Alistair was not amused. She could feel it in the tightness of his body against hers and in the strain of his fingers boring into her hips. He was rigid and clinging to her in a way she wouldn't have found unpleasant if it wasn't a clear signal for how unhappy he was with the current situation.

The current situation being that it wasn't only raining cats and dogs but also that they'd lost all but four of their horses in an ambush, among them Alistair's steed that he'd cooed over since he'd gotten it a few weeks earlier. Happy they could finally travel easier and faster. Happy that he had an animal to call his own for the first time in his life. Those times were, again, over now.

The last remaining horses were divided among them with a loose plan who got to ride when and who had to walk. For now they'd opted for having most of the animals carry their belongings while only Wynne, Alistair and herself were riding, the latter sharing the strongest horse. The both of them had been hurt during the fight. Not too bad but bad enough to slow the whole group down if they were walking. Wynne had done her best to heal them but it had tired her, so she'd gotten another horse. If their luck continued that way, they'd all probably catch a cold thanks to the pouring rain.

Elissa was sure they were a sorry sight. Well, if anyone could actually see them. It was hard to see more than a few paces ahead, even if water wasn't dropping into her eyes. She really couldn't wait to get some place dry, even if she knew it would still be at least a few hours until they'd reach the next town with an inn. The rain was too heavy to even consider setting camp themselves and if she was honest with herself, Elissa longed for a hot bath and a real bed.

But until they arrived somewhere, she had to seek comfort in the warm body behind hers. It wasn't too bad considered it had been too long since she'd been allowed to touch him. Since her fingers travelled over the wide expanse of his chest, since her lips traced the contours of his collarbone, since her teeth scraped the delicious line of his hipbones ...

Not even the cold rain could do anything against the heat creeping in her cheeks when she thought back at the last time they'd shared a tent, hands and mouths all over the place, unsure and trembling and yet oh-so-satisfying. What Alistair lacked in experience, he more than made up for in will to experiment. The result was that even now he was driving her mad with desire and they had not even taken that final step ...

Elissa chewed on her lower lip while musing the fact and watching the calm road before them. Its unevenness was throwing them around on the back of the horse more so than usually, making Alistair cling to her even tighter. She had to suppress a moan when she felt him press against her in the most intimate way without being able to do anything about it. Even through the rain she could hear the low chuckle next to her ear before a chin suddenly rested on her shoulder.

She threw a glare over her shoulder, finding Alistair grinning at her in a way that made her shiver and had nothing to do with the cold rain. Her eyes darted away from him to their companions which she could hardly see through the wet veil. She hadn't be aware that they were a good few paces before them. Alistair followed her eyes. When he turned back, he had the oddest expression. A mischievous glimmer in his eyes told her, that she probably didn't want to know what he was up to. His suddenly wandering hands told a different story, though.

Opening her mouth, Elissa snapped it shut again, when Alistair nodded his chin forward, signaling her to look back on the road. His hands still kept wandering. Before they'd rested on her hips, now his right was travelling down. They had to shed most of their armor when they decided to share her horse as not to get too heavy for the animal which meant she was merely wearing thin breeches right now, an advantage Alistair seemed to know how to use against her.

Leaving the laces alone for now, his fingers moved over her covered mound, drawing lazy circles over the cloth. Moving the chin on her shoulder ever so slightly, he buried his nose in her wet hair, breathing her in deeply. His hot breath crept over her cold skin, making her whole body shiver.

"Alistair," Elissa hissed, throwing another glance to their as-of-now unsuspecting friends.

"Hm?"

"Stop that."

"I'm bored."

"You are-"

"Bored. We've been riding for hours, I thought we could use a …change of pace."

"A change of …for the love of Andraste, Alistair. The others are right behind us."

"Well, seems like you have to be extra quiet this time, doesn't it, love?"

Before she could say anything more about the matter, Alistair pressed a finger against her outer lips, trying to part them through the cloth of her pants. A sharp hiss escaped her, resulting in another chuckle from her not-quite-lover. For a few torturous moments, he was content to toy with her through her pants but after a while, the speedup of her breath didn't seem to satisfy him any more. Elissa almost whimpered when his clever fingers left her mound until she felt them again at the laces that were keeping him out.

"Alist-"

A moan interrupted her when their horse stumbled a bit, not only making her heart leap but also unexpectedly had Alistair's fingers press harder against her. Her hands gripped the reins tighter while she wondered if she was truly awake or maybe unconscious from the ambush. This definitely didn't seem like a situation that would happen while she was awake.

Alistair on the other hand seemed perfectly at ease, tightness from before all but vanished now that he had a new task to take care of. After a bit of fumbling since his left seemed to refuse to leave its new place on her belly, his right finally managed to open her pants, not even hesitating for a second before slipping inside, ignoring her smalls completely. Elissa's eyes fluttered shut as her head fell back against Alistair's shoulder. She pressed her lips together, desperate to not make a sound.

Alistair's fingers were rough in the best way. They spoke of hard work, battles and strength. And yet they touched her with a tenderness that made her heart rebell against her ribcage in a combination of love and lust she could hardly bear. They weren't as cold as she'd feared but she still shuddered against him. The fingers against her belly tightened for a second, before letting go and vanishing. She opened her mouth to complain when they suddenly reappeared under her loose shirt. First she thought that he simply craved the touch of her skin but his left followed the example of the first and began to wander, although in the opposite direction.

Elissa wasn't sure if she should be relieved that she'd opted for not wearing her armor or curse it as it gave Alistair access to every part of her body he desired. And he desired all of it. She felt like she was burning his skin with the sudden heat of hers, every single one of his well considered movements stroking the fire inside of her, setting them both aflame.

Another whimper escaped her when he slipped his left under her breast band, not hesitating before starting to massage her breast. He used his big hand to not only push her back against his chest but also to knead her bosom with a force he'd never displayed before. The contrast of feeling both his hot skin as well as the cool linen shirt clinging to her was driving her mad in the best of ways.

Elissa leaned herself against him, slowly rotating her hips when she felt the effect their game had on him. His heart was thundering against her back while his cock was straining against his breeches, pressing against her ass. There was no doubt how much he enjoyed the situation despite the cold rain still drumming on their now heated bodies.

In the most heavenly and most torturous kind of synchronicity, Alistair scratched his blunt nails over her nipple and her pearl at the same time, drawing another, longer moan from her. Her eyes were still shut, head still resting on Alistair's shoulder while water poured down on her lips, washing away her whimpers and leaving only desire.

A warm mouth was pressed against her neck, slowly sucking and tasting the soft skin along her jawbone. Elissa rolled her hips again in an almost desperate grind. The friction against the saddle as well as Alistair's hand and cock drew a grunt from him and a small cry from her. His fingers had picked up the pace, switching their attention from her clit to her entrance. Her heart pounded harder with every too-slow and too-shy stroke. The part of her mind that was still capable of thought began to wonder if she could pass out from desire and if Alistair would catch her before she fell. No, of that she could be sure of. He would always catch her. If he didn't tease her to death first.

"Alistair, please ..."

"Alistair, please what?" A rough voice asked against her ear, hot breath a stark contrast to the cold water.

"Please ..."

She couldn't form another clear thought. One of her hands let go of the reins to grip one of Alistair's tights, framing hers. Not even in their tent she'd ever been this close to him, pressed against him in all the right places but one. This time it was him rolling his hips against her, pressing his still restrained length against her ass, hoping to create the much needed friction. His right made sure she had no place to escape – not that she'd wanted to. Resting his thumb on her clit, two of his fingers finally, mercifully entered her.

Elissa bucked against him, trying not to cry out again, still very much aware that all that was between them and their friends were Alistair's back, the veil the hard rain created and not even 25 feet of space.

The narrow space her pants created for Alistair's hand was less than optimal but the delicious curl of his fingers and his circling thumb made the best of it. His left was back to kneading, concentrating on the other breast now and leaving his arm curled around her torso. He was holding her prisoner with his whole body and she couldn't think of a single reason why that could be a bad idea. She couldn't think.

A tight coil was forming in her belly, ready to unfurl at any moment. The rain could do nothing to quell the flames anymore, the burning inside of her was way beyond that. Feeling his cock rubbing against her ass all she wanted was to sink on her knees, open wide and have him take her as hard and fast as humanly possible while screaming his name until her voice was raw and her arms and legs gave in.

It was that last thought that finally pushed her over the edge, that made the tight coil snap and had her clench around Alistair's fingers. Her release came so fast and violent, she couldn't even make a sound. Her whole body shook under the force of her orgasm. It was only Alistair's arms holding her upright or she would've fallen off the horse, shuddering and gasping and too happy to care.

He never stopped touching her, not even when the aftershocks rocked her body. His fingers stayed inside of her, his left hand not bruising anymore, but still holding her breast and holding her against him. His arms had turned from desireable prison to shelter and she never wanted to leave either. She never wanted to leave his arms.

Spend and exhausted, Elissa rested in his arms, head still on his shoulder, eyes still closed. A shudder went through her body when Alistair extracted his fingers from her pants, drawing another gasp from her. When she didn't move after a few moments, she felt Alistair nudging her with his nose.

"You alright?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Voice lazy and saturated, she turned her head a bit, opening her eyes just enough as not to miss him when she leaned in for a kiss.

"What about you," she mumbled against his lips.

"I'm good."

"Yes you are, but that wasn't what I meant." She rolled her hips against the remaining evidence of their game, drawing a growl from him. Elissa could basically feel him rolling her eyes at her bad joke but still relished his chuckle.

His answer was delayed by the sounds of feed hitting the mud. Just a few seconds later a very drenched looking Zevran caught up with them, slightly out.

"You have been awfully quiet, my friends. Is everything –" Pushing his blonde mane out of his eyes and looking up to them, he broke off, eyes suddenly going wide and a smug grin appearing on his face. Elissa could feel the heat creeping up to her face, sure not even the dim light of nightfall could hide her blush.

"Ah, I see. I'll just return to the others then. You two keep having fun."

With that he vanished into the rain again, out of sight after just a few steps. Elissa stared after him.

"That was … odd. Do you think he ... suspected anything?"

"Alistair?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Your hand is still on my tit."

"Oh."

Author's Note:

A very late birthday present for the aweseome Eternalshiva She asked for a fic with Alistair/Cousland. I haven't written either of them before so I hope I got them right.

(This fic is unbeta-ed and English is not my first language so please excuse any mistakes or oddities. You are more than welcome to point them out to me so I can fix them asap!)