Rafael

by Faith Gibson

  “Here you go.” She handed him the laptop bag. He carried it outside and handed it off to Julian, who was waiting on the porch, scanning the surroundings. “Miss Kane, I will have this back to you soon. Would it be convenient for me to upgrade your security at that time?”

  “Yes, that’s perfect. Oh, and thank you. Rafael told me you took a bullet for me. You saved my life.”

  Julian didn’t immediately respond. He seemed to be thinking about his answer then finally whispered, “It was my honor.” He looked to Rafe. “I’ll just be going.”

  “Wait, he doesn’t have my password.”

  Rafael shut the door and took Kaya’s hand, leading her back to the sofa. “Trust me, he won’t need it. Now, there’s one more thing we should talk about.” He waited until she was seated and once again had her leg stretched over his. She really liked sitting like that. “As I already explained, once Gargoyles reach maturity, we stop aging. When that happens, we have to either remain in isolation as I choose to do, or change locations and start over. One of my Clan, Jasper, recently came to me from out west. He is going to put in his application with your department tomorrow.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m down two detectives so the added personnel will be welcomed.” Rafael grabbed Kaya’s ankle and directed her leg behind him on the sofa so he was between her legs. “Good, because I’m tired of talking.”

  He released the button from its hole and slowly unzipped her jeans. Each tooth being released from its counterpart made the anticipation almost unbearable. He pulled her pants down her legs. She raised up making it easier on him then watched as he tossed her jeans onto the floor. Every movement he made was graceful yet powerful.

  In this position she was wide open to him. He was staring at her pussy like he was looking over a menu filled with all his favorite foods. Without taking his eyes off her core, he asked, “Do you even own panties, Miss Kane?”

  “Yes, I just prefer to not wear them. Uh, Rafael…”

  “Shhh.” Slowly, like a big cat stalking his prey, he placed his hands on her inner thighs. He pushed her knees to her chest so that her legs were even farther apart. “Absolutely perfect.” Rafael lowered his mouth to the inside of her knee and nipped at the tender skin. He alternated legs, kissing and biting his way closer to where she wanted him to be.

  “Rafael, please.” He placed his thumbs on either side of her wet lips and pulled them apart, massaging just inside. He let his tongue tease her clit while his thumbs tormented her. “More, oh God, more.” She pressed herself into his face, trying to coax him into going faster.

  “The first introduction of my face to your pussy should not be rushed. You will get what you need; I promise. In giving you what you need, I am going to take what I want and that, Bella Mia, is time. I am going to take my slow (lick) sweet (lick) time (lick) worshiping at the altar of my Queen.”

  His tongue, along with his words, were sparking a fire in her nerve endings. His thumbs were replaced with first one finger, then two. Those digits were like the rest of the man, thick. His two fingers filled her up almost as much as his cock had. His mouth lavished her aching clit. He alternated between licking and sucking. Her blonde curls didn’t deter his feast. The moans and growls coming from her lover were proof enough that he was enjoying himself.

  Kaya leaned up and pulled her thermal over her head, tossing it in the vicinity of her jeans. Her hands found her breasts where she pulled on her nipples. Rafael was looking at her, eyes dark. She really wanted to close her eyes, but she was frozen in place. It was like he cast a spell on her, forbidding her to look away. With their gazes locked, he continued stoking the fire.

  She wanted to touch him. Removing one hand from her breast, she reached out with a fingertip, touching his tongue as it licked her clit. She dipped that wet fingertip inside herself, pumping in rhythm with his fingers. She pulled her finger out and stuck it in her mouth, tasting her own juices. Rafael growled like a feral animal. Kaya gasped when she noticed his fangs. Holy shit! The fact that her lover was sucking on the tenderest part of her body with teeth sharper than knives protruding from his mouth should scare her. Instead, it prompted her orgasm to rip through her body, the nerve endings exploding back inside.

  The lack of heat from her thighs brought her back to reality. She looked to where Rafael should be, but instead, he was across the room, chest heaving. The wave of her orgasm that was crashing into the rocks turned tide and rolled back out to sea when Rafael growled, “Kaya, RUN!”

  Chapter 43

  Tessa and Isabelle arrived at the security gate outside the Pen. Isabelle rolled her window down. “Dr. Isabelle Sarantos to see the Warden.”

  The guard bent over and peered in the window at Tessa. “Identification please, Dr. Sarantos. Who’s this?” he gestured to Tessa. “I’m her body guard.” She shoved her driver’s license into his hand.

  “Stay here.” He went into the guard shack and typed something into a computer then picked up the phone.

  Tessa smiled at the guard as he looked at her, probably calling the Warden to get permission for her entry. He came back to the car, returning their I.D.s. “Follow the drive all the way around to the back. You will be escorted to Warden Stone’s office.”

  He raised the security barrier and allowed them to proceed. Tessa mentally made notes of everything she saw. The building was a tall monstrosity with guard towers situated at all four corners of the property. Thirty foot tall chain linked fence was topped with razor.

  Isabelle parked in a designated visitor spot and turned the engine off. She hadn’t spoken one word since they left the house. Now she turned and looked at Tessa. “I have one question. I take it Alexi wasn’t my mate since I didn’t transition when we were married. If he and I had a child, would that child be like me or human?”

  Tessa stared at her cousin. “Belle, did you have a child with Alexi?”

  “No, of course not, I’m just curious as to how all this works.”

  “Honestly, I have no idea. You and a couple others are the only ones who have married someone that wasn’t your mate, and as far as I know, neither of them have children.”

  “So, for those of us who have no idea what we are and get married to someone who isn’t our mate, what happens when we meet our mate while married? Does everyone have an affair like Elizabeth did? Is it that strong of an attraction?”

  Tessa winced when Belle mentioned her mother. “It depends on the person I guess. My mother was married to a monster. She lived her life in constant fear so when she met my father it was a blessing. If she had never met him, she probably wouldn’t be here. I definitely wouldn’t be here.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the window. A security guard was waiting to escort them inside. They both exited the car and the guard said, “Dr. Sarantos, Miss Blackmore, please follow me.”

  Once inside, Tessa made note of the number of guards and where they were situated. The Warden’s office was located down an interior hallway. They were ushered to a waiting room filled with standard hard-back chairs and asked to please wait. They both sat, looking at nothing in particular. Isabelle turned and whispered, “I would appreciate if you would stay out here. I amused you by allowing you to tag along, but what the Warden wishes to speak to me about is really none of your business.”

  “Sure, whatever you want.” Tessa didn’t care to come face to face with the Gregor Stone anyway. The guard returned for Isabelle, “The Warden will see you now.” Isabelle rose and followed him into the inner office.

  Tessa glanced around, taking in her surroundings. She heard voices coming down the hall, one of those voices she knew as well as her own. Tamian. She walked to the door and peeked around the corner. Her brother was in handcuffs coming down the hall. The guard leading him stopped when he saw Tessa. “Excuse me, Ma’am.” She stepped back into the waiting area, and Tamian was escorted in then pushed into a seat.

  Tamian glanced at Tessa, frowning. Andrea, what the hell are
you doing here?

  Tessa reached out with her mind. “Hello, Brother. Forget why I’m here. Why the hell are you here? I saw the arrest on TV. This is bullshit. I’m going to get you out of here.”

  “No, you can’t. I’m supposed to be in here.”

  “You are the last person who belongs in here, Tam. Don’t worry, I’ll get you out.”

  “No Andi, you don’t understand…” The inner office door opened, and Isabelle appeared along with the guard from earlier. She turned back toward the office, “Thank you, Warden Stone, I’ll be in touch.” She walked past Tessa and asked, “Are you ready?”

  Tessa looked at Tamian. “Don’t worry, Brother, I’ll get you out of here and Tam, don’t EVER call me Andrea.”

  “Andi no. Andi! ANDREA!” Tamian was shouting out loud. Just the distraction she needed.

  When they were once again in the privacy of Isabelle’s car, Tessa asked her, “Well, how did your meeting go? I’m sure the Warden was as charming as ever.”

  “It went well. How do you know Mr. Stone? I didn’t realize the two of you had met, or I wouldn’t have rushed you out.”

  “I don’t know him; I just bumped into him once.” Literally. “So, are you going to take the job?”

  “It’s a big decision, one I have to think about. It’s not just me I have to consider.”

  “You’re right; you have the family to think about.”

  “Yes, family.” Isabelle slipped into silence and drove them back to her house. Tessa had no idea what was going through her cousin’s head. She only hoped she made the right decision.

  Rafe was doing everything within his power to gain control of his inner beast. Gods, Kaya had to be scared out of her mind. Here he was, fangs out, yelling at her to run. His eyes were closed so he could concentrate. Unholy… think about Unholy. Anything but the beautiful woman who just rocked his fucking world by doing nothing more than tasting her own essence. Godsdamn Kaya. He didn’t know how much more he could withstand.

  “Rafael.” Her soft voice was right in front of him. Her hands were on his biceps, gently caressing him.

  He opened his eyes to see his woman braving his rage. “Kaya.” His voice was tormented, even to his own ears.

  “Rafael, look at me. See me. I am not running. You will not hurt me, I know this. I understand though. If I had fangs of my own, they would be out now. I would want to bite you, mark you as mine. Maybe that is not what happens with your kind but I feel so connected to you that I want to bite you.”

  “Kaya, you don’t know what you’re saying. To my kind, the bite completes the bonding. That is why I disappeared last night. You didn’t know what I was, and I couldn’t get my fangs to retract. I was so close to biting you that I had to retreat into the house. I know you felt disillusioned. I heard you talking to yourself. But Love, you have to know that what you were thinking was so far from the truth. Having sex with you sent me over the edge. I was so close to hitting bottom that I panicked.”

  Kaya pulled his face down to hers and ran her tongue over the tip of one of his fangs. Fuck! She didn’t realize how sharp they were. He could smell the blood in her mouth. Instead of gasping or crying out, she stuck her tongue out and removed the blood with the tip of her finger. She stared at it like it were a scientific experiment and then she surprised him. Looking in his eyes, she stuck her finger in her mouth and sucked.

  Rafe’s cock was throbbing in his pants. It had been hard when he was going down on her, but seeing Kaya lick the blood caused by his fang had him hardening to the point of passing out. “Kaya.” He groaned out her name.

  “Rafael.” She placed her hands on his face. “Will you hurt me? Truly cause bodily harm to me? Or are you feeling the effects of the bond to the point you want to mark me? Because let me tell you, I trust you with my body, with my life, my soul. Normally I’m a rational woman. What this is between us doesn’t make sense. We’ve known each other a few days. Had you asked me before we met if I thought love at first sight was possible, I’d have said no. But now?” She shrugged a shoulder.

  “What are you saying?” Rafe was feeling light-headed. All the stimulation was too much to take, even for King of the Gargouille.

  “I’m saying I’m falling for you. In my brain, I know it’s too soon. In my heart, it’s not. I want you in my life, and I feel if I don’t have you I will stop breathing.”

  Rafael’s heart was overfull. This time a week ago, all hope was gone at finding a mate and having children to carry on the Di Pietro name. Now, it was so much more than that. This woman loved him, he knew it as well as he knew his own name.

  The look in her eyes was all the confirmation he needed. The doorbell rang, and his fangs retracted. “Get dressed, Love. That would be Julian.”

  Rafe waited until Kaya had snagged her clothes from the floor and disappeared into the bathroom to redress. He peered out the side window to see his cousin waiting patiently on the front porch. “Julian, please come in.”

  Chapter 44

  Kaya checked herself in the mirror then went back into the living room. Julian handed the laptop to her. “I found him. The man who sent the email is Vincent Alexander. I had to dig past some extensive firewalls. I have Nikolas doing a background search on him, but so far, he’s a real piece of work. Juvenile records were sealed, so it appears Mr. Alexander has been trouble from a young age, if he is indeed the real Alexander.

  “I have multiple addresses and aliases. Most addresses are no longer valid, but a couple of them are. I have a team spread out, and they are searching his locations as we speak. He won’t be hard to spot since he’s an albino. At this time, I can’t categorize him as an Unholy, but there is something off about him. He may be a clone.”

  “You can’t just go around searching people’s houses without a warrant.” The law she’d upheld for years was always forefront in her mind.

  “Kaya, the man is trying to kill you. I know you don’t want to hear this, but when dealing with Unholy, we don’t always abide by your laws. We do what we have to so that the streets of New Atlanta are somewhat safer than they would be otherwise.” Rafael was pacing the floor. “I need to get out there, help search.”

  “My King, please, stay here and guard Miss Kane. We are patrolling the area and will continue to do so until this Alexander is found.”

  “Julian said he isn’t an Unholy. If that’s true, we have to get a search warrant. I’d say the judge will agree we have probable cause seeing as he’s tried to kill me, but he’s going to want to know where the evidence is. I haven’t spoken to CSU about the bullet casing that was found. I need to get to the office and do my job instead of hiding out here.”

  Julian pulled a plastic bag out of his pocket. “The bullet that hit me was from an L115 sniper rifle. The casing I found that hit Rafael was also from an L115. Several of those particular rifles have been found in one of Alexander’s apartments. I use the term apartment loosely.”

  “You took a bullet? Mr. Stone, that is tampering with evidence.” Julian looked bored. “Okay, I’ll overlook that. But gentlemen, we really have to follow the rules so that when you do capture him we can put him away. If the court finds out the evidence was not gathered in the proper manner this Alexander will walk, and we will be right back where we started.”

  “Not if he’s in the Basement.” Rafael turned to Julian. “Go find him. You have two hours until I join the search.”

  “What about the security upgrade?”

  “I will protect Kaya for now. You go find this fucker.”

  “Yes, my King. Miss Kane, again it was a pleasure.” The younger Mr. Stone left to do Rafael’s bidding. Kaya wasn’t sure she could do this, not and be chief too.

  “Rafael, I made a promise to uphold the law and what just happened, well that’s not the way I do things. If you are going to continually usurp my authority…” Rafael didn’t let her finish. He pulled her tightly to his chest and kissed her softly. Ever the dichotomy this man.

  “Kaya, I rar
ely break your human laws, and when I do, it’s only for the greater good of humankind. The laws we break are so that you don’t have to. If my breaking the law and keeping you safe means that we cannot be together, then so be it. It would kill me for you to walk out of my life; but I would rather watch you from afar, knowing you’re alive and well, than sit back and do nothing while this monster continues to target you.”

  “What is the basement? Is it exactly as it sounds?” She wasn’t certain she wanted to know.

  “Yes, it’s the lowest level of the Pen where we put the Unholy to keep them away from the other inmates.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I need to think. I am almost certain I cannot walk out of your life, but where does that leave me in my job? If I continue to act as chief and knowingly allow you to run shod of the rules, I would be lying. I need time.”

  “I honestly don’t understand your dilemma. Did you not become a police officer to get the scum off the street?” Rafael backed up but was still holding her hands.

  “Yes, you know I did. But I also took an oath.” She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “As did Dante. He’s a doctor for the gods’ sake, but he also has to make hard choices when it comes to dealing with the Unholy. Kaya, these creatures are the worst of the worst. They are bred for killing and nothing else. Do they deserve to walk free because my men didn’t obtain a piece of paper stating we have the right to put them in the Basement? We make those hard choices every day, but it is always for the greater good, the protection of humans.”

  Kaya looked into the eyes of the man standing in front of her. She had a choice to make, and if she were honest with herself, it was an easy one. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry? I don’t think I have anything to cook, but I can call for delivery.” She pulled her hands free and went to the kitchen to find the various menus for local restaurants.