Time unslid the knot of any last ribbon of tension.

I'm glad you're here,' said Laurent. 'I always thought that I'd have to face my uncle alone.' He turned to look at Damen, and their eyes met.'You're not alone,' said Damen.Laurent didn't answer, but he did give a smile, and reached out to touch Damen, wordlessly.

I would court you, with all the grace and courtesy that you deserve,

Interrupted, the kiss was alive between them, in dark eyes and heartbeats.

Once [your romantic leads] have kissed, you don’t get any pay-off from a second kiss. In fact, you risk reducing the tension. Every step forward has to up the stakes. But if the stakes go too high too early, it becomes a tension arms race. Escalate too soon and you’ve got all-out nuclear war in chapter four and scorched romantic earth for the rest of the story

If I gave you my heart, I think you would treat it tenderly.

There was laughter too, and something akin to happiness that hurt as it pushed at the inside of his chest.

There was a warmth in his chest whenever he looked at Laurent. He didn't look often for that reason.

I would court you, with all the grace and courtesy that you deserve. There’d be no lies between us. We’d have time to be together.