The book fell onto the desk with a thud. Cullen heaved a heavy sigh and stood from his seat, hands finding a way to occupy themselves as one arm crossed over his chest and the other's fingers kneaded at his brow.

He'd been expecting this -- or at least, something like this -- ever since he'd seen Sera's scrawl on the front cover. Of course, he'd been mildly misled by the scarves and mentions of forbidden dalliances -- fooled into thinking that maybe he was just being paranoid and perhaps it was in fact a modestly written missive disguised as a thing of suspicion, but Dear Maker...after reading it he suddenly understood why five scarves fluttered in shock out of five and came to the conclusion that 'forbidden dalliances' were not quite the words he'd use to describe what he just read, even if it was riveting in some way or another.

Maybe this was not the best idea after all. He stepped toward the ladder, hesitantly at first, before the swelling protests of his conscience urged him forward, pushing him up the ladder to burst into his room and say, "MAYBE WE ShOuldn't...do...this..."

But it was too late.

You were already fully garbed, staring at him a little wide-eyed as his hand, full of objection, dropped flaccidly to his side. "Cullen?" you called out questioningly, your voice not even reaching his ears, eyes wide and jaw dropped as he stared at you in something like awe.

"Dear Maker..."

The words slipped from him before he could stop them, throat suddenly very parched as he looked at you and he swallowed thickly. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as you approached, face full of concern, your presence suddenly exerting some kind of force on him that made him want to shrink back and descend the ladder he had just climbed.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling he felt flooding his senses, but the prickles he had along his spine told him you were something otherworldly. Something he was only supposed to see in some place like the Fade.

It was the feeling of a man who had met the Maker for the first time.

Suddenly he called into question his entire religion -- Andraste, Templars, the Maker -- all these things lost their significance as he gazed upon the woman in front of him. If someone told him, at this moment, that the world existed in only one place, he was sure that it would be right there where you stood, the rest of his reality mere accessories to your existence.

"Cullen?" The brush of your fingers against his cheeks snapped him out of his daze. "Everything alright?"

Your face was mere inches from his, concern shining in your eyes and he almost jumped back instinctively. Taking great efforts to calm himself, he cleared his throat before gently grasping your hand. "I'm fine," he murmured, eyes still poring over your features as if in a trance. "Just...Maker...I wasn't quite ready for...for you to look so...stunning."

You could feel your face flush at his words. Taking a moment to compose yourself, you looked up at him shyly. "Was it everything you expected, Commander?"

He laughed a little nervously before his hand gingerly fell on your hip, guiding you closer to him. "If only you knew what you do to me..." he breathed, his hand brushing the stray hairs from your face as he gazed at you.

Giggling, you snaked your arms around his neck. "Then why don't you show me...?"

His lips met yours in a soft kiss and you felt him hesitate for a moment only to pull you to him, both his arms wrapping around your waist and pulling you flush against him. He pressed his lips to yours with uncharacteristic hurriedness, his hot tongue breaking past your lips as he hungrily devoured your moans.

He backed you up against the wall, cold brick making your body arch into him as one of his hands slid down to your thigh and began hiking up the robes. You shivered as his leather gloves grasped at your skin, thumb skimming the waistband of your panties.

Wasting no time, he hooked his fingers underneath and began sliding them down your legs, his mouth blazing a trail down the side of your neck as he followed his hand downward. He sucked at your flesh as he descended, hot breath palpable through the robes as his teeth grazed over the fabric.

His eyes never left yours as he sank to his knees before you, stopping when your panties were at your ankles. He urged you to step out of them before he took one of your legs and lifted it over his shoulder. With a mixed gaze of reverence and lust, he slowly kissed up your leg, shivers running up your spine as his lips brushed against your inner thigh.

You inhaled sharply as you watched his mouth approach your hot center, body tensing against the wall. "Cullen, are you sure you want to -- "

A moan cut off the rest of your sentence, his tongue licking a thick strip along your heat and making your head fall back with pleasure. His hands wrapped around your thighs, one of his thumbs spreading you open for him, allowing his tongue to delve into you. The fervor with which he ate you out was all the answer you needed, your trembling hands tangling in his hair and fingers tightening to urge him deeper.

Cullen was spurred on by your moans, each one that fell from your lips like sweet music to his ears and pure torture for his groin. Eager to get you to your release, he slid one of his hands to your heat, carefully slipping a finger into you as his mouth began to suck at your clit instead.

Your moans intensified and so did his ministrations, the wetness of your sex allowing him to easily slide more fingers in and hit that spot inside of you. It didn't take long for you to fall apart above him, his other hand gripping your waist and pushing you against the wall to support you as you tightened around his fingers, body shuddering with the waves of your orgasm.

He waited for your orgasm to subside before slowly, he rose to his feet, his eyes poring over you appreciatively. You could see the softness in his gaze, his eyes seemingly asking you how in the world he was lucky enough to be with you like this.

You asked yourself the same, your hand coming up to cup his face and your eyes meeting his, the affection in your gaze reflected in his eyes. A small smile made its way to your lips and you saw the same on his.

Gently, you guided his lips to yours, your hand slipping into his hair and pulling him against you. The kiss deepened quickly, your hands beginning to fumble with his clothes to free his suffering erection from its confines.

Cullen hissed as his member finally met the cold air, his pants dropping to pool at his ankles. Watching his expression, you carefully wrapped your hand around it, grinning as he grit his teeth and his eyes fell closed.

His breathing was shallow as you began to pump your hands along his length, groans leaving his lips and fanning over the crook of your neck where he nuzzled against you. With almost bruising pressure, his fingers dug into the skin at your waist, his hips rutting into your grasp and his body trembling with each stroke.

"(Name)..."he groaned, his voice wavering with arousal. "I don't think -- "

You put a finger to his lips. "Shh...it's alright, Cullen," you said softly, lifting yourself and guiding the tip of his erection to your entrance.

Slowly, you lowered yourself onto him, your breaths catching in both of your throats each time he sank deeper into your heat. When he was fully seated, you both panted with exertion, your hips beginning to roll against the others' with a carefully measured pace.

You could feel how close he was already, his cock twitching inside you with every descent. "Maker..." he grunted, his hands helping your hips rock against him. "You feel so good..."

You grinned down at him, one of your hands sneaking between your bodies to rub your clit in tight circles. He almost swore feeling you begin to tighten around him, the pace of his hips increasing as he felt his release threatening to crash over him.

His thrusts became more desperate, his hips messily snapping against yours and his eyes falling closed to concentrate on the feeling of him inside you. Each thrust brought him closer to the edge, the pressure at the base of his spine building up faster and faster than before until finally, it became too much and he came hard inside of you.

Feeling him release inside of you, your body began to shudder, your fingers drawing tighter circles on your clit. You hissed as you felt your release crash down on you again, pulling Cullen's lips to yours and kissing him fervently as you came down off your high.

When the shudders subsided, you leaned your forehead against his as his weight pressed you into the wall. Breathlessly, he lifted you off of him, one hand pulling his pants back up before taking you into his arms and making his way to the bed.

He laid you down gently, taking his place beside you and wrapping his arms around your waist before closing his eyes and humming contentedly. "So what did you think of your pseudo-Circle experience, Inquisitor?" he asked jokingly.

You giggled softly, fingers tracing his jaw dreamily. "Well, Commander," you began, "Even if it wasn't from shock, I can definitely say that five scarfs fluttered out of five."