Sylvia Day - A Dark Kiss Of Rapture

“If that’s true, why did you give me the third degree and say all that stuff about something being wrong with him?”

Delia grinned, and pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “Maybe I’m just a teeny bit jealous. But mostly I wanted to make sure you were thinking things through and not getting blindsided by a gorgeous, dangerous-looking man who’s a god in bed.”

“You suck. Thank you for caring.”

Coming around the island, Delia lifted to her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Kim’s cheek. “Have fun tonight. Call me tomorrow and give me all the deets.”

“Are you going out tonight?”

“Oh, absolutely. You’ve inspired me to find my own Mr. Awesome. He’s got to be out there somewhere. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some juicy news to share with you. Wish me luck.”

“All the luck in the world,” Kim assured her as she walked her to the door. “Thanks for hanging out and shopping with me today.”

“I loved it. We should do it more often. Gives me an excuse to augment my own lingerie collection. Bye!”

Shutting the door, Kim engaged the locks and leaned back against the paneled wood, examining her living room as if she’d never seen it before. Her new place was smaller than the one she’d shared with Janelle. She had started over from scratch, replacing everything, including the frames on her pictures. While her previous home had been a riot of color, her new place was softly neutral with occasional dashes of blue. She couldn’t bear to have red anywhere.

Imagining Raze in her private space, a place she’d yet to invite a romantic interest over to see, was deeply personal. She could say in all honesty that she couldn’t imagine inviting any other guy over to invade it, aside from her coworkers. She really hoped he felt comfortable while he was here. She wanted him relaxed and at ease, open. She wanted him as naked emotionally as he’d been last night. She craved that intimacy as much as she craved his hard, muscular body.

Thinking of the stuff she’d bought on her shopping trip with Delia, Kim smiled.

“I’m not done rocking your world, Mr. Awesome,” she murmured, setting off down the hallway to get ready.

* * *

“Forest and Lake got the Fallen blood via a courier delivery this morning,” Raze said into the screen of his iPad. “An unmarked blood bag they shared between them.”

Vash frowned into the camera. “That’s a problem.”

“I emailed the info I got from Lake’s memory of the package and receipt. Let’s hope Torque can track it down to its source.”

“Are we looking for a mole here? A minion smuggling out Fallen blood?”

Because the Fallen couldn’t be everywhere at once, it was necessary to fortify minions to pick up the slack. All of the Fallen routinely stored blood for that purpose. “We need to look closer at that video of the murder. Not just at who’s in it, but where. That body was fresh. She killed him nearby and someone sheltered her while she did it. They also knew me well enough to gauge the best time to dump the body. Maybe that’s why she wasn’t at the meeting at Wrigley Field.”

“She should’ve gotten back to Chicago before you.”

“Not if she was waiting on Fallen blood to take back with her.”

Vash growled. “Fuckin’ A.”

“Yeah…” He glanced at the clock. “I have to go.”

“Why? Clue me in. Do you need backup?”

“It wouldn’t hurt. We’ve definitely got some cleaning up to do in this city. But that’s not why I’ve got to run. I have to get ready for a date.”

Her brows rose. “Is that what you’re calling your suck-and-fucks nowadays? Dates?”

“Shut up. The last I heard, dinner and movies constituted a date.”

“Jesus.” She slumped back into her chair. “Maybe whatever Grimm’s crew has got is contagious and you caught it when you bit Puddle.”

“Lake. I’m signing off now, Vash. ‘Night.”

Raze was out of his chair and moving into the bedroom a heartbeat later. He was dying to get to Kim and he’d have to wander all over Chicago first to be sure he didn’t drag a tail with him. If he’d been thinking straight that morning, he would’ve had her come to him again. Nice and anonymous. If someone was watching the hotel, she’d just look like a guest herself with her bag and direct beeline to a room as if she was a registered guest.

But she wanted him at her place and he wasn’t going to disappoint her or make her think he just wanted to get laid by changing the plans now. Last night, she’d made sure to have her own transportation and to meet at a public place when she hooked up with a stranger. To go from that level of wariness to the trust of inviting him over to her private space was important, and he didn’t want to fuck it up. He’d just have to be real careful. No problem.

For the first time in a very long time, Raze was looking forward to a beginning rather than an ending, which was the inevitable result of hunting.

As he headed into the shower, he was whistling, anticipation a heady warmth in his veins.

When the doorbell rang, Kim felt her stomach flip. Putting a hand to her belly, she took a deep breath, then ran to the door. She looked through the peephole and even through the distortion from the rounded magnifying glass, she felt that same punch of need that had hit when he’d first walked into the jazz club and her life.

She pulled the door open. “Hi.”

He crowded her in and kicked the door closed, his mouth on hers before the latch clicked shut. She’d never seen a person move so fast, it stole her breath. Then his passion kept her from regaining it. His lips slanted across hers, his tongue sliding deep and making her shiver. As he bent her backwards, she clung to his broad shoulders, feeling the warmth and strength of him through the cotton of his black T-shirt. Behind her back, the white roses he’d brought her tangled with her hair, but she didn’t care.

“Hi back,” he growled, nuzzling his nose against hers. “Christ, I missed you all day.”

Kim grinned, her dazed eyes noting the way his irises seemed to glow from within. “It’s crazy, I know, but it was the same for me.”

He released her and thrust the flowers at her. “Here.”

She bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a laugh. He looked so sheepishly embarrassed as he awkwardly held out the bouquet. Hoping to put him at ease, she teased, “Roses! How lovely. You totally earned a blow job for these. Thank you.”

“Seriously?” Raze’s brows shot up. “Well, that explains a lot.”

“Such as why so many men make the gesture?”

“Yeah.” He scowled. “But it doesn’t explain why no one told me the trade-off until now.”

She headed into the kitchen to grab a vase. “Probably because you don’t need any props to get women; they fall all over you without them. Of course, now that you know, you can check out it for yourself and see what happens.”

She jumped as his arms came around her from behind and he nibbled the side of her neck. “You may need to stock up on vases,” he purred.

Laying the bouquet on the countertop, Kim turned in his arms and caught him around the waist. “No bribes necessary. I like getting you off that way. I suspect I’m acquiring an oral fixation on you.”

His hands pushed into her hair, massaging her scalp. He looked down into her face. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s got to be something. No one’s this perfect. Throw me a bone, will you.”

The reminder of her conversation with Delia tickled her and her smile deepened.

“I had a nose job.” She touched the bridge. “There was a bump here and I had it shaved down. I can’t dance. I have no rhythm whatsoever. Can’t sing either. Roz says I sound like cats fucking.”

Raze erupted into laughter.

She grinned back at him.

He leaned his cheek against the top of her head. “I’m a guy with issues. You could do so much better.”

“Maybe I will, when you try the flower thing with someone else.”

“Fair enough.” Gripping her ass, he hauled her up against him. “How was your day?”

“I went shopping. And bought you a surprise.”

“Oh? Lemme see.”

“Not yet. And you? Work go all right?”

He nodded and visibly clammed up. “Yeah.”

Running her hand over his head, she smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t ask.”

“Why not?”

“Both my dad and brother are cops. I know the drill. When you can talk about it-when you want to talk about it-I’m here. And… I knew something about your job was eating at you yesterday. I understand not wanting to talk about it.”

“You peg me for law enforcement?”

“Am I wrong?” she challenged.

Cupping her face, he kissed her. “No. Not really.”

She let him back away and resumed putting the flowers in a vase. “Make yourself at home.”

“That’s easy to do. Your place is as beautiful as you are.” His voice faded as he moved into the living room.

Kim leaned heavily into the counter, breathing carefully in and out. He was such a force of nature and her hunger for him was outside the scope of her experience. She’d never had relationship issues, never had any problem with commitment or affection or sexual attraction. But this… It was like being hit with a Mack truck every time. “Did you forget to bring a movie?”

“No.” He looked across the open floor plan at her and pulled a DVD case out of where he’d tucked it in the waistband of his jeans at the small of his back. “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.”

“Umm… sounds fun.” She carried the flower arrangement into the living room and set it on an end table. “Whatcha got?”

“ The Unforgiven .”

“Huh? Who’s in it?”

“Clint Eastwood. Morgan Freeman. Gene Hackman.” He handed her the case.

“Oh.” Her mouth curved ruefully.

“What?”

“There’s something else wrong with me: I’m not a fan of westerns.”

His eyes were warm with amusement. “Give it thirty minutes. If you’re not enjoying it, I’ll entertain you another way.”

“I can go for that.” Yum. She licked her lips.

“And yours?” He crossed his arms and looked sexy as hell. “What are you putting on the table?”

“ Gabriel. Have you seen it?”

Raze’s mouth opened, hung that way for a moment, then closed again. His lips twitched. “Angels?”

She deflated. “You’ve seen it.”

“Probably not the same story,” he said wryly. “What’s it about?”

“Fallen angels who kick some serious- What’s so funny?”

He tried to wipe the smile off his mouth with his hand. “Do they turn into vampires?”

“Who? The angels? No. It’s not a comedy, you know. It’s dark and gritty.”

“Gotcha.” But he was clearly still very amused.

“Then again…” She thought about it. “That might actually be a cool story. Maybe some werewolves, too? Like Underworld with angels? Could be interesting.”

Laughing, he picked her up and spun her around. His delight spurred her own and she found herself laughing with him.

“You’re crazy, Raze. You know that?”

“About you.” He took her mouth in a breathless kiss.

* * *

Kim ended up liking The Unforgiven , as Raze had known she would. He couldn’t explain how he knew, it was just there. It was as if she had a rhythm to her, a unique tempo that resonated perfectly inside him. And he’d liked Gabriel , as she’d suspected he would.

Synergy, he thought, tightening his arms around her. He lay stretched out on her sofa, barefooted and comfortable. She was sprawled between his legs, her back to his chest, her arms crossed over his. Every breath he took smelled of her, that unique fragrance that was partly a soft floral perfume and mostly her natural essence.

He’d never experienced anything even remotely similar to this casual intimacy. Associations for him had always been necessities-he worked with his teams, he fucked the willing, and he relaxed alone. All of the Fallen had lost their souls when they’d lost their wings, one couldn’t exist without the other. But the rest of the Fallen had loved before they fell and he’d wondered if perhaps the ability to know love was something he could’ve only learned when he’d been whole. Perhaps he had missed his chance.

Clearly, he’d been wrong to think that way. He’d never understood the saying My heart’s not in it . Why did your heart need to be in anything? Do what you need to do. But now he knew. He’d enjoyed his work, sex, and his solitude, but his heart had never been in any of it. Until, perhaps, now.

Raze pressed a kiss to her temple, marveling at how drastically his life and outlook had changed in a mere day. “You know,” he murmured, “now we can say we’ve known each other days, as in plural.”