Chapter Ten
Cason woke up to a sound he’d never heard before. He listened for it. When he heard it come from Lacey, he rolled toward her and set his hand on her arm.
“Honey, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”
She whimpered and tried to push him away.
“No, please don’t touch me. Please… I don’t want to go with you…”
He leaned up on his elbow, turned on the bedside light, and then turned to get her calmed.
“Baby, wake up. It’s Cason. I’m right here, and I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
She settled down as she listened, and then her eyes blinked open.
“Cason?”
“Yeah, baby. It’s me.”
“The monster isn’t here?”
He hated how shaky her voice was. “No, and I won’t let him near you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. “I’d rather die than go with that man.”
He relaxed back on his pillow and tucked her against his body. “Don’t say things like that.”
“It’s true. I know it sounds crazy because I’ve just seen him a few times, but he’s evil. Every instinct I had screamed to run and hide when I had to be near him.”
God, the thought of her with this guy made him physically sick. He’d seen too much in his years with Homeland Security and knew too much about what could happen to her. Even if the guy thought she was a good luck charm, she could be abused every day. He guessed the man was extremely powerful from what she’d told him about the servants and things.
He guessed the monster would keep her alive but secluded and under guard. She wouldn’t survive very long, and it made him want to murder the guy.
“I will always tell you to go with your instincts because they are rarely wrong. We’ll get this figured out. Do you think you can get some more sleep?”
She looked up at him as she wiped her eyes. “Can you hold me?”
He gritted his teeth and nodded. He’d do anything to make her feel secure and cared for, even if he’d spend the remainder of the night in pain. He reached to turn off the light and then pulled her back into his arms.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked as he tucked the blanket up over her shoulders.
She nodded. “Thank you.”
He kept up his gentle caress of her arm as he listened to her breathing slow and even out.
Cason closed his eyes. He needed his sleep if he were to keep her safe and by his side, but he didn’t feel like he’d be able to sleep with the hard-on he had.
Later, her movements woke him, and he was surprised to see a sliver of light come in through the curtains. When he looked down, he saw her sprawled over his chest. He hadn’t even felt her move during the night, and he was usually a light sleeper.
Contentment filled him when she sighed and tucked her head under his chin.
“Hey, honey, we need to get up.”
Her movement told him she was starting to wake up, but it was taking a long time.
“Come on, baby.”
He grinned when he felt her stiffen, and then her head jerked up at him. He saw the exact moment she realized she was on top of him.
“Oh, my God.”
She scrambled off of him and just about kneed him in the nuts, making him squeak and then exhale when he caught her leg in time.
“Oh, no. I hurt you.” She knelt by his side and patted his chest. “Where?”
“No, it’s fine,” he said.
“No, I want to make it better.”
“Sweetheart, everything is okay.”
She shook her head, and before he could grab at it, she whipped the blanket off him. “Tell me.”
She was looking over his chest and stomach. Her hand slid over his skin, making his already aching cock turn into a pulsing erection. It was also next to impossible to hide the hard ridge of his cock as it tented his shorts.
“Honey…”
She frowned down at him. “Cason, you’re making me feel worse because you won’t show me, so it must be bad.”
He put his hand over his cock. One, to hold the fucker down, and two, to not scare or embarrass her.
Her gaze followed his movements, and he saw when she realized where because she turned a bright red.
“Oh, no. I hurt your penis?”