Page 12 of Her Protector on Route 14 (Love Along Route 14 #6)

I get breakfast to go for Holly so she can sleep in and head back to her room. I see her packing up when I arrive. Her eyes aren’t their normal bright green and she keeps biting the inside of her cheek while pacing back and forth like she’s forgetting something.

“You should eat,” I say, holding up the box.

Holly pauses, then looks at me. She smiles slightly, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. It’s the same smile she gave me when I dropped her off after stopping our first kiss. I take a step closer. “Holly, are you-”

“Thank you. It smells great, but I’m not really hungry right now. I’m eager to get on the road,” she says.

“You don’t want to wait another day?”

“No, there’s no reason to .... unless you’d like to stay here,” she says.

We check out and get back on the road and everything seems fine, normal, at least on the surface. Her smiles seem to fall the second I look away. She doesn’t sing along to the radio, she doesn’t throw questions or candy at me.

It eats at me. After three hours of near silence and short answers from her, no rambling at all, I’m done trying to guess what’s wrong with her. I don’t want to be the guy that asks a million questions and pisses a girl off more. But I don’t want to go on without understanding what the problem is.

Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt her in some way? Does she regret what we did?

“Let’s stop here,” I say, pointing to an exit.

“What’s here?” Holly replies.

“One of the federal accommodations I told you about. I need to check in,” I say.

She pulls up to the building, lets me touch base, and when I come back out, she’s standing there against the hood of her car, glancing at the route map.

“I’m upset,” she whispers before I can ask what’s wrong.

“Did I push you too far last night?” I ask the moment I see her.

She shakes her head, but her eyes don’t quite meet mine. “No. It’s not that.”

She takes a breath, her voice quieter now. “You were gone when I woke up. Then I saw you laughing with someone else, and you’re not the type to just… be like that. So it messed with my head.”

She pauses, trying to collect the words.

“I know it’s not fair to expect you to stay until I wake up. I get that. It’s just… I started wondering if I was reading everything wrong. If I’m too na?ve. Too inexperienced to keep up with you.”

She glances at me then, her voice soft but honest. “It’s not like you’re my first anything. But you—you’re subtle. You don’t say much, and I overthink everything . It gets to me.”

I take a step closer, the tension in my chest loosening slightly.

“I’m not asking for flowers or grand gestures or some big romantic speech,” she continues, voice trembling just a bit. “I just… I don’t always know where I stand with you. One moment, you’re telling me I’m just right, and the next, I feel like I’m chasing something I’ll never quite catch.”

She exhales shakily, her eyes searching mine. “Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m the problem. But I just want to know what this is. What we are. Because right now… I really don’t.”

She trembles slightly and looks to the side. “And I think you should drive.”

“We’re moving fast. I know that,” I say, gently lifting her chin. “But you’re special to me, Holly. Your optimism, your sweetness, the way you genuinely care about people. How passionate you are about photography, how curious and brave you are. You light up a room without even trying.”

Her lips twitch into a half-smile before she looks away. “And overwhelming,” she says softly. “I told you before. I know it can come off as too much. And the rest of the time I feel like I fade into the background. Like I’m just… there.”

She shrugs and rubs her shoulder, like she’s trying to make herself smaller.

“I’m not asking for a title,” she adds quickly. “I just… don’t want to feel like I imagined everything between us.”

I step closer, into her space, and brush her chin with my thumb until she finally looks up at me.

“Don’t you dare minimize yourself, darling,” I say, my voice low but firm.

“You’ve brought light into my life that I didn’t think I’d ever feel again.

Because of you, I’m noticing things I forgot how to see.

I’m laughing more. Hell, I’m even enjoying being around people—and that’s saying something. ”

Her breath catches, and I see it—the flicker of hope in her eyes.

She licks her top lip. “You’re older, more worldly, have mystery and restraint and know who you are while I’m still figuring it out and I don’t want to dive into something and ...”

And get hurt. I kiss her forehead, then her temple. “Relationships aren’t about comparing experiences or being the same. They’re about connection, trust, being there for each other, creating something deeper and balancing each other. I think we balance each other well.”

“I think so too,” she whispers.

“And I’m glad you told me,” I say, brushing my lips against hers. “So I don’t have to read your mind.”

I kiss her again, a little longer this time. “I’m glad you let me come on this trip with you.”

Another kiss, deeper now, more sure. “That you didn’t let your doubts keep you from saying how you feel.”

And then one more, lingering and full of everything I haven’t put into words yet. “That you’re still kissing me back.”

“I like kissing you,” she answers against my lips. “A lot. And falling asleep with you. Traveling with you, making you smile.”

My lips turn up reflexively. “Then hopefully you also like staying in small towns with me because I think we need to get to that inn.”

I wind my arm around her and kiss her hungrily. I pant between long, drawn out kisses and pull her hips closer to me. She nods against me, but tugs me closer to her. “You want me?”

“Yes,” I agree. “I can’t resist you.”

Finally, finally , I get a real smile from Holly. She tugs me down, welcoming the next hungry kiss I feed her until I manage to pull the keys from her hand and lightly swat her ass before getting into the driver seat.

During the short drive, I keep my hand on Holly’s thigh, rubbing gently through her jeans. A quiet reminder. I don’t want her stressing over things I can handle. She doesn’t need to carry the weight when I’m right here.

If something’s wrong, she’ll know. I don’t do mind games or hidden problems—it’s too much work, and too far from how I want us to be.

When we check in, we finally book one room instead of two. No hesitation.

The second the door closes behind us, I pull her into my arms. I don’t waste time with words. I kiss her like I’ve been holding back all day—because I have.

She responds instantly, tugging at my shirt, eager and hungry. I let her guide me to the bed, then ease her down and pull her top off in one smooth motion before claiming her mouth again.

There’s no doubt between us now. Just skin, breath, and the unspoken truth we’re both ready to feel.

“I never want you to think you’re not enough for me, darling,” I say as I undo the clasp of her bra and pry it off her. “You’re more than enough. You’re a breath of life I didn’t know I needed.”

“Tanner,” she moans, pulling me closer, kissing me almost shyly until I encourage more, deepening it while popping the button on her jeans.

“I really like you, appreciate you… want you. A lot.”

“Have me,” I murmur, laying her back and slowly easing her jeans down, her thighs resting warm against mine. “I’m yours, Holly. Have me exactly how you want me—as long as you let me stay this close.”

I take her hand gently and guide it over the thick strain of my jeans, letting her feel just how hard I am for her. “This is what you do to me,” I whisper. “Every time you look at me like that. Every time you touch me.”

“I want you closer,” she breathes. “Always, Tanner.”