Chapter 144

NOAH “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice low and unsteady. “I hurt you.” I lifted my hand and gently brushed my thumb against her cheek before cupping her face. When I tilted her chin up, I saw the thin line of blood at the corner of her lip, slowly seeping from where my kiss had been too rough. Guilt tightened in my chest. I lowered my head and pressed my mouth softly against the wound, tasting the faint trace of iron. It wasn’t hunger or dominance that drove me — it was instinct, something almost frantic, as if I could undo the damage by erasing it with my own breath. Olivia’s eyelashes trembled. She tried to turn her face away, but my fingers steadied her before she could pull back. I didn’t let her go — not yet. I lowered my head, my breath still hot and uneven, and kissed her along the line of her jaw, down to her neck, before finally resting my cheek against her shoulder. The tension in my chest didn’t disappear, but it loosened, just a little. I wrapped my arms around her and held her