Page 20 of Seduction (Wicked Vows)

To follow through with this type of thing, I need to build trust with her.

Kolya taught us years ago that one of the ways to garner trust from an enemy was to use the slightest bit of truth to color a lie. Use your real first name. Speak something from the heart. Reveal a bit of your weakness and human nature is such that people will believe you are trustworthy. It will appear you’ve exposed your full hand when, in reality, you’ve only shown a few cards. Just a shadow of truth.

Slowly, I’ll reveal just enough for her to let her guard down.

I’m going to break this woman’s heart, but it’s the only way forward.

I will do whatever it takes to bring my family justice.

No matter the cost.

CHAPTER SIX

Vera

Someone’s shaking my shoulder. I’m dead asleep, warm and cozy in bed. It feels so good to sleep. Why is someone waking me in the middle of the night?

I open my blurry eyes and see a tall man standing over me. I’m completely overshadowed by the breadth of his body. I jerk back and gasp.

What the hell?

Caught between sleep and waking, I startle and flail. Tangled in the sheets, I almost fall out of bed. Just in time, he bends and catches me. I’m immediately aware of his clean, woodsy scent and the warmth and confidence of his touch.

Wait.

I recognize that sharp jawline and piercing eyes.

And the familiar perpetual scowl. “It’s just me. Relax.”

I blink, trying to clear my brain.

Did he just speak English?

Is he still. . . holding me?

His warm arms around me feel nice. He’s strong and sturdy, and I’ve always fantasized about what it would be like to be held by a strong man. . . like him.

It feels better than it did, even in my wildest fantasies.

I stare into the depths of those green eyes.

He definitely spoke English. There is way more to this man than he lets on.

“Let me go,” I whisper, even though a part of me wants to ask him to hold me tighter. Even though a part of me wants to reach out and run my fingers along the scruff on his strong, masculine jaw. We’re alone, just the two of us. What happens in Russia stays in Russia, right?

I half expect him to drop me on the bed like a sack of potatoes, but instead he gently releases me.

“You have to get ready to go.”

I sit up on the bed and stare at him. “Did you magically learn another language while I napped? Or have you been lying to me, Markov?”

He sits on the edge of the bed, which bows under his weight.

“I made a decision while you were sleeping.” He speaks with a thick Russian accent, but his English is perfect. “We must communicate more clearly if I’m to keep you safe. I never told you I didn’t speak English.”

I stare at him. Yeah, right. “Oh, don’t play that game with me. You know that you led me to believe you didn’t speak English. And here you are. . .” I gesture with my hands in confusion.

He shrugs. “I knew that you and I would be sharing quarters, though I didn’t know it would be”—he gestures to the bed—“quite this close. I thought it would be in your best interest and mine if we had distance between us. If we couldn’t communicate, we could remain professional. But I realize now that puts your safety at risk.”

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