Knox (An Out of the Cage Novel Book 3)

by Lane Hart

  “God, you’re so fucking beautiful. I wish I could kiss you.”

  Knox’s unexpected yet sweet words temporarily distract me from the guilt before I’m able to see right through them.

  “I’m not sucking you off,” I warn him.

  “I didn’t…that’s not why I said that,” he argues. With a heavy exhale, he adds, “Maybe we should just stop.” He straightens in his chair, pulling his length away from my breasts.

  “What? Why?” I ask in confusion.

  “Because you aren’t into this, not like you were earlier. You regret agreeing to this part of the deal, don’t you?”

  He’s doubting me, making me realize just how attentive he really is if he picked up on my bout of guilt. That’s shocking coming from a guy like him, but it also means I’m likely losing his trust. So, I give him a truth.

  “I have plenty of regrets, but this, with you, won’t be one.”

  “If it’s not regret, then what’s the problem? Something clouded your face, making me think you wanted to stop. What was it?”

  My eyes fall to Knox’s cock that’s so swollen with need it’s turning purple, and yet he’s sitting there questioning me when he could be getting some relief. He’s trying to let me off the hook for this part of our deal, but I actually want to give him the same brief but wonderful pleasure he gave me, which is almost as surprising as his concern.

  “Guilt,” I finally admit.

  “Guilt?” he repeats in confusion.

  “I’m sure you’ve been with a ton of women, but you’re young…”

  “I’m a grown-ass man,” he says vehemently.

  “No argument there,” I reply with a small smile I can’t help. “It’s just, are you sure you even want to do this?”

  “Um, what part of my dick looking like it’s about to explode would make you worry about that?” he asks.

  “You’re still restrained. I could take off the handcuffs,” I offer.

  “No. Leave them. You like them on me, right? And I don’t mind them, other than not being able to touch you.”

  “I do like seeing you handcuffed, for more than just my protection,” I admit. “But I’ll let you go whenever you want.”

  “I figured so. I just like not knowing where or how you’ll touch me. A lot easier than trying to guess what you want and being wrong. Makes me so fucking hard too.”

  Biting back another smile, I tell him, “This is the longest conversation I’ve ever had on my knees, so will you shut up and just fuck my tits before I cover them up again?”

  Knox’s eyebrows lift silently in surprise at my demanding tone a moment before he scoots forward in his seat. “Yes, ma’am,” he says, slipping his cock between my breasts again.

  “I told you not to call me that,” I remind him as I reach between his legs to give his balls a squeeze.

  “Oh fuck,” he moans as his head falls back on his shoulders again and his hips start pumping his cock in and out of my cleavage. “Then what…what should I call you?”

  “Jade,” I reply without even thinking about it.

  “Jade,” he repeats as his breathing becomes ragged. “You’re the hottest…fucking…fantasy I could ever dream of, Jade. God, I’m so close!” he exclaims.

  I fondle his balls again, and that’s all it takes for his cock to jerk and start spraying his hot release all over my chest and neck. A string of unintelligible curse words explode from his mouth at the same time, ending only when his body slumps in the chair.

  “Damn, woman,” he mutters, eyes still closed. “Your tits were made to wrap around a cock.”

  “Thanks, I guess,” I mutter, trying to ignore the pulsing need inside of me begging for attention again. Using Knox’s muscular thighs for support, I push myself up to my feet on shaky legs and then use the bottom of his t-shirt to clean myself off while his half-hard dick lies just inches below like it’s gearing up for another round. “Hope this wasn’t your favorite shirt.”

  “It is now,” he replies, blinking his eyes open and flashing me a grin as he watches me wipe up the mess he made that’s dripping between my breasts.

  Clearing my throat, I pick up my bra and shirt and then walk around behind his chair, grateful for time alone to redress before I pull the key from my pocket and undo the handcuffs.

  “So I guess it’s obvious that you can’t tell anyone about this,” I tell him as I stuff the metal rings into my back pocket.

  “Talking to the police is pretty much frowned upon in my world, even sexy ones. Not that anyone would believe me,” Knox replies.

  “Good,” I say as I walk around in front of him to pick up my holster and put it back on. “Well, thanks for your help.”

  “Cain is safe, right?” he asks when he gets to his feet.

  “As long as he tells me the truth,” I answer, which is only a little white lie.

  Cain will have to go down before Mario thinks he’s safe and makes a mistake. Do I feel shitty about arresting a kid at a funeral in front of the victim’s sister? Hell yes. But it needs to be public, and it needs to happen soon. I’m certain Knox will be angry at me and blame himself for talking. I’ll just have to figure out a way to convince him to help me with the second part of my plan.

  Chapter Five

  Knox

  That conniving….

  What the hell was Jade thinking, showing up at Robbie’s fucking graveside service to arrest Cain right in front of Gabby? Not only has she lost her brother, but now she’s lost her boyfriend, who was just accused publicly for killing her brother.

  And it’s all my fault.

  I never should have called that woman, and I sure as fuck shouldn’t have met with her and let her seduce the secrets from me. My weakness cost my friend his freedom. The guilt is gnawing on my insides, making me feel sick as Ivan and I sit with Gabby back at the apartment and explain to her what’s going on. Well, everything except how my mouth is the reason Cain was arrested.

  “Cain fought Robbie and won?” Gabby asks us.

  “Yeah, Cain knocked him out, but there’s no way Cain meant to kill him or that he even knew he had,” I assure her with a reassuring hand on her knee. “He was angry at him for not trying to protect you, and worried he would lose, so Cain cheated.”

  “Cheated?”

  “He used Plaster of Paris on his wrap, so it would harden when he started to sweat,” Ivan explains. “But your brother cheated too. He was using brass knuckles on Cain.”

  “Wow,” she mutters with a shake of her head. I can’t imagine how hard it is for her to try and wrap her head around all of this while she’s still grieving for Robbie.

  “After the fight, Cain walked away, and they carried Robbie off, still unconscious. I know, because I was there,” Ivan tells her.

  “So Cain had no idea how bad off he was?” she asks him, sad eyes hopeful.

  “No. And Robbie could’ve had a bad concussion or swelling and bleeding in his brain,” Ivan offers up to her before I reach around Gabby and slap the back of his head. “Sorry, but I’m just trying to provide an explanation. If his brain was swelling or bleeding, Robbie needed a hospital, and you know Mario would never agree to that. It would mean too many questions about how he got hurt in the first place.”

  “Mario wouldn’t do shit to bring down his business,” I agree. “Maybe that’s what happened. Robbie was unconscious, and he made the call to put him out instead of getting him help.”

  “And now Cain has been charged with the murder,” Gabby summarizes. “What are we gonna do?”

  “No fucking clue,” I grumble. “Mario can’t get away with this shit. If he does, Cain could spend the rest of his life behind bars for an accident.” And it will be my fucking fault, not just Mario’s.

  “Do you think that, if we talked to the detective, she could help us?” Gabby looks between Ivan and me and asks.

  “Who the fuck knows?” Ivan replies. “How do we know we can trust her? It’s possible that she’s in Mario’s pocket, that he ratt
ed out Cain and paid her a little cash to put him away.”

  “Nah, man,” I say in Jade’s defense, certain that she’s on the right side of all this. She would never let a criminal like Mario pay her off, even if she is a master fucking manipulator. “I don’t think that chick is in anyone’s pocket. She was too uptight and gung-ho to get answers from us during the interviews,” I add to further persuade them that Jade’s not dirty.

  “What if he paid her off after she started snooping around his way?” Ivan asks. “Maybe Mario gave up Cain to get her off his ass.”

  “Oh, I definitely think Mario is the rat here.” I tell a little lie because I couldn’t bear to see the pain on their faces if they knew I was the one who gave up Cain as the one who fought Robbie the night he died. “For all his stupid talk about protecting each other’s backs, I bet he had his ‘witnesses’ throw Cain under the bus to save his own skin, but that has nothing to do with bribing a cop.”

  “So, should we go talk to her?” Gabby asks. “Tell her that Cain is only guilty of illegal fighting and that we suspect Mario is behind Robbie’s death?”

  “Suspect is the keyword,” Ivan points out. “We don’t have shit for proof.”

  “That’s true,” I agree on a sigh as I fall back against the sofa cushion. “We’ve got to find us some goddamn proof.” And I need to have words with Jade about what the fuck she was thinking, arresting Cain today of all days. How could she possibly think he could kill Robbie?

  Getting to my feet, I tell Gabby and Ivan, “I need to get some air, clear my head and think this through. You okay staying here with Ivan?” I ask Gabby.

  “Yeah, I’ll call the jail and…and see if I can talk to Cain,” she answers with a nod.

  “Okay, sorry, Gabby,” I tell her as I lean down to wrap my arms around her in a hug. “So sorry, about all of this shit.”

  “Thanks,” she replies tearfully before letting me go.

  Unable to take another second of seeing her hurting, I head out the door, not even caring about the raindrops hitting me in the face as I start walking toward the warehouse and pull out my cell phone.

  “Horton,” Jade answers her phone on the first ring.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I yell at her.

  “My job,” she answers, not the least bit intimidated by my anger. “Cain may be your friend, but he’s partially responsible for a man’s death.”

  “The only reason you know that is because I told you it in confidence!” I shout into the phone as I squeeze it so tight in my fist that the plastic case creaks.

  “And in case you forgot, the only reason you opened your mouth in the first place was to put it on what I offered you!”

  My teeth grind together at the reminder of my weakness for her body that she flaunted in front of me for the sole purpose of getting me to talk. Even if she was using me, there’s no doubt she still enjoyed herself. There was nothing fake about the way she screamed my name as her body quaked with an orgasm. Not that that makes me feel any better about betraying my friend…

  “You have to let Cain go!” I demand. “Please!”

  “I would’ve told you that I have a plan to get him out if you hadn’t just called and started yelling at me.”

  My sneakers come to a stop in the middle of a puddle. “You do?” I ask in surprise.

  “I do. But I’m gonna need your help to make it work,” she replies, making me exhale in relief. “Look, I can’t go into the details right now on the phone. Can you meet me at the warehouse in ten?”

  The same warehouse I'm already standing in front of; because even being pissed at her, I was still hoping she would come. Still, I don’t let her off easy. “I’ve got shit to do today. In case you forgot, one of my best friends was just arrested, and the girl I love like a sister is crying her eyes out because her boyfriend was taken away in handcuffs at her brother’s funeral!”

  “Come on, Knox,” Jade lowers her voice to say my name softly and seductively. “This idea of mine is Cain’s only shot at freedom.”

  “Fine,” I agree even though there was never a doubt about me seeing her. “But no funny business this time.”

  “Now I can’t agree to that,” Jade replies in a whisper. “Not when I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you to help me.”

  My heart races in my chest, and my traitorous dick doubles inside my boxer briefs hearing those words.

  “I’m gonna hate this idea, aren’t I?” I ask as I step inside the musty smelling building and out of the rain.

  “Yes. But, Knox, I’ll really enjoy convincing you,” she says, adding “More than I should,” right before she hangs up on me.

  Too bad, because I refuse to give in to her this time. It’s my turn to convince her to let Cain go.

  Or at least that’s what I tell myself up until the moment she walks into the warehouse a few minutes later, her long, auburn hair wavy and damp from the rain with water droplets soaking through the front her thin, white blouse.

  Detective Jade Horton is a one-punch knockout that I can’t dodge no matter how hard I try.

  Chapter Six

  Jade

  “You’re not putting the cuffs on me today,” Knox informs me as soon as I step into the warehouse out of the downpour, running my fingers through the tangles of my wet hair. Before I can respond, he pulls out the lining of his front jean pockets and then removes his black leather wallet from his back one to toss it on the dusty ground a few feet away. Lifting his sweatshirt up to his chest as he spins around, he says, “That wallet is the only thing I had on me.”

  And God, the six pack he reveals along with the pelvic indentions pointing the way down into his low riding jeans are all it takes to forget whatever I was gonna say. I was hoping to put him in cuffs just because I like having him at my mercy. Although, restraining him to my bed would be much more comfortable than this place…

  “Deal?” he asks when I fail to comment.

  “Fine,” I agree as I push those inappropriate images aside and stride over to him. “Just have a seat,” I say, nodding to the chair I cuffed him in yesterday because he’s less intimidating when he’s sitting rather than standing several inches above me.

  “I don’t want to sit. I want to know what the fuck is going on with Cain,” he grumbles, crossing his thick arms over his broad chest.

  He’s angry, I get it. And I’m sure he feels guilty about talking to me because he thinks he’s the reason Cain was arrested.

  “You weren’t the only witness to tell me Cain fought Robert Kelly, so stop blaming yourself. I bet there were hundreds of people watching and betting on them over at that gymnasium on Walkertown that night, right?”

  Knox’s blue eyes widen because he didn’t tell me any of the details about the location of the fight.

  “But if you already knew all of that, then why did you…why did you let me…” he stammers and clears his throat, trying to figure out my motive for the seduction.

  “Because all of the witnesses who showed up at the station so willing to talk to me were obviously doing it under Mario’s orders, to protect his guilty ass. I needed someone who was telling the truth, someone who owed loyalty to Cain to corroborate his involvement so that I could find out if he really fought Robert and wasn’t just Mario’s fall guy.”

  “Oh,” Knox mutters as he lowers his crossed arms to his sides. “So you didn’t arrest Cain because of what I said when we were…” He waves his hand between us and then motions to the chair he sat in.

  “No. I told you I have a plan, one that requires it to look to everyone like Cain is going down for the murder so that we can go after Mario.”

  “In that case, I guess I hate you a little less now,” he replies.

  “I’m not the bad guy here, Knox.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell me all of that yesterday?” he asks, bracing his hands on his hips.

  “I wasn’t sure if I could trust you, and I knew you didn’t trust me,” I explain with a shrug of my shoulders.


  “So what we did, that was just a ‘trust’ exercise?” he asks with the corner of his lips raised while making air quotations.

  “Yes,” I answer. “You needed to know that I would hold up my end of a bargain in exchange for your cooperation.”

  “So now you need my…cooperation again?” Knox asks as he steps forward until his chest is just an inch away from my mouth. But he doesn’t touch me, like he somehow knows that doing so without my permission would be crossing one of my lines.

  “Yes, I do.” I tilt my head back to look up at his face and reply. The words come out shaky.

  “And no one else can help you?”

  “No,” I answer. “Well, I guess I could go to Ivan if you refuse…”

  “Fuck that!” Knox exclaims as he takes a step backward like I shoved him. “Ivan would never do a damn thing for you.”

  “But you would?” I ask as I advance on him, grabbing the waistband of his jeans to guide him down into the seat behind him. He easily goes without putting up any resistance.

  “Maybe, now that I know you didn’t fuck me over,” he answers as he slouches further into the chair with me still standing between his thighs. “Also depends on what it is and how far you’ll go to convince me.”

  Smiling because I know that he’ll eventually agree, I tell him, “For this? There’s no limit to what I’ll do to get you on board.”

  “Then let’s hear it,” Knox says as he brings his arms up casually behind his head and sinks further into the seat until the crotch of his jeans hits my knees and I can feel his hard length.

  “You’re not gonna like it,” I assure him. Reaching down, I cup his bulge and give it a squeeze. With a groan, Knox’s eyes close and his hips thrust into my grip, so I stroke his cock as it moves forward and back a few times.

  “I’m really liking it so far,” he gasps as my fingers move up to undo his button and fly. That’s as far as I get before Knox takes over, jerking his jeans and boxers down his hips in one swift move to let his thick shaft bob free between us. Unable to resist feeling the bare skin of his big, perfect cock, I wrap my hand around the velvety steel to keep pumping.