Betrayals of the Heart by Melissa Ohnoutka Read Free Book Online Page A

something?
    Her throat shriveled dry at just what that might be, and she could barely inhale due to the fact with each breath the tantalizing scent of his cologne, mixed with cinnamon and vanilla, played havoc with her resolve. A spicy musk smell that spoke of integrity and passion. Lots of passion.
    She realized his hand still lingered on her back, so light it tickled and soothed at the same time and she had to stifle the urge to grab Michael and run right then and there. Every second spent with this man was dangerous in more ways than one. Oh, boy. She was in more trouble than she cared to admit. Her emotions reminded her of a yo-yo with a very short string.
    “Mommy, I found it!” Michael broke the intense moment with his excited chatter and Makayla thought her knees would buckle from relief.
    “That’s great, honey. Let’s pay for it and get you buckled back in the car.” Without another word or glance, she took a step to slip past Ryan, but he stopped her, his warm hand moving to capture her elbow. Chills the size of golf balls bombarded her at all the horrific memories that surfaced. But although Ryan’s grip was firm, it was anything but threatening. His harmless action contradicted everything she was accustomed to. The pain. The malicious intent.
    “No. Let me get that for him.” As if sensing he’d made her uncomfortable, he released her arm slowly. Rough calloused fingers all but caressed her skin and her heart skipped beats.
    “Oh, I couldn’t ask you…”
    “I want to,” he said. His deep voice resonated deep within her with so much sincerity, she had to swallow hard and remind herself he was a stranger.
    This was not normal behavior for a man. At least not any she’d ever known. Even in high school, the boys had always been so immature and full of it. Then as she’d made her way through college, she’d discovered them to be self-centered and concerned about one thing. The one thing she was unwilling to give. That usually ended relationships real quick.
    That’s why Steven had been able to fool her so easily. He’d been one of the few willing to wait. If their honeymoon was any indication of how that first time would have been before marriage, his reasons made perfect sense. He would not have been kind. Even then.
    Unable to speak over the nauseating sensations swarming her, she nodded her approval reluctantly. Then she pushed Michael toward the door and tried to erase the feel of Ryan’s soft touch from her mind.
    What she so wanted and needed just couldn’t be.
    As they drove out of the parking lot, Michael giggled in the backseat at the toy airplane Ryan secretly purchased for him along with the candy bar. Was this guy for real?
    “You didn’t have to do that,” Makayla said, now eyeing Ryan with great interest. She wanted to get inside his head more than ever before. Just what made this man tick and what was he trying to prove?
    “No problem.”
    The one sentence answers were back along with the tough masculine façade from the airport. She decided it wasn’t that bad. At least it saved her from having to explain anything else in detail.
    They drove in silence for the next fifty miles. Then she saw the sign she’d been looking for. Las Vegas. That’s where she and Michael got off this emotional roller coaster ride.
    Mind made up, Makayla breathed a sigh of relief. Soon she would be able to just worry about the two of them. Steven would never be the wiser, never know about Ryan and how he’d helped her get out of the airport. Luck was still shining on them.
     
    ***
    “Steven Prichard, please come to the front desk.”
    Makayla’s entire body froze as she skimmed through the toys in the gift shop of the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas with Michael. Did they just call her husband’s name over the intercom? No. That was impossible. How would he know which way she’d headed after leaving Carson City in that terrible storm?
    And then she heard it again. “Steven