“Lies! Are you telling me that my eyes deceived me? I saw you fucking that bastard in the bed we shared.”
Uriel charged after him, and Azazel grew angry, but unlike before where he allowed the other man to attack him, this time he defended and attacked by grabbing his opponent by the neck and bringing him down on his back. Azazel sat on Uriel’s thighs, holding his hands above his head.
“Is that why you left? Why didn’t you ask me? Confront me, even? I never took you for a fucking coward, Uriel. How can you, for one second, think that I would cheat on you? Have you forgotten what kind of world we lived in back then? And who we are?”
“I know what I am, Azazel, and I know every inch of your body.” Azazel saw tears welling in Uriel’s eyes. “I was gone for a few hours and you brought a man I hate into our bed. How did you expect me to react?”
Azazel stared down at his lover, seeing the hurt and distrust in his eyes. The anger he’d been carrying around for over thirty years, believing that the man he loved cheated on him. Azazel’s anger cooled, allowing him to see things from Uriel’s point of view.
“Uri, my sweet baby, I would never cheat on you. I couldn’t have. That morning I had to go and deal with a few things in the underworld and did not return until three days later.”
“Lies,” Uriel said and struggled out of his hold, pivoting his hips, changing their positions.
“Why the hell would I lie to you?”
“Because you’re the king of lies!”
“And you’re the king of secrets,” Azazel snarled. “You kept my children from me because you think I cheated on you. Again, when did you turn into such a coward? But I’ll forgive you, Uriel.”
“I don’t need your fucking forgiveness. I did what I did to protect me and my children from you and your father. If I had known falling in love with you would have caused me so much pain, I would have…”
“Don’t you dare say it,” Azazel growled.
“I would have killed you that night.”
Azazel felt pain pierce inside of him as if a thousand swords had slashed him. “Do you hate me that much?”
Tears streamed down Uriel’s face, stabbing Azazel's heart with more pain. Azazel never wanted to see his beloved cry or have him feel pain.
“I hate myself, knowing that after all this time, I still love you. I hate that even when I was imprisoned for twenty years, I held on to hope that you’d come after me, but you never did. You broke your promise to me, and for that, I don’t know if I can forgive you.”
Azazel released Uriel and stood back, looking down at him. Azazel watched as a few emotions washed over his face and noticed that there was something different about Uriel. His back was straighter, and his chiseled features seemed more determined not to bend easily to Azazel. Although he'd loved Uriel in the past, he was more fascinated by the man standing over him.
“You’ve changed.”
“Did you think I would stay the same?” He turned to walk away, but Azazel was swift. He stood and grabbed the other man around his waist, pulling him into his arms.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going? Our fight isn’t over yet,” Azazel said.
“I don’t want to fight with you anymore.” Uriel struggled to get away from his grip, but Azazel had a firm hold on him. “Release me, you bastard,” Uriel growled.
“You can curse and call me all the names you want, but I’m not letting you go,” Azazel said sternly.
“Fuck, why are you being so damn stubborn?”
Azazel turned Uriel around and looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Even after reading the note you left, I should have gone after you. I should have torn up the heavenly and earthly realms to bring you back to my side. You are my mine as much as I am yours. We are a pair that can no longer be apart. I let my doubts overrule my heart, and I’m sorry.”
Tears streamed down both their faces, and Azazel pressed their foreheads together as he looked into Uriel’s eyes.
“Please, sweet baby, give me another chance to make things better.” He kissed Uriel’s lips. “If you take me back, I will never doubt our love again. I've been so lost without you, and I know you feel the same.”
* * *
Uriel bit his bottom lip,staring up at Azazel through clouded eyes. His emotions were indescribable. Hearing Azazel say, "I’m sorry," touched him far more than it should have. Despite being tortured and taunted by Dagon and Gadriel, those words should not have calmed the roaring fire of anger that he’d held onto for so many years.
He wanted to still be angry, giving him a selfish reason to keep a relationship from forming between Azazel and Kristoph. But as his anger slowly waned, he became ashamed of his actions. No matter what Azazel did or didn’t do, Uriel was wrong for keeping them apart.
Uriel would never deny that his feelings for Azazel had not waned over the years. He still found him devilishly handsome, and his heart still beat wildly from the first time they saw each other. Even being held in his arms, Uriel couldn’t help but weaken a bit. In the past, he had been irrational when it came to the other man. He would become submissive, allowing Azazel to take the lead, when Uriel was capable and strong enough to handle his own problems.
