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The Ventori struck without warning, ambushing Rook, Emmrich, Neve, and Harding in a back alley off Dock Town's main road. They were caught off guard, but not completely. It was impossible not to expect it in Minrathous. The one mage wearing wings of magic and throwing spell after spell at them, while the other ones slunk around, though, that was different. Certainly different enough that one of the less magically inclined members managed to sneak up on Emmrich and plunge a dagger straight into his thigh.
At his resulting yelp of pain, Rook turned to witness the Venatori lift their blade high, aiming to plunge it somewhere more vital, and took the three long steps to reach them with her greataxe already swinging. It met the assassin with a resounding thud, and two messy pieces of a person hit the ground.
Emmrich was on his knees, hissing in pain as blood flowed freely from the wound. Rook could see the gentle green glow of his magic wreathing his hands as he tried to heal it. But they didn't have the time, the winged bastard was throwing all sorts of elemental projectiles around, and if they sat here waiting for his wound to be healed, they'd be sitting ducks for all of it. At least it looked like he'd stemmed the flow of blood so he wouldn't bleed out while she got them to safety.
Rook hooked her arms around his waist and lifted, ignoring his surprised protests, and slung his chest over her shoulder. This put his ass right next to her face but she couldn't pause to even give that the contemplation it deserved.
Tightening her grip on Emmrich's hips, she ran, dodging fire, ice, and all manners of projectiles. She could hear Emmrich hiss as she moved, each step jostling him against her. It must be uncomfortable, but she would feel bad later, once they were no longer in danger of dying.
She shifted him on her shoulder again, earning a small whimper that she might have missed if her hearing wasn't so acute. She certainly didn't miss the movement of him squirming against her. Or the prod of something poking into the front of her shoulder. With a growl, she clamped her hand on his hip more tightly; she had no time to pick him back up if he squirmed himself onto the ground.
The force of her grip pressed him more firmly against her, and at the low, choked moan he desperately tried to stifle, she realized what that hard press was.
Oh.
Well.
That was certainly something. But she couldn't think of that right now. They were still being shot at.
She felt the heat as a fireball whizzed past her horns and picked up her pace. There was nothing to serve as good cover around them. All she could do was keep moving and trust the others to deal with the Venatori behind them.
*****
Somewhere in the twisting turns and back alleys of Minrathous, they had lost the rest of the Venatori. However, they didn't stop running until they reached the eluvian amidst the rubble of the old shop, dashing through into the relative safety of the Crossroads. Once through, Rook finally loosened her grip on Emmrich, letting him slide down to his feet. His legs buckled under him almost immediately, and she caught him with her hands around his waist, steadying him.
"Are you okay?" she asked, trying to look for any visible wounds.
"I'm alright," he said, quietly. His face was red and he wouldn't meet her eyes. "I healed my leg as best I could while you were running. I shall make sure it's fully dealt with back at the Lighthouse."
He was hunching, pulling his coat tighter around himself, and Rook noticed the slight tightening at the front of his pants that he was trying to hide. She averted her gaze before he could notice where her eyes were lingering. It wouldn't do to have him even more embarrassed than he already was.
Neve and Harding came through the eluvian then, taking a moment to catch their breath.
"Emmrich, are you okay?" Neve asked, eyeing him up and down. Her brow cocked at the way he seemed to avoid her gaze, but she said nothing further.
"Yeah, I was worried when that Venatori got you!" Harding exclaimed.
"I'm alright," he replied with a shake of his head. "No lasting damage except to my pride."
"Oh, you're alright, everybody stumbles sometimes. What matters is you get back up!" Harding said with a grin.
"Come on, let's go home," Rook said, eager to get going. And to spare Emmrich any further scrutiny.
*****
Once back in the Lighthouse, Emmrich had quickly excused himself from the others, heading to his quarters and shutting the door quite firmly behind him. Neve watched him go with the same look on her face as when she was working a case.
Rook was concerned; he'd never been quite so eager to escape the others before. She expected he was embarrassed about what had happened but she wasn't mad or anything. No, now she was worried. She hoped that he didn't think she was mad. Or disgusted. Because she wasn't. Far from it, really.
But she would give him some time alone, to hopefully collect himself and realize there was nothing wrong. Then she'd go see him and make sure he was okay. In the meantime, she could feel the grit and grime of Dock Town clinging to her skin like a miasma. Never mind all the blood coating her.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I need to get cleaned up and get some rest," she told the others before heading to her own room.
A bath was in order.
*****
A knock sounded at the door to her quarters while Rook was drying her hair. She had just finished with her bath and was dressed in a loose top and a pair of sleep shorts in preparation for bed.
"Come in," she called, carefully maneuvering the towel around her horns as she walked to the door.
The heavy wood creaked open, revealing Emmrich standing in the hallway leading to her room, hands clasped behind his back as he stared at the floor. He was dressed more casually than usual, his vest and sash nowhere to be found over his plain, white button-up. He looked like he had been dressing down for the evening and had come here on a whim.
"Emmrich! What's up?" she asked, surprised to see him at this hour.
"Rook, I-" He finally looked up at her. His eyes widened as he took in her casual clothes, and his eyes snapped back to the floor. "Forgive me, you're preparing for bed. It can wait until later."
Her hand shot out as he started to turn away, grabbing his shoulder. "No, you don't have to go. I was going to be up for a little while longer. Come in, please," she said, hand squeezing slightly.
"I- Alright." He passed the threshold into her room, and she let his shoulder slip from her grasp. She shut the door behind him and went to join Emmrich, where he had perched on the chaise in front of the aquarium. As she sat down next to him, he continued to watch the Fade fish flit through the swirls of light behind the glass before he bowed his head and took a deep breath.
"I wanted to come apologize for earlier, Rook," Emmrich said, staring down at his hands where they were clasped in his lap. She noted that even his ever-present glove was missing tonight, though all the rings were still present on his fingers. A pink tinge had tracked its way across his cheeks.
"For what? Getting hit? You're not the first one to take a hit and need help, Emmrich."
"No, not- not for that. For, well, for my indecent reaction while you were transporting me to safety." The pink on his cheeks darkened. "I had hoped, but I admit I would likely be incorrect to assume, that you hadn't noticed."
Oh. So that's what he was talking about.
"Don't worry about it," she said lightly.
"Don't-" he sputtered as he finally looked away from his hands and met her gaze briefly. "My dear, it was most improper. I do not wish for you to think of me as some lecherous old man, but I daresay that after today you'd have every right to."
"I promise you that I don't think that."
"How can you not?" he asked as he looked at her, finally, shocked.
"Emmrich, I am well aware that men don't get erections on purpose. I wouldn't hold an involuntary response against you. Though I guess I technically was holding it against me," she said with a snort.
"Rook!" He looked scandalized. It was cute.
"Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help it." she scooted closer to him on the couch, reaching out to touch his arm in what would hopefully be seen as a comforting gesture. "Listen, I'm not mad or disgusted, okay? In fact, I enjoyed it. And if we hadn't been getting shot at, I would've had more time to do so."
Emmrich's mouth opened and closed a few times, apparently rendered speechless. It felt like an accomplishment beyond reason to reduce him to such.
She took the chance to continue. "I'm going to be honest with you, Emmrich. I like you a lot. And I'd been getting the impression that you like me too."
"My dear Rook. I daresay that I do. These past few months of getting to know you have been a joy and… Well, embarrassing as it is to say, my thoughts have been less than pure."
"Oh, really now? Tell me about these dirty thoughts you've had," she said with an easy grin.
It was a few moments before he spoke. "I must admit, I've never been in a relationship where I was the shorter partner. My mind has wandered, recently, to what that might be like. And I've never been handled quite so… easily before. I wasn't prepared for how I would react," he said, licking his lips as he spoke, eyes darting to the side.
Her eyes remained locked on him, however. Realization dawned on her at his words. He liked being lifted, being picked up so easily. This tall, quiet, fastidious man had enjoyed being carried and thrown around like a sack of potatoes.
Rook's mind cleared of all thought besides that fact as she stood, moving to stand in front of him. Reaching down, she grasped his hands in hers as he looked up, confusion alight on his face.
"Rook?"
She tugged, not too hard, but she was still much stronger than he, and pulled him to his feet.
"Tell me you want this," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist, just like before. She lifted him, ever so slightly. Enough that his feet left the ground and his lips were a mere inch from hers.
He said nothing, but a small whine escaped him as his pupils blew wide until the hazel was barely visible.
"Tell me, please," she whispered against his lips as her mouth hovered just over his. She could feel him shiver in her arms and adjusted her grip to be more secure.
"Yes." It was barely audible, just a flutter of air against her lips, but it was enough.
She closed the distance between them, capturing his mouth in a hungry kiss. He returned it with fervor, his arms lifting and sliding around her shoulders as he held on. Wrapping her hands around his sides, she palmed his ass and lifted, bringing him more securely against her front. His legs wrapped around her hips, almost instinctively, and she felt the hard press of him against her abdomen.
With a growl, she broke away from the kiss and mouthed her way across his cheek, the slightest hint of stubble scratching against her. Tongue tracing the shell of his ear, reveling in the shiver that went from his head to his toes, she whispered, "Already hard again for me, hm? I guess you do like being thrown around."
He groaned against her, his hips bucking slightly as she squeezed his ass. "It seems that I do, my dear."
"Well, I'll be happy to oblige then," she said, burying her face in his neck and biting her way down to the top of his shirt collar. There was no way she'd be able to get to the skin underneath, not without using her hands, and those were busy at the moment. So she growled out a commanding, "Undo your shirt for me."
He scrambled to obey, hands flying to his throat and removing his collar pin, tucking it safely in a pocket before he worked on unbuttoning the shirt, dropping it once removed. As more skin was revealed, Rook continued biting and sucking her way down, leaving a trail of marks under the line of his shirt. They wouldn't be visible when he was dressed, but she would know they were there. That knowledge sent a spike of desire straight to her core.
"Hold on," she said as she hefted him up to her shoulders, his legs sliding up her back to hook around her shoulders. She could smell his arousal before; her nose was keen enough. But now his scent flooded her nostrils, chasing away anything besides Emmrich. She pressed her face forward against his groin, nuzzling against the bulge in his pants, earning her a gasp. He was light, thankfully, so she could lift him fairly easily, but he was throwing her off balance. So she looked up at him, mouth pressing against his erection, and murmured, "My balance is off with you up there. Lean forward, hold onto my horns. But first-" She paused to drag her tongue over his clothed cock, tearing a breathy moan from him, "-be good and pull this out for me. My hands are rather occupied."
"Darling," he ground out, seeming to have some difficulty forming words. She liked that. "Are you sure about this?"
"Emmrich, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Now, please, pull your cock out so I can get my mouth on it."
His emotions flickered across his face in a dizzying march. Surprise, doubt, joy, lust. His hands flew down to fumble at the buttons of his pants, sliding his smalls down and pulling his cock out.
It rested gently against her cheek, all silken heat and steel, as she felt his hands gently grasp onto her horns. The clink of his rings tapping against them seemed to echo in the room.
She nuzzled forward again, kissing against the base of him, dragging her lips against his shaft all the way to the tip. As she pulled her head back, she looked up at him, curled forward over her, and met his eyes as she stuck her tongue out and caught the head of his cock on it. He gasped, his eyes squeezing shut, and his thighs tensed around her neck. Her eyes followed the bob of his throat as he swallowed hard.
Smiling, she slid her lips down his length, her tongue curling around his length as she enveloped him in her mouth.
A slight tug as his grip on her horns tightened, and she felt his ass tense in a desperate bid to jerk his hips forward. But he could do nothing in her grasp. She had him in her hold, completely.
His words had seemed to come back to him, though. "Oh, Rook, you're so strong. So captivatingly powerful. Oh, you feel so good. The heat of your mouth is exquisite, my dear."
She didn't move her head, just let his cock sit in her mouth, sucking slowly. After a few moments, she let him roll his hips against her, allowing him a modicum of friction.
They settled into a give and take of him rolling his hips while she used her grip on him to help thrust him into her mouth. It was an unhurried process, more tongue and suction than bobbing her head up and down his shaft, and Rook found she quite enjoyed the slower pace. Especially with the breathy moans and needy whimpers it wrung from him.
He stumbled over his words when he warned her of his impending peak, and she preened at the inarticulacy she had driven him to. He couldn't move away as she kept up her pace, and soon enough, she felt the first twitches of his orgasm hit him.
She sucked slowly as he came, feeling him pulse against her tongue as his spend leaked out and down her throat. He cried out above her, curling farther forward over her head, hands grasping tightly at her horns, thighs squeezing against her ears. Every single one of her senses was full of him, and she was loving it.
When his spasms had stopped and she'd swallowed the last of his seed, she gently released him from her mouth before placing a gentle kiss against his clothed thigh.
Leaning forward, she slid a hand up his back to support him as she placed him down on the chaise she was still standing in front of. His head lolled back as he settled, staring up at her with a satisfied glow on his face.
"Thank you, Rook. That was incredible," he said with a lazy, satiated smile. "This seating isn't suited for how I would like to repay the favor, though. Do you happen to have a bed we can retire to?"
"Why, yes, I do," she grinned. Bending down, she unlaced his boots and pulled them off before she wrapped her arms around him once more and lifted, hoisting him easily into her arms. She kissed him again as he relaxed into her hold, heading for the shadowed doorway that led to the small bedroom the Caretaker had so generously created for her.
Inside, she tossed him onto her bed, his bangles jingling as he landed, and crawled up after him. He looked around, appraising the space in his quiet way, a small smile on his lips.
"Ah, I see the Lighthouse has given you a bed worthy of your stature."
"Uh huh. The Caretaker was nice enough to give me a Qunari-sized bed once I asked."
It was nice, having a bed that fit her frame, not one where her feet hung off the edge because it wasn't tall enough. And the surplus of pillows it had come with helped cushion her horns so her neck didn't hurt come morning. It was quite possibly the nicest bed she'd ever had.
And she certainly didn't mind sharing it with the handsome gentleman lying beneath her.
"Now, you said something about repaying the favor?" she asked with a grin as she settled onto his hips.
"Mmm, yes, my dear. I fear I might not be able to perform again for some time, regardless of how much I would like to. But fear not, I'm well-versed in other forms of pleasure."
"Oh, I'm sure you are, Professor," she purred against his ear as she leaned down to lick it.
His hands found their way to the hem of her shirt, sliding underneath and gripping at the skin of her waist. With a fluid motion, she reached down and lifted it up and off, flung away to be found later.
Shuffling off her shorts and smalls was a little less graceful, but it did have the benefit of bringing her breasts closer to his face. He took advantage, nipping and mouthing at her nipples when they were in reach before she sat back up to once again straddle his waist.
"Come here, darling girl," he said, voice husky and low as he grabbed her ass and pulled her up his body.
"And what do you have in mind?" she asked as she shuffled up, prodded along until her thighs were bracketing his face. The hunger in his eyes as he looked at her sex spread out before him had her shivering with its intensity.
"Why, Darling, I wish to taste you, of course," he replied before he gave one last tug, sitting her flush against his face.
She gasped as she felt his tongue dart out and lick through her folds, toying with her clit before lapping lower. With a swear, she grabbed onto the headboard, trying her damndest not to rock against his face and suffocate him.
He pulled his mouth away, earning him a whine from her, and her mouth hung slack at the sight of her slick coating his chin.
"Rook, I can feel you holding back."
She laughed, a breathless sound. "I don't want you to suffocate down there."
"My dear, I want you to lose yourself over me. I would gladly die between your thighs if it meant bringing you pleasure," he growled out. His hands squeezed harder into her ass as he spoke, and she was sure she'd have ten finger-shaped bruises come morning. She certainly hoped that she would.
And his words, they snapped something inside her. He wanted her to be big, to be strong and overpowering. He was turned on by her, as she was. It felt freeing, in a way.
So she nodded, and he buried his face between her legs once more.
Even if she'd wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to hold back for long. It was obvious that this was a skill that Emmrich took pride in, had honed over the long years of his life, and he unleashed the full brunt of his experience on her. She cried out as he licked, ground harder against his face as he sucked, writhed over him as his fingers found her cunt and slid in. As he crooked those marvelous fingers deep inside of her, she was sure she was the one who was going to die on top of him, and he'd have to push her body away to get free.
When she came, it was like being struck by lightning, her whole being tensing up before releasing in a storm of pleasure. Beneath her, she could hear and feel Emmrich moaning into her cunt, trapped in the deluge of her release.
And yet he kept going, fingers and tongue continuing to work in tandem to draw even more pleasure from her body than she'd ever thought possible. She came again, hips jerking unsteadily against him, vision going white as her eyes rolled back into her head.
When she could take no more, she whimpered at his ministrations and feebly grasped his wrist. He stilled, watching her carefully from between her thighs as she panted above him. When the world righted itself once again, she had just enough sense to roll off of him, lest he actually die beneath her.
She couldn’t let that happen. Not before she'd gotten a chance to have him inside of her at least.
"That was… Incredible," she huffed out.
"I'm glad I was able to please," he chuckled, lifting himself up and rolling on top of her. His hair was delightfully disheveled, an errant lock curling over his forehead. "And it seems you've gotten me worked up enough that I'll be able to perform again sooner than I expected."
She felt the evidence of that as he settled between her thighs, his now stiff cock pressing against the crease of her hip.
"Excellent," she said with a grin.
She ran her hands up and down his sides before catching his pants and helping slide the rest of his clothes down and off. When he was nude, gloriously so, she found the energy to roll them over, settling back over his hips again. This time, however, there were no layers between them.
His cock lay hard and leaking against her, and she slid along him, grinding against it as she leaned over to claim his mouth in a deep, languid kiss. She swallowed down his moans, held him steady as he tried to thrust up against her. Keeping her lips locked to his, she rolled her hips until his cock was pressed to her entrance before sitting back and sheathing him to the hilt in one movement.
"Rook!" he cried out, his hands fisting in her blankets. "Oh, Rook, you feel sublime! Oh, my dear, I could stay here forever buried in your magnificent heat."
"Fuck, Emmrich," she moaned out in kind. Her hips rocked against him, his cock reaching deep inside of her. How did he feel so damn good? It was like he was touching every nerve, every pleasure point her body contained.
It wasn't even like he was in control. No, he was beneath her, hips bracketed by her strong thighs, waist engulfed by her body. His hands weren't even on her, though that was something that needed to change.
Reaching down, she grasped his wrists, dragging one slender hand to her waist and the other up to a breast, squeezing his long fingers against her.
"Touch me," she growled, hips continuing to roll against him.
She would let him know who was in charge. He may have his fancy words, his knowledge of anatomy, but she had the strength, the power, the will to keep him pinned beneath her.
And, really, isn't that where he wanted to be?
Emmrich's skilled fingers went to work, teasing and tweaking at one dusky nipple and then the other. His eyes were glazed over with lust as he stared up at her, her loyal follower to the end.
She allowed him no quarter, her own hand dipping down to her dark folds to circle and play at her clit, wringing her own pleasure out of the man beneath her. He couldn't even thrust up, so pinned was he beneath her mass as she continued a persistent pace, grinding against him. She could feel each twitch of his cock deep inside of her, each tremor of his thighs as he tried, futilely, to rock his hips up.
"Ah ah ah," she said, looking down at him with narrowed eyes. "I set the pace, I'm in control."
"Yes, Rook. My beautiful warrior, you dominate me," he said, eyes unfocused and breath hitching as she twirled her hips in a tight, quick circle.
She could feel her peak approaching now, her pace picking up to approach that end. Careful not to let her rhythm falter, however, she moved with purpose. Both of his hands were at her waist now, gripping on for dear life as she fucked herself on his cock.
"I could keep you like this forever, Emmrich. Carry you to my bed whenever I want and use your cock to bring myself pleasure. And you would like that, wouldn't you?"
The thin, reedy whine that escaped him was her only answer.
She quite liked him like this. She may have to act on that fantasy. If nothing else, to see if he would be hard as soon as his feet left the floor. It would be a fun experiment.
Despite her best efforts, Rook's pace was growing erratic now, her movements less smooth as she started to bounce up and down. When Emmrich started to thrust up to meet her, however, she grabbed his hands from her body and surged forward, pinning them above his head.
"No," she ground out, her eyes sparkling dangerously as she squeezed his wrists firmly, but not enough to hurt. "You're not allowed to move."
Then she kissed him, claiming his mouth as she was claiming his body. She was on the edge of release, her cunt clenching impossibly tight around him as she brought one hand back down to her clit, the other keeping Emmrich's arms pinned. A few well-placed strokes and then she was coming, roaring out her release as she rode him, trapped beneath her, his whole body shifting from the force of it.
His own orgasm followed, his release quieter but no less powerful as he cried out beneath her. She could feel him twitching as he spent himself deep inside of her, felt the heat of his seed filling her as her hips kept flush to his as if trying to meld them into a single being of pleasure.
Rook released his hands and straightened as they both caught their breath, still keeping Emmrich firmly pinned beneath her. When he'd regained his wits, he looked up at her towering over his prone form, a surprising softness in his eyes. Especially after what they'd just done.
"Oh, Rook," he murmured, skimming both hands up her sides before resting them on her outer thighs. "Words alone cannot do justice in describing how incredible you are."
"I could say the same about you," she shot back.
With a sigh, she shifted back off Emmrich's hips and felt him slip out of her. She slid off the bed, stretching her arms up and over her head. There was a twinge between her legs as she moved, and she knew she'd still be feeling the effects of their sex tomorrow, and she'd love every moment of it.
"Hold on a moment," she said as she headed to a wash basin in the corner of her room, dipping a cloth into the water. She cleaned the remnants of her slick and his seed from her thighs, then rinsed the cloth out.
"Darling, I'm perfectly capable of cleaning meself up," he said as she came back and began to clean him as well.
In reply, she shot him a look and a grin and stated, "Too bad, I'm still in control right now," and he wisely ceased his protests.
Once finished cleaning, Rook tossed the dirty cloth with the rest of her dirty laundry in the corner and hopped onto the bed. Slipping her arms around Emmrich, she rolled them both over so they were both on their sides.
As she pulled his back flush to her front, she nuzzled her lips against his throat and murmured, "Lay with me for a while? I want to cuddle."
"I would be delighted to," he replied, settling in against her.
"So, um, where do we go from here?" she asked after a few moments of silence, suddenly unsure of herself, of where they stood.
He was quiet for a long moment before answering. "It is up to you, my dear. While I do not, as a general rule, enjoy one-night stands, I will defer to your judgment on our personal relationship moving forward."
"But what do you want, Emmrich?"
"Rook, I…" he started, then heaved a sigh before continuing, "I must admit that I do not wish for this to be a casual fling. While it is true that it was my physical attraction to you that led us down this road, that is not the only reason for my infatuation with you." His hand began tracing along her forearms, where they were wrapped around him, following the curve of the muscles underneath. "I find all of you captivating, not just your body and what you can do with it. You're incredibly kind-hearted, a shrewd leader, and so very open-minded to all things. I would like to see if, well, if there's any chance of proceeding into something more formal."
She nuzzled her nose into his hair, inhaling deeply the scent of him: the distant echoes of vetiver and potash, the remains of sweat clinging to him, and a masculine smell that was all Emmrich. It smelled like home to her.
"I would like that, too."
Gently, he slid his hand down her forearm to her hand, twining his fingers with hers. He pulled her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.
"I'm glad," he murmured, a quiet satisfaction filling his voice.
She felt the echo of it in her heart.