CHAPTER 9 — FIRST FORBIDDEN TOUCH
The office was unusually silent that evening. Most of the employees had gone home, leaving only the soft hum of the air conditioning and the occasional shuffle of papers from the cleaning staff. Aria Sarmiento sat at her desk, fingers poised over the keyboard, but she couldn't concentrate. Her thoughts kept returning to Lucien the way he had looked at her earlier, the subtle way his hand had brushed hers when passing documents.
Focus, Aria, she told herself. He's your boss. It's forbidden. Keep your distance.
But the harder she tried to suppress the feelings, the stronger they became.
A soft knock at her office door made her jump. Before she could answer, it creaked open, and there he was Lucien Velasco, standing in the doorway like a shadow that demanded attention. His gray eyes scanned the room, finally settling on her with that penetrating intensity that always left her breathless.
"Miss Sarmiento," he said, voice low and deliberate, "I need you to review these contracts. They're urgent."
She nodded, trying to steady her trembling hands. "Yes, sir," she whispered, accepting the stack of papers he handed her. Their fingers brushed a fleeting, accidental touch but enough to send electricity up her arm. She quickly withdrew her hand, cheeks burning.
Lucien didn't comment. He simply leaned against the edge of her desk, his presence overwhelming, commanding, and impossible to ignore. The air between them was charged, each movement measured, deliberate, yet casual enough to appear professional.
As Aria flipped through the documents, she tried to focus on the content, on the numbers, on the deadlines. But every glance at him made her pulse spike. Every time he leaned a fraction closer to point at a clause, she felt her breath catch.
"I need you to check the financial sections thoroughly," he said, voice calm but low enough to send shivers down her spine. "Any mistakes, no matter how small, could cost the company."
"Yes, sir," she replied, voice barely audible. Her fingers shook slightly as she jotted notes, the proximity of his presence making it impossible to focus.
He didn't move away. Instead, he leaned just a little closer to examine a paragraph with her. Their knees brushed under the desk, and Aria froze, heart hammering against her chest. She couldn't believe how a simple touch could make her feel this way.
Lucien's gray eyes flicked to her knee, then back to her face, as though testing her composure. "Concentration," he murmured, almost under his breath, yet his voice reached her clearly. "Focus on the work, not the… distractions."
Her cheeks flamed. Distractions… he means me. She fought the urge to look away, to escape the intensity of his gaze. Yet, she found herself holding it, drawn in by the magnetic pull she couldn't resist.
For the next hour, they worked in tense silence. Every accidental touch his hand brushing hers while pointing to a line, their knees nudging under the desk made her pulse accelerate. Her breaths came faster, shallow, almost unsteady. She tried to remind herself that this was forbidden. That any lapse could ruin her career. That he was untouchable.
But when he glanced at her, and she caught the faintest smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, she realized she wasn't the only one feeling the tension.
And then it happened small, subtle, but undeniable. She had bent slightly to pick up a pen that rolled off the desk, and his hand landed on hers, steadying her. She froze, her heartbeat deafening in her ears. His touch lingered a fraction longer than necessary, a silent message she couldn't decipher. Her fingers tingled from the contact, and for the first time, she couldn't pretend this was purely professional.
"Careful," he said softly, his gray eyes dark and intense. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself over something so… trivial."
"Yes, sir," she whispered, unable to meet his gaze. Her chest heaved, emotions tangled and raw.
Lucien straightened and stepped back, but the room still felt charged, the air thick with unspoken words. Aria returned to her work, but her hands trembled as she held the pen. Her mind replayed the contact, over and over, her pulse refusing to settle.
By the time he left the office, she realized something terrifying and undeniable the line had been crossed. Not physically not entirely but emotionally. The tension, the forbidden attraction, the dangerous pull between them had become impossible to ignore.
Sitting alone, Aria whispered to herself, a mixture of fear, longing, and helplessness in her voice:
He's forbidden. He's dangerous. And yet… I can't stop thinking about him.
And deep down, she knew that the first touch innocent, accidental, professional was only the beginning.
A storm had begun. And she was standing directly in its path.