Chapter 18 #2
Havoc studied my face, his expression unreadable. For a terrifying moment, I thought he might call me on my bullshit. Instead, he just squeezed my shoulder and let his hand drop.
“That’s all I ask,” he said, though his eyes told me he knew better.
I pulled into the private parking lot for Smith Industries, my headlights sweeping across the empty spaces. Midnight was approaching, and the reception had finally ended after what felt like years of smiling for cameras.
My reflection in the rearview mirror looked haunted. My eyeliner was slightly smudged and my hair was falling from its perfect arrangement. I’d been running on fumes for hours, but exhaustion wasn’t what made my hands tremble as I killed the engine.
I love him.
The thought had circled my mind the entire drive, a confession I couldn’t escape. It wasn’t a revelation, exactly, more like finally acknowledging a truth that had been there all along, buried beneath layers of hurt and forced detachment.
I loved Cipher.
I pressed my forehead against the steering wheel, breathing deeply. How do you tell someone you love them when they’ve explicitly asked you to hate them instead? When they’ve offered themselves up as a punching bag for your rage?
He said he’d be whatever I need, but what if what I needed wasn’t what he thought?
The security guard at the entrance nodded as I approached, not even asking for identification.
“Ms. Bishop. He’s expecting you.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out an object, offering it to me. My mask. The sight of it sent a flutter of apprehension and relief through me.
I took it, feeling its familiar weight in my hands. Cipher was giving me my armor before I even stepped into his domain. A choice. A shield.
“Thank you,” I murmured. I could slide the mask over my face right now. The world would immediately narrow and simplify. With it on, I wouldn’t be Annie Bishop, Keeper. I would be whoever I wanted to be to get through the night.
My hand shook as I slipped the mask into my jacket pocket instead.
The guard gestured toward an unmarked door beside the main elevator bank. “Private access to the Labyrinth. Just scan your palm.”
The elevator descended smoothly, carrying me down to Cipher’s underground lair. My stomach dropped with each floor, anxiety and anticipation tangling into a knot I couldn’t unravel.
How could I make him understand?
I knew that Cipher, my brilliant, dangerous Cipher, didn’t believe he deserved to be loved. Not after what he’d done. He expected punishment, not forgiveness.
I couldn’t just blurt out that I loved him. He wouldn’t believe me. Not because he thought I was lying, but because he couldn’t imagine being worthy of love. Not real love.
Not after everything.
I paused in the hallway once the elevator opened up and heard the thump of music echoing through the corridor, a pulsing beat that seemed completely at odds with Cipher’s clinical, controlled lair.
I stepped further down the hallway, the music growing louder with each step. The command center stood empty, screens still glowing with data but no one there to analyze it. I continued toward the source of the thumping bass and when I reached the end of the corridor, I froze.
Holy fuck.
The massive storage area had been transformed into a nightclub. Lasers cut through artificial fog, painting the room in electric blue and vibrant purple.
And the people, so many people. Cipher’s henchmen, his tech crew, his security detail—all of them were dancing, drinking, celebrating.
Women in metallic bikinis twisted in suspended cages while bartenders in leather harnesses mixed drinks that glowed under blacklights.
Servers weaved through the crowd with trays of shots, their bodies adorned with nothing but strategic strips of reflective tape.
And in the center of it all was Cipher. His hair was disheveled, a grin splitting his face as he threw back a shot of something electric blue.
Holy shit. Cipher was drunk. His usual razor-sharp focus had softened and his movements were looser. His cheeks were flushed, and he was actually laughing, a real, uninhibited laugh that transformed his entire face.
I didn’t even know he could look like that.
I pressed my back against the wall, suddenly feeling overdressed in my reception outfit. This was clearly a private celebration, and I felt like an intruder.
Cipher’s head snapped up, silver eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that sent heat rushing through my body. Even drunk, his awareness was unnerving. One moment he was across the room, the next he was surging toward me.
“Annie.”
Before I could respond, he scooped me up, hands gripping my thighs as he lifted me. I gave a startled squeal and wrapped my legs around his waist.
“You’re here,” he murmured, and then his mouth was on mine.
It took me a moment to place that the kiss tasted like the drug, Cobalt, with its sweetness that had an electric undertone that tingled against my lips. It was the only thing that could actually get someone with enhanced metabolism drunk.
Cipher’s hands tightened on my thighs, fingers digging in possessively as he deepened the kiss. The room around us erupted in wolf whistles and cheers, but Cipher didn’t seem to care or even notice.
Drunk Cipher had zero shame. Which isn’t all that different from Sober Cipher.
He pulled back from the kiss and called over his shoulder. “Keep drinking. Have some fun. You’ve all fucking earned it.”
The henchmen cheered, raising their drinks as Cipher carried me out of the room, my legs still wrapped around his waist. In the hallway, he pressed me against the wall, his mouth hot on mine.
“Want to stay at the party?” he murmured against my lips.
My answer caught in my throat as his teeth found my neck, biting down just hard enough to make me gasp. My head fell back against the wall, a shudder running through my entire body.
“I’ll take that as a no,” he chuckled.
“Don’t you want to stay at the party?” I asked. “You looked happy. Like you were having fun.”
His eyes flashed. “No.” The word rumbled against my collarbone as he pressed his lips there. “I don’t want to stay at the party.”
His hands shifted, one sliding up to cradle the back of my head while the other kept me pinned against the wall.
“I’m much happier now.” His mouth trailed up my neck. “Celebrating with them was fine. Celebrating inside you is better.”
He carried me to the elevator and pressed the button for his private level without looking, his eyes never leaving mine.
“You’re beautiful,” he said. “And I’m going to fuck you until neither of us can stand.”
“You’re drunk,” I said, pressing a kiss to his jaw.
“Yes. Very observant, Bishop.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You refused to sleep with me when I was drunk. Remember?”
Cipher’s mouth curved into a smile. “Different situation. I planned this while I was still sober. Calculated exactly how much I could drink and still function.” His hands tightened on my thighs, pulling me harder against him.
“You’re free to fuck me as much as you want.
I made that decision with a clear head.”
Of course he did. Even his intoxication was meticulously planned.
“So,” I said, trying to ignore the ache building between my legs. “Are you pleased with how the match went? You and Havoc were incredible out there.”
His expression softened. “I’m more pleased that you’re here with me now.”
The elevator doors opened to his private floor, and he carried me down the familiar hallway to the Playroom. Kissing me, he went inside.
My pulse kicked up as I took in the familiar space with its black furniture, the wall of implements, and the large bed dominating the center of the room.
I knew exactly what this space would be again. Our sanctuary. Our battlefield. Our confessional.
“I’ve missed having you here,” Cipher whispered against my skin. “Missed you in this room.”
He set me down, my back against the wall, his body caging me in. His hands slid under my shirt, palms hot against my ribs before cupping my breasts. My nipples hardened instantly beneath his touch.
“Tell me what you need,” he whispered. “Whatever you want, whatever you need to break apart, just tell me.”
I love you, and I don’t know how to make you believe it. But I couldn’t say that.
I gasped as his teeth grazed the sensitive spot below my ear and his thumbs brushed over my nipples, my body arching into his touch.
No. Not like this. Not again.
With effort, I placed my hands on his chest, not pushing him away exactly, but creating space between us. “What do you need, Cipher?”
He froze, eyes narrowing in confusion. “What?”
“What do you need?” I repeated. “It’s your celebration. Your victory. What do you need from me?”
His expression shifted, that calculating look I knew so well sliding into place despite the alcohol. “That’s not how this works.”
“Tonight it does.” I held his gaze, refusing to back down. “I’m not going to use you like last time.”
I stood my ground, chin lifted. “You promised to be whatever I wanted you to be, remember? Tonight, I want you to be the Villain triumphant. The man who just fought Havoc to a standstill. The Super Villain who’s achieved everything he’s worked for.”
His eyes darkened, something dangerous flickering behind them. “I don’t have everything yet.”
I heard it. The unspoken ‘I don’t have you yet.’ I had to force the confession that I loved him down. Handing him that declaration right now wouldn’t go well.
“Then pretend. For tonight, just pretend you have it all.”
A devastating hunger bled through his expression. He was so desperate for my love he was willing to accept a counterfeit version of it. He had no idea the real thing had belonged to him for months.
His mouth went to mine, desperate. His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer. I matched his intensity, my fingers fumbling with the fastenings of his suit.