CHAPTER 25
Savannah and Cole had fallen asleep cuddled together, exhausted and spent after their love making the night before.
Cole stretched his arms over his head, his neck cracking with the effort. Savannah mumbled something in her sleep and then rolled over to find him, drawing her body tightly against his. He smoothed a hand along her hip, pulling her even closer. He was glad to see that in the sober, stark morning light, things didn’t feel awkward between them. It was the opposite, in fact. This felt incredibly natural.
Savannah sleepily smiled and nuzzled against his neck. “Morning,” she breathed against his skin.
“Morning.” He was suddenly aware that she was wearing one of his T-shirts with nothing on underneath, and that he had slept nude for the first time since Savannah had moved in. Memories of the previous night played at the edges of his mind, Savannah’s determination to please him, her tiny whimpers and flushed pink skin, the way she gripped his biceps when he sank into her. His cock stirred to life.
He traced a fingertip over her hip, pushing the T-shirt up and out of his way. Savannah trembled as the pad of his finger slowly caressed her. His hand moved down to cup her pubic bone, and she let out a groan. He rolled over, so they were facing each other in the center of the bed, the covers strewn about them, providing a warm cocoon.
He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her softly at first. Savannah, ever responsive, moaned quietly against his lips. She draped her leg across his waist, and pulled herself in tighter against his body.
“You’re not too sore, are you?”
“I don’t think so.”
She hadn’t been up and out of bed yet either, but Cole nodded. “Good.” His hand found his cock and he stroked it slowly, bumping against her thigh with each stroke. Savannah’s eyes widened and then cast down to watch his movements. She bit her lip and whimpered, her hands scrambling to join his.
Once her warm hands were stroking him, Cole brought his hands to Savannah’s face. He held her jaw and kissed her deeply, sucking her tongue into his mouth.
A sound from beyond his bedroom door captured their attention and they broke apart, breathing raggedly.
“What the f*ck?” he muttered. “Wait here.” He sprang from the bed and pulled on a pair of pajama pants before going to investigate.
Marissa was in his kitchen, fumbling with the coffee maker.
“What are you doing here?” He fumbled to tie the string on his waistband, panic rising that Marissa would know he’d slept with Savannah. But unless she’d checked the guest room and found it empty, maybe their secret was still safe.
She set the coffee to brew and turned to face him. “Liam and I both crashed here last night. Hope that’s okay. We were too tanked to drive.”
He swung around to the living room and found Liam still sleeping on his couch. Where had Marissa slept?
“We both just crashed on the couch. It was no big deal.”
Marissa didn’t know. Relief flooded his system. He didn’t even process that Liam and his sister shared a couch.
“Yeah, no problem.” He ran a hand across his hair in an attempt to smooth it down.
Savannah emerged from the bedroom, dressed in jeans and one of his sweatshirts that hung nearly to her knees.
“I was cold,” she explained at his and Marissa’s stares. Cole studied her for clues about how she felt about last night. He couldn’t believe he’d allowed things to go as far as they did. But Savannah’s smile as she flitted past him and into the kitchen calmed him ever-so-slightly. If she didn’t regret it, he wouldn’t either. Plus it was hard to regret the best sex of his life.
Cole escaped the kitchen, needing a cold shower and time to collect his thoughts.
He returned fifteen minutes later, no further along in understanding what was happening between him and Savannah. The scent of bacon frying quieted his worries for the moment.
As usual, Savannah had cooked enough to feed twenty people. She still didn’t have portion control mastered, having cooked for an entire compound of people in her past life. She arranged a platter of homemade blueberry muffins, a warming tray containing scrambled eggs, and a plate piled with crisp bacon on the center island, before turning to pour Cole’s coffee.
Cole’s gaze flashed to Marissa. Her eyes followed Savannah’s movements, watching her fuss over Cole, adding milk to his coffee, and setting his iPad on the counter next to him. And she’d been watching too when Cole had run point on morning duty, taking Cuddles outside to do her business, and then adding a scoop of food to her bowl in the kitchen. They moved about each other effortlessly, yet with obvious care and reverence.
“Cole, can I have a word?” Marissa asked.
He glanced up from his iPad, a strip of bacon halfway to his mouth, and sighed. “Sure.” His eyes travelled between Marissa and Liam’s form, stretched out on his couch, looking damn smug. He’d need to get to the bottom of that later. His sister was off-f*cking-limits and Liam should have known better. But Cole stood and followed Marissa into the laundry off the kitchen. She slid the pocket door closed behind them.
“Do I want to know what happened between you and Liam last night?”
Her lips twitched as she fought a smile. “Probably not.”
“F*ck Rissa.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “That’s not what I brought you in here to discuss.” Her hands flew to her hips. “I want to talk about what’s going on between you and Savannah.”
He shook his head. He wouldn’t go there with Marissa. He wouldn’t even go there in his own mind, and there was no point in talking about something he didn’t even understand. “Nothing to talk about. She needed a place to stay — I gave her one. You already know that. End of story.”
“Cole, you’ve never been good at relationships.”
“Exactly. So when are you going to stop trying to set me up?”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
He waited impatiently, tapping a bare foot against the wood floor.
“You can’t deny that you’re different with Savannah. You’re in tune with her emotions, her needs. I’ve never seen you like this.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but found himself speechless. He couldn’t deny he was in tune with Savannah; he knew her body’s yearnings, read her emotions better than his own. But it was only because she was in his care, and he took that responsibility seriously. Perhaps he’d softened these past few years watching his friends get married and have babies. And then having Savannah in his life had pushed him over the edge. He drew a deep breath. “Listen, Savannah has a job now, and she’s saving up for her own apartment. I’m helping her out, sure, but this is a temporary situation between us.” Even as he said the words, part of him hoped they weren’t true.
Marissa frowned and shook her head. “That’s what I was afraid of.” She patted his chest. “You, my brother, are an idiot.”
Cole remained speechless in the center of the laundry room as Marissa opened the door and strolled away. He shook his head and followed her back to the kitchen.