The Missing Pieces Read online

  The Missing Pieces

  (Intertwined Seduction #2)

  H.S. Strickland

  SMASHWORDS EDITION

  Copyright © 2014 H.S. Strickland

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without a written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  Cover Designed By: Book Covers by Kim

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Playlist

  About The Author

  Connect with the Author

  Dedication

  Nanny, without your love this wouldn’t have been possible. Your love inspired my characters’ love. Thank you. I love and miss you.

  07/18/1952 – 07/07/2013

  Your love will live on forever.

  Prologue

  Sloane- 3 months previously

  I was sitting at the bar sipping my rum and coke when the last person I wanted to see saddled up next to me.

  “A beautiful woman sitting at the bar alone, such a shame¸” Ryan commented while waving the bartender down to order.

  “I prefer to be alone so why don’t you go harass someone else?” I demanded as I turned around in the stool so I was facing the dance floor. Mace and Araylia had their arms around one another and Mace was looking deeply into her eyes. I sighed because I would never have that. It wasn’t in the cards for me.

  I felt Ryan’s eyes burning the side of my head from his stare, as he leaned in and whispered close to my ear, “Such a feisty one, you are.”

  I spun back around so Ryan’s knees were touching my own. I leaned in close as if I was going to kiss him. His eyes grew large and fluttered closed as I allow the warmth of my breath to caress his lips, causing his breathing to increase. Leaning further, allowing our lips to graze ever so lightly, I turned my mouth toward his ear denying him what he clearly wanted. “There is a difference between feisty and wanting to be left alone. I happen to be the latter,” I whispered seductively before turning away from him, grabbing my drink and leaving Ryan at the bar with a stunned look on his face and a smug grin tugging my at my lips.

  I had been working at Jones Security as the receptionist for three months now. It had been three months since I had gotten the call that I knew was going to change my life. I shouldn’t have been this close to Mace. It was dangerous. If he found out who I really was his life could be in danger, as well as mine. But I knew they wouldn’t have put me here if it weren’t important, so I came anyway against my better judgment.

  I met Ryan on my second day at the office and he had been trying to get me to go out with him ever since. If I were somebody else, if I had a different life, I would have gone out with him. As much as I acted like I was annoyed by him, I wasn’t. As a matter of fact it was quite the opposite! Whenever he was near butterflies took flight in my stomach like I was some kind of teen again. I wasn’t the kind of girl to get butterflies; I didn’t have time for those kinds of feelings. Besides, it wouldn’t work out. I moved too much, I never stayed in one place. I couldn’t, my job demanded that from me.

  From the age of fourteen and up, I had moved all over the United States. I never stayed in one state for more than a year. My safety depended on it. And I’d much rather move from state to state than to end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

  I was standing at the edge of the dance floor watching everyone when Ryan came to stand beside me again. This did not bode well for me considering I had two more rum and cokes in me and I was feeling tipsy.

  “Care to dance with me?” He asked and held his hand out for me.

  I looked down at his hand and felt a war rage on inside me. I so badly wanted to take it and let him whisk me out on the dance floor but I knew I shouldn’t, couldn’t really. He wiggled his fingers in impatience and I thought, Ah, what the hell?

  Grabbing his hand, I allowed him to whisk me out on the dance floor. “Not A Bad Thing” by Justin Timberlake was playing as he placed one hand on my hip then held up the other for me to take. I sighed after placing my hand in his. In that very moment I wished like hell this could go somewhere. That I could be that girl for Ryan, as much as I wished to be.

  “Do you have somebody waiting at home for you?” He asked so close to my ear I could feel his breath.

  I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion but answered, “No, why?”

  He stopped dancing and cupped his hands around my face, “Because I’m about to do something a boyfriend would not like.” Before I could respond his mouth delved on mine. I was stunned by the unexpected kiss. Before I could think more about his lips being on mine, he pried my mouth open and slipped his tongue inside. I groaned at the contact and shoved my hands in the hair at the nape of his neck. I wanted to jump up and wrap my legs around his waist and hump him, but I knew this was the most inappropriate place for that. When I realized the dirty places my mind was going, I pulled away from Ryan.

  My chest was heaving from the foreign emotions the kiss evoked in me. I wasn’t allowed to feel this way. It wasn’t part of the job description. I had to break this up although it was going to kill me to do so.

  “Ryan…we can’t do this,” I informed him through ragged, pleading breaths and for some odd reason I felt my throat close. I wasn’t going to cry though, I hadn’t cried in sixteen years so I wasn’t going to start now.

  “Why? Because you’re scared? You clearly want this just as bad as I do,” he informed me. It was no question that I wanted him, not to him and certainly not to me…so bad.

  “I don’t want you Ryan, not that way,” I lied straight through my teeth. The stares of the still patrons called my attention causing me to look around the room. Every pair of eyes was now trained on my exchange with Ryan. Even the happy dancing couple had stopped to gawk at us.

  I moved away from the dance floor and retreated to the bar again. I was going to need another drink to handle this. Not only to handle Ryan, but to handle the feelings I had with Mace getting married. It was too much to handle without liquid courage. I ordered another rum and coke and downed half of it in one gulp.

  I felt the heat of Ryan against my back a few seconds later and immediately tensed up.

  “This is not over Sloane. I am not done with you,” he growled in my ear. I spun around so quickly my head started to spin but Ryan was already gone, half way across the dance room where the bathrooms were.

  I rubbed my aching temples and blew out a deep breath, relieved he was gone. He thought we weren’t done, but I was leaving before he could return. After throwing back the rest of my drink I grabbed my clutch and moved to the exit doors of the plaza Mace had rented for the wedding.

  I stepped outside and instantly felt a little calmer, the cool night air soothing my frazzled nerves. I raised my arm to hail a cab since I had drunk too much to drive home. Guess I’ll just get my car tomorrow, I thought to m
yself. Another thing on my to-do list. A few minutes later I had finally managed to flag a cab down so I stepped off the side-walk and strode across the street to get in. As soon as my hand touched the handle of the door I felt hands go around my waist and shove me in the cab. By the way lighting shot through my body at the touch, I knew it was Ryan who had shoved me in the cab.

  I turned my head to face him and huffed out an irritated breath.

  “Can’t you take a hint?” I quipped then crossed my arms over my large spilling-out-of-the-bra C-cups. Ryan’s eyes immediately found the object of his desire. After a minute of his ogling I cleared my throat to gain his attention.

  His eyes snapped back up to my face, “Yes, I can take a hint. However, that hint is telling me that you want me so I’m not backing down. You thought you were clever trying to sneak off.” He had an arrogant smirk on handsome chiseled face and I wanted to slap it off him.

  The cabbie asked for the address and Ryan rattled off an address that was certainly not mine.

  “Ryan, I’m not comfortable going with you,” I stated and shifted closer to my side of the cab, farther away from him.

  “You’ve been working for us for three months and you’re just now getting scared?” He questioned, raising a caramel colored eyebrow.

  “Not scared, uncomfortable,” I replied. Deciding that I was done with the conversation, I turned and stared out of the window.

  Fifteen minutes later we pulled up to a building of condos. It was a nice place, but I couldn’t be at Ryan’s house. It was bad. Really bad. My emotions were all over the place, and I didn’t think I would be able to handle being at Ryan’s place, especially with the amount of drinks I had in my system. I couldn’t be here and I was going to have to figure out a way to get out of this. Fast.

  “Ryan. I’m not going up to your house. I really just need to go home.” Ryan opened the door, seemingly ignoring my comment. A moment later I saw his hand, palm up, in the cab. I sighed and decided not to fight him. I took his hand and he helped me out of the cab. As soon as I stepped on the side-walk the chill of the air ruffled my hair, whipping it around me.

  Ryan tugged my hand and led me toward the condos. I tried resisting but Ryan spun around and took my face in his hands. “Live a little, Sloane. I’m not going to kill you.” He kissed me on the forehead and let my face go. I wanted to smirk at his comment about killing me. He more than likely couldn’t kill me if he tried. I was trained in almost as many ways as he was.

  He led me in the building then shoved me in an elevator. He pushed the button for the 8th floor and leaned against the railing. His head was tilted back, exposing the column of his throat. I couldn’t help but lick my lips at the thought of kissing his neck, up his throat, and to his full lips. I so badly wanted him. If only, if only.

  We stepped off the elevator and he once again took my hand and led me to a door. After slipping his key in he pulled me into his house. He flicked on a light switch and the beauty of his place left me breathless.

  The walls were painted a light beige color and the floors were a mix of dark and light hardwood. The foyer was narrow and there was a table to the left of me. We walked further into the condo and I was even more in love. The state of the art kitchen was to my right. The island separated the living room from the kitchen. Above the island was a black rectangular lamp that I would have killed to have. All the counter-tops were granite and the fridge was black. The sofa was also black. I guess Ryan had a thing for the color black.

  Ryan walked over to the cabinets and pulled down a couple of shot glasses. He then moved to the freezer and pulled out a short, slightly round bottle with a white label and blue lettering. The closer he got the more I could read the name on the bottle. Don Julio. The most expensive Tequila I had ever seen on the market.

  “Question time.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me and set the shot glasses down. Opening the bottle, he poured a hefty amount in the larger than normal glasses.

  “Don’t be shy, come. Sit,” he ordered and gestured to the stools that were lined up at the island.

  I threw my coat and clutch down on the couch then did as I was told and sat at the island. He slid one of the glasses down the island and it stopped right in front of me.

  “The point of the game is to get to know one another. I’ll ask you a question and if you don’t want to answer, take a shot. Then you’ll do the same. Got it?” He asked. I nodded my head and got comfortable on the stool.

  “Family?” He asked.

  I picked up my shot of tequila and threw it back. There was no way in hell I was getting in the family conversation, with him of all people. The clear liquid was sweet, almost like sugar going down, but eventually the burn hit my chest. It was the best damn Tequila I had ever had, and I made a mental note to buy myself some when I had the chance. “Alright then, family is off limits,” he stated the obvious.

  “Your family?” I asked back and he threw back his own shot. So family was off limits for the both of us. Although I already knew all about his. I knew his dad was an asshole who hit on his wife and son. I knew his mother had resorted to a life of drugs and Ryan hadn’t seen her in a few years. Of course he didn’t know that I knew.

  “Where did you live before moving here?” He asked again as he refilled my glass.

  “Arizona,” I answered.

  He quirked an eyebrow as if he was shocked that I answered. I was shocked myself. I was getting loose lips because of all the alcohol I had consumed tonight. I was trying to avoid consuming anymore, but I couldn’t give him too many answers.

  “Why the Marines?” I asked.

  “I went through a lot of shit growing up. I wanted to get away from it all. I figured the Marines was the best route to go. On top of that Mace had decided he was going to join and I wanted to go with him.” I also knew this.

  Several hours and shots later we were sitting on Ryan’s black leather couch laughing our asses off. Ryan had just finished telling me a story about Mace and him when they were in the Marines.

  “You guys seem really close,” I murmured, more for myself than him.

  “We are. He’s my brother. I’d die for him,” he informed me anyway.

  I sighed and threw back another shot. I studied the shot glass like it was the most intriguing thing. Truth was, I was jealous. For so long I had wished for that.

  Family.

  Unconditional love.

  I knew I would never have it though. It was ripped away from me all those years ago and now there was no way I could ever have it back.

  Ryan scooted the two feet closer to me so our knees were touching. He took my chin in his hand and forced my eyes to meet his. I felt my chest rise and fall with my heavy breaths. I knew from the look in his blue eyes that he wanted to kiss me. And because of all the alcohol I had consumed, I would let him. I would let him do anything he wanted. I had been silently watching him for three months. I had wanted him for just as long.

  He turned his head slightly to the left and slowly moved closer to my face. His gaze, full of lust, traveled between my eyes and my lips, attempting to gauge my reaction. I gave him a small nod and he leaned the rest of the way in. I felt the whisper-soft touch of his lips before he pulled back and opened his mouth to speak. I didn’t let him get a word in though. I slipped my arms around his neck, up into his hair, and let lust takeover. He was prying my mouth open in an instant. The kiss was so forceful that I could feel our teeth clashing together. I suddenly found myself on my back with Ryan hovering over me. His eyes were a darker shade of blue and filled with lust. He bent his head and nipped at the sensitive flesh behind my ear. I moaned loudly and grabbed his ass so I could get some friction against my now throbbing clit.

  I felt his hard length grind against me and it snapped me out of my lust induced haze.

  “Ryan, no, we can’t,” I said as I pushed at his shoulders.

  He dropped his forehead to my shoulder and I felt his exhale ruffle my hair.

  “Why can’t we?�
�� His voice was muffled between my shoulder and neck so I had to strain to hear him.

  “Because, it’s not right. We work in the same place. Ya know the whole saying, don’t shit where you eat, yeah well that applies to us.” I almost giggled at the lie that slipped so easily off my tongue. I couldn’t care less if we worked together, we just couldn’t be together.

  “Fuck that. Work has nothing to do with wanting to bury my cock in you.” He went back to nibbling down my neck and I wanted to stop him. I really did, but I couldn’t. He was putting me back into a lust induced haze.

  He moved past my collar bone toward my breasts with his skilled tongue. My hands were at his sides and I could feel the heat of his skin burning me. I slipped my hands further down his torso and pulled his shirt up. He lifted off me and took it off in the sexy ways guys do, taking it by the neck. I swore a dreamy sigh slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it because he looked down at me and smirked.

  I didn’t even get a chance to get a good look at his muscled torso because his tongue continued its path down the valley of my breasts. My dress started to get in the way of his tongue so I pushed at his shoulders once again, waiting for him to sit up. I jumped off the couch and reached around the back for the zipper. Ryan saw that I was struggling and sauntered over to me and slowly undid the zipper. He moved my hair to hang over my shoulder and bent to touch his mouth to my neck.

  I knew we couldn’t do this. I couldn’t have a roll in the sack with him. It was too dangerous. I was on the job, I couldn’t risk being with him. What would my real boss say? I should have stopped Ryan five minutes ago, but I couldn’t. I felt like Ryan had a hold over me. I wasn’t sure what it was. A connection? Lust? Whatever the fuck it was, it was going to get me in a fuck-ton of trouble. But tonight, in this moment, I didn’t give a shit. I just wanted Ryan. I wanted him to please me and in return I wanted to do the same to him. I could give myself this, if only for one night. No you can’t, my subconscious said.