CAGED
SHANNA EHRLICH
Contributions by Brittany Aldana
Contents
Copyright
Part 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Part 2
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
CAGED
Published by Cage Industries LLC
Copyright © 2016 by SHANNA EHRLICH
Contributions by BRITTANY ALDANA
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever, without written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author and contributors are not affiliated with any brands, companies, lyrics, or artists mentioned in this book.
Caged references the following public domain Bible versus: 1 Peter 4:8; Revelation 12:14; 1 Corinthians 15
Front cover images: Adobe Stock
Digital ISBN: 978-0-9976888-1-8
Print ISBN: 978-0-9976888-0-1
Part One
“I call him the devil cause he makes me want to sin, and every time he knocks, I can’t help but let him in”
Author unknown
One
A Look Ahead
Thick drapes covered the large bay window, but the bright, mid-morning sun found a crack to sneak in through, bathing the room in merely a soft glow.
Annie blinked open heavy eyes, letting them flutter several times before taking in her surroundings: a mahogany bar in the corner, a hall off to the right, crown moldings along the ceiling contrasting the dark walls. She didn’t recognize a single thing. This wasn’t her house and it wasn’t the hotel room she’d been staying in the past week while vacationing in New York. The memory of her location tugged at the back of her mind, but the overwhelming need to sleep was almost enough to make her forget.
She was curled up on top of a plush mattress with a thick comforter cocooning her above the soft sheets; at least a thousand thread count if she had to guess. Cuddling in she squeezed the muscular arm draped over her mid section and smirked to herself, finally adjusting to her disorientation.
Unconsciously he brought her closer, pulling her back flush against his chest. His chin rested above her shoulder and she could feel his soft, subtle breaths breeze the side of her neck. God he felt good. Always did. She wanted him to hold her forever. He was her everything. It was an insane thought to have after a week of knowing someone, but didn’t make it any less true. And that’s the really fucked up part. Nothing in her life seemed to matter; at least not when he was around. When she stepped away, she could see her insanity for what it was, unhealthy and ideological, but when they were together, all of that went away. Poof. He gave her exactly what she needed, the chance to be herself, to embrace her darkest thoughts without guilt or remorse. He made her feel normal, though she was still sane enough to see nothing they did was normal.
With Brax it was always like a dream. Like she was hovering above watching herself do every crazy, wild thing she ever thought of doing without fear of the repercussions. It was enlightening, exciting, fun, every great adjective you could think of, but at some point the dream had to end. It was inevitable. She’d probably hate herself for it in the future. Would wish she could will the dream back to life, but if it ended now, it would never be the same again. This she knew for a fact. If she left, he would hate her. Knowing Brax, that’s actually a tame word for how he would feel. Loathe, abhor, detest, those were more accurate descriptions, and he’d never let her go, not if he could see it coming. She had to leave now. Her heart protested, but her mind knew better. She couldn’t stay there with him. Couldn’t leave her perfect life behind to spend the rest of her days with a murderer. Not that she was much better, but she could always pretend. She was good at pretending.
Breathing in once, twice, an attempt to calm her nerves, she rolled to her back, hoping to leave without him waking, but his arm was still heavy on top of her. She began to slide with gentle ease toward the edge of the bed, bit by bit, when he suddenly stirred. Annie froze, holding in her breath, careful not to move a muscle.
After a minute of lying still she attempted her escape again, sliding further to the side, letting her left leg fall silently off the edge of the bed. As she braced herself to stand, he moved again, this time from his side to his back, taking his arm with him. It now rested on the hard ridges of his abdomen, right above the edge of the obscenely low lying comforter.
Annie couldn’t help but take a minute to ogle his beautiful body as she sat up. In his nude, sleeping state, he looked exactly as you would expect of a hardened criminal: bulging biceps, unruly hair, a little more than a five o’clock shadow, and tattoos gracing most of his upper half.
When he was clothed he looked different, classy even, and it was more the glint of evil in his eyes that elicited fear instead of his daunting physical features. But with his eyes closed, he looked peaceful, she couldn’t see the evil, and truth be told, never truly did, but she knew it’s what others saw. When he walked into a room, people ran in the opposite direction. She’d seen it happen first hand, although he also had a way of making people see what he wanted. Maybe that’s why she was never scared of him. Not really. He didn’t want her to see that side of him. He told her about it, why he did she’ll never know, but hearing him talk about it and seeing it first hand were two different things. Granted, if she was being honest, she did see it, but it didn’t count. That guy was an asshole, he deserved what he got.
Pushing herself off the bed she immediately felt the soreness between her legs. It seemed impossible she could have initially missed that and while it hurt, it felt good too, like he was still inside of her somehow. She’d never feel that again.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She made her decision, she wasn’t going to cry about it. All emotions aside, it was the right choice. She lied to him, more lies than she could count, and he’d find out soon enough. Who knows what he’d do, but best-case scenario, he’d leave her. Just like he did the night with the gun. Tell her to get out of his city and never come back, but she’d have nothing to go home to. That was best-case scenario. The worst-case she didn’t want to think about. Brax was involved in some shady shit. He wasn’t known for being nice or letting people off easy, she would likely be no different.
Braxton opened his eyes to find Bethany walking away from him, her golden blonde hair flowing in waves midway down her back. He stared transfixed as her hips swayed in the dim light. She was beautiful, a goddess, his goddess, and he couldn’t stop looking at her. He watched as she paused, glancing around the room, and then bent to pick up the black jersey dress she’d been wearing the prior night. Flipping it right side out, she pulled it over her head, hiding her perfect curves.
Pushing up to lean back against the headboard, he chuckled to himself over her attempt to sneak out of bed. Silly woman. She should know better. There were so many things he needed to teach her, surreptitiousness being one of them as he had come to learn and rolled his eyes at the memory, but if s
he was sneaking away, he trusted she had a damn good reason and therefore he let her, hoping she was going downstairs to make breakfast or freshen up in the bathroom. Looking back, it was probably the wrong decision. Why the fuck was she putting her dress back on? If she was going to wear something, he wanted her in the shirt he had given her, the one that teased her sexy ass cheeks. His cock jerked at the thought. Fuck. He’d never get enough of her. He was addicted. Obsessed. Had been since he first laid eyes on her and it wasn’t something he was ashamed to admit. For those who say you can’t always get what you want, fuck them. He’d gotten what he wanted ever since he figured out he just needed to be willing to go and get it. To do whatever it takes. She was no different.
Bethany wasn’t your normal ditzy, money-grubbing whore from the Upper East Side. No, she was special. Different. While she appreciated his money, it never seemed to be a deciding factor. Maybe that’s because she wasn’t from New York at all, grew up in Michigan. They must breed them different there than they do in the Big Apple. And she was smart too. A psychologist. She could compartmentalize his bullshit and understand how the actions he takes aren’t necessarily the man he is, although she did have some comparative experience in that department. Not all psychologists think that way.
She hadn’t noticed him yet, her eyes focused solely on the ground as she crept around in search for something. Her panties maybe? He smiled to himself, remembering where those were and wasn’t planning to give them back.
Picking up his clothes laying in a pile on the floor, she came up empty handed. He could see her frustration as she searched, fists clenched and frantic, and he could see her resolve when she gave up, coming to terms with what she was missing.
She walked over to the bar cabinet, picking her purse up from one of the shelves and let it hang from her wrist. Standing still she stared at her reflection in the mirror, eyes glazed over and zoned out. She was caught in her own mind, not paying attention to actually seeing herself or she would have noticed him in the background. She was thinking, coming to a decision. He watched it happen. It was like he could see the wheels in her head spinning and then the decision was made.
There were two half full glasses of Bourbon sitting on the bar top. He poured them the night before, but she fell asleep before they had a chance to drink them. Picking one up she swallowed the contents in a single, large gulp and pushed off from the bar, walking right toward the closed bedroom door. She was leaving him. He knew it. Could feel it twisting in his gut and wrenching out his insides.
The same anger he carried around with him for the past couple days exploded at the idea of her leaving, and not just leaving, but sneaking out. Was he not good enough for her? Did last night mean nothing? Whether she was conscious of it or not, he owned her. Maybe not on paper, and she wasn’t branded yet either, but in his mind, she was his and he damn well wouldn’t let her get away.
When her fingers gripped the doorknob and twisted as to not make a sound, he jumped from the bed, stormed up behind her and fisted the door closed before it opened an inch. Bethany jumped, a shriek coming from her mouth as he jerked her by the shoulder to turn around and face him, his body looming in front of hers.
“Don’t you dare sneak out on me!” he yelled. “Don’t you fucking dare.” His chest heaved like he just ran a marathon and his arms encasing her body shook with adrenaline and frustration.
She tried to speak, but he reached between them, cupping his palm over her mouth, silencing the words she was about to say. He didn’t want to hear her excuses, didn’t want to listen to her explain. It was time for her to understand him, not the other way around. “I’ve been too good to you. Too soft. What you’ve seen this week is nothing compared to how I can be, how I normally am. If you think you can leave me, you are mistaken.”
Pushing him away, she squirmed to get out of his hold, but he tightened his stance until her back was flat against the door, his chest pushed tight against her.
“Do you need me to show you? Don’t make me hurt you B. I don’t want to, but I will if I have to. If you try to leave me again, I’ll leash you like a fucking pet in an abandoned warehouse were no one will ever find you but me. If that’s how it needs to be, I have no problem doing it. Do you hear me?”
He let his hand drop for her to reply, but she said nothing. Just stood still glaring with venom in her eyes. He didn’t try to push her. Whether she understood or not, it was the truth. When Cole suggested it to him he dismissed the idea, he wasn’t that big of an asshole, but faced with her leaving he was doused with realization—he was whatever he needed to be to keep her.
Leaving her at the door, he walked over casually to his dresser to find a pair of boxer briefs and running shorts. He stepped into them both before turning back. She was in the exact spot he left her.
“I was going to Starbucks,” her lip quivered as she spoke. “I didn’t want to wake you. I was going to bring home coffee for you.”
“Don’t fucking lie to me! Do you think I’m blind?” He stormed over to the bar, grabbed the second glass still filled with Bourbon and launched it across the room. It hit a wall off to her right and shattered with ease. “Who needs a shot of liquor before getting coffee? Is it that nerve wracking to go stand in line with a bunch of other fiending coffee drinkers? You had to have something to calm yourself before you left?”
Bethany didn’t flinch. She stood calm and collected like she was used to his temper tantrums. “Fine, you caught me, but I wasn’t leaving you. I would have come home.”
There was that word again. Home. She subtly kept using it, knowing it would calm him, but he was on to her mind tricks. He had a few mind tricks up his sleeve as well.
“I needed to think Brax. I needed to figure out what I was going to do. I was just going to walk around, probably get some coffee and figure out what’s next. This isn’t as easy for me as it is for you.”
“It is easy. There’s nothing to think about. The way I see it there’s only two options. You either stay here, leave everything behind and start a new life with me, or I go to Michigan, leave everything behind and start a new life with you. It’s that easy.” He took in a deep breath while they stood across the room from each other and then walked back over, taking her hands. “I’m in love with you Bethany. I’ve never been in love with anyone in my whole life and it scares the shit out of me, but it also means I’ll do anything for you. I’d leave right now. No questions asked. No second thoughts.”
“It scares me too,” she whispered without clearly reciprocating his declarations and Braxton couldn’t help but wonder if she meant she was scared of her love for him or his love for her. Maybe a little of both? They had a Romeo and Juliet sort of relationship, except in their case, if she was going to be married, he’d kill her first and then himself. He wasn’t joking about not living without her. They’d be together one-way or another. She didn’t seem to feel as strongly though. Apparently she was not the Juliet to his Romeo, but then she said something that surprised him.
“Don’t think for one second I’m not in love with you just because I needed time to think. You’ve spent your entire life doing what you want and I’ve spent my entire life thinking about what I want. It’s not something I can just turn off. It’s who I am and you can’t threaten me every time you feel insecure because I need to stop and think.”
She was right. He jumped to conclusions and took it out on her. He was a jerk, he didn’t deserve her, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have her. Without warning he pulled her lips to his, sucking her tongue into his mouth while he picked her up by the hips and held her against the door. Instinctually her legs wrapped around his waist.
Bringing a hand around to the base of her neck, he tugged on her hair giving him deeper access as he devoured her, taking everything he could from the kiss.
In haste, he pulled the front of his shorts down, freeing his erection. Knowing she was panty free, he spit in his hand before bringing it down to his cock so he could thrust in t
o her, deep and hard. He bottomed out and her head fell back in a moan, half pleasure, half pain.
He stood still for a moment before repeating the movement, his hands dragging her by the ass up to meet him while he drove into her. Every time he hit that special spot he could feel her body tense, clenching around him. It was like being at a carnival and using the hammer to hit the spring, the excitement you would feel when the weight hit the bell at the top. It was incredible. He took his time, making sure to use enough strength and form to make it ring every time before they both ended on a high note, breathing hard and holding each other close.
“Fuck. Is it going to be like that every time? I swear to God, give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready to go again.” She laughed as he put her down, but he was serious.
“I’m going to go clean up.”
“Good. I plan on defiling you some more. Leave the dress on your way out.”
Bethany rolled her eyes before spending a couple minutes in the bathroom. Walking back in the room she was still wearing the dress.
“I thought I told you to leave it?”
“I need to go.”
“Where?”
“Back to the hotel. I need to get my things and bring them back here.”
Hearing her say that was like music to his ears, but she was with him now, menial tasks like getting your own luggage wasn’t something she’d ever have to do again. “I’ll send someone. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“I know you can send someone, but I need to go. Trevor’s still there. I need to talk to him and tell him I’m not going home.”
“Okay. I’ll go with you.”
“Brax no. I want to go alone. He’s my best friend. I just want some time to talk to him and explain. It’s a girl thing. I’m not trying to push you away. I just need to talk with him by myself.”
Caged Page 1