Rest & Trust — Susan Fanetti

Sherlock is the Intelligence Officer of the Night Horde SoCal. It's his job to find and control information, to keep boundaries around what is known by whom. He's managed himself the same way, always keeping his club life and his personal life in separate boxes, not wanting to share either with the other. Lately, though, as his brothers settle down, one by one, and become family men, he's been sensing an empty space between his boxes. He needs someone to need him. For himself, not for his skill. Sadie is rebuilding her life after it fell apart publicly and exposed years-old secrets. She is learning to trust herself and everybody else, learning how to live in the world without the buffers she'd needed for so long. It's a struggle every day, but she's trying to master her needs one at a time. They meet when Sadie needs rescue. When she literally runs to Sherlock for it, he helps the strange, frantic girl without a second thought. In the way of rescuers, Sherlock feels responsible for her. And for him, that feeling holds a potent allure. It's not so easy between them: Sadie is afraid to need, ashamed to be needy, worried what it could mean if she were to trust someone enough to let her guard down. But Sherlock is determined and patient. He's one of the good guys, and he's found someone who understands him and who needs to take what he needs to give. He's not going to let her go. Note: explicit sex and violence.