Forbidden Longings

Sofia glides through the cold water, her strokes swift, a desperate attempt to drown the thoughts swirling in her head, she had just spoken to Mateo, his frustration, his pains, though hidden behind a smile at the gala was visible to her, she could feel his pain as if it were her own, and she had done her best to encourage him, reminding him that their worth wasn't defined by awards, but it was exhausting to keep herself strong for both of them.

Swimming always helped her clear her head, it was her solace, her escape.

A quiet rustling from behind reached her as she reached the edge of the pool, turning her head, she froze. A tall figure stood at the edge silhouetted against the light…Adam Kavanaugh.

“ What are you doing here,are you now stalking me?” Sofia's voice cut through the silence as she stared at him, water dripping from her hair

Adam crouched at the edge of the pool, an amused smirk playing on his lips,”Relax, I am not stalking you and as for what I am doing here……I came to collect something that belongs to me”

Sofia blinked “belongs to you?”

He tilted his head, his eyes glinting with playful intent “a congratulatory message of course, the one you forgot to give me”

Sofia's lips parted in shock, and she found herself looking for an answer “I…..why would I …..”

Before she could finish the sentence, Adam stood abruptly, shrugged off his jacked and dove into the water effortlessly, he swam to her with swift strokes.

Sofia took an involuntary step back, her heart racing, the water felt suddenly too warm as Adam surfaced mere inches away, his proximity was overwhelming, she could see the droplets clinging to his hair, the way his piercing gaze never wavered from hers

“ Why are you so close?” she managed to stammer, crossing her arms protectively 

Adam leaned closer, a cocky smile playing on his lips. “ Because you keep running away” he murmured his voice low and smooth “now tell me Miss Montero, why haven't you congratulated me yet”

Sofia looked away biting her lip nervously, That small act drew Adams attention, and something flicked in his eyes ... .something dark, hungry.

Her lips had been tormenting him since the firs moment he saw her. The way she bit them when she was drunk that day, drove him into madness, and now under the moonlight pool he couldn't resist the pull any longer.

Without warning, Adam grabbed her waist and pulled her closer,Sofia gasped, her hands pressing against his chest as she tried to push him away but he didn't move.

“ You are playing a dangerous game Sofia” he said softly, his voice like a caress, this was the first time he ever called her name and she felt her heart thump in her chest just by hearing him call it, she looked up at him, deep inside his eyes as if she could read his mind, but before she could think Adam pressed his lips on hers.

Sofia froze, the kiss was forceful, demanding, yet there was an underlying gentleness that sent shockwaves through her body.

She was supposed to push him away, supposed to slap him or just do something but she couldn't move. His lips claimed hers, taking his time as though he was savoring every second.

Her hands slacked against his chest and in that moment she hated herself……for faltering, for letting him affect her and most of all for the way her heart raced like a traitor in her chest.

When Adam finally pulled back, his breath mingling with hers, he smirked, his arrogant demeanor returning in full force. His hands stayed at her waist a moment longer, steadying her.

“Well,” he said softly, his voice dripping with amusement, “thank you for the congratulatory message. It was... memorable.”

Sofia stared at him, her mind racing. Words failed her; everything about the moment…..the warmth of his touch, the lingering heat of his lips….was too overwhelming.

Realizing she was still too close to him, she abruptly pushed against his chest. Her heart hammered wildly, and her cheeks flushed a deep crimson.

“You” Sofia sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Before Adam could respond, she turned and scrambled out of the pool. Water dripped off her as she reached for a towel, hurriedly wrapping it around herself..

Adam chuckled lowly, leaning lazily against the pool’s edge. “Good night, Miss Montero. Sweet dreams.”

Sofia didn’t look back. She bolted out of the pool area, her bare feet making soft slaps against the tile floor as she rushed away.

As the door closed behind her, Adam’s smirk widened. He ran a hand through his damp hair, shaking his head slightly. “She’s feisty,” he muttered to himself. “And I like her.”

********

Sofia slammed the door behind her, her back pressing against the cool wood as she tried to steady her breathing. Her heart thudded against her ribcage like a drum, and no matter how much she tried to calm herself, the image of Adam Kavanaugh’s face refused to leave her mind.

“What is wrong with me?” she whispered, closing her eyes. Big mistake. The moment her lids shut, all she could see was the way his piercing gaze locked on her, the feel of his lips capturing hers with such dominance that it stole the air from her lungs.

Her fingers brushed against her lips instinctively, and she groaned, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her knees close to her chest, trying to sort through the whirlwind of emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

He had kissed her. Adam Kavanaugh, of all people. Her family’s enemy. The man who had overshadowed Mateo every year, who had climbed the business ladder with arrogance and confidence, and whose very name sent her grandfather into fits of rage.

“How dare he?” she muttered, anger seeping into her voice. Yet beneath that anger, something else lingered,something she wasn’t ready to admit. She hated him. She should hate him, at least. Everything he stood for was against her family. He wasn’t just a rival; he was the personification of every hurdle she and Mateo had struggled to overcome.

And yet...

“He’s the first man to ever kiss me,” she admitted in a whisper, burying her face in her hands. That infuriating smirk of his was imprinted in her mind, mocking her, making her pulse race with confusion. How could someone she was supposed to despise unravel her so easily?

“Pull yourself together, Sofia,” she scolded herself, standing up abruptly. “He’s just a man. Just another arrogant man who thinks he owns the world.”

But as she moved to her vanity, catching her flushed face in the mirror, she froze. Her reflection didn’t lie, Adam had gotten under her skin, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t know how to fight back.

Frustrated, she paced the room, her mind swimming in emotions that ranged from anger to confusion to... something dangerously close to curiosity. Whatever this was, it was uncharted territory, and she hated feeling so out of control.

“He’s the enemy,” she reminded herself firmly, gripping the edge of the vanity. “He’s everything I shouldn’t want. I would make sure to warn him to stay clear my path” 

**********

Adam’s smirk lingered as he made his way to his suite. He’d always been the type of man who carried control like a badge of honor, commanding boardrooms, silencing opposition, and never letting his emotions waver. Yet tonight, one look at Sofia had unraveled the tight grip he had over himself.

She disturbed him in ways he hadn’t thought possible. Ever since he first saw her, with her defiant eyes and that fire she carried so naturally, she had managed to worm her way into his mind. And tonight... Tonight had sealed it.

He couldn’t get the image of her out of his head,her in that swimsuit, her skin glowing under the moonlight, droplets of water running down her face, neck, and body. She had looked like a vision, effortless and striking. Being close to her had tested his restraint, and when their lips met, it was like nothing he had experienced before.

“For someone so stubborn and fiery,” he muttered, grinning to himself as he walked down the hallway, “she’s surprisingly sweet.”

Adam wasn’t used to being thrown off balance. Women had never held his attention for long, too much of a distraction in his meticulously structured world. But Sofia Montero was different. She wasn't just in his thoughts; she was storming through them, dismantling his peace and replacing it with an ache to be near her again.

By the time he entered his room, his smirk had widened into a smile that refused to fade. He closed the door behind him, loosening his tie as he took a deep breath.

“I need a drink,” he muttered, heading toward the minibar.

Before he could get there, a figure on the bed caught his eye. Ryan was sprawled across it, flipping lazily through a business magazine.

“You couldn’t bother knocking, huh?” Adam raised an eyebrow, leaning against the doorframe.

Ryan looked up with a smirk of his own. “You’re late. Where’ve you been? Lost track of time staring into the moon or... someone’s eyes?”

Adam shook his head, chuckling. “Don’t start.”

Ryan sat up, tossing the magazine aside. “Oh, but I will. You’ve been acting differently since the Gala started. Let me guess... a certain Montero has something to do with it?”

Adam shot his younger brother a warning glance, but the redness creeping up his neck betrayed him. Ryan grinned, leaning forward with interest.

“I knew it! It’s Sofia, isn’t it? You’ve been circling each other for days.”

“She’s... complicated,” Adam admitted reluctantly, walking to the minibar and pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

Ryan whistled low, shaking his head. “Complicated? That’s new. You’re usually the one keeping things simple. So, what’s the plan? Are you gonna pursue her or….?”

“There’s no plan,” Adam cut him off, his voice firm. “She’s Mateo’s sister and Emilio’s granddaughter. We have a business rivalry that goes back decades.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t seem to stop you from looking at her like she’s the only woman in the room.”

Adam sighed, running a hand through his hair as he turned to face his brother. “You don’t understand, Ryan. She makes me... lose control. I’ve built everything I have on discipline, focus, and never being distracted. But she…..she’s chaos.”

“Chaos can be good,” Ryan said, standing and patting Adam’s shoulder. “It shakes things up, makes life interesting. Just don’t get in too deep.”

As Ryan left the room with a cheeky grin, Adam stood there in silence, swirling his drink. Deep down, he knew he was already in too deep….and that was both thrilling and terrifying.

Adam sighed heavily, pacing the length of his suite. The room felt unusually silent, his thoughts louder than ever, downing the whiskey in his glass in one long gulp. Yet it did nothing to drown out the sensation that clung to him, the scent of her, faint but intoxicating lingered on his skin. It was soft, floral, and maddeningly perfect. Every time he closed his eyes, it was as if she were still there…her body close to his, her lips warm and inviting.

“Damn it,” Adam muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair.

He could still feel the way her breath hitched when he leaned in, the way her lips trembled before they yielded to him. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Sofia Montero wasn’t supposed to get under his skin. She was meant to be an adversary, a face attached to a name in a long-standing rivalry. Yet, here he was, haunted by her presence.

He sank onto the edge of the bed, staring at his hands as though they still held her. He could recall every detail…her softness, the coolness of the water against her heated skin, the way she froze yet didn’t pull away.

“What are you doing to me, Sofia?” Adam said quietly, his voice almost a whisper in the emptiness of the room.

The rational part of his mind told him to let it go. She was Mateo Montero’s sister, the only daughter of a family that had stood against his for generations. Getting involved with her would invite complications he wasn’t sure he wanted to handle.

But none of that mattered. Not when he remembered the way she had looked tonight, her wet hair cascading over her shoulders, her fiery eyes that could turn defiant or vulnerable in a second.

He leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “I need to get a grip,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. But deep down, he knew that no amount of willpower would erase her from his thoughts tonight.

Sofia wasn’t just under his skin; she had claimed a part of his soul. And that was the most dangerous thing of all.

*******

Sofia didn’t know what pushed her to walk toward Adam’s room that night. Perhaps it was the kiss lingering in her mind or the guilt she felt. Her feet carried her forward, hesitant yet resolute, as her knuckles lightly tapped on the door.

Inside, Adam stirred from his thoughts. Hearing the soft knock, his brows furrowed. He didn’t expect company. Setting his glass down, he strode to the door, his hand gripping the handle before opening it slightly.

When he saw her, standing there in a loose cardigan over her loungewear, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment, his heart skipped a beat.

“Sofia,” Adam said, his deep voice laced with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

She straightened her posture, pretending she wasn’t about to bolt. “I... needed to talk to you,” she said, her tone calm but her eyes betraying her inner turmoil.

He opened the door wider, gesturing her inside. “Come in, then.”

She hesitated for a moment, her breath hitching as she stepped into his suite. The air felt heavier with him standing so close, and the faint scent of his cologne made her heart race faster.

“Couldn’t get enough of me already?” Adam teased with a sly smile, closing the door behind her.

Her head whipped toward him, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t flatter yourself. I only came to...” She faltered, unsure of how to continue.

“To what?” he probed, stepping closer, his tall frame intimidating yet oddly reassuring.

“Stop what you're doing Adam” she blurted out, folding her arms. “Earlier... at the pool, I don't want something like that to ever occur between us, and just for the sake of peace that kiss…. it meant nothing. So don’t let it get to your head.”

Adam raised an eyebrow, leaning against the edge of a nearby table. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Sofia said, her voice gaining confidence, though her heart betrayed her with its rapid thumping.

He studied her, his piercing gaze locked onto hers. “You came all the way here, at this hour, just to tell me that the kiss meant nothing?”

She opened her mouth to speak but closed it when she couldn’t find the right words.

He smirked, standing upright. His hand gently tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“You’re a terrible liar,” he whispered, his lips dangerously close to hers.

Her breath caught as his free hand brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Time seemed to stand still as his thumb lightly traced her cheekbone. The heat between them was undeniable, electric, and completely out of their control.

“Adam...” she whispered, unsure if it was a plea to stop or to continue.

“Tell me to back off,” he murmured, his lips so close to hers that she could feel his breath. “And I will.”

She opened her mouth, but the words never came. Instead, she leaned into him, her defenses crumbling in the intensity of the moment.

Taking her silence as permission, Adam closed the distance between them, capturing her lips in a kiss that was deeper, slower, and more deliberate than the one in the pool. This time, she kissed him back, her hands finding their way to his chest as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer.

The world outside disappeared, their rivalries forgotten, as they let themselves get lost in each other. For that moment, it was just Adam and Sofia……two souls tangled in a connection they could no longer deny.