Free In Her Secret Fantasy by Marie Treanor

as if he understood that, but still his eyes searched hers. “At least you said ‘next time’. We can go for that sail, if you like, see if we can find some seals. I had the boat out the water, and it looks surprisingly okay now. I’ll take it for a test sail tomorrow, and if all’s well, we can go out in the afternoon, or the day after.”
    “I’ve got to work.”
    He swallowed that without a blink. “Do you get weekends off?”
    She nodded. “Saturday’s good if you can get away too.”
    He sighed. “Yes, Louise and I need to talk. But that’s another issue. I’ll meet you in the harbour on Saturday. What’s your number?”
    She told him and he entered it on his phone with speedy efficiency. Then, dropping the phone back in his pocket, he glanced at her.
    “I’m fine,” she repeated, both baffled and ashamed now of her odd behaviour, of running to him and crying. At least Len hadn’t seen her crying. He was a nice guy, but she wasn’t sure he’d work out at the house.
    “Okay,” Aidan said. His lips quirked. He had quite full, firm lips that she wanted to brush with hers, to taste, to feel on her mouth, all over her body…
    She shivered.
    “You are wonderful,” he said. “You’re amazing and you’re strong.”
    She let out a little choke of derisive laughter. “How, exactly?”
    He smiled, and at least there was softness in his reflective blue eyes. “I’ll tell you on Saturday.” His hand came up once more, touching her face with a briefer caress than before. “Take care.” Then he turned and strode off towards the village.
    She’s been right to send him away, to have the time to rein in her emotions in solitude. Why then did she have such an urge to run after him? Remembering her weirdly conflicted reaction to Len’s invitation, she tried turning away from Aidan and walking in the other direction.
    That worked.
    Sighing with relief, she looked around her. Where was I before all this happened? Ah yes, the cave…
    Deliberately, she grabbed at something else to focus on. She found the cave again without difficulty, sliding her hand straight in. Reaching farther this time, she touched something soft and furry. Thinking it was a dead animal, she jerked her hand away with a small cry. But then, realizing there had been no solid flesh, she felt around again, drawing it towards her until she realized its considerable size. Like a fur coat.
    She withdrew her arm, remembering for some reason the selkie stories Aidan had talked about on New Year’s night. When selkies took human form, they hid their seal skins, because if the skin was lost or destroyed, they couldn’t return to the sea.
    She stared towards the village, just in time to see Aidan disappearing around the headland. Bizarre suspicion entered her head.
    She smiled. “Nah,” she said, and walked in the opposite direction, brisk and energetic. At least she no longer wanted to cry.

Chapter Five As they walked in different directions, Aidan glanced back at her a couple of times, saw her exploring inside some cleft in the cliff. Distracting herself, probably, with matters far removed from her own strange episode.
    It had taken her by surprise. Aidan, who’d come across victims of many horrendous crimes in his work, knew the trauma could manifest itself in strange ways, and at odd times. Although it had been a while ago, and although she’d moved on with her life with such supreme courage, her recovery could only be partial.
    He felt again the huge surge of protectiveness that had consumed him when she’d run to him, clutched him. She’d even let him hold her, had seemed to draw comfort from his closeness. His own emotion had taken him by surprise. He’d dealt with victims on both sides of the law every day for years, so many that the line between those sides was blurred into nonexistence. But he’d learned the value of detachment. You couldn’t help, you couldn’t go on, if you empathized too closely.
    And yet if the ex-con on