Cruel Lies - Ella Miles Page 0,54

me, forever.

He’ll want to kill me and, this time, he might actually do it.

Most importantly, it will ensure I have the strength to finish off my own soul.

24

Langston

Liesel Dunn is a huntress.

She’s always hunting, always searching.

And because of that, she’s always been the enemy.

But now she’s my wife.

I thought she was my friend. I thought that me taking care of her kid would have meant something to her. That our relationship, if not a real marriage, was at least sacred because I’m raising her son.

But everything I ever think when it comes to Liesel is a lie. Why should this be any different?

Who is she lying to, though?

Me? Probably.

Corbin? Definitely.

Herself? Absolutely.

Liesel is hiding huge secrets. She’s hiding her very soul. I wish I knew if this wicked woman before me, playing her games, is the real Liesel or the one I had back in my bed a few hours before.

She’s playing games with all of us. I don’t see fear when I look into her eyes. I see a badass woman completely in control. A woman capable of burning this entire house to the ground, destroying us all.

I made a mistake trying to save her. She’s more than capable of saving herself, and I lost my element of surprise. My skin is crawling from the way both Corbin and Liesel are looking at me right now—a failed protector.

Liesel is still standing naked in the center of a room filled with disgusting men. They devour her with their eyes, imagining filthy, vile things they want to do to her.

“We’re going to play a little game,” Corbin says, glaring at me.

I still have a dozen guns pointed at my head, so I don’t move. I won’t until I have a better plan, anyway.

“Langston, hold Liesel’s arms behind her back,” he continues.

Feeling any part of Liesel in my arms right now is going to heal my heart while simultaneously stir a storm that will wreck us. I don’t think too hard about why he wants me to hold Liesel’s arms behind her back, I just do.

A spark surges from her to me when I touch her first wrist. When I grab the second, I feel grounded again for the first time since I married her. My whole world came crashing down at me all at once at the single touch of her soft skin.

I hold her arms firmly behind her back, pulling her back to my front. No matter what happens here, she’s mine.

Corbin grins at my reaction. “Since you already know I can’t kill either of you until after you retrieve the treasure, I will have to resort to a different kind of threat for you, Langston. A game Liesel already agreed to play. You will hold her arms back so I can do whatever I want to her body. You will ensure that she obeys my commands. And if you let go, if you try and save her in any way, I will slice through her skin.”

Jesus, it was bad enough when I had to watch her throw herself at him while hiding behind the couch. Now I have to hold her while he fucks her.

Maxwell gives me a look to say, “See, I told you to stay put.”

I roll my eyes at him and then focus on how I’m going to survive this.

“We can still fight our way out of this,” I whisper into Liesel’s hair.

“I don’t want to. I like sex. I like to fuck handsome, powerful men.” Her words sound so strong, so sure.

“I don’t believe you,” I whisper back, trying to see if she’s lying or not.

“That’s why I wanted you to play, so you can see first hand how much you can’t tame me. I don’t care if you are my husband.”

Corbin sits back in his chair as he grips his cock in his hand.

“Bring her here,” he says.

I quickly scan to find every exit and count every man blocking each one.

“Husband, bring me forward so I can suck Corbin’s cock,” Liesel says seductively.

She wants him. I can feel her aching need pulsing through her. She doesn’t have a good relationship with sex. Sometimes she controls it; other times, it controls her. She never thought she’d get married, and ours is a marriage of circumstance, not reality. I shouldn’t fault her for wanting another man’s cock—even that of the enemy.

Slowly, I push her forward until we are standing in front of Corbin.

“Lower,” Liesel hums before licking her lips.

I can’t watch, and yet I can’t not watch.

I