Consumed by Deception (Deception Trilogy #3) by Rina Kent

As if I’m meaningless.

“He’ll forgive me if I explain,” I lie to Luca.

“Will he forgive this, though?”

Before I can make sense of his words, he smashes his lips to mine with a blinding force that leaves me momentarily stunned.

His lips, harsh and unpleasant, provoke a deep sense of disgust. All I can think about is Adrian’s kisses, the passion behind them and how they’re able to lift me yet mess me up.

I slam a hand on Luca’s chest and attempt to push him away, but he grabs it and continues kissing me. Even when I tighten my lips.

“So this is why you wanted to get out?”

My body goes still at that voice.

The same voice that exists in both my dreams and my nightmares. The deep voice with a slightly husky tenor that saves me from my mind most of the time.

Only, that doesn’t seem to be the case now. Judging from the frightening calm beneath his tone, he’s here to unleash his wrath.

The wrath that makes me tremble all over.

Luca pushes off me, forcing my hand to release him, and then he’s sprinting in the opposite direction.

Adrian quickens his pace after him, not sparing me a glance. He’s holding a gun, and although his grip seems effortless, his body is so rigid, he appears on the verge of breaking all hell loose.

If he goes after Luca in his state, I have no doubt that my ex-childhood friend will kill him. He won’t hesitate to put a bullet in him and finish his life. He’s been planning my husband’s assassination all this time, after all.

I grab Adrian’s hand, the one with the gun, but he pushes me back without looking at me. I don’t let him go, though, my nails digging into the sleeve of his jacket.

For the first time since he caught Luca kissing me, Adrian’s eyes meet mine.

I wish they hadn’t. They’re sharp, hard, and resemble the merciless sky overhead. When he speaks, the tenor of his voice is calm but harsh. “Let. Go.”

I shake my head frantically.

“Protect him all you like, Lia, but I’ll fucking murder him. Today or tomorrow or a decade from now. It will happen.”

“I’m not protecting him…” I choke on my tears. “I’m protecting you.”

My husband faces me and slams his free fist into the wall over my head, the hideous sound echoing in the small alleyway. His body magnifies, almost like it’s doubling in size, while his features sharpen. Being in Adrian’s company has always been an experience, but actually being the subject of his anger is no different than slamming into a volcano at the point of eruption. He might not burn me, but the threat is there, waiting, biding its time to swallow me whole.

“So now you’re protecting me? What’s next? Are you going to say you’re fucking him for my sake?”

I release a shaky breath, my hold tightening on his jacket sleeve. “I never have, Adrian. I lied.”

“He just had his tongue down your fucking throat. Which part of that is lying?”

“He didn’t have his tongue inside. If you weren’t so blinded by your anger, you would’ve seen that and the fact that he forced that kiss on me.”

“So now it’s my fault?”

“No…” I wrap both of my hands around his wrist, staring up at him, waiting, imploring the Adrian I think I’ve lost.

Turns out I haven’t.

Even as Winter, he came back to me. He treated me like I mattered.

He kissed me.

He sat down and smiled at me.

I want that Adrian, not the closed off monster he becomes when he’s enraged. Or worse, when he thinks I’ve cheated on him. He saw Luca kissing me, so my case isn’t looking so good, but I want to fight.

For him.

For us.

For the relationship we’ve never properly had.

“I remember… I know I’m not Winter and that I’m Lia. I know you must’ve kept an eye on me the entire time I thought I was homeless and that you eventually brought me home.”

Adrian studies me intently, his inquisitive gaze piercing through me, tearing me apart to reach the very marrow of my bones.

If I expected any joy or relief, I get nothing. A muscle works in his jaw and he pulls his fist back so that he can slam it against the wall again. I flinch, but it’s more out of worry at the thought of him hurting his knuckles.

“Apparently, the first thing you did upon remembering was to meet your lover.”

“No, no…” I hold onto his hand, needing the closeness. “I know how it looked from your perspective, but that wasn’t the case.”

“You obviously planned to meet him, Lia.”

“It’s because I saw Winter in the guest house and thought I had no place in your life. That’s why I wanted to leave.”

I realize how wrong my words are the moment they’re out.

“You wanted to leave,” Adrian repeats slowly, menacingly.

“I don’t want to anymore. I swear.”

He lets his hand fall from the wall just so he can grab me by the chin using two fingers. They’re rough, meant to punish and hurt, but the only thing I’m focused on is the blood marring his busted knuckles.

Before I can reach for them or try to soothe them, Adrian tilts my head back with a tight grip. “You might have forgotten a few things, so let me remind you, Lia. You are my wife. Fucking mine. That means you don’t protect another man in my damn presence. No matter how much you try to shield him, I’ll find the bastard and kill him. Then, I’ll keep my promise and fuck you in his blood.”