While It Lasts

by Abbi Glines

“Yeah,” I replied, walking over to her, “Where is she?”

  The lady threw a towel over her shoulder and stepped out from behind the bar, “Come with me.”

  I followed her as she unlocked a door to the left of the bar and stepped into a dark hallway.

  “I put her back here. I ain’t real crazy about bar fights in here. Jeremy told me the calvary was coming and if Eva was dancing on a table you’d tear the place up. So I put her in my office.”

  The lady opened a door at the end of the hall and stood back. “There ya go. I gotta get back out front. Take your time,” she said and turned to walk back down the hall.

  I stepped into the room. One single lamp illuminated the room. Eva lay curled up on the faded sofa in the corner. Her eyes were closed and she looked so peaceful. God, I missed her. I’d held her once when she’d slept like this.

  I closed the door behind me and walked over to her. I bent down in front of her and brushed the curls out of her face. Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheek. I ran my thumb over the soft skin underneath her ear. I’d worried that letting her get too close would break me. Unfortunately, I’d worried about that a little too late. Because I was broken. The Cage I was before Eva no longer existed. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’d fallen in love with her. I’d allowed someone in and she hadn’t wanted me. I hadn’t been good enough. I never was.

  Seeing her sweet, perfect, innocent face only drove the nail in further. I wasn’t good enough for her. She deserved another Josh in her life. She deserved a guy who hadn’t lived a life so fucked up he could never be good enough. I’d walked too close to heaven and gotten a glimpse. The hell I’d lived before her no longer appealed to me.

  I stood up and scooped Eva up in my arms. She cuddled against me. “Cage?” she whispered groggily against my chest.

  “Yeah, I’m here, baby. Go back to sleep. I’ll get you home”

  Eva

  I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. I was at home. In my bed. But I didn’t remember going to bed. It was still dark outside. Glancing at the clock it said that is was four in the morning. A glass of water and a bottle of aspirin sat on the bedside table with a small note.

  You may need to take another aspirin when you wake up. Drink the water too. ALL of it.

  Cage. I could smell him on my shirt. Jumping up I ran to the window and looked down at the barn. Was he in there?

  I started to run for the stairs and I caught a whiff of the cigarette smell on my clothes. I stripped down and quickly got a shower. I had to wash off the stench of the bar.

  After I was clean and dressed, I ran down to the barn. I didn’t knock on his door. Instead, I opened it slowly. The moonlight streaming in the window fell over Cage’s sleeping form. My heart soared. He’d come to get me. He’d brought me home.

  Cage’s eyes opened and he stared at me. I knew I needed to say something but just seeing him here and knowing he’d come back for me clogged my throat with emotion.

  “What’re you doing, Eva?” His voice didn’t sound angry. It sounded defeated.

  “I woke up and I was at home. Then I saw your note and I came to see if you were here,” I stammered out. I didn’t want him to make me leave.

  “I’m here. Now go back to bed,” he replied.

  “Cage, please talk to me. I miss you.” I hadn’t meant to sound so pathetic but I couldn’t help it. He’d come for me. I needed to know why. He had to feel something for me. I didn’t want to be just another girl he’d enjoyed and thrown to the side. Being with him had meant something to me. He meant something to me.

  Cage let out a weary sigh and sat up. The covers fell away and his bare chest made me almost forget what I wanted to say.

  “You can’t say shit like that, Eva. It isn’t fair.”

  “How is it not fair to tell you how I feel? It isn’t fair that you just dropped me as soon as you got bored. You just went off and screwed some slut with no problem.”

  Cage’s head snapped up. The angry scowl on his face startled me. “What? I didn’t drop you because I got bored. You. Rejected. Me! And fuck that, Eva. ALL I saw while I was with them was you. I closed my fucking eyes and pictured you. Just— you.”

  He’d been thinking about me. Was I mentally screwed up because hearing him say that made it better? I hated he had been with other girls but just knowing it was hard on him and he’d thought of me eased the pain some. I’d started this. My stupid need to please Josh’s mom. He’d have never done it had I not brushed him off. All of this heartache just because Josh’s mother had made me feel guilty.

  “I was confused,” I admitted.

  Cage let out a hard laugh. “Yeah, well I wasn’t.”

  I took a step toward him and he shook his head. “Don’t come closer.”

  “Please, listen to me. Let me explain.”

  He ran a hand through his dark hair and I could see the internal battle in his expression. I needed to talk while I had him weak.

  “I made a mistake. I listened to someone else who knew nothing about you. I let my fears get the best of me and I made a very, very bad mistake.”

  Cage dropped his hand back to his lap and his sad eyes met mine. “But you listened. Something Josh’s mother said made sense to you. As much as I hate to admit it she was probably right. You were right to back away.”

  He’d already figured out who had talked to me and he called her Josh’s mom, not Jeremy’s. He was making this about Josh.

  “No, Cage. No, I wasn’t.”

  “Yeah, Eva, you were. I’m not the good guy. I’m not the guy you could ever tell your daddy about. You would be embarrassed to let people in this small town know you’d gone from the great and mighty Josh Beasley to the loser Cage York. You deserve a Josh Beasley.”

  My heart broke as I watched the self -loathing on Cage’s face. I hated myself for putting it there. He wasn’t Josh. He was nothing like Josh. He was more.

  “Cage, please don’t,” I begged, closing the distance between us.

  He backed away and I grabbed his face with my hands and covered his lips with mine. He didn’t respond at first. When I straddled his lap and crawled on top of him he caved. His hands slid up the backs of my legs as he slipped his tongue in my mouth and began kissing me back.

  The groan that tore from his chest made me a little crazy. I wanted this so badly. I needed to feel close to him again. I reached for the bottom of my shirt and pulled it off ignoring Cage’s protest. I grabbed his face again, pressing my bare chest against his. The cold barbell tickled my nipple and I shivered.

  I tasted him the way he always tasted me. Kissing each corner of his mouth, I nipped at his bottom lip and pulled his tongue into my mouth sucking it hard. When his hands cupped my breasts I cried out and pressed down on him. His erection put pressure on my swollen heat. Tonight that wasn’t enough. I needed to be closer. I’d almost lost him. I needed more.

  I pushed him until he fell back on the mattress underneath me. Seeing him staring up at me with those eyes that reflected what I was feeling sent any doubt from my mind. I stood up and started taking off my shorts.

  “Eva, don’t… ah fuck,” Cage groaned as I stepped out of my panties and crawled back on top of him. I pulled the covers down so I could take his boxers off and his erection sprang free instead. Cage slept naked. Reaching down I took him in my hands and slid my hands down his silky warm texture.

  Cage let out a low moan, “Ahhhh, Eva you don’t want to do this,” he said in a hoarse desperate plea.

  Yes, I did. I wanted to do this more than I wanted to breathe.

  I slid my hands up his chest and lowered my body over his. Keeping my legs on each side of his hips I closed my eyes in pure pleasure as his erection jerked against my wet opening.

  I’d never done this but I’d read enough to know it would be difficult to do this my first time with me on top. I needed him to take over. I slid over him several times causing him to curse and grab the sheet under him in a death grip.

&n
bsp; “Cage, I want you inside me. I want you to make love to me,” I whispered against his ear and he trembled underneath me. It was a powerful feeling and I loved it.

  Cage moaned and grabbed my waist. He pulled my chest closer to his mouth. When my nipple dangled in front of him he reached up and covered it with his mouth. Crying out I pressed his head closer to me. I wanted more.

  He bit down gently on my nipple and my body felt a zing shoot through it.

  “Yes, please,” I begged. He let it pop out of his mouth before moving to the next breast and doing the same thing to it. I began rocking back and forth. The more he sucked the better it got.

  Cage shifted his hips and I froze when the head of his erection entered me. Closing my eyes I wanted to warn him but it felt so good I couldn’t find words.

  “Fuck baby, you’re so damn tight,” he groaned as his hands grabbed my hips and held me still. I pressed down and the pain from the stretching was exciting.

  “Stop. Don’t. I ‘ll hurt you. Please. Just give me a minute. I need to do this easy,” his breathing was labored and his words choppy.

  I let him ease me down lower and I cried out as the pain intensified. He stilled.

  “Eva?” he asked in a pained voice. Was I hurting him too? Was I too tight?

  “Yeah?” God, please don’t let him stop.

  “You’re a virgin.”

  I swallowed nervously, “Yeah.”

  “Oh, hell,” he groaned and began sliding back out of me.

  “No, don’t please,” I begged as he lifted me off him.

  He flipped me on my back and he stared down at me. “I want this. So help me God, I don’t deserve this but I want it so fucking bad. Are. You. Sure?” His face was so torn. I reached up and cupped his face rubbing my thumb across his cheekbone.

  “Yes. Please, Cage. This is what I want,” I replied.

  He closed his eyes and let out a jagged breath. “Okay.” He settled between my legs holding himself over me. “I’ve never been with a virgin, Eva. I’m going to try real hard not to hurt you.”

  “Will it hurt you?” I asked, thinking about his pained expression when he’d said I was too tight.

  He smiled, “It’s going to be the closest to heaven I’ll ever get, baby.”

  Oh. My.

  I watched his face as he eased inside me. As I stretched to fit him the pain didn’t bother me. Seeing the pleasure on Cage’s face as he sank deeper inside me made me want to buck against him. I loved knowing I could make him feel this good.

  He came to a stop and his eyes bored into me, “This is the part that will hurt. I’m gonna do it quick and then I’ll be still until you get used to it.”

  “Okay.”

  Cage closed his eyes tightly and pressed hard into me and a sharp pain inside took my breath away. He buried his face in my neck and began raining kisses in all my soft spots while whispering how good I felt.

  “I’m in and you’re so warm and tight. It’s like a damn glove, baby.”

  Hearing him tell me how it felt for him made my pleasure come back in full force. I wanted him to move. Lifting my hips he rocked deeper into me.

  “Oh, God, Eva,” he groaned as he slid slowly out then back inside.

  I lifted my legs up to cup his hips and he let out an approving groan of pleasure.

  “That’s perfect. You’re perfect,” he panted.

  I didn’t want this to end.

  His breathing became more ragged as his arms flexed with each thrust.

  “Fuck, baby, you’re so damn tight,” he moaned.

  I lifted to meet each thrust needing something. I needed more. I couldn’t get enough.

  Cage growled and pulled out of me.

  “No, don’t,” I cried as he spread my legs and buried his face between them. The first lick of his tongue against me sent me soaring. I heard my scream of pleasure and Cage’s name rip from my chest as I bucked wildly against his face. He let out a loud moan as he continued.

  He slowed down and finally lifted his head. As incredible as that had been, I’d been enjoying having him inside me.

  “Why did you stop?”

  He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and he crawled back up beside me. “I wasn’t wearing a condom. I’ve never forgotten before. I’ve always had one on. Always. I didn’t realize it until I was ready to explode inside you. I had to get out.

  “So you didn’t…” I trailed off; hating that once again he hadn’t gotten off.

  He chuckled, “Oh no, I did. A fucking load.”

  Frowning, I turned to look up at him.

  “I’m gonna need to change the sheets,” he explained.

  “Oh,” I replied. I wanted to do it again and I wanted him to get off inside me. “Do you have a condom?” I asked, shifting so I could touch his pierced nipple.

  “I always have a condom,” he replied.

  Smiling up at him I kissed his barbell, “How long until you can do it again?”

  He raised both eyebrows in surprise, “It ain’t about me. I can do it right now but you’re going to be sore,” he ran his thumb over my bottom lip, “because you were so incredibly fucking tight. I swear Eva, nothing has ever compared to that.”

  “I’m not sore,” I assured him, shifting my hips so I could straddle him.

  “Yeah, you are. Just wait, in the morning you’ll feel it.”

  Pouting, I sat back and crossed my arms under my breasts. His eyes zeroed in on them and I had a hard time not smiling. “When will we get to do it again?”

  Cage leaned up on his elbows and his eyes locked with mine. “Any damn time you want to. I’m all yours.” He smirked, “If you keep pouting I’m gonna decide your being sore can be dealt with in other ways.”

  Curious I leaned over him, “What does that mean?”

  He pressed a kiss to the top of one of my breasts, “It means I will just kiss it and make it better.”

  Chapter Twenty- Two

  Cage

  Eva woke me up an hour before dawn kissing my chest and sliding her hand up and down my very awake cock.

  “Mmmm,” I moaned reaching down to pull her closer so I could press her wonderfully swollen lips to mine. “This is the way to wake up,” I whispered before slipping my tongue into her eager mouth.

  Eva threw her leg over my hips and straddled me.

  “What ya doin’, baby?” I asked as she leaned up until the head of my dick was penetrating her. “Whoa! Hold up,” I reached for the extra condom I’d left on the bedside table last night, just in case. “We need to use this.”

  “Can I do it?” she asked with a wicked grin on her face.

  “Oh, yeah,” I replied handing the small packet to her.

  She ripped it open with her teeth, which was sexy as hell. Then she rolled it down slowly causing my cock to jerk anxiously under her touch. Once she had it firmly in place, she sat up and sank down on it in one thrust. We both cried out and bucked in unison.

  I watched in wonder as Eva slowly opened her eyes and gazed down at me with pure pleasure glittering in her eyes. I’d never get tired of this. Of her. I’d never get enough. I gripped her waist and guided her as she rode me driving us both closer and closer to the edge.

  Just before I lost myself inside her, my mouth opened and I couldn’t hold back the words hammering in my head with each beat of my heart.

  “I love you.”

  When I stepped out of the shower my sheets were gone. If I hadn’t shot my load on them I’d have wanted to keep them. They smelled like sex and Eva. I grabbed a towel and dried my hair. Then I wrapped the towel around my waist. I’d been worried about making Eva sore but damned if she hadn’t made me sore.

  After last night, Eva owned me. I pushed the fear away that came with that knowledge. Before I thought she’d broken me but now she had the power to absolutely destroy me. Sex had always been a release for me. Nothing more than a pleasurable pastime. What we’d done had been so much more than sex.

  A sharp knock on the
barn door snapped me out of my happy thoughts.

  “Yeah?” I called out.

  The door swung open and Wilson came storming inside with murder on his face. It didn’t take much for me to figure out I was the one he was ready to kill. Somehow— he knew.

  He pointed his finger in my face, “You touched something you had no business touching, boy. She ain’t one of your little sluts. She’s a good girl who has had one helluva year. I ought to put a bullet through your head and bury you in the yard,” he ranted and shook his finger at me. “But I ain’t. I’ve called Mack. I’ve told him that you worked hard here this summer and that you should be let off for your DUI and allowed back on the team. I didn’t tell him you’ve been banging my little girl. It took all my will power not to grab my shot gun and come blow your fucking balls off when I drove up to see Eva walking out of here at sunrise with her arms full of YOUR SHEETS!”

  Had Eva seen him? Was she okay? Why hadn’t she called or texted me to warn me?

  “You will pack your bags and walk out to that little car of yours and drive away. You won’t tell her bye. You won’t even look her way. If you so much as blink an eye in her direction I will make sure you lose everything. I know all about your situation. You want a future then you can’t lose your education. If you want to keep it then you’ll walk. Don’t kid yourself boy, if you think you can choose my daughter instead, you’ll never have her. I’ll go get that gun and I’ll put an end to it that way. You hear me?”

  He wanted me to walk away from her? How the fuck was I supposed to walk away from her? I couldn’t leave her.

  “I won’t leave her.”

  “The hell you won’t. You won’t ever have her. I can pick up the phone right now and take away your world.”

  Baseball was the only way that I would get a college education. I wouldn’t have another chance. I’d be working in a bar somewhere making minimum wage and tips for the rest of my life. Eva deserved more than that. She deserved a man who could take care of her. But fuck if I was just going to leave her. I couldn’t do that. I may not be good enough for her but I was gonna damn well try my hardest to become worthy.