Our breaths mingle, chests rising and falling rapidly, eyes burning with fury.
"You are just as much to blame as I am," she whispers, her face falling as tears fill her eyes.
My chest aches with the realisation she's correct.
I am to blame.
As Leo said, I pushed her away. I purposely made her hate me, and that's what has led us here.
Even my initial reaction of blaming her instead of hearing her out was another attempt at subconsciously pushing her away one last time.
Her hands grip onto my T-shirt as her body slumps in my arms. A sob rips from her chest, even as she clamps her lips together, trying to hold the emotions at bay.
My own vision blurs as her words float around inside my mind, and I rest my forehead against hers as I exhale.
"I never hated you," I tell her softly, closing my eyes. "I was scared, and I thought this marriage was going to be a disaster, so I played along, made it worse than it should've been… I was a coward."
She sniffles, and her hold on my T-shirt loosens as her body relaxes further into mine.
"I made you question how I felt about you. I put doubt in your mind. Everything I did has led us to this moment," I admit as a tear trickles down my cheek. "It's my fault all of this is happening, and it's all because I was stupid, and I tried to stop myself from falling in love with you."
Her arms wrap around my body, and her forehead slips from mine, causing me to open my eyes and see her staring up at me, green eyes shining beneath thick lashes clumped together from tears.
"We've both done some extremely destructive things in this relationship, trying to break it apart, and find a way to destroy it. But I'm not sure I want to anymore."
Rising onto her toes, her lips brush against mine, her eyes fluttering shut.
"I'm sorry, Dom."
"Me too, little viper."
Our lips meet, and my heart instantly slows inside my chest as my body relaxes while hers melts into mine.
The taste of her salty tears enters my mouth as I swipe my tongue over her lips. I use my thumbs to brush the remaining tears away as she opens up for me, allowing me to deepen the kiss.
Her arms wrap around the back of my neck, and her left leg loops around my hip, dragging me against her.
Her hands travel down my back, lighting a path of fire across my skin.
Brushing my hands down the length of her arms, I feel the goosebumps spread across her skin, and I smirk against her lips.
"So responsive," I growl, dipping my head to the slope of her neck, placing kisses along her skin. "If I'd done this from the start, I would've known you never hated me."
Her hands slip beneath my top, nails scraping along the corded muscles as they travel up my back, lifting the top along with them.
"If you tried this from the start, I would've punched you in the face," she tells me, tugging the top up to my armpits, cocking a brow at me when I reluctantly pull my mouth away from her.
Whipping the top over my head, I latch back onto her instantly, suctioning my mouth just above her collarbone, nibbling and sucking on her neck while my hands roam over her body, groping every inch of her.
"Dom," she moans, hands gripping onto my shoulders as mine grab the back of her thighs. "We still need to talk."
Lifting her into my arms, I come up for air, swiping my nose against the reddened, sensitive skin as her legs wrap around my waist.
"No. I'm done talking." Hoisting her up higher, I walk towards the stairs, one hand wrapped in her hair, the other gripping her arse, pushing her body close to mine. "We've both made mistakes. We've both apologised. Everything's sorted."
As her core presses against my throbbing dick, she curses, nails digging into my back.
"It's not that simple, Dom."
