A Mate for Gideon
Authors: Charlene Hartnady
The Program
Book 2
A Mate for Gideon
By
Charlene Hartnady
Copyright ©
October 2015, Charlene Hartnady
Cover Art by
Melody Simmons
Copy Edited by
Kimberly Reichmann
Produced in South
Africa
Published by
Charlene Hartnady
PO BOX 456,
Melrose Arch,
Johannesburg,
South Africa, 2176
A
Mate for Gideon is a work of fiction and characters, events and dialogue found
within are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is purely
coincidental.
With
the exception of quotes used in reviews no part of this book may be reproduced
or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but
not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and
printing without prior consent in writing from the author
Table
of Contents:
Liam’s
hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel. Other than that, he was the
picture of calm. He hadn’t said a word to her since leaving the barbecue.
Hadn’t so much as looked in her direction.
Jenna
kept her hands folded in her lap and tried to keep her eyes on the road ahead.
She couldn’t help but to sneak the odd little glance in his direction every now
and then, out of the corner of her eye. Maybe she was misreading the signals.
Please
let her be misreading the signals.
Please.
Sucking
in a breath through her nose, she swallowed thickly. Who was she kidding? If Liam
was giving off any kind of signals, trouble was just around the corner. She
knew that there was nothing she could do to avoid the inevitable. To think that
she had tried so hard at the barbecue. She had worked at being nice, but not
overly so. Maybe she hadn’t been nice enough? Was that it?
Every
so often she would go over to Liam and hold his hand or offer to refresh his
drink. She’d even fetched his dinner for him. If she’d been any more attentive
than she already was, it would’ve meant getting down on her knees and sucking
him off right there in front of everyone. More, she could not have done. Could
she have?
As
much as she wanted to feel anger, she couldn’t, she was too scared. The emotion
rolled around inside of her and turned her stomach to knots. Her armpits were
damp and a bead of sweat trickled between her breasts. Her mouth felt so dry
that her tongue stuck to the roof of it. It was a feeling she knew well. It
lived inside her. Had done so for so long that it had become a part of her.
Yup, her and fear were great friends. In fact, it was the only friend she had
left.
The
car pulled into their drive and the garage door slowly opened. Liam let out a
sigh as they drove in, the garage door closed behind them with a clunk. Then
there was silence.
Not
sure what to do next, Jenna unclipped her seatbelt, opened the door and slipped
out of the car. She moved to the rear of the vehicle where she opened the
backdoor and retrieved her empty salad dish. It had been her contribution to
the barbecue. The dish shook in her hand, threatening to fall, so she clasped
it to her chest. Liam was already out of the car and making his way to the door
that led to the house.
She
was too afraid to look in his direction. Too petrified to talk. If she said the
wrong thing it could spark his even meaner side. She’d learned very quickly
that there were three sides to him, mean, meaner and the side he showed the
rest of the world. That side of him was charming, attentive, attractive. Liam
had a lean swimmer’s build and preppy good looks. Even the women at today’s
barbecue had gushed when he’d taken his shirt off and delivered one of his
killer smiles. It was only her that knew how killer that smile really was.
She
swallowed hard.
His
gun was in the safe in their bedroom. The knowledge burned inside her and made
her gut churn faster. Her mouth felt dry. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her
mouth even more.
Liam
turned the light on and then stopped dead as they walked into the kitchen. Jenna
was so busy staring at her feet that she nearly crashed into his broad back.
She lifted her head, having to crane her neck to see the back of his head. All
she had was a partial side view. Damn, his jaw was clenched. Oh god, he was a
big guy. It was one of the things that had attracted her to him in the first
place. His height, his dark hair, he looked a lot like…not going there. Not
right now.
Her
lip quivered as she tried to force a smile. “Can I get you something to eat?”
Stupid thing to ask after they had just got home from a barbecue, but she had
no idea what else to say. She put the bowl down on the nearby counter. He would
only get angrier if she accidentally broke it. Liam hated it when she was
clumsy. Anything could set him off. By the tension that radiated off of him now
though, it was too late to try and stop this.
“A
drink maybe? I could put the kettle on…” Her voice shook just a little, belying
her fear.
“Shut
the fuck up.” He spoke softly, still facing away from her. For the longest time
he didn’t say anything more.
Jenna
had to work not to squirm or to move away. Neither of those things would help
her. In fact, they’d only make it worse. What had she done wrong? Maybe she
hadn’t done something she should have? Jenna wracked her brain, coming up
short.
“I
can’t believe you.” He finally said, shaking his head and turning to face her.
Anger made his eyes blaze and his fists curl. His brow furrowed and his jaw
tightened as his eyes landed on her. “What the fuck did you do?”
Oh
shit!
She
hated when he asked her questions. Ones she was never able to answer correctly.
Whatever she said always made it worse. Not speaking was even worse than saying
something wrong though, because then, according to Liam, she had something to
hide.
Jenna
cleared her throat. “What do you mean? I haven’t done any—”
“Don’t
fucking lie to me.” His voice was deep and gravelly. Filled with hate
and…disgust.
A
whimper was torn from her. She hated that he had this effect on her.
He
took a step towards her and she flinched back, her rear hitting the closed
door. Liam sucked in a deep breath, his eyes moving away from her for just a
second before returning. “I’m only going to ask you one more time…I hate it
when you make me hit you. Why do you make me hit you, Jen-doll?” He used his
pet name for her, which only made this whole thing so much worse.
If
he hated hitting her.
Why the hell did he do it?
Jenna licked her lips.
“You don’t have to hit me, Liam. Let’s please talk about whatever it is that’s
made you so upset.”
“I
hope you’re not trying to tell me what to do.”
She
shook her head. “I would never do that. Please—”
“Besides…”
he cut her off. “I’m not the one with something to say, Jenna. There is no need
for a goddamn heart to fucking heart. Start talking. Make it quick…I’m about to
lose my fucking temper.” His lean muscles coiled beneath his shirt and his
fists grew ever tighter.
If
only she knew what he wanted to hear. She would tell him in a heartbeat.
Anything to avoid what was about to happen.
His
eyes moved about the room before settling back on her. They had that crazy look
about them that she had come to know so well. His eyes narrowed. “Why the fuck
did Anthony say you had a tight ass? What the fuck does Anthony know about your
ass?”
No
way! Hell no!
She
was about to get beaten because one of his asshole friends had noticed her butt?
Jenna did everything she could to avoid getting noticed by other guys. She wore
her clothes a size too big. She always made sure her butt was covered. She’d
even taken to wearing tight sports bras to conceal her big-ass boobs. There
wasn’t too much more she could do short of wearing a box and a mask. She’d cut
her hair to her shoulders and didn’t wear make-up. Not even lip gloss. The only
time she dressed up was at home. He liked her in skimpy, revealing outfits when
it was just for him. Never if she stepped a foot outside of the house though. Yet,
Liam was about to beat her because one of his friends had still, by some
miracle, noticed that she had a tight ass. More like skinny ass since she
didn’t eat that well any more. Living with a psychopath would do that to a
person.
“I
have no idea why he would say that? Why don’t you ask him?” It just kind of
slipped out. His insinuation coupled with his placing all the blame on her,
irritated the crap out of her. The emotion was quickly replaced by more fear though
as his face turned red.
“I’m
asking you.” He punched her in the gut, causing her to double over. All the air
left her lungs and her eyes began to water as pain radiated through her. The
guy could pack a serious punch.
It
took a few seconds before she could breathe again. After filling her lungs a
few times, she lifted her gaze to meet his. Her body was still a bit hunched.
Oh
boy
! Normally after he punched her, he calmed down a little. Not this time.
“Tell me why he said it and don’t fucking lie this time.”
There
was nothing she could say that would appease him. She pulled in a deep breath,
trying to prepare herself for the onslaught. When she’d stalled long enough,
she looked him square in the eye, even though it went against every instinct.
“I have no idea why he would say such a thing. Maybe because he’s a guy and
guys—” Jenna didn’t get to finish her sentence.
Liam
growled through clenched teeth. His eyes were wild, reminding her of a rabid
animal. Not that she’d ever seen one, but she was sure this was how it would
look. She took another hard punch to the stomach and was sure that her spleen
had burst. The pain was excruciating.
There
was no time to dwell because he punched her again, this time on the side of her
ribs. Liam often hit her just below her breasts and under her arms. That way, it
was easy to conceal the bruises. What the asshole didn’t understand was that
trying to function normally with busted up ribs was almost impossible. Another
meaty punch, a bit higher this time. Thankfully she didn’t hear a crack.
Bruising she could handle, a break was a whole nother ballgame, since Liam
didn’t allow her to go to the emergency room. Couldn’t have people asking a
whole lot of questions not after…the pain that blossomed inside of her was far
worse than any beating her loser boyfriend could inflict and she hardly felt
the next punch.
She
only registered that he had hit her in the face when her mouth filled with
blood and she hit the door behind her with a crack to the back of her scalp. He
normally never touched her face or any other part that was difficult to
conceal.
“Look
what you made me do,” Liam growled. He slapped her with an open hand that sent
her sprawling on the cold tiles.
She
watched him advance from the corner of her eye, realizing that he wasn’t done
with her. She pulled herself into a tight ball.
Liam
kicked her on her lower back. It hurt so badly. It was only once he finished
laying in on her that she realized she was sobbing. Saying the word
please
over and over again. “God–damn–it, Jen-doll.” She could hear him pacing but
didn’t have the energy to look.
Her
face was wet from her tears and her nose streamed.
“Look
what you made me do. It’s only because I love you so damned much.” He leaned in
next to her, stroking the hair from her face. “Oh god…look at you.” He made a
pained noise. “Shit! I’m so sorry. I know you didn’t do anything with Jeffery.”
He continued to stroke her hair. “I know you wouldn’t do that to me.” His voice
hardened and so did his hold on her hair. It stung, causing more tears to leak
from her eyes.
It
was only when she groaned that he finally let her go.
“Jen-doll…baby…I
love you so much,” he cooed.
He
sure had a great way of showing it.
“Let’s
get you cleaned up.” He rose to his feet and disappeared for a few minutes.
When he returned, he had a warm, wet cloth which he used to mop up her blood.
How
thoughtful of him.
Next,
he grabbed the first aid kit and used some sort of alcohol based antiseptic to
clean her busted lip. Lastly, he gave her two white pills. “For the pain.” His
voice was soft and caring. “Here…” He handed her a glass of water and helped
her into a sitting position so that she could drink.
Jenna
tried not to look at him. She tried not to cry out or moan. It hurt to breathe.
It hurt to move. It just hurt…period. Her back was the worst. A dull ache had
taken up residence deep inside her. She was a little concerned that he may have
done serious damage.
“Fucking
hell, Jen…I’m so sorry.” He continued to whisper soft shit about how much he
cared and how amazing she was. His one hand cupped her chin while his other
hand trailed down her arm.
All
she could do was pray that he left her alone.
Please, God
. “I’m really
sore.” She winced as her lip pulled.
“I
said I was sorry.” His muscles bunched and his eyes flashed with anger. This
was such a fucked up situation. Liam hated it if she showed pain or discomfort
after her beatings. It obviously made him feel guilty, which was unacceptable.
What a dickhead!
She
tried to smile but it hurt her split lip too much. Jenna felt a warm trickle on
her chin as the cut reopened from her efforts.
Thankfully
he ignored the blood, his eyes firmly on hers.
“I
know you are…baby.” She forced the words out, trying to hold back the vomit.
“It’s just that I think that maybe I should rest a bit.” He always liked to
have sex after he beat her. Either he got off on hurting her, or it was his
sick way of making it up to her. Probably a little bit of both. It was utter
hell, like a form of torture. To have to lie there while he…Jenna swallowed
thickly. Trying to stop the churning in her belly. Aside from hating that he
touched her, she really didn’t think her battered body could handle it.
