Uncaged Read online

  “Humans are so damned fragile.”

  “She’s strong, for a human. I’m glad you’ve found each other again.”

  She handed me a bottle of wine. “You’ll find wine glasses on the side table, and a bottle of water.”

  I thanked her and stepped into the room. I noted a spring-loaded needle device on the bedside table as well, so I could get her blood in the easiest manner possible.

  I tuned into Keisha’s breathing as I settled the wine bottle on a desk, closed the door, and undressed. She was in her nightgown, and I shook my head as I realized she’d been to Faerie in her gown.

  I touched her as I slid under the covers with her. “It’s me, Keesh.” She wasn’t as warm as she should’ve been as I snuggled in behind her. She was weak, and it was my fault. I held her several long moments before I said her name again, worried because she usually awakens at the slightest noise — another of those habits people develop in prison.

  Keisha

  I awakened with a start, felt someone behind me, and lifted my elbow and went backwards with it as hard and fast as possible.

  I realized it was Darnell as I made impact, and apologized and turned as he grunted and then chuckled.

  “Good to know you learned from all the self-defense training. How do you feel?”

  “Like I need to sleep for a week.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought everything was okay.”

  I started to brush off his apology, but… “Wait, you knew this might happen?”

  “I thought I’d have warning signs before it became a major issue.”

  I sighed. “I’ve been having little problems when your alarm goes off to wake you. It only lasted a few minutes, but I was out of breath and my heart raced. I just thought it was me knowing when you woke up, but now I think it was because you were startled.”

  He snugged me even closer, and I drank in his warmth and strength.

  “Asking you to do the binding ritual again so soon didn’t feel right, and I thought we were okay. I thought we had time. Damn, Keesh. I’m so sorry. I’m glad you called Hailey.”

  “I called Darius, and she answered his phone when she saw it was me.” I pushed away from him, sat up, and fought a little nausea. “I think maybe my electrolytes are off. I may need a sports drink or something.”

  He sat up with me. “How about some wine? Redoing our relationship bond should fix everything.”

  “Should?”

  He nodded. “Someone will need to check us out to be sure, but it should.”

  “Aaron said you and Darius fixed it so I’ll get my felony expunged.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t want our son to put himself in danger, but he insisted.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of danger?”

  “I can’t tell you, but it’s why I was freaked enough to pull energy from you.” He held the left side of my face in his right palm. “He’s fine. I taught him how to handle himself and how to fade into the background. He did a great job and our employer will repay him with some expensive items he wanted, and us by making your parole officer recommend you go off parole, and then when we go in front of a judge, he’ll put a suggestion in the judge’s head so he’ll want to give you a fresh start.”

  “It’s scary there are people who can just put these kinds of suggestions in people’s heads.”

  He tilted his head in agreement. “Which is why we make sure we stay on their good side. Do you remember the wording?”

  “We’re doing this now?”

  “I won’t put you at risk by waiting.”

  But he’d put me at risk by not talking to me about this. “I thought I was going to die.”

  “God, Keesh. I know. I was wrong not to talk to you about what I found out, but I think you’re realizing there’s a lot you don’t know. I can tell you my secrets, but I can’t tell you anyone else’s, so sometimes it’s truly my not knowing how to tell you something. The penalties for telling other people’s secret can be death or permanent enslavement for both the person telling and the person told. The supernatural overlords don’t mess around with the rules.”

  “Overlords?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not even sure I’m supposed to have told you about them, but how else can I convince you how important it is we follow the rules?”

  “We promised it was just the two of us, right?”

  He nodded. “How about — We are two halves of a whole. We are strong. We are a unit. No one shall put the relationship at risk without the other knowing.”

  I looked at our clasped hands, resting in my lap. The wording was different. He didn’t trust me, but could I blame him? He was offering me his heart again, after I’d trashed everything by being stupid before. He had a right to ask it of me. Plus, the oath wasn’t one-sided. I’d get the same from him.

  I met his gaze. “This goes both ways. If you do something dangerous that puts your life at risk, I’ll know. If you let our son put his life at risk for me again, I’ll know.”

  He nodded but stayed silent.

  I sighed. “And if I plan something that might land me in jail again, you’ll know. This is more invasive than the last time we did this.”

  “It is. Are you okay with it?”

  “Yeah. I fucked up, and it’s good you’ll know I can’t fuck up so bad again without you having a chance to intervene.”

  Darnell

  The first time I’d used the pen lancet on her, there’d been so much drama. This time, she watched as if I were getting blood from someone else’s finger. I missed the Keisha who’d needed me to reassure her, but she was right — I couldn’t bitch about some of the changes while being happy she’d changed in other ways. I hated she’d had to go through hell in order to figure out how to grow up, and it broke my heart that she’d had to become so fucking hard in order to survive.

  I put her blood in my water, my blood in her wine, and situated us on the bed.

  “I love you. I’m sorry you’ve been through so much that you no longer think someone getting blood from your finger’s a big deal.”

  She shrugged. “It really isn’t. I was a child before.”

  “No, you were a woman who’d been sheltered from what life can do to you.”

  “And now I’ve been nothing more than an animal in a cage. How can you still love me?”

  “I turned my back on you and left you feeling all alone in the world,” I countered. “How can you take me back?”

  Neither of us said anything and the silence grew uncomfortable. Finally, I said, “I don’t know, Keesh. I just love you. You’re part of me. I’ve cared about people since our divorce, but I never loved anyone — even when I wished I could.”

  She lifted her glass. “I thought there was blood on us last time.”

  “Can you get another drop from your finger?”

  She squeezed, got one, and I touched my chest. “Put it over my heart.”

  I poked another hole in my finger and put a dot over her heart as well. This part’s an added gesture and not strictly necessary when you’re drinking each other’s blood, but the extra couldn’t hurt.

  I pulled energy to me, made a big ball of it so we both sat inside it. She followed my lead, drank when I did, and then joined me on the second word.

  We are two halves of a whole. We are strong. We are a unit. No one shall put the relationship at risk without the other knowing.

  Focus is important, so I thought of how she looked when she read, how she felt in my arms, and how it felt when we both orgasmed together. The energy swirled around us and went sharp as our relationship bond shrank and pulled, moved, broke with a painful whiplash between us, and then slid back into place.

  “You okay?” I asked, when I could pull air in enough to speak.

  She nodded. “Can you hold me, please?”

  Fuck, I couldn’t believe I’d made her ask. I pulled her into my lap and surrounded her with my warmth. She melted into me, and the fist around my heart loosened as I felt her through our
shared bond. She was still tired, but didn’t seem as shaky.

  I kissed the top of her head. “I need something to eat, and then perhaps we can sleep the rest of the day?”

  “More food would be good. Can we go home?”

  “Not until we’re sure everything’s fixed. Aaron and Sophia are having a little get-together tonight, and someone at the party will be able to tell us if it worked.”

  “And whoever it is doesn’t want me knowing the kind of power they have.”

  Bingo, but it was time to change the subject. “Aaron’s cook is making a big lunch and it should be ready in about an hour. I can have someone run by your house to bring you some clothes. What do you want me to tell him to get?”

  Chapter 12

  Keisha

  When Aaron and Sophia have a little ‘get-together’, they go all out. I knew many of the people Darnell works with, but there were many I didn’t know. I was pleasantly surprised to see Horse and Gabby, and I hugged them both while thanking them for saving me.

  “We were so worried about you. I’m glad you’re okay,” Gabby told me as she hugged me back.

  If having forty people over was a little get-together, I wondered what Aaron and Sophia’s parties must look like. I enjoyed myself though. The food was great, and I liked all the people I met — though there were too many for me to remember everyone’s names.

  I was nervous at first, wondering which person was looking in my head, but I eventually let it go and enjoyed myself. I was sitting with Bethany, Sophia, and Gabby when a distinguished gentleman in a suit stepped to us.

  Sophia stood and hugged him before saying, “You know Bethany and Gabby, but I don’t believe you’ve met Keisha.” She looked to me. “Keisha, this is Abbott. He lives next door, and it’s easier to invite the neighbors to our gatherings than to put up with them complaining about the noise.”

  Abbott smiled and pulled her into his side. “I’ve never complained of the noise, though there’s a chance some of my parties have been louder than yours. It’s nice to meet you, Keisha. How do you know Aaron and Sophia?”

  “My husband… or, I guess ex-husband, works for Aaron.”

  “She and Darnell are in the process of figuring things out,” Sophia told him. “I believe you know their son, Ghost? With the RTMC.”

  “Ah, yes. Nice young man. I’m glad we had a chance to meet, Keisha.” He looked to Bethany and Gabby. “A treat to see the two of you, as always.”

  “He’s so… polite,” I said as he walked away.

  “He’s still living in the last century,” Bethany said as she poured another glass of wine, “but he’s a sweetheart so he can get away with it.”

  “And rich,” said Gabby. “His money makes him eccentric instead of old-fashioned.”

  I’m taller than most every woman I know, and a muscular woman I was certain was my height joined us.

  Sophia stood and I noted she came to the woman’s boobs — about where she comes on me. They hugged, and Sophia said, “Cora! I’m glad you could come.” She turned to me. “Keisha, this is Cora. She works for Aaron, too.”

  “Oh, Keisha!” Cora exclaimed. “It’s nice to meet you. Darnell has talked about you on our downtime. It’s good to put a face to the name.”

  I stood to greet her and noted I was a little taller than her, but I also had on heels, and she didn’t.

  “It’s nice to meet you, too.” I worried what she knew about me, but I tried not to let it show.

  Bethany had stood to hug her by this time, and she looked to me and said, “Ranger, Mack, Cora, and Darnell work together on jobs sometimes. Cora has their backs. I trust her to watch out for all my guys.”

  I tilted my head. Confused. “I thought you were with Jonathan?”

  She grinned. “Umm, yeah. I’m kind of with all of them. Jonathan, Ranger, and Mac. We all live together.”

  I felt my eyebrows lift, and she laughed. “I get that reaction a lot.”

  “Sorry, but that’s… I don’t know whether to congratulate you or ask how you survive.”

  “I think we’ve all done a little of both,” Cora said with a chuckle. “They’re all happy though, so it works for them.”

  Darnell

  Keisha was exhausted by the time I drove her home, but it was just from the party, not from being strained metaphysically.

  Gabby and Horse said they’d stay at Horse’s place tonight so they’d be close if we needed them, but Abbott said everything seemed to be hooked up right.

  He also said we might not know for sure until something came along to test it.

  “Everything seems to be in place, but it’s possible our energy may still do something unexpected when we hit our first big stressor,” I told her as I drove us down the mountain.

  “Which means you’re going to test it tonight.”

  She didn’t ask it as a question. She knows me well.

  “Yeah. I’ll change from wolf to human until I’m so weak, if the bond isn’t right then I’ll pull from you. Horse and Gabby are staying home so they’ll be close if we need them.”

  “Sophia told me she’s a swan, and Nathan called Gabby ‘Bunny’ as a nickname.”

  “Interesting. We’ll need to do it in my basement. I have a secure cell you can put me in, and you’ll need to feed me once I’ve lost twenty-five percent of my weight.”

  I could sense she was going to argue about spending the night in my house, so I said, “You’ll duck down and I’ll pull into the garage. We’ll sneak you out tomorrow morning, and I’ll bring you home later in the day.” I glanced at her and looked back to the road. “This is important.”

  “The company is Drake Security, but Nathan seems to be as much in charge as Aaron.”

  I nodded. “They make a good pair. Aaron’s the majority owner, but Nathan owns some of it. I worried about having two bosses, but it hasn’t been a problem.”

  “I felt safer once Nathan was there to protect me, but he also scares me.”

  “Smart girl. He’s damned scary but you’re safe from him.”

  I wished I could tell her he isn’t just a lion shifter, but he’s the king of all lions. Also, that Aaron is the king of all dragons. And that Sophia is the Swan Queen. I sighed, happy she knew I was a wolf, so I didn’t have to hide it from her.

  I stepped onto a set of scales before my first change to wolf and back, and then every time thereafter. Keisha wrote the weight we were aiming for and put it just outside the jail cell.

  By the fourth change I was hurting, and by the sixth I wasn’t sure I’d make it, but when I finally hit the goal weight and she felt fine, I breathed in relief as I collapsed onto the floor.

  She came in with a protein shake mixed with honey, and I downed it before I had the energy needed to chew the real meat she brought me.

  The room swam, the bars blurred, but I didn’t pull from my love.

  We were going to be fine.

  “If you’re ever in trouble like that, would it be possible for me to send you energy? I mean, if I can eat and you can’t?”

  I snugged her closer to me and pulled the covers over her shoulder. “No, it isn’t supposed to work that way.”

  “I’d have given you energy if I could’ve. It was hard to watch. I don’t like seeing you hurting.”

  “We’re lucky this happened when you were scheduled to be off work anyway. You start longer hours tomorrow, right?”

  She nodded. “The extra money will be nice.”

  My wolf waited until she dropped into sleep before he let us fall asleep, and he must’ve been watching for her to awaken the next morning, too. I felt her wake, and my eyes opened.

  “Is it okay that we feel each other wake up?” she asked.

  “As long as we just feel it and there’s no physical side effects, it’s fine. Don’t talk to anyone except me about it, though. Some people get funny when they hear about a human sensing magical stuff.”

  “How do you feel this morning?”

  I reached for
her hand and put it on the piece of granite masquerading as my cock.

  The sweet, sweet scent of her arousal bloomed around us, and my cock throbbed in her hand.

  “I haven’t taken your ass yet.”

  “Ummm, I don’t know if…” She took a breath, shuddered. Her scent was off as she said, “I think we might have to work me up to that. We have time, let’s focus on other stuff.”

  I chuckled and pulled the blanket and sheet away. “Could be fun. In the meantime, you used to give amazing morning blowjobs.” Her reaction troubled me, but my instincts told me it was the wrong time to press. Something about anal hit her wrong, though.

  “I used to love giving them to you when you were still mostly asleep, because you’d stay still and let me have fun.”

  “Not promising I’ll stay still for long this morning,” I warned as she slid down the bed and enveloped the oh-so-sensitive head of my cock in the warmth of her mouth.

  Keisha was never dominant in bed before, but I’d seen bits and pieces of her taking more initiative. This morning, however, she pushed my chest to try to make me lie back down when I sat up.

  Luckily, my wolf saw it as more of a pup playing than as her fighting for dominance, but I still let my instincts take over — which means she quickly found herself flat on her back, my face inches from hers, my hand over her throat.

  “Spread your legs. Wrap them around me.”

  If she’d smelled afraid of me, I’d have been pissed… and yet I was annoyed when I smelled no fear. I didn’t try to make sense of it as she obeyed, her hips moving in welcome as I positioned my cock at her entrance.

  I’d never restricted her breathing before, and despite the fact my wolf wanted me to now, I kept my hand relaxed around her neck. I moved both hands beside her shoulders as I thrust into her and she opened to me, her hips moving. Her hands went to my shoulders to help brace herself, and I aimed my cock up as I went in the sixth time.