Caged In (9 page)

“
Jesus Maxwell. You saw all that shit in the one time
you saw us together?
”

“
I know Charlie and I see you right now. Don
’
t let her run man. You have to go to her.
”

“
How?
”

“
Isn
’
t she in your buddy
’
s car?
”
I nodded.
“
LoJack that shit.
”

Nate Fucking Maxwell was a pure
genius. I bear hugged him before racing out of the house and back to the party
to get Locke and to
“
LoJack that shit.
”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Charlie

Sleep was not coming tonight as my
mind played tricks on me. What if there was an explanation? What if Nate was
right and I should let Cage explain? Why did it matter anyway because Cage was
leaving for his tour? I saw all those sexed up groupies swimming around the
band just waiting for the right look or a wink. I could not compete with tits
and ass that was at the ready when I was hundreds of miles away. Plus we spent
one night together. How could I expect anything?

He said he loved you.
But did he really mean it? Within
24 hours of seeing him again, there were drugs at the ready.

But he ran after you.
He did not stay and partake. He
came running after me to explain, to talk . . . to lie?

Why would he lie?
But I ran away.

Why did he let me?
Because I did not give him a
chance.

The truth was always in his eyes
and his eyes were worried and scared when I pulled away. His eyes were clear
with no hint of haze.

What should I do? Well lying in bed
was not going to solve any of my problems. I got up and paced back and forth.
My phone was still off, so I went over and turned it on. A few seconds later it
chimed with a voice mail from Nate
’
s phone. Hitting play, I listened
to Nate
’
s voice.

“
Charlie. You do need to listen to Cage. You know I
would never let anything hurt you. At least give him a chance to explain and
then make your decision. You owe it to yourself and to him. If nothing else it
will give you the closure you need to really move on if that is what you
choose.
”

I broke down again at listening to
my adopted brother tell me I was making a mistake. I was so confused. What I
saw warred with what I wanted to be true. I loved Nate and he was right that he
would never let anything happen to me. I needed to trust him. I needed to hear
Cage out. I needed to go back to him.

Cage

I parked next to Locke
’
s Porsche and walked into Charlie
’
s hotel, praying that her final words to me were not
true. Being too late was not an option. In the elevator all I could think about
was her slamming the door on my face before I got a chance to say everything I
needed to say to her.
Fuck it!
Sheer determination raced through my
veins as I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was not leaving until I said
my piece. My phone beeped with a text message.
Room 202.
Nate was
turning into a key ally in all of this.

It was now or never.

I knocked on the door, praying that
when she looked through the peep-hole and saw it was me that she would still
open it. A sigh of relief left me when the door slowly opened.

“
Hi.
”
Charlie
’
s voice was so tentative. I took a step towards the
door, gripping it so that she could not close it on me.

“
Hey baby,
”
I said softly. Not waiting
for her to ask, I pushed on the door letting myself in.
“
We need to talk.
”

“
I agree.
”
Her voice became stronger.

“
I know what you saw was bad, but I swear to God, on
the band, on whatever you need me to swear on that I did not touch the drugs or
the women,
”
I explained. I bent my knees so
that we were eye level as I continued. 
“
I was trying to placate Hogan,
because I was telling him that you were coming on tour with us. I did not want
a confrontation with him about it and I thought by sitting there with him I
could get him to see that it was a good idea. But I was wrong.
”

“
I feel as if he liked me coked out so that I went
where he told me to go, dated whoever he placed on my arm. Now, he
’
s pissed that his front man doesn
’
t fall in line. I was too caught up on trying to make
it easy on myself that I made it hard on you. I put myself in that situation
and when you came in and saw me.
”
I paused, shaking my head to
rid it of the painful image.
“
The world of hurt and pain I saw in
your eyes paralyzed me and when I finally got my shit together you were already
gone. I ran out back, but you weren
’
t there so I raced out front to see
you leaving in Locke
’
s car.
”

Tears ran down her cheeks. I slowly
reached out to wipe them away, giving her plenty of time to back away if she
did not want my touch. When my fingertips grazed her cheeks, sparks flew up my
arm straight to my heart, lighting it on fire. Her eyes widened in response,
telling me she felt something similar.
“
Say you forgive me for not putting
you first. Say you will forgive me for letting the needs of someone else come
before you. Say . . .
”

“
Stop,
”
interrupted Charlie.

“
Charlie, please . . .
”
Charlie
held up her hand trying to silence me, but I got in,
“
I love you.
”
Terror crept up my spine as
an array of emotions ran through Charlie
’
s eyes, before she came to some
conclusion and nothing but determination stared back at me.

Another tear rolled down her cheek.
I opened by mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.
“
Ditto.
”
That was all I needed to hear
as I scooped her up in my arms pressing my lips to hers.

“
Say it again.
”

“
Ditto.
”
She laughed as I tickled her.

“
Again,
”
I demanded, as I turned in us
circles, savoring the joyous laughter that fell from her lips.

“
I love you Cage.
”
Surprise, warmth, love . . . I
felt it all ten-fold as I squeezed her tighter to me.

“
God, I love you too Charlie, so much.
”
I held her still, placing my forehead against hers.

“
You really want me on tour with you guys?
”
The hesitancy killed me because I knew I put it there
so long ago, and I resolved in that moment to do everything in my power to make
it go away.

“
Wouldn
’
t want it any other way,
”
I answered.
“
I want us always together from this
point forward.
”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Charlie

“
I can
’
t believe we are already a month
into the tour,
”
said Double D, the lead
singer of Sex Bruise as we walked to a spot backstage where we could watch
Caged In perform. She got her name honest as her massive breasts bounced with
each step.

“
The longest month of my life,
”
added Jezebel, the petite, platinum blonde drummer of
the band.

“
Only because Shutter won
’
t
leave you alone,
”
Ta-ta laughed. We all joined
in as everything went black as Caged In began to take the stage. Random
cat-calls sounded from the audience.

“
I don
’
t think Shutter has ever had anyone
tell him no before,
”
I said.

“
Why would anyone tell that cocky asshole yes?
”
Jezebel countered.
“
He
is so full of himself. I am surprised he and his ego can fit in your bus at the
same time.
”

“
Oh come on,
”
argued Ta-Ta.
“
If I had that tattooed sex-on-a-stick flaunting his
dick in my direction I would not hesitate to kneel before that rock god and
worship it anyplace he put it.
”

“
TMI,
”
yelled Jez.
“
Seriously no one needs to hear that.
”
Again, we all laughed. I really enjoyed these women
and loved the instant friendship that formed when I joined the tour two weeks
ago once I finished the shoot in Boca.

“
I don
’
t know Jez. I haven
’
t known Shutter for long, but word around the tour is
he gets what he wants and right now he is focused on you, like laser focused.
”

“
Yeah sure he does. That
’
s
why every night after I tell him no he leaves with a different girl under his
arm. He seems totally crushed by my rejection.
”
I
could not quite get a read on Jezebel just yet. The other two were simple.
Ta-ta, aka Rita, was a sex fiend and did it every which way and twice on
Sunday. She took male, female, single or in groups. She didn
’
t care. Rita liked sex and according to her, practiced
as much as possible so that she could get really good at it. Double D was all
talk. She liked to look, but was true to her husband of five years. He met us
on the weekends whenever he could and they were a sight to behold when they
were together. They could not keep their hands to themselves.

But Jezebel Shaw was completely
different. Her tough exterior went pretty deep and I had no idea if Shutter
could or would ever penetrate it. When he thought no one was watching, Shutter
could not keep his eyes off of her. Just as I was Cage
’
s red target, Jez was Shutter
’
s.

Our dish session ended as Locke
opened up their first song, with Shutter joining in and then Linc. The entire amphitheater
went from crazy to insane when Cage opened his mouth and started singing their
latest hit,
“
Limitless.
”
It was the finished version of the song he sang me
our first day together.

Cage

“
Thank you New York,
”
I
howled as we took a bow after our encore. Every show was better than the last
as Caged In fell back into our rhythm. Touring, our timing, it all was just
like riding a bike and each show proved that. This was one of the first tours
since the very beginning that I was completely sober, and I found that I was
enjoying it more than ever. It didn
’
t hurt that Charlie was by my side
and things were moving in the right direction. She promised no more running and
I promised to put her first always.

I was the last off the stage, going
straight into Charlie
’
s arms as I had done every night
since she joined us. A deep breath gave me the
“
Happy
”
intake I needed to start unwinding after a
performance.

“
Hey baby.
”
I went for sexy and came up
short with my raspy words.

“
Drink this,
”
she said handing me a bottle
of ice cold water for my scratchy throat. I downed it knowing I needed five
more to replenish everything I lost out on stage.

“
I
’
m ready for the break.
”
And I meant it. I saw the other three nod as I slung
my arm around Charlie. We were granted the rare three-day break as we made our
way to Chicago from New York. I loved the Windy City and could not wait to take
Charlie to some of my favorite spots.

“
Me too.
”
There was a hint of lust in
her eyes. One I was getting used to seeing after each one of my performances. I
found out that whenever I sang, it put Charlie in a feisty mood.
“
Let
’
s get out of here,
”
I growled in her ear. She nodded, giving me the okay
to make a hasty exit. I knew the guys would cover for me in our fan
meet-and-greet, as I had done for them plenty of times. I took her hand,
leading Charlie out of the side door. Two body guards came to flank us as we
practically ran from the door to our bus before any of the fans got wind that
we went out another door besides the back one.

With the bus door locked behind us,
Charlie took off running as I chased her to our room at the back. Wasting no
time, we ripped each other
’
s clothes off, collapsing onto the
bed in a tangle of arms and legs. My hand reached between her legs to find her
wet and ready. Foreplay was not in the cards tonight with Charlie mounting me,
impaling herself on my engorged cock. Rocking back and forth, we both moaned as
her pussy gripped me tight.

“
Feels so good,
”
she sighed, picking up the
pace.

“
So fucking good,
”
I agreed. I used my hands on
her hips to grind her against me as she continued rocking. As she got closer
she leaned forward taking my lips with hers. Her hair fell around us cutting
off the outside world.

“
I love you,
”
she whispered.

“
I love you too baby.
”
And
I did with every fiber of my being. Addiction and shame kept me from the one
person I loved for too long. I was never going to allow myself to be caged in
like that again. I was now free to make my own choices and I knew I would
choose her every time.