It was hard, pretending to be unbothered by his presence. Hera tried her best to ignore him and started to brush her hair. He had messed it thoroughly while kissing her. 

‘I swear, he has a thing for my hair.’

She saw his reflection moving to her bed through the mirror. He was checking everything with keen interest. After scrutinising her bed, pillow, comforter, and curtains, he moved to the drawer of the table. Hera sighed, defeated. She’d kept a packet full of hair ties in there. She already knew what he would do with them. 

“Did you forget that it was your gift to me?” Hera asked, still looking into the mirror. 

.

The drawer stuffed with shiny hair clips and hair ties of different colours brought a tiny smile into Hunter’s lips, her birthday gifts given by him. “You were a little girl then. These colourful ribbons, clips and hair ties looked good on your short hair. I don’t like them now,” he affirmed. Thankfully, he didn’t cut them. Placing them back into the drawer, he asked her, “What do you want for your birthday?” 

Hera’s heart missed a beat, and her eyes widened. She slammed the hairbrush on the dresser to draw his attention and tied her hair into a loose ponytail. Hunter closed the drawer shut and turned to face her. 

Their eyes met through the reflection in the mirror. 

Hera muttered through her gritted teeth, “For you to vanish from my life.” Surprisingly, she said that without missing a beat. 

Hunter’s lips twitched and greeted Hera by his signature smirk. He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and walked to where she stood. “That’s so brave of you, Love. You’re daring to either defy or ignore my every word these days. But it’s not good for your health, Goddess,” he said, standing behind her. 

Hera didn’t miss the hidden threat. Ironically, she trusted him enough to believe he would never hurt her physically.

He brought out his left hand from his pant pocket and combed his damp hair with his fingers. 

‘He’d showered again.’

She bit back a smile.

‘Twice within an hour. Thanks to my pineapple juice.’ 

She felt the hair rising on the back of her neck as he leaned over her shoulder to have a good look at his reflection. Their cheeks almost touched. She slowly turned her face to his by an inch or two to examine his clean-shaven jaw. It looked soft, clean, and his face was glowing. 

‘Oh! Is his skin glowing or what? He’s looking resplendent. Thanks to my pineapple juice again. And why does he smell so good?’ 

Her breath caught in her lungs when he met her gaze. He winked before grinning. She averted his eyes in embarrassment and took a step away from him. 

‘Stupid, idiotic eyes, stop wandering around.’ 

She felt her cheeks burning hot, and the mirror provided the required witness of her spreading blush. 

‘Shit, shit, shit, he caught me staring at him! Somebody, please kill me now.’ 

“Don’t feel shy, Goddess. It’s all yours to look and admire, to touch and feel, to kiss and lick. Do whatever you want. No one will dare stop you,” he said, voice a soft, husky whisper in her ear. His lips slightly grazed her ear, and the newfound sensation she felt, made her shiver. 

She shoved at his chest, pushing him off her personal space and grabbed her uniform tie. He stood next to the mirror leaning against the wall, silently watching as she adjusted her tie around the collar of her shirt top. She knew where his eyes were wandering, but decided to ignore. 

“What happened to your new friend? She seemed a little off or something,” Hunter asked conversationally. Hera’s brows lifted and the look she gave him said, she was surprised. “Oh! Did you notice? I thought nothing catches your attention in the presence of that bitch best friend of yours. Weren’t you too busy greeting your Sunshine? ‘Morning sunshine, morning Ace,” she tried to imitate their tone, but failed, resentment clearly written all over her face. “As if you two didn’t meet at breakfast in the dining hall a while ago,” she sneered a laugh. 

Hunter let out a quiet laugh, making her scowl. “What?” she snapped in anger. “You know, I can totally understand if you have problems with Sam. But to my surprise, she was never an issue between us. It’s out of my logic, why my rapport with Bianca bothers you all the time. You know she’s my best friend,” he stated, looking at her expecting an explanation. But Hera would never go there. She knew that it’d only fuel their fight and cause more troubles for her. They’d fought countless times on that issue. 

Hunter was right, though. Samantha was never an issue between them. Hera knew that whatever he had going on with Samantha, it’s meaningless. Just a pretence, at least from his side. He’s using her to spite Hera. To be honest, Hera truly felt sorry for Samantha. 

But with Bianca, it’s something else. Hera never liked her. Not just because she bullied Hera since day one or that he always took her side. It’s more than that. Her friend Brittany once mentioned that childhood best friends would eventually turn into lovers in the end. At least that’s what every romance novel said. That thought stuck in Hera’s brain forever. 

Their understanding, the closeness they shared, that bonding always bothered Hera. She was jealous of their unbreakable friendship, jealous of Bianca’s beauty. With height around five feet and eight inches, she’s tall, and with her slim, hot body, she looked like a runway model. Blue eyes, blonde curls, she was gorgeously beautiful. And that smart brain of hers was only an added bonus. 

Hera didn’t realise she was pulling the elastic hair tie too hard until it tore. She threw it with an angry huff. She was trying to perfect her earlier loosely made ponytail. “Coming back to how my friend got hurt, Bianca pushed her. She pulled her hair, twisted her hand and,” she stopped to glare at Hunter because he wasn’t listening to a word she’s saying. His eyes were focused on her lips, watching how they move while she talked. 

“Your Sunshine came here to threaten me,” Hera said, catching his attention. His gaze now left her lips and shifted to her eyes. His face didn’t show any change of expression, but Hera knew, she’d got his full attention. “She said that I should go to Mrs Rogers and get her name cleared by taking all the blame on myself. You saw that electric shaver, right? She said, if I don’t comply, then she’ll shave Cla…,” she stuttered and stopped herself from uttering any word further. 

‘What the hell is wrong with me? I was going to take Clara’s name and dig a hole for myself.’

Hera bit the inside of her cheek before changing her statement. “She threatened to shave my head bald with that trimmer,” she said carefully, gauging his reaction. Hunter pushed himself off the wall, and he moved so fast, she didn’t have the time to step back. 

With a quick spin, he turned her around and gently pushed her against the wall. Hera found herself trapped. Hunter’s palms were resting flat on the wall on either side of her, caging her in. He was looking down into her eyes. Hera manured the courage, looked him in the eye. “What?” She asked, slowly pushing his hands away. She wanted it to bounce like an angry protest against him, but it came out only as a breathless whisper. 

Hera cursed in her mind. He’s too close, and the closeness made her tongue-tied. 

He moved his left hand and placed his forearm on the wall above her head, and his right hand settled on her waist. He had his jaw clenched, and Hera swallowed hard. 

‘Why does he look angry all of a sudden? What did I do now?’ 

He leaned forward to close the distance. Hera held her breath when his hand on her waist shifted and lifting her shirt up it went inside, coming in direct contact with her skin. 

His lips landed on her right cheek, slowly moving downward. He kissed her jaw, then the side of her neck, inhaling her natural scent sharply. “You smell so nice, Goddess. I’m getting addicted. And your skin is so soft, it feels like butter, ” he whispered as his voice turned hoarse. His hot breath caressed her skin like a soft feather tickling her. 

‘Holy hell! I can feel butterflies fluttering inside my tummy. Is this what hormones make you feel?’ 

His fingers on her waist dug into her flesh squeezing a bit roughly. His left hand came down too, and she felt it inching closer to breasts. Hunter pushed himself, furthermore, crushing her soft body with his. His body heat made her feel insanely hot, his lips and hands moving urgently all over her body were evoking unfamiliar sensations inside her. It somewhat felt nice. Yet, quite contrarily she’s frightened with his rude, almost violent actions as well.