Because of Him Read online

  Because of Him

  Terri E. Laine

  Final Edition

  Copyright © 2017 Terri E. Laine

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in form or any manner whatsoever by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or a book review. Scanning, uploading and distribution of the book via the Internet or via any other means without permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support for the author’s rights is appreciated. For information address to SDTEL Books.

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Sofie @ Hart & Bailey Design Company

  For all of those who have suffered in silence.

  "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Contents

  Author Note

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Terri E. Laine

  Author Note

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  Prologue

  A riptide of emotions clamped shut my throat, rendering me unable to speak. I reached for her hand, but I let mine fall away. Too stunned at the sudden turn of events, I’d been unable to do anything but stare at the mouths that had continued to speak, but the ringing in my ears prevented me from hearing a coherent word.

  A single ember burned a chasm down my cheek; the blazing hot tear was as unfamiliar as it was appropriate, given the situation. My world had burned to ash with the things said and left unsaid in that room.

  I felt like a foreigner to my emotions, as the walls caved in on me like a house of cards ready to fall. Claustrophobia set in and finally I turned to the woman behind me.

  “Don’t,” I said, watching her horror. She stared at me like I was a monster, but the stranger I saw reflected in her eyes wasn’t me. “Please.” It was almost pathetic how I pleaded. How the mighty had fallen. I felt the pity of everyone in the room and scorned them for it.

  Only one woman had ever made me weak. I hated it and didn’t care, all at the same time. She was it for me. If somehow they succeeded in poisoning her with their blasphemy, I would live my life a broken man. There was no way I could survive without her.

  1

  PAST

  My body shook from the force of being jolted awake. I blinked rapidly several times before a loud bang jerked me fully alert.

  For long seconds, I could only hear the sounds of my breathing as blood raced through my veins, heating my clammy skin.

  It took some time before my vision adjusted to the darkness and my new reality.

  Why hadn’t I listened to my parents? Why had I wandered off after lying about where I was going?

  My prison rocked and from the sounds of crashing waves, I reasoned that I was on a boat. Tears leaked from my eyes as I remembered feeling so excited to meet the boy who’d said I was pretty. Look where that had landed me. Not washed ashore, but trapped, bound…taken.

  Footsteps approached and I closed my eyes. I wasn’t ready to face the truth of my situation.

  Words in a language I didn’t understand were traded between voices I didn’t recognize. The tips of my fingers tingled as I tried to separate my zip-tied wrists.

  “I’ll make sure she’s ready.”

  That voice was familiar. It was the cute boy from the horse-riding lesson. The one who flirted and made me feel pretty. The one who had convinced me to meet him.

  Foggy memories tried to surface. The lie I’d told my parents, however, was clear. I’d said I was hanging out with one of the girls I’d met. Dad had warned me not to leave the main area of the hotel. Stupidly, I believed my parents to be overprotective and I had gone alone down to a secluded part of the beach. I’d gone to meet the boy who made me feel like a woman.

  “Get up.”

  Harsh tones made the words ugly. A jab with his knee to my back forced me to roll over with a groan.

  I didn’t want to open my eyes and face the truth, but a slap to my face forced me to.

  “Wake up, princess.”

  Though my father had called me that, the handsome boy with the sneer on his face took all the magic out of it.

  “Why are you doing this?” I cried.

  Fighting against the sting across my cheek and the burn at my back made my words sound weak, pathetic even.

  His snide laugh was dark and without humor.

  “It’s about time you learn what it’s like to be without your rich parents.”

  “But I—”

  The second smack across my face reverberated like a crack through the room.

  “I don’t care what you have to say.”

  He didn’t understand. I wasn’t rich bounced in my head. My parents had saved up for this lavish trip. We’d never once been on a family vacation…ever.

  “Get undressed,” he said, using a knife to free my hands.

  Instinctively, I covered my chest as best I could. I’d never been naked in front of anyone. I watched his fist ball and I scrambled to curl myself in the corner.

  Undeterred, he extended a hand. He didn’t have to reach far to take hold of my shirt. I was yanked forward, but my tank top paid the price. The cheap material tore easily, leaving my bikini top exposed.

  Frantically, I tried to crab walk backward and away from him. Th
is time he caught my foot, snatching me closer before ripping the bikini top off my body. My boobs spilled free and he leered at them before I could cover myself.

  I was no match for his strength. He easily moved my arms to grope at my chest.

  “Nice.” He smirked.

  I couldn’t lie and say that when I’d left to meet him, the possibility of him feeling me up hadn’t crossed my mind. Never in a million years had I thought it’d be like this, against my will. I’d thought the night would lead to kissing and maybe he’d cop a feel. But never like this. The boy who’d appeared about my age when I met him looked closer to a man now, an evil one.

  “Boss wants to know if you’re a virgin.”

  Fear spiked through me. On some level I’d known what might happen given the situation, but the reality of it made tears burst from my eyes.

  “I am. I am!”

  That didn’t stop him. He didn’t have to take off his pants to make what was about to happen a nightmare. The fact that he was going to probe at the most intimate part of me yanked a scream born from true terror out of my chest.

  2

  TADE

  Tits and ass were cued up as promised at the dive bar Friday night. I was horny as hell and looking to hook up. But the mixed scents of stale beer, sweat, and vomit just made me want to leave. Too bad it was the only place within a reasonable distance of school and the closest thing to outside entertainment we could get.

  I perched with a wall at my back, a fresh drink in my hand, and eyed my prey for the night. In the dim light, I thought about how long it had been since I’d fucked. Going to university in the states, I’d lost some of my anonymity. As the unlucky son of a senator, I had to have rules.

  One, I didn’t do girlfriends for fear of the backlash from press—or any dolt with a cell phone, if things went south.

  Two, I kept things casual, giving away very little of myself, and never stayed around any woman for long. Even my best friend, who stood next to me, didn’t know what my father did for a living.

  Three, I was careful who I hooked up with, considering rules one and two.

  Breaking my thoughts, two girls who looked like they had lubed up to fit into their dresses started to pass, but then stopped in front of us.

  With grins the size of California and sprayed-on tans to match, the dark-haired one said, “Tade.”

  She eyed me up and down, then slowed at my fly before meeting my eyes again. I gave her a two-finger salute and a half smile.

  Then she looked over at my best friend. “Gavin.” He gave a quick nod before her gaze found mine again. With a wink she said, “Catch you guys later.”

  I tipped my head up, knowing full well I wasn’t going there again. Instead, I found my mark on the far side of the bar.

  Once we were alone again, Gavin asked, “Who’s the blonde you’ve been staring at all night?”

  My eyes shifted from the blonde who held all my attention and back to my best mate, who sported a smirk at having caught me watching her. She was stunning. Her strawberry-colored lips contrasted sharply with her porcelain skin. I was mesmerized by her cleavage—intoxicating to look at but deadly to the heart. It was barely revealed, yet I was captivated by it.

  “I don’t know her,” I said simply.

  In the nearly four years I’d spent at McClain, a small private honors college on a stretch of remote eastern shore of Maryland, I’d never seen her before.

  “Me either,” Gavin said.

  According to him, some local high schools had larger student populations than our school.

  “Maybe she’s a local.”

  Though I didn’t get the vibe she was. But it was odd that our paths hadn’t crossed, and I would remember a face like hers.

  “Why don’t you go talk to her before she thinks you’re some creepy stalker, or you can take on Cruella for the night?” He laughed at his joke about the girl who had just spoken to us.

  I tipped the beer I’d been nursing all night to my lips and took a long swallow. “Mind your business, Gav.”

  He chuckled. “No fucking way some chick has you caught up and you haven’t even said one word to her. This is fucking priceless. In three and a half years, no one’s had you this wound up.”

  I might have been coiled tight because my dick was uncomfortably hard at an odd angle in my pants. Any more pressure and I might just burst.

  The blonde with streaks of pink in her hair was the reason I was all worked up. The problem was she didn’t appear the type for a one-night shag. And that was all I had to offer.

  “Dude, just bag and tag her like we’ve done thousands of times before, or do seconds with someone else. Fuck your rule for one night.” He laughed again, thinking he was pretty funny with his mix of words.

  It was never a good idea to tap the same piece twice if you wanted to ensure no misunderstandings. My five-year plan was all mapped out and a girlfriend wasn’t on my list of goals. We’d just returned from winter break and I had one more semester before I attended Harvard Law School, dad’s alma mater.

  “Earth to Tade?”

  I heard him speak but I’d just caught the eye of Pretty in Pink. She sat at the bar with a light spotlighting her like a beacon. Her blue eyes twinkled, the color of the sky during my early morning practice sessions on the Chesapeake Bay. She was striking in every way. Unfortunately for me, the eye contact was gone as fast as it came. She hadn’t done the usual double take.

  “Tade.”

  I still didn’t answer, just tilted the tumbler to my lips and continued to nurse my drink. I tried not to get drunk. Don’t shame the family, one mantra my father had said to me in light of his bid for presidency.

  The blonde went against every rule I had. It was best to stay away.

  “What the fuck man, just go for it,” Gavin badgered me.

  The buzz that had come from finishing the beer sooner than I planned rushed to the surface.

  As I watched, her lips curved in a wide smile and she laughed the kind of laugh that was genuine and carefree. She was oblivious to the guys checking her out. Her dress only hinted at curves, and didn’t advertise like those of her friends. All signs pointed to her not being quick-bang material. The friend who stood next to her with a blue dress that hugged her like static cling was likely an easy lay.

  “I can’t.” I mumbled the words, giving in to reluctance.

  “Why not?” Gavin asked.

  Two guys approached her group and my stomach dropped. Quickly, her friends were led away, breaking up their trio, and a sigh escaped me.

  Gavin was saying something like there is your opening, but I was already moving, against the tide and my better judgment. I had to talk to her; otherwise she’d invade my dreams. My hope was that she wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation, or better yet she’d give me the come fuck me eyes letting me know that the shy act was just a game.

  At the bar, I sidled up next to her but didn’t speak. The smell that drifted to me was like wild strawberries on a summer day, which only made my dick harden more. Hell, the walk over had been awkward as I tried to conceal the wood in my pants with my drink and a well-placed hand.

  Quickly, I set my empty glass on the bar and shoved it away a little to the left while no one was looking. The bartender finally came over and asked what I wanted. “Guinness,” was my reply. A glance over to Pretty in Pink let me catch her placing her empty drink down at the same time. To her, I asked, “Would you like another?”

  Her eyes widened and I knew it was because of the phrasing I’d acquired from my time abroad.

  I took a minute and waited to hear her voice. What would it sound like? Shards of glass, rich like dark chocolate, or—?

  “No. One’s my limit, but thanks for asking.”

  Damn, she sounded like warm honey drizzled over a toasted bagel with melted butter, a weakness of mine.

  She turned away, not giving me a second glance. I wasn’t conceited, but I wasn’t used to getting a dismissive response. An arched
brow from the bartender had me waving him away. He set off to get my draft, while I stood wondering what to do next. I was totally out of my element. It didn’t bode well for me, as her actions only intrigued me more.

  I was saved when her brunette friend came back and tripped, splashing my back with cold liquid. I wasn’t soaked, but it would leave a wet spot. Hands swiped at my back as a voice reminiscent of Minnie Mouse apologized profusely.

  “I’m sooo sorry,” the brunette slurred. When I turned, her eyes widened. Unlike her friend, the brunette’s reaction was the one I was used to getting. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but you are so beau-beauti-beautiful.”

  It was too late for me to stop the smug smile. Pretty in Pink rolled her eyes and turned away from me after handing napkins to her friend. Strike two. Why had I given the brunette the smirk? Probably because it had been my go-to action with girls like her, the ones Gavin liked to so eloquently put it, bag and tag for the night.

  “Sweetheart, let me help you.” Gavin, the best wingman ever, had arrived. Most likely, he’d witnessed the debacle and come to my rescue. I would thank him later.