Page 41 of Sweet Deception

His fingers stilled on his shirt. A brief emotion flashed across his face.

He says we’ll part ways someday. That this will all end once I bear him a child.

But if that’s true, why does every touch, every glance, pull me deeper into something I can’t escape?

And worse... something I don’t want to escape.

“There’s a dance center not far from here,” Gleb said. “If you want, I can assign a driver to take you there for your classes.”

I scoffed, crossing my arms. “And risk you killing all my instructors? You’re a psychopath who can’t stand anyone touching me. I wouldn’t want to put anyone’s life in danger.”

“There won’t be any male tutors. You know I would never allow that. The instructors are women, but even that concerns me. I considered bringing them here, but I don’t like the idea of strangers in my home.”

I arched my brow. “Strangers? Or women who might lust after you?”

His lips curled slightly, not quite a smirk. “That isn’t my concern.”

“But you wouldn’t lust after them?” The question left my lips before I could stop it.

His gaze darted to mine, dark and unreadable. “No. I don’t lust after what Isn’t mine.”

A silence stretched between us. My chest tightened, though I wasn’t sure why. “What isn’t yours ?” I repeated softly.

His expression didn’t change. “That is what I said.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I need to take a shower.” He turned toward the bathroom.

A reckless part of me wanted to push him further. “Can we shower together?”

He stopped. Turned. His piercing gaze locked onto mine.

“I thought you already bathed.”

“Zoya helped me, yes. But is it a crime if I want to bathe with my husband?” My voice was calm, but I knew exactly what I was doing.

Gleb was many things. Ruthless, controlling, impossibly cold, but romantic? Not even close. The idea of intimacy repelled him, and I knew that. But part of me wanted to see if I could crack the ice, if only for a moment.

His lips parted slightly, then pressed back into a thin line. “I haven’t seen you naked before.”

I raised a brow. “And?”

He exhaled through his nose, voice dropping. “You know what will happen if we do this.”

“What will happen?” I tilted my head, feigning innocence.

His voice was a low growl. “I might be tempted to fuck you.”

I swallowed hard. The way he said it, like it was a threat, made my skin tingle. “I don’t mind.”

“Of course you don’t.”

I shouldn’t have enjoyed the way his eyes darkened, the way his body tensed, like he was barely keeping himself in check.

A tense silence stretched between us. His gaze swept over me, unreadable, assessing. Then, his expression shifted, something colder creeping in.

His gaze was unreadable. “Your father sent you here to die.”

The words hit me harder than they should have.