Page 24 of The Traitor

She reached for his hand. “You look tired. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

With a smile, he patted her hand. “So do you. Short of working on the engines you’ve taken care of everything, including that miracle you worked with rearranging all the appointments. You’ve more than pulled your weight. And you did it all with a smile. You’re the one that needs to rest.”

Everything she’d done was because it kept her busy and prevented her from worrying. “I’m okay. Does Knox disappear like this often?”

With a sigh, he brought her hand to him, kissing her wrist. “Not really, but the Spencer Knox I knew is slightly different from the one who’s become my friend now.”

“How so?”

Effortlessly, he pulled her to him, making her straddle his lap. His palms cupped her ass, sliding his hands under her sweatshirt before going down again. The touch was soothing and lulled her into a state of calm. She’d spent the last four nights being held by him as they slept. Gage had been there for her, offering her comfort in whatever way she needed it and it had been a surprise. Gage was a lot deeper than she’d thought.

“I only have a sad story for you, Josie, and I don’t know if it’s mine to tell.”

Placing one palm on his hard chest, her fingers replaced a wild strand of brown hair that had fallen over his forehead. “Tell me, Gage. Please. I want to understand.”

If possible, his blue eyes grew even darker, and she could feel his erection pushing between her thighs. “Knox is older than Locke and me. Wiser maybe. But we were still kids from the streets, poor, without a purpose. It makes for a dangerous combination. Not only were we starved for food, but for money and power. We kind of bonded over that, discovered that the only ones we could trust were the three of us. And believe me, trust was a luxury in the criminal underworld. What we did would certainly change how you thought of us, forever.”

His hands continued to caress the skin under her clothing, inflaming her senses, but Josie wouldn’t be sidetracked. Not yet. “But you got out. So did Knox and your friend Locke.”

“Yeah. Locke had been working on a plan, executing it step by step to get out, one that caused minimal ripples. It was a bit more complicated with Knox, because he was in a lot deeper. And then we were faced with another problem—he didn’t want to get out.”

That didn’t make sense. “Why? He changed his mind?”

“No. But he stumbled upon something he couldn’t ignore. He found out about a sex slave ring, where young women were brought in like cattle and sold at auctions. He told us he couldn’t leave without dismantling it. I was already out, although I was still cage fighting. Locke still had enough pull to help him out.”

Josie was baffled. “Why didn’t you just give what you had to the police?”

Gage sighed, his hand almost tickling her belly. “That would have been a coward’s way out. And risky because there was a strong possibility that some of the cops were in on it. Knox went in even deeper. He wouldn’t agree to the coward’s way out, but had no problem betraying the syndicate and being seen as a traitor, making it possible for us to dismantle the whole thing.”

“Traitor? How can he see himself that way?”

“Baby, you have to see our world and actions through our eyes. The underworld was all we knew. We pledged allegiance to it. It saved us, brought us freedom, wealth, purpose. Maybe not the same as you decent folks, but it meant something. And Knox was always the most honorable of the three of us. It’s a stain that haunts him. From what I know, Knox has only ever broken his word twice. Both times it messed with his head.” As he said the words, Gage paused, a frown on his face but as Josie went to ask what was going on, he grabbed her head, bringing her down, before taking her mouth in a thorough kiss.

She sensed Gage wasn’t telling her everything. However, when his hands went back to her ass, and tore at her panties, Josie knew their conversation was over. It was her last thought before her body took over her brain.

Bracing herself for Gage to take her hard, she was surprised when she felt his touch soften. Lifting her up, he pushed at his sweatpants, but again, there was no rushing him. He could have slammed his cock deep inside her, but instead, he nestled his erection between her folds, and only undulated his hips. The friction was deliciously slow and teasing. His length dragged against her clit and she moaned, Gage swallowing the sound in his kiss.

His hands didn’t grab or take, instead they glided and caressed, fueling her arousal. In that instant, Knox’s image during their last encounter came to mind. Annoyed with the intrusion, Josie pushed the image away, and instead focused on the male that wanted her right here and now.

She needed to remember the agreement between the three of them—it was an arrangement, and not a relationship. And that made her heart sting a little, but she pushed that thought away as well when insistent fingers parted her nether lips and started to work on her clit.

Gage nipped at her collarbone before kissing his way up. His tone was wolfish when he spoke. “I love that you get so wet on my hand, baby. I can smell your arousal and it makes me want you more.”

Josie wasn’t used to being talked to like that. It made her want to shy away, but at the same time, it was exhilarating to feel so wild and it was so easy to forget how prudish she really was. What would happen if she let loose a little? On that thought, she decided to jump in with both feet.

“I want you to suck my tits, Gage. Please.” She knew she’d turned as red as a tomato as she said the words, but Gage didn’t laugh. Instead, he flicked a glance to her face as she removed her top, pure hunger on display before his mouth closed on her nipple and he started licking her areola, making her core contract before he lavished the other breast with the same intensity. Watching him as he worked was a huge turn on, not that she needed to be turned on any more at that moment.

His fingers were relentless on her sex, yet she still wanted more. She’d survived asking something from him, now Josie wanted to see if she could take something from him. Take him.

Pushing herself up higher on her knees, she set his hand aside before taking his dick, now coated with her juices, in her hand and impaled herself on him in a deep, seamless stroke.

Gage cursed under his breath, and gently bit her nipple in retaliation. “You’re dangerous, baby. I’m having a heart attack here.”

The way he stretched her was causing ripples of pleasure mixed with small electric shocks. But she’d started this and would be damned if she stopped now. “I doubt it. I can feel your pulse strong inside me.”

His hand slapped her ass. “You’re getting confident, baby girl. Be careful, you’re playing with fire and might get burnt.”

She saw the contained danger in his blue eyes, the dark swirls of his violent past deep in his gaze. It was something she’d seen before in another man, one that kept appearing in her feverish mind.

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