Page 38 of Caged By the Stranger (Bad Decisions #1)

I didn’t miss how he dropped the bottle on the bed between us, as though he did so to free up his hands to situate the blankets, and yet he hasn’t moved to pick it back up. Palming it, I find it sealed at the lid. Brand new. Unused.

Oh, Charlie. He really did do soul searching.

“You know,” I hum, breaking the seal around the cap, “it’s a shame to see this so full. You could have thought of me and used it.”

I can barely see his face when he rolls toward me, the way his gaze is fixed on the gap under the blanket between our waists. He looks to be biding his time, patiently waiting to see what I’ll do as I dribble some into my palm.

Wetting his lips, he mumbles, “I’ve tried. It’s not the same.”

I didn’t think I’d be receiving flattery, too, but that morsel of information makes my heart sing. Coating myself with one hand, I tilt his chin up with the other.

“We’ll have to remedy that.”

His brow furrows. I’d love to know if he thinks that I plan on denying him myself after tonight, or if he’s merely doubtful that he can get off on his own just from thinking of me. I can easily clear up both misconceptions.

Slipping my hand between his legs, I lean in and nuzzle his cheek.

“It would be good practice for the next time one of us has to take a trip by themselves,” I tell him with open-mouthed kisses on the side of his face, working my way toward his ear.

“Plus, I would thoroughly enjoy watching you touch yourself while I whisper what I’m thinking. ”

His breaths come harder as I graze my slick fingers between his cheeks and circle his rim.

“Just imagine,” I add, nibbling his earlobe.

Slipping my index finger into that inferno, he stretches around me easily.

“The next time you’re away and you touch yourself, I’d be happy to hear all these noises over the phone while I’m missing you.

Do you know how hard that would make me, hearing you coming just from thinking about me? ”

“Fuck,” he rasps, sliding his thigh over my hip and gripping my shoulder. “You’re…how do you talk like that…like it’s nothing?”

“It’s not nothing. I mean every word—you bring them out of me whenever you’re around.” Gripping the back of his neck, I hover over his lips. “I told you…you’ve become my obsession, Charlie. If there’s a cure for it, I don’t want one.”

This time, he moves in first, claiming my mouth. When he whimpers, I roll us, covering his body with mine. He’s solid, all fit muscle, but it’s the softness in him now that has me sighing and responding to his hungry kisses.

One of his hands goes to the back of my neck, gripping it tightly. His fingertips stroke anxiously like he’s itching to run them through my hair.

Touch me, I want to beg. Touch me all you want, Charlie.

“Do you mind,” I preface between kisses, undulating my hips so our cocks slide against one another between us, “that I’m mad about you?”

He makes a strangled little noise. I feel his palm land on my hip.

His fingers slink to the soft flesh at my juncture.

His mouth breaks away from mine, and he stares at me.

His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, and his tongue comes out to wet his lips.

The silky flesh of his inner thighs brushes against the outside of my hips, and his hand slips between us, wrapping around me.

I think it’s the first time he’s ever touched my cock unbidden. It makes my throat go thick.

“No,” he whispers and angles my cock, so the tip is lined up against his ring. And then…he smiles this shy little smile without looking away.

I practically melt into him with a low growl, pressing forward. I kiss the smile off his face and swallow his gasps. With each inch he accepts, his body cuffs me tighter. When I can’t push any deeper, I hug him to me and breathe into his neck.

My skin tingles when his palms slide up my sides and across my back. His soft moan vibrates in his throat against my lips.

“No,” he gasps, strained. “I don’t mind.”

Raising my head, I stare down in gratitude.

Cheeks flush from want, his expression is tranquil and full of a look I didn’t know could run soul deep.

I feel it down to my own, and it brings a tear to my eye.

I know it’s presumptuous, but at this moment, I know that I’m going to enjoy every second of the rest of my life, and it’s all because of him.

I move with purpose. Each draw, each delve, is a calculated art dictated by the sounds and expressions of my lover’s body, telling me what he likes best. I don’t even have to think about it. I just act on instinct. Making love has never required less thought.

When his breathing and the way his fingertips claw at my back tell me to pick up the pace, I hook one arm under his leg and cup his jaw. “Are you mine, Charlie? Tell me you’re really mine.”

The desperate words come from a sudden cavern of panic that opens in my chest at the thought of ever losing what I’ve just been gifted. Is this the fall people say they experience when love comes pounding on their door?

Gripping my hair, he steals my breath with a kiss that goes on until my lungs are burning. “Yeah,” he keens. His fingers bite into the meat of my ass, tugging my hips into him. “I’m yours.”

His eyes are like an eclipse. I am completely lost in them over those two whispered words.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

I don’t even realize I’m murmuring it aloud until I catch his repeated, “Yours. Yours,” with each slap of my hips.

He raises his other leg, gripping the back of his thigh like he wants more of me. I hook his other foot over my shoulder, nearly bending him in half.

I missed him too much. Wanted the assurance he just gave me too much. The pressure in my cock sends off a flare down my legs all the way to my toes. The next thing I know, I’m helpless to stop the onslaught of my release.

I groan in apology, dropping my forehead to his. Twitching with each pulse, I can barely breathe. Digging his fingers into the back of my shoulder, he makes a sound of beautiful anguish and spasms around me. The added stimulation is almost too much, squeezing me when I’m already on another plane.

His slick cock slides against my stomach with my staggered thrusts; a last-ditch effort to see him to where he needs to be. No metal. No cage. Just Charlie coming between us because of how I make him feel. I am so fucking glad I got on that flight.

I help his legs drop from my shoulders and roll like a felled tree to the side.

Panting, I stagger to the bathroom and bring back a towel, blinking through my hazy vision.

His stomach is rising and falling with labored breaths.

His arms are dead at his sides as he eyes me with droopy lids.

I can’t believe I’m going to get to see that sight again and again.

Taking the towel from me, he swipes at the mess we made as I slip back under the covers. “I don’t think I’ve ever made an effort to help anyone clean up the way you do,” he mumbles off-handedly, tossing the towel to the floor on his side.

Reaching across him, I snake my arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

His gaze travels over the sight of me in the bed, and he wets his lips.

Probably another first for him, I assume.

I refuse to let him go, though. Stretching back, I flick the switch on the bedside lamp, hoping that will help him stay in his happy place.

“Don’t worry,” I assure him, tugging the blankets up around us. “I’ll treat you better than Charlie North.”

It was meant to be a playful comment, but his silence stretches in the darkness. He feels tense against me, but then his hand comes up and rests on my forearm. His thumb rakes over the hair there, and he sighs.

“How could I not know what the hell I was doing all these years until you came along?”

The way he murmurs the words and lets out a scoff, I don’t think he’s expecting an answer. I wait a second to let him absorb his chastisement, pressing a kiss to the top of his shoulder.

“I thought I had it all figured out,” he mumbles.

That makes me chuckle. I feel his head turn toward me on the pillow. I can just imagine that severe brow of his, ready to go on the defensive.

“You’re not the only one, Charlie. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I thought I did, too. I think a lot of people think they have it figured out. There’s no room for disappointment when you do. It makes us feel safe.”

Slowly, he turns to his side to face me. His fingertips touch my chest and stay there, tracing small circles over my heart.

“I don’t want to feel safe,” he whispers. “I…I want to be happy.”

I squeeze him tighter and cup his cheek. For once, I’m glad the lights are off. If I saw his face right now, it would probably do me in.

“Tell me how and I’ll make it happen.”

When my thumb traces the corner of his mouth, I feel his lips tick up against my touch. “You already have.”

His hand moves, slipping around my waist. As he hugs me close to him and sighs a contented sound, I can feel a smile on my own face.

He rests his head under my chin, burrowing into me. His lips brush against my chest. I barely hear it, but I’ll remember it forever. “Thank you for coming. I…I really missed you.”

I suck in a breath. My heart thumps hard against my ribs. In Charlie-language, I’m pretty sure that means, ‘I love you too.’

There are no more games. No tests. No fear that can’t be overcome.

Just a lightness that makes my soul feel like it’s floating on air.

Pressing my lips to his forehead, I leave a lingering kiss there.

A small thank you. Sliding my hand down to his hip, I drag his thigh over mine and settle my leg between his.

And that’s how I fall asleep, wrapped up in the man who surprised me in a world where I thought nothing could surprise me anymore.