Unbreakable Bonds
A Totally Bound Publication
Unbreakable Bonds
ISBN #
978-1-78430-530-7
©Copyright Taige Crenshaw and Aliyah Burke 2015
Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright April 2015
Edited by Rebecca Douglas
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
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 publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. 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.
Published in 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing,
Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN
Totally Bound Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a
heat rating
of
Totally Sizzling
and a
Sexometer
of
2.
UNBREAKABLE BONDS
Taige Crenshaw and Aliyah Burke
When fantasy becomes reality, it brings to life one who has traveled through time, and a woman finds a man who sets her body ablaze with passion.
Ta-Mara LeBreaux finds escape reading a love story of a couple who get together despite all odds. Yet she never expected to be caught in her own tale—the outcome of which will be up to the fickleness of destiny. A man appears in her life and all signs point to the fact that he is the same Levi from her book—a book she has read countless times. She must be crazy… However when the impossible becomes reality, Ta-Mara is faced with Levi who has come from between the pages to her world. He’s all her dreams come true. This man is all too real and sexy as hell. But is she living on borrowed time with Levi, who can’t possibly be hers?
Levi Jefferson Davis Madison doesn’t know what brought him to this time or this particular woman. He is sure of one thing. Ta-Mara is the light that fills his soul. He won’t let anything or anyone stand between them. Yes this present time is so much different than he is used to but he won’t let that stop him. By opening first her home then her heart to a stranger, she shows him the depths of her character. Loving her is easy but being able to keep her by his side is his greatest challenge. Or is it…? There are some things that go beyond time and space. When love meets time, nothing can get in the ways of unbreakable bonds.
Dedication
To my mother, who has always been my number one fan. Because of you, I love to read and write. To my big sister and second mother who has always believed in me. To my co-writer, Aliyah as always it is a pleasure working with you and I thank you for doing this book with me. I loved working on it with you. ☺
—Taige
To my husband for your unending support. Thank you. To my readers, y’all rock! To Taige for another adventure, it’s been a blast. And last and never least: To the men and women of the Armed Forces who sacrifice so much for all of us, God Bless!
—Aliyah
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Mariner: Ford Motor Company
Keurig: Keurig Green Mountain
Wranglers: VF Corporation
LSU Tigers: LSU Tigers
Timberland: Timberland LLC
Survivor:
Beyoncé Knowles, Anthony Dent, Matthew Knowles
Like We Never Loved at All
: John Rich, Scot Sax, Vicky McGehee
Stay:
Jennifer Nettles
Food Network: Television Food Network G.P.
Three Men and a Baby
: Buena Vista Pictures
Coke: The Coca Cola Company
Victoria’s Secret: L Brands
Sleeping Beauty: The Walt Disney Company
Disney: The Walt Disney Company
We Got Hood Love
: Mary J. Blige, Bryan-Michael Cox, Kendrick Dean, Johnta Austin
Chapter One
The shot had torn through flesh and bone, making each movement—from breathing to continuing his forward motion—a painful chore. The man stumbled occasionally, yet pressed on. Baying dogs gained on him as his steps slowed. Sticky blood ran down his bare arm and mingled with the rain that cascaded around him. Wet branches reached out and ripped at his exposed upper body. Any and all air was ingested desperately as he ran farther into the forest.
He couldn’t be caught. He didn’t want to die without knowing who had killed her. He had to find a way to survive.
His Calliope.
Her sweet brown face appeared before him—plump lips, a somewhat flat nose and eyes the color of a mug brimming full of rich hot chocolate.
Calliope.
Tears mixed with rain as he ran on. A gun barked seconds before he collapsed as a bullet ripped through the back of his thigh. His fingers dug into the fertile soil as he struggled to regain his footing.
“There is nowhere for you to run, Levi. We will find you.” The deep, drawling voice rose above the storm, carrying through the trees.
Blood loss, combined with pure exhaustion brought on by his days of being held and beaten, overwhelmed him. Levi Jefferson Davis Madison sank ungraciously back to the forest floor, knowing he wouldn’t be able to continue. “I’m so sorry, Calliope. I tried, my love. I tried.” The tortured words were full of sorrow and pain.
Despite the cold his body had experienced for the past week, Levi felt a warmth flow over him like a feather blanket. A heat he hadn’t felt since before the day he’d lost his love.
A whisper came through the dark to reach his ears.
Levi, you are a man whose love is pure. In a world divided by color, you never faltered. Despite everything put to you, you stayed true to your heart and never turned your back on your soul mate. For that, I tell you this… Rest now. Fear not, for you shall be returned to the arms of your love. Trust your heart, for it will not lead you astray.
Levi couldn’t explain it, but the words calmed his breaking heart. With a sigh that was more of a gurgle of blood, the man closed his eyes, ready to accept his death. He knew he would one day be reunited with the love who had died in his arms. The ones who had killed her were the same men who chased him.
One day
couldn’t come too soon.
Lightning lit the sky as he turned tired eyes up and watched the night shadows become men whose faces were full of hate. Two watched him, one with green and one with blue, as they told him they were the ones who’d killed the love of his life.
The thunder rolled.
* * * *
Ta-Mara LeBreaux sniffled and smiled to herself behind the counter of the used bookstore she worked in, Roberta’s Reads. She closed the book and fondly ran her hand over the front cover.
What better way to pass the stormy afternoon than by reading about real men and real love? This was one of her favorite books. A story of the Old South, where despite the laws, one man had stood up for his beliefs and openly admitted his love for a freed slave. And although they hadn’t been able to get married, he’d claimed he was married in the eyes of God to her.
Levi Jefferson Davis Madison, raised in the Deep South, had fallen in love with a woman known as Calliope Jones.
She sniffed again. How wonderful it would be to have a man like him—tall, handsome, dangerously alpha and yet totally in love with his woman, willing to stand up to the bigots and take whatever crap they dished out.
“The only thing that sucks about this is that I don’t know if he dies or not.”
Age had yellowed the pages and the final bit was missing. The only thing resembling a title was faded script on the front that read
Unbreakable Bonds.
She had asked her friend, Reginald ‘Reggie’ Carpenter—the store’s owner—about the book and had even gone to the library and checked online to see if she could figure out more about this mysterious story. Nothing came up. And she couldn’t find an author name anywhere on it either.
Reginald had given her the book for helping him out in the store. She carried it with her always and reread it when she had any free time like now, on this dark stormy afternoon in Louisiana. Not many people were out, so after cleaning a bit, she had hunkered down and begun to read.
The book wasn’t very thick, but the words resonated with the passion Levi and Calliope had for one another. “I wish I knew the ending of this.” Her imaginative mind had created lots of different endings for the story. Of course, she substituted herself in place of Calliope, but at least Levi found his love.
A loud rumble of thunder echoed through the small brick building but it wasn’t until the lights flickered that she looked away from the object in her hands. The hum of the lights, which normally filled her with familiarity, seemed odd and unsettling. Almost like they were still trying to catch up from the power surge.
“What I need is to turn on some more music,” she muttered to herself as she placed the book down on the now clean desk. “My imagination is beginning to make me think I’m crazy.”
She headed down the middle of the store, her eyes traveling over the numerous shelves packed with books. This place made her feel at home. Rounding the final shelf, she turned toward the entrance of the back room.
Numerous boxes of books were stored there—extra copies, books for donating to literacy programs and more. Nimbly avoiding them, Ta-Mara finally reached the CD player. She dragged a finger over the stack of CDs before she made her selection and pulled a disc free from its case. “John Legend is always good to listen to.”