Free Her Vigilant Seal by Caitlyn O'Leary

shell of a woman who often didn’t recognize her.
    And all the time she sobbed he held her. Not once did he tell her to stop.
    “Just let it out. I’ve got you honey. You’re such a good girl. You just let it out.” She cried harder because he was saying exactly what she needed to hear. But it wasn’t really true, he couldn’t be for real, and that made her even sadder.
    “Not real…not real…not real,” she said over and over as he continued his litany of comforting words.
    “What’s not real, honey?”
    She tried to push away, but his hold was unmovable. Why did she want to push away when nothing ever felt better than being held in Mason Gault’s arms?
    “What’s not real?”
    “This. Being here with you.” This time when she pushed away he let her. She tried to get up but he stopped her.
    “What do you need? Do you want a glass of water?”
    “Yes please. And some toilet paper.”
    “I think we might be able to upgrade to Kleenex.” He kissed her forehead and slipped off the bed. Oh God, he was wearing boxer briefs. He looked amazing. This was better than anything she ever imagined when she’d seen him surfing. She was still staring at the doorway when he came back in. He looked behind himself.
    “Is there something in the hallway? A spider?” She kept staring, drinking him in. After a moment she saw when he caught onto what she was staring at. He gave her a slow sexy smile. God, it felt like her face went up in a cloud of smoke.
    “You are adorable when you blush.” He sat back down beside her on the bed, and she looked at his lap. She couldn’t help it. For God’s sake, what woman could help herself? They were boxer briefs! Yep, the man was packing. And then, as she continued to stare, his body had a reaction that made her gaze shoot up to his face.
    He was grinning at her. Grinning.
    “Ms. Anderson, I believe I told you I would like to go out on a date with you. You thought I was kidding. Now we have irrefutable proof. I definitely want to go out on a date with you.” He handed her some Kleenex.
    She didn’t know whether to be horrified, embarrassed, or turned on.
    “I hope you’re as turned on as I am,” he said as he took the used tissues and placed them on the nightstand.
    “Are you out of your mind? I just blew my nose. You can’t be turned on.” She hit him on the chest.
    “Care to take another look?” She kept her eyes squarely on his face. He handed her the glass of water, and she drank half of it while keeping her eyes on his face. He continued to grin.
    “Your brother sleeps like the dead.” She handed him the glass and giggled.
    “Yeah, I know. I remember Mom would sometimes take the lids off of pot pans and crash them like cymbals to wake him up. Some mornings she would let me do it.” Sophia smiled at the memory.
    He got up and closed the bedroom door and put the water glass on the nightstand.
    “That will stain.”
    “It’s not my focus at the moment. I want to kiss you. Nothing more, just a kiss or two. Then we’re going to crawl under the covers and you’re going to go to sleep in my arms. If you have a nightmare I’m going to fight the bad guys for you.” She couldn’t help it, she looked downwards again, and this time there was no mistaking his level of arousal.
    “Eyes on mine, honey. He does what I tell him to do. I’m telling him I’m just kissing the pretty girl tonight and then she is falling asleep in my arms.” He used one finger to push her chin upwards.
    “That doesn’t seem fair,” she protested.
    “Well hell, if I do the kissing right, it won’t be fair to you either.” She giggled again. God, he was sexy. His eyes, his smile, and that body.
    “Shouldn’t you be wearing your sling?”
    “It’s uncomfortable. Anyway, they said I would just need it for a few days, and that the stitches and bandage would be enough.”
    “It hasn’t been even two days yet.” He picked it up from the chair with her clothes, and he helped her put