Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 113: Chapter 113

Lena’s POV

She tore through the suitcase from top to bottom. All her clothes were inside, folded neat and tidy right beside his. Even her bras and underwear were tucked into the same compartment.

Lena just stared at the stuff, her mind going totally blank.

She hurriedly pulled all her things out and piled them onto the bed. Then it hit her—there wasn’t a second suitcase. She couldn’t exactly leave everything dumped all over the mattress like that.

So she put it all back again, only this time she split the suitcase right down the middle. His things on the left. Hers on the right. Clear-cut. No confusion.

She was still reorganizing when Dominic’s voice came from behind her. “I packed for you myself.”

She jumped so hard she nearly lost her balance. As she shot to her feet, the bath towel she’d loosely wrapped across her chest slipped straight down. She instantly dropped into a crouch, arms clamped over herself, her cheeks burning like crazy.

This was way worse than every embarrassing moment she’d already had in front of him combined.

Dominic bent down, took his clothes from the suitcase, and walked to the other side of the room. “Get dressed. I’m not looking.”

At this point, she had officially embarrassed herself beyond saving in front of this man. She sneaked a glance up at him. He had already pulled on a T-shirt.

That was when she noticed the shirts he’d packed for her were exactly like his—the same brand, matching colors. Every set looked like couple outfits.

Once he was dressed, she grabbed her own clothes, clutching the towel tight, and bolted into the bathroom.

She stayed in there until the heat on her face finally faded before coming back out.

In normal clothes, Dominic looked like a completely different person—softer, easier to approach, almost gentle. But his eyes were still just as unreadable.

“I booked us a table. We’ll eat first, then come back and sleep.” He lifted her phone. “Yours. Need to bring anything else?”

She stood there frozen, dying of embarrassment.

“Lena, there’s nothing about you I haven’t already seen,” he said, catching her unease with annoying accuracy. “This really isn’t a big deal.”

Somehow that made it worse and better at the same time.

He walked over and took her hand. His fingers slid into the spaces between hers, one by one, then locked tight.

It was only hand-holding. Just that.

But the intimacy of it shot through her chest like a live wire, making her swallow hard without even meaning to.

“You used to be fearless,” Dominic said as they stepped into the elevator. “So where’d all that courage go?”

Lena kept her voice steady, even though her chest felt tight. “Our arrangement is ending soon.”

“Soon,” he said, calm as ever. “Not yet.”

The restaurant was set in the garden behind the hotel. Every table was tucked behind walls of climbing vines, giving each space a little privacy. Flowers spilled over the edges in soft waves, and the whole place smelled sweet and fresh, like the night itself had been perfumed.

Lena fell for it instantly.

They took their seats. Local dishes were brought out one after another, each plate bright and unfamiliar, packed with fresh ingredients and rich flavor.

“Do you like it?” Dominic asked.

She did. A lot, actually. But answering him felt less important than eating, so she just focused on the food.

He didn’t press.

Halfway through the meal, Lena picked up her phone and snapped a picture of the flower wall. It was seriously gorgeous. Totally worth it.

When she lowered her phone, she noticed Dominic had his phone raised toward her.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking a picture of you.” He didn’t dodge it. Didn’t even try to come up with an excuse.

He tapped the screen a few times, then set the phone down.

Lena frowned. “Why?”

“We’re ending the arrangement soon, right?” He picked up his fork again. “Call it a souvenir.”

She stared at him, completely thrown.

She was just about to upload the flower photo to Instagram when a new post from him popped up right at the top of her feed.

The caption was just a period.

The photo was her in profile—caught in the instant she turned, soft light falling across her face, flowers blooming behind her like the whole frame had been made for her.

Samuel Clarke commented: “[?]”

Daniel liked the post.

Lena looked up at Dominic. He was still eating, totally unfazed.

"What is this?" She put her phone down. "Why did you post my picture on your Instagram?"

Taking her on a trip was one thing. Posting her photo on an account that had been dead quiet for years? That was something else entirely.

"Because I like you," he said, easy and casual.

"You like what?"

"You."

The air seemed to vanish from Lena’s lungs.

"What did you just say?"

Dominic dabbed the corner of his mouth with his napkin, picked up his glass, took a sip of water, and asked, "Are you still eating?"

His face was calm, like those words had come from somebody else, not him.

She should have pressed him. Should have made him say it again, made him explain himself. But she didn’t.

Because the words were already on loop in her head. She hadn’t misheard him, and he knew she hadn’t misheard him either. Asking again would only give him a chance to take it back.

I like you.

He had said it. Out loud. Right to her face.

By the time they left the restaurant, the sky was still bright. The day here felt weirdly endless, like the golden sunlight just kept stretching on and on, way past what felt normal.

The beach was packed, loud and alive. Couples sat scattered across the sand, tangled up together, kissing like nobody else existed.

Lena followed behind Dominic, still stuck on what he had said. That confession kept circling in her mind, impossible to shake.

Then he stopped out of nowhere, and she walked straight into his back.

She pressed a hand to her forehead and stepped back, but he caught her before she could get away.

"Let go of me." She tried to push him off.

Instead, he pulled her closer. His hand found hers again, their fingers sliding together and locking tight.

They kept walking, and Lena could feel Dominic’s thumb brushing lightly over her ring finger. Bare. Completely bare. Her ring was still sitting on a nightstand hundreds of miles away.

His own ring, though, was still on his hand. He had never taken it off.

They walked along the edge of the water, matching each other’s pace, slow and easy. The sea was calm, holding the last light of the sunset like a mirror.

Everything around them was so quiet it almost felt unreal. Only Lena knew how hard her heart was pounding.

Those tiny little things he did, the almost careless kind, were tearing down every wall she had spent the past week trying so hard to build.

She couldn’t make sense of it. What was going on with him? Why was he acting like this? And why now, of all times?

It felt like love.

Real love. The kind that was honest, aching, and terrified of losing someone.

"The sunset here is insane," he said, stopping where the sand met the incoming tide.

The sun was sinking low, washing the sky in amber and dark crimson, streaks of color bleeding into each other. Its reflection rippled over the water, so gorgeous it was almost too much to look at.

It was even more beautiful than the sunsets she had watched with Jace.

Maybe it was the view. Maybe it was the person standing beside her. Couples were everywhere, wrapped around each other, kissing like the whole world had faded out around them. Far from home, surrounded by something this beautiful, that kind of closeness somehow felt natural. Easy.

Her heartbeat went absolutely feral. The air was warm, the sunlight golden, and something restless surged in her chest, breaking straight through every ounce of reason she had been clinging to.

His shadow fell over her. His hands settled on her shoulders as he lowered his head.

The ocean breeze swept past them, and his lips were cool from the wind.

She forgot to resist. Forgot that she was supposed to want distance, supposed to pull away.

She forgot everything except the way his lips slowly pressed to hers.

Her arms slid around his waist before she even realized it. The wind curled around them. The sunset burned hot against their backs.

When he finally pulled away, his forehead rested against hers. Both of them were breathing hard, and his hands were still gripping her shoulders like he didn’t want to let go.

"Want to go back to the room?" he asked, voice rough and low.

She couldn’t get a single word out, but her body answered for her.

Before she could even process it, he had lifted her into his arms, one hand hooked behind her knees, the other braced at her back. He strode forward without sparing a glance for any of the couples they passed, his throat bobbing hard.

He set her down on the bed and looked at her from above, his gaze burning like fire.

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