Free When Shadows Call by Amanda Bonilla

“Yes,” I said, through gasps of breath. “I need you, Azriel . . . just like that.”
    I nipped at his shoulder, tasting the saltiness of his skin. Azriel gripped me tighter, his pace now a heated frenzy of need that echoed my own. I had never known such perfection as this moment and I knew that I was indeed his. Forever. Azriel was the sun and I had no choice but to be caught in orbit. The world melted away, the sound of my heart beating was silenced by the ragged sounds of our mingled breaths. A frenzy swept over me, my need for release overwhelming any further conscious thought. My body tightened again, the sensation that I had curled in on myself as I waited for release. It burst upon me, infinitely more intense than before, and as I screamed his name, Azriel cried out as well, his body shuddering against mine as we were swept up in the tempest of our combined release.
    Azriel relaxed against me, and I reveled in the way his body felt pressed against mine. “Extraordinary,” he said in a rush of breath before giving me a light kiss once, and again. “Gods, but you are extraordinary.”
    I quirked a brow, curious at the way he said ‘gods.’ But my mouth—in fact my whole body—felt so incredibly sated that I didn’t think I could muster a single word. We lay entwined for several moments, and when Azriel withdrew from my body, I felt a hollowness that made me want to pull him to me once again. He gathered me up in his arms and held me tight against him while absently stroking his fingers up and down my arm.
    Eternity. That’s what Azriel had given me. I thought of the many days we would have together, endless nights of pleasure and new experiences.
    “Tell me about the Shaedes,” I said, surprised at the still passion-thick sound of my voice. “I want to know what it is that I have become.”
    “I’ve told you all you need to know.” Azriel nuzzled my ear and I shivered.
    I turned in his arms so that I could face him, and I marveled at the way his solid form seemed to quaver in the darkness. He appeared as a mirage glistening on desert sand. I looked at my own arm down to my fingertips, which despite the coming of night still appeared solid. “There have to be more,” I said. “Please, I want to know.”
    Azriel put his mouth to mine, his tongue caressing my lower lip with sensual purpose. I broke away and tried to speak, but he kissed me again and held me tight to him. Pushing against his chest, I put enough space between us that he couldn’t silence me.
    “I could spend a century’s worth of nights doing nothing more than kissing your beautiful mouth,” he said. “And I will. I will kiss you, and taste you,” he paused to put his lips to mine, “and pleasure you every night until the end of time.”
    My body responded to his words, flushing me with warmth. I wanted nothing less than forever with him. But I’d lived in fear under Henry’s control for so long. I didn’t want to live the rest of my life in ignorance. “I don’t want your kisses. I want answers.”
    He traced his finger along my cheek, down my jaw and throat. My breath caught as he dragged his finger down my breast, pausing to circle my nipple. “As long as you’re with me, there’s nothing you need to know.”
    “Why do you seem like a mirage once the sun sets, and I seem more solid?”
    “I am born, and you are made.” He tried to stop the questions with another kiss.
    “But you can look more solid if you choose,” I said.
    “Glamour for human benefit. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
    “You don’t need glamour during the day,” I pressed, eager for information.
    “Neither do you,” he said in an offhand way.
    “What about the others? Are there others like us wandering the earth?”
    Azriel let out an exasperated sigh. “No. We are the last. The only ones of our kind.”
    “Tell me something else,” I begged. “Anything.”
    “Really, Darian, you are like a whining babe.” His dark eyes