Bloom and Destruction (ACOTAR - Elain + Azriel)

Chalger 16

Elain

    I stand at the kitchen counter, staring at Azriel. He sits on the stool across from me and gazes down at his tea. "I'm not in love with Morrigan," he finally mumbles. I roll my eyes as he looks up at me. "Elain, I..." he sighs heavily. "It's all very complicated."

I shrug, turning to the bags of food we stopped to pick up on our way back to Azriel's house. "We have nothing but time, so you can take the time to explain if you'd like. If not, it's fine." It isn't fine though, he came back with bloody knuckles for her. In her defense.

"Mor is... not what she says she is," he struggles to get out. I just nod. "She is something not of this world, almost like Amren was."

"So?" I look back to him. "Why is that a big deal?"

He sighs again. "Elain," I watch as he pushes himself off the seat. He slowly makes his way over to me and grabs both of my hands. "She has things at work, things we can't see, to keep everything we know in order." He rubs his thumbs over my knuckles. I look down to our hands. "The earth shook when she came of age. She is not like us, my love. She keeps the oxygen in the air. And when they tried to marry her off, she took matters into her own hands. More than she slept with Cassian..."

     "Azriel," I bring a hand up to his cheek. "If it's not my place, don't tell me."

     He shakes his head. "I'm sick of covering for her," his voice cracks. "They think I'm in love with her, that I've been in love with her, I've kept that as a cover. But I know what she will do, I know what she has done, and she's like a ticking time bomb." I watch as he turns to kiss my palm before resting his cheek back into it. "I fear I will put you in danger if you know anything about it, like it will set her off."

I slide my arms around his neck, tugging him closer. "You didn't have to tell me anything, but I appreciate what you did confide in me. You are an astounding person, Azriel, too good for this world. We do not deserve the things you do for us, any of us, whether we know it or not." I feel those siphons power up against my back.

"It's been you the whole time, Elain," a single tear slides down his cheek. "It's you that I've been in love with, tripped over my own feet for, can't think straight because I was only thinking of you. I could only think about what I could do to make your life better. Not her, not anyone else, not even my own."

    I say nothing, letting my kiss speak for me. I lean up and connect our lips in a soft, tender kiss. He sucks in a breath through his nose, as if taking in my scent and pushes his hands against my back to pull me closer. I tighten my arms around his neck. His tears hit my face just as his tongue flicks against the seam of my lips. I move my arms so I can cup his cheeks. I pull my lips away, holding his face firmly.

    "Azriel," I whisper as I wipe away his tears.

He sighs and closes his eyes. "I have so many emotions clawing and ripping at me," he confesses, "some I don't even know what to do with."

I lean my forehead against his while dragging my thumbs back and forth across his cheeks. His fingers dance along my back. I brush my lips against his, Azriel desperately clinging to the friction before taking matters into his own hands and kissing me harder. I hear his wings flutter behind him before they settle around me. The shadows jump from his neck to mine and back again.

I pull away slightly, just enough to examine his face. "Why don't you sit down and I'll make us some lunch? Then we can go for a walk?" I suggest.

Azriel groans, his hands sliding down my back. I gasp as he grabs my bum tightly. He leans his head down and bites my neck, hard. I whimper at the feeling of a warm liquid trickling down my collarbone before he licks it back to the tender skin. He walks me back toward the counter, detaching his lips and spinning me around.

"Why don't you," he breathes into my ear. "Lean over this counter and spread those pretty legs for me?" I moan in response, making him chuckle and hoist my dress above my waist. "Mm, good girl," his voice deepens.

    He grabs the back of my neck with one hand and forcing me to bend at the waist over the counter, the other sliding my undergarments down to the floor. He slips his fingers between my folds, chuckling.

"You're so ready for me," he rasps, pressing his body against mine before sliding in slowly.

I grip the edge of the counter to stabilize myself. "Azriel," I moan loudly.

He grips the back of my neck tighter, pulling out slowly before ramming back in. "What is it?" The grin in his voice causes me to shiver. I push my hips back into him. "Hmm? What is it, baby?" He nips at my ear.

"I-" he cuts me off by pounding into me several times, leaving me a whimpering mess.