Taking Tessa (5 page)

* * *

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 you 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."

Cage's fingers gathered the liquid leaking from my body and pushed two slow fingers deep inside me. "I want you walking around with me inside you every day. I like seeing what's mine on you. And maybe if we're lucky, I'll get something else of mine inside you."

His words hung between us.

"You want a baby?" I said the words running through my head.

"Damn right I want a baby, and I want it with you. I want everything with you, Tessa. Haven't I made that clear yet?" His words sent my heart into somersaults.

Cage West was my forever.

* * *

N
ow that I
've had her I'm not letting her go. She's in my bed, she's in my life, she's mine. Hard stop, end of, period. "Let's go up to bed."

Tessa mewled like a sleepy little kitten in my arms and made me feel like the luckiest damn man on earth. My dick still soaked with our release, my heart fuller than it'd ever been, I stood with her in my capable arms and carried her into the house and up the stairs, safe and sound to my bedroom.

I grinned when I tucked her into my bed, her content smile peeking her cheeks before she curled into my arm and promptly fell asleep.

There was something so beautiful and innocent about her, something that awakened some dark beast inside of me that wanted to only provide and protect my woman. Some primal mentality I couldn't bother understanding, because I didn't care. I had her. Life finally made sense. I was here for her. She was what mattered.

Taking Tessa tonight was the greatest moment of my life, and I planned on having many more now that I'd found her.

When she'd said she'd been waiting for me, it was like my world had shifted, everything coming into focus—she was my reason for living. Saving Tessa, protecting Tessa, loving Tessa was my reason for existing.

Thoughts quickly raced through my mind as I thought about what to do next. I wasn't a man who loved simply or quietly. I'd always known that when I'd find the one, it'd feel like the world would cease to exist without her. I needed to show her and the rest of the world that she was mine, and messing with her meant messing with me. I had plans for Tessa, and I was going to spill sooner rather than later.

I danced a fingertip across her delicate cheekbone and into her silky hair. She was an angel in my life, and I vowed to give her all the love and care she deserved.

We had a lot to work through in the short term, but in the long term there was so much ahead for Tessa and me. We would have a future brighter than either of us could imagine.

T
he following morning
, after I'd woken her with another orgasm and sunk myself inside her warmth again, we were packing a few bags to go away for the night. I'd sprung the trip on her first thing this morning. I wanted her to have a moment of peace away from everything.

"How far away are the mountains?"

"We're in Idaho." I pecked her on the lips. "Not far."

"If you have things to do, I'm okay right here. I don't want to pull you away from anything," she offered, concerned.

"Only place I need to be right now is with you. Chief is fine without me right now." I wrapped a hand around her neck and planted a kiss on her lips. "God, it feels good to do that."

She giggled, then scratched her fingernails across the stubble lining my jaw. "It feels good to do that."

I laughed. "Got a beard fetish? Give me a few days and I can grow a full one."

Her twinkling eyes lit my heart like a hopeless romantic. I never would have guessed it possible.

"I love it just like this." She stretched on her toes and planted a kiss on my lips.

"Mm…" I kissed her back. "Keep doing this and we may never get out there."

"That's okay. I like it right here." She shimmied her body against mine, driving me to the brink of insanity.

'Tessa…" I groaned, my mind warring with my needy dick. "We're going, even if I have to carry you. On second thought, that's a good idea." I swooped her into my arms, her shrieks all the encouragement I needed before we packed together and headed downstairs.

When I opened the door to the garage, Tessa's eyes widened. "Wait, you want me to ride on that?"

"You bet your sweet ass I do." I set her down, grinning as I walked to my bike.

"It's beautiful." She dragged a lone finger across the sparkling black paint job.

"Purrs like a kitten, too."

"I had no idea you were a motorcycle man."

"A one-motorcycle man. Took me years to restore her." I strapped the bag on the back of the bike and threw a leg over the leather seat. "Hop on, princess. Your chariot awaits."

Her eyes sparkled with adventure as she took the hand I held out for her and slid in behind me. Nestling her sweet thighs on the outside of my own, I felt the warmth of her body crawling up my back. Damn if this wasn't going to be the best ride I'd taken on this bike yet.

"Ready, babe?"

"Oh yeah." Tessa's arms tightened around my waist, and a hopeless grin split my cheeks. She had fire in her and I loved that. I loved a lot of things about her, and the best part was I didn't have to hide it anymore. I could touch her and kiss her and love her as much as I wanted, and I certainly looked forward to doing just that for the next two days.

I turned to Tessa and placed a helmet on top of her head and secured it. She smiled at me, making my heart feel fuller than ever. I hit the button on the garage and the door eased open. I held in the clutch and fired up the engine.

"Wow," Tessa exclaimed, nestling in further. "I think I like this."

"Sounds good, right?"

"You didn't lie when you said
purrs
. I can feel the hum vibrating…everywhere."

A laugh bellowed from my stomach. I reached for her thigh and gave her a quick squeeze. "Enjoy the ride, beautiful."

With the road spread out a hundred miles in front of us and the city limits lost in the distance behind us, Tessa and I rode north. The wind whipped her hair behind her, and her arms were locked at my waist. I loved the reassurance of her body against mine, pressed so closely we might as well be one. Riding a bike is intimate, the engine alive beneath you, causing every nerve to pop and hum with adrenaline. The thought came to mind that soon I’d have to teach her to drive, take her to get a license, eventually even get her a car. I’d take her shopping for anything she wanted, as long as it was safe. No hot rods for her. Maybe a van, I heard those had a great crash test rating.

"This is incredible," she murmured in my ear at one point when we'd slowed down for a stop in yet another one-stoplight town.

"I had a feeling you'd be a fan." I snuck a kiss before we took off again, our destination now drawing closer as we sped on. We climbed higher into the mountains, the highway melting to two lanes, then trickling down to a one-car-width drive through the trees.

"Where exactly are we going again?" Tessa asked from behind as we slowed again.

"Our home away from home."

"Our what?" She struggled to hear as we turned a curve and my small A-frame came into view.

"Welcome to the cottage."

"This is your place?" she asked, her mouth hanging open with shock when I crept the bike to a stop. She stepped off and pulled the helmet off her head, her long hair swaying in the wind.

"It's been in my family for generations. My grandfather built it with his own hands.” I cut the engine and stepped off the bike, then I gently wrapped her up in my arms and, much like she was delicate china, I removed her from the bike.

"Really?” Her eyes danced down to the rushing river at the edge of the yard and back to me. "There's a river?"

"There sure is." I pulled her into a quick hug and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Just glad I can share it with you."

"All of this is just…wow. You never fail to shock me, Cage West."

"And you never fail to turn me into the sappiest man that ever walked this earth. I don't know what you did with my balls, but I sure as shit don't have them anymore," I teased her, just to see her eyes crinkle adorably when she laughed.

"I beg to disagree after last night. And this morning." She winked, then wiggled out of my embrace and charged for the house. "Show me your place!" she called, lifting her cotton shirt above her head and tossing it into the grass.

"Tessa!" I yelled, charging up the porch after her, desperate to get my hands on her after feeling her sexy thighs hugging my waist the whole trip up. She burst into a fit of giggles when I caught her at the front door, caging her with my arms above her body and dipping my head to catch her lips in a fevered kiss.

"I want you again," she confessed in my ear, dragging her teeth across the shell of my ear.

"Those are the words to my heart," I breathed, running my palms up her torso and fitting her beautiful tits in my palms, ducking to nip at the flesh. I pulled the fabric of her bra cup down and sucked at the sweet little nipple that popped out. Feeling it lengthening under my hot tongue, I tugged at it with my teeth, then kissed it sweetly and turned to her other breast.

Her dainty little fingers traced patterns across my scalp as I grasped and unbuttoned the waistband of her shorts and pulled them down her legs, discarding them at her feet. With a frustrated huff, I yanked at the cotton of her panties and tore the fabric covering what was mine. "No more panties. I'm throwing out every pair you own as soon as we get home."

She sighed, her lips attaching to mine as her tongue tangled with mine, her taste sending shockwaves of pent-up lust rocketing through me. Pulling my zipper down, I pushed my jeans down my hips to reveal my throbbing cock to the cool air. I grasped at her thighs and hitched her legs around my waist. Angling her back against the door, I teased at her entrance while I nipped at her lips. "Sure you want me?"

"Yes," she gasped, her eyes closed and head back.

"You look mighty desperate for me." I inched my cock into her entrance, taking my time, enjoying the view.

"I am. I'm so desperate."

"That's my little lamb." I palmed one of her full tits, loving the feel of her sweet flesh under my hands. "Can't even get you across the threshold before I need you again. You call to me, Tessa. I need you. I fucking love starting my day with you." I kissed her as I sank into her further. "Ending it with you." Another kiss. "You drive me crazy."

"Cage…" She groaned as her nails clawed into my back, her hips moving as if she was trying to crawl her way inside my body. "Fuck me, Cage. God, please, I need you."

"Couldn't say no if I tried," I muttered, sucking at the hollow of her neck before pressing my cock as far into her as it would go. Feeling the rigid bundle of nerves buried deep in her body, I pumped and sucked and lost my mind as we made love against the front door of my place. "A hundred years’ worth of mornings waking up to you and nights sinking into you won't be enough, Tessa. Whenever we're not connected, I want you. Need you like oxygen."

Her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip then, her fingers pulling at the threads of my hair as her knees shook and her muscles twisted with exquisite torture around me. "That's it, beautiful. Love seeing you lose control."

I captured her lips in a passionate kiss, my own release building at the base of my spine. She snaked one glorious little hand between us and clutched at the base of my pulsing cock. With that simple squeeze of her fingers, my cock jerked and burst, spilling my seed deep inside her beautiful pussy.

Thoughts of burying myself inside her and planting my claim overwhelmed me. Seeing her growing round with my baby, losing myself in her every night and waking up to her kisses in the morning sent my mind rocketing off with waves of earth-shattering endorphins. With pleasure still pulsing through every vein, I slowly eased my cock out of her, feeling the drops of my cum land down her thighs, I swiped at the creamy liquid, then thrust two fingers deep inside her, smiling as I swirled them around inside her tight body. "Just for good measure."

Tessa's smile split before she cast her eyes away, a flush burning up her chest and cheeks.

"That shade of pink looks beautiful on you." I dragged a fingertip through the crimson heating her cleavage. "I like seeing how I affect you." I placed a kiss beneath her ear and enjoyed the shudder that rushed through her. "Now can I show you around? You practically jumped me before I had the chance."

"And here I thought you appreciated being jumped on." Her laugh was contagious.

"Only by you." One cocky corner of my lips twisted before I pulled the keys out of my pocket and unlocked the door, curling an arm around her and walking her backward into the house. "I'm hoping for an encore."