Coming Home(128)

“Scott, listen to me,” Leah said gently, trying to appeal to the kindness she remembered in him, because even though she knew those three years were based on lies, she needed to believe there was something good in him somewhere, some part of him that might still care enough about her to do the right thing. “This is over, okay? Whatever your reasoning was for doing what you did, it’s never gonna be okay with me.”

He shook his head slightly. “You’re not looking past your anger. You’re not remembering what this was like,” he said, trailing the back of his finger down her arm.

She moved it out of his reach. “You don’t get it. It’s not about me being angry. It’s about me knowing that I don’t want to be with you.”

A flash of hurt registered behind his eyes at her words, but it was gone before she could react to it. “Is it because of this *?” he asked, nodding over her shoulder.

Leah glanced over to see Danny leaned up against the bar, his arms folded over his chest as he watched them.

“We were over long before this,” she said, “but if you really want to know, then yes. I don’t want anyone but him.”

Scott stared at her for a moment, his eyes searching hers. “Kiss me,” he said suddenly.

“What?”

“Kiss me,” he repeated. “If you can honestly tell me you feel nothing after kissing me, then I’ll let this go.”

“I don’t need to kiss you to know that I feel nothing.”

His mouth lifted in a faint smile. “See? You’re scared,” he said. “You’re scared because you remember what it was like. How I made you feel. What I could do to your body. You remember. And you know that if you kiss me, you won’t be able to deny it,” he said, bringing his hand back to her face.

Leah took a step back, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Danny unfold his arms as he straightened.

Her heart leapt into her throat, and she knew she needed to end this immediately.

She reached up and removed his hand from her face. “Okay, that’s enough. Stop calling me, stop texting me, and stop sending me things. If you really care about me the way you say you do, then you’ll respect what I want. And it’s not you.”

And then everything seemed to happen at once.

She turned away from Scott and started walking toward Danny, but his eyes were focused behind her. He moved toward them suddenly, fury washing over his face just as Leah felt a hand grip the top of her arm and spin her around. Before she could get her bearings, Scott grabbed the back of her head and pulled her toward him, crashing his mouth to hers.

Her hands flew to his chest, pushing against him, but he had one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and his other hand clutching the back of her head, holding her mouth securely against his. Leah whimpered, and he took it as a sign of encouragement, forcing his tongue into her mouth.

And then his mouth was gone as she was yanked backward.

Her eyes focused just in time to see Scott with his arm cocked back, ready to swing at Danny.

“No!” she yelled. “Don’t!”

Scott swung, connecting with Danny’s chin. His head jerked back slightly with the force of the hit, and then he lunged forward, grabbing Scott by the throat.

“Danny!” she screamed. “Stop it!”

She hurtled forward, attempting to grab his arm, but he pulled it easily from her grasp as he swung at Scott, hitting him square in the mouth. She went to grab him again, but she was jerked back suddenly.

Instantly, a group of men converged on them, blocking them from her sight. Someone’s arm was wrapped firmly around her waist, but she didn’t fight against whoever it was. Instead she stood there, looking on with panic as the group of men undulated with the struggle before they finally broke apart.