Vow of Deception (Deception Trilogy #1) by Rina Kent

Why the hell was I touching myself to that type of nightmare?

I scoot back against the headboard, pulling my legs to my chest and wait for…what? A sign that I don’t have the sort of depraved mind that fills me with those types of nightmares?

Keep it together, Winter. It was just a nightmare. It’s not real.

I carefully step off the bed and peek under it. I hold my breath, expecting some sort of monster to jump me.

No sense of relief engulfs me when I find no one.

Because I know, I just know that real monsters are more dangerous. They appear human, too, before they release their beastly selves on the world.

Like in my nightmare.

The room I’m in has the king-size bed that I woke up on with a metal headboard, decorated with golden motifs. A matching dresser with a large mirror is right across from it and I nearly scare myself shitless when I pass by it and sense my shadow.

I head to the only door in sight and pray it’s a bathroom. I need to wash up, to remove all the stickiness clinging to my body.

As soon as I open it, I freeze in the doorway.

Adrian is inside a bathtub that’s full of water. His eyes are closed, head lolled to the side, and his arms are crossed over his chest.

For a second, I don’t know if he’s actually sleeping or…dead.

I want to turn around and leave. Better yet, I want my carefree life from the streets back. After the cruel dream I just had, the last thing I want is to talk to Adrian.

But he could be dead—or will be if he keeps sleeping in a bathtub.

My footsteps are careful, slow as I approach him. I touch his shoulder and freeze.

Bite marks.

My hand has a bite mark from when I bit on it from the nightmare.

Was it really a nightmare?

Before I can think on that, a strong hand catches my wrist and pulls me over. I shriek as I lose my balance.

“You’re finally awake, Lenochka.”





10





Winter





My mouth opens as my knee hits the edge of the tub.

Being this close, I’m taken hostage by him—and it’s not only due to his grip on my wrist. He’s naked, and while the water covers most of his body, it’s transparent and every inch of him is exposed.

His shoulders are broad, framing defined biceps. Black tattoos are inked along the length of his taut arm that’s holding me. His other hand rests close to his tapered waist that leads to a rock-hard abdomen.

Not sure if it’s because of the water, but his thighs appear powerful and hard like in those commercials for football players. I force myself to gaze somewhere else and not at his half-erect cock.

How is it possible for someone to exude such physical perfection? His beauty isn’t loud like a movie star’s or a model’s. It’s quiet, just like his personality. Lethal, too, because if his eyes were a knife, I’d be bleeding in this bathtub right now.

I frown at that image. Bleeding…

Adrian cuts off my train of thought when he lifts my hand to his nose and a muscle moves beneath his jaw as he sucks in a long breath. “Were you touching yourself, Lia?”

“No…” My voice is strangled, hushed, and a bit hoarse, as if I’m still trapped in that nightmare.

“Don’t lie to me.” His tone is calm but threatening. “I smell your cunt on these fingers.”

“I said no.”

“That’s your first strike. Lie to me again and I’ll punish you.”

Memories from the nightmare strangle me by the throat and suffocate every ounce of air from my surroundings.

He’ll strip me bare and fuck me now. He’ll take me like an animal and leave me without anything. He’ll confiscate my power and my will.

His hold on my wrist is firm and heats my flesh like a thousand flames, intending to burn me from underneath my skin.

My lips tremble and I dig my nails into the ceramic edge of the tub to keep myself in a bent position. “Please…don’t…don’t…”

Adrian releases my hand and I stumble until my back hits the glass door of the shower. I remain there, both palms flattened on the cold surface and my bare feet curling against the tiles.

“What is wrong?” He’s speaking with the Russian accent, not the American one from my nightmare.

“N-nothing.”

He stands up all wet and…naked.

He’s completely naked.

Although I caught a glimpse of him in the bathtub, nothing could’ve prepared me for this view. His thighs are muscled and taller than I predicted. Fine hairs form a trail on his taut chest and down to…

I snap my gaze up before I start ogling his cock. In my attempt to study anything but him, I’m caught off guard by his tattoos. I saw one earlier, but I didn’t see the other. Both his arms are marked. Full sleeves of black ink intertwine over his arms like a labyrinth.

Just like in the nightmare.

While I could’ve hallucinated about biting my hand, this can’t be made up. I’ve never seen Adrian unclothed, so there’s no way I’d guess he has inked arms.

I reach for the nearest thing I can find, which happens to be a ceramic soap bottle, and point it in his direction. “Stay away from me!”

“Lia,” Adrian says the name softly.

“I’m not Lia! I’m Winter!”

“Calm down.” He continues approaching me, stalking toward me with silent footsteps that I can barely hear.