Feeling a lil nostalgic

Azure's head snapped to the side, gaze locking onto his mate with a new kind of intensity. Her words - delivered with such casual indifference - were an unexpected jolt to his system. He was surprised, even a bit unnerved, by her readiness to accommodate his dark desires.  The idea that she would consider such a thing for him, to step over a line she had never dared approach before... it was as alarming as it was alluring.

He studied his mate's slender face, searching for any sign of hesitation or fear, but found none. It was this fearless acceptance of him that both attracted and frightened him. A shadow of doubt flickered across his eyes, a silent question of whether he was leading her down a path too dark. Could she come back from this? Could she ever come to forgive herself?

But the beast within him, starved of release and maddening grief, clawed at his restraint.

Azure pushed himself up from the ground, the movement agonizingly slow.  He closed the distance between them with a few measured steps, his gaze fixed on her, intense and searching, stopping a mere breath away.“Hana,” Her name was a sigh on his lips. “You don't know how much...” The sentence trailed off, as if he was searching for the right way to express something deeply important.

Then, in a moment of vulnerability, he whispered. “I love you.” The words felt strange on Az's tongue, not because they weren't true, but because he so rarely gave them voice. He brought his head lower, seeking brush his nose across her cheek, then gently press his forehead to hers. "But be sure, Hana. Be very sure." The words were a plea, a warning; his attempt at expressing concern for her while acknowledging his own darker needs. "I can't let you do this if you aren't sure." And I want so desperately to let you do this.


"Speech"