A Rejected Wolf and a Court of Ash (Eden and Azriel) novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Eden

I should be asking Azriel why he is kissing me. Push him off me and demand answers. I should do many things. Tasting his lips, however, isn’t one of them. This should be forbidden since it’s a dumb idea.

Yet I let it happen.

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His tongue forces my mouth open, thrusting himself into me, into the space where no other man has been. Shivers race down my spine at the taste of him, at the sound he makes deep in his throat that gets lost in our mouths before I can even begin to hear it. All I see is the working of his Adam’s apple, hear the sounds of wet kisses as he claims my mouth, claims me

He withdraws quickly, sitting up on the couch and wiping his lips with the back of his hand. It’s as if he finally realized what he was doing and now those violet eyes are huge, horrified. Does he regret kissing me? It would make sense. I’m a weak omega and a werewolf. Neither am I pretty, not like Azriel who looks like God’s gift to women.

“I…I should go,” he says though he makes no move to leave. Instead, he sits there, looking at me, sitting on the floor with swollen, parted lips.

I thought he might say that, yet it still stings. I’m not sure why. He is my enemy, yet I definitely have a crush on him. Must be my hormones.

“The door’s that way,” I nod to the side without getting up from the floor myself. “Don’t let me keep you.”

Azriel still doesn’t move. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and his eyes never leave mine. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Then why did you?” I find myself asking.

“Because I’ve wanted to since I first saw you,” he admits in a reluctant tone, as if it costs him to say that. “And that’s… problematic.”

I purse my lips since they still tingle, still feeling the ghost of his kiss there. “Because I’m your sacrifice?”

“Among other reasons.”

An uncomfortable silence falls, giving me time to think. Sadly, there isn’t much thinking at all. I should be terrified, disgusted by what just happened. This man plans to deliver me to his sister for slaughter. And yet here I am, wishing he would kiss me again.

“Your wound,” I say finally, desperate to change the subject from our kiss. “I should finish bandaging it-” My eyes widen when I realize he is totally fine.

The cut on his chest has completely closed up. It’s as if he’s never been injured at all.

“How…?” I reach out without thinking, my fingers hovering just above the healed skin.

“Fae healing,” Azriel explains. “Much faster than your kind. The iron slowed it down, but once it’s cleaned out…”

My hand drops back to my lap. “So you didn’t need my help at all.”

“I needed the iron residue removed, but I could have managed alone.”

“Then why let me help you?”

A heartbeat passes. Two. Three.

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10:24 Mon, 23 Jun

Chapter 18

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He hesitates, studying my face for a long moment before he finally admits his intentions. “I wanted to see what you would do. Most people wouldn’t help their executioner.”

What do I say to that? He tested me, and I honestly feel like a pawn in a game I haven’t learned to play. It’s frightening, but also…

My gaze drops from Azriel’s piercing violet eyes, and I feel an ache deep within me. It’s almost as if even my wolf wants him….

“You keep surprising me, Azriel murmurs. His hand lifts and stops inches from my face, I expect a touch that never comes, watching that same large hand hover with his fingertips just over my cheekbones, as though afraid of his own urge to touch

Before either of us can bridge the gap, the door opens, and I hear Elvira shout, “I’m finally home! And guess what? I brought pizza. Are you hungry?”

Azriel and I jump apart so fast it’s almost comical. His glamour snaps back into place instantly, hiding his supernatural features. I scramble to my feet, face burning hotter than the sun.

“Eden?” Elvira’s voice grows closer. “Where are–OH MY GOD!”

She freezes in the doorway, pizza boxes tilting dangerously in her hands as she takes in the scene: me, disheveled and blushing: Azriel, shirtless, on her couch.

“What the actual hell?” she squeaks.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I blurt out, then wince because that’s exactly what people say when it is what it looks like.

Azriel, the bastard, just smirks. “Hello, Elvira.”

Elvira’s eyes narrow to slits. “Why is the fairy who’s going to sacrifice my best friend half–naked in my living room?”

“He was injured, I explain hurriedly. “Iron blade. I was just helping him.”

“With your mouth?” Elvira asks, setting the pizza boxes down with a thud.

My face flames. “What are you talking about?”

“He is wearing your lipglow, Eden. And a lot of your foundation and powder.”

I glance at Azriel’s face, and sure enough, there are faint traces of my makeup on his lips and chin. I want to die of embarrassment right there.

1. My voice fails me completely.

Azriel, to my horror, begins laughing. Not a chuckle. This time, it’s actual full–bodied laughter that makes his eyes crinkle.

“Your face!” He gasps between laughs, meaning me.

“This imi’t funny!” I snap, grabbing a throw pillow from the armchair and hurling it at him. He catches it before it can do any damage, still grinning

Beautiful bastard

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