17. Talon
Chapter 17
Talon
Talon swept a hand up and down Alex’s pliant body, tickling through the coarse hair on his chest and stomach. He couldn’t seem to stop touching him. It took effort to tear his eyes away from Alex’s body and focus on the direction his thoughts were traveling, thinking back on what Alex had told him downstairs.
They’d seen Alex entering In Extremis. Was it a coincidence they were in the area, or were they there intentionally?
“Do you think the paladins are watching the club?” he asked. “Or following you?”
Alex tilted his head. “We’ve never watched the club specifically, as far as I know, but we patrol the area nearby regularly. Different squads rotate out each week. They might’ve just recognized me as I went in. I wasn’t exactly focused on my surroundings. The drive there was kind of a blur. I could’ve walked right by them and I probably wouldn’t have noticed.” He paused, frowning. “As for following me… I don’t think so? I’m just a lowly little peon, really. There’s never been a case in my lifetime where someone disobeyed a direct order. They had no reason to believe I would disobey before, and now that I’m suspended, I’m sure Sloan thinks the matter has been dealt with. He’s, uh—he’s not used to anyone disobeying him.”
“He sounds arrogant,” Talon remarked.
“Mm, he probably is. He’s been the commander for about twenty years now, I think. He’s a powerful man. Powerful men are usually arrogant, aren’t they?”
Talon cleared his throat, smirking. “Yes, we are.”
Alex chortled, swatting him. “Oh, please.”
Talon snatched his hand and nipped at his fingertips. “His loss is my gain. And as for the club, I should probably warn someone that there’s a chance paladins could be hanging around. At least they didn’t try to run in after you that night.”
Alex hummed. “Maybe they did. We didn’t exactly stick around long, did we?”
No, that’s right, they hadn’t. He’d immediately wanted to take Alex away from the prying eyes and gossiping natures of the halflings in the club, take Alex somewhere where they could be alone.
“They could’ve gone in after me, and we wouldn’t have known. You’d have to ask your demon friends to find out.”
Talon sighed contentedly. “But why, when I could stay here with you instead?”
Alex chuckled, snuggling closer.
“I’ll text Wolf later, let him know to keep an eye out. He can tell whoever he thinks should know. Storm and Lilith, probably.”
“Storm is the bouncer, right? With the white hair?”
“That’s right.”
“Who’s Lilith?”
“She owns the club. She doesn’t like to be seen mingling with the commoners. If she’s at In Extremis, she’s usually up in her office. But mostly, she lets the place run in her absence. It’s been running for two hundred years, and hell, Wolf’s been the bartender almost that long. They don’t need her to hover in order to do their jobs.” She didn’t care for him, but they could put aside their differences when necessity dictated. Probably.
Alex tilted his head back to peer up at him. “That bar is two hundred years old? Really?”
“It’s moved around over the years, but yes, In Extremis has existed for a long time. It’s been in the current location for… maybe thirty years.”
Alex hummed with interest.
“What will happen if they find out you’re disobeying orders?” he asked, his grip tightening around Alex. He didn’t like the idea of his human being punished, and he didn’t trust the guild to be fair and understanding.
“I don’t know. Extend the suspension? It won’t matter as long as I can kill the mozgoran. That’s the only thing I care about.” He paused. “Well—okay, maybe not the only thing.” He cast a shy gaze up at Talon.
Warmth spread through him, and he took a slow breath to calm the sudden thundering of his heart. “I know what you mean, little bird. I feel the same. I’ll help you kill this demon, and then we’ll have time for us.” His fingers brushed the shallow cut on Alex’s chest. He still couldn’t believe he’d done that, had willingly fed the beast. Alex didn’t avoid the reality of Talon’s nature. He didn’t shy from the fact he was a demon. It made Talon want to keep him all the more. He belonged to Talon, and he would never let him go.
Without looking at him, Alex asked thoughtfully, “Can demons love?”
Talon wasn’t sure. He’d never really thought about it. “What is love?”
Alex huffed out a laugh, like Talon had countered with a question he didn’t have the answer to. “I guess it’s… wanting to be with someone. Wanting them to be yours and wanting to belong to them. Wanting to spend time together and look after each other. Keep each other safe. Make each other happy.”
Talon tilted his head in thought. “I feel all those things for you. Maybe that’s what this is. Maybe I love you.”
He said it matter-of-factly, but maybe that was the wrong thing to say, because Alex stiffened in his arms.
“Is that bad?” Talon asked. “Do you not want me to love you? Or is it something else? Is it because I’m not human?”
“No, shut up.” Alex rolled over quickly, swinging a leg across Talon’s lap to straddle him and clamping a hand over his mouth to stop him from asking any more questions. “Give me a minute.”
To Talon’s horror, Alex’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He tugged at Alex’s wrist, lightly, and when Alex shook his head, he sighed. How was he supposed to make this better if Alex wouldn’t let him talk? He hooked his hands under Alex’s knees, pulling him closer and petting him with slow, soothing strokes from knee to hip and back.
Alex sniffled as he gathered his thoughts, and Talon was this close to nipping his palm when he finally spoke.
“I have this one memory from when I was a kid. Mom and Dad tucking me in at night. She kissed my cheek, and Dad kissed my forehead and turned out the light. I had a night-light, and the hallway light was on, so I could still see them. Smiling at me from the doorway. At the same time, they said, ‘love you, Alex.’ And I laughed, because I thought it was funny they said it in unison.”
A tear trickled down his cheek, and Talon gently thumbed it away, confused but willing to wait now that Alex was using his words.
“Nobody since then has ever told me they loved me. I’ve heard Jesus loves me until I wanted to tear my hair out, because it’s just not the same, y’know?” His hand fell away, finally giving Talon permission to speak again.
“No,” he said with a laugh. “But I get it. Being told that a distant—” he paused, casting about for the right word, “— entity loves you isn’t the same as having someone be physically there for you.”
“Right. Jesus won’t hug me when I’m sad or lonely.” Alex smiled through the tears then. “But you do. And hearing you say so bluntly that you do think you love me was just… kind of a shock.”
“A good shock?” Talon asked carefully.
Alex nodded, his eyes gleaming. “Yeah.”
“Good.” He flipped them, rolling on top of Alex and looming over him. “I was born in the fires of Hell,” he growled dramatically, “just for you.” He kissed Alex sweetly, just to hear him laugh. The sound tasted sweet, and he lingered there, kissing for as long as Alex would let him.
Breathless, Alex eventually tore himself away. “I like the sound of that.”
Satisfaction simmered through Talon. This was what he wanted. This was all he wanted. Alex, with him, forever.
“So, you up for a drive down to Irvine?” Alex asked.
Talon hummed thoughtfully, sliding a hand down between Alex’s legs to his sticky entrance. “I don’t know. Do you think you can walk yet?” He smeared slow, open-mouthed kisses across Alex’s collar and the curve of his muscled shoulder.
Alex’s breath went shallow, and his spent cock gave an interested twitch. “Uh, despite my body’s best efforts, I think I’ll need more recovery time than this if you want me to get it up again.”
Talon muffled his snicker against Alex’s skin. “Fine. I suppose we can go to Irvine. I’m driving, though.”
Alex beamed at him and rolled from the bed. “Fine with me. I just need to get my weapons from my car.”
Talon couldn’t mask his noise of distaste as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He wasn’t a fan of those holy blades. They were the only weapons on this plane that could kill him.
Alex laughed brightly, drawing his face up and kissing him softly. “Don’t worry, Tal, they won’t be anywhere near you.”
“I wasn’t worried,” Talon said, hoping his shiver of delight at the nickname went unnoticed. The minute Alex realized how much power he had over Talon, the power imbalance would truly shift away from him for good.
Dressed once more, they made their way downstairs. In the lobby, they split up, Alex going out to his car on the street while Talon picked up his car from the parking lot around the corner.
When his sleek black sports car purred to a stop beside Alex’s sensible sedan, he rolled down the window and whistled at the jean-clad ass sticking out of the driver’s side door. Alex whirled around, his face crimson.
He emerged with a sheathed sword, darting a suspicious look around the street before he transferred it to Talon’s car, tucking it into the small backseat. He locked the sedan and Talon immediately reached over, resting his hand on Alex’s thigh as he shot off into traffic.
After a few quiet blocks, he said, “You drive like a maniac.”
“I drive like I can’t die in a car accident.”
Alex hummed sagely. “I can, you know.”
Talon took his foot off the gas so quickly the car lurched. That was something Talon hadn’t thought about—hadn’t let himself think about. Alex was human, and humans inevitably did things like get hurt, get sick, die. There were ways to delay it, to stop it, but would Alex even want that? If he didn’t, how would Talon cope with one day losing him?
Alex’s hand covered his, and he realized his hand had tightened like a vise around Alex’s thigh. He relaxed, promising himself he would kiss those finger-shaped bruises later. “Sorry.”
Alex smiled bashfully. “You really do care, don’t you?” The words were teasing, but there was a sincere glimmer in Alex’s ocean blue eyes.
He growled. “I told you how I feel about you. Whether you choose to believe me is on you.”
Alex’s free hand wrapped around his wrist, and the other remained over his, fingers tangling with Talon’s. “You’re right. You’re just… so different from what I was taught to believe about demons.”
Talon slanted a smirk at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should. They were definitely not complimentary in Demonology 101. They also said nothing about stamina .”
Talon barked out a laugh.