Resisting Her. Kendall Ryan

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СКАЧАТЬ he repeated.

      Without waiting for her to respond, Cole slammed his gearshift into park and hopped out, crossing the front of the SUV to stand before her.

      He lifted her chin, inspecting her face and neck for marks, and gripped her upper arms to turn her in a circle, looking her over completely. She appeared unharmed, so he didn’t understand why she was crying. ‘What happened?’

      She swallowed and looked down at the sidewalk between their feet.

      ‘Hey.’ He brushed her hand with his. ‘You remember me, right?’

      She met his eyes and gave him a hesitant nod. ‘What’s your name?’ she asked, a nervous hitch in her voice.

      ‘Colby Fletcher.’ He offered her his hand, and she slipped her delicate fingers into his palm.

      ‘Colby,’ she repeated in barely a whisper.

      ‘You can call me Cole. Everyone else does. Or Fletcher, or Fletch. You know, whatever…’

      She grinned, more with her eyes than her mouth. His babbling had apparently scored some points.

      ‘Now tell me what’s wrong,’ he pushed. He didn’t mean for it to come out as a command, but he needed to know what had happened to her, manners aside.

      ‘I went for a walk and got lost,’ she said simply.

      Cole nearly sagged in relief. Thank fuck. That, he could fix. God, if something had happened to her, he didn’t think he could’ve handled it. Not with the worry that’d been churning in his gut the last several days. ‘Come on, I can drive you back.’ He turned for the driver’s side again, but Savannah remained rooted to the sidewalk. He returned to the spot where she stood and spoke to her in hushed tones. ‘You can trust me, okay?’

      Her eyes flashed to his. He’d forgotten how green they were. She squinted and blinked several times, as if she was deciding. It was cute. Without another word, Savannah opened the passenger door and climbed inside.

      Cole’s skin tingled, hyper-aware of just how close she was. She wore a pair of baggy jeans, torn at one knee and a long sleeved thermal tee, but the ill-fitting attire did nothing to temper the desire he felt. He gripped the steering wheel tighter, his hands itching to fold her body against his own. Shit, his libido was out of control when it came to this girl. Maybe he really did need a vacation. Somewhere with sand and lots of women in bikinis. Somewhere the hell away from Savannah.

      Neither spoke during the short ride back to the halfway house. Cole stopped in front of the two-story, pale gray house flaking in paint. Both his and Savannah’s attention was captured by a group of guys sitting on the wide front porch, arguing loudly.

      Savannah fiddled nervously with the door handle, but made no move to exit the car.

      ‘Listen, I don’t have to take you back right away…we could grab a cup of coffee.’

      Relief washed over her face. ‘Yes.’

      There was no way he was sending her back inside that house just yet.

      Over steaming mugs of coffee at a nearby café, Cole attempted small talk, but mostly they sat in comfortable silence. Savannah seemed distracted and somber. He wondered if she was counting down the minutes until she had to go back to that house, and dreading it just as much as he was. ‘Do you have any family you can stay with?’ he asked finally.

      A deep searing gaze communicated her need. Cole’s worst assumptions were proven correct — she was all alone. She swallowed and shook her head. ‘My mom passed away when I was fifteen, and I never met my father. I suppose I could find one of the women from Jacob’s group, but I don’t know…’

      ‘Are you hungry? Have you eaten? We could get you something.’ Cole couldn’t stop himself from peppering her with questions.

      She kept her gaze cast down and shook her head. ‘I’m fine.’ Savannah sat quietly in her seat, her thin fingers wound tightly around the coffee mug.

      Cole wished there was something more he could do for her. He wasn’t sure what to say, how to help, so he sat silently across from her sipping his coffee.

      By the time they reached the house again, darkness had blanketed the sky. Cole shifted into park, turning off the engine. ‘I’ll walk you inside.’

      The house itself was large, but poorly maintained. The furniture was old and unmatched, the beige carpet stained and threadbare. Cole didn’t see much of the first floor, beyond a dingy living room, before she led him upstairs. There were several closed doors along the long hallway. Savannah stopped at the second door on the right. The key fumbled between her fingers, clanking against the wooden door. After three failed attempts to unlock it, Cole removed it from her trembling hand, and deftly opened the door.

      The first thing he noticed was the odor—the room smelled like wet gym socks. Savannah flipped on the light and took several steps into the room. A single narrow cot on the floor and a chair in the corner containing stray articles of clothing were the only furnishings.

      Fuck. He couldn’t just leave her here, could he?

      Savannah stepped in closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and tucking her head under his chin. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

      Her eagerness at physical contact surprised him, but he only hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around her. Cole patted her back, hating that his attempts at soothing her were clumsy and awkward. He’d never been good at this kind of thing: emotions, touchy-feely crap. Maybe his presence would be enough to calm her. And although he didn’t know how to show it, he felt protective. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. If anyone so much as looked at her the wrong way, Cole would knock them on their ass. He held her for several long minutes until the beating of her heart slowed to normal, and she backed out of his arms.

      Their eyes flashed to one another’s at the sounds of an argument going on in the next room. Angry voices carried through the thin walls. Another argument. Cole and Savannah exchanged glances.

      ‘Are you sure you’ll be okay?’

      She nodded, looking solemn.

      ‘Here’s my card.’ He fished the card from his wallet and placed it in her trembling hand. ‘Call me if you need anything.’

      Savannah remained silent, glancing at the card, running her thumb along the raised lettering.

      ‘Lock your door when I leave, okay?’

      She nodded tightly, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth, as if there was something more she wanted to say, but stopped herself.

      Cole left reluctantly He knew it was getting late, and as much as it pained him to leave her, he couldn’t put it off any longer. He was sure he was crossing some sort of professional line even being here. He waited outside the door until he heard the lock slide into place, the sound not nearly as reassuring as he would have hoped.

      Once he was outside, Cole took a deep breath and scrubbed his hands across his face. The cooling blast of autumn air filled his lungs, but did nothing to return him to his senses. He climbed inside his truck and gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were white, trying to will himself to СКАЧАТЬ