A Flame That Should Never Have Been Lit

"How are you feeling?" Dominic entered the room where Alicia was bandaging her stomach. The blows she had received had certainly hurt her.

"I'll be fine. Luckily, he didn't break a rib, or we'd be in trouble." Alicia wasn't nervous about being seen by Dominic; she had been through a lot, and something like this wouldn't make her react dramatically.

Dominic looked at Alicia's wounds and said, "Let me help you. It would be easier if I did it."

Alicia allowed Dominic to bandage her. She pulled her hair back, exposing her neck. Thinking about what had happened that morning, she asked, "Are you better than before?"

"What do you mean?" Dominic, who was bandaging Alicia's stomach, didn't understand the question.

"I've never seen you so angry before."

"Oh…" Dominic now realizes what Alicia was referring to when he killed a man by biting his neck. Until now, he hadn't thought about why his reaction was so brutal, beyond just wanting to save a loved one.

"This world is lost. We are just part of the story, so we have no choice in what will happen next," Alicia said softly so as not to wake the kids.

Dominic made her turn around and adjusted the bandage on her stomach, and when he looked up, he met Alicia's gaze. She was staring at him intently.

"Did you drink?"

"Just a little, to numb the pain in my head," Dominic said with a slight smile.

Alicia touched Dominic's face with her hand, slowly caressing the wound he had gotten in the fight, and asked, "What are you going to do now?"

Their breathing slowed. Perhaps their actions were natural after spending so much time together in life-and-death situations, and now the desire they had been hiding for so long was unleashed.

"You can hit me if I make a mistake." Dominic reached out to the candle and extinguished it, then gently took Alicia's neck and kissed her, a kiss she reciprocated.

No thoughts could extinguish their desire to continue with this experience. They could die a few days later, and really, everything they had done wouldn't matter.

Dominic had never truly opened his heart to anyone. After Emma, he never thought he would find someone with whom he could be beyond just desire, but that changed over time as he interacted with Alicia, who understood his pain and selflessly tried to alleviate it.

When Alicia reciprocated Dominic's kiss, her subsequent movements were even more delicate.

"Someone might hear us."

Dominic began kissing Alicia's neck as if he hadn't heard her soft words. He lifted Alicia and gently laid her on the bed. In just a few minutes, several pieces of clothing had disappeared from their bodies.

When Dominic's tongue touched her skin, Alicia's eyes widened in surprise. Warm lips traveled over her soft skin. A shiver ran through her body as she felt this new sensation. But in a moment, those lips reached her chest, and a delicate moan escaped her mouth.

"Ah…"

"Just relax…"

Using his large hand, Dominic caressed Alicia's back, which was paralyzed by the new sensations and emotions she was experiencing. His warm breath gave her goosebumps.

Rubbing his chin against her smooth skin, Dominic slid his hand under the garment covering Alicia's waist. She jumped in agitation; her hands and lips trembled. She had never imagined Dominic's hand would venture into this region of her body.

On the bed, Alicia's legs tensed, but not enough to push Dominic away. She didn't want this feeling to go away right now.

Alicia had never seen Dominic like this, but she liked seeing this side of him that he seemed to never reveal.

"Wait, I have something in my backpack." Alicia made Dominic stop and, after opening the box she had in her hands, murmured, "It would be crazy to come back as a mother; Madison would kill you."

Dominic smiled and said nothing more. Their activities didn't end until well past midnight, when they finally fell asleep.

...

The next morning, Dominic was the first to open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Alicia sleeping beside him.

"Shit, I lost my mind." Dominic didn't regret it, but certainly his actions were more liberal due to the alcohol that had clouded his mind.

Alicia woke up but didn't say a word. Obviously, it was a bit awkward to talk to Dominic after having done all those things the night before.

"How are your wounds?" Dominic approached with a medical pack and handed Alicia a pill before giving her a bottle of water.

Alicia drank the water after swallowing the pill and said, "They hurt less than yesterday."

"Maybe you're overthinking it. For me, it wasn't a mistake." Dominic looked at Alicia seriously and said, "I'd like to do it again sometime."

"Are you still drunk?" Alicia was even more surprised after hearing those words from Dominic.

"I'm going to get some water. You shouldn't make any sudden movements."

Alicia watched Dominic leave and, before he left, said, "It's fine with me."

"I'll be back as soon as possible." Dominic smiled slightly after this. Maybe now he wasn't acting under a cold mask as he always did, but after leaving the room, his expression returned to normal.

"Where are you going?" Sophia, who was at the door, asked with some doubt.

Dominic looked at her and said, "I'm going to get some water. Stay here and let Alicia know if you see anything."

"Okay…" Sophia was smart enough to know when there was trouble.