Missing (The Brannock Siblings Book 3) (26 page)

I pulled my arm away from her grasp and ran my palm along
the dip of her waist and up the curve of her hip. She shifted in her sleep and
hummed a pleasant sigh.

I'd worn her out, but I wasn't sorry.

After glancing at the clock on the nightstand, my chest
deflated. I only had a couple hours before I absolutely
had
to be at the
station today, but all I wanted to do was stay in bed with her. Rolling out of
the blankets, I pulled on my jeans, reluctant to leave her, but hungry and
knowing it would be up to me to make something good for breakfast. A smile
streaked across my face. Life with her was never going to be boring.

It wasn't long before I had the pancakes and bacon staying
warm in the oven and eggs cooking in a pan. A shuffle in the hallway caught my
attention and I turned to see a sleepy Aiden, wearing tiny shorts and a tight
tank top, slowly dragging toward the kitchen. Her hair was a bright red mess
and her freshly washed face was clean of makeup. She looked sexy as hell and it
was only a few seconds before my arousal pressed hard against the zipper of my
jeans.

"Good morning, Red."

She smiled and curiously glanced over at the stove, licking
her lips.

"You hungry, baby?"

"Yes," she groaned. "I only had like three
bites of chicken last night before I busted out of there."

"That bad?" I laughed.

"You have no idea. I don't know why I ever agreed to go
out with him. He was weird and asked so many questions that I didn't feel
comfortable answering."

"Well, I'm glad you came home when you did. I didn't
like how shifty the guy was."

"Shifty?"

"Yeah."

"I thought he was just a douche bag."

"Well, that
is
his name," I smirked.

She laughed and sat her cute ass down on top of the counter.
I dished out the eggs and pulled the pancakes and bacon out of the oven.

"This looks delicious, Gus."

Before she could grab her plate, I stood in front of her and
spread her legs so I could fit between them. "I need a kiss before I allow
you to eat all my hard work."

She giggled and pressed her lips to mine, opening up for me
when I slid my tongue over her plump lips. "Mmm, that's better."

"I feel awful," she pouted. "I should be the
one making you breakfast, but it would just end up burned to a crisp."

I trailed my fingers up and down the tops of her bare thighs
and kissed the spot under her jaw that made her shiver. "Oh, don't you
worry. This is just the first course for me."

"What? This is a lot of food, Gus."

I nipped at her neck, soothing the skin with my tongue and
trying to decide how to let her know that she
was
going to be feeding me
breakfast and all she had to do was lay back to provide it. "I promised
you my mouth and I keep my promises."

She drew in a sharp breath and goose bumps covered her skin.
I had no doubt that she wanted it. Badly.

"Oh God," she breathed when I rolled my hips into
her.

"My name is Gus, love. Remember it because that's what
I want to hear when you come with my mouth between these sexy legs." Her
eyes closed and I felt only a tiny amount of remorse for teasing her.
"Let's eat
this
before it gets cold."

She slapped my shoulder, but her smile was wide and bright.
I loved how I could make that smile appear so easily.

We filled our plates and sat at the counter to eat. She told
me about her reasoning behind going out with Douchey and I clarified the
situation with Cindy. She apologized for what she said the afternoon before.

"Babe, it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have left without
explaining, but you were just so upset and I was seeing red after finding out
you had a date. But it all worked out so let's not think about it
anymore."

She nodded and cleaned up her plate while I watched.
"That was delicious, Gus."

"You want any more?"

She shook her head with a wicked smile.

"Good."

I stood and yanked her out of her chair. She crashed against
my chest, laughing, and the sexy sound did crazy things to my self control. I
kissed her ravenously, the sugary taste of syrup still lingering in her mouth,
and walked her back towards the living room. She clutched my arms when her back
hit the arm of the couch.

"Get naked."

She didn't hesitate. Christ, she was perfect.

There was no slow, erotic tease as she stripped. No, she
hurriedly tore off her clothes in absolute Red fashion. When she was completely
bare and her clothes were scattered on the floor, she eyed me curiously.
"Aren't you going to get naked, too?"

I shook my head and grasped her waist, kissing her neck and
shoulder as I guided her to turn around so her back was facing me. She rolled
her neck to the side, giving me more skin to devour and I did. I moved her hair
over the front of her shoulder and kissed the top of her spine. Her body
trembled and I couldn't hold back the pleased groan at her responsiveness. She
was made for me.

I kissed a path down her spine and dropped to my knees. It
was when I pressed my hand to the center of her back and made her bend over the
arm of the couch that she realized what was going to happen.

"Gus!"

"Shhh, let me make you feel good, Aiden. I want a taste
of you and this is how I'm going to take it."

When her torso hit the cushions of the couch, her hips over
the arm and her perfect ass in the air, I didn't think I would be able to last
long. I smoothed my hands over her soft flesh, squeezing gently and making her
squirm. She froze when my hands moved down between her legs and spread them
open.

"Oh!"

"Oh, is right. You're beautiful, baby."

I positioned her just right and shifted one of her legs
until it was bent and kneeling on the arm of the couch opening her up to me
completely. It probably wasn't the most comfortable position for her, but she
didn't protest. In fact, her panting sounded like she would hyperventilate
before I had the chance to taste her. She was nervous, but I could see how
turned on she was.

"Shhh," I soothed and caressed her lower back.

"Um, are you going to…"

"No. I won't go
there
."

She sighed and her muscles relaxed instantly.

"I want you to feel this, Aiden. Every single second of
it. If you want me to stop, just say the word. But you don't have to be
nervous. I'm going to make you feel so good, the future won't matter anymore.
All that will matter is
right now
."

I didn't hear a clear response, but the sensual little roll
of her hips told me what I wanted to know. With one long, slow lick, I tasted
her and she shouted my name. My own painful arousal begged me to just slam into
her while she was splayed out for me like this, but after that first taste, I
couldn't get enough.

I found that swollen little bud and flicked it with my
tongue, only once, and she gasped. Her hips rolled again, pressing her center
harder against my mouth and I gave her what she wanted.

When she was writhing and moaning, I found that sensitive
bead once more and pulled it into my mouth. It was only seconds before she was
screaming my name with her release. As she came back down, I battled with the
decision to continue or sink inside her just like this.

The pain behind my zipper made the decision for me and I
shoved my jeans down to my knees and gripped her slender hips in my hands.
"Hold on, love."

I slid inside her with one hard thrust, my knees nearly
buckling with the feel of her tight heat around me. She slid her propped leg
down until both of her feet were touching the floor and the move made her grip
around me tighten. "Fuuuuck."

"Please," she growled and pressed back.

The snap of my control was swift and I started to move fast
and hard.

"Heaven… this is heaven," I groaned.

It wasn't long before we were both gasping for air from the
force of our shared release. Her inner muscles pulsing around me nearly made me
go blind with pleasure and I came harder than I ever have before. I kissed her
shoulder and stay connected to her until she chuckled and started to shift her
hips.

"I need to move, baby," she said.

I couldn't even begin to explain how good it felt to hear
her call me that. I moved off of her, helping her lift off the couch and kissed
her once more. She hummed against my lips and melted against me.

"Thank you."

I entangled our fingers and winked, "Thank
you
.
We'll have to make that a regular routine every single morning, like an after
breakfast dessert. Mmm, yeah, that sounds perfect."

She chuckled as we walked hand in hand to get cleaned up.

"I've got to go back to my apartment and get ready for
work," I grumbled when she walked into the bedroom after taking care of
business. I dressed in my clothes from the night before and pulled her into my
arms, kissing that spot at the base of her throat that caused her to moan.
"I hate to leave, but…"

"It's okay, Gus. It's your job. I'll be here when you
get back. Whenever that is. Plus, I'm watching Aidy for a couple hours after
she gets out of preschool until Lily gets off work. I'm going to pick her
up."

"Okay, just be careful, and call me if you need
anything."

She nodded and I kissed her hungrily, but pulled away when I
felt the urgent need to take her again. I couldn't get enough. "I'll call
you soon, okay?"

She smiled. "Okay."

After a few more brief kisses and a swat to her still naked
ass, I hurried over to my apartment and jumped into the shower. It only took me
a few minutes to get ready and every second was spent replaying our night and
morning together.

I never thought the peace that surrounded me would be ripped
away in a heartbeat.

***

Thunder rumbled outside and shook the windows. The rattle of
glass and the heavy splatter of rain drowned out everything around me. Phones
were ringing, people were talking, but I couldn't focus. Yes, I was thinking
about Aiden and how far we had come. I was thinking about the way she clung to
me as I drove into her again and again and the way her eyes burned when I told
her how much she meant to me.

I was thinking about all of it.

But there was something else.

The storm outside was causing a storm in
me
and I
couldn't figure out what it was that had caused my mind to jumble. A
foreboding. A worry that something wasn't right. The peace we had experienced
was almost
too
peaceful. Like the steady, quiet calm before a storm.

I read the same paragraph on my report a third time, hoping
I could shake off this feeling with a menial task. In the back of my mind, I
registered the sound of a door banging open letting in the loud clap of thunder
and a woman shouting.

Then I heard it.

"Gus!"

The only voice that could lift me and devastate me at the
same time. Aiden was standing in the lobby, soaked from head to toe, hands
trembling, bright red hair plastered to her face and her eyes bloodshot and
terrified. It took me only a moment to realize that the wetness on her face
wasn't just from the rain. She was crying.

"Aiden!"

She ran toward me, water flying off of her and leaving
puddles on the linoleum floor. Every pair of eyes in the room was on her. I met
her halfway and she launched herself into my open arms. My heart stopped
beating, waiting for the worst of the worst to come out of her beautiful mouth.
I had never felt desperation like that before, not knowing the problem but
already scrambling to find a way to fix whatever it was.

"Gus! Oh my God. It's Aidy. She's gone."

My stomach dropped to the floor and panic flooded my senses.
"What?"

"I went to pick her up at preschool and she wasn't
there! The teacher said my
boyfriend
showed up to take her home because
I was busy at the studio."

"But-"

"Yeah! BUT!
You
don't
have
her!" Her
voice was frantic, rough with grief and it pierced through my chest.

Linc showed up at my side and placed a gentle hand on her
shoulder, "Aiden, come sit down and tell us everything."

I couldn't find the training in me to give her that kind of calm.
I was clinging to her, trying to keep myself from tearing out of there like a
madman to go scour the streets and find my Little Red.

"Gus, she said the guy had a picture of me and Aidy in
his wallet."

My gaze zeroed in on her eyes, wide with terror, and the
confusion set in. I couldn't even grasp what she was trying to tell me. How the
hell was I going to do my job if I couldn't even think?

"How the fuck did he get a picture of me? The one she
described is the wallpaper for my computer. The bitch never even questioned it,
didn't call to verify, nothing!"

Anger replaced the desperation and all I saw was red. Every
Red in my life. The one in my arms, sobbing and frightened, the little one who
was probably doing the same in some cold, dark room somewhere. The red of rage
because I knew exactly who took her and I couldn't stop the thought that it was
all my fault.

I set her down in the chair at my desk and knelt in front of
her, drawing in every ounce of control I could muster. Every muscle in my body
was pulled taut and ready to fight. Linc stayed standing, but close, eyeing me
cautiously and waiting for the moment that I lost it. He more than anyone knew
how much Aidy meant to me. It was him that had been with me all those times I
bought her something out of the blue just to spoil her, just to see her sweet
little freckled face smile.

I took several deep breaths. Aiden's gaze was on me as tears
fell from her beautiful brown eyes, her hands tightly clasped together on her
lap trying to stop the tremors. My jaw clenched as I ground my back teeth
together. The deep breaths weren't helping.