Lies of My Monster (Monster Trilogy #2) by Rina Kent

All evidence points in that direction.

I still don’t have a last name, but a first name is enough to start. If I have to search the planet for everyone named Anton, then so fucking be it.

Her words turn intelligible—not even words anymore, but more like cries of pain and distress.

I grab her by the throat and squeeze, but not hard enough to cut off her air supply. Sasha’s body jerks, and she opens her eyes.

In the beginning, they’re more brown than green, unfocused, and without a spark. But the turbulent energy soon transforms into panic as she lunges into a sitting position. I loosen my hand enough to allow her, but I don’t release her.

“What…what’s going on? Are we under attack…?”

“We’re not. Breathe.” I squeeze a bit further, and only then does she relax.

So I let my hand drop from her neck because I was just contemplating stroking her cheek like some doting asshole that I absolutely am not.

“You had a nightmare,” I announce the obvious. “What was it about?”

She sinks her teeth into her swollen bottom lip, and my eyes follow the motion, imagining my own teeth there, like I devoured her last night—or, more accurately, early this morning.

Sasha slowly releases it and clears her throat. “I don’t remember. Just something random, I guess.”

Liar.

Something random doesn’t include her family or this certain Anton.

But if I push her about it, she’ll only get defensive. It’s better that she thinks I didn’t hear anything just now.

“Did I…say something?” She gauges my eyes, hers careful, fearful, and on guard.

There’ll be a day when she’ll lay out everything about her life to me. I’ll make sure of it.

“No, but you were thrashing.”

“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“You didn’t.” I wasn’t sleeping in the first place.

I stand, ready to get on with my day. Sasha, however, gets on her knees and grabs me by the arm. “Please tell me you slept.”

When I don’t reply, she swallows. “Not even a little?”

“Sleep is overrated.”

“That’s not true. This situation is getting serious and will have a huge impact on your health if you keep going at this pace, Kirill. I can help if you let me.”

“You need to call me something else when it’s the two of us.”

She pauses, her expression frozen for a second too long. I love how she looks when caught off guard, but what I love more is the slight narrowing of her eyes when she realizes I’m diverting the conversation in a direction she doesn’t approve of.

Sasha is a smart cookie and the only one who can keep up with my fast-paced mind.

“You’re not changing the subject, Kirill.”

“As I was saying, you need to call me something else.”

“What’s wrong with Kirill?”

“Too impersonal.”

“It’s your name.”

“Still impersonal. You’re supposed to be born and bred in Russia, so you, of all people, should know the importance of a familiar name.”

Her lips part. “I…can’t call you by the diminutive form. You’re older than me by a whole eight years.”

“I don’t want that either. A diminutive form is weird all over. What I want, however, is a pet name, like the one I gave you.”

“But why…?”

“I just want one.”

She pauses, swallows once and then again before she clears her throat, her cheeks becoming a deep shade of red. This view of her, all bashful and looking absolutely fuckable in my shirt, is an image I need to engrave in my head for life.

New resolve—make her wear my shirts more often.

Her colorful eyes flicker to more green than brown as she whispers, “Solnste?”

“That’s just lazy. You can’t just choose the masculine form of the pet name I gave you.”

“Well, that’s the first thing I thought about.”

“Think harder then and put some effort into it.”

“As if you put any effort into Solnyshko,” she murmurs almost to herself.

“I will have you know that I did.”

“What type of effort is that? You just picked the first one you thought of back then.”

“Not true, but that’s not our topic of discussion right now.”

“I just need time to think about it. I haven’t done this before, okay?”

So she didn’t give her lover a pet name? One-nil to me, motherfucker.

“You have until the end of the day.”

“Gee, way to put pressure on someone,” she mutters under her breath again.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing.” She smiles sweetly, and I completely forget why I should be mad at this woman for more reasons than one. “Where are you going?”

“To a meeting at the Pakhan’s house.”

She stumbles out of bed. “You should’ve woken me up earlier. I’ll be ready in a minute.”

I’m the one who grabs her by the wrist this time before she reaches the bathroom. Sasha whirls around and stumbles in my embrace. “Have you forgotten what I told you in the text last night? You have a day off.”