Part 3 (2/2)

And it would come back on. It had to.

Her thoughts flittered back to Dane in the woods with his gun and his fresh kill for dinner. Maybe he was right. Maybe she wasn't as prepared for this kind of world as she'd thought. Of course, she hadn't planned on ever being in the wild. She'd planned on going from the comforts of her normal life directly to the comforts of her simpler life in the bunker. Hunting and foraging hadn't factored into that plan.

A creak of floorboards near the front door brought her out of her thoughts. She'd talk to Dane about what their options really were and maybe he'd be able to think of something she hadn't. She hated going out without knowing what was happening in the world, but there was no way she was staying here forever, either. Not when her family was probably already waiting for her and worried about her back at the bunker.

The creak sounded again, followed by the jiggling of the door handle. Sara crept into the living room, careful not to make any noise, and peeked out the window. One guy stood with his ear to the door, listening for movements inside. Out front, just beyond the tree line around the yard, she saw another man crouched behind a bush.

Her skin crawled with suspicion as she backed away from the window, thankful the door was still locked from the night before. She stumbled, stepping onto the remote left in the middle of the floor from when Dane had tried to fix the TV, and b.u.mped into the table against the wall.

”Can you help me? Can I come in? I heard someone in there.” A soft knock sounded on the door. ”I don't mean any harm. I need some water....my grandmother is already dehydrated. I'm not here to make any trouble. I just need water.”

Sara hesitated. What was the right call? She didn't like the idea of one guy waiting in the bushes, but what if they only did that so she wouldn't feel ganged up on? And what if the guy really did need water? Could she really leave him out there thirsty?

It might be difficult times, but no, she couldn't leave someone else to struggle when she could easily provide what they needed. Dane had said he would filter a bunch of water last night, so they must have some to spare. Hopefully he had managed to fill some bottles before the power went out so they wouldn't have to turn on the generator every time they wanted a gla.s.s of water from the well.

Sara cautiously opened the door only to find two men standing before her instead of one. Apparently the other guy had gotten tired of squatting in the bushes. They both grinned, their smiles tinged with something that set her nerves on edge. Seeing them up close, they didn't seem nearly as thirsty or run-down as she'd thought they were. In fact, they looked strong and healthy.

Much stronger than she was.

”Hey there, sweet stuff. Can we come in?” the taller of the two men said, creeping forward.

Alarms went off in her brain. Opening the door had definitely been a stupid idea.

She forced a calm smile to her lips. ”I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to spare. Maybe you'll have luck at another house.”

She started to close the door, but the shorter man reached out his hand, grasping the edge of the thick wood, and threw it open. ”I think this house is pretty lucky,” he said, his gaze darting around the room as if in search of something. A grin spread across his face as he spied her container of food supplies still sitting in the corner where she'd placed it earlier.

The tall one grunted in agreement. ”You're right. Look at the lucky little find right here at the front door.”

Sara stepped back. He was absolutely creepy to the creepiest degree. She scanned the room looking for her bag and the knife hidden inside it. d.a.m.n it. Why hadn't she been smart enough to carry her knife on her at all times?

The tall one looked her up and down, settling his gaze on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She cursed herself for choosing the tight tank top again this morning, not that she'd had many options. ”I think you might be the tall drink of water we were looking for all along. Now how about you be a good girl and we do this the easy way?”

”I think your buddy would rather have actual water. Why don't you both wait out on the porch and I'll see if I can find you a few bottles?”

Grabbing the door with both hands, she pulled as hard as she could, trying to bring it away from the wall, but they pushed her backward into the house before she could close the door on them. She stumbled, catching herself against the arm of the couch before she fell.

”Get out of my house,” she said with as big a voice as she could muster. ”I have nothing to give you.”

”I plan on taking what I want, starting with you.” The tall one grabbed her arm and pulled her to him while the shorter man stepped farther into the room.

Sara trembled against the stranger for a moment before her fight response kicked in. Her mind raced with scenarios of how she could get free without being hurt, if only she could make her body listen to her will. She wasn't ready to roll over and be a victim, but fighting a man twice her size wasn't going to be easy. Maybe if she could get her knee between his legs, she could hit him hard enough to loosen his grip.

”I think you boys have overstayed your welcome,” Dane said from behind her, followed by the distinct sound of a shotgun being c.o.c.ked. Instantly, the hands holding her arms relaxed and she staggered back toward Dane.

Sara squared her shoulders and tried to keep a fearless expression on her face, desperate not to give into becoming the quivering mess she felt simmering below the surface. She fought back the tears that clouded her eyes.

”Hey, mister, we just came looking for some water and she said we could have some but then refused to give it up for us.”

”She didn't promise you anything, and she sure as h.e.l.l isn't giving anything up to you.” Dane aimed his gun at the tall man who'd held her. ”Now you've got until the count of two to get off my property before I take target practice on you and your friend. And I should warn you, I'm a f.u.c.king good shot.”

The men backed out of the house, their hands raised. ”We didn't mean any harm.”

”Good, then you won't be back. If I catch you on my property again, I'll shoot first and ask questions later.” He smiled. ”Better start running, 'cause I'm about to start counting.”

The men dashed into the woods. Dane stood at the door for a few seconds as if to make sure they were really gone, then came in and locked the door behind him. He propped the shotgun against the wall and drew Sara into his arms, wrapping her in his embrace.

She melted into him, her tears dampening his s.h.i.+rt as she clung to his broad chest. His hands caressed a line up and down her spine as she sobbed.

With Dane, she felt safe. Protected. He hadn't hesitated to come to her rescue. And she was confident he wouldn't have hesitated to use his gun to defend them if the strange men had pushed him further.

If he hadn't been here...if he hadn't been armed...she would have been helpless against the two of them. Dane was absolutely right-she couldn't protect herself out there.

She pulled away from his chest enough to look up at him. He didn't drop his arms but continued to hold her, stroking her back.

”You were right,” she said, her voice weak and sore from crying so hard. ”I can't protect myself the way you can. But you can teach me, can't you?”

He peered down at her, his expression softer than she'd seen before. Or maybe it was just the angle. She suddenly realized how close his mouth was. If she went up on her toes, their lips would meet.

She clenched her jaw, annoyed at herself for thinking something like that in a time like this. It had been a while since she'd been wrapped in a man's arms, but not that long. It wasn't as if she was desperate to be kissed by a man with lips as soft and supple looking as Dane's were.

Or maybe she was in shock from almost being a.s.saulted and this was some kind of strange psychological response to a trauma and had nothing at all to do with the proximity of his lips. Surely it wasn't normal to be attracted to someone right after an almost a.s.sault. Certainly her abnormal response had nothing to do with the fact that an incredibly hunky man had saved her and now stared at her with a look of possession in his eyes, like she was his and he would do anything to protect her. Absolutely she didn't want that. She was no man's possession.

She licked her lips again. d.a.m.n it.

His tongue flickered across his lips, almost as if he was thinking the same thing. ”I can teach you if you're ready to learn.”

She nodded. ”I am. How long will it take you to teach me?”

”It depends on you. A week. Maybe two.”

”You have a day. I want to leave tomorrow.”

His eyes crinkled up along the edges as if he was holding in a smile. ”Can't be done. I need at least a week. Maybe I can rush things a bit and teach you in five days.”

”Two, and that's the longest I can commit to staying.”

He shook his head. ”All right, darlin'. I'll teach you whatever I can in two days, but don't come crying to me if you still can't hit a target when you leave here.”

”Deal. When can we start?”

Chapter Six.

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