Authors: Stacie Simpson
We were just about to the bedroom door when her phone
started vibrating on the table. She tore her lips away from mine and I moved to
her neck, kissing and sucking while she gasped for air.
Breathlessly she said, “I have to get that...” She was
distracted when my tongue traced over her collarbone. She groaned, a sound of
pure frustration. “Rook, the pattern... Oh God don’t do that again.” I’d run my
tongue up her throat and sucked her earlobe between my lips. The phone was
still vibrating in some kind of pattern like Morse code. “Rook, it’s the
station, I have to get that,” she pleaded as I ground my erection between her
legs.
With a frustrated snarl I set her down and ran my hands
through my hair. Angela went to her phone and answered. After a short
conversation she hung up and sank into a chair at the table.
“I have to go to the station now,” she said with a hollow
voice.
Sensing something was very wrong I crouched down in front of
her and brushed her bangs back away from her face. “What’s wrong Angela?”
“I’m not sure, but my lieutenant wants me in her office as
soon as I can get there. She didn’t say what it was about, but I just have this
feeling inside.” She rubbed her chest over her heart.
I kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Come on, I’ll take
you home so you can get your car.”
We didn’t want Rachel to be alone when she woke up so we
asked Serafina and Solomon to stay in the suite while we were gone. They
agreed, and while we waited for them to arrive, Angela wrote Rachel a note
letting her know she was free to order room service and explore the resort, but
she shouldn’t leave the property. Angela was understandably worried about
leaving Rachel but I assured her she’d be in good hands. She searched my face
for a moment, then she nodded and I was happy she trusted my judgment.
When I dropped Angela off I told her I’d be back with
Solomon and Rachel after the sun set for the evening. She said she’d try to
hurry back and I kissed her goodbye before she left for her meeting. As her car
disappeared around the corner I knew deep in my soul that whatever awaited her
was going to be painful, and I vowed to my Goddess that no matter what she
needed when she returned I would be there to help her through that pain.
* * * * *
I sat across from Lieutenant Taggert in her office while she
scrutinized me with narrowed eyes. I tried not to fidget or show any other
signs of stress, but I couldn’t stop the sweat from gathering on my palms.
“Tell me what happened last night,” she said as she leaned
back in her chair with her penetrating gaze focused solely on me.
I met her eyes and spoke with confidence I didn’t really
feel. I knew this was about Rook and it wasn’t going to be pleasant. “When I
arrived at the crime scene I recognized the body as that of Emily Keaton. Emily
had been very close to my daughter Rachel their whole lives and I knew they had
plans to go out together last night. I couldn’t reach Rachel on her phone so I
went to look for her.”
“Did you go alone?” she inquired.
“No, I asked Mr. Delaney to help me look for her.” Inside I
cringed, but outwardly I remained strong, steady.
“Let me get this straight. You found the body of a young
woman who was supposed to be with your daughter and instead of asking the
entire police force to help you look for her; you went to the Myths and Legends
Casino Resort to get their head of security to help you find her. What made you
think he’d know where to look for her?”
“The resort works closely with the shelters and youth
programs around the city to help the kids get off the streets and away from
drugs and prostitution. As you know, Rachel has been in some trouble lately and
I thought she might have been with some of the street kids that Mr. Delaney is
familiar with through his work with the shelters.”
She stood up and paced behind me. “But you must have been
thinking that whoever murdered Emily either had Rachel or had already killed
her as well.”
I swallowed hard while she was behind my back. “Yes Ma’am,
those thoughts did cross my mind.”
“So if you thought she was with the killer and you thought
Mr. Delaney would know where to find her, then that would mean you believed he
knew where to find the person we’ve been searching for.” Her voice was ice cold
and I knew there would be no reasoning with her. From her point of view I’d
betrayed my fellow police officers by going to the enemy for help instead of
them.
“No Ma’am, I did not believe that at all. I simply went to
him for help because I knew that he had good contacts all over this city and
people talk to him that aren’t willing to speak to the police.”
She came back around in front of me and leaned against the
front of her desk. “Detective Ruby, I believe your judgment has been clouded by
spending too much time at that resort. I can’t blame you entirely; I did tell
you to get close to Mr. Delaney to gain his confidence. But at this point the
association has gone too far. Effective immediately you are off this case and
given the grief your family must be feeling over the death of a close friend I’m
putting you on administrative leave until you can speak to one of our
psychologists. Once you’re deemed fit for duty we’ll discuss your caseload and
consider making adjustments to avoid problems like this in the future.”
“Lieutenant Taggert, I do not agree with your assessment of
this incident. I had a problem and used the best resource available to me to
solve it. Might I remind you that it was the same resource you have encouraged
me to use many times to solve crimes including the murders we are currently
investigating. Furthermore, I do not need time off to grieve for my daughter’s
friend,” I said heatedly, unable to hold back the fury burning inside of me.
“Take the time off Angela and think about where your
loyalties lie. I’ll see you here again after you’ve met with a psychologist.”
With that I was dismissed and there was nothing else I could
say. I went to my car and tore out of the parking lot with so many thoughts
swirling around in my head it’s a miracle I didn’t hit anything. They didn’t
even know I was considering a relationship with Rook and I was already being
pushed off the force.
She had no right to do this of course. Even if I moved in
with Rook at the resort I still wouldn’t be doing anything wrong. There’d never
been a single charge filed against anyone at Myths and Legends or the slightest
bit of evidence that proved any wrongdoing on their parts. It didn’t matter
though, I could fight all I wanted to, but my career would still be over. She’d
make certain no one would ever want to work with me again. With a little
coaxing from her they’d all see me as a traitor, someone they couldn’t trust,
and cops needed trust or everything fell apart.
For half a second I felt sorry for myself, but that feeling
was quickly replaced by anger. How dare she try to manipulate me this way? I’d
given everything to her and the force and look what it had gotten me. My
daughter was taking drugs and selling her body for money while I spent more
time at work than I did at home. What kind of life was that? I’d always thought
it was worth it because I was part of a team that worked hard to put some very
bad people behind bars. But now...
Now I saw what all my sacrifices meant to the people I
counted on to stand beside me, and what I saw left me feeling empty inside.
I pulled up in front of my house and slammed the door on the
Mustang when I got out of the car. Once I was inside I changed clothes and
headed straight for the back bedroom where I’d set up my gym equipment. After a
few minutes of warming up I strapped on some gloves and went a few rounds with
the heavy bag. I was still punching and kicking, the fury I felt barely cooled
when I heard the front door open and Rachel called out looking for me.
She came bouncing into the room with Rook and Solomon
following close behind. “Mom, that place is so cool. I can’t believe you never
let me go there before. They have all these stories on the walls that tell
where vampires came from and the pictures are awesome. By Lilith’s there are
images of vampires biting women on the inside of their thighs and over by
Mystique the sexy demons are giving the men blow jobs.”
I put my hand up trying to get her to stop. “That’s enough
Rachel, slow down.” Grabbing a towel I wiped the sweat off my face while I
looked her over. “You seem to be feeling better.”
Pain flashed across her face before she managed to hide it
again. “Yeah, well Serafina and Solomon talked to me about what happened to
Emily and they made me see that it’s not really my fault. I still feel really
bad about what happened to her, and I hope you catch the bastard that did it,
but I’m okay now. She wouldn’t want me to lie around crying all day anyway.”
“No she wouldn’t.” I glanced behind her and Rook caught my
eye indicating he needed to talk to me. “Why don’t you go get some clothes together
Rachel? There’s no school next week for spring break so I think we’ll have a
mini vacation and stay over at Myths and Legends.”
“Really?” She squealed. When I nodded she threw her arms
around my neck and I noticed the surprised expression on Rook’s face where he
stood by the door. Rachel said, “Oh, thank you Mommy, thank you,” then she
rushed off to her bedroom.
Solomon looked from me to Rook then said, “I’m going to
leave you two alone and get started on the wards now.” He was already chanting
in that strange language of his as he strode down the hall.
Rook came further into the room and sat down on the weight
bench. “There was a cop watching your house from across the street when we
drove up. Solomon convinced him he never saw us and put him to sleep.”
I just shook my head, the outrage I’d felt earlier rearing
its head again. I threw a few more punches at the bag, then a couple of kicks.
“What happened at your meeting today Angela,” Rook asked
quietly.
I kept taking my anger and frustration out on the bag when I
answered. “I’m on administrative leave so I can think about where my loyalties
lie.” Another few punches. “That’s not the official reason of course, but that’s
what it comes down to.” A hard kick right where I imagined Lieutenant Taggert’s
beady little eyes would be if she was standing in front of me.
“They didn’t like you coming to me for help instead of them,”
he stated and I heard the edge of a growl in his voice, his anger at the people
who’d wronged me breaking through.
I stopped with my back to him and tore off the gloves. I was
breathing hard and every muscle in my body was screaming with pain. “No they
didn’t. I knew they wouldn’t, but when I thought I might never see Rachel again
it didn’t matter. I wanted you, I needed you, and not just to help me find
Rachel. I needed you to hold me together.”
I hadn’t even heard him move when his strong arms wrapped
around me from behind and I let myself sag against him. He held me tighter and
spoke softly near my ear. “I will always be here for you Angela; no matter what
you need from me I will always do my best to give it to you.”
Turning in his arms I looked up into his star filled eyes. “I
know you will Rook, you’ve always been there for me, and from now on I will
always be there for you too.”
I’d made that decision while I was working out my anger on
the bag. I would no longer make both of us suffer for people who didn’t deserve
my loyalty, for people who would cast me out the first time I made a decision
they didn’t agree with.
A brilliant smile stretched across Rook’s face as the silver
sparks multiplied in his eyes.
“That is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I love the
way your eyes fill with silver.” Reaching up I brushed his hair back behind his
ear so I could see his handsome face more clearly.
“They never used to do that, not before you traveled through
time with me the first time.” His voice was gruff, full of the emotions
sparking in his eyes.
“Even better, they shine just for me,” I whispered as I went
up on my toes to kiss him. His lips were soft and warm against mine, so tender,
so loving. It would be so easy to lose myself in him.
“Mom, I’m all packed,” Rachel called from down the hall and
I reluctantly withdrew from the kiss and banged my head against Rook’s chest a
few times.
“Why does this keep happening to us?”
Rook’s hand smoothed up and down my back. “In a few minutes
we can send her back to the resort with Solomon if you’ve decided to let her go
out with him tonight”
“Are you sure she’ll be alright with him?”
He titled my head back with a finger under my chin and
grinned at me. “Solomon will take good care of her, just like any good older
brother would.”
I shook my head, sure that Rachel would never see Solomon as
a brother, and started down the hall with Rook following a few steps behind me.
When I told Rachel where she’d be going and who she’d be going with, she
reacted as expected with lots of screaming and jumping around. When I told her
Rook and I had plans and I probably wouldn’t be going to the resort until the
morning she made kissy faces and actually sang that kids’ song -
K I S S I N
G, first comes love, then comes marriage, next comes my sibling in a baby
carriage.
Everyone laughed including Solomon as he joined us.
“It’s as safe as its going to get without a physical barrier
like the moat around the resort property,” Solomon told me and Rook.
“It’s enough,” Rook assured him. “I’ll be here and I saw
some of Angela’s moves earlier, we can take care of ourselves.”
It made me unbelievably happy to hear him praise my fighting
skills like that. “Maybe someday you can show me your moves; I’m guessing there’s
a ring or two somewhere in that resort.”
“Going by the way he’s been looking at you, I don’t think
those are the kind of moves he wants to show you Mom,” Rachel pointed out
making my cheeks burn bright red.
Solomon helped Rachel carry her things to the car then they
headed back to the resort. When the door closed behind them Rook locked the
door and turned to face me. We were finally alone. For the first time in all
the years we’d known each other we were alone. No Rachel demanding my
attention, no resort staff members interrupting us, and no Dragon collapsed a
few feet away - we were completely alone.
He moved towards me slowly with sexual heat radiating from
every pore on his big body. I loved the way he moved. He had a predatory grace
that was sensual, stimulating, as well as dangerous. My eyes drank in the sight
of him in his skin tight, long-sleeved red shirt and those supple black,
leather pants that fit him like a well-worn glove. The way his muscles flexed
and rippled under his clothes was so enticing, so tempting. It always had been,
but now there wasn’t anything standing in my way, nothing to make me hold myself
back.
Suddenly I realized that this was it. We were finally going
to be together intimately without any strange supernatural reasons driving us.
I’d dreamed of this so many times and I’d wanted it to be perfect with sexy
lingerie and candlelight, not with me wearing workout clothes covered in sweat.
“Um, I think I should take a shower,” I murmured, pulling the hair tie from my
pony tail as I started edging away from him.
His arms went up and he pulled his shirt off over his head
then dropped it to the floor when he stopped just inches in front of me. The
sight was too tempting. My hands moved compulsively to his chest and smoothed
over the hard muscles tracing the lines of his tattoo.
“I don’t think I can wait that long,” he growled and before
I could comment he swept me into his arms and carried me swiftly to my bed. I
would have felt big and awkward had any other man done it, but in Rook’s arms I
felt small and feminine for the first time in my adult life.
He set me down at the foot of the bed and pulled a handful
of condoms out of his pocket and tossed them on the bed. Our clothes
disappeared in a flurry of hands and mouths. There were a few tense moments
while he removed his boots, but then they were off and we were falling onto the
bed naked and highly aroused.
His mouth claimed mine, hard, demanding, hungry. This was
better than my dream with Camila, better than any of the other kisses we’d
shared because I was finally free. Free to let myself feel and to accept
everything he was offering me with his kisses, with the slide of his hard body
against mine.
When I was breathless and the room was spinning, his lips
trailed down my throat then further to my breast. He sucked hard, drawing my
nipple into his hot mouth and flicking his wet tongue over it. The exquisite
sensations he caused spiraled through my body forcing my back to arch off the
bed. When I couldn’t take any more he moved to my other nipple and teased it
while my hands burrowed into his hair, grasping at anything to keep me
grounded, to keep me from flying away with the pleasure he was giving me.
Just when I was about to beg for mercy he started kissing
his way down my trembling body. Wet open mouthed kisses that had my thighs
spreading when he pressed his nose into my damp curls and inhaled, groaning as
he took in my scent. His head lifted until he met my wild gaze. “You smell like
heat and desire, like a woman on fire for me and all I can think about is
making you come with my tongue buried between your legs so I can taste how
sweet your orgasm is.”
It was so incredibly erotic, his words, his guttural voice,
and the barely contained lust swirling in the molten silver of his eyes. A rush
of liquid fire raced to my core and his tongue slid out to sweep through my
saturated feminine folds. Oh God that felt so good. My hips rose up and he did
it again. I couldn’t hold back the lustful shout that escaped me. With a hungry
growl Rook delved into my soft pink flesh, exploring every nuance of me with
his tongue and lips, greedily, thoroughly.
My legs went over his shoulders and I closed my eyes,
relishing every lick of his tongue, every touch of his lips as they sent
lightning surging through my body. The pleasure increased when he slid his
fingers into me, stroking my inner muscles while I writhed on the bed. My
breathing was so erratic the lack of oxygen was dizzying and I thought, if this
keeps up I’ll be in danger of passing out.
A heartbeat later I wasn’t worried about passing out
anymore. I wasn’t worried about anything except screaming through the orgasm
that crashed over me when he drew my clit between his lips and sucked. His
tongue swirled over the swollen bundle of nerves and my body came apart. Rook
speared his tongue into me, lapping up the essence of my orgasm while I shook
with tremors of ecstasy.
When I finally came back to my senses, tingles of pleasure
still dancing beneath my skin, Rook rose up above me with his hair falling to
one side like an ebony curtain of silk. Reaching out I combed my fingers
through the silken strands, sighing at the unbelievably sensual texture.
“I’ve never been with a man whose hair was longer than mine,
it’s incredibly sexy,” I breathed as I brushed the ends of his hair along my
jawline, luxuriating in the soft caress.
“I’m not like the other men you’ve been with Angela,” he
rasped, his voice rough with desire, “and I promise you, the hair is only the
beginning.”
He sheathed himself with a condom then pressed his erection
against the tight entrance of my body and kissed me. It was deep and
penetrating, devastating in its intensity. My arms and legs wrapped around him
pulling him closer, trying to merge our bodies into one as he poured his soul
into me through his kiss.
His hips pushed forward and he buried himself inside of me
with one long, hard stroke, completing me in a way I’d never be able to
describe. When he pulled back and slid into me again I tore my lips from his,
gasping at the incredible sensations such a simple movement could cause.
Bracing himself on one elbow he cupped my face with his other
hand rubbing my cheek gently with his thumb as his swirling silver eyes bore
into mine.
“I’m going to savor you tonight Angela.” His hard length
stroked my inner muscles again eliciting a moan from me before he continued
speaking. “Because this is how our first time should have been. I want the
memory of this night seared into my mind so that when I close my eyes this will
always be what I see, what I feel when I think of you.”
His voice vibrated with emotions that I’d known he felt for
me, but hadn’t been willing to accept. Tears came to my eyes and I couldn’t
speak so I pulled his head down bringing his lips back to mine and gave him a
long lingering kiss that we could both savor, that neither of us would ever
forget. While our tongues twined, our bodies rocked together with a slow,
sensual rhythm and warmth spread over my body suffusing me with a feeling of
calm acceptance. He was mine, and I was his. The part of me that had always
known I belonged to him sighed with relief at my surrender.
Long moments later Rook pulled back and placed a gentle kiss
on my forehead. The knowledge of my acceptance was evident in the tender
caress.
Rising up on his arms he looked down at me as he slid his
hard flesh into me with harder, faster strokes. Pleasure twisted in my core
with the sudden change of pace and my hands raced over his shoulders, down his
back, then gripped his hips as the sensations ravaging my body increased.