Page 12 of Merciless Promise
“I don’t see the problem, unless you’re one of those ice queens.” I stepped closer to her, this time making her back up a few steps. “Is that it? Do you need me to talk dirty to you in order to melt that ice around you?”
“I’m not an ice queen,” she retorted.
“Prove it!”
“I don’t have to prove anything to?—”
And I didn’t give her a chance to finish as I grabbed her by the throat, then slammed my mouth down on hers. At first, she put her hands between us to push me off, but she either realized her surrender was inevitable, or she realized what I knew, and that was that she was attracted to me, because she finally slid them up my chest.
I deepened the kiss, which she returned. Then, in a sudden reversal, she wrapped her own hand around my throat as the other hand moved to my balls. I had not anticipated either action, so she succeeded in making me stop. After I ripped my mouth away from hers, she smirked. “Looks like I got you by the balls now. You might do best to remember that in the future.”
Once she released me, I watched as she turned to leave. “Do you have Aram Grigoryan by the balls, too?” She froze at thatmoment. “He’s been looking for you, which is why you’re here in New York City. A single call would be all it would take to put you in his crosshairs.”
At the mention of my betrothed, I squeezed my eyelids closed. Kingston knew about him, and now he had something to hold over me. Judging by the pride in his voice as he threatened to call him.
I sigh, my hard exterior slightly cracking, hoping he's not a monster like his brother. “What do you want from me?"
I couldn’t believe that in a matter of seconds, I’d gone from feeling on top of the world in this little game between us, to now wishing for mercy. A golf ball sized pit formed in my throat that burned as I forced myself to swallow it down.
“Will you do anything I want, Ekaterina?” he asked me in a low tone.
“T-that depends on what you want me to do?” I countered.
“We need to go inside,” he told me, and as he moved past me, I found myself chasing after him.
I inwardly cursed him the entire time, and once back in the lobby of the hotel, he moved to the elevator banks instead of the ballroom where the event was being held. “King?—”
“Just come with me,” he said as he pulled me into the elevator as soon as the door opened. Just when I thought he would tell me what was going on, a few hotel guests hurried inside. We moved to the far corner, then Kingston lowered his head to my bare shoulder. “You smell so damn good tonight.”
I didn’t know if that was simple small talk because others were crammed into the small space with us or not, but the way his lips skated over my flesh left goosebumps in their wake. I could do nothing more than stand there and let him have his way. A shudder passed over me as I thought about the ways he’d claimed to want me. He’d already mentioned a few in the car. I should’ve never even entertained a single one in my head, but he’d been right. For as much as I hated him and his family, his mere presence did things to me, things that even I couldn’t deny.
I froze as he covered the same breast he’d touched earlier with his hand again. This time, he didn’t pull it from the dress, but I still felt the heat from his palms through the material. My body betrayed me once more as my nipples hardened again.
And as soon as I started to relax, the elevator came to a stop, and he pushed me out. Once in the hallway, I whirled around at him. “Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Soon,” he told me before he grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hallway. I was nearly out of breath trying to keep up with him, and his next words, when he stopped in front of the last door, knocked all that was left in me out. “I want you to become my wife.”
“What?” I sputtered. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. I’d never kid about something like this.”
My nerves were going haywire. “But, why? I don’t under?—”
My words were cut off the moment his mouth came crashing down on mine. I couldn’t breathe anything in but him, so I clung to Kingston as he pressed me between his hard body and the door. I became even more lightheaded the longer he kissed me.His lips slanted ever so slightly as he plunged his tongue into my mouth. I wanted to push him away to make him explain, but the more I searched for any resistance, the less I found. Finally, I succumbed to him, as probably so many others before me had. As if he knew the realization I’d just reached, I felt his lips move as he smiled against mine before finally pulling his head away.
Kingston said nothing, though; instead, he stopped to press his forehead to mine. Seconds later, there was a sharp sting and pull as he released the clips holding my hair up. They tumbled to the carpeted hallway, then he tangled his hand in my hair with one hand. There was still time to end this. I opened my mouth to try, but as he raised one of my legs with his other hand, I couldn’t form the words.
He tugged hard on my hair again, this time sending pain shooting from my scalp to my toes, which started to curl in my heels when he moved his other hand between my legs. He had no problem pushing my panties aside, and all I could do was remind myself to breathe as he thrust two fingers into me.
It'd been several months since something other than my fingers or toys penetrated me. Every second of that time came rushing back as his thumb found my clit. He let out a growl as he pressed and rubbed furiously on it. This man, whose very brother I had slain, was going to make me come in this hallway, and the scary thing was that I was doing nothing to stop him.
Until now.
“Kingston, I can’t do this with you.”
“It’s either me or Aram.”
Anger returned, but he slipped a third finger inside of me. “Yebat'sya,” I cursed when he found my spot. “We need to stop this.”
