Savannah’s tortured gaze caught his in the moonlight. “Are you mad at me?”
He couldn’t resist stroking her cheek. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. Just get some rest, okay?”
She nodded, and lay back down — this time on the other side of the king-sized bed. She found his hand under the blankets and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you, Cole.”
He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, enjoying the simple contact between them. “Good night, Savannah, sleep well.” A few moments later, her breathing became deep and even, and he knew she’d fallen asleep. He was much too keyed up to do the same. His erection begged for attention. And having her soft, feminine curves right there next to him was pressing all his buttons. He glanced at the door to the master bath, wondering if he could slip out of bed silently and go jerk off. But if Savannah woke up and called for him, then what? He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, knowing he’d get no relief tonight.
***
Cole shot up straight up in bed and cursed. The room was dark and silent. He urged his heart to slow the f**k down before he got up and punched something.
“Cole?” Savannah rubbed at her eyes and sat up next to him.
Fuck. He’d forgotten about Savannah. But apparently his subconscious hadn’t. The dreams were eerily reminiscent of how he met her.
She placed a hand on his back, resting between his shoulder blades. “Are you okay?”
“Don’t touch me.” He shrugged out of her grasp. He knew trying to sleep would be pointless now that he’d dreamed of her. Cole climbed out of bed. He put on gym shorts, stripping his pajama pants in the dark, and added a T-shirt. Savannah was up and out of bed and behind him, wrapping her arms around his back so her hands locked together around his waist. Her br**sts rasped through the thin cotton of the T-shirt she wore and pressed against his back.
“Dammit, Savannah.” He peeled her hands off him and turned to face her. “Let me go.” He didn’t need her tenderness right now. It would only make things worse once she understood. “There are things you don’t know about me.”
They stood staring at each other in the pre-dawn light. Her gaze registered surprise and hint of fear. He knew she’d never seen this side of him, hadn’t even imagined it existed. God, he wished it didn’t. But the sad truth was, he’d f**ked up big time. He just hoped she never knew the extent of it. It struck him how little they each knew about one another, yet how easily they’d fallen into this routine together.
He reached out and squeezed her hand to show her that he wasn’t mad. “Just go back to bed. I’m going to the gym.”
She glanced at the clock beside the bed. It was four a.m., but she didn’t argue, she just nodded and climbed back in the bed, curling up in the warmth of the spot he’d just vacated.
Chapter 8
“Okay, so no questions, no objections. You’re going,” Marissa pressed.
Cole dragged the phone from his ear, blowing out a sigh. “I don’t know, Marissa, I’ve been pretty busy with work lately.” She didn’t need to know that he was currently on vacation.
“Oh Colby, you’re gonna love her. I met Sali in my yoga class. She’s gorgeous, fun. Close to your age. I really think you’ll like her. How long’s it been since you’ve been on a date?”
Fuck. The last thing he wanted to do as go on some blind date, but even more than that, he didn’t want to get Marissa pissed at him, because if he did, she was likely to come over to give him a piece of her mind and then she’d find Savannah here.
Marissa had been urging him to use dating websites, but he’d adamantly refused. He’d rather get a quick lay than have to sit and listen to a girl he wasn’t interested in prattle on about how her last manicure was chipping after only two days — no joke, that was the actual dinner conversation of his last date.
But with his second to last single friend getting married that past summer, Cole was beginning to realize it might be time to look for a good girl. He just wasn’t good at dating. He never seemed to meet the expectations women had. He was forgetful, he wasn’t romantic, and he worked too much. He didn’t know many girls that would take him the way he was, but he didn’t want to be someone’s project. He wasn’t changing. Hell, he even pissed Marissa off and she was family — she had to love him.
“I arranged it so that you guys could meet at Liam’s,” Marissa said. “You’re there every weekend anyway, so what’s the big deal?”
Marissa had a point. His best friend Liam owned an Irish pub practically walking distance from his condo. “Fine, I’ll go,” he muttered into the phone. Since Marissa regularly threatened to create an online dating profile for him, he occasionally complied to keep her off his back. “Sali, huh?”
“Yes! Okay, well I already arranged everything. You guys are meeting two weeks from Saturday at seven for drinks. That’s it. Simple, huh?”
“Okay.”
“Would it kill you to thank your sister?”
“Thanks, Rissa.” He rolled his eyes before ending the call. It was still a couple weeks away, maybe he could find a way out of it.
***
The following day, before heading to the gym, Cole dropped Savannah off at her therapy appointment that had been pre-scheduled by the facility coordinator. After a vigorous workout and a quick shower, Cole was dressed and back in his SUV, headed to pick up Savannah.