by Redrae Gunn
No Going Back
Living on her own had never been a problem for Tayen Lone Wolf. Living in society had always been a problem. Thankfully she had her best friend David to help her through her social awkwardness. So after finalizing the divorce and closing the chapter on the worst year of her life, Tayen accepts David’s invitation of cohabitation only to meet the gorgeous, reserved, and available penthouse neighbor Caleb Wilson.
Caleb’s schedule as a music producer requires him to be away from Tayen frequently, and he hopes that his need to be in control, his ability to seal the deal, and his attention to contractual details will keep his trust issues at bay, especially since Tayen’s honesty is one of her most endearing and defining traits.
Tayen needs both the men in her life, one for friendship, the other to satisfy her more carnal desires. Feeling complete for the first time in her life, Tayen knows that she can’t return to the life of settling for mediocre. She wants it all and nothing less.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Interracial
Length: 84,084 words
NO GOING BACK
Redrae Gunn
EROTIC ROMANCE
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www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
NO GOING BACK
Copyright © 2013 by Redrae Gunn
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-799-4
First E-book Publication: April 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
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DEDICATION
For my Granny B. who assigned book reports during summer break and for Rick, who supported me the only way he knew.
NO GOING BACK
REDRAE GUNN
Copyright © 2013
Prologue
Caleb Wilson sat across from the half-blind woman who flipped the cards. The purple cloth on the table was anything but comforting. He’d been doing this for years, coming to this store, on his birthday, to get his tarot cards read.
The smell of incense was nearly intoxicating, and Caleb tried not to inhale deeply. Instead he flexed the muscles across his broad chest and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his shoulder-length, brown hair. His dark-green eyes searched the woman’s face, trying to read her expressions.
“You will find love,” the woman said, “at the coming of the new moon.”
“The new moon is tomorrow,” Caleb replied, solemn.
“Oh, no, dear.” The woman stared at him with her good eye. “The love won’t come on the new moon. I specifically said that you will find love with the coming of the new moon.”
“There is a difference?”
The woman pointed to the Queen of Swords, next to the Hanged Man. The cards were facing away from him. “Trust me. Trust the cards. The world is moving to give you what you seek.”
“What do I seek?” Caleb asked. He was already successful, so he didn’t know what else he could possibly be seeking. Money gave him everything he needed.
“Unconditional love.” The woman gathered the cards without meeting his prodding eyes. “Submission, with the strength to challenge you. You seek many things, and the cards say you will find love with the coming of the new moon.”
“But not the moon cycle,” Caleb said, running his hands through his hair again. He knew this stupid ritual of his was getting the best of him. The woman sitting across from him had always only given him hints at his financial future. She’d never once, in previous sessions, said anything about his love life.
“Both and neither, Caleb,” she said and shook her head. “I can only interpret the cards you’ve drawn.”
“I’m not looking for love,” Caleb said.
“Perhaps love is looking for you,” the woman said, shrugging her shoulders.
“New moon?” Caleb asked again. She nodded. Instead of the requested twenty dollars, he left a hundred dollar bill on the table and left the store.
Chapter 1
Caleb Wilson pulled his black Lincoln Navigator into the secured garage, under his penthouse apartment, at the Old Market Lofts in Omaha, Nebraska. The lofts were some old building that had once been a jewel of the industrial age, now fixed up to accommodate wealthy college students, yuppie couples, rich empty nesters, and the occasional nearly senior couple.
He was about to get out of his car when he saw his penthouse neighbor, blond, surfer-dude-looking David Gresham, staring at his watch and pacing nervously in front of the garage door, which was now descending to the pavement. Caleb checked his own watch, confirmed that it was just past noon, and wondered what David was doing.
Suddenly David’s mood changed and a smile crossed his face. He punched in the code to the garage door, and the rhythmic chug of exhaust pipes coasted into the private area.
Caleb decided to roll down his window and listen to the smooth rumble of pipes rather than get out of his vehicle. The 1970 Plymouth Barracuda was black with canary-yellow racing stripes. The hood scoop blended into the hood, but the fluorescent lights of the garage reflected off the contours of the car. David directed the car to parking space eleven. It was one of David’s reserved spaces. Everyone rent
ing a penthouse received four parking spaces. David had nine through twelve. Caleb had spaces one through four.
Caleb expected to see David’s partner, a Hispanic, stocky metrosexual, climb from the car and was surprised when a taller, elegantly thin woman with jet-black hair reaching nearly to her ass, exited the muscle car. She was dressed in a cream-colored pants suit with a matching button-down, sleeveless blouse. She had high cheekbones and long, graceful, fluid movements. Toned muscles flexed and eased under her darker skin.
“Oh, Tayen,” David said, hugging the woman. “The lawyer called and told me everything. At least you got the ’Cuda.”
Tayen smiled at David. “It’s still in my maiden name, which is being returned to me as soon as I get a copy of the divorce papers. No one gets my ’Cuda without a fight.” She flashed her dark-brown eyes at David and grinned wickedly.
David laughed, and just then the Plymouth choked and rattled, startling him. “Jesus, she knows when you’re talking about her. Watch it, Tayen, this car could be like Christine.”
“Fuckin’ carburetor has been sticking open.” Tayen opened the trunk and pulled out a long screwdriver. She popped the hood, and Caleb watched as she pulled off the air cover and jammed the screwdriver inside. The choking stopped, and Tayen replaced the air filter and cover before slamming the hood back down. “I gotta get rid of her. She’s been good to me, but it’s not practical to keep her. If I leave her parked on the street, some asshole is just going to key her. I don’t have the time to keep her up. I also don’t have the drive. She needs to go to someone who will love her like I do.”
David linked his arm with Tayen’s. “Come on, warrior princess,” he said, leading her to the elevator. “Allow this lowly paleface to give you the grand tour of my, and now your, humble abode.”
Once Caleb saw David and Tayen get in the elevator, he got out of his vehicle and spent the next ten minutes admiring the Plymouth and thinking of the woman that had just gone upstairs with David.
* * * *
“So, dahling,” David drawled as the elevator opened on the top floor. He removed his key from the panel. “Only top floor penthouse people have access to the eighth floor. So you’ve gotta remember to use your key in the panel or you’ll end up on the seventh floor. To your left we have a lovely Zen sanctuary, complete with fountains, tropical plants, and, your favorite, a bird aviary.”
“Oooh.” Tayen grinned as she walked through the area. She glanced at the enormous skylights before turning her attention back to the birds. “The birds are beautiful. I love tiny, little birds. They remind me that no matter how fragile life may seem we can still chirp happy songs.”
David laughed, his eyes crinkling a little at the edges.
“Next, we have the communal lounge area, complete with grand piano and tiki bar. I thought it was tacky to put a tiki bar next to a grand piano, but I didn’t vote on the issue, so I have no right to complain. This is the best place to get the latest gossip on the other tenants if you are here around nine on Sunday mornings. Mrs. Threadgood and Mrs. May have coffee here and discuss the important matters of the building.
“Finally at the north end is the magnificent saltwater aquarium, complete with lush, tropical plants surrounding the area so that our normal comings and goings don’t stress the fish. I guess that stressing tropical fish is bad, but I haven’t seen a recent study on it, nor have I seen one of our tropical fish floating belly up, so the plants must be doing their job.”
Tayen laughed at David’s assessment of the tropical fish and asked, “Only four penthouses up here?”
“Mmhmm,” David confirmed. “We got very lucky. Ours has the south and west views. So we get the beautiful sun in the winter. I’m hoping that you will be able to help me keep a houseplant alive for longer than a week. Then we get the western view also, so we get to see the city skyline and the sunset. I know how romantic you are about the sunset.”
Tayen nodded. Her dark hair fell across her face, and she brushed it back over her shoulder.
“Mr. and Mrs. Threadgood share the south side with us. Mr. and Mrs. May have the north and east side.” David pointed respectively to each of the double wooden doors with beautifully beveled glass.
“Who has the other penthouse?” Tayen asked.
“I thought you’d never ask.” David grinned, looking very boyish. Tayen smiled at him, her heart melting. This beautiful innocence was what kept her loving him for all these years.
“Caleb Wilson,” David said with a sigh. “He’s this hotshot music producer, right? He found this awesome indie group, a rapper, some violin virtuoso, and so on. He, like, has no certain genre, and he likes all types of music. He’s also gorgeous.”
David sighed again. “Unfortunately for me, he’s not gay. He has this ‘I’m a Greek god’ type of body with these looks that remind me of someone with Italian heritage, but his hair is a soft brown that I would die to run my hands through. Green eyes, too, intense, green eyes. He’s a Dominant, Tayen.”
“Short?” Tayen asked. She was five nine and didn’t like dating a man that she couldn’t wear heels with.
“Hell no.” David knocked on her head. “Hello, I said Greek god. He’s like six two. I’m six one, and he’s between an inch or two taller than me. So you’ve got a four-inch heel limit. You can live with that right?”
“I didn’t say I was interested,” Tayen defended herself, but she knew that David saw right through it. She decided to be honest with her best friend. “I haven’t been laid decently in quite some time. Sorry, it was the first thing that came to my horny mind.”
“BOB?” David asked, referring to her battery operated boyfriend.
“It’s not the same,” Tayen confided and shrugged her shoulders.
Sadness was in David’s eyes, and he wrapped his arm around her. “Sorry, love, I truly am, and I really wish I swung that way so I could help you but…” He trailed off.
“I wouldn’t ask you to do that for me.” Tayen laughed. “If it goes another year though…” She trailed off this time and enjoyed watching the shock and amusement spread across David’s face.
“Don’t make me give you the ‘let’s just be friends’ speech,” David said as he opened one of the doors to their own penthouse and waited. “Okay, I’ve always wanted to do this.”
“What?” Tayen asked.
David scooped her up easily and carried her across the threshold. “Welcome home, my most special girl. You will always be safe here with me. I’ve loved you since the beginning of time, and I will love you till time ends.” He kicked the door shut behind them.
“That was beautiful,” Tayen admitted when he set her on her feet. “What happened to the ‘let’s be friends’ thing?”
“I’m gay.” David shrugged his shoulders. “I’m allowed to be romantic at any given moment, especially with my best girlfriend.”
“Thanks.” Tayen smiled. Her eyes widened as she looked around the sprawling penthouse. “Holy shit, David, this place is amazing.”
“I know, right? It’s so much better than the studio apartment we shared in college.” He grinned like a four-year-old who had just received the king of all Tonka toys. “I remembered all the times that we talked about what our island mansion would look like, and I tried to find it. This place had the most of what we wanted, minus the island and the mansion.”
“Cherrywood floors?” Tayen asked as she giggled at David’s assessment of their fantasy island mansion.
“Of course.” David smiled back. “Here’s the foyer closet, for all of our jackets and whatnot.” David opened the double French doors. “It’s the size of the walk-in closets.”
He continued to the left. “Bathroom.” He flipped on the light to a sprawling full bath complete with sandstone tile. The towel rack and toilet paper holder matched the dark cherrywood in the hallway. “It adjoins to the guest bedroom, which is occupied by the staff.”
Tayen raised her eyebrows, ready to protest.
“Meet them
first, then decide,” David said, leaving no room for argument. “And now, before I show you the rest of the place, we are going to have our first fight.”
“What?” Tayen replied incredulously and then readied herself for anything.
“We have been invited to the elite social gathering for the Fourth of July. It’s on the rooftop in this building, hosted by the Threadgoods and Mays. It is formal. It is elegant. It is wonderful.” David stopped and looked at Tayen. “It is also a couples-only event. They know I’m gay, so I can’t bring you as a date. That would break the couples-only rule. They don’t want some tramp trolling the area. I’ve already RSVP’d that you’d go.”
“You did what?” Tayen asked, hands on her hips.
“We’ve gotta find you a date in two days,” David replied. When she said nothing, he continued, “I couldn’t say no. We’d be off the guest list forever. It’s like, an obligation or something.” David handed Tayen a set of keys. “Those are to the elevator and the front door. I’m sure you’re going to leave now so you can have the last word.”
“I’m not going, David.” Tayen’s voice was firm. She was determined not to run, but she took the keys anyway, just in case.
“Do this for me, Tayen,” David said, knowing he was pushing her limits. “I love you and want you to get back into having a life again.”
“I’m not bringing a date,” Tayen said as she set her jaw. “I don’t want to have to go through…I just finalized the worst year of my life, drove halfway across the fucking country, and you want me to bring a date to an elite social gathering in two days?” Her anger brimmed to the surface. “I. Am. Not. Going.”
