Chapter Eleven

"I think it was the spicy ramen earlier," Dawn said, her hand covering her stomach, her back bent towards the ground. "It fucking hurts." She stopped in the middle of the hundreds of steps leading up to the temple, her expression in a wince. Azarel was a few steps above her and looking down at her with concern.

"I told you we shouldn't hike after eating something spicy," he said. "There are no toilets nearby. And you drank three glasses of water."

"What? I was hungry and thirsty," Dawn said. "It's okay, I'm not needing the toilet. It's just cramps."

"We can head home right now if you want," Azarel said.

"I want to see the temple first."

"We can see it another time."

"Hey," Dawn shot him a dirty look. "You promised me."

"That was before you started feeling unwell."

"I want to see the temple," she insisted. "We are only about three hundred steps away."

"Only?"

"You're not even breaking a sweat, so don't act like it's hard for you."

He rolled his eyes. "Do you seriously think you can do three hundred steps with cramps?"

"Fuck yeah I can," Dawn said and sped up a few steps. In a split second, her legs caught at some invisible strings and she halted with a hand clutching onto her tummy as she bent forward again. "Ouch."

"What did I tell you?"

She tried to climb one more step but her feet fell to the step she was on. "I don't think I can move anymore. We're stranded. Crap."

He sighed and descended the stairs towards her. Heading to her back, he put his arms around her and picked her up from the ground.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Dawn said loudly, her hand on his chest.

"Carrying you to the temple," he said.

"Oh," she said as she settled down. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said to her, ascending the steps. Her hand reached up and wrapped around his nape. He looked down at her, but she looked away quickly, her cheeks pinking. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Your cheeks are pink."

"No, they're not."

"Do you want me to take a picture?" Azarel laughed.

"I'll murder you if you do," Dawn said and silence hung in the air for a while. "Thank you, Azarel."

"You said that already," he told her, taking more steps.

"I - I love you."

"I know that, I feel the same way," he said to her.

"No, not that - " Dawn said. "I love you."

"I know what you meant, silly girl. Like I said, I love you like everyone does."

"For Christ's sake."

He looked down at her. "What?"

"I'll show you what I mean," Dawn said, straightening her back in his arms. She reached up and put a light kiss on his lips. He froze for a moment on one step as he processed what happened.

"Dawn," he said but trailed off. He continued up the steps. The kiss probably meant something else to her.

"Bloody hell," she said, reaching up again. "You're fucking dense." She grazed her lips across his jawline, nibbling on the sharp edge. Licking it with her tongue, shivers shot down his spine.

"W-What do you think you're doing, Dawn?" Azarel asked her as she continued touching her lips to his jaw, dropping kisses towards his ear. "Dawn."

"I fucking love you," she said, her tongue licking the spot under his ears. She trailed her tongue down the side of his neck, and stopped at his collarbone. Covering her lips on it, she sucked hard on it.

"Wait, Dawn," Azarel said in panic. She meant it that way? Christ, he felt like he was going to fall from grace right that instant. Her tongue played on his skin, sending fire bursting behind his eyes and tension blooming to his abdomen, causing his cock to twitch hard. Fuck, why was this happening? Her fingers rubbed his shoulders as her lips found his neck again, and she sucked on it with her tongue on his skin. "Dawn, please."

It wasn't as if he could throw her onto the ground!

"You can always stop me with your hands," Dawn joked and he felt the hot breath from her mouth fanning across his jaw right in his pants.

"Dawn!"

She inserted her hand into the gap in his shirt, and ran her fingers across his chest. "I want to feel your cock inside me, Azarel."

"Fuck," he said, speeding up the steps. When they reached the top, he put her flat on the nearest stone bench while she erupted in happy laughter. He flew to the other end, his back facing her as he shut his eyes tightly.

He was hard.

Cursing quietly amid sounds of her laughter, he willed his arousal away. He could still feel the ghost of her lips, her tongue all over his skin, teasing him.

Fuck!

If he was ever going to fall, he would be falling for her.

❃❃❃

He pushed the door open after hearing that she was alright with him coming in, and stepped into her room. She was busy reading yet another historical romance book, which she set down after staring at him. Her aura previously yellow, a bright red soon crept into it and burst forth with fury.

Red. It also stood for lust.

He sighed and pulled her chair from her desk to place it beside her bed. This was going to be hard, but it had to be done. He had initially assumed she was simply having strong feelings about something, but that was obviously not the case. He left her mind alone except for when it absolutely mattered for him to interfere, but he was fast regretting his decisions.

"Look, Dawn," Azarel said. "I'd like to talk about what you did earlier today."

Dawn popped a grape candy into her mouth. "Well, if you think I'm gonna apologise for that, you can wait forever. 'Cause it's not happening."

"No, I'm not mad at you. I'm not looking for an apology."

"Then?"

"When you told me before that you loved me, exactly what do you mean?"

"I meant that I love you like I love my own father."

"Are you sure? I'm being serious here, Dawn."

She rolled her eyes. "You know how I feel."

"Why did you kiss me like that?"

"I'm pretty sure I made myself very clear," Dawn said. Then she dropped her voice a register. "I want to feel your cock throbbing inside me, Azarel."

"I'm honoured you feel this way about me," Azarel said. "Really, I am. But it isn't right. Us being together, it's not right, Dawn. Surely you see that?"

"No, I don't. Why the fuck can't we be together?"

"Let me put this simply," Azarel said. "I watched over you from a young age and through the years, you have grown attached to me. You see me as a father figure, and now that your parents have passed too soon, I am now effectively the replacement for the parental figures in your life. I am your guardian now, and if I ever let things between us turn romantic, I would be depraved."

"Well, I don't fucking give a shit. You are not actually my father, so who the fuck cares?"

"Us together is not possible, you have to understand that. I'm sorry that this is happening to you, but I can't allow things to progress the way you want it to."

Dawn stayed silent.

"Don't you get it?" Azarel said. "I am supposed to take care of you, to love you platonically, not bloody fuck your brains out."

Silence.

"Dawn?" Azarel said.

"Get out."

"Dawn, please - "

She picked up her alarm clock and threw it at him, but it missed him. "Get out!"

He got to his feet. "Please - "

"I'm not saying it again," Dawn glared at him.

"Look - "

"Get out!"