Free Broken Road by Char Marie Adles

remember a thing just like her father never had after to much to drink and a beating.
       Devil sat up and tried to untie and untwist herself from Mr. Canter’s arm around her waist, but he tightened his grip on her.
       “No,” he muttered, turning his head so that she could see the side of his beautiful face.
       She started down at his face and soothed a hand over his forehead. If only his face could have looked so peaceful when he was awake. Maybe she could tease him into smiling everyday.
      He grumbled, frowning slightly when she stopped stroking his hair from his face.
       She resumed stroking his head and smiled slightly. Maybe everyday was asking a bit much. Devil realized how easy it was just then to get use to the kindness of a man who should have terrified her. He did still scare her, but she was used to him by now. He may not however know that he was being kind yet she did and somehow she knew the gruff kindness was what had started to change her.
       Devil frowned slightly. “Royal would have a cow if he saw me going soft like this.” She shrugged. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
       She plopped back on to the pillows, closing her eyes and petted him on the head over and over again. He snuggled closer like giant kitten.
       Like she had said, she had never been a good child. One night with the big bad boss couldn’t hurt.
     
     
    ...
     
    Before he was even fully awake Winthrop knew he was going to have one hellofa morning to look forward to. His skull felt as if it was going to spilt open and he still felt a little fuzzy around the edges.
       “Damn,” he grumbled and then flipped onto his side.
       Only he didn’t. He hadn’t moved at all.
       He opened one sleep dusted eye and looked around to see what had him pinned to the bed. Expecting to see himself tangled in the bed covers he felt a shock go down his spine when he saw what, more like who, he was tangled up with.
      The very Devil was in his bed, sleeping with him.
       Winthrop tried not to stiffen at the contact and survey the situation. The kid was pressed tightly against his chest, resting her hand over his heart, breathing softly against his cheek, with the help of his very own arms to keep her there. One was under her chest curled under her side to hold her and the other was curved over her waist to pull her closer should she move away. Only then did he notice she didn’t wear a shirt and neither did he. He had her legs trapped between his own and he felt far too much not to have his very own body to tell him this was the best morning he had ever had, waking up next to her.
       Color flushed a dull red over his high cheek bones as a hot bucket of self preservation washed over him. His mind was yelling for him to jump out of the bed, that he didn’t need a woman in his bed, in his life. Let alone a woman that was this young and already a mother to a baby. Yet his body was putting on a damn good fight.
      Reluctantly he stared to untangle himself.
       “No.”
       Winthrop froze, he looked down.
       Devil snuggled closer to the heat that was warming her and fought to put the lid on the nightmare that was threatening her peaceful sleep.
       Winthrop noticed the change in her before he even thought of what was happening for it happened to him often enough. Her brow furrowed and she shifted restlessly against his side. She was having a nightmare.
       He lay back down next to him feeling a connection to her through this nightmare of her’s. They had more things in common then he would have thought. He gathered her to his chest and stroked her hair from head to waist as gently as he could with his trembling hands. It was the only think he could think of doing that might offer some measure of comfort, when no one had ever comforted him and he didn’t know how.
       “Shhh…it’s only a bad dream, sweet,” he whispered kissing her forehead. The endearment had come out without him