Page 133 of Filthy Dirty Dom

"Alex…" she murmured, her fingers tracing the strong line of his jaw. "What made you change your mind?"

"Truthfully? I went to visit Mia’s and Lenore’s graves in Texas.”

“Lenore,” she breathed upon learning the name of Alex’s unborn baby. His little monkey that he had tattooed over his heart. “That’s a beautiful name.”

He kissed her forehead again. “It is. I told Mia about you, and I swear, if she could have kicked my ass from heaven, she would have. Then I talked to Lee, and well… It was like everything came into sharp focus. I’m still scared as shit of something happening to you, of not being able to protect you, of being the cause of you being hurt, but I couldn't bear the thought of letting the best thing in my life slip through my fingers."

Her heart soared at his words, and she cuddled further into him, her arms wrapping around his middle as she buried her face in his chest.

"So does this mean…we’re together?" she asked, her voice muffled against his skin.

He tightened his hold around her. "If you'll still have me.”

She pulled back just enough to look at him, her eyes meeting his. "I wouldn't want anyone else. Ever."

A smile spread across his face, reaching his eyes and lighting up his entire being. “I think we already established that. And I need you to know, I cared for Mia, but she wasn’t the love of my life, Leslie. She couldn’t be because you are.”

At his heartfelt confession, she felt tears sting her eyes. “You’re the love of my life too, Alex.”

He leaned down to capture her lips in a tender kiss, his fingers threading through her hair as he pulled her closer.

As they lay there, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Leslie felt a sense of completion. She was finally where she belonged. In Alex's arms. Forever.

Alex hugged Leslie tighter to him. Suddenly, the words were spilling out of him. "Leslie," he started, taking her hand in his. "I have been through a lot in my life. I've made mistakes, I've had my heart broken, and I've experienced things I never thought I would. But every single one of those moments led me to you."

She blinked at him, her green eyes wide. He continued, "You, Leslie, have shown me what it's like to really live. You've challenged me, you've loved me, and you've accepted me, all of me, without any reservations. I didn't know I could be this happy until I met you."

He took a deep breath, feeling a strange mixture of nerves and excitement. "I don't want to live my life without you. I want to wake up next to you every morning, and I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every night. I want to face every challenge and celebrate every victory with you. I want to love you for the rest of my life, Leslie, and I don’t want to waste another second apart from you. Marry me?"

She was silent for a moment, her eyes glistening in the dim light. He watched her, holding his breath, waiting for her response.

Finally, she broke out into a wide grin. "You just proposed to me in a sex club," she said, laughter bubbling from her lips. Her eyes met his, sparkling with love. "It's so us... yes, Alex, I will marry you."

His heart soared, relief flooding through him. He pulled her close, kissing her fiercely. She loved him, all of him, and he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life proving to her just how much he loved her in return.

Later…

* * *

Alex was all smiles as stood next to her in her mother Bunny’s brownstone where one of her extravagant gatherings was underway. The evening had been an overwhelming mixture of food, laughter, and reconnecting with Leslie's vibrant family. As Leslie chatted with her sister Deena, Alex focused on the sun pendant necklace she wore, the one he’d bought her in Italy. When they’d went back to her place after the night he’d proposed, she’d walked to one of her drawers, handed him the pendant and turned her back so he could put it on her. She hadn’t taken it off since. He wondered if she might exchange it with the gift he planned to give her tonight, but either way she’d be still be carrying part of him wherever she went.

As the night wrapped up, Branden, Leslie's older brother, made his way over to them. He extended a hand toward him and when Alex took it, he pulled Alex in for a big hug, one Alex returned.

“I always knew I could trust you with my sister, Alex,” he said. “Even when she told me she was waging war to win you, I wasn’t scared for her but you.”

Alex watched as Leslie playfully shoved at her brother.

Branden’s fiancée, Cara, joined them and gave both Alex and Leslie a hug as well. Branden looked at Cara like she was every treasure in the world rolled into one. He hoped it was the way he looked at Leslie but it’s exactly how he felt.

After he’d won Leslie back, he’d told Branden everything about Mia and Luca. He had a right to know, the right to decide whether he wanted Alex to continue working for him, even for one day longer. Branden’s reply had been instantaneous. “You trust this Luca?”

“I do,” Alex said.

“Then I trust him, too.”

And that was it. And it was huge. Branden was just as protective of Cara and his family as Alex was of Leslie. So for Branden to still trust him after what Alex revealed… It was humbling. It was amazing. It was further proof, when Alex was feeling low, that he was a good man, because only a good man could have both Leslie’s love and Branden’s loyalty.

They enjoyed the rest of the evening with Leslie’s family and her friends. Their friends. When they finally left, the vibrant energy of New York City was pulsing around them as they walked side by side. He had her close to his side, his arm draped around her waist, their strides perfectly in sync.

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