Page 21 of Summer's Cage
My eyes widen in shock, and I nod eagerly. That was so much fucking easier than I thought it’d be, and now I’m kicking myself for not trying something like this earlier.
Then the prick holds up his finger, eyes mischievous, and scrawls something else beneath his first sentence.
If you let me sleep next to you.
Fuck.
I glare at him, annoyed as hell.
“Pervert,” I hiss. He shrugs, moving to stand and leave me alone with Poppy and the beetles. “Okay, okay, fine, but you onlysleepnext to me, we don’ttouch.”
I swear he’s smirking as he nods, far too nonchalant and agreeable. It seems both of us have ulterior motives for this late night.
We’ll just have to see who wins.
I’m…giddy.Truly and genuinely excited to go outside, which only carves a deeper hole of pain in my chest. I shouldn’t have to be excited for a morsel, a small scrap of humanity that Kage is giving me—with a stiff price, of course—but I can’t help it. It feels too good, and so I don’t dwell on the negative side of this.
If anything, I need to be focusing more, using this small span of time to learn the layout of his house and property, maybe seewhere he stashes his car keys or weapons other than wrenches my pitifully weak arms can’t lift.
Poppy follows us up the stairs, meowing obnoxiously the entire way, as cautious and rigid as I am. Kage’s fingers lightly guide me, gently grazing my lower back. My quads burn from going up the wooden steps, my knees aching and my calves starting to cramp. He may feed me well—like a freaking bodybuilder—but I’ve sat chained in the same space for months, and it never occurred to me that I should try to work my muscles each day.
I frown as we reach the top, realizing that I’ve fucked myself over; he’s already insanely strong, and now what little edge I may have had is gone. I’m forced to rely on my brain alone, which is a terrifying thought for someone who likes to run away from her own psyche.
He pauses behind me, our bodies just a fraction of a millimeter away from one another’s; I can feel the heat of him pulsing against me in time with his heavy heartbeats, and a shiver makes my shoulders tense as I roll my neck, turning my gaze to the side in case he tries to grab me. The hand hovering over the small of my back presses into me, his touch strong but controlled. Encouraging me to go forward. Into the darkness of the unknown.
But suddenly, I can’t do it.
Not because I’m afraid Kage is going to hurt me, but because all I’ve known for nearly four months now are those stone walls, exposed beams, and that single dirty window. The unfamiliar has become absolutely nerve-wracking. How did I go from publicly sharing every moment of my personal life to being terrified of leaving behind a bare mattress and chains?
Kage’s huge hand snakes around my side to my hip, his fingers curling in rather possessively. He gives a slow but intense pull, until I’m forced to shuffle back half a step and our bodiesmeet. My eyes flutter closed as my breath hitches and dies in my throat. Even through his thick jeans, the hard ridge of his cock digs into my spine, bringing forth those hazy dreams that could very easily be my reality if I wanted them to be.
Why?Whydo I want those to become reality? Why do I enjoy how he coerces my submission, how he explores me like a world uncharted?
He makes a soft hissing sound, an exhalation of breath from between his teeth and hindered by the mask. “Sss…kuh…”
He’s trying to speak.
Whirling in his arms, I blink up at him in shock. His hands gently cup my elbows, keeping me close to him. His brows are furrowed, and a few curls of hair are creating a shadow across his forehead that makes him appear even more godlike—a god of the underworld, of course.
He swallows and tries again.
“Scuh—aired.”
Scared.
I can’t hide the pity on my face when I hear how rough his voice is, how deep but raspy. Whatever happened to make him lose it, I ache for him, because I know he had a beautiful voice before. I’m sure his laughter would’ve made me melt. I’m a sucker for the class-clown type, and something tells me Kage is exactly that.
After another beat, his meaning sinks in, and I nod bashfully. “Yeah. I’m…scared.”
His brows furrow in hurt and a touch of anger, and he points to himself in question. My lips pull into a small, tight smile, and I shake my head. “Not necessarily of you. I just…haven’t left in a long time. And I…”
Tears flood my throat and dam it, cutting off what I need to say aloud so he understands that no matter how this ends, he’straumatized me for the rest of my life. Emboldening myself, I flick my eyes up to his and hold that guarded gaze.
“I never thought I’d leave that basement, Kage. Most girls don’t.”
I’ve pressed my thumb right into an egregious wound in his heart that’s festering with infection. He’s hurt that I’d think that way of him, but he needs to know that for most, it’s their reality. They don’t get to trade fifteen minutes outside for a night sleeping next to their abductor.
They get tortured and raped, butchered and disposed of.
