Chapter 23 23
Her mouth
a dangerous, sweet obsession.
Soft. Full. Tempting.
Damn him for craving those lips again and again, for wanting to taste them until the hunger inside him was satisfied.
He’d meant to discipline her for dodging him, and that was exactly what he’d done though somewhere along the way, Hunter had taken control without him realizing it.
His eyes had burned with an unnatural glow, and if she hadn’t pressed her hand against his mouth to stop him, he would’ve done something far worse to the fragile girl before him.
But how could he be blamed?
This was the Moon Goddess’s cruelty binding an innocent soul to a monster like him.
The way she’d reacted when he kissed her told him everything.
It had been her first kiss.
The realization fed his pride, swelling his ego and arrogance to dangerous levels.
He growled under his breath, irritation mixing with raw desire. His blood roared through his veins, his body responding traitorously as his pants tightened.
She was sinking into him. Too deep.
And the fact that he was her teacher and she his student hadn’t stopped him from claiming what he believed belonged to him.
If anything, the forbidden nature of it made it darker. Hotter. More irresistible.
Sin wrapped in temptation.
Just how he liked it.
A challenge.
A hunt.
It awakened the beast inside him and he reveled in it.
May the Lord protect that poor girl from him.
Sofía skipped work and went straight to her apartment.
The moment she stepped inside, she locked the door behind her and collapsed face-first onto the bed.
Her sobs tore from her chest as she clawed at the sheets, fists pounding into the mattress.
She felt filthy.
Used.
Violated.
How could he do that to her?
How could he sink so low?
She’d avoided him for two days for her own safety and yet that bastard still managed to corner her.
His so-called punishment.
He’d stolen her first kiss.
Forced it from her.
Fresh tears burned her eyes.
Stripping out of her clothes, she rushed into the bathroom and stepped beneath the icy spray of the shower.
The cold water soothed her aching muscles, but it couldn’t erase the sensation of his touch.
She scrubbed her lips harshly, again and again, trying to wipe away the memory of him.
But it only triggered something worse.
Another man’s hands.
Disgusting.
Cruel.
The man from her nightmares.
The man who had hurt her when she was thirteen.
The man who had murdered her parents.
Sofía trembled beneath the freezing water as the memories slammed into her without mercy all because of Mr. Ruiz.
Or should she even call him that anymore?
He’d crossed every boundary a teacher could.
There was no student-teacher relationship left between them.
He’d shattered it completely.
Now all she felt toward him was hatred.
Pure, burning detest.
Turning off the water, Sofía stood before the mirror.
A dark bruise was already forming on her arm shaped like a large handprint.
Her breath hitched as her gaze drifted lower.
To the scars along her ribs and upper stomach.
Three long claw marks.
Pale pink skin, ugly and permanent.
Marks she could never erase.
A cruel reminder of her past.
A reminder of her parents’ death.
A shaky breath escaped her.
She had to stop thinking about it.
If she didn’t, panic would consume her.
Quickly, she dressed in trousers and a cropped top. Her eyes were swollen and red courtesy of that psycho, Ruiz.
She had no appetite.
After checking every lock on the door, she crawled into bed and slept, exhaustion dragging her under.
She woke early the next morning, dread already twisting her stomach.
The thought of facing that beast again terrified her.
If he’d forced a kiss last time, what would he do next?
She couldn’t return to the academy until she found a way out of this nightmare.
Sofía went to work instead, making up for the day she’d missed.
The job was far less exhausting than the torment waiting for her at the academy those cruel lessons under his watch.
Even as she worked, her mind raced, searching for a way to get rid of Mr. Ruiz.
Reporting him to the dean was useless.
He always twisted the story until she somehow became the guilty one.
Going to the law seemed promising until reality struck.
He was rich.
That alone explained the Range Rover, the Rolex, the expensive clothes and shoes that screamed wealth.
Rich men always bought their way out.
And in the end, it was the poor who paid the price.
When her shift ended, she went home.
Her stomach growled she hadn’t eaten since the night before.
Irritated and drained, she made herself noodles. Quick. Easy.
After eating, she went straight to bed.
The next three days passed the same way.
She couldn’t gather the courage to return to Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.
That monster haunted her thoughts nonstop.
She’d never skipped classes like this in her life and now she was avoiding them all because of him.
Her inner voice mocked her.
Coward.
Maybe she was.
After saying goodbye to Noelia, Sofía went home and locked the door behind her.
She pulled off her hoodie, then unwrapped the cloth around her chest.
A deep breath filled her lungs as she slipped out of her pants, walking toward the bathroom.
The apartment was dark, but she knew every step by heart.
Inside the bathroom, she turned on the light and filled the bathtub, her back facing the open door.
When it was ready, she unclasped her bra and tossed it aside.
Then her panties.
Lowering herself into the warm water, she sighed in relief as it enveloped her body.
She leaned her head back, finally beginning to relax
Crash!
The sound of a lamp hitting the floor exploded through the apartment.
Her heart nearly stopped.
Someone was in her room.