Dear @@uriellactaea , I hope you like this. I fear I got sidetracked, but... I still hope it’s a good one - shot. Thank you very much for the prompt, it gave me so many ideas!
Cullen blended the flour and the yolks, stirring them together until they started to mix. He moved the wooden spoon in slow circles.
“Am I doing it right?” he asked starting to slowly add a pinch of grated lemon’s peel.
“Oh, yes,” Demetra purred, pressing her body against his “you’ve very talented hands. Just remember to continue in the same direction with every circle,” she said playing with the hem of his shirt.
Cullen chuckled, shaking his head “Stop it, I’m trying to concentrate.”
“Then don't let me stopping you,” she chuckled, putting a generous dose of chocolate chips inside the bowl “Now, continue to mix. I love so much when you’re focused on doing something,” she whispered, kissing his shoulder as she put a piece of chocolate in her mouth. Cullen looked at her “What’s going on with you? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”
Demetra played with the end of her long braid “I... I just want to express how much I appreciate you spending time helping me with the cake.”
Cullen smiled “It’s a pleasure, but I feel we won’t go really far if you continue to tease me like this.”
“Fine,” she huffed walking away, “I was just trying to make cooking fun for you. Dorian was right: being subtle is not my greatest quality.”
Cullen frowned, quickly cleaning his hands on the apron she had given him “Why do you think I’m not having fun spending some time with my lovely wife?”
She hit him playfully with a rag “I know you don’t particularly like cooking, lovely wife or not.”
Cullen embraced her and kissed the top of her head “I hope you know how much I love being around you, no matter what we’re doing.”
“But I bet you didn’t expect me to ask for help for your nephew’s birthday.”
“Our nephew,” he correctly, taking her hand and kissing the wedding ring “and I assure you I don’t mind being helpful. Not especially after that you, Bran and Vera had to organize the party all by yourselves.”
Demetra mumbled something and kissed his cheek “You were busy with the King. It was important since we want to have the Shelter ready to operate the next year.”
Cullen tilted her chin up “Are you still sure about this project?”
“Helping Templars who are trying to end their addiction seems a noble mission for a retired Inquisitor and her former Commander” she smiled softly.
Cullen wanted to express his gratitude once more, but she cut his reply “Plus, a lazy life doesn’t really suit you. Now, back to work, or the cake won’t be ready in time for Adam’s party.”
She pushed a lock escaped from her braid under her ear “I can cut the apples while you continue to knead.”
They worked quietly for a while and Demetra appreciated Cullen didn’t offer to cut the fruit for her. He had tried his best right after the aftermath of her losing a limb and she feared she hadn’t been always nice, but having him mothering her wasn’t what she needed.
In the beginning, she had wanted to do all by herself as she had always done. It had taken her tangled locks, shirts wrongly laced, and a good dose of humility to admit she needed help. When Demetra had finally summoned the courage to admit that it was pointless to try to be “like before”, Cullen was there. He had waited for and helped her to settle in a new life. He was doing well.
Demetra glanced at him “Add some flour - just a pinch - in the baking tray, please.”
As he was busy following her directions and lighting the fire in the kitchen, she added the apples and waited for him to pour the liquid soon - to - be cake in the tray.
“How long do you think it will take?” her husband asked as they observed the dessert cooking slowly. She frowned “I think twenty, thirty minutes more or less. Why?”
“Well, you said you liked me focused on doing things, right?”
She blushed and chuckled “Yes. Yes, I did.”
He hummed, catching her hips in his hands “And you like my hands, don’t you?”
“Correct again,” she smiled, kissing his gently his mouth.
His words were deliciously wicked against her lips “I think I have enough time to focus on using my hands on you. What do you say?”
She said his name, arching on their bed as he made her come hard and fast, lips sucking at her pulse point, his shaft inside her and his fingers playing with her breasts. She called him again when he shut his eyes, burying his face in her neck and coming spasming inside her.
When the waves of their climaxes slowly faded away, Demetra rung her fingers through his curls “Well, I’m going to ask you to help me cooking more often.”
His laughter rumbled and sent a jolt of pleasure through her body “I love you.”
“I love... oh, Maker!”
He didn’t need to ask why she had pushed him out of her so quickly and ran downstairs covered in just his shirt. The smell of burning cake was a clear enough answer.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Branson said, his mouth full of cake “this cake is fantastic, but I thought you were going to make one with apples and chocolate?”
Demetra convinced herself she wasn’t blushing “I thought a... simpler one was a better option, at the end.”
“You burn the first cake, didn’t you?” Mia asked Cullen, watching her nephew playing with his cousins in the huge garden. Her brother coughed and blushed, rubbing his neck “I got distracted.”
“I think I won’t ask you for details,” she declared, marching away with a knowing smirk on her lips.