"Do you think you can work in the dark?" he countered.
Charlie shrugged. Being in the morgue unnerved her more than she’d thought it would. When she was considering breaking in to retrieve the samples herself, she’d focused on getting the samples, not how she might feel about the clandestine nature of it.
Moving to the cold storage, she opened a drawer. It was empty. She shut it and grasped the handle of the second drawer. A jolt went through her as she looked down at the elderly woman. After a moment, she pushed the drawer closed and opened the next one.
It was the girl, her mutilations looking even more grotesque against her death pale skin. Whoever had cleaned up behind Dr. Bob and placed the body in the drawer had discarded the body bag.
Charlie pulled the drawer all the way out. She went to the cabinets along one wall and began searching the drawers for the things she needed, gloves, sterile containers for the samples, tweezers and a magnifying glass. She found everything except the magnifying glass. When she’d placed them on a tray she looked up and saw that Greywolf was still standing by the door. "I need you to help me get her onto the table."
She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to remove the body from the drawer, but without a magnifying glass, she wasn’t likely to find much. There was a lighted magnifying glass on an adjustable arm over the examination table.
Without a word, Greywolf surged forward, slipped the gurney beneath the drawer and moved the girl’s body to the table, his face set in grim lines. She glanced at him. "You OK?"
"Are you?"
Charlie took a deep breath and closed her mind to the body, focusing on her search. "Not especially," she admitted.
Pulling the lamp down, she held it, moving it slowly over the body. She found a hair stuck to the coagulated blood on the girl’s neck and tugged it free with the tweezers, examining it under the magnifying lens. "Looks like an animal hair," she muttered, then placed it carefully in a sterile envelope, sealed it and, after a brief search for a pen in her purse, wrote a reference on it. Shoving the envelope in her purse, she continued the search, coming up with another animal hair and two pubic hairs. Very likely, they belonged to the girl, but she couldn’t determine that so she collected them. When she was certain she covered the entire body, she stepped back, thinking. Finally, she returned to the storage cabinets, searching for a lamp.
She was disappointed but not really surprised when she didn’t find one. There might be one in one of the examination rooms, but she didn’t dare take the time to look. Instead, she returned to the body, picked up a scalpel and lifted one of the girl’s hands. Holding it over a sheet of paper, she carefully scraped beneath each of the girl’s nails on both hands. Several dried flakes of blood and tissue dropped onto the paper and, when she’d finished, she very carefully collected it into another envelope and sealed it.
Stepping back, she mopped the beads of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, trying to steady her nerves for what she needed to do next. The body was just coming out of rigor and still stiff. It took an effort to lift her legs and bend them.
"What’re you doing?" Greywolf asked sharply when she picked up a cotton swab.
She glanced at him. "Looking for semen."
"She was attacked climbing out of, or into her bedroom window. If there’s semen, it’s probably her boyfriend’s," he pointed out dryly.
"I won’t know, though, if I don’t get it checked, will I?"
When she’d dabbed several swabs over the area and sealed them, she fished her camera out of her purse and moved to the end of the gurney, leaning in for a close up of the girl’s genitals. She photographed both sides of both hands next and finally the girl’s face and throat.
She felt more than a little nauseated when she’d finished, but strangely elated, as well.
Tossing the camera back into her purse, she repositioned the body and called Greywolf to help her return it to the storage drawer.
She was shaking all over from reaction when she finally reached the alley again.
Greywolf studied her a long moment and finally grasped her arm just below the elbow.
"Where are we going?" Charlie asked, trying to wrench free.
"My place."
Chapter Six
"Your place?" Charlie echoed disbelievingly.
"Unless you’d rather sleep in your car?"
"I’ll find a hotel, thank you," she said firmly, peeling his fingers loose from her arm.
"You won’t. Not at this time of night."
Charlie studied him assessingly, her hands on her hips.
A faint smile curled his lips. "I won’t jump your bones—tonight." He gave her a smoldering once over. "No promises beyond that."
Charlie gave him a look. "I’m not sure I trust you that much."
"Me, or yourself?"
She rolled her eyes. "Please! Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not one of your ... uh ... worshippers."
He studied her a long moment and finally moved toward her. Charlie inhaled a gasp and took a step back. A slow, wicked grin dawned. "If you aren’t worried about it, why the retreat?"
Charlie crossed her arms. "Look, cowboy, I’ve no interest in becoming another notch on your belt. As long as we’re clear on that, then ... thanks. I could use a few hours sleep before I head back to the agency."
He walked her back to her car and then climbed into his truck, which he’d parked directly behind her. She waited until he’d pulled out, wondering if it wouldn’t have been smarter, and less hazardous, if she’d just decided to make the drive back tonight. It occurred to her, though, that she should probably go through the motions of presenting herself at the morgue in the morning. She’d done her best to leave the morgue just as she’d found it, but she’d had to take containers for the specimens. Dr. Bob might notice they were missing anyway, but he wasn’t as likely to, she didn’t think, if she didn’t arouse his suspicions by taking off in the middle of the night.
Besides, now that the adrenaline rush had subsided, she was too tired to attempt a drive back without endangering herself and other motorists.
To her surprise, he led her out of town. They drove for several miles before he turned off onto a long, narrow unpaved drive between two posts. A sign hung from the cross piece above the drive, but she couldn’t read it. Dimly, she could see the outline of a house at the top of a sharp rise.
It looked like a big house for one person, and a sense of uneasiness settled over her. Was she about to be confronted by an irate wife? His parents?
He parked his truck in front of the house and got out, waiting for her.
"Your wife doesn’t wait up for you?" she asked, none too subtly, but then she wasn’t currently in any condition for subtleties and moreover, she wanted to know what she was up against.
Instead of replying, he merely grunted and strode up the walk, crossed the wide porch and unlocked the door, shoving it open. She stepped across the threshold just as he flicked the light switch. Blinking against the sudden light, Charlie peered around the room cautiously.
She discovered that they were standing in a great room the size of her apartment. It was spotless, but completely bare of any frills—clearly a bachelor pad.
When she turned to look at Greywolf, he was looking her over in an assessing and none too friendly manner. "If I was married," he said coolly, "I wouldn’t have been fooling around with you in the alley."
Charlie blushed guiltily. "Sorry."
He lifted one brow.
"I mean it. I’m usually a better judge of people ... but I’m tired and ... well it’s a big house."
"I like open spaces ... Bed or couch?"
She looked a question.
"There’re three bedrooms, but only one bed ... mine."
"The couch is fine," she said, moving toward it with a sense of relief and taking a seat.
Greywolf disappeared, returning several minutes later with a blanket, a pillow, a towel and a men’s undershirt, still in the pack. "The bathroom’s dow
n the hall."
Charlie stared at the bounty, both surprised and pleased by his thoughtfulness. When she glanced around again, however, he was heading up the stairs. "Thanks!"
He nodded but kept going. Shrugging mentally, Charlie grabbed the towel and T-shirt and headed down the short hall that led to the bathroom. She was almost tired enough to just fall on the couch and sleep, but she felt almost as unclean from being in the presence of such brutal violence as she did from handling the body. She’d been wearing gloves, of course, but nothing short of a hot, thorough scrubbing was going to remove the sensation of having touched dead flesh—if even that would.
Her hair was thick and dried slowly. She would’ve preferred not washing it since she knew she’d have to sleep with wet hair, but, not surprisingly, there was no shower cap. When she’d finished, she washed her panties out and hung them over the shower rod to dry. The T-shirt came down almost to the middle of her thighs. In any case, Greywolf had already gone to bed and she planned to be up before him in the morning.
Returning to the great room, she grabbed her purse then crawled onto the couch, folding her legs Indian style. She’d just finished brushing the tangles from her hair when the creak of a floor board made her look up with a startled jerk. Greywolf was standing no more than six feet from where she sat, staring at her fixedly. As she stared at him in stunned surprise, she saw his adam’s apple bob on a convulsive swallow. Slowly, almost like a sleepwalker, he leaned over and placed a blow dryer on the coffee table in front of her. "I thought you might need this," he said gruffly.
"Thanks," she said, smiling. It wasn’t until she leaned over to pick it up that she remembered she’d left her panties hanging over the rod in the bathroom. She looked down at herself quickly and discovered the T-shirt had ridden up her hips when she sat, baring her to the breezes. By the time she looked up again, Greywolf was headed back up the stairs.
Snatching the towel up, she, belatedly, covered herself, glaring at his retreating back. He paused at the top, gripping the balustrade in white knuckled fists as he leaned over it and looked down at her. "Remember what I told you," he growled, then turned and disappeared before she could think of anything to say.
Charlie stared after him blankly, wondering what he meant by the cryptic remark.
The remark in the alley? She shrugged it off. In all likelihood she’d be gone before he even woke up in the morning and unless forensics turned up something it wasn’t likely she’d be back.
* * * *
Something brushed between her thigh, nudging her knees apart and parted the folds of her sex, rubbing against her clit, making the muscles in her belly clench in a spasm of pleasure. Charlie felt a moan straining against her chest, felt sleep drifting beyond her grasp. She lay perfectly still, enjoying the pleasure that seeped through her lethargy, making her heart beat faster, the blood rush through her veins, as warmth and pleasure.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Greywolf was kneeling beside the couch. Still groggy to a state of near drunkenness, she pushed herself up on the couch, turning to face him. Still uncertain whether she was dreaming or awake, she watched him through half closed eyes as he caught her ankles. Spreading them wide, he bent her knees and hooked her heels on the edge of the couch.
She blinked at him, still dazed with sleep and desire, looked down as he pushed the T-shirt she wore higher. When she looked at him again, she saw that he was staring at her genitals. He lifted a hand, brushed the curls of her bush, ran a shaking finger gently over the parted petals of flesh. She inhaled on a gasp as he rubbed his finger lightly over her clit and he looked up at her, his face taut, his eyes glittering. Scooping a butt cheek into each hand, he lifted her hips, lowered his head and opened his mouth over her.
The heat went through her like a shock wave. She cried out, no longer caught between dream and reality, no longer simmering on the edge of desire, but on fire from it. She caught his head with both hands, trying to push him away, but felt desire lance every ounce of strength from her muscles as he sucked her clit. "Oh God! John!" she gasped shakily. "You gave me your word."
He lifted his head. "Only for the night."
She forced her eyes open and looked at him dizzily, uncomprehendingly.
"You want me to stop?" he asked hoarsely.
She nodded, swallowed. "Yes."
He lowered his head again, ran his tongue along her cleft and teased her clit.
"You’re certain?" he murmured.
"NO! I mean, yes!" she stammered.
He leaned down and sucked her clit again for several moments, sending sharp arrows of pleasure knifing through her. Charlie felt her belly spasm, felt her body escalating toward release.
He lifted his head, sat back on his heels.
Panting, almost sobbing for breath, Charlie stared at him in confusion.
"I wanted to taste you."
At his words, a shock wave of pleasure went through her. The muscles in her sex clenched, aching for the feel of him. He was waiting, she finally realized, allowing her to decide—forcing her to. It was unfair. Her body was humming for his touch, reeling from the caresses he’d already bestowed, aching for the feel of him filling her. He’d taken unfair advantage, caught her while she was sleeping and vulnerable.
She could almost hate him for that ... but she wanted him.
She was going to have a hard time living with herself if she gave in to his underhanded ploy.
She was afraid she would deeply regret it if she didn’t.
She slipped off the couch, straddling his thighs. "You’re a sneaking asshole, Greywolf," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and staring him dead in the eyes.
He caught the back of her head. "So I’ve been told," he growled, opening his mouth over hers and kissing her with an almost angry, savage intensity that boiled the blood in her veins. Her head swam dizzily as he twisted, laying her back against the carpet and following her down. She ran her hand down his bare chest, slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of his jeans and cupped his sex. He pulled away, unfastening his jeans and tugging the zipper down.
Freed from the restriction of his shorts and jeans, his cock landed heavily in her palm and she glanced down at it, a little alarmed. He pushed her back onto the floor, shoved her T-shirt up, kneading her breasts, tugging at her nipples with his lips, sucking them.
Gasping, she reached blindly for his cock, stretching, trying to capture it in her hand once more. He shifted upward, pushing her thighs apart and she caught hold of him at last, rubbing the head of his cock against her clit, searching a little frantically for her opening. Pushing her hand away, he aligned their bodies and thrust, his cock slipping in the juices of their bodies. Charlie gasped, digging her fingers into his shoulders as she felt herself slipping along the carpet.
He cursed, grasped her waist and thrust again. She locked her legs around his waist, pushing in counter to his short thrusts as he slipped slowly inside of her. They lay panting for a moment when he had sunk his cock fully inside of her. After a moment, he lifted his head. Sweat beaded his brow. His teeth were clenched. "Christ, you’re tight, baby."
The desire in his expression and his words sent an echo through her. Charlie swallowed convulsively against her dry throat, feeling the muscles of her passage clench around him, feeling every muscle in her body tense as if she were gathering herself to leap. He groaned, ground his teeth and began moving, striving for a rhythm that yielded the most exquisite sensations. Charlie released her grip on his waist, dropping her feet to the floor and thrust in counter to the ram of his cock, leaning up to kiss nibbling bites along his chest, then tilting her head back to reach his throat.
He twisted, leaning down to cover her mouth with his own, plunging his tongue and retreating in like rhythm to the thrusts of his cock. After a moment, groaning in frustration at the difficulty in reaching her, he scooped an arm beneath her shoulders and held her to him as he rolled up onto his knees once more.
Charlie gas
ped as he slipped an arm around her buttocks, pulling her close, settling his cock more deeply inside her. Sensual delight seemed to arc inside her like an electric current, fusing her pleasure centers together, building toward release. She gripped his shoulders as he bent his head and sucked love bites along her throat and along her collar bone and shoulder. She arched her back as he moved lower, offering her breasts. The impetuous of his mouth suckling her nipple ripped her climax from her in an explosion of warmth that flooded her sex. The muscles inside of her convulsed, massaging his cock. He released her breast with a groan, his arms tightening around her almost painfully as his own release jolted through him, his cock jerking against the mouth of her sex as his hot seed erupted inside of her.
Chapter Seven
The problem with one night stands, Charlie realized even as she floated upwards from spent ecstasy, was the awkwardness that immediately followed having sex with a virtual stranger. Was there a graceful way to exit? Nothing came immediately to mind, but as she clung to him in the aftermath, staring at the morning light seeping through the drapes, providence smiled upon her.
"Oh my God! What time is it?" she cried, clambering off of his lap and looking around for a clock.
"Seven or there about."
"Shit!" she exclaimed inelegantly and dashed for the bathroom. The moment she slammed the door behind her she collapsed back against it, covering her face with her hands. Her mind seemed incapable of grasping what she’d just done and after a moment, she lurched toward the shower and turned it on full blast.
The T-shirt smelled like him. She was on the point of ripping it off and tossing it onto the floor when it occurred to her that she could use it as a shower turban to keep her hair from getting soaked again. Tying it around her head, she got into the shower and began scrubbing a little frantically, trying not to think about what she’d just done.
She found it impossible. Her nipples were still sensitive from his touch, her sex even more so. The steam from the shower seemed to activate his scent on her skin and her pussy throbbed with fond memory.
The Shaman Page 4
