“It’s a room my mother designed when my father would work long hours and the house became too busy. She’d lock herself in here for hours, losing herself in her stories.” He smiles, remembering curling up in a ball next to her as she readMoby Dickto him.
“Here we are.” He opens a door and helps her through.
She looks baffled that part of her wall is actually a door.
“Can I access that passageway from in here?” she asks, eyeing the door as he shuts it behind them.
“Yes,” is all he offers her, and she doesn’t press for more information.
He sits her on the bed and calls for Abigail to come up. He feels her mood change as she looks around her room and her arms wrap around her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” he asks as he kneels in front of her.
“I just feel—” Her dark eyes stare into his. “In your room, I feel—” She stumbles again.
“Safe?” he asks, hoping he isn’t wrong.
She nods and drops her head.
He brushes her hair behind one shoulder. “8986,” he whispers.
She looks up at him, puzzled.
“You pull back the panel there where the door meets the wood. The code is 8986. 8987 is the code for my door, if you’re feeling scared.”
Her eyes soften, and she wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him to her.
His body doesn’t think twice about wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck.Oh, God, she smells amazing.
She rests her head on his shoulder. “Sorry.” She smiles against him. “I must smell terrible.”
“No.” His voice is hoarse.
She pushes herself back with both hands on his shoulders to stabilize herself. He is still wedged between her legs, but she doesn’t seem to care. Her eyes flicker down to his lips. He wants her to make the first move, not sure how fragile she might be with all that has happened to her.
God help him, he is losing his control. If he just moves forward a few inches, he’ll be where he wants to be. He watches as her tongue licks her bottom lip, and he moans.
“Cole, I’ve never felt—”
“Here I am, Savannah!” Abigail bursts into the room and halts mid-step when she sees the two of them. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Savannah drops her hands and shifts back on the bed. Cole closes his eyes, silently cursing their intruder.
“I’ll see you in a bit, Savi, ahh…after you’ve had a chance to clean up and get a bit more rest.”
“Thanks.”