Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Sophia makes a run for it.
There’s nowhere for her to hide, though.
If she goes the opposite direction, she’ll reach the end of the camp and see Mike or any of the other employees.
Then, she’ll have to explain what she’s done for me to be chasing her.
In fact, I think she’ll avoid having to say it out loud, because God knows what kind of punishment she’d face if the Dean or the Headmaster were to find out she spiked my drink.
Her footsteps fade into the distance, and a small smirk tugs on her corners of my lips.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent partner to chase around, and despite the hatred I have for this bitch, she stirs something inside of me.
Something that makes me want to chase and ruin everything that she is.
I let her have the advantage for a couple of minutes, then start walking in the direction she went. My movements are slow, branches snapping beneath my shoes as I walk. The more I walk into the woods, the farther the camp is, which is just fucking perfect.
All around me are trees, fallen leaves on the ground in various shades of deep orange, brown, and yellow. The scent of the forest fills my senses, and I take a moment to compose myself.
It feels as though I’m about to burst with excitement. The grin doesn’t leave my face as I continue walking slowly. I want her to try and hide, to try and escape me because what she doesn’t know is that the entirety of the woods falls under the camp’s land, and it’s surrounded by a big gate.
There’s nowhere for her to hide, unless somehow, she manages to climb over a twenty-foot-tall metal gate and get to the other side unharmed.
“Oh, Sophia,” I call out in a singing voice. Stubborn silence greets me back, and I shake my head. My eyes skim around, and the majority of the trees are thick enough for her to hide behind. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
She doesn’t respond, of course, and I don’t expect her to. The day is chilly, the clouds are thick and dark, and although it’s still relatively early in the day, the trees thicken overhead, making it seem dark.
As much as it kills me to admit, Sophia’s mind is extraordinary. The intelligence she has is one of a kind, and that’s why we’ve always butted heads. However, surviving in the wild isn’t something she’s capable of. In fact, I’m giving her ten more minutes before she reveals herself accidentally.
I look up at the high trees, just in case. Sophia hasn’t climbed the trees; she isn’t the athletic type. Then again, there are quite a few things I don’t know about her, and perhaps, she’ll still be able to surprise me.
My chest still aches from the tattoo, and it hurts more than any other tattoo I’ve gotten. I have over fifty, and none ever hurt this much. Sophia probably pushed the needle too far into the skin, and that’ll just make the healing process worse.
The bitch.
As soon as it heals, I’ll go get a removal or a cover-up. I do not want this woman’s name on my chest, or anywhere on my body, for that matter. Especially not in such a degrading and humiliating way.
The thought of the engraved words on my flesh makes me angry all over again, and after a couple of minutes, I get serious. I start looking for her, light on my feet, trying my best to be as silent as possible.
That’s when I catch a glimpse of the pink bow in the corner of my eye. A lazy smirk tugs on my lips, and when I turn around, I spot her. She’s running away toward the deeper, darker parts of the forest, glancing back from time to time.
There’s a significant distance between us, and the moment her eyes find mine, she picks up the pace.
That’s my cue to start running. The wind is harsh, but the adrenaline pumping in my veins means I don’t feel a goddamn thing. All my focus is on her, and the more she runs, the harder my cock gets.
Her blonde hair fell out of the ponytail a while ago, the bow dangling off the ends of her silken strands. She’s running as fast as she possibly can, but she’s unfamiliar with the territory, and she can’t outrun me.
I’m getting closer, and I can smell the perfume. It’s vanilla that’s somehow becoming one of my favorite scents. It’s bland, it doesn’t have anything unique about it, yet whenever I think of vanilla, Sophia comes to mind. It suits her.
I stretch out my arms, and they clasp around her waist, pulling her flush against my chest. A scream pierces through the woods, and I quickly put my palm over her mouth, silencing her. Slowly, I drag her behind one of the thicker trees, my lips right next to her ear.
“Caught you, Princess,” I murmur, feeling goosebumps rise on her soft skin. “There’s nowhere for you to run anymore. You’re all mine now.”
“Let go of me, you bastard!” Her words are muffled by my palm, and she tries to shake me off, desperately kicking her feet. It makes this scene hilarious because all she’s doing is dangling her feet in the air.
“Oh, but that wasn’t the deal, now, was it?” I chuckle. “I’ll let you speak if you promise you won’t scream. Can you do that?”
There’s a beat of silence. I feel her chest rise and fall with each labored breath she takes, then she nods, albeit reluctantly. Slowly, I withdraw my hand from her mouth and spin her around.
Her eyes are blazing with fury, looking at me as if I’m the object of all her hatred. That only makes me want to fuck her so much harder. She doesn’t know just how much she’s turning me on.
“You need to let me go, Soren,” she breathes out.
Her cheeks are flushed from the wind and the running, her lips rosy. She’s still panting, trying to catch her breath, and that’s when she truly strikes. Well — tries to.
Sophia lifts her knee, aiming for my crotch area. Unfortunately for her, I saw that one coming from a mile away. I grip her knee right before it connects with my throbbing cock, and she scowls at me.
Easily, I push it down, then grab both of her arms, pinning them above her head. Her eyes widen, and she swallows visibly. Anxiety, mixed with nervousness, overwhelms her usually soft features, and she’s at a loss for words.
“That wasn’t very nice,” I mock, leaning in, letting my breath fan her lips. “You wanted to hurt me.”
“And right now, I want to kill you, you rotten bastard.”
“That word needs to go, Princess,” I tighten my grip on her wrists, and she writhes, trying to set herself free. “It’s been going on for far too long.”
Sophia’s starting to get very, very angry. She bares her teeth at me, growling a little. “But it’s the only word to perfectly capture who you are as a person.”
“You’re a brat,” I narrow my eyes. I readjust my grip on her wrists, pinning them harshly above her head, and hold her with one hand.
The other one slowly travels down her sides, and I watch as she struggles to breathe.
Her eyes don’t leave mine, and the fact that she’s like a little scared lamb only makes me want to prolong this torture.
“And you’re a damned bastard.”
I make a tsk-ing sound, shaking my head. “You never learn, do you, Princess?”
Sophia’s body trembles when I push my hand underneath the jacket and her shirt, her eyes closing momentarily. When she opens her eyes again, there’s something within the gaze that rattles me.
This time, I don’t react in time. Sophia tries to shake me off again and ends up kneeing my stomach. It doesn’t hurt as much as she’d hoped it would, but it’s enough to knock me off balance.
My grasp on her falters, and she uses the opportunity to flee. However, I’m right behind her. The chase is getting rather interesting, and the excitement is blooming in my chest.
Sophia trips on a branch that’s hidden beneath the fallen leaves, and it’s just in time for me to push her to the ground. She falls on her hands and knees and quickly turns around.
Sophia starts crawling backwards, eyes filled with hatred. This is the messiest I’ve ever seen her. She’s always perfect, like a Bratz doll. Hair perfect, makeup to accentuate her features, and clothes that cost more than most people’s yearly wage, and she looks fucking edible.
I kick her legs apart, stepping between them, just as her back hits a tree. I crouch down to her level, brushing a fallen strand of her hair behind her ear. She doesn’t flinch, but she’s definitely nervous.
“My, my,” I whisper, leaning in. “You look rather cute like this. My own, personal, little prey. Should I devour you?”
“You make me sick.”
“And yet…” I chuckle, “you allowed me to use your pussy to get myself off, and you slept with my cum on you. Do I make you sick? Do I really, Sophia?”
She shivers when I say her name, and sucks in a sharp intake of breath. Her hands ball into fists, gripping the grass and leaves. Her jaw is clenched, and I cannot explain how happy the look of pure hatred in her eyes makes me feel.
“You’ll never stop mentioning that, will you?”
“Never, because seeing you blush in pure shame; for allowing me to use you like a toy, brings me immense joy.”
A scowl tugs on the corners of her lips, and she tosses something in my face. I blink, feeling a stinging sensation, only to realize she gathered a bit of dried dirt, crumbled it in her palms, and used it to hurt me.
“Bitch,” I hiss, blinking the ache away.
This was the perfect opportunity for her to run, because not only is the ache too big, but my eyes also get watery and glossy, and my eyesight takes a while to recover. Instead, she pushes me backward, and I land on my ass.
Sophia straddles my hips, my hands immediately reaching for her hips.
“You bastard,” she screams, then starts hitting my chest. The pain is bearable, and I let her have a moment of letting the anger out. Then, when my vision gets back to normal, I grip her wrists with each hand, pulling them away.
She slumps on top of me, her face a mere inch away from mine. She doesn’t look away from my face — she doesn’t dare to. My reflection in her blue eyes is divine, and her pupils dilate a little.
“I hate you,” she breathes out, and it seems like she’s trying to convince herself of the fact.
“The feeling’s mutual, Princess.”
With that, one of my hands goes to her nape, pulling her flush against me. Her soft lips fall against mine, and in an instant, it's a clash of teeth, a hunger that neither of us knew the other possessed.
She forces my mouth open, pushing her tongue through the seam of my lips. I growl into the kiss, tightening my grip on her hair and pulling her closer. Her hands got to the back of my head, clawing, pulling, and tugging.
Sophia Sloane tastes like the sweetest sin, and I’m a willing sinner.
“I hate you, you bastard,” she moans against my mouth, and it sends shocks down my body. If I wasn’t hard already, I’m fucking solid rock now. My other hand clasps her hip, grinding her against me.
“Oh, I’ll fuck that word right out of your vocabulary.”
“You can certainly try,” she hisses, then pulls back. “But I’ll just continue to use it.”
I grin, then lean in, kissing the side of her throat, letting my teeth sink into her soft flesh. “You taste addictive.”
“I hate you,” she repeats the word like a mantra.
“Lie louder, Princess.” My nose slides voluptuously along the line of her jaw, holding her hair tighter. “After all, your lies are the sweetest melody for my deranged soul.”