The Cage Sessions(16)

Once I'm looking semi-human, Damien takes me by the hand and leads me downstairs. In the hotel restaurant, he is greeted by fifteen or so people. They all hug him and kiss my hand. The men are covered in dirt and grime like they've been working in the fields all day. The women all wear basic one-piece dresses. Now I know why Damien insisted I pick out only dresses from his private stash.

Soon we find ourselves sipping wine at a table where tiny tapas-like plates are laid down in front of us.

"Eat!" says Pedro. "Eat!"

Not gonna lie, the food is amazing. I'm not even sure what it is. Meat, chicken, some kind of bread I've never seen, tons of vegetables I cannot identify.

Whatever.

It's food heaven.

The wine makes me giggly. I end up chatting in broken Spanish with some of the other girls. Some are here with their husbands. Others are single.

Oddly, they pay very little attention to Damien. I'm so used to women fawning all over him, but here he seems on equal footing with everybody. Now I get why he must like this place so much.

The hotel restaurant is actually quaint. No widescreen television sets, which is refreshing. And while there is electricity, there are lit torches with little black metal cages built into the stone-like walls at various points around the room. I'd bet those were here long before the electricity. In fact, I'd bet this town was built in the 1700s.

I've seen American restaurants try to manufacture this effect, but here it is for real.

Damien keeps looking over at me like he's checking on me to make sure I'm okay.

I'm better than okay. I'm with him. I may be hot and sweaty, but this night is perfect.

One thing for sure. Everybody here is happy. Even joyous. At one point, everything stops so everybody can sing along to some song in Spanish that I don't know. Everyone, including Damien, knows the words except for me.

There are kids, but they're absurdly polite. They play with each other, but keep reporting back in with their parents.

After lots of talking, drinking, and eating Damien takes my hand and announces, "Walk!"

Several people join us as we head out onto the cobblestone street into the night air. Which is exactly the same as the air inside. Hot. Thick. Steamy.

But who cares? Arm in arm we walk around. It's late and dark but unaccompanied children run all around. Some are girls who stand alone in doorways.

"See them?" Damien says to me.

"Yes," I say.

"Remind me to tell you about them later."

After a full circle of the tiny city on a hill we find ourselves back at the hotel.

There is lots of hugging, back-slapping, and kisses to the back of my hand. Finally, Damien and I go back up to our room.

Damien goes into the bathroom and takes a bath. I had planned to do the same once he was done, but I put my head down on the pillow just for a few seconds. The next thing I know...





Chapter 36





...the sun is streaming above the insect netting over me.

I leap up. Damien sleeps soundly beside me.

Holy fuck, I've slept with Damien Cage!

And I didn't even know it!

But dammit, we still haven't had sex!

Oddly, I don't care.

Lying there underneath the netting, I study him.

God, he's perfect. His chin looks like it was carved from a block of stone. His face looks tough, even while sleeping.

I'm the luckiest girl alive. Because how many girls has Damien taken here? If he's telling the truth, a grand total of one.

Me.

It's one thing to have Damien Cage's cock inside you. It's another thing to have shared his most secret place.

I get up and crawl out of the netting. I must look a terrifying mess. Better get used to it. I'm going to look a terrifying mess every minute until I'm back in some South Florida air conditioning.

Which is a long way from here.

I go to the dresser on which sits a large flask of water. I don't see a glass anywhere so I drink some directly from the flask.

Ack!

Putrid.

I cough.

I need coffee. How am I going to get some coffee?

I drift to the window and step out onto the balcony. The sun is out and the sky is clear. But the air is exactly the same.

The view, however, is amazing. I can see all the way over to the tiny airport where we landed. The foothills and mountains in the distance are stunning. The valley below is lush and green.

But here in this high little ancient city, everyone is busy starting their day. A horse-drawn wagon... no shit, a horse-drawn wagon!... pulls up to the hotel below. In the back of it are three dead animals. Goats maybe, but I'm not sure. Pedro and two other men come out and take the animals. Then Pedro pays the horseman who rides off.

He catches my eye and waves with a big smile. I wave back. He goes inside.

A horse-drawn wagon! Have we traveled back in time? If it weren't for the occasional car, I would almost believe it.

As I look around, I understand Damien. I imagine how he must have felt after Marcellina. Helpless. Powerless.