Chapter 5

When Grace shut herself in the small bathroom an hour later, she stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe this was happening. She'd worried every day since she'd arrived that the owner would show up and call the police. That had been her greatest fear. The last thing she wanted was to face the police.

Nope. The last thing she wanted was to tell Khai all her problems. For one thing, would he even believe her? She took a deep breath and blew it out. Khai would probably believe her. But then what?

Then, he would have to call the police.

That wasn't an option. It was a police officer who'd gotten her into this mess, and she never wanted to see him or any man in uniform again in her life.

Well, maybe Khai. She wouldn't mind seeing him in uniform. Army. Not police. He was so damn kind and easy to talk to. He could have kicked her out, called the cops, pressed charges, and sent her to prison. He still could.

But she knew he wouldn't. He'd told her so. Plus, he didn't seem vindictive about her presence. For the first time in years, she felt like she'd gotten a small stroke of good luck.

She couldn't stay here, of course. That was ludicrous. This was Khai's cabin. He'd come here to get away from the city, no doubt. He didn't want company. If he'd wanted a woman with him, he would have brought one. He could have any woman in the world. He was gorgeous and fit. The dimple on his cheek when he smiled made her shiver. The slight limp he had did nothing to detract from his appeal.

Maybe he had a wife. She shook that idea from her head immediately. He didn't seem like the sort of man who would climb into bed with a woman and kiss her knuckles if he were married. Or even if he had a girlfriend.

Shaking herself out of her head, she used the toilet, brushed her teeth, and combed through her hair. She'd give anything for a hair tie. That was one thing she'd never found in his cabin. Not even a rubber band.

When she stepped back into the main room, she found Khai finishing the dishes. He'd cooked, too. Bacon, eggs, toast. She'd nearly moaned around every bite. Maybe she had. Then he'd insisted on cleaning.

Her grandfather had been that sort of man, the kind who didn't think the kitchen was a woman's domain. He'd treated her grandmother like she hung the moon. She hadn't met many men who led a similar life, though. None in recent history. Quite the opposite.

He spun around, draped the towel on the oven handle, and smiled. "First thing, clothes." He pointed at the table. "Let's get online and order you some things."

She shuffled in that direction. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't ask. I offered. I'm not even sure it's wise. After all, it's easier for me to talk you into staying here if you don't have anything to wear. You can't just walk away from the cabin in nothing but a T-shirt."

He was right. She'd considered moving on many times, especially when her food supply had started running out. But every time, she'd realized she was stuck. She'd had no idea how she would ever get unstuck, either. It had weighed on her day and night.

Khai pulled out a chair for her. "Sit, love."

"Okay, but just a few things, and I'll pay you back as soon as I can get on my feet."

"Stop worrying about paying me back. It's not necessary. I can afford some clothes and a few canned goods, Grace. I promise."

"Well, thank you." She still promised herself she would find a way to pay him back in the future, but she was definitely at his mercy right now.

Khai opened his laptop and turned it on. "The Internet is slow out here. Might take us a while to get connected, but we'll manage." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen several times. "Sometimes, I have better luck with my hotspot."

She tucked her fingers under her thighs and said nothing. She should probably feel exposed and vulnerable wearing this thin T-shirt and nothing else, but after eighteen months of being kept completely naked and ogled by dozens of men, the T-shirt felt like a snowsuit. But Khai didn't know that.

"Do you even have a cell phone, love?" he asked gently.

She shook her head, not meeting his gaze. There was no way to explain how she'd come to be here with absolutely nothing. Well, there had been one thing, but she'd disposed of it permanently.

"Here we go," Khai said with enthusiasm, pointing at the computer. "Online shopping is the best modern convenience." He slid the laptop toward her. "Do you want to make some selections yourself?"

She stared at the laptop for a few seconds as embarrassment crawled up her cheeks. "Can you do it?" she asked.

A few seconds ticked by before he lifted her chin with a few fingers, encouraging her to look at him.

She met his gaze, heat undoubtedly turning her cheeks bright pink.

"Can you read, Grace?" he asked gently.

She shivered. "Yes, S… Yes. I have a high school degree. I just…"

"You don't know how to use a computer?"

She looked away. "I have used a computer, but it's been years. My grandparents had one. I used it for school."

"Okay." He continued to push the laptop closer to her and then set the mouse down next to it. "Let's do it together, yeah?"

She stared at the screen. It had been so long since anyone had been kind to her that tears welled up in her eyes. Darn it. She swiped at them, but they continued.

"Hey, love…" Khai reached for her, lifted her off the chair, and pulled her onto his lap. He was so kind that he carefully tucked his shirt under her bare butt before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. He whispered, "It's okay. You'll learn quickly. It's not your fault."

She continued to cry as months—years—of pain and stress poured out of her.

"Do you want to talk about it, Grace?"

She shook her head. She couldn't. Maybe not ever. No matter how kind he was, there was no way she could share her history with him. It was too risky. There would be this rift between them. She needed to keep her distance and not let herself become attached to him. Not let him become attached to her.

But it was so hard because she liked the way he touched her. She liked how he'd held her last night and how he was holding her now. She was so starved for attention that she didn't want to push him away.

Telling him her saga was out of the question, though.

"Okay, I won't pressure you, but I'd like to know a few things for your safety. Does anyone know where you are?"

She shook her head. Of that, she was relatively certain. Besides the fact that she hadn't seen a single living soul since she'd broken into his cabin, she had also walked at least several miles to get here. She'd been careful, not using lights at night and silently creeping around in the day.

"Is anyone looking for you?"

She held her breath for a long time, then let it out and answered honestly, "I don't know." That was the truth. She didn't know if she'd killed her Master or if he was actively searching for her.

"Would anyone have reported you missing?"

She shook her head again. No way would her owner have reported her missing, and the only other person who knew she was missing was the police officer who had drugged her and sold her into slavery.

Granted, it was possible the landlord of her apartment could have called the cops when she had disappeared and stopped paying rent, but the rundown studio she'd been renting had been in a low-income section of Denver. He'd probably thought she'd simply skipped town. Plus, that had been almost two years ago.

Khai continued to rock her, rubbing her back and stroking his fingers through her hair. "You know my mind is going to work overtime, conjuring up all sorts of horrifying possibilities until you trust me enough to tell me how you came to be here, right?"

He had no idea. A nice man like Khai could list a hundred possibilities, and none of them would be as horrifying as the truth. That fact alone made her purse her lips, determined to bury her shitty bad luck deep.

She would let him buy her clothes and help her get stronger, and then she would take off, find a job, save a few dollars, and move as far away from Denver as possible.

Suddenly, she realized she wasn't even sure she was in Denver or even near Denver. Maybe she'd been transported somewhere else one of the times she'd been drugged.

She tipped her head back, wiped away the last of her tears, and met his gaze. "Are we near Denver?"

His eyes widened as he swallowed. There was a tick in his jaw, but he answered. "Yes, love. About thirty minutes outside of the city."

She turned to the computer and reached for the mouse. "Will you help me?"

"Yes." He carefully turned her so she was facing the laptop, set his chin on her shoulder, and guided her hand over the mouse, keeping his on top of hers. "We'll do it together."