Chapter 15 Summer
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SUMMER
By the time I hear the familiar crunch of tires on gravel and the headlights wash the window pale for a flicker of a second, I’m nearly puking from nerves.
The worst thing about Kage keeping me…well, caged here is that it’s given me ample time to dissect every interaction I’ve ever had since gaining consciousness.
Today’s focus, however, has been an absolute bloodbath of a war between my heart, mind, and soul.
All want different things, and just when I think I’ve pushed them all into their respective boxes, they spring out like a used car salesman presenting you with more facts to further fluster you.
Steeling my nerves, I prepare to tell him off, stiffening my spine to a straight rod when I hear the first steps on the floor above me. Again, Poppy dashes to the other room, leaving me to face my demons alone.
It takes an eternity for him to finally unlock the door, as though he waited to see if I was dreaming again.
If I have to stay awake until I die to prevent further embarrassment of that magnitude, so be it.
When he takes the first step down into my hell, I release a heavy breath, my heart racing so hard it makes me dizzy.
All I could think about since he left was how his lips felt against mine, how intoxicating he smelled, how gentle and reverent and honestly chaste the kiss was.
My mind slips back into focus when he comes into view.
His boots are muddy, as are his jeans, and when his eyes cut to mine as soon as his face comes below the wall, they relax substantially.
He was nervous. Why?
I stow that away and tuck it next to all of the other information I’ve been gathering and remain haughty toward him. “If you’re going to keep me like some pet of yours, you do know I need far more than this.”
I motion around the basement to the symphony of my rattling chains.
He stops a few feet from me, crossing his arms, cocking his head to the side, and staring down at me.
I can’t tell if he’s smiling or not this time, and it makes my stomach do these weird summersaults.
The way his eyes carry his emotions, I’d say he looks like he’s pondering what he wants to do with me…
and I know I’ll be powerless to stop it either way.
Maybe if I comply with his sexual advances—not completely, but more so than before…maybe I’ll find my chance to run while he’s distracted. It’s not a half-bad plan, and I have to bury my grin of triumph.
He sucks in a sharp breath through his nose and is about to move when I rush out, “I miss the sky. The…the stars, the moon. I just want to go outside, just once, please.”
His brows furrow in suspicion but also as though it’s just occurred to him that someone chained up indoors would miss the fresh air.
After a couple of tense, chest-rattling heartbeats, he nods a few times and sinks down, swiping the pen and notebook off the floor from earlier.
A flush creeps up my neck, his cocky little message staring pompously at the two of us.
He snorts when he sees how red I am, shaking his head as he finds a clear page and writes something down.
I’ll give you fifteen minutes tonight.
My eyes widen in shock, and I nod eagerly. That was so much fucking easier than I thought it’d be, and now I’m kicking myself for not trying something like this earlier.
Then the prick holds up his finger, eyes mischievous, and scrawls something else beneath his first sentence.
If you let me sleep next to you.
Fuck.
I glare at him, annoyed as hell.
“Pervert,” I hiss. He shrugs, moving to stand and leave me alone with Poppy and the beetles. “Okay, okay, fine, but you only sleep next to me, we don’t touch.”
I swear he’s smirking as he nods, far too nonchalant and agreeable. It seems both of us have ulterior motives for this late night.
We’ll just have to see who wins.
I’m…giddy. Truly and genuinely excited to go outside, which only carves a deeper hole of pain in my chest. I shouldn’t have to be excited for a morsel, a small scrap of humanity that Kage is giving me—with a stiff price, of course—but I can’t help it.
It feels too good, and so I don’t dwell on the negative side of this.
If anything, I need to be focusing more, using this small span of time to learn the layout of his house and property, maybe see where he stashes his car keys or weapons other than wrenches my pitifully weak arms can’t lift.
Poppy follows us up the stairs, meowing obnoxiously the entire way, as cautious and rigid as I am.
Kage’s fingers lightly guide me, gently grazing my lower back.
My quads burn from going up the wooden steps, my knees aching and my calves starting to cramp.
He may feed me well—like a freaking bodybuilder—but I’ve sat chained in the same space for months, and it never occurred to me that I should try to work my muscles each day.
I frown as we reach the top, realizing that I’ve fucked myself over; he’s already insanely strong, and now what little edge I may have had is gone. I’m forced to rely on my brain alone, which is a terrifying thought for someone who likes to run away from her own psyche.
He pauses behind me, our bodies just a fraction of a millimeter away from one another’s; I can feel the heat of him pulsing against me in time with his heavy heartbeats, and a shiver makes my shoulders tense as I roll my neck, turning my gaze to the side in case he tries to grab me.
The hand hovering over the small of my back presses into me, his touch strong but controlled.
Encouraging me to go forward. Into the darkness of the unknown.
But suddenly, I can’t do it.
Not because I’m afraid Kage is going to hurt me, but because all I’ve known for nearly four months now are those stone walls, exposed beams, and that single dirty window.
The unfamiliar has become absolutely nerve-wracking.
How did I go from publicly sharing every moment of my personal life to being terrified of leaving behind a bare mattress and chains?
Kage’s huge hand snakes around my side to my hip, his fingers curling in rather possessively.
He gives a slow but intense pull, until I’m forced to shuffle back half a step and our bodies meet.
My eyes flutter closed as my breath hitches and dies in my throat.
Even through his thick jeans, the hard ridge of his cock digs into my spine, bringing forth those hazy dreams that could very easily be my reality if I wanted them to be.
Why? Why do I want those to become reality? Why do I enjoy how he coerces my submission, how he explores me like a world uncharted?
He makes a soft hissing sound, an exhalation of breath from between his teeth and hindered by the mask. “Sss…kuh…”
He’s trying to speak.
Whirling in his arms, I blink up at him in shock. His hands gently cup my elbows, keeping me close to him. His brows are furrowed, and a few curls of hair are creating a shadow across his forehead that makes him appear even more godlike—a god of the underworld, of course.
He swallows and tries again.
“Scuh—aired.”
Scared.
I can’t hide the pity on my face when I hear how rough his voice is, how deep but raspy.
Whatever happened to make him lose it, I ache for him, because I know he had a beautiful voice before.
I’m sure his laughter would’ve made me melt.
I’m a sucker for the class-clown type, and something tells me Kage is exactly that.
After another beat, his meaning sinks in, and I nod bashfully. “Yeah. I’m…scared.”
His brows furrow in hurt and a touch of anger, and he points to himself in question. My lips pull into a small, tight smile, and I shake my head. “Not necessarily of you. I just…haven’t left in a long time. And I…”
Tears flood my throat and dam it, cutting off what I need to say aloud so he understands that no matter how this ends, he’s traumatized me for the rest of my life. Emboldening myself, I flick my eyes up to his and hold that guarded gaze.
“I never thought I’d leave that basement, Kage. Most girls don’t.”
I’ve pressed my thumb right into an egregious wound in his heart that’s festering with infection. He’s hurt that I’d think that way of him, but he needs to know that for most, it’s their reality. They don’t get to trade fifteen minutes outside for a night sleeping next to their abductor.
They get tortured and raped, butchered and disposed of.
His eyes hold mine for long enough that his anger begins to melt, and he sees where I’m coming from. Nodding tersely that he understands, he reaches up to cup my cheek, brows furrowing in earnest.
Poppy, finally having plucked up enough courage to make it to the top of the stairs, jets past us with a meow and a hiss, sprinting noisily down the hall and making me jump and yelp in fright.
Clutching at my heart as Kage’s shoulders bounce with silent laughter, I swat at him and turn around, facing the impending darkness.
It’s now or never.