Free Surviving Doctor Vincent: The Good Doctor Trilogy Book 2 by Renea Mason Page B

outside. I walked to the door, but paused. He stood in the pouring rain, beyond the protection of the awning. His head tilted toward the sky, allowing droplets to pelt his face. I undid the belt on my robe, removed the fluffy garment, and hung it by the collar on the back of the leather chair. In only my cotton, white slip nightgown, I opened the door and walked toward him. When I was directly behind him, standing in the downpour, I grasped his hand.
    A second later, I couldn’t breathe. He held me by the throat. I gasped for air. My feet dangled and the moment the realization of my identity hit him, his expression softened. In a fraction of a second he released me and I fell to the ground. That was some military training . He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around me.
    “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” Water ran in streams over lashes of his wide apologetic eyes.
    “No need. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.” I stretched my neck, trying to ease the ache.
    “What are you doing out here? You should be in bed.” He wiped the water from his eyes.
    “I heard breaking glass, and then I saw you out here...”
    “It was me, nothing to worry about. Let me get you inside.”
    I protested through my shivering. “No.”
    He grasped my shoulders. “Why not?”
    “Tell me why you’re out here.” I already knew the answer. The Scotch on his breath told me he was trying to find a way to deal with his anguish.
    “What do you want me to say? That I’m broken, confused, angry? Does that make you happy?” He gripped my arms tighter.
    “If it’s true.” I touched his face, tracing his cheekbone with my thumb. “You’re not alone, Sebastian.”
    “I was so happy you’d be here. I can keep you safe. But ever since you arrived, everything I locked away keeps trying to escape. That can’t happen. We can’t afford for me to feel this now.”
    I looped my arms around him. “If the cage is empty there’s nothing left to control you.”
    He sighed and stared into my eyes. “Freeing what’s held hostage isn’t that simple.” He took a deep breath and leaned his head against mine. “Fine...but let’s go inside if you want to talk.”
    As he led me up the stairs, he kicked something with his foot and the glass clinked across the wood.
    “What was that?”
    “That was the shattering you heard. I had... I just... I probably shouldn’t have done that.” The fragment of Scotch glass sparkled in the beam of light shining through the window. He stopped, once we were under the awning, and brushed the rain slickened hair from my face. He searched my eyes, but for what, I didn’t know. With one hand he opened the door and with the other he ushered me inside. He closed the door and turned to face me.
    His eyes were rimmed with red and the despair behind them shone through. I wanted nothing more than to hug him. Comfort him. Make him forget.
    He reached out and swiped the water from my shoulder. He hooked his finger in the thin strap of my nightgown, indecision marking his features. I was not wearing a bra and the wet fabric clung to my breasts like a second skin. His eyes drifted lower. My nipples stood hard from the chill and his scrutiny. He slid the strap down my shoulder and looped his finger through the other.
    Should I stop him? Were there rules? Xavier had said he wouldn’t keep them from our bed, but he wasn’t here. Why did he have to be so fucking complicated? Could I push Sebastian away? Did I want to?
    As though answering a prayer, a phone rang.
    Sebastian released the strap and sighed.
    “Let me go get that.” I ran through the living room and up the stairs. I pressed the button. “Hello.”
    “Hello, beautiful. What are you up to?”
    Xavier, thank God. Maybe he had some advice.
    I laughed. “If I told you, I’d never get to hear why you’re calling.”
    “Oooooo. What I have to say can wait.”
    “Well, I just came in from the rain. I’m soaked; my nightgown is dripping