Missing Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1) (14 page)

“You’re six years older than me?” I kiss him on the nose. “Good thing you’re so hot for your age.” I laugh.

“You’re so funny, little girl,” he says in his best grandpa impression. “Immortals stop aging at 25.”

“So I’ll look just like this until I die?”

“Yes. I’ll have to live with you looking like that...” He gestures at my face and scrunches up his nose, “for the rest of my life.”

“Hey, I’m not so bad.”

“No, you’re not. You’re just the hottest woman I have ever seen. This tattoo...” He rubs down the tattoo on my arm, “is the sexiest thing I have ever seen.” I get goose bumps.

“So I am just hot, huh? You only want me for my body? Good to know,” I joke.

“No, baby. The hottest thing about you are your broken pieces. You love with all you have, even though you expect to get hurt. You let nothing hold you back, and you are the strongest person I know.”

I don’t know whether to cry or jump him. I just stare into his eyes, hoping he can see just how much I love him. I grab him and wrap my arms around him, holding on for dear life. This man has loved me through everything, even when I was unsure if I deserved anyone’s love. He has taken all I can throw at him and came back with more love than I knew what to do with. He really is my soul’s other half. What was I thinking? I could never leave him. Even in the beginning, I would have come right back to him.

I finally let go of him and undress to get in the shower. He just watches me with lust-filled eyes. I turn on the water and, as soon as it’s hot enough, I jump in. I am not surprised when Neeko joins me. I can tell by his eyes that he wants me. Not saying a word, he comes at me. He flips me around so that my back is to his front. “Bend over and place your hands on the bench,” he growls at me. “I need you and I need it rough.”

I do as I’m told. My insides are all twisted with excitement. I love this Neeko as much as I love the sweet Neeko. He is not a dominant by any means, but I love when he takes control. I don’t have to think. I can just feel. I need to step out of my mind every once in a while and he knows that. He knows my body better than I do. Before I have time to think, he pounds into me and I scream out in pleasure. He reaches around and pinches my nipple, using his other hand to play with my nub. I am nothing but sensation, his playground for pleasure. I inch higher and higher as he goes faster. He bites my neck and that is all I need to bring me over the edge. I scream and moan as my orgasm takes hold of me. I hear him grunt and then feel his seed filling me, causing my orgasm to last longer.

When I come down from my high, I am so tired that I can’t stand. He has to hold me up and wash me. After we are clean, he carries me to bed and snuggles with me until I am asleep.

I
awake in an empty bed, wondering where Neeko is. I dress and walk out our door, looking for someone. It’s about lunch time. Maybe he is out by the pool waiting on food. I find a man about two doors down. He has flaming red hair and charcoal black eyes. “Where is Neeko?” I ask with my hands on my hips so he knows I mean business.

“He had an emergency at home. He will be back shortly.”

I walk off. An emergency at home? That doesn’t sound good. He should have woken me up to tell me, at least. We could have gone together. I wander to the deck where the pool is and see Eric, one of the guards Neeko has following me. I walk up to him and grab his hand. Before he can say or do anything, I flash us to one of the little islands Neeko and I explored on day two of the cruise.

“Gabby, what did... Where did you bring us?” He looks around. “We need to get back to the boat.”

“No. I need to use my magic. I feel like I am buzzing with too much adrenaline.” 

I point to a tree. Its branches move, like the wind just blew through them. I am so aggravated. He promised this trip would have no Immortal leader shit. He said Derrick could take care of it. The angrier I get, the more the wind picks up. Storm clouds have now rolled in. Why can’t I have four days with just him? Everything was going so great.
Lighting
. Why doesn’t he trust me enough to tell me about this stuff?
Rain
. That is what really bothers me. He doesn’t trust me. I look up and see Eric’s mouth moving, but I can’t hear anything over the wind. It is blowing so hard that the tops of the trees are almost touching the ground, yet all I feel is a breeze. Eric is having a hard time staying on his feet so he has grabbed hold of a tree. I don’t care. I don’t need a babysitter. I can protect myself.

I point my finger at him and wish he was back on the boat. He disappears right before my eyes. Thunder claps overhead. The rain, now coming from all sides, feels good on my face. It feels like it is cleansing my soul. I am standing in the middle of a ragging storm, and it feels good to let all my anger out. I hear my name being called. I look over and see Neeko, concern written all over his face. He is trying to come to me, but the wind won’t allow him to. Good. I scream at him, “You lied to me! You don’t trust me and you left me alone again!”

I point my finger at him. Just as my finger is pointed straight to his face, a bolt of lightning hits me. I hear Neeko scream as if he is in pain, but I can’t make out what he says over the roaring in my ears. The last thing I see is Neeko on his knees, tears streaming down his face, holding out his hands toward me. The wind has died down. Why can’t he reach me?

Neeko

––––––––

I
hate to leave Gabby sleeping, but she is resting so peacefully that I don’t want to bother her. I just need to rush home for about an hour to resolve a conflict. Nigel is trying to take over, saying I am not fit to be leader. He is still pissed about being punished. I swear I may have to lock him away. I arrive just in time to hear his speech.

“Ok, Nigel. If you want to be leader so bad, I’ll give you a chance. All you have to do is defeat me in battle.” I hear gasps all around. I know he will never take me up on this offer because he is not a fighter. He looks at me and walks out.

“Is that all I am needed for?” I address the members who have gathered. “Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge me? No? I didn’t think so.”

I walk off and find Derrick by the door. “While I’m here, you can update me on how everything is going and show me our new prisoners.”

Once I finish up and am about to head back to the boat, Eric comes running at me. “It’s Gabby. I didn’t know what to do. She is creating a storm on the little island you two picnicked on.”

I flash to the island and find her looking up towards the sky, letting rain fall on her face. She has the wind whipping and lighting is hitting all around her. Her tattoo is lit up. I call her name. She looks over at me and starts screaming. I can’t really make out anything over the wind, but she points at me and, suddenly, lighting hits her. It’s so bright, it hurts my eyes. She falls to the ground. I start to run towards her, but the lightening keeps striking her...like she’s some sort of lightening rod. Her face is turned toward me, but her eyes are blank. Everything but the lighting has stopped. I call her name. I feel like my heart is being ripped out because I can’t get to her. I fall to my knees, tears falling, and just reach out my hands to her. Her eyes shut and the lighting stops.

I run to her.  I touch her face and jump back, my skin sizzling from the contact. What am I supposed to do? Eric runs toward me. “I’ll go get some of those fire blankets. She shouldn’t be able to burn you through that.”

It takes him about ten minutes to get back. I spread one out on the ground and use the other to slide her onto, then cover her. Steam is coming off her skin and her body is lifeless. I thought my heart broke when she got hit, but it is breaking again looking at her like this. I grab her, cradling her in my arms, careful not to touch any part of her without the fire blanket.

I look at Eric. “What happened?”

“She came up to me on the boat and grabbed my hand. Before I could stop her, she flashed us here. She was raving about you leaving her and not trusting her. That you put her second to your job again, and that you lied. The storm picked up fast. I tried to calm her, but she pointed at me and I ended up back on the boat. So I came and got you.”

This is all my fault. I should have woken her up. She could have come with me. None of this had to happen. I flash us home. I don’t even know whom to call about this. I lay her on our bed, careful to keep the blanket under her. It is killing me not to be able to touch her. I need to find somebody to help. I turn around and almost bump into the Oracle, who is shaking her head.

“I know. I failed her. I will do anything to help her. What do I do?”

“She must choose to wake on her own. There is nothing anyone can do for her. She is more powerful than you realize, but she doesn’t know how to handle it. Her emotions get the better of her. She lets them rule her because she gives everything her all. You just need to give her a reason to return. Stay by her side and talk to her. She
can
hear you.”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“I have given you all I can. I must go now."

Before I can say anything else, she is gone. I rush over to Gabby and tell her I love her, to come back to me and I’ll make it right.

I
t has been a week with no movement from Gabby. She has cooled down enough for me to touch her so I keep my hand on her heart to make sure it keeps beating. I tell her I love her and that I’m sorry, but her eyes just stay lifeless, looking off into the distance. I want to try something different so I go into the bathroom and run a warm bath, putting in her favorite lavender-scented bath salts, letting the aroma fill the bathroom. I strip out of my clothes and walk back into the bedroom and grab Gabby. I had already bathed her because she had burned her clothes off, and black smut and mud covered her body, but maybe this will jar her and wake her up. I hold her close, whispering how much I love her, walking us to the bathroom and sit us down in the tub. I position her in between my legs and lay her head back on my shoulder. I let her body soak in the warmth. I hope this works. I get the cloth and soap it up with her favorite body wash, and begin to wash her off.

When that’s done, I grab her shampoo and wet her hair, careful not to get any in her face. Massaging the shampoo in, I feel her body relax. I almost jump out of the tub. I keep massaging, but nothing else happens so I wash out the shampoo. I pull out the stopper and let the water drain. When all the water is out, I gently get up and lay her head against her bath pillow, then get out and reach back in to grab her, wrapping a towel around her body and taking her to the bed. I lay her down and, starting at her feet, start to dry her off. When I touch the bottom of her feet, she jerks. I wait, but nothing else happens. It doesn’t matter, though. These little movements let me know she is still with me. I dry the front of her body, then turn her over and dry her back. I sit on the bed and lay her head in my lap so I can get to her hair easier. I massage the towel into her hair and she moans. My heart stops and then begins to beat faster.

“Gabby?”

“Uh...” Her eyes shoot open. “What? Where am I? Neeko?”