Loved by You (Taken by You Book Three) Read online

  LOVED BY YOU

  TAKEN BY YOU 3

  M.L. YOUNG

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright 2015 M.L. Young

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances of characters to actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. The author, M.L. Young, holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Cover Design: © L.J. Anderson, Mayhem Cover Creations

  Formatting by Mayhem Cover Creations

  INTRODUCTION

  This book features alternating points of view. Each chapter is titled with the character whose point of view you are reading from.

  Want to receive the first three volumes of my serial series The Stipulation for free? Sign up for my mailing list below and have them delivered right to your inbox. You’ll receive new book notifications, free books, giveaways, and much more!

  http://eepurl.com/bb6VVb

  After confessing her deceit to Blake, Penny has no idea what’s going to happen to their relationship. Will he take her back and understand why she lied to him and used him, as he once used her, or will he say goodbye forever and give up on what they had?

  As they begin to patch things up, an opportunity to meet Blake’s parents arises, and it’s through that meeting that Penny finds out why Blake is the way he is, and discovers the story of the woman who shaped him into the emotionally distant serial playboy she first met. But can their relationship survive and stay the same after she finds out about his past?

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  Blake

  A whirlwind had surrounded and enveloped me and I wasn’t sure I could see past the swirling smoke that had engulfed my life.

  Why was everything in life so difficult? One minute I could be on cloud nine with the woman who I knew I whole-heartedly wanted to be with, and the next minute I could be sitting alone in my apartment wondering what in the fuck even happened.

  I had no clue what to think about what Penelope had laid on me. I knew I was disappointed—a little mad, even, but why? Did I not do something similar to her before? Did I not use her for my own selfish gain? Sure, mine wasn’t financial, obviously, but I still used her for something that I wanted and it fucked everything up. Now she’d done the same thing to me, albeit a tiny bit different, and she was in the place I was long ago.

  As I walked around my apartment, I walked over to my wine fridge and pulled out a bottle of Merlot. Uncorking it, a loud thump went off before I pulled a glass out of the cabinet and tilted it on its side. The red nectar flowed out before I twisted the bottle gently and stopped the flow. I set the bottle on the counter and swirled my glass around gently before pulling it up to my nose and smelling it. My mouth began to salivate and my taste buds puckered before I took my first sip, a small sip, and set the glass back down on the counter. I put my hands against the edge and looked out towards the city.

  Why did I feel like I was in such an impossible position? I knew I wasn’t, or at least I thought I wasn’t, but I couldn’t help but feel let down and a bit ashamed. Did my behavior prompt all of this? Penelope wasn’t the type of person to use someone. She would never just go and do that to somebody unless they did something to her first. To be honest, I was surprised that she even chose to do any of this in the first place. She didn’t seem like that type of girl.

  Did I dare go back for more? I wanted to, I knew that, but there had to be changes—and big ones. There couldn’t be any more secrets, and there couldn’t be a veiled mystique surrounding us. I knew things about Penelope, good things, but I needed to know more if I were to ever make things work. She needed to know more about me as well. Here I was, ready to commit to this girl, ready to give her my all, and I didn’t even know her middle name. I didn’t know her friends, her family, or her life story before I met her. Sure, I knew some of it, but not all of it. If I was going to make this work, I needed us to know one another and be able to be honest and open about all aspects of our lives. I knew that meant opening up about everything and everyone who had come into my life, including the one who made me who I am today, even though I never wanted to speak of her again. I guess that would just be a small price to pay for eternal happiness.

  I walked over to the table and picked my phone up. I unlocked it, seeing I had a few messages from work, but nothing from her. I hesitated, wondering if I should even take the risk and send her something right now, or if I should just wait a day or two so that things could die down. No, I couldn’t wait any longer. I couldn’t go through the misery of waiting while I knew we should be talking and rekindling things.

  I opened my messages and wandered over to her thread, seeing all of our interactions there. I scrolled up and down through them, reading the happy and flirty moments together like I was reading them for the first time again. A picture was there, a goofy one of her making a face, and I couldn’t help but smile and let out a small laugh as I felt something inside me. I always felt something inside me when I saw her face. I couldn’t explain it, but it was definitely there, and I couldn’t forget it.

  I started typing, not even sure what I was really saying, before I hit send and looked at it. I didn’t say all that much, nothing special, but I let her know that I wanted to talk to her. I let her know that things could be fixed, even if I didn’t really say that directly. I implied it, and that was all that mattered.

  I set my phone down, walked back over to the counter, and took a big swig of my Merlot instead of the small sip I’d taken earlier. I needed something to take the tension out of this. I needed to feel calm. After all, what if she wrote back that she was finished with me? What if she hated my guts and didn’t give me that chance to get to know her better? I knew I was overreacting, and that things weren’t that bad, but when you put yourself out there, you sometimes have a little cloud of doubt following you.

  My phone buzzed on the table, just a short vibrate. I set down my glass and walked over towards the table. I took a deep breath as I walked, the alcohol vapor expelling out of me, as I grabbed my phone and unlocked it. She’d messaged me back.

  “I didn’t know if I was going to hear from you,” she said.

  “You didn’t think I was stupid enough to give you up, did you?” I replied hesitantly.

  “I’m not sure,” she said.

  “I don’t want to lose out on something that has the potential to be great. I think we need to see each other in person for this, though. I have some things I need to say, and some conditions that need to be set if this is going to work out,” I said.

  “The last time there were conditions on our relationship, arrangement, or whatever you want to call it
, things went horribly wrong,” she replied.

  “They aren’t anything like that, I swear. They need to be done, though. Just trust me. Please?”

  “…fine. I’ll trust you on this, but you better not let me down. How about tomorrow?” she asked.

  I sent her details and she said she’d see me tomorrow before leaving the conversation to do some homework. I felt relieved but a bit scared at the same time. What if this wasn’t really what she wanted? What if she didn’t want to share her past with me for fear that these things would happen all over again? She had every right to feel that way, and it scared me half to death. I couldn’t go through messing up with her again. It wasn’t an option.

  I finished another small glass of wine before walking upstairs and getting ready for bed. As I splashed some warm water on my face and looked up at myself in the crystal-clear mirror, I couldn’t help but notice the small bit of relief on my face. It definitely wasn’t there this morning, and for good reason. Things were going to change, though, I knew it, and I knew we would get through anything. The only problem was facing the demons of my past that I wondered if I’d ever release again. You can tell a lot about a man by his past, his upbringing, though I wasn’t sure exposing Penelope to that was the best choice. I knew I had to, but I sure as hell didn’t have to want to.

  I slipped into my pajama pants, took off my shirt, and walked over to my bed as the small bedside lamp illuminated a small section of my room. With one last glance over the city, I crawled underneath the covers and pulled them up to my chest. I cleared my throat, looked up at the ceiling, and took a breath before turning off the lamp and exposing myself to the darkness. No matter what things popped up, no matter what she heard or she saw, I knew that I could keep her. I had to keep her. She was the one person I knew, the only person, who would accept everything about my past and never use it against me. I could trust her, I knew that.

  I closed my eyes, a million thoughts racing through my mind, and tried my hardest to fall asleep fast.

  Tomorrow had a lot in store for me—I knew it.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Penelope

  I awoke to a screeching ambulance barreling down the street outside my bedroom window. I squinted, letting out a small moan as I did so, before grabbing my phone and looking at the time.

  I had ten minutes before I had to wake up, and I couldn’t have been more annoyed that I wasn’t given those precious minutes with my eyes closed and my mind completely shut down. Not wanting to tempt fate and sleep past my alarm, I yawned, unlocked my phone, and read my e-mail and social media before finally getting up and stretching as I sat on the edge of my bed.

  I took a sip of water from the cup on my nightstand and got up as I turned off my two alarms and picked out some clothes for the day. I wasn’t going to shower, only wash my face and brush my teeth, as I had class before I had to go and meet Blake. I was definitely going to get myself prepared before then, since this was a big deal and all, and I was even going to wash my hair for him, which as a woman is a huge deal. This puffball doesn’t just dry quickly, after all. It takes taming.

  Nicolette was already gone when I walked out in the living room. I think she had a hot yoga class before work or something like that. She said some girl from work invited her, and she felt too bad to say no. I think going to a hot yoga class before work is almost body-odor suicide, but I guess she didn’t care all that much.

  I splashed some warm water on my face and used my grapefruit face wash, the little chunks in it scrubbing away my dead skin cells. I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and most of all, ready for the day. After applying a conservative amount of makeup, I put my hair up into a small bun and got changed. Nothing special, as I was only going to some classes, after all, but it was good enough.

  I’d spent the entire night studying for a small test I had today, which unfortunately meant I wasn’t able to talk to Blake outside of our small conversation over text. I still couldn’t believe that he wanted to talk to me and see me after what I did. Sure, some people would think it wasn’t all that bad, but to me, it was. I felt as if I’d betrayed him, and even though he originally did that to me, and I knew I shouldn’t even feel the slightest bit of nervousness, I did. I was just happy we were going to be able to move past all of this and start fresh like we should’ve done the first time. At least I hoped those were his intentions. If he played me again I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be able to go back. Fool me twice, shame on me.

  The bus was pulling up to the stop as I ran around the corner, completely out of breath, and got in line. There were four people in front of me, all of them older. Each one of them swiped their cards and found an empty seat. After swiping mine and looking around the crowded bus, I noticed not a single seat was available, as none of the other riders even looked up at me and were instead engrossed in their phones or tablets.

  I gripped a handrail above and planted my feet firmly as I swayed back and forth each and every time the bus turned a corner or stopped completely. After a little while, I happily got off and felt my hand still a little clenched; I knew it was likely red and throbbing underneath my gloves. I hated standing on the bus with an ever-burning passion.

  As I walked into the building, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and took it out to see that Blake had messaged me. I smiled, unlocking my phone, and waited as my eyes adjusted enough from the brightness outside to see my dimly lit screen.

  “Feel like meeting where it all began tonight?” he asked.

  “I think I could swing that. What time?” I replied.

  “Eight. We won’t have the place to ourselves, but I promise some seclusion so that we can talk. Would you like me to send Gustav?” he asked.

  “Don’t trouble him. I’ll get there, don’t worry,” I replied.

  “Great. I’ll see you there,” he said, with a smiley face at the end.

  I bit my lower lip and put my phone away before walking into my classroom and putting my stuff down. I took out a bottle of water from my bag and sipped on it a little as the icy cold liquid inside shocked my somewhat sensitive teeth. I was so excited to see him tonight. I’d wondered a lot and asked myself many times if I should’ve even told him the things that I’d done before. If I hadn’t, there wouldn’t be any makeup dinner, if that was even what this was. We’d be together already and loving life with one another. I could’ve said yes and become his girlfriend, and my life would have been pure and utter bliss. I guess having a conscience didn’t always help with those things.

  My communications class, the last one I’d ever take, wasn’t remotely fun or interesting. In fact, I mostly daydreamed while I was in here and still did okay, though I guess I did study a lot. I guess I only had to study a lot because I never paid attention, and I would just not come altogether if I could, but attendance was ten percent of our grades and I wasn’t willing to get a B just because I was too lazy to come sit for an hour.

  “I’ll soon be passing out your exams. Please feel free to take the entire class period to take it, and once you’re done you may bring it up to me and leave. Are there any questions?” my professor asked.

  She looked around the room as not a single hand went up before saying good, nodding, and grabbing a stack of thick packets and handing them out one by one. She used an anti-cheating method, which involved her manually handing out exams so she could give different versions of the same exam to different people. That way the person sitting next to you had their questions in a different order and you couldn’t copy off them. Pretty genius, but I think it added a lot more work for her.

  I gave her a polite smile and took my test from her as I flipped through the few pages to see how many questions there were. There were forty in all, some short, some long, though all of them were intense. I wrote my name and class section at the top and put the butt of my pencil up to my lips as I read the first question.

  People all around me were scribbling their answers like they had a gun held up to their heads as I casually took my ti
me and thought over each question. I had a little over a minute to answer each one, and I planned to use all of that time.

  One by one, each student got up and handed in their exams as I trudged on and tried my hardest. I knew a lot of the answers, mostly the fill-in-the-blanks, though some of the multiple choice ones were a little difficult. I wondered if she went over this in class, but then again I was never really that mentally awake during her classes. I guess there’s something about a monotone voice that just doesn’t make you want to listen all that much.

  With five minutes left on the clock, I reached my final question, an easier one, as I confidently wrote in the answer and closed my test. I put away my things, picked them up, and walked up to the front where she was grading some of the exams that had already been turned in. She nodded and I set mine down on top of her pile and walked out of the classroom and into the empty hallway. I pulled out my phone, saw a low signal, and walked towards a sub shop in the student center that had a deal on foot-longs.

  I grabbed a turkey and provolone with every vegetable they had, handed the guy six bucks, and walked over to the tables with my bottle of water and started to eat. Other students whizzed by me, likely on their way to their next classes, as I finally took a breather and watched the world outside of the frosty windows directly in front of me. I just hoped tonight went as smoothly as today had.

  “So, he took you back?” Nicolette asked as I got ready later that night.

  “Not yet, at least I don’t think so. He wants to talk things out, but I have hope for it. He contacted me,” I said.

  “Wow, that’s great. And to think, you thought you’d never hear from him again. I guess things worked out better than you thought, huh?” she asked.

  “I sure hope so. I guess we’ll find out soon. How do I look?” I asked, modeling myself for her.