That first night at O-Chi, when I saw Leo in the kitchen and his eyes found mine, he lit a spark in me. Four months later, that spark has become a raging fire. I feel remade. I used to run from emotions or numb them in beer after beer. Now I embrace them,harnessthem, in all their frightening intensity. I’m so much stronger than I was.
So why does it frighten me that I could lose my heart to this man?
I’m trying not to be nosy as Leo and I make our way down the hall, but I can’t resist the opportunity to look around. The apartment is sparsely decorated but somehow still cozy, probably because there are so many plants. Maybe this is Leo’s hospital and they’re all his patients, recovering from his magical surgery. We pass the second bedroom, what I suppose was once Robin’s. There’s a long folding table set up inside, moonlight shining on the books and papers scattered upon it.
In the narrow kitchen, Leo gets us each a glass of water and produces a bag of pretzels. We lean against opposite counters and quietly munch.
“I didn’t realize I was so hungry,” I say.
“Me neither.”
Between the two of us, we’re wearing only one complete outfit. I’m in nothing but panties and his plain, gray t-shirt; he’s wearing dark gray sweatpants. Shamelessly, I stare at his shirtless torso, my wayward hands reaching out to get their fill of those firm pecs and abs.
For god’s sake, I’m still chewing a pretzel.
With a pleased smile, Leo wraps his arms around my waist andpulls me close, letting me indulge my sense of touch. His skin is smooth but not soft, his body warm and solid. He licks a few crumbs off my lips and kisses me. It doesn’t take much to arouse me again. All he has to do is touch me. Talk to me. Look at me.
Exist.
I comb my fingers through his tousled hair and smile. “You look like you’ve been mauled by a mountain lion.”
“I have been,” he hums. “By a ferocious lioness.” The corner of his mouth twitches before he kisses me again. He’s going to destroy me with that crooked smile.
As he takes my hand and leads me out of the kitchen, I check to be sure this lioness didn’t claw his back raw. But if I’ve scratched him, it wasn’t deeply. I can’t see any marks in the dim light. I do, however, notice some ink on the back of his left shoulder.
Once we’ve returned to his room, I dodge his reaching arms and kneel behind him on the bed, holding him by the shoulders to keep him still. “You never said you had a tattoo.” Not even when we were talking about Avery’s. I run a finger over the black lines, smiling when goosebumps break out on his skin. Something about the tattoo’s design looks familiar. Wait a minute?—
“Isn’t this one of the symbols on your ring?”
“The antlers.”
While he watches me over his shoulder, I trace the lines again. There’s more detail in this image than in the one on his ring. I can actually see shapes that look like the antlers on a mature buck. “It looks almost tribal.”
“It is, sort of.”
“I thought you said it was a symbol of protection.”
“Right, yeah. It is.” He shivers and I withdraw my hand, afraid I’m tickling him. “But it’s a…family symbol.”
“Like the spear?”
He nods as he turns to face me.
He’s marked himself with his family lineage. Who does that in our modern world? It’s romantic, unusual, mysterious. Zander’svoice echoes in the back of my mind.He isn’t who you think he is. He’s lying to you.No, I’m not falling for it. I refuse to ask Leo a million questions. I only ask one, “Does everyone in your family have the same tattoo?”
“Everyone old enough to get one.”
“That’s fascinating.” I’m in awe of this family I’ve never met.
A thought occurs to me, and I giggle.
Leo smiles. “What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking aboutmyfamily. And then I got this image of my mother getting a tattoo.”
“Not the type, is she?”
“Not unless she could cover it with a Hermès scarf.”
