Restore Me

by J.L. Seegars

“I want to kiss you. I need to know if you taste as good as you do in my dreams.”

So damn beautiful it makes my heart hurt.

“I could never hate you, angel,” I whisper against her skin. “I’ve always loved you too much for that.”

“You. Always you, angel.”

“I’d do anything to put a smile on your face, Sloane. Just say the word and it’s yours.”

“I could never regret you, angel.” He pulls our linked hands up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my fingers. “Even when you break my heart by saying shit like you hope you’re worth whatever this is costing me emotionally. Let’s be clear, whatever the price is for being with you, I’ll happily pay it. I’ll give up my soul for a moment of your time. I’ll sell everything I own for a night in your bed. There’s no sacrifice I wouldn’t make to hear you laugh, make you smile, or shield you from pain.”

“Angel.” He plants a kiss on my lips. “I’m jealous of the wind that gets to blow through your curls.” Another kiss, this time to my jaw. “Of the fabric that gets to hug your curves all day and the moonlight that streams across your skin at night.”

If something’s wrong with my angel, I want to be the one to help her through it, to pull her into my arms and wipe her tears away while she just feels.

I barely breathe as he hauls me and my blanket cocoon into his lap. He presses a gentle kiss to the top of my head. “What’s the matter? Tell me how I can fix it.”

“I’m here, Sloane. I’m right here with you, just tell me what you need.”

Dominic: I did try to hate you, Sloane, but I never succeeded because hating you was even more impossible than loving you.

“Like I said before, wherever you are is where I’ll be.”

He leans down and brushes his nose over mine three times. Like he’s always done. Like he’ll do for the rest of our lives. “I love you too, angel.”