Deceitful Vows by Brook Wilder
Chapter 49
Paige
He sits calmly behind his desk, glaring at me. “I’m not using you, Paige, not anymore.”
I won’t let him intimidate me and sit up, straightening my back. “I don’t believe you.”
Andrei looks away first. He’s never done that before. His reluctance to meet my gaze betrays an inner turmoil as he searches for the right words. I know I’m about to hear something he’s never uttered before … the truth about us. He owes me that after everything he’s taken from me. He forced me to choose his Bratva over my family.
He forced me to leave behind the people I cared about the most.
The least he can do is give me some fucking honesty. Don’t I deserve that much?
“You latched onto a part of me,” he speaks softly, but his voice shakes. “And that shouldn’t ever happen.” Andrei’s expression makes me shiver, but there’s no going back. “You awoke something I thought was dead.”
My heart races, realizing he’s about to tell me what I hope to hear. I want to hear it, but I also fear it. I’m too scared to have what I desire, and before he can say it, I lash out with words—the only way I know how to deal with him.
“Don’t make me your savior, Andrei. I’m still the same woman who was forced to wear your ring and take your name.”
He cages me in, gripping the chair back. “You could have said no.”
“You gave me no choice,” I whisper in defeat.
He stands up and walks around to the door. I hear it open behind me. It takes every fiber of my being to not turn around to look at him.
“I’m giving you a choice now,” he offers. “Tell me no. Show me no.”
Quickly, I stand up and push my way past him. Head held high, I make my way to the door of his office. It’s open and beckoning to me. Andrei makes no move to follow, and my brain screams that the moment I step over the threshold, he won’t come after me like he said he would.
But my heart tugs at my body, and I freeze. I can’t walk through it. I just can’t.
Cursing myself, I turn around and see him staring triumphantly at me. The door closes, and I hear it lock with finality.
Bastard! You bastard! I blink back the tears, but I know he’s won.
I look into Andrei’s eyes, both drawn and repelled by his cruel expression. The scowl on his face turns into a satisfied, mocking grin when he realizes I’m not going anywhere. I can feel the tender emotion drain away, and in its place, an implacable hatred. My brain screams again for me to move, but I can’t. I’m paralyzed by his burning gaze.
My arms fall to my side, but I refuse to hug myself again. I refuse to show him my weakness. Down deep, I feel an icy chill telling me I’ve pushed him too far. Andrei’s mouth is set in a tight line that speaks of danger.
I realize that there was never a way for me to leave.
“Is that all?” he asks softly, voice silky and dangerous as he steps closer and closer.
“Fuck you, Andrei,” I whisper as my lip trembles. I tilt my chin up at him, but my hands are cold—whether it’s from fear or anticipation, I don’t know. And I don’t think I want to know.
“Why deny the truth?” The mocking grin widens. “You want to stay, Paige. You never wanted to leave. You came to me with wings broken and snapped. I may be a monster, but I’m your monster.”
He steps closer until he fills the entirety of my vision. Heat tumbles from his body and I watch his biceps tense through his shirt, knowing he’s losing his precious control. His light scent—just enough to tantalize and intrigue—drifts to my nostrils, and I feel my heart racing from the adrenaline coursing through my body. I want to claw at him. I want to draw blood; I want to scream and curse and let him know just how much I hate him for what he’s turned me into.
But every thought and every word dies on my tongue. So, I do the one thing I still can do. The one thing that shows I’m still my own person. That I don’t belong to him.
Slowly, I raise my left hand so that he can see the ring—the shackle that keeps me bound to him. I make him watch as I work it off my finger and let it drop to the floor. The sudden weightlessness feels intoxicating.
For a moment.
A minor panic suddenly seizes my throat when the familiar weight is gone. I fight to keep myself from shuddering but cannot.
“Pick it up.” He doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t need to. He’s right. I never wanted to leave.
No matter how much I say I do.
Keeping my eyes on him, I slowly bend down and pick up the familiar weight of the ring. But instead of slipping it back on, I hold it out to him. His powerful hands take hold of my trembling fingers, and I’m momentarily shocked by how warm and inviting they feel.
And then I feel it again. The familiar weight returning to my finger. Andrei never takes his eyes off me as he shackles me to him once again. My mouth opens to say something, but this time, he presses his lips hard against mine.
I struggle underneath him, but it’s half-hearted as my tongue seeks out his. I writhe against him, anger and need building into something I can’t stop. I don’t want him to stop. This time, Andrei must admit he wants me. He has to show me how much.
He pulls back and I stare at him, panting.
“Is this what you want?” I ask when I finally catch my breath. “For me to surrender everything? To be completely yours?”
His dark eyes are inscrutable, and something quickly passes through them. “Yes, devushka.”
“Are you using me?” I ask again. “Tell me the truth this time.”
“I’m not.”
Liar.
Two can play this game.
“I see the way you stare at me,” I whisper, turning my head this way and that, but keeping my eyes trained on him. “I know you want to use me. You dream of using me. And on my weakest days, that’s what I want too. So why don’t we be honest with each other for once?” I take a deep, trembling breath.
My heart screams in joy while my brain shrieks in horror at the words that tumble out of my mouth.
“You want it?” I whisper to him. “Then fucking take it.”
