#writing circle

Gwyn awoke to the fresh rays of morning light caressing her face as they peeked through the open curtain of the bedroom window. Groaning from the early wake up call, she made a move to get out of bed to close them. Before she could even shift towards the light, an arm snaked around her waist and pinned her back to the body laying beside her. 

“You know better than to sneak away, Angel,” said a gravelly voice into her ear. Just the sound of his sleep-addled voice was enough to send her whole body into overdrive. She opened her neck up to him, silently pleading for his lips on her skin. 

He chuckled at that and whispered, “So greedy for me, aren’t you?” 

A shiver of anticipation snaked up her spine at the way his breath caressed her ear. With a soft chuckle, he started kissing his way down her neck, each kiss left a trail of heat and desire in its wake. When he finally reached the junction between her neck and shoulder, he bit down just hard enough to get her blood to boil under her skin. Before she had time to react, he flipped her over so she was caged between his arms, his head so close to hers that his black hair was brushing against the speckled ivory Gwyn’s forehead. Looking up, her teal eyes met his hazel ones and the predatory look he gave her was all Gwyn needed to know that she was not going back to sleep. 

Her hand met the back of his neck as she pulled him down in a fervent kiss. Every place their skin met sent shivers down her spine. When they came together it was like a hurricane, powerful and unrelenting. Everything about Azriel consumed her, forged her, and ignited the parts of her that she had never known existed before he came into her life. 

Gasping for air, his mouth never left her skin as he made his way slowly down her neck. “Good morning, my love,” she said breathlessly.

His hand found her breast and began to knead it as he made his way back up to her mouth, nipping her earlobe as he whispered, “Good morning.” 

She arched into his touch, his breath, his voice. Everything about him set her body into a ravenous, unending hunger. As he pulled his head back to take a look at her, she saw the lust and love and playfulness that only came out around her. 

Gwyn had lifted her head to kiss him again when a sound rang out from across the room. Her head unceremoniously flung back down to the pillow as she let out a groan of frustration. Her damn cell phone was going off. 

By the second ring, she was trying, and failing, to push Azriel off of her to see what her pain-in-the-ass boss wanted. Gwyn knew it had to be him because no one else would try to call her at 6am except for him.

“I need to grab that,” Gwyn sighed in exasperation. Azriel took her tone as a challenge and pinned her arms to her sides while he kissed down her body slowly. 

“Let it go to voicemail,” he said, his voice full of predatory intent at her half-hearted protest. 

She sighed again, letting herself succumb to his efforts of convincing her to forgo the call. The sound of phone ringing became little more than white noise as it was overcome by the pounding need flooding her body. The moment it finally stopped ringing, she could feel Az’s smirk from where he was situating himself between her thighs. His face was just inches away from her core. Gwyn tried to wiggle and get him closer to where she really wanted him, but Azriel’s hands held firm while he dipped his face, aiming for the parts of her that were already aching to be touched by him. 

Instead, Azriel bit down on the skin above her hip bone hard enough that she let out a yelp. Her eyes met his in protest. With unfiltered lust and dominance, he said, “Only good girls get what they want, Gwyneth. Are you going to be a good girl for me?” She groaned at that, her need to please and be pleased filled her every thought. 

“Yes, sir,” she breathlessly pleaded. Azriel’s beautiful face shifted into a knowing look that sent more heat rushing between her legs. 

Just as he began lifting her nightgown past her hips, another sound blasted through the space between them. Looks like both of them forgot to turn their phones to silent. He buried his head into her stomach and groaned, knowing that if they were both being contacted it had to be important. 

“Stay right here,” he all but growled to her as he stood up and grabbed his phone from its charging spot on the dresser.

“What do you want?” Azriel said as he picked up, letting all of his annoyance lace his every word. He and Rhysand chatted idly back and forth for a few minutes, and all of the lust that had overcome her moments ago vanished with every word. Gwyn sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed to see if she could overhear the conversation.

“I don’t know where she is,” he replied to Rhys but gave Gwyn a mocking smile that made her realize that they were talking about her. “I’ll find her and let her know. See you later, brother.” 

He set his phone down and prowled over to where Gwyn sat on her knees at the edge of the bed. Azriel wrapped a light hand around her throat, just enough that he could angle her head so she was forced to look up to him. “I told you not to move, Angel.” 

She stepped off of the bed to stand before him before swatting at his wrist, and he ultimately let go. Rising onto her toes, Gwyn kissed his nose, smirking at his annoyance. “And I told you I needed to answer my phone. Apparently neither of us like being told what to do.” 

Before he could react, she danced out of his arms and towards the bathroom. “I’m getting ready for work,” she called out behind her. Feeling his gaze blaze a hole through her back, she threw over her shoulder, “Alone. We will never make it out of here on time if you join me.” 

His answering grumble of frustration was all it took to make her laugh as she entered the bathroom and started the shower. 

Thirty minutes later, she was clean, her hair dried and styled. Gwyn made her way over to the makeup vanity Azriel had gotten for her. It was set up in front of the floor to ceiling windows of the dressing room, giving her an unobstructed view of Velaris bathed in the glow of the sunrise. 

Her teal dressing gown clung to her still damp skin as she sat to begin her makeup. Azriel strode in a minute later, still wet from his shower, and began to get dressed for the day. He picked out his usual black button down and black dress pants. His wardrobe rarely changed, usually only replacing his button down with a black sweater in the colder months. Gwyn couldn’t help but stare unabashedly at Azriel when he dropped his towel, leaving him bare behind her. If they didn’t have places to be, she would sink down in front of him and show him just how much she wanted to see his tie wrapped around her neck instead of his. 

Azriel cleared his throat and her eyes darted up to meet his through the mirror. His smirk was full of male pride, giving her a look that seemed to say that he knew exactly what she was thinking. Gwyn bit her lip with the thought of what they would be doing if they could have it their way today. 

“My eyes are up here, Angel.” He teased. She couldn’t help the light blush that crept up her neck to her cheeks under his knowing gaze.

“I know,” she retorted. She sent him a look that blazed with the promise of all that she was ready to do to him when they finally had the time together tonight. 

Gwyn went back to getting ready, and as she was putting on her finishing touches she sighed with annoyance. Azriel furrowed his brows, and he strode over to stand behind her. His scent - a mix of cedar, mist, and sandalwood- enveloped her. She couldn’t help but lean back into him, close her eyes, and take all of him in. 

“What's wrong?” He asked as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. 

Another annoyed sigh left her lips. “You know those earrings Catrin got me for our birthday? I left them at my apartment and I wanted to wear them today.” 

He chuckled. “I told you that you should just move in with me already. You already spend nearly every day here anyways. You even brought Shadow here.” As if she were agreeing with the man behind her, Shadow meowed from her cat tree in the corner of the room. 

“I spend every day here because your apartment is 10 minutes away from the Mayor’s office and I have been assigned there for the last month by our oh-so-secretive client. Let me guess, Rhys was calling to confirm our 2pm appointment with him?” 

Azriel hummed in agreement as his hands began lazily dragging up and down Gwyn’s arms, her skin pebbling under his touch. 

She turned around to face him, and he sat down on the bench beside her. Her head rested on his shoulder as she spoke the next words, “You know why I can’t move in. If our boss found out… they might not let us work together anymore. I want to tell the world about us- you know that, Az. I feel… selfish. For wanting it all. To live with you, to be able to walk into work and kiss you. To be able to hold your hand when we go out with our friends.” Gwyn paused there, her lip quivering with emotion. Sensing the weight that this had on her heart, Azriel did the only thing he could do and held her hand in between his on his lap. “I just don’t want to put all we’ve worked so hard for at risk.” 

She finally looked towards him, his gaze tilted downwards towards their clasped hands. “I know, Gwyn. You’re right.” He shook his head and let out a bittersweet laugh. “You’re always right. Even when you’re wrong, you’re right. I’m selfish too. I want to build our life together. I want it all.”

They sat in silence for a moment, both of them contemplating the difficult path ahead. Finally, Gwyn let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. She went to rest her head onto his shoulder again and whispered, “Do you think…” she swallowed, her fear rising into her throat. “I am willing to risk it. All of it. We deserve to have it all.”

She felt his lips caress the top of her head softly, like a gentle breeze on an early autumn morning. “I am too. I want it all with you, Gwyn. You make me feel… alive. In a way that I have never felt before and I never want to feel again if it isn’t with you.” Her head tilted up to meet his gaze, silver lined his hazel eyes as she joined her lips with his in a soft and promising kiss. 

When they finally parted, their foreheads rested on each other in content bliss. Gwyn hated to pop that perfect bubble, but she finally said, “We will tell them all soon. After this mission. If this is the last one we might have with each other, let's go out with a bang.”

Azriel’s gaze bore into hers, spearing her with all of his love and admiration, “It’s a deal, Angel. I’m all yours. From now until the heavens claim us.” 

And they sealed their deal with a kiss.  

—---

Gwyn entered her office at 7:55am. Setting her own coffee on her receptionist desk, she brushed down her skirt and checked her appearance one last time in the hall mirror before knocking on the looming double doors behind her. 

“Enter,” a rough male voice boomed.

Gwyn took a deep breath, plastered on her most convincing fake smile, and opened the door to Beron Vanserra’s office. 

“Good morning, sir. I have your coffee for you. It is your usual, of course.” She said cheerily as she strode over to his desk. She made sure that her blouse was low enough cut that he could barely see the lace of her bra peeking out as she bent over to set down his coffee. His eyes glazed over for a moment as she noted him taking in her cleavage.

Target acquired.

Beron Vanserra had been the mayor of Velaris for the last 2 years. As the years went by, any progress that the city had gained by their last mayor, Tarquin Summers, vanished after Tarquin’s untimely death. It was suspected within her circle that Beron was behind Tarquin’s death, but nothing was ever proven. That is, until now. She had copied the last of his encrypted files yesterday, and given the thumb drive to Azriel so he could begin decoding them. The faster she could get the proof to their client, the sooner she would be able to stop working for this misogynistic asshole and go back to her real job.

“Thank you, Gwyneth,” he crooned. Gwyn was sure he thought it was sexy, especially coming from a man in power. But to her, it was just downright creepy. 

“You’re welcome, sir,” she said with a bow of her head. He liked his women submissive, meek and soft-spoken. If the next few days go according to plan, he wouldn’t be a pain in her ass anymore. “You have a meeting with Eris at 10am, then a press conference to discuss the opening of the new community center at 1pm. I do have that appointment I mentioned to you before at 2pm today, so Cressida will be taking my place as your assistant for the press conference and the rest of the day. Then we have the masquerade ball fundraiser tomorrow night.” 

He nodded along, not really listening to her. His eyes darted down to her breasts every few seconds, as if he thought Gwyn wouldn’t notice. Such a fucking pig. 

“Of course, Gwyneth. I want you to get all pampered before the fundraiser. I will have a dress sent to your apartment so you will look… appropriate for the function. Your ticket is on your desk. Have Cressida come in tomorrow so you can spend the time getting ready. I want you looking your best.” He said in a punishing and demanding tone. She’s sure this act must have worked for him before, but he was old enough to be Gwyn’s father. There was no way in hell she was getting within spitting distance of his dick if she had any say in it.

“Thank you sir, I appreciate it.” She bowed her head again in thanks. “I cannot wait. It’s going to be a night to remember.” If all goes well with their plan, it would be the last free one he would have for a while. 

“Get to work and I will see you tomorrow, Gwyneth.” He purred at her. This man was a nightmare. The dress he would send to her now empty apartment would probably be extremely revealing, leaving nothing for the imagination. He preferred women to be seen, not heard. Beron even had a god's damned wife who would be on his arm all night. Just the idea of him ogling her in front of Amara made Gwyn sick to her stomach. It had happened enough times during her tenure here than she pitied the poor woman. And she had only been here a month. 

“See you tomorrow, sir. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.” She bowed her head once more before leaving. Gwyn let her hips sway a little more in her short pencil skirt, just for an added measure. His gaze coated her skin like oil, and it took everything in her not to shudder. 

The more he is focused on your ass, the less he notices that you are plotting his downfall. 

She had to keep reminding herself of that.

Approaching her desk, she found an envelope on her keyboard with her name scrawled upon it. She opened it up to find one ticket to the fundraiser and a handwritten note that said, ‘I cannot wait to see you in your dress tomorrow. I have such fun plans for us.’

She let out a shudder of disgust and placed the ticket in her purse so she wouldn't forget, right next to the one she had stolen last week just in case her flirting didn’t work. 

The only interaction she had with anyone that morning was when Eris Vanserra arrived for his appointment with his father. Eris was the vice-mayor, and the eldest of Beron’s seven sons. All but his youngest, Lucien, were currently in politics or studying it. 

Eris strode over to her desk with the swaggering confidence she suspected any son of Beron’s would possess. He leaned on the wall beside the door to her back, forcing her to yield her position to accommodate him. “Hello, gorgeous. Long time no see.” He said with a knowing smirk. 

Eris wasn’t nearly as bad as his father. He was only 7 years her senior- and if she squinted… and took a few shots of tequila, she might even call him handsome. Gwyn had a type, though: tall, gorgeous, broody nerds named Azriel. Eris didn’t fit the bill for 4 out of 5 of those criteria. 

“Hi, Eris. It hasn’t been long enough,” she sneered out. Gwyn only had to be nice to Beron, afterall. She already had one foot out the door here, and she didn’t want to keep up the charade any longer than necessary.

“You wound me, Berdara.” He mocked as he tipped his head back and put a palm to his heart in fake anguish. “I was hoping we would be seeing more of each other, not less.”

“In your dreams, Vanserra.” She scoffed. How she wished to yell to the world that she had the sexiest, smartest, and deadliest boyfriend in all of Prythian. 

His eyes raked over her outfit and he shot her a smirk, “Did my dad make you wear that or do you just enjoy dressing like a porn star?” 

She bristled under his knowing gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Eris. I am dressed perfectly for work.” His smirk only grew, as if he knew something that she didn’t.

Before he could respond, the doors behind him opened, revealing Beron in one of his tempers. Gwyn couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Eris in that regard. No one deserved to be on the short end of Beron’s temper. She had witnessed enough people walking out of his office dejected and broken; a fate she wouldn’t wish upon her worst enemy.

Eris would be his last victim if her mission went according to plan.

—--

By noon, she was finally out of that cesspit of a capital building. With two hours to spare, she decided to wander the Rainbow of Velaris before eventually going to the River House, Rhysand’s base of operations which housed all of the Night Corp. Gwyn was smart, so smart that she graduated top of her class at Velaris University, receiving her Masters in both Comparative Literature and Digital Forensic Engineering. She had started the Valkyrie training program in her Freshman year of college where she met her two best friends, Nesta and Emerie. It was a female empowerment self defense club that combined krav maga, meditation, and an ancient form of fighting called Pankration-courtesy of Gwyn’s fascination with Ancient History. Although it had once been Catrin’s dream to advocate for female empowerment, her death pushed Gwyn to start the Valkyrie Training Program in her honor. Once Gwyn had exhausted all of her knowledge on the subjects, she found a Kinesiology graduate student to help train them in exchange for being subjects for his graduate research. He in turn recruited his brother, a martial arts specialist, to help as well.

And that was how she first met Azriel. 

They hated each other at first, always butting heads and arguing on how to combine ancient techniques with Krav Maga. Azriel was also getting a Masters in Computer Engineering at the time, and ultimately was the reason she fell in love with Digital Forensic Engineering. It wasn’t until her Sophomore year of college that she found out what Azriel and Cassian were really in college for. The Valkyrie’s had shifted their training, schoolwork, and lives to join their friends in on their venture. Cassian and Azriel’s other brother, Rhysand, was slated to take it up running it after he graduated. His father, a cruel and wicked man, had left the business to Rhys and his cousin Mor in his will. 

Of course, when people mention they’re taking over a family business, they usually mean something like a jewelry shop or a chain of restaurants. Not a multi-million dollar marketing agency that was actually a cover for a multi-billion dollar espionage and assassination institution. 

And when she entered college, with her twin Catrin by her side, she did not expect to come out of it a single child and signed on as an espionage consultant to work right under Azriel. Nesta and Cassian danced around each other for a while, but while Nesta was the CFO for the marketing side of the business and Cassian was the head of security for both companies, Nesta ran out of protests and finally decided he was hers. Nesta then introduced everyone to her sister Feyre, who had been going to an art college nestled in the Rainbow. Rhysand was enamored with her ever since. After she ended her toxic relationship with her ex-fiance, she and Rhysand were inseparable. She now worked on an as-needed basis as a graphic designer, art consultant and appraiser. But mainly, she spent her days teaching painting lessons in her art studio in the Rainbow and taking care of their one-year-old son, Nyx. 

Once Emerie and Mor took one look at each other they were inseparable. Mor was Rhys’s right hand woman, and the media manager of the Night Corp. Emerie was the only one who needed convincing to join in the venture. She had always wanted to own a small shop selling incense, organic clothing, and eco-friendly products. However, Emerie’s degree in international policy made her an unstoppable negotiator. When she and Mor were sent in to close a difficult deal, they always came out on top. No matter if that meant they signed a contract or had to dump a body bag in the Sidra. She did stay loyal to her roots and opened a small Etsy shop to sell her organic goods. 

Everyone managed to get everything they wanted, but it seemed like Az and Gwyn’s futures were as unattainable as ever. Gwyn worked in intelligence and was the top espionage operative in the business, Azriel was her direct supervisor in his role as head of Cyber Security and Intelligence. Falling in love had complicated things and they still couldn’t find a way to make it all work, even after being romantically involved for over a year. 

At least being a spy for the Night Corp beats being the secretary for Beron Vanserra any day of the week.

Besides getting to work with her best friends and having “badass” as her unofficial title, she selfishly loved having a cool work nickname. It made her feel like a spy in a cheesy movie. Cassian was the General, Rhys was the High Lord, Azriel was the Spymaster, and Gwyn was the Priestess. What started out as Az’s nickname for her due to her religious upbringing, he said watching her get into the zone was like watching a priestess praying to the Mother. At some point, that nickname went from one of teasing to a term of endearment.

After completing some shopping and stopping at Feyre’s studio to say hi to her and Nyx, she finally made her way to the River House. It was situated along the sidra just a short ten minute walk from Feyre’s studio, just so she could be close in case of an emergency. 

As Gwyn reached the penthouse floor of the complex, she was greeted by Nuala and Cerridwen, two of her fellow spies and the receptionists who dealt with their more nuanced clients. 

“Afternoon, Ladies!” Gwyn chimed as she strode towards Rhysands office. 

“Morning, Gwyn,” the two chimed in unison. It used to bother Gwyn that they were always so in sync with each other, but she bet that truly stemmed from her jealousy over the twins and the bond that they shared. Being close to them helped Gwyn remember the good things about Catrin, not just the bitter end of their connection. 

Gwyn came to Rhysand’s sleek black double doors which were open just slightly. She knocked as a courtesy, even though she knew that if his door was ever open like that it meant that anyone could come in without notice. 

As she entered the office, Rhys was seated casually behind his desk, and before him lay Azriel. She was grateful neither of them had superhuman hearing, or else they would have heard her heart skip a beat at seeing Azriel for the first time since their discussion that morning. She took all of one second to school her face into neutrality before coming in and sitting next to him before Rhys’s desk. 

“You wanted to talk to me, Rhys?” Gwyn said, wanting to get straight to business. The sooner they could finish this meeting, the sooner she and Az would go home and finish what they started this morning. 

“Yes. Afternoon to you too, Gwyn,” Rhys chuckled in a mocking tone. 

She smiled at the man who had become more of an older brother to her than a boss. They had bonded when Catrin died as Rhys had lost his sister and mother to a car accident a few years prior. Gwyn reminded him of his little sister, and Rhys had the same tenacity and quick mind that Catrin had. By this point, Rhys knew that if Gwyn wanted to get right to business, it was nothing personal. 

She had always hated the idea of mixing her personal life with work, but now those lines were as blurred as she could possibly make them. 

“Good afternoon, Rhys. The weather is lovely. I stopped by the studio to see your wife. You are going to have a fantastic time getting the green paint out of every nook and cranny of that wild son of yours. Feyre’s forest-scape palette ended up all over him,” Gwyn teased him. Nyx was adorable and everytime Gwyn saw him of late, she always imagined what he would look like with red hair and freckles instead of his black hair and blue eyes. 

Rhys just laughed and sighed at that. His son was a hellion, and growing up in an art studio gave him free reign to get into as much trouble as his little heart could handle. 

“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I would like to know why you called me out of my assignment early today.” She shot a wary glare towards Azriel as she said, “And why are you here, Az? Shouldn’t you be decoding the information on the flashdrive I gave you?”

Az glared right back at her. They both knew better than to think that the glares given to each other here were real. It was all just an act. “I finished decoding them last night. We got everything we needed. The final hit is good to go.”

Gwyn bristled. Last night. He hadn’t even mentioned it to her. The shock on her face was genuine as she said, “Seriously? Their encoding must be garbage if you could get through them within a few hours.”

Az threw her a wry smirk, “I'm just that good, Priestess. Do keep up.” 

They could have kept this going forever, but Rhys cleared his throat and said, “Now that we have the evidence we need, the final stage of the mission can begin . You two will need to infiltrate the fundraiser gala tomorrow. Gwyn, you got the tickets?” She nodded in response.  “Good. You will need to find a way to get Beron alone with you, where we will then ambush you two. He will never suspect your involvement. From there, it's up to you,” he gestured to Az, “if you want to make him talk or not. I trust our client will give you the rest of the details.”

“And who, pray tell, is our client High Lord?” Gwyn teased. Finally, finally she was going to meet the client who had been paying millions in advance to gather the information we needed to incriminate Beron and get him wiped off this planet permanently. 

“Glad you asked, Priestess,” Rhys said with a knowing smile. He pressed the button on his desk and said, “Bring him in, Nuala.”