Holding You Read online

  Holding You

  Books by Kelly Elliott

  Wanted Family Tree

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Epilogue

  Thank You’s

  Playlist

  HOLDING YOU

  Book Three in the Love Wanted in Texas Series

  Copyright © 2015 by Kelly Elliott

  Published by K. Elliott Enterprises

  Visit my website at www.kellyelliottauthor.com

  Cover Designer: Lisa Jay with Lisa Jay Studio

  Cover Photographer: Glass Jar Photography

  Editing: Nichole Strauss with Perfectly Publishable

  Design and Formatting: Christine Borgford with Perfectly Publishable

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN# 978-0-9863895-0-4

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  WANTED SERIES

  Purchase Wanted

  Purchase Saved

  Purchase Faithful

  Purchase Believe

  Purchase Cherished

  Purchase A Forever Love

  Purchase the Wanted Short Stories

  THE BROKEN SERIES

  Purchase Broken

  Purchase Broken Dreams

  Purchase Broken Promises

  JOURNEY OF LOVE SERIES

  Purchase Unconditional Love

  Purchase Undeniable Love

  LOVE WANTED IN TEXAS SERIES

  Purchase Without You

  Purchase Saving You

  Thank you for reading Holding You.

  Please consider leaving an honest review.

  STANDALONES

  Purchase The Journey Home

  JOINT PROJECTS

  Purchase Predestined Hearts

  For upcoming books and more information about Kelly Elliott, please visit her website at www.kellyelliottauthor.com

  For exclusive releases and giveaways signup for Kelly’s newsletter

  This book is dedicated to all the Wanted fans out there. The entire time I wrote this book, I was thinking back to where it all started. With a football player named Gunner and a lost young woman named Ellie.

  This book is for y’all. Happy reading.

  STANDING BEHIND LAUREN as I pushed on her back lightly, I watched the swing take her up higher. “I hate high school,” Lauren said.

  Smiling, I asked, “Why?”

  Dragging her feet on the ground to slow herself down, she came to a stop. Twisting the metal chains of the swing, she turned to face me. “Boys.”

  My heart dropped. If someone did anything to Lauren, I’d bash their head in. “Did something happen?”

  A part of me was scared to hear her say that she liked someone. Holding my breath, I reached out and spun her some, twisting the chains even more. Letting go, Lauren began spinning as she laughed and dropped her head back. Coming to a stop, she looked at me. Her blue eyes danced as the sunlight hit them. We had both just started our sophomore year of high school, and I hated the way some of the guys stared at Lauren.

  “No, nothing’s happened. That’s part of the problem.”

  Swallowing hard, I asked, “Is there anyone you like?”

  The air between us seemed to spark with something I’d never felt before. Lauren slowly smiled as she tilted her head. “Is there someone you like, Colt?”

  Allowing my grin to grow bigger, I said, “Oh yeah. There’s this blonde, blue-eyed beauty that has this thing for skipping around instead of walking. Also has a fondness for swings.” Lauren’s face turned from amused to something different. For a brief moment, it felt as if we both shared a connection that I’d never experienced before. My heart felt like the wings of a hummingbird; it was beating so fast. “I kind of think she’s into her horse more than guys though.”

  Lauren’s eyes turned dark as she broke our stare and looked to the ground. “Smart girl. I’d pick my horse over a guy any day.” Glancing back up, she winked at me.

  Reaching my hand down to Lauren, she closed her eyes as if anticipating my touch. My stomach dropped like always when I thought about kissing Lauren. I did what I always did though. I ignored my feelings and chickened out. Pushing a loose curl back behind Lauren’s ear, I whispered, “Lucky horse.”

  Dropping her mouth slightly open, Lauren was about to say something when her father called for her.

  Closing her eyes, she stood. Opening them back up, I saw nothing but sadness. I wanted to see the sparkle that was there a few moments ago. Giving me the sweetest smile ever, Lauren said, “I um . . . I guess I’ve got to go help with dinner. Thanks for helping me with the new horse.”

  Nodding my head, I grinned. “Anytime.”

  “See you tomorrow then?” Lauren said as she walked backward.

  “Yep, see ya tomorrow, Lauren.”

  Standing there, I watched Lauren skip over to her back door. Pushing my hand through my hair, I walked back over to the barn. Climbing on top of my horse, Samson, I took in a deep breath of air. A cool fall breeze was blowing and the birds were chirping away in a nearby tree. Opening my eyes, I smiled as I thought about Lauren skipping to her back door. Letting out a chuckle, I headed for home. Glancing back over my shoulder, I noticed Lauren looking out her kitchen window. Lifting her hand, she smiled and waved. Raising my hand, I waved back to her as I whispered, “Someday, Lauren Ashley Reynolds, someday I’m going to ask you to be my wife.”

  GLANCING AROUND, I smiled when I saw Luke and Libby kissing as the waves crashed around their feet. Their wedding had been thrown together in record time and was probably the most romantic wedding I’d been to yet.

  Leaning against the rail, my eyes caught sight of Colt. I watched as he talked to one of Libby’s cousins. The way she was flirting with him turned my stomach. I’d like to pull her by that tight bun on the top of her head and slam her against . . .

  “Lauren? Are you okay?”

  Pulling my eyes from Colt and the blonde, I turned to face Grace. “Yep. I’m fine. Why?”

  Grace gave me a knowing smile. “Well, to start with, you look like you want to kick that blonde’s ass from here to Timbuktu. Second, you’re gripping that bottle so tight your knuckles are turning white.”

  Glancing at my hand, I loosened the grip on the bottle. Sighing, I looked back to Colt
and the blonde. “He drives me crazy.”

  Grace chuckled. “Why? Because a hot girl is attracted to him? Poor Colt can’t help it if he is a mini version of his daddy, Lauren. Girls are going to flock.”

  Rolling my eyes, I looked away. “He sure looks like he is interested in her.”

  Grace sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “You know what I see, Lauren?”

  Turning to look at Grace, I asked, “What?”

  Not taking her eyes from Colt, Grace smiled. “I see a guy who is being polite and talking to one of his friend’s cousins. I see that every time she takes a step closer to him, he takes a step away from her. His smile isn’t touching his eyes, and he looks bored out of his fucking mind. I think you need to go save him from what clearly is a conversation he doesn’t want to be in.”

  My head jerked as I looked to Colt. It was then, for the first time, I noticed he was wearing a fake smile. When the blonde threw her head back and laughed, she took a step closer and Colt turned his body away from her and took a small step back.

  Lifting his Coke bottle to his lips, his eyes caught mine, and I couldn’t help but smile. I wasn’t smiling because Colt looked at me. I was smiling because I saw how miserable he was. Colt didn’t want to be talking to the blonde and in that moment of realization, I was ecstatic. Okay, so maybe I was also smiling because Colt looked at me.

  “See what I mean?” Grace said as she nudged me with her shoulder.

  Colt smiled back, and this time it reached his eyes. They lit up for the first time in weeks, and I loved that it was because of me smiling at him. Ever since he moved into the house we were all sharing, all we did was argue about the stupidest things or avoid each other all together. I knew my frustration toward Colt was from him turning me down the night I asked him to make love to me.

  Then, of course, there was the fact that my father seemed to think I couldn’t take over the family business without Colt’s help. Part of me knew I was being unfair to him. Colt’s love and knowledge of horses would be an asset to our breeding business and my father could see that. And Colt explained his reasons for not making love to me that night. He said he wanted to make the first time we made love special and the back seat of his truck was not how he was going to do it. Even with that explanation, it still didn’t lessen the blow when he turned me down. The embarrassment from that night still clung to my heart and was the main reason I avoided Colt. That, and the fact that anytime I was near him, I wanted to jump his bones.

  Well, I’m not going to avoid Colt anymore. Tonight I would be a good friend and save him from the blonde who clearly wanted more than just a casual conversation.

  “Excuse me, Grace. I can’t pass up this moment. I’ll be able to rub it in Colt’s face later how I rescued him from this situation.”

  Grace laughed as I walked toward Colt. His grin turned to a full-blown smile as his eyes never left mine. His smile had always been my weakness. My heart raced faster the closer I got to him. Seeing the blonde out of the corner of my eye, I glanced to her. She was staring at me with daggers as I made my way over to them. Frowning, her eyes moved over my body. I knew I looked good. The chiffon, platinum-colored bridesmaid dresses that Libby picked out for us to wear fit me like a glove. Even Meg said my breasts looked killer in the dress. Colt couldn’t keep his eyes off of me when I walked down the aisle.

  Walking up to Colt and the blonde, I smiled bigger. “Hey, Colt.”

  “Hey, Lauren.”

  Turning, I smiled at the bitch. I mean, the blonde. “Hi. I’m Lauren. You are?”

  Flashing me a fake smile, she said, “Tina.”

  I nodded my head. “Nice to meet you, Tina.” Tilting my head slightly, I looked back at Colt. “You promised we would dance.”

  Colt’s mouth fell open as he gave me a dazed look. He, of course, hadn’t promised this. He hadn’t even talked to me since last night when we got into another argument over something stupid. I didn’t even remember what the fight was about, to be honest.

  Quickly coming to his senses, Colt placed his hand on my arm. I prayed like hell he hadn’t felt my whole body shudder under his touch. “Right. I wouldn’t want to go back on a promise.”

  We started to walk off when the blonde reached for Colt’s arm. “Wait! Is Lauren your girlfriend or are you . . . free later?” Moving her eyes over his body while biting her lower lip, Tina gave Colt a naughty as hell smile.

  What. A. Bitch.

  Pulling his head back, Colt gave her an incredulous look. Good. I’m glad to see he was as shocked by her advance as I was. “Yes. Yes, she is, Tina. See you around.”

  Colt’s hand slid down my arm as he took my hand in his. My heart jumped, and my stomach felt like I had just gone through about ten loops on a roller coaster. Leading me out to the dance floor, I turned and gave Tina a dirty look. “Oh my glitter! How rude. I mean . . . holy sheets! She practically asked you to screw her later. In front of me.”

  Colt’s laugh was a low rumble as he spun me around and pulled me into his arms. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Tina as we danced.

  Placing his lips to my ear, Colt spoke. “Thank you.”

  Looking into Colt’s eyes, my breathing increased. It was then I realized where I was. In Colt’s arms. Up against his body. Really, really up against his body. How many times had I dreamed of Colt holding me in his arms again?

  Too many times. Asshole. Ugh. I hate that he makes my body feel like this.

  “Thank you for what?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  “Saving me from what was probably the worst conversation of my life.”

  Stifling my giggle, I couldn’t help but glance at Colt’s lips. He noticed because the bastard licked them.

  Oh God. Oh God. Calm yourself, Lauren. Quickly looking away, I tried to focus on something else. Anything else.

  “You look beautiful, Lauren.”

  Shit. Deep breaths, Lauren. Stay strong.

  “Thanks. You look pretty handsome yourself,” I said as I continued to scan the dance floor.

  “How would you know? You’ve barely looked my way all morning.”

  My head snapped to him. “Are you kidding? I’ve been staring at you for the last . . .”

  Shit. Shit. Shit. Way to play it cool, Lauren. Hello, world. The Lauren who throws herself at Colt has finally shown up, and she’s looking to get her heart stomped on again by him.

  Closing my eyes, I dropped my head to Colt’s chest. I wanted to crawl under a rock.

  “Hey, Lauren. Please look at me.”

  Colt’s voice was a whisper. A hot sounding whisper. A whisper that I imagined would sound pretty damn amazing in my ear as he made love to me.

  Ugh! Stop this, Lauren.

  I pulled my head back but didn’t look up. Placing his finger under my chin, Colt lifted my eyes to him. “Lauren . . .”

  His eyes fell to my lips as I instinctively licked them. Finally finding my voice, I whispered back, “Colt.”

  Colt leaned closer to me, and I felt his hot breath against my lips. I moved my hands to his arms and gripped them tightly. Feeling his muscles flex under my grip, I let out a small moan.

  “Tell me what you want me to do, Lauren,” Colt said as our eyes found each other again.

  My heart was pounding so loudly, I barely heard his words.

  Swallowing hard, I said, “Kiss me.”

  When Colt smiled, my entire world lit up. Swiping his lips across mine caused a tingling sensation to rip through my body. Colt slipped his hand behind my neck and pulled me to his lips. The kiss was soft and ultra slow. When he finally slipped his tongue into my mouth, I melted on the spot.

  Moaning, I squeezed his arms as Colt pulled me even closer. I was totally lost in the kiss. Never mind the fact that my father and mother were somewhere in the same room as me. Or the fact that my heart was beating so loudly in my ears, I couldn’t hear a thing. I enjoyed every single second of his lips on mine. When Colt finally pulled back, he bit down on my lower lip and su
cked it gently before dropping it.

  My chest heaved as I attempted to calm my breathing down. Colt kissed me. Holy shit. He finally kissed me.

  Leaning my head against his chest, I smiled as Colt rested his chin on top of my head. My blonde hair was pulled up into a French twist with a few strands of curls framing my face. Colt reached up and played with a curl. My body was still trembling from our kiss.

  Closing my eyes, I silently prayed Colt wouldn’t break my heart again.

  “I’m headed back to A&M shortly, Lauren. Come with me.”

  Pulling back, I looked into his eyes. They were filled with passion. My mouth opened but words wouldn’t form. Clearing my throat, I asked, “What are you saying, Colt?”

  If there was one thing Colt Mathews could do, and do well, was swoon the hell out of me with his smile. And boy was he swooning me right now. My knees felt weak as Colt flashed me the smile that I had fallen in love with a few years back. That stupid crooked smile I dreamed about every single night.

  “I’m asking you to let me make you mine, Lauren.”

  Holy mother of God. Play it cool, Lauren. Play. It. Cool. Colt wants to make me his!

  Swallowing hard, I asked . . . again, “What are you saying, Colt?”

  Colt chuckled. Pulling me closer to him, he moved his lips to my ear. “I’ve been wanting to make you mine for so long, Lauren. I can’t bear to wait any longer.”

  My lips parted open. “Me? I . . . um . . . I’ve never . . . ahh . . . what about . . .” For the love of all things good. My mind was swirling with images of Colt making love to me. Colt naked. Colt kissing my body. Colt touching my body. My eyes widened in horror. The one thing I wanted so badly for the last few years I was about to lose because I couldn’t form a damn sentence.

  Colt lifted his hand and gently brushed the back of it down my face. “I’m scared too, Lauren. You’re the only woman I’ve ever dreamed of being with.” Closing his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again, he whispered, “I’ve never been with anyone, Lauren. My first time I wanted to be with someone I cared about, someone I loved.”