One

Chapter Fourteen #2

“Wow. Nice basement. Or shrine. It really is more of a shrine.”

Cage laughed, taking our luggage into the bedroom.

My eyes remained glued to the wall. “I’m glad you see the humor in it so I won’t feel so bad when I say, ‘Oh. My. God.’ I mean, common sense tells me there has to be a wall behind all these posters and photos, but without that common sense it really does look like the posters and photos are the wall.

” I stepped closer, inspecting the non-existent spacing between the frames.

Cage in high school.

Cage in college.

Cage with Minnesota.

Cage receiving award after award.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

“My mom is my number one fan.”

“No shit. I’d considered taking on the role myself, but clearly I’m way out of my league.”

He swept my hair off to one side and kissed my neck, pressing his body to my back. “Have I told you today how beautiful you are?”

“No. N-not yet.” I closed my eyes as his hands slid under my shirt, finding their way to my breasts.

“You are. You’re so damn beautiful in every way.”

His touch made me crazy. The ending of my cycle made me horny. The combination of both made me not care where we were. I turned in his arms. My grin screamed come hither.

“Couch, Monaghan.”

He quirked a brow.

“Don’t make me say it again.”

He smirked, taking several steps back before flopping onto the enormous brown sectional. I grabbed one of his tennis shoes and pulled it off and then the other. His socks followed suit.

“Can you feel it, Monaghan? You’re getting ready to score again. What if your off-season record surpasses your regular-season record?” I shrugged off my shirt.

His gaze dropped to my chest. “I love when you talk my language.”

I slipped off my shoe. Each item of clothing got tossed in a different direction for theatrics.

My favorite dimples came out, approving of my strip tease.

“Mind if I lose the leg?” I asked.

He shook his head. There really were no words to describe how his lack of any sort of reaction made me feel.

Not one flinch.

Not one nervous glance at my leg.

Not one second of hesitation.

It was as if I asked whether we could listen to music while having sex. Cage didn’t see my disability. He found every version of me sexy. I found my heart hurting from the fear that someday he would look at me and think “Holy, shit! You’re missing part of your leg.”

With equal flair, I tossed my leg over the back of the couch and straddled his waist in just my black bra and panties.

“I think we can be honest with each other, Monaghan, so I’m going to let you in on a little female secret.”

He tore his eyes from my breasts and met my gaze.

“By the end of a woman’s cycle or period as you don’t like to call it…” he rolled his eyes “…we are horny, as in, there is probably a twenty-four to forty-eight hour gap where you could fuck a woman senseless and she’d still beg for more.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed, swallowing that little nugget of information. “Shit! I brought you to my mom’s house during your fuck-me-senseless time.”

I shrugged, reaching behind me and unfastening my bra which got tossed over the couch as well. “Rookie mistake, Monaghan. Now … the real question is…” I wet my lips while unfastening his jeans “…what part of my body is going to give you your first orgasm tonight?”

“Jesus, Lake …” His breath caught just as I finished pulling down his zipper.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

“AHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

My ears bled from the shrill screams. Trzy was in Minneapolis, so it wasn’t her causing the commotion.

“Mom! Dad!” Two little girls’ voices screamed in unison.

I dove for the blanket at the other end of the sectional and wrapped it around me. Of course the one blanket available was a cream, loose-knit afghan with quarter-sized holes in the pattern. Cage had his jeans fastened again before two kids and two adults reached the bottom of the stairs.

“It’s a leg! It’s a leg!” Hayden buried her head in Brooke’s shirt while Isa covered her mouth, wide eyes staring at my leg on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Next. To. My. Bra.

“Sshh … it’s not a real leg. Come on girls.” Brooke grimaced at Cage and then at me before ushering the girls back upstairs.

A tall, wiry man with metal-framed glasses and an unfortunate case of male-pattern baldness, assessed the situation with his jaw slack—clearly dumbfounded.

“Rob!” Cage held out his hand.

After a few more awkward seconds, Rob shook Cage’s hand. Lovely. The two men greeted each other separated only by my prosthetic limb and black lace bra. I remained balled up in the corner of the couch, wrapped in the most pathetic excuse for a blanket ever.

“Cage, uh …” Rob gave me a quick glance before focusing his attention back on Cage “…good to see you.”

“Rob, this is Lake Jones. Lake, this is my mom’s husband, Rob.”

“Hi.” I wiggled my index finger that poked through one of the large holes. A one-finger wave, beyond embarrassing.

“Nice … uh … to meet you.”

Biting my lips together, I nodded.

Please let me die.

“I … just …” Rob pointed to the bathroom next to Cage’s bedroom. “My shaving kit is down here. I’m just going to grab it and we’ll chat more in the morning.”

“Sure thing.” Cage smiled.

Me? Not smiling. Really, I was wondering what Rob had to shave.

He was basically bald and I didn’t notice any facial hair.

Then it hit me—balls. Brooke probably made him manscape.

I liked thinking that he needed to get his shaving kit to shave his balls.

I liked thinking about anything that made someone else the white elephant in the room.

It was a long shot, at best, but I’d take it.

“Got it. Make yourselves at home, er…” Rob made a final glance at my leg and bra “…you know, whatever. Good night.” He held up a hand.

I gave a final index-finger wave. It was obvious I’d already made myself right at home. Cage retrieved my leg, bra, and the rest of my clothes then carried them to the bedroom while Rob and his shaving kit escaped up the stairs.

“I’m calling a cab, staying at a hotel, and getting a flight home in the morning.

I like you so this really sucks, but we’re done because I can never face your family again, and I just don’t think you want to waste time on a girl you will never be able to bring home.

Thank you for coming to China. Best kiss ever.

I wish you luck and happiness in your life. It’s been nice knowing ya.”

Cage bit back his smirk, making a shitty effort to act serious. “I … I don’t think they even noticed anything out of the ordinary.”

“Says the fully-clothed god that everyone in this house pays homage to on these walls. But then there’s the naked woman who no one has seen or even heard of before today, just sitting on the couch with like…

” I looked down at the blanket “…six measly strands of yarn wrapped around her naked body. Your sisters are going to need therapy. They’re going to have nightmares about body parts just …

lying around the house. Your mom has to think I’m a complete slut trying to seduce her son.

Probably thinks I’m some disabled gold digger.

And don’t even get me started on what Rob must be thinking … ”

“Well, let’s do this, then.” He scooped me up, yarn and all.

“Do what?”

“Fuck you senseless while we wait for your cab.”

“Stop mocking me.”

Cage deposited me on his bed then shut the door—and locked it.

“First, don’t ever call yourself disabled.

You’re the least disabled person I know.

” He shrugged off his shirt. I didn’t object.

“Second, in case you missed the Cage Monaghan ‘shrine’ out there, my mom thinks too highly of me to ever believe I would bring a gold digger home to meet her.”

I waited. He didn’t say anymore and just stood at the foot of his bed.

“Is there a third?”

He shook his head. “As you were.”

My eyes flitted side to side. What was I missing? “As I was what?”

“Before we were interrupted you were unfastening my pants like you had a mission—a plan. Continue on.”

My smile faded. I didn’t want it to, but feelings were precarious little creatures that swooped in at the worst possible time and insisted on having their way.

“Hey …” Cage sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me and my blankie in for a hug. “What’s wrong?”

“Dammit, nothing.” I swatted the tears from my cheeks.

“Doesn’t look like nothing.” He leaned back and tipped my chin up with his finger.

I sniffled and laughed at the stupid timing of it.

“Sorry, I can’t believe you just offered yourself up to me and I started crying.

It’s just …” The tip of my tongue rolled along the corner of my mouth as I looked up and blinked away more tears.

“I’m not one to work that hard to impress anyone.

I had to let that go after my accident. It was my biggest disability for a long time, but I want your family to like me because … ” I sucked in a shaky breath.

“Because?” he whispered.

My gaze locked to his. “Because I kinda like you—a lot.”

The intensity in his eyes broke through all the bullshit, all the self-preservation, and it was him looking at me with my heart, once again, offered up on a silver platter.

After a slow nod for his response to me, he stood and removed the rest of his clothes.

I said too much. Stupid blabbering mouth of mine.

He wanted sex and I gave him an episode of Oprah.

Not cool of me. Not cool at all. In an effort to redeem myself, I tossed the blanket on the floor and offered him my body instead of my heart.

He took it again and again, but not once did he say anything to me.

Our soft moans were the only sounds that filled the air.