Deceitful Vows by Brook Wilder
Chapter 37
Paige
I don’t remember falling asleep. I barely remember getting into bed. But the duvet is pulled up to my chin, and my feet are buried deep underneath the covers. I stiffen as I realize Andrei is lying beside me, close enough to feel his warmth but far enough away not to touch. He moves in the bed as I hold still, and then I feel his hand rest on my shoulder.
I turn slightly, opening my eyes, but he can’t see my expression in the dark. His hand gently rubs my shoulder, and I wait for him to say something. Maybe he will tell me why he brought me here and why he wants me. Perhaps he’ll let me know his plan. I wait.
“I know you’re awake,” he says.
“I am.”
“Paige,” he says. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want.” I shift my body away from his and bitterly reproach myself for wanting too much. “I want my life back and to never think about this place again.”
He takes his hand away, and the void instantly chills my skin.
“Impossible.” His voice is flat. “Not until this is over.”
Sitting up, I reach out and switch on the bedside lamp. “And when is that, Andrei?”
I stare down at him. His eyes squint against the lamplight. The sheet covers his lower body, and his shirt is off. He places his forearm over his eyes, flexing his muscles unintentionally. I still want him, but not now. This comes first.
“Will there be another crisis when it suits you?” I ask hotly. “Am I your hostage, Andrei? Your prisoner? Your plaything? Or your wife?”
He moves his arm away from his face and stares at me. Those dark eyes have seen things I could never imagine. He sits up, the thin sheet falling off his body. Biting my lip, I look away, ignoring his muscular chest. I want to trace his muscles with my fingertips as I stare into his eyes and search for the soul hiding behind the frost. I want him to hold me hard against his fit body as he kisses me and then enters me.
I want him to give a damn about me, not just keeping me alive for his secret plan that he refuses to share.
“You are my legal wife,” Andrei replies. His words are cold, without affection, as if he’s talking about his car or his house. Andrei owns me like he owns them, except he treats them better.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s for your own protection.”
“What about the other pakhans’ wives? Do their husbands lock them up for protection too? Do they have to keep them under lock and key away from their enemies?”
Andrei’s mouth tightens, and for a moment, he looks as if he wants to lash out. But he won’t. In the few weeks that I’ve known him, I have learned one thing: he’ll never hit a woman in anger. Instead, he stares at me intently. But I know better than to wither under his intimidating gaze.
“Then tell me what you want, Paige.”
I get out of bed and look down at him as if I’m calling the shots. His hair falls carelessly into his eyes as Andrei pulls the linen sheet off his body. Ridges of hard muscle tempt me, and I can see his thick cock bulging in his pajama pants. My nipples tighten in response, and I feel the soft fabric of my gown pressing against them.
His eyes never shift, but continue drilling into mine as he awaits his answer.
“I want that door to stay unlocked,” I reply shakily. “I want a car with a driver. I want the other things a pakhan’s wife has or should have. I want people to know I’m married to a powerful man who’s not afraid of anyone.”
“You have all of that and more.”
I take a deep breath. “I want to feel like a person again and not some trinket you hang on your arm to show off to the world whenever you feel like it.”
Andrei is silent, but it’s different this time as his brow knits together and he looks around the room. His concentration lands on a painting on the wall behind me. I know the one he’s looking at. A wild white mustang runs through a forest of dark trees, trying to escape an unseen predator. I wonder what he thinks about it when he stares at it.
“You’re right.” He gets out of bed, and his cock bounces against his thin cotton pants as he walks toward me. He stands too close, but I won’t back away. “But no tricks, Paige. That’s the only rule.”
His authority rolls off his skin in waves, making me shiver. His lips part, and a tingle races up my inner thigh until it awakens my clit. I pause, wondering if I should kiss him. If I should wrap my arms around his shoulders. I want to wrap my legs around him and rub my hungry body against his. The moisture between my legs pools, and I feel myself slick and ready.
But he doesn’t want that.
He wants obedience, not sex.
“Thank you.” My voice sounds as distant as his. “That’s a start.”
“You will not leave me, Paige.” He leans toward me, his breath on my cheek. “Understood?”
Does he mean until it’s over, or forever? He doesn’t wait for a response. I stare at him as he pulls on a robe. Andrei leaves the bedroom.
And true to my demands, the door remains unlocked.
I crawl back into bed alone. My fingers touch the lamp as I debate whether to keep it on. The silver base is etched with a silhouette of interlocking trees. It’s the only object in the room that I like. I turn it off; I can’t want to stay here. I almost drift off to sleep, but the door opens again, and Andrei switches on the overhead light.
Slowly, I sit up as he holds a black box toward me.
“A phone?” I ask stupidly. I tug off the cover and inside is a new phone covered in plastic. Andrei reaches into his pocket and hands me my old one with all my contacts.
I smile at him for the first time in forever.
He doesn’t return my smile, but he nods to acknowledge me. “Keep it on at all times.”
Immediately, I text Emma, and barely a second passes before I receive a reply.
It’s awful news. Dad has been admitted to the hospital. My emotions spin into conflict and knot my gut into a tight ball. I hate myself for not being there, but how could I know? I hate Andrei for keeping me a prisoner, but he left the door unlocked, and I went back to sleep.
“My father is in the hospital.” I look straight ahead as I speak. “I don’t expect you to understand, but I have to go.”
He’s silent, but it’s not the same. It’s as if he’s thinking about something.
Then he speaks. “You can go in the morning after breakfast. Oleg will drive you.”
