Missing Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1) (7 page)

“You have been avoiding me for a week now. I barely see you at all.”

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry. I have been planning our next date. I didn’t even realize I was abandoning you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. That is what I was coming to tell you when I found you like this.” He motions to my face. “We are leaving in two days to go on a cruise. I figured you could use a change of scenery.”

I’m embarrassed and relieved at the same time.

Neeko

––––––––

T
rying to find Gabby, I walk into our bedroom. Empty. I walk down the hall to find Derrick. Maybe he knows where she is. When I get near the library, I hear someone crying. I walk to the door and peak in. Gabby is sitting in one of the chairs, crying, her head tucked into her knees. I want to run to her and kiss away her tears, but I don’t know what caused them. I clear my throat and she looks up at me. I figure she would start yelling at me or throw something. Instead, she runs up to me and throws her arms around my neck. She feels so good up against me. I hold her a few seconds and it’s like our bodies have become one. Apologizing, she steps back and her cheeks are flush. She sits back in the chair and hides her face again. I’m stunned. “What is wrong, and why are you sorry?”

She thinks I have been avoiding her because of something she did. I quickly tell her I have just been busy with planning our next date, which means that I have to quickly come up with a date because I really
have
been avoiding her. Not because she did anything, but because
I
would. Being near her makes me want her and I can’t. She is human and I could hurt her. I need answers on how a human can be an Immortal’s mate. It’s never been recorded anywhere so I have no reference on what to do. Are we destined to love each other without actually ever getting to touch?

Gabby

––––––––

I
wake up thinking how perfect everything has been since our talk in the library. Maybe I can let him in. I look and see that he’s not in bed. Damn, what time does he get up? I walk to the door and open it. He’s in the hallway with another man, whispering. His muscles are taut and his hands are clenched. I take this time to study his backside. He really is the perfect specimen. Now, if I knew why he wanted me and why I am starting to fall in love with him, that would be a plus. How can I love someone who I still haven’t ruled out as being a killer? As if sensing me, he looks over his shoulder. Wait, were his eyes just red? I take a step back into the room. I see him close his eyes and shake his head. When he opens them again, they are back to normal.
Were
they red? Or was I seeing things?

As he walks toward me, I start to run back into the room. Where the hell am I going to go? I run toward the other side of the bed and stop dead in my tracks, almost running into him. How did he get in front of me?! “What is going on here?! What are you?!”

“It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says as he takes a step toward me. 

I back up. “No! You tell me what the
hell
is going on here!”

He takes a deep breath. “You’re not going to believe me...but here goes. I’m a very powerful Immortal.”

“What, like a vampire?” I bust out laughing. Ok, maybe I am losing my mind.

“No, I don’t drink blood. Think of me as a warlock that can’t be killed very easily. I have a heightened sense of sight, smell, and hearing. Pretty much all the pros of being a vampire...without all the cons. We are the Godgels Immortals. Our ancestors were the children of demigods and angels.”

“Prove it,” I say, crossing my arms.

He turns his palm up and a tiny flame appears. I reach my hand above it and feel the heat. This can’t be real! I grab a piece of paper off the nightstand and place it to the flame. It catches fire. I quickly throw it down and stomp it out. He then closes his hand and reopens it. The flame is gone. I grab his hand and still feel the warmth, but there are no burns or blisters.

“How?”

“I told you I am a very powerful Immortal. You have seen me flash, but I can show you that again, if you like. You have also experienced being transported through a portal. That’s how we got you here so fast.”

He then disappears from in front of me and I feel a hand on my back. I jump and turn to see him. “I didn’t want to tell you until you trusted me. But I let my anger get the best of me and I’m sorry.” He looks down and shakes his head.

“Is that why I feel safe with you? Do you have some kind of spell over me?”

His head shoots up and his face is contorted in pain. His voice is a whisper when he says, “No, I don’t use my powers on you. The pull we feel towards each other is something else entirely. I’m not sure because I have never been around anybody this has happened to. What I’m trying to say is that I believe you are my soul mate...the first human/Immortal bond that I have knowledge of.”

“So because of some Immortal bull I am stuck here?” I don’t want to hurt him more, but it isn’t my fault that I am his mate...if that is even true.

“I have you here so I can keep you safe. If anybody hears what you are to me, they would try to harm you to get to me.”

“Are there other types of Immortals?”

I can tell that he is getting annoyed. “Yes, there are. Demons, some witches, vampires, shifters, demigods, angels, and Oracles are some types.”

“Wait. Vampires
do
exist? How come I have never come in contact with any Immortals except you? What is an Oracle?”

“Yes. Vampires are real, but history exaggerates their power. The sun can kill them, that much is true, but they are only slightly stronger than humans. They don’t have any powers except compulsion. They are a type of lower-level demon.” He looks at me like he is deciding if he should say what he is about to. “You
have
met a demon before. You just didn’t know it.”

“What? When?”

“Mike, from the bar, was a demon.”

“How did you know about Mike? Now I’m
really
glad I didn’t go home with him,” I say with as much sarcasm as I can muster.

“Well, the Oracle...I am not sure what she is or how she came to be...told me to be at that club on that day. It was a day you were there with friends. After I saw you, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. After that, I kept my head in a book to try to figure out why I wanted you so badly. That is when I found out you were, potentially, my mate. I went back to that club every Friday until you came back. When I saw you leave, I thought that I would never see you again.”

“You have known from the beginning that I was your mate? How could you not tell me that and explain what you were?”

“You would have run from me! I couldn’t have that. I love you. I have since that first night I laid eyes on you. You are my soul’s other half, and I am not complete unless you are with me. I know you feel it. Please. I am sorry. You know that I would never hurt you.”

I sighed. “I don’t know what to do or think about all this, but I
do
know that you won’t hurt me.”

“I would like to show you something. I am going to flash us somewhere so be ready.” He holds out his hand. I grab it and he flashes us to an ocean view. I see an island with a castle. “Take off your shoes so they don’t get wet.”

He grabs my hand again and starts to wade in the water toward the island. I am deathly afraid of sharks so I stop and start to step back. “It’s shallow while the tide is out. We can walk all the way there.”

He pulls my hand and starts to walk again. “Legend has it that a giant named Cormoran once lived on the mount. He used to wade to the island and steal cows and sheep to eat. One night, a local boy named Jack rowed out to the island and dug a deep pit while the giant slept.”

We step on dry sand and he leads me to a path. “When the sun came up, Jack blew a horn to wake the sleeping giant. The angry giant staggered down the summit and, blinded by the sunlight, fell into the pit and died.”

He stops and points to a rock. It’s shaped like a heart. “They say that if you stand on this rock, you can still hear the giant’s heartbeat.”

He grabs my other hand and intertwines our fingers. He pulls me until we are standing on the heart-shaped rock. “If something ever happens to me and we are separated, you can always come here to hear my heartbeat.”

He lets go of one of my hands and places his hand over my heart. “You will always have me with you. Our hearts beat as one. You are my soul’s other half. I want to show you how beautifully easy it is to be with me.”

He attacks my mouth like it’s the last drop of water in the desert. The sun has started to come up, showering us in pinks and oranges. It’s so peaceful here. He breaks our kiss and walks us up to the castle. “They do tours here, but we have a few minutes before they start.”

He walks us in the front door. We walk to a stained glass window. The sun shining through them makes everything appear as a rainbow.

“Beautiful! What is this place?”

“St. Michaels in England.”

“We are in England?! So you can flash anywhere? Why am I not dizzy like the first time?”

He chuckles. That sound does things to me. “Yes, England. Yes, I can flash anywhere on earth. You are not dizzy because I told you ahead of time so you were ready.”

“Well, warn me every time then.” I wink and flutter my eyelashes.

The next thing I know, I am up against the castle wall, his lips on my neck. I close my eyes and moan. This man makes me want to do more than kiss. I grind against him. He stills and growls. Then, suddenly, I feel a breeze on my face. I open my eyes to see him on the complete opposite wall, shaking his head and adjusting himself. He is killing me. I am going to be nothing but one big orgasm if he doesn’t quit doing that.

I shake off the feeling and began to walk down the hall. There are so many different types of armor. I have no clue where some of them are from. I continue to walk down the hall. As I pass a library, I look inside. It is wall-to-wall books. As I am admiring the room, Neeko finally walks up. It took him long enough to compose himself. He looks at me and hangs his head. Smiling, I walk up to him and grab his head. Electricity shoots up my arm and down to my middle. Instant wetness. I close the distance between our bodies, resting my hand on his heart. I bring my lips to his and gently press a soft kiss to them. My other hand finds his hair. Grabbing a fist full, I deepen the kiss. My tongue meets his and we explore each other’s mouths. He moans and the vibration sends fireworks to my core. I pull away, leaving him wanting more. It serves him right. He always does it to me so why not him. I smile as he takes a deep breath.

“Pay back. Quit attacking me one minute and leaving me the next.”

He smiles a devilish smile. I giggle and run. When I reach the door, I feel a tingle and, for about a second, I am unable to move. Then, as I walk through the door, it feels like I stepped out from an invisible barrier. I look back at Neeko, who seems unconcerned. He steps up close to me. “What was that?”

“That was my magic. I had us hidden because people live on this island. You stepped out of my range.”

“Oh, ok. So stay close to you?”

“Yes. Come. I want to show you something.”

We walk out to the terrace. The sun is still rising, basking everything in beautiful oranges, reds, and yellows. I walk to the edge and peer over the railing. Gardens cover the hillside. It’s so gorgeous, and very romantic. Too bad this isn’t a fairy tale where everything ends in happily ever after. I feel his arms wrap around me and pull me close. We both stare at the sea, not saying a word. Our bodies are locked together as one, peacefully aware of the other. We stand like that for what seems like hours, just watching the sun rise.

He places a kiss on top of my head. “We need to go. This place will be crawling with people any minute.”

I turn around and place my hand in his. “Thank you for today. It was amazing. Ok, I’m ready.” He flashes us to our room.

“I’ve got Immortal business to take care of. I will see you later.”

He gives me a quick kiss on the lips and leaves.