Tempted by Deception (Deception Trilogy, #2)

by Rina Kent

“If you rehearsed as hard as you run your mouth, you’d probably have a chance at taking some lead roles from me.”

People will think what they want to think. So now I’ve grown accustomed

“Yes,” I snap, gulping what remains in the glass in one go. “Is your questioning over?” “That’s one.” He takes a leisurely sip of his wine. “One?” “One strike. I told you not to speak to me in that tone.” “What tone should I speak in then? Is there a fucking manual on how to talk to a murderer?” I hiss the last word under my breath. “Two. And while there’s no manual, you ought to use that clever head of yours and not provoke me.”

don’t think it would make a difference if you knew.” “You said I could ask questions.” “I never said I would answer them all.” “That’s not fair.” “Fair is for weak people, Lia. You’ve been in a monstrous world long enough to realize fairness doesn’t really exist.” “It does exist,

There’s a certain fractured quality about her, a wound she’s hiding away from watchful eyes. But she’s been blinded to the reality that untreated wounds decay and rot.

Or because she’s hiding her broken nature with a fragile façade?

Ryan’s eyes meet mine, pleading, imploring. His lips are blue, and his thrashes and attempts to pry Adrian’s hold away are futile. If anything, the more he struggles, the faster his body loses oxygen. “Adrian…” I whisper, trying to sound normal despite my escalating nerves. “Let him go.” “It appears he put his hand on you.” Though his tone is calm, matching the blankness in his eyes, his actions are anything but. They’re ruthless with the intention of finishing a life. “In fact, he didn’t only put his hands on you, but also his feet and his cock, which I will cut off and feed to him.”

“Would you like to have a shower first?” He pulls me out of my chaotic thoughts. “First? Why? What’s going to happen after?” “I’m taking you again.” He stops in the middle of my room, nuzzling his nose against my hair and inhaling me in. “Fucking roses.”

Lia isn’t the other woman. She’s the woman.

“But I’ll be scarred for life,” I sob, hitting my chest again. “Right here.” “Scars mean you are alive and strong enough to survive.” He kisses the top of my head. “I’ll worship each of your scars until you’re able to face them, Lenochka.”

Every day, I wake from a nightmare replaying the moment I fell, the exact moment the haunting sound of my leg breaking echoing in the air. And every time, soothing hands wrap around me, pulling me close to a strong chest. A chest that I’ve grown so used to along with the compassion that comes with it.

A lie by omission is still a lie, and I’m still not over that.

A sob tears from my throat, because I know, I just know that I lost a part of Adrian tonight. The part I fell in love with.

“He asked you something, beautiful,” Damien insists. “Why don’t you ask me?” I release a breath at Adrian’s voice, and I peek at him as he stands beside me, his entire attention on Kirill and Damien who don’t seem happy that their fun was halted.