Page 42 of Fallen

“Little hot,” he said.

Talon slipped in behind Alex and drew him between his legs. He melted against Talon with a sigh, his hands falling under the water to rest on Talon’s thighs.

Companionable silence reigned between them, and neither of them seemed to be in a hurry to wash up and get out. Talon couldn’t remember the last time he’d lazed in a bath, aloneorwith someone. For many years, he’d languished in solitude. When he’d first come to Earth, he’d partaken in all the joys of the flesh, but after a while, they lost their allure. He’d grown bored. But everything with Alex felt novel. The simple act of touch set him aflame. Even now, his hands roamed Alex’s leanly muscled body, exploring without real purpose, just enjoying the sensation of Alex’s skin under his palms.

Alex’s chest expanded as though he was about to speak, but nothing came out. His fingertips tickled Talon’s thighs softly.

“Speak your mind, little bird.”

“I… I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.” He turned his head, angling so he could look up at Talon.

“Other shoe?”

“Yeah, like,” he looked sheepish, “like this is all some ploy to torment a paladin and you don’t mean any of this.”

Talon hummed, curling his arms around Alex’s middle. The narrow tub was almost too small for two grown men. Alex couldn’t straighten his legs out, and Talon’s movements were rather limited, his legs trapped between Alex’s and the sides of the tub. There were certainly worse places to be trapped.

Part of him was soothed by Alex’s suspicion. It meant he didn’t realize how far gone Talon truly was. How truly and completely he meant it when he said he would doanythingfor him. “Oh? And yet you’re here, naked and in my arms.”

Alex nodded, leaning back against him once more. “Yeah. That’s because the bigger part of me doesn’t care. You promise me all these pretty things, that you’ll do the things even the guild won’t do. You say you’ll be there for me in ways no one has ever been. Maybe it’s a lie, but it’s what I want.” His voice trembled, as though his throat had gone tight.

Talon leaned in, pressing a kiss to his temple. “I would never lie to you, little bird.”

Alex huffed out a laugh, whispering, “That’s exactly what a lying demon would say.”

Fingers stroking Alex’s cheek, he said, “Truthfully, you’re partly right. I do have an agenda, but I’ve already told you what it is. I want you to be mine. I want you to leave the guild, because they would never condone you being here with me like this. You can’t belong to them and to me, and I amselfish.I want to tie you to the bed and never let you go, feed you all your favorite things and make you come again and again and give you everything you want so you never even think about leaving. Wanting you means enticing you to stay. I can’t force you. I have to make youwantto.”

Alex gave a little shiver, and if possible, melted even further against Talon’s chest. His cheek and neck were rosy. Talon reached for the shampoo, giving it a sniff before he squirted some into his palm and guided Alex into straightening. As he threaded slick hands into his human’s hair, he pondered over this new experience. He’d never washed someone else’s hair before. There was never any point. He had no emotional connection to any of the passing bodies he’d sought pleasure with in the past. They were just nameless, faceless vessels there to provide what he wanted.

Touching Alex was, pardon his pun, a religious experience. It was bliss. The way Alex’s head tipped back with a breathy sigh, vulnerable and open for Talon’s admiration. He rinsed using the washcloth to squeeze water over Alex’s head, watching the suds trickle down his back to pool in the water between their bodies. When he was done, Alex let out a quiet huff of contented laughter and leaned back against him.

“There,” Talon murmured, hooking his chin over Alex’s shoulder, “now you don’t smell like death anymore.”

“Did I?” Alex asked with some surprise.

“Kind of. It lingered, probably in our clothing.”

“Demons have sensitive noses?”

“This one does.” He chuckled, letting his hands drift. There was a trail of dark hair leading down Alex’s stomach, and the crease of his hip was ticklish, based on the way Alex squirmed.

His other hand, flat on Alex’s stomach, slid down his body until he brushed the base of his cock with the side of his hand. He was hard—had been hard since they’d started kissing by the door—and now he sighed in relief as Talon took him in hand. But he didn’t firm his grip. He used his fingertips instead, lazily tracing the silken length from tip to base and back up.

“Talon,” Alex groaned plaintively.

“There’s no hurry, little bird. I want to learn every inch of you.”

“Here? Now?”

“Maybe.” Talon smiled, though Alex couldn’t see it. “Are you in a rush?”

“Well, kind of.”

He laughed, low and easy. “Then you need me to teach you patience. The anticipation is as good as the act itself.” He pressed his thumb to the rim of the cock head, massaging in small, firm circles, then used his index finger to do the same to the underside. His own hardness was trapped between their bodies, present but not insistent yet.

“Talon,” he breathed, reverent and pleading, and Talon wanted to hear his name spoken like that again.

Alex’s head fell back against his shoulder, his knees rising further out of the water as he spread his legs. His fingers probed at their sides, trying to slip between their bodies. Talon hummed in disapproval, planting a hand flat on Alex’s chest to pin him against Talon’s front, using the ridges of his fingers to massage the head of Alex’s cock with maddening slowness.

---