Page 49

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 and pulls 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’s voice 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 about my family. 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.”

He smooths back my hair. He’s chuckling, but there’s desire in his eyes. “So, you really are the black sheep, aren’t you?”

“And straying further from the flock every day.” My words end in a whisper as I lose myself in his gaze.

“A tattoo would be beautiful on you.” He lowers me onto my back and runs a hand up my leg. “Maybe right here.” His soft lips graze my inner thigh. “Or here.” Cool air hits me as he pushes up my shirt and drags his mouth along the shallow valley beside my hipbone.

“Hmm.” I fight to still my hot shivers.

Cruelly, he smooths my shirt back down and moves to my arm instead. “Or here.” The kiss he leaves on the inside of my elbow is no more than a whisper, but it sends a ripple of heat through my whole body.

Suddenly he jerks back, his eyes locked on my arm and a muscle ticking in his jaw.

What’s wrong?

Hastily, he scoops me up and moves me closer to the bedside lamp. Holding my arm like it’s made of glass, he angles it toward the light. Following his line of sight, I see the pink marks the size of a man’s fingers—of Zander’s fingers—branded on my flesh.

“Oh god.” Mortified, I try to pull away. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.”

Leo is furious, but not at me. “Don’t apologize for him. ”

I gulp and in a small voice say, “He’s never done anything like that before.”

“And he’s never going to again.” He takes hold of my face. “I need you to promise me something.” The storm is back in his eyes, dark and swirling.

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.

“Promise me that no matter what happens in the future—whatever happens with you and me—that you’ll never go back to him.”

“But—but what?—”

“Promise me, Betts. Please.”

I nod, even though my heart is in my throat. “I promise.”

He swipes his thumb across the blotches as he battles his rage. The next time he looks up at me, his features are composed. “I can fix this.”

No . Distraught, I shake my head. No, he doesn’t need to go after Zander. I don’t want any more fights or showdowns. No more drama. Leo is all I want, and I already have him.

“Your arm, Betts,” he says softly. Evenly. “I can fix your arm. So neither of has to see those marks.”

What?

“May I?”

I don’t know what he’s asking, but his gentle concern has me nodding.

Tenderly, he holds my arm in one hand while he brushes the fingers of the other over my blemished skin. The gesture is slow and precise, his focus intent. Warmth blossoms under his fingertips and I stop breathing.

He’s healing me.

He slides his palm down to my elbow, uncovering the injury. But there’s nothing there to see. Only perfect, unmarred skin. I press a hand to the site. No tenderness. No pain.

Leo’s eyes flash up to mine, wide and wary.

I choke on my words, on my own breath. “ What...? How?”

“It’s just energy, Betts. The same stuff you can harness.” He’s pleading with me not to be afraid.

And I might be. I don’t, in fact, know how I feel. In awe? Terrified? Grateful?

In wonder, I reach for him. “What are you?” I trace the lines of his face as though the answer is written there.

“I’m just me.” He touches his lips to my fingers.

I grab whole handfuls of his hair and kiss him.

I’m too overwhelmed to think. All I want is to lose myself in him.

He drops onto his back and pulls me down on top of him.

I don’t wait for more cues. I throw off my borrowed t-shirt and sigh as his hands slide up my bare back.

He breathes that same foreign-sounding phrase, so softly it’s impossible to make out the words.

He draws me down for another kiss, but I don’t have the patience.

I want him now. He picks up on my urgency, and in seconds his clothes are off and my panties are once again on the floor.

There’s no more struggling with the condom.

He frees it from the package and rolls it on like he’s been doing it for years.

And then he’s positioning me above him, pushing up as I lower down.

I love being on top where it’s easy to see him, where I can watch his muscles flex and his eyes roll back in his head.

His parted mouth looks good enough to taste, so I do—bending down as we rock.

I nibble and suck on his lush lower lip, then I move on to his tongue.

Under my fingers, his face is all stubble and hot skin and sharp bones.

When a low sound travels from his throat to my mouth, I grip his hair and answer back with moans of my own.

Pleasure is building layer by layer inside me, but I can’t stop watching him.

His eyes are shut tight, his thick black lashes making feathery half-moons on his cheeks.

He’s growling and groaning and clenching his jaw.

He’s holding out. For me. When I pick up my pace, he matches it, controlling my hips with firm hands.

I feel a vibration, starting from where we’re joined and pulsing through my veins.

I close my eyes and let my head drop back, unable to fight my body anymore.

Leo growls my name, but I can only answer with a gasp.

The tension in my body mounts, working me into a frenzy.

It snaps and I cry out, riding wave after wave of pleasure.

Leo clutches my hips and a second later, his shoulders arch off the bed.

I’m panting hard, willing my heart to slow down and my lungs to fill.

“Come here.” He wraps his arms around my back and pulls me to him, holding me tight as we both come down. My chest is flush with his and our hearts are pounding.

But I don’t know whose heartbeat is whose.