Page 41 of Fallen

On the third floor, however, they found an empty conference room—and a nest.

Shredded fabric was piled in the corner, buzzing with flies. Now, Alex put a hand over his nose and mouth with a groan. Blood and viscera was mixed into the material. Tufts of tawny hair were barely visible amongst the gory debris.

“Animals,” Talon said, inching just close enough to verify. “The demon’s been eating animals here. Or… playing with them, maybe. I see no evidence of human bodies, little bird.”

Alex’s eyes closed with relief.

“Come on.” He ushered Alex out of the room.

“Will it come back to this nest?” Alex asked as they reached the stairs.

Talon shook his head. “No. It was discovered. It’ll move somewhere else, build a new nest.”

“Great,” Alex muttered.

Neither of them spoke again until they were outside. Beside the car, Alex threw his arms around Talon’s neck.

“Thank you for coming. Thank you for—thank you.”

Their bodies slotted together, and Talon sighed into it, wrapping his arms around Alex and tucking his head in the curve of Alex’s neck, inhaling the scent of salt, soap, and linen. The faintest trace of decay clung to them both, but it was distant, unimportant.

“Always, little bird,” he said, shuddering with the intensity of his own feelings. He greedily cherished every scrap of attention and affection Alex gave him, and none of it was enough to satisfy him. He wasn’t sure anything would ever be enough to sate this all-consumingneedhe felt for this human. Meeting Alex had completely altered the course of his life, he was certain. He would never be the same.

They tumbledinto Alex’s bathroom together sometime later, as the sun was falling toward the horizon outside and the low hum of the air conditioner thrummed in the walls. Talon pressed Alex against the wall, slanting their mouths together until the human was moaning and arching against him. His fingers scrabbled with the fabric of Alex’s shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it away.

“You—have to let go of me if you want me to turn on the shower,” Alex said, turning his head and groaning when Talon latched onto the pale column of his throat.

“Bath,” Talon murmured.

“What?”

“Bath,” he said again. He sank his teeth into the muscle of Alex’s shoulder, moving his head back and forth like a dog with a toy might, wanting desperately to leave a mark on Alex’s pretty body. Alex whined, his fingers tightening on Talon’s waist, like he wasn’t sure whether to reel him in or push him away.

“Ow,” Alex complained.

Talon raised his head, his mouth coming off Alex’s skin with apop, and observed his work. He hadn’t broken the skin, but the impression of his teeth would result in a beautiful bruise. He met Alex’s eyes to find the human pouting.

“Kiss it better,” Alex said, poking him in the ribs.

Talon smiled, drawing him into another deep kiss, tangling their tongues together until Alex’s hips hitched, his hardness evident through his jeans.

“Okay,” Talon said, moving away. “Bath.”

“Bath, really? I can’t remember the last time I had a bath.”

“We’re not in a hurry. Fill it up.”

Alex shrugged agreeably, turning on the water. While it filled, Talon stripped off his clothing. He didn’t have anything else to wear here, but he could always teleport back to his apartment—or borrow something of Alex’s. He was slightly taller than the human but probably not enough to make a difference.

When he was bare, he curled around Alex, loosening the button and zipper on his jeans. Alex chuckled, leaning back against him.

“You want to borrow some clothes when we get out?”

“You don’t think we’ll just stay naked for the rest of the night?” Talon teased, slipping hand inside Alex’s underwear to cup his rapidly hardening length.

Alex laughed breathlessly. “Okay, point taken.”

Together they watched the bath slowly fill, Talon teasing just enough to keep Alex hard and twitching in his palm, his thumb grazing the head of Alex’s plump cock. When they deemed the water high enough, Alex sat on the bath’s edge and removed his boots and jeans, then turned and lowered himself into the water with a hiss.

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