Saving the Seal: A BWWM Navy Seal Interracial Romance by Cristina Grenier

had barely an hour to get through a mountain of paperwork before the clock read six thirty.
    Her stomach twisting in discomfort, the young woman reluctantly left the hospital, headed into the suburbs in search of the address in Owen’s file. He lived in a modest ranch home about twenty minutes from the hospital, and once she’d parked outside, Genevieve hesitated, her hand on the door handle.
    She had to be in her element – for Owen more than anyone else. She’d never rehabilitated a patient with a timeline in place, but if she didn’t work with Owen to meet this one, he might very well never get the help he needed.
    Steeling herself, she stepped from her car and began up the walkway. Before she could raise her hand to knock, however, the door opened. There was the pronounced clicking of nails on a wooden floor before a large, broad head poked from the doorway.
    The Rottweiler was enormous – easily one hundred pounds – and powerful. It’s physique was as muscled as its master’s and Genny braced herself for the immense animal to jump on her-
    “Eddie, heel.”
    As if a switch had been thrown, the dog planted its hindquarters on the front step before its tongue lolled out of its mouth. Eddie’s tail whipped back and forth in a frenzy as he stared up at Genevieve inquiringly with round blue eyes.
    Slowly, the young woman raised her eyes from him to his master standing before her.
    Owen looked a wreck.
    Though the sight of his tall, well-made form still made her knees weak, the dark circles under his eyes and tight line of his mouth worried her more than anything else. “Hello, Owen.” She tried to keep that worry from her voice as she smiled up at him. “This must be Eddie.” She held out her hand to the precocious dog to have it sniffed enthusiastically before Eddie licked the tips of her fingers, giving her permission to pet him.
    Her smile widening, the young woman scratched behind his ears before stroking down his snout. For a one year old, he was very well behaved. No small blessing when the dog was big enough to do serious damage to the unwary.
    “You’re not scared of him.” Owen’s comment was tinged with surprise as he gazed between the two of them.
    “Why would I be?” She returned, stroking along the dog’s back. “You’ve already told me all about him.”
    She indulged Eddie for a few minutes more before turning her full attention to Owen. “May I come in?”
    He seemed to realize that she was still outside on the stoop and his expression turned embarrassed for a moment before he let her in. Genny slipped inside the startlingly clean dwelling, followed by an eager Eddie as Owen led her to the family room. Above the mantelpiece were hung a bevy of awards he’d earned, along with a picture of him that looked about ten years old, with an older man she presumed to be his father smiling beside him. She stepped up to the framed photo, lifting it from the mantelpiece to examine before turning to find Owen seated on his leather couch, looking up at her with hollow eyes.
    Her heart clenched in her chest as she placed her bag on a nearby table, taking a seat next to him. As Eddie curled up by their feet, she prepared herself. The man she was faced with did not look like he meant to seduce her. Quite the contrary, actually. “What happened last night, Owen?”
    Her voice was careful, soft. She didn’t want to demand anything of him that he wasn’t willing to give.
    Owen exhaled a heavy breath, running a hand down his face before he answered. “I woke up in the middle of the night…couldn’t move. Not terribly uncommon for me. It’s the nightmares…I…I keep reliving what happened in Fallujah.”
    Genny’s heart leapt. “Would you like to tell me about your nightmares, Owen?”
    The lieutenant opened his mouth, then closed it, before repeating the process. It was clear from the pain in his eyes that he wanted to speak to her – he wanted her to know. But there was something that stood in