Page 24 of Ruthless Temptation
I look down at my hand against his chest. In the flickering light, I study the lines tattooed into his skin. Most of it is shadowy linework that looks like decoration more than anything else.
There’s only one tattoo that seems like it means something, the same one I see peeking out from his sleeve. It starts on his chest, and the lines form some sort of tribal design on his chest and shoulder before ending in a skull on his bicep. Beneath the skull are the wordsLa morte mi trovera vivo.
When I looked it up, it meantdeath will find me alivein Italian.
On anyone else, I wouldn’t be intrigued. But Professor Holmes is a psychology professor, and it’s the only meaningful tattoo he has. What would move him to get something likethisinked on his skin?
“If I tell you, will you tell me what your tattoo means?”
His grip on me tightens. “This isn’t a trade,” he says severely. “Answer my question and maybe I will consider answering yours.”
It was worth a try, I suppose.
I shrug, looking away from him. My eyes settle on the twinkling stars beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. We’re on the second floor of the cabin, in the master bedroom. The sky is moonless, but there aren’t any clouds out either.
My throat grows thick as I prepare to answer his question.
In less than two weeks, my life will end. I’m using Professor Holmes as a distraction from it. Now that he’s forcing me to talk about it, everything we’ve shared seems like it might disappear even sooner than I’m prepared to let it go. What if he decides to end things because of this?
He doesn’t know what it is, though. Maybe I could still lie.
One look at him dispels that thought. Professor Holmes has always been able to see right through me. I’m certain he would know if I was lying. I dig the heels of my palms into my eyes.
If I get it out quickly, then maybe I won’t have to suffer for too long.
“I, uh,” I stumble. “My father told me that he was…uh,” I sink my teeth into the inside of my cheek, hoping the burst of pain grounds me. “That he was being forced by the leader of our syndicate to marry me off.” My eyes start to burn, but I hold back the tears.
Professor Holmes doesn’t react at first. For a while, I wonder if he’s even heard me since my voice was barely more than a whisper.
“Why would hearing that affect you like that?” he says finally, his voice devoid of emotion. “Arranged marriages are common.”
I wrap my hands around myself. “I’m not the oldest daughter, it is not something I ever considered. When my father allowed me to come to SFU, I thought I had escaped it.” Mymemories of my childhood, of Nico, start coming back to me and I shudder. “It’s not even the arranged marriage that sunk me into depression, really. It was who I will be married to.”
This is the first time I’ve said any of this out loud since my father broke the news to me and it all feels so foreign in my mouth. The words sound made up. I know they mean something, but it feels like they shouldn’t make sense.
“Who?” Professor Holmes asks.
“Nico Torres,” I say. His name on my tongue makes me queasy. “They call him El Diablo. He’s worse than the devil, though.” My eyes start to burn, but I don’t even care to stop the tears this time. “He raped me when we were kids. I snitched and he was punished for it. Now that his father’s died and he’s taken over our syndicate, he’s determined to get his revenge on me.”
My words hang in the air. Professor Holmes doesn’t immediately respond, only pulls me into a hug that’s tighter than I expect. I rest my head on his shoulder. He strokes my hair softly.
“When?”
Tears leak from my eyes. “When I leave for summer break I’m not coming back.”
Professor Holmes’ body goes rigid. I can hear his heartbeat through his skin. It’s beating just as fast as mine. It’s the only indication that what I’ve said affects him. The hand in my hair starts to move even slower, almost robotically.
Despite the panic that’s risen in my chest and raw emotions my revelation dredged up, I’m sort of relieved it’s out in the open now. At least there will be no more secrets between us. All we have left is the next week and a half.
“Don’t worry, little one,” he says, finally. “Everything will be fine. We will make the most of every moment we have.” There’s pain in his voice, and I wonder if he’ll miss me as much as I will miss him.
What we have was doomed from the start, but I will still mourn it.
I’ll think of him every night. Remembering these moments of passionate love and tender vulnerability will be my only escape from the hell that my life will become. No matter how much Nico breaks me, he will never be able to takethisfrom me.
I find my peace in that thought.
Professor Holmes presses a soft kiss to my cheek and carries me to bed.
