All Chapters of Taboo: Ties and Sins : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The steam had already begun to fog the mirrors when Marina adjusted the water temperature. Dinner had concluded less than twenty minutes prior, a meal where her bare feet had explored Ricardo's shin under the table, where each bite seemed laden with unspoken promises. Now, with the house silent and her mother visiting an aunt in another city, Marina was plotting her next move.She left the bathroom door cracked open, just enough for the sound of the water to be heard in the hallway. She undressed with deliberately slow movements, imagining that maybe he was on the other side, listening, envisioning. The fogged mirror reflected fragments of her body, the curve of a hip, the arch of a breast, before the steam completely obscured her image.She stepped into the shower and let the water cascade over her body, aware that the frosted glass would transform her silhouette into a tempting shadow for any onlooker. She washed her hair with exaggerated movements, arching her back to accentuate he

LiaComing home has always stirred a cocktail of comfort and unease within me. Comfort, because everything there still carried the scent of my childhood: the dark wooden furniture, the familiar creak of the old gate, the whiff of lavender on the pillow that my mother insisted on leaving in my room. Unease... because he would be there.Henry.And maybe because of that, it was difficult to pinpoint when the feelings shifted.Or, more accurately... when I stopped turning a blind eye to it.I disembarked the bus, feeling the oppressive heat of early summer clinging to my skin. The street was deserted, as per usual. I hauled my suitcase along the cobblestone path leading up to the gate, pausing for a moment before pressing the doorbell.He was the one who responded."Lia?" he said, his crooked smile that I remembered so well stretching across his face. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow.""Surprise."Swiftly returning to meet my eyes. "Come in."He grabbed my suitcase and held the door

LiaThe house was asleep — or at least feigning sleep. Because my body certainly couldn't.Perhaps an excuse. Or maybe just the longing to be close to him without any further pretenses.Or perhaps, just perhaps, I already knew he wasn't asleep either.And indeed, he wasn't."Still up?" I asked, noticing him leaning against the balcony wall, cell phone in hand, a half-smoked cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth.Relaxed. Too striking to overlook."I couldn't fall asleep," he replied, flicking the cigarette into the ashtray. "My mind just won't quiet down.""I thought some wine might help," I offered, extending the bottle with a sidelong smile."You always do come up with good ideas," he remarked, accepting a glass and joining me on the wooden bench. The robe slipped slightly off my shoulder, and he noticed. He always noticed.Or extinguish one that was already ablaze."What's on your mind?" I asked, after taking a sip.He took his time to respond. His gaze was fixed on the da

LiaEvery sound, every drop of rain hitting the roof served as a reminder: something was on the horizon.I slipped out of bed barefoot, the chill of the floor seeping into my feet. I was clad only in a long t-shirt, one of his, with thin underwear beneath. I didn't bother to gather up my hair.I didn't bother to feign that I was just casually going to get water.I knew where he would be.And he knew I would come.The faint glow from the refrigerator lit up the kitchen as I rounded the corner. Henrique was there, leaning against the sink with a bottle of water in his hand, his gaze fixated on some point on the floor as if he was waging a war within his own mind.The cotton shorts hung low on his hips, the t-shirt clutched in one hand, exposing the muscles of his abdomen in the semi-darkness. His hair still damp from the shower. The marked jawline.The palpable tension.The electricity between us was so potent that I could feel the hairs on my body prickling. My heart throbbed as if som

HenriqueI awoke with light filtering through the slits in the curtains.The room was bathed in the soft glow of the morning sun, as though the outside world was insistent on maintaining its normalcy. But nothing about me felt normal. Nothing about the bed, the body beside me, the steady rise and fall of breath beneath the sheets.Lia was fast asleep.Her hair fanned out on the pillow, her bare back on display, her hips barely covered by a portion of the sheet. My sheet. My bed.My curse. My undoing. My most forbidden craving.She appeared at peace, as if the events of a few hours ago didn't weigh heavily on her as they did on me. As if she was a stranger to guilt.But I was certain of it.I could still savor her on my lips. The feel of her skin etched into the palms of my hands. Her moans whispering in my ear like a pulsating echo.And yet, my heart felt heavy.I ran my hand over my face, trying to sort out the chaos inside me. But how do you sort something that's been broken from wi