Touch Me Please| 18+

She despised him. He didn't

In high school, Valentina Roman was the quiet nerd, relentlessly tormented until the bullying forced her to rebuild her identity from the ground up. Now, she's in her junior year of college, a striking woman focusing solely on her future, determined to never look back.

But the past always catches up.

Santiago Marino, the charismatic star football captain, embodies everything Valentina despises-and everything she secretly craves. He was her worst nightmare in high school, and now, he's the campus golden boy who needs one thing to save his athletic career: her help.

A failing grade means he loses his scholarship. A secret tutoring arrangement means Valentina is trapped, forced to spend hours alone with the one man who knows her deepest insecurities. He's demanding, arrogant, and terrifyingly handsome. She's supposed to hate him, but every heated lesson burns away the years of resentment, uncovering a dangerous attraction she can't afford to feel.

He thinks he's teaching her a lesson in desire. She just might be teaching him that the innocent aren't always easy to break.

"You need this more than I do, Marino," Valentina muttered, her voice low as she adjusted her glasses. Her gaze was locked on the equations spread across the table, not on the imposing figure beside her.

Santiago leaned in, his shoulder brushing hers, a calculated intimacy that made the hair on her arms stand up. His presence was like a physical weight, heavy with muscle and the familiar scent of expensive cologne and sweat.

"Is that what you tell yourself to feel better, Roman?" His voice was a low, seductive rumble that felt like a violation of her space. The one that reminded her of lockers and tears.

A slow, predatory smile stretched across his face. He reached out, not for a pencil, but for the back of her neck, his thumb grazing the soft skin just below her ear. "This asshole tells himself he's going to teach his little tutor a whole new kind of lesson."