Free Resisting Her by Kendall Ryan

were only a few inches from his. The
desire to kiss her was an overwhelming need, sucking the air from
his lungs. His breathing became shallow and he nodded, still
meeting her eyes.
    She smiled softly and rose to her feet,
leaving Cole sitting on his living room rug alone. After shaking
away the crazy thoughts in his head, everything from a fierce surge
of protectiveness to attraction, he got up and joined Savannah in
the kitchen.
    He sat perched on a stool while she began
dinner. As she cooked, Savannah asked about his day at work. He
told her about his new case, investigating a man who was believed
to be working with a known terrorist. She listened in rapt interest
as she sautéed chicken and vegetables for stir fry. He couldn’t
help but notice how comfortable it felt to come home to Savannah at
night, rather than his empty apartment. And a hot meal too? He knew
he could get used to this — and that was bad, very bad.
    ***
    Gasping for air, Savannah untangled herself
from the sheets and fought to get her breathing under control. It
was just a dream. Dillon wasn’t there. Jacob was gone. And she was
safe. Tell that to her heart, currently thundering in her chest
like she’d just sprinted a marathon.
    “Savannah? What is it?” Cole sat up in bed,
running a hand across his face.
    “Sorry, nothing. Just a bad dream,” she
mumbled. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
    Cole reached over and flicked on the small
bedside lamp. Savannah blinked against the warm glow, finding
Cole’s features etched in concern and his hair rumpled from
sleep.
    Placing his warm palm on the center of her
back, he rubbed slow circles, working to calm her. Savannah drew a
slow shuddering breath and attempted a smile, trying to show him
she wasn’t as broken as she felt.
    “What was the dream about?” he asked, his
voice thick with sleep.
    Blinking a few times, her eyes adjusted to
the light and Savannah took notice of Cole’s shirtless form. His
broad bare chest was enough of a distraction, and she focused on
him instead of the memories swirling in her head. “It was just
something that happened a few weeks before the raid. Dillon sat me
down and explained that his father had promised him that I could be
his. That was why he needed to go away and work, to save up money
for our future.”
    Cole’s brow wrinkled and his hand stilled on
her back. “What do you mean promised you could be his ?”
    Savannah shrugged. She knew she didn’t want
to belong to anyone. She wanted to be her own woman, and be loved
and cherished in her own right, but free to come and go, make her
own choices. Living with Jacob, or Dillon for that matter, that
wasn’t possible. Which was why she was so grateful for Cole. She
kept most of these somber memories to herself, preferring instead
to focus on the good things — like the children and the few friends
she’d had there. But she couldn’t control her subconscious, and
dreams of Jacob’s crazy rants and Dillon urgings needed to
stop.
    “Can you just hold me tonight?” she whispered
to Cole.
    His expression was guarded, but he nodded his
consent and held open his arms. Savannah crawled closer, nestled
herself into the crook of his arm and he lowered them both to the
bed, reaching over to flip off the light. Savannah breathed in his
warm, male scent and rested her head against the firm plane of his
chest. As crazy as it was, she felt completely safe and at ease
with Cole. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, slipping
into a restful sleep in Cole’s solid embrace.
    ***
    That Sunday Cole got changed and readied
himself for a tough conversation. He ventured to the living room
and found Savannah on the sofa, little magazine clippings on the
coffee table in front of her like she was in the middle of some
project.
    “I have this thing I do on Sundays,” he
started.
    Savannah looked up him curiously, Cuddles
dozing near her hip. “Okay.” She turned back to her magazine
cutouts — pictures of puppies and