Page 66 of Beyond the Cage

“Nope. You seeing Cameron tonight?”

“He sent me a text saying he’d check on me later.”

“’Kay.”

“Do you have dinner plans?” I ask. “I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, but we can get a pizza or something.”

My phone vibrates and I pick it up to see another text from Cameron. “Never mind. He’s bringing dinner.”

“Cool.Iam going to raid my closet for an outfit for tonight.”

She bounces off and I look down at Spartacus. “Come on, let’s get you fed.”

***

Cameron arrives just as Chels is leaving. Spartacus jumps down from my lap and runs to him, barking happily while standing on his hind legs. He smiles down at the pup, but I stop him before he can pick him up.

“Mommy first,” I say as I meet him at the door.

I pucker my lips for a kiss and wait. He slides his free hand around my waist and pulls me close, that panty-melting look in his eyes.Fuck.He leans down and slowly, gently, kisses my cheeks, nose, forehead, chin, and the corners of my lips…sweet, fleeting kisses that affect my breathing and send jolts of longing through me. I close my eyes, holding on to his shoulders to keep myself upright. Finally, he claims my lips, teasing them with his tongue. I open up to let him in, but he doesn’t take advantage of it. He gives me one final smooch and pulls away. My lids flutter open and I find myself looking directly into the swirling depths of grey that are his eyes.

“Damn,” I manage to get out.

That was…life-changing. He flashes that sexy smirk and takes my hand, pulling me to the kitchen. I sit around the island and watch as he empties the food on the counter – sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and chop suey. When I move to get the plates, he directs me back to my chair.

“I’m not an invalid, you know.”

He ignores me and fetches the plates himself, then loads one up and places it in front of me.

“Thank you.”

Halfway through our meal, he becomes absorbed in something on his phone, while still managing to feed Sparty pieces of chicken from his plate.

“What’s so interesting?”

Without looking up, he hands me the phone. Curious, I take it from his fingers and look down at the screen. It’s the results from a physical…a very thorough physical. He’s been tested for every condition and disease you could possibly think of, all results negative. I’m not surprised; he takes care of his body. I’m more than relieved to see the negative results in the STD section.

“What made you do all that?” I ask as I pass the phone back to him.

He scrolls through his phone and hands it to me again. This time, it’s a list of conditions for entry into The Ultimate Warrior competition.

“Wow…I guess they wanna make sure you’re in top physical condition. I coulda told ’em that.”

I bite into the corner of my lip, winking as he looks up at me with a grin. I walk over to him and loosely wrap my arms around his neck.

“I do believe, Mr. Jackson, that you are the finest male specimen I have seen in my entire life.”

Oh. My. God. I made him blush!

“Aww…that’s so cute!”

I plant a loud smack on his cheek then turn to get the dishes. He leaves me to clean up and when I’m done, I find him in bed, Spartacus curled up on his chest. I watch them from the doorway with a smile. My two boys. I move to my desk, rummaging until I find the results of my last set of STD tests, and hand it to him. After what happened with Jamal, I requested tests for every disease I could think of. Thank God he was at least clean if not faithful. Cameron barely glances at the paper before handing it back to me.

“In the spirit of full disclosure, I haven’t been with anyone since then. Except you, of course.”

By the time I’m back at my desk, he’s right behind me, snaking his arms around my waist. The moment I feel his lips on my neck, I turn in his arms and push at his chest.