Chapter 4

A piercing scream had Khai leaping to his feet as his mind raced in ten directions. It took him a second to realize where he was—not in a trench trying to catch some Zs on the battlefront.

The sound came from the mysterious woman squatting in his cabin. She wasn't screaming anymore, but she was whimpering and tossing around, mumbling, "No, please. I'll be good. Please, no…"

Shit.

Wincing slightly at the twinge in his leg, Khai approached her slowly. He didn't want to scare her any more than she already was, but he needed to wake her from whatever nightmare she was having. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

This woman was definitely on the run from someone. She was using his cabin to hide. He prayed it wasn't one of his neighbors. That was the last thing he needed.

In her battle against the unknown assailant, she had kicked the covers down, exposing one white leg and…a breast. He wasn't sure if he was grateful he'd never put curtains on the windows or ruing the day. The moon was full enough to totally illuminate her body, and she was so fucking sexy.

Pull your shit together, man. She's having a nightmare. Don't make this sexual. Why was she naked? He'd assumed as much when he'd seen her exposed shoulders earlier, but now, it was confirmed.

She lifted her hands in front of her face as if blocking a blow, and that infuriated him. Someone had hurt her. If he ever got his hands on the son-of-a-bitch…

Khai sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on her stomach to shake her a bit. "Grace, love, wake up."

She whimpered, moaning now. Her arms started flailing, and he grabbed both wrists to keep from getting struck—not that she could do much damage. She was far too small to injure him. Not with her fists, anyway.

"Grace," he repeated louder.

She arched and bucked and tugged on her hands. "I'll be good. I promise."

Khai held her wrists with one hand and cupped her face. "Grace."

Finally, her eyes flew open. She let out another quick scream before she seemed to remember who he was.

"You're okay, love. You were having a nightmare."

She stared at him wide-eyed. Panic consumed her, making her shake.

"It's me. Khai. Remember? I'm the one who owns this cabin."

As recognition dawned, she drew in a deep breath and released it.

Khai let go of her wrists, but he threaded the fingers of one hand with his and brought her hand to his lips. He had no idea what possessed him to be so intimate with her, but he kissed her knuckles one by one.

She stared at him, mesmerized.

"You okay now, love?"

She didn't blink as she gave a slight nod.

Khai continued to hold her hand, but he used his other to pull the covers back over her exposed breast.

She glanced down, probably just then realizing she'd been flashing him. She didn't seem overly bothered by the idea, or maybe it wasn't fully registering. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly with her increased heart rate.

"Do you have nightmares often, love?"

She licked her lips. "I don't know." She started trembling violently.

Khai—once again having lost all ability to make good choices—climbed over the top of her, dropped down onto his side next to her, and pulled her into his arms. It was awkward because she was under the covers, and he was on top, but he held her close. "You're okay. No one is going to hurt you."

It took a long time for Grace to stop shaking so violently, and even then, she still twitched every few seconds, but she gripped his hand tightly and let him hold her.

"I'm sorry," she finally murmured.

"Don't be sorry, love. You can't help that you had a nightmare." He kissed her temple. "Go back to sleep. I'm right here."

"I don't know you," she whispered.

"Sure, you do," he teased. "You know what I like to eat, what size my clothes are, what shampoo brand I like… You even know what brand of fishing gear I own."

He was pretty sure she smiled. At least a little.

"It's not really fair that I know all of that, though. I broke into your house and snooped into everything you own."

"It seems clear to me that you have a very good reason for doing so, love." He tucked his arm under her neck, switched so that he was holding her hand with that one, and used his top arm to stroke her hair back from her face.

"I don't want to talk about it," she responded.

"That's okay. I'm going to assume it's pretty horrific, so I bet it's also difficult to talk about. I'm okay with that. For now."

"I'll leave in the morning. I promise. I'm so sorry I invaded your space."

He gave her a squeeze. "You're not going anywhere. You'll stay as long as you'd like." A thought occurred to him. "Uh, Grace, do you not have any clothes?"

Her breath hitched. "No, Sir." She stiffened immediately.

Sir? What the fuck? "I think we're a little past you needing to call me Sir, Grace. Khai is fine." The tone she'd used… He was pretty certain she'd attached a capital S to her Sir. Did she have some experience with BDSM? Jesus. It had been a while since Khai had been to a club and allowed himself to indulge his Dominant side. Grace was stirring up thoughts he hadn't entertained for a long time, and his cock had jumped to attention even before his heart when she'd called him Sir.

"Sorry…"

He sighed. Was she going to apologize for everything? He knew so very little about this woman, and she was crawling under his skin and into his damn heart. A heart he had not considered opening up to another human.

He drew a deep breath and asked her, "What were you wearing when you arrived?"

She stiffened. Several seconds went by before she responded, "It's gone."

What's gone? He stroked his fingers through her hair. It was so soft, and it smelled so good. It smelled like his own shampoo combined with her personal scent. "Go back to sleep, love," he whispered. He wasn't at all sure he would be able to, but he would bet his last dollar she hadn't slept well in a long time.

It seemed like only seconds passed before Khai opened his eyes. He flinched for a moment as he met the stunning gaze of the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen.

She was sitting up but close to him. She was also clutching the blankets around her chest and chewing her bottom lip.

He smiled and slowly reached up to tuck a long curl behind her ear. "Your hair is like spun gold," he murmured.

"Sometimes, I think about cutting it all off," she blurted.

He frowned as he let his finger glide down her cheek. "Why would you do that?"

"So no one will notice me." She looked away, biting her lip again as though she wished she hadn't spoken or revealed so much.

"I don't think you could do anything to keep anyone from noticing you, even if you were bald, love."

Her jaw tightened.

He needed to lay off on the compliments. They weren't being well received. He'd just met this woman in the middle of the night. His strange attraction toward her was beyond comprehension, but she certainly didn't need to reciprocate it.

"How about we get up, eat breakfast, and then you can tell me about yourself."

She slowly returned her gaze to his. "I've eaten almost everything in your cabin," she murmured.

"That's okay. I have groceries in my truck. I can even fill the fridge. I stocked my cooler when I went through the last town. I was too tired to bring it all in last night. Have you been living off canned goods and fish?"

She nodded.

"How do you know how to fish?"

"My grandfather taught me. He used to take me out every Saturday when I was a kid."

They were making headway. Little by little, he would learn about her. "Excellent life skill. It kept you fed for… How long have you been here?"

"I'm not sure. I should've kept a tally. I thought about it, but I guess I didn't care."

"Days? Weeks?"

"Longer. Maybe two months?"

Jesus. "There wasn't enough food here to last that long."

She fidgeted her fingers in her lap. "I know. I stretched it out. I'm also good at finding edible plants, berries, and stuff."

"Another gift from your grandfather?"

She nodded.

"Is he still with us?"

"No. He passed several years ago."

"And your grandmother?"

She swallowed, staring at him.

He worried he'd pressed too hard. At some point, she would clam up on him when he got too personal.

"She died two years ago."

"I'm so sorry. And your parents?"

"I never knew my dad, and my mother left me with my grandparents when I was a baby and took off. I never saw her again." She clamped her mouth shut and looked away. "I should go."

"No, Grace. You should stay. You obviously need a place to stay and some help. Let me help."

"I can't ask you to do that. It's your cabin. I'm a criminal. I broke into your home, ate your food, and used your supplies. I'll repay you. I promise." Her spine stiffened, and her eyes went wide. "Could you not call the police?"

He jerked back as if she'd slapped him. "I'm not going to call the police, and no harm was done. You don't need to repay me. I'm glad my place was in your path when you needed it. I'm glad I kept the key out front. You obviously found it."

"Yeah." She winced.

He lifted a lock of her hair and fingered it. "I saw my T-shirts in the shower. Is that all you've been wearing?"

"Mostly. Your jeans are way too huge for me, but I use your boots when I fish."

He sucked in a breath. "You go out on the lake in nothing but a T-shirt and boots?"

She shook her head, her cheeks turning pink. "I never used your boat. I just sit on the dock, and I do it at night so no one can see me."

"Ah." His relief was misplaced. She undoubtedly hadn't wanted anyone to find out she was here. He, on the other hand, was feeling a sharp pang of possessiveness, not wanting anyone to have seen her with so little clothing on.

Even though he'd like nothing more than to continue questioning the gorgeous woman in his bed, they couldn't sit here forever. He finally rose, slid off the side of the bed, and padded toward the bathroom. After snagging one of his shirts from over the top of the shower, he palmed it to make sure it was dry, returned to her, and tossed it on her lap. "I'll use the bathroom first."

He returned to the small room, grateful it existed, and stared at himself in the mirror. What the hell was he going to do? Part of him feared she might take off if he left her alone for very long. But that wasn't realistic since she had no flipping clothes.

After using the toilet, washing his hands, and brushing his teeth, he returned to the main room to find her wearing his shirt and making the bed.

There was something very incongruent about having a squatter who took better care of his cabin than he ever had. He usually left it in pretty good shape between visits, but he never made his bed or bothered to keep things tidy while here.

When Grace leaned over to tuck the covers around the pillows, his T-shirt rode up her legs a few inches. Damn, her legs were fine, and the thought that she had nothing on underneath made his cock hard. His dick was going to be constantly straining.

Her hair was the next thing he looked at. It reached the center of her butt. It was full with a slight curl that would probably be tighter if it weren't so heavy. It was the most gorgeous hair he'd ever seen.

When she turned around, she froze and crossed her fingers in front of her before suddenly dropping them and quickly crossing them at the small of her back. A moment later, she dropped her gaze. It only lasted a second before she seemed to shake herself out of a strange trance, dropped her hands, and lifted her face.

It may have been fleeting, but it was telling. This woman had some submissive training. It was ingrained in her. He wouldn't comment on it yet because he feared she would close down on him.

"How old are you, Grace?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Twenty-four."

She didn't seem that old. Maybe because she didn't have makeup or even clothes. Granted, she didn't need makeup. She was stunning without it.

"I'm going to unload the truck."

"I'll help you," she said, rushing forward.

He grabbed her small hand as she walked by and pulled her to a stop before giving a gentle tug so she turned back to him. "I know you've been here a long time without help, and forgive me for going all caveman on you, but do me a favor and stay inside until I can order some clothes for you."

She furrowed her brow. "I've been wandering around in the woods here for weeks without a problem. You don't have any neighbors close by in any direction. Plus, I needed food."

He shrugged. "Well, you got lucky that you weren't found, didn't cut your foot on something, and that no poisonous plants or snakes got your ankles. I'll order clothes first thing this morning. They'll be delivered tomorrow. Then you can go outside without giving me a heart attack. Okay?"

"Yes, Sir."

He flinched. "My name is Khai, love."

She gave a quick nod.

He stared at her for a few seconds. He'd only met this woman a few hours ago. He'd only seen her in the light of day for half an hour, and he felt like wrapping her in bubble wrap and protecting her from the universe or whatever monsters were threatening her.

And Lord knew she definitely had monsters. Now, he just needed to figure out who they were and help her escape the mess she was clearly in.