Holly's Crush: The Complete Trilogy by Bree Dahlia

not wanting to be too obvious. She hadn’t looked so good when she stumbled over to the table, nearly dumping a bowl of pretzels over some guy’s head. He didn’t want anyone taking advantage of her in this state, especially Scott. He seen the way he leered at her all night and that kiss drove him fucking nuts; he wanted to march right over and cold-cock the bastard. It looked like Holly wanted no part of it, but it wasn’t his place to intervene if he was wrong. For all he knew, Scott could have been the one in Holly’s bedroom last week. Although, if that was the case, she sure wasn’t acting like she wanted a rematch. One thing was blatantly obvious though – she had too much to drink. He also couldn’t escape the protective feelings he had towards her. He had a strong need to make sure she was safe tonight.
    ***
    The next thing she knew, Holly was riding in Jack’s car. She vaguely remembered sitting at the table waiting for all the pretzels she ate to kick in. Scott had come over wanting to take her home, and wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. She had some kind of an altercation with him; she just wanted him to go away and he wouldn’t listen. Jack appeared out of nowhere and something went down between him and Scott (if her head wasn’t playing on a merry-go-round, she would have known what that was). Whatever happened, it happened quickly and the next thing she recalled with any clarity was being in Jack’s car.
    “When was the last time you ate something?” Jack demanded.
    “I had pretzels.”
    “That doesn’t count. We need to get something in your stomach.” He pulled into a fast food drive-thru and came away with a bag packed with food.
    Holly had a hard time looking at most of it; the only thing that didn’t turn her stomach was the fries. They ended up tasting better than she expected and she quickly ate two large orders.
    Jack watched her lick all the salt off her fingers. “It looks like you enjoyed them.”
    “Oh, yes,” Holly responded. “I am feeling better already.”
    “There is plenty more food here for you. Or we could go somewhere else?”
    “Nope, all good. So…why are you the one taking me home?”
    “Lexi was in no position to drive, so Scott is going to make sure she gets home safely.”
    Holly wanted to ask why he wasn’t taking Lexi home, but she thought against it. She was starting to feel better now and her dizziness was subsiding. All that was left now was a serious buzz. She took a moment to really process what was happening. She was in Jack’s car! Alone! Her head was swimming again, not with alcohol this time, but with euphoria (and lust).
    “We are just about home,” Jack said. “Would you like me to stop anywhere before we get there?”
    Holly assured him that she was just fine and the only thing she wanted now was sleep. Liar.
    Jack parked the car and quickly got out to open the door for her. Holly stepped out and thought she was going to faint.
    “Whoa…” She swayed backwards into Jack’s arms.
    “I’ve got you, it’s okay. We need to hurry up and get you into bed.”
    “I usually never drink this much.” For some reason, Holly felt like she needed to explain herself to him. “I don’t know what happened tonight. I –”
    “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it; it happens to all of us at one time or another. I’m just glad you’re safe at home now.”
    Jack helped her upstairs to her apartment, all the while Holly clung to him like a monkey to its last banana.
    “Wow, you’re strong,” Holly said. She had been aching to touch him since that first day she saw him walking down the hallway. Feeling bolder than her usual self, she ran her hand up and down his arm and over his chest, feeling the taunt muscles under his shirt.
    “You are so hard…you must live at the gym. Or maybe you spent the night in a freezer?” Holly giggled.
    Jack gave her a stern look. “I would prefer it if you didn’t do that.”
    Shit. Did she just cross some