Page 20 of Summer's Cage
I’ll be gone late again tonight.
My soul is crushed by the weight of a thousand suns, and my eyes jump to his. After the floorboard creaking incident, being alone in this dungeon has become a million times more terrifying when he’s gone. He’s also the only human contact I’ve had in months, and his presence is reassuring.
However fucked up it is, he makes me feel safe.
“Why?” I grit out through clenched teeth, trying to hide the tremble in my voice. He quirks a brow, surprised by my attitude, and writes again. Nosey, I crane my neck and watch as each letter forms a word.
You gonna miss me?
My nostrils flare and my lips pinch like my grandmother’s used to when she was pissed at my grandpa.
“No.”
He snorts and tosses aside the notebook, reaching for me and slipping his hands beneath my armpits. “Hey, wha—Kage, put medown!”
He stands with me in tow, not trembling in the slightest, holding me eye to eye with him like I’m a child, my feet dangling above the mattress. His eyes are such a soft shade of light brown, like perfectly tanned leather, or sweet, smooth caramel. I can tell he’s grinning, and he steps onto the mattress before he slowly puts me back to my feet, like a weightlifter unfurling the barbell.We both bounce slightly, and I have to crane my neck back to hold his gaze. He tilts his head to the side and studies me for a moment, eyes swishing like the stroke of a painter’s brush all over my face.
He takes a step forward, forcing me back until my shoulders hit the cold wall, my chains tinkling lightly against them. Swallowing hard, I’m engulfed by not only his shadow, but his scent, his dominant presence. It’s…intoxicating, to be looked at the way he’s looking at me right now, and my body very happily remembers how that dream earlier made me feel.
He reaches up, cupping his hand and pressing darkness over my eyes. Stunned into stillness, I release a shaky breath as my body tenses, missing one of its most vital senses. He moves, and I recoil out of fear, but he just slows down, reaching for my cheek and caressing it with his thumb, a subtle reassurance that he’s never once struck me.
And then, lips as soft and gentle as rose petals fall over mine, a shockwave coursing through me as my body greedily responds, kissing him back before my brain makes me pull away with a gasp. Nothing but charged air and heavy breaths sound between us, and after I’ve dampened my thighs with arousal again, he backs away, his mask securely in place. Eyes adjusting to the dim light once more, I watch as he jots down one last message, grabs his lunch box, and disappears.
It takes me an hour to read his message, because the second I hear his truck peel out on the gravel, my fingers are diving into my wet cunt over and over and over until I’ve climaxed three times—none of them coming close to my dreams, or the time he fingered me.
Rolling off the mattress in a lusty haze, my eyes scan his handwriting, and my stomach sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
I love hearing you moan my name in your sleep, sunshine. See you tonight.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SUMMER
By the timeI hear the familiar crunch of tires on gravel and the headlights wash the window pale for a flicker of a second, I’m nearly puking from nerves.
The worst thing about Kage keeping me…well,cagedhere is that it’s given me ample time to dissect every interaction I’ve ever had since gaining consciousness. Today’s focus, however, has been an absolute bloodbath of a war between my heart, mind, and soul. All want different things, and just when I think I’ve pushed them all into their respective boxes, they spring out like a used car salesman presenting you with more facts to further fluster you.
Steeling my nerves, I prepare to tell him off, stiffening my spine to a straight rod when I hear the first steps on the floor above me. Again, Poppy dashes to the other room, leaving me to face my demons alone.
It takes an eternity for him to finally unlock the door, as though he waited to see if I was dreaming again. If I have to stay awake until I die to prevent further embarrassment of that magnitude, so be it. When he takes the first step down into my hell, I release a heavy breath, my heart racing so hard it makes me dizzy. All I could think about since he left was how his lipsfelt against mine, how intoxicating he smelled, how gentle and reverent and honestly chaste the kiss was.
My mind slips back into focus when he comes into view.
His boots are muddy, as are his jeans, and when his eyes cut to mine as soon as his face comes below the wall, they relax substantially.
He was nervous. Why?
I stow that away and tuck it next to all of the other information I’ve been gathering and remain haughty toward him. “If you’re going to keep me like some pet of yours, you do know I need far more than this.”
I motion around the basement to the symphony of my rattling chains. He stops a few feet from me, crossing his arms, cocking his head to the side, and staring down at me. I can’t tell if he’s smiling or not this time, and it makes my stomach do these weird summersaults. The way his eyes carry his emotions, I’d say he looks like he’s pondering what he wants to do with me…and I know I’ll be powerless to stop it either way.
Maybe if I comply with his sexual advances—not completely, but more so than before…maybe I’ll find my chance to run while he’s distracted. It’s not a half-bad plan, and I have to bury my grin of triumph.
He sucks in a sharp breath through his nose and is about to move when I rush out, “I miss the sky. The…the stars, the moon. I just want to go outside, just once, please.”
His brows furrow in suspicion but also as though it’s just occurred to him that someone chained up indoors would miss the fresh air. After a couple of tense, chest-rattling heartbeats, he nods a few times and sinks down, swiping the pen and notebook off the floor from earlier. A flush creeps up my neck, his cocky little message staring pompously at the two of us. He snorts when he sees how red I am, shaking his head as he finds a clear page and writes something down.
I’ll give you fifteen minutes tonight.
