Page 59 of Fallen

Talon snickered, picking Alex up bridal-style and carrying him into the dark bedroom.

When he had Alex tucked under the blankets, he asked, “Would you like me to stay, or do you need some time alone for… processing?”

Alex tugged him down for a kiss. “Stay. This room doesn’t get much sunlight. It’ll be nice and dark tomorrow, if you want to sleep late.”

“That sounds nice,” Talon said as he rounded the bed. “The penthouse is enjoyable enough, but the windowsdomean it gets more sun than I’d prefer.”

“Stay, then,” Alex said, scooting back to meet him as he sank under the blankets. “I’ll fetch breakfast in the morning. There’s a place up the block.”

Talon wrapped his arms around him. “Breakfast sounds good. Sleep now, little bird. All is well.”

Chapter 20

Alex

Alex woke,for the first time in his life, with an all-encompassing sense of peace. Talon clung to him, possessive even in sleep, with his legs curled behind Alex’s and his nose pressed into his short hair. His breaths were deep and slow—slower than a human, in fact. His bare chest was a furnace, the too-slow pulse of his heart a reassuring rhythm against Alex’s spine.

Thin strips of morning sunlight lit the floor in front of the window. The blinds kept most of it from coming in, leaving the room in hazy shadow. A perfectly dark den for a perfectly slumbering demon.

Alex smiled, thinking back on last night. The mozgoran was dead. He’d saved that family, and he felt… content. Settled. He’d finally done the one thing he’d always wanted. He’d avenged his family, and he finally felt like he could put that part of him to rest.

Which begged the question: what next? Did he keep fighting the good fight with the paladins? Or was it counterintuitive to work with the paladins while harboring feelings for one of the very things they professed to hate?

There was no denying he had feelings for Talon. Whatever Talon felt for him sounded remarkably like love, something he hadn’t even known a demoncouldfeel, and if he was honest—which he always endeavored to be—he was treading perilously close to the same thing. It was hard not to fall when a beautiful man devoted himself to you and only you.

Talon would do anything for him. That was a heady feeling, and one he was quickly realizing he also felt for the demon. Was it dangerous to feel so consumed by a creature from Hell? It didn’t feel dangerous. It just felt right. Talon never coerced him into doing anything he didn’t want. He’d never tried to get Alex to compromise his morals. And that meant he had some choices to make. Did he stay with the guild, or should he consider doing what Talon wanted and leave them?

The guild would never accept it. He didn’t know what they would do if they found out he’d been working with Talon. If they found he’d also beensleepingwith him… nothing good would come of it. Talon’s life would be in danger, and that wasn’t something Alex could risk. He would have to choose between the life he knew and the potential one he could have with Talon. Talon claimed he wanted him all to himself. Did that mean he wanted him forever? Could Alex grow old with an immortal demon by his side? Or would it be too hard, as he aged, to know Talon would have to go on without him?

He vowed to bring it up to Talon later that morning. They had plenty of time before Alex’s mortality became an issue, but it was an inevitability he knew they’d have to deal with eventually. It was better to know where they both stood on the issue now.

He slipped from the bed, casting one last fond smile at the sleeping demon, whose hand remained stretched out as though seeking Alex’s warmth, and crept from the room. He’d promised him breakfast after all, and he could debate morality and the greater good with himself just as well on his way to the coffee shop down the street.

His neck twinged when he pulled a T-shirt over his head, so he went to the bathroom to check on the bite wound. The teeth marks were scabbed, and there was some mild bruising around them. But seeing it—and standing where he’d received it—sent heat coiling in his belly. He touched it lightly, and the mild sparks of pain had him biting his lip, struggling not to focus on the needy swelling of his cock. There would be time for that, but he needed food first.

He left a note for Talon on the kitchen counter should he wake before Alex returned and quietly slipped from the apartment.

The sun was shining cheerfully, mirroring his good mood. The coffee shop wasn’t far, and it was too nice of a day to bother driving. He set off down the sidewalk, a pep to his step. He’d slept later than normal, and for the first time, he was grateful that the guild had suspended him from duty. He could spend two uninterrupted weeks in bed with Talon, and no one would be the wiser.

Or so he thought.

A black SUV squealed to a stop beside him, and familiar faces emerged from the vehicle, cold and determined.

“What—”

They rushed him. Two paladins grabbed his arms. Another threw a cloth bag over his head. He struggled, kicking blindly. A hand clamped down over his nose and mouth. He gasped, and something sweet and sharp hit his lungs. His head swirled, his body sagged, and everything went dark.

Alex wokeon his stomach on a lumpy, uncomfortable surface. He blinked his eyes open, groaning, and the sight of bare, gray brick made his stomach drop. The last thing he remembered was the sunlit street, walking happily to get breakfast for him and Talon.

Oh God, Talon. He wouldn’t have any idea what happened to him. The note he left said he was going for breakfast. How long would it take for Talon to realize he wasn’t coming back? What would he do when he realized something was wrong?

He pushed himself into a sitting position. He was on a low cot in what looked like a jail cell. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he tried not to panic. There were iron bars on his right. He’d seen these cells before, but only from the outside.

He was in the guild’s jail. This was unprecedented. For all his life, these cells had sat empty. At one time, they’d been used to hold possessed humans who needed exorcisms. The bars had been salted and blessed with holy oil. There were a handful of cases in history where paladins who’d broken their oaths were held while they awaited sentencing from the council, but the last case was decades ago. Why was he here now? Why had they grabbed him off the street? Was this about his disobedience with the mozgoran, or did they know about Talon?

He took deep breaths to calm his rabbiting heart. What if they went into his apartment and hurt Talon? What if they killed him? Alex couldn’t imagine his life without him. Panic clawed its way up his throat, and he struggled to keep quiet.

A door squealed open nearby before he could spiral any further. He lurched to his feet, grabbing the bars. They were gritty with old salt under his palms.

---