Sworn in Deceit by Victoria Lum ~ Excerpt
SWORN IN DECEIT
FIRST IN SERIES MAFIA ROMANCE
Today on Okie Dreams, I am excited to share an excerpt from SWORN IN DECEIT by Victoria Lum releasing on March 6th. SWORN IN DECEIT is the first book in The Antihero Syndicate series.
From SWORN IN DECEIT by Victoria Lum:
“Come on, fiancée,” I murmur, linking my fingers with Lana’s.
“Let go of me, you motherf**ker,” Lana grits out. She twists her arm then jabs the sharp heel of her stiletto into my shoe.
I grunt. Pain burns through me, my eyes immediately water.
But I don’t let go.
“You can drop the act,” Lana digs her nails through my leather glove. “No one’s watching. Everyone knows the truth here. Let go of me.”
“If you only knew how much your fight is turning me on.”
“You sadistic sack of shit.”
“And that potty mouth of yours,” I graze my finger on her chin. She swats it away. “I never knew the Anderson princess could cuss up a storm.”
“There’s more where that’s coming—”
Her breath hitches when I haul her against my body until we’re a hairsbreadth apart. We collide with the wall next to the entryway table.
Her free arm jerks to the table. Metal clangs. The sharp edge of a blade points at my throat. A letter opener.
My pulse roars in my ears, my senses heightened. Her gray eyes. Burning hatred.
“Go on,” I rasp.
Another enticing gasp tumbles out of her rosy lips, and my body responds.
“Not there.” Slowly, I move the blade closer. “Here. Under my chin. That’s where the blood vessels are.”
I wrap my hand around hers, feeling her tremble.
I press the tip harder. A sharp pinch. Wetness.
“Go on,” I rasp, “I started it for you. Press harder. One cut and I’ll bleed out in twenty seconds.”
Her hand shakes, her eyes darting from my face to my neck.
“You’re nuts.” She wet her lips.
“Let’s save the foreplay for our wedding night.” My voice is rough. Sandpaper.
The letter opener clatters to the floor.
“I’ll never sleep with you.” She sways into me.
“Never say never.” My mind blurs at the edges. “Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Beg me for it.”
SWORN IN DECEIT
The Antihero Syndicate
Victoria Lum
399 Pages, Indie
Releasing March 6th
He can destroy anyone—except the woman he’s sworn to deceive.
Elias Kent is Chicago’s most dangerous fixer—a man who plays chess with human lives and always wins. Beneath St. Michael’s Cathedral, in the catacombs hidden under the city, he lives for one thing: revenge against the secret criminal empire known as The Association.
Lana Anderson was supposed to be leverage—until the enemy closes in. Elias makes an impossible bargain: an arranged marriage that will shield her old-money family…and buy him access to the inner circle.
Lana thinks Elias is the villain who betrayed her world. She vows she’ll survive his cage long enough to destroy him.
He swears he hates her—until obsession becomes an insatiable hunger he refuses to feed. Instead, he watches her. Controls the rooms she enters. Keeps distance like it’s a weapon…because the moment he touches her, she becomes his weakness—and weakness can get them killed.
Then Lana finds the clues he never meant her to see—and realizes the man she married is hiding more than secrets.
With danger closing in and the city igniting, Elias must choose: vengeance…or love.
In a city built on secrets, falling for your enemy is the deadliest vow of all.
Tropes in Sworn in Deceit: Enemies to Lovers • Arranged Marriage/Marriage of Convenience • Forced Proximity • Grumpy Sunshine • “My Wife” • Obsessed Hero • Secret Society • Mafia/Organized Crime • Morally Gray Billionaires • Found Family • Touch Her and Regret It • Secret Identities • Masked Men • Heist Crew Energy
WELCOME TO THE ANTIHERO SYNDICATE
Six men. One brotherhood. One vow: no mercy.
Each book is a standalone dark romance with an HEA and an overarching war against The Association.
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