Finding His Mate Ch. 05

"You nasty bitch! I didn't know you had that in you, Maddy." Tiffany starts fake crying. "I am so proud."

"I'm not. I mean, I don't regret it, but it's like something just took over me. I honestly can't explain it, Tiff."

Tiffany nods her head and reaches for the other bottle of wine. Popping the cork open, she takes a sip. "I'm not. The man is gorgeous, and I know it's been a while since you've had some peen up in you."

Shaking her head, Madison sits back down on her stool. "He is fine, isn't he?"

"Uh-uh. What you're not about to do is fantasize about Azeil while I'm in the room." Squinting her eyes mischievously, she continues. "But was he any good?"

"He... knows what he's doing with his hands, lips... tongue. All of it."

"Look at you over there swooning. That orgasm must've been something I'm assuming?"

Madison furrows her brows and shrugs her shoulders. "I wouldn't know. He just stopped toward the end. It's as if something happened or he came to the realization about what we were doing. I don't know. The whole thing was very...animalistic. I felt like he was taking me in a way. Does this sound crazy?"

Tiffany only shrugs her shoulders. "I think it's interesting he denied you both of an orgasm. Maybe he has his reasons."

Madison tilts her head to the side in confusion. Of all people, she didn't expect Tiffany to be understanding of what Azeil did. If anything, she expected some form of disappointment.

"What's up with you, Tiff? I know I keep saying this, but I feel l like you're not telling me something. You're the most opinionated person I know, but when it comes to Azeil, you have no opinions or concerns. What's up?"

Tiffany looks at her and sighs. "It's not that I'm not telling you something. It's that I don't know what to say, honestly. I've never seen you like this over a guy, and I damn sure have never seen you bustin' it wide open for a man this early on. It's all... interesting, I guess."

"You guess? Hmm..." Madison trails off and starts cleaning up. As much as she loves Tiffany, she isn't about to try and decode her messages right now.

"You're mad at me."

Madison stops what she's doing briefly to look at Tiffany before continuing. "No-I mean yes. Yes, I'm mad at you because you're not honest with me, Tiff. I can feel it. I can feel all of it. Everybody around me seems to be withholding information from me, and I don't like it. At all. I'm a big girl. I can handle anything thrown at me."

She throws the dirty supplies in the sink and props her hands on the edge. Leaning over, she closes her eyes and takes in deep breathes. She shouldn't direct her anger at Tiffany when all she's been doing is trying to help her.

"I'm sorry, Tiff. Everything has just been... overwhelming; heightened even. I feel like I can truly feel everything going on around me, and I don't know how to handle it. I don't even know where all of this is coming from."

Madison reaches down and rubs her necklace, searching for some form of comfort. She needs to get her emotions together. She hears Tiffany's footsteps behind and turns around to face her.

"Maddy. I would never lie to you. Ever. However, just know if there's something I'm not telling you, not saying that there is something I'm not telling. Still, hypothetically if there was, I'm not telling you for your good."

Madison rolls her eyes and steps around her. "What does that even fucking mean, Tiff? I think I know what I can and can't handle, don't ya think?"

"Uhh-no. Honestly, Maddy, some things are better left to be discovered than told. I can tell you all that I know of Azeil. However, I think it's better coming from his mouth and not mine."

"And that's the problem. Azeil refuses to tell me what he's thinking or what concerns him. And I kno-" She stops mid-sentence as the bell above the studio door rings. Of course, he would just show up as she's venting to her friend.

"My, my, my. Speaking of the devil. Hello Azeil. Long time, no speak."

Azeil looks over at Tiffany and smiles. "Indeed. It has been quite some time since we've seen each other. How are you?"

Tiffany blows raspberries. "You know me. Just living and surviving. Nothing crazy." She looks down at her watch as if she's concerned about the time. "Well, look at that. I think I should be on my way home. I'll see you two later."

Azeil waves goodbye and then looks at Madison, who is noticeably upset. "Are you okay?" He walks over to one of the empty stools and sits down.

Madison rolls her eyes and sits down. "No, Azeil. I'm not okay. All of this, this thing between us, it's a bit much to handle. Like for fucks sake, I just met you almost two months ago, and just this week, I was sitting on your dick."

He smiles at this, to which she groans. "You're not taking this seriously!"

Azeil throws up his hands and moves toward her. "Hey. I'm taking this seriously. It's just that- I don't know. I don't see anything wrong with what we're doing or the pace of things."

"And maybe that's the problem." She stares and him for a moment before cutting her eyes to look somewhere else. "I'm not asking to be courted or anything. I just want to learn more about you, Azeil. If this thing growing between us will be real, I need to know more about you. It's obvious that I'm comfortable with you, but I need more than comfortability to move things forward."

Azeil looks over at her and nods his head. He hears her and understands what she's saying. He still hasn't figured out how to reveal everything to her, but he can be much more open with her about everything else in the interim.

"I promise to be more open with you. While I can't guarantee I'll always be as open as you would like, I can guarantee that I won't be as closed off."

Madison rolls her eyes and smiles. "You're already talking in riddles, Azeil."

He chuckles and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess you can say that's something I can't help but do." Glancing down at her lips, he looks back up into her eyes. "Can I get a kiss?"

Madison lets out a long sigh and stands. "I guess." Moving in between his legs, she places her hands around his neck and bends down to kiss his lips. Oh, how she's missed them. It's only been a few days since they had sex, but that's enough to get her aching for him.

"How was that?"

"Nice. Very nice." Staring up at her, he reaches up and rubs her bottom lip with his thumb. "You're stunning."

Madison rolls her eyes, and sheepishly looks away. "That's interesting coming from you. The man who broke my phone and was quite rude to me when we first met."

Azeil shakes his head. "That's interesting coming from the woman who was so busy on her phone that she ran into said man."

"Whatever." She tries to move from in between his legs, but his hands on her waist stop her.

"Don't be like that."

"Like what, exactly, Azeil?"

"You know what."

She sees his eyes start changing and shakes her head. "Uh-uh. We're not doing that right now. At least not here."

Azeil licks his lips and nods his head. "So are we going back to your place, or do you want to go to mine?"

"Neither."

"Neither?"

"Yes, neither." She says, laughing. "And what about our date, Mr. Tazot? Don't think I forgot."

Azeil shakes his head. "And why would you think I would ever assume that? We can have a late-night date at my place. We'll stop by your place and get you things?"

Madison shakes her head. As much as she wants to have a 'late night date' at his place, she knows what that will lead to and would like to slow the pace of things, if for a moment. While Azeil may be comfortable with the way things are progressing between them, this is still new to her. Plus, it takes her some time to get settled with new people. Azeil may be handsome, charming, breathtaking at times, but he's still new.

"Why don't we just go somewhere that's open late and have a date? I'll take you up on her 'late-night date' at your place some other time. How does that sound?" She places her hands on the sides of his face, rubbing his jawline with her fingers.

Azeil lets out a fake sigh and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess I'll have to be content with this answer for now. Don't think I'm going to forget, though."

He places a kiss on her lips then looks down at her emblem. "Are you ever going to tell me more about your mother?"

"Well... it depends..."

"On?"

"If you'll tell me more about your brother. Danatrov."

Azeil breaks eye contact with her and looks over at the canvas on her easel. He's not sure what he can say about his brother that wouldn't reveal more about him.

Forcing a smile on his face, he returns his attention to her. "What would you like to know about him?"

Madison saw the internal back and forth he was having with himself and wonders what's up. At first, she suspected he didn't want to speak on his brother because of tragedy. However, she can feel it's something much deeper than that.

"Anything you're willing to share."

"And what if I said there isn't much I'm willing to share?"

Madison stares into his eyes and gently smiles. "Then I won't push. I would like to know more eventually. But, I understand the need for boundaries."

Azeil kisses the palm of her hand and sighs. "I guess I can say the same for you. Don't feel obligated to tell me more about your mother if it makes you uncomfortable. I understand the pain of speaking about a lost family member."

Madison nods her head and steps from between his legs. Azeil watches as she retreats into the back room and can hear her rummaging around for something. She walks out with a large painting in her arms. It's covered with a cloth, so he can't see what it is, but he suspects he already knows.

"My mom was an interesting lady. Very superstitious and wary of people, but also a kind individual with a large heart. That's how I met Tiffany. My mom and her mom became super close. Tiffany and I have been inseparable ever since. Almost like sisters, but something deeper."

She places the painting down and pulls back the cloth. It takes everything in Azeil to control his emotions. Staring back at him is Zimara in all of her regal elegance. Even though a painting, he can feel her power.

"Sh-she's beautiful."

Madison looks down at the painting of her mother and smiles. "Indeed, she was. A fierce woman through and through. Honestly, I've never met anyone else like her. Truly one of a kind."

"You look just like her."

Madison shrugs her shoulders. "I guess I do. Minus her locs, we could be sisters." She places the cloth back over the painting and moves it to the corner of her studio. She's never shown anyone that picture, not even Tiffany, as it's something very special to her. For her to have the courage to show Azeil means something she doesn't want to interpret at the moment. For now, she'll just take it as a sign of her comfortability with him.

"When did you paint that?"

"Huh?" She's so lost in her thoughts that she forgot Azeil is in the same room as her.

"The painting. When did you do that?"

Madison makes her way back over to him and sighs. "Years ago. I've been hiding it away from the world. I don't know. She's very close to my heart, and something about sharing her with the world has never sat right with me. I believe it's because I feel like the world took her away from me, you know?"

Azeil only nods his head. The world did take Zimara away from her. Interestingly, nobody knows how she died. It's literally as if she just deteriorated before everyone's eyes.

"I understand your pain. I feel the same way about my older brother."

Madison smiles lightly at this. "What happened to him?"

Azeil hesitates for a moment. "He...lost his way and eventually just left. We haven't heard from him in years and have just assumed he's dead."

Madison's face scrunches in confusion. Why would they assume someone is dead without confirmation? For all they know, he could be alive and well. She's sure there's more to this story. Her mind thinks back to Daniel Rue and the similarities Tiffany described to her.

"I want you to come to the exhibit that's in two weeks. I was given three tickets, and I want you to be my third guest. That's if you want to be, though. I'm not going to push."

Azeil takes her hand and kisses her knuckles. "I would be honored to stand beside you. I'm excited to see your work. Though," he waves his hands around, "I've already seen it. I guess I'm excited to see other people's reactions to your work."

Madison nods her head. "I'm excited as well." She looks down at the floor before continuing. "Are you sure you're going to be okay with being in there? I"m sure it's been a while since you've visited the place."

Azeil rubs her knuckles with his thumb and smiles. It feels good that she's concerned about his well-being. She's right that it has been a while since he's stepped foot in Uptown Arts. However, he's not going to miss this exhibit all because of his discomfort.

"I'll be okay." He sees there's something more she would like to say but doesn't push. Whatever it is, he's sure it'll come to light eventually. He breaks eye contact with her at the sound of his phone ringing and answers.

"Hello."

"Sorry to interrupt, but you need to get back as soon as you can. Things have escalated with Rathu."

Azeil can tell by the tone of Gino's voice that whatever news he has on Rathu isn't about to be good. He closes his eye and pinches the bridge of his nose. Here he thought he would be able to spend uninterrupted time with her tonight. That was wishful thinking.

"I'll be right there." He hangs up the phone and looks over at Madison. "I-"

"Have to go. Based upon your body language, this seems important. I guess we'll never get our official date, huh?"

Azeil smiles and shakes his head. "Oh, it's going to happen."

"Mm-hmm. Always handing out empty promises."

Azeil's eyes narrow at this. She's quite witty when she wants to be. Standing up from his seat on the stool, he looks down into her brown eyes.

"Make no mistake, my dear. I don't hand out empty promises."

Madison feels goosebumps start to form over her body and licks her suddenly dry lips. She's starting to like when he does this hyper, alpha-male thing. His lips soon touch her own, to which she leans into them.

"I'll see you later."

She watches as he leaves and lets out a deep breath. Where is he going? She couldn't catch everything said by the person on the other line, but she noticed a name. Rathu. A part of her wants to follow him to wherever he's going, but she knows this is just her imagination and too many pop culture movies, making her believe this would be possible. She wonders who this person is, though.

"Add that to my list of many questions."

Looking around, she resumes cleaning up her studio and stops to look at the covered painting of her mother. She's surprised she showed Azeil this piece of her mother. It's one that she holds very close to heart for reasons she hasn't been able to figure out. Maybe she should take Ryan's suggestion and include it in the exhibition? Truthfully, it's one of her best pieces, and if she's going to be in one of the biggest shows in the city, it's probably best she showcases all she has to offer.

She picks it up and brings it with her to the back room. She hears the bell above the front door ring again and rolls her eyes. Who is it now? She's starting to regret Tiffany's advice of keeping the studio 'walk-in' friendly.

"We're closed."

She stops what she's doing when the visitor doesn't reply and repeats her statement. "We're closed!"

The hairs on the back of her neck stand as she doesn't receive a reply. Looking around, she grabs a box cutter that's lying on one of the boxes and makes her way out of the back room.

"I don't know who you are, but you might want to get the fuck out!"

She bends down and looks for movement but sees nothing. What's going on? As she rises back up, a scream escapes her. "What the fuck?!"

There's a young man a little over eighteen years old standing in front of her. "How did you do that?" She places her hand on her chest, trying her best to control her breathing. Now isn't the time for her to pass out.

"May I help you?" She watches him closely as his eyes look over her face then down to her stomach. As she takes a step back to make more space between them, his hand reaches out and touches her belly.

"ItIziliwi mtoto imbiye itiuninishi mitiifi."

She jumps back and grabs her stomach as a shock runs through her. Glancing down, she looks back up and is surprised when the man is nowhere in sight.

"What the fuck?"

She looks down at her open palm, then back up where the man once stood, his words repeating inside her head. What language was he speaking? Shaking her head, she looks around for her bag, phone, and keys, then walks out the door.

The fresh night air hits her, which she takes in deeply. Locking up her studio, she begins walking to her apartment. One of the things she loves about her studio is the close proximity it is to her house. As she gets closer to her place, her mind drifts back to the young man. Though she isn't a linguist, she knows that whatever language he was speaking in is no longer spoken.

"It-itIziliwi m-mototo- fuck." She tries to repeat what he said to her to no avail. She'll have to sleep on it and hope it comes back to her. She sighs in relief as she walks up to her apartment building and groans once she realizes the elevator still isn't fixed.

"Me and you are getting real acquainted." She says, looking toward the steps. Making her way up the stairs to her floor, she pulls out her phone, and she smiles when she sees a notification that Azeil texted her. She puts it away and grabs her keys, but stops as she sees Ryan's door open.

"What the fuck?"

She walks over and is about to close it but stops. What if Ryan is in trouble? She peaks her head inside the pitch-black apartment and groans. Ryan always has all of his lights off.

"Ryan?" Walking further inside toward the light on his desk, she looks around for any sign that he's here. "Ryan. If you're here, please come out. Don't try and scare me, or I will mace you!"

She shrugs her shoulders when she doesn't receive a reply and looks around. Ryan's place is so dark. All of his decors are some variation of grey or black. He states it soothes him. However, all it does is give her goosebumps. She notices a picture of them on his desk and picks it up.

"Aw... Ryan."

Placing it back down, she's about to turn to leave when an intricately detailed book catches her attention. She runs her hand over the cover.

"Book of the Moor. Hm." She flips open to one of the pages Ryan tabbed, and her eyes widen as the face of some kind of creature appears. "What the fuck are you reading, Ryan?"

She runs her hands over the creature's face and the words below it. "Though hidden from sight, Angels are always watching. Thank goodness I know Latin."

She flips to another tab and practically drops the book. Staring back at Madison is her mother. Below the picture are the words 'Queen of Witches'. Why is her mother in this book? Why does Ryan have said book? Her mind goes back to Ryan's unusual disposition today. Does he think her mother is some kind of Witch?

She feels herself start to hyperventilate and quickly turns around, knocking over the lamp on Ryan's desk.

"Fuck." Quickly picking it up, she grabs the book and runs out of the apartment toward the exit.

************

"I'll take a slice of 'Good or Evil,' please."

Tiffany watches as the employee warms up her pizza and waits to the side. Today has been rough, and her little meeting with Madison didn't make things any better. Tiffany hates that she has to lie to Madison, but there's nothing she can do about it at the moment. It's for Madison's good, at least until it's time for her to learn about everything. Taking the slice from the employee, she pays for her food then exits the pizza shop.