They all had their set of secrets, little nuances hidden away from the rest of the world that they even kept from their nearest and dearest. They all wanted to present themselves as<i>good </i>when that little bit of<i>bad </i>had a tendency to strike a post; it was the imperfections of the world that molded each and every one of them. James wallowed in his own secrets, but at least had thrown most of his fucks out the window when it came to the impact society had on him. Still, when her hand lifted to dab the trickle of blood from his nose, his hand rose so that his fingers curled around her wrist, their calloused tips brushing its soft inside. While the cloth turned red, he pulled her hand back away from his face and shook his head. Gold flashed briefly in the olive depths, drowned by the ironic grin at his lips.<br/><br/>“Don't look at me like that, Lane.” His attention snapped right back to her in sharp focus, the pull of his addiction shoved into the back of his mind. And yet, it did linger there on the peripheral, a sharp hunger that knew how to leave him shaking and cold in his own skin until he alleviated it. There was a different kind of rattle he felt now. His bones ached and his chest was tight. He felt as worn down as his features suggested he was, leaving his eyes the only sign of radiance left in the youthful visage that seemed to have aged by ten years.<br/><br/>Whatever he had done to awaken her own being had taken some of the mojo out of himself. Keeping his fingers wrapped around her wrist, he rose from his chair and shoved the bowl out of the way with his other hand. Tugging gently, he guided her to her own feet and pulled her in against his chest, face turning down to nuzzle against the crown of her head. His lips pressed there, then he spoke.<br/><br/>“You've already helped me, Ms. Barnes. Now to take what we discovered tonight and see what we can smite out of thin air with it. Can you feel the wings?” They might have been gone now, but if he reached deep down, he could feel the hum of her power stronger than before.<br/><br/>Groaning, he slid his free hand around the curve of her hip and brought her against him. Underneath what she had just seen, there was still rock hard muscle woven over his trim frame; he wore youth still like a cloak to hide the rest. Teasing, his fingers dipped under the hem of her shirt to touch warm skin underneath, caressing it. “Why don't you come back to my bedroom this time to talk?”<br/><br/>The lewd grin was a tease, worn on his face when he pulled back from the fresh scent of her hair to look her in the eye. Around the fine creases of his mouth and eyes, the banter hid the fact that the man in front of her was worn out from their brief experience and the prompt to retire to the bedroom half an excuse to simply curl up with her and rest.<br/><br/>“Come with me, Lane, then I'll tell you a story about a man who has lived too long past his prime but is too much of a stubborn ass to roll over and die.” His mouth descended with his words to latch onto her plush tiers. The stubble on his chin scraped her softer skin as he turned his head to deepen his stolen affection.