Chapter 22 22
“You avoided me on purpose for two days, Ana,” he said quietly. “You need to be punished.”
Sofía shuddered as his arms closed around her. The words alone were enough to terrify her down to the marrow.
“Let go!” she screamed.
A powerful hand shot up, sealing over her mouth and crushing the sound before it could escape. Her eyes flew open, panic detonating as instinct took over fight, flee, survive. Her body thrashed harder, desperation lending her strength.
His hand was rough and calloused, so large it nearly swallowed her face whole. The sensation sent her mind spiraling. Every nerve screamed at her to get away, to escape the sickening awareness of his touch.
He jerked her backward without warning, hauling her against him until the back of her head struck his shoulder. Her body lifted only the tips of her toes brushed the floor. One hand clutched at the arm locked around her waist, while the other clawed at the finger pressing over her mouth.
Her nails dug into his skin, sharp and frantic.
He didn’t react.
Her strength drained quickly, resistance dissolving as her limbs began to tremble and then falter. A violent shiver ripped through her when his breath brushed the shell of her ear, hot and deliberate.
“Not one sound,” he said, his voice deadly and cold. “Or you won’t like what comes next.”
When she finally went still, when she stopped fighting, he slowly lifted his hand from her mouth. The strange sparks vanished with it but his arm remained around her waist, loosened just enough to deceive.
Two seconds.
That was all she needed.
She drove her elbow into his ribs and bolted for the door.
She didn’t make it far.
With a low, dangerous growl, he caught her wrist and yanked her back. Sofía stumbled, nearly losing her footing, but managed to steady herself heart pounding, breath tearing from her lungs.
Her throat constricted as she looked at him, terror flooding her eyes. He stood directly between her and freedom. There was no escape not with him blocking the door, and certainly not through the window. That would only end one way.
She retreated the moment he advanced. His posture alone was lethal.
“Where do you think you’ll run, doll?”
His deep, rasping voice echoed through the dark, empty classroom.
The word struck her like a blade.
Doll.
Her heart seized, then stuttered violently in her chest. Her feet betrayed her, carrying her backward as her shoulders curled inward, fear shrinking her while he moved closer slow, deliberate, predatory.
“N-no!” she stammered. Her chin quivered, her lips shaking uncontrollably. The stark reality of being alone with him this beast of a man turned her legs to useless jelly.
Sofía was terrified. Completely. Utterly.
“You don’t get to refuse me, Ana,” he growled. “I’m your mate. You’re mine.”
“No!” she screamed. Part of what he said flew over her head but the part she understood chilled her to the bone.
“I’m not yours! You’re my teacher and I’m your student”
The words died on her tongue.
He was in front of her in three long strides.
His hand clamped around her arm, yanking her into him hard enough that her chest collided with his.
She recoiled instinctively, but his free hand shot out, gripping her arm and locking her in place.
“What did you just say?” he echoed, his voice curling into something dark and mocking. “You’re not mine?”
Sofía lashed out at his hold, striking his arm again and again, but it only made him tighten his grip. Pain exploded through her limb, sharp and relentless, intensifying with every passing second. His fingers dug in mercilessly, crushing hard enough that panic screamed through her blood cut off, bone threatening to snap.
“I—I’m”
The words broke apart as a cry tore from her throat.
“S-stop!” she sobbed, tears burning her eyes. “You’re hurting me!”
“Am I?” he growled.
His rough fingers slid into her hair at the nape of her neck, gathering her long, thick strands into his fist. With a brutal yank, he forced her head back, ripping a sharp yelp from her lips. Her face was tilted upward against her will and then everything blurred as his mouth crashed down on hers, silencing her cry completely.
Shock slammed into her like a wall.
Her heart seemed to stop, her body locking up as her mind struggled to catch up with what was happening. When awareness returned, it was in fragments his breath too close, the pressure overwhelming, the violation unmistakable.
A violent tremor raced down her spine as his other arm wrapped around her waist, hauling her smaller body tight against his solid frame. She struck at him blindly, fists pounding against his chest and shoulder, but it did nothing. She tried to wrench her head away, tried to break free
But his grip in her hair held fast.
She couldn’t move.
She was trapped.
Caged.
The pressure of his mouth lingered, sending a violent jolt through her spine, her nerves lighting up in chaotic, unwanted waves. Her body reacted before her mind could stop it, heat, shock, sensation crashing together until she felt overwhelmed by it all.
He tested her resistance, coaxing, demanding, but she refused to give in. When he finally pulled away, she dragged in a desperate breath just as a low, almost inhuman sound tore from his throat.
“Kiss me back.”
She barely had time to breathe before he descended on her again, fiercer this time, relentless. Panic surged. Sofía curled her lips inward, denying him, and his frustration spilled out in a harsh sound.
His grip shifted, hands framing her face, forcing her mouth back into place. The pressure was brutal, possessive, animalistic. A broken cry escaped her as she clawed at his shoulders, her strength useless against him.
Her mind went blank.
Then a sob ripped free raw, uncontrollable. She shoved her hand between them, pressing against his mouth as another sob wracked her body. Her eyes squeezed shut as the sound tore out of her again.
Abruptly, he released her.
Sofía staggered backward, her legs barely holding her weight. She caught herself on the edge of a desk, fingers gripping hard as she fought to stay upright.
When she looked up, his eyes once burning, unnatural had shifted, the glow draining away. Her vision blurred with tears as she wiped angrily at her mouth, fury and accusation blazing in her gaze.
She shoved him with everything she had.
He didn’t move.
She stumbled instead, nearly falling as he watched her with cold detachment.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she snatched up her bag and bolted for the door.
“Rot in hell, you psycho!” she screamed over her shoulder before fleeing the room, sobs tearing loose as she ran.