It can’t be him, but yet, it absolutely is. He looks older. Hardened. And he’s wearing a suit. My mouth goes dry. My pulse quickens. My eyes widen and my skin tingles, and I blush fiercely at the feel of the slick heat that instantly blooms traitorously between my thighs. Our gazes lock, and I’m frozen as the ghost that haunts my heart suddenly storms right towards me, fire blazing in his eyes.
3
Brooks
At first, all I see is her.
Our eyes lock, and everything else just goes blank around us, until it’s just her and I.
My Leanna. My heart. My everything.
But then, I notice the guy sitting across from her, and my whole body tightens. My muscles clench, and my jaw grinds and the sight of him, and at the possibility that this is, what, a date?
The rage boils inside of me.
I know what she thinks, and I’ve known ever since I heard the truth two days ago that there was a chance she’s moved on. I mean, a woman as perfect and gorgeous, and sexy as all hell like Leanna? Any man would be lucky to scoop her up. But if the douchebag sitting across from her happens to be the one doing the scooping, he’s about to have a very unlucky evening.
I storm right towards her, fire roaring through my veins, my whole body on edge. I tune it all out—the restaurant, him, our history. All of it. None of the rest of it matters, because she’s right here, right within my grasp. I march across the restaurant floor like a hurricane, until suddenly, I’m right in front of her.
If this was a movie, I’d have some cool line to say. I’d have flowers or some shit. I’d know what to say to make it all right. But, it’s me, and this is life, not a fucking movie. So instead, I just do what the inner caveman beast inside of me wants, now that he’s gotten this close to taking back what’s his.
…I grab her, ignore her gasp of shock, and toss her right over my shoulder. And the whole place goes fucking apeshit.
The fuckwad she’s sitting with lunges to his feet, but I whirl, a snarl on my lips as I jab a finger against his chest.
“Sit. Now,” I bark, like I’m addressing an unruly pet.
He scowls at me. “Do you know who the fuck I—”
“I truly, truly don’t give a single fuck, actually.”
“Let me go!”
My attention is pulled away from the guy by the feel of Leanna’s fists and knees slamming into my body, pummeling me with her hands as she squirms.
“Goddamn it, put me down!”
“You heard the lady,” the douchebag spits. “Get your fucking hands—”
I grab him with on hand, fingers tightening on the collar of his shirt, and he gasps as I physically lift him up off the floor with one arm, shake him once, and shove him back down and into his seat. The chair tumbles backwards, sprawling him across the floor, and Leanna’s still pummeling me as I turn and start to move.
It’s like tunnel vision. I know the restaurant maître d is scurrying towards me. I know people are out of their fancy seats filming me on their phones. I know Leanna is fighting to break free of my grasp as she rains punches down on my back.
But all I know is, she’s here, and she’s mine. She’s back in my arms, where she’s belongs. Where she’s always belonged.
“You fucking asshole!” she hollers. “You son of a bitch! You—”
I stop, flinging her off my shoulder, setting her down, and then jerking back to miss the swing of her hand.
I almost grin. Goddamn she’s still feisty.
She hisses and swings again, and I feel the wind of this one before I growl, catching both her wrists in my hands and yanking her into me. We’re in the middle of the fancy restaurant, surrounded by strangers gawking at us like we’re the worst dinner show in the history of dinner shows. Leanna looks up at me, her crystal blue eyes blazing defiantly, her lips tight, and her cheeks reddening.
“You—”
She shakes her head.
“How dare you—”
There are a million things I could say. I could explain. I could stop and tell her everything right here and now and explain all the lies and the bullshit we’ve both been fed. But I’ve waited too long for this. I’ve been denied her for way too fucking long. And I won’t waste another second where my lips aren’t tasting hers.
“You can’t just—”
I grab her, yank her into me, and before she can say another word, my mouth crushes to hers, and my kiss sears possessively and heatedly across her lips.
There’s one second where she freezes, or where she almost pulls back. But then instinct takes over. Memory takes over, and suddenly, she’s melting into me as she moans into my lips.