Dinner was strange. Aurora focused on the wine that somehow kept refilling in her glass. Rhysand, Mor, Kallias, and Viviane spoke the most. Cassian added a few words in, but he was as silent as Azriel and Aurora. Azriel was watching her reach for her fourth glass and placed his hand over hers. Aurora furrowed her brows as she looked at him. He gave away nothing as he reached for a glass of water and placed it in front of her. Aurora rolled her eyes and began sipping on the water.
"So, Aurora, I wanted to speak to you privately but I'm sure Rhysand will be having you all leave pretty early. I wanted to apologize for the things you went through in my Court. If I had known, you would've been taken from that room centuries ago. I'm glad to see you got some revenge today," Kallias spoke up. Aurora met his icy gaze.
"I understand that you didn't know, I can't hold that against you, but I won't say it's alright. It isn't," she responded, leaning back in her chair. Kallias gave her a nod.
"I'm also glad that you've found your mate in a way that Rhysand and I have. It is not an ancient plot to have children, but a chance at love. It's rare, and I'm happy to see that those who deserve it are finding it," he continued. Aurora tensed slightly, looking over at Azriel. He was looking at her already, his thumb gliding over her hand.
"As am I. I never thought I would experience love," Aurora murmured, turning back to Kallias. It was true, she never believed it, and something in her knew that Azriel loved her, and she knew she loved him. The only thing that frightened her was that she would have to go back to normal when they returned to the Night Court. She didn't want to take away Elain's happiness. Even if it meant to give away her own.
"Well, this dinner has been lovely, but I'm sure you're all exhausted. Please, join us for drinks if you wish, otherwise, we will see you again when you return," Viviane spoke up, rising from her seat. Aurora looked down to see the plates and glasses were no longer on the table.
"Thank you for inviting us. We will be going home as the sun rises," Rhysand told them as he stood. The rest of them followed in suit. Mor joined Viviane and went to the sitting room for drinks, but the rest of them trudged to the stairs. Rhysand slipped into his room with a warm wish of a good night, and Cassian stopped Azriel before he could enter his and Aurora's room. Aurora continued into the room, not caring to hear what Cassian had to say. She closed the door and sighed.
After thinking of Azriel's relationship with Elain, she wasn't sure she was willing to even lay with him tonight. It felt entirely disrespectful. Aurora kicked off her boots and sat on the edge of the large bed. Could they just pretend tonight? Pretend that there was no one who could stop them? Everything in her body screamed for Azriel at every moment, and she wanted to allow herself a taste of him. She knew he wanted it, too. But was it love? Or was it the incessant call of the bond? How long would these feelings last?
Aurora laid back, the fur on the blanket tickling the side of her face as she turned to the door. She was surprised how willing she was to submit to the desire she felt for Azriel, especially being here. The beginning of her trauma, facing the males that were just the start of it. She had killed her brother today, and all she could think of was her bare body against Azriel's.
The door clicked open and Az slid in. The moonlight casted upon him, he looked like a creature written in stories. His hazel eyes seemed to glow golden as he stood in the shadows. His wings were lifted, spread. Aurora slowly sat up, folding her hands in her lap as he walked near her.
"Do you want me to sleep on the floor tonight?" He asked in a low voice, standing just in front of her. Aurora shook her head.
"No. Unless you'd prefer, if it settles your mind about Elain." Azriel scoffed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers.
"Elain hasn't been a thought in my mind. It's you, Aurora," he murmured. Her chest swelled, but she fought against it.
"I don't want to be disrespectful to her," Aurora responded, standing from the edge of the bed. Azriel towered over her, his hand lifting to the hair that laid over her shoulder.
"She's been nothing but disrespectful to you. You're my mate, we're bonded. It will always be you above her. Don't you remember what I told you back home? Have you seen me drunk today? I don't need to be drunk with you," Azriel whispered, his fingers sliding to entangle into the hair behind her ear. Aurora swallowed, her hand resting on his hard stomach.
"Can we pretend tonight? Can you lay with me and pretend it is just us?" She asked, her voice trembling. "Is that wrong? To ask you to lay beside me when you're with another?"
Azriel dipped his head, lips hovering over hers. "I've told you, it is you, not Elain. As beautiful as she is, she'd never compare to you. You're like the sun, Aurora. Your beauty lays upon everything around you, and she is like a flower. She's beautiful in her own way, but there is thousands just like her. You have more than just your beauty. You have been willing to fight against everything that held you down in your past. You killed the one that started it all, and sentenced the other to a lifetime of isolation. I don't want to pretend. I want you and I to be reality, Aurora."
She didn't respond, nor have a chance to. His lips covered hers, and immediately, her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer. She'd grown to love the feeling of his cold touch, of the shadows that wrapped around her. Something she'd been so terrified of was now a comfort.
Aurora parted their lips and rested her hand on his chest. "Can you undo my dress?" She asked softly. Azriel nodded, dipping his head down to her jaw as his fingers slipped behind her to pull at the fabric. Her fingers trembled against the fabric stretched over his chest, her breath shaky. She wanted to show him the scars, she wanted him to see what she has overcome. He had scars, too, and they were always in view on his hands. Hers were hidden beneath clothing, something only he would be able to see.
Her dress fell loose and hung on her shoulders. Azriel kissed the scarred skin as the dress began to fall. Aurora's breath hitched as her breasts became bare, then her stomach. When the dress pooled at her feet, Azriel moved to her stockings. She looked down at the warrior in his knees in front of her, his eyes were only on the the stockings and socks as he freed her feet from them. When he began to stand, his eyes flicked to hers. He didn't want to look at her body until she was ready. Aurora swallowed, stepping back to the bed. She saw the question in his eyes, and she gave the slightest of nods.
Aurora gathered the fur of the blanket into her fists when Azriel's eyes began to drop. They scanned the scar on her shoulder, the bite on her breast, the ones on her stomach, and then her thigh. His eyes moved to the bites on her other thigh, and then up to her eyes.
"There's more," she whispered. Her legs felt weak as she pushed from the bed and turned. She wondered which scars he saw first; the claws or the bites. She gasped when a hand ran along her waist and over her stomach, and lips pressed to her shoulder.
"I'd kill him if I could. You're still breathtaking, Aurora. Nothing he did to you can change that," Azriel muttered against her skin. She leaned into his touch, then stilled when she felt the bare skin of his chest and stomach against her.
"How do you remove your shirt so quickly?" She asked, reaching a hand up to feel the muscles on his shoulder.
"Magic," he mused as his hand moved farther along her stomach and anchored her to him. His trousers were gone too, only the fabric of his undershorts were between them. "Let's go to bed," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her hair. Aurora nodded, moving from him, cringing at the feeling of her bare skin without his touch. She moved the fur blanket back and slid beneath it. The warmth was bliss. Aurora watched as Azriel climbed beside her, his hand looping around her waist and tugging her closer to him. Now, he was practically on top of her.
"Can I show you how beautiful you are to me?" Azriel purred, and that's when everything in her body combusted. Flame erupted in her stomach, the scent of smokey citrus overtaking her senses. She nodded, and he gave a hint of a smile before kissing her. Aurora's hand rested on the muscles that covered his ribs, soaking in the taste of him. His tongue ran along her own and she begged for more. His teeth ran along her bottom lip as he began to move down. His lips pressed to the scar on her shoulder, his hand moving to grip her waist. Aurora closed her eyes and settled her head against the pillows.
This was everything she had been wanting, all she needed was release. The scent of him told her he needed it, too, but she was willing to wait as his lips trailed across her clavicle and to the breast marked by Tamlin's teeth. He kissed those marks, and then his lips wrapped around her peaked nipple. Aurora sucked in a breath as she arched into the touch. He slid further down, his tongue trailing along her sternum and stomach. He littered kisses along the bite marks there, and she wondered why he kissed her stomach more than the scars that were left.
"I love this about you," he spoke, lifting his head slightly. Aurora looked down at him, confusion clouding her mind. He grinned, kissing her lower stomach again. "I know you're healthy and cared for now," he murmured, his hand moving from her waist to run along the plush parts of her stomach. "And down here, too," he continued. His body moved down, and his lips pressed into the now more plush parts of her thighs. Her head fell back again. It felt as if each kiss sent electricity to her core.
Azriel kissed the massive scar that stretch across her thigh, his tongue trailing along the marks left by infection. Aurora sighed at the contact, eyes falling closed again. His hand grasped her ankle and bent her knee. Aurora gasped and looked down at him. He was now sitting up, a soft smile on his lips.
"Turn for me," he instructed. Aurora turned, her bent knee crossing over him and falling against the soft mattress. Now on her stomach, she stared at the headboard. A gasp of surprise left her when Azriel's lips fell to the bite mark on her bum, his tongue running over the torn skin. His hands slid over the plump area and up her back, then curled around her ribcage. The tips of his fingers grazed beneath her breasts. She felt him lean over her, and then he began to litter kisses on the scars on her back.
"Tell me if I can touch you tonight. Do you just want my lips on your skin, or can I please you, Aurora?" Azriel's breath was hot on her spine, his tongue running along the indented part of her back.
"I want you, Az," Aurora breathed out, arching her back until her rear pressed into his stomach. His chuckle vibrated through her as he began to kiss down her spine. His hands slid down her stomach and to her hips, lifting them higher.
"Then have me, Aurora."