by T. K. Leigh
REDEMPTION
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the ebook from one of its many distributors.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental or, if an actual place, are used fictitiously. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
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 use of these trademarks is not sponsored, associated, or endorsed by the trademark owner.
Published by Carpe Per Diem, Inc. / Tracy Kellam, 25852 McBean Parkway # 806, Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Edited by: Kim Young, Kim’s Editing Services
Cover Image Viorel Sima
Used under license from Adobe Stock
Text Copyright © 2018 T. K. Leigh / Tracy Kellam
All rights reserved.
Contents
Books by T.K. Leigh
The Redemption Series
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
Possession
Possession Excerpt
Playlist
Connect with Me
Free Book!
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by T.K. Leigh
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
The Dating Games Series
Dating Games
Wicked Games
Mind Games
Dangerous Games
Royal Games
Tangled Games
* * *
The Redemption Series
Promise (A Redemption Duet Prologue)
Commitment (Redemption Duet #1)
Redemption (Redemption Duet #2)
Possession (Possession Duet #1)
Atonement (Possession Duet #2)
ROMANTIC COMEDY
The Book Boyfriend Chronicles
The Other Side of Someday
Writing Mr. Right
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
The Vault
Inferno: Part 1
Inferno: Part 2
Inferno: Part 3
Inferno: Part 4
* * *
The Beautiful Mess Series
A Beautiful Mess
A Tragic Wreck
Gorgeous Chaos
* * *
The Deception Duet
(A Beautiful Mess Series Spinoff Duet)
Chasing the Dragon
Slaying The Dragon
* * *
Beautiful Mess Series Standalones
Vanished
Heart of Marley
Heart of Light
* * *
For more information on any of these titles and upcoming releases, please visit T.K.’s website:
www.tkleighauthor.com
The Redemption Series
Commitment
(Redemption Duet #1)
* * *
Redemption
(Redemption Duet #2)
* * *
Possession
(Possession Duet #1)
* * *
Atonement
(Possession Duet #2)
Each duet in this series can be read separately as each stands on their own and revolve around a different couple.
Redemption
Everyone deserves a second chance, but not for the same mistake.
* * *
At least that’s what I try to tell myself.
* * *
Over the course of my long, complicated friendship with Andrew Brinks, I’ve given him more than enough chances. What have I received in return?
* * *
Heartache. Pain. Agony.
* * *
But also love, as cruel and beautiful as it's always been between us.
* * *
One second, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Want to believe he’s not the same person who stole my heart, then crushed it.
* * *
The next, I’m reminded of all the times he made me feel invisible.
* * *
And I hate feeling invisible.
* * *
When outside circumstances threaten everything Drew holds dear, can I finally put aside the grief of my past and give him the support he needs?
* * *
Can I give him the love he needs?
* * *
Or was our fate sealed all those years ago when he broke his first promise to me?
To second chances…
Chapter One
Brooklyn
Robert Frost is famous for writing about the road not taken, about a traveler who comes to a fork in the road and is faced with a decision regarding which path to choose. Both hold uncertainty for the future. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Both can bring happiness or sorrow. With no knowledge as to what awaits him, the traveler goes with his gut, contemplating that he can always come back and choose the other path later.
But can he?
One road will lead to another, which will lead to another, then another. You’re soon miles from where you started, unable to remember how to get back. Worse, you can’t recall where you started in the first place. All because of what you believed to be an innocent decision to go down one road instead of another.
As I sit at the stoplight, the road ahead taking me one way, the interstate to the left another, Dave Matthews’ voice brings me back to my high school years. In all actuality, I’m at an advantage, unlike Mr. Frost’s memorable traveler. I’ve been down one of these roads before. Over. And over. And over. I’ve given that road chance after chance after chance. What has it given me in return? Heartache. Pain. Agony. But also love, as cruel and beautiful as it’s always been between us. Can I put myself through that again? Is security and safety more valuable than passion? The answer becomes abundantly clear.
The light turns green and I take a deep breath to slow my racing heart. My foot eases off the brake, stepping on the gas as I take the road I believe will lead to happiness, to peace, to love. The entire drive, I’m certain this is the correct path for me. I need those things. Why should I settle for anything less?
When I finally pull up in front of the house and step out of my car, making my way up the familiar walkway, everything seems different. This isn’t like every other time I’ve been here. Something’s changed. I’ve changed. Have I changed for the better? For h
is better?
Or does everything seem different because I’ve chosen wrong? Should I have taken the other path? There’s only one way to find out.
I stare at the door, torn, wishing the correct answer were scrawled in the grains of the wood. When it opens, I inhale a sharp breath, staring into a pair of compassionate, soothing eyes. Ones that have always looked at me with nothing short of devotion, of pure admiration, of absolute love.
“Brooklyn...” His voice is husky but concerned, perhaps even relieved.
My lips part as I struggle to summon a single word. There’s a reason I’ve chosen this path. So I don’t have to look back anymore, so I don’t have to face a daily reminder of my mistakes, of not being enough, of never being enough. This man staring at me with so much concern loves me. Unequivocally. Unmistakably. Unquestionably. His love is pure, untainted, with no hidden agenda. And he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. That should count for something.
No. That should count for everything.
The events of the past few days overwhelming me, my hands go to Wes’ cheeks. Pulling him toward me, I crush my lips to his, kissing him fully, completely, holding nothing back, giving him everything I’ve denied him since the beginning of our relationship. He stills at first, his body becoming rigid. I bring myself closer, erasing the last bit of distance between us. My hands tugging at his hair, fingernails digging into his scalp, my body pleads with him to want me, love me, help me forget about Drew.
With a groan, he relents, melting into me, dragging me into his house and kicking the door closed. This exchange is completely different from our usual kisses. It’s not tender, soft, sweet. That’s not how I want it. Not right now. I need it deep, powerful, soul-crushing. I need to never have another reason to think of anyone but Weston James Bradford. I’m his world. It’s time he becomes mine.
I claw at him, tongues tangling and teeth clashing as our kiss becomes ravenous, primal...hot. He pushes me against the wall and I grind my body against his, his erection springing to life. No longer the same Brooklyn I was mere hours ago, I reach down, palming it. A low rumble falls from his throat and he tears out of the kiss, his heavy breaths hot against my skin.
“Damn, baby. What’s gotten into you?”
“I want to turn over a new leaf. I want to be everything you want. In public…” Tilting my head up, I drag my tongue along his smooth chin and neck, suppressing the desire to have an unshaven jaw bruise and scratch my skin. When I pull back, I give him a coquettish grin. “And in private.”
Growling, he dives in for another impassioned kiss, taking control as he presses against me, pulsing and thrusting. Hands are everywhere, tugging, yanking, scratching. His lips move to my neck, teeth clamping onto my skin. I whimper, craving the physical pain to help me forget about everything relating to Andrew Brinks. About the longing in his eyes when he learned the truth. About the despair covering his face when I drove away. About the way my heart still yearns for him, regardless that he’s never brought me anything but torment, that he’s done nothing but crush my dreams and break my heart.
“Harder,” I beg, willing my body to react to Wes’ touch, his kisses, his words. But I feel nothing, empty, broken. I squeeze my eyelids shut. Instantly, brown eyes flash before me, impassioned and hungry, bringing me back to that night seven years ago, the night I’d kept a secret from everyone for years. The hands on me transform from smooth and soft to rough and calloused as I succumb to the memory.
Seven Years Ago
“Why aren’t you dating anyone, Brooklyn?” Drew asked in a lazy voice as we both lay in my bed. Considering our history, it was irresponsible of me. But when he’d begged me to stay after I’d dropped off a water and a few aspirin to nurse the headache I was certain would find him the instant he woke from his alcohol-induced slumber, I couldn’t resist. I never could resist Andrew Brinks.
“No reason.”
“Come now,” he slurred. “Are you trying to tell me there’s no one who’s caught your eye, who’s stolen your heart?”
I opened my mouth, my words stuck in my throat like tires in heavy mud. What could I say? That I’d been pining for the same person all my life? The same person who possessed my heart since the day he threatened a boy in my second grade class after he picked on me because my father came to Mommy and Me tea. The same person who gave Damian Murphy a broken nose for touching me inappropriately the summer before my junior year of high school. The same person I never stopped thinking about, even after he stood me up on the morning I thought I would lose my virginity. I was naïve and gave him my heart. Despite the passing of years, this man still had it, although I wished he didn’t. Wished with everything I could pry it out of his cold, cruel hands.
He ran his thumb along my bottom lip, my breath hitching as a shiver rolled through me. I plumped it out, my insatiable hunger to feel his hands on me overtaking all sense of rationale, making me forget our past. All I cared about was now, about feeling this man’s body so close to mine, to feel his heart beat in time with mine. I should have left, should have walked away, but I couldn’t. The power this man had over me defied all reason, all sense of what was right.
“Brooklyn?”
“There’s someone,” I murmured in a barely audible voice.
“Who?”
As if able to read my thoughts, he inched even closer, his body flush with mine. My breaths came in pants as his erection pressed against my stomach. There was no hiding his need for me. But was it for me? Or did he just want to feel something after learning his wife was leaving him? Was I simply his last resort? Just someone he’d use for a night, then toss aside, like my father warned me he would?
“Do I know him?”
“You might.” I lowered my eyes, staring at his muscular frame. His t-shirt had lifted slightly, a sliver of skin visible above his jeans. Just that small bit of exposed flesh made my entire body heat even more.
“What’s he like?”
I couldn’t help but smile as I considered my answer. “Sweet. Charming. Although he’d never admit it. He likes to put on this front, make everyone think he’s some macho bad ass, especially when he’s around his co-workers.” I lifted my eyes to his. “But I knew him before. And I can’t help but think I’m one of the few people he can be himself around. That he doesn’t have to put on a show to make me believe the public perception of him.”
His hand roamed the contours of my frame, stopping on my hip. My teeth chattered, my body having trouble reconciling the myriad of sensations coursing through it. When he pushed me onto my back, I gasped at the unexpected shift, my surprise silenced when he buried his head in my neck. I held my breath, briefly squeezing my eyes shut. Was I asleep? Was this just another dream I’d awaken from…alone?
“Do you love him?” he whispered, his lips ghosting against my skin sending a ripple through me.
My pulse increased, my mind hazy as lust for this man blinded me to everything. I’d been with a few guys before, but I’d never felt anything remotely close to this, to this incredible euphoria and need driving me mad.
“I shouldn’t.”
“Why?” He pulled back, his whiskey eyes searing mine.
“Because he’ll only break my heart. Because as much as I want to be with him, it won’t end well.”
“How do you know?” He climbed on top of me, supporting his weight on his elbows. My legs fell on either side of him and I ran my hand up and down his back, as if this were a normal, everyday occurrence for us. The feel of his ripped muscles beneath his t-shirt made my mouth dry.
“Because he’s always held all the power,” I stated, more unguarded than I’d ever been. I didn’t understand what possessed me to be so honest, why I admitted something I’d refused to acknowledge for the past decade. “Because he has the power to destroy me in a way I’ll never recover from.”
Present Day
My words all those years ago hit me hard, practically knocking the breath out of me. When I muttered them that night, I
had no idea how true they were. I only had to wait a matter of a few hours to learn I was right, that the promises he made in his alcohol-induced euphoria, then forgot about, would destroy me. Just like the promises he made the night before he left for college irrevocably changed me.
The hurt of everything plagues me and my chin quivers, tears spilling over my eyelids.
“What’s wrong?” Wes asks, noticing the change in my demeanor. Pulling back, he searches my face. His concern makes me feel even more guilty for fantasizing about Drew. “Did I hurt you? Was I being too rough? I never want to do anything to—”
I grab the back of his neck, forcing his lips to mine so he can’t see the indecision in my expression. He’s hesitant at first and I can sense his internal struggle. It’s classic Wes. He wants me but doesn’t want to do anything to hurt me. He’s never wanted to do anything to hurt me, always doing everything in his power to put a smile on my face.
