by Nia Arthurs
Caught In You
The Token Black Friend Series Book 2
Nia Arthurs
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places or events are entirely coincidental.
CAUGHT IN YOU
Copyright © 2020 Nia Arthurs
Written by Nia Arthurs
Edited by Jalulu Editing
Cover by Oliviaprodesign
(V1)
About This Book
Two worlds. Two men. Who will she choose?
A mysterious earthquake erupts the night I catch my fiancé kissing another woman.
A moment later, I’m caught inside a parallel dimension, torn from the world I know.
With no way out, I begin to lose hope. Until I meet Morgan—the gorgeous scientist who treats me like a queen.
His touch feels right, but it's so wrong. I'm still technically engaged and Morgan's still mourning a loss of his own.
As the clock ticks down to my last minute on this earth, my heart tears me in two different directions. Do I go back to being the Token Black Friend or create a new identity in this bold, new world?
Contents
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1. Kaz
2. Morgan
3. Kaz
4. Conroy
5. Kaz
6. Morgan
7. Kaz
8. Morgan
9. Kaz
10. Conroy
11. Morgan
12. Kaz
13. Morgan
14. Kaz
15. Morgan
16. Kaz
17. Morgan
18. Kaz
19. Morgan
20. Kaz
21. Morgan
22. Kaz
23. Morgan
24. Kaz
25. Conroy
26. Morgan
27. Kaz
28. Morgan
29. Kaz
30. Morgan
31. Conroy
32. Kaz
33. Morgan
34. Conroy
35. Kaz
36. Morgan
37. Kaz
38. Morgan
39. Kaz
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Bound In You
Sneak Peek! Bound In You Chapter One
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1
Kaz
“What the hell is that?” My friend Gina leans forward, pointing ahead with a dark scowl on her face.
I peer through the windshield. Notice a girl with her arms wrapped around Miles, hugging him goodbye as a taxi pulls up in front of them.
“She’s probably just a friend,” I say, keeping my voice steady and my fingers tight on the steering wheel despite the alarm bells going off inside me.
Gina huffs. “That bastard is cheating. Again.”
“No, he’s…” My words trail to nothing when the girl grabs Miles by the neck and kisses him soundly.
My heart starts pounding like crazy.
A dark song.
A war cry.
Red flashes before my eyes.
My sandals slam the gas pedal flat. The engine rumbles as it opens all the way. A sharp wind slaps my curly hair into my face and the sudden forward thrust sends my head knocking into my seat.
The trembling needle climbs the speedometer.
Higher.
Higher.
Gina grabs the strap of her seatbelt and screams above the roar of the throttle. “The hell are you doing, Kaz?”
My lips remain closed.
Breath steady.
Eyes forward.
“Kaz!” Gina shrieks.
Miles glances up. My headlights illuminate him and that wench as if they’re targets on a dartboard.
“Kaz!” Gina grabs for the wheel. “You’re going to run them over!”
At the last second, I yank the steering wheel hard to the right. The car careens in a circle. Tires scream against tarmac.
Despite slamming on the brakes, I rear-end the taxi.
Metal crunches.
Glass shatters.
As the engine hisses, air bags explode in our faces. White smoke pours out of the hood.
Gina moans and rubs her neck. “Are they… dead?”
I ignore her question and tumble out of the car.
My head is throbbing.
My heart is bleeding.
All I can feel, all I can taste… is fury.
The woman’s eyes are dark. Intent on me.
“Who the hell are you?” I scream.
She backs up. “Miles, get this crazy girl out of my face.”
“Don’t call for Miles.” I flash my ring. “See this? This means I’m engaged.” I point at Miles. “To him. So I’ll ask this again. Who the hell are you?”
Her eyes widen. She glances at my fiancé in shock.
Yeah right. I know she’s just playing. Miles is proud to be marrying me. He wouldn’t mess around like that.
She must have seduced him.
She must have—
“What a freaking mess.” Miles scowls at the crashed trucks and then at me. His voice deepens with annoyance. “Go home, Kaz.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You think I’m playing?” He grabs my arm and turns me around. Roughly shoving me, he barks, “Go!”
I stumble forward as I stare at his handsome face.
Smooth brown skin.
Square jaw.
Strong nose.
Brown eyes.
They’re so full of anger.
My heart drops.
Just splatters to the ground.
Maybe I shouldn’t have acted on impulse. I only made things worse.
“M-Miles…”
“Get out of my freaking sight!” He wraps his arms around the other girl. In a soft, caring voice, he asks her. “You alright?”
She stiffens and steps away from him. “I’m going home.” She tosses him a disgusted look. “Jerk.”
As she storms into the taxi and takes off, Miles turns and glares at me. I remain in place, watching him. It’s like my legs are casted in cement and fused to the sidewalk. Like someone else has control of my body.
With a growl, Miles grabs me and drags me to my car. My head bumps the top of the vehicle as he stuffs me into the backseat.
“Take her out of my sight, Gina.”
“Miles, please—”
He roughly shoves my hand and slams the door so hard the entire car rocks.
Gina climbs over the console and starts my busted SUV. “Are you… okay?”
I should be asking her that. She could have gotten hurt back there.
I should be…
I sink into my seat. Agony throbs in my chest. Stirs tangled knots in my belly. Pushes water to my eyes.
All I can think about is Miles’s expression when he yelled at me.
So cold. So… unrecognizable.
Have I still not earned his love yet?
My phone rings. I pull it out of my purse.
Mom.
I put it to my ear. Answer. “Hello.”
“Kaz,” Mom’s voice is crisp and formal, “did you ask him yet?”
“I was going to tonight, but…”
&
nbsp; “What are you waiting for? We need to decide on the wedding venue. That hall is booked six years in advance. An opening like this is far too valuable to—”
“Mom?”
“What?”
“Do I…” I sniff. “Do I have to get married?”
She pauses. “What happened?”
“I just… I don’t think we’re ready for it.”
“Don’t you love him?”
“I do, but—”
“The deal we made is binding,” Mom explains gently. “You know we have a lot riding on his family’s connections. You don’t want to stress your father out do you?”
“No. But Mom, I…”
“This is not about you, Kaz. Okay? Listen, baby, all men have their flaws. You’ll never find a perfect partner. It’s up to you to change what you can and accept what you can’t. Remember what I taught you?”
“I remember.”
“Now, about the venue—“
“Go ahead and book it, Mom.”
“That’s my girl. I’ll make the arrangements. You just make sure you have a groom.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too, honey.”
Click.
Gina curses. “Was that your mom?”
“Yes.” I drop my hand.
Let the phone fall against the backseat.
Wilt.
Breathe.
Just breathe, Kaz.
I know I’m supposed to be strong about all this and I will. I just need a minute to hurt first and then I’ll face it with a smile.
Because that’s what I do.
It’s who I am.
After Gina drops me off, I plod to my room where I fall into the sofa. Betrayal remains deep in the crevices of my soul and lingers within the dark shadows of my insecurities.
The guilt is the worst part. If I claim to love Miles, I should accept his downfalls no matter what, right? It’s what ride-or-die women do.
But isn’t there something he should do?
I’m tired of this one-sided love. I’m tired of always chasing him.
Every betrayal is a slam to the gut. A punch to the face. A pain that scrapes deeper than any other wound.
Exhaustion overwhelms me.
And for a minute…
Just for a minute… I wish to be different.
To be someone else.
Somewhere else.
And then there’s an earthquake.
And my wish comes true.
2
Morgan
Three Weeks Later
None of this makes sense.
None of it.
“Walk me back.” I rub my thumb over my throbbing temple. “You were in your room at Brighton Academy. There was an earthquake. And then, you just… appeared here?”
“Yes,” she says quietly.
I lift my gaze, searching her expression for the truth.
Kaz stares back at me, her eyebrows pinched and her lips downturned.
“Forgive me if that’s a little hard to believe.”
“I know how it sounds.” She hugs her arms to her chest. “But it’s true.”
“You aren’t forgetting any details?”
“Like?”
My hands grapple the air. “Something.”
“I’m not hiding anything from you.” Her expression turns heavy with loss. “Everything changed in the blink of an eye and suddenly, I was here.”
Sympathy stirs in me as I watch her crest-fallen face.
Be more sensitive, Morgan.
She’s trapped in a strange place.
No family to call on.
No friends.
No way back.
It was a harrowing experience, but she looks good for someone who slipped through the fabric of space and time.
She looks good in general—alternate dimension or no. I take in her dark brown skin, big brown eyes, and the soft black curls around her head.
She’s flawless.
Petite.
Real.
Very real.
I shake my head. “Physics doesn’t work that way so we need to go back and retrace every step you took before we…” I pause, noticing her twitching lips. “What?”
Kaz leans against the kitchen counter. Crosses her arms over her white T-shirt. A shy smile flirts with her lips.
“What?” I insist, feeling like she’s making fun of me despite the fact that she hasn’t said a word.
“Nothing.”
I soften my expression. “You can tell me.”
She hesitates. “I think… the fact that you’re here talking to me means a part of you believes in the impossible.” She lifts her fingers an inch apart. “Just a little.”
My cheeks burn.
She has a point.
Not that I’ll admit it.
It’s humbling enough to accept that science isn’t the all-encompassing god I thought it was. I’ve always put my hope in facts. In what I can see and feel and touch.
The past few weeks have obliterated everything I thought I knew about the world. Starting with the fact that alternate dimensions exist.
The evidence is standing in front of me—one leg crossed over the other, head tilted slightly and lips inching up in a small, timid smile.
I tap my fingers on the sagging counter. “You didn’t cross through a doorway?”
“No.”
“You just…” I make a frantic gesture with my fingers, “poofed?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s not possible.”
“You’ve said that.”
I pace her small kitchen. “Any side-effects?”
“None.”
“Headaches?”
“Mm-mm.”
“Nausea?”
“Only when I drink too much.”
I stop. Face her. “You’re funny.”
Humor enters her eyes. Eases past her shyness. She’s sweet but wary. Understandable. We only met a half-hour ago. I’m a complete stranger who barged into her apartment insisting that I needed to speak to her.
Kaz’s stomach growls. It sounds like a lion in the middle of the savannah.
“Sorry.” She meets my eyes. “I didn’t get to eat before my shift.”
“You’re working?”
“The Roly Poly Moley.”
“Come again?”
“The manager called me the day I got here. Told me that I was un-fired and to get my butt to work immediately.”
“And you just… did?”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” Kaz chews on her bottom lip.
My gaze drops to her mouth.
Soft flesh. Maroon in color—they’re darker on the outside and light fleshy pink on the inside.
A faint breeze filters through the kitchen window, cooling my burning skin and bringing her scent with it.
I can’t place the fragrance.
Lightly citrusy, with floral undertones.
Is it unique to her because she’s from a different universe? Or am I overthinking this?
I look at her stove to avoid my thoughts. Notice how dusty it is. “Is that thing even hooked up?”
“I can’t afford gas.”
My stomach tightens. “What have you been eating?”
“Ramen.”
“Raw?”
“Yep.” She shrugs. "Not as bad as it sounds. I never ate Ramen before.”
“Ever?”
She shakes her head. “I only ate organic noodles.”
“Organic…” I eye her. “You were rich? In that other world?”
“Very rich.” She says it like it’s a fact. There’s a serious note in her voice that makes it impossible to judge her even if I wanted to.
“Oh.”
“I didn’t know how much a dollar could stretch until I got here.”
A chuckle works its way out of my chest. She’s blinking steadily. So serious. She doesn’t know she’s funny.
And cute.
I ignore that voice. “I could
teach you a thing or two.”
“About?”
“Stretching dollars.” I lift one shoulder. “My mom had it hard. I lived on work scholarships all through college. I know how to make a proper meal for the cheapest price tag.”
“You're offering to feed me?”
“I’ll spring for groceries.”
“I don’t need handouts.” Her voice is quiet but firm.
“It’s not a handout.” I rub my stomach. “I’m hungry too. Plus I have more questions. I eat here and we kill two birds with one stone.”
She seems to consider it.
I nod to her fridge. “I’m assuming that works.”
“I plugged it out.”
I arch an eyebrow really?
“I barely use it and it chews up electricity.”
My heart pinches again.
What is it about those big brown eyes that makes me want to scoop her into the palm of my hand and protect her with my life?
It’s a feeling I haven’t had since…
My shoes rasp against the floor. I abruptly step back, away from her and those dark memories. As I push past the panic, a familiar, throbbing pain slashes through my stomach. I bend over, slinging a hand over my torso.
“You okay?” She bats thick eyelashes that frame coffee-colored eyes.
I grunt, unable to talk.
She runs around the cupboard, grabs a glass and pours me water from the tap. “Here.”
As I accept the glass, our fingers brush.
A zap of electricity hits me.
