Missing Link (The Finders Book 1) (10 page)

The trees were shaking outside the car, spits of rain splattering onto the windscreen. A storm was coming, and it was moving in fast. There were large storm clouds scattered randomly, trying their best to block out the deep blue sky that shined brightly beyond them. The black clouds were strong and determined to bring darkness, thunder and lightning lighting the sky up with an electric bang.

I could almost see Charlie's stern face in the dark clouds, threatening to overtake my sunlight, his anger causing the deafening bouts of thunder. I clutched the inside of the door, my leg bouncing nervously as the rain pelted against the window, causing the lights of vehicles that pass to blur into beautiful orange and yellow rainbows.

"Sam..." Link called me softly from my daze, I shook it off, taking one last look at the now completely clouded sky before following Link's voice. It took me a moment to realise we had stopped on a rather busy street, cars dodging around us even though we were parked right next to the curb.

"We're gonna have to make a run for it. The rain is coming down pretty hard now." Link had gathered the small amount of clothing I had smuggled out and filled a plastic grocery bag. He tied a knot in the top and passed it to me before reaching over the back seat and into the boot and pulling free a navy blue back pack and throwing it over his shoulder. He reached into the front and tapped Dom on the shoulder firmly.

"Thanks man, we'll catch up tomorrow." He grasped his shoulder and squeezed it. Dom simply flicked his chin upwards in an acknowledging gesture before replying.

"All good bro, laters Red." Link had pulled me out the car door before I had time to realise Dom had actually addressed me. There was no dodging the droplets, they pelted down on us, covering what felt like every millimetre of space at once! I turned to wave to Dom as he sped off but he was already halfway down the street and I was completely drenched.

"Sam, come on!" Link yelled from his small porch which had probably 6 square feet of cover over it. My hair was plastered to the sides of my face and water flowed like a waterfall down the bridge of my nose and off the end. It became so hard and so cold, that each drop stung my bare skin.

"Sam!" Link yelled again but I didn't care. I closed my eyes, feeling the cold water pour over my body.

My work out shirt stuck to me, molding to my body in some places and hanging heavy with water in others. My collar became unstuck from the back of my neck and there was a sudden rush of cold water that shot down the centre of my back only to be soaked up by the rim of my shorts. I shuddered and giggled at the same time, it had shocked my system and delighted my senses all at once. I couldn't help but laugh, I caught casual looks from Link as I spun and twirled and laughed in the middle of his front lawn. His confused and frowning expression slowly morphing into one of amusement. I lay down on the short spikes of grass and closed my eyes. I wanted to blame my strange behaviour on Charlie, blame him for never letting me walk in the rain, never letting me just enjoy the water. But that wasn't it. There was something freeing, something forbiddingly exciting about simply standing in the rain, in your clothes.

You know you should be doing everything possible to stop from getting wet, you know you should be protecting your clothes, you know that everyone will tell you that you could get sick. But you know what? You don't give a fuck because goddamnit, it’s fun!

Link finally unlocks his front door and dumps his backpack inside. The downpour lightening just a tad as he walks toward me, sprawled on the grass and giggling to myself. He picks up my bag of clothes and tosses it under arm at the front door, the package flying through with amazing accuracy. He then proceeds to rip off his tshirt, tossing it in the same direction after revealing a white singlet, clung so tight to his body, I could see every dip, every tone, and every flex. The rain was instantly forgotten, I could care less if there were thousands of samurai stars flying towards my body, the way his top molded to his body was something that should be memorised, documented in pictures or videos or even a stone statue. Anything! I watched a droplet sneak its way down his face and land on the side of his neck, and I even felt my tongue dip out of my mouth without warning as if I was anticipating catching it on the tip.

Link continued to saunter towards me, standing with one foot on either side of my body and outstretching a hand.

"Come on, pretty girl. Let's go get you warm. ." I smiled and gripped his hand, yanking hard and pulling him to his knees so he was straddling my body at the waist. It was then that I caught the return of that sexy smirk which I had become so accustomed to. I couldn't help but smile as he braced his hands at either side of my head. The rain had flattened his usually spiked up hair.

"You look like a church boy with your hair like this!" I laughed, skimming my fingers through the front of his hair and pushing it back from his face. A pointless gesture as the persistent flow of water quickly smothered it back down against his forehead. I heard a few cars beep their horns in the distance and was very quickly aware of the open space surrounding me and the lights and noises speeding past.

I shuddered involuntarily, the chill finally seeping through my skin.

"Okay, we can go in now." I chattered through shaky teeth, but Link shook his head and tucked his face into the crook of my neck. I suppressed the urge to moan at his advances, the battle short lived as he starts to lap at the water that was running down my neck. I gripped the front of his slick shirt, attempting to pull him flusher with my body.

"You have no idea..." Link dragged a hand through my hair, just as he caught in a matted knot, he gripped a handful of hair and pull tightly causing my jaw to lift and exposing my neck "what you are doing to me right now."

Water continues to attack our bodies, running down our arms, dripping from our faces and shoulders and drenching deep into our clothing. Link sat back and grazed his hand from my hip, floating over my waist with a gentle brush. It came to rest, his hand forming the perfect shape underneath my breast. My breathing became hotter and heavier, evidentially obvious in the puff of white every time I exhaled.

A lot of noise and shouting clouded my thoughts before Link lifted me in his arms and carried me into his house. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist and he gripped both my ass cheeks tightly. I didn't take much notice of the house as he waltzed through the hall ways, careful not to slip on the wooden floors, and gently depositing me onto a closed toilet lid next to a bath with a shower over it. By now, the freezing feeling had set in and I was less worried about Link stripping my clothes and more excited about turning on the shower as hot as it would go, putting the plug in the bath and not moving for the next 2 hours. I lifted my arms as Link pulled my soaking wet tshirt over my head, it clung to my body so I had to wiggle to get free. He eyed my chest, I knew my nipples were cold and hard causing tiny mountains on top of my already healthy sized breasts. He hooked his fingers inside the waist band of my shorts before slowing pulling them over my hips and crouching down as he manoeuvred them off. I couldn't keep my eyes off him. This big bad tattooed man, stripping me ever so sensually. His fingers trickled up the sides of my calves and over my thighs before he once again came to a standing position. I shuddered, my whole body breaking out into goosebumps, at this stage I was unsure of whether it was because of the cold or the way he teased my body.

I was surprised when he stopped, hands at my waist and taking a step back.

"Have a shower and get warm” his voice was hoarse and it was obvious that he was just as frustrated and excited as I was. I tried to take a step towards him but he held my body at an arm’s length. "I'll make a start on dinner."

He finally released me and moved towards the door,

"Link..." I started but he had already moved through the doorway and pulled the door closed behind him. I was left confused. My body aching in the most delicious way for this man who had not only fought for me but had showed me more compassion, kindness and excitement than I had felt in a very long time. And now he had just walked away. I turned on the shower and plonked down onto the toilet seat once again. What was it about him that drove me so crazy?

Chapter Eleven

I curled up on the couch, a blanket wrapped around my legs and a hot chocolate nestled between my hands. I gripped the mug tightly, the heat not quite enough to burn me but enough to cause a glorious warming sensation to run through my hands and down my arms. I sipped at the drink, warmth settling in my stomach and radiating out. I smiled, satisfied I had all my bases covered. The storm raged outside, tree branches banging against one another, the wind whistling through what small cracks it could find in the houses defences.  I watched curiously as Link moved, gracefully pulling chopping boards and other utensils from pantries and placing them on the prominent wooden butcher’s block that stood proudly in the centre of the large kitchen. The peace we had settled inside the house was an amazing contrast to the weather that waged its war outside.

"So, what's your story? You know so much of mine, but I feel like I know nothing of yours." I watched over his body carefully as I questioned, but he was faultless. There was no twinge that told me I'd hit a sore spot or that it was off limits, his relaxed demeanour never changed.

"Wait! Don't tell me, let me guess." I said quickly, raising my hand whilst trying not to spill my hot chocolate with my sudden outburst. He stopped chopping at the carrots and simply looked up at me, amusement clearly evident.

"Shoot. I'd love to hear your theories." He chuckled quietly, resuming his work on the carrots. I tapped my chin and screwed up my nose a little in concentration. I'd seen him, Rome and Dom move. They were a swift and well executed team both when removing me from KC's and helping me escape the small diner.

"Spies?" I enquired, only halfjokingly. He smirked but didn't even raise his head as he shook it, no.

"Hmmm.. Military?" This was more serious, but I was pretty sure that wasn't it either. The short time I had been here in his house I'd never seen a picture, piece of clothing or equipment that would suggest he did service. And I knew most military personnel displayed that kind of stuff with a large amount of pride.

"Nope." He answered, popping the "P". He moved the chopped vegetables to a large wok and started throwing everything and anything inside.

"You've done some sort of training, I can tell that much. You guys hustled me out of that diner like I was the President and you were all secret service agents." He scoffed loudly but a smile still played at his lips.

I sipped at my drink and thought a little more as my eyes searched the large space for clues. The pictures scattered around were filled with who I imagined to be his family, but one caught my eye in particular. A beautiful broad shouldered German Shepherd stared back and me with a wide goofy grin on his face, next to him a very young, very handsome version of Link smiling almost as wide as his furry companion.

"Were you in the Police Force?" Link placed a lid on the wok and turned the heat down slightly before grabbing his halfdrunk beer off the counter and moving toward me. He grabbed the picture off the shelf and wiped it on his shirt before plonking down beside me on the couch.

"I joined straight outta school, my dad was on the force." He smiled fondly at the picture, and then looked at me with a smirk. "But that's not really my story."

"Dog handler?" I questioned, studying the dog in the picture.

"Nope." He said, popping his "P" once again. I was going to pop him in a minute if he kept doing that. He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. I almost began salivating instantly as his tshirt stretches taught across his biceps. He was strong but his movements weren't plagued by his muscles. He was still able to move swiftly like a cat whilst being completely aware of his surroundings. Hence my original "spy" suggestion. I factored in his Police service and the different avenues that could lead to.

I shook my head and smiled, "Armed Offenders."

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" He said loudly, throwing his hands in the air. I giggled. Link serious was hot, intense and sexy. But Link laughing and teasing was causing me to rub my thighs together, just to try and feel some relief from the sensations he was causing deep in my core. His laugh was deep and masculine with just the smallest amount of husk.

"Me and the boys were on the squad, that's how we originally met." He smiled and confirmed my suspicions. The Armed Offenders Squad were similar to SWAT teams, sent in for the more dangerous operations.

"How many of you are there that work for The Finders?" I took another sip at my drink, it was just starting to get cold.

"Five of us. Myself, Dom and Rome. But also Ethan who you'll meet when we go into the office at some point and Kale who's out on assignment at the moment." I nodded.

"So, how did the whole missing persons thing come about?" I asked curiously, but he simply shrugged and vacated his spot next to me to move back to the kitchen.

"We all have our own reasons." He lifted the lid on the wok and stirred it slowly. "Maybe one day I will tell you mine."

He turned to me with a smile, but I caught the slight sadness that his expressive eyes simply couldn't hide.

We sat across the small table from each other. He practically shovelled the delicious stir fry into his mouth, whilst I simply picked at mine slowly. My stomach was still full of nerves and anxiety, my brain telling it that for sure any minute now Charlie would break down Link's door and drag me kicking and screaming back to hell. If that did happen, I would fight. Before now I never had a reason to, before now I thought Devon was being cared for, before now I didn't believe I would ever have a normal life nor did I believe that I would find myself sitting across the dinner table from a man who could make my heart race and my body tingle with a single glance. But now I knew better, and damn it I was going to fight for it.