Page 215 of Darling Venom
Leah took another step away from Jonah.
“Leah.” His voice broke.
And another one.
No. Please, no.
She turned her back on the door, walking away from him.
Tears blurred my vision.
Jonah sighed. “You are so stubborn. I would take all your scars in a heartbeat and wear them like fucking Levi’s if I could.”
Leah stopped.
I twisted my fingers, begging her to see the truth. His truth.
That he cared.
That her scars didn’t define her.
Her eyes widened.
In realization?
I didn’t dare breathe.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
That’s it, Leah. Listen to him. He’s telling the truth.
All Jonah saw was this hot, sweet girl from across the hall who fed an orphaned baby fox, raised her sister when she was eighteen, walked through fire for the people she loved, and took care of his kid.
I’d always known this.
He’d always known this.
But it looked like she’d just now figured it out.
She spun around and ran to the door. Unlatched the lock and flung it open. They stood in front of each other. Both panting.
He was so hot.
She was so beautiful.
I felt like a total intruder, but I didn’t even care, because this was the chapter I’d been waiting to read in Leah’s story since the night that changed everything.
Jonah took a step in. He cupped Leah’s head with his huge, dirty mechanic paws and walked her backwards, toward the wall.
“Perfect,” he growled into her face, his thumb brushing the purple skin of her right cheek. Her back hit the wall. His face sloped down, his lips parallel with hers. “Fucking perfect.”
Then he kissed her so hard, I got secondhand dizziness. I took a step back and closed my door, giving them some privacy.
No matter what happened between Jonah and Leah, I felt lighter now. Like some of my responsibility for her state of aloneness no longer existed.
She was falling back into life.
Rewriting those bad chapters.
