Quest for Love: Los Angeles Armstrongs 1 (The Armstrongs Book 7) (9 page)

Chuck had been struck by Linda’s angry phone call. He could only imagine what had happened between Evangelina and her. By the tone of her voice, it had been awful.

He felt guilty about misjudging Evangelina’s wrath and leaving Linda in such a tenuous position.
I wasn’t there to protect her like I promised.
He needed to apologize and make sure she was okay, but Linda was nowhere to be found. Not on her cell. Not at the office. And not at the Ross mansion. No trace of her or her car anywhere.

He called her number again and again, but every time it went straight to voicemail. As the darkness fell, he became seriously worried. Not sure what to do next, he decided to call his brother Drake and ask for advice.

Drake simply laughed at his predicament. “Much in love there, bro?”

“What?”

“Oh, come on. You’re the best private investigator around and you can’t even find your own girl. Love must be clouding your mind.”

“Forget the love thing, I’m truly worried by now. You don’t know her mother – she makes Cruella De Vil look like an angel.”

Drake laughed again. “Can’t help you here, but push your emotions aside and consider her one of your cases. Use all of those private eye skills and find her. You can do it.”

Chuck cursed into the phone.

“Be nice with me, and call when you’ve found your girl,” Drake said and hung up.

Chuck cursed again at the phone, but then had to admit his oldest brother was right. He was a great private investigator, and thus should be able to find Linda without a problem
.

He didn’t have to think long about where to start. One always started at the last known place a person had been seen. The Ross mansion. As much as he loathed meeting Evangelina again, she probably was the last person who’d seen Linda.

The maid opened the doors and answered with a shake of her head to his discreet question about Linda’s whereabouts. Minutes later a very haughty Evangelina greeted him. “I see you’re back. Did you reconsider you refusal?”

“No, I’m here to find Linda.” Chuck shoved his hands into his pockets.

“She’s none of your concern. And I would have believed you to have better taste.”

She turned, preparing another dramatic exit, but Chuck called after her, “Please. Ev. She’s disappeared and I’m worried something happened.”

Ev raised one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows. “Disappeared? She’s probably hanging out with that stinking dog of hers. If you find her, could you let her know that after what she’s done to me…” A dramatic gesture to her heart. “I can’t put up with her any longer.”

Chuck held onto his temper and asked, through clenched teeth, “When and where did you see her last?”

“Exactly where you left her half-dressed. We had a minor argument and she actually dared to scream at me.”

He fisted his hands to keep him from strangling that woman.
Shit. That was hours ago.
Chuck didn’t bother giving Evangelina the courtesy of a goodbye, but turned on his heel and left, slamming the front doors behind him. Back in his car, he called one more time.

“Linda…I know you’re mad at me, but I really need to talk to you. To make sure you’re okay. Please call me.”

His parents’ place wasn’t too far from the Ross mansion, albeit in a much less glamorous neighborhood. He decided to drive by and see if he could help his mother Annie with some errands, and maybe scoop up something to eat.

Annie welcomed him with a huge smile and a smack on his cheek. She was a beautiful woman, even at the age of sixty. She was as down-to-earth and loving as mothers came and her only vanity was her – now colored – chestnut hair. “Darling. What a surprise. Come in.”

He pondered at how different their relationship was than the one Linda and her mother shared. Chuck knew for a fact that his mother had often disapproved of the follies her children had committed, but even while scolding them, her love had still shone through.

“Hmm. You need help with Drake’s party?” he asked as they entered the house.

“No, darling. I’ve got it all covered. Are you hungry?”

“Sure, Mom.” The Armstrong siblings were always hungry and even though none of them still lived at home, his mother was never short of food to feed them.

“Wait here. I’ll heat up lasagna leftovers for you.”

Chuck set the table and grabbed a beer from the fridge, then he sat down at the table and his mother served him lasagna. She joined him at the table and they talked for a while. Actually, she talked and he listened.

Nevertheless, his mother picked up on his bad mood and as he finished his plate she asked, “What’s wrong?”

He made a face. “Everything.”

“Now, that has to be an exaggeration.” She patted his arm as if he still were a child.

Chuck gave her a half smile. “I screwed up royally.”

“I figured as much. Tell me what happened.”

Happy he could share his sorrow with someone, Chuck told his mother the entire story, about meeting Linda and her mother, and the attraction he felt for her. About how skinny she was and how her mother was always putting her down and Linda never seemed to fight back.

When he got to the part about Linda having stolen the Oscars, his mother nodded her head and murmured, “Good girl.”

“Mother,” he chided her. “She stole those statues and then destroyed them.”

“It sounds to me like she was lashing out at her mother in the only way she knew. You like this girl?”

“More than like. I think I’m falling in love with her. I’ve never felt this way about someone.”

His mother nodded sagely. “Sounds like love to me. My advice to you is to follow your heart.”

Chuck stared at her, waiting for something else, something more tangible to follow. “My heart?” he asked, confused. He, out of all the siblings, was the least likely to allow his emotions to reign. He followed hard facts and evidence he could see. It was what made him such a good private investigator.

His mother merely smiled at his confusion. “Darling, there are times when following our emotions gets much better results than hard facts. Especially when a woman is involved.”

Chuck loved his mother very much and he’d never doubted her advice. She was, in his opinion, one of the wisest women on earth, and he wasn’t about to start doubting her now. But he sure would have liked her to speak less oracularly.

On his way home, he thought about what she’d said, knowing she was right. He needed to follow his heart.
So where does that lead you?

He tried to put himself in Linda’s shoes and realized that Linda would most likely be wherever Courage was. Her dog meant the world to her, and in times of trouble, that was where she would turn for solace and comfort.

Linda couldn’t sleep. It was tough to admit, but she was afraid. She’d never been on her own before. Loneliness and fear sent her into another fit of tears. So she stood up and fetched Courage from the kennels, hoping his presence would give her the needed safety to fall asleep.

Courage happily jumped up on the couch and cuddled with her, and after what seemed like hours, she finally fell into a fitful sleep, her tear tracks drying on her cheeks.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been dozing, but it was pitch black outside when she woke to the sound of someone knocking on the front door of the office. Courage didn’t seem to be too worried, which was strange. But then she heard Chuck’s muffled voice coming through the door.

“Linda! I know you’re in there, I saw your car in the parking lot. Please open the door so that I know you’re okay.”

She untangled her legs from the blanket and left the therapy room, creeping toward the front doors, just to make sure her mind and ears hadn’t been playing tricks on her.

“Linda. Please. I’m sorry.”

That’s Chuck, for sure.
She hollered back, “Go away!”

“Thank God. Open the door.”

“No. Go away. Do you have any idea of what time it is?” Did she?

“I don’t care. I’ve been looking for you for hours. Open the door so we can quit screaming at each other.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Linda. I’m not leaving until I see you.”

She bit her bottom lip as she considered whether or not he was serious. After several minutes and more knocking and calling her name, she realized he would stay there until morning, and then the entire neighborhood would know. If someone didn’t call the police before.

“Fine. But only for a minute and then you have to leave.” She turned the lock and pulled the door open.

Chuck barreled through the door and stared at her with hungry eyes, then turned and locked it behind him, before looking at her. Her dog, the traitor, had followed her to the door and greeted Chuck warmly, wagging his tail and giving doggie kisses as Chuck squatted down to pet him and say, “Your mommy and I need to talk. Will you be a good dog?”

Next thing she knew, Chuck’s strong arms were wrapped around her. “God, Linda. I was worried to death.”

It was kind of nice to know he’d worried about her, but she tried to hold on to her anger and fought to break free. That was hard to do, though, because his presence electrified her body and heated her desire for him.

He growled, “Stop fighting, wildcat, I’m here to apologize.”

His words went down like honey and every cell in her body longed for his touch, but her mind wasn’t willing to give in just yet. He grabbed her tighter, pressing his hard muscles against her and when she struggled some more, he leaned down to kiss her.

And what did her traitorous lips do? Open for him and let him devour her. His ravenous tongue took possession of her mouth and shivers of pure pleasure ran through her body. She stopped fighting and threw her arms around his neck.

When they came up for breath, he held her at arm’s length. “Thank god, you’re okay. Grab your things and I’ll take you home.”

“I don’t have a home.”

Chuck kissed her forehead. “Then you come home with me.”

Linda shook her head. “I need to learn to stand on my own two feet.”

“Okay.”

She waited for him to say something else, but when he didn’t she gave him a quizzical look.
Okay? He agreed, but has nothing else to say?
That was disappointing. She’d expected him to put up a fight, to demand she let him help her, tell her what she had to do.

“I’ll stay with you tonight,” he said, turning them toward the open door to the therapy room, where she’d been sleeping.

She’d taken half a dozen steps before his comment registered in her head. “Here?”

“Yes, here.”

Her heart thudded in her chest and her throat was dry as a desert as she allowed him to lead her back into the therapy room and get her settled on the couch. Another couch. Her skin tingled in anticipation while her brain tried to come up with reasons for him to leave. Still, no words left her mouth.

Chuck slipped off his shoes and then joined her on the couch, stretching out next to her. The couch was broad and comfy for one person, but two had to snuggle tightly. Especially if one person was as broad-shouldered and well-muscled as he was.

He pressed his hard, chiseled chest into her backside and wrapped his arms and upper leg around her, leaving her unable to move. The warmth of his body seeped into her, slowly crowding out the fear, anxiety, and sorrow of the day, and giving way to other, equally worrying emotions.

With his scent in her nostrils and his fingertips resting just beneath her breasts, her libido went crazy. She ached for that man. Ached to finish what they’d started earlier. Her sensitive nipples sprang to life and desperately needed to have his fingers on them. But those strong hands stayed in their place, sending heat into her stomach and all over her body.

In a desperate attempt to feel more of him, she pressed her ass into his hardening erection.
Oh my god, that feels good.
She must have murmured those words loud, because he whispered, “You feel good, too.”

Then he nuzzled her ear and kissed his way down her neck, leaving a burning trail of yearning. Her breath came hard and forced, and she wriggled in his arms, until he pushed his hand below her shirt and ever so slowly moved it across the bare skin of her stomach up to her breasts.

A loud moan escaped her throat and filled the otherwise silent room. Much to her surprise Chuck growled, “You make me crazy with those sexy sounds, sweetheart.”  To prove his words he pressed his immense hardness into her backside and at the same time pushed her bra aside, to cup her small breasts with his big palms.

The ensuing sensation made Linda want to crawl out of her skin, and she arched into his touch when his fingers started worrying her nipple. Sensations of pure lust fired throughout her body and her nipples tightened to painfully taut peaks – a pain that could only be relieved by his touch – and she was going crazy with need on her other, neglected nipple.

Apparently Chuck read her mind, because he moved his hand to her other nipple to give it the same tantalizing treatment. And back to the first one. Her mind was caught up in processing the pleasure Chuck’s hands evoked, when suddenly his hand was gone.

The feeling of loss made her groan in desperation, but then she felt his hand brush lightly over her core. Scalding heat shot through her at his touch, and then came the memory of having removed her jeans earlier and the realization that she’d opened the door clad in nothing but another oversized t-shirt. No wonder he’d stared at her.

Linda made a feeble attempt to search for the blanket and cover her naked legs, but Chuck still held her in his grip and intensified the pressure between her legs. His stroking hand drove her out of her mind. How could a girl try to keep her flabby thighs from his sight, if he was doing
that
? Thankfully the room was dark enough to not let him see how imperfect she was.

He groaned and shifted her on her back, pulling the t-shirt over her head, leaving her bared to him in nothing but disheveled bra and panties. Goosebumps formed on her skin.

“Gosh, you’re perfect. So hot.” His voice was thick with desire.

She blushed under his scrutiny, but as much as she wanted to cover herself up, she longed more for his next touch. He sat beside her, his hands expertly removed her bra, and then his hot wet mouth covered her breast. The moment he suckled on her nipple, she gasped. Loud. Which apparently gave him the signal to do the same to her other nipple. Shots of fire poured down her veins. The rolling, squeezing, and teasing of her nipple was almost unbearable and she writhed beneath his touch.

His hand delved beneath her panties, stroking her cleft until one of his fingered entered her.  Zings of pleasure exploded and somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered if a person could survive that much pleasure. Apparently one could, because moments later, the feeling intensified tenfold as his thumb grazed her clit.

His hand stroked, grazed, and rubbed her, while his mouth had attached to her nipple – sucking, biting, and rolling. A wave of unknown intensity traveled to the base of her spine, ready to sweep over her. The ache between her legs was nothing she’d ever experienced before.

“Chuck…” she said, but the rest was swallowed by her own scream, as her inner muscles convulsed around his finger and the throbbing need exploded. Wave after wave of an earth-shattering orgasm rolled over her, but his hand wouldn’t stop. He prolonged her orgasm, and she felt more spasms deep inside her until she was thoroughly spent, unable to move – or breathe.

When she opened her eyes, he stared right into them with a smoldering gaze. The tenderness in his deep blues made her heart lurch. Then he kissed her, sweetly, but so powerfully she felt the impact deep down in her soul.

“I love you, Linda,” he whispered under his breath and her mind went blissfully blank. As long as she remembered, she’d wanted to hear those words, and now Chuck had given them to her – together with a mind-blowing sexual experience.

Chuck got up to remove his own clothing and then approached her with a hungry stare and slid her panties down her legs. A surge of blood rushed to her cheeks, but wasn’t it a bit late to be embarrassed?

When he joined her again, he lay down and then pulled her on top of him, arrange her thighs so that they bracketed his hips. She was sitting naked on the evidence of his desire for her, and she felt another surge of hot blood coursing though her. She slowly rubbed her wet folds over him.

He groaned. “God, Linda, why are you so damn hot?” Then he grabbed her shoulders and brought her down on him, crushing his mouth over hers, her nipples brushing his chest, pushing her into sweet torment.

His shaft was nudging up between her thighs, thoroughly poised at her entrance, teasing her with his twitching. She longed to be filled by him, and rubbed harder.

“Shit, Linda.” He sat up, taking her with him. Linda’s lust-fogged mind screamed because of the loss of contact and she looked at him with confused eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have condoms.” His voice trembled with pent-up lust.

She sighed‘ thank God, it wasn’t her imperfection he’d cursed at. “I’m on birth control.”

His face lit up like a light bulb as he pressed her against him, moving his hands all the way down her back to cup her ass. “You sure, sweetheart? I’m clean, never done it without.”

Linda nodded. “Yes. I’m sure.” Her last sexual encounter had been more than a year ago, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “And I got tested less than a month ago.” That was during her last checkup, when the doctor had changed the pill prescription she was taking to normalize her hormone cycle.

His hands hadn’t stopped at her ass, but had somehow found their way into her wet folds again and were fondling her most intimate parts. She was dripping and desperately needed to have him buried deep inside her. “I need you inside, please.”

He chuckled and took her by her hips to lift her over his erected shaft. She was more than ready for him, and they both moaned in pleasure as he sank into her tight channel, her muscles stretching painfully around his thick shaft until she felt she couldn’t take any more.

But he still wasn’t fully immersed. She waited a few moments, all the while he teased her nipples to hard points firing up her desire, until her muscles had accommodated and were ready to take in the rest of him. She hissed at the feeling of being filled up to the hilt and began to move up and down his erection.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Show me what you like,” he murmured to her, kneading her ass with his hands.  He increased the speed of his thrusts and desire swamped her, pushing every rational thought out of her mind.

His breath was coming in spurts and a sound of raw need left his throat as he pushed into her one last powerful time and spilled his seed into her. The warm feeling and the twitching of his shaft inside her were too sexy, and she felt another tidal wave of raw stunning release sweep over her. Her inner muscles squeezed every last drop out of him, until she collapsed onto his chest as her orgasm faded away.