In Pursuit of Light

by Sarah B Meadows

  “Nope, not happening, Kia.” I know her games and I won’t play them. “Shower and food.” She narrows her eyes at me, pushing more desire through me. “Nope,” I chastise humorously as I stand, flinging her body over my shoulder before making my way over to the showers. Happiness and affection come from her as she rights herself, so I push my own pleasure to her.

  Pushing the glass door of the large dimly lit tiled shower cubicle open, I turn a couple of the heads on and wait for them to heat. Easing her body down, I feel her skin stick to mine slightly from the wax. She curls her arms around me and more desire begins to work its way through my body. I’m nearly butt naked with just my boxers on, which is doing nothing to hide my erection.

  Hot water runs over my head and down onto Kia, who’s resting her head against my chest. I start to trail my hands up her lower back slowly, inching higher to get a careful feel her wounds. They’re scabbed over nicely and with a little more of Seb’s energy, they’ll be gone entirely in no time. I move my hands higher on her back, testing her trust in me.

  She kisses my chest and I feel her tongue flick across my skin, sending a bolt of pleasure through me. “You’re relentless, Little Minx, and my willpower can only stretch so far,” I murmur down to her, but she doesn’t seem to listen to me as she continues working her way across my skin.

  The door to the shower cubicle opens and the cold air hits my back and causes Kia’s nipples to harden even more. Images of me nipping at them flick across my mind and I hear Kia suck in a breath.

  “There are some clothes here for you both once you’re done. I’m going to put something together for a late lunch. Neither of you has eaten since yesterday, so don’t take too long. If you think Kia’s up for it, Gerry and the boys are in the kitchen,” Seb says, then closes the door behind him.

  My stomach growls with the mention of food, startling Kia. I laugh at her before grabbing a bottle of shower gel and squeezing some into my hand. She steps back from me, eyeing me up like I’m crazy.

  “It won’t hurt you. It’s just for cleaning the dirt and grease from your skin,” I try to explain. She shakes her head at me, moving out from under the shower. I roll my eyes at her as I continue to lather up the gel, washing the remaining wax from me. The bubbles run into the drain and she watches them with disgust. “Kia, what is it with you and bubbles?”

  “It not feel right.”

  “How so?” I ask, happy to hear her voice.

  “I not explain it. Something deep in me. Same feeling have when Sebastian offer me roll. Part of me know not right.”

  “Fair enough. I say you listen to your instincts and go with what feels right,” I reply with a smile, then turn off the shower before grabbing a towel. I wrap it around my waist, then take another and hold it out to Kia, who just stares at it. You have got to be kidding me?

  “Step forward and lift your arms up,” I explain gently, trying to keep my face somewhat composed. Complete puzzlement crosses her features, but she steps forward and raises her arms a fraction from her body. I step up to her, pulling the towel around her, then tuck it in below her armpit. She watches with curiosity.

  “Not practical, Rolland. I not keep on.” Her silvery voice comes through slightly worried. I feel another smile pull at my lips.

  “No, this is for taking the water off of your body. Seb has left us clothes to wear but it would uncomfortable and awkward to put them on over wet skin. Come, let’s hope he’s left you something flexible to move in,” I encourage, running my eyes over her, taking in her face as she looks down at the towel.

  I pull her by the hand over to the cabinet that Seb left the clothes on. I find a pair of comfortable jeans, a short-sleeved top, pants and socks for me in one pile and in another, there’s a pair of swimming trunks, boxers, a vest, a short-sleeved top, and elasticized sweatpants with a drawstring top for Kia.

  Turning my gaze to Kia, I find her features incredibly puzzled and lost. “Remember how Seb and I said your body is distracting?” I start. She looks over at me with a deep frown but nods. “This will help us not to be distracted,” I explain, hoping I got that through to her.

  “It just body, Rolland.” Her sweet voice is perplexed and almost a bit worried.

  Yes, but it’s a damn fine one that calls to be worshipped, I think to myself.

  Out loud I say, “yes, and all we can think about when we see it is touching it. If we keep touching you all of the time, we will never eat or leave this house. Though, now that I think about it, that really doesn’t sound so bad...” I speak more to myself than to her. My words seem to spur her on and she takes the clothes and starts pulling at them, trying to figure out how they go on.

  I grab the vest first and pull it over her head. “That okay?” I get a firm nod before she moves over to the door. “Wait, wait-” She turns back to me with another frown. “How about some dry pants?” I suggest. My brain can’t handle this. She looks down and starts to lift the vest up. I pull my eyes away and grab the boxers, holding them out to her.

  “You face change colour, Rolland. You okay?” Her silken words are spoken with genuine concern as she tugs the boxers up her legs.

  “I’m fine, absolutely fine,” I say, trying to calm my body as it heats. I begin tugging my clothes on but stop when it comes to dropping my towel. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I so aware of my body around her right now? I flick my gaze over to her, but she’s looking at the cubical, taking it all in. Making quick work of my wet boxers, I pull them off and finish dressing.

  Once done, I turn and find Kia waiting by the glass door, looking out at the chambers, deep in thought. “Ready?” She nods, so I push the door open for her to go through first, feeling more relaxed and at ease than I have been in what feels like weeks. As we make our way to the kitchen with Kia at my side, I send out a small prayer that she doesn’t have a bad reaction to Gerry’s boys.

  As well as an additional prayer that this not so little issue in my pants goes away by then, cuz that wouldn’t be awkward....

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Brad

  The kitchen is buzzing with noise and I wonder how Kia is going to handle it. Seb’s making what looks to be a fruit salad, while Gerry has pans cooking with what I think are chicken and onions. I’m not a fussy eater - so long as it's edible and relatively fresh, I’ll eat it.

  Gerry is going over the plans with Ant for scoping out the address Matt gave him earlier. Ant’s a kind-hearted guy who wears his heart on his sleeve - unlike Gerry. Gerry picked Ant up a few years back when we were tracking a shipment of people. The military had been monitoring it too, but was made to pull out at the last minute due to orders from higher up. Ant had every detail and strategy in place for getting them all out, only to be told their hands were tied. We continued with our plan anyway and freed forty innocent people that night. As Ant returned to his desk after everyone else had left, he spotted Rolland and decided to check out what we were doing. Poor guy nearly lost his head that night for trying to sneak up on Seb. He explained who he was, and Gerry seemed to take an interest in him. A few months later, Gerry had Ant pulled out of the military, followed by Ben and Ryan.

  To look at them, you can see that Gerry and Ant have very similar appearances, but Gerry’s shoulders are more well-built and broader than Ant’s. They both have a few inches of thick hair that never seems to look like it’s been brushed, and a constant growth of stubble. Strangely, they could pass for brothers without batting an eyelid.

  Ben, who handles most of the technical side, sits at the opposite end of the breakfast bar with Matt looking over his shoulder. They’re going over as much CTV footage as they can find on the place we’re scoping out. Ben is incredibly lean and tall, with sandy blonde hair that he’s continuously flicking out of his face.

  Jason is pacing as he speaks to someone on the phone just outside the patio doors. He’s smiling, so I’m guessing it’s his wife. He’s as big as me in build and always fun to spar with, never holding back on hi
s punches. Tattoos cover his arms and trace all the way up his neck, similar to mine. I’ve spent more time with him than I have with any of Gerry’s other boys - getting tattoos together and meeting his wife and kids. A beautiful family, full of so much love and passion. His eyes flash up and find mine before he laughs and winks at me, most likely from a comment his wife made about me and my fascination with dragons.

  Mike is pulling out glasses for Seb, asking him about an ‘Accuracy International AWM’, which I’m pretty sure is a gun, but it could be a sword for all I know. Mike is from Wales originally, although his accent seems to have faded. He’s a very reserved guy but seems okay opening up around Seb. The only other time you see him relax is when he’s with his wife, who I’ve only met a handful of times over the past ten years. She’s quieter than he is, if that’s even possible.

  Then there’s Ryan. I look over at him and notice he seems slightly lost today. His eyes flick over to the door every few minutes, clearly waiting for Rolland to come through. If there were ever a bigger kid than Rolland, it would be Ryan. His ash blonde hair is shaved at the sides but still has some length to it at the top. His green eyes are always full of life and never seem to lose focus, while his mind, and his mouth, seem to move at a million miles an hour most days. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because he doesn’t have a filter that he gets on so well with Rolland - the pair are a recipe for trouble. The last time we spoke he was just about to propose to his girlfriend. I wonder how it went? I should ask him.

  The kitchen door opens and Rolland’s broad form steps through. A hush seems to fall around the kitchen, although Mike doesn’t seem to notice as he carries on yapping away to Seb about whatever weapon it is that he’s currently obsessing over. Ben continues to tap away on the laptop, and Jason’s voice quietly filters in through the door. Seb’s cutting slows down significantly, causing Mike to slack in his chatter a little. I hear Ryan’s chair scrape back as he stands to go over to the door, then Rolland steps in further followed by Kia’s small frame. She’s wearing one of Rolland’s vests that hangs low over her legs, so you can just see that she’s also wearing boxers, although nothing else. Her eyes scan over all the new people, taking each of them in as her gaze moves around the room.

  Mike stops talking, but Ben keeps tapping and Jason’s voice still drifts through, both unaware of who has walked in the kitchen.

  “Kia, these are Gerry’s Boys-” Rolland begins as he glances around the room. A frown pulls down on her face as she looks up to Rolland. He goes to continue but stops when he sees Kia’s face. He appears to be struggling to form words and I wonder if she thinks he meant Gerry’s sons. He takes a deep breath as he seemingly communicates something with her, then looks over to Seb. The silence stretches on for too long, and Ben finally catches on and stops his tapping.

  Seb seems to consider something and then laughs, causing Rolland to frown at him.

  “I’ll start again. Kia, these are guys that Gerry has found over-” he pauses again, glaring a little at her. What’s up with him?

  “Fine, this is Mike,” he points in Mike’s direction. Kia looks over at him and Mike lifts a hand. “This is Ant,” Rolland says.

  Ant leans over the counter to offer her a hand to shake, which she just looks at. “Pleasure to meet you,” Ant offers kindly.

  Kia flicks her eyes up at Rolland, who closes his eyes to her. He’s still not looked away from her and he seems to struggle with his composure, though whether from trying to keep his patience or not to laugh, I can't tell.

  Kia steps forward and puts her hand in Ant’s, who shakes it lightly, though there is a slightly perplexed look on his face when he takes his hand back.

  “That’s Ben over there next to Matt,” Rolland directs, continuing to watch her. She looks over at Ben and a small smile appears on her face but turns to a frown when she seems to sniff.

  “And this is Ryan.” Rolland turns finally away from Kia to look at Ryan with a big smile. Kia pulls her attention away from whatever was bothering her and smiles when she looks at Ryan. Interesting. Ryan and Rolland step into each other and embrace, whacking each other on the back.

  “How did it go?” Rolland asks Ryan.

  Tapping picks up from Ben and chopping continues from Seb, who’s keeping his eye on Kia. She makes her way over to see what Gerry’s doing, frowning deeply at the pans, then turns to Rolland again, who’s still busy talking to Ryan about his recent engagement to his girlfriend. Mid-sentence, his attention gets pulled away from Ryan.

  “Hold on, Ryan,” Rolland says, sounding puzzled.

  Gerry’s looking at her curiously, but Seb’s face begins to pale slightly as he flicks his eyes over to Rolland, who falters in his step, then seems to pale a little too as he turns to Seb. Kia becomes alarmed and moves over to Rolland tugging at his arm. But he doesn’t turn to face her, seeming to struggle with something.

  “What is it, Rolland?” I ask. It can’t be that bad, surely.

  “Her whole race is vegan, and she will know if I lie to her.”

  “It’s protein-based, Kia. I very much doubt you’d like it,” I tell her.

  Rolland’s whole body relaxes, and he takes her hand, pulling her along as he returns to speak to Ryan. “Thank you, Brad.”

  I look over at the patio door and see Jason finish his call. He spots Kia as he walks into the kitchen, flicking his eyes over to me as he bobs his head. “Gale says hi and that she has another book for you; I’ll bring it over with me next time we drop in,” Jason offers.

  I nod, “thanks.” I smile at her thoughtfulness as I think back to the two books she’s found on mythology in the last few years, both of which are over three hundred years old.

  Jason skates his eyes over Rolland, honing in on where he’s joined hands with Kia. “This must be Kia.” He steps forward, offering his hand to her, which she shakes without hesitation this time. “My name’s Jason.”

  Earlier we gave the boys a general debrief on how we picked up a girl who’s in weak physical and mental health, and in need of a roof over her head. Seb also explained that her vocal cords are severely damaged, so she’s unable to talk.

  “Gale was asking if any of you have found anyone special yet. I told her that you're all too wrapped up in your work to even see what’s past your nose, but perhaps Rolland has eyes after all.” Kia frowns at Jason’s words, not understanding most of them. I don’t say anything, feeling as though it’s better to leave it to those more involved.

  Seb, Mike and Ant begin dishing up the plates, working together like a well-oiled machine. They’ve done this many times before, so everyone knows their role in the kitchen. I take my drink with me as I make my way over to the table to find a seat. Everyone else begins taking chairs too, with Kia and Rolland the last to join as they sit at the top of the table. As Kia takes in the abundance of food, she finds my eyes watching her and holds me with her gaze for few seconds before I smile and wink at her. She smiles back and looks down at her plate.

  Poor girl looks like a lost sheep amongst the wolves, but I have a feeling she’s made of much heartier stock than that. Probably best not to underestimate this little squirt.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Matt

  Kia is sitting to my left between Rolland and me, with Ryan on his other side. Next to Ryan sits Mike who’s speaking to Seb quietly to his left about more firearms, blades and other weapons that he’s trying to locate. Seb only seems half focused on the conversation, as he keeps glancing over at Kia eating.

  Ryan and Rolland are deep in debate over machinery, and I’ve wrapped up as much information with Gerry and Ben as possible regarding the footage, deliveries, employees and what little building maps we could find. Thankfully Ben had a few more ideas than I did with finding the maps. His attention is on his phone, so I turn to Kia to see how she’s coping with her fruit salad.

  The fork seems cumbersome in her fingers as she tries to stab at a tomato with it. I lean into her ear and whisper, “just use your han
ds, we don’t care.” I lean back and watch as a beautiful smile spreads across her face. I smile back at her, pleased with myself. Quick as lightning, Kia leans over and kisses me gently on the lips, then turns back to her food and starts tucking in, this time using her hands. Gratification is clear now that she can enjoy the food without having to bother working the cutlery.

  A little moan escapes her as she pops three grapes into her mouth, drawing Rolland’s attention to her. Then she makes another noise from the back of her throat. I don’t think she realises she’s doing it and only me and Rolland seem to be able to hear her. She polishes off her plate, then looks around to find Seb watching her with affection. He heads to refill her plate, bringing her a glass of water back with it.

  After watching her tuck into her third helping, she looks incredibly content as her eyes start searching the room for something. Rolland stops speaking to Ryan and turns to whisper something in Kia’s ear, which earns him a confused look. Rolland lets out a deep breath and lays his head on the table in defeat.

  “What’s the matter?” I ask him.

  “How do you explain time to someone,” he grumbles, not lifting his head from the table. Crap.

  Kia runs her hand over his head looking worried. “If you’re too long, I’ll come find you,” he finally says and a smile spreads across her face. Rolland sits up fast and turns slowly to her. “No,” he says, mock glaring at her. She winks at him, before pushing her chair back quietly and stepping out of the room.

  “Where’s she going?” I ask him.

  “Toilet,” he mutters, peering over his shoulder toward the door. “I told her if she’s not back in five minutes, then I’ll come looking for her. She had no clue what I was on about.”

  “You look a lot better than you did a few hours ago,” I say, running my eyes over his face.