Beyond The Cage (20 page)

He raises a questioning brow. I smile and shake my head again.

“Legs?”

I giggle. “Nope.”

“Fabulous! Now, go try it on. I don’t think Cammy wants me seeing the goods.”

I head to the bedroom and slip into the dress. The scalloped hem falls mid-thigh, a few inches below the lining. It’s fitted and shows off my figure perfectly. I love it! I walk back to where I left the men and Cameron sits up straight in his chair, staring at me in wide-eyed admiration.

“Darling, you look gorgeous!” Gem exclaims. “Makes me re-think this whole dating men thing.”

“Sorry, Gem, but I’m taken,” I say, holding Cameron’s gaze. His lips curl up in a smile and he leans back in his chair once more.

“Lucky bitch.” Gem rolls his eyes.

My possessive and protective boyfriend jumps to his feet, another deadly glare pointed at Gem. I quickly raise both hands to stop him from ripping the other man apart.

“It’s okay, Cameron. It’s not meant the way you think it is.”

“Yes,
Cameron
,” Gem mocks me. “That’s just the way us girls talk to each other,” he continues as he pulls a pair of fuchsia and white Louboutin pumps from his rack. I forget all about Cameron’s anger.

“Those are gorgeous!”

“I know.” He smirks, grabbing a matching fuchsia walker coat.

Once he has me fully outfitted with matching jewelry and accessories, Gem claps excitedly then begins to pack his things away. I change back into my robe and watch him flit about.

“My job here is done. The rest is up to you, Cammy.”

The scowl on Cameron’s face tells me he doesn’t take too kindly to being called that. “I don’t think he likes your nickname for him.”

“I know.” Gem shrugs. “I don’t care.”

Before he breezes through the door, he turns back and hands me his card. “Call me if you need anything.”

On his way out, he tries to run his fingers through Cameron’s hair, but Cameron grabs his wrist before he can.

“Again with this ‘hard to get’ act.” Gem tuts. “
You
call me if you ever decide to play for my team.”

He winks at me and then he’s gone. Laughing, I make my way to Cameron, sitting on his lap.

“Where did you find him?”

With a dismissive shake of his head, he rises and carries me to the bedroom. As we snuggle, he turns the TV on and offers me the remote.

“You find something,” I tell him, yawning. “I think I’m going to take a nap.” It seems last night’s events are finally taking their toll. Laying my head on his chest, I close my eyes.

***

When Cameron wakes me up, it’s dark outside. Reluctantly, I climb out of bed and start getting ready. He’s almost dressed by the time I’m done with my shower, moving around in dark navy slacks, white shirt, and a navy tie with white dots. My nose tickles with the scent of his cologne, and I realize it’s my favorite one.
Mm…that’s guaranteed to keep me glued to his side all night
.

Once we’re both fully dressed, he taps something out on his phone. After receiving a response, he extends his hand to me, indicating he’s ready. I take it, excited for what he has planned. A shiver runs down my spine as he scans my body hungrily.

“You look good, too. Quite delicious.”

Smiling in acknowledgement, he grabs my coat, places his hand at the small of my back, and nudges me forward. In the elevator, he pulls me against him, my back to his front, and possessively lays his palm on my stomach. Leaning in to him, I inhale his scent. When the doors slide open, I’m just a little bit disappointed we have to move. Before we exit the building, he helps me into my coat then leads me to a waiting Escalade. The driver greets us, holding the door open with a smile. We drive for a few minutes, arriving at our destination—The Hyatt—before I can even check out the custom features in the luxurious vehicle. We make our way through the hotel and to Stetsons. I walk into the restaurant feeling like a queen. It’s not the clothes, the car, or the restaurant; it’s the man whose arm I’m on. He can make me feel like royalty with a look, a smile, or even the simplest gesture. He’s a king, deserving of a queen. He’s my lion and I’ll be his lioness, always at his side.

After we’re greeted, we’re led to a table, but I shoot him a confused glance because it seats five people. He just pulls out my chair and motions for me to sit, not even trying to offer any kind of explanation. I shrug it off, and he helps me out of my coat before I take my seat.

“Thank you.”

The waiter suggests a bottle of red wine, and Cameron nods. As we settle in, I scan the room. The décor is warm and open, in shades of brown. We can even see the chefs hard at work.

As the waiter is pouring our wine, two men walk in, sitting at a table not far away. They smile at me, so I return a polite one. However, they keep staring at me. I look away but when I glance in their direction again, they’re still staring. Do they not see the huge man sitting next to me? I raise a brow, communicating my disgust at their behavior when they start whispering, obviously discussing me. Cameron senses my unease, touching my hand.

“Those two men over there. They won’t stop staring at me.”

He clenches his teeth, turning in his chair. However, instead of the glare I expected, he grins at the men. They laugh, leaving their table and approaching ours. Cameron stands also, greeting them with hugs.
Huh? He knows them?

“Good to see you, big brother!” one of them exclaims.

Big brother?
That’s when I realize they were just messing with me. And I fell for it. Shaking my head, I rise to my feet. Now that they’re closer, I see the resemblance. They have the same grey eyes and facial features, but are lean whereas Cameron is muscular. Cameron beckons me forward, resting his palm on my back as I extend my hand to his brother.

“Jasmine.” He grins. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Ryan.”

Scoffing at my outstretched hand, he pulls me into a hug. “Nice to meet you, too, Ryan.”

“And I’m Nick,” brother number two says, also wrapping his arms around me.

“Sorry about earlier,” Ryan apologizes. “We just couldn’t resist pulling Cam’s leg.”

“Yeah. He was about to rip your heads off.”

“We saw the death stare before he realized it was us.” Nick chuckles. “Come. Sit, sit. I want to know everything about the woman who has my brother settling down.”

Over wine, we exchange bits of information. I tell them about school, my family, how Cameron and I met. Nick is the baby of the family, single, and is a real estate agent. Ryan is a financial consultant and is married with two kids. Their sister, Nora, is the eldest. She’s a lawyer, and has a husband and three kids.

“Have you heard from Nora?” Ryan directs his question to Cameron.

Just as he shakes his head, I notice a tall brunette hustling toward our table. Her sights are set on me, but her expression is not pleasant.
I think Nora has arrived.
I nudge Cameron and alert him to her presence. The brothers stand first, greeting their sister with hugs and cheek kisses. I introduce myself and she sneers at my hand before shaking it gingerly.
Okay then.
Cameron shoots her a warning glare but she ignores him, taking her seat.

“So…you’re
her
,” she says with disgust.

“I assume by that you mean Cameron’s girlfriend. If so, then yes. I’m her.”

Her gaze flicks to my ring and she narrows her eyes at me.

“How long have you known him?”

“Nora,” Ryan interjects. “Quit it with the inquisition.”

“Why? I can’t let some gold-digging tramp –”

Cameron slams his fist on the table, rattling the entire setting. My wine glass topples over and I’m not able to move out of the way fast enough. It ends up spilling on the hem of my dress and down my leg. Cameron rushes to my aid but I brush him off and excuse myself, heading to the bathroom.
That bitch!
The nerve…I can’t believe she not only accused me of being a gold digger but also of being a tramp.
Me!
Ugh!

There’s not much I can do about my dress, so I concentrate on my legs and shoes. The door opens and I look up to see Nora walking in.
Great.
She leans a hip on the sink and stands there watching me. I ignore her, refusing to expend any energy on her.

“Sorry about the dress. It looks…expensive.”

I don’t reply.

“Louboutins…cute.”

I roll my eyes and turn to her. “I didn’t ask for them. It’s not my fault my man likes for me to look good.”

“Your man?” she scoffs. “You’ve been here longer than the others, I’ll give you that. But how long do you think you’ll last?”

“What’s your problem? Cameron is a grown man who’s perfectly capable of making his own decisions. Our relationship is none of your business.”

“
He
is. I just don’t want anyone taking advantage of him.”

“I’m not.” Putting my anger aside, I decide to be straight with her. “I love him.”

That catches her off guard. She stares at me, searching my eyes for the truth. When she finds what she’s looking for, her expression loses some of its rigidity.

“You do, don’t you?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“Well…I never expected that.”

“Can I ask you something? About Cameron?”

And she’s on guard again. “What?”

“His voice…what does it sound like?”

I surprised her again, but this time, her grey eyes soften and she smiles. “To be honest, it’s been so long I don’t even remember.”

“What’s his deal? He won’t tell me anything.”

“We’ve been trying to find out for years.”

“I thought it may have something to do with his childhood.” She raises a brow and I quickly add, “He got upset when I asked about it.”

She sighs, crossing her arms. “Cam was really skinny as a kid, got picked on a lot. Regardless, he was a happy kid. He shot up a few inches in high school, joined the wrestling team, and started weight training. Then, he joined the Marines. When he was discharged, he left for Japan. That’s when the silence began. At first, we thought it was PTSD, but he assured us it wasn’t.”

“I haven’t seen anything to indicate PTSD. It seems more like a choice to me than anything else. But why would he choose to
not
speak?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” She shrugs.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I turn away from her.
That rules out the traumatic childhood theory. I also highly doubt it’s PTSD. What in the world could it be? What the hell happened in Japan?

“Jasmine…I’m sorry for earlier. I’m extremely protective of my brothers and can be a real bitch when it comes to them and my kids. I misjudged you, and I’m sorry.”

“You were pretty harsh.”

“I’m sorry for calling you a gold-digging tramp. Truce?”

I stare at her outstretched hand before finally taking it. “Apology accepted.”

With that resolved, we head back to the table. It’s been cleaned, and appetizers served. Cameron’s worried expression relaxes, and he raises a questioning brow. Placing my palm to his cheek, I give him a reassuring smile.

“Everything’s fine.”

The rest of the evening is uneventful. Once Nora got past her prejudice, she relaxed, and we all had a lovely time. After dinner, we head back to the hotel, but he only allows me to change out of my wine-stained dress before we leave again.

“Where are we going?” I get the customary mysterious smile. I should know better by now.

There’s no chauffeur this time, only me and him – just the way I like it. As usual, I fill the silence as much as I can, talking about dinner, his family. He nods and occasionally squeezes my fingers. Giving up, I stare out the window as he drives. When we arrive at Grant Park, I begin to get excited.

“Are we going to the fountain?” I bounce in my seat. I’ve lived in Illinois for years but still haven’t been to the Buckingham Fountain. Chels and I have been planning a trip but haven’t made it yet.

After helping me out of the car, we make our way to the fountain. It’s almost ten, so the last show of the night is about to start. He finds a prime spot, engulfing me in his arms while we wait. I lay my head on his chest, watching the other patrons gathering. After a while, the music begins, and the fountain comes alive with lights synchronized to the playing tune. The jets shoot up into the air as different sections light up in shades of red, blue, and yellow. The “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd mix in with childlike laughter and whispered appreciation for the beauty being beheld. Pulling out my phone, I record a few minutes to show to Chels. She’s going to be so jealous! After my video, I have Cameron take a picture of me standing in front of the fountain then ask him to take one with me. He doesn’t shy away or hesitate this time, even taking it himself.

“Thanks, babe!”

He pulls me back into his arms, holding me until the end of the show. I turn to face him, watching the fading lights play on his features. I can’t believe how much I’ve come to love him in such a short period of time. If only he would tell me how he feels…