Page 53 of Release

If the motherfucker wants to torture Declan, he’ll have to buy his own goddamned implements to do it with.

“Good boy,” I softly say. “Now get dressed.”

“Ma’am?”

“Get. Dressed.”

I wait until I hear him stop moving around to turn.

He looks…

Well, like his feelings are hurt.

I pull him into my arms for a hug and kiss. “You don’t need my permission to masturbate,” I tell him. “You’re always going to be my good boy, and I’m always going to love you, but I think we both know where you belong. Go home, sweetie. He needs you, and I can’t handle the guilt of him doing that to you. Tell him he won.”

“What?”

I release him and step away. “Tell him you’re his. I’m not playing tug of war with you. I can’t handle the guilt of seeing you like that.”

“Wait. Case, what are you saying? I don’t have a problem with—”

“Did youfuckingsee what hedidto you?”

I feel the shift in him, from boy to Declan, his normal persona, the one everyone else sees. “Yeah, I saw. I was the one begging him not to stop. I kind of needed it. We both did.”

“Unfortunately,Ican’t deal with that. If that’s something you need, I’m not going to stand in the way of you getting it.”

He takes a step toward me. “What are you saying? I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’ve already lost you, sweetie. And you don’t even see it.”

“Jesusfuck, Case. What are you so scared of?”

My mind flashes to a door slowly opening at night, the way the one floorboard always creaked a little.

How the knob would sound if he tried it and I’d blocked the door.

“I need a break.” I duck around him. “We can revisit this at another time.”

“When? You won’t sit down and talk to us, or even give us a damn target to aim for!”

“I don’t know! If George wants me to trust him then I need some fucking time and space, okay? I’m under a lot of stress right now. Please, gohome, Declan.” I head for the stairs.

He catches my arm and won’t release me. “Is this about Junior? Are you planning something and not telling me?”

He’s never put hands on me before. Not like this.

I feel a chill descend in my soul. “Let go of me, Declan.”

“No. Not until you stop running away and talk to me!”

He’s not expecting it when I shift my weight hard, back into him, knocking him off-balance before I then kick his legs out from under him, putting him on his ass. It’s a little thing I learned from the guys in the EPU detail. I had them work with me and with Aussie soon after George’s return.

“You want me to talk to you,boy? Okay, I’m talking to you. Go thefuckhome. When I’m ready to talk to your Sir, I’ll let him know. Until then, give me somefuckingspace andfuckingtime. Because, otherwise, all either of you are going to do is piss me off.”

I stalk toward the stairs.

“Do you even understand how much I love you?” he asks.