Page 109 of Power & Punishment

“I’m not asking you to stop being who you are,” he says, the look on his face threatening to swallow me whole. “I’m just asking you to let me be someone you can rely on.”

That hits harder than I want to admit. Landing somewhere that’s been starving for that exact offer.

“I’m not sure I know how to do that,” I admit, looking down at my hands. “I’m not sure how to do relationships at all. I’ve spent so long trying to forget how helpless loving someone can make you feel.” I swallow hard. “And how losing them always feels inevitable.”

I take another deep breath.

“So, I stopped letting people get close enough to matter.”

Leo is quiet.

He doesn’t attempt to fill the silence with a joke, smug grin, or easy flirtation. He just sits there quietly considering my confession.

But he doesn’t break eye contact once. Watching me closely like I’ve placed something incredibly fragile in his hands, and he knows that if he makes the wrong move, it’ll shatter.

“I know what it’s like to lose people, Mia. And I know loving someone means giving them the ability to destroy you. But getting a second shot at a family I thought I lost taught me that risking the pain doesn’t make love less worthwhile. It’s what makes every moment matter even more.”

“I want to believe you,” I admit, swallowing hard. “But it’s not that simple.”

“Then we’ll take things slow.”

A deflated laugh cracks my lips open. “That’s a loaded answer.”

“It’s not,” he says, defending his statement. “I’m not asking you to let me in overnight. I know it doesn’t work like that.”

His thumb slowly drags across my wrist.

“I know you’ll try to do everything on your own because that’s what you’re used to, and I’ll continue to overstep because I have no self-control when it comes to you.”

Despite the fact that I’m still very much pissed at him, the corner of my mouth begins to curl upwards.

“But I can learn,” Leo adds, “and I promise I will, if you let me.”

His words creep through the tiny cracks of a carefully constructed wall, and for the first time I can picture a future for us. A really fucked up and bumpy future full of lots of petty arguments that make me feel challenged and loved all in one. But a future, nonetheless.

“You’re making it difficult to hate you.”

Leo’s mouth twitches, a soft laugh making way for the relief on his face. “If you want to continue hating me, we can always include hate sex in our non-conventional relationship.”

I glare at him, finally feeling the exhaustion kick in.

“Last night,” I begin, my voice trembling. “I was still so angry at you, but seeing you hurt like that, I—I forgot about everything and I realized just how crazy I’d be if anything really did happen to you. If you⁠—”

“Mia,” Leo interjects, cutting me off and closing his fingers around mine.

“A big part of me hates that you have this effect on me.”

His thumb slides up, tracing a lazy circle at the base of my hand. “Trust me, I’m struggling with it too.”

Another unexpected laugh escapes—more delusional than genuine. It’s probably closer to a sob than anything.

And then, without thinking what comes next or the plethora of issues we still need to work through, I go against every logical thought in my brain and lean forward.

Leo’s brows raise slightly in surprise, but he doesn’t stop me. Instead, he lifts his good hand and cups the side of my face before connecting our lips.

Up until this point, our kisses have been hard and desperate, but this one is slow and controlled. It feels like two powerful forces slowing down just long enough to collide with each other.

I moan into his mouth, carefully swinging my legs over his lap and straddling him. His hands connect with my hips, pulling my center closer to where he needs me the most.