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

I could watch him like this for an eternity, even though I’m slightly jealous of the effortless connection he has with our son.

“Can you please give me that piece, Mommy?” Jeremy points at the one beside me.

I pass it to him and he grins, snuggling in Adrian’s lap. I continue observing them for a bit, fingering the Lego container. “Why did you bring us to Russia of all places?”

Adrian remains in his element, assembling a few pieces together. “Jeremy needed to come here sooner or later.”

“Any particular reason?”

“He’s Russian and needs more contact with his roots.” He turns Jeremy to face him. “Malysh, this is where your grandfather and ancestors were born. We come from Yaroslavl and have many generations. You’re the last member.”

Our son’s eyes widen. “I am?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Thank you, Papa.”

“He’s American-born,” I say.

“Doesn’t make him American.”

I roll my eyes but choose to probe instead of focusing on that. “Is that what your parents did to you, too?”

“Did what?”

“Bring you to Russia.”

His movements falter on a Lego piece and then he snaps it in place. “My father often brought me here, especially for Christmas.”

“How about your mother?”

“Not before she married my father.”

“Did you…come here with your stepmother?”

He nods once and I can see the shadow that darkens his expression whenever his past is brought up. “Remember when you asked me what the map of Russia tattoo means?”

I nod frantically. “You said it’s because of a vacation you were never able to have.”

“Yes. I was supposed to come here with Aunt Annika, but she passed away before I had the chance.”

“Is that why you brought us here?”

“Probably.” The word is quiet, low, as if it weighs on him.

I wrap my arm around his bicep and lean my head against the hard ridge of his muscles. “We’d never leave you, Adrian.”

He stares down at me with molten gray eyes. “Really?”

“I promise,” I murmur, then brush a quick kiss on his cheek.

Just when I pull back, he captures my lips in a slow, all-consuming kiss that steals my breath and apparently my logic, because for a brief second, I forget Jeremy is there.

I place a hand on his chest and push him away. He releases my lips with a low growl.

Jeremy stares at us with a grin, and even as my cheeks burn, I can’t help but grin back.

Because this moment? This peace? It feels like the beginning of our happiness.

If only the ghosts from the past don’t catch up to us.





18





Lia





Our vacation is surprisingly…warm.

Despite the freezing weather and the ice storms, the days we spend in the Russian countryside are so full of fire. And strangely, that isn’t entirely due to the lash of Adrian’s punishments at night or how he lights my body on fire every chance he gets.

It’s the fact that we’re spending uninterrupted time together and with our son. The fact that no work is keeping him from us. The fact that we built a snowman together before Jeremy and I ganged up on Adrian in a snowball fight.

We lost, by the way, and it was the best loss I’ve ever experienced. Jer and I ended up laughing until we snorted as Adrian buried us under his merciless snowballs.

I love seeing my husband carefree, without the endless weight that’s usually furrowing his features or making him overanalyze everything.

Ever since we stepped foot in Russia a week ago, he seems to have left all his burdens back in the States and is giving me the one thing I’ve always wanted—him.

I often fantasized about stealing him away from his work and demanding that he choose me over his endless Bratva responsibilities. But I’ve stopped due to my stupid pride.

And fear.

I was too afraid of Adrian’s nature to ever embrace him fully.

In truth, I still am.

I don’t think I will ever not be scared of him. There will always be that slight tinge of terror about how dangerous he is and how monstrous he can get to ensure his goals are met. However, I’m strong and mature enough to ignore that fear and focus on what he is.

Who he is.

The man who showed me a different world, one where I’m cared for and I come before anything else.

The man who fought for me when I didn’t have the will to fight for myself.

The man who saved me, even when he tortured me. Who took my hand when I thought there was no hope left for me.

The man who gave me the most precious gift in the form of Jeremy and nurtured him with me. He provided me light, even when he himself was always used to the darkness.

And to have him all to myself these last couple of days has been more exhilarating than anything I’ve experienced in recent memory.

I know he keeps himself updated by talking to his guards, especially Kolya, in hushed tones, but he doesn’t let it occupy his days and nights.

Jeremy and I do.

We have movie nights and lazy mornings. We cook together and mess up the kitchen before Adrian shoos me away so he can clean it. We take walks together whenever it’s not snowing hard, and Adrian is even teaching Jeremy how to ski.