A Court of Smoke and Shadow

Chapter Three: Selene

I did not wake up alone today.

Azriel was asleep next to me. I poked his arm to wake him.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled.

"We have things to do today, my Az," I chuckled.

"It can wait," he said.

I rolled my eyes and wriggled out of his grasp. Or I tried to. He pulled me back towards him.

"Stay," he muttered.

"Azriel," I drawled.

He kissed me, kisses trailing down my throat. I moaned softly.

"Az," I murmured.

"Sweetheart," he nuzzled his head into my neck.

"You know I love when you call me that," I said.

"That's why I said it sweetheart," I felt him smile against my neck.

I couldn't help the way my face flushed. His lips kissed the hollow of my throat and the most unholy noise emerged from my throat as he licked where he had kissed.

"Az, please," I whimpered.

His hand slid under my silk nightgown, pulling it higher on my hips. Azriel's hands touched that sensitive spot between my legs and let out a soft moan.

"I love you," he mumbled. "Don't forget that."

He kept touching me, dipping his finger in and out of me. I had to cover my face in the pillow to keep quiet.

There was knock on the door, interrupting our private time.

"Azriel, when you're done with my sister, I want to speak to you," Rhysand said from the other side of the door. "And I know you're in there, so don't pretend you're not."

I rolled my eyes. Of course Rhys would choose the most inconvenient time to interrupt. Azriel huffed a breath as if in agreement. He got up and put on his shirt before opening the door.

I pulled my covers over myself as Rhys peered into the room.

"You two are actually gross," Rhys said, not really meaning it.

"That's how I feel about you and Feyre," I retorted.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Azriel asked, cutting in before Rhys and I strayed off topic.

"After you clean up," Rhys nodded. "I don't want to have a conversation when you smell like my sister. You can meet me in my office."

Before Az could respond, Rhys walked away. I just glared at the space where my brother had stood.

"Asshole," I muttered.

Azriel snorted. He made his way to the bathroom and I waited for him to go before I bathed. Cauldron forbid Azriel smelled like me after we bathed together.

As much as I loved my brother, Rhys was a little insufferable now that Feyre had gone to the Spring Court. I couldn't say that I blamed him, though. I missed Feyre, too. She understood me more than Rhys did, what with all the time we spent in cells next to each other Under the Mountain.

She heard me being whipped and beaten by Amarantha in those last three months. Feyre might not have said anything but just knowing she was there helped me through it.

I wasn't sure why the presence of a human made me feel better but it did. I wondered if it was simply because she was my brother's mate and some part of me sensed it.

Speaking of senses, I haven't been feeling that unearthly power lately. It felt like it had gone dormant. I hoped it was completely gone but sometimes I could swear I felt it swirling deep in my bones. But maybe it's just me being delusional.