Page 91 of The Fallen
I swallowed, listening to his explanation. It wasn't exactly comforting.
"The more you see me, the more I become physical. The more we talk andtouch."
I shut my eyes.
"Oh shit... so that was why you were feeling me. To get more powerful. Not because you couldn't resist, huh?"
I tried to laugh it off, but I felt oddly embarrassed.
"That's fine. My head was getting too big. I needed this ego puncture."
He didn't even say anything, he just tilted his head, and I knew he didn't get it.
"I thought," I began, cheeks heating, "that you were fixated on me specifically for some reason. Because you were drawn to me or something."
He stared at me for a long while and then nodded.
"Yes. Exactly... I could have continued to fade from earth. I could have returned to the darkness, but I remained here. I stayed until I became stronger. Until I could be seen and felt."
I blinked, nerves suddenly erupting in my stomach. Oh, okay, so he really had chosen me over wherever else he was from.
"How long did that take?" I asked.
"Many years."
It was a vague answer, but it made me think back. My first sleep paralysis experience was when I was a child. Had he been watching me even back then?
I swallowed and rolled onto my back, head reeling.
"Did you like that, last night?" I asked.
I wasn't sure why I did, but it came out of my mouth without any prompting. Truthfully, it had been on my mind all day.
"I haven't slept that well in ages," I informed him when he didn't respond.
Glancing over, he hadn't moved. He was always so still, but why didn't it bother me anymore?
"Want to do it again?" I asked.
The question was barely out of my mouth when he was suddenly right next to me.
I jumped, and before I could let out a breathy laugh, he was touching me.
"Eager?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
Heart pounding, I sat up and pulled my T-shirt over my head. He let go while I did.
Then, I did the one thing I had never done in his presence. With a steadying breath, I stood to face him.
He didn't draw back even though we ended up close enough that his rough robes brushed against my skin.
For a moment, I looked into his dark hood. Even this close, I couldn't make anything out.
Reaching down, I shoved my boxers off my hips, letting them fall around my ankles.
"Okay," I said softly. "I'm all yours. You can do what you want."
