So, as promised, I will be sharing excerpts from the reworked areas of the books (regular exerpts when we get to books not yet released/affected by the series revamp). Book 1 was split into 2 books, the first book given a new title (will be revealed in the future), and book 2 keeping the Pieces name (for reasons that will be explained later). This split has given more room to fix problem areas and focus on the slow burn romance I want to portray over these 5 books. Yes, you heard me, there will be 5 books in this series. It may sound like a lot to some, but I promise it'll be worth reading all of them.
So, without further stalling, here is an unedited excerpt from Chapter 27 (a completely reworked chapter):
Ten minutes passed and I finally pulled down the dead end street for the garage. My helmet made its calculations and the false road pulled back. I cut the engine and knocked down my kickstand when I found a good place to park and let out a sigh of relief as I removed my helmet. It turned into a giggle when Raikidan snickered and before I knew it the two of us were rolling with laughter.
Raikidan leaned his head on my shoulder in his fit but I didn’t do anything about it. I was too preoccupied with my failed attempts to calm myself down. When I finally managed to control myself, I looked back at him and smiled.
He grinned and we stared at each other for a moment before Raikidan pulled away and spoke. "Thanks."
I titled my head. "For what?"
"For including me on this," he said. "I thought it was strange you Humans found enjoyment in driving these machines around but I can see why. This was rather fun, and our run in with those soldiers was rather exhilarating. I didn't think you'd be capable of such risky choices."
I chuckled and slipped off the motorcycle. "You obviously don't know me then."
He just watched me instead of replying and it was a bit strange. His stare was also rather intense. It was so intense I was sure it'd make women like Ryoko swoon. I didn't get that about them. I didn't understand how intense stares made a man more attractive. But, as I held his gaze, I started to wonder if I could see that. I could see how being the only person being focused on with such intensity could make someone feel so…special.
A warm feeling began to well up in my body and I could feel my cheeks warming up the longer he watched me. I felt awkward and rather self-conscious, and I didn't like it.
I looked away and focused on my motorcycle. "It's rude to stare, you know."
Instead of replying, Raikidan climbed off my motorcycle, but his foot caught. I gasped and tried to help right him before he fell but all that did was get me into trouble. Raikidan grabbed me instinctively and we fell to the ground. I lay on top of him, momentarily stunned. When I finally regained my composure, I found myself staring into those sapphire pool eyes of his —our noses mere inches from each other. My heart thundered in my ears and my cheeks burned.
I quickly jumped to my feet and went back to looking over my motorcycle. It hadn’t fallen over, much to my relief, so it wouldn’t have obtained any damage from that, but I wasn’t sure if it received any from our little run-in with he military. It was best to go back to my check over just to be sure. Nice excuse Eira.
My gaze was ripped away and forced towards the basement when I heard feet thundering down the stairs. Both Zane and Argus ran into the garage soon after.