No Turning Back (17 page)

She shivered from the impact, as she would watching a movie where she was scared out of her mind. Mallory could call him whatever she wanted. Leah suspected the guy was pure trouble and hoping to cause loads of it. Not the sexy rough-and-tumble type like Declan. The destroy-everything type that should be avoided.

When her father started to talk, Ed raised a hand. “Leah is right. Anyone who acts inappropriately will have difficulty raising a defense.”

“Nonsense.”

She ignored her father and the way he kept shuffling his feet and blurting things out. “Instead of looking to the past, we need to focus on bringing more revenue here. My job is to promote Sweetwater while building up tourist traffic that will support all of our businesses.”

The chief’s smile didn’t meet his eyes as he gave a half-hearted chuckle from the microphone. “No one is debating that, Leah.”

“And no one will want to book a hotel room or dinner here, or shop in any of our stores, if we have a reputation in the press as a vigilante town.” There, she dropped it. Aimed right for their collective checkbooks and let her arrow fly. “We want to sell the town to people who like to spend, not try to rehabilitate its image on the news after we’ve destroyed it and any hope for huge financial gain, right?”

Some folks clapped. Many nodded. Except for a group sitting around the front table, all with their arms crossed and wearing killer frowns, people appeared to listen.

When she looked to her right, her father was gone.

***

Declan leaned against the wall to keep from falling down. When Leah had walked in tonight his stupid heart jumped. He was used to that sort of nonsense from his dick. Now other body parts were turning on him. But standing up to her father? That was the sexiest damn thing he’d ever seen.

Beck was the first of them to say anything after Leah brought the impromptu meeting to a close. “Please tell me you’re smart enough to do something about her.”

“What?” Declan was too busy watching the crowd as it filed past them and out of the room. A few people smiled and made eye contact. Others stood around, sneaking looks with heads bowed together in some sort of whispered conspiracy. Declan was smart enough to know the true danger usually came from the ones you couldn’t read and didn’t see coming.

“Go make up with the woman and don’t come home until you’ve slept with her.” Callen leaned across Declan and smiled at Beck. “That’s how the non-lawyers talk.”

Beck shrugged. “Mine sounded better.”

After scanning the room for trouble and finding too much of it, Declan focused in on his brothers. “To be honest, I preferred the one with the sex reference in it, but since when are either of you pro-Leah?”

“Since she showed that she has more balls than the police chief,” Callen said.

Declan winced. Leah and balls, not his favorite combination unless the balls in question were his. “That part doesn’t sound so good, but I get the idea.”

“Any idea who the other guy on the stage was?” Beck took out his phone and got a quick photo.

“Yeah, but you have bigger problems right now.” With a subtle head nod, Callen motioned toward the curtain to the left of the stage. “Leah’s father is around here somewhere and I doubt he’s going to take Leah’s scene well.”

Exactly Declan’s concern. Taking a stand was impressive. Living through it might prove tougher. She’d picked a side, an unpopular one, and that made her a target. He vowed to make sure she didn’t pay for her choice.

“I’m on it.” He started down the far right aisle, nodding to those who acknowledged him and giving a hard stare to those who didn’t. As if he’d be intimidated by that bullshit or hadn’t been dealing with passive-aggressive nonsense his entire life.

Halfway down the row a woman stepped in front of him. Not just any woman. Mallory, Leah’s best friend, complete with a skirt, tights and motorcycle boots that looked like they could do some damage.

Her usually pretty face was stretched tight with tension. She appeared ready to kick his ass and totally capable of getting the job done. “You better not yell at her or I will take you out. Right here where little kids drink their milk.”

Declan liked Mallory before and that respect only increased now. “Excuse me?”

“I’m Mallory.”

“Oh, I remember you.” An impressive five-nine and curvy. Declan remembered her theories on men from that first day in the diner. It was a shame she wasn’t Callen’s type, though Declan wasn’t a hundred percent sure of what that was anymore, because she would give Callen a good run.

“That display, Leah standing up and putting her butt on the line for you, took a lot of guts.”

Declan nodded. “I agree.”

“So, don’t go blustering in there, all manly and dumb, and . . .” Mallory’s eyes narrowed. If anything, her icy stare grew even chillier. “Wait, what?”

It was clear the road to Leah went through her best friend. Fine, he could handle that. “I’m going to apologize.”

“Is this some kind of joke? If so—”

Seemed the ladies shared a similar distrust of men. “Right now my goal is to make sure her dad doesn’t blow up at her.”

After a beat of silence, Mallory stepped aside and pointed to the curtain. “Then go. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Declan wasn’t sure he could live up to that, but he did find his line—that thing that could send him sailing over the edge—when he walked right into the middle of Leah’s backstage conversation with her dad.

The meeting attendees had scattered and the police chief was nowhere in sight. Typical from Declan’s experience with law enforcement. Beck believed in the system. Declan gave up on that long ago.

Leah’s father had her arm in a rough grip as he yelled and spit and otherwise brought his fury raining down on his daughter. They stood to the back of the room, right near a door marked J
ANITOR
. Neither saw him and he didn’t announce his presence, though he was ready to step in.

Her father gave her a shake. “I have never been so embarrassed by you.”

“Dad, listen—”

“You undercut me, my own daughter.” Marc Baron pushed off from his daughter as if she’d burst into flames. “If I had known you could be turned so easily with sex with some dirty—”

“That’s enough.” Declan walked over to them, ignoring Leah’s pleading stare and giving all his attention to the man screaming at her. His fury matched the older man’s. They could battle and Declan knew he would win.

“You’re not wanted here.”

“You’ve made that clear.” Declan pivoted until his shoulder lined up even with Leah’s. The temptation to push her behind him and shield her from the verbal blows proved great but he didn’t take that final step. An independent woman needed space and they had enough to work out without him insulting an integral part of who she was.

“This is not your business.”

But Marc Baron had it wrong. “Leah is absolutely my business.”

Her father tried to reach for her but Declan blocked his path. Redirecting, Marc took the papers in his hand and thumped them against Declan’s chest. “Get of my way.”

“Dad, stop.” Leah’s voice wavered as it slipped up an octave.

Her shoulder pressed against Declan. Her body vibrated as she gulped in hard breaths. Seeing her out of control, hurt, sent his temper spiking into the danger zone. He’d stood in her bedroom and watched her fold in on herself as he lobbed verbal blows. Now she took it from her dad, wincing with each punch of words and as lifeless as Declan had ever seen her.

“You and your boyfriend . . .” Her dad’s mouth twisted and he looked ready to spit again. “You disgust me.”

A small cry hiccupped out of her but she quickly covered it. But when her hand came up and she grabbed a fistful of the back of his shirt, just out of her father’s viewing range, Declan knew she’d reached her breaking point.

He put a hand against the older man’s chest to hold him off. Her father’s arms moved with a sort of wild abandon that suggested he would do anything to get to her. “Ease up, Baron.”

The older man shrugged off the touch, and if he heard the warning, he ignored it. “Enjoy him now, little girl. He’ll be in jail next week. Then we’ll see if you can bring your loyalty back in line.”

With that, he stomped off. Never looked back. Never offered to talk. He blamed, destroyed and made a big exit.

Declan disliked the guy before but seeing the way he treated his only child now filled Declan with a killing rage. It had taken years of training and the threat of prison to curb the wild temper of his youth. To keep it chained and locked, but it threatened to rage out of control now.

One look at her and he knew he had to wrestle even harder. Those eyes closed on a mix of pain and sadness. Her body shrank and the life seeped out of her.

He put a hand under her chin and lifted her head to face him. “You okay?”

“No.”

He cupped her cheek, desperate for the feel of her soft skin. “I’m sorry.”

She brushed her hand to the back of his for just a second then dropped her arm. Only his touch bound them. “Dad’s always been like that.”

She was drowning. He could see it in the battle lines of her body and hear it in her broken voice.

So much had happened that he wasn’t sure where to start. “Mine was a blanket apology, covering your dad and the things I said to you.”

“It’s fine, Declan. Goodnight.” She actually tried to walk away. Got as far two steps.

He held onto her arm and gently guided her back around to face him. “Whoa, I’m trying to have a conversation here.”

“Maybe I’m not in the mood this time.”

All those old feelings came rushing back at him. She caused part of this mess. She lied to him. Still, he couldn’t find the energy to go on the offensive. “Can you at least admit I had a right to be upset?”

Her shoulders fell even further. “Yes.”

That’s not what he wanted. Not this. Not her giving up. She should feel exhilarated for what she accomplished out there, but all that was left was regretful aftermath. “Then what’s with the chilly reception?”

“The fighting, our families’ histories, my father who is as bad as I’ve ever seen him, all the secrets, that woman with you at your house.” Leah threw up her hands and broke his grip on her. “I’m exhausted, Declan. My father’s health is bad and I pushed him farther than any decent child would do. If some idiot in town doesn’t choke me, the guilt might.”

So much to deal with, but one non-issue first. “What woman?”

She wrinkled up her nose and made a face. “Really? Out of that entire list that’s what you latch onto?”

He liked the kick of anger. For a second he thought about nurturing it, but the idea of letting her think he was off with some other woman a few days after kissing her made him feel like his insides had been scraped out raw. He didn’t cheat. He didn’t play games with women where he pitted one against another. He wasn’t Charlie.

“That part was out of place on your list. Who are you talking about?”

Leah shot him a you’re-busted look. “The one at your house yesterday. I saw the two of you. All cozy.”

The hours flipped through his mind until he hit on the answer. “Sophie?”

“Pretty name.” Leah actually growled while she said it.

“She’s the housekeeper.”

“Is that what you call it?”

Jealousy, not the out-of-control type. The type that admitted attraction. That had to mean he wasn’t in this relationship alone, and that’s exactly what he intended to have with Leah, if they managed to emotionally survive the last few days.

Out of fear she’d punch him in the nuts, he had to bite on the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. “And if you could see the sparks flying between Sophie and Beck you’d know how ridiculous this conversation is.”

Leah’s head tipped back. She was tall, probably around five-seven, but he towered even when he didn’t mean to. “That woman is with Beck?”

“In his dreams, not that he’d admit it.” Declan gave in to the urge to touch her again. His hands went to her hips and when she didn’t pull back, he gave her the full truth. “Sophie is cute but she’s not you. I’m not interested and she hasn’t stopped looking at Beck long enough to even notice he has two brothers.”

“That’s good for Beck, I guess.”

Declan had no idea why they were spending even a minute talking about Beck’s piss-poor love life. Not when they had their own messed-up relationship to talk out. “I’m more concerned about us.”

“You made it clear there was no such thing as us.”

A vision of that damn whiteboard flashed in his brain. “I won’t deny I was angry.”

Leah stood up a little straighter. “There’s still so much else. The pile is so high I keep waiting for it to tumble over and crush us.”

With her ego back in check and him being clear she was the only woman he could see right now, he stuck his toe in the deeper, more dangerous, end. “Maybe you’re looking for excuses not to be with me.”

“I can’t even think straight at the moment. I need distance and time to think.” She brushed her palms up and down his arms. “I know I owe you a more detailed explanation of the whiteboard and another apology, but I can’t handle one more thing right now. Please understand.”

“What are you saying?” He dreaded the answer.

“I’m going home.” She put her hands over his and broke his hold. “Alone.”

Worse than he thought. “I’m not liking this plan.”

He wanted to yell and insist but she’d had enough bossing around for one evening. He didn’t know a lot about women but he knew when you had to step back, even if only for a few minutes.

“We’ll talk soon.”

That sounded bad and those sad eyes broke his heart. “When?”

“Goodnight, Declan.” She kissed him on the cheek and left him watching her fine ass sway as she walked out the door.

Chapter Seventeen

Leah flipped back and forth on whether this was a good idea. She sat in her car in the driveway at Shadow Hill, engine off and fingers wrapped around the steering wheel. The trip over from the school, all six miles of it, took forever and had her head spinning. That’s what happened when you drove in one direction, pulled over, did a u-turn then repeated the process again.

It was almost eleven and she’d left the meeting crowd and Declan more than an hour ago. So much for thinking she could go to her father’s house and talk some sense into him. Like a kick to the stomach, Ed stepped in front of her in the school parking lot and warned her to stay away for a few days until things calmed down. She’d been dry-heaving ever since.

When she wanted comfort, wanted someone to hold her and reassure her, Declan’s was the only face to pop into her head, which brought her here after she’d just told him she needed space. Somewhere along the line she’d become the mixed-messages queen. Her emotions flew from one side to the other until her teeth rattled.

Not that she’d actually seen him yet. Getting out of the car was proving to be a huge obstacle. Probably would have been easier if there weren’t three vehicles in addition to hers stacked up in the spaces around the house. They were all home, each brother likely ready to take a turn yelling at her.

The strength of her grip increased until her palms ached. Lost in thought and wondering if she should have called first, she jumped and nearly strangled herself with the seatbelt at the sound of the sharp knock on the window. Never even saw anyone coming.

Looking over she spied the exact wrong brother at her door. Callen, the only man in town who hated her more than her father did at the moment.

“You going to get out?” The closed window muffled his voice.

Must have covered up some of his hate, too. And maybe distorted his face because he actually looked . . . fine. He didn’t smile but she wasn’t all that convinced he knew how. The severe frown and get-out-of-here rage had disappeared.

For some reason none of that gave her any comfort. At least when his face flushed with fury she knew where she stood. This whole mystery-emotion thing threw her off. She seriously considered backing right out of the driveway, possibly snagging his foot in the process. Maybe drive until she hit the next town.

He tapped again. “Leah?”

Time to face the wrath. She opened the lock with a click, mounting an offensive as he pulled the door back and let her out.

She put a finger in his face. “Do not threaten me.”

An eyebrow lifted and something that looked strangely like a smile inched up the corner of his mouth. “I only said your name.”

“This time, but earlier you promised pain . . . or something.” She’d forgotten the actual threat but the words didn’t matter. The point was he wanted her gone.

“I was about to invite you inside.”

Her mouth went dry. The comment didn’t make any sense. “Why?”

“Because it’s raining.”

The drops hit her face. She held out her hand and let the steady drizzle wash over her palm. “It is?”

“Been happening on and off since we got home. It just started again.” His mouth broke into a full-fledged smile this time. “You didn’t notice?”

She put a hand to her damp hair. In the minute since she’d been out of the car the cold, wind and wet combined to send the bottom of her hair into a wavy mess. “It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah, I know. Come inside.” He swept an arm toward the front door.

Serial killers probably said stuff like that.
Come this way and you’ll be fine.
Then they brought out the knife and the rope and you were done. Yeah, no thanks.

“Why are you suddenly being nice to me?”

His arm dropped to his side as his gaze went to the porch and across the front yard to the huge maple that shaded the grass on those occasions when the sun came out. “I watched you stand up to your dad, a guy with a gun and a bunch of people who would like to see me in jail simply because of my last name. That sort of thing adjusts a man’s priorities.”

“But that doesn’t forgive everything else.”

“I won’t claim to know what happened between you and Declan, but what you did took ba . . . guts and I appreciate it.”

The air shifted. The wind still howled and the rain fell hard, but the whirling tension dissipated. “Did you just apologize?”

Callen scoffed then treated her to an unexpected wink. “That doesn’t sound like me.”

She waited for the ground to shake then split right open and swallow her up. That would have been less surprising than the concern radiating off of him. “I have no idea what’s happening here.”

“I sense a lack of trust.”

“That goes both ways, right?”

Before Callen could answer, the front door banged shut. Declan made it across the porch and halfway down the stairs, before he looked up. He almost tripped as he turned up the collar of his coat against the wind. “Leah?”

Intensity burned in his eyes as he stood there not moving. Not saying a thing. The rain pelted his face. He blinked a few times before finally rubbing his face. “What are you doing here?”

Her breathing turned shallow and the muscles in her legs took on the weight of a train. It was as if she were rooted to the ground. “Looking for you.”

Callen leaned in between them. “You two do understand it’s raining and there’s a dry house right there.”

“I was going to your place.” Declan gave her a sheepish smile as he ran a hand over his damp hair. “Had some big plan about getting all manly and forceful and demanding you let me in.”

“Well.” Callen clapped his hands together. “On that note, I’ll take Beck and get out of here for a few hours.”

The deep voice and the late hour dawned on her. She shook her head to wipe away the haze blanketing her, that same cloud that descended and smashed her control whenever she got this close to Declan. “You don’t have to—”

“Let him go.” Declan slid in beside her and slipped his fingers through hers. Next came the head nod to Callen. “Goodnight.”

“I hear you.”

“Let’s go inside.” While Callen stood there, Declan guided her toward the house. His hand warmed hers and the friction of his arm against hers sent heat storming through her.

She glanced over her shoulder and her mind went blank when Callen waved. The world had tilted and no one warned her.

She held onto Declan’s forearm as they walked up the steps to the porch and out of the rain. “I need—”

“Not yet.” He reached out and pushed the door open. Bright light flooded the downstairs and the grand staircase sat in front of her.

The shiny wood called out. She slid her hand over the banister, taking in the smell of fresh polish. Glancing up, she saw the steps turn and wind up two stories.

“Lovely.” She didn’t realized she’d said the word out loud until she felt Declan behind her with his hands on her shoulders and face pressed close to her hair.

“Yes, you are.”

Her hand went to cover his. “We have so much to talk about.”

“Later.” His lips lingered over her neck, tickling and enchanting. “Much later.”

He pulled her body back against his. An alarm went off in her head, a final warning that taking this step would change everything. Then his mouth brushed her ear and her stomach did a sexy little tumble.

“Tomorrow I’ll show you the house and we’ll talk through all that’s happened.” He placed a line of nibbling kisses along her jawline. “But not now.”

He leaned against her until she took his weight. She could feel all of him. The hard outline of his thighs and broad expanse of his chest. And the erection pressing against her. Her coat slid down her arms as he lifted her hair free.

A shift and the heat cushion was gone. He stood on the step above her and raised their joint hands to his mouth. The kiss pressed against her palm and shot right through her. Walking backwards he kept his gaze on hers as he pulled her up the stairs.

“Where are we going?” But she knew. Just like she knew they’d end up in bed as soon as she turned into the driveway. All the stalling in the car couldn’t support the depth of this moment.

They’d been circling for what felt like forever but only amounted to a bit more than a week. So much had changed. She had changed.

“To my room.” His eyes gleamed as he said the words.

She wanted to dive in but a touch of panic spiraled through her. “Your brothers?”

“Gone and not a problem.” His kisses trailed to her wrist and down the soft inside of her arm.

Nothing stood in the way.

She skipped a step and ended up next to him. When his arm slid around her shoulder and his fingers went to her hair, the drumming of her heart hammered in her ears. She had to exhale nice and slow to keep from losing her breath.

They turned on the landing and his mouth found hers. Hot and sure, deep and commanding. The kiss swept through her, stopping the climb and whirling in her head until she had to lean on him for support. He took over until she craved the sensation of his mouth against hers above everything else.

When his head finally lifted her eyes stayed closed. She reveled in the moment, in the daze. She fell into his kiss and coming out again took all her energy.

His cheek rubbed against hers. “I can’t wait to see you on my bed.”

The minutes passed as she floated, her heart soaring. Opening her eyes again, she realized they were on the second floor and slipping down a small hallway to the right of the grand staircase. The door was open and he flipped the light switch with his elbow.

Her back hit the wall next to large framed photograph of some couple she didn’t recognize. She only had a second to take in the huge bed and dark furniture. From the pictures, she knew this was a guestroom with its own bathroom. Very masculine, a little dark with a central focus on the bed.

It was a perfect fit for him.

“I want you so much I’m stupid with it.” His coat dropped to the floor before his hand joined hers in stripping off his sweater and the T-shirt underneath.

She wanted him naked and kissing her, but that chest proved irresistible. Her palms caressed his bare skin. With his arms and stomach honed by years in the military and what she guessed was a fair bit of time in the gym, his body intrigued her. Not an ounce of fat on him.

She traced her fingertips over the tattoo vining around his arm. “Did you get this in the military?”

“I’d blame a drunken night in Thailand, but it was actually a sober afternoon in Hawaii. A mortar strike took two of our men in Afghanistan and a few of us paid tribute when we were on leave.”

This close she could see the scroll inside the spikes. Honor. Not a surprise he’d have that word written on his skin since it seemed to be ingrained in his being. Her hand traveled over to his stomach. A long gash ran along his side. Probably four inches and definitely not a minor injury.

As her palms toured and her mouth dipped to press kisses over his wounds, she counted seven in all. Her warrior didn’t sit on the sidelines. He waded into the battle and took the hits.

“So many injuries.”

“A few are from training and this one is thanks to a skateboarding accident of my youth.” He turned his arm and showed her a scar that ran the entire length of the inside of his upper arm.

She touched the raised line of white then dotted it with a trail of kisses. “That was a pretty big fall.”

“I actually got it climbing the fence to get into the secure construction site I knew would have the perfect jumping ramp.”

She imagined his small body sprawled on concrete in a pool of blood. “Your poor mother.”

“She grounded me for a month.”

Leah went back to the puckered scar on his side. That one was fresher, probably the injury she’d read about from the end of his deployment. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

“Many had worse. I didn’t come back in pieces or a casket. I was lucky.” He placed his hands against her cheeks and lifted her face for another blinding kiss.

Her mind buzzed by the time they broke apart again. “I feel lucky.”

“Do you now?” His hands went to the buttons on her shirt. With an expertise she admired, he slid them open, exposing her boring white bra.

“But I have to warn you.”

His fingers grazed the soft plump of her breasts spilling out of the top of her bra. The light touch and satisfied smile were echoed in his soft hum. “That sounds dangerous.”

“My underwear.”

His head came up, just as his hand settled over her breast and his thumb caressed her nipple. “Excuse me?”

She fought to remember what she intended to say. Naked . . . something . . . right, underwear. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you tonight, so I dressed for the meeting not for sexy times.”

The sly smile on his lips caught her off guard. So did his hands when they swept her shirt off her shoulders and dropped down to the belt of her black dress pants.

“Are you saying you’re wearing fighting panties, because that’s hotter than I can tell you.”

“You get turned on by the oddest thing.” Even now, she could see the bulge outlined by his faded jeans. His erection pressed against his zipper, calling to her. She wanted to peel those pants down and see all of him.

“With you? By everything.”

There was a gentle tug at her back and then the tension eased over her shoulders as her bra straps fell down. The cups dipped forward and his hands were there to caress her. “You don’t need this.”

Her bra disappeared but she barely noticed. She was too busy watching his gaze roam over her bare breasts. Whatever she was about to say died on her lips when his palms cupped her and that sexy mouth smiled in appreciation.

“I can’t believe I waited this long to have you,” he whispered.

She couldn’t believe they were still standing. But not for much longer if she had a say. She slipped down his body, careful to touch every delicious inch from his flat stomach to the fly of his jeans, and sat on the bed. His hand slipped through her hair and she worked on his belt. A pull and careful lowering later and the buzz of the zipper filled the room. Sliding her hand inside, she wrapped her palm around his erection, letting her closed fist ride him up and down.