Chapter Text
“Sansa, pleaseee,” Margaery begged.
“No, Marg. I already went out last night. I don’t want to go to a party next weekend, especially not one with Sandor Clegane.” Sansa shook her head, “besides, Bronn invited you.”
“No, no technically he invited us. Please Sansa, I don’t want to go alone!” Margaery whined.
Sansa casually sipped on her morning coffee, breakfast after a night out was a Margaery Sansa ritual since University.
“Besides, its Tormund’s birthday! You like Tormund.”
Sansa would admit she had fun last night, these new guys are crude and loud and huge, but they’re a lot of fun. Knowing they all came from the army, Sandor and Bronn being ex seals, Sansa felt safe, having men like them around, having them as friends wouldn’t be the worst thing.
After Sansa had vented to Margaery about Sandor’s lack of decorum at their little introduction, Sansa couldn’t help but notice Sandor throughout the night. She was fairly certain that he enjoyed bating her and toying with her, as if Sansa was going to allow herself to be a toy for another man’s amusement, no that would never happen again. Even so, Sandor was every bit as gruff and crude with his buddies, but it was better natured, he joked and drank and looked like he was enjoying himself.
Good god, the man was built, and incredibly handsome even with the scars. I wonder what it would be like to be on the receiving end of all that male energy, Sansa blushed at the thought and shook her head. No, Sandor Clegane was a jerk, the last thing she would ever do again was be with a man who didn’t deserve her. She deserved someone kind.
Sansa sighed, “Okay, fine. I’ll go.” Margaery smiled at Sansa, “where is this party anyways?” Sansa asked.
Margaery’s smile fell and she looked away sheepishly, “uhmmm.”
Sansa groaned, Oh no, Sansa knew her friend. Margaery was unapologetically confidant and Sansa had a feeling she knew exactly what the cause of her hesitation was.
“Oh god, where?”
Margaery smiled shyly, “well it’s so of, at Sandor’s house.”
Sansa scowled and looked at Margaery in disbelief, of course she left of this tidbit of information until after Sansa had agreed.
“ugh, Margaery!” she groaned.
Just her luck, not only would she have to see Sandor, she would be in his house. Even if Sandor seemed to lack basic manners, Sansa did not, and she would remain respectful towards the owner of the house, even if she didn’t want to.
Well damnit.
Still, Sansa found herself curious about Sandor’s home, what was his style, was he neat, is it somewhere Sansa could see herself. Hold up, where the heck did that come from!
---
Sandor sighed, pushing the architectural drawings aside on his desk, unable to focus on anything because his mind was plagued by thoughts of Sansa fucking Stark, and they had been since two nights ago at the bar.
She was even more beautiful in person, stunning really, but that’s not what had him so unfocused, it was the fact that she was nothing like he imagined, and that made him feel like a fucking prick.
Watching her at the bar that night with her friends, her family, she was nice. She wasn’t stuck up or pretentious. She didn’t even seem to realize quite how stunning she was.
If anyone had been on the opposite end of being judge by their appearance it was Sandor. The scars on his face, though they were significantly better thanks to modern equipment and plastic surgery, were always cause for people to judge him. When he was younger, in high school, they either sent people running or were target practice for shitty jokes.
It’s why he joined the army. He was so pissed off and all he wanted to do was do something decent but he was never going to get a shot in hell with his face.
Once he was discharged with honours and he had some money for once in his life, he had any surgery the doctors thought would repair his face. It had helped a lot, enough that people adjusted to his face quicker, he was able to grow a beard to cover the burns by his lip and lower jaw but even with all the plastic surgery in the world, he’d never forget what it was like to be judged, stared at or avoided because of the scars.
That’s exactly what he had done with Sansa, judged her because of her looks. Which didn’t even make sense to him. He had nothing against pretty women. He sure as fuck wasn’t a virgin, surprisingly the scars didn’t cause woman to go running and screaming, especially once they found out he was an ex-seal. They didn’t usually last for more than one or two fucks but that was usually his choice, he never wanted to get serious, he had no interest in wifing anyone up, the domestic life just wasn’t for him.
Still, something about Sansa stirred this feeling inside of him, and the mere thought that she would reject him caused him to go on the defensive. He’d never felt like that, he never gave a shit if a woman would reject him or not, especially a woman he had no plans to actually go after.
Sansa Stark was off limits for him, the bosses daughter, the other bosses cousin. She wasn’t the type of girl you just fuck, she was the kind of girl you marry. House, ring, wedding, kids, a fucking dog maybe. She wasn’t what Sandor wanted and he could never offer her all that – so he had to stay away.
Sandor threw his head back and closed his eyes, taking a deep breathe before getting back to work. Despite knowing he misjudged her solely based on her looks and whatever fucked up insecurities she caused him to feel, he still didn’t like his business decisions being questioned, and that’s all Sansa seemed to do.
He was good at his job, damn good at his job, as were all the guys he and Tormund employed. They were straight, didn’t do shady shit like a lot of other contractors did, she needed to trust that they knew what they were doing and would do what was best for the clients and the firm.
---
On Wednesday, Sansa was in her office reviewing files when Ned knocked on her door and she waved him in.
“Hi San, how’s it going?”
Ned walked into her office and sat down, Sansa knew how happy he was to finally have her at Stark, even if it was on her terms and she knew a part of him respected her need for independence.
“Good, I’ll have those reports to Jon for review before sending the off to you before Friday.”
Ned nodded; she knew she didn’t need to explain herself to him. Despite her name, Ned knew how talented Sansa was. How smart she was.
“Good, good. So, do you have some time for your old man today?”
Sansa assumed Ned wanted to go out for lunch or grab a coffee, she nodded.
“Of course.”
Ned stood and clapped his hands together, grabbing her bag off her coat rack and handing it too her.
“Great! We’ll grab Jon and we’ll go. I wanted you to see the new development, the one you’ve been reviewing the financials on. Jon mentioned he was due to go check out the site today and I thought we’d join him.”
Sansa frowned, “Dad, I’m not really dressed to visit a job site.”
Sansa looked down, she was wearing a white blouse, black pencil skirt and a pair of stilettos. Not exactly constriction zone appropriate.
“You’ll be fine, we’ll get you a hard hat and keep you on the perimeter.”
Ned popped his head out of the office and shouted, “Jon, ready to go?”
Sansa sighed, knowing there was no way of getting out of this little visit, she could only hope Sandor wouldn’t be on site today.
“Ready, Sandor is going to meet us at the site.” Jon said as he joined them in the hall.
Well, crap.
The drive over to the site was relatively quick, only 15 minutes, Jon drove as he and Ned chatted about the development and Sansa responded to emails in the back seat. Ned turned to Sansa.
“I heard you got a chance to meet the Sandor, finally.”
Sansa trained her face not to display her true thoughts on the man.
“I did, yes. Over the phone last week and in person on Saturday.”
“And?” Ned probed, “what did you think?”
Sansa narrowed her eyes at the sudden line of questioning, wondering why her Dad cared so much about what Sansa thought of his new partner.
“Hes… passionate about the projects, why?”
“You know, when I first met the man and we were negotiating on a project, he basically told me to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.” Sansa arched her eyebrow; Ned usually wasn’t the type to take disrespect like that, let alone offer long fought for partnership. Ned continued.
“I see something in him, and Tormund. Not sure what it is, but just give him a chance.”
Sansa huffed, she had given Sandor a chance. She did her job, and she did it respectfully. He did his job, and he did it like a jerk.
“Yes, Dad.”
“We’re Here,” Jon said as he parked the car, Sansa could see the smirk on face. Why in the seven did he keep smirking, what in the heck was so damn amusing about her and Sandor?
Ned and Jon greeted Sandor, Sansa slowly getting out of the vehicle. Sandor turned to her as Ned and Jon were talking,
“I’ve heard the appropriate greeting would be hello,” Sansa narrowed her eyes at the smirk forming on his face, his handsome, handsome face.
It took everything in Sansa not to respond, going against every manner screaming at her not to be rude, but instead of responding she gave Sandor a sarcastic grin, to which he scowled and narrowed his eyes as he looked her up and down.
“You are not dressed for a job site,” he barked. “You’re gonna break an ankle in those heels.” The he turned and walked away.
Sansa again left stunned, and annoyed. No crap she wasn’t dressed for a job site, she knew that, she wasn’t an idiot. Part of her wanted to shout after him and inform him that she was aware she wasn’t properly dressed, because she was annoyed that he got the drop on her.
Again.
---
Ned was asking about some of the structural supports on the interior of the building, luckily Tormund was on site today because Sandor sure as fuck couldn’t concentrate when she showed up looking like that.
He figured she had probably come straight from the office, considering Ned was a last-minute addition to the meeting, he assumed Sansa was as well, so he hadn’t needed to snap on her for the way she was dressed, but fuck. Sandor had committed to staying away from her and then she showed up looking like hot for teacher and Sandor couldn’t focus on anything except Sansa.
Naked
Naked except those fucking heels.
For the first time ever, Sandor felt like he couldn’t control herself around a woman. That never happens, it is always on his terms and no one has gotten his blood up like she did. It drove him fucking nuts and pissed him off.
It wasn’t because he liked her, of course not, because he didn’t.
Sandor was dragged from his daydreaming by Tormund,
“Right, Sandor?”
Sandor stuttered, “uh, what? Sorry, I was just thinking about the supply order,” Sandor lied. I was just thinking about fucking your daughter in the trailer with her skirt pulled up to her waist.
“The plans, we’re on target for timing and budget?” Tormund clarified as he arched and eyebrow and gave Sandor his ‘what the fuck’ look.
“Yeah, that’s right, on time and on budget.” Sandor confirmed.
Sansa looked at Tormund, a satisfied smirk on her face.
“Well, that’s nice to hear.” She smiled sweetly, and turned back to Jon.
Tormund snorted and Sandor had to use every ounce of control not to literally growl. She was fierce, feisty.
He liked it.
No, no, no. He didn’t like it, he respected it. That’s right, boss’s daughter. He respected the spark.
Sansa kept her face plastered with that fake smile the rest of the meeting, something about Sandor hated it. Her pretending. She was too good at it, too good at smiling as if nothing were wrong. It made him wonder why she had gotten so good at it. She didn’t seem like the type who liked masking her emotions, not that he knew her very well but something deep inside Sandor prayed that she would never look at him that way.
What the fuck is happening to you?
---
By the time Saturday rolled around Sansa really didn’t want to go to this party. She really, really didn’t want to see Sandor. Something about him made her feel so… out of control. Which was not something Sansa ever wanted to feel again. She needed control right now. She needed to know that every choice, every decision, every move was on her terms.
Sansa looked at her phone and sighed, be there in 10 minutes! Margaery had texted her. Sansa knew how excited Margaery was about tonight, she was totally smitten with Bronn which was slightly surprising considering he was not Margaery’s usual type. Granted Margaery dipped her toes in different pools now and again, but she seemed genuinely interested in something more with him.
Sansa didn’t even know what her type was anymore, Arya had once told her she was an over corrector, which had made her mad but wasn’t untrue. Sansa’s first boyfriend was a nice guy, really nice – too nice. Pod was kind and gentle, but he was boring, Sansa broke up with him before she left for Dorne and he’s now married with two kids.
After Pod, Sansa overcorrected with Joffrey, a golden-haired pretty boy. Joffrey was anything but nice, he was cocky and smug and could be downright mean, although towards Sansa he was none of those things. At least at first.
Sansa was attracted to his confidence, which looking back was closer to ego. Sansa was a virgin and after they’d had sex he let his true colours show. Sansa caught him cheating and she broke up with him immediately.
Then Ramsay. No. Sansa shook her head to keep the tears at bay. No, she wouldn’t think about him tonight, she wouldn’t think about him ever. She was stronger than that and he didn’t deserve anything more than being a footnote in Sansa’s story.
Sansa’s phoned chimed, Im here! Sansa grabbed her phone and her purse and went down to meet Margaery, sliding into the passenger’s seat.
“Jesus, Margaery. You look great!” She had pulled out all the stops wearing a very tight, very short, very low-cut white dress and a leather jacket.
Margaery smiled and winked, “think Bronn will like it? He likes leather!”
Sansa laughed and shook her head, Margaery was nothing if not confidant. Sansa envied her ability to shamelessly go after what she wanted. Sansa smiled sweetly,
“Yes, I think he will love it.”
“I want to hookup with him tonight Sansa.” Sansa was surprised she hadn’t slept with him yet. “But, I won’t if you need me to drive you home.”
Sansa waved her hand and dismissed Margaery’s statement. She was a big girl who could very easily take a cab home if needed or catch a ride with Jon or Arya who were also going to be there tonight.
“It’s fine, you get yours, girl.” Sansa blushed even saying it, but Margaery laughed and winked.
---
Sandor’s house was not what Sansa expected. It was an old cabin set back in a clearing amongst trees, Sansa assumed he must own a decent bit of land considering the vast forest surrounding the property. It looked like he had done extensive work to the landscape and exterior of the home, given what he did for a living she wouldn’t be surprised if he had done it all himself.
What did surprise her though was how warm and welcoming the place felt, it was almost calming.
Cozy
Safe
She wondering how wonderful it must be to wake up surrounded by nature each morning, and she couldn’t wait to get into her own home and experience it for herself. How could a man with all this be such a grouch, she mused as she and Margaery walked to the house. Sansa took a deep breath as Margaery knocked on the door.
“You cunt you don’t have to knoc-“ Sandor laughed as he opened the door, quickly stopping when he realized who it was. Sansa swore she saw him blush under his beard
He stepped out of the way, gesturing for them to enter.
“Well, I have to say that was the most enthusiastic greeting I’ve gotten, Sandor” Margaery scolded jokingly.
“Ahh, yeah. Safe to say I wasn’t expecting it to be you at the door.” He scratched the back of his neck and looked at Sansa and nodded once.
“Sansa.”
Sansa smiled politely, not quite trusting her voice right now. Sandor was wearing tight distressed jeans and a tight grey Henley. He looked comfortable and hot.
Even through his shirt you could see how well defined his chest was, Sansa was surprised his biceps hadn’t ripped his shirt. She had to bite her tongue behind her pursed lips to stop herself from involuntarily licking her lips.
“Well hey pretty ladies!” Bronn said as he came up behind them,
Sansa jumped slightly at the surprise as Bronn draped his arm over Margaery’s shoulder and kissed her. Sansa awkwardly looked at Sandor as they quickly became third and fourth wheels.
Sandor raised his eyebrows and smirked at the sight of them before taking a long pull from his beer, his shirt hitching up jus enough for Sansa to see the very defined V of his hips. She looked away quickly and prayed she wasn’t blushing.
Sansa had never been happier to see Ayra then when she saw her in the kitchen, Sansa politely excused herself and made her way to Arya, Gendry and Jon, thankful for the excuse to leave before she made a complete fool of herself.
She had never drooled over a man before and definitely not for someone who all but despised her, not that she liked him any better. Sansa scolded herself, You have the worst taste in men. Stupid. Stupid girl who never learns.
---
It was late, the party was in full swing and Sandor headed to the porch for some air, he needed some space and he needed to get away from her.
Sandor couldn’t stop looking at Sansa, like a fucking puppy. He watched her laugh and drink all night and the woman fucking infuriated him. All he wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder, take her upstairs and ravish her.
Sex.
This was only about sex, he told himself.
He wasn’t interested in her, he sure as fuck wasn’t falling for her, she was difficult and maddening, and not his type. Clearly his attraction stemmed from little Sandor, the fucking traitor, Sandor groaned. He leaned on his patio railing and roughly ran a hand over his face.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone was out here.” You have got to be fucking kidding me.
Sandor couldn’t believe his luck when he turned and saw none other then Sansa fucking Stark standing behind him.
She was a god damn vision.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her little shorts were tight and showed off legs that went on for fucking days and she had some sort of little lace top tucked into her shorts which hugged all her curves perfectly.
Sansa bit her bottom lip and Sandor swallowed, holy fuck, this woman was going to kill him.
“I’ll just go back inside, sorry again.” she said and Sandor swore he heard a hint of sadness in her voice.
“It’s fine, you don’t need to fly away little bird.” Sandor barked, he hadn’t meant to sound harsh, but it was taking all his control not to pop a raging boner.
Sansa’s eyes narrowed and she walked forward to stand beside Sandor, she leaned back against the railing and crossed her arms.
“Little Bird?” she challenged as she arched her eyebrow.
Fuck, had he really said that out loud?
“Yeah. You chirp,” Sandor shrugged.
Sansa nodded thoughtfully and tilted her head to the side.
“I chirp?” she repeated slowly.
“Even when your pissed, so fucking polite with your please and thank yous. Like a bird.”
Sansa hummed in response and tuned around and leaned over the railing.
“It’s very beautiful here.” She said, thought she sounded distant.
“You don’t need to use your manners with me. I don’t require small talk, I’m a big boy. Save your chirping” Sandor scoffed.
“I’m not chirping.” Sansa snapped.
Sandor smirked, there is it. There’s her fire. Sandor leaned his back against the bannister and looked over at her.
“It’s not just because you chirp, the nickname” Sansa shot him sarcastic look. Sansa chuckled lowly. “It’s not, you get your feathers ruffled. When you’re pissed off.”
Sansa scowled but Sandor knew he saw a hint of amusement flash over her features, and a hint of something else. Something he couldn’t quite place. Perhaps she loved their little game as much as he did.
The stayed in an oddly comfortable silence, it was peaceful as the sounds of nature washed over them, with a buzz of the party inside.
“I wasn’t chirping, it really is beautiful here.”
Sandor’s lip curled upwards and he turned to mirror her as he leaned over the railing.
“It is, quiet. I had my eye on this other place, needed a lot of work but it was closer to the water.” Sansa cocked her head to the side and Sandor knew she didn’t understand. “I was going to sell this place, and buy the other place, but it sold.”
“Why would you ever want to move when you have all this,” Sansa gestured to their surroundings.
Sandor shrugged, “When I bought this place it needed a lot of work, I did most of it myself and I liked it. This other place was a little bigger, with a private dock on Blazewater Bay.”
Sandor had seen this property listing online and something about it called to him. It was livable, but it definitely needed some work to be comfortable. Besides the view of the water, the landscaping was overgrown, the house needed exterior and interior renovations. Still, it had a great layout, it was set far back from the road so it was private and it had private bay access.
Sansa looked at Sandor with wide eyes, the look of pure shock over her face before she started hysterically laughing. Sandor had no idea what the fuck was going on, but he had never seen Sansa so carefree. He was confused as hell but couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was, her smile was infectious.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Sansa paused and tried to compose herself before her face split into the biggest grin and she started again, Sandor was sure she had to be wasted since nothing he had said was funny.
Once Sansa had finally gotten control of herself she wiped the tears that had fallen, Sandor couldn’t help but smile at how utterly ridiculous she was.
Adorable.
“I bought your house.”
Sandor’s smile fell as his head snapped to look at her.
“What?”
Sansa smiled proudly, “the cottage on Blazewater Bay, with the private dock, and rotten floorboards? Yeah, I bought it.”
No fucking way, she had to be thinking of a different property. This place needed work, it would be amazing, but it needed some serious HGTV action, Sansa wouldn’t’ be happy in a place like that but he also knew properties rarely came for sale on the bay and he hadn’t seen any other listings in months.
“No, I doubt it.” Sandor said as Sansa pulled out her phone and flipped through photos. She turned the phone around, and Sandor’s jaw dropped. She had bought the house.
Sansa smiled triumphantly.
“What the fuck do you want with a place like that?”
This time is was Sansa’s turn to shrug.
“I fell in love with it, it needs work, but its all I could afford.”
Sandor scoffed, all she could afford? Her daddy was Ned fucking Stark, her trust fund could probably by that house 10 times over. Sansa scowled and narrowed her eyes at him, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking, she pushed off the railing.
“Despite what you think, I’m not some spoiled trust fund kid. I could be, if I wanted to be I guess but I’m not. No wonder you’re such an ass, if that’s what you think of me.”
Sansa turned and started inside before Sandor gently grabbed her arm, although he was incredibly shocked that Sansa used the word ass, he also currently felt like one.
“Sansa, wait.”
Sansa turned back to him, she was angry but Sandor could see the hurt behind her eyes too. He was beginning to realize that everything he thought he knew about her had been wrong so far. He knew nothing about her and she was constantly surprising him. When he didn’t say anything, she arched her eyebrow.
“That wasn’t fair of me to say,” he could see that his lack of apology was getting to her, and he couldn’t help himself.
Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was the way her chest heaved when she got mad, all he knew is he needed to see her fire. Sansa’s eyes bore into him, her lips pursed together.
“You’re right it wasn’t, and?” she stepped towards him.
He had to physically stop himself from smirking, but he said nothing.
“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to apologize.” She snapped at him
This time he did smirk, “no, it wouldn’t.”
He took a sip of his beer as he watched Sansa’s eyes flashed, her nostrils flared just a little bit and her lips parted slightly. Sandor realized that it wasn’t just anger he was seeing - it was desire that flashed behind her eyes. She did like their games as much as he did. Her gaze moved from his eyes to his lips subtly, but he caught it.
He set his beer on the railing and stepped forward, Sansa’s eyes returning to his. Her head cocked to the side, but she didn’t move. He stopped when he was inches from her, despite her long legs she was still significantly shorter than him and had to crane her neck to look him in the eye.
“Sandor, what- “
She stopped talking when his hand came up to cradle the back of her neck as he pulled her to him and smashed his lips onto hers. It wasn’t hurried but it wasn’t soft or gentle either. Sandor slanted his mouth to consume more of her, god she was intoxicating, he pulled her flush against him and demanded entrance to her mouth, swiping his tongue against the seam of her lips. Sansa moaned as she granted him access.
Holy fuck. What I wouldn’t do to hear her make that noise while screaming my name.
---
Sansa had no idea how this happened. One minute he was being a complete jerk, as per usual, and the next she was kissing him and holy crap, could this man kiss. His kiss was just has dominating and commanding as he usually is and Sansa could feel her mind getting cloudy.
She gently pushed on his chest, urging him to stop, which he did immediately and took a step back, his hand behind her neck dropped to his side.
They stayed, staring at each other for what felt like minutes, when really it was only a few seconds. Sansa knew he wouldn’t make another move, she had stopped the kiss and it was her choice now.
Her choice. Just the concept of having the choice gave her a thrill she hadn’t expected.
Sansa hadn’t felt desire like this in a very long time. No, if she were being honest she had never felt desire like this. Her belly clenched at the lingering feeling of his hands on her, the rough feeling of his slightly scarred lips on hers.
She wasn’t broken.
Sansa stepped forward and that was all Sandor needed to claim her mouth again, any slight hesitation he had before was gone. Sansa’s arms wrapped around his neck as he roughly kissed her. One hand retuned to the back of her neck, to hold her to him, the other moved down to her ass as he squeezed. Sansa could feel his arousal against he stomach, and she moaned in delight that she was doing that to him.
Sandor’s other hand travelled down to her ass and he lifted her with ease, Sansa instantly wrapped her legs around his waist and ground down into him.
Sandor groaned, “Sansa.”
Giving both ass cheeks a tight squeeze, she felt him smile against her lips as he turned and set her on the railing, settling himself between her legs.
His mouth was relentless as he kissed and nipped at her. Sansa had never felt so alive from a kiss as she matched his pace.
He gently but firmly buried his hand in her hair and tipped her head back, giving him access to her throat, moving down to her collarbone before kissing the swell of her breat and moving back to her mouth. Sansa shifted, trying to relieve the ache he was causing between her legs against her jeans as Sandor chuckled and moved his hand up her thigh, knowing exactly what she needed.
Thigh.
Shorts.
Very small shorts that had ridden up her legs.
Sansa stilled, sheer panic washing over her. Sandor’s hand stopped mid thigh and he pulled back to look at her, his eyes were dark with desire but he looked concerned. She pushed at his shoulder until he stepped back, allowing her to hop off the railing. She brushed past him quickly.
“I’m sorry, Sandor. So sorry.”
Sansa was barely holding back tears when she made her way through the house and out the front door as Arya and Gendry were getting into their car.
“Arya, can I get a ride!” Sansa called.
Arya nodded and Sansa scrambled into the back, she turned to grab her seatbelt and caught sight of Sandor, standing on the front porch watching her, he must have followed her as she fled. He looked confused and concerned
I’m sorry. I’m broken.