Taking Tessa

by Aria Cole

  My heart stumbled a few beats. Had I been dropped in some fantasy? How was it that the cop who had shown up at my door that night turned out to be the kindest, most devilishly handsome man to walk the face of the earth? Here he was, buying me fancy clothes and phones, but the best part was that Cage made me feel happy and safe.

  I sighed, giving up the obsessive worrying, and snuggled a little closer into his body, enjoying the comfort his warmth brought. "You know, you're going to have to teach me how to use that phone."

  "I look forward to it." He popped a kiss on my forehead before releasing me and sauntering across the kitchen. "Let's tackle these omelets first."

  I grinned, feeling as light as air, before joining him at the counter, brushing against his arm as we worked, cracking eggs and shredding cheese together. Perfect. Cage West was nothing short of perfect.

  Later that afternoon, after we'd enjoyed omelets and he'd given me a crash course in how to use my phone, we sat on his front porch, lemonade in hand as the world passed by. I was worried about how much time Cage was spending with me—surely he had a life he had to get back to?—but he assured me that he had some personal days, and his captain had told him it was fine. I wasn't sure about him dropping all his work to take care of me, but I was grateful for it.

  "I love this. Moments like these make me so happy." I couldn't keep the smile from biting at my cheeks.

  "I love making you happy," Cage added, his fingers threaded with mine and he pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles.

  "You never told me, what brought you to the house that night?"

  "Got a call from a neighbor. They suspected a young woman had been abducted and was being held against her will."

  I nodded, processing the words. "I bet it's because we had that fight on the back porch. He was so loud, I'm not surprised someone heard. Thank God someone heard."

  "You know, I had every intention of bringing you back to the station that night. Asking you a few questions, getting a report written up, but when I looked into those pretty green eyes welling with tears... Let's just say you've got me wrapped around your finger, little lamb." He stroked a thumb across my cheek, causing a shiver to ripple through my body.

  "But I can't... I'm not enough. I'll never be enough. I'll always be the broken, damaged girl you rescued one night."

  "You're so much more. You're the only woman who's ever made me feel a goddamn thing, Tessa. Before you, I existed in a gray area, no excitement, no passion, no laughter. And I didn't think I wanted more, I didn't see the problem with it, but then you looked up at me with those big eyes... You're the person I've been waiting for."

  "Cage..."

  "I'm a man of morals, I live by my word, and I take care of the things I love. I call it like I see it, Tessa, and when I look at you I see everything I've been missing."

  My heart thundered a thousand too many beats a second. "I've never felt this way either."

  "Tessa, I swear. I've spent hours wondering how to do this. I don't want to push you. I know you're dealing with so much, but if you let me, I'll help you, and I'll damn sure make certain you're safe. I swear on my life, I can protect you and take care of you, Tessa, and I'll never hold you down against your will, like you've been all you life."

  "Cage…" I breathed, my fingers dusting up his forearm as I physically restrained myself from launching into his lap and wrapping my arms around his body.

  "Detective West!" a voice bellowed from the street, a car door slamming right behind it.

  I jerked, instantly terrified. A man was walking up the driveway, the badge pinned to his chest announcing that he was an officer.

  "Carson, what're you doing here?" Cage squeezed my hand for a moment as if in silent support before dropping it and standing.

  "Following up on that call you investigated the other night."

  "Right." Cage breathed, then took another step down the porch to head the cop off. "Turned out to be nothing. No crime committed."

  The man named Carson paused then glanced over Cage's shoulder to me. "Don't tell me that's her."

  I saw Cage's fists clenching at his sides, the knuckles turning bone-china white. "Sure is."

  "Don't mind if I have a talk with her then?"

  "'Course I mind. She's been through a lot and she's not up for talking."

  "Been through a lot? I thought you just said—"

  "Trust me, she's been through a lot. But I can promise you she's not ready to talk yet."

  Yet. I heard the expectation in his words. I stood, my only concern was making this go away for Cage's sake. I hadn't thought about it before now, but could he be in trouble for harboring me?

  "I'll talk to you."

  "Tessa, if you're not ready—"

  "No, I'm fine." I reassured Cage by slipping my palm into his when I approached. Carson's eyes flicked down for a moment, and his face twisted with irritation.

  "You've gotta be fucking kidding me, man." His voice lowered as he addressed Cage like I wasn't there.

  "I can assure you I'm not. I'm telling you, Carson, from what I could tell, there wasn't a law broken. If anything, the system failed her over and over. The minute I find out something did happen, you can bet you'll be the first one I call."

  "I understand that perfectly well, Cage, but the problem is…" His eyes flicked to mine for a moment, then he finally spat it out, "The guy filed a missing person's report on her."

  6

  Cage

  I saw red. My fists burning at my sides, I should have hung around and pummeled that fucker with a crowbar when I'd seen him. I'd known he was good-for-nothing scum, and now he actually thought he had a chance at getting her back? As if she'd just run away?

  "Absolutely not."

  "Absolutely not what?" Carson, one of my closest friends on the force, asked.

  "She's not going back there. She's not even going to pick him out of a line-up. She's right here, fine and well, and as safe as she's ever been. Believe me."

  "I do believe you, Cage." He patted my shoulder. "But you know I need to talk to her."

  I swallowed the giant bundle of anger choking my throat, then nodded.

  "Ms. Talbot?"

  "Yes?" my girl answered, her fist tightening in my hand.

  "Can you confirm all the things Detective West just told me?"

  "I can. Cage has offered to let me stay with him while I figure things out…"

  "Can I ask…were you being held by him?"

  I watched her features crack as some unspoken voices warred inside of her.

  "She's not willing to say more. You got what you needed. She still needs more time. If I find out anything new or helpful, I'll let you know."

  Carson paused, still watching my girl, and I wanted nothing more than to take him by the neck and not-so-politely lead him off my property. I cocked my head, letting body language do the talking for me.

  "You'd better be careful, here, Cage." Carson cast me one last look.

  "You'd better make sure that useless fuck doesn't come anywhere near her. That guy is dangerous, Carson. If I know anything for sure, it's that."

  "I hear ya, bro." Carson's eyes softened. He nodded at Tessa and walked back down the driveway.

  I felt Tessa's fingers twitching in my hand.

  "I'm really sorry he showed up here. A little warning would have been nice."

  "It's okay, I knew I'd have to face this at some point." She paused, letting go of my hand to turn back to the porch. Christ, I missed her touch already. "I can't believe he filed a missing person's report. What is he trying to do to me?" She pushed a hand through her hair, and I ached at all the pain vibrating through her words.

  "Guess we should have figured he'd try to find you."

  "I guess I was naïve. I should have known I couldn't escape him so easily." Her face crumpled, the light fading in her eyes. I pulled her in for a tight hug.

  "Everything's going to be okay, little lamb. I'll make damn sure of that. You don't have to worry about a thin
g."

  Tessa's fingertips worked soft circles at my waist while I held her, her mind running away with a thousand unimaginable thoughts. I hated when she went silent on me, hated not knowing every spare nook and cranny of her heart.

  7

  Tessa

  I woke later that night, long after dark. I sighed, stretched, and felt utterly rested. These last few days, as thrilling and exciting as they were, had taken so much out of me. I hoped I would start to feel more energetic and less like a victim, I wanted to get a job and a small place to live. I had big dreams for life, but I had to take them one step at a time. It felt overwhelming if I focused on it too much, but having Cage to help me along made just about anything feel possible.

  I padded down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen when I spied the French doors cracked to the backyard. I'd assumed Cage was asleep, but he was actually wide awake, perched in a lounge chair out back with a drink in hand. I stepped closer, my eyes crawling up the lean cut of his jaw, all that dark stubble that made me want to run my fingers across his chin. I wondered what it'd feel like being beneath him, his hands in my hair, his lips traveling every inch of my body, igniting every atom.

  I opened the door further, stepping out onto the porch as the cool summer air ran up my bare legs. I shivered as Cage's eyes cast across the space to me, his gaze focused on mine before dropping to take in the rest of my body.

  I felt beautiful under his gaze. The hungry way his eyes devoured my curves sent shivers of pleasure splintering across my skin.

  "Come here, little lamb." He stretched his arms out.

  I crossed the space, happy to crawl into his lap and wrap myself around his hard body. I burrowed into his warmth, my arms locking around his neck as I nuzzled under his embrace. "Thank you."

  "For what?" His callused fingertips stroked my hair.

  "For being everything to me right now. I don't think I could ever say thank you enough."

  "I told you already." He readjusted me on his lap so I was straddling him, both my thighs tucked around his hips. "No thank yous needed. And you're strong, Tessa. I have no doubt you could do it on your own. You've survived things that would break most, yet here you are, hopeful." My breathing quickened when his palms cradled my cheeks, his lips hovering millimeters from mine as I waited for that first touch. That first contact. Cage's kiss.

  A flood of emotion burst inside my soul when he closed the gap between us and caged me against his body, his lips on mine for the very first time. I moaned into his mouth as his tongue plunged past my lips and tasted me. My hips rocked and shifted, settling squarely on the rock-hard erection pulling at his Levi's. Warmth flooded my thighs when the rocking of his pelvis and the twisting of his tongue sent arousal charging through every nerve I possessed.

  "I don't know what I did to deserve you in my life, but now that you're here, I'm devoted for life." Ten wild fingers thrust in my hair, the air between us starved for oxygen as his lips bit and kissed at my skin. He pulled the strap of my camisole aside, his teeth dragging across sensitive flesh, and his palms snuck inside my shorts and fisted at my bare bottom. I groaned and arched, the feel of his body against mine almost too much to bear.

  I'd never done this before. I'd never been with a man. I'd never even kissed a man before two minutes ago. Cage took my breath away, started a slow burn deep in my soul that I couldn't shake and never wanted to. He was devoted to me? He'd rescued me, moved me into his life, and filled every dark place I hadn't known needed filling. I was a thousand times more devoted to him.

  "Cage..." I sighed, my fingers interlacing at the back of his neck as my nose dusted along the shell of his ear.

  "Yeah, baby?"

  Butterflies burned up the space inside my stomach as one of his palms slipped between us and he plunged one long finger between the soaked lips of my pussy. "Oh my God."

  "That's it, little lamb. I want to hear you sing for me." His finger slid through the slick folds as he gathered all the juice of my arousal and overwhelmed my clit with his deft touch. My fingernails dug into the rippling bulges of his back. My thighs bunched and my breaths quickened. "Give it to me, Tessa. I want every single drop of you."

  My first orgasm crashed over my body like a tidal wave. His palms still clutching at my skin, his eyes trained on my face as waves of pleasure wracked my body, I reached heights I never dreamed possible.

  "Christ, you're beautiful when you come on my hand." He pulled his hand from between us and thrust his soaked finger past my lips. "Taste what I do to you? Don't forget it, Tessa. Only I can make you lose yourself and open your heart all at the same moment."

  I swirled my tongue around his finger, tasting the flavor of my passion on his skin. He was beautiful, it was beautiful, and I felt so, so beautiful with him. He overwhelmed all my senses and left my mind yearning for more.

  "Come here, I need to taste that sweet cunt." Cage pulled me from the lounger, bending me over the chair and dropping to his knees. His knuckles grazed the flesh of my ass cheeks as he pulled down my shorts and spread my body to his liking.

  I sighed, rocking my hips back and forth as I waited.

  "Antsy, little lamb?" The lower tone of his voice sent another flood of arousal leaking down my thighs. I felt wanton, I felt desired, I felt so loved.

  "I want to feel you." I turned, catching his eyes behind me.

  "That's exactly what I like to hear." He smacked at my bare ass-cheek and sent pleasure rippling through my muscles. He fisted my cheeks and suddenly his flat, wet tongue was dragging up every nerve of my pussy. Shrill vibrations stunned me until I panted and clutched at his shoulders.

  "God, your tongue..."

  "Baby, this pussy is so sweet, I can't imagine going a day without it." His lips sucked at the bud of my slit, his thumb hovering at the edge of my entrance and teasing the throbbing nerves. With another long stroke, he sucked and swirled and sent my mind floating away into another dimension. Just as I was getting used to his mouth between my thighs, his hands fell from my body and then I heard the telltale sound of a zipper.

  I groaned quietly, closing my eyes as I sucked in lungfuls of air. This was my first time. Would it hurt? Would he fit? Did I care? I just wanted to be connected with him, feel the energy that pulsed between us and ride the wild wave that was all things Cage West.

  Cage leaned across my back then, the heated rod of his cock pressing between my ass cheeks, nearly sending me into another atmosphere altogether. "I want you to know, Tessa," he mumbled as his fingertips slid across my bare back, lifting the satin of the camisole over my shoulders and discarding it on the floor next to him. "I haven't been with anyone for most of my adult life. I promise you I'm clean, and if you want me to, I'll protect myself, I'll do whatever that makes you comfortable. I'll always give you whatever you want." His teeth tugged at my earlobe then, his breath shooting zaps of lightning across my neck. "Even if I don't particularly want to."

  His hands were on my breasts now, kneading and caressing the heavy flesh with the rasping pads of his fingers.

  "I want all of you. That's what makes me comfortable," I sighed, my pussy leaking all my desire for him, my skin feeling like it'd been pricked with a thousand needles and only he could bring relief.

  He groaned and felt the sensual vibration straight through to my core. "I want you to know that I don't take this lightly. You mean the world to me. Keeping you safe is the only thing I think about. I'm yours, Tessa, and I'll prove to you every single day why you're mine."

  He pinched at the aching bud of my nipple as the head of his cock pushed at the wet entrance of my body.

  "You feel like heaven, baby." He paused, pushing away the strands of my hair and sucking at my neck. "You ready for me?"

  "I'm ready. Yes, I'm ready, please. I've been waiting for you. I didn't know who you were. I didn't know your name or when I'd met you, but I've been waiting for you." The words tumbled out in a fit of passion.

  "You have no idea what it does to me to hear y
ou say those words." His palms spread across my body, eating and owning every inch of my skin as he went. "You make me harder than I've ever been. I feel like I might die if I go another minute without you." He eased himself further in, the sheer width of him burning at my muscles. I sucked in even breaths through my nose as his lips trailed up my spine, across my shoulders, and up my wrists, and he kissed me as he fucked me, claiming my body and stealing my heart right along with it.

  "Cage," I breathed, the emotions all too much. My own overwhelming feelings for this man fueled the orgasm that was now skirting just at the edge.

  "Tessa, I can't even tell you what you mean to me." His breathing serrated past his lips. "I'm not a man who's good with words, but I'm good with actions." He nipped at my bottom lip before pushing his tongue inside my mouth and consuming me. "I can show you how much I love you with my body." His cock finally seated itself inside me, his hips picking up a frantic rhythm as my body adjusted and overwhelming pleasure cascaded over me.

  This was good. He was good. This was everything.

  "Cage…" I breathed as my body shook, release shooting through me in a fierce crescendo when the pads of his fingers swirled at my clit.

  "Fuck, baby. Your body is sucking at my cock, so hungry and needy I can't control myself with you." Cage's fingers swirled at my arousal and dragged the glistening trail up the curve of my back. He was grinding himself against me, his thighs pushing and shaking with the long, hot streams of his orgasm.

  Before he'd even come down from his release, he was shifting and pulling me into his arms, covering my body with the clean T-shirt he'd discarded.

  "Love you, little lamb. Love you with my entire being." He caressed my hair, his lips whispering against my skin. I felt free and warm and so safe in Cage's arms, I never wanted to leave. "Can't believe I went bare inside you." His hand tracked down my body then, his fingers swiping at the cum that was trailing out of my body. "Like having me deep inside you, though."