Cage Match by Bonnie Dee Read Free Book Online Page A

don‟t know your last name or anything about your family?”
    Jabez dipped his head slightly before he answered “no,” and Andreas knew he
    was withholding something. He wanted to know all this man‟s secrets, the hidden parts
    of his past and his walled-off emotions.
    “My mother died when I was a baby. I don‟t remember her,” Andreas offered,
    hoping to build confidence between them. “My nanny, Marianus, was like a mother to
    me. I loved her very much, but ultimately it was just her job to look after me.” He
    paused before revealing the part that hurt. “When I was nine, my father dismissed her
    and sent me to boarding school. She didn‟t keep in touch.”
    Jabez remained silent, staring at him, probably thinking how pathetic he was to
    complain about having no mommy when he‟d been provided with every other luxury
    in the world. When he spoke, his voice was so quiet Andreas could barely hear him
    above the soft hum of the pool pump.
    “There was a girl. I think she was my sister. We were together anyway.”
    Andreas waited several moments for him to continue before gently prompting,
    “What happened to her?”
    “I don‟t know. She disappeared one day.” He shrugged and shifted, making the
    water ripple. “People disappear all the time in B-town.”
    “I‟m sorry.”
    “Why?”
    Because that’s what people say when someone is hurting . “Your life must have been
    hard, especially being alone.”

    Cage Match

    27
    “Don‟t need your pity…boss.” His voice was cold again, the shield back in place.
    And Andreas was hot in the steamy water. His head felt light and his limbs heavy.
    It was time to cool off by swimming a few laps.
    “I‟m going to take a dip.” He gestured toward the pool. “Want to?”
    “No.”
    Andreas rose, water dripping from his body. He padded across the stone floor to
    the pool and dived into tepid water that seemed ice-cold after the heat of the mineral
    bath. He swam the length before surfacing. Another half dozen laps stretched his
    muscles and challenged his breathing. At last he stopped at the deep end, holding on to
    the edge and bobbing in place.
    “You have stamina. That‟s good.” Jabez stood beside the pool, a towel wrapped
    around his hips, arms folded over his chest. Water droplets glistened on his body like
    diamonds, and his eyes glittered like sapphires. “You could use some bulk, but your
    muscles are toned.”
    His critical assessment left Andreas glowing more than another man‟s flattery or
    compliments would have. It was crazy to care so much about this stranger‟s opinion,
    but he couldn‟t deny it mattered to him.
    Andreas pulled his body out of the pool and rose with water streaming down his
    body. He stood, naked, letting Jabez examine every part of him. He refused to flinch or
    reach for a towel as the erotically charged moment spun out like a filament of glass.
    Jabez walked toward him, the towel slipping on his hips to reveal more of the
    downy hair on his groin. He stopped in front of Andreas and met his gaze with those
    challenging eyes. “Can I ask you something?”
    Anything! Just keep talking to me in that sexy voice . Andreas nodded silently.
    “What‟s the real color of your eyes?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I know you people color and reshape and do all sorts of cosmetic shit to your
    bodies. So I wondered what your real color is, ‟cause nobody has silver eyes.”
    Andreas smiled. “They‟re not silver, only plain-old gray. I don‟t do body
    alterations or tinting. When I was younger, yeah, but not anymore.”
    “Hm.” Jabez stared at him a moment longer, then picked up a towel from the foot
    of the lounge chair beside them and handed it to him.
    Andreas dried his face, then wrapped the towel around his waist.
    “Think I‟ll go to my room and rest,” Jabez announced.
    “That‟s a good idea. You still have some healing to do.”
    Andreas released his breath after the man moved away, taking his sphere