Kiss of the Basilisk (Split or Swallow, #1)

by Lindsay Straube

He wanted her more than life itself because a life without her wasn’t one he cared to live.

“Temptation, salvation, heaven, hell—you are everything, Tem. You are my undoing. You are beyond comprehension. There are no sufficient words to describe you, either in my language or yours.” His hands moved to her face, cupping her jaw. “My compass points to you. I could not change direction even if I wanted to.”

Tem knew the future would not be easy for them. But she also knew there was nobody else she wanted a future with.

He’d shown her that she was capable, that she mattered. It was a revelation Tem now believed wholeheartedly, and she was no longer willing to settle for less than she deserved. Even if that meant having no one at all.

I cannot live without you. Even if it means I only have some part of you, that is far preferable to no part of you at all.”

“Love is complicated. It never goes away, only changes.”

perhaps her mother had wanted her to be brave in another way: brave enough to ask for what she wanted and to settle for nothing less. Brave enough to fight for those she loved. Brave enough to do what she hadn’t.

She saw Leo’s love for her in every glance, felt it in every touch. Even when they were fighting, she knew he loved her. He always had.