Have I Told You

  Copyright © 2013 by F.L Jacob

  Cover Design by Michael J. Mitchell of Digital Mitchell Photography

  Editing by Book Peddler’s Editing

  Interior design by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  All rights reserved.

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Acknowledgements

  I dedicate this book to my husband. Honey, you have been with me through it all. My craziness, my happiness, my tears. Without you I wouldn’t be able to do any of this. You are my rock. I love you.

  Girls, you know who you are, without you I wouldn’t have started writing again!

  Mom & Dad, thank you for being so supportive of my writing. You have no idea how much it means to me.

  “Mr. Black, thank you so much for coming to our Winter Gala. I’m sure you’ll be happy with the performance this year. We have an amazing senior class. The senior dancers this year are especially good,” Joe, the head of the Arts Department at State, says as he greeted me tonight.

  “The pleasure is mine, Joe. You know how much I care about the arts.”

  I turned to walk over to the bar, leaving Joe behind. The mingling at these galas got on my nerves, and I needed a drink. The bartender slid my drink to me, and I sat back on the stool to scan the crowd for potential sweethearts. Work never ended.

  I saw a couple girls giggling across the room. I nodded at them as I took a drink. One was a dark eyed, exotic beauty, and the other was a pale, stick thin blond. They were both students. If there was anything I learned from coming to these galas for years was the students were easy to spot.

  There were two types here, and those two girls each fell into a category. Over confident, sexy as hell, and will do anything to advance themselves was one category. The other was the non-confident. No confidence was a total turn off for me. It meant you did not believe in yourself. You had no fight. I was not going to remake someone. They have to have the drive to begin with.

  I got the biggest kick out of seeing these girls squirm when I winked at them. I wondered what they were wearing under those dresses. Taking the last sip of my drink, I set the glass on the bar. Never braking eye contact with them, I made my way through the crowd.

  “Evening, ladies. How is everyone tonight?” I asked, stepping between them, delivering my panty dropping smile, and touching the smalls of their backs. The small touch gives me the ability to see how a woman will react to me. Just that little contact tells me if they are open, confident, and if they take care of themselves. I need that control.

  The two girls looked at each other, giggled, and smiled goofily back at me. I lightly thumbed their backs. My exotic dark eyed beauty was perfectly muscular. Her friend felt like a skeleton, which made me withdraw my hand quickly. I did not like boney. I wanted a healthy girl with a figure to kill for.

  “I’m Lana, this is Kristy,” my dark eyed beauty said. She tentatively continued, “You’re Caston Black, aren’t you?”

  I smirked, “Yes, I am Caston Black. Are you ladies in the show tonight?”

  “Kristy is.” Lana said, pushing her friend toward me. The girl stumbled, and I caught her before she hit the ground.

  She whimpered when I asked, “Are you okay? I don’t want Professor Lee to lose a dancer because of me.”

  “Oh, I’m okay, Mr. Black,” Kristy said shyly, not making eye contact. No confidence, just as I suspected.

  The lights blinked, and I looked up at the ceiling. Fifteen minutes to curtain call. Smiling, I looked back at the girls. “Ladies, looks like I must get to my seat. Kristy, break a leg. Lana, maybe I will catch you at the after party tonight?” I reached for their hands and brought them up to my lips, kissing them gently.

  I saw their legs buckle, as I turned to walk away, and I laughed to myself. Seeing my brother and his wife across the room, I gave a quick wave. Jon was five years older than me and had dirty blond hair like Mother. When I reached them, Jon slapped me on the back. “Cass, you’re going to have to stop making girls swoon. I swear that one was ready to suck your dick in the middle of this crowd.”

  “Really, Jon? We’re in public,” Sara said. “Caston, sweetheart, how are you tonight? Thank you for the invite. It’s so nice to get away from the kids. A night to ourselves – what will we do?”

  “I can think of a few things.” I teased, pulling her in for a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

  She playfully slapped my chest. Sara was a beauty inside and out. Too good for my brother. She was tall, had dark wavy hair, and a beautiful genuine smile. She is an amazing mother to my niece and nephew. My heart still aches for her when I think about our past.

  “Is that all you two think about?” she teased.

  “Yup,” Jon and I said in unison.

  I offered Sara my arm. “As if you can talk, my dear. I bet you can’t wait till this is over with, either.”

  “You know me too well, Cass.” She kissed my cheek, then we turned to walk into the theater with Jon following behind us.

  Each seat had a beautifully printed program tied with a large satin bow. Sitting down, we made small talk about the club and Black Hollywood until the lights went out.

  The first half was opera singers. I tried hard to stay awake. Work had been crazy, and I had been up for over thirty-six hours. Getting a jab in the ribs, just as my eyes started to close, woke me. Shaking myself awake, I opened up the program to read about the next section. I turned to the back. The dance portion of tonight’s performance.

  That’s when I saw her. Her big hazel eyes, her long, wavy brown hair falling over her shoulders, cascading down her back, her pale, creamy skin. Her picture spoke to me. I felt as though her eyes were pulling me to her, and her lips looked delectable. She was my next Hollywood Sweetheart. I could not wait to see her dance. Touching the picture, a shiver went down my spine.

  The music suddenly
changed. I looked up. She didn’t have the typical ballet dancer body. The long muscular legs traveled up to a beautiful ass. The hourglass figure was pure perfection, curves in all the right places. Healthy, not like the stick figure I had seen earlier. Most importantly she had perfect perky breasts. The cleavage poking above her costume made my mouth salivate. Brunette hair, pulled into a tight bun on her head, showed off her long neck. She was absolutely perfect. My cock twitched, I had to meet her.

  Once her face looked out into the crowd, I felt her eyes boring into my soul. I could picture her magazine spread already… Her naked, except for her pointe shoes, shot from the back, highlighting her muscles perfectly with light and shadows. I would also love to do a private picture with her, too. Bound on pointe with her ass in the air. My cock was straining in my tux pants, needing to be released.

  I quickly took out my phone and typed in Sabrina Bennett, next BHS.

  The images in my head were making it unbearably hard to sit still. I quickly looked around to see if I could find Lana, thinking it was probably impossible in the large crowd. Sure enough, I found her staring at me four rows back, biting her lip in contemplation of what she wanted me to do to her, no doubt. She was nothing compared to Sabrina, but she would do for tonight.

  I excused myself to Sara and Jon. As I stood up I caught Lana’s eye, and nodded toward the door, indicating for her to follow me. Reaching the lobby, Lana was on my heels. I walked toward the men’s restroom, and held the door open for her. Locking the door behind me, I turned around to see her already on her knees in front of me, ready and willing to suck me off. As she reached for my zipper, all I could picture was the Sabrina girl’s face. Letting my head fall back onto the door, I closed my eyes and tried to keep going, but Lana was not Sabrina. I could not do this; I tucked myself back into my pants and quickly exited the building. I had to meet my sweetheart, soon.

  Six months later …

  Caston and I met my senior year of college. It was spring of 2012. I was dating Mark Baker. He was the quarterback of State. I always went for the type of guy that was big, strong, and blond. However, my big and strong guys always turned into big, strong jerks. Mark was no exception. He was overbearing and mentally abusive.

  The night I met Caston, Mark and I were at a frat party. I hated them. I was never into the party scene, but Mark loved them, and where he went, I was expected to follow.

  This party felt different. We were seniors this year, and everyone seemed to be psyched that graduation was near. Our football team was ranked number one, and Mark and his buddies got bids to go pro, so they felt they were untouchable.

  Mark was drunker than I had ever seen him that night. “Hey, Bre, get me another beer.”

  “Not right now,” I said tentatively, removing his arm from my waist, trying to get away. He tightened his grip on my wrist. “Ow. You’re hurting me, Mark.”

  Leaning in to my face, he whispered, “You better get me a beer, now, before you regret it. Remember you were nothing before me, you’re no use to any man now, after what happened, and if I decide to leave you, no one will want to be with you. Ever.”

  I sighed and nodded my head, he was right.

  I made my way through the crowd. My head was down, trying to get back to Mark as soon as possible. I hated making eye contact with people, because I felt worthless and ugly. Why Mark was with me I didn’t understand, but he made sure to remind me, every chance he got, that I was the lucky one to have him.

  As I turned the corner I ran right into the back of a man. “Oh, I’m sorry, excuse me,” I said.

  “No reason to be sorry,” he yelled over the music, “it is so crowded in here you are hardly the first person to run into me tonight.”

  Looking up, I came face to face with the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. He had the clearest silver blue eyes, dark black hair that was the perfect length to run your fingers through, and an angular jaw. He was tall, and had great hands that were now resting on my arms. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a white oxford with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His forearms were muscular, adorned with a leather cuff on his right wrist. I wanted to run my hands along his chest and through his hair. Looking into his eyes made my legs feel weak. The electrical current that ran through my body when he touched me made a shiver pass through me, sending a pool of lust into my thong. I smiled shyly, and tried to sneak past him.

  “Hey, wait up,” he said, keeping a light hold on my elbow. He leaned down to my ear. “Can I at least know the name of the only person here who is as sober as I am?”

  His breath felt cool on my hot neck, and it made me shiver. I have never reacted like that to anyone. My mouth went dry, as I thought about how I wanted to turn my head and kiss his delectable lips. Suddenly, I didn’t remember my own name.

  “I’ll go first,” he said, holding out his hand and giving me a smile that made me want to pass out. “I’m Caston. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Sabrina,” I responded without taking his hand. “I really must go. Nice to meet you, Caston.”

  I quickly turned to leave, before he said anything else. His smile made my insides quiver, and I knew I had to get out of there before Mark found me talking to another man, or I did something I might regret.

  “Here.” I shoved the beer into Mark’s chest when I returned, and plopped down next to him on the dirty leather couch, my arms crossed over my chest. I tried to sit as far away from him as I could, but he slid in next to me, draping his arm around my shoulders. I felt sick to my stomach as soon as he touched me; Beth was right when she said it was too soon to go out. Closing my eyes, I tried to breathe slowly to calm myself down, but all I saw were silver blue eyes staring into my soul, and those hands making their way up my legs. I tightened my thighs in response to my dampening panties.

  “Thinking about me?” Mark slurred, and I was harshly brought back to reality.

  “Ugh, no.” I tried to get up, needing air, but he pulled me back onto his lap, grinding into me.

  “Feel me, babe?” His friends just laughed and egged him on. I struggled to get out of his grasp, as I felt the bile rising in my throat, but he pushed me down, pressing my back into the couch. I felt scared. Flashbacks of our fight two months ago racked my mind, and I panicked.

  “Mark, get off me. No! Get off me,” I yelled. The grunts and howls around us made me aware that he wasn’t going to stop. His hands were all over me, and I felt gross. Closing my eyes, I prayed he wouldn’t do this in front of everyone.

  Mark’s hand just started to travel up my leg when, suddenly, he flew off of me. My eyes opened to see what was going on. Everyone was backing up, anticipating a fight that would most definitely break out.

  “I think the lady said no.” It was Caston. Did he know who Mark was? What was he thinking? Mark was bigger than he was.

  “Excuse me, she’s with me. I know what she wants,” Mark yelled.

  I sat up, unsure of what I was seeing.

  “You are drunk. You should step away to clear your head, and leave the lady alone,” Caston said calmly.

  Mark, trying to be the tough guy, repeatedly shoved Caston in the chest. “Do you know who I am? I can do what the fuck I want. She’s with me, so leave us the fuck alone.”

  I couldn’t believe this. Who was this Caston guy? I’d never seen him before today. “The lady said no.” Caston calmly repeated.

  Mark obviously had enough, and punched Caston in the face. The crowd gasped, Mark turned away from Caston, acting so proud of himself for punching him. Caston never flinched. He stood like a stone statue. Mark was staggering back toward me when all of a sudden Caston grabbed Mark and pinned his arms behind his back. He forcefully linked his arm through Mark’s and made him walk over to me. “Tell the lady you’re sorry.”

  “Bullshit, I’m not doing that. Plus she ain’t no lady, fucking whore. Let go of me.” Mark spat, struggling to get out of Caston’s hold.

  I cringed at his words, tears welled up in my eyes.


  “Tell the lady you are sorry, or we are going for a walk.”

  I just stared up at the two men with my mouth open like an idiot.

  “Fuck off.” Mark spit out.

  With that, Caston tugged Mark out the door to the back yard of the frat house. Everyone watched them go, then snapped back to me to see what I was going to do.

  I sat there for what felt like hours, trying to process what just happened. Then scrambling to my feet, I stumbled outside to see Caston talking calmly to an irate Mark in the corner of the yard. Then much to my surprise, Caston started walking back toward the house, and Mark just stood there, not moving.

  “Sabrina, you’ll never be anything without me. You little bitch, whore! Fuck off! We’re done!”

  Frozen in my tracks, my life stopped. What just happened? I sank to the ground and tears started falling uncontrollably. I felt relief wash over me that I was free of Mark, but I was scared. Where was I going to go? What was I going to do? I lived with Mark. I had nothing. I reached into my jeans pocket to grab my phone. I turned it on and went to dial, but realized I had no one to call. Beth was out of town at an art exhibit this weekend, and Mark just dumped me. I have no family, no siblings, and nowhere else to turn. I hung my head, defeated, thinking I was going to have to crawl back to Mark and beg for forgiveness.

  Just then a hand came into my line of sight. I looked up, already knowing who it was offering it to me. Caston looked down at me. The light that filtered down around him made him look like an angel. My angel.

  Caston pulled me up off the damp ground. I stumbled a little, but he caught me and pulled me close. I could feel his hard body beneath his clothes. We were face to face, and all I wanted to do was taste his lips.

  “Are you okay? There was no reason for him to be rude.”

  I looked down, trying to avoiding his eyes. “Oh, I’m used to it. He really doesn’t mean the things he says.”