Page 49 of Fallen

“Why not?” Talon asked. Alex couldn’t answer that question, but someone needed to say it aloud. “I thought their purpose was to protect people.”

Alex swallowed hard. “I thought so, too. Ira said I’m the one who will save this family. For some reason, it has to be me. If it went to anyone else, the family would die.”

“And you trust this prophet to be truthful.”

Alex nodded. “I do.”

Talon inclined his head. “Good enough for me. I’ll go with you, and together, we’ll get your revenge.”

Relief lightened Alex’s expression. He reached across the island and tangled his fingers with Talon’s. “Thank you.”

A glance at the clock reminded him that it wasn’t quite noon yet. They had a lot of time to kill before they had to be in Irvine.

Abandoning his coffee, he drifted closer, around the island, and Alex turned bodily to watch him, his eyes twinkling with anticipation.

When he pressed closer, Alex’s legs widened to make room for him. “I believe we have some time to ourselves now, don’t you? Sundown isn’t for seven more hours.”

Alex braced his elbows on the counter behind him. Talon gave into the urge to touch, slipping his hands under Alex’s T-shirt and smoothing his palms up his sides, pushing the fabric up to expose his abdomen, his ribs. His thumbs teased the dark, beaded nipples, and Alex hummed, closing his legs as though to draw Talon closer.

He leaned in, brushing their mouths together. “Kiss me, little bird. Let me show you how good you can feel.”

With a quiet whimper, Alex closed the distance between them, meeting Talon’s mouth with his own.

Chapter 16

Alex

Alex clungto the demon before him like he needed him for survival, and he was beginning to think that maybe he did. He and Talon felt inevitable. Everything about Talon, every sharp edge, seemed to fit into the gaps of Alex’s lonely life. Empty spaces he hadn’t even known were there.

His mouth opened to accept Talon’s tongue, their lips crushed together between their teeth like neither of them could get close enough.

Talon tugged him off the stool, one arm like a steel band around his back and the other gripping the back of his head tightly to hold Alex how he wanted him. It felt like Talon was trying toconsumehim.

“Turn around,” Talon ordered, spinning him to face the island.

Heat burned through him as Talon opened his jeans and pushed both them and his underwear down at once, leaving them bunched halfway down his thighs. One hand pressed against his back, bending him over the island, and a weak sound left him. He was too vulnerable like this, embarrassment mingling with the heat.

And then Talon knelt behind him, and his blood ignited in his veins. Strong fingers pried his cheeks apart, and Talon buried his face in the heart of him.

“Talon!” he cried out, his voice strangled, and his knees quaked. Talon’s wet tongue lapped at his hole and then speared into him. A low groan spilled out of him, and he pressed his cheek to the cool marble, gripping the edge with white knuckles.

Clever fingers snuck between his legs, wrapping around his length and pumping it in time with the tongue fucking in and out of him. Alex was hurtling toward the end embarrassingly fast, circling his hips between the two points of maddening pleasure. His body shuddered, his eyes rolling back in his head.

“Talon, please, please,” he said mindlessly.

Talon stood, pushing his shirt up and trailing kisses up his spine. He tugged the shirt up and off, reeling Alex back against him. Strong fingers closed around his throat, urging his head back onto Talon’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, little bird, I’ll get you there,” Talon crooned in his ear, mouthing at the bruise on his shoulder, shaped like Talon’s teeth. “And I’ll make sure you enjoy every second. Let go of your rage for now. Let me carry it, and I’ll return it to you when we’re done.”

It was far too easy to relax in the safe circle of Talon’s arms. From the moment they’d met, Talon had done nothing but try to please him. Surrendering to him now felt like a foregone conclusion. Talon stroked his cock as though rewarding Alex for obeying, and a moan pitched from him.

“Go upstairs,” Talon said, tugging Alex’s jeans back up so he could walk. “Get naked. Make yourself comfortable on my bed. I’ll join you in a moment.”

Alex slid away, gripping his jeans to keep them from falling again and turning around to look at Talon, who was watching him with half-lidded black eyes. He was as beautiful as he was dangerous, a thorned rose, drawing unwitting hands toward its beauty only to sink into their skin when they were off-guard. But somehow those thorns curled away when Alex got close. Talon had never been anything but kind to him.

Alex pressed closer, wanting to see what happened when he disobeyed. Dark brows rose as though Talon couldn’t hide his surprise, but no anger manifested itself. He drew Talon into a slow, wet kiss, backing him against the island. Talon opened for him at once, letting Alex explore the taste of him and set his own pace. His hard length was obvious through his sweatpants, pressing into Alex’s hip, but he made no move for more, letting Alex lead.

“You constantly surprise me,” Talon said between kisses. “When I expect you to resist, you obey. When I expect you to obey, you resist. And I am a very hard man to surprise.”

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