Free Release by Beth Kery

he’d started speaking, as if to shut out the truth, but she opened them now slowly.
    It hadn’t been the confession she’d expected.
    She lifted her head off his chest. His face looked rigid with strain.
    “You said I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do. Well, I don’t want to talk about that night, Sean. I don’t.”
    “We’ve got to talk about it sometime. ”
    She took a deep, steadying breath. “Do you want to stay here with me for the next couple nights?”
    His mouth fell open. “You know I do, but—”
    “Then don’t plan on talking about what happened on that night, not about Max . . . any of it.” She met his incredulous stare without flinching. “I mean it, Sean. The minute you say a word about it, I’m leaving. Those are my terms. Take it or leave it,” she said sternly.
    “All right.”
    She blinked, a little surprised by his quick concession.
    “Well . . . all right, then,” she muttered dubiously. Her eyebrows shot up when he gathered her closer in his arms. Genevieve suddenly became aware that she was pressed tightly against the length of a long, hard male body. Sean kissed her temple. His lips felt warm and firm next to her tingling skin.
    “What d’ya want to do now that that’s all decided, girl?” he asked gruffly near her ear.
     
     
     
    He still ached a little, but Sean forced a smile when he saw Genny’s dazed expression. He’d been trying to tease her out of their somber mood, desperate to do anything that would remove that haunted expression in her storm-cloud eyes.
    Sure, he’d been teasing, but if she’d said she wanted to begin a sex marathon then and there that only would have ended when he had to be hospitalized for dehydration, Sean would have been happy to comply.
    And all too ready, he thought wryly when he realized he’d grown stone-hard as he held Genny in his arms. Never mind that she’d looked fragile enough to shatter just moments before. Sean knew from personal experience that he became nothing better than a beast when he inhaled the fragrance of Genny’s clean hair or caught the sweet, womanly scent at her neck. Genny’d always made him hyperaware of the drastic contrast between his need to be tender, to cherish, and a primal mandate to make her completely his own.
    He knew for certain he wasn’t a beast though, because animals weren’t capable of regretting their hunger.
    He reluctantly backed away from her, releasing her from his embrace.
    “Don’t . . . don’t you have to go down to the office?” she asked when several feet separated them. She touched her cheek distractedly and gazed at her wet fingertips, her brow wrinkled perplexedly.
    Poor girl. She hadn’t realized she’d been crying.
    “I need something to eat first.” He stretched. What started as an affected yawn turned real. “Then maybe a little nap. I never really slept last night.”
    His words seemed to make her awkwardness and confusion evaporate. “I’ll just heat up the coffee you brought and fix us something for breakfast, then.”
    He stayed in the living room when she passed him, sensing she needed some time to herself. He wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of allowing her the opportunity to rebuild her defenses, but what choice did he have? None, if he didn’t want to hurt her more.
    Just like he hadn’t had any choice in agreeing not to talk about the night Max, Genny, and he had spent here together.
    Seeing her like this—so fragile and sad—made him feel like pulverizing whatever it was that upset her. Too bad he was the no-good trash who was responsible for her distress.
    A familiar bitterness had seized his gut when she’d said earlier that she was involved with another man. First Max, now some other asshole was claiming what nature had clearly decreed was his.
    What the hell? Was he cursed or something? For most people, actually finding a mate who perfectly suited them was an unattainable fantasy. Sean had been lucky enough to find