When he was done, then, and only then, did he speak.
“You’re not damaged. You’re my Corbin. We know you’re not ready, so we slow down. How about we go back to the resort,and we go sit in the hot tub? Or go swimming? I’m good with us not trying this again for a while.”
And he was.
His man’s reaction wasn’t faked.
It wasn’t him intentionally trying to avoid intimacy out of laziness, or not caring about him. The PTSD had Corbin by the throat, and he couldn’t let that hurt him.
They needed more time and therapy to fix what had been shattered in Corbin.
Will had to protect him because it was clear that Corbin was freaked the fuck out, and couldn’t handle it.
“Please don’t hate me for being broken. I’m trying,” he whispered. “Only, the things you like, are the things that remind me what they did to me. They tied me down, and I can’t…”
He wanted to puke again.
“Breathe,” Will said.
Corbin was trying.
He really was.
Because Will could see they’d moved too fast, it was time to put the brakes on.
So, he reassured him.
“Then we skip that. We tried, and it didn’t work. You know that the therapist said to try and if it freaked you out, back up and regroup. So we regroup, Corby. I’m not leaving you, and I’m never going to be angry when we stumble. We get back up, and we try to settle ourselves to find you peace.”
At his words, Corbin stopped shaking. The therapist did say that.
But Corbin had to worry about one thing.
What happened when he could never go back there again, and Will walked away?
What happened when they stole that from him too?
Because he didn’t doubt that was next.
Corbin could feel it to his soul. He was no longer man enough to keep Will.
And he knew it.
Chapter Fourteen
Victim’s Home
Midday
Monday
With guns out, they cleared the space, and the whole time, Gene was continually cognizant of his partner’s location. He made sure he was beside him as they cleared room, and then, and only then, did he let his guard down.
Because they were most definitely alone in the dead man’s home.
With the state of it, too, there was going to have to be a forensic search. Due to the ransacked nature, this could have been the place the man had been taken.
All of this could be from a struggle.
