Trapped (Caged #2)(23)

“I don’t have to say,” she replied haughtily.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” I murmured into her ear. “That will make my job easier when you decide you want me to return the favor.”

*****

I had pretty much decided I could survive by hand jobs alone.

Tria still hadn’t gotten to the point where she would let me reciprocate, but I was definitely getting more boob time, and I now owed her six orgasms, due whenever she got comfortable with the idea of me getting my hands between her legs.

My feet pounded the cement, and the frozen vapor of my breath escaped my mouth in quick, rhythmic bursts. It had warmed up a lot in the last week, but it was still cold enough to have started my run in a hooded sweatshirt. I was nearing the end of the trek, though, and I was feeling damn hot in the thing. As soon as I got to the apartment building and did a quick cool-down walk around it, I pulled the sweatshirt over my head before walking into the hallway, still panting a little.

I heard voices from beyond the door before I opened it and was somewhat surprised to see Tria sitting on the couch with another young woman. She had a shock of bouncing red curls and a laptop computer open across her legs.

“Hiya!” Tria said with a giggle.

I had no idea what she was giggling about, so I gave her a look that was intended to ask her if she had been drinking. She just giggled again.

“This is Elissa,” she informed me. “Elissa, this is Liam.”

“Hi,” Elissa said, and her face flushed about the same color as her hair.

“Hi,” I replied hesitantly. I tossed the sweatshirt on top of my gym bag, which sat on the floor near the door. Tria rolled her eyes, and I picked it up and hung it over the back of the chair instead. Even I had to admit I was a bit of a slob, but she was trying to mend my ways.

“Elissa and I are working on a project together,” Tria informed me. “We have to do a presentation next Friday, and she has her own laptop!”

“I see that,” I said.

“It’s on the psychology of economics,” Elissa said. “Why some people choose to live below their means and others spend far more than they should.”

I raised a brow at Tria but didn’t comment.

“We’re going to do interviews,” Tria informed me, “with people who are spending way more money than they can really afford, subjecting themselves to credit card debt, and compare them with others who won’t buy the luxury car and choose to live within their means.”

“Then there are others who subject themselves to poverty,” Elissa added.

“It’s something we’ve talked about in class,” Tria said. “It’s all about socioeconomic classes and the decisions that lead to either moving yourself up or down. Are they happenstance, poor planning, or conscious choices?”

I laughed once through my nose.

“Sounds…thrilling.”

“Don’t you mock me!” Tria snapped, but she was hiding a grin.

“Who, me?” I asked, feigning innocence. “You know I just don’t understand any of that shit.”

“Whatever!”

Elissa was looking back and forth between us, but every time I met her stare, she looked away quickly and blushed again. It was pretty f*cking funny, actually. She couldn’t look me in the eye at all.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me,” I said with a wicked grin and even wickeder follow-up, “I’m gonna go masturbate in the shower.”

Elissa’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes bugged out like a frog’s. I couldn’t help myself, so I walked over to the couch, grabbed Tria’s chin, and planted a good one on her mouth before I sauntered out of the room, untying my sweats as I went.

“Oh my God, Liam!” Tria yelled after me. “The worst part is that he’s probably telling the truth!”

With a laugh, I shut the bathroom door behind me.

“Tria, you minx!” Elissa whispered in far too loud a voice for me not to hear. “That’s your boyfriend?”

“Uh huh,” Tria replied, and she giggled again.

Fucking schoolgirls.

I smiled as I turned on the water, because I kind of liked it.

After the shower and a quick jerk-off, I stood in front of the mirror and rubbed at my chin. I grabbed the razor and made quick work of the day’s worth of growth and then brushed my teeth. When I walked back out, I paused like a creepy little stalker and listened to them talk.

“I just don’t see how you are not doing him,” Elissa was saying. Her voice was quiet, and I might have felt bad for eavesdropping, but the topic was just too interesting. “I mean, you live with him, you’re dating, and he has got to be one of the hottest guys I have ever seen in my life. He’s older, he’s seriously built, and sexy as f*ck. Why aren’t you jumping his bones?”

“We’ve done some stuff,” Tria replied quietly.

“That’s a man who needs it all,” Elissa replied.

I wondered just what sort of man I was supposed to be and whether there were any out there who didn’t need it all.

“It’s not that simple,” Tria replied quietly. “I just…don’t feel ready. I mean it’s exactly what you just said—he’s older and, well, gorgeous. Do you realize how many women he’s been with? How am I going to compare to all that?”