A shrill voice shattered the moment. “How dare you!” A beautiful woman marched up to Hollie and John, swung her hand, and slapped John.
The gorgeous woman slapped John so hard his head turned to the side. She had a furious expression on her heart-shaped face while her vivid blue eyes sparked with fire. Her perfectly proportioned body was rigid with anger. Even angry she was beautiful.
A sickness settled in Hollie’s belly as she watched the interaction, too stunned to think clearly as everything happened so fast.
John slowly turned to face the woman and she raised her hand, prepared to strike again. He let go of Hollie and snapped his arm up in time to catch the woman by her wrist before she could slap him a second time.
“Nadia.” He said her name calmly as he held her wrist, but there was anger in his eyes. “This isn’t the place or the time to have a discussion.”
The nape of Hollie’s neck prickled as she stared from John to the woman, whose face flushed with an expression that bordered on rage.
“How dare you?” the woman screeched as she jerked her wrist away from John’s grip. “You think you can just fuck me and drop me?”
“Nadia, I’ve already discussed this with you.” His tone was even but there was an edge to his voice. “It’s over.”
Nadia gave a scathing look as her gaze raked Hollie from head to toe. “Don’t tell me this fat bitch is who you’ve been screwing around with.”
Heat burned Hollie’s face. Nadia’s cruel words hurt like a punch to the gut.
John’s expression hardened as he stared down Nadia. “You need to walk away.”
Tingles erupted at the base of Hollie’s skull. She knew she should walk away from this conversation, but she couldn’t move.
“Please, John. Come back to me.” Nadia suddenly turned to pleading. “What we had was good.”
“There was never anything serious between us,” he stated. “End of discussion.”
Nadia’s voice was so shrill this time that Hollie flinched. “You think you can treat me like dirt and get away with it?”
“We’re going to leave now,” John said firmly. “Goodbye, Nadia.”
Hollie’s legs still wouldn’t move as every one of the woman’s words echoed in her mind. John took Hollie by the hand, tugged her in the direction of the arts festival’s parking lot, and her legs started to work again. She walked numbly at his side as Nadia continued to screech behind them. The words ceased to make sense at all.
Everything in her mind was jumbled. Her feelings of unworthiness were scrambled in her brain. Her brothers’ cruel remarks and how they had always torn her down kept slamming into her brain. The fact that she was now called the “Killer Kindergarten Teacher” only made her feel even more unworthy. John was hard but handsome, stern yet kind. Why would he want to burden himself with her?
Nadia’s shrieks suddenly cut off as Hollie and John reached his truck. He helped her into the passenger side. She wanted to shrug him off but let him open the door and boost her onto the running board and into her seat. She kept seeing the beautiful woman with her perfect body and features, and her flowing long blonde hair. Next to Nadia, Hollie felt frumpy, fat, and unattractive. How could John see anything in Hollie?
Once he’d come around to the driver’s side and climbed in, he shut the door behind him. Without a word, he jabbed the keys into the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. They rode in silence. Her mind was so full of doubt that she didn’t even notice where he driving until he pulled out onto a lookout point with a view that would have been stunning if she wasn’t feeling so sick inside.
He parked and shut off the engine and sat staring straight ahead. His silence only made her feel even worse. After a few moments, he climbed out of the truck, shut the door hard behind him, and came around to the passenger side. She didn’t want to get out, but when he opened the door she ignored his hand and climbed down.
They walked to the ropes that kept sightseers from going any further. John hitched his hip against one post, his arms folded across his chest. Hollie looked away from him and stared at the view without really seeing it. A breeze teased her hair and blew it across her face. She pushed it away and tucked the strands behind her ears.
From her side vision she saw him rub the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger before looking at her.
“When I told Nadia there was never anything serious between her and me, that was the truth,” he finally said.
Hollie swallowed past the ache in her throat. “It’s none of my business.”
“I don’t date in Prescott. Not until you, that is.” He let out his breath. “I’ve seen women in Flagstaff and Sedona. Nadia lives here in the Sedona area, and I dated her off and on for the past six months. I broke it off recently.”
Hollie could think of nothing to say.
“I’ve never dated seriously,” John continued. “Not since Nancy Kennedy in high school.” He gave a rueful expression. “That’s an entirely different story, which obviously happened many years ago.” He paused. “I’ve always treated women with respect, but I never found that special someone who I knew was worth the effort for forever.”
Hollie’s eyes burned. He didn’t date seriously. What she had secretly wished for was vanishing in the wind. Then her thoughts turned to how messed up her life was, the fact that she wasn’t beautiful like Nadia… She wouldn’t blame him for not dating her for something more than casual.
John took her by the upper arms, turned her to face him, and forced her to look at him. “I didn’t date anyone seriously because it was never right. Not until you.”
Her stomach flip-flopped. What was he saying?
“You’ve changed everything.” John gripped her upper arms more tightly. “Everything. You are the right one.”
For one moment she wanted to throw her arms around him and let him hold her. His words were everything she could have hoped for.
No, it wasn’t the right thing to do. She paused then shook her head. “I’m not the one for you.” His forehead wrinkled and he frowned as she spoke. “With what’s going on in my life, with how messed up everything is, we shouldn’t be dating at all. I might be sent away for the rest of my life.”
Frustration crossed his features. “I’ve told you that I’m going to save you, Hollie. You have got to trust me.”
“There are no guarantees that you’ll be able to.” Words caught in her throat for a moment. “My life is royally screwed up right now. I’m screwed up. You don’t need that.”
A flash of anger in his eyes caught her off guard. “You are not screwed up. You’ve been stuck in a bad situation that isn’t of your making and isn’t your fault.”
“I—it’s not a good idea,” she started.
He cut her off. “I told you that you have to trust me to save you, because I will. That’s all there is to it.” His grip still on her upper arms, he brought her roughly to him. “You are mine, Hollie. I will never let anything happen to you.”
She gasped as he brought his mouth down hard on hers. He seemed to put everything into the kiss—anger, frustration, but power and dominance, too. It was as if he was making a statement, enforcing the fact that he thought she belonged to him.
He wouldn’t break away from the kiss until she fell into it, giving herself up, surrendering to him. She returned his kiss with passion that matched his. Whatever happened, they had this moment, this time together, and that might have to be enough.
She was breathless when they broke apart and he took both her hands in his. “Come on. I’ve been planning on taking you out to dinner.” He walked with her back to the truck and helped her into the passenger side. “There’s a great little Mexican place just up the road.”
“Sounds great.” She gave him a smile before he closed the door behind her.
The restaurant wasn’t far. It was a fifteen-minute wait to be seated, so they sat on a bench just inside the door and talked about the things they’d seen at the art fair. It was safe conversation and neither one of them brought up what had happened with Nadia. That subject was closed, at least for now. He also seemed to understand the need to not bring up anything stressful that was happening in her life right now—her brothers and the possibility of going to prison at the top of the list.
Twenty-minutes later they were seated and looking at the drink menu together. John ordered the house margarita while Hollie picked out the prickly pear margarita, before studying the dinner menus. Hollie decided on the beef burrito plate with rice and black beans while John went with an enchilada-style chimichanga, rice, and refried beans.
The server delivered the margaritas and Hollie’s eyes widened at how huge they were. While they waited for their food, she sipped her margarita and felt herself loosen up and become more relaxed. “What was it like growing up in a houseful of boys?” she asked, figuring that was a safe topic.
John shook his head. “If you’d ask Angel, she’d probably say trouble. I mentioned before that we’re all competitive, and that led to a little animosity at times. For the most part we got along, but sometimes it was Mike and I against Reese and Garrett. We’d side up and have ourselves a war.”
“Didn’t you all get along?” Hollie studied him. “I thought you did.”
“When we weren’t trying to outdo each other.” The corner of John’s mouth quirked. “I think we recognized that we’re all good guys—that just didn’t mean we got along all the time. No one was ever malicious or underhanded. We were just a bunch of boys hell-bent on getting into whatever trouble we could.”
Hollie raised her eyebrows. “What kinds of things did you do?”
John shrugged. “Playing tricks, trying to outdo the others, attempting to get each other into trouble with Dad and Angel. All in all it was mostly harmless, but we gave Angel and Dad more than a few gray hairs.”
“I was an only child when Mom died.” Hollie didn’t want to talk about what had happened after. “From what I’ve been told, I was a precocious child, but for the most part a good girl. My mom taught me to act like a lady from a young age.”
“And you certainly are.” John held her gaze. “A lady through and through.”
Holly felt a blush redden her cheeks. “Thank you. That would make Mom happy to hear.”
The Mexican restaurant was busy and it took some time before they were served. It was decorated for the holidays, adding to the festive feeling of the place. As they waited, they talked about their lives, Hollie always steering clear of the things that weren’t good, and John didn’t push her.
She felt a sense of pride as she talked to him about her kindergarteners and how they were doing with learning to write their names and the more complicated task of memorizing their phone numbers. They were learning to read simple stories and writing the alphabet. Because they were kindergarteners, it was more about the basics, but they were smart kids and most learned quickly. Arts and crafts projects were the most fun to do with the children.
“It’s always fun to see what the kids come up with,” Hollie said with a smile.
Dinner was excellent and the huge prickly pear margarita had given her a nice, mellow feeling. They took their time and it was late afternoon by the time they left the restaurant and headed to the resort. It seemed like forever since the incident with Nadia, as if it was a memory from long ago.
As they left the restaurant, John put his arm around her shoulders and she smiled at him before they walked out into the chilly day.
The stunning views of the luxury resort stole Hollie’s breath away. Tucked away in the forest, the resort was set at the doorway to the secluded Boynton Canyon, surrounded by red-rock canyons that inspired the mind and soul.
Once John and Hollie had registered at the resort’s front desk, they went to their casita, John carrying the bags. The casita was lovely with rich earth colors and Native American décor. He set the bags on the king-sized bed, as she went to the sliding glass door that led to the patio. She stepped past the patio furniture and braced her hands on the railing, her lips parted as she took in the scenery.
John came up beside her and she tilted her chin to meet his gaze. “This is incredible.” She looked back to the majestic scenery. “I can feel the energy here, yet a calm peacefulness too.”
He braced his forearms on the patio enclosure and looked at all that surrounded them. “I thought you’d enjoy it.”
She smiled. “I love it. Thank you for bringing me here. I’m going to be utterly spoiled after staying at this place.”
He shifted so that he was standing closer to her. He slid his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head. “You deserve to be pampered and spoiled.” He lowered his head and captured her mouth with his.
She gave a soft sigh into his mouth and returned his kiss. Her mind felt like it was spinning, enhanced by the spiritual energy surrounding her. She gripped his biceps, clinging to him so that her knees wouldn’t give out on her.
When he drew away from her, she felt almost naked from the loss of contact. He cupped her face in both of his hands. “You are a stunning woman, Hollie.”
His words caught her off guard. He thought she was stunning?
He looked like he was going to say something else when his phone rang. He released her. “I’ve been waiting for a call from my stepbrother, Garrett, the PI. I hope you don’t mind if I take this.”
She smiled. “Of course not.”
He withdrew his phone from the holster on his belt. When he looked at the screen, he said aloud. “It is Garrett.” He pressed “answer” on the screen and brought the phone to his ear. “What do you have for me?”
He listened. “Good,” he said after a long moment. “Let me know when you have more.”
After he’d pressed “end”, he tucked away the cell phone then turned to face Hollie. He grasped her around the waist and brought her firmly up against his rock-hard body. She felt his heat through her clothes, his erection against her belly. But more than that, she felt his possessiveness, his desire to make sure that she knew he was putting his stamp on her.
A delicious feeling ran through her body that made her skin feel as if liquid fire was sliding over her from head to toe.