Unforeseen Heartbeat Read online

  Unforeseen Heartbeat

  Copyright © 2014 Maureen Mayer

  Cover Design © Robin Harper of Wicked By Design

  https://www.facebook.com/WickedByDesignRobinHarper‎

  Cover Picture © Arrow Studio via Fotolia.com

  Interior Design: Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats

  https://www.facebook.com/FictionalFormats‎

  Literary Editor: Kendra Gaither

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  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

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  Playlist

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  To my boyfriend, Michael, for all of your love and support as I continue to follow my dreams. And to my wonderful readers, who gave an unknown author a chance. None of this would be possible without you.

  I sat across from him, watching the golden flames of the bonfire flicker in his eyes and lick across his handsome features, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to kiss him. He tilted his beer back, finishing it off, and licked his lips as his piercing gaze slowly perused my body from head to toe. At that point, I had a pretty good buzz going, and if it weren’t for my tipsy state, I never would have mustered up the courage to walk over to him and ask him to dance. Having only spoken to him on a few occasions, I didn’t know him very well, other than the fact that he and my brother had once been really close friends. A few years back, they had a falling out over some skanky whore who cheated on my brother with him, but I wasn’t bothered by the details at the moment. I just knew that if I sat there any longer while he continued to devour me with those sultry emerald eyes, I was going to combust!

  I made my way around the bonfire until I was practically nose-to-nose with him. I could smell the beer on his breath as I leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Do you want to dance?”

  I stepped back, waiting for his response, but when he wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest, that was all the answer I needed. “Damn, Maddie. You sure have grown up.” He licked his lips again. God, what I wouldn’t give to feel his tongue on me. “How old are you now?”

  “Sixteen.” I tried to stand up a little straighter and pushed out my chest. I definitely wasn’t lacking when it came to the size of my breasts, and I used that to my advantage.

  He gave me a seductive smile, showing his approval. He pulled me over to a spot that was closer to the water, and luckily further away from my brother who was laughing and goofing off with some off his friends. If he saw us together, I knew he would flip his shit.

  My hips swayed to the beat of Lady Gaga’s “So Happy I Could Die” blaring over the speakers, and I closed my eyes, getting lost in the sounds surrounding us: the music, the crashing waves, and Shayne’s heavy breaths as they brushed over the back of my neck, causing my whole body to shudder. His grip on me tightened, his fingertips digging into my flesh so hard it was actually beginning to hurt, and yet, somehow it turned me on even more. I let out a soft moan, and he ground his hips against me with more urgency.

  Shayne spun me around, pulling me into his hips, and I could feel his erection growing harder against my stomach. Just before he descended and captured my lips, I caught a glimpse of his deep emerald eyes, burning with so much desire that they looked as though they were aflame. My God, his kiss was hot as sin! His lips moved synchronously with mine as he forcefully plunged his tongue into my mouth. The way his tongue swirled around, tasting every last inch of me, had my head spinning, and I could feel warmth pooling in my belly, slowly making its way further south. His hands slipped behind me, giving my ass a firm squeeze, just before he pulled away from my now swollen lips.

  “Do you want to go lie down somewhere and talk? I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to manage on my feet.” I knew exactly how he felt. My body was still swaying even after we had finished dancing, and I knew pretty soon I’d end up flat on my ass.

  “Yeah, sure.” I smiled sweetly up at him, and he laced his fingers with mine, practically dragging me toward the cottage that my brother had rented for their graduation shindig.

  When we stepped inside, the entire place was dark and empty. Everyone was still enjoying themselves, dancing and getting wasted on the beach, so it was obvious we had both gone unnoticed. Our fingers were still interlaced as he led me toward the back of the cottage where the bedrooms were tucked away. I could barely see where we were going, but I heard something creak open, and soon he had me pushed up against the back of the door. I tried to wrap my legs around his waist but felt as though I had lost all control of my body. He carried me effortlessly over to the bed, capturing my lips again as he hovered over my tiny frame. In a matter of seconds, our clothes had been shed and scattered around the floor. His fingers traced over the slit of my sex, and my hips bucked the moment he passed over my clit. Fuck, it felt good. Too good.

  “Shit, baby, you are so fucking wet. I can’t wait to slide into this sweet, little pink pussy.”

  Without any warning, he thrust into me. Hard.

  “Fuck!” I cried out.

  Oh God, it hurt. Like, it really hurt. I expected my first time to be a little painful, but damn! He didn’t stop either. He just kept going, pumping in and out of me, fast and hard. He wouldn’t even look at me. He kept his eyes closed the entire time as he smeared his sweaty body all over me. A few seconds later, I heard him bellow out a low, husky grunt, and that was when I felt him spill into me. It never even occurred to me whether he’d put a condom on or not, but at the time, it had been the least of my worries. I was so caught up with trying to ignore the pain that was shooting through my nether regions.

  His body collapsed on top of me while he attempted to catch his breath, and the next thing I knew, he was dressed and leaving the room.

  He left me there.

  He fucking left me there… naked, alone and feeling disgusted with myself.

  I winced as I climbed off of the bed. There were a few spots of blood on the sheets, and I started to panic, but then I remembered my friend, KeeLynn, told me that the same thing happened to her the first time she had sex. I slowly made my way over to the bathroom and cleaned up before putting my clothes back on and heading back out to the party.

  Just as I stepped outside, beginning my walk of shame, I saw Shayne standing with a group of his friends. They were all whooping and hollering, slapping him on the back and telling him he was “th
e man”. One asshole even had the nerve to ask him how he scored so much pussy. I could feel the bile rising in my throat. Hearing them talk about what we had just done made my stomach turn, and my hand flew over my mouth, struggling to stifle my vomit. He looked over in my direction with a cocky grin on his face and winked. Fucking winked!

  I had to get out of there. I had to get as far away from him as possible. God, I was such a fool for ever thinking he could want more from me.

  Was this how it always was when it came to sex? Two people using one another’s bodies for nothing more than physical pleasure?

  No love.

  No emotion.

  No ties.

  Little did I know, this was just the beginning of an interminable pattern for me, a shameless path of self-destruction, and I had one person and one person only to thank for that…

  Shayne.

  I awoke in a foggy haze, shook off the memory of a night that had plagued me for the last four years, and thanked my lucky stars it was only a dream… well, more like a nightmare.

  I snuggled back under the blankets, hoping to grab a few more hours of sleep, but the instant I felt a hand slide over my bare hip and splay across my stomach, my eyes flew open and my body froze. Ah fuck me! It wasn’t a dream after all! The arm tightened around me, tugging me into a warm, hard body, and lips feathered over my shoulder and across my back. It wasn’t until his soft chest hair tickled the center of my back that my nerves began to settle.

  It was only Jeremy.

  “Mornin’, babe,” he mumbled groggily into my ear before pressing a kiss against my neck.

  “Mmm, mornin’. You want some breakfast?”

  “Nah, I think I’m just gonna grab a quick shower before I head out.” He leaned over and gave me a peck on the lips before untangling his arms and legs from mine and tossing the blankets off of his gloriously naked body. Knowing how I felt about morning breath, he never pushed for more than a quick kiss. He never stayed long enough for breakfast either, but I always offered out of habit. That’s just how things were with us. Simple. Laid back. No expectations. We got what we wanted from one another and that was that.

  No need to complicate things.

  I curled up under the blankets while Jeremy threw on a pair of boxers and headed into my bathroom, and after a few minutes, the sound of water pelting against the shower tiles had lulled me back into a peaceful slumber. When I finally peeled my eyes back open, it was quickly approaching noon, and I knew that Jeremy was long gone. There was a note propped up on my nightstand, but I didn’t need to read it to know what it said.

  Thanks for last night, babe. I’ll call you next week. - Jer

  Jeremy was a man of very few words, but I liked that about him.

  I met him my freshman year at Savannah State University. We had partnered up for a group project that required us to spend time together outside of class. Somehow we had managed to get an A on the project, but I was pretty sure we spent more time exploring ways to avoid getting caught while having sex in the library… and the student union… and the locker room of the athletic center. It soon became a challenge to find places we hadn’t christened, and by the time we were convinced that we’d fucked on every surface of our lovely campus, we finally ended up in bed together. Over time, the spontaneity of our sexcapades had dissolved, but we still managed to hook up on occasion. There was no commitment or exclusivity when it came to our “relationship”, and we both continued to sleep with other people, but somehow we always found ourselves gravitating toward one another. What could I say? The sex was out of this world, and I was never left unsatisfied. I guess if I was forced to put a title on it, I would say we were fuck buddies, but let’s be real… we weren’t even remotely friends. We just liked to get down and dirty. End of story.

  I yawned as I stretched my arms up over my head, and the blanket slipped away from my still naked body. My dress from the night before was lying scattered on the floor next to my bra and panties, and I smiled at the thought of how quickly Jeremy had peeled them off of me the moment we returned from the club. I grabbed a clean oversized SSU shirt from the laundry basket and slipped it on before heading to the kitchen to make some coffee.

  Rubbing the sleep from my eyes as my feet slapped across the cold kitchen floor, I smacked right into the fridge door. Jesus, what the…

  And that’s when I saw it. All six-foot-four of Robbie’s boyfriend, Lance, was standing there naked as a jaybird… and at full attention. It was one of those moments where I knew I should look away; divert my attention to anything but the rigid appendage pointing directly at me like an English Setter. He slowly brought the carton of orange juice up to his mouth, but not before I saw a smirk tug at the corner of his lips. And then I saw it move…

  “Eww, eww, eww!” I squeezed my eyes shut and continued yelling until Robbie came running out his room. I opened my eyes just enough to see that he was rocking his birthday suit just as proudly as Lance. Oh, for Pete’s sake…

  “Not you, too!” I turned around so I wasn’t tempted to look.

  “What’s wrong, baby girl? What’s with all the shouting?” Robbie walked over to Lance, snaking the carton of juice out of his hands to take a swig for himself.

  “Will y’all put some damn clothes on!? Since when do we walk around the apartment with everything hanging out and flapping in the breeze?”

  Robbie chuckled, somehow managing not to sputter juice everywhere. “Hmm, I don’t remember reading anything about required attire in your little roommate agreement.”

  I spun around and rolled my eyes at him before turning my attention back up to the ceiling. “Seriously? I didn’t think it was necessary to include that, since we’re civilized human beings and all. Or at least I thought we were.”

  “Sorry about that, Maddie. I didn’t think you’d catch me out here. I’ll make sure to at least put boxers on next time.” Lance winked and pulled me into an awkward side hug that almost resulted in it touching my leg.

  “Hey, you know this is my apartment, too. I should be able to walk around with my Johnson sprung free if I want to. You’re more than welcome to join me. It’s no secret that I’m not offended by the female anatomy.”

  “That’s because you’re gay, dipshit! My lady bits don’t get you all hot and bothered. Me, on the other hand… it’s just… ughh! It’s just weird, okay!”

  “Baby girl, are you trying to tell me that my sexy ass gives you lady boners?” I could hear Lance chuckling at Robbie’s comment, and I turned to glare at him. At least he had his boxers on now.

  “Both of you, please, just keep some clothes on when you’re outside of the bedroom. Seriously, what if I had company over?” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling extremely awkward the longer our conversation went on. It was becoming more difficult to keep eye contact with Robbie, considering the current state he was in.

  “Is Jeremy still here?” Robbie wasn’t exactly his biggest fan, and I could hear it in his tone.

  “No. He left hours ago. Don’t try to change the subject. Just promise me you’ll keep your… member… covered from now on. Okay?”

  Robbie smiled and grabbed a dishtowel, covering himself as he crossed the kitchen in my direction. My body stiffened in response to his close proximity, but he leaned in just close enough to press a kiss against my forehead. “I promise, baby girl. It won’t happen again.”

  He took off toward his bedroom with Lance in tow. They were sickeningly sweet together, but I really was happy that they had each other. When Robbie first moved in, I was a little apprehensive about living with a guy. Just one look at him and I knew it would be impossible to avoid falling into bed with him. He was six-foot-two-inches of delicious eye candy: jet black hair, ice-blue eyes and a killer smile. When he told me he was gay, I was both relieved and disappointed. Why was it the hot ones were always gay? I swore it was like the universe was plotting against me every time I came across a decent, good-looking guy.

  The first night I heard his scre
ams piercing through my bedroom walls, though, my heart nearly split in two for him. I did end up falling into bed with him, but for completely different reasons. I spent the few nights holding him in my arms until the nightmares subsided and his tears faded away. Soon, I’d become accustomed to hearing his soft whimpers, and that was the trigger to let me know another nightmare was approaching. Something terrible from his past continued to haunt him, but I never pressed him to open up about the details of what had caused him to become so broken.

  When Robbie started dating Lance, I was no longer needed as his protector from the nightmares. Lance spent nearly every night here, and although Robbie’s cries still seeped through my paper-thin walls, Lance was there to hold him and whisper in his ear that everything would be okay; that no one could hurt him anymore and he was safe. My love grew ten-fold for both of them from that point on.

  Robbie shut the door behind him, and I sighed softly as I started up the Keurig. I looked around our messy apartment and decided it was probably a good idea to thoroughly clean the place up before I had to go in to work that night. School was starting up the next week, and every semester I tended to put off anything that didn’t involve classes, work, parties or boys. Liberty was always the one to pick up my slack when it came to chores around the apartment, and not once had she ever complained, but now that she was shacked up with the enemy… ugh. I shuddered at the thought of it. I still couldn’t believe she actually accepted a proposal from that cocksucker. What the hell was she thinking?

  I was surprised to see that she had returned to Savannah after her father’s heart attack, but I was even more surprised to see Shayne by her side. The moment I saw the huge rock sparkling on her finger from across the restaurant, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. After everything I disclosed to her about him, revealing the monster that he truly was, I was shocked. I poured my heart out to her, and she held me in her arms as I relived the whole story. But now…

  Now she was going to marry him.

  I promised her I would stand by her side no matter what happened, but seeing them together, happy and acting like nothing had ever happened, was almost too much to bear. It just went to show how little Shayne thought of me, even after knowing I had once carried his child.