Lu Ming's faint smile was nothing but the spark that melted the very last bit of space between them.
The dark, metallic laboratory suddenly transformed into a deeply warm sanctuary. Lu Ming raised his hand, trembling slightly from the weakness in his blood, and his fingertips cupped Ari's jaw with delicate tenderness, lifting her face to meet his passionate gaze.
"You talk too much, Ari..." he whispered with a warm rasp that sent a shiver through her body.
Before she could answer with a single word, he leaned down, his lips meeting hers in a deep, slow, and intensely passionate kiss.
The kiss was heavy with all the terror he had endured watching her burn and fade away, and brimming with the overwhelming relief that she was alive and breathing in his hands once more. Their soft breaths mingled together, and Ari no longer felt the chill of the room or the ache of her wounds; the heat surging through her veins—his very own blood—made her head spin with dizzying intensity.
Ari closed her eyes completely. The hand resting in his hair slid down to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer with every ounce of strength she could muster, answering his kiss with equal passion, as if pouring out all her fear into this single moment.
(Ari to herself, losing herself in his touch and the heat of his lips: His blood in my veins, his breath enveloping me... The hybrid dinosaur and the uncertain future no longer exist—there is only this vast warmth consuming us both.)
Lu Ming pulled back barely a few millimeters to breathe, his forehead resting against hers. His faint golden eyes locked onto hers with a look overflowing with possessiveness and raw love, while his fingers tangled deep into her soft black hair.
"Now..." he whispered, pressing another tender kiss to the corner of her lips and then to her warm cheek, "the cage is completely locked, and there is no escape."
Ari smiled with a sleepy, affectionate warmth, pressing her body even closer to his chest, surrendering to his racing heartbeat—the sweetest music she had ever heard.