“What—”
“Don’t even try to avoid it,” Sophia hisses at me. “Grace andLila told me everything.”
Something in me snaps. I’m fucking angry they involved her in something that she shouldn’t know about, and I’m even angrier that it didn’t come out of my mouth.
“You know.”
“Yes, I know,” she confirms. “Why? Why didn’t you tell me? Why push me away instead? Why was your only solution to fucking hurt me instead of telling me?”
A bitter chuckle slips my lips. “Because she was monitoring every single move of mine. If I had told you, she would’ve sent the images straight to the press, and I know how much you value your good girl image. I know just how much it fucking means to you to be seen as the saint,” I grit out, stepping closer. “So, I’d rather have you hate me than ever see you broken over something like this.”
“It wasn’t your choice to make!” She screams, and her body starts trembling. Tears are running down her face freely, and I’m itching to wipe them away. “It was my choice! I’m not some vulnerable child, Soren! I’m a grown ass adult, I could’ve handled it!”
“Yeah?” I spit out. “Then how come you’re never dealing with shit by yourself? You always have to include your friends.”
“Don’t try to twist it. I have people I trust and can share shit with! And what’s all of this about protecting me? She leaked one nude anyway!”
“You’re too co-dependent on them!” I growl. “I know she fucking did. Don’t you think I realize how terribly I failed you?”
“That’s beside the fucking point!” She screams, running her hands through her hair. “You lied to me.”
“I lied to you to protect you.”
“And you fucking hurt me in the process!” The raw ache in her voice makes me halt a little. “I’ve been crying myself to sleep nightafter night! And seeing you with Cassia? It felt like someone was fucking killing me over and over again!”
“Why?” I take a step forward, and Sophia steps back. “Why did it feel like that?”
“What?” She breathes out, taking another step back, until the back of her knees hits a chair, and she slumps into it, sitting down. I take another step forward, caging her between my body, my hands gripping the armrest of the teacher’s chair.
“Why did it feel like someone was killing you, Princess?” I ask, my voice a soft murmur against her skin. I know I’m pushing here, and that Sophia’s going to snap very quickly, but I need to force the answers out of her. “Why would you care?”
Something in her snaps. I can’t decipher the emotions that are swirling through those gorgeous eyes, and as another round of thunder falls over the academy, and the sky lights up, I can finally see it perfectly clear.
“Because I love you, you fucking moron!” She screams, more tears rolling down her cheeks. “Because being with you was one of the most precious moments of my life. Because seeing you with another woman made me want to kill her, and I wanted to kill you, too, for daring to touch someone who wasn’t me!”
My heart skipped a beat, and all rationality leaves my mind. I grab the nape of her head, pulling her closer and bending down more, my lips crashing down on hers. She immediately returns the kiss, kissing me with a hunger I’ve never felt before.
My hands find their way to her hips, and I pick her up, shifting us. I’m the one sitting in the chair, and she’s straddling my hips, hooking her legs through the holes under the armrests, her hands on my cheeks.
My tongue plunges into her mouth, my hands touching everyinch of her skin. Fucking hell, I’ve missed this — and I needed this more than I need the air I breathe.
She’s my oxygen, the reason I’m alive. She’s the only thing keeping me sane, keeping me from snapping and pulling me far away from the edge of insanity.
“Soren,” she moans into the kiss, nibbling on the lip she managed to split a moment ago. Her hands interlock with my hair, softly tugging on it.
“Yes, Princess?” My hands go up her skirt, touching, squeezing, and gripping her thighs. The soft, warm flesh feels perfect under my fingertips, my cock hardening in my pants as soon as she starts grinding against me.
“I hate you,” she mutters, “I hate you so fucking much.”
“You’re such a pretty liar, Princess,” I groan, kissing her harder than before.
Her fingers fumble with my belt, trembling as she unclasps it, then moves to the zipper and the button. She’s impatient, her entire body shaking with desire.
“Someone’s impatient,” I smirk into the kiss, and she pulls back.
“Shut the fuck up,” she grits out. “Did you fuck Cassia?”
“No.”
