Chapter 43 43
Sofía woke slowly, her body heavy with sleep. She dragged herself into the bathroom, took care of her business, showered, and slipped into a bathrobe. The shirt she’d been wearing for the past two days was beyond saving crumpled, dirty, and unusable.
She lingered in her room for a few minutes, debating.
Eventually, she decided she’d have to ask him for a spare shirt.
With hesitant steps, she approached his door and knocked once. Then again. The door creaked open on its own, making her jump.
“Mr. Ruiz?” she whispered.
No answer.
She pushed the door open fully and stepped inside.
He wasn’t there but the sound of running water reached her ears. The shower.
Relief and nervousness tangled in her chest. She moved farther into the room, heading straight for his wardrobe. She knew she was intruding, but it was better than him seeing her wandering around in just a bathrobe.
Inside, everything was meticulously organized. Clothes folded with precision, others hanging neatly in place. She went straight to the shirts, searching for one large enough something oversized that would cover her thighs.
She was so focused she didn’t notice when the sound of the shower stopped.
Didn’t notice the door behind her slide open.
A large hand suddenly gripped her waist.
She gasped and jolted, barely managing to turn before his hand slid to her stomach and yanked her back. His chest collided with her spine, knocking the breath from her lungs.
Her entire body froze.
His heat enveloped her. His breath brushed her ear, sending sparks racing across her skin.
“What are you doing here, doll?” His voice was deep, rough a low baritone that sent chills cascading down her spine.
“N-n-nothing,” she stammered, that endearment striking her heart in ways she didn’t understand.
“I hate I—”
She cut him off in a rush of panicked words.
“I-I was l-looking for a s-shirt,” she blurted, trying to pull away.
His grip only tightened.
“Hmmm.”
The sound vibrated against her neck as he nuzzled into the crook of it. The bathrobe slipped off her shoulder, and his lips followed instantly, as if drawn by instinct.
A soft gasp escaped her when his mouth touched her skin, sparks exploding wherever he kissed.
She tried to struggle but the heat of his kisses melted her resistance, her movements growing weaker, slower.
Her back arched. Her head fell back against his shoulder as he bit her skin, then soothed it between his teeth. Soft moans slipped from her lips, her eyes fluttering shut as unfamiliar sensations seized her body.
A low growl of satisfaction rumbled from his chest.
His kisses grew more demanding, more desperate. And her trembling, her breathless moans, the way her body yielded to him it all made it harder for him to stop.
“M-Mr. Ruiz!” she cried sharply when his teeth sank deeper, nearly drawing blood.
The sound of her voice snapped him out of it.
He froze.
His gaze locked onto the small bead of blood at her neck right where a mark would be. His entire body went rigid.
He had almost marked her.
“Ssshh…” he murmured.
His tongue swept over the spot, licking the blood away, making her breath hitch. He pressed one last lingering kiss there before stepping back.
“Breathe,” he rasped.
Only then did she realize she hadn’t been.
Sofía inhaled sharply. Her hands shook as she pulled her bathrobe back onto her shoulder, clutching the shirt she’d come for. She turned slowly
And forgot how to breathe all over again.
Her eyes lifted despite her efforts to keep them down, and her mouth fell open.
A small gasp escaped her.
Dark ink stretched across his skin a growling wolf tattooed over his left shoulder and chest. Elegant calligraphy curled along his arm, more ink tracing his lower abdomen. The sight sent a shiver straight through her core.
Her fingers itched to touch them.
The tattoos were vicious. Dominant. Irresistibly alluring.
Her gaze dropped to the wolf pendant resting against his chest before her eyes finally met his.
The hunger in his dark green stare was so intense her knees nearly buckled.
She looked away instantly.
Without another word, she fled the closet, sprinting to her room. Once inside, she slammed the door shut, locked it, and leaned against it, breathing hard.
Reality crashed over her like ice water.
She had let him touch her.
Worse she had enjoyed it.
Horror spread across her face as she stared at the floor, eyes wide.
Oh God.
What must he think of her? Would he see it as submission?
No. No she didn’t want that.
Living with him was unraveling her. He wasn’t just getting into her head he was affecting her body.
And those tattoos…
Her throat tightened as images flooded back his sculpted chest, the sharp lines of his abs, the way ink framed his muscles. Her cheeks burned when she remembered how long her eyes had lingered on the V-line disappearing beneath his waistband.
It was wildly inappropriate.
It felt as though he had cast some spell on her like the world had vanished, leaving only his touch behind.
SOFÍA.
She screamed at herself internally.
His wet black hair. His clenched jaw. That dangerously alluring Adam’s apple. The rugged stubble. Those dark green eyes so deep, so consuming they made her feel trapped.
Everything about him spoke to something inside her she didn’t understand.
Maybe he really was a sorcerer.
And maybe the spell was working.
Sofía shook her head and took several deep breaths.
She needed to get herself together fast.
Because if she didn’t, this man with his Greek-god looks and dangerous presence was going to corrupt her in ways she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.