Resisting Her (7 page)

Savannah’s tortured gaze caught his in the
moonlight. “Are you mad at me?”

He couldn’t resist stroking her cheek. “No.
You didn’t do anything wrong. Just get some rest, okay?”

She nodded, and lay back down — this time on
the other side of the king-sized bed. She found his hand under the
blankets and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you, Cole.”

He rubbed his thumb over the back of her
hand, enjoying the simple contact between them. “Good night,
Savannah, sleep well.” A few moments later, her breathing became
deep and even, and he knew she’d fallen asleep. He was much too
keyed up to do the same. His erection begged for attention. And
having her soft, feminine curves right there next to him was
pressing all his buttons. He glanced at the door to the master
bath, wondering if he could slip out of bed silently and go jerk
off. But if Savannah woke up and called for him, then what? He took
a deep breath and let it out slowly, knowing he’d get no relief
tonight.

***

Cole shot up straight up in bed and cursed.
The room was dark and silent. He urged his heart to slow the fuck
down before he got up and punched something.

“Cole?” Savannah rubbed at her eyes and sat
up next to him.

Fuck. He’d forgotten about Savannah. But
apparently his subconscious hadn’t. The dreams were eerily
reminiscent of how he met her.

She placed a hand on his back, resting
between his shoulder blades. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t touch me.” He shrugged out of her
grasp. He knew trying to sleep would be pointless now that he’d
dreamed of
her
. Cole climbed out of bed. He put on gym
shorts, stripping his pajama pants in the dark, and added a
T-shirt. Savannah was up and out of bed and behind him, wrapping
her arms around his back so her hands locked together around his
waist. Her breasts rasped through the thin cotton of the T-shirt
she wore and pressed against his back.

“Dammit, Savannah.” He peeled her hands off
him and turned to face her. “Let me go.” He didn’t need her
tenderness right now. It would only make things worse once she
understood. “There are things you don’t know about me.”

They stood staring at each other in the
pre-dawn light. Her gaze registered surprise and hint of fear. He
knew she’d never seen this side of him, hadn’t even imagined it
existed. God, he wished it didn’t. But the sad truth was, he’d
fucked up big time. He just hoped she never knew the extent of it.
It struck him how little they each knew about one another, yet how
easily they’d fallen into this routine together.

He reached out and squeezed her hand to show
her that he wasn’t mad. “Just go back to bed. I’m going to the
gym.”

She glanced at the clock beside the bed. It
was four a.m., but she didn’t argue, she just nodded and climbed
back in the bed, curling up in the warmth of the spot he’d just
vacated.

“Okay, so no questions, no objections. You’re
going,” Marissa pressed.

Cole dragged the phone from his ear, blowing
out a sigh. “I don’t know, Marissa, I’ve been pretty busy with work
lately.” She didn’t need to know that he was currently on
vacation.

“Oh Colby, you’re gonna love her. I met Sali
in my yoga class. She’s gorgeous, fun. Close to your age. I really
think you’ll like her. How long’s it been since you’ve been on a
date?”

Fuck. The last thing he wanted to do as go on
some blind date, but even more than that, he didn’t want to get
Marissa pissed at him, because if he did, she was likely to come
over to give him a piece of her mind and then she’d find Savannah
here.

Marissa had been urging him to use dating
websites, but he’d adamantly refused. He’d rather get a quick lay
than have to sit and listen to a girl he wasn’t interested in
prattle on about how her last manicure was chipping after only two
days — no joke, that was the actual dinner conversation of his last
date.

But with his second to last single friend
getting married that past summer, Cole was beginning to realize it
might be time to look for a good girl. He just wasn’t good at
dating. He never seemed to meet the expectations women had. He was
forgetful, he wasn’t romantic, and he worked too much. He didn’t
know many girls that would take him the way he was, but he didn’t
want to be someone’s project. He wasn’t changing. Hell, he even
pissed Marissa off and she was family — she had to love him.

“I arranged it so that you guys could meet at
Liam’s,” Marissa said. “You’re there every weekend anyway, so
what’s the big deal?”

Marissa had a point. His best friend Liam
owned an Irish pub practically walking distance from his condo.
“Fine, I’ll go,” he muttered into the phone. Since Marissa
regularly threatened to create an online dating profile for him, he
occasionally complied to keep her off his back. “Sali, huh?”

“Yes! Okay, well I already arranged
everything. You guys are meeting two weeks from Saturday at seven
for drinks. That’s it. Simple, huh?”

“Okay.”

“Would it kill you to thank your sister?”

“Thanks, Rissa.” He rolled his eyes before
ending the call. It was still a couple weeks away, maybe he could
find a way out of it.

***

The following day, before heading to the gym,
Cole dropped Savannah off at her therapy appointment that had been
pre-scheduled by the facility coordinator. After a vigorous workout
and a quick shower, Cole was dressed and back in his SUV, headed to
pick up Savannah.

He entered the doctor’s office, took a seat
in the reception area, and began flipping through a magazine. A few
minutes later, the office door opened and Savannah emerged with
swollen eyes. Cole sprung to his feet.

The doctor stepped around Savannah towards
Cole. “Is this him?”

Savannah nodded, her eyes locked on
Cole’s.

Christ, this wasn’t good. He could get in
trouble with the Bureau for even being here with her. The doctor,
mid-forties with graying hair at his temples, strode toward Cole
and extended his hand. “I’m Doctor White, but call me Malcolm. Do
you mind if we have a word, Cole?”

Cole nodded. It was the only thing he could
do, though he was confused and on edge. What had Savannah told her
therapist about him?

As soon as they were seated in his large
office, Malcolm cut to the chase. “She told me who you were. But
don’t worry—doctor / patient confidentially and all that. Plus I
don’t care who you work for. I get the sense that you want to help
Savannah, so I wanted to offer some guidance.”

Cole leaned forward, his hands on his knees,
ready to listen to whatever the doctor had to say. It seemed that
they were on the same page. This was about Savannah.

“These sessions will help, but they’re only
once a week. Savannah needs to get into a regular routine. She
needs some semblance of normal in her life.”

Cole nodded in agreement. No shit, doc.
That’s the brilliant advice he probably charges three-hundred
dollars an hour to deliver?

“She seems to have a caring, nurturing
spirit.”

Cole recognized as much; she loved to cook
and seemed content to feed him and stay at home. But he waited,
wondering where this conversation was heading.

“She needs someone or something to care for.
Do you have pets, plants, anything?”

“Ah, no.” Cole scrubbed a hand over his
scruff.

“So it seems at the moment what she’s putting
her caring energy into is you. That concerns me.” Malcolm frowned.
“Savannah could grow quite attached at this vulnerable point in her
life. You’ll need to be careful.”

If the doc felt it necessary, he’d buy her a
plant, but he didn’t see how watering a cactus once a week would
help. Not to mention he was enjoying Savannah funneling her
nurturing energy into taking care of him. “Got any advice for me?”
Cole asked, shifting in the stiff leather chair. He didn’t like
admitting that he had no clue what he was doing, but he needed the
advice, and since Savannah had already told the doctor about him,
there was no use pretending he wasn’t involved.

Dr. Malcolm White laced his fingers in front
of his round stomach. “Watch for withdrawn or self-destructive
behaviors. She didn’t have the normal teenage experience, and even
though she’s wise beyond her years, it’s possible she could go
through a late rebellious stage — wanting to experience the typical
teenage things she missed out on.”

“Okay…” Cole wasn’t sure what he meant, but
he thought of his own rebellious years… sneaking out to go to
parties, drinking too much, getting in fights and fooling around
with girls he had no intention of dating. He couldn’t see Savannah
behaving like that. She seemed too sweet, too innocent.

“And there’s one other thing…” The doctor
swallowed and met his eyes. “She’s not ready for any type of
romantic relationship, physical or otherwise. I don’t know what
your interests in her are, but…”

Cole held up a hand, stopping him there. “I
have zero interest in starting a relationship with her. And as far
as anything physical…she’s just a kid.”

The doctor frowned. “I wouldn’t say that.
She’ll be twenty in a couple of months, more than old enough for a
relationship; I just don’t think she’s ready yet. She’s got a lot
of healing to do first.”

Cole nodded. “Listen, like I said, I’m not
interested in that with her.”

“She’s an attractive girl. I had to bring it
up.”

Cole didn’t respond. He couldn’t. His voice,
along with his self-assuredness had disappeared. The truth was he
had no idea what he was doing with Savannah. Not a clue. But he
knew one thing; he felt a compelling need to keep her safe. He’d
just have to shut off any attraction he felt for her.

He accepted a stack of self-help books from
Dr. White, unsure if they were for Savannah or him, and stalked
from the office.

“Do you mind if we turn on the TV?” Savannah
asked. “It’s just so quiet in here, and I’m used to more background
noise.”

“Sure.” Cole handed her the remote, and she
stared down at it curiously like it was some strange foreign
object. “Here.” He hit the power button, bringing the flat screen
to life.

It was turned to one of the premium channels,
which thankfully kept the programming clean during the day. He
rarely watched TV, but when he did, it was typically when he
couldn’t sleep and it was either watch the soft-core smut on this
channel, or infomercials. And a man only needed so many Shark
Vacuums and Ab Rollers.

Savannah studied the TV for a moment, wincing
at the string of curse words that ripped from the foul-mouthed
character on screen. Cole quickly changed the station. The Weather
Channel. That was a safe enough option.

Savannah smiled at him in appreciation and
headed back into the kitchen.

A short while later, she hesitated at the
threshold of the living room, a casserole dish in her hands. “I
made beef wellington, would you like some?”

She couldn’t have known that was his favorite
and his mother used to make it for him on special occasions. “You
made wellington?”

She nodded. “It’s my favorite.”

“Mine too.”

All that week Savannah had made elaborate
meals for Cole. Eggs benedict for breakfast, panini sandwiches for
lunch, that afternoon she’d baked and decorated six dozen sugar
cookies, and now it was beef wellington. She didn’t know how to
make the right portions for just two of them either, so leftovers
were stacked in both the fridge and freezer. He’d have meals for
the next year at this rate.

Malcolm’s words rang in his
head…
Savannah’s the nurturing type
…
she needs to get in a
healthy routine
… He wasn’t sure all this cooking counted as a
healthy routine. She rarely left the kitchen, and when she did, she
didn’t know what to do with herself.

Cole was still full from lunch, but he forced
down a few bites of the delicious meal, praising Savannah for her
efforts. He noticed that she barely ate any of the food she cooked,
like she was doing it solely for his benefit. He decided it was
time to act.

Cole returned an hour later, wondering if he
had made the right decision. The puppy wiggled in his arms, anxious
to get down and play.
Crap
. What if Savannah didn’t even
like dogs, or what if she was allergic? Deciding it was too late to
turn back now, Cole unlocked the door and went inside.

Not seeing Savannah, he carried the
Maltese-Poodle puppy toward her bedroom and knocked at the door.
“Savannah?”

He heard her sniffle. “Just a second.”

The puppy let out a whimper and reached out a
paw toward the door scratching to get in, like it somehow knew it’s
mother was inside. Savannah slowly opened the door. A smile
lighting up her tear-streaked face. “Cole?” She blinked, an
unspoken question forming on her lips.

“She’s for you. She’s fourteen weeks old. A
family bought her from a pet store, and then changed their mind and
dropped her off at the shelter down the road. She’s yours. If you
want her.”

“Oh, Cole.” Savannah lifted up on her toes
and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. She’s so cute.”

Cole handed the squirming thing over to
Savannah, who promptly kissed the top of its head and cradled it on
her hip like a baby. She captured his attention and held it. Cole’s
lips turned up in satisfaction as he watched the touching
sight.

There was no denying the dog was cute. She
was a whopping six pounds of fluffy cream and tan fur, with a tail
that wagged non-stop. Cole wanted to adopt a German Shepherd, or
some other manly dog, but when he saw this little thing that looked
more like a gremlin than a dog, he knew it was the one Savannah
would want. And if the way Savannah buried her face in the puppy’s
fur and murmured unintelligible baby talk to it was any indication,
he’d done the right thing. His heart squeezed in his chest — the
feeling unfamiliar and startling. But he reminded himself he’d only
done this to get her doctor off his back. Animal therapy or some
shit it was called.