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part of her plot.
    It also allowed lots of time for her hero and heroine to get to spend time together—in and out of bed.
    Grace immediately thought of Arian kissing her. Her stomach flipped wildly.
    No, she told herself. She wouldn’t think of him that way. He was as gorgeous as sin and had a voice as seductive as silk, but it wouldn’t do her any good to pine for a man like him.
    They had been together for a few hours. If he found her attractive, he would’ve said something. And Grace had dealt with enough men to know she wasn’t going to put herself out there and be rejected. She had a book to write.
    At that thought, she cleared her throat and sat before opening her laptop.
    After another hour of writing, the words on the screen began to blur. She was mentally tapped out. A quick save of her document, and she turned off the laptop.
    Grace heard the crackle before she saw the fire. She found the fire blazing about five feet from the water near where they had eaten.
    She saw no sign of Arian, but that didn’t worry her. There was only so far he could go in a cave. As she walked to the fire, she saw several tunnels beyond the water that she hadn’t spotted earlier because the light from her phone hadn’t penetrated the darkness.
    But with the fire and the two electronic lanterns set up, she was able to get a good view of the cave. She sat next to the fire and closed her eyes. It felt wonderful to feel the heat penetrating her clothes.
    She hadn’t realized how cold she had been until she felt the warmth. Now she wished she had a thick blanket and a mug of coffee. And a comfortable chair.
    Grace found herself drifting to sleep. So she curled up on her side with her arm beneath her head. Her eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen for so long, and her brain was complete mush after so many pages.
    She drifted in thought as she listened to the sounds around her. The splash of rain onto the rock at the entrance, and the stillness within the cave.
    At one point, she thought she heard the lap of water near her, but she was too exhausted to open her eyes. She tried to tell herself to remain awake until Arian returned.
    Her trusting nature had gotten her into trouble on many occasions, and yet she still freely gave her trust. With her active imagination, she thought of all the things Arian could do to hurt her.
    Then she realized, if he had wanted to harm her, he could’ve done it hours ago.
    Arian. Who was he? Why had he been naked? And what was so important about his mountain?
    Grace was going to find out. Right after she woke up.
     

Chapter Five
    Arian emerged from the tunnel to find Grace on her side asleep. He had been watching her. It’s all he seemed to do since she walked into his cave.
    He found it fascinating how she could stare at the computer screen while her fingers flew over the keys as if they had a life of their own. And somehow, a story came from all of it.
    Arian had never been any kind of storyteller. It was amazing to him that people could craft such tales.
    It also didn’t help that he wanted to believe she just stumbled upon his mountain. Earlier, while she worked, Arian had contacted Ryder, a Dragon King with a craving for jelly-filled donuts and a knack for computers.
    Ryder confirmed who Grace was as well as her story. Still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t working for the Dark or Ulrik. Nor did it mean that she was.
    Arian walked past her to the entrance and looked out. With a mere thought, he halted the rain. Grace had no idea the rain was situated atop them. Nor did she know how right she was that he could control the weather.
    He didn’t like to use his powers that way, but there were instances where it was needed. And today had been one of them.
    Had he left his cave the day before as Darius urged, Arian wouldn’t have been there when Grace arrived. He would’ve arrived soon after, but he doubted it would have been in time to stop the Dark from finding her or his cave.
    Tristan and