Free Connor (The Kendall Family Series Book 2) by Randi Everheart Page B

than exhausted physically, and just wanted to sit in peace with her man, breathing in his musky scent through his shirt.
    Giving a formal statement at the Comus police station had taken forever. They’d snapped photos of Sophia’s bruised knuckle, another bruise on her arm, and documented the small bump on her head from the refrigerator. Connor’s thoughtfulness in getting the blood out of her shirt had ruined most of that evidence, but Sheriff Ryan had seen the blood on her kitchen floor; it would tie one attacker to the scene.
    When asked who else might’ve helped Seth, Sophia hadn’t known who to suggest, so a look into his known associates was underway. It didn’t surprise her when Ryan’s background check revealed a few prior arrests for Seth, who at the very least was about to have his third-strike conviction. The police came and towed her car away to process it, and Tristan volunteered to stop by her mother’s house every day and take care of the cat, who’d come away from the incident unscathed.
    Sophia and Connor had been sitting together a while when he realized she’d dozed off. He squeezed her hand, feeling affectionate, and let her sleep. The sweet, innocent snuggling felt so at odds with the terrible events that had brought them together. He swore that this was her future, not the sickening one Seth had in mind.
    Sophia groggily came awake as Kris finished preparing dinner, the smell of fresh rolls, ham, and sweet potatoes making her stomach growl. The increasingly familiar scent of Connor stirred her arousal and she snuggled her nose against his shoulder, peeping up through her lashes to see him smiling into her eyes. She almost wondered if she was still dreaming. She felt surprisingly refreshed and could get used to all of this pretty quickly.
    “Hi,” he quietly said.
    “Hi,” she replied. With one hand, she squeezed his warm thigh, where the blond hairs tickled her fingers. She slid her hand up, touching the soft bulge under the shorts as if by accident before settling her hand on his belly, her eyes going to his lips. Connor’s pulse raced and he leaned down, brushing his lips across hers. She leaned up into his mouth and their lips tenderly but firmly pressed together. A sense of well-being and comfort radiated throughout their bodies down to their toes, which wiggled involuntarily as if luxuriating in pleasure. Neither heard Kris’s discreet coughing to get their attention, much less her calling them to eat.
    Eventually, before the food got too cold, they joined Riley and Kris for a slow dinner. His Harley and her car sat out front to get the point across to any passersby that Sophia and Connor were not alone, if Seth figured out Sophia was here. The siblings would be staying the night. The Marine had done a perimeter sweep outside, finding nothing out of the ordinary.
    Sophia’s age had been revealed to the Kendalls at the police station but none of them cared and let her drink the white wine they were having. She seemed responsible enough, and if she was old enough for the crap she’d endured the last day, she was old enough to have earned a drink or two. Kris and Riley kept up a steady stream of stories about Connor, some embarrassing, others funny, but most painting an endearing picture. Then they watched The Princess Bride , Connor and Sophia feeding each other popcorn and feeling like they were on a chaperoned date but not minding. The simple pleasures that evening were a nice change from the heavy emotions of the day. With the movie over, they set the alarm and went upstairs for bed, Riley and Kris taking rooms at the other end of the house from theirs, after Riley left Sophia’s suitcases in the hall.
    When Connor brought Sophia and her belongings to the hall’s end, his bedroom on one side, hers on the other, she stopped and looked at him. “Where should we put my things?”
    Catching her meaning, Connor’s breath stuck in his throat, but he said only, “Wherever you’re