AZRIEL

The Spymaster of the Night Court laid next to his mate, the Daughter of Dawn, who was asleep next to him, their naked bodies tangled with one another - inseparable.

For the entire night, they made love like it was their last moments alive.

Azriel still wasn't able to comprehend it - how this woman could be his.

For a moment, he believed that he was in a dream, that all of this was just a figment of his imagination and he would wake up at any second. There was no way, he thought, that his mate had accepted him, that after all he went through, he finally found happiness throughout all the chaos.

But he could feel her warm body, could smell her natural scent of berries and could feel the lingering touches she left on his skin.

She was real... and she was his.

He was slightly surprised that he was still awake, seeing as he and his mate had wasted each other until the sun was on the horizon. It was as if their bond had released its tether, letting them go at one another like rabbits in heat.

The Spymaster hadn't had sex like that in... well, ever.

Yes, he had flings here and there, especially when he was hot out of his mind whenever he was done torturing people. He craved release from someone, anyone, who would want to satisfy him. He didn't care who, all he wanted was a good fuck.

Usually, after he had calmed down, the Spymaster would leave, and go back to his duties. He used sex to take the edge off, to calm himself from the adrenaline that ran through his veins.

But after he had first laid eyes on Auriella, sex was a constant thought. He wanted to know how she felt, how she would ruin him with pleasure. His body would ignite with hunger, wanting her in more ways than one. His fantasies would be all over the place, bringing him to oblivion several times while he called out her name as he came.

His love for her soared above the skies, reaching out to the galaxies; never fading. He didn't know how he could handle it, these strong feelings that gripped his heart with such intensity. If Auriella hadn't accepted him, Azriel knew that he would lose himself, that he would not survive the heartache that would follow.

As the Spymaster stroked her cheek with his thumb, a smile made his way onto his lips. He saw how the sun shined down upon her as if it too admired her beauty. He tightened his arm around her, protectively, his mind hoarded with whispers from the bond.

Azriel remembered when Feyre and Rhys came back from the cabin after they accepted the mating bond. They both smelled of one another, heat rising in them within seconds. Rhys fought Cassian when he mocked them, bruising each other until blood stained their faces. Rhys was extremely possessive of Feyre at that time, any mate would be.

The Spymaster couldn't say that he would be different. Hell, he was a man who tore men apart limb from limb if they didn't give him the answers he wanted. He would cut them, gut them, and torture them until they gave him something of value.

If any male got close to Auriella, especially now... may the Cauldron bless them.

Azriel placed his lips on her forehead, keeping them there. Auriella stirred in his arms, groaning as she woke. "Why aren't you asleep?" She asked, shifting herself against him.

He could already feel himself become hard at the movement, but he ignored it. Instead, his fingers tucked a strand of hair away from her face. Auriella stared up at him, her eyes still holding exhaustion in them.

"I can't sleep," he muttered, which was true. It felt like sleep was non-existent at the moment. It was as if his blood was boiling underneath his skin, keeping him awake to make sure nothing happened to his mate. He didn't believe that anything would, seeing as he lived in the outskirts of Velaris, but still, he wasn't going to take any chances.

Auriella smiled at him, "You still stare at me, Spymaster?" She asked.

At that, Azriel grinned, "I'd stare at you for eternity, my love." He says.

Azriel remembered when he first laid eyes on Auriella at the High Lords meeting. She was shining as bright as a diamond in the jewel-studded dress. Her skin gleamed in the golden light, making him wonder how the mother could create such beauty. Her green eyes stared into him as if she could see his every secret, his heart leaping at the thought.

"How will you handle me for eternity? I don't even know how you even have patience with me." She tells him.

The Spymaster smirks, "I have ways I could set you straight." He says, making his mate playfully slap him on his chest.

Auriella sits up on the bed, stretching from her slumber. Azriel's eyes skim down her back, seeing the scars Amarantha had inflicted upon her. He had kissed them as they were lost in one another, whispering "I love you" against them, reminding her that he was in love with every part of her, even the ones that she didn't love herself.

Azriel places a hand on her back, making her tense beneath his touch. Some of her scars were still swollen, but it seemed that they would stay that way. They would remind her of what she endured, of how she survived a fate worse than death.

Auriella turns to him, wrapping the sheets around her chest, "How come you haven't decorated this place? It looks extremely dull." She says to him.

He scoffs, "I was never a fan of decor, sunlight. I don't care for it. The only things that bring some life into this place are my knives that are hung on the wall." He tells her.

She bites her lip, thinking, "You could add some paintings or color the walls. It needs to look like you. Right now, it's nothing but the wood you built it out of." She says.

Azriel sits up, "No, it should look how you want it, Ella. This place is as much yours as it is mine. This is our home." He says.

She grins, taking his face in her hands, "Then I have free reign to do whatever I want with it?" She asks.

The Spymaster smiles, bringing her into his lap, "Paint it, decorate it, rearrange it. I don't care what you do. I only want you to be happy here, to feel comfortable. I didn't build this place only for me. I built it for us, in case we accepted the bond." He admits.

Auriella kisses his cheeks, "And what if I didn't accept the bond? What would you have done with it?" She asks him.

Azriel shrugs, "I would have probably lived here alone for the rest of my life. I had no plans on returning back to the House of Wind, especially since Emerie and Cassian pound against the walls every night. I was able to hear them from my old room." He says.

She laughs, a beautiful sound, "I guess I was on the other side of the House. I didn't really hear anything. But there were times where I felt the House rumble." She says.

The Spymaster lays them back onto the bed, his lips attaching to her neck, "Mmm, I think we can do better than them." He says against her throat.

Auriella chuckles, "I'd love to know what you mean by those words." She says.

Azriel wasted no time, his cock sliding into her with ease. She screamed as he mercilessly pounded into her, sucking on her skin until the spots became red. Auriella clawed at his back, her nails digging into his skin as he went faster.

Within seconds, they were both hyperventilating, feeling themselves climb higher to release. Azriel gripped the sheets, groaning as he connected their lips together. Their skin clapped against each other, moving them further back onto the bed. Auriella tilted her head back, moaning as she was tightening around him.

Azriel snarled as he stared at her. He had dreamed of this for so long. Ever since the day they met, his mind was filled with nothing but her. She had been his every thought for the years that passed, wondering when he would see her again, if there was any chance that they would be together.

And now that they were living that reality, Azriel never wanted to waste a moment. He wanted her for eternity. Even if it was his last day alive, he would want her like this, writhing beneath him, calling his name, and coming all over him.

This is mine, Azriel said to himself once more.

A few moments later, they both succumbed to pleasure, releasing into one another. Azriel kissed her as he poured himself into her, thrusting hard as he finished. Auriella whimpered each time he did it, her eyes rolling back.

Once they were done, Azriel plopped next to her, gathering her into his arms. Auriella brought his head to her chest, planting a light kiss. Her fingers were in his hair, making him close his eyes. And within minutes, the Spymaster fell asleep... at the sound of her heartbeat.