The Bargain

Chapter 14

~AZRIEL~

Twenty-four hours later, Azriel was no closer to an answer than he had been the night before. But he did know three things. First, he had fallen for Gwyn. Second, that realization alone was enough to scare the shit out of him. And finally, Gwyn was the most stunning creature on the face of the planet. This last piece of information, though nothing new, was made painfully obvious when she opened the door to her suite for him.

Her normally pin-straight copper-colored hair had been styled into loose, gentle waves. She was wearing a low-cut emerald green top, a tight-fitting pair of dark denim jeans, and tall black boots. All the air seemed to leave his lungs at the sight of her. She was still the same Gwyn; the one who sat on his bed in leggings and a sweatshirt with book propped on her knee. But she was different somehow. Or maybe he was the one who was different.

"Oh, hey. You're early." Gwyn smiled at him. "Why don't you come on in? Nesta was just helping me finish my makeup."

Azriel wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, but the words wouldn't come - that had been happening a lot lately. Instead, he nodded and followed her inside. Nesta was waiting for Gwyn with a vial of some make-up product in her hand.

"Alright sit." And although Azriel knew she was talking to Gwyn, he couldn't help but obey as well. "Let me give you a winged eye, finish your lip, and you'll be ready to break hearts."

Gwyn would definitely be breaking hearts tonight. Just hopefully not his.

Please not his.

Azriel watched as Nesta expertly wielded the tiny brush, carefully applying a thin black line to the corner of Gwyn's eyes. When she was finished, she took Gwyn's chin in her hand and gently tilted her head to one side and then the other.

"Perfect," Nesta pronounced. "Now, for the lip." She put down the eyeliner and reached for a tube of lipstick. She pulled off the cap and twisted it up, revealing a dark shade. "Now I know it's not your usual color..." She trailed off as Gwyn made a face and then Nesta tsked at her friend. Like they had had this very same disagreement countless times before. "You haven't even tried it yet."

"Not every woman can wear every shade of lipstick, Nesta. You and I have very different colorings. There is no way I can pull that off." Gwyn leaned to the side and selected a different tube.

"Oh, no you don't!" Nesta intercepted her, taking lipstick from her hand and holding it out of her reach. "This is a party. You need to wear something different. Something bold."

"Well, I'm not a 'maneater' sort of girl. That's more your area of expertise."

Azriel let out a soft snort of laughter. Both women turned to face him, as though offended by his amusement. "Sorry," he apologized.

"It's not your fault. They tend to give lipstick colors ridiculous names. For example, Nesta's signature shade is 'maneater.'" Gwyn gestured to the open tube in her roommate's hand.

"And Gwyn's is 'innocence,'" Nesta supplied, putting the stolen lipstick down well away from Gwyn. "And as I am trying to explain to her, since she's getting all dressed up for this party, she needs to wear a different shade tonight. Something eye-catching, something sexy."

Sensing that the two friends were at an impasse, Azriel looked over the remaining tubes. There was one showing a swatch of classic red on the bottom. Couldn't go wrong with a classic, right? He plucked it from the others and held it up for their approval. Nesta jumped on it right away.

"Oh, yes," she purred, opening the tube. "This one will do nicely." Gwyn nodded her agreement and Nesta carefully applied the color to her lips.

"What's that one called?" Azriel asked, trying to give himself something else to focus on beside Gwyn's lips.