Page 2 of Harboring Shantae

Disappointment crashed through her. Shantae expected the rejection, but still, it hurt.

"Those rumors were never found to be true and you will take care not to bring them up in front of the Harris family when they arrive for after-dinner cocktails."

“They’re coming here ...” Shantae choked out. “Tonight?”

“That is what I said, isn’t it?”

“But what about ...”

Her father cut her off with a stern look and his sharp tongue. “There will not be another word about rumors coming from your mouth. Do I make myself clear?”

Her father couldn't be serious. If it were just one rumor, she could maybe see her father looking the other way.

Actually, no. Any father who cared even a morsel about their flesh and blood wouldn't consider the prospect after hearing one rumor, let alone the half dozen that were being talked about when it came to Zion Harris.

Shantae clamped her mouth shut for now. It would do her no good to continue the conversation while her father was in his current mood. Nothing she said would change his mind, and the more she argued, the harder he would dig in. Shantae feared if she pushed him too far, he would do something drastic. Like locking her in his house to ensure she complied. That wouldn't do. She needed the little freedom she had. She needed a plan. One that wasn't conceived while she was sitting down to dinner with her parents. Maybe she could appeal to Zion. She heard he liked his women docile. Just maybe if she explained she would be anything but, he would be the one to call it off.

One look at Zion’s leering gaze when he and his family showed up thirty minutes later shot that plan to hell. Introductions were made and Shantae could see how Zion got his reputation. He, nor his father, had any regard for women. Zion’s mother stood behind them, head down, and only looked up or spoke when she was given permission. She wore long sleeves and a scarf around her neck despite the warm temperature outside. Every part of Shantae was screaming at her. Something wasn’t right.

"Zion." Her father's tone had her snapping her back straight. "Why don't you take Shantae out onto the terrace so the two of you can get better acquainted before the public announcement."

"It would be my pleasure." Even his voice sounded slimy at the prospect of them alone together.

With one last-ditch effort, Shantae looked around the room for help, but no one would look her way. Their fathers were already discussing something else. Her mother wore a bland expression as she cast her gaze toward a painting across the room. And Zion's mother didn't bother to lift her head, but Shantae could see the way she fiddled with the hem of her sleeve.

"Come along, darling."

She was propelled forward, Zion's hand pressing firmly into her back until she was standing outside in the heat. Every hair on her neck stood even taller when the sound of the doors clicking shut were as deafening as a gunshot going off next to her ear.

Shantae gathered her courage and whipped around to give him a piece of her mind about him closing them outside alone, but stopped dead when she got a good look at his face.

One word. Evil. That was the only way to describe the menacing scowl twisted on his face as he stalked her way.

"A bit of advice," he snarled. "When you are given an order, you follow it immediately. Otherwise, you won't like the consequences."

Shantae wasn't sure what came over her, but she had enough. She was tired of people thinking they could order her around and control her life. It was the only excuse for what came out of her mouth next.

"Go to hell, Zion," she seethed. "There's no way I'm going to marry a man who thinks he can threaten me the first night we meet. I would rather die than spend my life with you."

She was too pissed off to notice the excitement in his eyes until it was too late. She went to push past him but was stopped with a crushing grasp to her wrist.

"I'm going to enjoy breaking you." His disgusting breath fanned the side of her face. They were standing shoulder to shoulder, her caught by his punishing hand that would surely leave a bruise on her dark skin. Maybe even snap her delicate bone. "I'm going to rip you apart with my cock on our wedding night and marvel as you scream and beg me to stop. I'm going to do all of this knowing that there is nothing you can do to stop it. You better get used to it."

He shoved her hand away, and for the first time since she stepped out onto the terrace, she took a deep breath. She was too stunned to speak or do anything besides rub her aching wrist. With a quick glance inside, she prayed someone witnessed something but her hopes dashed when she realized no one paid them any attention.

As if Zion could read her thoughts, he laughed. "No one's going to help you. Your fate is sealed, and you now belong to me.”

That got her moving. She threw the glass doors open and rushed inside. With mumbled apologies about not feeling well and the need to lie down, she left her parents' house and didn't look back. She would deal with the consequences later. Right now, she needed to be alone. To think. To replay everything that happened.

Before the Harris family arrived, it had been the same as all her other forced dinner invitations. Her father laid out her upcoming obligations for his campaign. The events she would attend and the speeches she would need to give to show her undying support. The only change was her engagement announcement and the ball which she would publicly attend on Zion's arm to cement the agreement between the two families. The whole discussion made her sick to her stomach.

She drove home thinking she had three days before the announcement and a week and a half before the ball to find a way out of what she now knew would be a death sentence.

She would not marry Zion Harris, no matter what. Hell would freeze over before she would willingly say yes to that man. Not after what he just said to her. But she needed help. She wasn't too proud to admit that.

It was clear her mother wasn't going to help her, and Shantae didn't have any friends left. After her grandparents died and she was forced to move to D.C., she lost contact with her old friends. They tried staying in touch but her parents and her job kept her so busy that it would be weeks before she could respond to them until the time came that people stopped texting her altogether. And there was no way she would call the ones she made hereclose friends.

Everyone in this damn town was only looking to climb the social ladder. They would stab a person in the back for a couple of bucks or a promise of a better position. Shantae was forced to learn early on to keep her enemies close, and never show how smart she really was.