Page 37 of Caged By the Stranger (Bad Decisions #1)

Charlie hesitates for a moment, like the idea of willingly curling up in bed with someone is foreign to him, but then he musters a smile and slides in under the covers.

When I slip in next to him and wrap him in my arms, it makes me sad to see the insecurity return to his face.

Except, it doesn’t quite look the same as it has before. There’s some other emotion there.

“What is it, handsome?”

“Just…why…me? I’m not like you—not…adventurous like you. How can someone like you be attracted to someone like me?”

Stroking a strand of his hair away from his face, I rest my forehead against his.

“I don’t care about what you have or haven’t done, Charlie.

People are more than their preferences or zones of comfort.

You have nothing to worry about. I’m the one who should be feeling insecure right now.

I can’t say I regret my behavior, since it got your attention, but I’m pretty sure I’ve taken the word obsessed to a new level,” I confess with a laugh, which makes him smile.

“The only other cage I’ve ever even touched was the one I wore years ago. ”

That has him looking at me in surprise. Settling in closer, I sigh and proceed to shower him with truths his blushes accept as compliments—all the little things that make me know he’s the man for me.

His work ethic, the way he was so carefree when he joked with Carmen, his mind, and ability with numbers, how he carries himself, and even his discretion and need for privacy.

People are often under the assumption that when someone has as much money as I do, they enjoy flaunting their personal lives.

I would loathe being with a man who actually wanted to be in the public eye.

And then I tell him about Jeremy and how he reminded me of him. I meant to insinuate that his shyness told me he would be a faithful partner, that he valued love. However, I don’t get to. His body goes rigid, and a look of horror crosses his face.

“So, you felt sorry for me? Did you think you were saving me from…from—I don’t know. That I’m closeted and miserable and would give up on life because of it?”

Jesus. That did not go where I expected it to, but I understand his assumption.

“No. Not at all,” I reassure him, cupping his face. “I’m not collecting Jeremys or trying to replace him or bring him back.”

“But…your club. Why would you have a club like that and want a guy like me?”

I blink, soaking in the pain in his expression. God, it makes sense now. No wonder he was wary about wanting to have anything to do with me at first.

“Charlie, I don’t hang out at my club. I started it for people to have a safe place to be who they want, to do what they want.

Jeremy never felt like he had that. And when I met you, I got the impression that you didn’t either.

It’s why I gave you the card. That’s all you have in common.

I honestly doubt Jeremy would ever have been able to walk into a place like that.

You’re brave, Charlie, so fucking brave.

I never for a second worried you were the kind of person who would give up on being your true self.

I didn’t make you go. You went there on your own, again and again. ” He blushes at that.

“But why didn’t you tell me it was you when I talked to you on the yacht? Were you testing me?”

“I wanted to. I had planned to, but when you told me as me …as just some guy you were confiding in, that’s what really did me in.

You trusted me with your secret, which was way more personal for you than trusting some stranger behind a panel with your body.

That’s when I knew that maybe I’d have a chance with something more than physical with you.

I knew we had a physical connection at the club, but you didn’t know it was me then. ”

He gapes at me then, and I’m honestly terrified I’ve just ruined everything. “You realize that is the most fucked up way to land a guy, don’t you? Why didn’t you just flirt with me or ask me out?”

Scoffing, I can’t help myself, leaning in to steal a kiss. When I pull away, he looks stunned and slightly annoyed. “And that would have worked?” I challenge.

Frowning, he looks too adorable when he pouts. “Probably not,” he finally concedes on a grumble, but his fingertip circles my nipple as he says it. “You were a total pain in the ass.”

I think that’s Charlie-code for admitting my eccentric methods were the best course of action. Smiling, I roll him onto his back and cover him. Kissing his neck, I murmur, “How about I make it up to you by flirting with you every day going forward?”

Maybe I do play a little dirty and test him, because as I say the words, I reach down and stroke his unfettered cock. It’s the first time I’ve touched it in its entirety with my hand, and I know I’m going to enjoy getting acquainted with its smoothness.

“You know me,” he mumbles, sounding strained, as I move my mouth down his chest to his stomach. “I don’t need any talking.”

Chuckling, I plant a kiss just below his belly button. Nice try, Charlie . He’s not going to get out of being praised that easily. I also happen to know just how much he likes it when I talk. Now, I’m going to do nothing but flirt for the rest of the night.

Moving lower, I rub my cheek against his length, basking in the soft feel of it against my skin. “I love your scent,” I whisper. “Especially here .” Turning, I press a soft kiss to the side of his cock, smiling at how much it’s thickened just from the sound of my voice.

“I just…had a shower,” he rationalizes, and I try not to chuckle.

“Mm, no, it’s more than that. It’s you .

It’s your Charlie scent. It drugged me the first time I walked into that room.

” Rubbing his thighs, I settle between his legs and map a line of kisses down the V of his hip juncture.

“If you think about it that way, we could say this is all your fault that we ended up here. It was beyond my control. I was…under the influence.”

I hear a snort. He fidgets like it’s getting difficult for him to hold still. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m glad we understand each other,” I purr, just before flicking my tongue over the slit in his cockhead. “And then the way you tasted? Forget it. I didn’t stand a chance.”

When I capture his tip with my mouth and give its circumference a slow lap, he gasps. “ Fuck .”

It feels so good to be in this bed, soft sheets around me, Charlie’s skin against mine.

I only dared imagine that it could happen.

I knew he could be brave enough to let his inhibitions go for the right man, but as much as I wanted to be, I still worried he wouldn’t think I was the right man.

My heart swells over the irony that he didn’t think he was the right man for me.

My mouth is on a mission to prove to him that we fit.

Moving lower, I mouth his sac. It’s stiffening already, and I wonder if he knows just how much. His heat greets me when my tongue dances at the base of the seam between his ass. I draw it slowly over that rippled ring, sighing when he lets out a grunt.

Something dusts the top of my head. I assumed he moved the sheets across my hair, but then his fingers brush against my scalp. He grips my hair, hesitantly at first, but then I feel a tug at my roots.

Fucking hell. Yes. He can rip it out for all I care.

Groaning, I move back up and take his entire cock.

I am a hundred percent starving to see Charlie go savage.

He’s solid as steel in my mouth. A drop of his salty essence explodes on my taste buds.

God, I want this man—this shy, temperamental-when-he’s-scared, sexy-as-fuck man.

I love how he looks like the most confident person in any room, and yet gets tongue-tied and rosy-cheeked when he looks at me.

I hope he knows I plan on earning that reaction over and over for as long as he’ll let me.

“Rory,” he gasps, slipping his hands from my hair.

Gripping my shoulders, he tugs for me to come to him. The strength and urgency with which he pulls me up is endearing, considering his earlier doubts about being able to come without his cage on.

Cupping my face, he leans forward, about to kiss me, but then bites his lower lip. I realize I had to pause my flattery because his cock was in my mouth. I can easily remedy that now.

“And every time you bite that lower lip of yours, I want it to be my teeth instead,” I whisper.

He lets out a breathless laugh and slowly pulls me to his mouth.

I let him do what he wants, giving him time.

His lips dust over mine once, softly. And then again.

The tip of his tongue taps against my lips, seeking entrance.

I open my mouth and let him in. And then he takes.

I love that he’s taking. He moans into a kiss that turns filthy in a heartbeat, and I let my weight settle on him, reuniting my hands with the lines of his body.

When his hips start nudging upward against mine, I wonder how long he’ll let it go on. Will he ask? Does he want me to give him those little orders I don’t mind giving him? He surprises me, though, breaking free to catch his breath.

“I…I have something. Just a minute.”

He slides out from under me and goes to his suitcase in the closet. Turning on my side, I rest my cheek in my palm and admire his bare profile in his crouched position. I get a questioning look when he straightens up with a small bottle of lube in his hand.

“Sorry.” I shrug. “I like to smile when I look at you.”

Scoffing, he rolls his eyes. I’ll make sure he pays for that later. My compliments are to be taken seriously.

Crawling back into bed, he tucks himself back under the covers like a monk preparing for bed. I’m tempted to rip the sheet back so I can see him in all his naked glory, but it’s just as sexy to see him trying to act modest while sporting an erection like that.