The Forbidden Line

2.Shattered Boundaries

The coldness of the polished marble floor on the second floor of the grand villa was completely unable to cool the chaotic turmoil burning fiercely within Valera's chest. She had managed to escape from the lower floor, or more accurately, Garrick had intentionally let her go after a fierce, one-sided kiss that had nearly robbed Valera of all her rational consciousness. However, fleeing to the expansive living area on the second floor turned out to change absolutely nothing about her perilous situation.

On this second floor, the high, triangular architectural roof of the luxury villa featured a massive glass wall facing directly toward the dark mountain peak, making the raging blizzard outside sound twice as terrifying. Occasional flashes of sharp lightning struck violently behind the heavy black clouds, illuminating the spacious, dark room which was only otherwise lit by the dim, flickering glow of the automatic fireplace in the corner of the wall.

Valera stood rigid with her back to the stairs, her hands tightly wrapped around her own trembling body as she tried to steady her rapid, shallow breath. Her lungs felt tight, desperate for oxygen that seemed to have vanished from the room.

“Don't be crazy, Valera. He is Clary's biological father. He is a dangerous man you must never touch under any circumstances,” her inner logic screamed frantically, trying to rebuild the broken defensive walls that had already crumbled to pieces just moments ago.

"You can't run away from this place, Val. Nor can you run from me."

Heavy, measured, and agonizingly steady footsteps echoed clearly from the direction of the stairs. Valera didn't even need to turn around to know exactly who was coming toward her. Those slow footsteps sounded so calm and full of certainty, as if the man knew perfectly well that his prey was already cornered and possessed no exit whatsoever.

Garrick emerged slowly from the dark shadows of the staircase. His black knit shirt was now rolled up to his strong elbows, displaying his firm, muscular forearms and prominent, masculine veins. In his right hand, he still held the crystal glass, which was now completely empty. The older man placed his heavy glass down on the dark wooden console table near the stairs without once diverting his sharp gaze from Valera’s pale face.

"Mr. Valentino, please..." Valera took a hesitant step back, until her trembling heel brushed against the soft edge of the large leather sofa located right in the center of the spacious second-floor room. "This is completely wrong. We cannot do this. Clary... Clary trusted me when she asked me to stay here."

Garrick did not stop walking forward. The suffocating distance between them eroded rapidly with every single stride he took.

"I already told you downstairs, Valera. Don't mention anyone else's name tonight. This situation is not about her. This is purely about you and me. About how your beautiful eyes always search for my figure in every room we share, and how your fragile body trembles so beautifully every time I am near you."

"That is only because I respect you!" Valera countered, her voice rising sharply, mixed with a deep, overwhelming sense of inner frustration. She tried her best to hold her head high, staring directly into Garrick’s intense gray eyes which glinted sharply beneath the dim, warm light of the fireplace. "I respect you as my legal savior, and as my best friend's father. Nothing more than that!"

Garrick stopped moving exactly one step in front of Valera, towering over her like a shadow. The corner of his lips tugged upward, forming a thin, dark smile that was both incredibly cold and lethal.

"Respect me?"

Before Valera could even begin to process those words, Garrick’s large, warm hand moved with lightning speed, gripping Valera’s slender waist and pulling her body flush against his muscular, hard frame without leaving any distance between them. Valera let out a small, breathless gasp, both of her hands instinctively landing flat on Garrick’s broad chest, trying to push the heavy man away with whatever little remaining strength she had left.

"Let me go, Mr. Valentino!" Valera turned her face away in panic as Garrick leaned his head down, trying to kiss the sensitive, warm crook of her neck. Valera exerted all her physical power to fight back against his hold. She repeatedly hit Garrick’s solid chest, tightly gripping the man’s dark knit shirt, desperately striving to create even a single inch of space. "Let go of me!"

However, Valera’s frantic resistance instead made Garrick’s sharp jaw tighten with sudden intensity. The dominant man did not use any unnecessary violence, but rather an unshakeable, absolute dominance that could not be moved. Garrick easily captured both of Valera’s wrists with just one of his large, strong hands, locking them tightly above their chests, while his other hand gripped the back of Valera’s soft neck, forcing her to look straight up at him.

"Tell me once more that you only respect me, Valera," Garrick whispered huskily, his heavy, hot breath brushing directly against Valera’s parted lips. "Tell me that lie while looking directly into my eyes, and I swear to you I will let you go this very night."

Valera opened her mouth, fully intending to shout those defensive words. However, when she looked directly into Garrick’s dark gray eyes, which were completely filled with a desire so dense, heavy, and obsessive, the words choked instantly in her throat. It was all a lie. Her logical mind wanted to refuse him, but her frantic heart raced wildly simply because of this intense physical proximity. Her body, which she had been forcing to fight back until now, instead betrayed her completely by sending a warm, tingling sensation coursing through her entire bloodstream.

The possessive touch of Garrick’s hand on the back of her neck felt incredibly scorching, triggering a secret, taboo longing that Valera had buried deep inside her soul for the past year.

Seeing the clear hesitation and surrender in Valera’s wide eyes, a flash of absolute victory appeared in Garrick’s dark gaze.

"You can't lie to your own body, sweetheart."

Garrick gave Valera absolutely no further chance to think or reason. The man leaned down lower and claimed Valera’s lips with a deep kiss that was no longer just demanding, but an intense, highly passionate play of raw desire. The kiss was deep and consuming, laden with a powerful hunger that had been long withheld by his iron willpower.

Valera let out a low, helpless moan into the heat of the kiss. The hands she had initially used to push him away gradually lost all their strength. Her fingers, now free from his iron grip, instead crept upward by themselves, clutching Garrick’s firm, broad shoulders, pulling the mature man even closer against her. Valera’s defense collapsed completely beneath Garrick’s absolute dominance. Her logic lost utterly to the sweet betrayal of her own body, which craved more touches from this commanding billionaire.

Garrick lifted Valera’s light body with absolute ease, carrying the girl onto the large leather sofa in the middle of the room without once breaking the deep connection of their lips. Valera drowned completely within the intoxicating warmth of Garrick’s body, while outside the glass wall, the brutal blizzard grew even more wild, as if becoming the only witness to the total collapse of the taboo boundary that had separated them for so long.

That unforgettable night, on the isolated second floor that was cut off from the rest of the world, Valera knew she was not only surrendering her physical body, but also throwing herself willingly into a dark abyss of obsession

that would never let her return to her old life.