9. Talon
Chapter 9
Talon
In the wake of Alex’s hasty departure, Talon slid from the booth and strode to the bar. The crowd parted for him like a school of fish moved away from a passing shark.
Wolf wordlessly handed him an unlabeled black bottle. “Didn’t go well?”
“Malachi didn’t know enough to sate him. The boy is starved for vengeance.” He ripped the cork from the bottle and took a long drink. Dark and sweet. Liquor and blood. He wondered what Alex’s blood tasted like. He wanted to find out.
“And you want to help him feast,” Wolf deduced, casting a sly look at him.
Talon inclined his head. He did. Alex was full of life, full of passion and fiery righteousness. He didn’t sling insults at the demons. It was almost like he recognized Talon and the others as something akin to people , not the animals most paladins considered them. It was refreshing. Intoxicating. He wanted to take Alex apart and see what made him tick.
The feel of his body, the taste of his mouth outside Alex’s dreams had been more than he ever could’ve imagined. It felt as though he’d been frozen for centuries, and Alex’s touch thawed him. One taste and he was addicted. He had to find a way to bring the human back to him. He wasn’t ready to give him up.
“I haven’t seen you so interested in a human before. What’s so special about this one?”
Talon toyed with the cork absentmindedly. “He’s perfect,” Talon said. “I want him to be mine.”
Wolf met his eyes, as calm and assessing as always. Not much swayed the steadfast demon. It was one of the reasons Talon liked him. “He’s a paladin.”
“He doesn’t have to be.” It was a long shot, but Talon didn’t believe in absolutes. If his immortality had taught him anything, it was that things were ever-changing. Even things like the Paladin Guild.
Wolf bobbed his head. “I just hope you know what you’re getting into. If they find out you’re sniffing around one of their people…”
“I’d like to see them try.” They weren’t the first demon-hunters to exist, and they wouldn’t be the last. He was far older and stronger than they knew.
“They’ll most certainly try, if they find out.” He looked thoughtful. “But it sounds like the boy has an agenda of his own outside the guild. That might be your in with him.”
“That’s the plan.”
He suspected Alex would try and talk himself out of ever coming back to In Extremis after what happened tonight, and that just wouldn’t do. Talon would have to intervene, give him a reason to keep coming back. He took the bottle back to his table while he debated his next move.
More than anything, he wanted to hear Alex say his name again. That needy, desperate croak, like Talon had stumbled across something even Alex hadn’t known he wanted.
He bided his time, draining the bottle as the crowd began to disperse. He would wait, give Alex time to settle, and then seek him out. Alex couldn’t leave. Talon wanted him, and he would do whatever it took to keep him.
The sky hung in the ephemeral haze between night and morning when he finally left the club, tossing his empty bottle away.
He traversed the city through the shadows and came to a stop before a wooden door in a hallway bathed in dim fluorescent light. Alex was inside. This was his apartment. Talon had made a point, after that first night, of finding out where the human lived. There were no sounds from within, and though the door was warded, they weren’t made for a demon like Talon. He had no idea that any black-eyed demon with the inclination could step across his threshold. Talon would fix that, but only if Alex promised to invite him in after they were in place. All he had to do was make sure Alex wanted him to cross them.
He slipped past them with barely a shudder and into the darkened apartment.
It was sparse. The narrow hall opened up into a kitchen area on the left and the living area further ahead. The bright lights of a billboard streamed through the blinds in streaks of sickly white. There was an open doorway to the right. The bedroom, with a bathroom door beyond it.
Talon crept silently into the bedroom. There were no pictures on the walls or surfaces, nothing that made the space distinctly Alex’s. A clock with red LED numbers told him it was almost five AM.
Alex lay sprawled on the right side of the bed on his back, his hands tucked under the pillow above his head as though he’d surrendered himself to sleep. Talon’s mouth watered at the long plane of relaxed muscle on display, the coarse body hair dusting his chest and trailing down his stomach. He looked so vulnerable like this, so bare and ready for the taking, belly-up and unaware. What would he do if he woke up and found Talon here like this?
Talon fisted his fingers in the soft sheet covering Alex’s exquisite body. He pulled slowly, revealing inch after inch. Alex shifted as his body was exposed to the cool air but didn’t wake. Black, athletic boxer briefs were the only thing protecting his modesty, and Talon wanted to rip them off with his teeth .
Alex murmured in his sleep, tossing his head to one side. Talon wasn’t there to protect him from his nightmares right now. He turned inward with his hands on the mattress, focusing on the sleepy fog of Alex’s mind and pressing inside, swimming down into the deepest depths.
It was harder to concentrate while still maintaining a presence in the physical world, torn between dream and reality.
He found Alex in his childhood home, surrounded by his murdered family, and grabbed him by the arm, hauling him from the memory unceremoniously and sending him tumbling to his bed.
In reality, he climbed onto the bed and knee-walked between Alex’s invitingly spread legs. Alex barely twitched, soothed by Talon’s presence in his dreams.
“Talon,” Alex breathed, reaching for him.
“I’ve got you, little bird,” Talon said, in both the dream and reality. Below him, Alex stirred at the sound of his voice, not quite waking.
His dream self and his real one cupped Alex’s length through the fabric, massaging with the flat of his hand, nice and slow so as not to wake him. Alex gave a breathy sigh, shifting his hips. His dream mimicked reality; they were on the bed in both. Talon wondered if he could manage to pull his waistband down without waking him completely, but he didn’t like his odds. He was already pushing for too much, as Alex was clearly unaccustomed to this kind of touch.
When his cock was heavy and hard, Talon abandoned it, flattening both hands on his flanks and sliding them up, up, up. Over his ribs, thumbs teasing at his nipples as they passed them, beneath the pillow and anchoring his wrists firmly to the mattress. Face to face with the gently squirming holy warrior, he leaned in and sealed their mouths together. He tasted just as good as he had in the club.
His lips were soft and plush, tasting faintly of mint. Unresponsive at first, and then, automatically, pursing—and opening . His body responded as he did in the dream. Talon wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to explore, slipping his tongue inside. A shocked moan spilled from Alex’s throat, his fists flexing uselessly. His legs rose, but instead of trying to kick him off, he drove his toes into the mattress and rocked up .
Talon moaned, and the haze of the dream world faded away. Alex’s eyes flew open, and he pressed his head back into the pillow, parting their mouths.
“Talon.” There it was. Confused and pleading and definitely not a ‘ no, get off .’
“You are so beautiful,” Talon crooned. “I had to see you, couldn’t let you walk away for good.”
“You—are you here? Is this real? Am I dreaming?” His voice was breathless, his body writhing.
Talon chuckled, rocking his hips in a slow, sinuous rhythm, just enough to tease. He wanted Alex desperate, whining, saying his name like the prayers he said to his precious god. “I think I might be the one dreaming this time, little bird.”
“What? Oh, God,” he moaned, his body rolling up to meet Talon’s hips. His arms flexed again, but Talon held fast. “This can’t be real. You can’t be here. I have wards on the door.”
“Mm, that’s right, and they would work on any halfling, wouldn’t they?”
“Yes. Yes, they would. Oh .” He moaned so beautifully. “Keep doing that.”
Talon nipped his way across Alex’s jaw. “I want to take you apart, little bird. I want to make you feel so good you can’t think about anything but me.”
“We shouldn’t—you’re a demon.”
“Your body says we can.” Alex was rutting up against him, his beautiful body flexing in time with Talon’s measured rhythm. “Nobody has to know. Take your pleasure, little bird. Let me make you feel good. You’re not selling your soul. I can’t suck it out through your dick.”
“Talon, oh God,” Alex breathed, and Talon sank his teeth into the meat of his shoulder. Alex cried out, his body arching like a drawn bow.
“There’s no god here, little bird,” he growled. “There’s only me.”
He expected retaliation. He expected anger. He didn’t expect Alex to angle his head up and capture Talon’s mouth in a biting kiss that curled even his toes. His human was so perfect, so full of passion and heat.
He guided Alex’s hands to the edges of the pillow. “Grip this and do not move them.”
When would his human stop surprising him? Every inch he pushed, Alex yielded. When would he find his limit? What would be too much? How long would it take for him to call a halt to this? And if he did, Talon would stop. He didn’t care for forcing someone. He wanted this . Wanted to push until he was given all. There was more power in being given that surrender than in taking it.
“This—doesn’t feel like a dream,” Alex whimpered, his eyes on the twirling ceiling fan.
Trailing biting kisses down Alex’s chest, Talon flicked a glance up at him. “Do you want it to stop?” He flattened his palm on Alex’s hard length, rubbing in long, slow presses.
Alex’s eyes fluttered shut, and his teeth sank into his bottom lip. “No, don’t stop.”
Triumph roared within him. He worked his way down Alex’s beautiful, golden-tanned body, sloppy kisses and licks and scraping bites that left the impression of his teeth behind on supple skin. Alex took it all willingly, writhing up into every touch, his hips seeking friction.
Alex no doubt put a lot of work into his body for his very physical calling. Fighting demons was no mean feat. It required perfection, and Alex had achieved it.
His fingers curled under the waistband of Alex’s boxer briefs, and a quiet whimper left him. Talon studied his face for a moment. His eyes were screwed shut tightly, his head tipped back. He held the edges of the pillow in a white-knuckled grip.
“Look at me,” Talon ordered. He wanted Alex to see him, wanted there to be no doubt that this was what he wanted. That it was Talon he wanted.
His eyes opened, blinking a handful of times at the whirling ceiling fan before falling, finding Talon kneeling between his legs. He tugged slightly on the fabric, and Alex raised his hips. As good as a signed and sealed document of permission.
He tossed the underwear away and hooked his hands under Alex’s knees, pushing them up and out, baring all of him for Talon’s view. His cock was full and thick, his untouched hole puckered and dusted with coarse hair. Alex squirmed under his perusal, and for once, Talon showed mercy. He started at Alex’s knee, kissing his way up his inner thigh. Those powerful thighs tightened briefly, as though instinctively wanting to close.
Talon wrapped his fingers around his cock, and Alex mewled, his spine arching. He pumped slowly, watching the tension drain from Alex’s body as pleasure took hold. He teased the head with quick, tight strokes through the ridged ring of his fingers, eager for the way Alex tried to fuck up into his fist to make him strip the whole length. He could do this for hours, watching Alex slowly fall apart under him.
But dawn would be soon, and he was certain the harsh light of day would break this lovely spell. He leaned in, tightening his fingers in a punishing ring around the base just to hear Alex cry out. He dropped long, open-mouthed kisses to the swollen head of his cock, kissed his way down one side and up the other.
“Please, please, Talon, please,” Alex moaned, his hips hitching up into the air.
Perfection. As a reward for those beautiful sounds, Talon sucked him down inch by inch, removing his hand from the base so he could take it all, pressing his nose to the tuft of hair there. Desperate, rasping sounds left Alex’s mouth as Talon began to bob his head long and slow. It couldn’t last as long as he’d like, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t draw it out and enjoy it while it did.
Alex’s mouth was open and inviting, so Talon slipped two fingers between his lips. They closed around the intrusion at once, his hand wrapping around Talon’s wrist, and Talon moved his fingers in and out in time with his head, not quite deep enough to trigger Alex’s gag reflex. When they were properly coated, he removed them, dragging them down Alex’s body and leaving a wet trail behind that chilled beneath the ceiling fan, causing goosebumps to rise.
While Alex was distracted by his mouth, he pressed a wet finger to his hole, his other hand pushing Alex’s knee up and away to keep him open and bared. He eased one finger inside—fuck, he was tight—and a hoarse sound punched out of him. Talon moaned, quickening the pace of his mouth. He worked his finger slowly back and forth, in and out, until he was properly fucking him with it.
The noises he made now were deeper, lower. Wanton. His cock was leaking now, salty precum teasing Talon with what was to come. He redoubled his efforts, and Alex’s body strung tight, an arrow waiting for release. His cries reached a fever pitch, his back arching.
“I’m—” He came hard, spilling down Talon’s throat with a hoarse shout. His hole fluttered, as though to suck Talon’s finger deeper, and he moaned around Alex’s bucking cock, wondering what that would feel like around his cock.
He drank every drop of Alex’s cum, lingering until his cock was softening and Alex writhed at every brush of his wicked tongue. He would stay here if Alex would let him, tease him until he was hard and spilling inside him a second time. But not yet. He wasn’t ready yet.
He crawled back up Alex’s body and blanketed his weight over him. “You can let go of the pillow now.”
His fists relaxed, but he didn’t move his arms at all. In fact, he didn’t move at all, except to spread his legs further, cradling Talon between them.
“You did so good,” Talon praised, kissing him hot and slick. Alex’s mouth was pliant and soft, like his entire body was boneless. It made Talon want to roar with possessive pride. “My sweet little bird. You obeyed me so well, and you look just as beautiful when you come as I thought you would.”
A shudder went through Alex. Talon might’ve missed it if they hadn’t been lined up from chest to thigh.
“Do you like that?” Talon whispered, leaning in to press the words to his jaw. “Do you like it when I call you my sweet little bird? Do you like to hear how good you are for me? How perfectly your cock fits in my throat? How tight and perfect your hole is?”
Alex blinked his eyes open, and his hands finally rose, carding into Talon’s hair. “I’m not entirely sure any of this has been real.”
Talon smiled. “You’ll know for sure in the morning. And if you liked it as much as I think you did, you know where to find me.”
“It’s wrong…” But he trailed off uncertainly, like he wasn’t sure.
“Is it? Just because they say so?”
“You’re a demon.”
“Your god made me that way, little bird,” he said sweetly.
Alex’s eyes were drifting closed. One hand fluttered against Talon’s ribs. “He did?”
“Mm. Who do you think created the Hell we were born in?”
“Are you saying that God created Hell, which makes you one of God’s creations, which makes it okay for me to have sex with you?”
Talon pretended to pause and think about it. “Hm… Yes. Exactly.”
Alex smiled faintly. His mind was going hazy. Talon propped his weight up on one elbow and raised the other to Alex’s face, tracing the strong line of his jaw, the gentle curve of his cheekbone.
“Mm,” Alex murmured. “Feels good.”
“Come back to In Extremis tomorrow night.”
Alex’s brow furrowed. “Too dangerous.”
“Then don’t come there. Come to my apartment. But let me go with you to look for the mozgoran.”
Alex blinked his eyes open. “Why?”
“Demons can sense each other. If we get close, I might be able to find him.”
“No, I mean, why would you want to help me? Why do you care?”
Talon smiled. “You intrigue me. That’s a hard thing to do.”
“Is that why you…” He gestured down his body.
“Oh, don’t misunderstand me, little bird,” Talon said. “It’s very hard for anyone to hold my attention like this. You have captivated me. You’re all I see.”
Alex stared at him for a long moment, and then whispered, “Dreaming. I’ve got to be dreaming. There’s no way you’d really say something like that.”
“I suppose you’ll just have to wait and see.” He brushed his fingers against Alex’s cheek, and the man’s eyes fluttered closed. “Sleep, little bird. I’ll see you tomorrow night, and we’ll find you the vengeance you seek.”
Alex sighed in contentment. “Nobody cares,” he breathed.
Talon stilled, certain he’d misheard. “What?”
“Nobody else cares… why would you?”
Sleep was taking him, so he missed the way Talon’s hand tightened into a furious fist by his head. Maybe no one else cared enough to help this human get what he needed, but Talon did.
“Because you’re mine , little bird,” he swore, certain Alex was too far gone to hear him now.
He kissed him once more, and then slipped away, covering Alex with the sheet and disappearing into the shadows.