Bind Me To You

Chapter Eighteen

The soft pressure of his hand pressed against my spine anchored me as he drew small shapes against my thin shirt, the rise and fall of his chest soothing me as I lay on top of him. My ear was pressed against the bare skin of his chest, listening to the steady drum of his heartbeat with a small smile tugging my lips with each beat.

I turned my head up to face him, some of his messy coal curls had fallen into his eyes. With a lazy smile, I lifted my hand to brush them out of his face, revealing large hazel eyes framed by long black eyelashes that softened at my gaze.

I begin to lower my hand only for him to gently catch it in his grasp. He brought the back of my hand to his lips and pressed a petal-soft kiss to the back of my hand. A soft sigh escaped my lips as he continued, planting feather-light kisses to each of my knuckles.

He pulled back slightly, staring into my eyes as the fingertips of his free hand traced a line up my arm, brushing against my neck and stopping as it reached my jaw, leaving goosebumps in wake. His hand turned to cup my cheek, running his thumb over my cheekbone as I turned to press a kiss into his palm in return. A small smile tugged his lips upwards before his gaze switched from my eyes to my lips, an action that brought to life a flame in my chest.

His hand softly gripped at my chin, his thumb resting against my bottom lip and his eyes never leaving my lips. With a low moan, he brought his bottom lip between his teeth, causing my insides to melt as my eyes glanced at his lips in longing. The hand cupping my chin changed its grip to cup the back of my head and he brought his face closer to mine as bare inches separated us. I could feel his breath against my lips and I let out an unsteady breath before letting my eyelids fall shut.

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The echo of the alarm clock rang loudly through Avery's room, thrusting her into a startled state of awakeness.

She rolled over to silence the alarm blaring from her phone before turning onto her back and bringing her hand to press against the pounding of her chest.

Her dream had been so vivid. The way his fingers glided against her cheek so tenderly. The way his eyes looked so vulnerably into hers as they flickered to her lips with longing. The pounding of her heart against his chest, and the beat of his heart pounding back.

It was strange. Avery had assumed that a demon wouldn't have a heartbeat, that they wouldn't have warm skin. That had been proven wrong.

Avery squeezed her eyes shut, rolling over so that she could stuff her face into her pillow, letting a long, loud groan escape. Her mind continued to flash memories of the dream, of his lips, and her cheeks began to brighten as she struggled to calm her heart.

Perhaps the part of her dream that confused her the most was the hazel eyes that looked back at her rather than the bright crimson she had become accustomed to. In her dream she imagined him to be something he could never be. A human.

Avery lifted herself from her bed, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm the pressure that had built in her chest. Perhaps it would have worked if she hadn't turned back to look at the empty bed behind her, picturing his form slumped against the backboard. Get out of my head.

Avery dragged her feet as she walked to her closet, hesitating as she took the handle, making sure to glance around the room in case Azrael had appeared. An action that had very quickly become a habit since the morning after she had signed the contract. She didn't know whether she was glad or disappointed each time he wasn't there. Though, this morning the last thing she wanted was for him to hear her thoughts.

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Avery's bus ride to school and the short trek to her locker had been filled with thoughts of Azrael. The more that she thought about him, the more she realised that she really didn't know anything about him.