Jonah moved with her, keeping his fingers buried in her pussy and his lips on her breast until she cried out, coming for the first time. Her body froze before she bucked, almost throwing him off as her orgasm swamped her.
He wasn’t leaving it at that. She needed to come at least twice more before he’d be done with her. He began to lick down her middle, ready to taste her pussy, when she dug her fingers into his hair again.
“In me. Now.” Her voice was guttural now, her eyes the color of her wolf’s.
Jonah nodded and released his prick, not even bothering to undress. She smiled up at him, teeth sharp, fangs on full display as he eased into her hot warmth.
Now it was Jonah’s time to groan as he was surrounded in the tight, hot fist of her body. She arched against him, drawing him deeper, her body undulating as he began to fuck her in slow, steady strokes.
“Jesus.” Her claws were scratching him, the small bite of pain egging him on. From her fierce gaze, he understood that the wolf would take over if he didn’t give her what she wanted.
Jonah sped up, fucking her with intent, their bodies slapping together as he kissed her again. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into the top of his ass. He took hold of her hands and forced them down to either side of her head, showing the wolf who was in control. He kept his gaze on hers as they fucked, trying his best to prove that he was a worthy mate.
Carol’s eyes flickered then changed back, the beautiful hazel color making him slow for a moment. This must have been what she’d been worried about, that her wolf might take over and hurt him.
To show her he wasn’t concerned, he kept his hands wrapped around her wrists even as he sped up the pace, making sure that he kept watching her. He wanted to see the exact moment she came, wanted it burned into his memory to take out on nights when they couldn’t be together. If he was right, if she was going to be his, those nights would be few and far between.
If he was wrong…
Jonah grimaced. If he was wrong, he was in deep shit, because if Carol wasn’t perfect for him than he’d never find the one.
“What’s wrong?” Carol tried to free her hand, the dazed look receding as if she’d guessed that he was having troubled thoughts.
“Nothing. Just thinking about how perfect you are.”
Her already pink cheeks turned bright red. “Jonah!” The second syllable of his name ended on a gasp as he took her nipple into his mouth once more.
He needed to experience her tightening around him, her muscles spasming as he fucked her. Already she was clenching her hands, her mouth opened wide as she panted for him. He picked up the pace, almost at the point of no return.
Carol cried out once more, her body stiff as her pussy clamped down on him rhythmically. She was coming, and she was stunning in her ecstasy. Just watching her pushed him into his own orgasm, his limbs shuddering as he came undone.
When his vision cleared, he realized he’d collapsed on top of her. Her fists were banging against his shoulder. He lifted up, breathing hard, to hear her gasp.
“Sorry.” He fell to the side, half asleep already. He put his hand on her bare stomach, smiling when she put her hand over his.
“Couldn’t breathe.” She giggled, and the sensation of her moving under his hand again made his cock twitch. “You’re heavy, Mr. Sound.”
“No, I’m not. You’re just teeny.” He yawned, pulling her close. “Gotta cuddle.”
“You need to get out of your clothes first.” Fabric moved against his skin as she took his clothing off until he was left in nothing but her scent. “Now we can cuddle.”
“Mm.” Jonah smiled as he closed his eyes, content to have his familiar by his side.
Chapter 17
Three days after their visit to Rose, they received an answer from their Egyptologist, Dr. Ramsey. Dean Hill had been kind enough to give him the name, a friend of hers who was working in a different university close by. In her email, she’d confirmed Carol’s guess that the symbol was that of Apep and had expressed extreme concern over the fact that there was no accompanying god represented to subdue Apep.
Jonah was worried as well. If someone was feeding a god of evil someone’s soul, nothing good could come of it. There was a hellacious amount of power in a soul. Feeding it to a god of destruction could only lead to ruin.
“I doubt we’ll find out anything new on the toxicology report.” Carol spoke softly from her seat across from him. Jonah had a partner’s desk in his office, designed for two people to work together face to face. It was the best setup for himself and a cop familiar, but Carol was the first one he’d worked with who was genuinely pleased by it. Others had wanted their own desks to clutter up without having to deal with his paperwork in their space. Carol had simply sat and begun picking things up, examining them, then putting them where she decided they belonged.
She was a first in a lot of ways.
“I agree.” Jonah stretched. He’d been at his desk for over an hour, going over the Egyptologist’s notes. “You read the report from Dr. Ramirez?”
Carol nodded. “Yeah, and I’m not that happy about it.” She peeked around her monitor at him. “I mean, human sacrifice is bad enough, but sacrificing the soul?” She shuddered hard. “I’m inclined to agree with my wolf. This fucker needs killin’.”
“Don’t eat the bad guy, he’ll give you indigestion,” Jonah replied absently. “Did you read the note about Apep being the, uh…” He scrolled through the email. “The serpent of rebirth?”
“Serpents and snakes shed their skin, so ancient people often associated them with rebirth,” Carol replied.
Jonah’s work cell phone rang. He answered quickly, hoping it wasn’t another victim. “Detective Sound.”
Miles’s tone was grim. “Jonah, we’ve got another one.”
“Fuck.” So much for hope. He ran his fingers through his hair, then gestured for Carol to get up. “Where?”
“The college. Same place, except first base this time and the victim is carrying a— What kind of flower did the caller say?” Miles yelled to someone in the distance, then said, “Yeah, a white gladiolus.”
Jonah frowned. “The last one had a lily in his hands.”
“Yeah, well, apparently this vic wanted a different flower.” Miles hung up with a curt farewell.
“Huh.” Jonah followed Carol out of his office and into the garage. “This victim is different. Same field, but on first base and carrying a gladiolus.”
“First base?” Carol frowned. “Hmm…”
“What?” Jonah was willing to listen to any hunches Carol had. So far, she’d had better luck figuring things out than he did, and he was a seasoned professional.
“There’s got to be something significant about the flowers. Otherwise, why place them in the victim’s hands?” Carol slipped into the passenger seat and put on her seat belt.
He’d come to the same conclusion. “I agree. We’ll call Rose and ask her opinion. She knows her flowers.” Jonah pulled out of the garage and headed for the college, where no doubt onlookers, gawkers, and police had already gathered. He pressed a button on his cell. “Call Rose.” He handed Carol the phone as it started to ring. “Here, talk so I can drive.”
Carol put the phone to her ear. “Hello, Rose? It’s Carol. We need some help.” Carol nodded in response to something Rose said. “Yeah, we do owe you. I was going to ask you, Debbie, and my friend Stacey to go out for lunch and some shopping soon.” Carol smiled. “I look forward to it, but first, what can you tell me about lilies and gladiolus?”
Jonah could make out Rose’s voice, but not the actual words. Carol uh-huh’d and occasionally murmured something until she finally said, “Both flowers were found on the victims of the college murders.”
Jonah winced. That was privileged information, something that hadn’t been handed to the press.
“Oh, yeah, keep that on the down-low. We don’t want anyone to know about it. It’s one of the ways we can use to
identify the killer.”
Jonah was nearing the college, so he tried to signal for Carol to finish up her conversation.
“Okay.” Carol seemed to get the message because she wound down the call just as they reached the parking lot. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.” She handed Jonah back his phone. “Well, she said lilies represent restored innocence after death while gladiolus represent strength of character, sincerity, and integrity. Both are often found in funeral arrangements.”
Jonah frowned as he parked the car in the athletic field’s parking lot. Already, there was a small crowd with uniformed officers keeping them back. “Maybe our perp knew the victims, and this was his way to show some remorse. That puts professors even higher on our suspect list.” Jonah got out. “We need a list of classes our victims took together. It’s a good bet that it’s someone familiar with them and their schedules.”
“We also need a list of their families and friends of their families. It’s possible the connection is there somewhere. If so, the baseball field could be a convenient dump site rather than part of the ritual.” Carol joined him as he walked toward the crime scene. “Think we’ll find the same pattern of wounds?”
“It would be strange if we didn’t.” This was seeming more and more like some sort of ritual, but what would the final phase be? Someone on the pitcher’s mound? Would they start finding bodies in the outfield?
“Detective Sound?” One of the uniforms left the throng of onlookers and came toward them. “This way, sir.” He led them around the crowd and toward the baseball field. “The victim’s name is Sara Miller, age eighteen, taking magical studies here. She lived off-campus since her family is in the area.”
“So that’s different from Reeves,” Carol murmured.
“The body’s been left, and we’re retrieving the video footage from Dean Hill. She’s right over there, consoling the person who found the body.” The uniform gestured toward Dean Hill, then headed back to the crowd.
“Which do you want? Dean Hill or the body?” Jonah was already glancing toward the corpse.
“I’ll talk to the witness, you go over the body. Meet you in a few.” Carol walked off, already pulling her little recorder out of her purse.
Jonah began walking toward the body. Hopefully, he’d find more evidence this time than he had around the nonexistent one last time. At least he’d gotten to this one before Frick and Frack had a chance to show up and wave their collective dicks around. A lot of cops still thought of him as an entitled rich boy, but Jonah had worked damn hard to get where he was, and he wasn’t about to let anyone step all over his crime scenes.
“Detective.” A different homicide detective, neither Wheeler or Ridgely, nodded a greeting to him. His features were Asian, probably Japanese or Korean. His guess was confirmed when the man introduced himself. “I’m Ian Matsumoto. I just transferred into Homicide from Vice. I’m now the detective working this case.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jonah Sound.” Jonah held out his hand.
Matsumoto’s grip was firm as they shook. Matsumoto then glanced down at the victim and sighed. “This is fucked up. Number two, right? Same bat time, same bat place?”
“Pretty much, yeah.” Jonah glanced down.
The victim was female, a neatly dressed blonde, lying on the ground with her head resting on first base like it was a soft pillow. Her were hands folded across her chest and holding a white gladiolus. Her shoelaces had been tied together to keep her legs closed. The skirt of her dress was carefully arranged, making it seem like the killer had tried to make it appear as if she were floating on water instead of bleeding on sand.
There was no pool of blood near the body, no drag marks, nothing to indicate that she hadn’t just laid down and died. There were no wrappers or cheap vape pen either. Nothing that would indicate anyone other than the wither and the victim had ever been there. “Did someone clean the crime scene?”
Matsumoto shook his head. “Nah, the area was cleaned because there was supposed to be a game here today. They found the body about an hour ago when the team captain arrived to check that everything was ready.” Matsumoto gestured toward where Carol was questioning a young man in workout gear. “Poor guy got the shock of his life.”
“He a sorcerer?” It was a long shot, but best to check.
“Nope. The vic was though.” Matsumoto gazed at the notebook in his hand. “Sara Miller’s mother is going to identify the body, but since her student ID was on her, including picture, it’s pretty safe to assume she’s the victim.”
Jonah carefully knelt next to the victim, trying to detect if a serpent had been burned into her chest. “These runes, they’re the same ones that we observed on the other victim.” He pointed toward Ms. Miller’s chest. “On Mr. Reeves, we found the symbol of Apep right where the stab wounds were. This was the work of the same person.” Every instinct he had was screaming at him. From the depths of the wounds to the posed body and loss of mana, there could be no doubt that they were hunting a single perpetrator.
“The what of who?” Matsumoto shook his head. “If I’m going to be on this task force they’re talking of setting up, I really need to bone up on magical runes,” he muttered.
“Huh?” Jonah shot him a startled glance. Were they finally listening to his constant complaints?
“Someone didn’t read his emails.” Matsumoto smiled, the expression friendly. “My boss wants to set up a task force with your boss so that there are so-called ‘regular’ detectives permanently assigned to the MCU.” He’d done finger-quotes when he said regular. “This way, we avoid the kind of situation you had with my buddies in Homicide.”
Jonah nodded, almost sagging in relief. He’d been hounding Anne for something like this to happen. Thank the gods of magic, it seemed his nagging had paid off. “It would be nice not to be fighting the other divisions all the time.”
“Yeah.” Matsumoto scratched his ear. “I’ve been informed that MCU is trading someone to Vice.”
That was a surprise. As far as he understood, not many sorcerers participated in drug smuggling, prostitution, gun-running, or illegal gambling. Then again, he’d never had to work those cases either. Maybe there were those out there who used their powers to help mobsters run their organizations.
The more he thought about it, the stupider he felt for not realizing that was more than likely the case. “Why haven’t they come to us before?”
Matsumoto shrugged. “Whose balls are bigger, of course. It’s still a boys’ club, yeah? What’s that saying? No matter how powerful the sorcerer—”
“A bullet to the back of the head will stop him cold.” Jonah shook off the thought of other departments finally using the MCU’s detectives. He hoped that someday, the division between MCU and the rest of the departments would disappear, but it would take time. “We have info on how the body got here.”
“We?” Matsumoto glanced once more at Carol. “Your familiar?”
“Yeah.” Jonah glanced across the field toward Carol, who was striding toward them. The man she’d been interviewing was in the dugout, his head in his hands. “Hope you like wolves.”
“Oh yeah. Wolves rock.” Matsumoto cocked his head. “Does she have a sister?”
Jonah laughed. He was certain they were going to get along just fine.
Chapter 18
Carol and Jonah arrived at the coroner’s office that afternoon, having spoken to everyone on the scene. The poor guy who’d found the body had been so traumatized that he had to go to the hospital to be sedated. It seemed that he’d been in a class with the victim, though they’d never spoken to each other. Still, it had scared the hell out of him that someone so close to him had been murdered.
Carol could understand. If someone from her House had been the victim, she would have had issues as well, even if it was Perky Patty.
“The body should be here by now, but Paul probably hasn’t had a chance to go over it.” Jonah had been quiet until they arrived at the coroner’s
office. She figured he was also going over the crime scene in his head, just like she was.
“Once we have the video feed from the CCTV cameras, we should be able to find out if the serpent was on her chest.” Jonah parked and turned off the car, turning to her. His expression was serious. “What did you get from the baseball guy?”
Carol shook her head. “Not much that was useful, I’m afraid. Before he went to the hospital, he told me she was in one of his classes, with Professor…” She pulled out her small recorder and put it to her ear, listening intently. “Right, Professor Ballenger.” She turned off the recorder and rifled through the emails on her tablet PC, pulling up the list of university employees Dean Hill had sent them. “Professor Elroy Ballenger, teaches herbology.”
“Herbology, huh?” Jonah scratched his chin. “Check if Reeves had herbology this semester or the one before.”
“We don’t have a complete list yet, but I’ll see if that’s one of the ones we’ve gotten. If not, I can contact Dean Hill and ask her to expedite Ballenger’s class lists.” Carol put her tablet away, tucking her recorder next to it. She’d transcribe the recordings to the computer once she got home.
She noticed the stares as they made their way through the building to Paul’s office. She really needed to get some work clothing now that she had the money to do so. She’d gotten confirmation from Debbie and Rose for the coming weekend shopping spree. Stacey hadn’t gotten back to her yet, but Stacey was also busy getting used to her new sorcerer. They could go for a week or two without talking to each other, then squabble like the closest siblings once they were together again. It would be a shame not to introduce Stacey to her new friends right away, but she wanted Stacey to form a strong bond and find the sorcerer she could best work with, maybe even love. Hopefully, her latest match would be just that.
She glanced at Jonah, her mind no longer on the case. His broad back and narrow waist were defined by the powder-blue shirt he wore. His black belted slacks hugged his ass, and he’d worn a tie today—basic black with gray diamonds. From his appearance, you’d never think his parents were multi-millionaires.
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