The Whispers of Shadows - Azriel

12

When night fell, Aurora was in her sleeping gown, hair braided back, and the book Nesta suggested in her lap. She had begun reading it three hours before, and now she was sat crisscross in the middle of the bed, teeth gnawing on her pointer finger nail, and rapidly reading through the book. As soon as the male character was introduced, her eyes couldn't leave the pages. After the first ten chapters, the male was showing interest in the female. Aurora read about the lingering touches on her arm, the grazing lips as he whispered in her ear. Her body ran hot.

Aurora felt as if she could read about romance forever. If she was afraid to be touched by a male, she could read about those who enjoy it. Her fingers slid along the edge of the book, eyes glued to the words. Nesta was entirely right, Aurora was a romantic. She never expected to be, not after the experiences she's had. Every time a male has touched her in the past, it was out of spite, full of pain and hatred. Her heart ached for the touch of a male that wasn't so harsh, something as gentle as the way Azriel held her when they flew to the city.

Her mind then went to Azriel. Aurora lifted her eyes to the door. She thought of when he had placed his hand on hers at Rita's. Should she had let him hold her? Aurora swallowed, shifting on the bed and settling her eyes back to the pages. Her breath caught in her throat when she read of the male's fingers running along the female's lips. Her heart pounded in her chest when she read of their soft kiss that grew harder as more need rose. When Aurora's body grew warm and her mind was mixed between the book and Azriel, she grabbed the mark and shut the book, sliding it across the bed. Suddenly, she felt completely alone.

Had the book encouraged her thoughts? She didn't know, but Aurora slid from her bed and padded to the door. Her hand grasped a candle next to the door and she slipped out into the dark hallway. She remembered Azriel telling her his room was just above hers. Her pulsed was a deafening sound in her ears as she climbed the stairs, slowly and quietly. When she rose onto the landing, her eyes fell on a door that was cracked slightly, light pouring out of the room. Aurora didn't let herself hesitate as she walked towards it, lifting her fist to knock. Before she made contact with the wood, a muffled sound came from the room. Her brows furrowed as she moved her eyes to the crack.

It was a moan, a male's moan. Her heart beat so fast she was sure Azriel could hear it. Her eyes moved to the slightest bit of a male's body that she could see. It was Azriel, and Cauldron, he was naked. His bed was in her vision, and she could see his hand grasping the edge of the bed frame. He was standing beside the bed, his head bent forward. Aurora breathed in when she saw his arm, muscles and veins protruding as he gripped the bed frame. His tattoos gleamed with sweat. Curious to see what had him so tense and sweaty, Aurora pressed her hand against the door, letting it move just an inch or two further.

Aurora nearly stumbled back at what she saw. She squeezed her eyes shut, moving from the doorframe and pressing her back on the wall. Azriel had been completely nude, and a female was on her knees in front of him. Those moans were of pleasure. His hand had been fisted in the females hair, which was a deep auburn, similar to Aurora's own hair. The female was in a gown, but from what Aurora saw, it was pulled down from her arms and her torso was bare.

Aurora swallowed hard, pushing off from the doorframe. She knew Azriel was saying something between his moans, but her ears shut them out. She had seen him doing something very private, and there was no need to pry for more. Her hand shook as she lifted the candle and made her way back to the stairs. Something in her wanted to stay, but she respected Azriel's privacy and refused to interrupt a moment such as that. She knew she would've chickened out anyway; she wouldn't have knocked on the door and she would've went back to her room and hid beneath the covers.

And that's what she did. Aurora slipped back into her bedroom, trying to shut out the memory of Azriel in that moment. She wanted to forget the way his muscles were tense, the way his moans sounded, the way his hips thrusted towards the female's face. She tried to ignore the ache that seemed to grow every time the vision of him entered her mind. With a groan, Aurora threw her covers from her body and grabbed her book, opening it and laying it across her bare thighs. She read through it, gasping at the sexual acts that begun to happen in the book; things she never could imagine feeling good, nor things that she knew was sexual.