He visits Catherine

James' shoulder's ached under his load. It was late, it had taken the better part of the afternoon to get all the materials he needed to build the design he was working on, but visiting Catherine had taken up more time than expected.
Reflecting back on his visit lightened his load a little.

Catherine was all but his fiance. She was the daughter of a hunter, and was clever, well informed, and fit. Lithe, without being frail, toned without being bulky, graceful without arrogance. Her face wasn't the most angelic he would admit, but having known her since 15 he hardly noticed the clawmark anymore. But he knew it was still a sore subject and she was quite the visage. Their father's were good friends and once he was independent enough he would ask for her hand. Recently however they had found more common grounds in the physical.

It had begun with Catherine challenging him to a fight when they were visiting and their fathers were talking while they stood out back. "Without that gun you wouldn't stand a chance against a proper hunter" had been the gauntlet thrown. And to his dismay she was right. One clumsy punch thrown by him, and Catherine was already behind him. He spun around to meet her, but only managed to grab her arm after she had already pushed him. Pulling her down with him, they fell into an embraced position. Her brown-auburn hair fell out of its bun and created a curtain around their faces. That close to her face, he could smell her vinegary scent from her clothes, but the red scent of a woman beneath that, with a hint of flowers. Impulsively he had kissed her, but ended up bumping noses with her as she had gone for the same. Clumsy lovers the two were then.
Things had escalated since then. Always starting with them dueling, and ending with them intertwined. James was surprised by Catherine, who won each bout, but he got closer each time. But she rewarded his efforts.
Chaste kisses had turned to heated breaths and tight embraces. The embraces turned to grinding bodies and adventurous fingers. Adventurous fingers had turned into intimate touches and release. And since a month ago, those intimate touches had turned to rutting. Catherine was always the initiator and seemed to revel in his pleasure and reactions. James' loved her attention and exploring this new side to his long held fancy, but he was the one to always pump the brakes. In this regard they've reached an impasse, as he would always pull out despite Catherine's attempts to hold him.
Today she had nearly been successful. Their duel today had been the nearest he had ever gotten, he had fought her enough and predicted where she would dodge to, but just as he nearly stuck her, she spun on the ground tripping him, before sitting on him and completing their ritual. With her on top this time he didn't have as much control of the pace of their coupling, but he flipped her at the last moment and came upon her as she moaned in defeat, before descending upon her to ensure her satisfaction would come as well.

He smiled at memory, that may have been the first time he had overpowered her. Perhaps manhood was really coming upon him.
They had cuddled and spoke some afterward. Catherine seemed nervous about something, but she was just as agile in conversation as she was in combat and they mostly just spoke about James' designs, and had rushed him out when the great clocktower toned, indicating it was an hour before curfew.

Lost in his reverie, James finished climbing the stairs and began to cross the great bridge to the church's end of town where his family lived. It was late in the day, but it was surprisingly empty still. He didn't see anyone on the bridge. Beginning to feel confused, he started to turn around when he was suddenly pushed from behind, knocking him down.