Blythe is awoken by nightmares of Bhaal, and cannot seem to shake the dream from her mind. Astarion is more than happy to help his love focus on something else, so she can stop thinking for just a moment.
A little piece for denimlich on Bluesky starring their tav Barry!
The bed creaked as Barry settled onto it, sighing as they flopped back completely, legs dangling off the side. The tavern was a welcome respite, for the trek they and Astarion had over the past few days. A little civilization was always nice. A bed was even nicer.
Barry heard the old chain lock on the door, as Astarion locked them in. They turned their head, light eyes squinting open to see Astarion turn, lean against the door, taking a moment to simply drag his pretty red eyes over them. "Something the matter?"
Astarion pursed his lips, before he pushed off the door, crossing the room in a silence that would be eerie from anyone else. He planted a knee on the bed, but didn't climb on, as Barry pushed themselves up on an elbow. "Just thinking."
Barry grinned. "A dangerous thing."
"Oh hush you!" Astarion smacked their thigh playfully, before his hand shifted up, grasped the meat of their hip. "And here I was considering a little fun with my darling." He leaned over Barry then, nuzzled into their neck, could smell the dirt from the road and the scent of their skin, the blood beneath flesh. One hand roamed up Barry's body, fingers dancing along the intricate embroidery of their vest, before reaching up over their chin, gently tracing their lower lip. Barry tipped their head back, but then they opened their mouth, those fingers pulled away, Astarion huffing a little chuckle into their neck. "Can I interest you?"
Barry thought on it for a moment- sex with Astarion was fun, would be a nice way to relax, after the past several days on the road. Plus, the vampire was always quite cuddly after, even if he refused to admit it- it would make catching a few hours of sleep much easier.
Barry gave a nod, and Astarion pushed himself off Barry, gesturing to the bed. "Do lay down properly my love, or we'll end up sprawled on the floor with a cracked skull. And that's not the fun I'm looking for this evening."
Barry shifted about, flopping back into the pillows. The moment they did Astarion was reaching for their vest, deft fingers opening it.
"Too much clothing," Astarion muttered to himself, even if he was always trying to pick even flashier clothing for Barry. "All of it off."
"Whatever the lord commands," Barry teased, sitting up long enough to remove the vest, tossing it away, shirt following as well. The room's air was rather warm against their soft body- a nice change to the harsh evening air in the wilderness. Astarion had leaned in the other direction, worked on the laces of their boots while they had begun to strip.
"Quite right. I can play the prince if you like, my sweet. I can tell you what I want." His eyes roved down as his fingers moved to the lacing of Barry's pants. "And what I want is you. Naked."
Barry lifted their hips, let Astarion pull the rest of their clothing down their legs, shove it off the side of the bed. The moment it was gone Astarion straddled one of their thighs, rocking against the plush flesh, as he reached forward, grasped Barry's chin in his hand and pressed two fingers hard against their mouth. They slipped past their lips, and Astarion made a pleased little noise as Barry's tongue rolled over his fingertips. His other hand slid along Barry's chest- gave one breast a bruisingly tight squeeze, as if to make sure Barry was fully with him, before his hand slid between Barry's thighs, rubbing along their lips.
Barry suckled at Astarion's fingers as the vampire rocked against their thigh again, Astarion's mouth open enough that his panted breaths were noticeable, his eyes dancing in bemusement as he continued to tease sensitive, warm skin, but not push past it. Barry dug a heel into the bed, tried to bare their cunt more, but Astarion ignored the action entirely, eyes fixated on the way Barry's mouth worked at his fingers.
"That's my little darling," Astarion whispered, breathy, a bit of color trying to rise to his cheeks. Barry could feel the shape of his cock becoming more pronounced despite the vampire's pants. "What would you do if this was my cock?"
Barry teased their tongue along Astarion's fingers, flicked the tips, had the vampire shuddering, breathing out good, good good good. His fangs seemed so visible as his lips curled into an almost smile, looking so pleased as he finally slipped his fingers past Barry's lips, found their clit and rubbed it very slowly.
Barry huffed a breath, groaning around Astarion's fingers, as the vampire pushed them deeper, slid them over Barry's tongue, a breath from choking them but not quite there. Astarion knew the line, knew how to toe it, knew how to make it good. Beneath him, the bard squirmed, yet Astarion refused to move his fingers faster.
"Can't have this over quite yet," he chided, keeping his pressure even, his movements slow. "Oh darling, that would just be too soon. And you're doing so good- so, hn," he broke off, Astarion shuddering as he continued to slide along Barry's thigh. "So-good."
Barry eased their tongue between Astarion's two fingers, and in response the vampire slipped his down their cunt, pushed two inside their waiting body. Barry quaked, eyes wanting to roll- instead their lashes fluttered, Astarion's name whimpered around the fingers in their mouth.
Astarion curled his fingers, found that spot inside Barry with a practiced ease, pressed up against it as Barry's teeth gently brushed his fingers. Astarion hissed, his hips stuttering, his cock so obvious now it had to ache. "Ah, ah, ah, my sweet- only I get to use my teeth." He flashed a smile, and Barry could feel them in their neck, the memories fresh and yet never fresh enough.
Barry rolled their hips as Astarion drummed his fingers against that spot, felt the corners of their eyes growing wet as the need to come welled up in their pelvis, their belly. But as good as Astarion's fingers felt in them, it wouldn't be enough.
They knew Astarion was well aware- and he was using that to his advantage, to tease. Devil that he was.
Barry clutched at the bed beneath them, twisted the blanket in their hands, as they began to lose the focus to keep their tongue working- all they could do was suck at Astarion's fingers as they thrust over their tongue, like the fingers in their cunt.
"Desperate, are we?" Astarion leaned over them a little, his cock a blatant hard press to Barry's thigh. "Do we want to come, my love? Hmm? Use your words- oh, silly me. You can't, can you?" Astarion spread his fingers, forced Barry's tongue between them, as he pushed harder to the sweet spot inside them. "Seems your mouth is too preoccupied."
Barry managed to lift their thigh slightly, rub against Astarion's clothed cock- watched his eyes nearly roll as he cursed. The moment Barry relaxed Astarion pulled his fingers from them- both mouth and eager cunt- and nearly tore his own shirt off, tossing it away.
Seemed he could only keep up the teasing for so long himself.
Astarion stripped quickly, as Barry watched, biting at their lip and reaching down for their clit, rubbing little circles into it. It sent little jolts of bliss up their nerves, along the mapping of synapses throughout their body. Astarion was too good at making them feel good, that they could be close already.
Astarion- who had climbed from the bed to finish removing the rest of his clothes- clicked his tongue and reached for Barry's wrist, grasping it and pulling their hand away. "Oh no my love, not yet. When you come, it will be around me." He lifted Barry's hand, lapped eagerly at their fingers, humming over the taste, before he moved his lips to their palm, and then their wrist. Barry felt Astarion's unneeded breath leave him as his tongue flicked against the bard's pulse, savoring it.
Before the vampire could be too tempted, he released Barry's wrist, climbing between their thighs, holding his cock by the base. Precum was rolling down over his fingers, his desire palpable, as he rubbed his cockhead along Barry's pussy, teased at their hole before finding their clit. He only teased for a moment, but it had Barry tossing their head, short hair tousling against the pillow.
Astarion was wordless, when he eased his cock into them- wordless, at least, for the first half a breath, before he was cursing, the thrust ending quickly as he jerked his hips forward, pelvis pressing tight to Barry's warm body. Barry dug their shoulders into the mattress, arching, as Astarion pulled back and thrust again, just as quickly. Merciless, he could be, would be, it seemed.
He was panting out little yeses, as his fingers trapped Barry's clit, jerked it a few times. Barry groaned, the sound ending in a whine when Astarion pulled his fingers away, just as they were beginning to feel an orgasm take hold, in their gut, clawing up into the spaces of their ribs.
The vampire grinned, wicked and divine and surreal, made a show of sucking his two fingers into his mouth as his cock speared Barry so perfectly, rubbed over and just past that sweet spot inside them. When he pulled his fingers free they were saliva slick, and glided with such ease over Barry's clit in little circles.
"Are you there, love? Darling are you close?" Astarion's eyes were dancing lights cast through rubies, his stare so intent, as if the room, the very realms had dissolved around them- there was Barry, and nothing else. Barry managed a nod, chest heaving in heavy breaths now- and the moment they did, Astarion pulled his fingers away. "Stay on the edge," he pleaded, "on the edge with me."
Barry lifted a hand, wanted to touch Astarion in any way- and the vampire leaned over them, covered their hand with his own and nuzzled into it affectionately. He kissed their palm again, then their wrist- gave a hunger-laced hiss as Barry's pulse was racing now, rugged and firm in their veins.
"Take what you need from me," they managed, an invitation, one Astarion had been waiting, hoping for. His mouth opened, fangs splitting Barry's skin like silks, sinking into their wrist. It was a moment of icy pain, a jolt of a death-like cold that had Barry bucking, their cunt going tight around Astarion, as the vampire slowed his thrusts. He pulled his fangs back, covered the wound with his mouth, drank deeply.
Barry swore they could feel the blood pulled directly from their heart, swore the organ was being ripped from their chest, swallowed whole by Astarion's eager throat. The vampire kept a firm hold on their hand, tongue laving over the wound, as his hips rocked, this slow but deep rhythm that had Barry's body going tight with each movement. Gods, they were so close.
Astarion's other hand trailed down his own body, before he paused his thrusts fully as he drank, fingers moving back to Barry's clit, rubbing slowly. Barry's breath caught, and they could just see Astarion trying to smile, against their wrist. Every few strokes of his fingers had Barry's cunt squeezing Astarion's cock, had the vampire quaking. He began to thrust again, still so deep it made Barry's breath rush from their lungs, as he suckled at their wrist, his fingers finding that perfect rhythm against their clit.
Barry tipped their head fully back, moaning Astarion's name, as their orgasm finally took root, sunk so deep into their muscles that there was no escape. They milked Astarion's cock as he thrust slowly, their pulse spiking and filling Astarion's mouth. The vampire whimpered, and despite the haze of their orgasm rushing through them, Barry was aware when Astarion found release, felt the rush inside them as he buried himself so deep, tried to implant his being into Barry's very marrow.
Astarion slumped, pulled from Barry's wrist, as the bard went lax, against the bed. A drop of blood rolled down Barry's arm slowly from one of the wounds, as Astarion panted, his mouth smeared red. Wordlessly, he pulled out, laid himself out along Barry's side, a leg tossed over them, as he left a blood-sticky kiss on Barry's shoulder. "You're too good to me," Astarion mumbled, soaking in Barry's body heat, content to cling to them- exactly as Barry knew he would.
Blythe is awoken by nightmares of Bhaal, and cannot seem to shake the dream from her mind. Astarion is more than happy to help his love focus on something else, so she can stop thinking for just a moment.
A little piece for brandi-peach on Bluesky starring their lovely durge, Blythe!
Read below or on AO3!
Pairing: Astarion x female Tav
Tags: gentle edging, comfort sex, dirt talk, cunnilingus, vaginal sex
Blythe sat curled into a plush chair in the modest living room of her cabin, fingers idly plucking at the edge of the long shirt she had slept in, where it rested against her bare thighs. She wasn't sure how long she'd sat there, in the false darkness the heavy curtains provided, staring at the arm of the chair, her mind racing, unable to cling to a single thought.
She'd woken up in a sweat, a strangled gasp lodged in her throat, a tremble of sheer terror in her body. It had been some time since she'd been plagued by nightmares of her father, of the oath she once took for Bhaal and then broke, when the blood-thirst haze had lifted from her eyes. There wasn't a single detail of the dream that she could cling to- just blood and gore and the feeling of reveling in whatever it was Bhaal had commanded. Anything for him.
She squeezed her eyes shut, tried to find something else to focus on. Softly, she began to hum a tune, a slow melody that seemed to match the desired beat of her heart. The tune was one she had picked up years prior, though she couldn't remember where. It was wordless, something she had never put to instrument either- it was personal, just for her, something to force herself to focus, to calm.
When she opened her eyes, lifted her head, she found she wasn't alone. Across the room, at the base of the stairs was Astarion, clad still from his trance in nothing but his underwear, watching her in silence. She paused her humming, and after a moment her vampire offered, "You weren't in bed."
"No, I… I couldn't sleep." Astarion crossed the room, fluid like, and crouched down in front of the chair, placing a cool hand on her bare thigh, thumb rubbing little circles into it. "A nightmare," Blythe admitted, and then, concerned, "Did I wake you?"
"No," Astarion said, looking up at her with a soft, concerned gaze. "Darling no- but I wish you had. Father again?" Blythe appreciated that Astarion didn't refer to him as your father- he took the claim Bhaal once had to the blood in Blythe's veins and instead used the title as simply a name. She had noticed he didn't love to utter Bhaal in her presence.
She nodded, worried her lip, and Astarion reached up with his other hand, slipped his fingers past her free, dark hair so he could cradle her cheek.
"I'd ask if you'd like to tell me about it, but I know the answer." Blythe leaned her cheek into his touch. "Anytime I hear that little tune, I know you'd rather just stop thinking." He leaned closer, gave her thigh a squeeze. "Tell me what I can do, my sweet."
Blythe sucked in a breath. Astarion was right, she didn't want to talk about it- she wanted her mind to shut off for a moment, to simply cease, and when she came to, the fear would have receded, and she could be rational.
"Turn off my thoughts." Spoken softly, barely a whisper- but Astarion smiled still, leaned just close enough that he could place a near chaste kiss to her lips.
"It's always an honor," he murmured against her mouth, the hand on her thigh sliding higher, until it had pushed past the hem of her nightshirt, found the crease of her leg where it met pelvis. His thumb traced the fabric of her panties, his unneeded breath cool against her lips. "Any requests?"
Blythe smiled, just faintly. "Your choice, my star."
Astarion hummed his approval, before he pulled away from her mouth- she almost chased him, would have welcomed being kissed until her lips were numb- but she resisted, as Astarion settled on his knees properly, guided her to lean back, off the arm of the chair. Carefully he unfolded her legs, deft fingers slipping beneath the waist of her panties so he could guide them off her legs. He left them discarded on the floor, before he inched up her nightshirt. "Your hand, little love," he whispered, and she offered it. He took it, guided her fingers to grasp the shirt and pull it up, exposing her cunt to the cool air. "There we are," he murmured, smiling softly to himself. "Keep that right there for me."
Blythe bit at her lip, wanted to squirm under his stare. Astarion could look at any part of her like she was sculpted from white gold, diamond encrusted and shimmering. Her cunt was no different.
Astarion spread her legs more, exposed her further, before he leaned in, placed a gentle kiss against her pussy. Blythe released her lip, gave a little sigh, as just the tip of Astarion's tongue moved past her lips, teased her clit in a feather soft touch. She couldn't resist squirming then, and Astarion chuckled.
"Eager little thing," he chided, before he pressed his mouth fully to her, tongue laving over her clit. Blythe tossed her head back at the sensation, sucking in a breath as a single tremble worked through her. Astarion's tongue was skilled, beyond anything she had ever experienced from another lover- it was as if he had bedded her once and learned her every desire.
He flicked over her clit quickly, both his hands on her thighs now, squeezing- nails indenting skin but not breaking. Blythe wriggled beneath his hold, panted a broken, "A-starion," and dropped her hold on her shirt, hands grasping at the arms of her chair. The moment she did he pulled back, looked up at her with a false stern expression.
He was nearly smiling.
"Ah ah, I said hold onto that for me." He released one of her thighs, plucked her hand from the arm of the chair, and guided it back to her belly, to gather up her shirt and pull it up high, to her navel. "Every time you let go, I stop."
"Astarion-"
"So make sure you focus on not letting go." He held her stare for a moment- and it was obvious, what he was doing, giving her something mundane to focus on so she could fall into the pleasure and stop thinking- but it didn't make her any less thankful. She gripped her shirt tightly, as Astarion lowered his head, took his time running his tongue up along her lips, before pushing past them to lave slow and firm over her clit again.
Blythe swallowed thickly, little tendrils of pleasure snaking out from her pelvis, up along her back. She twisted her shirt in her hand, pushed all of her focus into making sure she didn't let go- because the thought of Astarion stopping as she was throttling towards an orgasm was terrifying.
She began to tremble again, her other hand gripping the arm of the chair until her knuckles were white. Her darling vampire pushed closer, tongue flicking up over her clit again, quickly, a means to a very distinct end.
Her arm lowered a little, her shirt brushing down against Astarion's hair- and gods damn him, he lifted his head without hesitation. "I didn't let go!" Blythe managed, and oh, Astarion laughed.
"Desperate?" he asked, his voice low, his lips wet with her desire. "Close, are we, little love?"
Blythe narrowed her eyes, could have screamed- even more so when Astarion lowered his head, but turned to kiss her thigh instead of her waiting pussy, the tips of his fangs brushing along the soft, sensitive skin.
"Ask me nicely," he taunted, mouth so close, so bloody close, but not there, not yet, not where she wanted it.
"Please, Astarion."
"Please what?"
"Let me cum." Her voice wavered, and Astarion beamed, face lighting up in sheer delight.
He pressed a single, slow, lingering kiss to her cunt. "How?" Blythe sucked in a breath, her breasts heaving beneath her shirt as she tried so hard not to pant like a feral little thing in heat. "Tell me how you want to come, Blythe. Tell me what you want."
What did she want? Him- simple as that. She wanted Astarion. But when she tried to tell him as much, he simply clicked his tongue, disapproving- even if it was impossible to miss the flash of affection in those pretty sanguine eyes. And when her response earned her another lingering kiss but nothing more, Blythe let out a shaky, exasperated breath. "Use your mouth."
"I am."
Cheeky little bastard. "Your tongue." Astarion pointedly stuck his tongue out, before he eased it against her clit, began rolling over the now hard bud in slow circles. She shivered, tipped her head back again, bed tousled hair tickling along her shoulders. "That- Astarion, hn, please."
He got both hands on her thighs again, pushed them wide open, until her knees bumped the arms to the chair. He suckled at her clit softly, got a well deserved whine for his efforts, and Blythe released her hold on the chair, that hand finding his curls, fingers tangling in the soft, snowy locks. She pulled him closer, felt him groan, heard the chair creak as Astarion's hips rocked forward.
This time when the pleasure began to take root, deep in the hollows of her spine, Astarion didn't pull back. Her moan had him moving his tongue faster, his hands gripping her thighs with near bruising force as they began to quake again. She felt the orgasm clawing at her, belly going tight, body desperate- and when the bliss crested, Blythe was speechless, a wordless moan falling from her lips as she dropped her head back, hips rolling up against Astarion's mouth, riding his tongue in an endless attempt to deepen the pleasure beyond the all encompassing haven it already was.
When she finally went lax, body limp and satiated, Astarion lifted his head. He was panting as she glanced down her body, saw his pretty mouth open as he sucked in breaths he forgot he didn't need. He crawled up onto the chair, pinning her to it, sought out her mouth and kissed her desperately. His lips and tongue were hot like the core of her, his kiss tasting of her cunt, her bliss- and it had her melting further, getting her arms around his shoulders, fingers playing at the top of his scars.
"I'm not," Astarion whispered, the thought punctured by another round of feverish kisses, "done with you, yet." He nipped at her lower lip, pinned it between deadly teeth, before releasing it. He stood up, and she watched, slightly bleary eyed, as he eased the waistband of his underwear down. His cock bobbed free, the tip flushed, proof that any blood he'd had in him had rushed directly to his groin upon the first taste of her. Without thought she licked her lips, and Astarion grinned, this wickedly gorgeous smile. "Don't tease me with that look now," he managed, stepping out of his underwear, leaving him blissfully, wantonly nude. "As much as I want to feel that tongue and throat on my cock…" he paused, and for a moment Blythe thought he might never finish the thought- that he might drag her from to chair to tumble onto the floor, to let her taste him- "I want to feel you come around me more."
Well, she couldn't argue that. Astarion lifted his hand, twirled a finger, indicating he wanted her to turn around- and Blythe let her body move without thought. She got up onto her knees, turned so she was draped against the back of the chair, her nightshirt falling over the curve of her ass, obscuring all that sweetness from view.
She heard Astarion's clicked tongue, before his fingers gripped her shirt, pushing it up to bunch at the gentle curve of her waist. His hands roamed down over her ass then, squeezed plush flesh, before gently pushing her thighs open as wide as possible within the confines of the chair.
She felt him rub his cockhead along her slit- gather the wetness from her first orgasm, slide along her still hypersensitive, swollen clit. She bit back a groan, but couldn't fight the way she ground against his cock.
Astarion hummed, one hand on her hip, the other holding his cock steady. "Could you come like this I wonder?" he asked, continuing to slide his cock against her clit. Her mouth fell open, breaths turning to pants quickly, as she felt her cunt gushing against his cock, her enjoyment of the touch obvious. "Oh, I think you could."
He was right, she was sure. Already she could feel the dregs of her first orgasm awakening the next inside her. And oh, to have him ground against her until he came, painting her belly and pussy with his pearly seed-
She almost asked for it, but before she could, with his next rock against her, Astarion eased inside her. And all of the desire for anything else other than for him to fill her to her core, her very fucking soul, dissipated. She grasped desperately at the chair, held on as Astarion paused with her ass nestled against his pelvis, his cock fully sheathed in her heated body.
"That's -ah, that's my girl." He got both hands on her waist then- and when she squirmed, tried to get some friction, she heard his breath catch. "Ah, Blythe- love, give me- a- gods' sake, a moment."
His hands were shaking, against her. She glanced over her shoulder- noticed his cheeks had a flush to them, now- as much a flush as possible, for his undead pallor. He had screwed his eyes shut, seemed to be trying to calm himself.
She couldn't help herself- she squeezed around him, watched his eyes snap open, a whine escaping him.
"Little siren," he chided, baring his teeth, as if he was ever a threat to her. He pushed her forward, before pulling her back along his cock, setting a rhythm that seemed to ignore the fact that he was on the edge after only the initial thrust.
Blythe had to turn away, let her head drop as she groaned and whimpered with each brush of his cock inside her. He hit every nerve so right, made her feel as if her blood was burning, her nerves static with fresh lightning. She pushed back to meet each thrust, the cabin dissolving into the sounds of panted breaths, Astarion's desperate moans, her broken whimpers- and the wet sound of flesh on flesh.
She felt the way his body trembled, before Astarion abruptly pulled out of her body. He gathered her up in his arms, turning her to face him, nearly tearing her nightshirt up off her. He tossed it away, pulled her as flush to him as he could, his hands delving and tangling in her free hair, his mouth seeking hers out.
His tongue made her dizzy, still tasted like her, as it slid along her own, as she rubbed herself against his chest- her breasts pinned between them, her nipples pushing into his chilled skin.
"I need to see you," he murmured into the kiss, "while I'm inside you." She shivered, stared up at him- light eyes seeming large, doe like- allowing herself not to think, to just feel, to revel in the adoration in Astarion's eyes.
She let herself fall back against the chair, spread her legs- draped one up over the arm of the chair. Absent-mindedly she cupped one of her breasts, squeezed the sensitive flesh, felt the tingle of arousal as her nipple rubbed into her palm. Astarion's breath rushed out as he leaned over her, planted a knee on the chair and held his cock steady as he eased back into her waiting body. Blythe tipped her head back, and Astarion bowed over her, nuzzled into her neck, dragged his fangs along her pulse, causing her to shiver.
He braced one hand on the back of the chair, gripping it tightly, as the other covered the hand cupping her breast, guided her to squeeze again. "I neglected you here, darling," he managed, as he slipped his hand beneath hers, pinched a nipple between his fingers, rolled it slowly. "I'll make amends, after."
Blythe could only nod, turned her head slightly when Astarion lifted his head again, sought his mouth out for a kiss. It was passion and fire and love, everything flooding into her as she reached for his shoulders, held on tightly.
"Touch yourself," Astarion whispered, before his tongue was far too busy with her own to consider words. She squeezed his shoulder in response, before one hand slipped between them. She ignored her clit, however, and delved her fingers down to part her lips, bracket Astarion's cock as it slid into her with each thrust.
Astarion broke their kiss, pressed his forehead against hers. "Hnn, darling, I know you can- by the gods." His hips stuttered, a tremble running through his thighs. "You can come for me, on me. Please, before I lose myself to you."
She trembled, moved her fingers back up to her clit. She was desperate as she touched, the fire inside her billowing up her belly, into her rib cage. It was Astarion's name that tumbled from her lips when she came, digging her blunt nails into his one shoulder as her cunt milked his cock, holding him in deep. Astarion gave himself over to the bliss not even a breath later, a sighed, "Blythe," leaving him, as she felt his orgasm warm her inside, stoke the aching fire.
She dropped back against the chair, panting, as Astarion didn't pull out, but leaned into her, felt like a comforting weight pinning her down. She reached up, brushed his hair back, smiled fondly up at him as he turned slightly, kissed one of her wrists.
And, without meaning to, she began to hum, very softly. The same, wordless, unknown tune- except this time it felt like a blanket, over the two of them. Astarion placed a second kiss to her wrist, offered a very quiet "you're safe," murmured against her skin.
Yes, she was. Here, in this home, this city, this life with him- she was safe. Never again would father get his hooks into her, puppet her like a skeletal marionette.