Chapter 45 – The Wolf Inside

Dominic’s POV

For a few seconds, I didn’t move.

Her towel had slipped just a little, enough to reveal the soft curve of her thigh and her cleavage.

Water dripped slowly down her legs, leaving trails along her skin, and her bare back was still glistening from the bath. Her scent—warm and faintly floral filled the room like smoke, pulling me in.

She was right between my legs, her hands resting on my thighs for balance. Her hair had fallen forward, damp and tangled.

Her breath was shaky.

And so was mine.

Her head lifted slowly. Her lashes were wet from the mist, her cheeks flushed.

“You…” I started to speak, my voice deeper than I meant.

“Don’t think too much,” she mumbled. “My hair got stuck in your belt.”

I blinked. “What?”

She tried to lift her head further, but winced. “It’s tangled. In your zipper or something. Don’t move.”

Her voice sounded frustrated, like she was more annoyed at the situation than embarrassed. But that only made things worse for me.

Because the more she squirmed, the more the towel loosened around her. The scent of her skin—of soap and heat and something so uniquely her, wrapped around my senses like a chain.

I swallowed hard.

“You sure this isn’t your way of seducing me?” I raised an eyebrow, my voice low, half-joking, but not really.

She shot me a glare. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not that lucky.”

But her voice wavered.

And that look in her eyes… It wasn’t just annoyance. There was something else. Caution, confusion and…..

Something I didn’t want to misread—but already did.

The fire inside me burned hotter.

The wolf stirred beneath my skin.

“Stay still,” I said, sitting up straighter, “if you’re this thirsty for me, you can just say so.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You……you can’t say stuff like that! What’s wrong with you?”

Her voice cracked, flustered. She shoved at me, and I laughed under my breath, not out of mockery but because I was drowning in her—her scent, her heat, her presence.

I tried to move.

But just then, she tugged harder and slipped.

“Wait—”

We both lost balance. The water dripping off her legs made the tiles slick. I grabbed her waist by instinct to steady her, but instead, she crashed into my chest, her towel slipping more.

The both of us tumbled backward onto the cold marble floor.

I caught her, barely.

My elbow hit the ground. She landed half on me, her face inches from mine with her lips parted in surprise.

For a moment, everything stopped.

Our breathing. Our thoughts.

Only the heat between us pulsed like a second heartbeat.

My eyes landed on her soft luscious lips that invited me in for a tender kiss.

She tried to move again. “Let go, I—”

“Wait,” I whispered.

My hand was still on her bare back. Her skin was soft. Too soft. My fingers brushed the side of her waist. She didn’t pull away, but her body tensed.

I turned her slightly, enough for us both to see the mirror on the bathroom wall.

She followed my gaze. Our eyes met in the reflection.

She looked stunned. Breathless.

And something inside me snapped.

I reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear. My fingers moved slowly, trailing the curve of her jaw. Her eyes fluttered shut for a second.

Her towel slid lower.

I leaned in.

Kissed her hairline.

Then her forehead.

Then down to her cheek.

My lips hovered just above the mole on her neck.

My wolf wanted to mark her.

Again.

Again??.

That made no sense.

I shouldn’t want that—couldn’t want that. She wasn’t a werewolf. She was human. My contract girlfriend and not my mate.

But my heart didn’t care.

Neither did my body.

I whispered, “You’re beautiful,” then lowered my lips to her shoulder.

I didn’t bite.

But I wanted to.

I turned her again so she could see the mirror clearly.

“Look at yourself,” I murmured. “You’re mine right now. Do you feel it?”

Her fingers clutched the towel tighter, but she didn’t speak.

I reached around and cupped her lower back, pressing her gently to me.

Her body trembled.

I leaned closer and gently sniffed the back of her neck, letting her scent flood every part of me.

My fingers trailed down and yanked her towel away. My hands trailed down her body stopping at the curve of her hip.

My wolf was wild now.

It didn’t care about contracts, about promises or about control.

All it wanted was her.

To take.

To claim.

To taste.

And my body was seconds away from giving in.

I kissed her shoulder softly.

Her breath hitched again.

She made a small sound but then I frowned, because it didn’t sound like the moan I had imagined in my head.

And then I saw it.

In the mirror, I stared at her reflection. Her eyes were red and wet with.

They were real tears, not tears that comes with pleasure or satisfaction but from fear.

“Why are you crying?” I asked, my voice rough and shaky. “Didn’t you want this?”

She didn’t answer right away. Then her mouth opened.

“How could I want this?” she whispered, voice cracking.

She pushed me again, harder this time.

Her towel slid further as she shoved herself upright.

“You said you wouldn’t touch me like that,” she said. “You promised. Even the other promises you made to me, you have fulfilled none.”

Her hands balled into fists and she hit me, not hard, but with all the weight of betrayal.

I didn’t know which other promises I had made to her either, apart from this contract, but, “Maybe, it’s because she is emotional.”

“I told you… I told you I was stuck and you—”

Her words broke apart into sobs.

Tears streamed down her face.

She wrapped the towel tighter around herself, her whole body shaking now.

I stood slowly, my chest hollow.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

She blinked up at me, surprised.

I didn’t think she expected me to say that.

I picked up the towel, I had yanked away and wrapped it properly around her shoulders. This time, I didn’t let my hands wander.

I didn’t stare.

I just held the towel in place until her shivering stopped.

“I won’t touch you again,” I said. “Not unless you want me to.”

I stepped back.

She looked at me, teary-eyed and hurt.

“Are you done?” I asked gently.

She gave a tiny nod.

“Then you can go. I… I have some things to take care of.”

She hesitated, then slowly walked past me.

Her bare feet padded softly against the tile. Her back looked small and her steps unsteady. Her shoulders curled forward, like she was trying to shrink out of existence.

She didn’t look back.

The door clicked softly behind her.

And I just stood there.

Alone.

With her scent still clinging to me like a curse.