Captivated by Him Read online

  Captivated by Him

  Terri E. Laine

  Contents

  Title Page

  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

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  Afterword

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Terri E. Laine

  First 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 Michele Catalano-Creative

  To the fans of Because of Him who asked for Gavin’s story.

  “True love is about vulnerability; allowing someone to see that you want and need them in your life, and trusting them not to hurt you.”

  Anonymous

  Author Note

  If you want to know when my next release will come out, please sign up for my newsletter. http://eepurl.com/bDJ9kb

  If you are a fan of this series or me, make sure you join my fan group. Terri’s Butterflies

  And you can join my reader group to talk books. Terri E. Laine Reader Group

  Prologue

  Sharp pain lanced through my chest, knocking me off my feet. In that moment of absolute weightlessness, I had so many regrets for all the things that I’d left unsaid.

  Love.

  It had seemed so far out of my grasp.

  Now the time to claim it had passed.

  The impact with the floor stole all the breath from my lungs. I heard a scream and wondered dully if that was me.

  How had things gotten so out of hand?

  It was far too late to care as darkness encroached on my vision like an invader.

  The warm pool that grew beneath me only confirmed what I already knew.

  I closed my eyes, unable to hold them open a second longer.

  I managed to say, “I’m sorry.” But I didn’t know if my words had been heard outside of my head.

  1

  past

  Mom shooed me off to bed when a knock came at the door. They didn’t notice that I’d only gotten as far as the top of the stairs before Daddy opened it.

  A man as wide as our door came in with another smaller man behind him.

  “What’s this about?” Daddy asked.

  Mommy looked scared, like how I felt sometimes at night alone in my room, afraid there were monsters under my bed.

  The man grinned at my dad like he wanted to eat him. He was the monster.

  “Do you want to tell her or should I?”

  Brown hair covered his head and face like fur. A bear. That was what the mean man reminded me of as he pointed at my dad. A big, fat, ugly brown bear.

  Mom asked Daddy, “Jonah. What did you do?”

  The bear laughed as Daddy looked like how I’d felt when I spilled my cereal on the floor this morning. He held out a hand to Mommy and she stepped back.

  “You promised,” she cried.

  It hurt my insides to see Mommy so sad.

  “The guy can’t keep away,” the bear said. “Now either he pays up or he pays the price.”

  Daddy held up his hands. “I promise to get the money.”

  “The boss has given you a week longer than anyone else on account of your family,” the bear said.

  “Jonah,” Mommy cried.

  “Please.” Daddy begged like I had when I wanted a puppy. Skippy howled as if he knew I needed him.

  The bear pulled something big and shiny out of his pocket and waved at the other guy with it. Mommy put her hands to her mouth when she saw what the bear held. “Go shut up the mutt before someone calls the police.”

  The other monster walked away where I couldn’t see him.

  The bear pointed the shiny thing at Daddy.

  “Now, here is how this is going to go. You owe the boss. And because you’re his godson, he’s extending you this final offer: Clean his money through your wife’s store, and he’ll let you live.”

  Mommy moved. “No, I won’t let you do this.”

  The bear faced her and a loud noise rang out; I covered my ears.

  Mom fell back. Her eyes looked right at me.

  Daddy cried and fell to his knees next to Mommy. She didn’t move—she didn’t say another word.

  I cried out for her, and the bear heard me. Before I could run and hide, he was heading up the stairs toward me.

  2

  gavin

  The bar was crowded with students and townies. My best friend and roommate, Tade, was eye fucking this blonde, which was so out of character for him.

  “Dude, just go talk to her.”

  Though he acted like he hadn’t heard me, he strode off in her direction.

  That a boy. Whoever she was, she was a smoke show, but too innocent for my taste. Her brunette friend, however, was just my speed. She looked like sex poured into a blue dress. What I wouldn’t give to lock us both in a room for the weekend until we were all fucked out.

  “Gavin.”

  The sexy voice momentarily stole my attention. The Cruella look-alike was back after the bat woman signal she sent out to Tade hadn’t worked. She had claws I wasn’t interested in.

  “Why don’t you and Tade come by later for some fun?”

  Don’t get me wrong—she was sexy enough to get the job done, but I wasn’t interested. Tade had dipped his wick and I wasn’t going there.

  “No thanks.”

  I stole a glance and found the blonde’s friend using napkins to dry off Tade. I pushed off the wall, not giving Cruella time to answer.

  The blonde’s friend was slurring something when I reached them.

  “Sweetheart, let me help you,” I said.

  She turned, and she was even more stunning up close. Her focus s
hifted again and she swayed on her feet some.

  “I’m reeaallyy soorry,” she slurred, teetering. She was on the verge of doing a header into the floor. I caught her around the waist before she did and steadied her.

  “Can I do anything to make it up to you?” she said to Tade.

  “How about you convince your friend here to dance with me, yeah?” In all the time I’d known him, he hadn’t gone after a girl this hard—especially one he’d just met. When his gaze shifted to me, I raised a brow. We’d known each other long enough for him to figure out my meaning. “And you dance with my friend here.”

  The blonde wasn’t happy, and her friend waved us off for a little privacy.

  “This is too easy,” I said.

  “She’s drunk. You’re not going there, are you?”

  Before I could respond, the brunette fucking winked at me. Was she playing some sort of game, or was that the alcohol coursing through her?

  She grabbed on my arm and steered me toward the bodies pressing themselves together and calling it dancing. I shrugged at Tade as I was led away. I left him with the blonde, who didn’t at all look happy about it.

  The crowd was thick, forcing us close together in the tight confines. I didn’t mind it, especially when she started to move. I claimed her hips in my grip, letting any asshole close know she was taken.

  Then, I leaned in to whisper in her ear. “What’s your name, angel?”

  I pulled back and caught her licking her lips before she answered. That only made me want to kiss her, and that was unusual for me. Sure, I kissed women. But usually that was just a byproduct to get to the main event between their thighs.

  “I thoughtttt I was sweeeetheart.”

  I tipped her chin up with my index finger. “You look like an angel to me.”

  She rewarded me with a glorious smile, and that made me wonder what she tasted like. Surely the alcohol she’d consumed. But I would wager she was sweeter than that.

  “My nammme is Megan,” she slurred before suddenly spinning to give me her back.

  She was petite, but her curves went on for days. She ground that fantastic ass of hers against my dick, making me hard. No doubt that was her plan, but no way would I surrender this early in the game.

  I spun her to face me again. Her eyes were closed like she felt the music all the way to her soul. Damn, she was mesmerizing. My grip slipped as she swayed, taking a step back. I caught her hips again and tugged her close, maintaining control. Then my damn phone vibrated in my pocket, but I ignored it. I leaned down to her ear.

  “I’m Gavin. What are your plans tonight?”

  She lifted her arms in the air in that carefree way when someone was completely lost in the beats that thrummed through the speakers.

  I watched her mouth move and read the word off her lips: “This.”

  The pull to her mouth was magnetic. I gave in and dipped my head to claim her.

  A burst of mint tangled on my tongue as she kissed me back. Her arms looped around my neck as the singer crooned on about being weak. In that moment, I felt every word he sang.

  My phone vibrated again. But when my angel named Megan pulled away from me, I realized it was her phone. Where the hell had she been hiding it? She stared at the screen, which cast a burst of light, like a beacon, over her face.

  What she was about to say was written in the frown lines around her mouth.

  “Sorry. I—uh… have—to um… go,” she said slowly, alcohol clouding her brain.

  The casual way some guys checked out her tits and ass as she paved a way through the crowd had my protective nature flaring up. I followed in her wake to make sure if she was truly leaving that she got to her car without being bothered by some drunken assholes.

  Stopping at the fringe of the crowd, I pulled out my phone to check who’d called me earlier. It turned out to be a text from Tade. He’d left. Interesting. Had he struck out with the blonde or had he decided she wasn’t worth it?

  I glanced up and saw Megan talking animatedly with her friend with serious eye rolls. Seconds later, she glanced around. When she spotted me, she lifted a hand to wave goodbye. So they were taking off. I caught up with her because there was no point in me hanging around. She’d been the most interesting girl here. And with Tade gone, I didn’t feel up to drinking alone. We’d met up here because I had business, but he hadn’t left me stranded—I had my truck.

  “I’m headed out. I’ll walk you to your car,” I offered.

  “We—” Megan’s glassy eyes held mine. She blinked a few times before she finished her statement. “We… Didn’t… Drive.”

  It had taken effort for her to say the words. The music had kept her up, halfway sober. Apparently leaving was making the effects of her drinking grow.

  “We’re getting an Uber. So you don’t have to wait for us,” the blonde snapped.

  I wasn’t sure if she was being protective of her friend or if she didn’t like guys in general. A picture of why Tade had left started forming in my head.

  “I can drive you back to campus.”

  They didn’t much look like townies, so they had to be students at McLain. I was heading there anyway.

  “Yessss,” Megan purred at the same time her friend shook her head in a definitive no.

  I looked between them. “Which is it? Seems a waste to call for an Uber when I’m headed there myself.”

  “H. E. double hockey sticks, Reagan. Don’t be such a poop. I’m leaving because of you. The least you can do is let me ride home with him.”

  Megan stammered over some of the words and sounded stone-cold sober for others. Then she giggled. Her pun on riding me home had me inwardly groaning. I had a feeling if her cock-blocking friend wasn’t around she would be down with locking herself in my room for the rest of the weekend. Since I wasn’t drunk, I wouldn’t have touched her until she sobered up. Drunken girls had a way of regretting—or pretending not to understand—their actions while under the influence.

  I held out my hand to Megan and she took it. I steered her toward my truck like I didn’t give a fuck about whether or not the blonde came along. But my conscience got the best of me. I looked back in time to catch her friend blow out a long breath, causing her pink-highlighted strands to mix in with the blonde as they swirled around her face. She glanced up at the sky before giving in and trudging over to us.

  After they got in the cab, I slid in on the other side and fired up the engine to get the heater going. Though it was January, the weather had been unusually warm, but nights were still cold.

  “What dorm are you in, Angel?”

  Megan told me at the same time her friend said, “You can drop us by the gym and we can walk.”

  But I’d heard Megan say, “Warren Commons,” which was near the townhouse-style dorm I shared with Tade and two other guys.

  Megan snuggled up to my side. When I began backing out of my spot, I shifted my right arm on the back of the seat as I checked behind me. I hadn’t done it to make her more comfortable against me, or so I told myself. She tucked into me like it was the natural thing to do and we’d been together for years. I caught her friend scowling before focusing my attention back on the road.

  The drive wasn’t far; campus was about a mile away. Her friend mentioned the gym, so I pulled into the parking lot of her dorms, located across from the football practice field.

  I’d barely stopped the car when her friend threw open the door like she couldn’t get out fast enough.

  “Come on, Megan. Let’s go.”

  Megan resisted the pull of her friend, preferring to keep her head on my shoulder.

  I leaned over and did something I’d never done before to any girl. I kissed the top of her head like she was mine before whispering in her ear. “You’re home, Angel.”

  Her eyes fluttered open and she gave me a smile that was too damn innocent. Then she gave into the pull and was out of my truck. The blonde all but slammed the car door while trying to keep Megan steady on her feet.
>
  I hopped out my side and her friend warned me off with a wave.

  “We’re fine.”

  The girl was a little too spooked for some reason. I held my ground, not willing to drive off. Still, I gave Megan’s friend the distance she requested. It was late and all was quiet. As they disappeared under a brick arched alcove, I waited and listened before briskly walking the way they were going.

  I stopped at the edge of the courtyard and heard a door close in the distance—it was too late for me to see which one. But not hearing any screams or scuffles, I assumed they were fine. I headed back to my truck, which I’d left running. Our campus was pretty safe, but my battered truck wasn’t worth much.

  My one true love, my 1966 Mustang, sat in the garage of the house I grew up in only a few miles from campus. It was a project my dad and I started together years ago. Currently, I was rebuilding two engines. One was a modified engine for my senior project.

  The other was the original one. Those parts weren’t cheap or easy to come by. It was a slow process, but if there was one thing I had, it was patience. I would use that skill on Megan. I’d decided I would have her at least once, though something told me she wouldn’t be like every other girl before her. If one taste of her was anything like the kiss we shared, I might get hooked.