Let It Burn

by Dee Ellis

  “Hey gorgeous,” His eyes clouded with brightness but there was still pain, “I wanted to...I just wanted to see you before...” I frowned, when I realized he had readied the couch in the corner. No way I was sleeping without him again.

  “Cage, will you rub my shoulders when we lay down? The trip here killed me.” I took the bottle of orange scented lotion from the dresser as I crossed the room.

  “I thought.... till we were fixed you might not want me in your bed.”

  After the morning at the barn, he didn’t assume we were fixed and that just meant he knew he had hurt me. Not enough to go a night longer without him holding me than I had to.

  “Of course I do. Shoulders,” I smirked as I stood in front of him, shaking the lotion playfully, “yes or no?” Cage sighed and reached out, tugging at my hips.

  Pressing his face into my stomach, he lassoed his arms around my legs and held on. I sighed and dropped the lotion onto the bed, letting him hold me. My fingers combed through his damp hair, chasing droplets of water down his tattoos.

  Cage trembled against me and I realized he was crying at the same time I realized some of those droplets were my own tears. I bent my head and kissed the top of his head, closing my arms around him. Nothing he had done hurt more than this did. Knowing he doubted my love because I hadn’t fought for us killed me.

  The entire time I had been so scared to get hurt that I all but set him up to do just that. Even all the time we had together, I had one hand out to keep him just far enough away.

  While he gave me all of himself, I kept all the important parts, the truth that could have saved us this heartbreak, locked away. If he had known all my pieces, he would have known a lie could send me running.

  Instead he didn’t know how to protect me and so he tried his best and I punished him for it. Cage had been watching me, waiting for me to run and I was weak and did just that. While he fought for us, I used my first chance for escape and ran, not caring that it would tear him apart too.

  “I love you, baby,” I murmured now, sinking my knees on either side of his hips on the bed, “I am so sorry I ran, even though I said I would. You deserve better than that. I won’t.... I won’t run out on us again, Cage. I don’t want to hurt you, baby. I told you it was never because I wanted to or to hurt you. The lies...they’re not bigger than our truths. I didn’t think about that before I ran. I’m so sorry.”

  “I just know I’m not good enough for you. I knew it all along but I thought I could try to be. It was stupid to lie about her thinking it might protect you. I just didn’t want my past fucking up my future and yet that’s exactly what it did.” Cage was talking as if he had accepted it was over, and that scared the shit out of me. Since dinner, he had been quiet and I wasn’t sure what had prompted it but I needed to reach him now.

  “Look at me,” I ordered, leaning away to seek his gaze, “I am done running. I will go home with you tonight if that’s what it takes to prove it to you, Cage. I love you and I want to go home with you. What....what has you thinking this way now?” Cage’s eyes were full of pain and wet with tears and it broke my fucking heart.

  “Your brothers are right. You buried one man already. Everyone has taken so much from you, Sugar. Your family, Tucker. I won’t be another. My job....it could cost you and I can’t do that to you. I let you give and give while I just took. I just took you as mine. I am the same piece of shit you met two months ago, and you deserve better. I won’t chase you anymore. I’ll leave before they go hunting in the morning. I won’t come by the cottage even if it kills me. I just can’t hurt you again....” My entire world shifted on its axis and I nearly stumbled to the ground.

  Cage was trying to run this time. I had hurt him by giving up the first chance I had. Now he was so defeated, so certain my intent was to stay here, he was the one giving up. I looked back on our time together and realized this had happened once before. The shift of power, maybe.

  The night of the power outage that had him certain I was running just days after we started. I never gave us a chance, because he was so sure the entire time I would run. Not even because I wanted to, or he hurt me. Because Cage didn’t believe he was worthy of love. Which was absolute bullshit. I shoved at his shoulders, sliding from his lap.

  “Now you decide to run? Didn’t think that was your MO baby. Well, too fucking bad,” I stormed away, then back as I paced in front of him, “I fucked up too okay. I... I loved you so fast and so hard and I didn’t want to lose someone else again. This is the same fucking thing, if you give up on me. On us. I didn’t give up. Not really, Cage. In all the ways that mattered yes and I’m so fucking sorry. I knew you would chase me because you loved me and I trusted you to do what you promised. Even if I asked you not to. Because I knew you were a good man and better than I deserve, given the shit I just pulled.” I was leaving wet foot prints on the wood floor as I continued to pace, shouting now.

  “Baby I’m so sorry for everything. I just think...” I whirled on him, eyes full of tears from anger and fear. I couldn’t lose him. I had to fix this.

  “No, no no. We don’t work this way, remember? We talk about it and if I run, you chase me. I let you catch me because I never really want to leave you. You lied about someone trying to sabotage us, someone trying to hurt me. I might have done the same fucking thing. I punished you because of everyone else’s lies, not yours. You don’t get to make the grand gesture and then walk away, Cage Cooper. We don’t work that way!” Cage lifted his chin and I saw a half smirk at his sexy mouth, but his eyes were sad.

  “I don’t want you to lose more, Sugar,” He took in a shaky breath, running his hands over his knees, “I can’t be the person to break your heart like that. If I leave now...” I shoved at his shoulders again, knees on the bed, pushing him back into it.

  “If you leave now you break my heart anyway. Then I just get to learn how to chase you,” I straddled his lap, my hands pinning his shoulders as I ranted on, desperate, “I love you, Cage. Enough to let the pain that comes with it burn me up. You deserve better than me, better than someone ready to run at the first sign of trouble. But I love you and I don’t want you to stop chasing me. But if you do, then I’ll just start chasing you, I guess. You are beautiful and loving and giving and the best thing to ever happen to me and I won’t let either of us fuck this up and throw it away. Not now.” Cage sighed sadly as he closed his eyes and I felt broken.

  Sitting up, I untied my robe and let it fall from my shoulders, pooling around us. Cage looked up at me and his eyes were stormy and hooded. I knew I had to focus him back on us, now before he left in the middle of the night like I had. Because I might not be strong enough to follow him like he had me. I couldn’t lose him.

  Cage sat up a little, elbows propping him up, as the moonlight poured over his beautiful body through the open windows. My eyes slid over his muscled chest, the sexy curve of tattoos that started at his left pec and traveled over his shoulder and down to his wrist. Just as I started to lean forward, wanting to kiss each tattoo, I stopped. When my eyes flew to his, he was flushed, his eyes honey warm and I went gooey all over.

  “Cage....” Trembling fingers reached out, tracing the looping cursive tattoo that had not been there days ago.

  “I uhh…might have snuck out one night before everything fell apart.”

  Curved beneath his peck, just about exactly over his heart, was new ink. Charli. In bright pink and green, the same colors as my sparrow, a tiny matching sparrow placing the dot to the “I” on my name. How had I missed that?

  “Oh baby.... it’s so beautiful. It’s perfect.” I brought his hand to my hip, to the sparrow he spent hours brushing his lips over.

  “I love you, Charli. So fucking much,” Tears flooded his eyes as his thumb traced the tattoo, “I never had a single doubt about you owning my heart. Not one. Figured even if you ran too far and too long, I wanted to remember who it belonged to. I don’t want to run either, Sugar. You’re my whole fucking world. I just don’t want
to hurt you again. Tell me...tell me what to do, Charli. I can’t...I don’t think I can live without you.” Earlier in the barn I had fucked him slow and hard, promising him he never had to. I had meant it then and I certainly meant it now.

  “Cage Cooper,” I leaned forward to brush my lips over the tattoo, “I love you with all of my pieces. I won’t let you live without me, I promise you. I am so sorry I didn’t fight, that I ran just like you feared I would. I won’t again; I want to be scared with you and fight right alongside you and let your love burn me up if it has to. I need you Cage. So fucking much; you brought me to life and you are worth more than I could ever give you. You are my Mr. Darcy. My Peeta Mellark.” Cage lit in a bright smile, dimple flashing, tears spilling over.

  “I love you Charli Dixon. You are my Lizzie Bennett. My Katniss Everdeen. Promise me you will give me my forever. Because you are the great love of my life.” Tears streamed down my face as my world pieced together slowly once again.

  “I promise you, baby. Don’t you talk about walking away or giving up the chase ever again. I need you to fight for me. Like I promise to fight for you.” Cage lifted his hands to cup my jaw, tipping my face back.

  “I promise, Sugar. I will always chase you. I will always fight beside you. I will always bail you out of jail.” That smile flashed and his dimple made me warm all over.

  “I love you Cage. Promise me you will be there when I come home. Or take me home right now. Either one.” Cage took my mouth, claiming it and I melted against him, limbs going loose.

  “I love you too much to take you home right now. I know you need to be here for right now; your brothers and everything just got to me I guess. You really would leave right now, if I said that’s what I needed?” I didn’t even have to think about it.

  “Abso-Fucking-Lutely. You are my home now, baby.” I touched my forehead to his then he was moving.

  Cage stood up and I let out a yelp before my limbs closed around him. Spinning, he gently dipped me back onto the bed and then gave a nod. I frowned until he lifted the bottle of lotion. I had been teasing, but as his eyes went molten and hooded, I wanted nothing more than his hands on me.

  I obeyed, as I always seemed to do, flipping onto my belly and laying my head at my folded hands. Then I jumped when I felt his mouth press to the arch of my foot. The back of my calve. The bend of my knee. My thigh. Then slowly pepper each cheek of my backside. My breath was coming fast and my eyes were closed tight. Cage dropped his hands to my backside, lifting handfuls of my flesh and spreading me, making me flush.

  “I love this fucking ass. Lie still baby, I’m gonna give you the massage you asked for. Maybe a little bit more.” Then I felt his warm breath between my legs and I whimpered.

  “Cage....” I cried out when cold pooled at the small of my back as he squirted some lotion out.

  I felt the bed dip as he lifted his knees onto it, straddling my body and caging me in. I loved the delicious weight of him pinning me down. Starting at my lower back, he worked the lotion over my muscles with those magic hands. I could feel his cock pressing into my ass and I knew he was teasing us both.

  I couldn’t help my moans as his massive hands kneaded my shoulders, my arms, and my neck. Sweet Jesus, his hands really felt like magic. Cage shifted away, hands moving down to my backside, my hips, and my thighs. I felt liquid and warm beneath his touch, while the heat between my legs slowly built with every sweep of his hands.

  “You’re so damn beautiful, baby,” He husked, his breath hot at my shoulder, “I love your body. You really all mine, Sugar?” I smiled into my arms and nodded, barely able to talk I was so amped up.

  “Mmm, yes baby. Are you really all mine?” Cage pressed his hips into my ass again, his cock rock hard through his sweats.

  “Abso-fucking-lutely. Flip over baby.” Then he lifted just enough to let me twist on the bed.

  “Fuck you’re gorgeous. I was an ass man before you Sugar. Kind of still am but damn your tits are amazing,” He shoved his hands up beneath them, cupping roughly and flicking his thumbs over the nipples, “pretty pink nipples to go with this pretty pink pussy.” A hand slid down between my legs, two fingers tracing the swollen lips he found there.

  “Cage...baby I hate when you tease...” Cage lit in a sexy smile, his fingers slipping over the wetness his touches had wrought.

  “Mmm, no lies baby. You love when I tease you. You love when I tell you all the dirty things I want to do to you. Why you so wet for me if you don’t? Hmm?” Grazing touches spread my arousal over my lips, but didn’t touch the nub swollen and throbbing for him.

  “Cage. Please...baby.” My eyes struggled to focus on him, zoning in on that tattoo; I got wetter if possible.

  “You like the tattoo, Sugar,” He smiled that sexy half smile, dimple and all, when I nodded, “I thought you might. I want you to do one for me. Right here. My name because this body and every piece of you is mine.” Cage’s hand cupped my left breast, his fingertips whispering beneath the curve of it.

  “Do you now? I want to,” I suddenly got very excited about the idea and he laughed when he realized it, “when I come home? I’d do it right now if we were home.” Cage nodded as his hands began caressing me, more lotion coming into play at some point.

  “Mmm, yes when you get home, Sugar. Fuck that’s going to turn me on. Seeing my name on your body. Does it turn you on, Sugar?” My head nodded against the bed, but I was losing focus because his huge cock was settled right against my aching pussy.

  “Yes. Yes baby. Shit, Cage...stop teasing.” I felt warm and gooey all over, my eyes flashing between that tattoo and his beautiful face.

  “Hmm, you love it. Damn I love you. You’re so sexy and you get so hot for me it makes me so fucking hard. I want to try something new tonight Sugar. Before I do, I want you begging for my cock. I got another tattoo for you, Sugar. Want to know what it is?” My head nodded again but I could barely focus as he palmed my breasts, hands rough at my aching nipples.

  “Yes...yes. Another one?” I tried to seek it out, but his hips kept rocking against me, the ridge of his cock giving me just enough friction through his sweats.

  “Yeah another one. One day I intend to have your name wrapped around my finger,” he tugged at my left nipple hard, “on this hand. Until then, I thought this was fitting.” His right knuckles rubbed over my right nipple; rough like I loved it and I looked down.

  Cage smirked when my eyes met his, his palm splaying open over my breasts. Written on the inside of his thick middle finger of his right hand, was a word. It was in a swirling, thick font that was both sensual and masculine. Sugar. The throb between my legs became painful, my thighs wet with arousal.

  Cage slid the finger with the new tattoo up to my lips, tracing slowly. My mouth was open and he slid it inside and we both moaned as I sucked it deep inside. Then, eyes watching me as I watched his hand, back down my body.

  He hesitated between my legs, waiting for my eyes to meet his. Eyes on me, he whispered. I struggled but as that finger slid between my slick folds, I bucked my hips and my eyes rolled back.

  “Fuck I love how wet you get for me. How sweet this pussy tastes. Like fucking Sugar. This finger finds that spot deep inside this pussy, that makes you come. Jesus, fuck baby,” Two fingers slid inside me, knuckle deep because my pussy was so needy, “so greedy for me. I fucking love it, Sugar. Look at me, eyes on me.” I whimpered as his fingers began pumping, one hand still cupping and teasing my tits.

  “Cage....oh...oh yes...fuck I love you...I love the tattoos. Fuck me you make me feel so good.” Cage let out a growl, knees shoving my legs further apart.

  “Yeah I do. Your pussy was made for me, Sugar. Only me. It’s mine. Tell me it’s mine.” The pad of his thumb pressed hard against my clit, back and forth, in circles and my hips bucked.

  “Yes. Yes. It’s yours, Cage. Only yours.” His thick fingers pumped, my hips bucking to match his pace, my back arching off the bed.

  “I love watching you. S
o fucking beautiful when you come. You flush the sexiest pink and your eyes go silver. Fucking sexy. I love you, Sugar. Come for me. Show me how pretty you are when I make you come. Tell me who made you come.”

  “Yes! Cage....oh god!” My body shuddered as an orgasm tore through me, rocketing from my center down through my toes, fingers, up the back of my neck.

  “Just like that baby. So sexy,” Cage still fucked me with his fingers, thumb stroking relentlessly, “turn again for me, Sugar. Get that ass in the air for me. I need something tonight.” I obeyed, twisting on the bed to press my ass back against him.

  “I’m yours, Cage,” I mewled, so hot and willing, I didn’t care what he did, “do whatever you want. I belong to you. Every single part of me.”

  “Fuck, baby,” His hands roughly gripped my hips, yanking at me, “just what I need to hear. I own you. That sweet, pretty pussy is mine. Your beautiful tits. This perfect ass is mine. I need to take all of you, Sugar. I need to.” I felt him press his throbbing cock against my ass and I knew what he meant.

  Cage could take any part of me he wanted.

  1

  Cage

  Charli was shuddering from her orgasm. Her perfect round ass shimmied against my aching cock. It was a beautiful sight, the bow of her back, that ass just waiting for me to take it. Which was exactly what I intended to do.

  I had spent weeks fucking every part of her, in a thousand ways, anywhere she would let me take her. I never took her ass because I was so intoxicated by the feel of her pussy.

  Like fucking gold velvet when I sunk inside her. Or her sweet, sexy mouth that worked magic every time she sucked me to the back of her throat. Tonight, I needed to claim the last part of her. I needed it for reasons not even I understood. Then Charli would be mine completely. I would have been inside every inch of her, claimed every part as mine.

  A few times before I had teased her there. Fucking her from behind once, one of her favorite positions, I had slapped her ass hard then sunk my thumb into her tight hole. Charli had mewled and bucked away, so I did it again. Then every single time I fucked her that way, I was so tempted.