03 - You Only Live Nine Times

by E A Price

  He pushed a finger inside her and relished her response as her inner muscles tried to suckle at his digit. Isis moaned and leaned her head back, closing her eyes and giving in to the sensations. He added another finger and pushed his thumb against her clit. Her hips bucked against him slightly, and she growled. He continued his movements inside her, thrusting and stroking, mimicking what he would eventually do with his shaft - because he knew that he couldn’t possibly let her go. Forget his worries over their different species, he needed this woman, wanted her with a burning, aching need, and damn if she didn’t feel the same. He moved more quickly and her fingers dug into her legs, pulling them more firmly against her, opening herself up to his sensual attack.

  Raf could feel her jerking and clutching more insistently and knew that she was getting close. He replaced his thumb with his mouth as he drove another finger inside her. He sucked on her tender nub, rolling his tongue around her swollen flesh. She panted rhythmically as methodically he started pressing his tongue against her clit, in time with his finger thrusts. He got faster and faster until Isis roared her released, and her hips rocked against him. He quickly withdrew his fingers and pushed his mouth against her channel, lapping at her juices. As her body began to relax, to come down from her climax, she gazed at him with a blissful look on her face, and he felt like a freaking god.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Raf whistled and almost kicked up his heels as she strode into the precinct. He almost expected animated birds to start singing to him. He’d probably watched Mary Poppins one too many times when he was younger – it had been his little sister’s favorite movie, and they watched it over and over. Plus he kind of liked the part where Dick Van Dyke dances with the penguins.

  But, back to his point, the previous night with Isis had been incredible. Giving her pleasure, seeing the satiated, sensual look on her face as he made her come had made him feel invincible. Like he was the greatest man in the world. There was no mountain too high, no ocean too deep – he could do freaking anything.

  He could…

  His buoyant thoughts were interrupted as he walked up to his desk. Someone – some motherfucking jackass – has taped a picture to his computer. Not just any picture. It was a picture that had been knocked up on the computer by some freaking pervert who had too much free time on their hands. Someone had put together a picture of him having doggie style sex with a tiger. It had a title under it that said 'Rafael Silva and his new girlfriend'.

  He stared at it for a few beats, allowing his anger to pulse through his body until it became a dull ache. He heard a few snickers around him, but he didn’t even bother to look in those directions. He didn’t care who was laughing at him. With forced, slow movements, he picked up the picture, balled it up and dropped it into the trash.

  Raf caught Georgia glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. Yeah, mystery solved. Something as dumb and childish as this had her fingerprints all over it.

  He checked his e-mails and looked over the crime scene technician’s report from the incident the previous night – it was in no way helpful. They’d also left him the small key they had found when visiting Arkham Cemetery, it had no usable prints on it and as for its origin, they suspected it was from some kind of locker – they just couldn’t ascertain where in the city the locker might actually be located. After half an hour, he got up to leave. He stopped to pick up a donut, mercifully finding a lemon crème that had escaped Johnson’s grubby fingers. Unmercifully, Georgia caught him before he left.

  “Do you like that animal?” she demanded.

  He gave her a freezing glare that actually made her shuffle her feet. “Her name’s Isis.”

  “So you do like her.”

  More than like. “Georgia, it’s really none of your business.”

  “It’s not natural,” she sniffed. “You’d be having sex with an animal!”

  “I wouldn’t be having sex with her while she’s a tiger unless we got really freaky.” He added the last part to wind her up, but the silly girl took it seriously.

  “It’s disgusting,” she spat.

  “No, what’s disgusting is people who are still prejudiced against shifters in this day and age.”

  Georgia’s face tightened. “Whatever.”

  Raf sighed and took a big bite of his donut.

  *

  Isis sauntered into the coffee shop, called out her order and lo and behold, in spite of the long queue, a pimply, young man brought her the order within fifty seconds. She ignored the outraged looks of everyone in the queue.

  “Fan of yours?” asked Raf, wryly as the young man simpered and rushed back to start filling other people’s orders.

  “He’s a sweetie,” she said as her hand idled on Raf’s thigh. She didn’t say it, but her eyes told him that she thought Raf was an even bigger sweetie. “So why did you want to meet here?”

  Raf hesitated. He could tell her the truth, and say he feared for her safety at the station, but he didn’t want to risk offending her. Their relationship had taken a sharp shift, and the urge to protect her was now a glaring need. “Less distractions.”

  “Less chance we’ll sneak off and do something naughty in a supply cupboard?” she breathed, curling her lips into a wicked grin.

  “Forget the cupboard, if I weren't a professional, I’d just drag you to my apartment and not let you leave for days.”

  Isis leaned over and tickled his ear with her breath. “When this case is over, I’ll let you.”

  He shuddered and took a sip of his coffee to try and steady his nerve, or was it to keep his hands occupied, so they didn’t wander over Isis’ delicious body.

  “So, down to business,” she leaned back in her chair and pulled out a laptop. She seemed completely at ease, not at all drowning in arousal like Raf. Lucky, sexy feline. “Since we haven’t been able to get anything from the witch angle, I asked Jessie to look into the cadaver angle.”

  “Think our grumpy mole shifter, Trip might have been onto something with Burke and Hare?”

  Isis scrunched her pretty nose. “Maybe, but I’d never admit it to his face.”

  “You sure we should leave the witch idea so quick? I think it was a good angle and Kalinda did say that there were a lot of potential potions and spells that could use these, uh, particular ingredients.” He decided not to blurt out the words ‘dead body parts’ in a crowded coffee shop. The grandmother with her three grandchildren sitting next to them might not appreciate it.

  “Witches are terrible gossips, and Kalinda makes it her business to know everyone else’s. If there is a witch acquiring these particular ingredients in Los Lobos, they are doing it uncharacteristically quietly, and the only way to find them will be to catch them actually in the act of stealing these particular ingredients.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Isis blinked in surprise. “No more arguing? You’re giving in just like that?”

  Raf held up his hands in defeat. “I bow to your expert knowledge. But I promise you, I’m not so docile where it really counts.”

  “Oh, believe me, I already know that from experience,” she purred.

  He willed the image of Great Aunt Brenda into his mind and moved his leg, so his desire wasn’t quite so obvious. Judging by the sizzling look, Isis already knew. Time to change the subject. “So, uh, back to the cadavers.”

  The grandmother gave them both disgusted looks and shepherded her grandchildren to the other end of the coffee shop. Isis didn’t seem to notice or care.

  “Jessie checked out all the colleges in Los Lobos, and they haven’t used corpses in years. They all use pigs.”

  “So we’re at a dead end?”

  “Au contraire, Jessie widened her search and found a company that does use corpses.” Isis tapped on her laptop and then turned it to face him.

  Raf looked at the screen. “Forever Young, your life is just beginning. Is this a company or an ad for a Hallmark card?”

  “It’s a company, take a look through
their website.”

  He read the blurb and then started going through a few pages. “I’m reading this, but I have no idea what they actually do. Looks like the place is run by a creepy looking guy called Victor Howler. Sounds like a Scooby-Doo villain. I’m guessing they’re dedicated to trying to lengthen lives.”

  “Exactly. They’re trying to delay the aging process.”

  Raf snorted. “And they’re achieving this by experimenting on corpses?”

  “Don’t look at me, this is mad science territory mixed with magic. Two concepts that don’t generally mix well.”

  “You don’t think that they might be trying to reanimate these corpses, do you?”

  Isis scrunched up her nose doubtfully. “Not them, no. That’s zombie territory, and lengthening lives isn’t quite the same as bringing people back to life. However, interestingly enough, they currently have a lawsuit pending against them.”

  She sat back and looked very smug with herself.

  “You going to tell me or I am going to have to… tickle it out of you?”

  Isis giggled, girlishly – a surprisingly erotic sound from her mouth. “Tickle later, for now, I’ll tell you. There’s some dispute about how they acquire their dead bodies and what they do with them. Some families of the deceased they experimented on are accusing Forever Young of taking the bodies without consent.”

  “Shit,” said Raf with feeling. “How can we have missed that?”

  “They’re going to great lengths to keep it as quiet as possible. We only know about it because Jessie may have done something, ever so slightly, just a little itty bit illegal and hacked into the e-mail accounts of Forever Young.”

  “Isis,” frowned Raf.

  She held up her hands and attempted an innocent, butter wouldn’t melt look. It didn’t work; she still looked like a predator in kitten heel boots. “Hey, I told her it was a bad idea.”

  “Did you?” he asked pointedly.

  She sighed exaggeratedly. “Well, no. But, ‘told her it was a bad idea’ or ‘suggested it’, what’s the diff? The point is they’ve just reached the top of our naughty list, and we should go talk to them.”

  “I agree, but let’s try and keep this all within the law, this time. I’ve already risked the case by snooping around the fertility clinic. We need to make sure we’re careful; otherwise the case will fall apart, and our perp will get away with it.”

  She nodded her head enthusiastically. “From now on, I’ll be one hundred percent angel.”

  Raf looked at her dubiously.

  “Would you believe I could manage seventy-five percent? How about I just let you take the lead, and you tell me if I’m doing anything that might be considered wrong?”

  “Sounds like a plan, and just so we’re clear, you can be as bad as you want in private.”

  Isis bared her teeth and allowed her fingers to graze the front of his trousers as she stood up. “Oh, I intend to.”

  He watched the evil minx hungrily as she sauntered out the coffee shop. As did just about every other male in there, and her favorite barista may have actually started crying when she left. Did she have any idea the effect she had on men? Yep, she probably did. Crap, where was a bucket of ice when you needed it?

  Chapter Fourteen

  “So how do you want to do this?” asked Isis as they approached Forever Young, a modern building that appeared to have been whacked about with a hammer. “Good cop, bad cop? Naked cop, tiger cop?”

  Raf grinned. “Let’s just see how it goes.”

  “I knew you’d be open to naked cop, tiger cop. And, by the way, you have a tiny drop of foam right here.” Isis pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth and licked his skin. She sighed, Ms. Kitty sighed – it was a freaking sighing convention.

  “Thanks,” he groaned, trying to make it obvious that he wasn’t pushing his erection down with the palm of his hand.

  That was bad of her, it really was. He didn’t even have any foam there, but she wanted an excuse, any excuse, just to kiss him, to touch him, to taste him. The kiss last night in his car, and then the goodbye kiss he had given her when he walked her to her door like a gentleman, had been all-too-brief. Course, when he had taken her to heaven with his mouth, that had been lengthy and downright knee wobbling. And there was nothing gentlemanly about it. Raf Silva was not the type of man to hurry her to orgasm and then demand something in return. No, last night had been all about her. It had thrilled and irritated her in equal measure. She had wanted to taste him, too, to feel him come in her mouth as he had done to her, but he was adamant that it wasn’t necessary, in spite of the boiling arousal she scented and the bulging evidence in the front of his trousers. She assumed it was an ego thing. He wanted to prove that he could make her come as well as any male shifter twice his size. Well, mission accomplished. She had never come quite so hard or enjoyably in all her life. She was more than willing to allow him to fluff his ego on her any day of the week. His attentions had Ms. Kitty curled up like a weepy little kitten, and that was no mean feat. Naturally, this had only served to make her smug tiger only more self-satisfied and convinced that he was her mate. The more time Isis spent with him, the more she felt herself falling for him, and it kind of scared her.

  Raf clasped her elbow and pointed to the side entrance of the clinic, and Isis snapped her eyes in that direction. Two surly looking men in white overalls were unloading something from an unmarked van. They looked up and down the alley suspiciously before pulling the huge, black bag out of the van and maneuvering it to the door. It looked a hell of a lot like a body bag. They then started pulling another bag out of the van.

  Isis felt the blood pumping through her veins. Claws itching to be free, her tiger roared in excitement. “They look like bodies, let’s go!”

  Before Raf could object, she was thundering toward the alley.

  Isis slowed as she approached the two men, allowing Raf to catch up with her and giving her time to settle Ms. Kitty down. She would shift if needed, but for now she actually needed her human body to ask a few questions.

  The two surly looking men, who she found as she got closer to them were a ferret shifter and a wolf shifter, looked a little startled by her approach but didn’t do anything downright conspicuous like running away. Shame. She scrunched up her nose as she realized that neither male was particularly clean. If they were lugging dead bodies, she couldn’t smell them over these two morons’ scents.

  “Isis Martin, SEA,” she rumbled at them, producing her badge and flashing her best ‘I dare you to run away’ smile. Sadly, it didn’t take.

  Raf padded to her side more stealthily than it should be possible for a human. “Detective Rafael Silva, LLPD.” He also flashed his badge, and yet still no running away. What did a tigress have to do to have a little game of cat and mouse?

  The ferret looked a little nervous, but then that was a trademark of their species. It was hard to tell if they were ever guilty of anything. The wolf shifter just looked bored. Okay, this was hardly promising. Then again, they might not know what they’re hauling.

  “What’s in the bags, boys?” she demanded without it sounding too much like a demand.

  The wolf harrumphed. “What’s it to you?”

  A sharp look at the ferret gave her a different response. “Medical supplies.”

  The wolf sneered at the ferret, but just spat on the ground and then proceeded to fold his massive arms and glower at them.

  “What kind of medical supplies?” enquired Raf, in his reassuringly serene voice. Oh, she’d tell him anything in a heartbeat if she were in these deadbeats’ shoes.

  “I don’t have to tell you nothing,” spluttered the wolf.

  “Don’t know,” said the ferret in a wavering voice.

  The wolf eyeballed them both, and his hard face took on a grin that was even more unpleasant than the glower. “You got a warrant?” He waited a couple of beats. “Nah, you don’t. So you can just fuck off. We got work to do.” He moved back to the v
an and was irritated to note that the ferret didn’t move with him. “Move your lazy ass, Darren,” he snarled and gave the ferret a hard shove that had him flailing onto the ground.

  “That’s assault,” said Raf, calmly.

  “Fuck you!” roared the wolf.

  Isis tensed. Wolf shifters were hardly the most reasonable species. And alpha male wannabes like the fine example in front of her were the worst. Her muscles throbbed, readying to shift into her braying beast. If this asshole took one step towards Raf, she would turn, and Ms. Kitty would pounce. Male wolf shifters tended to be bigger than her in their shifted form, but she was hardly small. She had few doubts that she could outfight this arrogant asswipe.

  If she weren’t there, Isis felt certain the wolf would have already attacked Raf. His unwashed scent hinted that he spent more time as his wolf than he should, and little time tending to his human side. It was only a matter of time before he got stuck in his wolf form and turned feral.

  Raf placed his hand on his gun. “Why don’t we all just settle down?”

  The wolf roared as claws poked through his fingers. The ferret cowered, trying to make himself as small as possible.

  “What’s going on out there?” snapped a shrill, disagreeable voice.

  The wolf froze as a pair of high heels clickety-clacked in their direction from the open door. Her tiger scented a panther shifter and snarled. She didn’t take her eyes off the wolf, in case he tried to use the distraction to attack. She waited until a tall, dark woman wearing a snow-white business suit came to stand between Isis and the wolf. She was about Isis’ height but towered over her in five-inch heels.

  “Well?” she demanded imperiously.

  “We weren’t doing nothing,” mumbled the wolf, petulantly.

  Raf cleared his throat, and the panther focused on him, her withering glare softening slightly. Stupid panther. “Rafael Silva, LLPD. And this is Isis Martin, SEA.”

  The panther reached forward to shake Raf’s hand, almost brushing Isis aside in the process. “Topanga Williams, how do you do. I’m Dr. Howler’s personal assistant. I’m sorry for the behavior of our employees.” She sneered at the wolf and ferret.