The Missing Pieces

by H. S. Strickland

  “I ignored you for three months, the least I could do is help you with dinner,” she, of course, argued. She had a look of sheer determination on her, not willing to give up so easily.

  “And you’ve made that up by being here. I invited you; therefore, I will make dinner for you.” I moved to the cabinet that held my plates then to the drawer full of cutlery.

  “Why do you have to be so stubborn? I’m not some helpless woman!” She threw her hands up in the air, frustrated with me and my stubbornness.

  “I could ask you the same question, Sloane. And I never once said you were some helpless woman. I’m just trying to be nice.” I stopped what I was doing to take a peek at her and noticed she was frowning. The space between her eyebrows were puckered as if she was thinking.

  “Why are you being so nice?” She was genuinely confused as to why I was being nice to her. It made me stop to think if anyone had ever been nice to her. I knew next to nothing about her, so I truly didn’t know.

  “Because we’re friends and that’s what friends do. There is no hidden motive. I just want to be friends,” I said gently. I felt as if something else was happening here. Like she was working out something else entirely in her head. She was a private person. Always making sure to keep everything to herself.

  “Okay,” she mumbled, while sitting back down in the stool. The fight she had previously had was now gone. Drained completely out of her body. It made me more than a little curious about what had just occurred.

  Right then she reminded me somewhat of a wounded animal. Caving in on herself to lick her wounds. Sloane was an enigma, making me curious as to what made her tick. What she was passionate about. And where all these hidden emotions were coming from. More of the mystery that was Sloane.

  She found her wine and drank the entire glass in one, large gulp. My brows hit my hair line in shock. Sloane noticed and shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. I opened the fridge to get the bottle of wine I had bought specifically for her and poured her another glass. She smiled gratefully and found her seat again. She watched my movements as I transferred the food from the pan to the plates.

  “So, want to tell me why you were here late?” I asked, trying to rid the air of its awkwardness by changing the subject.

  “Beauty takes time, my dear,” she said, making me burst out loud with laughter.

  “Baby, you could have come over in a trash bag with no makeup on and I would still think you’re beautiful,” I stated, still chuckling. Like I mentioned before, Sloane had real, classic beauty. She didn’t need makeup or nice clothes.

  She mock-gasped and held her hand to her heart, “I would never be in your presence-or anyone’s-with nothing but a trash bag on.”

  I chuckled at her theatrics and handed her the plate over the counter. She took it and immediately started digging in. It was a relief to know she wasn’t the kind of woman to not want to eat in front of me. Or claim she only wanted a salad.

  I must have been staring because Sloane wiped her mouth and asked, “I’m embarrassing myself again, aren’t I?”

  “No. It’s just a relief that you’re actually eating.” I took my full plate and found my seat next to her.

  She chewed, swallowed, and then responded, “What do you mean?”

  “Most women won’t eat in front of men. Or only want bird food.”

  “You’ll find, while getting to know me that I am not like any other woman you’ve met before.” She couldn’t have said more honest words. I already knew she was completely different from others. I was beginning to wonder if that’s why I was so attracted to her. If that’s what her appeal was. It would make sense. I had never found myself so interested in someone. So invested in getting to know her more.

  The rest of dinner was eaten in comfortable silence. For me, because I was lost in thought about Sloane.

  Three glasses of wine and two beers later, we were sitting on my couch getting ready to watch a movie. I had convinced her to stay a little longer, stating that she needed to sober up before driving home. She readily agreed, not wanting to drive tipsy.

  She was bent over looking at my movie collection, causing her ass to stick up. Which, in turn, made my dick hard as a rock. I imagined throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her to my bedroom. I would strip her clothes off slowly, kissing the smooth skin I un-covered. I’d lay her down on the bed and kiss my way down her throat until I reached her breasts. I would take her nipple in my mouth, and then skim my hand down her body ‘til I reached her pussy lips. She would moan unabashedly and thrust her hips up to meet my hand. I wouldn’t give in though. I would tease her mercilessly until she begged me to stick my cock in her wet, warm puss-

  “Hello?” Sloane clapped her hands in front of my face, effectively ending my naughty daydream.

  “Where’d you go? You were zoned out for, like, five minutes.” She stood before me with her hands on her hips and a DVD in hand.

  “Sorry, I was having a daydream.” I waved my hand, dismissing the conversation. It was already bad enough that I was sporting some major wood. I really didn’t need her to see it or press the issue of what I was dreaming about.

  Sloane nodded but said nothing, much to my relief. I peered down at the hand that held the DVD. I couldn’t get a good look at the name so I narrowed my eyes, but still had zero luck reading the damn thing.

  Sloane stared at my face with an unreadable expression. Her eyes flicked back and forth between my eyes and my lips. I could feel the sexual tension in the air starting to suffocate me. I was trying to be good. I didn’t want Sloane to think I was only after her ass. Although, my track record did not speak well for me.

  “What movie do you have?” I nodded my head in the direction of her hand.

  Her head snapped back as if she was coming out of a trance. She looked down at the movie then back up at me, “Saw, if that’s okay with you?”

  “Hell yeah. Horror movies are my favorite.” I grinned up at her.

  “Mine too.” She bopped over to my DVD player and popped the movie in.

  While she was walking back to the couch I noticed a sexy sway to her hips that wasn’t there before. Somehow I managed to keep the groan from slipping out of my throat.

  Fuck, this woman is trying to kill me!

  I shot off the couch before she had had time to sit down. She looked at me questioningly.

  “Turning off the lights,” I grunted.

  Truth was, I needed to get away from her for a second. I really needed to un-see the sexy way her hips had swung. The smell of her perfume or body-wash was everywhere I went, curling around me, driving me to the brink of madness. I was tempted to act out my dream from earlier, and carry her back to my bedroom.

  She was too much at one time. The emotions I felt when around her were too much. I didn’t think I could handle it. I felt like I was going to explode from lust. And she would surely ignore me then. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t the type of man to get caught up in the emotions that a woman evoked. I was supposed to fuck them then leave.

  So why the fuck did you invite her over?

  I couldn’t answer myself so I just turned off all the lights and made my way back to the couch. Sloane was curled into a ball in the opposite corner of the couch. The beginning credits were just starting so I sat down in my corner and propped my feet up on the coffee table.

  About thirty minutes into the movie I came to the conclusion that I was dying. I was sure of it. My body physically hurt with the need to touch Sloane. She was still sitting in the far corner of the couch.

  Away from me.

  She had her legs tucked underneath her, making her shorts ride up on her thighs. Her creamy skin was on display to torture me.

  “Why do you keep staring at me?” She turned to the side to look at me. I managed to tear my eyes away from her thighs to stare into her dark, green eyes.

  “Because there’s something so mysterious about you,” I blurted before I could think, “something that draws me in to you. Whate
ver it is about you, I have every intention of figuring it out. Figuring you out.” I thought since I had already blurted out the truth, I might as well finish.

  “Um…” She mumbled and nervously chewed on her bottom lip. Her eyes darted around the room as if she was scared to look at me in the eyes.

  I moved down the couch until our legs met then I tilted her chin up so her dark eyes clashed with my light ones.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” I whispered. She continued to bit on her bottom lip so I lifted my thumb and freed it.

  “Can we watch the movie?” She asked, not saying anything to my previous statement.

  “Yeah, we can watch it. Just remember Sloane, you can’t hide from me forever.”

  She didn’t respond to my declaration. She turned her face in the direction of the T.V. and ignored me. The urge to touch her overcame me and I couldn’t will myself to shove the urge away. I lifted my arm and placed it around her shoulders then tried to gauge her reaction. She didn’t shy away from me, but she was a little tense. I pulled on her, forcing her body to collide with mine. She immediately tried tugging away from me, but I held on.

  “Relax,” I whispered in her ear, making her shiver.

  She slowly relaxed, melting into the contours of my body. She had her head awkwardly laid on my chest and her hands were between us. I guess she wanted to avoid touching me as much as possible.

  My eyes were slowly getting heavier and heavier. The movie was almost over and I just wanted to crash. Sloane had long since fallen asleep. She had been stiff against me until she gave into her own exhaustion and fallen asleep against me. I didn’t watch much of the movie after she had gone to sleep. I enjoyed having Sloane’s hair somewhat fanned out on my chest, her small fist curled in the bottom of my T-shirt. Her scent would find its way up to my nose every so often, making me want to kiss her. Everything about her was driving me insane.

  I realized the screen had turned black, indicating the movie was over. Funny how I didn’t even notice, due to my thoughts. I flopped my head back against the couch then let out a pent up breath and scrubbed a hand down my face.

  I got up as quietly as I could and turned the T.V. off. I walked down the hall to my bedroom, flipped the light on, and dug around in my dresser for some sweat pants and a shirt. I wasn’t going to wake up Sloane since she was too exhausted. The alcohol must have hit her harder than she thought it would.

  I bent at the waist, placed her head on my forearm and her legs on my other forearm. I lifted her, moving slowly and carefully so I didn’t wake her. She stirred then shifted slightly, but didn’t wake up. She was out cold. Placing her on my bed, I pulled the covers back then began unbuttoning her shorts. I was lifting her hips to pull them down when she wrapped her hands around mine, stilling my movements.

  “What are you doing?” She whispered into the semi-dark room.

  “Taking your pants off and putting one of my shirts on you,” I mumbled distractingly while trying to move her hands away from mine.

  “What? No! I can change myself.” She batted my hands away, effectively frustrating me.

  “You are such a spitfire,” I grumbled under my breath.

  I moved to straddle her waist, trapping her hands, causing a fire to light in her eyes.

  “Ryan, get off of me!” Her voice was loud and she was clearly aggravated.

  “Sloane, you do realize that I’ve seen you naked before. I’ve explored that beautiful body. And I’ve been balls deep in that sweet pussy.” I raised my eyebrow and smirked when I noticed that she was too breathless to respond.

  I bent down until my nose was close to hers. “You don’t have to fight me on everything. I want to do stuff for you. I like you. I want you. I want to see where this will go, but you need to stop fighting me. While we’re seeing where this goes I’m going to do stuff for you. A lot of stuff. You’re gonna have to get over it. If you truly didn’t like it, you wouldn’t be here with me right now.” Her chest rose and fell rapidly, showing me just how much I affected her.

  “You didn’t give me a choice!” She exclaimed, still breathless.

  “You always have a choice, Killer. Your choice was to come over here even though you were scared and nervous. You want to be here, even if you won’t admit it to yourself.”

  She stared at me and I noticed that her guard began to gradually fall. It only fell a little bit, but that was enough. It was all I needed to know that I could penetrate those tall walls around her heart.

  “Okay,” she whispered softly.

  I touched my mouth to hers in a soft, but firm kiss. When I pulled back she was staring at me with obvious lust. She wanted me to fuck her, but I wasn’t going to. I wanted to prove to her and myself that I didn’t only want sex.

  I lifted off her hands and went back to work on her shorts. This time she didn’t fight me. She lifted her hips for me and I easily slid her pants off her legs. Her pussy was covered in sky-blue, lace, silky boy-shorts. My cock twitched at the sight, begging to be freed.

  I put a hand out to her, inviting her to take it. She did and I pulled her into a sitting position. I asked her to hold her hands up then pulled her shirt over her head. She had on a matching blue push-up bra that barely contained her full, perky breasts.

  “Do you need to take you bra off?” I asked. She nodded and moved to unclasp it. I turned around and swallowed the lump forming in my throat. Being the good guy was going to be harder than I thought.

  “You don’t have to turn around. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” she laughed lightly.

  “Trying to be good,” I told her in a gruff tone.

  All I could think about were her full breasts. The way they bounced as I pounded into her. I thought about her pinching her nipples into hard peaks.

  Dammit, Ryan stop! I scolded myself.

  “Done,” she said with a hint of a smile and excitement in her voice.

  I spun around and almost slapped a hand over my eyes like a teenage boy seeing his first pair of tits.

  “Dammit,” I groaned, “what the fuck Sloane?”

  “Sorry,” she giggled, “I like to sleep naked.”

  “You sure it wasn’t to tempt and tease me?” I grumbled half-heartedly.

  “Well that too. It’s just a bonus.” She smiled a bright, successful smile that told me she meant to tempt and tease me.

  I got up from the bed and took meaningful strides to the door, desperate to get away from Sloane’s bare chest. It was quite the feat to not turn around and take advantage of the situation. I tapped on the door and said, “Night, Killer.”

  I heard Sloane huff in frustration then a mumbled ‘goodnight’. I got a sheet out of the closet and made up the couch. I wanted to go in the bathroom to change, but I didn’t want to go anywhere near my bedroom for fear of losing my self-control.

  Instead, I threw my shirt over my head then unbuttoned my jeans. I pulled my sweat pants up over my boxers and got comfortable on the couch. What I really ached to do was strip then go get in bed with Sloane and show her all the reasons why she shouldn’t tease me again.

  It sucked being the ‘good guy’.

  I laid on the couch for nearly an hour, willing my eyes to close and my mind to shut down. When I finally did fall asleep, Sloane was still on my mind.

  Chapter Three

  Sloane

  I awoke to the sound of banging coming from the direction of Ryan’s kitchen. He must have already been up and destroying stuff. I noticed a clock on his nightstand and almost screamed at the time. I was supposed to be at work an hour ago. I was going to have to drive all the way home, get ready, and then drive to the office. I was officially going to get fired. It would take me three hours to get the office after getting ready, therefore putting me four hours late.

  Ryan’s plain white T-shirt was still lying on the bed next to me so I threw it on and jumped out of bed. I raced around the room, searching for my clothes. Ryan must have heard me because his massive frame filled the door
way. He leaned a hip against it, crossed his arms over his chest, and then smirked.

  “What are you smiling about?” I didn’t have the time to stop and take in his beauty.

  He didn’t answer me. His smirk grew larger and his eyes took a leisurely stroll down my body. It was then that I realized I was still half naked. The essential parts of me were covered, but his gaze made me feel entirely naked. I had no problem showing him last night, but I had chalked it up to being half asleep and tipsy. At least that’s what I was telling myself.

  I’m such a whore!

  “Can you, um…go or something?” I asked, shifting from foot to foot impatiently.

  “Now why would I do that when you’re putting on a damn good show?” He quipped, gesturing to my bare legs. He was so frustrating.

  “Maybe because I’m super late for work? Oh and the longer we stand here, the later I go in?” I threw my hands up expressing my annoyance.

  I wasn’t only aggravated with him because of my tardiness. It was also because his gaze made me feel hot. Not the sweaty-I-need-a-fan-hot, but I’m-sure-you-could-drown-something-in-my-panties-hot. I needed to keep a level head and dry panties while I was around him. I knew I had to get close to him, but I needed to be smart about it. Right now though, within his gaze, I didn’t feel smart. In fact, I felt very stupid. Stupid because my heart was fluttering, my panties were drenched, and my head was a muddled mess.

  I was snapped out of my muddled mind when I heard Ryan growl seductively. He moved away from the door and stalked toward me, lust flaring wildly in his sky-blue eyes. He reached me, grabbed my face on either side and proceeded to muddle my mind even further. His mouth crashed down on mine and his tongue immediately sought entrance. I was reluctant to grant him access though. I was a fucking mess and needed to set boundaries between him and I. But for now, I would allow myself this pleasure.

  I opened my mouth and his tongue snuck in. He stroked my mouth with ease and skill, eliciting a moan from me. I dug my hands in his hair, silently demanding more. He didn’t disappoint. He bent slightly, grabbed my thighs and hoisted me up. My legs wrapped around his waist and my hips began circling, seeking friction. I needed more and less at the same time. I needed him to affect me less, but needed him to give me more. I wanted all he had.