Judging Art Ch 01

Prologue

The Reverend Jackson Wilde had been shot in the head, heart and testicles. Right off, Cyrus figured that that was a significant clue. Whoever wanted the Reverend dead certainly did not stop at just emasculating him: Blood was splattered all over the sink and cabinets; collecting in a pool of blood underneath the body.

It was messy, but Cyrus figured that messy was clearly an understatement to explain the task following the death of the county's most prominent minister. Clearly his thoughts were leading him towards the start of his search for answers.

"What do you think Theo?"

In response to his question, Theron Ramirez, pushed his glasses more squarely onto his face.

"My initial guess is that the head shot got him. His grey matter is mostly destroyed by the impact of the bullet, which I'm betting was fired at close range. The bullet to his chest missed his heart by a mile and the shot to his balls probably wouldn't have killed him... well not instantly anyway."

Theron's grin earned him an enquiring look from the inspector. Cyrus felt sorry for the Reverend.

"Do you think his balls were shot before the killing blow or after?" Cyrus asked.

"He wasn't dying with a death grip around his balls if that's what you wanted to know. His hands were by his side, see? He probably knew the perpetrator and didn't see it coming."

"Most victims hardly do," Cyrus offered. "Time of death?"

"Judging from the rigidity in his wrist... I'd call it around 5am or slightly after," Theo replied and as though on second thoughts continued, " And Threadgill, if you want that autopsy report ASAP, you've got to get your ass out of my way and not poke your nose around and bug me for it before I'm done okay?"

"Whatever," Cyrus muttered and conducted a visual investigation of the scene. Prints were being dusted for and items were being placed in bags and labeled by the crime scene investigation team. Cyrus spotted his brother examining the carpet for fibers.

"Don't let those pesky press in just yet Ciro. I want every damn inch of this house checked." Not waiting for a reply, Cyrus continued to the living room which appeared gloomy with its drawn curtains against the morning sunshine.

Huddled in the corner of a Natuzzi sofa was a young redhead woman, her head bent; her face buried in her hands. She was sobbing uncontrollably but it was the slim brunette consoling her that caught his attention. She was tall and slender with wide shoulders which served to accentuate her slim waist. Cyrus caught himself staring at her whiskey coloured eyes as if drowning in its flavor. Feeling himself drawn to her, Cyrus stepped forward and stuck out his right hand.

"Cyrus Threadgill, Homicide detective," he introduced. The lady merely glanced, giving him a once over and replied, "Eulalie Duras."

Her voice was controlled yet he did not miss the silkily French accent in her voice. No wonder the whiskey eyes, he thought to himself.

"This is my sister Sybilla. That is her husband," she said, shrugging her shoulders towards the kitchen.

"Mrs. Wilde, if it's okay with you, I need to ask you a few questions," Cyrus began.

Sybilla merely looked up meekly at him and in a hoarse voice he could hardly hear, she said, "I think I killed my husband."

**** Chapter One

Ring!!! The shrill of her phone emanated through the room and invaded her ears albeit rudely.

"Damn it... can't a girl even get a nice four hour sleep for once? It's seven in the morning for god's sake!" Trudging around in her bedroom in search for the source of her annoyance, Astraea almost slipped on her cat, who didn't seem happy that it's' tail almost got stripped off.

"Ramirez speaking," she managed to mumble.

"Astraea, what do you think you're doing at 7 in the morning?" came the reply.

"What the...? Hey buster, I just had the worst night shift and for starters, who the hell is this?" she yelled into the phone.

"Hey sleepy-head... it's Theron okay? Doesn't your brother deserve a buenos diaz now and then?" "What do you want?" she asked grumpily.

"Alright, chill with the crankiness. Well... I'm kinda shorthanded here at the lab. Do you think you can catch the next plane to Dallas?" inquired her brother.

"You want me to quit my job, sell my house, pack my bags and go hallelujah with you?" she replied, clearly annoyed.

"You're always one for drama, baby sis. How bout this: Does the name Jackson Wilde ring a bell?" Theron offered.

"As in THE Reverend Wilde? No... don't tell me you're..." her voice trailed off, hoping she wasn't hearing things.

"That's right. Now get your sassy ass here right now. This has just been your new job assignment."

Astraea Ramirez hardly misses the opportunity to get her hands on a real autopsy. She wouldn't call her latest trend in examining stroke victims, real work. God help her if she didn't become one. Working with Theron on a major examination such as this would go a long way into her career book.

"Do you think Theron would expect me to wear something bubbly or something sassy?" she said to her cat who was still sulking over its rumpled fur. Not long later, Astraea had half her cupboards empty of its content.

"I don't know what to wear," she sighed as she began dumping back all the unwanted clothing and finally decided on a business suit, a pair of jeans and boring t-shirts. She doubted that she would have any kind of social life once she's immersed in her lab work; if not, there's never any better reason for shopping in Dallas.

**** Astraea stood facing the sliding doors of the terminal and gave a sigh. Going to Dallas would give her two lodging choices- Theron's or her mother's place. Choosing the latter, Astraea made her way to the telephone booth and desperately tried to fish for her telephone book. Trust her to forget to charge her phone batteries. Now they're dead and useless.

Finally, with the prize in her hand, she turned to face the telephone, only to find a bob of black curls staring at her.

"Hey! I was here first!" she grumbled to herself but loud enough for the culprit to turn. He gave her a wink and continued with his conversation.

Ten minutes passed and Astraea got bored of shifting her weight from feet to feet. Her plane would soon be boarding its passengers and she needed to talk to her mother urgently.

"Umm, excuse me sir, do you think you could let me use the phone now? I'm sorry to intrude, but there's only one public phone here and I really need to use it urgently."

The man raised his eyebrows and eyed her approvingly. She had a lovely sun kissed tone to her skin, almost bronze- like with soft brown eyes and wavy auburn hair tied up hastily into a knot at the back of her head. The plain black and oversized t-shirt did nothing to hide her ample breast from his eyes. She was hot... and currently annoyed at him, which he found strangely amusing. Rounding up his conversation, he hung up and spoke to her.

"The name's Travelli. Art Travelli. I don't suppose, you'd like a cup of coffee as compensation for my rudeness... Miss?"

Astraea didn't bother to reply him at all. This guy is too damn smooth, she thought as she began dialing.

"Hey Mama, it's me, Astraea. Just wanna tell you I'll be staying over for a couple of weeks... No time to explain now... My plane's leaving in about an hour or so, so that gives you around eight hours to clear all that junk you've stored in my room... Love ya mom, can't chat long, bye!" and hung up before her mother had anything more to add.

Upon turning around, Astraea found the man leaning against the pillar of the booth. "About that coffee, Miss...?" he said, with a grin that almost made her want to kick him in his gut.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm late," she replied and sped past him even before he could protest; marching towards the security check area.

Thirty minutes later...

Shuffling past the other passengers to get to the back of the business class, Astraea finally found her seat- only to find it occupied by someone with a pillow over his face. Sighing, she sat beside him and stared out the window. His flight ticket was on his thigh and she saw clearly that they were in each others' seats.

Trying to distract herself from her annoyance, she began wondering how Theron was doing. Many said that they never shared any similarities except for their date of birth but she knew otherwise. There were times when she could sense what he was thinking about. Even when she went to work in London, Theron still played a major role in her life.

She was suddenly shaken from her daze when the sleeping man's head started to lean unconsciously on her shoulders.

"You!" she exclaimed and woke him up from his slumber.

Straightening himself and grinning like he did before, he started raking his fingers through his hair and started to reach for her hand.

"Wouldn't it be chivalrous of me to give you back your seat now?"

"Yes, please. Thank you," came the icy reply as Astraea stood up to exchange seats with him. As they brushed close to each other, she swore she felt soft fluttering fingers trailing over her exposed thighs underneath her skirt. But when she turned to chide him, he was already seated and grinning at her.

"I didn't quite catch your name. My name's Art. Nice to meet you," he said.

"Astraea... but I do not share those sentiments."

"I think we're going to spend a lot of time with each other... so why don't you drop that icy tone? I swear honey; you're a much sexier and hotter that way."

Astraea simply rolled her eyes and turned to face the window, grumbling to herself.

Sometime later, with the lights dimmed and most of the chatter has died down, Astraea found herself relaxing in her reclined chair. From the corner of her eye, she felt his eyes watching her. Astraea pretended to ignore him. But knowing that his eyes were scanning her body at that moment sent shivers down her spine.

"I know you know I'm looking at you..." he whispered. "Astraea..." and his lips touched hers.

She knew she shouldn't want this but his soft lips coaxing a response from her were enough to make her moan with lust. She felt his fingers brushing at that sensitive area just under her earlobes and she gave in to his deepening kiss.

Suddenly, he broke off his kiss and stared at her. She saw the corners of his sexy mouth curving up into the grin she was beginning to enjoy looking at. Soft curls of black hair were partially covering his eyes and he was beginning to have stubbles on his chin and jaw line.

Astraea reached out to trace a finger along his jaw line and watch him draw a sharp breath.

"Knew you couldn't resist it babe..." and he covered her mouth once again but this time, more demanding as his tongue sought hers. It was then she felt him parting her thighs and trailing his fingers so softly towards her throbbing pussy.

Just the thought of him putting his fingers there to touch her made her wet.

But he continued, tracing his fingers in circles along her upper thighs as his lips started exploring her neck. He would nip and kiss tenderly along her collarbone and down to her neckline, daring her to ask for more. Astraea couldn't take it anymore but guided his hands to cup around her pussy, letting him feel her warmth. She could feel his smile against her neck as his fingers played leisurely at the folds of her thongs.

"Art... please..." she literally begged as her hips started moving in an upward thrust to desperately meet his fingers. With her mind concentrating on his fingers slowly parting her thong to come in direct contact with her wet cunt, she nearly moaned in pleasure when he suddenly used his other hand to cup her breast from under her shirt.

He knew his way around women, Astraea knew, as he unclasped her bra with his one hand and rejoiced at her instantly hardened nipples when he touched them.

"Tell me what you want baby..." he cooed as he playfully gripped her right nipple hard enough to make her bite back her scream.

"I want you... to..."she barely managed to complete her sentence when she felt him insert a finger deep into her wet pussy.

"... Do this?" he whispered as his finger expertly explored her leaking pussy; soft strokes all the time, making her beg for more.

Withdrawing his finger, Art smiled as Astraea looked up at him pleadingly. He simply put his finger in his mouth and tasted her. "Mmmm... Nothing quite like a Latina pussy to make a man wet his pants."

Having taken his teasing for too long, Astraea stood up, brushing a hand on his crotch and walked to the washroom. If her instincts were right, he would follow her.

How unpredictable! Art thought as he followed her a few seconds later. All the while he thought he was having the upper hand. He did not mistake her invitation for what it was when she brushed that small hand of hers on his hard cock. If only she knew how much he wanted to free his painfully hard cock and burry it deep in her.

She was daring enough not to lock the door after entering. Glancing around, Art quickly entered the room and locked the door. It was going to be a little cramped but he'll manage. When he turned, he had to hold his mouth from dropping.

There she was, her legs spread open, playing with herself. She had taken off the shirt too and he couldn't believe any woman would want to hide such amazing D cup breasts beneath that ugly shirt.

"Isn't this what you want, you bad, bad boy?"

Art nodded. He could hardly think as he took in all of her in the light. She was beautiful.

He started for her breasts. God, he loved them, now that he could see them. They were perfect bronze globes with delicious brown nipples begging to be sucked. He buried his face between her breasts, inhaling her scent; his cock grew so painfully hard yet he knew he had to pleasure her first.

As his lips closed in over her nipples, Astraea gave a low moan. Using one of his hands once again to her pussy, she used the other to fondle her right breast. She pulled the nipples and rubbed them in a circular motion, driving herself wild. This time, Art did not tease but with a fevered speed, used two of his fingers to fuck her close to an orgasm. He stopped his rhythm each time she was about to cum, just to see the fire flash in her brown eyes daring him to fuck her more.

"Art..." his name on her lips caused his cock to twitch so hard in his pants. Art figured it was time. Licking her juices off his fingers, he turned her round and unbuckled his pants.

With her knees on the toilet bowl and her hands pressed against the wall for support, Art couldn't resist the sight before him. His tongue lapped at her wet pussy with no mercy, taking her by surprise. She was sure he was going to fuck her now. But his tongue felt so good against her wet cunt that she started grinding her pussy closer to his face.

As quick as it started, it ended, only to be introduced to the real prize. Astraea has to bite her lips to stop herself from screaming as he first plunged deep into her. He had made her soaking wet from all that licking and she understood why. His cock was thick and hard as he drove it mercilessly into her. His hands held on to her breast as he shove himself deeper inside her wet pussy at a speed that left them both breathless.

"Baby, you're so tight... this pussy is so good, gripping my cock like that... you like it baby?" his voice barely a huff as she felt him plunge his cock deep inside her pussy again.

"Yes! More, more, more! Fuck me!"

"As you wish, baby."

Lifting one of her legs up, he now had more room to pound into her pussy. Astraea couldn't control her moans as his thick cock now ploughed her pussy, bringing her to one climax after another.

As she begun to recover from her last orgasm, Art started twisting her nipples with his fingers and began ramming her pussy making her cum all over again. She felt her juices on her inner thigh now and as she gripped him harder with her pussy muscles, she knew his time was coming.

"Ready baby?" Art managed to wheeze before giving a final thrust and spilling his seed deep inside her pussy. She felt his warmth flow deep within her and she came once more, gripping his cock, milking him with her pussy.

"I... I... Thank you. Thank was amazing..." Astraea said when they finally made it back to their seats.

She tried to gauge his expression, but the soft snores were all she got. Smiling to herself, she turned to her side and slept for the rest of the journey.

****

They didn't exchange contact numbers as she had hoped they would. Disappointment was plain in her eyes as they bade farewell and went their separate ways.

Astraea wouldn't let herself believe that a man as handsome as possibly wealthy as Art would ever look her way again, unless it was just to satisfy his lust.

****

Artegal Travelli made it a point to never sleep beside a woman he had fucked but maybe theirs' was a special case. It made waking up painful.

He had seen the way her arm had curved under her head and the way her tousled hair made her look even more ravishing. He had resisted the urge to kiss her again. It scared him that he wanted to hold her and watch her sleep like that. For that reason alone, he kept his silence for the rest of the journey. He wasn't the kind to settle down or wake up to a beautiful woman type.

He was sorry when he saw the hurt in her eyes but she would be happier that way.

****

Trying to push thoughts of him away, Astraea busied herself with her luggage as she headed towards the taxi stand.

She thought of her mother's chicken fajitas with that special salsa dip she always makes and her stomach growled in anticipation. She knew her mother probably spent her eight hours preparing food to feed an army instead of clearing those junk she mentioned not too long ago.