Free Once Is Never Enough: Delta Heat, Book 5 by Delilah Devlin

but I don’t know how I’ll face him again. I’ve never…” She shook her head, feeling tears well again. “I don’t know why I feel this way.”
    “What way is that?”
    “I’m not sure. He…I…I let go. Gave myself over to him. And now, I feel…different, somehow. But it’s not real, is it? I shouldn’t read too much into what he did or said, should I? It’s just a role he plays.”
    Pansy’s eyebrows furrowed. “Mondo likes you. The fact he took you here when you haven’t any training whatsoever shocked the crap out of most of the people out there who know how he operates. And by the look of him just now…” Pansy bit her lip. “I shouldn’t tell you. Feels like I’m invading his privacy and he’s a friend. A good friend. But he looked…shattered.”
    Sunny swayed on her feet. The word described exactly how she felt. “Well, I have to go home.”
    “Sure.” Pansy’s easy smile returned. “Would you like to avoid the salon? I’ll take you out the back.”
    Grateful her new friend seemed to understand her need for privacy, Sunny gave her an answering smile. “Please. And Pansy?”
    “Yes, sweetie?”
    “Thank you for…this.”
    Pansy grunted. “Tell me that tomorrow. Over coffee. After you’ve slept and don’t feel quite so weepy. I’ll believe you then.”

Chapter Six
    On Saturday, Mondo sat on the bench beside the playing field, watching the weekly friendly scrimmage between the local firehouse and his friends. He’d come to play, but Craig, who was today’s team captain, had sat him on the bench after he’d missed yet another throw. Mondo’s heart just wasn’t in the game.
    He sat in his sweats, his T-shirt soaked through, sucking on a Gatorade and wishing he was a million miles away. Since Thursday night, he’d been out of sorts. Restless. Ornery. His mood had been noted at work where his latest assignment, shaking down corner drug deals, hadn’t netted a single bust or decent lead. And even though it had only been one lousy day, his lieutenant had even called him in to find out if anything was wrong. Something that had never happened before.
    “What gives? You sick or something? You’re on autopilot, Acevedo. Need some time off? Because you sure as shit aren’t any good to me here.”
    He’d ended up sending Mondo home for the weekend, telling him to do whatever it took to get his head back into the game. Mondo realized now just how long it had been since he’d taken any time for himself. He liked his work, but that nagging emptiness he’d been feeling for months had only been aggravated, like lemon juice on an open cut, by his encounter with Sunny at the club.
    He’d hated letting her leave like that. Had wanted to drop by and see how she was. He wanted to ask her on a date, but that set him back on his heels, because he hadn’t been on a normal vanilla date in years. His dealings with the opposite sex had been confined to Dom/sub play for so long, he felt uneasy about approaching her again.
    Mondo set down his bottle and let his head sink between his shoulders. He’d seen the moisture in her eyes when she’d asked for privacy. And the memory was killing him. He’d pushed too hard. Hadn’t read her level of comfort with the things he’d done. Hadn’t shown her a shred of mercy.
    Sure, she’d been eager and so endearing in her stubborn assurances that she was ready to experiment. But his judgment had been impaired by his own heightened arousal. He’d failed to get himself under firm control before he’d begun. He’d probably scared the hell out of her.
    “Hey there.” Jenn settled down beside him, giving him a blinding smile. “Craig was a little harsh. I’ll have Aiden have a talk with him.”
    Mondo snorted. “He was right. My head wasn’t in the game.”
    “But it also wasn’t up your ass. He had no right to be so rude.”
    Mondo gave her a narrowed look.
    “Hey, these days I have to look for good reasons for punishment.” She waggled her