Page 201 of The Doll and The Domination

“And I’ve become a monster. You—”

I dive my head forward, capturing her mouth with my own, cutting off her question with the uncontrollable need to taste her kiss again. And it isn’t like any other time I’ve laid my lips on hers. It’s tortured. It’s traumatized. It’s deeply, madly, ferociously in love with her. Through the tears dripping down her face, the blood and sweat splattered across our skin. Her arms wrap around my neck, and I tighten my hold on her waist.

“I fucking missed you, baby.”

And I did. I missed the woman I love more than I missed having a beating heart. Because without her, I have no heart. Without her, I have no air in my lungs.

Skylenna Winter Ambrose is my whole world.

~

Skylenna

I open my eyes after seeing into the special memory Sophia gave back.

She’s gone. Like smoke spiraling into the air from a small fire. Disappearing into the ocean’s breeze, back where she belongs to protect their system’s precious memories.

And it’s just us.

Dessin takes a step back with an open mouth and an agonized expression.

“That was…” he breathes.

“One of the best days of my life,” I tell him weakly.

“I—” He shakes his head in muted shock. “That was real.”

“Yes.”

Stop crying. Stop crying. Stop crying.

“I…felt it. I remember.” He looks me up and down as if seeing me through a new lens. His chocolate gaze rests over my lips, the curve of my neck, my hands, my long hair.

He remembers me.

Now I know why those words meant so much to them.

I remember.

“You were so emotional to see me,” he says without the usual hard edge to his voice. He moves in my direction, using his left thumb to trace through the trail of my tears. “Is it because you love me?”

My eyes burn as I stare up at him through the spray of sea water and rain.

“Yes. Because you’re my soulmate, and when I watched you die on that beach…there was no life without you. No sun. No warmth.” I run my fingertips over the hairs on his forearm, savoring the fact that he doesn’t pull away from my touch even though it’s hard for him.

“This is…hard for me to accept,” he grunts.

“Why?”

“I still remember how you tortured us our entire lives. I don’t know how to move past it.”

Dread turns my stomach sour. I wish I had the time and strength to help him right now. But this trip into the void has already cost me so much.

“We have to go back,” I mutter.

Dessin looks into my eyes for a few more seconds, as if he might just find all of his answers there. He nods once, pursing his lips as he glances away.

Standing back in the hall of the prison after being sucked out of the void, the line nearly disappears into the stadium. I untie my arms from around Dessin’s neck, lingering close to his face, sharing the same breath.

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