Never Been Ready (Ready #2)(41)

"Shit. I'm going to cry again. Why do I cry so much around you?"

"I don't know, but I'll hold you every time you do."

She came into my arms then. It felt like I was whole, like my missing half was settling into place, and I knew I'd found exactly where I was supposed to be.

"Why, Declan? Why would you do this?"

I pulled back, knowing it was now or never. My heart raced. This time, it was for another reason. I still didn't know how she felt, and putting myself out there with no guarantee was the scariest moment of my life. It was scarier than when I'd asked Heather to move to Hollywood with me, and she'd said no. It was scarier than when I'd auditioned for my first movie and thought I'd throw up from the stress, and it was scarier than walking into Leah's bedroom and seeing her face covered in bruises.

"I love you, Leah Morgan. Since the moment I got off that plane, everything I do has been for you. You are so much more than you think you are, and I see you —all of you. You can push all you want, but I'm not going anywhere. I want every piece of you. No games, no going back. I —"

"Shut the hell up," Leah said.

She pulled my head down, so our lips could meet in a frenzied, passionate kiss.

"You better not hurt me, Hotshot, because everything you just said...I feel for you plus half a million other feelings I can't put into words. I love you even though you're arrogant and cocky and —"

"Shut the hell up," I mocked.

I kissed her again, and then laughter filled the air as I lifted her and spun us in the middle of her childhood home.

"Thank you," she said as I still held her in my arms.

"For what?"

Her eyes met mine, and she paused. "For everything. But mostly, for this —for giving me one perfect, happy memory in the midst of hell."

Seeing her joyous face in the middle of what was once her prison growing up made me want to replace every terrible memory in her life with something better.

~Leah~

I wiped the fog off the bathroom mirror that had accumulated during my shower. I stared at my reflection with a towel wrapped around my hair and body. My bruises and cuts had healed, and I was back to looking like me. Thanks to the miracles of makeup, I had been able to cover up most of the evidence, so no one had noticed at work. I was opening up, but that didn't mean I wanted the entire world to know every sordid detail of my life. I didn't mind talking to Trish about my new hot man-candy and how Clare and my family were doing, but I wasn't about to open up and bleed out all my secrets.

I pulled the towel off my head, letting my long blonde hair tumble down my back. It had been years since I'd let someone cut it more than an inch or two, and now, it was halfway down my back. It was naturally wavy and on the thick side. Being this long made it hard to maintain, but I just loved it. It made me feel so feminine and girlie. After noticing Declan's heated glances while watching me as I would brush and then braid it at night, I didn't think I'd ever cut it again.

"Declan James said he loves me," I said out loud to my reflection.

Just saying it brought a smile to my lips, and butterflies took flight in my belly. I touched my lips, remembering the kiss we'd shared in my father's house. Well, his old house. I couldn't believe he was gone. I'd spent so many years taking care of him, and now, it was all behind me. Like Declan had said, I was free.

I still remembered the years in college when I would work two jobs, so I could bring my father groceries, feeling guilty that he might starve if he didn't eat. I'd live on ramen for weeks just to keep him fed. He always blamed me for him getting fired from every job he'd worked, but we'd both known the real reason he couldn't hold down a job. Being drunk all the time didn't exactly fly with the bosses.

"Did I hear you talking to yourself in here?" Declan asked, peeking his head in the bathroom door.

He looked gorgeous in pajama bottoms and nothing else. His broad chest was bare and so delectable, displaying that tattoo I'd grown to love. I licked my lips as my eyes traveled down his body, loving the way his hips dipped perfectly into a V before disappearing under his flannelled waistband.

His lips upturned into a cocky grin as he sauntered into the bathroom before coming up behind me. His hands wrapped around my hips as his body pressed against me. I could feel him, eager and ready, against my ass.

"Seeing you look at me like that makes me hard...really f**king hard," he said, pulling our bodies tighter together to further emphasize his point.

A low moan rose up my throat as he ran his hands up my arms. I savored the feel of his bare skin touching mine.

"Turn around," he commanded, his voice rough and sexy.

I did as I had been instructed. I slowly turned in his arms until we were face-to-face. His eyes had lost all hint of joking, and now, they were full of fire, transforming into the intense flecked green they became when he was turned-on.

"I think it's about time we lose this," he said.

My towel slowly slid down to the floor, exposing my naked body completely to him. He grinned slightly, taking an appreciative look at what he'd just unwrapped.

"Mine, all mine. I'm so f**king lucky," he said softly.

He took my lips in a searing kiss that left me breathless. I pulled back to see he was still sporting his cocky grin that I'd come to adore. He grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me onto the counter, sitting my ass right on the cold granite. I yelped in protest, and he laughed.