Page 64 of Fallen

Alex woketo the smell of Chinese food. He was flat on his stomach in the middle of Talon’s ridiculously soft bed, his face buried between the pillows. A warm hand was touching the center of his back, shaking slightly.

“Mm?” he croaked sleepily.

“Food’s here, little bird. You should try to eat a bit.”

He rolled over with a languid stretch, laying his head on top of the pillow nearest to Talon. He was a vision, wearing a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up and holding a takeaway container.

“This is the hottest I’ve ever seen you,” he murmured.

Talon threw his head back with a laugh. “Ouch. You’ve seen me naked.”

Alex snorted, letting Talon pull him into a sitting position. He leaned back on the pillow and accepted the container with a yawn.

“How are you feeling?” Talon asked, studying him with unblinking black eyes.

“Surprisingly good. That was a pretty great power nap, I guess. I’m less sore than expected. You’d think after eight hours of walking my legs and feet would be killing me.” He ran a hand over his hair and down the side of his neck, scratching absently. “Or maybe I’m in better shape than I thought. Maybe all those drills actually…” He trailed off, his fingers prodding the side of his neck. The bite was supposed to be there. Why wasn’t it hurting? “Can I… Can I see your phone?”

Talon didn’t ask, just unlocked it and handed it over. Alex turned on the front-facing camera and angled it toward his neck.

The bruise was completely gone. The teeth marks, oval-shaped and thin, were now a barely visible scar.

“What the hell? How is this already healed? Is this normal for demon bites?” He handed the phone back to Talon, who looked…guilty.“Talon,” he pressed. “Tell me.”

Talon sighed. “Eat, and I will.”

Alex obediently took a bite. “Actually, you said ‘we’ would get naked and eat in bed, so strip down and join me.”

Talon stood slowly, holding his gaze, and unbuttoned his shirt with agonizing slowness. Alex watched him, transfixed, as he bared inch after inch of creamy white skin. He worked his jeans down his long legs. The boxers followed last—the back first and then the front, revealing the muscled vee of his hips and finally, his half-hard, uncut cock.

Alex pointed at it with his fork. “That’ll be dessert.”

“That’s vaguely threatening when you’re holding a sharp object, little bird. Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Alex rasped out a laugh. “Get over here and tell me why I healed so fast.”

Talon slid in beside him and pressed his mouth to Alex’s temple. “Because I gave you my blood,” he said against his skin.

Alex turned his head toward him. “What?”

“No one that I know has ever tried it, but I’ve been led to believe our blood has certain… properties. I had planned to mention it to you at some point, but with you being so tired and sore, I thought you might benefit from a taste. Ingesting it will make you stronger, faster. You’ll heal quicker, and… you’ll age slower.”

Alex stared. And stared. “What?” he repeated dumbly.

“Regularly ingesting demon blood would make you functionally immortal. You would cease to age completely with a regular dose of it.”

Alex was dumbfounded. “What?”

Talon cast him a patient smile. “Eat your food. Let your fragile human brain process the new information. I hear it takes some time.”

Alex scowled and shoveled a few more forkfuls into his mouth while his brain did exactly that. He could beimmortalwith regular doses of Talon’s blood? As little as what he’d given him through their kiss earlier?

It would solve a lot of his problems. He wouldn’t have to worry about aging while Talon stayed the same. He wasn’t upset Talon kept it a secret; it was an understandably sensitive thing they probably didn’t want a lot of humans to know about. He might’ve also been worried it would affect the way Alex felt about him.

“Why didn’t you tell me before you did it?” he asked. “That seems like a thing you should get permission about.”

Talon shrugged. “I’m telling you now. You were tired, and a few drops won’t be enough to permanently alter you. I planned to tell you as soon as you were lucid enough. I was going to bring it up if you were willing to… move forward with me. It would allow us much more time than your current human lifespan.”

Alex frowned. “And what if I don’t want to be immortal?”

---