still hear him.
Your choice, whore. On your hands and knees or go back to
the roof… On the table and spread your legs or go back to the roof… Show my
friends how good you are at sucking cock. No? Perhaps you would prefer the
roof.
Not the roof. Please, please, please not the roof. I
can’t. Not again. Not the roof.
The bottom just fell out of Dev’s world. One moment his
woman was kissing a trail of temptation down his body and the next she was
sobbing in the corner. He rolled off the bed and onto his feet, but after that
he had no idea what he was supposed to do.
“Rye.” The call to his denmate was instinct.
Rye came rushing to his side as they both turned to stare at
Tansy. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Dev ran an unsteady hand through his hair. “She
was fine. She was going to suck me off, and I checked in with her to make sure
she was all right. Then she flipped out.”
Dev felt the reassuring weight of Rye’s arm over his
shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Rye pulled him in for a tight hug. “It
looks like she’s having a flashback, which means this is all on him. We were
careful with her. She knows she’s safe with us.”
Dev looked at his woman, curled up in a terrified ball. “I
don’t know what to do for her. I’m too scared to touch her until she comes out
of the memory.”
“Perhaps we need—”
What have you done? Fellescend’s furious bellow
collapsed both Enforcers to their knees. What have you done to my pet?
Dev rolled up, lurching unsteadily to his feet. We haven’t
done anything to her. We’re trying to help her.
You’re doing a terrible job. She’s in a bad place and she
hurts. You need to fix it now.
Dev gritted his teeth. I can assure you, if it was that
easy we would already have done it.
Zenbaylan wasn’t one for histrionics, and her voice came
through the link cool and calm. You need to talk to her. She trusts you
both. Wait until she is sensible before you touch her, but touch her you must.
She’ll think you don’t want her if you stay away.
Dev had spent the best part of twenty years being partnered
with dragons and he still found their advice hit and miss. Sometimes they were
on target and sometimes they were so wide of the mark it was scary. This
situation with Tansy was already fucked up—they couldn’t afford any more
mistakes. Unfortunately they were flying blind.
Rye stepped forward, but Dev placed a restraining hand on
his shoulder. “Don’t move yet.” He nodded to Tansy, head bent and silent. “If
she snaps back, I don’t want the first thing she sees to be two Enforcers
towering over her.”
“All right. Do we get closer or move back?”
Closer. I already told you that, Zenbaylan snapped.
Rye lifted an eyebrow. “Either Tansy’s in worse shape than
we think, or the dragons’ claim on her has skewed their emotions. First
Fellescend just about blew our brains out. Now my calm, cool Zenbaylan is
serving her orders with a side dish of angry.”
Dev shrugged. “The dragon reaction is a problem for another
day. Right now Tansy needs us more than they do.”
Rye dropped to his hands and knees. “So let’s be there for
her.”
And with no further discussion than that, they crawled over
to Tansy’s corner and placed themselves on either side of her, backs to the
wall.
They waited in silence for a long time. Dev used the quiet
to go over what had happened, to try to work out how or when he’d triggered Tansy’s
memory. When that proved to be entirely unhelpful, Dev cast his mind forward,
searching for a way to aid her recovery. Nobody expected the rescued women to
simply leave their experiences behind, but there had to be a way to help them
work through whatever demons they were fighting.
He was brought back to the present when Tansy lifted her
head off her knees. Her face was pale, her eyes dull and hollow, but he could
see she was back with them. He also saw that she hadn’t been crying.
“No tears,
Your choice, whore. On your hands and knees or go back to
the roof… On the table and spread your legs or go back to the roof… Show my
friends how good you are at sucking cock. No? Perhaps you would prefer the
roof.
Not the roof. Please, please, please not the roof. I
can’t. Not again. Not the roof.
The bottom just fell out of Dev’s world. One moment his
woman was kissing a trail of temptation down his body and the next she was
sobbing in the corner. He rolled off the bed and onto his feet, but after that
he had no idea what he was supposed to do.
“Rye.” The call to his denmate was instinct.
Rye came rushing to his side as they both turned to stare at
Tansy. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Dev ran an unsteady hand through his hair. “She
was fine. She was going to suck me off, and I checked in with her to make sure
she was all right. Then she flipped out.”
Dev felt the reassuring weight of Rye’s arm over his
shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Rye pulled him in for a tight hug. “It
looks like she’s having a flashback, which means this is all on him. We were
careful with her. She knows she’s safe with us.”
Dev looked at his woman, curled up in a terrified ball. “I
don’t know what to do for her. I’m too scared to touch her until she comes out
of the memory.”
“Perhaps we need—”
What have you done? Fellescend’s furious bellow
collapsed both Enforcers to their knees. What have you done to my pet?
Dev rolled up, lurching unsteadily to his feet. We haven’t
done anything to her. We’re trying to help her.
You’re doing a terrible job. She’s in a bad place and she
hurts. You need to fix it now.
Dev gritted his teeth. I can assure you, if it was that
easy we would already have done it.
Zenbaylan wasn’t one for histrionics, and her voice came
through the link cool and calm. You need to talk to her. She trusts you
both. Wait until she is sensible before you touch her, but touch her you must.
She’ll think you don’t want her if you stay away.
Dev had spent the best part of twenty years being partnered
with dragons and he still found their advice hit and miss. Sometimes they were
on target and sometimes they were so wide of the mark it was scary. This
situation with Tansy was already fucked up—they couldn’t afford any more
mistakes. Unfortunately they were flying blind.
Rye stepped forward, but Dev placed a restraining hand on
his shoulder. “Don’t move yet.” He nodded to Tansy, head bent and silent. “If
she snaps back, I don’t want the first thing she sees to be two Enforcers
towering over her.”
“All right. Do we get closer or move back?”
Closer. I already told you that, Zenbaylan snapped.
Rye lifted an eyebrow. “Either Tansy’s in worse shape than
we think, or the dragons’ claim on her has skewed their emotions. First
Fellescend just about blew our brains out. Now my calm, cool Zenbaylan is
serving her orders with a side dish of angry.”
Dev shrugged. “The dragon reaction is a problem for another
day. Right now Tansy needs us more than they do.”
Rye dropped to his hands and knees. “So let’s be there for
her.”
And with no further discussion than that, they crawled over
to Tansy’s corner and placed themselves on either side of her, backs to the
wall.
They waited in silence for a long time. Dev used the quiet
to go over what had happened, to try to work out how or when he’d triggered Tansy’s
memory. When that proved to be entirely unhelpful, Dev cast his mind forward,
searching for a way to aid her recovery. Nobody expected the rescued women to
simply leave their experiences behind, but there had to be a way to help them
work through whatever demons they were fighting.
He was brought back to the present when Tansy lifted her
head off her knees. Her face was pale, her eyes dull and hollow, but he could
see she was back with them. He also saw that she hadn’t been crying.
“No tears,
Similar Books
