3. Katie
Chapter 3
Katie
Who the hell is this approaching me?
Gulp. He’s… scary.
But also… totally hot.
Katie was totally stuck for words when Cage approached her in the reception area of the police station. She wasn’t used to being in places like this. Katie liked to live a fun and passionate life. But one that stayed within the limits of the law. As such, Katie had never felt the need to be in a police station.
Until now.
After receiving the super-creepy photo in the mail, Katie panicked. It was the scariest thing that had ever happened to her. And that included the time she went down the notorious Devil’s Canyon slide at her childhood water park.
No, this was deadly serious.
The photo had invaded Katie’s privacy in a way that she just couldn’t accept. There was no way she was letting it slide. Even if it was a one off, it was too much.
Way beyond any kind of normal sense of decency.
For all Katie knew, the culprit could have been her landlord.
It could have been someone who knew her who harbored a grudge.
It could also have been a total stranger.
The possibilities were limitless… and that was what made it so terrifying.
Katie had no control. No comprehension of what was unravelling around her.
There wasn’t even a note with the photo, so it was impossible to even try and guess what the person who sent it wanted from her.
It could have been nothing.
It could have been a badly judged joke or prank.
But Katie was definitely not risking anything. That was why she just had to come to the police station to get some kind of grip on things.
‘Okay, let’s get to it. My name is Detective Jenson. Cage Jenson. I’m busy here. What’s your issue?’ Cage enquired, tapping the large old watch on his wrist impatiently. ‘Young lady?’
There was something about the stern authority in Cage’s voice that made Katie tingle all over.
Yes, this was a scary situation. But that didn’t mean Cage was entirely unresponsive to hot men. And in this case, ridiculously hot men.
Like, hotter than the surface of the sun levels of hotness.
‘ Um , I, um , well, it’s kinda like this,’ Katie spluttered, her brain not engaging into gear properly. ‘I had this photo. I mean, it’s not mine. Well, it’s of me. I mean…’
Katie gave up.
She felt humiliated and embarrassed at not being able to get her words out. Katie wasn’t great in pressurized situations. Especially ones that involved authority.
This situation was ticking every bad box.
It was at this point that Cage stepped in.
‘Okay, relax, I’ve got you,’ Cage said, placing his large hand on Katie’s slender shoulder. ‘Come with me. We’ll talk somewhere quieter. Just the two of us. How does that sound?’
Katie felt reassured.
Se also felt her heart beating.
And her tender, sensitive nipples hardened too.
Cage was built like a super-human. He looked perfectly smart, like he knew exactly what he was all about it and wasn’t afraid of dressing to his exact preference.
That was the thing with older men.
Confidence and experience.
It was a strong vibe.
It was something that Katie had always found attractive, a major turn-on that she couldn’t even begin to deny.
‘Okay, yeah, I’d like that,’ Katie said, cringing a little bit about how high pitched her voice went, especially in comparison to Cage’s masculine, rugged baritone voice.
Cage nodded.
There had been no sign of a smile yet. Not even close.
‘Okay, no time to waste,’ Cage said. ‘Follow me. Now.’
Katie took a seat in the sparsely furnished private interview room. It wasn’t exactly luxury, but at least the aircon was working better than it did in her stuffy apartment.
Katie felt nervous. It was strange to be in a police interview room. It looked similar to the kind Katie saw on TV and in movies…
Grey seats.
Off-white walls.
A square, black desk.
And not much else.
‘Okay, talk me through it,’ Cage said, taking a seat opposite Katie. ‘There’s no rush. I like to take my time. Get the info. Then we’ll see what we can do about it all. Okay. When you’re ready.’
Katie took a deep breath.
But there was something reassuring about Cage’s masculine authority. He was clearly a well-trained and seasoned professional. That much was clear to Katie.
What was also increasingly obvious was the sheer scale of Cage’s good looks.
It was actually proving difficult for Katie to focus.
In the end, Katie shut her eyes so that she could concentrate on the details of the situation without being distracted by Cage’s square jaw and perfectly maintained beard.
‘I’m… I’m a cam performer,’ Katie said, blushing as the words began to tumble out of her mouth. ‘I do shows, perform… acts. It’s just a way of paying the bills.’
‘Okay, go on,’ Cage said, no emotion in his voice.
‘Some of the stuff I do is quite naughty,’ Katie continued, unable to stop her cheeks continuing to burn hard with embarrassment. ‘But it’s all legal. The thing is… I got this photo sent to me and…’
At this point, Katie began to struggle to speak again.
The memory of receiving the photo was still fresh.
Too fresh.
Katie had to compose herself to carry on. Cage handed her a small cup of ice-cold water. That helped. As Katie continued to explain what had happened with the photo, she could see that Cage was paying close attention to what she was saying.
Cage cared.
Katie could see that clearly.
‘I didn’t even want to do the cam shows,’ Katie said, taking a brief sidetrack from the story. ‘My real passion is theatre. That’s what I came to New York for. Anyway. Hasn’t quite worked out like that yet.’
Cage continued to listen. He would take the odd note, but for the most part he kept his gaze firmly on Katie. His eyes seemed caring, but there was no getting away from the fact that for the most part he seemed… very serious.
Like, seriously serious.
Katie was a Little and as such her life was all about being upbeat, having fun, and laughing as much as possible. She hadn’t seen Cage smile once this whole time.
Maybe that was understandable. After all, he was a police detective. And this was a serious situation, without doubt.
‘Okay, I think that’s everything,’ Katie said. ‘ Phew . It actually feels a little better to have got it off my chest.’
Cage stood up from this chair and paced around the room.
Katie watched and tried to read Cage’s reaction as best she could. But it was difficult, and Cage was evidently a man more than capable of burying his thoughts beneath a well-worn veneer.
Was Cage excited by Katie’s mentioning of being a theatre performer? Was that something that could possibly appeal to him?
Could he? Might he?
No, he’d just think it was silly.
I’m way too much of a Little for a big serious man like Cage…
But as much as Katie doubted that Cage would be into her, she also couldn’t deny that she was picking up some Daddy-vibes.
Cage was a big, rock-solid figure of a man.
He was stern. Serious.
Cage’s voice sounded gruff and had a hint of someone who could dish out a punishment… or several.
These were all very much in the wheelhouse for a Daddy.
But Katie was still trying to guess if Cage was potentially a Daddy or not when Cage brought the interview to an abrupt end.
‘Kid, there’s not much we can do,’ Cage said, his voice hinting at emotion. ‘I’m sorry. The law is the law. I want to help you more. Of course. But right now, this is all we can do.’
Katie felt sad.
This wasn’t what she hoped for.
By the emotion in Cage’s voice, Katie could tell that this wasn’t the ideal outcome for him either.
‘B-b-b-but there must be something you can do?’ Katie asked, the reality hitting home. ‘Maybe a bodyguard?’
Hitting home hard in fact.
Katie felt vulnerable and scared.
What if someone sent another photograph?
‘You’ve been watching too many Hollywood movies, young lady,’ Cage said, chuckling slightly at Katie’s suggestion. ‘But here. Take this.’
Cage took a card out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Katie.
It was Cage’s detective calling card, complete with his office and cell phone details.
‘If anything else happens, call me,’ Cage said. ‘And I mean anything at all. Seriously. I’m at the other end of the phone. Waiting. Ready to be there for you.’
Katie blushed and took the card from Cage.
The interview was over.
Yet somehow Katie left the police station with even more questions than she had arrived with…
Katie arrived back at her apartment none the wiser.
Yes, Cage had been very attentive and seemed to take Katie’s problem seriously. But he had also said that there was nothing that could be done at the moment.
That hadn’t been the outcome Katie had wanted.
Far from it.
Come to think of it, the way Cage had laughed at her suggestion of a bodyguard really wasn’t very nice.
Katie walked over towards her refrigerator and took out a small carton of apple and kiwi juice. She popped the straw into the carton and took a long gulp.
It was still so hot in her apartment.
Even with the refurbished aircon, there was no escaping the sheer intensity of the heat.
Katie walked over towards the window and listened to the sound of the car horns beeping down below.
It scared Katie to think that someone could be watching her at that very moment. To not feel entirely comfortable in her own apartment was a horrible thing to experience.
A bodyguard wasn’t such a crazy idea.
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed Katie got.
Her problem was real.
She deserved to be looked after.
‘If someone was spying on you, I’d definitely be your bodyguard!’ Katie said, walking over to Pinky, her stuffie. ‘Not like that big stinky-pants cop laughing at me!’
One thing was puzzling Katie.
She knew that she felt attracted to Cage. How could she not? He was super-hot. An absolute hunk of a man.
But Katie wondered if Cage felt an attraction to her. There had definitely been hints. And there was a flicker of energy between them that Katie couldn’t put into words and yet couldn’t ignore either.
During the interview, Katie had caught Cage’s eyes wandering over her body once or twice. Sizing her up. Almost licking his lips at one point.
And there was the way that for the most part Cage seemed genuinely invested in Katie’s problem. Like more than he would have been with another person maybe.
It was so hard to tell.
After all, it was definitely a possibility that Cage was just doing his job and taking a close interest in the civilian who had entered his station with a problem.
Urgh. Maybe I should call Cassie and see what she thinks?
No, Cassie’s probably busy on her webcomic. I don’t want to disturb her.
I wish I knew what to think.
Katie figured in that moment that it was pointless even wondering whether Cage was a Daddy or not. No matter how good-looking Katie found him, things could never possibly work out between a police detective and a cam girl.
No chance.
Never.
Not in a million, billion years.
So instead of calling Cage to check in, Katie took his card and tore it up into pieces and dropped it on the floor beneath her.
‘I’ll clean it up later, Snug, okay,’ Katie said to her stuffie, smiling wryly as she spoke.
Then, in one last attempt to relax, Katie picked up her Kindle and sat down to carry on reading her latest romance novel. This was the only way she knew how to truly relax.
There was something about losing herself in a good book that managed to switch Katie off from the outside world.
Similar to her love of theatre, it was an escape into a fantasy world that appealed.
There was comfort for Katie in knowing that the romance novels she read came with guaranteed happily-ever-afters. There would be ups and downs along the way, but things would always work out for the best in the end.
The only question was whether Katie’s actual life would have a guaranteed happily ever after. In that moment, the answer looked like it could go either way.