A Dark Kiss of Rapture (7 page)

“I don’t know. I guess that’ll be up to him
and whether he’d like to keep in touch or not.”

“When does he leave?”

Kim glanced at the digital clock on her
stovetop. “Too soon, whenever it is. I have to get ready. He’s
going to be here in an hour and a half.”

“You could convince him to keep in touch
with you.” Sliding off the stool, Delia straightened the skirt of
her flirty blue dress.

“I don’t think anyone can convince Raze of
anything once he’s made up his mind.” Kim’s chest tightened at the
thought of having even a tiny hold on Raze.

“Think about it. You’re not his type. He
walked into that bar looking for a back alley screw or something
like it. Then you walked up and rocked his world, just like Roz
said you would. He let you into his personal space, fed you, took
care of you. You’ve got him already, Kimmy. You can keep him, if
you want to.”

“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.

CHAPTER 7

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.”