Especially with the little guy grasping her hand. The feeling of his soft, tiny fingers opening and closing almost made her reflexively tickle him back.

Just as she was struggling to hold it together, Remington decided to join the fun. Using the excuse of steadying Ron, he lightly traced his fingers across her palm several times.

It tickled and sent a jolt of electricity through her. Lizetta's eyelids nearly fluttered.

She knew Remington was doing it on purpose. Was this his payback for her biting his neck earlier?

While Lizetta was fuming internally, Stella's voice suddenly rang out.

"Remington, did Liz's eyes just move under her eyelids?! Is she reacting to Ron's touch?"

Stella sounded utterly shocked, but internally, she was kicking herself.

Dammit, could the baby actually be stimulating Lizetta?

She hadn't come here to play savior. If she accidentally woke Lizetta up, Stella felt like she might cough up blood out of sheer rage.

Remington's fingers were still causing mischief in Lizetta's palm. At Stella's words, he distinctly felt Lizetta's whole body go rigid.

He looked down, unable to suppress a muffled laugh.

Fortunately, his back was to Stella, and all of her attention was laser-focused on Lizetta anyway.

"Did she really react? Are you sure you didn't imagine it? I didn't see anything. Ron, call out to her again."

Remington nudged the baby slightly closer to the bed.

Hearing Remington say he didn't see anything, Stella felt her heart drop back into her chest.

Remington had his eyes glued to her. If she had actually reacted, how could he miss

it?

It must have been her imagination.

Still, wanting to confirm, Stella took an urgent step forward.

"Really, Remington, I swear I saw her eyes moving... Ah!"

As if overcome with excitement, Stella's foot caught on nothing, and she stumbled directly toward Remington's back.

In her mind, this was the moment. She would crash into his back and wrap her arms around him from behind.

Remington would be entirely consumed by his devastating grief over Lizetta's lifeless state.

And in that moment, she would hold him, give him warmth, and whisper that she was there for him.

She, Stella West, would always be by his side, if only he would turn around and look at her.

But her perfectly calculated fantasy completely misfired. The man who

had been sitting perfectly still

suddenly snatched Ron upand dodged two steps away the exact

second she lunged.

"Ah! It hurts!"

Stella slammed into the chair, bouncing off it, and collapsed onto the hospital bed.

She shrieked in pain. Before she could even process the impact, the man's furious roar boomed from nearby.

"Don't touch her!"

Stella looked up, meeting Remington's dark, thunderous

bet

It looked like a violent storm ready to tear her apart

Terror seized her heart as she realized she had collapsed onto the bed, pinning Lizetta down.

While fear gripped her, Remington's vicious words sliced deep.

His eyes looked at her like she was pure filth, completely unworthy of brushing against Lizetta's skin.

Driven by an ugly surge of jealousy, Stella used the cover of the blankets as she pushed herself up, viciously pinched a piece of flesh or Lizetta s leg, twisting it hard.