Chapter 2 The hospital's clash

Alie's pov

The room was filled with a constant beeping.

Every muscle in my body ached, and my limbs were immobile.

My throat is sore, and my lips are dry.

He was the first thing I saw when I strained to open my eyes.

Ken.

His body was rigid as he sat in the chair next to my bed, his hands clutching the armrest as if he were having trouble controlling himself.

Something dark and inscrutable flashed behind his eyes as his piercing gaze fastened into mine the instant I stirred.

Anger. Desire. Relief. I spoke in a raspy voice and swallowed hard. "What the heck happened?" His jaw tensed.

"You weren't breathing."

Although his voice was low and controlled, there was a hint of rawness behind it.

His delivery of it chilled me to the bone.

The memories came in vague glimpses as I blinked: Carmelle, the searing agony, the blackness engulfing me.

Then, nothing.

Ken had come to my rescue.

His eyes flashed with something he wasn't expressing.

He ran his long, methodical stare over me, and all of a sudden I realized not only that he was there, but also how near he was.

"You scared the hell out of me, Alie."

His voice sounded strained and harsh, like he wasn't used to feeling this kind of fear. Fear for me.

I tried to sit up, but I was weak. He swiftly reached out to stop me, sliding his fingers across my arm.

There was an electric contact. I felt trembling, not because I was terrified from a different source.

Something I shouldn't be feeling .

Perhaps I did. Perhaps I had just spent too long pretending I didn't want this.

Something inside of me snapped as his fingers tightened around my wrist.

"Ken..."

My voice was hardly audible. His countenance clouded, and his composure slipped.

"I almost lost you."

His grasp on me tightened, and his power frayed.

"Do you have any idea what that did to me?"

I didn't get to react.

Because a second later, his mouth hit mine.

The kiss was hot. Raw. Desperate.

My heart felt heavy as I pushed him away. This has happened to me previously. It's deja vu!

The dream I had.

Yet he persisted.

He drew closer, his tongue dancing down my neck, A moan slipped from my lips as my fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer.

The scent of him, clean, masculine, and intoxicating wrapped around me, making my head spin.

"I should stop," he muttered against my lips, his voice hoarse, strained.

But he didn't. He couldn't.

And neither could I.

"Don't," I whispered.

That was all it took.

Ken's hand slipped beneath the flimsy medical robe, his fingertips running up my thigh.

My breath caught as his touch scorched against my flesh, and my body arched automatically towards him.

His hands moved over me, firing every nerve every inch of my flesh.

My body hurts, but not from pain or need.

His lips blazed a trail down my neck, and his fangs grazed my flesh, making me tremble.

"You're mine, Alie," he grumbled, his voice full with need.

"Say it."

I gasped as his fingers pressed into my core, teasing and pushing me to the edge. "Say it."

I could not think.

Couldn't breathe.

The sensation was too intense, too overwhelming.

"Yours,"

I finally whispered, giving up fully.

Ken groaned against my skin, his mouth capturing mine again, swallowing my moans as he pushed me over the edge.

The world blurred.

Nothing else mattered.

Not the hospital.

Not the past.

Not the danger waiting outside.

For now, there was only this.

Only us.

The door swung open with force, slamming against the wall.

"Ms. Alie, we-"

The doctor's voice cut off abruptly. The air grew heavy, thick with unspoken tension as he stood frozen in the doorway, his wide eyes taking in the scene before him.

His breath hitched, and his grip on the clipboard faltered, his fingers trembling against the worn edges of the papers.

Ken did not move.

He did not flinch, did not attempt to cover us, did not show the slightest hint of shame or hesitation.

The steady rhythm of his breath tickled my skin as if he was utterly unbothered by the intrusion.

Time seemed to drag on forever. Ken then let out a lengthy, deliberate breath, his voice brimming with slack humor.

"Give us a moment."

There was no request.

The doctor's knuckles were white around the clipboard as he blinked.

He opened his lips to object, but was stopped by something in Ken's eyes. He swallowed whatever words had gotten stuck in his throat.

He nodded jerkily, pivoted on his heel, and walked away. The door closed with a click..

For a moment, silence filled the room. A thick, unrelenting silence.

Then Ken's gaze fell back on me, smirking like he had just won a game only he knew we were playing.

"Now," he murmured, his voice dangerously low. "Where were we?"

Before I could process what had just happened, Ken grabbed my boobs beneath the flimsy medical gown.

He cupped them into his hands and began sucking.

I should have stopped this.

But I didn't.

The door slammed open.

Again.

But this time, it wasn't the doctor.

It was Alex.

His sharp intake of breath shattered the moment.

Ken stilled, his lips hovering just above my nipples, as if he had sensed the sudden shift in the air before I did.

But instead of pulling away, he simply turned his head slowly, unhurriedly as if he had been expecting this.

Alex stood in the doorway, his expression frozen in a mixture of shock and seething rage.

His jaw clenched so tightly I thought it might snap, his entire body wound like a coil ready to strike.

His eyes-God, his eyes.

The betrayal in his gaze was unmistakable.

"What the hell is going on here?" Alex's voice was low, rough and dangerous.

Ken's smirk widened.

I jerked up, the sudden movement making my vision spin. "Alex, I...."