The Cage (Book 2)

Getting Acquainted

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Getting Acquainted

"Hey! What do you think you're doi-"

As I scrambled to get off the bed Schneider had rudely thrown me on, I suddenly felt the mattress being weighed down as something big settled right next to me. A shadow fell over me, cutting my words short. I looked up just in time to see him slam both hands on either side of my head, effectively trapping me in place.

His face was so close to my own...

My heart skipped a beat, and then went into overdrive.

Thump! Thump! Thump! It beat so furiously until I started to think it would burst and I'd die right there on the bed.

"For someone who's in need of my help, you have a real attitude problem." Schneider said in an alarmingly low voice, his pewter gray eyes so dark, they practically looked black in this lighting. As he bent over me, I could feel heat rising from his body like steam. With him looking down at me, his hair draped his face like a silken curtain.

My fingers twitched as I envisioned running them through those soft-looking strands and tucking them behind his ear.

Unaware of the insane and very disturbing thoughts going through my head, Schneider went on, saying, "Don't make me give you an attitude check. You won't like it."

I would have retorted with something mean and clever, but the words were still stuck in my throat.

How could a guy have such long, thick eyelashes? They were practically brushes!

"This is the last time you argue with me in public like this," he warned, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You risked blowing our ruse, and for what? For you to stubbornly insist on doing something you don't even understand the consequences of? Believe it or not, this place has rules. As my bitch, you're expected to behave a certain way. You can't be waltzing into places where you have no business waltzing into, even if it's with me. The guard room is off limits to anyone but the guards and me."

My bitch. Somehow, that was what had stuck with me out of all his explanation. I was once again being treated like a piece of property, like a pot or a shoe. At this point, I didn't even care about going into the stupid guard room and standing up for myself. I didn't even want Schneider to do it for me anymore. What I cared about now was proving a point to Schneider; that he wasn't the boss of me. I appreciated his help, sure, but I wouldn't enslave myself to him.

"Stop calling me that."

"What, my bitch?" Schneider purposely emphasized those two annoying words, clearly in an attempt to ruffle my already frazzled feathers.

I didn't want to give him the satisfaction, but I couldn't help myself. "I am not your bitch. We're barely even friends! Who are you to tell me what to do?" I hissed, baring my teeth at him in a mean grimace.

Schneider's expression grew shuttered.

A part of me regretted my choice of words. But it was true. I was no one to Schneider. And it was still unclear to me why he was helping me at all. I didn't buy that he felt guilty about being the reason I was in the prison in the first place when Kevin saw me and lured me into his sick trap. It was difficult to imagine that someone who was the strongest and baddest of all the inmates in the Prison from Hell could experience a conscientious feeling like guilt.

Something deep down told me he had an ulterior motive, and something even deeper whispered to me what it was. The thought of both voices being right terrified me, especially the latter.

I was right to be suspicious. Anyone in my shoes would be too.

"Then how about we change that now?"

I stared at me, dumbfounded. "What?"

What the hell was he talking about?

Suddenly, a hand seized one of my own by the wrist and pulled upward, stretching me against the mattress.

"Hey!" I protested, alarmed by the strength of his grip. He was all but crushing my wrist.

Using my other hand, I pushed at his chest so he'd get off me, but it felt like I was pushing a brick wall. When shoving didn't work, I started punching. Again, it felt like I was hitting a brick wall. My hand started to ache pretty quickly, whereas he didn't even flinch once.

Without warning, Schneider buried his face in the crook of my neck and bit down on the sensitive skin. Alarmed, I cried out.

He pulled away and licked his lips the way a wolf would just before devouring his next meal. The primal look in his eyes made me shudder.

"What... What do you think you're doing?" I whispered, eyes as wide as saucers. My neck throbbed with pain where he sank his teeth like a fucking vampire. I could feel that he punctured the skin, the lunatic!

"Now that I've branded you as mine, let's get real acquainted, shall we? This way there won't be any confusion about the nature of our relationship." He straddled my hips, planting all of his significant weight on top of me. He still held my left hand over my head, keeping it pinned to the bed.

I could forget about throwing him off me; I couldn't even buck my hips now that he was sitting on top of me.

"Y-You can't do t-this." I said in a broken, stuttering voice. Flashbacks of the day Kevin overpowered me and sexually assaulted me came to mind, crippling me with fear. The thought of being assaulted, touched and being forced to do things against my will again brought tears to my ears.

He wouldn't. Would he...? 

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

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