Resisting Her (25 page)

Liam slapped Cole’s shoulder, resting his
hand there. “I think you’re in love with her, bro.”

Not Fucking Helpful. Why did everyone keep
saying it? Cole shrugged out of his grip and headed outside to wait
for his cab.

***

He made his way upstairs, gripping the wall
for support. He tried the door knob, found it unlocked and went
inside. Marissa and Savannah were huddled around her dining room
table. Seeing Savannah’s puffy, red eyes was like a fist to his
gut. All the air was sucked from his lungs. He’d done that to
her.

“Cole! You shouldn’t have been driving!”
Marissa screamed, jumping up to punch him on the shoulder. Neither
had any tolerance for drunk drivers after the way their parents
were taken from them.

He held up his hands in surrender. “I took a
cab, relax.” He stepped around Marissa, heading straight for
Savannah like she was a light at the end of a tunnel, his beacon in
the darkness. He’d been trying to save everyone, yet Savannah had
been the one to teach him. Her compassion, her genuine nature
continued to level him. She was all he needed. And he’d been so
wrong. She didn’t need saving —
he
did. He knew with
certainly, he’d grovel, beg, and promise her the world, if she’d
only hear him out.

Savannah watched him with guarded eyes,
drawing a shaky breath.

“We need to talk.” His voice was a coarse,
broken plea in the room.

Marissa stepped between them, her hands
planting themselves on her hips. “I don’t think that’s a good idea
right now. You’re drunk, Cole.”

Without removing his eyes from Savannah’s, he
muttered the only word he could think of. “Please.”

Savannah merely nodded and followed him back
to Marissa’s office. She sunk down into the leather office chair.
Cole leaned against the door frame, hating that he no longer had
the right to pull her into his arms. Hating that she no longer
needed him for comfort, and that he was the source of her pain.

“Savannah, I’m sorry, so sorry that I kept
Abbie from you.”

She held up her hand. “Don’t say her
name.”

Shit
. His shaky legs gave out and he
slid down the wall to sit on the floor. God, he needed to think.
How did he ask for a second chance from the girl who meant
everything to him?

“What am I supposed to do now?” Savannah
asked, brokenly. “I feel like a total fool. You humiliated me,
Cole. I thought we had something special…I had no idea you were
off…” She stopped short, sucking in a deep breath and holding it.
He could see that she was trying not to cry again. He hated himself
even more.

He looked up. Sadness blazed in her green
eyes, made all the more brilliant from her tears. “We do have
something special. Don’t give up on me, Savannah. I fucked up big
time, and I know that. I thought I was doing the right thing
continuing to see Ab-
her
, but you’re right, okay?”

A single tear escaped and rolled down her
cheek. Cole crossed the room on his knees, taking her face in his
hands and wiping away the dampness with his thumbs. “I’m so fucking
sorry, Savannah. Please don’t cry. Please, baby.” He was not above
begging if that’s what it took.

“You lied. You left every Sunday to see her
while I waited for you.”

The pain in her features crashed through him.
What if she couldn’t forgive him? He would do anything; spend his
life trying to re-earn her trust.

“I know. And I shouldn’t have kept that from
you, I was just so torn up over what to do.” His heart thumped
erratically in his chest. “But you’re the one I love,
Savannah.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re drunk. Don’t say
that.”

“I am drunk, but you think I’ve just now
realized that I love you? I started falling the moment I saw you.
Then you came home with me and even though you should have been a
mess, you were taking charge in my kitchen, cooking for me, taking
care of me when I had the flu, and the first time we made love?” He
fought off a shiver at the memory. “It’s never been like that for
me before. I’m in love with you, Savannah. Hopelessly and
completely. You own me, baby.”

Her mouth tugged into a small grin and she
swallowed. He ached to kiss her, but he didn’t know if that was
allowed. He’d never had to grovel before. He’d always been the one
to cut out on relationships, never the one seeking.

“And I explained to Abbie that we both needed
to move on. I’m not going to see her anymore. I’m yours. You own
me, Savannah. You always have.” Suddenly it seemed very fitting
that he was on his knees before her.

Two heartbeats passed and still Savannah
remained quiet, her eyes locked on his. She brought her hand to his
stubble-covered cheek and held him there. “I knew I was falling in
love with you, but then when I saw…
her…
and found out you’d
been seeing her behind my back this whole time, it destroyed
me.”

“No.” He placed his hand over hers, holding
it to his skin. “Don’t say that. I can’t handle that I hurt you.
Please let me fix it.”

“Let me finish.” She straightened her
shoulders, seeming to draw composure from the small move. “I’ve
only known you a short time, but you wedged yourself into my heart.
You became everything to me. My entire life before you fell away,
and I had the chance to be me, to become who I wanted. You helped
me, without any selfish motivation of your own. And I probably
shouldn’t, but I trust you. I’ve always trusted you, right from the
very beginning. If you say you’re done seeing her —then I believe
you. But don’t you dare break my trust again.”

He grinned, liking the strength he heard in
her voice. Seeing her growth and confidence was sexy. He brushed
her hair back from her tear-streaked face, aching to kiss her, to
take away all her pain.
Stop thinking with your dick,
asshole.
“I hate that I made you cry. I hate seeing you like
this,” he admitted, his thumb tracing gentle circles over her
cheek.

Savannah’s gaze intensified. “Even though I’d
be heartbroken without you, Cole, I wouldn’t be broken like Abbie
was. I’m not her. I don’t want you walking on eggshells around me,
or afraid to tell me things because I might not like them. If we’re
going to have a relationship, it has to be on equal footing. I want
to be your partner, not your project.”

Cole remained silent for several long
seconds, working to understand her plea. “I know you’re not her.
You’re an amazing, beautiful, strong woman who has complete command
over my heart, hell my entire body. I’ve never loved anyone like
this, Savannah. You’re everything to me, and I wanted to shield you
from all the fucked up shit from my past. I don’t want a project
either, but I am always going to be your protector. That’s just how
I’m wired, babe. I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you.”

She nodded. “Okay. I just wanted you to
understand. You can’t break me like that, so don’t hold things back
from me. If this is going to work, you have to communicate with me
— with complete honesty.”

“I can do that.” He smiled, and Savannah’s
gaze wandered to his mouth. “Babe?” he asked, leaning closer, his
own eyes flicking between hers and her lips.

“Yeah?” Her voice was just as breathless as
he felt. The effect of her so close it was dizzying,
intoxicating.

“If you want complete honesty…I need to kiss
you now.”

Savannah’s tongue dampened her bottom lip and
Cole leaned forward, sealing their mouths together in a passionate
kiss.

***

Cole’s mouth felt good. Too good. Savannah
was lost to pleasure, sensation. Her brain struggling to give up
control to her body.

A series of firm knocks rained against the
door. “Um, Cole?” Marissa’s muffled voice came from the
hallway.

Crap!

Cole lifted his head. “We’re busy,” he called
toward the door.

Savannah’s eyes darted to the door knob,
trying to remember if they’d locked it, not that she expected
Marissa to barge in or anything. But God, she couldn’t imagine
anything more embarrassing. Her jeans were around her ankles and
Cole’s face was buried…well, somewhere good.

Marissa knocked again, more insistently this
time. “I’m glad to hear you’re um…making up….and I don’t care that
you’re drunk and in my apartment. I do care, however, that you’re
fucking loud enough to wake half my building. Come on, I’m driving
you guys home,” she called.

Heat flamed in her cheeks.
Shit
. Had
she been too loud?

“Just give us a few more minutes,” Cole
growled.

Savannah moved to get up, trying to adjust
her clothes, but Cole held her in place. “Stay.”

Her eyes searched his. “We can’t…we should
go.”

He shook his head and bent to nibble on her
inner thigh. “We will. But I want to make you come first,” he
whispered. His breath rushed over her core, and a wave of dampness
surged between her legs.

“Cole…” she pleaded, brokenly.

“Shh.” He moved her panties to the side once
again so her swollen pink flesh was on full display. “Let me finish
taking care of you, then we’ll go.” His mouth covered her sensitive
flesh and, tossing all manners aside, he ate at her greedily,
licking and suckling until she was writhing again. She groaned
loudly and Cole’s hand came up and clamped down over her mouth, his
eyes watching her reaction as his mouth continued its greedy
display.

She was nearly sliding off the leather chair,
but the pressure of Cole’s face between her legs held her in place.
She should have felt embarrassed, overwhelmed by his dominance, but
instead she just felt loved. Incredibly cherished and loved. And
apparently delicious.

He focused in on her sensitive flesh, finding
a rhythm that destroyed all thoughts of Marissa waiting on the
other side of the door.

She came hard and fast, her hips lifting from
the chair, her hands fisting in Cole’s hair.

Her body shuddered with the violence of her
release and when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find
herself in Cole’s arms. He’d lifted her from the chair and was
holding her against his body, her feet dangling several inches from
the floor. He kissed her mouth, and she tasted her own arousal, and
liquor, and Cole. Her eyes drifted closed again in sated
satisfaction.

He let her slide down his body until her feet
reached the floor. Cole took her face in his hands, pressing a
final kiss to her mouth. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” It felt so good to finally
say it to him, and even better to hear him say those words.

“Can I take you home?”

Home
. The word rolled easily from his
tongue and made her feel even more complete and happy than she
thought possible.

Suddenly becoming aware of the large bulge in
his jeans, she gestured to his lap. “What about you?”

He winced as he adjusted his staining
erection. “I’ll live.”

When they got home, Cole stopped Savannah
from going inside and lifted her in his arms to carry her across
the threshold. It reminded him of the first day he’d met her. He’d
taken her in his arms then too. It’d just felt right. It still did.
There was something so familiar about her, like she was made to be
his. He carried through the darkened rooms and laid her on his
bed—their bed—and set about removing her clothes piece by piece.
His erection hadn’t gone down since their encounter in Marissa’s
office over thirty minutes ago. He knew he would need her twice
before he found relief. The first time would be hard and fast, the
second time slower and more controlled.

He slid her panties—still damp from her
earlier release—down her legs and discarded them on the floor
before moving to his own belt buckle. Savannah watched with wide
eyes as he removed every last stich of clothing between them. She
looked at his engorged cock and then at his right hand. He knew
what she wanted, and he obliged, gripping himself and stroking
lightly. She licked her lips, slowly tracing them with her tongue.
Fuck, he needed to be inside her. Like yesterday. He was already
leaking pre-come and his balls ached.

She rolled to her side, her dark hair
spilling across the pillow and reached a hand toward him, her eyes
still watching everything. She caressed his thigh, his abs,
fingernails scraping against his skin. He continued his slow lazy
strokes for his incredibly sexy audience of one. If he could get
her to touch herself for him, fuck, that would probably be his
undoing. Her hand continued lightly brushing his skin, deliciously
close to where his throbbing dick begged for her attention.

With one hand still wrapped firmly around
himself, he took her hand in his and brought it to the juncture
between her legs. Savannah’s eyes widened, but she went with it,
letting one knee drop open. Knowing how sweet she tasted, how wet
he could get her, the sexy moans she made in the back of her throat
tempted him to pleasure her again; but reading her body, he knew
she needed something more. He pressed one finger inside her,
watching his middle finger disappear to the second knuckle and he
was rewarded with a satisfied groan from Savannah. He retracted his
hand, encouraging her to take over. Savannah’s hand stilled as if
this was unexplored territory.
She’d never touched herself
before?

She took a deep breath, her chest rising, and
used her fingers to rub and explore. This moment was more
meaningful than just the two of them touching, discovering. He knew
Savannah was opening herself up to him, to everything, to life. She
was done being sheltered and feeling ashamed for what she wanted.
She wanted to feel—every little thing—all that life had to offer.
His heart surged knowing she wouldn’t hold back from him.

Watching her fingers, tipped in pink nail
polish rubbing against her tender flesh, circling that that little
nub near the top sent a rush of heat through him, producing another
drop of fluid to leak from his cock. He bit back a groan.
“Savannah…” he breathed, bending to kiss her, their mouths
desperately moving against one another in a flash of gliding wet
tongues and barely contained moans. “I need to be inside you,
baby.”