Missing Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1) (8 page)

Gabby

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I
wake up in bed alone and missing Neeko. Maybe I
am
his mate. I am not ready to tell him that yet, but I know my feelings should not be this strong.  Derrick knocks and opens the door. He brings in a tray of food, places it on the bed, then runs to the door. He turns around to look at me. “I’m glad you’ve got bad aim or I’d still be getting soup out of my hair.” Derrick chuckles.

He grins and walks out. If I didn’t have such strong feelings for Neeko, I would flirt back. I sit up and eat, then set the tray on the side table. I notice that a few of my outfits are sitting on the little sofa in the sitting area of the room. I pick out jogging pants and a tank top, then get dressed. I head down the stairs, straight for the front door. I need some sun and I want to explore the other buildings. I get to the door and begin to turn the knob. I wait for someone to stop me, but nobody says anything so I open the door and step out. The sun instantly warms me. As I notice the porch swing, I realize that I have pretty much given up on Neeko letting me go home so I figure I will be spending a lot of my time sitting in that swing.

I walk out onto the grass. The feel of it on my bare feet is amazing. I couldn’t do this in the city. I walk to the backyard and find the buildings. I walk to the first and it is some kind of gym, about three times the size of school gym. The second one is a regular old barn. No animals, though. Weird. The third has a guard standing in front of it. I walk up to the door and try to open it. It’s locked.

“You don’t have clearance, ma’am.”

“What is this place?”

“It is our armory, ma’am”

“Don’t call me ‘ma’am’. Why do you need an armory?”

“Sorry, ma’am. Um, miss. You’ll have to talk to Neeko.”

So much for free reign. I walk back up to the house and sit on the swing. It’s big so I take a cushion off of a chair and lay down, watching the sky. It’s so peaceful here. Apparently, I dozed off because I woke up hungry so I figured it was time to find the kitchen in this place. I am tired of eating in my room. As I wander around the first floor, I think that it’s weird not running into anybody. Surely I should see
somebody
. After entering about fix different rooms, I finally find the kitchen. It huge, with state-of-the-art appliances, but I can’t find the fridge anywhere.

“Need some help, miss?”

I spin around, and see “Mr. Waiter”. “Yeah. Where is the fridge?”

Smirking, he walks to two long cabinets and opens them. The fridge is made to look like a cabinet! I’d have never found it.

He’s still smirking so I say, “Ask Derrick what happens to people who aggravate me. You might want to wipe that smirk off or I will. I don’t take kindly to people making fun of me.”

It came out a lot braver than I felt, but I am tired of feeling scared in this place. If I am going to have to stay here, I am not going to take any crap from anybody...Immortal or not. He quickly turns and walks away. Well, I believe I made a new friend.

I hear giggles coming from the doorway behind me. I turn around and see two women trying to hold in their laughter. Great. More people laughing at me. I scan the contents of the fridge, find a plate of fruit, and grab it. Suddenly, eating in the room by myself isn’t such a bad idea.

As I turn to leave, one of them speaks up, “Hey. My name is Rebecca. I love the way you shut Nigel up.”

“Nigel? You mean ‘Mr. Waiter’?”

The other woman laughs. “Yeah, that’s the one. He’s a douche. He thinks that because he is Neeko’s cousin, he is better than everyone else. Oh, I’m Amy, by the way.”

Well, maybe the people here aren’t all bad. “Do you mind if we join you for lunch?” Rebecca asks.

“Sure, the more the merrier.”

We sit at the table and talk for about an hour-and-a-half about Nigel and the rest of the “clan”, as I call them. They are pretty funny. I get up to throw my thrash away. “Where is everybody? Where does everybody sleep?”

“Well, we sleep on the same floor you do.”

“How come I never see anyone then?”

“Watch this.” Both disappear right before my eyes.

“You can’t see us because we use our magic to block you.” I still can’t see them, but I can hear them.

“Yeah, Neeko has done that with me before. But why?”

They reappear. “Neeko told everybody to stay clear of you because he didn’t want you spooked.”

“I am not a baby! I can handle talking to people. My god, I am going to kill him. You all have been watching me make a fool out of myself! Just like the other day when I was going to try and escape.
That’s
how Nigel was there so quick and why I felt him follow me back up to the room, but didn’t see him. Oh, yep, Neeko is dead. Please tell everyone to stop hiding from me.”

“We can’t. Neeko will have to. We will probably get in trouble for even
talking
to you.” Rebecca says nervously.

“No, you won’t. I want you to join me for lunch every day. Since I am a prisoner here, I need some friends. “Where is Neeko?”

“He is in the library.” Amy points toward the stairs.

I stand up and stomp up to the second floor. I bust through the library door. “NEEKO, I am going to kill you!” I see six stunned faces, but Neeko is grinning from ear-to-ear.

“I’m glad I amuse you! How could you tell everybody to hide from me?! I have made a fool of myself not knowing anyone was watching!”

I don’t give him time to answer. I just stomp back out and to “our” room. I am so frustrated with him right now that I could probably kill him.

Neeko

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I
watch Gabby from the library window.  She is exploring the grounds. Looking for what? I wonder. I had to pry her off of me again this morning. She may not realize it yet, but she
does
have feelings for me. I just need to prove it to her. I turn back around and all eyes in the room are on me. What do they expect from me? I can’t concentrate on anything but her. It’s driving me insane. Is this how it’s always going to be? How am I supposed to lead when all I want to do is follow her? I clear my throat and they go back to researching my predicament. What does this puzzle piece mean? I get back to my book.

Unfortunately, the books are turning up nothing new. I am getting so frustrated. I need answers so I can help her understand. So she will quit fighting me. It is about time for a lunch break so I get up, fixing to walk to the door. I hear my name being hollered. “NEEKO, I’m going to kill you!”

As she walks in, I can’t help but smile. What can she possibly be mad at me for now? “I’m glad I amuse you. How could you tell everybody to hide from me?! I have made a fool of myself not knowing anyone was watching me!”

She doesn’t even let me explain. She just stomps out, leaving my help stunned into silence. No one has ever gotten away with talking to a Dressel that way. I just laugh. She is becoming brave and I like it.

Everybody turns and stares at me, expecting that I’d have her punished or something. “Mind your work. Not my relationship,” I snap

They quickly get back to work. I need to go smooth this over. I walk to the bedroom and ease the door open. I try to prepare myself for what I am walking into—crying, throwing things, maybe even her trying to leave – but nothing can prepare me for what I see.

Gabby

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I
stomp into the bedroom.  I glance around and let out a long breath. I feel like someone is watching me, but no one is in here. I see a flicker of something in the corner. I walk over and wave my hand into the corner, hitting something solid. “Hello?”

Nigel appears. “Hey, baby.”

“Gross, I’m not your baby. What are you doing in my room?”

“This is Neeko’s room.”

“It’s mine, too. What do you want?”

He leans in and kisses me.
What the hell?
I slap him. “Don’t ever touch me again,” I growl.

“No woman has ever talked to me the way you did in the kitchen. It turned me on. And the way you talk to my cousin...?” He leans in to kiss me again.

I back up. “Don’t touch me, Nigel.”

I was too busy to notice Neeko step in and, apparently, so was Nigel. “Come on, baby. You know you want me.”

He flashes inches away from me. Oh hell, not this again. I reach down, grab his nuts, and twist. I don’t care if you’re an Immortal or not. You’re going to go down if a woman twists your nuts. He goes down to his knees, and I slap him in his face. “That’s for thinking you can touch. Why do men think they have the right to tell me what to do?” I slap him again. “And to kidnap me and keep me against my will?” I smack him again. “I am so sick of taking every hit you all throw at me. I’m done taking it lying down.”
Smack! Smack!
“Now get the fuck out before I decide to cut your nuts off!”

Just then, Neeko clears his throat. I look up at him staring at me like I am a trapped animal and he doesn’t know what I am going to do.

Nigel stands up, still clutching his boys, and turns to face Neeko. His face is the color of a ripe tomato. Calmly, Neeko looks at his cousin, but I can see the fury in his eyes. “I’ll deal with you later. Now get out.” Not wanting to walk by Neeko, Nigel flashes out.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Would you like me to show you?” I glare at him. “Why do you men think that I am some wormy little girl that is going to do exactly what they say?”

“I don’t. I never know
what
you’re going to do or say.” He walks up to me and rubs my face. His hands feel so good on my skin. “I’m sorry about telling everyone to hide and underestimating you. I just can’t lose you.” He plants a soft kiss on my lips, leaving me wanting more.

Seemingly happy that I am not going to run, he heads back out to deal with Nigel. I actually feel better now that I took out some aggression. Maybe I should take up boxing.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I wonder if I should tell Neeko, but I don’t see why it is important. Does he age? I never even thought to ask. I will have to remember to ask him tonight before bed.

Feeling good has me wanting to go to the gym and punch on the bag. I change into my workout gear and make my way to the gym. No one seems to be in here, but who knows. I stretch, then start punching and kicking the bag. I do this for hours until I can’t pick up my arms anymore. It just feels so good to let out all the pain and anger.

I hop into the shower, and then make my way to the bedroom. I grab one of Neeko’s big shirts to sleep in. I turn off all the lights and climb into bed. Just as I am about to drift off, the bedroom door opens and shuts. I am suddenly surrounded by the smell of cinnamon. I hear his clothes hit the floor right before the mattress dips and his warmth engulfs me. I scoot closer to him and snuggle. I lay my head on his bare chest, and he wraps his arm around me and begins tracing circles on my thigh. A warm tingle lingers where his finger traces. I feel every breath he takes vibrating in between my thighs. How can laying here like this mean so much? It is like our hearts beat as one. We may be mates after all...two bodies, one soul.