Resisting Her by Kendall Ryan

but her death grip on him had not. Knowing that neither
of them would get any sleep at this rate, Cole lay down beside her,
folding her gently against his body— her back to his front— and
wrapped her in his arms. She turned her head and met his eyes,
silently begging him not to hurt her. That look just about crushed
him. He soothed a hand along her cheek, brushing her messy hair
away from her face. He wondered if her dream had been about Dillon,
that guy she’d been worried about. “You’re safe. Sleep now.”
    His third day off work passed much like the
others —he spent the day with Savannah. She cooked. He ate. It was
nice, this routine they were developing. Of course he still had no
clue what he was doing letting her stay with him. And the longer
she stayed, the more likely it was she would discover the skeletons
of Cole’s past that were better left in the closet. But those
thoughts were pushed to the very back of his mind with Savannah’s
sweet innocence to distract him.
    After a dinner of steak, baked potatoes and
steamed broccoli, Savannah popped popcorn on the stove and they
curled up on the couch to watch a movie. It was a romantic comedy.
Savannah leaned forward, curious about the mushy parts, watching
the onscreen couple kiss and tumble into bed like she’d never seen
anything like it before. Hell, maybe she hadn’t.
    Cole did his best to try and keep some
distance between them, but Savannah inched closer and closer until
she was pressed against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.
He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her,
but the thought was so unwelcome, so unlike him, that he forced
himself to sit immobile, and did his best not to notice the
beautiful girl beside him. Like that was even possible.
    When their movie ended, Cole turned on the
news. The first story was about takedown of the cult compound. His
eyes flicked to Savannah to measure her reaction, but she’d fallen
asleep, her face peaceful and beautiful. He alternated between
stealing glances at her sleeping form, and watching the coverage on
the compound, but learned nothing new. He waited for the news story
to end, and shook her shoulder to wake her. “Savannah, come on,
let’s get you in bed.”
    She roused, her sleepy eyes blinking up at
him. “No, not yet. I want to stay here with you,” she whispered,
her voice raspy from sleep.
    She trusted him way too much. She needed to
go to her room and probably lock the goddamn door, because the way
that T-shirt clung to her tits and crept up her side to expose a
taunt patch of skin forced his mind to the gutter. He imagined
lifting her shirt over her head and nibbling on her soft flesh,
exploring her breasts with gentle licks and kisses until she was
moaning out his name in that sweet sleep-laced voice.
    He swallowed roughly. “You need to go to bed.
You’re falling asleep.”
    She met his eyes. “I don’t want to be alone,”
she admitted.
    He knew he had probably made a mistake by
sleeping in the bed with her last night, and he certainly hadn’t
meant to set a precedent, but knowing he couldn’t refuse her
request, he simply nodded and led her to his room. His bed was
bigger. “Do you want to sleep in my room?”
    “With you?” she asked, her voice rising in
uncertainty.
    He nodded.
    “Yes.”
    After they got ready for bed, Cole peeled
back the covers and Savannah crawled in. She snuggled into his
pillows and inhaled. “It smells like you.”
    He didn’t ask if that was good or bad, but
the sleepy little smile on her lips confirmed her opinion on the
matter. He didn’t quite know how to process the fact that his musky
scented sheets — that were probably due for a washing — were
pleasing to her. He liked her scent too, though. Maybe it was only
natural to be attracted to the scent of the opposite sex.
    Cole knew this was dangerous ground. Not just
because he was undeniably attracted to her, but because he was
afraid that he was making