Azazel scowled at him. “Fuck no, I don’t want you coming back here again. I have a right mind to shut this entire place down.”
Uriel lowered his eyes, smiling, but put on a serious expression when he raised his head to look at Azazel. “We haven’t even officially gotten back together and already you’re trying to shut down my business investment.”
“Are we back together?” Azazel asked hopefully. "And what do you mean business investment?"
“I’ll answer those questions after you’ve properly wooed me,” Uriel smirked then walked back to the corner where he'd dropped his shirt, picking it up and putting it on.
“Hey, where are you going? We’re not done talking,” Azazel said. “I need to know why you’re pretending to be Blue Lennox.”
Uriel turned and faced Azazel. “How the hell did you figure that out?”
“Baby, did you forget I know every inch of your body?” Azazel smirked. “Besides, I haven’t been remotely interested in anyone for the past thirty years. And you gave yourself away the other night. Everyone I talk to loves Loki—besides you.”
Uriel sneered. “Must he be part of every conversation we have?”
“No, I won’t mention him anymore. So stay with me tonight so we can talk things out.”
Uriel smiled coquettishly and stood on the tips of his toes and kissed Azazel, who moaned. Uriel nibbled on his lips and gave a bit of himself to their kiss. He pulled back when he felt Azazel’s arms circle his waist.
“Not tonight, dear. I have work in the morning.”
He disappeared, but not before hearing Azazel call him a tease, causing him to chuckle.
* * *
Azazel smiledas he picked up his shirt, and got dressed. He left the arena and went to his house in the lower realms. He’d spent thirty years hidden within its walls, hiding from the world and holding onto his pain and memories with Uriel. Their time together was embedded in every room of the house.
In his time of despair, Azazel remembered their laughter, and the sound of their arguments and lovemaking. This was the home he wanted to live in forever with Uriel and their children, yet walking through the corridors he felt nothing but disgust and anger.
Azazel walked into the bedroom and stopped in front of the bed he and Uriel had bought together. They’d traveled to Italy and had the headboard and footboard specially made with their initials carved on the cherry oak headboard.
How dare someone I trust sully it?
“Gadriel, come to me,” Azazel softly commanded.
Seconds later, he felt Gadriel’s presence enter the room.
“My lord, you have summoned me. How may I serve you?”
Azazel didn’t need to turn around to know that Gadriel was kneeling behind him. Although Azazel was their king in every sense, he was never one for formal propriety. However, the angels under his command insisted on it, and so he allowed them to show piety however they chose. Azazel shoved his hands in his pockets, unwilling to touch anything in the bedroom.
“Tell me, Gadriel, have I offended you in any way?”
“My lord, why are you asking me that?” Gadriel asked, and Azazel could hear the confusion in his voice.
“Answer my question. Have I been good to you?”
“Yes, my lord.” Azazel heard the truth in Gadriel's words, but there was a hint of displeasure in his tone. “You have kept your promise by giving me the freedom I desire.”
Azazel smirked and lowered his eyes, no longer able to look at the bed.
“Then tell me, Gadriel, if I have kept my promise to you, why do I feel a knife in my back?”
“My lord, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Azazel hissed, feeling the lie hit him hard in his gut. He had thought he was a good leader and had given his followers what their hearts desired. When he took the angels from the heavenly realm, one of his promises was that they could live among humans and have the option of falling in love. It was against Dio’s rules for angels and humans to be together.
Gadriel had been one of his followers to fall in lust with not only a human years ago but also the ways of their world. Although the relationship between the human and Gadriel did not last, he made a life for himself. He went to school and studied business and medicine. The lie hurt mostly because Gadriel was there when Donald gave birth to Azazel’s grandchild. He had thought Gadriel was loyal to him, but to know the truth made him angry.
