Free Taming the Enforcer’s Flirt by Charlie Richards

arm, and yanked him into the sitting room. “Damn it. What did that thick-headed gargoyle do?”
    “I—well—” Cornelius flushed. It wasn’t really all Einan’s fault. Cornelius recognized that. He just wished he knew if Einan would use his fists when he didn’t get his way. Would Tible know? “Would Einan hit me if he got angry?”
    He blurted the question, then dropped onto the nearest chair. Putting his head in his hands, he groaned. “Shit, I’m so fucked up.” Lifting his head, Cornelius met Tible’s shocked expression and mumbled, “Einan deserves so much better than me.”
    “What happened, Corny?” Gus rumbled from beside him.
    Cornelius whipped his head around, saw his friend, and launched himself toward the huge shifter. Gus didn’t disappoint and wrapped his thick arms around him. He sank into Gus’s hug, clinging tightly.
    His friend just held him. He felt Tible press against his back. A Cornelius sandwich. He smiled, although tears threatened at the corners of his eyes. He blinked them back rapidly.
    Sighing, he faced the music and drew away from the pair. “He told me I needed to fuck him and I flipped out,” he admitted. “He yelled. I yelled back. He yelled some more and got angry and I ran away.”
    He flopped back onto the chair and glared at the two surprised looking men. “Why the hell didn’t I know that you couldn’t turn into a human until after Gus had fucked you? Why didn’t I know this?”
    His dreams of a happy mating and several cute gargoyle cubs running around his and Einan’s legs went up in smoke before his eyes.
    “Gods, I’m such a shit. I know I’m a shit!” Cornelius thrust his fingers into his sandy hair and put his head between his knees. He focused on his breathing, knowing it wasn’t his friend’s fault and he needed to calm the fuck down.
    The cushion next to him dipped, and someone—from the scent, Cornelius guessed Gus—sat down next to him and curved his arm around his shoulders. When he was tugged up and pulled against a barrel chest, his suspicions were confirmed.
    “I can’t fuck him, Gus,” Cornelius whispered, his heart breaking. “I just can’t.”
    He spotted Tible’s confused look and grimaced. Evidently, his buddy hadn’t explained. Fortunately, Cornelius didn’t have to, for Gus took that opportunity to murmur, “When Cornelius was in his late twenties, his father found him fucking a friend. Suffice it to say, he wasn’t happy. They were in an empty horse stall, but there were cleaning supplies nearby. He grabbed a pitchfork and started stabbing at both of them, completely flipping out.
    “Cornelius’s friend fled, but his dad didn’t stop. Not until Cornelius was on the ground.” Gus’s big body shuddered. “I’ll never forget all the blood and puncture wounds.” Shaking his head, he stated, “Cornelius hasn’t been able to fuck anyone since.” The hand around his shoulders squeezed lightly. “Some kind of mental trauma, ya know? He’s talked to Doctor Digby about it.”
    Tible nodded slowly, his mouth forming an oh , sympathy filling his pale gray eyes. He reached out and squeezed Cornelius’s shoulder.
    Cornelius looked up and smiled wanly at the show of support. Doctor Gordon Digby was an elephant shifter, a psychiatrist, back in Stone Ridge and he’d helped Cornelius get his panic attacks under control…sort of.
    At least, Cornelius knew he could get clear of the situation first now before breaking down. He’d freaked Tible out once when he’d panicked at a coffee shop. Some guy had hassled them about their table. Gus had convinced him to see the shrink. The fact that Gus trusted Gordon, having spent many hours under his care after being rescued by the wolf shifters from the scientists, had been all the encouragement Cornelius had needed. He’d known he had a problem, he just hadn’t told Gus everything. Only Gordon knew…and now he’d probably have to figure out how to tell Einan just how fucked up he