Sofia had never gone out with a stranger before—let alone one who looked like him. He was the kind of man who seemed carved from privilege: devastatingly handsome, effortlessly commanding, and the type of kisser who could set fire to a woman's resolve.
Even now, sitting beside him in his luxury car that probably cost more than her lifetime salary, she could still taste him on her lips. It lingered like a secret—hot, reckless, and unforgettable.
She had never even ridden in a car like this. The leather smelled expensive, and the quiet hum of the engine felt like temptation itself. And yet here she was, with a man who barely knew her name—if he even knew it at all.
John, her ex, suddenly felt like a pale, forgettable shadow in comparison. She almost laughed at the thought. What had she ever seen in him? His loyalty had been an illusion, his charm ordinary, and he had shattered her heart with someone who didn't even matter. And yet here she was, catching the attention of a man so far out of her world it felt like fiction.
But her moment of confidence froze into dread as a chilling thought struck her—how was she going to escape this?
She turned her head slightly, stealing a glance at him from the corner of her eye. He looked calm, and composed—his profile chiseled and sharp beneath the shifting glow of the city lights. His hands rested confidently on the wheel, eyes steady on the road ahead. Every movement was smooth and deliberate. And she knew exactly what he wanted.
It was written in the heat of his gaze, the tension in the space between them. He was expecting a night—wild, wordless, and without consequences. And she was supposed to be terrified.
She should have been afraid of what she was about to give away. Frightened by what it would mean to lose the one thing she had guarded so fiercely. But instead, all she could feel was the rush—her pulse quickening, her body drawn to him like a tide she couldn't fight. Her mind whispered warnings, but her soul betrayed her with longing.
She wanted him. Desperately. Completely.
And for the first time in her life, Sofia Everhart didn't know if she was ready, or if ready even mattered anymore.
Adam could feel her eyes on him. She was uncertain and torn. She looked like she wanted to run and stay all at once. And for the first time in his life, that terrified him.
The thought of her running away without letting him touch her again, without letting him claim her, was unbearable. He had never wanted anyone like this before. He was always the one who left first, the one who ended things before they began. But with her, he wanted more.
He drove faster to keep his mind from claiming her inside his car, she could tell she was different since most women would attack him before he could even start the engine. She was fidgeting, and he thought at first she was liked most of them. Pretending to be innocent at first, but just waiting for the right time to strike.
He had met enough privileged women, social climbers, and gold diggers to know the difference—but she didn't fit any of them. She was something else entirely.
He wanted to ask her so many things—her name, where she was from, why she looked at him like he was just another man in the room. That indifference sparked something in him, a need to shatter it. But his pride took a hit the second she said it was better they didn't know each other's names.
It almost made him laugh. Bold little thing. She thought she could walk away untouched, unaffected? No. He'd see her again—he'd make sure of it. And when he had her beneath him, trembling and breathless, she'd forget her own rules. She'd be the one begging.
Damn, Raymond and his absurd condition. Marriage, as a requirement to close the merger? It was laughable. Adam didn't believe in marriage—not for love, at least. But if a bride was necessary, he'd bring one of his own choosing. On his terms. And maybe... this woman could be it.
She didn't look like someone chasing fairytales. She didn't flirt. She didn't fawn. She wasn't impressed by his suit, his car, or the way people whispered when he entered a room. She was composed, detached, almost cold. But Adam saw past the cool exterior. That untouchable act? It was a mask. And he would be the one to peel it away.
She was perfect—because she didn't want him. Or at least, she pretended not to. And that made her all the more tempting.
He didn't need a woman who would cling to his time or demand affection. He didn't want complications or messy emotions. His life was already a battlefield of deadlines and ruthless decisions. What he needed was someone beautiful and poised, someone who could wear his name at black-tie galas and smile for cameras, then disappear once the lights dimmed. No strings. No expectations. No love behind closed doors.
And if she agreed, then she just might be everything he was looking for.
Sofia sat in silence, her back pressed against the smooth leather seat, fingers nervously brushing the hem of her dress. The silence between them had grown heavy—too heavy. He hadn't said a word since she told him it was better they didn't know each other's names. No questions. No sly remarks. Not even a glance.
Maybe I ruined the mood, she thought, biting her lower lip. Maybe he lost interest.
And for a brief moment, that thought gave her hope. If he was no longer interested, then maybe this night would end quietly. Maybe he'd drop her off at some hotel, shrug, and forget she ever existed. She could slip out, catch a ride home, and pretend none of this ever happened. It was reckless, but she still had a chance to walk away with her dignity intact.
Then she noticed something.
The city lights blurred past them as the car rolled into quieter streets, street lamps becoming fewer, the night growing darker and still. She turned slightly, frowning. This wasn't the way back to the highway or to any place she recognized.
When the car slowed to a near crawl, her breath hitched. Her eyes followed the curve of the road—and her heart sank.
They were entering the most exclusive residential area in the city. The kind of place she had only seen on magazine covers or heard about through office gossip. Gated mansions, security checkpoints, winding driveways, and homes with more windows than she could count.
Panic started to rise in her chest.
And just when she thought it couldn't get worse, she saw it—a towering black iron gate slowly opening ahead of them, revealing a sleek, modern mansion framed by manicured hedges and glowing pathway lights. The kind of house that belonged to someone born into power. Not a man—an empire.
Her breath caught in her throat. This couldn't be real.
The car pulled forward, and she turned toward him, unsure of what to say. He still hadn't looked at her, his face unreadable as ever, his hands steady on the wheel.
She opened her mouth to speak, to ask anything, but no sound came out.
He didn't need to say a word. Everything about this moment screamed one thing:
There would be no escape tonight.
Adam pulled the car smoothly into the driveway, the quiet purr of the engine the only sound breaking the stillness between them. As soon as the vehicle came to a halt, he stepped out and rounded the front with deliberate urgency. Sofia barely had time to reach for the door handle before he was already there, opening it for her.
He extended his hand, the gentlemanly gesture oddly intimate under the soft glow of the driveway lights. She hesitated for a second, her mind struggling to catch up with the whirlwind of the night, then placed her hand in his.
Before she could even steady herself on the pavement, Adam moved.
In one swift motion, he pinned her gently but firmly against the side of the car, his hand braced beside her head, his body close—but not crushing. He paused for a beat, his dark eyes searching hers, asking without words.
Then he kissed her.
But this time it wasn't wild or rushed.
This time, it was slow.
Deliberate.
He kissed her like he had all the time in the world. Like he wanted to taste every breath she took, to memorize the softness of her lips and the way she exhaled into him. His hand found her waist, anchoring her in place as if afraid she'd slip away again. His other hand moved to her cheek, fingers brushing against her skin like she was something fragile... precious.
Sofia's knees buckled slightly under the weight of the moment, but he held her, kept her steady. Her eyes fluttered shut, and the world disappeared. There was no mansion. No pressure. No consequences.
Just this kiss. A kiss that felt like a promise. Or maybe a warning.
Because as gentle as it was, there was something fierce burning beneath it. A tension simmering just under the surface, like he was holding back the storm inside him with sheer force of will.
And as much as she knew she should pull away, she didn't. Sofia couldn't and was drowning in him again, and this time, she wasn't fighting it.
Sofia gasped softly against his mouth as Adam deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding past her lips with a confidence that left her breathless. He tasted like heat and danger—like every fantasy she never let herself have. Her hands instinctively gripped the lapels of his suit as his mouth claimed hers, over and over, until the world narrowed down to nothing but him.
She barely registered the cool night air brushing her skin or the low hum of the car cooling behind them. All she could feel was him, his hands, his mouth, his body pressed against hers like he needed her to breathe.
Then, without breaking the kiss, he swept her up into his arms. Sofia let out a soft gasp, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck as her entire world tilted—physically and emotionally. He carried her effortlessly as if she weighed nothing, his strides purposeful and unhurried. With each step, tension curled deeper inside her.
They passed through the towering double doors of his mansion and approached the grand staircase, its polished railing gleaming beneath the soft glow of the chandelier above. Every detail felt surreal, but all she could focus on was the man holding her like she was something precious—and his.
He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. Every look, every touch, every kiss was a message written in fire and want. She felt it in the way his hold on her tightened, in the way his lips found her neck as he crossed the threshold, in the way her body arched into his instinctively, aching for more.
Her heels fell to the floor somewhere near the hallway. Her breath hitched when his lips brushed just beneath her ear.
And her mind spiraled as she realized she had never been kissed like this—never been wanted like this.
By the time he laid her down gently on the edge of a sleek, king-sized bed in a room that smelled like leather and cedar, she was trembling. From anticipation. From hunger. From the way, his eyes looked at her as if she were both a gift and a dare.