The Whispers of Shadows - Azriel

52

When morning crept into afternoon, and then into evening, Aurora was laid in Azriel's arms beneath a mountain of blankets. Her head rested on his chest as she traced the scars along his hand. His legs laid on either side of her, his other hand rested on her bare thigh beneath the blankets.

"How do you feel?" Aurora asked, voice airy and hardly above a whisper. Azriel grazed his lips over the top of her head.

"Less like I want to murder someone," he murmured. Aurora smiled slightly as her fingertip trailed a rather deep indent on the back of his hand.

"You're so beautiful," she purred, bringing his hand to her lips. She felt his chest rise beneath her shoulders then fall in a heavy sigh. Aurora tilted her head to the side until she could see his face; his stunning face. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know how much I can put into words," Azriel responded, dipping his head down to kiss her bare shoulder. Aurora gave him another small smile.

"We will probably be here a while, take your time," she told him. Azriel hummed against her skin. Silence fell again. Aurora brought her knees up and tilted to the side slightly, her cheek on his chest. Now her focus moved from his hand to the Illyrian tattoos that spread across his chest, shoulders, arms, and neck. She traced them with two fingers until they rose up his neck, then she cupped her hand on his jaw and used her thumb to tilt his face to hers. She kissed him slow.

"I'm so glad I found you," Azriel murmured against her lips. Aurora kissed him again as her fingers tangled into his hair.

"Thank you. Thank you, thank you for finding me," she chanted her praise, letting the words tumble from her lips and into his. This, this is what she imagined love to be like: Holding each other and whispering sweet nothings into kisses. Having her heart swell at the scent of him, at the touch of him. Being grateful that they existed in the same centuries and thankful that they'd have more to come.

"Tell me again, what you said that day in the kitchen," Azriel spoke into her mouth. Her heart leaped, she'd been waiting for the chance to say these words again. Aurora smiled as he shifted them so that he now hovered above her and she laid against the pillows. Slow kisses heated the skin of her jaw and neck.

"I love you," Aurora purred as his fingers rose from her thigh to her heat. How easy it was, seeing that they were both still nude from their actions throughout the day. A heavy breath turned to a moan as he massaged her. Wet lips clung to the crook of her neck as Azriel situated himself between her thighs. The tip of his length ran along her arousal. She was incredibly sore from how hard he had gone all day, but something about this time seemed completely different.

It was different in the way his left hand held her face, different in the way he slowly slid into her. They had never come together this way. Azriel didn't spit degrading or praising words, he didn't hold her with a bruising grip. This time, even with her legs wrapped around his hips, he moved slow and rhythmic.

"I love you," Aurora repeated in an exhale, head tilting back into the pillows. Azriel took her lips with his own.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," he chanted between kisses. Heat and pleasure combed through Aurora. It grew from his words and from how he filled her. Her fingers ran over his tensing muscles and rose to his wings, fingertips feathering over the velvety skin. Azriel shuddered, a whimper leaving him as he thrusted into her for the hundredth time.

With his left hand against her cheek, Azriel used his right to explore her body. Each scar, mark, indent, bone, and every muscle. He wanted to feel her, in more ways than just sex. His shadows ghosted over her skin, whispered sweet nothings in her ears.