Chapter 1
one
Cressida
The bubbles from the Champagne tickle my nose when I lift the glass to my lips as I watch the arguing couple in front of me.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
Truth.
“I didn’t mean to miss dinner again last night.”
Tilting my head, I study the one who is speaking.
Truth.
“I told you, work has been busy, and I’ve had to work over to stay on track.”
Little zaps of electricity dance over my arms.
Ah, there it is.
Lie.
But what about part of that are you lying about, mister?
I can’t tell who it is since masks cover most of everyone’s faces for our annual masquerade ball, but they came in together, so I’m assuming from the conversation that they’re a couple.
Every year, my family hosts the Halloween masquerade ball for the mafia world. It’s one of the few events of the year when they can all put down their weapons, leave their hatred at the door, and just enjoy something without the pressure of our society dictating who they should associate with.
“They’re looking for someone to make a partner, and I’m a shoo-in as long as I don’t fall behind,” the masked man continues.
Truth.
“And each night just requires you to jump in the shower as soon as you’re home,” the woman hisses, not believing his words.
Don’t blame you, sister.
“I’m not allowed to wash away the workday? Sweat from stress is a thing,” he snaps back, his hand lifting to the back of his neck.
“There’s no other reason?” his woman questions in a disbelieving tone.
“No.”
My skin tingles at his answer as a quick flash of red appears in my mind.
Oh, look, another lie.
“Then why did I find lipstick on your collar, Marcus?”
Yes, why, Marcus?
His hands shake as he lifts them to smooth out the tie of his suit while he thinks of an answer that’s enough to the truth she won’t find the lie.
He can’t keep it from me, though.
I hide my smile behind the Champagne glass, curious to see what excuse he has for something so obvious.
This is the most interesting thing since my brother, Kingston, informed me of my marriage to Konstantin Kirovsky two months ago.
If I weren’t already aware of the marriages of some families, I’d be surprised he was handing me off to the Pakhan of the Bratva.
I’ve gotten good at hiding the way all of this makes me feel behind polite smiles and the training that was instilled in me from the moment I was born.
I have one place in this world and it’s not to open my mouth and tell everyone that I think they’re full of shit.
Seen but not heard.
The perfect, dutiful mafia princess.
I don’t mind the not-talking part much because if there’s one thing I’ve learned since my power came in, it’s that all people do is lie to you.
Even the ones you don’t think ever would.
The lies used to hurt until I found it best just to not care.
If you didn’t care, their lies couldn’t cause you pain.
It became easier to break free from the chains my family constantly tried to restrain me with.
After seeing the way my ability shaped my childhood friendships, I stopped telling people I knew they were lying. The way they’d look at me when I called them out on their lies is something that’s always stuck with me. The taunts they’d whisper behind my back.
Freak.
Weirdo.
Liar.
The last one is pretty ironic, if you ask me. No one ever does, though, because they know I’ll always be honest.
They would bully me as if I wasn’t the daughter of a powerful man who would kill them in their sleep without remorse.
If not them, then Dad would have killed their families for their children daring to hurt me.
No way was I going to let him hurt someone because of me.
That wasn’t something I could live with, so I didn’t tell anyone.
It made me a bigger target because they knew they could get away with it.
They never went as far as hurting me physically—that would have been their death, whether I told them or not.
Sometimes, mental scars shape us more than physical ones, though.
Another zap against my skin pulls me from my thoughts as I tune back into the conversation going on in front of me.
His wife scoffs. “Your secretary just tripped and her lips landed right against your collar, did they?”
Really, Marcus?
“It’s the truth,” he splutters.
Lie.
“Oh, darling. If only I didn’t have pictures proving differently.”
The pain hidden beneath her words has me tuning out of the conversation.
When will the men in this life understand how much pain they cause by stepping out on their wives?
It doesn’t matter if it’s a genuine marriage or not.
Vows should mean something. If they can’t keep it in their trousers, the women should at least be able to have side pieces without worrying whether it’ll cost them their lives. Fair is fair, after all.
It’s one reason I’ve rebelled so hard against this life.
And now, despite dating someone else exclusively for four months, I’m engaged to a man I know nothing about.
Oh, the attraction to Konstantin is there.
The moment our eyes connected at the last annual masquerade, my pussy spasmed around nothing.
Embarrassingly, a fucking orgasm rushed over me right there in the middle of a crowd and my knees buckled.
His thick arm wrapped around my waist and caught me to his chest before I could fall, though.
His touch set off fireworks in my brain, my body went haywire, and I lost my vision for nearly thirty seconds.
Literally, lost it. Could see nothing but white.
It was the scariest thing I’d ever experienced.
My body was trembling by the time my vision returned, and Konstantin was staring down at me with so much heat in his deep blue eyes that I moaned. I didn’t miss the big-ass bulge in his trousers, either.
I grew up hearing about the flash bonds that happen between people of certain bloodlines, but I didn’t expect to get hit with one. They’re known to occasionally skip generations.
While the thought of someone being solely mine used to thrill me when I was younger, it does nothing but scare the crap out of me now. That’s a lot of power for someone to have over another person. There’s already enough about my life that’s unnatural.
I want a love that’s not. I want one that’s built organically, not produced by some force that’s not of this world.
How are you supposed to trust something like that?
Kingston warned me against continuing to date Dane. Actually, he informed me I’d be breaking up with him immediately. King should have known better because I don’t do orders. He knows this.
I almost brought Dane as a date to my engagement party as a screw-you to my big brother and fiancé.
Lucky for them, I like Dane too much to sign his death warrant so carelessly.
I never planned on turning serious with Dane. But being forced to end my casual relationship with him on someone else’s terms makes me angry. It’s not like you can have anything serious with a person when you know anytime he is lying.
And, well, Dane lied.
A lot.
But he was good with his tongue and his dick, so I overlooked his little white tales.
Plus, what better way to stick the middle finger up to the patriarchy than to give my body to whoever I wanted.
My dear ol’ husband won’t be coming to me untouched, so why should I?
This society puts all the pressure on the women to stay ‘pure’ but turns a blind eye to the men who shove their slabs of meat into whoever they want.
Double standards much?
What’s the big, bad Bratva Bogeyman going to do to me, anyway?
Spank me and call me a bad girl?
Oh, no. Sounds like such a horrible time.
He could kill me, I suppose, but then that’d mess with the alliance and probably piss off the fates that deemed us a perfect match.
Bloody ridiculous to believe me and that . . . that . . .
My eyes catch those alluring blue ones across the room, and I sigh.
That man who causes too many of my spontaneous pussy spasms.
A woman in a tight, silky, green dress sidles up to Konstantin’s side and places her hand on his chest.
Although there’s a sharp bite of jealousy at the touch, I merely raise a brow and lift my glass to my lips as I wait to see how he reacts.
Your move, big guy.
The light of the ballroom catches the diamond on my finger, sending a rainbow of colors dancing across his face.
Konstantin holds my eyes as he grabs her hand and pulls it from him. He leans down to whisper something that has her paling behind her half-mask. She shoots a quick look my way before rushing to leave him.
I smirk at him and turn away. It didn’t matter to me either way what move he made, but it did determine how our marriage would proceed.
There’s no doubt he’s got a mistress or three on the side. Most men in the families do, but as long as he shows me respect in public, I’ll leave him the fuck alone in private.
I’m realistic enough to know this isn’t a love match and never will be. I’d like to at least be friendly, so we’re not miserable, though.
When it’s time to provide an heir, we’ll have to remain exclusive to one another until I become pregnant. Then we can return to sleeping with whoever we want.
Sex obviously won’t be a hardship judging from the electricity that arcs between us when we’re around each other.
I don’t have to turn around to know who has stepped behind me. The way my body does that strange humming in his presence is enough.
“Running from me again, Lisichka?”
I shiver as his murmured words send his warm breath brushes against my neck.
“Yes,” I answer truthfully.
There’s a quick jerk of surprise in his body. He expected me to deny it.
“Then I shall enjoy catching you,” he purrs.
The words sound so damn sinful in that accent of his.
A gentle hum vibrates under my skin at the truth of his words.
Spinning to face him, I lean my head back to peer up into his face. A partial skeleton face covers the top half, leaving the bottom half bare. His luscious lips framed by that beard and mustache tempt me like none has ever before.
Konstantin reaches out to grasp the lock of my strawberry-blonde hair that rests against my neck.
The knuckles of his tatted hand caress my skin, and I inhale sharply at the little zing of electricity that follows.
The hue of his eyes darkens, reminding me of when the sun fades from the sky and night surrounds us.
It’s always been my favorite part of the day.
Something is alluring about being surrounded by so much darkness with only hints of light to guide your way.
I place my empty Champagne glass on the tray of a passing server, then I reach out and grasp the lapels of Konstantin’s suit. Using them as an anchor, I pull until I’m on my tiptoes and our lips are only a breath apart.
“Darling, haven’t you realized that you’ll only catch me if I allow myself to be caught?” I whisper.
It’s so tempting to close that small gap and settle my mouth over his, but I’m not ready to give in to the pull. So, I drop back to my heels, give him a wink, and slide out from between his arms.
Maybe this marriage won’t be so boring after all.