A Court of Fear and Faith

Chapter Fourteen

After Feyre and Rhysand excused themselves from the table for the night, Lily leant her head on Azriel's shoulder and he placed a light liss on her hair. When she sat up straight again, eyes heavy from tiredness, she moved to stack the plates into a pile out of habit but Azriel placed his hand over hers and shook his head.

"They'll sort that out in the morning, let's get you to bed." Lily nodded obligingly as he took both of her hands and plunged them into shadows. She closed her eyes as the darkness sang a gentle song to her, their voices like a summer breeze. When Azriel let go of her hands, Lily opened her eyes to find herself on the bed in the guest room once again. Azriel was stood by the chest of drawers, rooting through the drawers, pulling out different shirts and trousers. Lily stood and lazily stumbled over to him, looking over his shoulder at the contents. When her eyes landed on a pair of lacy lilac underwear, she blushed, reaching round to pick them up and inspect the fine fabric. It was the loveliest thing she'd seen. The fabric was so soft and delicate under her fingers. She wondered what she would look like wearing it, how it would feel clinging to her hips. When she looked up at him Azriel had turned to her, a light blush tinting his cheeks.

"Rhys can't help himself, I'm sorry," he said, his wings tucked tightly into his body as he looked anywhere but at her. Lily placed the underwear back in the drawer and closed it before wandering back towards the bed.

"Lilac's not really my colour anyway," she replied, grabbing the hem of her dress and pulling it over her head. Azriel was still looking anywhere but at her, as she crawled into bed and pulled the sheets up over her naked body. Carefully, she ran her fingers through her braid and parted the strands until her hair ran down her chest and shoulders.

"I was looking for pyjamas, the High Lord can buy fancy underwear but Gods forbid he buys you some comfortable sleepwear," Azriel huffed. When he looked up at her his eyes widened and he swallowed. The way he looked at her made her skin feel as if it were on fire, she wanted to pull up the blankets and cover herself from that gaze but she simply continued playing with her hair as her breath quickened. They stayed looking at each other like that for what felt like forever, both of them breathing irregularly, his eyes darkening as they lowered to where the blanket came up over her breasts. For a moment she thought about throwing back the sheets and letting him ravish her, letting him see every inch of her. She imagined his hands wandering her body.

Gods you're going to drive me mad, woman. He complained down the bond and Lily quickly dashed the images from her mind. Azriel smiled at her and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he walked over to her bedside and sat down to face her. 

"They really love you, you know," he said quietly, fiddling with a tassel at the edge of one of the blankets. Lily shuffled down in bed and grinned.

"Really?" She asked as Azriel laughed, shaking his head as he replied, "Rhys is all over you and you made Feyre baked goods, what's not to love?" Lily giggled and looked up at the ceiling, a smile of pure triumph coating her face. Azriel rolled back his shoulders, his wings stretching behind him.

"May I?" He asked, standing momentarily to pull back the top blanket. When Lily nodded her head he climbed underneath, careful to not expose her in the process. Lily shuffled sideways to allow room for him to join her, rolling onto her side so she could face him. When he settled under the covers they were virtually nose to nose, their bodies only separated by a layer of blanket.

"Where do you have to go in the morning?" She asked, her eyes wandering his perfect face, the moonlight dancing across his golden eyes.

"The Spring Court, just checking up on Tamlin with Cassian. It's glorified babysitting, really, but we all have to pull the short straw sometimes," he replied, curling a wing over her when he looked down at the goose-pimples coating her shoulders from the chilly night air. Instantly she felt warmer and nuzzled closer to him, yawning as sleep tugged at her eyelids and made her muscles relax. She took his hand in hers and guided it around her as she whispered, "you don't have to stay with me, you know." Azriel laughed and pulled her in closer, running his scarred hand across the bare skin of her shoulders.