<b>Chapter </b><b>127 </b>


    Reba’s POV


    :


    41


    He returned to my bedside, sitting on the edge of the mattress. His fingers traced my face, following the curve of my cheek, the line of my jaw, careful to avoid the bruise. Then his hand drifted lower, to the pulse point at my neck, where I knew he could feel my heartbeat racing.


    “Does it hurt?” he asked, his eyes fixed on mine.


    “Not anymore,” I whispered truthfully. The pain medication dulled the worst of it, and his touch seemed to make everything else fade away.


    Dominic leaned forward, pressing his lips to my forehead, then to each eyelid, the tip of my nose, and finally, gently, to my lips. The kiss was tender at first, almost reverent, but quickly deepened into something more primal. His hand slid beneath the hospital gown, warm against my skin.


    “We shouldn’t,” I breathed against his mouth, even as my body arched toward his touch.


    “Tell me to stop,” he challenged, his fingers tracing patterns on my thigh.


    I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. Instead, I pulled him closer, my fingers tangling in his hair.


    Dominic moved down my body, his lips trailing fire across my skin. He was careful of my injuries, his touch firm but gentle as he pushed the hospital gown higher. When his mouth reached the inside of my thigh, I gasped, clutching


    the sheets.


    “Quiet, little doe,” he murmured against my skin. “Unless you want the entire floor to hear how I make you feel.”


    I bit my lip as his tongue found my center, my hips bucking involuntarily. He held me down with onerge hand syed across my stomach, the other teasing and stroking in concert with his mouth. I’d never experienced anything so intense–thebination of his skilled ministrations and the forbidden nature of our location heightening every


    sensation.


    “Dominic,” I panted, feeling the pressure building. “I can’t-”


    “Let go,‘ hemanded, his voice vibrating against me. “Come for me, Reba.”


    The wave crashed over me, and I muffled my cry with my hand, my body trembling with the force of my release. Through half–lidded eyes<b>, </b>I watched as Dominic raised his head, satisfaction and possession burning in his gaze.


    “You are mine, Reba,‘ he said, the words both a statement and a promise. “Mine.”


    In that moment, vulnerable and sated, I believed him. I wanted to be his,pletely and irrevocably. But as he moved up to <b>kiss </b>me again, his phone buzzed in his pocket, shattering the intimate bubble we’d created.


    :


    自


    Dominic pulled back slightly, straightening my gown with careful hands before retrieving his phone. His expression shifted subtly as he nced at the screen. He looked at me, then walked to the window, speaking quietly.


    “Mother, I know…” His voice was low, controlled. “Yes, I’m aware of the situation… No, that won’t be necessary<b>… </b><b>I’ll </b>


    handle it.”


    I watched his broad shoulders tense beneath his shirt, the rigid set of his spine telling me more than his words. Whatever the conversation entailed, it wasn’t pleasant.


    When he returned to my side, his expression was carefully neutral. “I need to go,” he said, smoothing my damp hair away from my face. “Pack business. I’ll return tomorrow.”


    “Okay,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.


    He kissed my forehead again, his lips lingering. “Rest. Take your medication. The nurses have instructions to call me if there’s any change.”


    After he left, I stared at the ceiling, feeling tears prick the corners of my eyes. The door hadn’t even closed behind him when the first one slid down my temple, disappearing into my hair.


    I wasn’t crying from physical pain. I was crying because I’d fallen hopelessly, stupidly in love with a man who could never truly be mine. The more attentive he was, the more he showed me glimpses of tenderness behind his dominant exterior, the deeper I fell. And the harder it would be when reality finally asserted itself.


    I was human. He was the future Alpha of Silver Moon Shadow. I was a temporary contract, a convenient distraction. And despite all my promises to myself, all my determination to guard my heart after William’s betrayal, I’d gone and given it to someone whose world would never have a permanent ce for me.


    I pulled the thin hospital nket over my face, muffling my sobs. I didn’t cry because I was hurt or weak. I cried because I was clear–eyed enough to see the truth, and still foolish enough to love him anyway.


    I must have dozed off, because when I next opened my eyes, the room was bathed in afternoon light. A gentle knock at the door roused me fully.


    “Come in, I called, quickly wiping away any lingering tears.


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