The First Night in the cage

Chapter 2

Careful, Voss. Some things bite back when you push them too far.

The words still sat between us. I stayed on my knees a beat longer than necessary, just to watch Damien’s fingers twitch like he wanted to grab harder but wouldn’t let himself. My knees burned against the floor. I didn’t move. Not yet. Staying alive long enough to finish this. Keeping Lila breathing. That was the only plan I had left.

Damien finally stepped back. Voice low. “Get up. We’re done here for tonight.”

I pushed to my feet. Hoodie too warm. Skin still prickling where his fingers had been. “That all? No tour of my new prison cell?”

“You’ll see it soon enough.” He turned toward the private elevator. Didn’t look back. Like he already knew I’d follow.

I did follow. The contract was signed. Lila’s face still burned behind my eyes from that photo. One wrong step and her treatment money vanished. One wrong word and she lost everything keeping her alive.

The elevator doors slid open. Mirrors everywhere. I stepped in and caught my own reflection. Scar through the eyebrow. Hair sticking up like I’d been dragged through the night. Eyes too calm for how loud my pulse felt.

Damien followed me in. Close. Doors closed. The car rose smooth toward the penthouse. No buttons. Everything here answered to him.

I leaned against the mirrored wall. Arms crossed. “So. Bedroom included. You planning to test that tonight or make me wait till I’m too tired to fight?”

Damien’s gaze stayed on the numbers climbing. “You signed. That means you don’t get to negotiate the when.”

“Yeah well.” Short breath. “Doesn’t mean I have to make it easy.”

The elevator dinged. Doors opened into the penthouse. Wide space. City lights glittering through floor-to-ceiling glass. Furniture that probably cost more than my whole childhood. Everything cold. Clean. Controlled.

Damien walked ahead. “Your things are coming up. You sleep where I say. Eat when I say. And when I want you in my bed you come. No argument.”

I trailed behind. Boots quiet on dark wood. “And if I argue anyway?”

He stopped at the kitchen island. Poured two glasses of water like this was normal. Pushed one toward me. “Then your sister’s next payment doesn’t go through. Simple.”

I picked up the glass. Slow sip. Water too clean. Nothing like home. “You really enjoy holding that over me don’t you.”

“I enjoy results.” Damien set his glass down. Eyes locking on mine. “Right now I need you plugged into my systems by morning. Fixing what you broke. While staying exactly where I can see you.”

I set the glass down harder than necessary. “Fine. Show me the room. Or the bed. Whatever cage you picked.”

Damien didn’t move toward any hallway. He pulled out his phone instead. Turned the screen toward me. Lila in her hospital bed. Weak smile. Tubes in her arm. Treatment bag hanging beside her. Timestamp two hours old.

“She looked happy when the nurse checked tonight.” His voice flat. “Because the foundation covering her costs got confirmed for another month. My foundation.”

My throat tightened hard. Eyes stung fast. I hated that he saw it. “You’re a real piece of work you know that.”

“I’m the piece of work keeping her alive.” Phone back in his pocket. “So when I say you sleep in my bed tonight it’s not a request. It’s the deal you signed.”

I laughed once. Bitter. Sound bounced off all that glass. “You get off on this don’t you. Making me choose between my pride and her life.”

“I get off on control.” Damien stepped closer. Not touching yet. “And right now you’re testing how much I’m willing to use it.”

The penthouse felt too big and too small. City lights twinkling outside like nothing was wrong. Inside my chest everything knotted tight. Anger. Fear. And something else I refused to name. The way his presence filled the room. The way his voice dropped when he said bed.

I swallowed. “One year. I fix your leaks. I sleep where you say. But don’t think I’m going to pretend I like any of it.”

“You don’t have to like it.” His hand lifted. Fingers brushed my chin. Tilted it up. “You just have to do it.”

Our eyes locked. Heat hit me again. Same pull from downstairs. I hated it. Hated how my body noticed the way he smelled. Clean. Expensive. Dangerous.

I pulled my face away. “Touch me again without asking and I bite.”

Damien’s mouth curved. Not quite a smile. “You already said that downstairs.”

“Yeah well.” One step back. “Some warnings need repeating.”

He watched me for a long moment. Then nodded toward the wide hallway. “Bedroom’s this way. Try to run and the doors lock. Try to fight and your sister’s treatment stops tomorrow morning.”

I followed. Running wasn’t an option. Not with Lila’s photo still fresh. Hallway lights came on soft. Everything moved like it belonged to him. Even the air.

Double doors. He pushed one open. Huge room. King bed. Dark sheets. Windows over the city. Single chair in the corner.

I stepped inside. “Nice cage.”

“It’s mine.” Damien stayed in the doorway. “And tonight so are you.”

I turned to face him. Arms loose even though every muscle wanted to tense. “You really gonna make me sleep in your bed on night one? Or is this just another power play to see if I’ll beg first?”

Damien didn’t answer right away. Just watched. Eyes moving over me like he was calculating every reaction. “Take your hoodie off.”

My hands moved before my brain caught up. Hoodie over my head. Tossed on the chair. Shirt stuck to my skin in places. Tattoos fully visible now. “Happy?”

“Not yet.” He stepped fully inside. Closed the door. The click sounded final. “But we’re getting there.”

I stood there. Heart loud in my ears. Wanted to snap something sharp. Wanted to push harder. But Lila’s photo kept flashing. And underneath that something else stirred. Warm. Unwelcome. Skin too tight.

Damien crossed the room slow. Stopped just short of touching. “You hate me right now.”

“Understatement.” Voice rougher than I wanted. “But I hate watching my sister suffer more.”

“Good.” His hand lifted again. Fingers brushed the side of my neck. Light. Testing. “Then we understand each other.”

I didn’t pull away. Couldn’t. Contract hanging over us. Body reacting to that single touch. Heat low. Unwanted. Dangerous.

Swallowed hard. “Don’t confuse obedience with wanting this.”

“I won’t.” He leaned in closer. Breath warm against my ear. “But I also won’t pretend I don’t see how your pulse jumps when I get this close.”

Hands clenched at my sides. “You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” Voice dropped lower. “Then why haven’t you stepped back yet?”

The question hung heavy. Truth twisted in my gut. I should shove him. Tell him exactly where to put the contract. But my feet stayed planted. Skin still tingling where his fingers rested.

Damien pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “Tonight you sleep here. In this bed. With me. No arguments. No running. Understand?”

Met that cold gaze. Defiance still burning. Something else flickering underneath. “I understand the deal Voss. Doesn’t mean I have to like the fine print.”

His hand dropped. Heat stayed. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow you start fixing my systems. And figuring out how to live with the man you just sold a year of your life to.”

I watched him turn toward the bed. Watched how he moved like he already owned every inch of this night. My body felt traitorous. Tired. Wired. Angry. And underneath it all that unwanted spark refusing to die no matter how hard I tried to kill it.

I hated Damien Voss.

I needed him to keep Lila alive.

And somewhere in the middle something sharp and hungry was already forming. Something that scared me more than any gun ever could.

Damien glanced back once. “You coming to bed or do I need to make that an order too?”

My feet carried me forward before I could decide. Each step another lock clicking shut.

The city lights kept glittering outside. Beautiful. Distant. Unconcerned.

And I wondered how long it would take before I stopped pretending I wasn’t already trapped in more ways than one. Something worse was already waiting in the dark between us.