Avernus || Book 1 ✔️

||Baby||

"You're a Prince" I breathed again in shock. And suddenly his pretty eyes made all the more sense to me.

I shivered under his stare as I realized just how strong and powerful this daemon was.

My daemon.

His large figure loomed over mine as we looked at one another, one of his hands rested on my hip while the other played with one of my dress sleeves that had slipped off my shoulder.

"Some would find bastard a more fitting term." Azrael mused.

I blinked at the word he used. Surely he could choose a much nicer way to describe himself.

"If Prince Ronan is your younger brother, then how old are you..." I asked with curiosity burned in my expression.

My question clearly amused him and my eyes appeared wonder-filled when a small dimple pierced his cheek as he spoke.

"Much older than you, little Rose."

I pouted when he didn't elaborate and I pressed myself flush against his chest as I looked up at him.

"I-I'm 17 summers" I revealed. I had no problem being an open book. Hopefully, my transparency would encourage him to share.

The daemon rose an amused brow and took my chin in his hold.

My mouth parted at his touch and my cheeks heated when I felt his thumb slowly swipe across my bottom lip. I resisted sticking my tongue out to lick it.

"Then you're just a baby."

I flushed at his words but didn't pull back from his grasp. I couldn't and I didn't want to.

Azrael looked at me knowingly, his red iris burning like a ring of fire that completely engulfed me. He knew how his touch made me feel. He knew what his words did to me.

He made me feel small on purpose.

And I liked it. I liked all of it.

"I-I'm n-not a baby." I protested weakly.

He hummed; he and I both knew that my words were a lie.

"I'm 21 winters." His voice lulled finally, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise.

He wasn't that old, not really. But he was definitely much older than me. Mama would simply have a fit if she knew that I was mated to an older man. Nevertheless a man of Azrael's kind and stature.

"See?" He spoke again with an amused lilt when I didn't respond. "A baby."

I blushed and wrapped my arms around his middle so that I could hide in his chest and away from his burning gaze.

I know my actions surprised him; his muscles tensed for a second before instantly relaxing in my hold.

My brows furrowed when I heard a low rumble sound from within his chest, and I pressed my ear against his muscled torso before realizing that he was basically purring.

"So cute!" I squealed without thinking. I was thankful that his shirt muffled most of the sound.

I pouted as the purring stopped and I was pulled away from his chest with large hands gripping my upper arms.

"I'm not cute." Azrael denied bitterly. He frowned as if the word left a bad taste in his mouth.

"But you sound just like a kitten." I pushed, and I could see his expression turn to one of distaste. "I've pet a few once, and they made that same sound! How do you do that?"

Azrael shook his head slightly and I tried not to get distracted by his midnight black strands that fell so delicately over his forehead.

"It's not me, it's my daemon. He barely has a handle on himself as is." His eyes flickered over my face for a second, before he let them linger on my lips after I licked them nervously. "But with you...it's like he has no sense of control."

My small hands gripped the material of his shirt as I looked up at him in astonishment.

"S-so he's like a different person?"

Azrael nodded and his hand started playing with my fallen sleeve once again.

"You've met him before."

My mouth opened slightly in realization. When we met for the first time, I sensed a change—a shift in the air and a domineering aura when his eyes flooded black. That change...that primal presence was his daemon.

"He seems..." I trailed off, with my thumb lightly resting on my bottom lip.

"Intense?" Azrael answered with a raised brow.

"Safe." I offered instead; I couldn't help but smile when I heard his chest rumble in another purr.

"I think he likes me." I cheesed while grinning up at him.

Azrael chuckled, seeming amused at my choice of words.

"Oh, he likes you little Rose. A lot more than you think."

I bit my lip, happy that I had already gained the favour of Azrael's daemon.

"Do you think I could meet him again?"

His pretty eyes darkened at my words as if he knew something I didn't.

I gasped as his fingers suddenly tugged at the sleeve of my dress, the force of it almost making my breast pop out of its confines.

"Bael's behaviour is a bit more...primitive than you might be used to. I don't think now is the best time for introductions."

"Bael" I whispered. So that was his name.

Although my breath hitched as Azrael's fingers suddenly grasped my chin once more, and my neck strained as I looked up at him.

"What did I just say." He rasped while looking heatedly into my wide eyes.

"I-I don't u-understand." I breathed. My voice wavered slightly as I felt the need to shrink under his intimidation.

"It takes every ounce of my strength to hold him back when you're around. Saying his name is like calling out to him, summoning him even. Do you know what he would do if he got out?" His voice was a low whisper as he spoke, but I could see his lips begin quirk up in a dark smirk.

I watched the handsome man—skin golden and hair beautifully dishevelled—while my breaths escaped in soft pants as I waited for him to answer.

"He would press you up against the railing, and place our mark right..." His large hand slipped from my chin and crawled down my neck to lightly press against the dip near my clavicle. "...here."

"Then he would take you by the neck," his hand wrapped around my soft skin to demonstrate, "and fuck you," he leaned in closer, lust and mischief reflective in his expression, "till your pretty little face is all hot and teary."

My lips were parted in shock and my cheeks burned a fiery red as I took in his obscenities.

His words were dirty and suggestive—no, they were promising. They were unfamiliar to my sheltered ears and they made my lower part throb in a just as unfamiliar need.

Before I could even try to comment on what my mate just said, a sudden knock on the door pulled me from my heated state and pushed me into one of fright.