Chapter 5
WILLOW
When I had told Baezal to take me to bed, I hadn’t meant for rest.
Yet, that seems to be exactly what happened as my head hit the soft pillow and his warm body had settled in beside me. Now, as I blink open my eyes in the dim room, my body feels rejuvenated. Dozens of taper candles have been lit, casting the room in a warm glow.
Baezal’s arm is draped along my waist, and I can feel his strong chest against my back.
The memories of what we’ve shared together this evening come flooding back.
I do not regret any of it—quite the opposite.
I long for more and hope he isn’t resting too deeply so that he cannot be roused for another round.
This was all moving fairly quickly. I’m sure plenty would call me a fool for allowing this to transpire the way it has, but those people are wrong.
Baezal and I have not spent much time together, yet I feel as though I know him better than anyone.
He has seen me in a way no one else has—cared for me as if it were his sole purpose in life.
Our time together has been short, but precious nonetheless. I know in my heart what we have is true. It is my heart that led me to him, as if it had been searching for his all this time. Now, as I feel it pounding against my shoulder, I feel complete.
My soul itches to be entwined with his.
In one of my stolen novels, I had read about this exact situation.
The knight had come to rescue the princess, locked away for years in a tower by her evil father, the king.
The moment the knight removed his helmet, and she saw his beautiful scarred face, she knew it was true love.
It was a reckless declaration, but no less true.
Is Baezal not the same for me? He is made of scales, claws, and wings instead of scars, but I recognize him just as the princess had her knight. Just as she did, I did not need months of courtship to reach the conclusion my heart had already come to.
The knight, for his part, had fallen instantly in love with the princess and confessed to it before bedding her for the first time. That was how all the best love stories went. While I was certain of my own feelings, I could not be sure of Baezal’s.
He had called me a goddess, said he would worship me devoutly, but was that the same as love? The demons in his past could make him wary of trusting me. They had already set our first hurdle. He had been heartbroken before. The pain of that other Sister’s rejection made him unworthy of love.
Maybe he just needs more time for me to prove her wrong. I already love him. I can be patient and wait for him to love me back. My future is now one of endless possibilities.
I may not know much of the world, but I know myself. What I had told Baezal had been true. The One True Faith tried to keep me caged. For years, I was forced to repress who I truly was. Even still, I knew what love was—real love. Not the forced devotion they thrust upon us.
I had read about it for years, glimpsed it on our rare trips into the neighboring town.
Baezal’s kisses felt different from all the other males because I love him. The local men would’ve helped me escape from the monastery, but I never asked them. I knew it was because, had I done so, they would expect something in return for their help. A wife at the very least.
I know that Baezal would have helped me if I offered him nothing in return. He’ll never seek to cage me. All he’s done since the moment we met is provide for me. How could I not love him?
Maybe I am a fool, but love makes fools of us all.
Baezal was meant to save me—even if I didn’t understand it at first, I was meant to come here. To awaken him from his curse was my fate, and his is to be my lover and protector. He is my present and my future all in one.
I’ve spent years being denied what I truly want, and I won’t waste another second without claiming my heart’s desire.
Claws skim along my sides, tickling just under my ribs. Goosebumps erupt on my naked flesh. Baezal’s warm breath tickles my neck. Sighing deeply, I roll onto my other side. I fall into the valley of his chest and stare up into his handsome face.
I had been wrong to fear him when we first met. There is more kindness in his gaze now than ever bestowed on me by anyone in the True Faith.
Tracing the planes of his face with my finger, his wings spread out beside us.
“How long have I been asleep?”
Baezal captures my hand and presses a kiss to my palm.
“Only a few hours. It’s still dark outside.”
“Good,” I sigh.
Baezal raises a brow, but I merely shrug.
“I would’ve hated to have slept through our first night together.” My eyes fall to his lips, desperate for another taste. “Especially when there’s still so much left to explore.”
Baezal groans as my hand skims down his chest. The thick ridges of his body are covered in delicate scales.
They flex against my fingers. The rough texture of his skin inflames my lust. He is not human—that’s part of the reason I desire him so much.
He dominates me everywhere. His power is palpable, and yet he is so gentle with me.
The juxtaposition of the two reawakens my earlier simmering desire.
There’s a small part of me that whispers to be cautious.
If I give myself to Baezal, will I not be trading one cage for another?
He would never force me to remain with him, but in choosing to do so, am I not just crafting another gilded prison for myself?
What about the freedom I longed for? The adventures—seeing the sea after spending years reading about it.
Was it smart to relinquish all those dreams to another so soon?
Looking into Baezal’s eyes, I feel those lingering doubts slip away.
What is freedom if not the chance to share it with someone you care about?
If I have the means to travel, would I not want to do it with Baezal by my side?
My choice was made the moment he touched me.
I will spend my future with him—not caged by love but freed by it.
He will not keep me as the One True Faith had or as Father Knoll tried to do. Baezal will take me on adventures, and we will make new memories together. Once I give myself to him fully, those lingering doubts will be silenced.
We are two souls once trapped by the True Faith. His prison was more literal than mine, but we have both suffered under the church. We are reclaiming our lives together. This is the first night of my freedom, and I’m spending it with the male I love.
I could’ve left this place the moment he agreed to help me, but I didn’t. I want to be right here tonight, sharing this pitiful cot with my gargoyle, who hopefully is about to bring me even more pleasure than he had before. I want him so much I can scarcely breathe.
It’s time for me to show Baezal just how much he means to me.
My fingers trail over each hard muscle of his stomach.
I shiver at his power as my hands travel lower.
Baezal snarls as my hands linger at the waistband of his simple cotton pants.
They do nothing to conceal the monstrous length lurking inside.
It rises proudly to attention. I savor his hiss as I stroke him through the material.
“Careful, I’m already on edge from resisting you while you slept.”
His words send a shiver through me as I stare up into his eyes. Blinking innocently, I pump him over his pants once more. Baezal’s stomach muscles tighten as he curls towards me. His wings flap swiftly.
“You have no idea the picture you made beside me. Naked, trusting, beautiful—like a sleeping angel.” The veins in his neck pop as I squeeze him tightly, my heart hammering inside my ribs. “I wondered how you’d look if I slipped the sheet off your body and woke you with my cock.”
I squeeze him tightly before roughly jerking him with my fist. Sweat erupts on his brow.
My lips part as I turn slippery between my thighs.
No male has ever brought this out in me.
The way Baezal speaks to me in these heated moments inflames my lust and encourages me to meet his wanton confessions with my own.
“You could’ve done it—I welcome you inside me whenever you’d like,” I purr.
A spray of moisture coats the front of his pants. Baezal curses, his hips thrusting in my hand. His palm comes down on my breasts, worrying my nipple into a stiff peak.
“You better mean that, Willow,” he snarls. “Once I feel your virginity give way, it’ll be a battle to keep from fucking you all day and night.”
A giggle erupts from my throat as I pump him again.
“You can’t fuck me all day long,” I state matter-of-factly. “At least not every day. I’ll need to eat, and sleep, and bathe, and explore this new world of ours together.”
My hand slides under his waistband. Hot, hard flesh greets my hand as I pull his cock from its cotton prison. My mouth goes dry at the size of him. I have no idea how he’s going to fit inside me, but I’m more than willing to try.
His light gray shaft is covered in the same delicate scales as the rest of his body.
My arousal slips from me at the thought of what that will feel like.
The head of his cock is a darker gray and already leaking a pearl of sticky come.
I lick my lips and wrap my hand around his base.
My fingers stretch, but can’t seem to fit all the way around.
“Other than that, Baezal. You can fuck me as many times as you want.”
With a snarl, Baezal moves as quickly as a whip.
The sheet covering us is tossed away as he scrambles down the edge of the bed.
Quickly shedding his pants, he is clad only in the leather cuffs around his wrists.
His cock stands at attention, nearly grazing his stomach.
Fresh seed spills from the tip and drips onto the bed below.
My tongue darts out as my eyes focus on his cock. Baezal shakes his head once, every muscle in his body pulled tight.
“There’s no time for that.”