Kelley was telling a story about her new partner that made all the girls giggle, including Hollie, but her laughter died away when she felt a prickling at the nape of her neck. For one moment she was afraid one of her stepbrothers was behind her, but when she turned to glance over her shoulder, she was grateful she didn’t see any of them.
What she did find was John McBride—and he was looking right at her.
Heat traveled through her from head to toe when he smiled at her. She returned his smile as the warmth pooled in her belly where she felt butterflies take flight.
His muscular body was clad in a black western shirt along with snug Wranglers, black boots, and a black Stetson. He was supposed to be the good guy in uniform, but he sure pulled off the bad boy look in his black hat.
He looked so sexy that she felt the flutter rise from her belly to her chest. He was a hard man, she knew that, but at that moment his edges seemed a little less rough, his demeanor a little softer than normal.
She thought her heart would stop when he walked toward her table. All noise seemed to vanish and all she could think about was the man who was coming closer and closer.
When he reached the table, he held her gaze. “How are you tonight, Teacher?”
She smiled at his teasing tone. “Quite well, thank you. And how are you, Lieutenant?”
“Getting better by the minute.” His smile was warm and sexy and she felt another thrill run through her. He turned his gaze to her friends. “Hello, ladies.”
Kelley gave him a quick grin. “Since when did you become such a gentleman, John?” She worked with him at the Prescott Police Department, so Hollie figured it was natural for Kelley to call John by his first name.
“I have my moments.” He nodded to Leigh and Carilyn who greeted him in turn.
“Why don’t you pull up a chair and join us?” Leigh propped her arms on the table. “We can make room.”
John shook his head. “I stopped by to ask Hollie to dance.”
Hollie’s throat went dry and she felt a little shiver of pleasure. “I’d love to.”
“We’ll watch your stuff,” Leigh said and gestured toward Hollie’s purse.
“Thank you.” Hollie cleared her throat and turned her attention back to John.
He held out his hand and she took it. His hand was warm, his touch sending bubbles of nervousness throughout her. She was beyond attracted to the man. He nodded to the other ladies again and then escorted Hollie to the dance floor where he settled his hand on her hip and swept her into the crowd of dancers.
Holly had learned the two-step when she was young and she easily fell into the rhythm and pace that John set. He was a good dancer and soon she was thoroughly enjoying the moment. One dance led to another. By the third dance she was out of breath and her face flushed. She was glad when he pulled her away from the dance floor.
He put his hand at the small of her back as he guided her toward the bar. “What are you having?”
She looked at him and had to tilt her head because of his height. “Rum and Coke.”
They took two empty stools at the bar and John ordered her drink and a Rolling Rock beer for himself. She felt suddenly shy when he turned his attention from the bartender to her.
He took her hand and caressed the back of it with his thumb. “How was the last day of school before the break?”
Startled that he’d taken her hand and almost too surprised to think, for a moment she couldn’t think of a word to say. She thought about her class and then her stepbrothers. She chose to go with the part that made her feel good—her students.
“It was great.” She smiled as she thought about her kindergarteners. “I have the best kids in the school.”
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “They have the best teacher.”
His touch was distracting her. Still, she managed to say, “I don’t know about that.”
“I’m a good judge of character,” he said. “And I think you’re something special.”
Heat rushed to her face and she looked down at their hands. She didn’t know what to say.
The bartender set their drinks on the bar. With her free hand, she picked up her rum and Coke and took a healthy swallow. It burned as it went down her throat and as it hit her stomach she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since noon.
She let out her breath and pushed aside her drink. “I need to get something to eat. It’s been a long time since lunch.”
From the bar top, John picked up a menu that was filled with the kind of bar food that was greasy and high in calories. She didn’t care what it was, she just needed something to distract her from the way he was making her feel.
He handed her the menu. “What would you like?”
She shrugged. “Will you share with me?”
“I could use a little something to eat.” He gave a nod. “The loaded nachos are always good here.”
“They are.” She set the menu down. “And they’re huge. More than enough to share.”
He caught the bartender’s attention and placed their order. When John turned back to her, he said, “Now where were we?”
“Ah…” She tried to think fast. “I believe you were telling me how your day at work went.”
“You can’t throw me off track so easily.” He grinned then sobered a little. “But I will let you know that talking about my day wouldn’t be good for polite conversation.”
“Fair enough.” She picked at a fold on her jeans as she looked at him and wished she hadn’t brought up his work. She’d been having such a good time she’d forgotten about her stepbrother being at the police station. She did wonder what he was in trouble for this time, but she wasn’t about to ask John, or Carl, for that matter.
John squeezed her hand. “I don’t know what it is about you, but like I said, there’s something special about you.”
Not knowing what to say, she bit the inside of her lip. Her eyes met John’s, his gaze holding hers for what seemed like an eternity.
She got lost as she looked at him. His dark hair was cut short above his collar, his western shirt snug around his muscled biceps and chest. But it was his eyes that drew her in…pulling her closer and closer…
He looked upward and her gaze followed his. A sprig of mistletoe hung over them. His lips curved into a sexy smile as their eyes met again and she swallowed. “You wouldn’t want to let that mistletoe go to waste, now would you?”
Words would not come to her and she couldn’t look away from him. She caught her breath as his mouth neared hers…
Shouts shattered the moment and John jerked his head up, his attention immediately cutting to the commotion and his expression shifting so that it was now hard. Through their joined hands she felt the rigidity that was now in his body, which had been relaxed before now.
Next thing she knew, a chair flew through the air. It crashed onto the middle of a table, sliding into one of the four people sitting there. The man who’d been hit bolted to his feet and ran toward the crowd growing near the billiards tables.
The moment the chair hit the nearby table, John had released her, shot out of his seat, and charged into the melee. Shouts and cries gained volume and another chair spun and crashed too close to Hollie for comfort.
Heart pounding, she found herself hurrying away from the bar and rushing toward Leigh and Carilyn who sat in their seats wide-eyed as they craned their necks to see what was going on. Kelley was already out of her chair and headed toward the crowd. Considering she was on the police force too, it wasn’t surprising that Kelley was getting in the middle of whatever was happening.
It took a few moments, but then the crowd backed away and Hollie’s stomach pitched as she saw Kelley arresting two men Hollie didn’t know…and John cuffing two of her stepbrothers, Dickey and Floyd. Their faces were bruised and their knuckles red, the skin split. The other men looked like they’d come out on the worst end, one with a bloody nose that hadn’t stopped bleeding and the other whose eyes were swelling shut.
Hollie clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she stared at John and her stepbrothers. Embarrassment, hot beneath her skin, caused her body to prickle and her chest to ache.
“I need to go.” Hollie scooped up her purse that she’d left on the table. She withdrew her wallet from her purse, pulled out a twenty, and dropped it on the table. “Please give this to the bartender,” she said before she grabbed the jacket off the back of her chair. “It’s for the nachos we ordered.”
“Stay.” Leigh put her hand on Hollie’s arm. “There’s nothing you can do.”
“I don’t intend to do anything but go home.” Hollie’s lower lip trembled. “I’ll see you later.”
She looked straight ahead, not wanting to see John’s face as she pushed her way through the crowd and hurried out into the night.
So much was spinning through Hollie’s mind that she didn’t think to put her jacket on. Blue and red lights flashed from the police cruisers stationed in front of the bar, the glow lighting up the windows and reflecting off of the cars in the parking lot.
When she reached her car, she fumbled with her remote and the cold door handle was like ice to her touch. Trembling from cold, she opened the door, climbed inside, and tossed her purse and jacket on the passenger seat. Her icy fingers had a difficult time sliding the key into the ignition but she made it and started the vehicle. She sat for a while, shivering violently as her car heated up. The shivering wasn’t just from the cold. Anger at her brothers and humiliation also made her shake.
She had to fight back tears as she chewed one of her nails and waited for the cold to dissipate and for the heater to warm her body. John probably wouldn’t want anything to do with her. He’d realize that she came with baggage in the names of Carl, Dickey, and Floyd. She was stuck in her position and there was nothing she could do for it.
As she sat there the pounding of her heart started to slow and she realized that she shouldn’t be driving yet. Most of the alcohol she’d had to drink had worn off but she hadn’t eaten anything for so long and she was lightheaded. She put her forehead against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. What should she do? She clenched her teeth. She’d have to stay in the warm car and wait for the police to leave, and then she’d go back in.
A knock came at her window, startling her into raising her head. The window was partially steamed and it was dark outside save for the intermittent flash of red and blue lights, so she couldn’t tell who the dark form was as it peered in at her.
She quickly locked the doors, something she should have done to begin with. Who knew who was out there? It could be Floyd or any of her stepbrothers’ other friends. The person knocked on her window again. She bit the inside of her cheek as she wiped away the steam with her sweater sleeve.
Her chest ached when she saw that it was John. For a moment she closed her eyes and did nothing. A moment later, she took a deep breath and buzzed down the window. Cold air flooded the car, chasing away the heat.
“Unlock the door and move over,” he said.
She blinked at him but found herself obeying him without question and moved. When she was in the passenger seat, he climbed inside, shut the door behind him, and buzzed up the window.
For a long moment he looked at her, but she turned her head away. He captured her chin in his hand and turned her face so that she was looking into his brown eyes.
“Don’t leave like that again.” His voice was firm.
She looked at him in surprise, feeling like she wasn’t hearing him quite right. “What?”
“There’s no mistletoe in here.” He slid both hands into her hair. “But as far as I’m concerned we don’t need any.” He brought his mouth down on hers.
She gasped in surprise as he took control, his lips moving over hers in a firm, slow kiss. For a moment she was too stunned to move, but then she braced her hands on his chest, feeling the heat of his body through her palms as she kissed him back.
His unique, spicy, masculine scent filled her, making her want even more. All of her senses blazed…she reveled in his taste, the feel of his stubble against her face, and the calluses on his palms sensitizing her soft skin.
She didn’t feel cold anymore. All she felt was the heat of his body, his presence wrapping around her like a cloak.
When he drew back and took her in with his gaze, she was barely conscious of grasping his shirt in her fists, wanting to pull him back to her for another kiss, wanting everything he could give her.
“Don’t run away from me.” He stroked her hair with his fingers. “Your stepbrothers may be bad news, but that has nothing to do with you and me.”
“Me and you?” She felt confused and like she hadn’t heard right.
“Maybe I’m rushing things.” He wrapped a lock of her hair around his finger. “No, there’s no maybe about it. I do know I’m rushing things. But I know what I want and follow my gut. I want to date you, Hollie. I want to get to know you. And I don’t want those damned stepbrothers of yours getting in the way.”
She swallowed, her mind spinning, refusing to accept what he had to say. “Why me?”
He shook his head as he stroked her hair. “Why not you? I told you I think you’re special and I meant every word. I’ve been watching you for a while.” When she raised her eyebrows he gave a little grin. “Not like it sounds. I haven’t been stalking you. Every time I’ve seen you somewhere in public, I’ve wanted to talk with you. This morning gave me the excuse. Like I said, I know I’m pushing things too fast, but I know I want to get to know you better. A lot better.”
“Oh,” was the only word that she could get out.
“Say yes.” He rubbed his thumb over her cheek as he looked into her eyes. “Say you’ll agree to see me.”
He had completely taken her off guard. “Wow.” She knew it was lame and she blurted out, “I want to see you, too.”
For having such harsh features, his smile was meltingly sexy. “I wouldn’t have let you say no.”
Her lips trembled as she smiled back at him. “Is that right?”
He gave a slow nod. “Yep.”
Again he kissed her. It was the sweetest kiss she’d ever experienced. Not that she’d experienced many kisses, but his was amazing. It drew something from deep inside her, making it grow, filling her with a sweet warmth that she never wanted to let go of. This time when they parted, her breaths were uneven and so were his.