Resisting Her by Kendall Ryan Read Free Book Online

he
stalked from the kitchen. He grabbed a T-shirt and threw it on
before sitting down at the breakfast bar. Savannah slid a stack of
pancakes in front of him.
    “Thanks.” He cast a quick glance up at her.
He didn’t realize having this beautiful young woman in his home
would affect him like this. He was a professional. He shouldn’t be
affected by her.
    He watched her move through the apartment,
bending at the waist to collect the pile of mail he’d left by his
arm chair, shuffling into the kitchen to arrange it on the counter
and biting her lip as she studied a spot on the counter before
wiping it away. Her lips were full and pink and he found himself
wondering what they’d taste like before quickly pushing the thought
away.
    As she stood at the kitchen counter, Cole
appraised her profile. Small but perky chest, dark hair curling
around her shoulders, a flat stomach, and a nice shapely ass. He
appreciated a fine ripe ass and getting that rounded backside in
his palms played through his mind like a song on repeat, no matter
how many times he reminded himself it wasn’t happening.
    The tiny cut on her lower lip had healed
quickly, just the faintest line of pink visible if you were looking
for it. Savannah looked up and met his eyes, her mouth dropping
open in an unspoken question.
    He needed to stop staring at her mouth or she
was going to get the wrong idea. He didn’t bring her here for any
sinister purpose. He wasn’t expecting anything in return for
letting her stay.
    He found his voice. “Come sit down and eat
with me.”
    Savannah obeyed, carrying an extra plate and
set of silverware over the breakfast bar to join him.
    She helped herself to a few pancakes from the
platter stacked high between them. Cole was glad to see that she
didn’t seem overly self-conscious or shy.
    She cut her pancakes into little pieces but
still hadn’t taken a bite.
    “How are you doing this morning?” he asked,
trying his best at playing a nurturing role, something new for
him.
    She swallowed heavily and gazed over at him.
“Is it stupid that I miss it there?”
    The compound? He supposed it was all she
knew. “No, I guess not. They were the only family you had.”
    She nodded. “There are some things I won’t
miss.”
    He left her alone to her thoughts, fighting
the urge to push her for details. He appreciated her personality —
she didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with pointless
chatter. She was more observer of the world than outright
contributor, and he could relate. He approached most things with a
healthy dose of suspicion, and relationships for him were no
different. They were each still feeling each other out, each on
guard, but for likely different reasons. She was a vulnerable
shell-shocked girl in a stranger’s home, and he was a hardened FBI
agent who’d experienced more than his fair share of loss. He rubbed
a hand along the back of his neck. Christ, what a pair.
    After a few seconds of quietly picking at her
thumbnail, she asked, “Do you think anyone from the compound could
find me here?”
    He doubted that’d be possible. She was
supposed to be at the halfway house. Though if someone was
interested enough and started poking around, the facility
coordinator may remember Cole and she could be tracked down through
him, but why would anyone bother?
    “Why are you asking?”
    “There was someone…”
    “Someone what?”
    She looked down, once again becoming
fascinated with her thumbnail.
    “Answer me.” He didn’t intend the brute force
behind his voice.
    “Jacob’s son.”
    Cole racked his brain. The file mentioned
that Jacob had a twenty-one year old son, Dillon, but he hadn’t
been living at the compound at the time of the raid. “Dillon.”
    She nodded.
    “Is he dangerous?”
    “No, nothing like that.” She hesitated for a
beat, but before Cole could probe again, she released a sigh and
continued. Dillon had lived at the compound up until last year.
He’d gone away to look for a