Chapter 15 15
Fernando waited with rigid patience for the class to finally end. The moment he stepped into the lecture hall where she sat, her scent struck him with merciless force soft, intoxicating, unmistakable.
Pretending everything was normal was torture when nothing about this was. She never lifted her head, never once acknowledged him openly, yet every time he turned toward the board, he could feel her eyes on him hot, aware, burning into his back like a brand.
Hunter stirred restlessly beneath his restraint, a caged beast snarling for release, demanding he take his mate into his arms. But he waited. He always waited.
The class dragged on endlessly before it finally ended, and she was the first to bolt for the door.
Was she avoiding him on purpose?
Probably.
He was done for the day, but she still had one final class left before she would be forced back into his orbit.
He smelled her before she even knocked. Of course he did. She lingered on the other side of the door, torn between fleeing and facing him. He could practically hear her heartbeat through the wood.
Then, summoning what little courage she had, she stepped inside.
“Close the door,” he ordered roughly.
She obeyed immediately.
Good girl.
The instant she entered his office, something deep and primal shifted inside him. Her presence alone unsettled him. He felt her gaze on him like a tangible thing, and with every second it lingered, his body hardened, muscles coiling tight beneath his control.
Why wouldn’t she look at him?
He wanted her eyes on his wanted to drown in the blue depths of them, to strip her bare until nothing remained but her truth.
“Good evening, sir,” Sofía murmured.
Sir.
The word sent a violent pulse of dominance through him. Respectable on the surface, but his mind twisted it into darker, filthier possibilities scenarios where she would whisper it brokenly, breathless beneath him.
Soon.
He hummed faintly, more to himself than to her.
“Mr. Ruiz, I… I can’t continue these classes anymore.” Her voice trembled, soft but determined.
The irritation flared instantly.
His classes?
Women begged for his attention, fought for proximity to him and this girl stood here trying to refuse him. How naïve. As if she had a choice. He was already furious from seeing her with another man earlier that day, and this only fed the fire.
Slowly, deliberately, he turned to face her. She dared a brief glance before immediately dropping her eyes again.
“Did you ask me for these private lessons?” he asked calmly, his tone cold and unyielding glacial enough to strip away what little confidence she had left. Her body betrayed her nerves, rigid and uncertain.
“N-no,” she whispered.
That voice sweet, fragile nearly undid him. His mind betrayed him instantly, imagining how that same voice would sound when she was undone beneath him.
She needed to be corrected.
He stepped toward her, predatory and unhurried.
“Then what gives you the right to decide you’re finished without my approval?” His voice dropped lower, laced with a snarl that didn’t need to be heard to be felt.
She shook visibly. His gaze dragged over her figure, hidden beneath oversized clothes that only made him want to tear them away. The thought of her trying to distance herself from him ignited something dangerous, but he reined it in for now.
She stood silent, face tight with conflict.
“What’s troubling you?” he asked, advancing again, every step measured and deliberate.
For one fleeting second, her eyes met his. Fear flashed bright and unmistakable. Of him.
He closed the distance, forcing her to retreat.
“I-I’ll g-get t-tutoring f-from my a-aunt,” she stammered. “She’s… a math teacher.”
A lie.
The hesitation, the stutter, the crease between her brows she was terrible at deception.
One step was all it took to invade her space. The closer he got, the stronger the urge to touch her became.
He loomed over her, his six-foot-two frame eclipsing her petite height completely. He relished the way she shrank beneath him, intimidated, affected. Her scent wrapped around him, clean and intoxicating.
This bond this mate pull was driving him feral.
Sofía swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on his chest, refusing to look higher. He studied her lashes, the innocence bleeding from every line of her. And still she lied.
“I despise liars,” he growled.
She flinched violently, hands flying to her chest as if to shield herself.
“Y-you’re t-too c-close,” she whispered, clutching the pendant at her throat like a lifeline.
His eyes flicked downward just briefly before a low, restrained sound rumbled from deep in his chest.
“Am I?” he murmured, stepping even closer. He wanted her pressed against him, wanted to memorize the shape of her body.
Her wide blue eyes snapped up in shock, colliding with his dark green stare. The disbelief on her face was unmistakable.
She flattened herself against the wall, desperate to keep space between them. Foolish. If he wanted her, nothing could stop him though he wouldn’t cross that line.
Not yet.
“T-this i-is i-inappropriate,” she whispered, fear thick in her voice.
If only she knew the thoughts clawing through his mind.
“Is it?” he rasped, bending down until they were eye to eye.
She couldn’t hold his gaze. Her eyes dropped again as his warm, mint-tinged breath brushed her skin. Her entire body trembled, panic etched plainly across her features. She wanted to run and the realization only fueled his anger.
With a sharp growl, he slammed his palm into the wall beside her head.
She jumped, terror stealing her breath.
“You smell so fucking irresistible,” he snarled.
He lowered his face to the curve of her neck, nuzzling into her warmth. Sofía froze completely breathless, unmoving, suspended in fear and desire he hadn’t even begun to unleash.