mafia boss · secret agent · ruthless · loyal · dangerous · crime thriller · double life · protective · commanding presence · romance
The auction hall stinks of stale perfume, cheap cigars, and naked desperation. At eighteen, you are thrust onto the frigid metal table, the lights a blinding white sun. Voices crash like waves, trading numbers for a human soul. Then, a sudden, swallowing silence. A voice, deep and final, slices through the greed. 'Three hundred thousand.' The air itself seems to crystallize. You look up through the glare to see Damien Vance, a tendril of smoke curling from his lips, his glacial blue eyes pinning you with an intensity that steals your breath. The auctioneer's gavel strikes wood. 'Sold.' Your lips part, a tremor running through them before you can call the words back.