by Eryn Black
But for now, she was going to be his sacrifice.
The rope pulled tight overhead, lifting Aurora high above him, and the figure eight loop that caged her breasts tightened, squeezing them, forcing them to fill like round balloons. Pressure built up under the strain of the rope making her pink nipples pop like ripe raspberries and he felt hungry. Hovering at his head height, she was positioned for his comfort and he took a perusal, walking around his living sex doll and appreciating everything he saw. Parting the seam of his lips, he took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, teasing her warm neck with his cold breath, titillating her nerves. The pleasure that coursed through her body helped to feed his desire, but still left him wanting, every shiver, moan, and seductive roll of her neck brought him closer and closer to a maddening hunger that threatened to shatter him.
‘I have to take a taste,’ he told himself, ‘Just one taste.’
But he knew that if he fed there was little control in him at that moment to make him stop. Over the centuries he had sampled angel blood and wondered if the celestial blood naturally had power in the flavor or if it was his longing to once again be one of them. There was no telling what the philosophical truth was, but he was certain that if he gave in to the hunger and drank to his content that there would be nothing left of her.
“Do you intend to kill me?” she asked, pulling him away from the torment of his thoughts.
“Pardon?” He looked up into her eyes and for the first time saw a hint of fear behind her bright eyes.
“Your eyes.” She nodded her head to direct her attention to him and he turned his back from her closing his eyes, hiding the bright red that filled the whites of them. “I know the signs of a vampire’s hunger…” her voice trailed off, but he knew what she was thinking.
“And?” he prompted her.
“And I need to know if I can trust you?”
He appreciated her straightforward approach to the subject at hand and wanted to give her the assurance that she wanted, but he was not certain if he could guarantee control over the hunger.
“Unlike angels and mortals, our hunger and sexual desire are linked.” He turned around to face her, opening his eyes wide to show her the full force of his hunger. “When a lycan is hungry he eats and when he fucks, he fucks, and the same can be said for mortals, though there are creative methods in combining them; but for vampires, our hunger and sexual desire are linked. Satisfaction can come in both forms, but it is best when they are served up together.”
Azrael leaned forward tickling the side of her neck with his nose as he nuzzled in, taking in her scent. Sweet and fresh, she was everything that he longed for, since cursed with rot and decay. Death was not a worthy existence when someone longed to fly up into the clouds and know the freedom from his cursed hunger. His teeth tingled at the prospect of breaking the thin layer of skin on her neck and penetrating her vein, one taste, one quick taste and he could know that freedom once again through her eyes. The slow glide of his fangs down the column of her neck threatened a temptation that he did not know if he could pull away from, but he was compelled by her, unable to turn away from her.
“Just a warm, sweet taste.” His open mouth hovered over her neck, gathering all his strength to stop his mouth from closing over her and penetrating her vein for a glorious taste.
“But you wouldn’t take what wasn’t offered.” There was a twill in her voice, sprung from a growing fear.
“No, but would you truly deny me after what I have given you already. Who knows, you may get off on it.” He tilted his head for a better angle.
“Enough!” The silk rope snapped, bursting apart in pieces, falling to the ground and Aurora floated overhead, her long flowing hair hovering over her shoulders and around her breasts. The bright red and oranges helped to hide her pink nipples with the blue and green highlights drawing electric lines over her skin. She was a frightening seraph of beauty whose eyes burned with a furry toward Azrael
“I played your games expecting you to protect the son of Uriel and with the honorable promise that I would be safe.”
“I made no such promise,” he said through clenched teeth, fighting to resist his need to lash out at her.
“You did. The moment you lashed me in your bonds, you made an unspoken promise I could trust my safety in to you. You promised centuries ago I would always be safe in your hands!” Heated anger boiled under her skin and she stood there waiting for a reply, awaiting her chance to strike down his defense.
“You talk about trust as though it were ordained upon you, but you would not understand the meaning of the word.” Four hundred years of pain and betrayal began to boil up, despite the existing sexual desire between them, there was too much pain there. Reality was suddenly shining down on the possibility that they might kill each other before the night was through.
“Enough!” His voice exploded in the room shaking the walls and pushing Aurora farther away. “You knew what I was when you agreed to my terms. I have never tried to hide what I am, between the two of us I have always been honest.”
“Honest?” She slowly lowered herself to the ground, arms crossed over her bare breasts in a stern and quizzical barricade.
“Yes, honest,” he snapped back. “It was through your lies, and despite them, that I am what I am today. You helped to make me.”
“Grow up.” It was an odd comeback when one thought of their true ages, but a modern exchange that flared his temper. “Any decisions you have made are entirely on your shoulders, I did nothing. It was your choice to commit murder-”
“Only after you took him to bed. I loved you, but you were incapable of such a feeling and when I was gone to do my duty to my post you took a fisherman to bed.” There, it was out in the open and he felt flayed, exposed for he had played his hand.
“What did you expect of me?” she shouted back. “We are not mortals, we have our charges. Did you expect me to make a house for us and wait for the two of us to meet every couple of hundred years. Time does not wait for us, people’s lives do not wait for us. We cannot live in some sitcom reality to satisfy your need to feel human.”
“So you choose to exist like some angelic whore.” The words escaped his lips before he could stop himself, but her fist connecting to his jaw verified that she had heard him.
The impact of Aurora’s blow propelled Azrael across the room crashing him against an opposing wall sending a large painting to fall to the floor. Blood rushed through his body igniting his anger once again and awakening the beast inside. Aurora waved him on, standing with her arms out, ready to defend herself. He roared out a battle cry, his lips rolling back to expose his elongated fangs, ivory white with a lethal point.
“My actions are my own,” she defended herself, but narrowed her eyes, focusing on his red eyes and matching his hurtful words with her own attack, “And your petty jealousy was a foolish act.” She shook her head in defiance, “You will never earn my sympathy. You are a killer, a murderer who has sealed your own fate by your own actions.”
“And yet I still arouse you,” he stated boldly.
Aurora hovered over the floor in defeat, he had cut her to the quick and to his joy she could not deny the truth. Slowly her lashes lowered over her eyes, blinking back the sorrow and self-loathing that consumed her, one tear broke free from under her heavy lashes and ran down her cheek, one shimmering tear that fell from her face toward the floor. Azrael appeared in front of her his hand stretched out, catching her tear in his palm, closing his fingers to secure the precious offering of truth.
“Why are you so cruel?” she asked, her head turned down and her lips loose, hardly moving as she spoke.
“I am nourished by the pains and fears of others, misery is not my bedfellow, it is my dinner companion.” It was a cruel observation of the truth that he existed in.
He opened his palm and looked down at the small, almost insignificant, wet spot, the coldness of his skin preserved the essence of the tear offering him a moment of reflect
ion. Azrael lifted his hand to his lips, tenderly kissing the mark with reverence. Aurora watched in silence, struck by the pain-filled display of his actions and when he lifted his eyes to her, his face still hovering over his hand, he saw a spark streak across her eyes, like a shooting star, it was her heart, a reflection of her soul moved by the honesty of his actions.
“You think me cruel by the actions I take, that my hunger is a manifestation of my inhumanity, and you are right. My hunger and desires are a result of my curse, adding to my pain with a constant reminder that I am more monster than man.” Despair consumed his voice, leaving only an honest tone that revealed to her his vulnerability. “But my hunger, my desire, my sexuality are now forever linked; blood is not just a means to nourishment, it is the essence of my being. I do not take pleasure in killing, and I long for the peaceful existence where death was an escape from this world, a release for those in pain and a reward for those who are brave. I was not the bringer of death, I was the guardian who delivered the souls to their destination. I was blessed with the gift to ease the pain of those left behind and to bring peace, that is the one gift I long for most, of everything, that is what I long to do once again.”
Aurora watched in wide-eyed awe, struggling to process what he was telling her.
“When faced with a monster one never stops to think of the humanity hidden behind the fangs.” She reached out, placing her hand over his, cupping her palm over the dry mark where her tear had been. There was an odd connection that passed between their hands, a peace that filled him for a moment, easing his earlier anger and brining him to a calmer place.
“You live in the darkness of night and wallow in self-loathing,” holding his face with her free hand she looked deep into his eyes, searching for understanding, “Believing that your sin was born from my betrayal.”
Azrael reached up, grasping her by the wrist and pulling her hand away from his face, he was not about to be fooled into false guilt.
“My soul is not tainted with infidelity,” he scorned her.
“We were not husband and wife, we were not sworn to each other in a life of fidelity, but when you let jealousy take over, you committed murder.”
“I simply delivered him a bit earlier than scheduled,” he defended himself.
“You murdered the man because he and I were temporarily lovers.” Her understanding was melting away quickly.
“And I have paid for my sin these last four hundred years…” He turned away from her, throwing his arms into the air with dramatic flair. “Am I never to be rid of the judgment, of this seclusion.”
“You killed an innocent! You betrayed us all when you turned your back on your duty.” Her voice rose up in defense of her argument, filled with disbelief of his stance for innocence.
“And I have paid the price!” He cried out, his arms outstretched pleading for some empathy. “My brothers have turned their backs on me and I have lived in banishment for four hundred years. I have lived the life of a monster, but I was made to be a protector and now I feed on the vulnerable.”
“And what do you wish from me?” she pleaded, torn by an empathic pain sprung from his words.
“Nothing,” he turned his back to her, “Nothing.”
“You will not manipulate my sympathy.” She crossed her arms over her still bare chest and tilted her head at a quizzical angle, but he said nothing, as she looked at his bare back. “Do you understand me?”
“And you will keep to your end of the bargain.” His shoulders raised up for a moment before lowering to a comfortable level, and slowly turned his head, catching her eyes in his sight at once. “Do you understand me, or I shall find your little hunter and have him for a late-night snack.”
His voice was heavy and controlled, giving a flat indication of emotion, a frightening tone that made her heart jump with fear. The sound of her erratic breathing and beating heart exposed her fears to him as though she were a book to read. Turning around to face her head on, he reached out to pick her up in his arms.
“I still have a few more hours,” he said walking her across the room toward the bed, “A bargain is a bargain and if your heart cannot be touched by my pains, then the rest of your body shall.” Aurora opened her mouth to protest, though she made no motion to fight him. “And you are not permitted to speak.” The statement was responded to with her wide-eyed surprise. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” He enforced his determination to keep her silent with a searing kiss, pressed hard and forceful over her lips which she only resisted at first, she quickly softened under the pressure of his lips, but never returned the kiss. Azrael broke the seal and looked down into her face, her wide-eyed expression fell into a baffled look that made him smirk.
“You needn’t fear, you are getting the sweeter end of the bargain.” He lay her down on the bed, Aurora’s head rested on the pillow and her hair coated around her shoulders, like an aura of red and green fire. She was more beautiful than he remembered, and Azrael feared how easy it would be to fall under her spell again… if he hadn’t already.
The mattress bent under the weight of his knee as he climbed on, crawling over her body. She lay with her arms comfortably resting to her sides and her legs straight with the toes pointed. There was no indication of insecurity and she made no attempt to pull away from him or conceal herself, Aurora lay there waiting for him.
He crawled over her legs, leaving a trail of kisses starting behind her knee, along her inner thighs and over the rise of her hips. At the apex where her thighs were joined to her core he slowly licked the crevice where her leg joined her hip, her toes curled in anticipation as his tongue delved deep and slipped between her legs, parting her wet lips. Inserted deep, his tongue delved into her while his upper lips closed over the sensitive nub above her entrance, sucking hungrily at her essence. Aurora threw her head back in a silent cry of ecstasy that shook through her in exhilarating tremors.
Aurora reached up, clawing at the bedding, pulling the pillows out from under her head, pushing one to the floor and the others tumbling over the opposite side in a billowing cascade of silk and damask pillowcases. The rustling sound of pillows piling over pillows on the floor distracted Aurora and she turned her head to see them empty silk sheets feeling a giggle bubble up while her body was still humming from her growing orgasm. Azrael paused in his attentions toward her sex, forcing her to turn her head forward, toward him but only his eyes peeked up from between her spread legs, like a frisky devious pet, his eyebrows wiggled and his eyes narrowed in humor, she couldn’t see his mouth, but she gasped slightly when he darted his tongue out for one long lick starting at the center of her quivering entrance and up toward the sensitive pearl.
“You find my attentions humorous now?” he asked with playful intent.
“No,” she replied pursing her lips for a moment to try and compose herself and get a hold of the giggles that were still plaguing her, “But I do find your design and decor choices to be rather humorous.”
“Humorous?” he asked, lifting his head up to rest his chin on her pelvis and revealing his mischievous grin. “Really? Hmm? You certainly know how to hurt a guy with compliments.” He inserted three fingers into her core, showing no restraint, pushing knuckles deep and spreading her lips wide.
“Compliments?” The world grew dizzy as she tumbled over the edge of control, her whole body was consumed in her release as she sang out her pleasures in moaning cries, as she was incapable of forming a single word.
“You are quite the fighter, consider this the spoils of war.” He dropped his head, locking his lips over her clit once again while his finger continued to drive in and out of her warm pussy. Aurora closed her eyes to find a kaleidoscope of images and colors exploding against her eyelids as she lay in ecstasy, riding the exhilarating waves of her release.
Chapter Four
Finland 1602
There was no revelation to be found in this mission, nothing he didn’t already know, but had yet to visu
ally confirm. It had been nearly fifty years since the last time Azrael and Aurora had been able to escape together, immortals had a different perspective of fifty years compared to humans and the time they had lost together had been in service of their charges. A growing population had an expected impact on the Angel of Death and they had both shared an understanding in their growing frustration. As the centuries passed in their relationship Azrael had begun to understand why any emotional attachments for an Angel was discouraged, he was created for his responsibilities and Azrael held a spiritual love and devotion for every soul whose protection he had been charged with in their journey, but now he faced this growing conflict.
Jealousy was a disease that ate at a person like poison, or acid, but it also served as a motivation that gave Azrael the insight to search her out. For years he had felt the twinge of betrayal, striking him like a small bite that irritated him, recently the irritation had grown to a striking pain that he could not ignore. He flew over the fishing village, searching out the rooftops for her glow and there it was, her mesmerizing glow that with all of the brilliance of a dawn illuminating every window and joint in the structure, unnoticed by a mortal’s eye, but an alarming testimony to his ill-placed trust. The closer he came to the humble home, Azrael could feel the vice grip around his heart and then he heard her, hiding outside a shuttered window, he heard Aurora’s sensual sigh of satisfaction and in that instant the vice snapped closed, like a trap, shattering his heart.