Bloom and Destruction (ACOTAR - Elain + Azriel)

Chapter 27

Azriel

I sit in my chair, watching Elain slowly dance with her glass of wine in her hand. Her eyes connect with mine and she smiles. I smile back. Her hips move steadily as she turns away from me. My eyes follow the curves of her body while her scent wafts toward my nose. I snarl quietly as my pants become suddenly too tight. But then I smell it. Her arousal. She knows what she is doing to me and it's turning her on.

I glance around before grunting and shoving myself up. I walk towards her, wrapping my arm around her waist and winnowing us to the bedroom. She turns to look at me and shoves my chest. "Don't do that!" Her eyes darken. I sniff the air, her arousal now gone. "You scared me," my eyes snap to hers when I hear a sob. "Like..."

"Tamlin," I whisper.

"Not Tamlin!" Elain groans. "Morrigan. Morrigan did it. Why do you think she hasn't been around? She put us through that," she cries.

My eyes go wide. "Elain," I step toward her.

"Please," she sighs, aggressively wiping the tears from her face. "Please do not do that again. At least tell me it's you before you do something like that," she turns to the door and walks out, slamming it behind her.

I winnow back to the table. Feyre holds Rhysand's face in her hand, squishing his cheeks as she laughs. "You," I point at Rhys. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me it was Mor, not Tamlin?" I growl. They both look at me with wide eyes. "Why?"

Rhys clears his throat. "Azriel," he stands from his seat. "Can we please talk about this tomorrow morning? Please enjoy your party," he places a hand on my shoulder.

I stare into his eyes, looking for any sign of betrayal. He just nods at me, his eyebrows raised. "Yes," I breathe out. "You're right."

Elain comes walking toward us and silently takes my hand. I follow her to the clearing in front of the orchestra playing for us. She turns to me, wrapping her arms around my neck as a slow song starts to play. I place my hands on her hips.

"I am not mad at you," she whispers. I nod. "I didn't know they didn't tell you it was Morrigan. I am sorry," her eyes lock on mine.

I reach up and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "No, I am sorry. I haven't even asked you, haven't even bothered to know how you were doing, dealing with that trauma." 

     She sighs, "I knew what was happening." I look at her confusedly, our bodies still swaying to the music. "She'd come to your house, knocked on the door and told me I needed to come with her. She explained what was at work, what she knew was to come, and let me decide if I was ready to sacrifice my life in Velaris for the good of Prythian. She and I... we did it for you."

     "For me," I breathe out.

     Elain nods, "yes. We did it so you had your own place, somewhere in the world you felt you belonged and were in control of."

     I cup her cheeks in my hands. "You are too good for this world," I whisper. "I love you so much."

     Her only response is placing her lips on mine. We hear some drunken clapping and cheering making us pull away. We look to the court. "Do it again!" Someone shouts.

We laugh together, looking back to each other. I dip her toward the ground, much like I did during the ceremony, and kiss her deeply. Her hands grab my face as she wraps a leg around my waist. I drown out the noise around us, enjoying the feeling of her lips on mine.

    We danced with our court until dawn, never separating for a single moment. We stumbled drunkenly to the bathrooms together, a few times just for the privacy where I hoisted her onto the sink and we allowed our lips to take control of how long we sat there. Feyre and Rhysand were the first to retire to their room in the manor. Slowly, our subjects made their way back to their towns to sleep. Cassian carried Nesta on his back to the manor with Elain and I follow him, tripping over our own feet and laughing blissfully.

     Finally, once in the bedroom, Elain locks the door and strides over to me. I cup her face and press a long kiss to her forehead. She places her hands on my waist with a hum. I tilt her face up toward me. "I want to worship your body," I whisper, "until dusk. Not fuck you senseless like all the other times... I want to show you how much you mean to me and I want to make love to you," I breathe out before connecting our lips. She hums into the kiss, pulling me closer by my hips. I slide my hands down her arms as I slip my tongue between her lips.

♡ ♡ ♡

Elain

     Azriel's left arm lies under my shoulders, holding me close to him as his other arm rests next to my head holding him up while he rocks his hips into mine. "I love you," he moans into my ear over and over.

     I open my eyes to the sun beaming on my face. I squint before turning to face Azriel. He tightens his arm around my waist with a groan at the motion. I smile, remembering the hours upon hours of love we lived in early this morning.

     Azriel's hands graze my back as he unzips my dress teasingly slow. I suck in a breath, savoring the touch against my skin. Once it hits the floor, he grabs my shoulders to turn me back toward him. He places his lips back against mine, pulling me closer.

     His hand strokes small circles on my hip and with his eyes still closed. His deep breathing makes my body relax into his, biting my lip.

      Azriel slid his hands under my bum, tapping softly to get me to jump. I wrap my legs around his waist, working hard to keep our lips connected. He walks us to the bed and lays me down gently. Our lips move slowly, tantalizingly.

     "What are you thinking about?" His deep voice rasps out.

     I look up from my place on his chest to see him staring down at me already. "Last night," I admit.

     With the early morning sun peaking through the curtains, Azriel kisses along the lines of the white lace covering my breasts before gently removing it. He kisses from my chest down to my waist and does the same with the panties. I close my eyes as he kisses, sucks, and licks every piece of skin along my legs. I shiver when he makes his way back up to my inner thighs. He goes back and forth, being sure to give each the same amount of attention.

      "It was a wonderful night," he turns so our chests are pressed together.

      I nod in agreement. "It was the best night of my life," I admit, bringing a hand up to his cheek and kissing him.