Bound to Fate (Bound Series, #1)

by Kiru Taye

  She turned to Ike with a frown. “I can’t think of anything.”

  He chuckled. “Stop thinking and just relax. We’ll soon be there.”

  She couldn’t help smiling back. “Okay.”

  “Good girl.”

  Her breath hitched at the term, her heart thudding harder. It was his special word for her. She met his gaze and he held hers. Neither of them looked away. It was as if they were bound in that moment, held in place.

  The car went over a bump and jolted them. She looked away, back onto the scenery outside the window.

  “How is Gloria?” she asked.

  Ike sighed. “She seemed fine this morning when I saw her get into the car to the airport. She’s on a flight back to Lagos any minute now.”

  “You left her to go on her own?” She frowned.

  “Henry is flying back with her.”

  “Oh, that’s okay, then.” She giggled when she remembered what Ada said. “Ada said there could be something going on between them.” She covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oops, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Ike laughed.

  “You’re not angry? She’s your fiancée.”

  He squeezed her hand, still amused. “No. She’s no longer my fiancée as of last night. The wedding is off. But I agree Henry and Gloria would make a great couple if they don’t kill each other first.”

  She tried to picture Henry and Gloria together, and all she could see was Henry’s scowl and Gloria’s pout. She broke down in giggles as Ike laughed.

  The car slowed down and stopped. She looked around and couldn’t help the huge smile spreading across her face.

  “You brought me to the fun park?” she asked in awe.

  “Yes. Do you like it?”

  “Oh my God! Yes!” She scrambled around and pushed the door open. She did a three-sixty degrees spin and ran across to where Ike stood leaning against the car with a grin on his face. She grabbed his hand. “Come on.”

  He chuckled and she practically skipped to the entrance where he bought two tickets.

  “I want to go on the spinning wheel first,” she said and dragged him in that direction.

  The attendant greeted them and boarded them when a pod became available. The space was small so their sides pressed against each other. She was giddy with excitement as it began the slow journey up.

  “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this,” she said as she gripped onto the bar.

  “You must have come here,” he said.

  “No. I was waiting until after my exams. But even then, I couldn’t because I was always afraid of bumping into Malcolm or one of his friends.”

  “I wanted to bring you but I was always worried about a student or teacher seeing us together.”

  “Thank you,” she said as they climbed high into the air. From the top, she saw the metropolis as she’d never seen it before. The rooftops of houses, business, cars, people. She held her breath. “The sight is amazing.”

  “It is. Then again, so are you.”

  She turned in his direction. He leaned into her and pressed his lips against hers. Her breath whooshed out in surprise. He traced her mouth with his tongue. Her heart thudded faster and she reached for him, clinging on to his t-shirt with one hand. His hand came around to her nape holding her to him, as he continued his exploration of her inner recesses.

  The kiss wasn’t rushed, every touch a caress that spoke to her of tenderness, of banked passion. Of love. When they came up for air, she opened her eyes. They were almost at the ground level again. Ike didn’t move apart until the pod jolted to a stop.

  He lifted the bars that held them in place and they climbed out. They walked slowly, checking out the other offerings. She wasn’t in a hurry to get on another ride, happy to just stand back and watch other people. There weren’t many people here. It was the school holidays but still early morning.

  She stopped when they saw a carousel. Except they weren't ponies. “What are those?”

  Ike frowned. “They look like donkeys.”

  “Donkeys don’t have antlers. They look like reindeers.” She laughed.

  He grinned. “They can’t be reindeers. It’s August. They’re donkeys.”

  “Perhaps they’re reindeer-donkey cross breeds.” She giggled. “I want a ride.”

  He chuckled and made a sweeping wave. “Whatever my girl wants, she gets.”

  That phrase again. He would have her believing she was an innocent eighteen again and had her whole life ahead of her.

  He spoke to the attendant who stopped the carousel so they could board. There was no one else on it. She got on and Ike got on the next one behind her. The carousel started moving. The ride was slow and bumpy.

  “They certainly move like donkeys.” She started laughing and nearly fell off the plastic animal. She turned back to look at Ike who had a twinkle in his eyes as he watched her.

  She really couldn’t remember being this carefree or this happy. Probably when her parents were still alive and she’d been a little girl.

  The ride stopped and they got off. Ike wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the ice cream stand. He bought two cones and they stood and watched people on the dodgem cars as they ate. Afterwards, he tried the pot shot and won her a white stuffed polar bear.

  “I’m going to have to take you back to the hotel shortly, but I wanted to ask you something first of all,” he said, looking serious for the first time that day.

  Her stomach knotted. “What?”

  He took her free hand.

  “For the first time since I met you, I’m in a position where I can ask you out without worrying about anyone else or anything else. I’m free to date you, but I really don’t know if you want me. So I have to ask. Lara, will you be my girl?”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lara left the room where she’d been meeting with the core project team. She hurried to her desk. The meeting had run over. If she was quick, she could pop out and grab a quick lunch before the end of the break time.

  She’d been back at work for a few days after the two weeks she’d been away. Jocelyn had signed her off and Ike had approved her absence. But now she was back, she had a whole lot of work to catch up on.

  She would’ve grabbed some lunch for Ike as well, but he was in a shareholder’s meeting. Apparently, there’d been some changes to share ownership. They would be served lunch in there.

  She got to her desk, grabbed her purse, and headed to the ladies’. She got into a cubicle and shut the door. She heard two people walk in but she didn’t recognise their voices immediately.

  “Did you read the post making the rounds on Twitter?” one of them said.

  “Which one?" the other asked.

  “Mr. Thomas’s fiancée, Gloria, posted that she broke up their relationship because she found out he was cheating on her. She’s been venting her anger on Twitter.”

  “Omigod!”

  “And do you know who the other woman is?”

  “I don’t know. Who?”

  “Jane told me in confidence that it’s Lara. Apparently, she caught them together in his office.”

  “You can’t be serious. She only started last month. And she’s so quiet.”

  “Yeah. It’s the quiet ones you have to be careful of, you know.”

  “Some people have no shame, you know.”

  Lara’s cheeks heated up and she wanted a hole to open up in the ground. They were talking about her and she hated for people to discuss her, especially as gossip topic.

  She waited in the cubicle for the women to leave before coming out to wash her hands. She’d lost her appetite and wasn’t going out to lunch anymore. She dreaded going back to her seat where people could see her directly.

  Rushing out of the ladies’, she was lucky that most people seemed to be out to lunch. She walked over to Ike’s office. The door was locked but she had a key so she opened it and walked in. She was going to work from in here for the rest of the afte
rnoon. Thankfully, he would be out so she didn’t have to worry about him coming back and finding her in here.

  She tried to work but her mind raced as she wondered what exactly Gloria had posted. Not being able to help herself, she logged onto Twitter and searched until she found Gloria’s handle. Her heart sank as she started reading all the tweets and replies. Gloria had turned herself into the offended party and her supporters were in outrage, calling Lara all sorts of nasty names.

  She slumped on the sofa, tears welling in her eyes. What did she ever do to Gloria? Even after everything, she’d still forgiven the woman, and it turned out Gloria was not ready to move on.

  The door to the office swung open. She sat up with a jolt. Ike walked into the office, surprise on his face at seeing her. Behind him were Henry and an older woman.

  She turned her face away and swiped her eyes.

  “Lara, what’s the matter?” He was already striding across the space.

  “It’s nothing.” She sniffed and bent to pack her things. “I’m sorry. I’ll get out of the way.”

  “No.” He tilted her chin up. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Mum, excuse me for a minute,” he said and took Lara’s hand, pulling her into the adjacent bathroom. He closed the door and held her hands. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “It’s Gloria. She’s been tweeting some nasty things about me.” She lifted her phone up. “I know I shouldn’t have read them, but some of the staff were gossiping about it and I overheard them.”

  He took the phone from her and scrolled through the tweets. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The thing about Gloria is that she’s jealous of you.”

  “Jealous? What do I have that she doesn’t have?”

  “You have strength, you have heart, and of course you have me.” He caressed her cheek as he smiled.

  How did she get so lucky? He always made her feel good about herself. The past few days of being with him had been amazing.

  “When you put it like that, I agree.” She smiled. “I’d be jealous, too, if someone else had you.”

  “So don’t worry about her.” He leaned in and brushed her lips gently with his. “I love you. I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that. I won’t ever abandon you again, no matter what anyone else says. You’ve got to believe that.”

  Warmth radiated through her body as her heart raced. He made her feel alive. The girl who’d been excited about a future with him five years ago had been resurrected. She smiled through tears of joy. “I do.”

  “Then I’d like to take you out there and introduce you to my mum. She’s wanted to meet you since we returned from Enugu, but I told her you might not be ready yet. But she came for today’s shareholder meeting and I’d really love for you to meet her.”

  “Your mum? I don’t know.” Lara swiped at her face, wondering how she looked. Her stomach tensed. “I must look horrible.”

  “You look lovely, like you always do.”

  Sighing, she bit her bottom lip. “But she’s used to seeing Gloria who always looks immaculate.”

  Ike pulled her to the front of the mirror and stood behind her. “Look in the mirror. What do you see?”

  She shrugged.

  “I see you, and you are the brilliant woman I love. My mum will see that, too.”

  Smiling, her limbs tingled and the tension in her body dissipated. “Thank you.”

  He pressed his lips to her cheek, spreading more heat and tingles through her body. “Come on.”

  He took her hand, opened the door, and led her out to his office. His mother and Henry sat on the sofas talking.

  “Mum, I’d like you to meet the love of my life. Lara, this is my mum.” He pulled Lara to stand in front of him.

  Although she felt a little nervous, it didn’t overwhelm her as Ike’s love for her shone through boosting her confidence. She curtsied. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Thomas.”

  “It’s great to finally meet you, Lara.” Ike’s mum took her hand and pulled her onto the sofa and hugged her. “I’ve heard some wonderful things about you.”

  “You have?” She glanced at Ike, who just chuckled.

  “Yes. You are a brave young woman, and I’ll be so glad to have you as my daughter-in-law.”

  Her mouth dropped open and Ike grimaced.

  Henry chuckled.

  “What? You mean you haven’t asked her to marry you? What are you waiting for?”

  “We’re taking it one step at a time, Mum,” he said.

  “It’s my fault. I want him to be sure he wants to be with me,” Lara said.

  “I understand that. But I can tell you that by the way he’s been singing your praises, he’s pretty smitten and pretty sure.”

  “Mum!” Ike protested.

  It only made Lara laugh. She loved the woman already. It seemed all her Christmases had come at once. For Ike to still love her knowing that her body had been violated was one thing but to have this kind of genuine affection from his family was the cherry on top of a very sweet cake.

  “You’re right, Mrs. Thomas—“

  “You must call me Mum.” The woman squeezed her shoulder.

  Lara’s heart filled, ready to burst with joy. “You’re right, Mum. I would marry Ike if ever asks me.”

  She raised her brows at him, teasing him.

  He leaned back. “It’s like that, huh. You see how the two of them just ganged up on me so quickly,” he said jokingly to Henry.

  Henry chuckled. “Well, they’re both right. You’ve got to get your act together. It’s been five years coming.”

  “You, too, huh?” He chuckled and reached for his satchel. “Well, I have a surprise for all of you.”

  He pulled out a small box and Lara’s mouth dropped open.

  “No, you didn’t?” She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Her body trembled and her heart thumped so hard against her chest, she feared it would punch a hole.

  “Yes, I did.” He grinned at her as he went on his knees and took her trembling left hand. “You are bold, brilliant, and beautiful, and nothing would make me happier than having you as my wife, Lara. Will you marry me?”

  How was this thing even possible? How could she go from almost losing her mind to being absolutely ecstatic within such a short time? Whatever this was, she didn’t want it to ever end.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said in a choked voice.

  He took out the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen and slipped it onto her finger.

  “Congratulations!” both Mrs. Thomas and Henry said at the same time as they pulled them into hugs.

  “You can bring the champagne in now, Jane,” Ike said into his intercom before pulling Lara in for the most blissful kiss ever.

  This was the first day of the rest of her life.

  Dear readers,

  Thank you for reading Bound to Fate. I hope you will leave a review on the site of purchase.

  Continue reading for Chapter One of Bound to Ransom, Bound Series #2, releasing March 2016

  Blurb

  Since the death of her mother, Gloria Rawlins' life has been a series of disappointments by the people she cares about; first by her father and then in a series of disastrous relationships that have shattered pieces of her heart one after another. She's no angel and refuses to make herself vulnerable to anyone again. Until one man threatens to strip away the wall shielding her heart.

  Henry Coker is not afraid of challenges. Rejected by his father and raised by a single mother, he's had to work hard from the bottom up to prove himself to his peers and the world. But Gloria, the one person he desires above all others remains out of reach until an opportunity presents itself and he has the chance to buy her.

  Desire like theirs cannot be hidden and passion sizzles between them. But making someone fall in love may just be a challenge too far.

  Bound to Ransom is a story about breaking the cycle of self-destruction, finding redemption and the powerful love that
endures.

  Bound to Ransom (Bound Series, #2)

  Chapter One

  Henry Coker stepped out of the chilly car as his chauffeur held the door open. The air outside struck him as hot and humid. He glanced up at the overcast sky through his dark sunglasses. A storm was brewing in the atmosphere.

  Just the way he liked it. He thrived on trouble. Challenges made him tick.

  He shook out his shoulders and straightened his suit, pulling out his cuffs. He was a man in his prime—young, rich, and successful.

  Unlike his best friend, Ike Thomas, he’d come from nothing, the son of single mother who had worked her bones off to provide for him and his sibling. He’d worked himself from the bottom to the top, scraping and saving and learning and investing. Wisely. Ruthlessly.

  Today, all his hard work would yield its first major result.

  He strode across to the entrance of the building that housed Rawlins Constructions Ltd. Inside, he noted that the furniture in the lobby appeared a little jaded. One of the outward signs of the business being in trouble.

  The last time he’d been here, he’d worked for the company as an employee. That was a long time ago. How things had changed in only a matter of years.

  “My name is Henry Coker. I’m here for a meeting with Chief Rawlins,” he said to the pretty receptionist behind the desk.

  “Welcome, Mr. Coker. Chief is expecting you. You can take the lift to the third floor. His secretary will meet you in the lobby.”

  “Thank you,” he said, and headed for the lift.

  It was a short ride up and when he got to the floor, a smartly dressed woman in a red top and black pencil skirt met him.

  “Welcome, Mr. Coker. I’m Simi. Chief is waiting in his office.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Simi. Lead the way.” He curled his lips in a smile.