Flames of Cobalt and Crimson

The Hunt

Azriel

I knew I would never tire of this sight, even if I lived to be as old as Amren.

Waking up with Cassian felt like perfection. He had rolled away from me at some point in the night, and from the slight tackiness I felt on my skin, I suspected we'd gotten too warm at some point and started to sweat. His feet were tangled with mine, as though he'd had to maintain the physical contact somehow, and I didn't mind how far away his upper body was from me because... wow, what a view.

Cassian's face was turned away from me, but I could see that his coal-dark hair was sex-tousled. The pure-white linen sheet was draped low across his hips, accentuating as much as it was concealing. The long, strong lines of his bare back were on full display from my position next to him, and the muscles across his shoulder blades and down his sides shifted slightly with the rise and fall of his breaths. His wings were splayed haphazardly, one angled down and held closer to his body, the other splayed as wide as it could stretch. His smooth, scar-flecked skin seemed to almost glow in the early morning light.

He was mesmerizing, and I could have lain there admiring him for eons. We seemed to be developing an uncanny ability to awaken shortly after one another, though, and I suspected I only had a few minutes at most before he would stir. I took the opportunity to feast my eyes as I replayed my mental images from the night before.

Cassian, on his knees for me on the balcony, lips shiny with saliva as my cock disappeared between them. The way he'd held me as we came down. The reverent way he'd looked at me as he'd laid me on the bed, climbing in to lay next to me. How it had felt as we'd stroked each other to another, less intense orgasm. The way his body nestled against mine like it was made to fit there, just before sleep claimed us both.

I had to stifle a groan as I felt my morning semi start to stiffen further, and counted backward from ten to try to stop the rerouting of my blood flow. We had things to do today. Unfortunately.

Just then, Cassian shifted where he lay, and I immediately heard the change in his breathing. Before he could awaken fully and discover my arousal, I leaned to press a kiss to the hair at his temple and whispered, "I'm taking the first turn in the bath."

An hour later, Cassian was staring at me over his breakfast in quiet disbelief.

We were seated at the table in our sitting room, and I had just finished explaining the conversation I'd had with Amren the previous afternoon. Cassian's initial reaction to the information was much the same as mine had been, judging by the expression on his face and what I could feel through the bond.

"She thinks we can merge our powers," he finally said, flatly. It was clearly rhetorical, but I nodded anyway and reached for a muffin.

"She may actually have a point," I said, as I peeled off the parchment. Cassian watched me curiously but didn't contradict me immediately, as I'd feared. "I know the rules of our magic as well as you do, but the methods she described... I'm not sure they've ever been attempted before. And if that book exists in multiple worlds..." I trailed off, gesturing vaguely with my muffin, and a small smile tugged the corner of my mate's lips as his eyes tracked the motion.

Unsure what else to say, I stuffed half the pastry in my mouth in one bite and started chewing. He gazed at me, thoughtful, and then surprised me by nodding. I'd honestly expected a bit more of an argument about the impossibility, but he appeared intrigued. I couldn't deny my interest had been piqued as well, the more I'd considered the idea, and it was gratifying to see the same curiosity sparking in his eyes.

"I have to go with Rhys to visit some of the Camps this morning," Cass said, sounding regretful. "If what Eris said about Keir making overtures to the dissenters was true, we need to get ahead of it." I nodded, popping the rest of the muffin into my mouth. I'd known from the discussions yesterday that they would be going, but I hadn't known how soon.