Chapter 6 - The Spark in the Shadows
After the drama in the ballroom, Victor led Sadi out onto the private third-floor balcony overlooking the city skyline. The night air was cool, carrying the faint breeze off Lake Michigan.
Sadi leaned against the stone railing, taking a deep breath.
"Are you alright?" Victor asked, stepping up beside her and taking off his tuxedo jacket to drape it gently over her shoulders.
"I’ve never seen anything like that," Sadi admitted, wrapping his heavy jacket around her frame. The scent of his cedarwood cologne wrapped around her, comforting and intoxicated. "You destroyed his entire life with a single word."
"Mick was a parasite," Victor said plainly. "He preyed on people who had no defense. I only gave him what he deserved."
He turned to face her, resting one arm on the railing. "Did I frighten you, Sadi?"
Sadi looked at him—really looked at him. She saw the ruthless crime boss who ruled the city, but she also saw the man who had wrapped her bleeding hands in silk, who had saved her brother's life without hesitation, and who had stood up for her when no one else would.
"No," Sadi whispered, stepping closer to him. "You didn't frighten me. I felt... safe. For the first time in years."
Victor’s dark eyes softened into something intense and raw. He reached out, his bare hand coming up to cup her cheek, his thumb gently smoothing over her lip.
"You don't ever have to scrub another floor, Sadi," Victor murmured, his voice dipping into a low, hypnotic register. "You don't ever have to beg for help. Anything you need, anything you want, it's yours."
"Why, Victor?" she whispered, her heart pounding frantically against her ribs as he leaned closer. "Why me?"
"Because for eight months, I watched you suffer in silence," Victor confessed, his face inches from hers. "I watched a woman with more heart and bravery than half the men in this city. And I swore to myself that if I ever got the chance to hold you, I would never let you go."
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Before Sadi could process his words, Victor closed the distance between them.
His lips met hers in a deep, electric kiss that made the ground beneath her feet disappear. It was a kiss born of power, protection, and a wild, pent-up passion that had been building between them in the dark halls of the mansion for months. Sadi let out a soft sigh, her gloved hands coming up to grip the lapels of his shirt, pulling herself closer into his solid, warm chest.
