Missing Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1) (13 page)

Gabby

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I
walk out the door to try and find the spa. This ship has a huge pool, and we have our very own hot tub. It has all kind of games, and even has a casino. I walk around, looking at everything, until I come to the spa. I am about 15 minutes early, but I walk in anyway. They take my name and usher me on back. I am met by a nice older lady.

“I know you are scheduled for a massage, but is there anything else you would like? We have facials, mani’s and pedi’s, a mud bath...”

“I would like a mani/pedi, please.”

The massage was wonderful. I got my nails and toes painted blood red with black tips. They will match my lingerie. I have a cute teddy and thong, and red pumps. It is the only lingerie I own. I figure since he is doing all this for my birthday, he can have a little surprise we he undresses me tonight.

As I start walking back to the room, someone calls my name. “Gabriella?”

I turn and see a man with blonde hair. He is shorter than Neeko at about 5’11”, but his shoulders are wider. He is shirtless, and has tattoos all over his upper body. Wait! Are they moving?  I look at his face and can see danger, excitement, and thrill.

“Who are you?”

“Your dream come true. Well, more like your favorite nightmare.” He winks at me. “But you can call me Lash.”

“I have heard Neeko say something about a Lash, but I can’t remember if it was good or bad. What do you want? He will be here any minute,” I say to try and scare him off. He makes me nervous.

“I’m sure, but I need to tell you something so you can decide.” I turn to leave. I don’t want to hear anything he has to say. “Run from me and you will regret it. I can kill you with one blow, girly,” he growls and I freeze.

“Fine, but get to the point.” I don’t want him to think he can run over me, even though I am deathly afraid of this man.

“I know who and what you are. No, I will not tell you, but I will say this. Neeko will pick his people over you. It will be very bad for you. I am here to give you a chance to skip all of that and come with me,” he says, cocky, as if I have already chosen to come with him.

“Who are you, Lash?”

“I am the leader of the demons, but don’t let that sway your decision.” He grins like his job is a good thing. What do I do? Where’s Neeko? “You can tell me no. I won’t kill you for it because I know, eventually, you will come to me.”

“I don’t believe anything you are saying. So I will decline.”

He grins. “I know you feel the energy between us. I am going to leave you with this. You are the missing piece.”

And then he disappears, leaving me stunned. I did feel something, but he was just hot. It was nothing else. Missing piece? I quickly walk into my room and lock the door. I am pretty sure that locks won’t keep a demon out, but it makes me feel better.

N
eeko shows up 15 minutes later. I am so pissed at him for leaving me alone and for not telling me certain things. I have been pacing back and forth in front of the bed so much that there is probably no carpet left. My face is red, my ears are burning, and tears of anger are about to fall. He looks at me and takes a step back. “What is it, baby?” he sweetly says, trying to lessen the fire raging in me.

“I met Lash just a few minutes ago.” I want to shock him into silence and make him feel bad about leaving me alone.

“What?! When?! Did he hurt you?!” He pales and walks up to me, running his hands over me, checking for injuries. He takes out his cell phone and calls Derrick.

He closes the phone and says, “Derrick and his men are checking, but he is probably long gone.”

“He just wanted to talk, but he asked me to come with him. He said you would pick your people over me and that it would not end well for me. That I would come to him eventually.”

Now that he sees I am ok, his anger spikes, causing him to clench his jaw together. He turns and paces toward the wall, balls his hand into a fist, and swings...putting a fist-sized hole in the wall. I jump and he turns, knowing he’s scared me.

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry.” He rushes back to me. “You know I love you. Don’t listen to him. Demons play with their victims, causing mental pain before the physical.”

“Don’t leave me alone again.” I look at him. “Why didn’t you tell me about not wanting anyone to know about us thinking I was human?”

His eyes get big and he wipes his forehead. “I didn’t even think about it. You being human was never a big deal to me. If you know how much trouble I would be in if anybody found out you were human, then you know I would never choose my people over you. Who told you?”

“Derrick. I almost said something to Amy and Rebecca about it. And I never said you would choose your people over me. That is just what Lash said.”

“You will have a guard on you 24/7 from now on. I cannot risk Lash getting his hands on you. I can’t lose you.” He leans down and kisses me gently. “I’m sorry.”

I lean into his chest and inhale his scent. I love this man and, no matter what he does, that will not change. “Come take a shower with me. We’ll let the warm water wash away the tension.”

I follow him into the bathroom and watch him undress. I could stare at his naked ass forever. He catches me staring and winks. He jumps into the shower and turns on the water. When I see steam coming up, he peaks his dripping head out and says, “Are you going to join me?”

I undress and slide in behind him. I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head on his back. “I’ve missed you.” It feels like we haven’t seen each other in weeks.

“I know, baby. I’ll work on that.”

He grabs my hands and pulls them off him, turning to face me. He puts his hands under my chin and looks in my eyes. “I really am sorry about not spending much time with you. I was trying to find out why the demons have been more active lately. I was trying to keep you safe and, in turn, I have neglected you.” He kisses the corner of my mouth. “You forgive me?”

“I guess so. You just have to prove to me you want to be with me. I understand you’re a leader, but you are going to have to make time for me if you want this to work.”

“I will start making time for you, I promise.”

He kisses my nose and then my chin, working his way down my neck to my chest. Lifting me in his arms so he can reach my nipples, he nips my peak and twirls his tongue around, causing me to moan and lean my head back. The hot water and his expert tongue have me wet already. He kisses back up to my mouth, gentle and then aggressive. I wrap my hands around his neck so our bodies are touching. The feel and smell of him intoxicate me. He slides in me and pushes me back against the shower wall. We make love like it’s our last day together.

T
his boat has so much to offer...water slides, casino, bar with a dance floor, gym. I feel like being a kid so I dress in my one-piece with the sides out. It accents me perfectly. Neeko walks out in his swim shorts. “Wow. I’m either going to faint from the sight of you, or I’ll just keep you locked in this room all day.” He winks.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, but I want to have fun in the pool.” My mouth waters at the sight of him.

He grins. “Oh, so you want to have fun, huh? I can use my magic and make that dream come true.” He steps closer to me and I get a whiff of him. If I don’t get us out of here, I’m going to do him on every surface in this room.

My voice drops to a husky whisper, “Neeko, not that kind of fun.”

“But that’s the best kind.”

No argument there. It gets better every time. “Please, Neeko.” I am about to give in to him. He walks to me and plants a kiss on my lips, then walks out the door.
Damn tease
. I follow him out the door. We get to the pool, which is pretty empty. We claim two chairs and he puts our towels on them. “Neeko, I am going to the slide. You coming?”

“No, I think I’ll watch you. After all, that is my favorite thing to do.” He laughs

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Yes, but only because you don’t have a tray of food.” He really busts out laughing then. I pretend to pout and stomp off. I’ll get him for that. He better watch his back. It was only one time I threw the tray of food at them, and they deserved it.

I make it up to the top of the slide, and look down at him. He is sitting on the steps of the pool, watching me. I wonder if my gift with nature would work on water. I slide down the slide, and it makes me feel five again. I reach the bottom and think of the water splashing him. I come up to the surface in time to see a wave from the pool splash Neeko in the face. I’ve never laughed so hard.

“Oh, that was funny, huh?”

“Yeah, considering I made it do that.”

“Really?” he asks, surprised

“Payback, baby.” He walks toward me and pulls me to him. Our bodies touching, he kisses me hard, then splashes me in the face.

“
That
was payback.” We start laughing as a water fight commences.

After a few hours of playing in the pool, I notice that nobody has shown up. “Hey, Neeko. Why isn’t there a lot of people on the ship?”

“There are a few, but I bought out the rest of the ship so I can keep you safe.”

“Over-bearing?” I laugh. “That’s kind of sweet...in a creepy way.” I slap him on the arm. “You could have told me.”

“Ow, that hurt.” He pokes his bottom lip out.

“Yeah, right, Prince Charming.”

“You can call me that, as long as I am
your
Prince Charming.” He picks up my hand and places a kiss on top of it.

“When did you get all mushy on me?” I say, jokingly.

“Since your love melted my hard exterior.” He flutters his eyelashes.

“You’re crazy and cocky, but I wouldn’t have you any other way.” I lean in for a kiss.

“I love you, too, Gabby.” I snuggle up to him.

“I’m getting tired. Let’s go back to the room and get dressed so I can take you to eat...or maybe I’ll just eat
you
.”

W
e have been on the cruise ship for three days now. We played in the casino, where I lost a bunch of money, and I have been to the gym every morning. I love that there is no one is here. I thought that I’d hate it, but it is really nice. No lines, no noisy neighbors, and you can be as loud as you want.

Our relationship has never been better. He has been so sweet to me. I walk back to our room and find Neeko still in bed, his fine ass showing because he has kicked the covers off. I have never seen him so unstressed and carefree. It could be that all the guests on this ship are Immortals working for him. Hmm, I wonder? I admire the nice view for a minute before I head for the shower. I wish we could stay here forever. It’s been so nice to see Neeko so child-like. Wait. I don’t know his age. I’ll need to ask him that. I feel arms wrap around me.

“Hey, you must be happy to see me.” I rub my butt on his erection.

“I’m always happy to see you, baby.” He trails kisses down my neck. “What were you thinking so hard about that you didn’t hear me come in?”

“Ah...” I blush a little. “That I don’t know your age.”

“Well, in human years, I am about 25. In Immortal years, I am 31. I am a young Immortal, but still a very powerful one. I shouldn’t be a leader yet, but my father was killed so I have to be.”