Dark Wings Descending (23 page)

“You can’t just say things like that.” Rafe groaned at her words, her body pressing into Ashley’s. She swore under her breath. “Fuck.”

With a seductive grin, Ashley pounced. “Why, Detective Douglas, I thought you’d never ask.” Her kiss ended any further response, and soon only the sounds of soft moans filled the bedroom.

Sometime during the time they’d actually slept, Rafe had ended up spooned along Ashley’s back, as close as she could be, savoring her warmth. She woke up slowly, and Rafe could just about make out the numbers on her clock. She was surprised it was barely after midnight. She stretched her body a little, enjoying the aches that came from their lovemaking. She listened for a moment to Ashley’s soft breathing.
She’s everything I would have wished for had I known I needed it
.
God, are we moving too fast? I’d hate to lose her because we have rushed into things.
She pressed her nose to Ashley’s neck and breathed in her scent.
I don’t think I could bear to lose her. But damn her and her talk of soul mates, because now I can’t think straight.

“Stop thinking,” Ashley’s voice murmured sleepily from beside her.

Rafe stilled.
Christ, can she read my mind now?
Ashley reached back to caress her leg, and instantly, Rafe wanted her again. Pushing all thought aside, she kissed at Ashley’s nape, then began to nudge her over onto her front so she could explore further. She rained kisses down Ashley’s back, and in the pale light of the bedside lamp she caught sight of curious markings under her hands. Rafe’s eyes widened as she took in the two huge tattoos emblazoned on Ashley’s back.

“Fuck me,” she said.

Ashley shifted a little to look over her shoulder. “I was all set to, but it appears you have gotten distracted by my artwork.” She lay back down on her front, letting Rafe have a proper view of the designs on her back. “Now, had you been up to date with your dating etiquette, you’d have known to ask if I had any piercings or body art.”

Rafe couldn’t take her eyes off the tattoo. “That’s one huge tattoo, Ash.” She ran her finger gently over the edge of one marking. “Two, to be correct, I guess.”

“Do you hate it?” Ashley’s voice was hushed.

As she examined the artwork on Ashley’s back, Rafe reached out to touch again and explore it. She traced the detail from each shoulder down to the start of Ashley’s hips. “This is
just
a tattoo, isn’t it? This isn’t another secret of yours only I can see, right?” She was heartened by Ashley’s soft chuckle.

“You’re safe, it’s just a tattoo. I got an amazing artist who worked on it for me.” She cast a glance over her shoulder again. “What are you thinking, Rafe? I can’t quite read your expression.”

Sitting cross-legged beside her on the bed, Rafe shook her head. “I’m overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the artwork and the fine detail, but I have to admit, I’m surprised as hell to see this on your body.”

“You’re surprised I have a tattoo?”

“I’m surprised you have two life-sized angel wings decorating your back that look so damn realistic I’m surprised they can’t spread out and fly.” She marveled at the tiny, intricate work that made up each feather. “This must have taken hours of work. The attention to detail is striking. They look
real
.”

“I hate to disappoint you, but they’re not, and I can’t glamour them to life either. I wanted the symbolism. I’m the child of a demon yet am guided through life by an angel. I chose sides, Rafe. And though I’ll never possess the real things, when I was eighteen, I decided I wanted the image marking my skin. It seems silly now, but I don’t regret doing it.”

Rafe caressed Ashley’s naked back. She almost expected to feel the soft down of feathers as she touched each folded wing. The tattoos were incredibly lifelike with the stark white of the feathers shaded in soft grays and blacks. Rafe was tempted to lean in and blow on them just to see if the feathers ruffled from her breath. She was stunned by their beauty and realism.

“They suit you,” she said finally, straddling Ashley’s hips and kneading at her muscles. She started at Ashley’s shoulders, rubbing her nape, then worked her way lower. She laid kisses along Ashley’s spine, edging down until she could rub herself on Ashley’s butt cheek. Ashley groaned as she felt Rafe move.

“Can you feel me?” Rafe rocked her hips, feeling her lips open and her clitoris nudge against Ashley’s fleshy buttock.

“You’re getting wet again,” Ashley groaned, raising her butt to let Rafe ride.

“You do that to me.” Rafe closed her eyes for a moment and took her own pleasure until the pressure became too urgent for her to hold in.

“Come on me,” Ashley begged, arching her back to try to keep Rafe in place.

“I want to touch you.” Rafe ran her hands up Ashley’s spine. “Maybe ruffle these feathers of yours.”

Laughing, Ashley turned and Rafe moved so they lay face-to-face. Ashley reached between Rafe’s legs and spread her open, seeking where Rafe ached for her. Overwhelmed by sensation, Rafe clung to her, wrapping her arms around her and grabbing at Ashley’s back. She could feel the wings beneath her palms and she held on tight as Ashley moved inside her. Rafe didn’t need any more stimulation. She came with a shout and shuddered in Ashley’s arms.

“Too damn quick,” she complained, trying to get her breath back as she pulsed around Ashley’s fingers.

“First you complain I tease you, now it’s too fast.” Ashley kissed Rafe soundly. “Guess we’re just going to have to keep doing this until you’re happy.”

Rafe looked deep into Ashley’s eyes. “It might take us forever to get everything perfect.”

“I can do forever with you.” Ashley brushed playfully at Rafe’s hair. “Are you really not turned off by my angel wings?”

“They’re beautiful like you are and one hell of a surprise,
exactly
like you are.” Rafe planted a kiss on Ashley’s smiling lips. “At least the only things you have pierced are your ears, so I’m grateful for small mercies.”

“I know the wings aren’t something a private investigator usually sports.”

“I wouldn’t know. You are the first PI I’ve had the pleasure of seeing naked.”

“Met many pleasurable PIs, have you?” A touch of jealousy laced Ashley’s tone.

“Not many, no. And only the one who’s made me want to bare my own soul back to her.”

“Rafe, you possess a beautiful soul.”

“I think I could easily fall in love with you.” She couldn’t censure the words as they spilled from her lips. She liked how they sounded and loved how they made her feel. Unable to hold back any longer, Rafe had to give it voice, even though part of her felt crazy for feeling so much so soon. She watched sheer pleasure light up Ashley’s face. The kiss she received made it worthwhile placing her heart on the line.

“I could fall in love with you too, Detective.” Ashley spread Rafe’s hand over her heart. “Can you feel that? It beats for you alone.” She kissed Rafe again tenderly. “Show me how much you could love me.”

Without hesitation, Rafe complied. She lowered her head to take Ashley’s nipple between her lips when a loud ringing came from somewhere on the floor.

“Damn it all to hell! That’s my phone.” Ashley reluctantly peeled herself out of Rafe’s arms and got out of bed. She searched through the jumbled mass of clothing littering the floor until she found the phone and answered it. Rafe knew by the look on her face it wasn’t good news.

“Okay, we’re on it.” She snapped her phone closed then gathered up their clothing and threw it on the bed. “Get dressed, Detective. We have somewhere to be.”

“We’ve run out of time, haven’t we?” Rafe asked, pulling on her pants and threading her belt through the loops.

Nodding, Ashley handed her the gun from the bedside table. “That was Eli. We have another body.”

The first thing Rafe noticed was that the location of this murder scene was entirely different than the previous three. It wasn’t a run-down alley. It was a community garden with a paved area leading a trail through the many plants and small trees.

“Welcome to Eden,” Ashley said as they walked to the address Eli had supplied them. Rafe had been instructed to park her car a few blocks away and for them to reach the murder scene by foot. She’d never walked so fast to get somewhere or kept to the shadows to not be seen.

“Eden?”

“That’s the project’s name, the Garden of Eden.”

“Do you think the killer picked that on purpose?”

“Who knows what’s going through this madman’s mind?” Ashley directed Rafe to the apartment block overlooking the gardens, and they climbed up the fire escape. They passed darkened windows where the occupants slept inside, blissfully unaware of what lay outside their homes. Ashley pulled out her camera from her jacket.

“I didn’t realize you carried that with you,” Rafe said just above a whisper.

“I take it everywhere with me. I have to be prepared for every eventuality. I never thought to use it tonight. I could have had some marvelous candid shots of you to look at.”

Rafe sniffed pointedly. “You don’t need photos. We both still reek of sex.”

Ashley lifted a hand to her face and breathed in deeply. “Yes, we do. Good thing I carry wet wipes on me too, just in case. Though not usually to wipe my lover’s scent off.” She eased up another few steps and stopped. “There she is.” She leaned over the railing and Rafe instinctively held on to her to steady her. Looking down into the garden, Rafe could see a faint shadow in the darkness. Only solar-powered lights were lit among the plants, diffusing the area with little light. The moon played hide-and-seek with the clouds, so visibility was low. The street lamp glow didn’t stretch far enough inside the garden to light where the woman lay dead. The almost blinding flash from Ashley’s camera lit up the ground, and in that split second, Rafe could see the ruined body of yet another woman below.

Ashley held out her camera so Rafe could see the picture she had taken. “He laid her on pavement this time, a better canvas for him to paint his message on.” Rafe was amazed by how accurate Blythe’s input had been.

Ashley looked at the screen with her. Rafe knew by the soft exclamation beside her that Ashley had recognized what the killer had done. Only Rafe could say it out loud.

“She’s been given wings.”

*

Rafe reached into her jacket for her cell phone.

“What are you doing?” Ashley asked, grabbing Rafe’s arm to stall her movements.

“I’m calling Dean. He needs to get the crime scene guys down here before we lose any evidence to the night.”

“You can’t make that call, Rafe,” Ashley said. “It has to be from an anonymous source. They can’t ever link this back to either you or me.” She patted Rafe’s hand. “Put the phone away for now. We need to do something else.”

Grumbling, Rafe did as she was asked, but Ashley could tell she wasn’t happy with it. “Look around, please,” Ashley said, searching the garden in the darkness.

“Care to let me in on what I’m looking for in the dark?” Rafe asked.

“Demon light,” Ashley whispered. “We got here pretty damn fast. Usually the bodies aren’t discovered by anyone else until a little later. You need to check like I’ve had to every time I’ve come onto a scene.”

“Search for the hiding demon in case he’s still here getting his jollies at the scene.” Rafe nodded once, looking into the night with a more purposeful air. “But if he’s human, he won’t be lit up like a Christmas tree, will he?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look for him. It just means we have to be extra careful stepping from the fire escape and entering the kill site. If the killer is still in the area, we’re as vulnerable as this woman was.”

“I can’t believe you’ve been at the crime scenes on your own.” Rafe slipped her gun from its holster and kept it by her side. “That’s just plain dangerous.”

Ashley bit back a smile at the growing anger in Rafe’s voice. She knew it was the cop talking as well as the lover. “I’m never truly alone, Rafe,” she said.

“Eli comes with you?”

“Rest assured he is always watching over me and ready to lend a hand should I need him.”

“And he could do what if you were attacked? Beat them to death with his wings?”

Ashley slapped at Rafe’s stomach. “Do you know nothing of the weapons angels possess,
Raphael
?” She ignored Rafe’s growl at her use of her full name. “You have the name of an angel and still have no clue. Angels are not defenseless beings of light. They are equipped with the Weapons of Truth.”

“Weapons of Truth?” Rafe said. “I damn well want to know that if my girl is out sniffing around the body of a recent murder, she’s protected by something more than just truth, justice, and the American way.”

“Trust me, Rafe, Eli’s more than ready to keep me safe.”

“Is he here now?” Rafe scanned about her. “I can’t see his white light.”

“He’s here, just not in a physical form or any you can see.” Ashley knew exactly where he was. She could feel his presence near. She could always sense where he was.

“I need to go down into the garden. This woman needs me to find her killer.” Rafe began edging toward the stairs.