Page 312 of Split or Swallow

Leo smiled.

“Then so you shall have me.”

He slid inside her.

Somehow it felt even better than the first time. They both moaned in unison, their breaths becoming one. Leo cradled her head in his hand, holding her securely as he sank into her again and again.

“So soft, Tem,” he whispered. “So wet.”

Tem took him deeper and deeper—all the way to the very center of her—validating their connection in the best way she knew how. She wanted to seal them together indefinitely—she wanted Leo’s heart imprinted on hers. She wanted to give him her heart in return.

“I’m close, Leo.”

He slowed his pace. “Not yet, Tem.”

“Why not?”

“You said you wanted to come together.”

Tem wanted nothing more.

She let Leo set the pace, savoring the way his tongue tasted in her mouth, tracing it with hers. She remembered their first kiss—how he’d told her to find him when she was ready. It was always that way with Leo. He always waited for her—always made sure she got what she wanted, even when she didn’t know she wanted it. He listened to her. He cared.

Leo’s face was right in front of hers. When he looked into her eyes, Tem understood that this moment meant everything to him. He’d chased her for so long, never truly earning her favor until it was too late. She wanted to give this to him now: to be together before everything inevitably fell apart around them.

Tem relaxed beneath his thrusts, knowing they would find their way together. She felt the hardness of his body—how perfectly it moved within hers. Their song had taken a long time to write. But now it was all Tem wanted to hear. Leo wasn’t perfect, and neither was she. Tem didn’t know what their future held—didn’t even know if she would survive the week. But she knew she wanted to try. For him.

“Tem,” Leo murmured, his lips dropping to her neck. His thrusts were quickening. “I’m going to fuck you harder now.”

The words were strained; he was clearly holding back.

Tem nodded eagerly, showing him she wanted that too.

“Fuck me harder, Leo.”

Her hands left his head and wrapped around the bedpost, holding on tight as he drove into her. This was it: the moment for them both. Tem had been waiting for this ever since they’d met in the study and they’d drank whiskey together for the first time. This had been building between them since then.

Tem closed her eyes. She knew Leo was watching her—knew he wanted to see every moment of this. But Tem wanted to feel it instead. She wanted to understand how her body took his, how perfectly they would conclude their union. This could be goodbye, after all. Tem didn’t want to forget a moment of it.

Leo called her name.

Tem answered with his.

They came together.

Tem opened her eyes to see Leo above her, content and fulfilled, his thrusts slowing as their waves began to ebb. Tem brushed her hands up his torso, pulling his face down to hers. She kissed him, and he kissed her back, and for a very long time that was all they did. When they pulled apart, Leo smiled, flashing his teeth. Tem touched the gold ones.

Leo’s expression sobered. Already, reality was setting in. Already, it was time to think about the future.

“Tem,” he whispered. “I didn’t know. If I had…”

Tem placed a single finger over his lips. She knew he hadn’t known. But Tem was not so naive to think he would have charted a new path if he had. Not without knowing her—not without falling in love with someone who contained the very thing he’d been trained to hate.

Her response was the same thing Caspen once told her:

“I don’t hold you responsible for the sins of your ancestors.”

Leo nodded, although she couldn’t tell if he believed her. But there was nothing she could say to comfort him. This sliver of happiness was temporary for them. The moment they left Leo’s room, they would have to face what came next.