Tempted by Deception (Deception Trilogy #2) - Rina Kent Page 0,74

am,” I say. Because I’m going to make Adrian regret everything he’s made me live through since the day I first saw him in my parking garage. While I was ready to overlook that with the connection I thought we’d formed, nothing can forgive what he’s done to me tonight.

I’m still not over my ended career, but now, I find myself pregnant and also forced to marry him.

Adrian takes two small boxes from Kolya and slides a diamond ring onto my finger. It’s big, perfectly cut, and elegant. Simple and a flawless fit. However, I find no joy looking at it. If anything, it feels like an imaginary weight on my hand.

He places the other ring, a simple white gold band, in my palm and I turn off my emotions as I glide it onto his finger.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest says with a regretful tone. Maybe he knows exactly what type of man Adrian actually is and he’s pitying me. “You may kiss the bride.”

Adrian pulls me against his chest as he grabs me by my nape. “You’re mine now, Mrs. Volkov.”

I hate having his last name attached to mine. For some reason, it feels like I’ve sold my soul to the devil.

Worse, I actually married him.

But while Adrian considers this a win, for me, it’s only the beginning.

He forced me to be his wife? Fine.

But it’s by his wife’s hands that his life will end.

I don’t close my eyes as he presses his lips to mine. His kiss is all-consuming and meant to dominate me, to tear all my walls down.

But I’ve already lost everything.

Now, all I can do is win.

26

Adrian

It’s done.

Lia is now my wife, bound to me for life, whether she likes it or not.

If I wasn’t so pressed for time, I would’ve done this under different circumstances, after her leg was healed. It would’ve happened anyway, but my methods could’ve been gentler.

However, not only did she fall pregnant sooner than I expected, but I also finally have an alliance with Lazlo Luciano without having to get her involved.

I planned it for weeks on end, creating the perfect circumstances so I’d somehow end up in the same club as Lazlo during a meeting with one of the other Italian families, the Rozettis.

I had to make Yan into an assassin, have him kill one of the other Italians to save Lazlo, who’s always been at the crux of territorial wars. Even though the Lucianos have been ruling with an iron fist, they have a bloody history with the Rozettis, so it wasn’t a first that one of them would try to kill him.

By killing one of their capos and saving Lazlo’s life, I assured myself a direct line to the Don of the Lucianos. One he confirmed when he invited me to his house over a phone call.

Today has been productive.

My gaze flits to Lia, who’s sitting beside me in the car. She stopped pleading and trying to escape her fate, the desperation replaced by quietness. Maybe tying the knot has made her realize that there’s no way out for her.

Though I doubt she’ll accept it that so easily. She’s never really gotten used to having me in her life, and now, I’ve taken it a step further. But as I said, she’ll have all the time in the world to process it. After she’s safe from everyone—aside from me.

I take my time observing her as the lights outside reflect off her soft features. Her hands lie limply on her lap. They’re as delicate as the rest of her—breakable, even.

Just like her leg.

When her dream shattered in front of her, I felt a twisting in my gut. One I haven’t experienced since Aunt Annika’s death. I wanted to shield her from the world and everyone in it, and I knew that the only way to do that would be to bring her under my protection—officially.

She’d become a target, too, but as long as she’s in my sights at all times, I’ll be able to take care of her. Because there’s no way in fuck anyone is taking her away from me.

I may not be able to fully grasp the extent of my obsession with her, but the need to protect her and own every inch of her is a raging, insatiable beast.

Lia is still that delicate flower. However, there’s always been a simmering strength behind her apparent fragility. An inner energy humming under the surface, waiting for a chance to burst free. I’ve