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

At night, after we put our son to sleep, Adrian worships my body or makes up some sort of punishment just so he can satisfy his sadistic tendencies—and my masochistic ones.

But today, there’s a change of plans.

After Jeremy is in bed, I invite the guards over so we can play Scrabble. Something that Adrian isn’t very happy about, and he says that there’s no way in hell all the guards will come over and we’ll stay unprotected.

So Yan shoos the two younger guards outside, filling their hands with snacks.

I expect Kolya and Boris to scold him, but they just sit on the sofa across from me and Adrian. After Yan finishes his mission of getting rid of the younger guards, he settles on the chair on my right.

Tightening the wool scarf that’s draped over my shoulders, I angle my neck to soak in the warmth from the fireplace. Although the house is fully heated, I feel like a kitten in the cozy setting.

I prepared countless snacks and placed a case of beer on the table beside the Scrabble board Jeremy found in his exploration of the house.

Adrian loops an arm around my shoulder, his fingers digging into my skin. It’s not strong enough to hurt, but it’s firm enough to imply he’s not pleased with my idea of spending the evening playing with his guards.

His lips brush against the shell of my ear as he whispers in hot words, “Tell them you’re feeling unwell and go up to the bedroom. Now.”

“No,” I hiss.

“If you don’t, I’ll whip you hard, then fuck you just as hard so that you won’t be able to move tomorrow.”

“It’d be worth it,” I murmur, even as my core throbs at the promise.

It’s official. Adrian has ruined me beyond repair.

“I feel bad for them,” I tell Yan, who opens a bottle of beer and drinks from it, releasing a sigh of contentment. Kolya and Boris are dressed in army fatigues and Adrian is in his formal attire, but my friend is wearing a casual shirt and pants with a jacket.

I’m just glad he’s well enough to move and even drink now. I also saw him running with Adrian and the guards during their morning workouts. And yeah, these crazy people actually run in the snow when it’s below zero degrees.

“They’ll survive.” Yan throws up a dismissive hand. “The cold will make men out of them. They’re lucky they weren’t in the Special Forces.”

“Was is that brutal?” I ask.

“Brutal?” Yan scoffs. “Try deadly. Try, we’re the fucking chosen ones for getting out of that training alive. Remember dragging kilos of tires in fucking freezing Siberia, Borya?”

Boris’s stoic face falters for a second as he nods, and even Kolya’s lips twist, probably recalling the same circumstances.

“Seems the cold hasn’t made a man out of you, Yan,” Adrian says with nonchalance, then takes a sip of beer.

“How can you say that, Boss? I was second in my unit.”

Adrian raises a brow. “Not first.”

“Not everyone is a perfectionist freak like you and Kolya.”

I stare at Adrian. Yan told me he was in Special Forces before, but he never mentioned rank. “You were first?”

“Unlike Yan.”

“He’s all bark and no bite,” Kolya agrees with his boss, opening a bottle of beer.

“Oh, fuck you, Kolya.” Yan’s temper rises. “Rank isn’t important, skill is. What do you say, Boris?”

“I was first in my unit, too.” Boris throws a nut into his mouth. “Pay respect.”

“To being first.” Kolya shows a rare smirk and raises his bottle of beer.

My husband and Boris mimic him, drinking while Yan tightens his hold on his bottle, glaring at them before he sighs heavily.

“It seems you’re the only loser here, Yan.” Kolya smiles.

The younger guard flips him off under the table and I can’t help but smile. These men are all ruthless, coming from dangerous backgrounds that allowed them to not only survive Special Forces, but to also excel at it, and although they might be competitive about it, they feel like a family.

A fucked-up one, no doubt, but at the same time, it’s very loyal and protective.

A family I want to belong to.

“I’m going to make you eat your words by the end of tonight, Kolya.” Yan bunches up his sleeves. “There are five of us. How are we going to do this?”

“I’m not playing,” Adrian announces.

“Come on.” I nudge him. “Don’t be a fun-ruiner.”

“If I play, I’ll win every round and ruin your actual fun.”

“He’s right.” Yan rolls his eyes. “Don’t be fooled by the silent façade. Boss is competitive to a fault and makes sure to win at everything.”

“Except shipping you back to the Spetsnaz.” Adrian sips his beer. “Though that can be arranged rather swiftly now that we’re here.”

Yan winces. “You didn’t forget about that?”

“Never. Now, play. I will be the judge.”

Yan clears his throat. “Lia and me against Kolya and Boris.”

“No.” Adrian objects.

“Why not?” I ask.

“It’d be boring. You and Kolya against Boris and Yan would be more entertaining.”

Or more like, he’s doing everything in his power to keep me from pairing up with Yan. But whatever, Adrian will always be Adrian.