Reborn at Eighteen The Billionaire's Second Chance novel Chapter 108

Reborn at Eighteen: The Billionaire’s Second

Chapter 108

Elara

The words hung in the sterile air between us.

My heart hammered against my ribs. The hospital gown suddenly felt

too thin, the blanket too light. I wanted to pull it up to my chin, hide

behind cotton and polyester, but my hands wouldn’t cooperate.

Julian moved closer. Not touching. Not yet. But the space between us

felt charged, dangerous.

“You know what I see when I look at you?” His voice was quiet.

Controlled. The kind of quiet that preceded violence. “Someone who

doesn’t know how to take care of herself.”

I swallowed hard. Tried to focus on his face, but my vision still

blurred at the edges from the drugs.

“You forge identification,” he continued, voice dropping lower. “Sneak

into clubs. Let strange men pour God knows what down your throat.”

Each word felt deliberate. Calculated. “Is that how you value yourself,

Elara?”

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Chapter 108

The use of my first name felt intimate and wrong all at once.

“I was trying to save-”

“I know what you were trying to do.” He sat down on the edge of the

bed. Close enough that I could smell his cologne–that cold cedar

scent mixed now with hospital antiseptic. “That’s what makes it

worse.”

His hand reached out. I flinched before I could stop myself.

Something flickered across his face. Too quick to read.

His fingers touched my cheek. Gentle. Almost tender. The

contradiction made my throat tighten.

“You’re so reckless,” he murmured. “So fucking reckless with yourself.”

The touch slid down to my jaw. My pulse jumped beneath his

fingertips.

“You really don’t understand, do you?” His thumb brushed over my

lower lip–still swollen from when he’d bitten it earlier. The pressure

sent a sharp sting through the cut. “What could have happened

tonight?”

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Chapter 108

I wanted to pull away. Wanted to tell him I understood perfectly. But

his eyes held mine, dark and unreadable, and the words stuck in my

throat.

“You’re not supposed to-” I started.

“Not supposed to what? Care?” His laugh was bitter. Sharp. “You think

I can just turn it off? Watch you throw yourself at danger and feel

nothing?”

The hand on my jaw tightened. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to

remind me he could.

“You belong to me,” he said softly. “That means I decide what risks

you take. I decide what’s safe. Not you.”

The casual assumption of ownership made my stomach clench.

“Julian-”

“You’re not listening.” He leaned closer. His other hand came up to

cup the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair. “So let

me be clearer.”

Then his mouth was on mine.

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Chapter 108

Not gentle this time. Not asking.

His lips crashed against mine with bruising force. The hand in my

hair tightened, holding me still, while his tongue swept into my

mouth like he owned it. Owned me.

I tried to turn my head. Tried to push at his chest. But my hands had

no strength left. Could only press weakly against the expensive fabric

of his shirt while he kissed me deeper, harder.

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