Page 170 of Sweet Dominion

Slowly, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer, pressing my lips to his in a gentle, lingering kiss. I poured everything I had into that kiss—all the love, all the hope for our future. I needed him to feel it, to understand that this was worth more than any revenge he could ever seek.

And as I kissed him, I felt his body start to relax, the tight lines of tension easing away as he responded to me.

Groaning, his hands found my hips and he pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.

When I finally pulled back, my lips were just inches from his.

I whispered, “If you respond to every slight with violence. Then, that’s not love, Lei. That’s fear. And fear isn’t what’s going to hold us together.”

“I barely understand what you’re trying to tell me. It’s all foreign to how I was raised.”

“Well this is why you’re different from Leo. You have your Mom inside of your heart too and you’re always willing to listen to me and change.”

For the first time since walking in the library, he smirked, “Is that right?”

“Yes. You plan to listen to me all of the time because I’m the smartest person that you know.”

His smirk grew into a full-blown smile. "The smartest person I know, huh?"

"Absolutely."

He leaned in, whispering against my lips, "And what if I told you that it's one of the things I love most about you?"

My heart fluttered at his words. "Then I'd say you have excellent taste."

This time, his lips met mine in a kiss that was deep and tender, a kiss that spoke of everything we had been through, all the pain and all the passion, all the fears and all the hopes.

As our lips moved together, I felt a warmth spreading through me, chasing away the cold dread that had settled in my heart earlier from his wish for death.

He let go of my waist and cupped my face with his hands as if he were afraid I might slip away, if he didn’t hold on tight enough.

God, I’m absolutely in love with him.

His kiss deepened, becoming more urgent as if he were trying to convey everything, he felt for me through that one simple act.

And I responded, pouring my own emotions into the kiss, letting him know without words that I understood, that I was with him, that we would face whatever came our way together.

I just wanted him to sink into my love and let go of all that bullshit hate.

When we finally pulled back, just a fraction, he rested his forehead against mine.

And I tried to catch my breath.

My lips tingled from the intensity of the kiss, but all I could focus on was the look in his eyes—a look that told me he felt it too, that he was as lost in me as I was in him.

“Lei,” I whispered.

“Yes?”

“Do you really want to get revenge and miss all of this?”

He tensed against me. “This?”

I moved my head away. “All my sweet kisses. I like to think that I’m a good kisser.”

“You are.”

“If you don’t let it go, you will lose my kisses. . .and more.”

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