Page 23 of Stone’s Cage

It starts to surge. I struggle, but he holds me in position, and I feel it coming on me like a giant wave.

"Stone, Stone," I moan, I see him watching me, his mouth open, hungry, his shoulders massive, the beat of his heart against my own chest and then it hits me, like when a massive wave crashes down and you have no control, and the incredible release flows in wave after wave four, five, six, seven times.

And then, he comes.

I hear him suck in his breath and he releases me, needing both arms to support himself, and his body moves against mine, his head down, then back, eyes shut, "Jesus Lily. Oh, my god, you feel so good." His hips thrust, caught in his own waves. His whole massive body shudders and he releases a long sigh.

Slowly lowering himself first to his elbows, he gently lies on top of me.

We both lie together panting for a long time. We're both drugged with sex and I smell him, that citrus rising from his neck, so warm and sweet and present. He is here, with me. Carson Stone. I run a hand through his thick curls and he kisses me gently. Raising himself on one arm, he smiles. My arms feel boneless again and I lay a shaky hand on his shoulder, almost without the strength to hold him.

Tears, hot and humiliating, flow fast from the outside corners of my eyes.

He's still inside me, and I want him to stay there.

"Did I hurt you?" he says, suddenly concerned, wiping my tears with a thumb. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head, but he moves to come off me anyway and to stop him, I grip him with my sex. He sucks in his breath.

"Don’t leave me yet," I whisper. "I want to remember everything about this moment. Everything about you. Everything about us."

Wiping my temples with his thumb, he stays, settling on top of me and we lie like this for a long time. So long, that I am almost asleep when I feel him slowly pull out from me completely.

A few minutes later, he's back and he's got a warm washcloth for me. The lips of my labia are so sore, it stings for a moment, but then he wipes me clean, smiles, and then leans down slowly and kisses my mound with a sweet kiss of thanks.

And then the tears start again. I roll over to my side.

"Lily, what's wrong," he whispers, grabbing another comforter, and spooning me from behind. His arm is around me and I can feel his body along my neck, my back, my ass, my legs: it's like I'm in a cocoon. I have dreamt of this, of someone spooning me. It feels so good, so right. Words begin to tumble.

"Ever since Sammy was killed. I feel like I keep all my thoughts in my head. And because of this I couldn't be safe or truthful with anyone." I try to turn, to face him, but he just holds me tight, listening, his breath in my ear. "But I feel so different with you. And I know this is just a fling for you, I know this is not as important to you because—well—you've been doing this for quite some time, but this is a big deal to me and," it's coming out all wrong, and I realize I probably just hurt his feelings, but it's too late. I twist in his arms and half-turn to look at him and this time he lets me.

But he's just smiling. "You have it so wrong," is all he says as I feel him slide an arm under my head, and he kisses me, drawing my breath with his.

Chapter Twelve

Stone

I'm not sure exactly when I realized I lost her to her herself. I had a friend once who told me that men feel intimacy when they have sex. Intimacy in the moment and that women feel intimacy over time.

I know I have to give Lily time. If she's going to fall in love with me, I have to be there for her every single day. And that's what I want. I want to be with her every single day. I want to cherish her every single day. And I want to hear about her day, and all the little things in it. Every single day, I'll prove to her that I can do this thing called love.

I want to be that person, that man. I want to prove to her I am worthy of her intimacy, of her, and maybe, one day, her love. Because I feel it with her. When I was in her and I saw her, I felt her infiltrate my heart. In those moments she was mine, and I was hers. I know I want her forever.

Part of me knows I don't deserve her. She doesn't know what I did in the past. She doesn't know how low I've been. She doesn't know anything about me. She's some college kid out for revenge for her dead brother. At least Lily has a noble cause.

I'm a middleweight cage fighter who threw away his sister and now throws games. I lose to whoever wants to pay me the most money. Shitty, but that's what I do.

Shreves is a fucker, but he's savvy. He knows this next fight against Jeff "The Fly" Parkerson holds odds forty to one. I beat the shit out of Parkerson in the last four fights and he's coming off an injury, torn cartilage in the kneecap. Shreves doesn’t own me. I'll throw this fight for him, so he can clean up and then I'll get out again.

I roll on my side, listening to Lily breathing. There is something about her soft face, so beautiful, so naïve, that tells me I'm going to have to fess up to Coach and tell him what's happened between us and why Shreves thinks he owns me. To do this, I'm going to have to share her story. To do that, she's going to have to trust me.

I get up on my knees and move my other arm under her legs and lift her. She's light, like her bones are hollow, and her eyes flit open for a moment before succumbing to sleep. Settling her on the sofa and tucking her under the comforter, doesn't wake her but she turns, burying her head in the pillow when I shift it under her head.

I haven't even gone to the gym tonight.

Coach is going to wonder where I am, and I'm outta minutes on my phone. Gotta pay for more at the drug store tomorrow. Stretching out on the floor, I cram a pillow under my head and realize it still smells of her, a little like powdered sugar and something else. My mind wrestles with this and much darker thoughts and then I must have slipped into some kind of sleep because the next thing I know, Lily is sitting on top of me.

I'm screaming. Once, twice, and my voice is not my own. I'm half up and her arms are around me, and she's kissing me