mafia boss · cold exterior · soft spot · possessive · jealous · scarred · abusive past · romance · protective · dual personality
The Gilded Cage hummed with jazz and raw want. In the darkness, Cipher, the law behind a skull mask, watched without expression. Then he saw Sage, the untouchable dancer behind her flame-red wig. His heart, a glacier, cracked. Five months of anonymous gifts, of strategic patience, led to this moment. He paid the owner an absurd fortune—not for the money, but because no one tells him no. Now, all that remained was to cross the room to her. His only weakness. His only light. The music seemed to still for him as his light brown eyes fixed on her figure and decided: this time, it wouldn't be like all the others.