Placing her hands against the headboard, she grinned. “Now what?”
“Don’t. Move.” His voice had roughened, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Christ, you’re sexy.”
She shivered as his gaze roamed over her naked body. He sat up, watching her as he undressed, standing only long enough to remove his pants and socks.
Carol held still as he loomed over her once more, his hands braced on either side of her head. He kissed her softly before moving to her breasts, sucking one of her nipples into his hot mouth.
It was hard, keeping her hands on the headboard when all she wanted to do was bury her fingers in his hair and hold him in place. The suction on her nipple was driving her crazy, making her writhe under him. His hand dipped between her legs, rubbing at her clit in strokes too soft to truly satisfy her.
He moved to her other breast, treating it a bit more roughly, his teeth grazing her. She moaned, arching her back for him, thrusting her breast into his mouth as best she could. With her hands firmly planted on the headboard, it was all she could do not to scream when he released her.
“Want something?”
God damn him for teasing her. He licked her nipple, reminding her of how good the suction felt. When he blew across the wet tip, she shivered. She had to respond, or he’d just keep tantalizing her. “Suck me.”
“My pleasure,” he whispered. But instead of taking one of her nipples in his mouth, he kissed down her body.
“Oh, yes.” Carol moaned as his wicked mouth took her in, nibbling and licking her clit in devilish ways. His fingers dug into her ass, lifting her to where he wanted her, leaving her open, vulnerable. She dug her feet into the mattress, lifting to his mouth, her eyes closing when the pleasure became too much to bear.
She bit her lip, almost desperate to come, to ride his mouth to ecstasy. Jonah was relentless, pushing her closer and closer until she exploded, crying out as her vision went white.
Soft licks brought her gently back down, quivering from his mastery over her body. Animus thrummed along her skin as their magic entwined, tickling fingers of amber and gold that touched her all over. He breached her with his fingers, muttering an incantation under his breath as he did so, one that raised the hairs on her arms.
All of a sudden, her body tingled with warmth and desire. The amber light became plucking fingers, teasing her nipples while Jonah once more concentrated on her clit.
“Holy gods.” She gasped when one of the tendrils stroked a particularly sensitive spot just behind her ear. “Where the hell did you learn to do that?”
He chuckled. “Do you want to talk practical magic now, or do you want to fuck?”
“Fuck. Definitely fu-huck.” Despite the fact that his lips had left her body, it was as if he was still sucking on her, leaving her gasping for breath.
She barely noticed him sliding up her body, but she definitely did when his cock glided into her, filling her completely. It was like being fucked in an amber mist that touched her all over, leaving her breathless as Jonah rocked into her over and over again.
He kissed her, sharing her taste and his own. His warm skin brushing against her added to the sensory overload. Their legs tangled together, Carol needing an anchor in the storm Jonah had started with a few whispered words.
Jonah’s mouth left hers to descend on her neck, biting and sucking as their rhythm became faster.
Close. She was so close, eager for the orgasm she was chasing so desperately. She tilted her head, baring herself to him, to his teeth, earning a deep groan from the man above her. A sharp nip rewarded her for her submission.
His fingers tangled with hers, pulling her hands off the headboard and by her ears. All she could hear were their deep pants, the soft sound of flesh on flesh and the whispers of their magic encasing them. All she could taste was him as she licked his shoulder, salt and male mingling on her tongue. Jonah’s scent enveloped her, marked her inside and out, leaving no doubt who she was fucking.
Her body began to tremble as the orgasm came closer and closer, threatening to drive her insane. Jonah’s teeth closed over her earlobe before he once more took her mouth, kissing her roughly, sloppily, their mutual pleasure far too close for subtle movements.
He let go of her hands and grasped her inner thighs, spreading her wider, allowing him deeper access. She braced herself against the headboard once more as he pounded into her. She watched him, his head thrown back, his eyes closed as he chased their mutual orgasm.
Carol’s claws dug into the headboard, her teeth clenching as spasms rocked her body. Her toes curled as pleasure blinded her, racking her body and wrecking her mind. Her voice was strangled, trapped in her throat as breath itself escaped her, leaving her gasping and trembling in the throes of the best fucking orgasm she’d ever experienced.
When she could finally breathe again, she looked up, only to find Jonah’s face was clenched. He was thrusting into her body with short, sharp jabs, spilling inside her as his orgasm washed over him. He was beautiful when he came, bathed in the amber light of their shared magic.
He gasped for breath and let her legs go, falling on top of her and almost crushing her. “Holy shit, we need to do that again.”
She giggled, wrapping her arms around him. “Hell yes.” She kissed his damp cheek as their magic receded, finally letting her body go. “That spell rocked.”
“No.” He lifted his head just far enough to look into her eyes, his own dazed yet content. “You did.”
She blushed, his meaning not lost on her. “You’ve used the spell before.”
He nodded wearily. “Mm.” He nuzzled her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “Gimme a few minutes, and we’ll try it again.”
“Just to be sure, right? That it’s us, not the spell, I mean.” Carol was already trembling with anticipation.
“Exactly. For science.”
She sighed happily. “I fucking love science.”
Chapter 22
Carol grimaced as yet another conversation died the moment she strode through the break room. She kept her head held high as two men in suits stared at her, eyeing her badge before returning their gazes to her face. She grabbed the mug she’d brought to the precinct with the image of a wolf on it.
The two men left her alone in the room, but it wasn’t long until she heard their voices once more. They must have thought they were out of earshot, but her wolf hearing allowed her to pick out their conversation easily once they mentioned Ian’s name.
“Did you hear about Matsumoto?” One of the men was talking about Ian, Jonah’s new partner. The unknown detective’s tone was sympathetic, as if Ian’s transfer was either unwanted or disagreeable.
The other detective sighed. “Yeah, that’s gotta be rough. Being sent to MCU to work with…” the man’s voice drifted off.
“The wolf?” The other man chuckled. “You can say it. I bet she can’t hear us with the guys in the background.”
Shit. This wasn’t about Jonah or Ian, but about her.
She poured her coffee, pretending to ignore them. By law, there wasn’t anything that could remove her from her sorcerer’s side other than their consent, so whenever she ran into conversations like these, she tended to do her best to overlook them. Besides, she’d been to the academy and had been hired to be a cop. Either way, when her year and a day was up, she’d still be in this job. It wouldn’t do to make enemies of the other cops.
“Yeah. You heard what Wheeler and Ridgely have been saying?” The first detective’s voice had gone lower. Carol had to strain to hear him.
“She growled at them, didn’t she?”
What? She froze, almost pouring too much creamer into her coffee. She quickly set the creamer down on the counter and focused solely on the conversation somewhere in the hallway.
“That’s what I heard. And worse, I heard she’s not the only one.” The first detective cleared his throat. “Rumor has it that the higher-ups are ignoring the problem, and Wheeler’s going to do som
ething about it.”
Carol kept her growl sub-vocal. The last thing she wanted to do was confirm Wheeler’s account.
“One of these days they’re gonna go feral, just like that dude Lionel Geyn,” the first detective continued. “Then the county will see what we’ve been saying all along was right.”
Shit. Of course, they’d bring up Lionel Theodore Geyn. Stories of the feral shifter had been dogging both the shifter and familiar communities since the 1920s. He’d gone full-on Leather Face, killing people, eating their flesh and making household décor out of their tanned skins and weathered bones. He’d been caught when he’d made the mistake of kidnapping a popular shop owner, skinning and dressing her like a deer in his barn. His community had been horrified, and he’d been diagnosed as feral. He’d been put to death.
There was no known cure for going feral. It was as much a mercy for the shifter as it was a visible reprisal for the grieving families of the victims. Him, and others like him, were often used as examples of why all familiars and shifters needed to be shackled and treated like second-class citizens.
“Worse, I heard that the wolf is fucking Sound already,” the second detective snickered. “Someone overheard Kramden warning Sound to watch his back.”
The first detective chuckled. “She’s going to eat him in his sleep.”
Carol ground her teeth together. She wished she’d paid more attention to the detectives, at least enough to get their badge numbers. That kind of talk went against all of the non-discrimination laws, not to mention that there were rules inside the precinct about that sort of thing.
Human supremacism was alive and well, though not as widespread or as universally accepted as it had once been. Despite the laws, she was different, so she was looked at as dangerous. That was the catalyst the specists needed to try and drive all non-humans out of the police force, or indeed any emergency services they deemed too “volatile” for non-humans to handle.
“Any idea what Wheeler has planned?” The second detective’s voice had dropped to the level of the firsts.
“I’m not sure, but it’s gonna be epic.” The first detective now sounded gleeful.
“Why can’t a sorcerer come up with a way to bond with their familiar without the damn animal following them all over the place?” The second detective’s tone was full of frustration.
“No idea, but they should get on that as soon as possible, before they go feral in the middle of inmate processing.”
Carol rolled her eyes. She’d heard that one before. No matter how many times it was proven that sort of device wouldn’t work, the specists would bring it up again. It was like the conspiracy theorists and their belief that shifters were used to spy on people in their animal forms and report back to the CIA.
She was willing to bet that, because of those rumors, spies were taught how to recognize the subtle differences between familiars, shifters, and normal animals. They’d be stupid not to.
The men’s voices began to drift away, and Carol took a sip of her cooling coffee, wondering what to do about the things she’d overheard. She could go to Jonah or Ian, but this involved all three of them, and she didn’t want either of them to overreact.
Okay, she didn’t want Jonah to overreact. She had no idea how Ian would handle things.
“Hey.”
Carol blinked at the sound of her boss’s voice behind her. She turned, smiling. “I need to talk to you.” She kept the smile on her face as she tried her best to subtly gesture out of the break room.
Captain Anne Ford followed her out of the break room and right into the captain’s office. Cpt. Ford sat behind her desk, steepled her fingers, and stared at Carol with a penetrating gaze. “What did you need to speak to me about?”
Carol took a deep breath. “I overheard two men talking while I was making my coffee,” she started. “They were saying that Detective Wheeler was going to ‘do something’”—she made quotation marks with one hand, the other still occupied by her almost forgotten coffee—“about my presence on the force.”
“Shit.” Cpt. Ford’s expression didn’t change, but her tone was vicious.
“They mentioned feeling sorry for Ian for being transferred to our unit.” She ignored the way Cpt. Ford’s narrowed gaze made her want to squirm. “They also said that they believe I’m sleeping with Jonah.”
Cpt. Ford sat back in her seat, her hands falling to the arms of her chair. “Are you?”
Carol nodded once. “It’s consensual, I promise.”
“But still a problem,” Cpt. Ford muttered. “Especially since we can’t separate you for the year and a day.”
Carol closed her eyes, feeling a chill go down her spine. “Is it because I’m a wolf?”
“No!” Cpt. Ford sounded so fierce Carol opened her eyes in surprise. “It’s because you’re work partners. It wouldn’t bother me if you were, say, a detective in Vice. But you’re here, in MCU, working with your sorcerer and lover. Worse, when the year and a day are up, you might become a uniform in order to work your way back up. That would put you below Jonah in status, thus putting an onus on him.”
Carol’s shoulders slumped. “I want to stay here, but if I can’t, I could go to a different precinct.”
Cpt. Ford relaxed. “We’ll see.” She pointed sternly at Carol. “First, prove yourself. Once your year and a day are up, then we’ll talk about your placement.”
“And Wheeler?” Carol wanted to take a bite out of the Homicide detective for making hers and Jonah’s lives difficult, but for the same reason she’d gone to Cpt. Ford, she couldn’t go after Wheeler. She had to do this officially.
Man, some days being a grown-up sucked.
“Leave him to me.” Cpt. Ford smiled. “I’ll have a few friends of mine keep watch of him for a while. If what you overheard is true, it’s a civil rights’ violation and needs to be investigated by the proper authorities.”
Carol bit her lip. “Internal affairs?”
“Or, worst-case scenario, the FBI, yes.”
“Okay. So, back to work for me?”
Cpt. Ford grinned. “Yup. Get your ass out of here, Voss.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Carol swiftly turned, opened the door, and strode back into the bullpen. She sat at her desk and set her lukewarm coffee down.
“What did the captain want with you?”
She glanced up to find Jonah staring at her.
“Nothing major.” She’d keep her ears open from now on. Nothing was going to hurt Jonah on her watch, not even other cops.
His gaze seemed to penetrate her, seeking out her secrets. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I promise.” Her fingers were crossed in her lap, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
She hoped.
Chapter 23
“Hello, Jonah.” Lessa’s tone was warm, her voice excited. “I think I’ve got something for you. Get your ass here pronto.”
Hallelujah, his sister had come through with the runic research. It was nice, having an expert in the family. Jonah started gathering his things, motioning for Carol to do the same. “We’ll be there soon.” Jonah hung up, making sure he had everything before texting his boss where they’d be. She poked her head out of her office.
“Jonah! Take Matsumoto with you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Curious. She only assigned him temporary partners when he didn’t have a familiar. He’d have to talk to Ian to find out if he knew what was going on.
When he glanced at Carol, she shrugged. “Ya got me.”
“God, I hope so,” he muttered, following her out of MCU and down the stairs to Homicide. He ignored the glares of Wheeler and Ridgely as he approached Ian’s desk. “Morning, Ian.”
“Ohayou, Jonah, Carol.” Ian grinned at them, his posture laid-back.
“Oh hai what?” Carol wrinkled her nose. She was so cute, he wanted to snuggle her close, but he didn’t have time. Damn it. Maybe later that night he’d pull her into his arms and just…be.
�
��Ohayou. It means good morning in Japanese.” Ian wrinkled his nose right back at her. “Don’t you watch anime?”
“Good lord,” Jonah sighed. “Never mind that. Our runic expert called and has something for us on the campus murders.” Jonah waited while Ian logged off his computer and gathered his things. “Not sure what, but my boss wants you with us to find out.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ian waved toward the exit. “Lead the way.”
Jonah pulled out his car keys as they got to the garage. “Any idea why my boss wants you with me?”
Ian shrugged. “Because I was on-scene when the second body was found? My captain was on the phone with yours not too long ago, so I figured we might be working this case together.”
“Hard to hide something from a detective, huh?” Carol climbed into the passenger seat, leaving the back seat for Ian.
“That’s me, Detective Conan, boy genius.” Ian settled into his seat with a smirk.
“Who’s that?” Carol asked curiously.
Jonah started the car, heading toward his sister’s place. “Isn’t that an anime character?”
“Yup. He’s a teenage detective who winds up somehow being turned into a little boy, but he continues to solve crimes with the help of some friends.” Ian leaned forward and patted them both on the head, earning a snarl from Carol. “Friends like you.”
Carol rolled her eyes. “I am not Scooby-Doo, asshole.”
Ian cackled while Jonah just shook his head. “Behave, children.” If Ian didn’t, Carol might just bite him.
The two bickered amiably about anime while Jonah made his way to his sister’s place. He pulled up in front of Lessa’s condo, eager to find out what she’d discovered. “C’mon, let’s go.” He led the way up to his sister’s front door and rang the bell.
Lessa opened the door, her hazel eyes lighting up as she saw them. “Come on in.” She gazed curiously at Ian. “You are?”
“Detective Ian Matsumoto, Ms. Sound. I’m currently working the campus case with your brother.” Ian held out his hand, shaking Lessa’s when she presented hers. “Nice to meet you.”
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