“Where’d Sloane and Liam go?” I asked, curiously. I was fighting every instinct in my body that said run after them.
“Can’t say,” Mace mumbled over the rim of his beer.
I grumbled under my breath, then popped the top on my beer and took a swig. I really wanted to go after Sloane, but knew she wouldn’t like that since she enlisted Mace’s help in keeping me away. I would figure it out later.
“So why were you being an ass to her?” Araylia addressed the uncomfortable situation that had previously occurred.
“I saw her hugging Mace,” I told her again.
“Annndd?” She dragged the word out as if what I said wasn’t enough of a reason.
“And that’s it, I saw her hugging Mace and I don’t really know why I went off the handle.”
“Sweetheart, you can’t handle situations like that. No wonder she is pissed at you, and you have to make it up to her. A girl like her doesn’t want to feel like she’s being controlled, and in no uncertain terms you did just that. Made her feel like she has to listen to you and not hug Mace. She is going to want to rebel against you when you do that. She needs a certain kind of delicacy.” Ray giving me her wisdom was just what I needed. She was right; Sloane wasn’t the type of woman to want to be controlled. It would make her do exactly the opposite of what you ‘asked’.
I didn’t answer, instead sipped on my beer. A few minutes later Sloane and Liam returned to our little group. Liam was sporting the biggest grin as if he was hiding a secret. Sloane passed Mace and gave him a grateful smile. “What did it take to keep him here?” She asked him, giggling a little.
I tried paying attention to them so I could hear what Mace said back, but Liam came running over to me and flopped into my lap, almost kneeing me in the balls.
“Easy, my man,” I told him.
He held his index finger up to his lips and quietly said, “Shhh. Swoane got you a present.”
This piqued my interest considering Sloane didn’t seem like the present giving type. “Really, what did she get me?” I asked him noiselessly so Sloane wouldn’t catch on.
“I’m not allowed to tell you,” he frowned as if he was upset about not being able to tell me. I was surprised he was keeping it a secret this long.
“Yo Sloane,” I yelled, making her turn around and glare at me.
“What?” She snapped angrily.
“Take a swim with me,” I grinned, hoping she would agree with me and not say no because I was rude and interrupted her.
“Well, can I at least finish my conversation first?” She asked sarcastically.
“By all means, continue,” I swept my arm to the side in a gesture for her to in fact finish her conversation.
Before long she was kissing Ray and Mace on the cheek and sashaying her hips my way. She didn’t even stop and wait for me, just kept walking toward the water. I set my now empty beer on the sand next to my towel and jogged to catch up with her. I slid my arm around her shoulder, holding tight when she tried to shrug me off.
“Oh, come on Killer. I didn’t mean to be rude,” I cajoled.
“I’m not mad because you were rude, Ryan. I’m mad because you think you can have whatever you want from me, just because you smiled at me. I don’t like being demanded to do something,” she told me in a defeated tone and shrugged her shoulder harder, effectively knocking my arm off.
I ran in front of us a few feet and felt the water rushing to my toes then rushing away. I turned so my back was to the ocean and my front was facing Sloane. She tried sidestepping to go around me, but I got right back in her face.
“Stop,” I demanded. Yes, I knew I was a dumbass. She had barely finished her sentence telling me she didn’t like being demanded around, but fuck it. It got her to listen.
She slammed her hands down on her hips and glared hard at me.
“You remember the discussion we had not too long ago about me giving you want you need, not what you want?” I asked, waiting for her to nod her head in agreement.
“This goes along the same lines. I tried to politely step in front of you to get you to stop. What did you do? Moved around me and ignored me. I demanded you to stop and you did just that. If I were to ask you to do something, you wouldn’t. You may listen to me, but you wouldn’t hear it. You are so stuck in your ways, and hell bent and determined to push me away to listen. So once again, I’m giving you what you need, not want.”
Sloane’s glare was gone, but her mouth was flopping open and closed. She had no idea what to say to me, but she knew I was right. I would never give her something that I knew she didn’t need. I would not potentially ruin this relationship over something as simple as demanding her to do stuff. Even though this had only been going on for a little while, Sloane meant a lot to me and I was not willing to give that up over something so small and stupid.
She huffed and tried walking past me. I figured that she had already learned not to walk away from me, but I guess not. I snuck up on her and grabbed her around the waist, tugging her back to my chest. She tried resisting me, but I held her tightly. I was not going to give up so easily this time.
“I would never give you something you didn’t need. You need me to be demanding and boss you around. If I didn’t this wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has. Trust me with your needs, Killer. I will not let you down,” I said vehemently in her ear. She shivered against my body and nodded her head.
“Yeah?” I asked to make sure.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Good, then I think you need to cool down.” I told her, laughing silently to myself.
“What are you–” Her sentence was cut off because she had instead screamed. This was because I had picked her up once again and thrown her over my shoulder. The rest of the day at the beach we played in the water by ourselves and then brought Liam in the water with us to give Mace and Ray a little time alone. They left about an hour before we did, Mace having to make several trips to the car since Liam had fallen asleep and he had to carry him.
Sloane came home with me and changed into her dry clothes. She left her bathing suit hanging up in my bathroom, over the shower. She stayed to have a drink with me, her drinking water and a beer for me.
After she left I gathered up our laundry and threw it all in my small washer machine. I went back to my bedroom to change into sweatpants when I noticed something on my dresser. It was a mason jar filled with sand. In front of it was a card. I picked it up and smiled at Sloane’s curvy, delicate, but classy handwriting.
‘So you don’t have to go to the beach to get your peace. –Sloane’
I couldn’t help but to grin at the mason jar. Liam was right, Sloane got me a present. A very thoughtful one. I was wrong about saying she wasn’t a present giver; she gave me the best present of all. Peace. I could now have this at home. Although I wouldn’t be able to hear and see the beach, she brought the beach back to me. She gave me something that no one else ever has.
Chapter Five
Sloane – Two months later
The past two months had been nothing short of amazing. Ryan and I have been getting closer and spending more and more time with each other. I had spent a few more nights at his house the last two months, and had enjoyed more and more each time. We hadn’t had sex yet again, and to say it was frustrating is an understatement. Of course we had fooled around, oral sex and all, but it wasn’t the same as actual sex. Nothing could replace the feeling of his thick cock filling me up to capacity. I wanted it, but then again I didn’t. In the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t going to last. I had my job to do, and Ryan wasn’t making it easy. It was extremely hard to get him to talk about his ex, and that was the only reason my job wanted me to have interest in him.
Every time we had gotten close to having sex I would think about betraying him, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t betray him that way. I had no choice but to emotionally get close to him, but I could at least save him from getting sexually close to me. I would not hurt him m
ore than I had to.
“Killer, we need to go!” Ryan yelled from what I was assuming was the living room.
“I know, give me a damn minute! I’m almost done,” I huffed and dabbed a Q-tip under my eye to catch any stray eyeliner that was lingering there.
We (well not we, I) were getting ready to go to Ray’s baby shower. She was so excited to do things the right this time around. When she was pregnant with Liam her ex was not a very happy person, therefore not one to help her plan a baby shower. I had helped plan the shower along with a very enthusiastic Mace. And I was not saying that with sarcasm, Mace was very happy to help with the shower.
I looked in the mirror one more time to make sure my outfit was in place. I was wearing a gray low cowl back maxi dress. The front was strapless and simply plain, but classy. But the back was where the party was. The dress was hanging on by a thin black strap that went across my shoulder blades. The rest of my back was open to the world until a few inches above my butt. My face was made up perfectly, but still simple. I had a gray-ish eye shadow on, it was faint but noticeable. My eyelashes were coated in mascara and my eyes lined with eyeliner. My dark brown hair was down my back in waves. I had left it alone to dry by itself so it curled naturally. Looking at the finished product, I nodded at my reflection. I look damn good.
I hopped around the room looking for my other sandal, but was having a bit of trouble. This was not a real surprise. A ton of my stuff was stern all over the room, surprisingly so. I had gotten comfortable with bringing stuff over and leaving it.
Finally I had found my damn missing sandal under the bed along with a few other mismatched pairs. So that’s where my missing shoes had gone! I walked out of the room with both of my shoes on and greeted Ryan in the kitchen. He was drinking a glass of water when I walked in with his back toward me. I cleared my throat to gain his attention and smiled when his face lit up after turning around.
He twirled his index finger, indicating that I should twirl around so he could see the back of my dress. I did so and waited for a reaction. When I didn’t hear him say anything I peeked over my shoulder at him.
“Business in the front, party in the back,” I told him, giggling.
It took him a minute but he finally replied. “Ya think?” He asked rhetorically.
“You like?” I asked back, wanting an answer. I was secretly hoping he would love it.
“I fucking love it. But do you want me to get in trouble?” He said in return. I spun back around and grazed toward him.
“Oh hush. Araylia told me how Mace tried getting her to change one time. You are not going to tell me what I can and can’t wear, so don’t even try.” I reached him and wrapped my arms around his neck. Leaning up on my toes, I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” he bent his head and fit his nose in the crook of my neck. He inhaled sharply and let out a breath.
“Why do you always smell so delectable, Killer?” He asked on a sigh.
“I don’t always smell delectable; you’re just always hungry for me.” I told him as I untangled myself from his neck and walked around the island to get my purse off the back of the couch.
I opened my purse and looked at the time on my phone. “We really need to get going or we’re going to be late.”
Ryan pouted but opened the door for me then slapped my ass as I walked out.
An hour later we arrived at Mace and Araylia’s house. The entire driveway was packed and cars had started bleeding onto the road. We entered the house found that the party was in full swing. I moved to find Mace or Ray, Ryan following me with a hand on the small of my back.
I found Mace and asked where I could set my stuff. He told me to go to the spare bedroom and put it in the closet. I walked into the spare bedroom and heard arguing.
“…told you to leave me alone, Dakota!” I heard Cade yell.
“Yeah, well that’s not really the best idea. There is stuff we need to talk about,” Kota hissed, assumingly at Cade.
“I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO YOU!” Cade roared.
At that point I figured it was time to walk in the room and make my presence known. I didn’t know what was going on between the two of them, but I did not like Cade yelling at Kota that way. It was rude, and regardless how much he didn’t want to talk to her, he didn’t have to disrespect her.
When they noticed me, I pointed at Cade, “Out. Now.”
He opened his mouth to reject, but I glared harder and he thought twice. He turned away from Kota and walked out of the room.
I turned to Ryan. “You. Go cool him down. I’m ten seconds away from kicking his ass.”
He must have saw steam coming out of my ears because he didn’t say a word and walked out behind Cade.
“You. Sit.” I gestured with my head toward the bed, and Kota immediately sat down.
I sat next to her and leaned my head against her shoulder. “I don’t usually like to get in other people’s business, but he was going too far,” I said to her.
“I understand. I’m kind of glad you walked in. I was a second away from slapping him.” She chuckled, but it wasn’t real. There was no humor behind it.
“What happened to you two?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t overstepping a boundary.
“You have a way of getting people to talk to you,” she stated matter-of-factly before sighing and then continuing, “We’ve known each other since we were young. He moved into the house next door, and we basically grew up together. When we got old enough our feelings grew beyond a friendship. We were attached at the hip. He was my light. Then for whatever reason he left to go to the Marines. He didn’t explain why, didn’t even tell me goodbye. I haven’t seen him again until Ray introduced us after all that shit went down at her house. He clearly wasn’t happy to see me, and I have no clue why. I wasn’t the one who left. He was.” Her story ended on a whisper, and she had a faraway look in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, honey.” That was all I could muster up. There was nothing more I could say to her. I couldn’t do anything for her, unfortunately.
“Well let’s head out to the party and go see Big Mama,” she said, and stood to her feet, smiling down at me.
It was comical the name everyone had come up with for Ray. They often told her she looked like she was going to have twins. She despised the name, and despised that we all thought she was going to have twins. She said two babies were enough, although Mace did not agree. I was pretty sure Mace wanted a football team of kids.
We walked back into the wolves den and went in search of Ray. After searching for five minutes, we finally found her in the living room, sitting on the couch. No wonder it took so long to find her, the majority of the party was surrounding her. Luckily Cade and Ryan were nowhere in sight. I was likely to ream his ass for speaking to Kota the way he did.
Kota and I finally made it through everyone and sat down on the couch next to Araylia. She was beautiful in a simple pink dress.
“Did you happen to find out the sex of the baby, and you’re telling us in secret code?” Kota asked, laughing. This time her smile finally reached her eyes.
Kota and Araylia had been friends since they were in college. One night the three of us went out for drinks (Ray, of course, drinking water) and Kota told me the story, Ray groaning in embarrassment the entire time. They were freshmen roommates, and Ray was feeling down. Kota, surprisingly, was the party girl and took Ray out and got her drunk. After it was all said and done, Kota was holding Ray’s hair back as she puked in the toilet. She had said they had been best friends since. Now that I think about it, it was kind of ironic that Ray married Kota’s childhood sweetheart’s best friend. I was going to be a hopeless romantic for a second, and say that it was fate, but if that ever got shared I would deny my ass off.
“No, I’m not giving off a secret code. Mace swears up and down it’s a boy. I’ve told him a hundred times that he is wrong. Ya know, I looked it up and a mother’s instinct on the gender is 72% accurate. I told
him that as well, and he just keeps saying ‘bullshit’. I know she is a girl, but he won’t agree. Said that he wouldn’t believe it until he saw her kookah.”
“What the fuck is a ‘kookah’?” I blurted before I had realized my words.
“Sorry, it slipped out,” I mumbled.
“Oh, it’s okay honey. Liam is off somewhere in the house with his Nanny.” Araylia waved away my apology.
“Anyway, what is a kookah?” I asked, laughing at the word.
“It’s a vagina,” Ray said in a matter of fact tone.
I bursted out laughing, I couldn’t help it. Who the hell called a vagina a kookah? Where in the hell did she get that word from?
“How did you come up with that word?” Kota voiced my silent question, laughing her ass off as well.
“Y’all don’t watch Jersey Shore?” Ray’s cheeks were turning pink, and she ducked her head.
Before we could respond Mace walked over to us, picked Ray up and sat down then put her in his lap.
“Are you girls harassing my wife?” He asked with a glare, but there was a glint of laughter in his eyes so I knew he was just playing.
“We wouldn’t dare,” I said, and winked at Kota.
Ryan came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders and bent at the waist to whisper in my ear. “Cade is about to leave. If you want to talk to him, you need to do that now.” I nodded and leaned in when he kissed the side of my head.
I told the girls and Mace that I would be back in a minute then got off the couch and went out the garage door where I knew I would find Cade.
Ah-hah! Just in time. I thought to myself, as I noticed Cade was unlocking his car door.
“Cade!” I yelled, gaining his attention.
“Not in the mood to talk, woman.” He growled.
“I didn’t ask if you wanted to talk. I’m going to do the talking and you’re going to do the listening,” I told him sternly as I caught up to him at his open car door.
The Missing Pieces Page 8