Lux awoke the next morning in what she would call a precarious situation. She lay on her side, with her nose and lips pressed against what she soon recognized to be the firm flesh of a muscled bicep. Her eyes fluttered open, offering her a view of a certain assassin holding the dusty tome, eyes fixed on the page. It was then that Lux realized the location of her own hand, which was resting beneath a white cotton shirt on the man's rock hard abs, dangerously close to the elastic band of his boxers.
With a start, she jerked her hand away from his flesh and sat up instantly. Her face was so incredibly red Lux thought it must have been radiating heat. She looked down at the assassin with an open mouth, hoping to offer some words of explanation, but she could only conjure undecipherable sounds.
Talon turned away from his book and Lux could immediately tell he was failing in his attempt to hide his smile.
"Quite the vixen, aren't you?" His teasing voice did little to calm the blonde.
In a fit of rage and extreme embarrassment, Lux chucked her pillow at the assassins face. It connected with his skin with a satisfying whooshing sound. Talon peeled the pillow away, revealing a look sinister enough to rival his sister's.
"So you want to fight?" He taunted, setting his book down on the nightstand.
Lux's eyes went wide as she had barely enough time to dodge the pillow flying towards her head. She tumbled off the bed and hit the floor with a loud thud. Without a second thought, she grabbed the pillow Talon had just chucked at her and threw it right back at him.
Standing, she braced herself for another oncoming pillow. Once at full height she saw a tall assassin standing across from her, pillow in hand, ready to return fire.
"This is so juvenile!" Lux whined as she examined Talon's every move.
He remained still, but continued to provoke her. "What, afraid you will lose?"
"Please." She waved his comment away with her hand. "I've been to far more sleepovers than you have."
"I wouldn't assume that." The assassin said as he readied the bundle of feathers. "I have two younger sisters."
Lux barely had enough time to squeak out the word "pervert" before a pillow came hurling towards. Deftly, she dodged the object, then ducked to pick it back up.
"You missed." The blonde stated, just before throwing the pillow back at the assassin.
He caught it easily in his palm.
"Calm down, Lucy." He said with a satisfied smirk. "We don't have time for these silly games."
Talon laid the pillow back down on the bed and stalked over to the trunk of clothes.
"What?" Lux said with an exasperated voice. "You were the one goading me into playing!"
"You've told plenty more convincing lies than that one." He said with laughing eyes. "Get your stuff packed, the boat is about to dock."
"Ugh!" The blonde cried out as she began to collect her things. "You'd make a great lawyer."
"Somehow, that didn't seem like a compliment." The assassin noted.
"It wasn't." The mage grumbled as she tucked Kat's clothes and When Life Gives You Lemons into her suitcase, readying for the trip ashore to Bilgewater.
Lux was pleasantly surprised to find that West Harbor was actually far more attractive a city than she had originally pictured. It reminded her starkly of the red light district in Demacia, which, by the way, was in no way similar to the red light district in Noxus. West Harbor, much like the red light district in Demacia, was full of neon lights and fast food joints. Casinos were scattered all around the area, and with them, card sharks, gamblers, ladies of the night, and anyone else just looking for a good time.
The streets were quite crowded, making it somewhat difficult for Lux to follow behind Talon. Eventually, the mage and the assassin approached one of the more lavish looking casinos in the area, Vita Sub Rosa. A bellhop graciously held the door open for the duo, and offered to take care of Lux's suitcase.
"If I may, miss?" The young man smiled. Lux thought he couldn't have been older than eighteen.
"Oh, I'm alright," She smiled gratefully at the boy. "Thank you, though."
Lux noticed a small blush crest the bellhop's face and immediately felt more than a little embarrassed.
"Now you've done it." She heard the assassin say as soon as they were out of the boy's earshot.
"What have I done?" Lux looked curiously up at Talon. Her eyes drifted towards his jaw, where the startings of a beard prickled his skin. She couldn't help but notice that the stubble was awfully attractive on the man.
"You've given him hope." Talon practically snorted a laugh. "A smile like that? He'll never get over you now."
"I think you're over-exaggerating." The mage dismissed his comment.
"We'll see who's right when he presents you with a rose and begs you to take his virginity."
"Ugh." Lux looked back at the kid, who was helping a family of five with their belongings. "You're so crude."
The mage couldn't help but think that if the boy was just a few years older, around twenty-one, he would be just her type. Tall, lean, dazzling eyes…
"Don't tell me you're considering it?" Talon asked with a slightly disgusted expression.
"Of course not!" The mage responded quickly. "I'm no cougar. Were he a few years older..."
"He's probably not that many years your younger than I am your senior."
Whipping her head back at the assassin, Lux gave him a scrutinizing look.
"How old are you?" She wondered aloud.
"How old do you think?" He asked curiously.
To be perfectly honest, Lux hadn't thought about it. She had just took it for granted that the man was somewhere around her own age.
"Twenty-five?" She ventured a guess.
"Twenty-six." He corrected. "And you're what, nineteen?"
"Nineteen?" Lux was shocked. "I don't seriously look nineteen, do I?"
Talon shrugged. "I'm not the one attracting fifteen year olds."
Huffing, Lux corrected the assassin. "I'm twenty-two, thank you very much."
The assassin waved off her comment before leaving her with one final request while he turned to the check-in table. "Watch the bags, will you?"
Lux sat down on a couch in the lobby, with the suitcases, taking a moment to consider how young she actually looked. It was true, she did have a cute heart-shaped face and those wide blue eyes that made most men think of innocence, but generally the blonde felt that her demeanor was too, well, old to belong to a nineteen year old. Then again, she had been in a pillow fight earlier that morning.
She watched the assassin negotiate with the front desk and began to wonder what other assumptions he had made about her. Part of the reason she had been so successful the past three months is because she truly did look the part of a secretary. Talon likely thought she was the cookie-cutter, husband-seeking young lady she appeared to be. There was also no doubt in her mind that he thought she was a virgin. Most people thought she was, and if he thought she was nineteen, there was no way he'd be one of the few to assume otherwise.
A little known fact about the youngest Crownguard was that she had, in fact, lost her maidenhood at, wouldn't you know it, the ripe age of nineteen. She had been in a long term relationship with Ezreal in college, and the two had intended to wait until marriage for sex, but then Ezreal was called off to Shurima and their desires could wait no more. The night before he left, the explorer offered Lux the most romantic night she had ever experienced. She really did treasure that memory, but their relationship had soon after ended as Ezreal continued to explore the world and Lux was sent into Noxus for espionage.
A rough voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Let's go." The assassin said as he picked up a suitcase and headed for the elevators.
Lux followed behind, rushing to catch up with the man who took such long strides.
As the duo entered the elevator, Lux noticed Talon was carrying a case of poker chips.
"Figures you would be a gambler." She muttered.
"Kat bought these for us." He added with a smirk, "It would be rude not to use them."
"You could just cash them in." She offered.
The assassin laughed. "And where's the fun in that?"
"It's better than losing all of it." She frowned disapprovingly.
"Please." Talon pretended to look offended. "I am actually a respectably good gambler."
"There's nothing respectable about it." Lux retorted. "I bet, sooner or later, some asshole you owe money to, because you aren't a good gambler, will come around and steal the little you do earn."
"Just because I wasn't a good gambler long ago doesn't mean I'm not good anymore." He argued. "Besides, the fellas I owe money to are long gone."
"You killed them?" She asked, shocked. But, considering his profession, it was not all that surprising.
"Most of them." he answered casually.
"What do you mean most of them?"
"There's one or two I haven't seen in awhile, haven't had the chance to kill them."
"Oh so you'd rather kill them than pay them what you owe?" She raised an eyebrow.
The assassin just smirked. "Of course."
"See, this is why I don't gamble. I'll probably shop or something."
"With what money?"
Talon had a really good point. Lux was pretty broke. Sure she had brought a pouch of fifteen silver along with her like she always did, for emergencies, but it was not nearly enough to go shopping.
"I guess you'll have to gamble too." The assassin added with a laugh.
Lux frowned, not much soothed by his comment as the elevator ground to a halt on the 10th floor. The duo stepped out and Talon led the way to their suite.
Upon entrance, Lux was duly impressed by the suite Katarina had booked for them. At the south end there was a little kitchenette and an island counter. Directly across from the door was a balcony, closed and shielded by gossamer curtains. A loveseat was placed against the north wall, and next to it, a sliding door marked the entrance to what Lux could only assume was the bedroom.
Lux walked over to the sliding door and pushed it open to reveal a plushly decorated bed. On the east side of the room she saw yet another room that let to a bathroom containing one item Lux was particularly delighted to see, a jacuzzi tub.
Sighing contently, Lux returned to the main room to announce her plans for the day to the assassin.
"I'm going to take a bath." She said decidedly.
The assassin grunted in acknowledgement as he continued unpacking their luggage.
"Then I think I'll read for the rest of the day. Do you have a room key for me in case I should like to leave?"
Talon handed her a silver key before stating his own plans. "I'll be going down to the poker hall shortly. If you need anything, you can find me there."
Although the assassin casually left the room, leaving Lux to her own thoughts and privacy, it failed to cross the mage's mind to seize this golden moment of opportunity and flee for safety. Instead, she headed back to the bathroom, barely able to contain her excitement for the bath. So Lux turned on the hot water and stripped, prepared to dip into the serene warmth and escape her thoughts.
Sometime around six in the evening Lux found herself growing rather bored. Talon still hadn't returned, and she could only assume he was doing pretty well down at the dealer's den. Flopping on her stomach, Lux shoved When Life Gives You Lemons aside, both delighted in its stories and frustrated that she had finished the masterpiece. It did not take the mage very long to decide her next course of action.
What she really wanted was another book. Considering the neighborhood she was currently hold up in, it would be difficult to find such an item, but if she could somehow find one, it would likely be the smutty literature she was looking for. Still, the fact that she had no money came back to haunt her.
Hauling herself out of bed, Lux walked over to her suitcase and rummaged through for an appropriate cocktail dress, if such a thing existed. She found a particularly cute one with a black heart-shaped bodice, a flared peach skirt, and a little silver bow placed above the left breast. She completed the ensemble with hose and Katarina's pair of silver pumps that, by chance, fit rather well.
After taking a moment to pin up her hair in a messy chic fashion, Lux examined her figure in the mirror, thoroughly satisfied. She then set off toward the poker hall in search of the one man who held the money she was looking for.
Surprisingly, it did not take Lux very long to find the assassin in the dealer's den. She found him sitting at a poker table, wearing black slacks, a black tie, a black vest, and a white button down. Despite herself, Lux could not help but think that he looked rather handsome in the ensemble.
Daintly the blonde approached the table and tapped the assassin lightly on the shoulder, commanding his attention. He looked curiously up at her, setting aside his cards. For a second Lux thought she saw the assassin blush.
"And who might this be?" A man at the table teasingly asked.
"Must be his sweetheart." Added another. "She's a cutie."
Ignoring the men, Lux leaned in towards Talon's ear, desiring to keep their conversation private. She felt a cool breeze brush over the tops of her exposed breasts, and she was fairly certain the assassin was having difficulty focusing on her face.
"I should like to ask a favor of you." Lux whispered in his ear.
"What's that?" Talon asked in a voice that Lux could only describe as husky.
"If I help you with your game, will you give me thirty silver to buy something with?"
The assassin paused. "You can be my luck if that is what you are asking."
The breath in her throat hitch as he said 'my luck'. A blush began to crawl up her neck.
"Sure." She agreed. "For thirty silver."
"Alright." Talon replied as he slid his chair out a touch, offering her his knee for seating.
Carefully, Lux sat herself down on the assassin's thigh, allowing her back to brush up against his chest. Talon's hand came to rest around her waist, while the other picked up the cards. She could feel his hot breath bouncing against off the back of her neck, and for a second the mage thought she had made a mistake.
But the card playing soon resumed and the embarrassment Lux had been feeling from sitting in such an intimate position soon disappeared. The men completed their round and, from the looks of it, Talon won.
"Do you know how to play this game?" The assassin breathed in her ear.
Lux shook her head "no", unable to conjure any words.
"So, at the start of the round, each person is dealt two cards." He gestured towards the two cards that were placed in front of him. "If you want to play a particular round, you must pay what is called an ante, usually something small like two copper, before you are dealt in.
"Once you ante up, you receive your cards and then the initial betting begins."
Peering curiously down at his cards, Lux saw that he had the queen hearts and the king of spades.
She watched as Talon put forth a blue chip.
"Right now I'm matching that fellow's bet." He nodded towards a man sitting across the table.
"See, he thinks he has a good hand, and by matching his bet, I am venturing that my hand is as good as his, if not better."
Then, the dealer flopped six cards down on the table, half right side up and the other upside down, alternating between orientation.
"That round's betting is done, and now the dealer has flipped the first three cards." Talon explained. "We'll bet again, with the added information. Ultimately, a hand is decided by your best set of five cards, from the two you are dealt and the five that will eventually be placed on the table."
Lux nodded as the men began to bet again. She noticed that Talon had bet a black piece, which seemed to draw some hesitation from the other men.
"Is that one particularly expensive?" She asked about the black chip, as she turned her face towards Talon's, leaning to his ear. Lux felt the hand on her waist stiffen some.
"It's worth one gold." He replied quietly.
"Goodness." Lux remarked, before turning back to the table.
The mage watched for some time as the men bet and traded, each trying to fool the other out of money. Lux began to become familiar with the idea of bluffing, which she saw Talon pull off from time to time. At some moments, she even saw the hesitation in other men.
One time she tapped on Talon's knee as she noticed another man bet rather high on something she thought he seemed unsure about.
The assassin leaned in, as if expecting her to say something. But if there was one thing Lux knew about casinos, it was that they were particularly unrelenting when it came to cheating. So, she let her next words to Talon remain cryptic in nature.
Turning her head once again towards the assassins ear, she whispered. "You smell nice."
Talon inaudibly cleared his throat, and then regarded her curiously.
"I wouldn't lie about that." She put a little emphasis on the word lie. Once again, she tapped his knee, in an effort to convey her secret message.
"Flirting with me, Lucy?" The assassin whispered back.
A blush crept up her neck and the mage began to worry that he had not received her message.
"You saw right through me." The mage replied, hoping to keep the theme of tricks in her wordplay. "It's like you read my mind."
As the words "read my mind" crossed her lips, she tapped again on the assassin's knee.
Talon seemed to catch her drift as he placed a hefty bet on the table, challenging the bluffer.
Lux watched as the men continued to bet, her forehead still pressed against Talon's neck, back angled slightly away from his chest. More rounds were played and eventually Lux got in the habit of tapping his knee every time she thought she saw a bluff. He did not always go along with her cues, but for the most part he seemed to understand what she was getting at.
The mage just about found herself falling into slumber until she felt a light finger trail along her spine. Talon's hand feathered over the bare skin of her back, almost mindlessly, drawing Lux into a greater sense of comfort. The drowsiness continued to sweep over the mage, until a firm thumb pressed lightly into the muscle underneath her scapula, rolling over a knot of stress lingering in her back. He repeated the motion again, earning the smallest of sighs from Lux, only audible to Talon's own ears. But the sandman had already sprinkled dust on her eyes, and she was too tired to bother him about the gesture.
Lux was abruptly woken by a firm pair of her hands lifting her up and setting her on her feet. With a startled cry, she looked back at the perpetrator, a surprisingly familiar Talon, who was gathering his chips and readying to leave the table. Reality began to return to the mage as she followed Talon over to the cashing counter. As she watched the assassin receive his coins, Lux remembered her true purpose in going to the gambling hall.
"I want my thirty silver." She stated, staring coolly at Talon.
He withdrew a gold piece and tossed it at her. Lux looked surprisingly down at the coin. That was far more generosity than she expected from the assassin.
"Don't get your hopes up." He replied in a hard voice. "You're paying for dinner."
"Dinner?" The mage asked curiously. "It's nine at night!"
Talon shrugged. "I'm hungry."
Once she took a moment to think about, Lux realized that she, in fact, was starving. Looking back at the assassin, she gestured for him to lead the way.
The duo made their way to another end of a casino, where a tropical themed bar took up residence. Lux followed Talon to a circular, plush booth where the assassin sat in a sigh of relaxation. The blonde sat down not quite across from him, but not quite next to him either. Menus were already placed on the table, allowing Lux to peruse through the nutrition options, but the more she looked, the less she felt like eating anything healthy.
It was not long before the waitress came and took their order.
"So what'll it be for you, handsome?" She said with a flirtatious smile, looking deep into Talon's eyes.
"I'll just have the steak burger, and a beer." He replied nonchalantly, handing her a menu.
"And you?" She turned to Lux, offering her a less than pleasant expression.
Although the mage was pretty offended by the faults in the customer service, she replied with a sweet voice. "Strawberry cheesecake and a glass of milk, if you don't mind."
"Cheesecake, really?" Talon asked as the waitress sashayed away.
"It's past dinner time." The mage explained. "I want dessert."
Talon shrugged away her comment as he stared into the bar. Lux sat in contemplation for a few moments, watching people buzz around the bar. Though it was definitely past dinner time, the restaurant was full of life. Lux realized that it probably didn't quiet down until the middle of night, if it ever quieted.
Eventually the waitress returned with their drinks, handing Lux her milk with a look that could only be described as sour.
"She doesn't seem very nice." Lux commented as soon as the waitress was out of earshot.
"She was perfectly kind to me." Talon replied as he sipped on his beer.
"That's because you're attractive." The blonde said before she could catch herself. A pink blush bloomed in her cheeks as she realized her error.
Cautiously, she lifted her eyes to meet Talon's, but she was not met with the smug look she expected to see. Instead she was met with a pair of inexplicably dark eyes as the man sipped on is drink. As he set the bottle down, Lux thought for a moment she saw his eyes drift to her lips, but perhaps that was her own imagination.
Neither one said anything for some time, and Lux resigned to count the knots in the wood table. It wasn't until the assassin made a curious observation that Lux was drawn from her inner thoughts.
"Well," Talon half-laughed. "Figures I was bound to see him at one point or another."
Lux casually turned her head to look at the man who Talon had been referring to, expecting to see some nondescript drunk gambler ready to unwisely collect his debts. Instead, she was met with the sight of an unfortunately familiar bearded man, wearing his signature cowboy hat. One of the few saving graces, Lux thought, of going to Bilgewater was that there was practically nobody who knew her identity and would betray it. Turns out, she was wrong. Twisted Fate had spent just enough time in Demacia to know her name and her face.
"Shit." The blonde whispered as she watched the gambler gain.
Panic surged through the mage as she tried to think of a way out of this situation. Sure, she could leave just fine, but she could not be certain Twisted Fate wouldn't mention her name to the Demacian-hating assassin beside her. Ultimately, she needed to remove both her and Talon from the situation at hand. It was then that an incredibly absurd idea crossed the mage's mind.
Talon looked down at the mage, curious about her little panic spell. Lux, however, transformed her fearful face into the best representation of a seductress she could conjure. Inching over beside him, she started to trace her delicate finger along the assassin's vest.
"Play along, will you?" She asked, looking up at the man with sparkling eyes.
The mage moved closer still, and in a quiet voice said, "That's one man I don't want to see today."
Lux felt Talon's eyes scanning her face, hesitating on her lips, and soon the mage began to feel the world float away. Perhaps it was her own hidden desires for the assassin that made her do what she did next, or maybe it was the growing tension and flirtations that caused her to act on impulse. Regardless of the reason, the mage made her move, knowing it was her best, and only, chance to keep Twisted Fate at bay.
With two small hands, Lux grabbed hold of the rogue's collar and pulled his lips down to hers, hoping to everything good in the world that Talon would go along with her scheme.
For a very long second Lux thought she was a dead woman. The assassin sat still, rigid and unyielding, making no move to respond to her action. Lux just about withdrew from him until a muscular arm snaked around her waist and the assassin returned her desperate kiss. He moved against her pliant lips in a way Lux could only describe as hungry, and when he breathed hot air into her mouth just before slipping his tongue inside, the mage completely forgot about their surroundings and her mission to escape a Twisted Fate.
Talon's free hand came to rest at the nape of her neck, holding her head in position as he plundered her mouth. Lux unconsciously wound a hand in his hair, gripping his scalp almost painfully. As if the two inches between the couple was too far a distance, a firm hand moved up her back, pressing her even closer to the assassin she was ardently kissing.
Her lips moved against his, eyebrows pulled together as he kissed her in a way that left her dizzy and thoughtless. Then, the assassin moved his attentions to her bottom lip as his mouth encompassed the flesh, sucking gently. Lux let loose the smallest of sighs, a sweet appreciation of his treatment.
But the sound was enough to wake the mage from that dream of a kiss. She pulled away gently, unraveling herself from his hold, flushed, flustered, and at a loss of words.
The two sat there for what seemed like ages, Lux staring up at the assassin with a confused brow and slightly dropped jaw, and Talon regarding the mage with a very dark look.
"My, my." An accented man interrupted, barely able to contain his smirk. "That kiss was hotter than the afternoon sands of Shurima."
Lux looked up, shocked to see that her kissing scheme had not deterred Twisted Fate from paying them a visit.
"I have to wonder though," Twisted Fate said with a curious brow, staring down at Lux, "What you are doing kissing the likes of Talon Du Couteau."
"He's, um." Lux stammered, unsure of how to talk her way out of this situation. At this point, she would accept literally anything that came out of the gambler's mouth so long as he didn't mention her true name.
"We're…" She started again, trying to finish a thought that had no ending.
"Doesn't matter." The card shark said with a shrug. "My quarrel is not with you, Crownguard."
The second that fateful name crossed Twisted Fate's lips Lux could feel Talon's cold eyes burning into her. An intense feeling of fear settled within her, and she now realized she had to try her best to keep Twisted Fate around, lest she be left with a bloodthirsty assassin.
"Talon, on the other hand," Twisted Fate turned on the assassin. "You, sir, owe me three gold."
"Take it." Talon ground out, handing the man three gold coins all the while refusing to take his eyes off of Lux.
"Very well." The accented man accepted his payment. "I'll leave you two to it then. I'm sure you would like to be left in the comfort of each other's company."
"No," Lux squeaked, but it was too late. The card shark had already turned and left, leaving Lux to deal with the man beside her.
"Crownguard." Talon repeated in a dark tone that sent shivers down Lux's spine.
She sat there, feeling the heat of his stare, wondering how long it would take a trained killer to deal with her. Five seconds passed and the assassin still had not moved, but instead continued to glare, making Lux wonder what on earth she was supposed to do.
Daring to face the assassin, Lux turned her gaze toward Talon and stared defiantly in his eyes. Where she had been expecting to see rage and bloodthirst, she instead found an unreadable expression, dark and intense, as if the assassin himself did not know what to do.
In a strange moment of heroism, Lux took her life in her own hands. Without a second thought, she elbowed the assassin in the stomach, slipped under the table, and ran like nobody's business.
It did not take the blonde long to make it out of the casino. She tried to recall the directions to Ezreal's hotel, silently commending herself for having taken the time to memorize the location. She rounded the first corner after coming out of the casino, heading towards the wharf. A moment of panic shot through the mage as her high heel slipped against the slick pavement, slippery from the evening rain. She recovered gracefully, keeping her momentum, but wary of her unforgiving shoes.
Droplets pounded against her skin as she ran. The mage threw a glance over her shoulder to see if Talon was still following. A wave of relief swept over her for the slightest of moments when she did not initially see the assassin, but then her keen eyes spotted him amongst the crowd of people, still making an effort to catch her.
The mage continued, heading towards Butcher's Bridge, and eventually Lux found herself venturing close to Ezreal's hotel. She tried her best to duck, weave, and trick Talon as she moved through the crowds, but as she turned a corner down a dark alleyway that seemed to be the most direct route to Ezreal's place, could still feel the assassin's eyes on her.
With the last bit of stamina she had, Lux charged down the alleyway, hoping to make it to the other end before Talon could gain. She knew that just around the side would be the entrance and from there she would be relatively safe, with bellhops, concierges, and hopefully Ezreal himself to save her.
But, as fate would have it, Lux, in all her hurry in the rainy streets of Bilgewater, feet raw from running in pumps, tripped fatally in the dark alley way. She hit the concrete hard, barely having enough time to brace herself with her hands. Frantically, she tried to lift herself up, some overly optimistic part of her thinking she could still escape the assassin.
Lux didn't have time to even process the situation as Talon gripped her shoulders hard, roughly slamming her against the wall. A pocket knife shifted against her throat while a firm hand kept her shoulder pressed against the stone. She felt the assassin's cool breath bouncing off her skin, and in a final moment of peace, Lux said her goodbyes to the world.
But the death she had been expecting did not come. Instead, the assassin stared intensely down at her, still bearing the same dark look he bore in the bar. As she tried to regain her breath, Lux looked back at Talon, trying to understand this cryptic man. It was ridiculous, seeing him there, damp hair and rain droplets trickling down his skin, dressed in nearly formal attire, ready to kill her after the heated moment they had shared just minutes earlier.
Still, Talon remained unmoving. His dark eyes bore into hers, concentrating hard on her face, almost as if he was trying to gather the will to kill her. It was then that Lux saw it. The hesitation. His eyes drifted to her jaw, strands of wet blonde hair plastered to it, then to her chest, heaving from efforts to catch her breath, and finally settled on her lips, parted slightly as the air coursed through them.
The blonde dared to break the silence.
"Ta-" She started, but the thought was left unfinished. His lips came crashing down over hers, a sensation of need coursing through both parties. Lux barely registered Talon slipping his knife back into his pocket before he wrapped his arm around her waist. Her own hands came curling around the assassin's neck, pulling his head down to hers. He responded to her advances, ardently slipping his tongue inside her mouth, earning a small sigh from the mage.
Reacting keenly to the assassin, Lux could feel her breasts press to his chest as she stood flush against him. His arms tightened around her waist as a low growl rumbled through his chest, causing the mage to blush. Talon was making no effort to hide his desire and that sort of unapologetic passion made the blood rush to Lux's head and her knees go weak. His hand shifted up her side and his thumb and continued to slip over the curve of her breast.
As the pad of his digit pressed into her nipple through the black cloth of her bodice, Lux felt the rush of pleasure course through her, and it was only as the heated moan left her mouth that she realized she had conjured any sounds at all. Talon captured her breath in a kiss that Lux could not label as anything other than encompassing. He kissed her so fervently, it was a miracle that Lux processed the thought she had next at all.
She had the upper hand. Lux knew it was low, and she knew it was dishonorable, but she also knew it was necessary. So even though the assassin kissed her so thoroughly, so hungrily, suggesting pleasures far beyond anything Lux had ever experienced, the mage drew on the power within her, and without a second moment of hesitation, kneed the man forcefully in the gut.
A startling grunt of pain erupted from the assassin, and Lux wasted no time in her escape. She ran desperately for the end of the alleyway, ignoring the pain in her feet, the cold on her skin, and the tingling sensation that still coursed through lips, determined to meet the busy boulevard and safety of a hotel while she could. Reaching the street, Lux felt a wave of relief rush over her, knowing she would be safe, or at least, aided, should the assassin continue to pursue her.
The smart part of Lux knew she should head straight for the hotel and call on Ezreal as soon as possible. But the impulsive part of Lux most certainly had control that night, and so without any reasonable explanation, Lux found herself glancing back down the alleyway, hoping to catch one last glimpse of the man she had just shared an incredible moment of passion with.
And one last glimpse she got. Talon stood in the alleyway, shrouded by the shadows, still hunched and holding his stomach, staring back at the curious mage. Though Lux only saw the assassin for the briefest of seconds, shaded thoroughly and almost invisible, his expression was as clear as day. His brow was furrowed, lips pressed in a thin line, staring hard at the mage with intensely dark eyes. In his eyes Lux could sense the lust, the anger, and every other feeling that seemed natural for the assassin, but the emotion that shocked her most was one she had not expected to see. Agony.