Dedicated to @NicoleSilverlance - an incurable romantic

and also @D_ja_vu aka 0shiva0 for being such a little star in her enthusiastic reading and voting

WARNING: Mature content follows, namely of a sexual nature. If you are in anyway offended, embarrassed or uncomfortable by this, do not read this chapter. 

Drew had witnessed Sarah leave the camp, and so he snuck off through the trees and groundcover in hot pursuit. He thought perhaps the demon hunters had a hand in her leaving camp. He had seen Arcaena and Tiene speaking with Sarah, quite fervently, about five minutes earlier.

He did not like her venturing off on her own, especially not in this environment, although he suspected she would not be going too far. Then again, she seemed pre-occupied with something these days and no matter how he tried she would not open up about it.

He kept low, and tread as carefully as he could so not to give away his location. He patted the sword attached to his belt for reassurance should he need to defend them as they journeyed deeper into the woods.

The sound of water reached his ears and he crossed to his right, daring to close in on her shape as she slowed her pace. He watched as she stopped in front a waterfall, and lowered herself behind some bushes. He moved his head to find her point of view. Khadgar. The Archmage was bathing under the falls. Sarah! Naughty girl, he thought, grinning.

His attention moved back to her as he sensed movement. His breathing deepened a little as he witnessed her remove her clothing and slip into the water. Lowering his eyes, he questioned whether he should remain. Then again... his dark eyes glanced guiltily from under his long lashes, as he watched her step up against Khadgar's back. Even from his location, he could see how she felt being close to the man she cared for so deeply.

It was a moving scene and he willed the Archmage to turn and love her as she deserved. But what was this? He seemed to step away from her. Was he mad? Now she was upset? Angry? No! You bloody fool Khadgar, he thought.

A twig behind him snapped and he shot round, landing on his back grabbing for his sword. Tiene stood over him.

"Tiene!" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you, Drew Stewart." She glanced at the couple in the water, her spectral sight soaking in their thermal readings. She turned back to Drew. "Ah..." she said, almost purring, "...you like to watch?" Her lips curled over her tiny fangs suggestively.

"Yes...I mean no!" he stammered. Oh god, he panicked, totally embarrassed that he had been discovered watching his friend having a very intimate moment.

She knelt down beside him deliberately swaying her backside in front of his face. He was blushing furiously. She glanced back at the falls. "Ooh!" she said, drawing his attention back to Sarah and Khadgar. He blushed deeper. 

"No!" he whispered, turning away once more. He realised she had just tricked him into looking. She giggled at his reaction.

This wasn't how he'd visualised being alone with Tiene. His plans for a slow, romantic, seduction were blown right out the water. God, she must think I'm depraved.

"I think it excites you," she said, licking her lips. He continued shaking his head in the negative. She made a grab for his crotch. He yelped. "Oh, but it does excite you!" she smiled, caressing the bulge in his pants while undoing her leather chaps and chest armour. Drew was frozen to the spot, eyes wide as her nakedness was upon him.

"Let's not waste a good thing," she breathed in his ear. With lightning speed she rid him of his pants and straddled him. She omitted a bestial howl as she sank onto his length. Once more he yelped, before his panic melted into sublime pleasure.

Silently, Sarah watched Khadgar, in an almost predatory manner, from the cover of deep purple and jade foliage. Soft rays from the silver moon filtered down on the falls giving the scene a truly magical ambience.

It had been a long time since last she saw his naked body. She drank in the lines of his physique, envious as rivulets from the waterfall were permitted to caress his shoulders and torso. Places she was forbidden to touch now. Her hunger had never lessened, although she had tried to suppress it. Watching him bathe in the crystal waters, the thought of never being held by him again, tore her apart. She knew it would be a selfish act, but she needed him tonight.

Quietly, she shed her clothing and slipped into the pool. Taking a deep breath, she went under and swam close to where he stood below the falls. She surfaced slowly, behind him. Tentatively she reached out, almost afraid that once she made contact, he would simply vanish, a hallucination of her desire. His head moved to the side, his senses piqued. "Sarah?" he breathed.

"Yes," she whispered back. Her hand hovered mere inches from his shoulder.

He sighed, dolefully. "Why are you here? You know I cannot..." he ran a nervous hand through his hair.

Her voice shaking, she replied, "Yes, I know. I am trying to respect your vows Khadgar, truly I am, but will you at least, grant me one last embrace. I beg you! Do this and I will ask no more from you. Ever." Her voice hitched slightly.

He did not answer. Assuming his lack of response did not infer a negative, she risked moving her hand forward until her fingertips touched his skin. She felt him inhale. Stepping forward, her body brushed up against his back, her left arm encircled him travelling up his chest, pulling him close. Her head leaned on his shoulder where she still held him with her right hand. With eyes closed, she once again felt waves of desire coursing through her from the nearness of his body. The warmth and texture of his skin took her breath away.

He did not resist her touch but remained silent, his heart racing, his breathing deep and heavy. His hands met hers. A sigh escaped her lips, a glimmer of hope ...

"I cannot," he said hoarsely. Slowly he turned in her embrace, pulling slightly away. He still trembled at her touch. The steel eyes locked with her hazel orbs. "Sarah," he whispered her name, a note of regret in his tone. "I'm sorry..." He recalled her words from the day in Erik's cottage. She had thought so basely of his past actions, and rightly so. His apology was not only for being unable to love her now but also for having loved her in the past.

She looked deep into his eyes. As the silence between them drew out she realised the man she loved was at war with himself, he was literally fighting his emotions. And she was the cost. Her disappointment could be hidden no more. Stumbling back she held his gaze and tried to steady her voice. "Forgive me then, I did not mean to overstep my mark."

"No. Sarah you didn't ..." he tried to explain as gently as he could, but she spoke over him.

"Oh, but obviously I did," her voice quivered more. "Well, I cannot abide your ways. You have chosen to live by rules which were made by pious old men in their ivory towers. Rules which offend the very core of our existence. Against the only thing worth fighting for, Khadgar. Love!"

Her voice was a concoction of anger, hurt and dismay. He looked wounded, flinching nearly with every word she spoke as if millions of tiny glass shards had splintered through his body. He remained silent . His lack of fire was starting to irritate her. She took another small step back. "I never thought you would embrace their ludicrous rules. Do you wish so desperately to mirror your mentor? Live an empty life, perhaps drive yourself mad? Do the memories of our love-making not haunt you Khadgar? Visions of your touching me, and I you? Those sweet images torture me! "

He did not answer. If he were to do so, he felt sure it would break him apart. He was already so torn as it was. He had to focus. He had to.

She started to realise she was wasting her time. "Go ahead then with your life of abstinence and solitude, but I will not watch you crumble and fall." She turned to leave.

He reacted without thinking. Driven by forces he knew he should not answer to, he stepped forward. Reaching out, his hand just brushed her arm. He needed to be honest with her, at least. "I ache for you, Sarah, but I have to remain..." The steel eyes pleaded for understanding.

Facing him once more, she responded quickly, her voice sharper. "Do you? Or is it just my pity you want now?"

He had resumed his silence again.    

Music: Celine Dion - The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face  

https://youtu.be/1ibWjSSGXak

She sighed, her voice once more softened but laced with sadness. There was an audible tremor in her voice as she struggled to say her next words. "I have never stopped loving you, Khadgar, despite all my bitchy comments of late. I was hurting, and I said some horrible things for which I apologise." She took a step closer again. "I was so mean to you, and I hate myself for that. But, I am truly tired now of carrying this pain."

She paused, trying to regain some foothold of composure. "I ... I would have rather fought another woman for you and lost than compete with a stupid rule. By the Gods! Khadgar! What do I have to do to breach this barrier you have encased yourself in?"

The symbolism of his body within the felblood prison in her dream hit home. It was barriers of his own making. She waited, just for a few moments, clinging desperately to the last bit of hope that her words would penetrate the walls around him.

His eyes were cast down, staring at the water lapping around them. She could see his brow was furrowed, as if deep in thought.

When yet again, nothing was forthcoming, she waved her hand dismissively. "Enough then! Your emotionless faction has won! But ask yourself this ... when, Khadgar of the Kirin Tor, did you decide to stop fighting for what you believed in?"

She turned and started to move away, her breath hitching in her throat, tears welling but she refused to let them flow. She was done. It seemed Arcaena's spectral sight wasn't a hundred percent accurate in the end. She was left wondering if he had ever felt anything real for her at all, for he no longer had enough passion in him to even fight with her.

But her words had hit him, like an arcane blast, their effects slowly spreading through him. As he stood there watching her move away, the potency of what she'd said burned like fire. He was about to lose the one thing which he had so desperately sought over the years. Someone who truly loved him. He had been given a second chance with this woman and he was being insanely stubborn. Over what? A stupid law which, he had always considered a pointless exercise. It had no bearing on a leader's ability to carry out his or her duties. What on Azeroth was he scared of? He was willing to commit to the Kirin Tor, but not to her?

Ocel's words then hit him as well... "You are the leader. It is you who can make certain decisions and changes...if you see fit ." He was right. She had completed him, she made him whole. Not the Kirin Tor. He knew if he let her walk away now, it would be the end. She had just shown him his reflection, and he did not like what he saw. 

"Sarah!" He closed the distance between them. She turned slowly as she heard him moving towards her through the water. Reaching her, he pulled her close, his body responding instantly to the feel of her skin. "I'm sorry! Please, forgive me. I ...I will renounce that stupid vow and in fact, I will eradicate it altogether." He waited for a sign he wasn't too late in coming to his senses.

She smiled, though a little uncertainty still lay within her eyes.

"I'm yours. I always have been," he breathed. "I was just too scared to admit it. Until now. I do love you, Sarah Metcalfe. With all my heart, and all that I am."

Her arms encompassed him, her fingers running through his hair. Unexpectedly, she pulled away a little. It was hard to shake the sense of loss she had felt mere moments ago. He could read her doubts in her eyes. "My life has no meaning without you," he whispered. "Come. Let me love you again."

Her mouth crashed over his, her desire in desperate need of being sated and he reciprocated hungrily to her touch. She arched as he entered her, taking him fully, wrapping her legs around his hips.

Their desire was unleashed, pleasure both taken and given, on the verge of becoming unbearable. He manoeuvred her against the fern covered stone at the back of the falls. She held tight to his body as he thrust into her, over and over. She would never have enough of this man.

He pulled her hips to meet his while he whispered how much he needed her, loved her. He felt complete once more, being with this woman he loved so deeply. The feel of her skin, the soft curves as her breasts pressed against him were like a drug. His mouth pressed against hers, tongue probing. He moved his arms to support her under her lower thighs, opening her more to receive him as he continued loving her, owning her.

She opened her eyes and cried out softly as his love flowed into her, her climax meeting his, arching her back in acceptance. A low lingering moan escaped his lips as he pulled her to him again, his need to be deep inside consuming his very soul.

Their dance of love slowed, his eyes captured hers. He was breathing hard, his eyes dark ,pupils fully dilated. "You are still the battle I was not prepared for, my love, but my surrender, I swear ... is unconditional."

Their attention was momentarily drawn deep into the woods as a low howl followed by an almost playful yelp echoed through the trees. Seemed the beasts in the forest were in the same frame of mind.

Meeting his gaze once more, she smiled, her cheeks flushed from their desire, and eyes misty. "Never be afraid to love, Khadgar. Please, do not forget that," she breathed. Their lips met once more, and still entwined they slipped under the cool waters.

They spent the night making love under the stars, surrendering finally to blissful slumber, covered only by the soft ferns of the forest.

 All comments, advice and suggestions are welcome. Should you like this chapter, please be kind enough to vote, it would be most appreciated.