Read Online Safe Harbor by Tymber Dalton - Free Book Online

let her get hurt. You have to trust me on this. She’s not Betsy.”
    “I know, Master. I’m sorry.”
    “That’s okay.” He capped the bottle. “Done.”
    Mac gingerly rolled over, wincing a little but not complaining. He would never complain. He never had complained.
    Mac also never extracted payback for punishment while on the boat. Sully had anticipated he might and was willing to take it if he dealt it, but Mac’s enjoyment of his limited top time came mostly in the form of sexual enjoyment, not sadism.
    Sully used the bathroom, turned their stereo and lights off, and settled into bed with Mac. Not many things drove Mac to tears outside of a scene. Not even punishment, usually. That night, Sully sensed Mac needed more than a Master.
    He needed his lover and friend.
    Sully wrapped his arms around Mac. “Let it out, Brant,” he ordered. “Don’t hold it in.”
    At first Mac tensed, and then he relaxed against Sully as his tears
     

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    flowed.
    “She’s not Betsy,” he whispered in Mac’s ear. “Keep saying that to yourself. She’s not Betsy, and she’s not going to die. We won’t let that happen.”
    Mac clutched Sully, crying, shaking with the force of his anguish.
    “Fuck, Sul. He beat her to a pulp.”
    Sully knew how difficult it had been for Mac, keeping his emotions in check around Clarisse all day. He knew better than anyone how hard this was on Mac, seeing her bruised and battered, helping her with the makeup, trying to maintain appearances in front of Tad.
    After twenty minutes, he finally cried himself to sleep. Sully closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to his forehead. If someone had told him years ago that he’d love this man the way he did, he’d have decked them. People asked how he could explore complex and fluid gender roles in relationships in his books in such a realistic way. It was easy for him.
    He lived it.

     
     
    * * * *
     
     
    The nightmare played out the same every time. Knowing it was a dream didn’t help Mac escape it. He’d talked to Betsy earlier that day, confirmed he’d be by at six to help her move. Her husband was going out of town for the weekend on a fishing trip to the Keys with a buddy of his. By the time the asshole returned late Sunday, Betsy would be safe at Mac’s apartment.
    When he arrived at five to six, the lights were all off but her car sat in the driveway.
    He tried the door, found it locked.
    Fear sent his heart racing as he tried calling her, heard the phone ring counterpoint somewhere inside. Then he tried her cell.
    He faintly heard it ringing through the door too.

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    Shit.
    He pounded on the door. “Bets! Open up, honey. You’re scaring me!”
    He circled the house. All the blinds were drawn and the back gate locked. Highly unusual.
    Hoping he was wrong, that it would prove to be a false alarm, he returned to the front door, called 911, and told them he was breaking down the door.
    Despite the dispatcher advising him to wait, Mac kicked the door in and screamed when he found Betsy face down on the living room floor in a puddle of blood.
    He yelled at the dispatcher to send an ambulance and then checked her pulse. Jesus, she was still breathing.
    Barely.
    She moaned.
    “Oh, honey,” he cried. “Please hang on! Bets, you gotta hang on, they’re coming.” It looked as if someone had taken a baseball bat to her, her face unrecognizable, her hair matted with blood, the house ripped apart.
    Unlike every other dream he’d had reliving that horrible afternoon, tonight when he cradled her in his arms, she opened her eyes. It wasn’t Betsy’s brown eyes, but Clarisse’s blue ones.

     
     
    * * * *
     
     
    Sully felt Mac startle awake. He’d lain there unable to sleep, expecting this. It’d been months since Mac’s last nightmare about Betsy. He’d suspected Clarisse’s unexpected entry into their lives might trigger a return of Mac’s flashbacks. Sully wrapped his arms around his lover as the other man started