Free Guardian Cougar (Finding Fatherhood Book 2) by Kit Tunstall, Kit Fawkes

a rocking motion, realizing she wasn’t in her trailer, and after glancing out the window, she understood she wasn’t even on shore any longer. She was in the middle of the ocean on a luxury yacht.
    Hannah trembled as she remembered the moment when Theo had entered the room where he’d locked her in. The charming façade had disappeared, revealing the ruthless monster beneath. In his mind, she belonged to him, and he had taken what he wanted without regard for her feelings or lack of desire. She trembled as she recalled that first horrible night, which had been the worst of many to follow.
    She cried out when the door opened suddenly, letting light shine into her little warren, and she curled against the corner, turning her back to whomever had opened the door. She was so lost in her panic and memories that she fought hands trying to pull her out, not comprehending they were gentle.
    It wasn’t until she was halfway out of the closet that she stopped fighting when she recognized Jackson. Instead, she collapsed against him with a sob, clinging to him. She thought she was over her weakness, but it all came flooding back with the memories. She wasn’t the strong and confident woman she’d pretended to be for the last two weeks. Once again, she was the broken creature he’d found floating in the ocean.
    He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the sofa, laying her down carefully while keeping an arm around her. Her head rested against his chest, and one of her arms was over his stomach. The other one, she kept balled tightly against her chest as she struggled to breathe through the panic.
    “Hannah, what’s wrong?”
    “My memory,” she said in a shaky voice. “It came back. I don’t want it. Get rid of it. Please.” Even in her irrational state, she knew it wasn’t a request Jackson could honor. He could no more take away the memories than she could. She’d just have to live with them and reintegrate them into her reality, which was a terrifying prospect she had longed to avoid.
    “Shush, you’re all right. You’re safe now.” He continued murmuring reassurances as he held her hand until her tears had abated.
    She lay against him limply as reality crashed over her, settling in. “It was Theo Cromwell. He stole me from my life because I didn’t want him.” After a brief hesitation, the words spilled from her, and she shared the horror of the last year she had spent as his prisoner.
    The words were cathartic until she reached the part involving Killian. She froze, and dread swelled in her, along with a sudden swell of hatred for the child in her stomach. She wanted nothing to do with Cromwell, let alone have his child. Her voice was monotone and emotionally disconnected when she recounted events for Jackson.
    “I don’t know when I realized I was pregnant, at least I don’t know how far along I was. There weren’t any pregnancy tests, and when we occasionally went ashore, I was never allowed off the yacht. Either Theo or his goons watched me the whole time, so I couldn’t get a test easily. I just had to wait until the symptoms manifested, and it became obvious. Theo was excited, both because he wanted a child and because he thought it was another way I’d be bound to him.”
    Her voice cracked as she recalled the desperation that had driven her, temporarily bleeding through her monotone. “I didn’t want it. I didn’t want him, and I certainly didn’t want his baby. I don’t want it. When I had the chance, I threw myself down a flight of stairs on the yacht. It wasn’t enough to make me miscarry, but he was angry with me.” She trembled, remembering the slap of leather against her back as he’d beaten her.
    He’d never been above physical discipline, but after the first few weeks when he’d broken her down a lash at a time, coupled with his psychological warfare, he rarely had to resort to physical violence against her after that. When he’d realized she deliberately tried to abort his