[Fic] Too Close for Comfort
Art by @szajnie and commissioned by me. See the full pic here - very NSFW
For my new followers who may not have read some of my older works, here’s a taste.
Fic excerpt taken from my completed fic,Trying Not to Love You
First person - Cullen POV
The day of the ball at Halamshiral arrives far too soon for my liking. I find myself trussed up a dress uniform jacket that’s much too tight and sandwiched in between Blackwall and Sera in one of the carriages that are taking us to the event. Evelyn, Dorian, and Cassandra sat across from us, happily chatting away.
“I don’t want to hear another word about peaches,.You hear me?” Blackwall grumbles while leaning forward to glare round me at Sera.
Peaches, is it? Raising one eyebrow, I lean back to let the two companions converse, but Sera nudges me hard in the ribs and whines “Oi, Cully, your shoulders are too big — scoot over!”
I roll my eyes and sigh, trying to shift, so the elf has more room, but my shoulder brushes Blackwall’s. I mutter an apology to the other man and groan. It’s going to be a long ride to Val Royeaux.
I catch Evelyn giving me an amused look. “What?” I huff.
“You look very handsome tonight, Commander. Doesn’t he, Dorian?”
The other mage nods his head in assent. “Indeed he does. The color red becomes you, Commander.”
I shrug, earning a dirty look from Sera who promptly leans across my lap to make a lewd gesture with her mouth and fingers at Blackwall. The Warden turns his head away to stare at the scenery passing outside the carriage window.
“Um, thank you,” I say to Dorian, tugging at my collar. “But I should have had the jacket let out a little.”
“Oh, but it looks smashing on you!”
I peer at Dorian curiously. Is he having a go at me? I can never tell. “As you say,” I respond.
“And, darling, I must say you look ravishing, as well, wouldn’t you agree, Commander?”
I look over Evelyn in her midnight blue split skirt ensemble that Vivienne and Josephine put together for her. It hugs her every curve in ways that do things to me.
“Quite,” I agree. Is it wrong of me that I want to strip her out of that outfit, bury my face twixt her legs and taste her again? The two return to their conversation and I am left with my own thoughts once again.
Folding my arms over my chest, I lean my head against the back of the carriage seat and close my eyes. I wonder if I can nap until we get there. I can already feel a headache starting above my left eyebrow, and a little sleep would help, especially because I’ve been getting so bloody little of it lately.
Whispered giggles pull me out of my half-sleep an hour or so later. I crack open one eye and look across the carriage at Dorian and Evelyn. The two mages have their heads together and are quietly talking and laughing together, while Cassandra has her nose buried deep in another of Varric’s smutty serials.
I consider the two of them together.Dorian is lithe and handsome, with an engaging smile and plenty of charm. He comes from a noble house, albeit Tevinter, but still, the man has everything that I lack. He is also, like her, a mage.
As I watch Dorian clasp one of her hands in his and draw it to his lips, it occurs to me that he would be the perfect man for her — and yet, the very idea of her with anyone else makes me want to hurt somebody. I’m suddenly aware that my hands have balled into fists and I have to relax them forcibly.
She isn’t yours, Rutherford. You can never have a woman like her, and you know it.
I close my eyes and try again to find rest, but thoughts of Evelyn and Dorian spiral out of control in my mind, making my headache worse. Andraste give me the strength to make it through the night.
