The Reluctant Hero: The Tainted Series

The Reluctant Hero:

The Tainted Series

T.L. Tate

Copyright 2017 by T.L. Tate

Distributed by Smashwords

Cover Photo Copyright of Maksim Toome/Shutterstock

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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Hearts that Bleed

A Romance Novel

By. T.L. Tate

He is the doctor. She is the patient. Michael Steele and Lana Groves are two strangers who have each suffered a crippling loss. Drawn to each other by forces unknown, they find solace and excitement in an immediate, yet forbidden chemistry. However, nothing ever goes that smoothly. Between a needy sister-in-law, a stunning resemblance, a manipulative friend, a beautiful club owner, and a major ethical dilemma, the two struggle to find out if there could ever be a future between them. One thing is certain—their lives will never be the same again. 

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I hold you in my arms and open my heart. Without you, I can’t survive.

Table of Contents:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Epilogue

The Reluctant Hero:

The Tainted Series

Part I

I was out of breath and covered in sweat. I looked at her from across the room. Her green eyes watched me closely. I could feel them following me the entire time. I started to say something but she shook her head slightly and smirked. I knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that she owned me. Despite my own feelings to the contrary, she did have a point. Straightening myself to my full height, I reached behind me and grabbed the cold glass of water that was waiting for me.

I heard her laugh, What’s the matter, Lance? Need a break already? We’ve barely just begun. She stalked towards me, her large breasts bobbing as she twisted her hips while she walked. Alone, in her bedroom, Jessa placed one hand on my chest while the other hand was on my stomach. She smiled up at me, What’s wrong? No stamina?

I could hear the laughter in her voice. I wanted to tell her what I really thought about her but I couldn’t. Instead, I turned to leave in order to grab another piece of her ridiculously heavy furniture.

Today was moving day. Jessa, my sister-in-law, flew back into town on Sunday. As soon as her plane touched down my wife, Jen, scooped her up and they went shopping for all of the necessities. Jessa flew back home a few days ago, only to pack more of her things and officially separate from her husband, Richard. Now she has a condo just a few minutes away from my home and I couldn’t be more irritated. See, a few months back, Jen and I were invited to spend a week at Jessa and Richard’s home. From the moment we arrived until the moment that we left, all they did was bicker. It was like having a front row seat to the viewing of a train wreck. I didn’t think that two people could ever be so ill matched until I saw the two of them together. Why they ever agreed to get married and stay married was a mystery.

Now, while all of that was sad and uncomfortable, the worst happened on one of the last days that we were there. My wife hasn’t had the easiest life. She was raised by a pair of narcissists with too much money and egos the size of the Grand Canyon. They raised their children with just enough ambivalence to be considered neglectful. Of course, that was assuming that one of their two daughters didn’t do anything to embarrass them or their family name. As long as Jen stayed in her lane, they didn’t so much as acknowledge her presence. On the off chance that Jen did something that may (in some obtuse fashion) insult their image then it was hellfire and brimstone. In the rare instances when they deigned to be actual parents, they would only spare their limited parental expertise to their eldest daughter, Jessa. They considered Jen a mistake and treated her as such. Therefore, the first chance she got she left home.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of her struggles. Years in college didn’t exactly improve my wife’s sense of self-worth. Instead, it made it even worse. She was alienated from her family and would only hear from her parents if her grades slipped. She adopted a dark and solitary persona. In the rare instances when she would meet a guy, she would allow herself to be used and the guy would toss her away. This happened over and over and continued to erode her self-esteem until the point that she resided on a very dangerous cusp. That was when we met.

I say, met, but we actually went to the same high school. During our time there, we both wore masks that better fit the expectations of our peers and families. She played the role of a spastic prepster. I played the part of a dull-witted jock. In college we both shed our masks and her darker side came out while my nerdy side took sway. When we met again it was only because I was working as a part-time tutor in order to fuel my weekend escapades. We didn’t really meet the other person until that day when our masks were shed and we were forced into confronting who the other really was.

But as it turns out we hit it off extremely well. After months of spending time together and allowing a budding attraction to take hold, I almost lost her when I (under the influence of way too much alcohol) slept with another woman on her couch. In my drunken state, I thought the girl was Jen. It wasn’t until after we were done that I realized what happened. Although she was angry and hurt, I was able to convince Jen to give me a second chance. From there, we hit the ground running and it was nothing but roses and sunshine.

That was 12 years ago. Now we’re married with a beautiful set of boy/girl twins, Aesop and Avi. I love my wife with everything that I have and would do anything to protect her. And it was that love and sense of protection that put me in this godforsaken mess. As I said, a few days before we were to leave Jessa and Richard’s, Jessa cornered me in the bathroom and forced me into an unwanted sexual encounter. Over the years, Jen has made remarkable progress in building her self-esteem, but the demons of her past are not easy to shake. She was always looking for an excuse as to why I would leave her and I was always pulling her back from the edge. This was more than apparent to Jessa, and considering that Jessa has held a hateful grudge against Jen since Jen went away to college, she used it as a cold-blooded but well aimed threat. Given the circumstances, I didn’t feel that I had a right to refuse.

Right after it happened I swore that I would never allow myself to be alone with Jessa. Things were going well but unfortunately, Jessa was already several steps ahead. Earlier in that day she had already secured permission from Jen to come stay with us during the summer months. Jessa used the guise of being a concerned big sister who just wanted to spend more time with her little sister and her niece and nephew. Jen bought into her lies and agreed. In the two months that followed Jessa and Jen got remarkably close. They were so close that Jen forgot all about the angst that used to plague her when it came to her sister. But I didn’t forget.

A couple of weeks ago, Jessa finally showed up. I drew a line in the sand immediately and she claimed remorse. I didn’t buy it at first but as the days went by her regret seemed genuine, as did her feelings for her sister and the twins. I believed her. I truly believed her. Unfortunately, all it took was for Jen and the twins to be gone for a few hours for Medusa to poke her head up out of the shadows. She showed me a video that she took when she had (unbeknownst to me) knocked me out with drugs. And like that mythical Gorgon, she had me frozen in terror as her true self emerged. Under the weight of her threats I gave her exactly what she wanted…again. While I thought that that was the end of it, reality slapped me in the face. Jessa and Richard were separating and she would be moving up here to live by us. Once again, Jessa was several steps ahead.

While it’s only been two days since she has returned, Jessa’s presence has seeped into nearly every facet of my life. My wife and kids couldn’t stop gushing about her and now she was moving into the neighborhood. There was no getting rid of her—a fact, in which she seemed to enjoy taunting me.

I felt her hand on my shoulder when I was halfway out of her bedroom. I stopped. Her voice was in my ear, whispering for only me to hear. You know I got a king-size bed.

I hated being this close to her. My voice was gruff, Yeah? What of it?

I felt her tongue on my earlobe, Just letting you know so that you’re aware when you stay the night and we christen the place.

Jessa, please. You know I don’t want any of this.

She pressed her body against mine, "Who ever said you had to want it? I don’t care what you want. As long as you do what I want then Jen will never need to find out."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to fight. I clenched my fists tightly as my body shook with rage. Right before she left last week, Jen found out she was pregnant. We were going to have another baby. It should’ve been a happy or even overwhelming occasion. Unfortunately, this information only acted to strengthen Jessa’s control over me. She knew that I wouldn’t do anything that would cause me to lose my family. I was her puppet. The only things that were missing were the strings.

Willing myself to calm down, I sighed. Understood. Without another word, I left her room and headed downstairs to get the next load of crap.

On the first floor, I found her bent over the boxes