A grin twitched at the corner of his mouth. “What does Lake Jones want to be?”
My hand slid down his stomach. “Filled with you.”
Cage’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “What does Lake Jones want to have?” His grip on my face tightened.
My teeth dug into his thumb for a few seconds before I kissed it. “A life with you.”
He wet his lips before taking another hard swallow. “What does Lake Jones want to achieve?”
My hand made a slow stroke up his hard cock. “Everything,” I whispered a split second before his mouth took mine and his body rolled onto me.
Our fingers intertwined over my head as my hips moved with his. Would he stop for protection? I didn’t know. I didn’t care. The passion we had fell deep in the realm of reckless, and reckless felt like the purpose for existing in that moment. I wasliving.
“I hate…” he kissed me hard, taking the air from my lungs “…that anyone else gets to see you like I’ve seen you…” his hips rocked into me, my back arched as a moan escaped my throat “…but if it will change the world…” his tongue dipped deep into my mouth again and my fingernails dug into his hands “…then I’ll sacrifice my possessive side for the greater good.”
He moved onto his elbows, rocking his pelvis into me harder, sweat beading along his brow. I wrapped my legs around him. Would he pull out? Did our impulsive needs make sense? Did theyneedto make sense to anyone but us?
My hands slid up his arms, his neck, stopping on his face. “Monaghan, you’re so stupid…” My eyes closed for a moment ashe angled his hips to rub my sensitive clit. God, dying in that moment was perfectly fine with me. My eyes locked to his again. “Nobody will ever see me like you see me.”
The nude photos mattered,but not in a way I ever imagined. They were the buzz-talk for a while in the sports community after the reporter leaked it. Cage perfected the “Lake is an Incredible Woman and I Fully Support Her” speech, and he did it before ever seeing the photos or reading the article. He apologized that night for having trust issues. I think I fell even more in love with him.
I could never have been with someone who demanded perfection. Those people were nothing more than judgmental assholes that lived in denial of their humanity. Cage’s jealousy, his anger, his doubt… they made him human, but his recognizing it? It made him extraordinary.
Love—the hand that pulls someone to their feet.
Love—the lips that kiss their wounds.
Love—the proffered tissue to wipe their tears.
Love—the smile that reminds them we are all human.
Love—the mind that doesn’t judge.
Love—our soul’s purpose.
Love—our sole purpose.
Cage was my love and I was his.
Once the magazine published the photos with the article about my journey from disability to superior capability, the inappropriate chatter in the sports community silenced. The proverbial jaw-drop was felt around the world thanks to the instant news phenomena of the internet. Thaddeus Westbrook and Lake Jones trended on social media more than any NFLsensation.
“You’re a big deal, baby girl,” my mom said with pride as we talked on the phone early one morning a week after the photos were published, which didn’t happened until November.
They sat on them, waiting to get the article just right. He never admitted to it, but I suspected anal-retentive Thaddeus Westbrook was part of the hold up. I was fine with that, anything to keep his mind focused on business and not the near fallout of our relationship. I couldn’t say we were back to one hundred percent, but we were close.
“I’m not a big deal.” I rolled my eyes as I fed Trzy in Cage’s kitchen.
We weren’t officially living with him; I still had my apartment. However, I hadn’t slept there since returning to Minneapolis the previous month from visiting Luke and Jessica’s new baby girl, Harley. Cage moved nearly everything except my furniture while I was gone. He said it was Trzy’s idea.
“They’re beautiful. They represent how I’ve looked at you your whole life.”
“Says my mom.”
“Lake …”
I dropped two frozen flax waffles into the toaster. “Sorry. I know, and you’re right.”
“Are you going to make it home for the holidays?”
