Free Me (Caged Hearts Book 1)

by West, Heather

  “I was surprised by the flowers,” Kait admitted.

  Jasper placed his menu down and raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Surprised in a good way?”

  “Just…surprised. I thought perhaps I wouldn’t hear from you again. You have a tendency to be hot one minute and cold the next.”

  She noticed a vein tick in Jasper’s strong jaw. Had she annoyed him with her comment? She was just trying to be honest, to clear the air between them.

  “I’m sorry, I get pre-occupied with training as it can be so intense. It’s certainly not a reflection on how I feel about you.”

  Kait smiled with relief.

  “Have you got another fight coming up?” Kait enquired politely.

  “A huge one,” Jasper grumbled, his expression darkening. The waiter returned to take their order before Kait could press him for more details.

  Chapter 19

  By the time dessert arrived, all tension between the couple was gone. Kait had boldly ordered the chocolate gateaux, comfortable that Jasper wouldn’t judge her for such a choice. Around him, like the time she had ordered the pizza, she could just be herself not an extension of who she thought he’d want her to be.

  “That looks good,” Jasper declared enviously as he eyed her dessert. He’d opted to finish his meal with just a green tea. Another element of his hyper controlled diet.

  “It tastes even better,” Kait told him flirtatiously as she slowly raised the fork to her mouth and slowly bit down on the chocolate sponge and cream. She watched Jasper lick his lips, and she hoped he was lusting after her rather than the gateaux.

  “You know,” Kait looked down at her plate and then across at Jasper. Perhaps it was the wine or maybe she was just intoxicated on his company, but she suddenly felt confident and sexy. “I’d love to cover your body in chocolate and lick it off.” She told him with a seductive smile. Never in her life had Kait uttered such words to a man. Nor had she ever even thought them. But with Jasper, it was like she had a one track mind. She found him utterly irresistible and when she was around him, all she wanted to do was get him in to bed.

  A smile pulled on Jasper’s lips, and he raised a hand to herald the waiter.

  “Can we have the bill please?” He asked politely, though his tone was pitched with urgency. Kait grinned as she finished off her dessert, her body already tingling with anticipation.

  Chapter 20

  Back at her apartment, he ravaged her. She’d barely opened the door when his hands were all over her body, pulling down the zipper on her blue dress. She elegantly stepped out of it, and Jasper raised her up and pressed her against the nearest wall. They were kissing, and Kait was losing herself in the moment. She was drowning in their passion; it was wondrous and she wanted it to never end.

  Soon he was free of his own clothes, his strong, athletic body exposed for her viewing pleasure. She loved how it felt to be supported by his powerful arms as his soft lips gently kissed and caressed her.

  Despite being trained to fight, Jasper was an amazing lover. He intuitively knew how to make Kait cry out in pleasure. He always applied just enough pressure, and his main goal was to ensure that she was equally as pleasured as he was. All of this resulted in the best sex of Kait’s life.

  She trembled against the wall as he entered her. Closing her eyes, she let out frequent, pleasured gasps. He felt amazing. She clawed at his bare back, begging him to go deeper, to never let her go. Jasper panted and obliged.

  Throwing her head back, Kait climaxed, as did he. As he released his tight grip on her, she lowered to the carpeted floor, her legs trembling. She felt wonderful and alive.

  They made love several more times both on the sofa and also the bed. Outside the dark skies were turning grey when they eventually unfurled from one another and fell asleep. Satisfied and exhausted, Kait slept deeply. She did not dream. Her mind was merely empty and at peace.

  Chapter 21

  The sharp screech of a phone ringing pulled Kait out of her fog of sleep. Wincing, she sat up and gazed around, feeling in a daze. A quick glance at her clock told her it was half past nine in the morning. She had successfully slept through her alarm and was now late for work.

  “Dammit,” she sprang from the bed, suddenly alert, and wide awake. She reached for her phone and saw with a feeling of dread that the incoming call was from her boss. No doubt she was going to be in a lot of trouble for not being in work on time.

  Taking a deep breath, she answered and began grovelling. She coughed and pretended to have been suddenly struck down by the flu virus which had been sweeping through the office doing its annual rounds.

  “I just woke up and,” coughs, “felt wretched. I was so doped up on cough syrup I must have managed to sleep through my alarm. I’m so,” cough, “sorry.”

  There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.

  “Well, there has been a lot of sickness going around,” her boss said firmly. “Take the rest of the week to recover. We need you in top shape for the handling of the Denver accounts next week.”

  “Yes, yes,” cough, “of course.”

  With a satisfied smile, Kait hung up. She had successfully wormed her way out of being berated at work and managed to get herself the rest of the week off. That meant more free time with Jasper. More time curled up beside him listening to the steady beat of his heart.

  Jasper.

  Kait had been so panicked when she was rudely awoken by her phone that she’d briefly forgotten he was there. She glanced back at her bed, smiling widely. She’d offer to make him breakfast, and then they could snuggle up on the sofa and watch television shows all day. It would be perfect.

  But Jasper wasn’t there. Her bed was empty. The sheets still smelt of his cologne, but he was gone. Kait’s smile fell away, and her face blanked. He couldn’t have crept out on her again. Surely not. Once she could live with, but twice? How hard was it to wake her up and kiss her goodbye? The way he kept creeping out made her feel like a one night stand instead of a girlfriend. And she was his girlfriend, wasn’t she?

  Dread seeped up Kait’s spine as she realized that Jasper had yet to label her as is girlfriend. He’d yet to label her as anything. When they met up, hormones took over, and they just ended up in bed together.

  “Dammit,” Kait bunched her hands in to frustrated fists. She stormed out of the bedroom and checked the rest of the apartment. She threw open the door to the small bathroom and glanced around the living room, but Jasper was gone.

  On the verge of tears, Kait dropped on to the sofa clutching her phone and checked his Twitter account. He’d already been tweeting since early that morning which caused a solitary tear to fall down her cheek.

  Up and at it ready for #fightnightFriday @J_Duboix

  Many of his followers had commented back voicing their excitement for Friday night. It must be the huge fight Jasper had briefly mentioned to her over dinner. Wiping away her tears, Kait turned on the television and put down her phone. She was tired of being made to feel worthless each time Jasper crept out when it was still dark outside. She couldn’t keep running back to him each time he did something nice.

  But he had sent her flowers. She glanced at the floral display gathered in the vase from the corner of her eye. That had to mean something, didn’t it? And they’d gone out for dinner. Dinner is a date; Kait knew that much. Maybe he hadn’t woken her up because she was sleeping so soundly. Perhaps she was taking offence when really he’d just been being considerate.

  Nibbling at her fingernails, Kait prayed she wasn’t turning in to a woman who failed to see a man’s flaws. She wanted to believe that Jasper genuinely cared about her. The flowers and the dinner date told her as much, but the disappearing act before dawn contradicted those actions.

  Kait tried to focus on the television. The more she thought about Jasper, the more confused she became. Maybe she just needed to confront him over where they stood. If she was officially his girlfriend, it would be easier to deal with his seem
ingly flaky behaviour.

  Reaching again for her phone, Kait looked up the address of the gym where Jasper trained. Anna was right; it wasn’t far from her work offices. But Kait couldn’t be seen near work when she was supposed to be off sick. Unless she said she’d just popped out for some cold medicine which she could pick up prior to seeing Jasper.

  She expected him to be at the gym every day that week in preparation for his big fight on the Friday. All she had to do was go there and confront him. Ask him what they were to one another, and he’d have to give her an answer. If it wasn’t the one she wanted, she’d just have to let go and accept that they weren’t meant to be.

  Chapter 22

  The air smelt of sweat and determination as Kait entered the gym. She was wearing tight fitting sweat pants and a crop top which showed off her slim figure. Her hair was held up in a ponytail and bobbed as she walked. As she left the sanctuary of the ladies’ dressing room, she instantly felt like a fish out of water. This was Jasper’s territory, not hers. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been to a gym. She’d had to pay a day rate just to get in. Luckily her office was partnered with the gym and offered staff a discount.

  As Kait signed up for her day rate, the muscular receptionist did his best to make her a more permanent member. He seemed utterly baffled by her decision to visit the gym just the once.

  The gym was a wide open space with white painted walls where mirrors weren’t already hanging. Televisions were suspended from the television which people gazed at as they ran on treadmills or worked the cross trainers.

  Glancing around, Kait took a deep breath and tried to appear like she belonged. She clutched the bottle of water she was holding a little too tightly, wishing that she’d asked Anna to come along with her. But if Anna had come, there would have been someone to witness her humiliation if Jasper rebuffed her. She certainly didn’t want anyone present to see that.

  Oddly, everyone at the gym was either slender or covered in strong, bulging muscles. No one looked like they actually needed to be there, and no one looked like they only came in for the one visit.

  As people sprinted on the treadmills and lifted dumbbells the equivalent of Kait’s entire weight, they didn’t even break a sweat. This was a gym for professionals. Everyone there clearly took their physical fitness extremely seriously.

  Kait started to wish she could just fade in to the background. She feared that she stood out like a sore thumb thanks to her lack of muscle definition and general look of unease. She was considering turning around and leaving when she spotted him.

  It was as if there was a magnet within him which Kait couldn’t help but be drawn to. Like a moth to a flame, she gazed helplessly at Jasper as she perched on the edge of a metal bench and lifted a small, singular dumbbell with one hand. Each time he raised the weight, his impressive muscles contracted. Kait shivered as she remembered how it felt to be wrapped in his powerful embrace. Shaking away the thoughts, she lifted her chin defiantly and pushed back her shoulders. It was time to face Jasper Duboix and silence any doubts she had between them once and for all.

  “Jasper, hey,” she announced herself nervously, aware that at this point she must look like a stalker. Jasper ceased raising the dumbbell and looked up at her. His eyes widened in surprise as his jaw clenched. Was he annoyed to see her?

  “I’m not even going to pretend this is a coincidence,” Kait admitted boldly. “I came here deliberately to see you since you scamper from my place before we’ve had a chance to talk.”

  Glancing around, she was relieved to see that the particular part of the gym they were occupying was blissfully quiet, meaning they could talk candidly.

  Jasper ran his free hand down his face and set his weight on the ground. He straightened and focused his chocolate gaze upon Kait.

  “What do you want to talk about?” He asked in his deep, gravelly voice.

  “Well,” Kait could feel herself becoming flustered. “Really, I want to talk about us.”

  “Us?” One of Jasper’s eyebrows shot up as he echoed the word. Was he intrigued by the topic of discussion or just annoyed?

  “Yes, us,” Kait confirmed with a brisk nod of her head. “I feel like we’ve seen each other a number of times now,” she was interlocking her fingers together and then releasing them as she spoke. “There have been flowers and a dinner and more than one night spent together.”

  “What’s your point?” Jasper asked curtly.

  For a moment, Kait’s mouth flapped open and closed.

  “My, my point,” she tried to recover. He was being surprisingly abrupt with her given the subject matter.

  “My point is that I’d like to know where we stand. Together. Are we friends? Are we a couple? Are we on the way to being a couple?”

  Shaking his head, Jasper looked down at the floor.

  “What?” Kait’s hands landed on her hips to reflect her indignation at his response.

  “You came here to ask me if I’m your boyfriend?” There was something mocking to Jasper’s tone which Kait didn’t appreciate one bit. “What are we, ten?” Jasper was still shaking his head as he picked his weight back up and continued to work out.

  “I’m not asking for a label!” Kait insisted, though in reality she was. “I just need to know where this is headed.”

  Jasper continued working out.

  “Well?”

  With a roll of his eyes, he looked up at her.

  “I’ve got a huge match coming up this Friday.”

  “Right, yeah,” Kait already knew this. Why was he even bothering to tell her? What did it matter?

  “So I need to be focused on that.” Jasper explained.

  “Okay.” Kait still wasn’t following.

  “I need to focus solely on that,” Jasper spoke slowly, ensuring she got the point he was making. Kait’s mouth fell open once more as her cheeks began to burn. He was blowing her off. Her worst case scenario was coming true. He was telling her that his focus needed to be on his big fight, not on her. He was letting her go.

  “Right, okay, I see,” Kait did her best to remain calm and collected. She blinked away her tears and continued to hold her head high. “Well good luck with that.”

  She turned on her heel and marched her way back through the gym, desperate to reach the changing rooms so that she could release the tears which gathering behind her eyes. She swallowed down a lump in her throat, and as she reached the double doors, she took a second to glance back at Jasper. He was staring intently at the weight he was currently working out with; he wasn’t even looking at Kait. She pushed the doors open in despair and made it in to the changing rooms just as the tears came.

  Chapter 23

  It was early Friday evening and Kait was doing her best not to think about Jasper. Yet she found herself checking his Twitter account at least once an hour. His big fight was now just hours away.

  “I hope you lose,” Kait seethed at her phone when she saw yet another Tweet from Jasper about how confident he was about this latest bout. She plunged her spoon in to the bowl of ice cream she was clutching and looked back at the television where her favourite film was playing. She refused to let Jasper Duboix bring her down. Yet she knew how pathetic she was to be wearing her flannel pyjamas and tucked up before the television when it was only six in the evening and still light outside.

  Kait pushed the spoonful of ice cream in to her mouth and closed her eyes in satisfaction. The sweet, cold chocolate flavour was a welcome respite from the pain which burned through her core. She couldn’t believe that Jasper had so readily pushed her aside. And what for? For a fight. Did she mean so little to him?

  Tears trickled from her blood shot eyes, but she ignored them as they journeyed down her cheeks. The curtains in her apartment were drawn, sealing out the sun. The room hadn’t seen daylight for several days. Kait wanted to enshroud herself with darkness to match her mood. When she managed to sleep, she dreamt only of him. Despite washing her sheets his scent continue
d to cling to her bed. It was as if she couldn’t be truly rid of him no matter how hard she tried.

  Her phone beeped, but Kait ignored it. She knew full well it wouldn’t be Jasper texting her. He had all the time in the world to Tweet his followers and communicate with them. But for Kait, he had quickly become a ghost. She wondered if he’d even thought about her since their encounter at the gym.

  Her phone beeped again, and Kait rolled her eyes and turned up the volume on the television. The film had reached one of her favourite scenes where the lead characters first kiss. As she watched their on screen romance blossom, she wondered why real life couldn’t be that easy. The way she’d met Jasper had felt like a fairy tale. He’d appeared at her darkest hour like a knight in shining armour. He’d been valiant and brave. He’d even bled for her. Then there had been the flowers and the date.