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Shit, shit, shit.
Hollis slid into her Jeep and hit the steering wheel.What is wrong with me?She just jumped Dylan’s bones when they were supposed to be eating a simple meal. Her emotions were so tangled up and the situation confused the hell out of her.
For the first time in her life, Hollis didn’t feel in control. Her feelings had betrayed her. The man she used to hate had become her lover. And, if that weren’t bad enough, she had developed feelings for the scoundrel.
But, she couldn’t trust him. And, she knew he would eventually leave. Dylan didn’t stick around once a treasure was found. He was a soldier of fortune, collected his share and went on his merry way. “On to the next adventure” seemed to be his motto as well as her father’s.
Spending the night with him again would’ve been a huge mistake. Hell, their quick romp just now had been a mistake, but that was it. No more.
Hollis started the car and began to drive home. She only had herself to be mad at because she had thrown herself at him.
I need you.
She instigated their encounter and wanted to be with him. But, now she felt confused. Mostly because she didn’t know where he stood with her. Her rational mind believed it was just a fling and meant nothing to him. But, her heart thought differently. Thought that maybe he cared about her as much as she had grown to care for him.
Ugh, she was an emotional mess.
With a frustrated sigh, Hollis turned into her driveway and parked. She slid out of the Jeep and went up to her house. She hadn’t been home in days and still had to clean up the mess from the intruder.
It had to have been Tony. When he lit up that little, brown Cuban cigar, several pieces of the puzzle seemed to snap together. Tony had tried to kill her and Dylan in Cuba. He was determined to beat her to the Santa Lucia’s riches, but she wouldn’t let that happen.
Hollis flipped the light on and set to work righting lamps and tables, sweeping up broken items and placing things back into drawers. She felt safe, not scared to be back. Probably because Tony had already gotten all of her Dad’s notes.
After she straightened her place, Hollis went up to the bathroom to take a shower. As the warm water pounded down, she thought about Dylan. She had fallen for him. Hard. And, now, she was scared. That’s why she had run away.
She wished she could get into that head of his and hear what he was thinking. Know exactly how he felt about her. But, that was impossible and if she went with Dylan, it would be a huge risk.
A part of her really wanted to take that risk, though.
Shit.Hollis hit the water off and slicked her wet hair back. Ever since she teamed up with Dylan, it had been one adventure after another. And, he was the best time she’d ever had.
Maybe her Dad was right.
Should she take a chance and open her heart to Dylan even though he had the power to shatter it?
Yes,a small voice whispered.
Suddenly, she felt terrible. Like she owed him an apology or something for running out. She knew she was being an emotional basket case about the situation, but opening up to men, especially one that had burned her in the past, wasn’t easy for her.
Hollis grabbed her phone and texted him, “I’m sorry for running out.”
She chewed the edge of her nail, waiting for his response. And, in true Dylan fashion, he didn’t make her wait or play games. “You’re forgiven,” he wrote back. “We’re diving tomorrow?”
“Yes,” she texted back and let out a little sigh. She felt relieved that he wasn’t mad at her but, of course, he wouldn’t be. Dylan didn’t hold grudges and no matter what barbed wired words she’d ever flung at him, he had never responded back with a spiteful response.
Because Dylan Ford was a good man and he knew how to keep his temper in check. And, looking back, Hollis had said quite a few not-very-nice things to him over the years. Hollis ran a hand through her damp waves, wandered outside and sat down on a swinging bench on her back patio.
As she swayed back and forth, Hollis knew she’d kept her distance from Dylan for so long with cruel words as a way to protect herself. Sometimes, it was easier to stay away and build walls around herself than to care. Hollis had loved her Mom and she had left so Hollis knew exactly how devastating rejection could be.
When someone who you thought loved you, abandoned you, those feelings of betrayal don’t just disappear. They festered and spread, infecting future relationships.
Living with her mother’s rejection was hard enough. To be spurned by a lover, a man like Dylan who had pushed her buttons and drove her to her limits for so long, would be unbearable. Utterly devastating.
Especially now that she felt herself falling in love with him.
Oh, God, it was probably the worst thing she could do, allow herself to have such strong feelings for him, but she was too far gone. There was no turning back now because he consumed her every thought. She wasn’t exactly sure when her feelings had begun to flip, but when they almost died down in those caves in Cuba, regret had sliced through her. Regret for never having kissed him.
Now that they’d slept together, she was hooked. Her heart knew that no one complemented her like Dylan. He understood her on a level that no one else ever would because he listened, paid attention, understood what made her tick.
