Free Letting Go by Sloane Kennedy

dispenser on the nightstand next to the bed and dabbed at his mouth. Casey stood and took the tissue from him.
    “Let me see,” she said as she examined the wound and then dabbed at the few remaining drops of blood. Her free hand moved to his cheek to keep his face steady. He stilled at the touch of her hand on his skin and watched as she carefully cleaned the small cut. His skin tingled from where she was touching it and he felt his body harden with desire.  His eyes dropped to her mouth and he had an overwhelming urge to taste it, to run his tongue over the tiny mark she had inflicted upon her lower lip. When she felt his eyes on her, she lowered her free hand. He gently caught her other hand by the wrist before she could step back from him.
    “We match now” he said softly as he skimmed the mark on her lip his thumb. She inhaled sharply and tried to tug her hand free.
    “Please let go,” she said, a note of panic in her voice.
    “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said quietly.
    “I…please just let go.” He released her hand and watched her step back.
    “I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said.
    “You didn’t. It’s just…” Casey couldn’t bring herself to say it. He wouldn’t understand.
    “It’s just what?”
    She shook her head and said no more. He didn’t press her. Instead he said, “I’m sorry for what I said downstairs. I had no right to assume anything about you.” He took the tissue from her and bent down to pick up her bag so he could tie the broken strap to the end of the bag where the clip had failed.
    He put the fixed bag on the bed and said, “It took a lot of guts for you to come here and that fact that you did it for your own reasons instead of for the reasons I tried to force on you…well, those are characteristics that not even the most expensive college education can buy.” He went to the door.
    “Mr. Prescott?” He stopped and turned to face her. “You can send the cab away,” she said. At his nod, she pulled the bag over to the closet and started emptying it out. Devlin studied her for a long moment before closing the door behind him.

Chapter 6
     
     
    When the early morning light forced its way between her lids, Casey squinted her eyes and rolled away from the offending rays and right into a warm, furry body. Forcing her eyes open, she looked at her bedmates. Sampson lay next to her, his long body taking up nearly half the bed. Isabel was asleep in the crook of the dog’s body, her head resting on the dog’s front legs. Carefully getting out of the bed, Casey disappeared into the bathroom. When she returned a few minutes later, dog and girl were still in the same spot. Surprisingly, she had not felt them crawl into the bed with her. She’d had only one nightmare and had blessedly been able to wake up before getting too lost in it. Within minutes, she had fallen back asleep and the rest of the night had gone undisturbed.
    Feeling the morning chill seep through her thin T-shirt, Casey hurried to the closet and pulled out a sweatshirt and heavy socks. She left the room and carefully pulled the door closed behind her. At the top of the stairs she saw Ryan leaning against the banister, his head cocked to one side as he listened to the voices that rang out below. Casey stood next to him but the shape of the stairs and their distance from the entry way made it impossible to make out what was being said and who was doing the talking.
    “Good morning Ryan,” she said.
    “Good morning.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “They’re here for Isabel,” he remarked quietly, almost sadly.
    “Who is?” she asked in confusion.
    He shrugged his shoulders. Devlin’s loud voice carried up the stairs. “You’re an hour early. She’s still asleep.”
    “I better go wake her up,” said Ryan as he turned and went down the hall.
    “She’s in my room,” said Casey. The boy seemed unsurprised as he turned and went into Casey’s room. Devlin’s voice again made its way up