by Lynn Hagen
I knew exactly how Cage would teach me a lesson. Mr. Fancy’s eyes were filled with glee. I wanted to spit in his face and race from the room, but his office was on the third floor and I’d have to get through too many henchmen to escape.
I was doomed.
“I expect a thorough punishment. Brutal,” Mr. Fancy said to Cage. “I’ll send the next man in here in about half an hour.”
I gripped the arms of the chair as Mr. Fancy strolled from the room, and jerked when he slammed the door closed. The room was deathly quiet. My breath froze in my lungs as I waited for Cage to attack me.
When he didn’t move, I chanced a glance his way. Cage’s posture was relaxed as he stared at the closed door.
“I-If you’re gonna do it, get it over with.” I couldn’t believe I’d been brave enough to utter those words, but there was no way out for me, and I wanted to get my punishment over with.
Cage finally stepped away from the wall. He moved around my chair, making me jump as he perched his butt on the edge of Mr. Fancy’s desk. “Why’d you borrow the money?”
His question threw me. “Why do you care?”
His pretty blue-gray eyes narrowed. “Just answer the question, Sammy.”
Only my mother had called me Sammy. Everyone else called me Sam or Samuel. Cage calling me that made this feel too intimate, as if he knew me on a more personal level.
“I’m in my last semester at school. I work two jobs, but”—I shook my head, tears gathering in my eyes—“I couldn’t make enough to cover costs.”
“So you went to a loan shark?” Cage sounded surprised and disgusted. “You couldn’t find another way to pay for your last semester?”
“I exhausted every avenue.” I had. I’d thought of asking my parents, but they didn’t have five grand lying around. The bank wouldn’t give me the money, and those legal loan places laughed me out their doors. “Trust me. I didn’t want to do it, but I’d worked too hard to drop out now.”
Why did Cage even care? He worked for a disreputable scumbag. Shouldn’t he be a piece of shit, too? But those blue-gray eyes were filled with compassion and concern. He looked like he really cared about why I’d borrowed the money.
“Guys like you shouldn’t be punished for defaulting on your loan.” Cage shook his head. “Still, it was a very dumb move.”
His judgmental attitude pissed me off. “Like you care,” I snapped. “Guys like you don’t know what it’s like to struggle just to get by or what it means to sacrifice.”
Cage’s nostrils flared as his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line. “You have no idea the sacrifices I’ve made.”
“Then don’t sit there and judge me,” I retorted. “Just get my punishment over with.”
I squealed when Cage flew off the desk and yanked me from my chair, the front of my shirt scrunched in his fist. “Is that what you really want, for me to bend you over this desk and fuck your tight little ass?”
That wasn’t what I wanted, but the way Cage growled those words turned me on. I had to be mental to even think of what he’d just described, but my body pulsed with need at his closeness, at how good he smelled, at the way his eyes filled with fire.
And then he whispered into my ear, “This room is probably bugged, so be careful what you say.”
Why the hell was he warning me? I squished my eyebrows together as I tilted my head to the side. What was going on? Cage was one of the bad guys, right? He’d lured me to Mr. Fancy’s office, yet now he was acting like he truly cared. Was this part of the torture? Giving me hope before he viciously ripped it away? I had no idea since I’d never been in this kind of situation before.
I slowly nodded as I looked around the room, then stared back at Cage, suspicious of his sudden kindness. He’d fooled me once already, and I didn’t want to trust him again. The weird thing was, and I was probably thinking this in a desperate hope, Cage didn’t seem like the type of guy who would work for Mr. Fancy. Unlike the other goons I’d seen in the hallway, his eyes weren’t flat and devoid of compassion. Anger, yeah, but they weren’t soulless.
I was startled when his hand slid down my side. I couldn’t stop my body from reacting to his touch, from shivering as I forced the moan to stay trapped in my throat. His lips were still close to my ear, his warm breath caressing my cheek.
“I can help you get out of here, but you’ll have to do exactly as I say.”
I wanted to sigh with relief, but I still didn’t trust Cage. What was his motive for helping me? But I had nothing to lose besides my life, so I grabbed on to the lifeline he was throwing me and prayed I wasn’t making another huge mistake. “O-okay.”
“We don’t have much time.” Cage released me. He glanced toward the window, then back at me. “I have no fucking idea why I’m risking this for you,” he murmured.
I didn’t know, either. But I was eternally grateful, especially now that I knew this wasn’t some cruel game, that he really would help me escape. “Even if we get out of here,” I whispered, “I’ll have to drop out of school and go into hiding.”
All that hard work would be wasted. Worse, I wouldn’t even be able to get a job as a social worker to help pay back my student loans. I would be in a worse financial situation than I was already in.
“That’s part of those sacrifices you mentioned,” Cage snarled. “But trust me. Giving up school is a much better alternative than what Mr. Fancy has in mind for you.”
I didn’t want to think what that could be. With his reputation, I’d end up in one of his whorehouses, strung out on drugs and lost to the world.
“What do you have in mind?” When Cage went to the window and eased it open, my eyes bugged as I stared incredulously at him. “We’re on the third floor,” I whispered loudly. “What do you want me to do, jump?”
Honestly, I would. I’d risk breaking every bone in my body if that meant getting away from Mr. Fancy’s cruelty. But thinking that and actually doing it were two different things. I’d more than likely pass out before I even got a foot out the window.
“There’s a fire escape.” Cage waved me to the window. I hurried over and stuck my head out. My stomach dropped at how far down the ground was. One wrong step and my brains would be scrambled.
Cage slid out of the window first. The fire escape was to our right. He stood on the ledge with determination in his eyes. I, on the other hand, wanted to faint. I was deathly afraid of heights. Just looking at the ground below made me break out into a cold sweat.
Cage moved along the ledge, then swung onto the fire escape with ease. He looked back at me. “You can do it, Sammy.”
I jerked my head around when I heard voices outside the office door. It sounded as if people were arguing. My time was running out, and if I was going to escape, I needed to get my ass moving.
“Sammy,” Cage quietly called. “You have to go, now.”
I blew out a few breaths, smashed my eyes closed and tried to psych myself into doing this. My heart felt like it would burst from my chest any second as I opened my eyes. With a nod to myself, I gripped the windowpane and slid onto the ledge. I clung to the bricks, but my feet refused to move. How had Cage maneuvered so easily?
Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Even staring straight ahead, I felt dizzy and my stomach churned. My limbs tingled and my chest tightened as I tried to slide my feet toward the fire escape.
“Don’t look down.” Cage’s voice was soft, soothing, parroting my thoughts. “Just concentrate on me, Sammy.”
I was seconds away from climbing back into the window, but I thought about the cruelty Mr. Fancy would inflict on me, so I forced my feet to shuffle across the ledge.
“You’re doing great. Just keep moving. That’s it, Sammy.” Cage’s voice guided me to the fire escape. I reached for the metal railing but lost my balance. I would have plummeted to my death if his hand hadn’t caught my wrist.
I couldn’t help the shout as I dangled midair. The only thing between me and death was Cage’
s strong grip. He pulled me up and over the metal railing, and I fell into his body, clinging to him for dear life as I forced myself not to sob.
His hand skimmed down my back. “You’re okay, Sammy.”
The feel of his body against mine, his voice, and his soothing words helped to calm my galloping heart.
“We have to keep moving.” He pulled away, grabbed my hand, and led me down the steps until our feet hit the ground. I had no idea where we were going and I didn’t ask.
As long as it was as far from Mr. Fancy as possible, I’d go anywhere with Cage, even to the opposite side of the planet.
He led me to a piece-of-crap car. It was riddled with rust, the windshield was cracked, and the hubcaps were missing. When I got into the passenger seat, I noticed a funny smell. But did I care? Fuck no. I gladly sat there as Cage pulled away.
* * * *
We rode in silence across town. That was fine by me. My nerves were shot to hell anyway.
Cage pulled into a parking lot at the side of a four-story apartment building. “This is a safe house we use. You should be fine here until I figure out this mess.”
Safe house? Who was we? I prayed I hadn’t jumped from the frying pan into the fire. I was still seven kinds of confused about Cage helping me in the first place. What henchman risked his life for someone he didn’t even know? This all seemed kind of shady to me, but I was already in deep enough trouble, and Cage seemed like a better alternative than Mr. Fancy.
I hoped.
We climbed four flights of stairs, then Cage moved toward the end of the hallway and pulled a key from his front pocket. He opened the door and I stepped into the sparsely furnished apartment.
When Cage closed the door and engaged the locks, my heart started thundering again. I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What’s going on? Why’d you risk helping me?”
Cage tucked the key back into his front pocket. He studied me for a moment, his blue-gray eyes piercing as he shook his head. “I have no damn idea.”
That wasn’t comforting. What if he changed his mind and handed me back over? I had to get out of there, had to make a run for it. I spun and tried to unlock the door, but Cage used his muscled body to press me against it. His hands shackled my wrists as he growled into my ear, “That’s the thanks I get for fucking everything up and rescuing you?”
“I didn’t ask you to rescue me!” I wiggled against his hard body, my ass grazing over his groin. I felt how hard he was, but instead of being terrified, I kept pushing my ass against him.
Cage growled. “So, what, you want me to take you back?”
“No!” I struggled to get my wrists free, but his hands were like vises. “I’m just scared. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“You don’t need to know,” Cage said into my ear. “You just need to keep your ass in this apartment until I figure things out.”
My breathing became labored. His closeness was playing havoc with my body. I was in a dicey situation, yet my dick was rock-hard. I whimpered as I tugged at my wrists again, but Cage refused to let me go.
“I’m not gonna lie.” His lips skimmed over my neck. “The thought of fucking you against this door is turning me on.”
It was turning me on, too. “But you handed me over to Mr. Fancy,” I reminded him.
“A mistake I regret.” Cage nipped my earlobe. “But I thought you were another piece of scum.”
“And now?” I swallowed roughly, pressing my ass harder into his groin, loving how good it felt.
“Now I know you were just a misguided boy who wanted to do something worthy with that money.” Cage pressed forward, his hard dick grinding into my backside, making me pant for what he had trapped in his jeans. “I couldn’t let him punish you for that.”
Instead, Cage was punishing me with his teasing. I was getting worked up, and if Cage pulled away, I probably would scream in frustration. Whereas Mr. Fancy was an ugly mutt, Cage was so damn good-looking that my teeth ached to take a bite of him.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Sammy.” Cage released one of my wrists to squeeze my ass. I wasn’t sure if he was talking about borrowing the money or wantonly throwing myself at him. At the moment, I didn’t care.
I gasped and moaned as Cage’s hand glided over my ass. “You’re the one who has me pressed against the door.”
“That’s because you tried to take off.” Cage slid his hands down the back of my pants, and his finger teased my crack. I jutted my ass, silently begging for his finger to slip inside my aching hole.
“You want to get fucked, don’t you, Sammy?” His finger pressed against my hole but didn’t breach it. “You want to feel my hard dick pounding inside of you, don’t you?”
I gasped at the image. It was too naughty for words. “Yessss,” I hissed.
“You’re going to be my fucking undoing,” Cage growled. He unfastened my pants and let them drop to my ankles. “Don’t you dare move, Sammy. If you run, you won’t like the results.”
With my dick hanging free, I had no plans on going anywhere. I was so horny, so needy that I was ready to jack off to relieve the pressure.
Cage walked away. I stood there with my hands braced against the door, panting heavily. Moments later he returned. I looked over my shoulder and my jaw dropped.
He was completely naked, his thick cock hard as fuck. In one hand he held a small bottle of lube and a condom. My gaze swung the length of his leanly muscled body and I started to drool.
Cage spun me around and slid his hand over my chest, tweaking one of my nipples. “First, I want you to suck my dick, Sammy.”
“And then?” My voice was a little too enthusiastic.
He smirked, and unlike Mr. Fancy’s smirk, Cage’s was downright sexy. “Then I’m gonna bend you over and fuck you crazy.”
That wicked promise had me pulling my shirt off. I bunched it under my knees for a cushion when I lowered myself. Cage palmed his dick as I licked my lips and moved closer. “That’s it, Sammy. Suck me good.”
I parted my lips and teased the crown, lashing my tongue at the slit that was leaking a good amount of pre-cum. The salty flavor made me moan as I licked down his length.
“Goddamn it, Sammy. Don’t you dare tease me.” He gripped my hair, forcing me to stay still as he fed me his cock. I rested my hands against his corded thighs, greedily taking him to the root.
Never had I been this turned-on when it came to sucking dick. Cage’s taste alone drove me wild. I couldn’t believe I was so ramped up over a thug. That wasn’t me. Normally I went for the thin-and-nerdy type, but there was something about surviving death that made me want to feel alive.
And Cage definitely made me feel alive.
His cock popped from between my lips as he clenched his jaw. “That feels fucking fantastic, but it’s not how I want to come.”
I actually laughed as he pulled me to my feet and moved me over to the battered couch. It was kind of hard to walk with my pants around my ankles, but I managed and Cage held on to me, making sure I didn’t fall over.
“Take those pants off.”
I happily did as he said. I still wasn’t sure what would happen to me after we’d gotten sex out of the way, but I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. The only images in my mind were of Cage pounding into my ass and me begging for more.
I climbed onto the couch and got onto my hands and knees, damn near falling over the side. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as Cage’s wet fingers slid inside my ass. Pure heaven.
“When’s the last time you had sex?” Cage’s fingers stretched me wide, making it almost impossible to think. “You’re so damn tight.”
I wasn’t about to tell him I’d been with only one other guy, and between our schedules, bouts of sex were rare. “A while,” I managed as my fingers dug into the cushions.
The condom wrapper crinkled before Cage climbed in behind me. He placed one hand on my shoulder as the tip of his dick kissed my hole. As he inched his way in, I strangled the couc
h with my fingers, biting my bottom lip.
Having Cage take things slow instead of throwing me over Mr. Fancy’s desk and pounding into me turned out to be a blessing. I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to handle hard and fast. It felt like Cage had a big dick because the burn nearly drove me insane.
He kept his hand resting on my shoulder as he pulled back, then started to fuck me in earnest. I couldn’t stop from shouting in pleasure, from begging him to fuck me harder.
And Cage gave me exactly what I screamed for. Both his hands were now on my shoulders, pulling me back as he slammed into my ass. My cock rubbed against the couch, but that wasn’t enough friction for me to get off.
“Damn, Sammy. Your ass feels like heaven squeezing my dick.” He released his right hand from my shoulder, then reached around and grabbed my cock, which he stroked with the same strength he was using to fuck me silly.
Fingers of pleasure raced up my spine. I thrust backward, meeting his demands as he drove forward. He fucked me so hard my teeth rattled and it felt as if my brain came unhinged.
“Cage!” My orgasm swept me under, shaking me to my bones as my body exploded into a thousand starbursts. Holy fuck! I’d never come that hard in my life.
“Sammy!” Cage’s fingers dug into my skin as he drove deep, then grunted his release. He pulled out of me, then dropped onto the cushion as I fell onto the arm and dangled there, boneless.
* * * *
I must’ve fallen asleep. When I opened my eyes, Cage stood by the kitchen with his phone pressed to his ear. He was also fully dressed. A blanket was draped over me.
Then someone came from the kitchen, coffee mug in hand. He glanced at me as I stared at him. Who the hell was this guy? Did he work for Mr. Fancy, too?
Unnerved at the stranger’s presence, I wrapped the blanket around me and sat up. Cage looked my way but kept talking.
“Yes, sir.” Pause. “I understand. But I was caught between a rock and a—” Cage frowned. “What was I supposed to do, sir?”