his gaze as his eyes swept across her nearly naked body. He’d been forced to move down between her feet to get her pants off and now he kneeled there, mouth hanging open slightly as he took in the sight of her.
“Maker’s breath Evelyn,” he said, voice dry and more of a croak than anything else. “Maker’s breath you have to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Evelyn responded by stretching her hands towards him, wordlessly begging for him to come closer. He moved immediately, crawling back up her body to settle his knees between her thighs and stretch forward to kiss her soundly. Evelyn sighed happily into his mouth, momentarily putting aside her insecurity and drowning in the taste of his mouth and the feel of his body against hers.
Cullen pulled back first, resting his forehead against hers as his hands crept along her arms in search of hers. When he found them he linked their fingers together and pulled her hands up and down his body. Evelyn blushed when she felt her fingers brush his hipbones. Cullen bumped his nose gently against hers.
“It’s okay to touch you know,” he murmured softly, lips just brushing against hers. Evelyn nodded hesitantly and gently placed her hands on his bare hips. Slowly, she slid them around to his stomach, and up his chest even more slowly. Cullen shifted to press his face into her neck, pressing his lips there and letting out tiny sighs against her skin as she felt over his muscles. When she made it back up to his neck she stopped, unsure what to do. Cullen kissed her neck more firmly before sitting up slightly. Evelyn’s hands slid down to his chest and he shivered a little, but kept his eyes on her face.
“Have you done anything like this before?” he asked gently. Evelyn looked away and shook her head shyly. She felt one of Cullen’s hands slide around her cheek and let him turn her face back to him. He gave her a small smile.
“Do you want to? It’s okay to say no, and if you do I’ll stop right now,” he reassured her. She hesitated for a moment, then licked her lips and spoke.
“No, I – I want to,” she said, nervous but determined.
“And you’ll tell me if you decide you don’t at any point?” he checked. She nodded firmly and his smile grew as he stretched forward and kissed her again. When he leaned back he grabbed her hands and brought them back to his hips.
“You let me undress you, I think it’s about time I return the favor,” he pointed out. “I’m going to roll on my back to make it easier, okay?”
When Evelyn nodded, Cullen rolled back to where he had started on her bed, pulling her on top of him. She knelt over his thighs and nervously hooked her fingers through his waistband, looking at him for reassurance. He nodded encouragingly and wrapped his hands over hers, helping her push the cloth away. She pulled the pants down his legs carefully, gently sliding them off his feet and dropping them on the floor. Then she looked back up his body and couldn’t hold back a tiny moan at the sight of Cullen in just his underwear, which did nothing to conceal the bulge of his erection. She knelt uncertainly by his ankles until he beckoned her up.
Evelyn moved up and straddled his thighs, hovering over him as Cullen took her right hand in his left and placed it on his hip, even with the top of his underwear. She hesitantly curled her fingers into the waistband.
“You can take them off or you can touch first, if you’re more comfortable with that,” Cullen said gently.
Feeling more comfortable now that she had permission, Evelyn slid her hand over his underwear, hesitantly gliding over the bulge. She heard Cullen suck in a sharp breath at her feather-light touch and felt his hips barely twitch underneath her. She gripped him loosely through the fabric, delighted when he let out a low, pleased groan.
“Is that okay?” she asked nervously. Cullen let out a breathless laugh.
“Love, it is far, far better than okay,” he assured her.
Evelyn continued to palm him through his underwear, enjoying the soft, breathy gasps he let out every few seconds. He didn’t let her continue for long, however, gently tugging her hands away after only a moment of two. She looked up into his face in confusion.
“If you keep that up love, it’ll be over before it starts,” he told her with a half grin. Evelyn blushed furiously and Cullen laughed at the sight.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” he told her, gently squeezing her hands. “If anyone should be embarrassed, it’s me. Come on, let’s get these off, okay?”
He waited for her nod before placing her hands back on his underwear and letting her tug them down and off his legs. Evelyn tossed the garment to the floor and was turning back to face Cullen when she was abruptly tossed onto her back. She squeaked with surprise as Cullen’s face appeared above her, grinning widely. She couldn’t help but glance down his body and swallowed nervously at the sight of his unrestrained erection. His voice pulled her gaze back to his face.
“Hey, I won’t hurt you, I promise,” Cullen said firmly. “And if you need or want to stop, you just tell me okay?”
Evelyn nodded shakily in reply and Cullen pressed a light kiss to her nose.
“I’m going to take your underwear off, is that okay?” he asked quietly. Evelyn nodded again, and felt his fingers hook through the waistband and pull the final piece of clothing off her body. Once it was off, tossed somewhere onto the floor, Evelyn’s insecurity took over. She turned her head to press her face sideways into the pillow, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt Cullen shift back to face her at the end of the bed. She felt his hands rest on her knees and skim up her legs to settle on her hips.
“Hey,” he called gently, and she cracked an eye open to look at his face. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. I believe I already said it, but I’m happy to say it again: you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Not half as pretty as you I think,” she said shyly in reply, turning her face fully towards him. Cullen laughed softly and shook his head, hands rubbing small circles into her hipbones. He leaned down and began to kiss all over her belly.
“What do you want?” he asked, voice nearly a purr. Evelyn shuddered at the sudden change in his tone, but couldn’t bring herself to answer. She felt him mouth over her hipbone and then suck suddenly, making her gasp and arch up into his mouth. Cullen grinned against her hip and looked up to catch her eye again.
“Come on love, what do you want?” Evelyn took in a shuddering breath at the sound of his voice, and managed to find hers.
“Will you just… touch me?” she managed to get out, redness creeping into her ears. Cullen grinned widely.
“I think I could manage that,” he murmured, leaning down to suck on her hip again. Evelyn gripped his hair tightly, eyes sliding shut to enjoy the pleasure. She felt his hands start at the base of her ribs, sliding down her sides and tickling just enough to make her giggle. She felt Cullen’s mouth curve into a smile against her hip as his hands slid over the tops of her thighs. He gently moved his hands to tap his fingertips against the inside of her legs, encouraging her to spread them for him. She did so, slowly and shyly, and opened her eyes curiously to see what Cullen was going to do.
Once her legs were spread enough, he slid one hand up to rub her hipbone while the other moved to gently cup her. Evelyn’s eyelids fluttered as she arched up, grinding herself into Cullen’s hand. He gently pressed down on her hip, encouraging her to lie flat. She managed it with some difficulty, and his other hand moved, parting her lips and sliding up to press lightly on her clit. They groaned together and Evelyn barely restrained herself from arching up again.
“Maker Evelyn,” Cullen breathed, gently rubbing his finger through her folds. She let out a high-pitched whine in response, wiggling her hips to ask for more. He found her entrance and slowly, carefully slid a finger in.
Evelyn froze momentarily at the sensation. Cullen stopped too, eyes glued to her face as he waited for her reaction. Slowly, she shifted her hips and let out a low groan when he rubbed against her inner walls. He responded immediately, slowly curling his finger up and making her groan again and arch up towards him.
His hand never stopped moving inside of and against her, but she felt his body shift and suddenly he was pressing his lips to hers. She opened her mouth willingly, nipping at his lip and groaning into his mouth when a second finger teased at her entrance. She accepted it willingly, arching even more powerfully into his hand and whining with every pump of his fingers. His lip broke from hers, moving to press sloppy kisses to her face as he murmured to her.
“Maker Evelyn, you’re going to be the death of me, those noises,” he groaned out, burying his face in her neck as his fingers stretched her and the heel of his hand ground over her clit.
“Cullen, please, please,” Evelyn whined, high pitched and needy. Cullen groaned in response and shifted down her body again to kiss down her hipbones. Evelyn’s eyes were long since closed and she knew there was no way she could stop her hips rolling into his hand. Suddenly, there was hard suction over her clit – Maker’s breath was that his mouth? – and that was it, Evelyn was arching up, her body trembling as her inner walls pulsed with orgasm. She let out a long, low whine as she came, clenching around Cullen’s fingers, which didn’t stop moving until her body collapsed back onto the bed. Then, he kissed her lower belly, murmuring into her skin.
“So beautiful love, so beautiful like that,” he breathed against her. It took her a moment to regain mental clarity, but once she did she dug her fingers into his hair and tugged to encourage him to come up her body. He did, and once there she pulled his mouth down to hers, crashing their lips together and doing her best to thank him with her kiss. He groaned into her mouth in response and she felt herself tremble with lingering arousal.
“Please, please can I?” Cullen begged against her lips, pulling her hand between them to brush against his throbbing hardness, making her groan in return.
“Yes, yes, I want it, Maker please,” she gasped into his mouth and hit bit her lip in response. She felt his fingers slide out of her and couldn’t repress a low whine at the loss. Cullen let out a low chuckle in response and linked his fingers with hers so they were both around his dick. He helped her stroke him a few times, then shifted back and guided himself to her entrance. He glanced up, locked eyes with her, and slowly pushed himself in.
He moved slowly, thank the Maker, because Evelyn probably would have come right then if he’d gone any faster. As it was, she groaned the whole time he slid in, and tapered off to a high whine when he was fully seated inside her. Cullen leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, breathing heavily and clearly trying desperately to go slow. He moved in slow, smooth thrusts, forehead pressed against hers, until Evelyn locked her legs around his waist and dug her heels into his back.
“Faster please Cullen,” she ground out. Cullen moaned in response, and pulled almost all the way out before slamming back into her with a low grunt.
Evelyn matched his new, faster pace, quickly learning how to roll her hips up into his to make it better for both of them. They kept at it for a while before Cullen moved his face to kiss her throat and began to talk.
“Maker you feel so good Evelyn, I can’t, I can’t last much longer,” he told her, groaning as he rocked into her again.
“Please, please, it’s so good I’m almost there,” she begged him, hands raking down his back before wrapping around him. He moved immediately, one hand sliding down to pinch and roll her clit while he sucked hard on the side of her neck.
That was it for Evelyn. She slammed her hips up to meet his one final time before coming again with whine of Cullen’s name. He groaned hers in response, and she could feel him emptying inside her, making her walls clench harder in response. When she was done, she slumped back on the bed and stroked Cullen’s hair as his dick twitched a few final times. Then, it was quiet.
Neither one spoke or moved as they lay tangled together, sweaty and gasping for air. Evelyn pet Cullen’s hair steadily and grinned a little when he pushed his head into her hands. Eventually, he propped himself up on his elbows and pulled out of her, making both of them groan quietly. He reached over the side of the bed and picked up some article of clothing (Evelyn thought it might be his shirt) and used it to gently clean first her, then himself. When he was done, he threw it back on the floor and crawled up the bed to lie next to her. Once he was settled, Evelyn tugged the blankets out from under them and pulled it over their legs, tucking her head against his neck. Cullen’s hand came up to pet her hair, and her eyes drifted half-shut with contentment. After a moment, he spoke softly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to, y’know, inside you,” he mumbled quietly. Evelyn shook her head against his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, there’s a simple spell that will protect me from anything unwanted,” she replied, already starting to feel heavy with exhaustion. “Will you stay?”
“I wouldn’t dream of leaving,” Cullen replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she closed her eyes and drifted off in his arms.