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Saved by Submission
By Laney Rogers
Resplendence Publishing
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www.resplendencepublishing.com
Gems of Romantic Fiction
©opyright
Saved by Submission
Copyright © 2014 Laney Roger
Edited by Tiffany Mason and Venus Cahill
Cover Art by Les Byerley
Published by Resplendence Publishing
1093 A1A Beach Blvd, Suite 146
St. Augustine, FL 32080
Electronic format ISBN:978-1-60735-816-9
Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Electronic Release: October 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the author.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to the author Unauthorized or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my husband, and his unfailing love and support, both for me and my writing. If it wasn’t for him, my courage might well have escaped me, and this amazing journey would never have taken place. I love you, Steve.
Prologue
The hairs on the back of Megan’s neck stood up and her hands gripped the window sill, the knuckles showing white against the regular tone of her skin.
She breathed in and out a couple of times, determined to stay calm, and then turned to face the tall, blond male standing in the doorway to her bedroom.
“What do you want, Carl?” she asked in a strained voice. “I’m getting ready to go out, so I’d really appreciate some privacy.”
Megan took another long, even breath and then walked to where her mother’s boyfriend was standing. She held the door handle, and stood there, waiting for Carl to either speak or move out of the way so she could shut the door.
Their eyes locked, and in that instant, Megan knew that she could either stand her ground or let him take control of whatever was going to happen here.
The two of them were alone in the house. Her mother was in town, working the evening shift at the local supermarket, and would not be home for a couple of hours, at least.
“Where are you off to this time, Megan?” he asked, making no effort to move. “You didn’t get in ’til almost two this morning; and now you’re going out again. Where’s the money coming from to fund all this socializing?”
“That’s none of your business, Carl. Where I go and what I do doesn’t concern you. As far as how I pay for it… Well, let’s see. I know it’s a totally foreign concept to you, but I actually go out to work and
earn
the money I need. Now, please get out of the way so I can have a little privacy to get ready.”
Carl’s facial expression changed from sarcasm to anger in just a heartbeat.
Megan instinctively took a step back. She should have played it cool and unbothered, but yet again she’d let her mouth run away with her.
“Don’t you get a smart mouth with me, you little bitch. Just remember that your mother invited me to live here with her while I get my business up and running. Working as an office gofer at a little law firm doesn’t entitle you to look down on me, so watch your mouth.”
With that, Carl walked into Megan’s room and shut the door behind him. He didn’t look it on the outside, but Megan knew that the lean, wiry man in front of her could be surprisingly strong.
Megan’s stomach clenched. Her phone sat on the nightstand behind her, but she knew that he was not just going to let her pick it up and call for help.
Carl’s voice changed to a soft, sleazy tone. “You know, you don’t have to leave the house to have some fun, Meggie. We could make our own fun right here.”
He took a step forward and reached out, stroking her long, thick copper hair, and then let his hand rest on her shoulder. “You have the same dark green eyes as your mom, Megan.”
He let his hand drop down, until his fingers swept over her right breast. He cupped the underside and then stepped closer, moving his left arm around her.
Megan’s whole body froze, repulsed at his touch. Her heart pounded, and she knew that the only way she was going to get him away from her would be to fight.
“
Get the fuck off me!”
she yelled, pushing his arm away from her body and jumping back, only just managing to stop herself from falling on to the bed directly behind her. “Don’t you dare touch me!”
Carl smirked. “Come on, little girl. You need a real man to satisfy you. Not those useless little fuckers that you hang out with. You know, one of the reasons I decided to move in here was so that we could get to know each other…a
lot
better. Your mom’s okay, and not a bad looker for her age. But you and I… now we could really have a good time.”
With that, he lurched forward and grabbed Megan with both hands. He pulled her against him and then, gripping her with one arm, forced her chin up and kissed her roughly, his tongue pushing its way into her mouth.
Megan instantly fought him, pushing against his hold. Her hand managed to reach his face, where she scratched him right across the cheek.
Carl took his mouth away from hers and growled an expletive. Then his hand came up and he slapped her so hard that she fell straight back on to her bed.
He fell on top of her and tugged at her tee shirt, determined to show her that one scratch was not going to stop him from getting what he wanted. His hand found her breast again, and his finger and thumb twisted her nipple, cruelly.
Megan thrashed under him, trying to bring her knee up to his groin, but he held her down with a surprising strength.
Terrified, she realized that she was not going to be able to fight him off.
Suddenly Carl froze on top of her body.
Pinned underneath him, Megan heard a car coming down the driveway.
The relief she felt was overwhelming, especially as her bedroom window was open, and she could shout for help. There were no neighbors close by, so whoever it was, Megan knew she had to make as much noise as possible.
Just as she opened her mouth to scream, Carl rolled off her, and stood up.
He stared at her, his lips drawn up into a snarl. “Not one word, Megan, you remember that.” Then he laughed, a mean, grating noise that made her skin crawl. “Not that anyone will believe you with your track record. But just in case you’re tempted, listen up sweetheart. The next time, I’ll make sure we’ll be somewhere where no-one can find us.”
Megan lay on the bed, her hands gripping the comforter as Carl loomed over her. His mouth stretched into a wide, ugly smile as he shook his head slowly. “The things I could do to you.”
With that, he turned and walked calmly out of the room.
The second Megan heard the kitchen door open and close, she leapt up from the bed and rushed out of her room. She sped down the hallway and wrenched the front door open, almost falling down the two front steps in her haste to get away.
When she saw whose car it was parked in the driveway, she almost broke down in tears with relief. When she reached the car however, her heart jumped into her mouth. It was empty.
“Nicky?” she yelled. “Nicky, where are you?”
“I’m here,” a voice replied, coming from around the side of the house. “I was going to the back door, like I alwa…” Nicky’s voice came to an abrupt halt when she caught sight of her friend, standing by the car. “Jesus Christ, what’s happened,” she said, taking in Megan’s disheveled appearance and bright red cheek where Carl had hit her.
“I need to get away, please Nicky. Just get in the car and drive.
Please!”
Her voice rose to a shriek and Nicky nodded, then jumped into the car and started the engine immediately. Megan got into the passenger side and Nicky reversed back down the driveway into the street, her tires screeching as she accelerated and sped off up the road.
Neither of them said a word for about a mile, and then Nicky pulled over into a gas station and parked around the side of the building, away from other drivers.
She took off her seat belt and turned to look at her friend.
Megan sat very still, gazing out of the window, her hands gripping the edge of her seat.
Nicky undid Megan’s seat belt. “You look like you could do with a hug, M.”
Megan turned to her and gave a wobbly smile, which quickly turned to a grimace, and then her whole face crumpled and she dissolved into tears.
Nicky held her and let her cry until the sobs turned to little choking hiccups.
“It was Carl again, wasn’t it? Only it looks to me like he’s stepped it up a few notches. Am I right?”
Megan extracted herself from the hug, and leaned back, sighing as she did so. “You could say that, yes. He came into my room and wouldn’t leave. Then he started to feel me up. I scratched his face and he hit me, and then he… he tried to…”
She couldn’t bring herself to say the word rape, but it hung in the air between them as they sat there in Nicky’s old, worn out Chevy, staring at each other in horror.
After what seemed like a long silence, Nicky suddenly turned back in her seat and started the engine. “Right, we’re going straight to your mom, because you’ve got tell her what’s going on, M. This is fucking ridiculous. He needs to be arrested and slung in jail.”
“No!”
Nicky turned to her friend, a look of disbelief on her face.
“What?”
Tears had begun to collect again in Megan’s eyes. She closed her eyes, and then rubbed them with her knuckles. “No one believes me, Nicky, you know that. Not with my track record. Least of all, Mom. As far as she is concerned, he can do no wrong, and I’m the pain in the ass, failure of a daughter.
“I’ve done nothing but rebel, since dad died. I screwed up in school, failed just about everything, and then I spent the next three years running around this shitty town. I’ve pissed off so many people I’ve lost count, including mom, anyone who gave me a chance at a job, and most of the local law enforcement. Who the hell is going to believe me over the blue-eyed boyfriend?”
Nicky watched the tears fall then grabbed her best friend and hugged her tightly.
After a couple of minutes, Megan pulled away, and wiped her eyes defiantly with the back of her hand. “What you said the other day, about just packing up our stuff and driving away from this town. Did you really mean it?”
Nicky stared at Megan, and then a smile lit up her heart shaped face. “You know I did. I just wasn’t brave enough to do it on my own.” Her big brown eyes were shining in the dim light. “We could really do this, M. I’ve already got a place lined up where we could stay. Stacy says we could start work as soon as we got there. What do you think?”
There was silence in the car for a few seconds. “There’d be jobs for both of us…really?”
“Yes, really. It’ll work, I know it will.”
Nicky’s voice was shrill with excitement. But Megan knew that if she went with her best friend, the job she appeared so thrilled about would mean taking her clothes off, on a stage, with strangers gawping at her.
Apparently, according to Nicky’s cousin, Stacy, the club had a good reputation, and the girls were looked after properly with their safety being put first at all times. But still, could she really do it?
Megan knew how much Nicky wanted to leave. Her situation was a lot worse than Megan’s. With an abusive alcoholic mother, and a father who had left when she had just turned twelve, there were money collectors knocking on the door at all times of the day and night.