East Rising (Naive Mistakes #2) by Rachel Dunning Page A

doesn't mean everything's taken care of. But I'm pretty
certain it is. Maybe he had eyes on us. Maybe there's another sick
fuck above him with the same goddamn fetishes. Who knows. Anyway, I
couldn't be apart from you any longer. And when Istvan, well,
'tasted the river-floor' let us say...when that happened, I figured
it was a good enough time. And if it isn't, well, I can protect
you. Now I can. He
was the worst. A sick, demented, lunatic. No one could be worse
than him. But if there is another guy, watching me, watching us... I can
protect you , that
I can promise you. But if Kayla had come along... Two of you would
be just too much to watch over. And you know I'd choose you if I
had to, if I was put on the spot. And I'd hate for something to
happen to your friend because of me.
    "In all honesty, I wanted to wait a little
longer. Maybe another three or four weeks. But then..." He looked
away. "Well, I heard of you with that...guy, on that wall, by the
ocean..."
    "Oh, right..." I felt suddenly ashamed.
    "No, it's fine. It's fine. That you didn't
meet up with someone earlier — You didn't, did you?"
    I shook my head. I saw him let out a breath
he'd been holding briefly.
    "I'm so sorry, Leora. I'm sorry for the shit
I caused... I fucking hate money. I hate all of this shit." He
pointed to his magnificent house. "It's not worth any of the
trouble it's brought me. Not worth the risks it's imposed on those
I...love. Actually, no, that's wrong. Only one of those people I've
loved, the other I just cared for deeply."
    Ahh, right, Alexandra. No, "Alex"...
    I did love her. I loved
her more than anyone could love another. That's what he'd said to me about her once...
    He stood from his barstool, put an arm on
either side of me, rested his hands on the counter behind me. I
smelled the sweet scent of good wine on his breath. His stance was
steady, his eyes locked.
    "Leora," he said. And here,
finally, after a day of unrest and mayhem and confusion about him,
me, us , in my
mind... Here, I felt my Conall again. My Conall. The one I'd fallen in love
with, the one who got my blood hot, made my legs weak, and caused
my skin to break out in so many sweats I had decided to start
carrying mist with me in my purse...
    Because when his arms locked me there, on
that stool, his eyes searing into me, I got warm. And it wasn't the
fire in the next room. No ways, brother. (Actually, that fire
wasn't doing shit, come to think of it.)
    His voice went low. His
shoulders hunched. "Leora, I don't love you." He shook his head to emphasize the
point. "Love is too weak a word. You are the sun rising in the
East. You are the star I look for in the dark. You are everything
to me. To say I love you is a misnomer, the greatest crime that
could ever be committed against another human being, or mankind
itself. I so much more than love you." He looked down, grappling
for better words. "You...are my sunrise, my sunset, my day, my
night, the firmament, the stars. You are the moon, the flowers, the
scent of dew in the early wind, my morning coffee, my evening
drink, my pillow, my comforter, my bed, my garden..." He came
closer as he spoke. I was too stunned to move. "You...are my Leora , because your name
encompasses all those things to me. And even though the name,
Leora, is explained to us as meaning compassion and light , I know they got it wrong.
Because Leora means everything , all that is important.
You are my everything. My Leora."
    His right hand moved away from the counter,
his eyes still trained on my own so that I barely noticed him move.
He pulled his shirt up on the right side, revealing the most
exquisite oblique muscles I'd ever seen. My heart thumped. He
pulled his shirt higher... And there it was:
    In perfect script, with curlicues and
flourishes and covered with vines and little angelic leaves...was
my name, on his body, permanently:
    LEORA .

CHAPTER EIGHT

-1-
    "You know it's a bad idea to get a tattoo of
a girl's name on your body, don't you?