Every Part of You
AZ
After Vale ordered them all to rest, they had each found their rooms. But not before Vale had whispered into their minds through the link, Do not leave her alone. She needs to be grounded, and we must ensure this storm does not break.
As Lu had wandered, a hand brushing the smooth curve of the walls, they had taken a moment to inwardly discuss who would be with her first. And it had been Az who had won.
She needed him, needed to feel safe, and they all knew she felt the safest in his presence. A fact that made Az swell with pride, and grow resentful of them all—for shoving her away until she felt isolated.
The rooms were open, only a curtain separating them from the circular expanse where the lounge area was.
A bed set on a stone platform, plush white blankets draped over the side and falling to the floor, while a curtain wrapped around it, hanging from the ceiling in swaths of mesh.
The bed faced a large arched doorway, flanked by two swirling pillars, open entirely to the outside—trees with large trunks, lush grass, ripe and soft, the fronds swaying in the wind.
Az had gone from room to room, specifically choosing this one when he saw it was the only one without a clear line of sight to the sea.
She’d stood wearily in the center of the room, and at Az’s low, murmured words, Do you want to bathe, angel? Lu had agreed softly.
I’ve not been able to alone. Every time I try, I freeze in fear. Is it… bad to depend on you like this? she had asked.
And Az had gathered her in his arms and whispered, Never. You can always depend on me.
Which led them to where they were now, curled in a bath, the water pleasantly cool, a welcome reprieve from the thick heat of the Fallen Isles.
She was utterly nude, pressed against his side, small feet nudging his calves with every splash. The entire surface was covered in thick bubbles—the only reason she had agreed to disrobe entirely, Az knew.
She had blushed so beautifully when she had asked him to close his eyes as she had taken off her clothes.
Not allowing him to look, even as her small fingers had wrapped around his, tugging him to the bathing area in the corner of the room—a small, private space, with more gauzy curtains acting as a privacy barrier.
But the curtains offered little in the way of seclusion.
Az saw shadows flashing through them as the trees swayed, and the low voices of the others filtered through, too soft for Luella’s ears to pick up. But not him.
Az kept his underclothes on, but his chest was bare, and she kept running her fingers over the side of his ribs, water trickling down her forearms, running in rivulets down their sides.
He ached for her—but he would never let her know it.
He desired her heart as much as her flesh, and he never wanted her to feel like he coveted her for what she could offer with her body. Not when her heart was so precious.
Az was her safe space, and he would continue to be. No matter the cost.
"Do you think that the celebration this evening will be like the ones in Serpentis?" Luella’s soft voice washed over him.
"I don’t know, Lu." Az wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer to his side.
Her knees were tucked up to her chest, and that, combined with the bubbles, kept her entirely hidden from him. He didn’t need imagination anymore to know how enticing and soft her flesh was. The intimate spaces she had allowed him to see, to pleasure.
"I’m scared they will be… I don’t want revelry any longer. I want peace," she whispered, cheek lying on his chest. "I want this. Softness. Forever. Do you think that’s possible?"
He wanted to give her everything she ever desired. She deserved so much. "Anything is possible, my angel. I swear it to you, I will do everything in my power to make sure you have whatever you want. If you wish to stay here, I will tell the Queen you are unwell."
Her knees brushed his side, and he felt his cock twitch at the brush, so close to where he ached for her. He subtly shifted until his lower half was directed away from her, ignoring how her cute brows furrowed as he pulled away.
"What if—what if I wish to leave this place?"
He swallowed, hearing the others beyond the curtains go deadly quiet as they listened in. "What do you mean?"
"What if we run away like we did before. We can go where no one may find us," she said, soft as a secret.
Az felt her emotions through their bond, a tangle of fear, anxiety, and longing. That was why he knew she did not truly mean it.
"Would you really, Lu?" He kept his voice low, a quiet grumble he knew soothed her. "Because I think somewhere inside you, you wouldn’t want to leave…" What went unsaid was whom he thought she didn’t wish to leave.
The four males listening in on every word said, every splash of water, and every hitched breath.
She grew silent, until:
"You’re right. I think if I disappeared, a part of me would always wonder."
Her wings fluttered behind her, and he watched with rapturous, wide eyes. The small twitches cascading throughout the feathers made her arms tremble, and he wanted to touch them himself, make her shiver from his fingers.
Az was tasked with bringing her to pleasure, but how could he force this? How could he begin this? She was so naive, so gentle, and trusting.
"When we were locked away, Lu, we felt—I felt what you did." His words hung in the air, warm from the constant breeze that drifted through the curtains. Even the bathwater had grown warm from their bodies.
"Oh, y-you did?" Luella replied, but he had the feeling she had already known.
Az hummed. "Was it good, Lu?" he prodded, not wanting her to know he knew that Bastian had been the one to instigate it all.
She rubbed her cheek against his chest like a feline.
Silence lingered, and waves of hesitant determination flowed down their bond.
"It was. Very g-good. But Az?" Luella turned until she sat up on her knees, water splashing around them and bubbles clinging to her breasts.
"Bastian came to me in dreams, he spoke in my mind and…
I cannot say it." Her lashes fanned her cheeks as she looked away.
Az caught her chin, holding her face delicately. "It’s okay. You can tell me, angel."
"He led me through it," she said, voice wavering under the intensity of his stare, and he hated that she felt like this might anger him.
He kept his expression soft. "I’m glad he was there for you, Lu."
Luella’s eyelids fell shut, even as he held her face toward his. "You’re not mad?" she whispered.
The demon leaned forward until his lips touched the tip of her nose.
"Never. It’s your body, and you can do with it as you wish, angel.
I always knew that you were destined for more than just me.
" He knew the others were listening, and yet, he still couldn’t stop himself from sharing his innermost thoughts.
"In a way, it makes me happy, knowing you’ll always be cared for. "
"They don’t care for me." Her palms spanned his chest. "Not like you."
"You’re wrong. Trust me on this, Lu." He pulled away, cupping her cheek. Water dotted her skin from his touch, and he was so, so proud of her for facing her fears. It wasn’t a weakness to rely on another; he wished she realized that. "What else?"
She took a deep breath, unmoving from her spot pressed flush against his side, her knees digging into his hip. Bubbles popped on her chest, revealing the soft swell of her breasts and the barest hint of her pink nipples.
And she told him everything. Starting with Bastian entering her mind on the first day, spanning until the final night. What she seemed to linger on the most was one thing:
A promise she made to him. Curiosity clouded her words as she spoke of how the vampire told her to taste herself, and when she finished, the water was even warmer, and her cheeks were nearly red.
Az hurt from how intensely he ached for her.
And he could not help but feel pride at knowing he had tasted her before the vampire had.
"What did he mean, Az?" Luella asked him innocently. "Does he want to do what you did?"
Az smiled down at her, fingers curling in the damp hair at her nape, forearm brushing against the wet feathers of her wings. "I think he meant something else."
That tiny line reappeared between her brows. "What else is there?"
He bit down so hard on his lower lip, he tasted blood. She was lucky it was he who held her, and not the others—he doubted the rest would be as gentle with her innocence.
Az had never been with anyone but Luella; though, he knew what the vampire had been hinting at with his promise.
"Much, Lu, that you aren’t ready for."
Her jaw clenched. "Don’t treat me like a babe. I want to know. If Bastian is to ask me to fulfill my promise, don’t I deserve to know what he meant?"
Az spoke of being okay with the idea of sharing her, but at this moment, he hated the sound of another male’s name on her lips. He surged forward, making her gasp as he pressed his lips against hers in a water-soaked kiss.
"T-tell me," she murmured against his mouth.
"If he comes to you, and you don’t want it, you can turn him away. You know that, angel?"
Her breath seeped into his mouth as she spoke. "I do, but I won’t. I… like what he’s shown me, and this time, I want you to show me."
Az groaned against her, silently lifting her from the bath. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her bare core pressing against his hip. The flush on her cheeks traveled down her neck to her breasts.
"Beautiful," he grumbled, kissing her jaw as he parted the curtains separating the bath from the bed, carrying her gently toward it and setting her down among the thick, puffy sheets.
The curtains to the outside were slightly open, trees swaying and letting in a thick breeze that grew louder with each anticipatory exhale that fell from her lips.
The natural light that filtered in was dim from the cloud-covered sky. She crossed her legs anyway.
Az placed his knees on the bed and moved over her, horns casting shadows on the pale skin of her lower stomach as he loomed above her.
Her wings were trapped between her back and the bed, and he stilled. "It doesn’t hurt you?"
She shook her head, dazed. "No. They don’t hurt anymore."
"I’m glad. I hate that you were in pain." He placed his palms on her knees, and her blue eyes widened. "This is still okay? You want me to show you?"
"Yes." Her teeth dug into her bottom lip.
And the demon gently opened her legs, thumbs brushing over her knees when she tensed. He hushed her, waiting for her to settle, and when she did, he opened her thighs, revealing her most intimate spot to him.
She was glistening with water and arousal, and his mouth watered.
Kneeling between her spread thighs, his wet curls fell into his eyes as he stared up at her. One elbow was on the bed, the other arm wrapped over her breasts. Still so innocent, even as she stared unflinchingly at him.
"Lay back, angel. Just trust me and relax.
" At his instructions, she did, one arm still banded over her chest. He reached for her fingers, locking their hands and placing her palm against his hair.
Her fingers brushed the base of his horns, and he bit back a groan—this was about her. "If you don’t like it, make me stop."
It was a slip of the tongue. He could stop. He would stop. But gods, it would be harder than ceasing to breathe, for how much he wanted this.
With her fingers tangled in his hair and thighs spread wide, Az bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to the apex of her thighs.
"W-what are you doing…?" Luella gasped, cheeks burning. Immediately, her legs snapped closed, but his shoulders wedged between her thighs kept them open enough for him to continue.
"I want to learn you, Lu. Every part of you."
Az was unskilled, but he wanted this to be good for her.
Every shift of her hips and gasp torn from her lips gave him cues of what she liked.
When his tongue hesitantly traced her soft flesh, her fingers gripped his hair tightly.
So, he did it again. And when he pressed open-mouthed kisses against every bit of her hot, intimate flesh, tongue dipping just barely inside her, her back bowed off the bed, and her thighs quivered around him.
Az tasted her arousal straight from the source, kissing and teasing, learning her from the inside out.
When her moans turned ceaseless, one long string of pleasure rippling in the air, he knew she was close to that peak. He didn’t relent as he tasted between her thighs.
His angel shattered on his tongue.
He lapped up every trace of her desire, dripping between her thighs, until she gripped his horns, forcing him away.
The demon sat up and licked his lips, tasting her on his mouth. Her chest heaved, and she no longer seemed to care about covering her breasts; they rose and fell with each wanton breath. Her legs fell closed as he fit himself over her, staring down at her twitching feathers and wide eyes.
Primal desire swelled inside him. He wanted to stake his claim on her, but she wasn’t ready for that. He gripped her chin, forcing her lips to open as he leaned down and kissed her, licking inside her mouth the same way he had just licked between her thighs.
She shivered against him, and when he pulled back, her blue eyes were clouded with lust. "That’s… what Bastian meant?"
A growl tore from inside him, and Luella squeaked.
"Don’t say his name." Az was unable to stop the litany of growls that rose inside him as silky laughter flowed from behind the curtains of the room.
"I w-won’t," she promised, staring up at him. "I didn’t know you could do that."
He smiled down at her fondly, the protectiveness inside him abating at her sweet innocence—still there, even after he had tasted her. "Did you like it?"
Her chin dipped in a shy nod. "Did you?"
He smoothed his hands over her hair, tucking errant curls behind her arched ears. "I loved it. I’ve never done that before, angel. I hope it was good for you."
She bit her lip, and this time, nothing stopped him from chasing after it.
It was a sweet, pleasant kiss, like the cool water of their bath, evidence of it now dried on their skin.
"Thank you for showing me, Az. I love you," she sighed into his mouth.
"Always, angel. I love you."
Content, Luella’s lids fluttered, and they found themselves curled up among the sheets, the curtains swaying in the breeze, still thick and prominent. Az just hoped the storm would hold off.