Page 36 of The Sole Suspect

I frowned. “How many days has it been?”

“Three,” Dominic replied. Instead of getting up, he rolled us, pinning me beneath him. He stared down at me with an intensity that made my pulse quicken. “I need to tell you something. Something important.”

I froze, suddenly afraid. Even with our new bond, old insecurities died hard. “What is it?”

His expression softened. One hand came up to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone. “This was more than just biological imperative for me, Leo. It’s been that way for a while now. What happened between us wasn’t just because of your heat or my rut.”

The simple declaration knocked the breath from my lungs. I stared up at him, searching for any hint of deception, but found only earnest vulnerability in his silver gaze.

“I know this is all happening fast, but—” he rushed on, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice.

I surged up, cutting him off with a kiss. When I pulled back, I was smiling so wide my cheeks hurt. “It’s the same for me too, you impossible alpha. Even when I thought you were the enemy.”

The smile that bloomed across his face was breathtaking—open and genuine in a way I’d never seen from him before. He lowered his head, capturing my lips in a kiss that was achingly tender.

“Good,” he growled playfully against my mouth. “Because you’re never getting rid of me now.”

As if on cue, my body flushed with fresh heat. I shifted restlessly beneath him, suddenly desperate for his touch again.

“I thought it was over,” Dominic remarked with a soft chuckle. His laugh might just be the most beautiful—and stimulating—sound that’s ever graced my ears.

“But you... you’re making it come back,” I whispered, my voice catching as another pulse of need washed through me.

Dominic’s presence, his scent, his confession—not exactly a confession of love, but admitting that this signified something beyond merely fulfilling a physical need—had triggered one last flare. My skin prickled with sensitivity, and I arched instinctively toward him, seeking my alpha’s touch because it was the only thing that could soothe the burning ache spreading through me.

“I seriously ought to get that food,” he teased, moving back as though preparing to stand, to abandon me.

At this moment, sustenance wasn’t what I craved. I craved him.

I wasn’t particularly famished or parched. I had some hazy recollection of Dominic compelling me to eat protein bars and hydrate during the intervals between each surge of heat.

“Food can wait,” I gasped, pulling him back down to me. “Need you more.”

His eyes darkened with renewed hunger that had nothing to do with leftover casserole. “Whatever my omega desires,” he promised with a deep rumble, triggering countless butterflies dancing in my tummy.

I let out a needy whimper as he lowered his head to reclaim my mouth.

The mattress dipped beside me as I blinked awake. Dominic sat there, a glass of water in one hand and a protein bar in the other. His free hand stroked through my hair, fingertips occasionally grazing the tender mating mark on my neck. Pine and cinnamon wrapped around me, his alpha scent altered subtly by our bond—deeper, more complex, with notes of my own chocolate-leather scent intertwined.

“Drink,” he urged, pressing the glass to my lips. “You need to rehydrate. And eat this.”

He ripped open the protein bar’s wrapper, handing it to me. “Start you off with something easy on the stomach.”

I obeyed, letting him take care of me. My body ached in the best way, marked by a days of heat-driven passion. “I appreciate you looking after me,” I said.

Dominic rumbled deep in his chest. “It’s my pleasure.”

Heat flushed my cheeks, probably turning them crimson as I nibbled on the energy bar.

“What time is it?” I asked, hastily steering the conversation elsewhere, least I drag him into bed again.

Dominic reached for his phone, turning it on. “Just past noon. Hmm… Abigail’s called me sixteen times.”

“Wonder what that’s about?” I mused as I polished off the energy snack.

“No doubt reporting on the many fires I’ll need to extinguish because a certain someone kept me thoroughly occupied these last three days,” he remarks with no real annoyance.

“Then you should get to work, lazy alpha,” I teased, nestling under the blankets, hoping he’ll join me.