Page 2 of Merciless Promise
“Less to have to find afterward,” he responded, and just like that, the energy in the room changed.
An eerie silence set in, and deciding that being here with him was a bad idea after all, I quickly rose to my feet. I was about to turn to leave, but he stood up as well. The flight reaction rose up within me, and I tried to hurry to the door, but he made it there before I could even get my hand on the knob.
Shaking at this point, I went to open my mouth, but he covered it with his hand. I tried using my hands to push him off me, especially when his mouth collided with my neck and he started to bite it.
I managed to pry his hand away from my mouth. “I want to go.”
I tried to plead with him as he kissed his way up my throat and over my chin. Had it not been for me turning my head at the last moment, he would have kissed my lips. I needed to get free, and as I struggled mightily against him, my hands must’ve annoyed him because he pushed me against the wall, then pinned them above my head.
His weight was pressed against me, and he immobilized me with one hand, while he roughly cupped one of my breasts with the other. He was a savage, and the type of male my father had wanted me to avoid at all costs. I continued to squirm, writhing to free myself until he smacked me hard across the cheek. Pain exploded on contact, and I realized in that moment that I’d never been struck before in my life. The action left me paralyzed for a moment until I felt his hand slip under my dress. In a quick motion, he ripped one side of my panties.
“No,” I cried out as two fingers of his penetrated me. “Stop, please.”
Terror raced through me, and the more I moved to try to free myself, the deeper his thrusting fingers managed to get. Once or twice, he would rub or scratch a particular spot which might’ve turned me on had I been a willing participant. Since I was not, it scared me. I had to get away or else he would fuck me right here against the door.
“Please stop,” I pleaded, but to no avail.
“Shut up, bitch. I’m not one of those rich little toys you can control. You came tomybirthday party, and now you’re going to let me unwrap you like a present.”
“I didn’t know it was your birthday, but I need to get back to school,” I told him, and he followed those words up with another hard blow to my cheek.
I had no idea where boys learned to hit girls, but he knew the exact spot to strike in order to make me freeze. I couldn’t allow him to win, though. Fear was gripping me harder in its grasp than he was as he continued to hold my hands above my head. When his mouth lowered to my chest and he bit one of my nipples through my dress, I drew my knee up, and it collided with my intended target.
He bellowed, and once immobilized, it allowed me to push him off me. Never had I moved so quickly as I escaped through the door. Fearful he would catch me, I didn’t even bother trying to get my keys out of my jacket pocket until I made it out the front door. My hands, along with my knees, were shaking uncontrollably, but I was able to finally grab my keys and get inside my Jaguar.
Tears blurred my vision as the last few minutes came rushing back. Adrenaline was still guiding me, so I pulled myself out of it and quickly started the car. Though my eyes were completely dazed as I cried, I slid the gear into reverse. A few seconds later, I started down the driveway when a dark shadow fell across the road.
He’d caught me after all and intended to drag me back inside where he’d do more than force himself onto me. This time, he’d get what he wanted. “Ekaterina, get out of the car,” he ordered while banging his fists on the hood.
He was maniacal, and I had no idea what to do. I attempted to move my foot to the brake, but when I pressed down hard on the pedal, I realized it was the gas. After a loud thump, the banging on my car stopped, and he was nowhere to be found. Princeton was no longer yelling my name, so I was hopeful he’d given up and headed back inside.
“Thank fuck,” I said aloud, then put my foot on the gas again, this time encountering resistance.
I quickly put the car in park, then got out to see what it was. When I rounded the front of the vehicle, I slapped my hand against my mouth. On the ground in front of it lay Princeton, and he wasn’t moving. A dark puddle of red expanded around him. I screamed as everything started to spin around me—from the towering pines lining the driveway to the eaves of the home. It all had my head throbbing until a brief moment of calm finally settled over me, and I crumpled to the ground.
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
SIX YEARS LATER
Looking down at my toes, I wiggled them ever so slightly. The cherry red paint on the tips of them were finally dry, so I was ready to go party the night away with friends. Reaching over for my flute of champagne, I finished what I had left, then rose from the couch. It was small, as was my luxury apartment, but it was in the swankiest part of Saint Petersburg, which had always been home to me.
Even after my father had moved to Moscow, I had talked him into allowing me to go to boarding school in America instead of moving there. Upon leaving that same school, I returned back to the place I had always loved so much. Although, if I knew then what I knew now, I might’ve just sucked it up and joined my father.
I wouldn’t let what had happened back in New York consume me. As it was, I still relived that tragic night often enough in my nightmares. I certainly didn’t need to waste any of my wakingthoughts thinking about it, too. While my entire time in the country hadn’t been bad, that one singular event dominated any thoughts about the place. It now seemed as if the only good thing I still had from the States was my friendship with Rebekah, a girl whom I had kept in close touch with ever since returning home.
“I almost wish you were here tonight to join me and the others,” I murmured.
She wasn’t, and one of these days, I would take her up on her offer to return for a girls’ trip, but until then, I had plenty of friends here in Russia. In fact, this evening we were headed out to Union for a night of debauchery. If I didn’t intend to be late, I needed to finish getting ready.
Thankfully, I had thought to do my hair, makeup, and even get into my dress before I’d summoned my nail girl to my apartment to do my pedicure. I swung my legs over the front of the couch and proceeded to put on my strappy heels in silver, which would complement my dress. Once they were on, I rose fully to my feet and stopped in front of a set of mirrored doors.
The red mini dress barely went down to my mid-thighs. It had a shimmery swirl that started on one arm, then perfectly split my breasts before curving around my hips and coming just back around at the bottom of the dress. I was in the mood for more than a simple night of dancing, and upon realizing how long my sexual drought had actually been, I needed to remedy that tonight.
Once upon a time, I had been a bit more prudish, as some would say, but that all changed by the time I returned home. I didn’t mind sex, and actually quite enjoyed it, but only when I felt in control. I was not one to be submissive, although I could be if the mood struck me. Fortunately, it rarely did.
I say who, when, and how, and nothing will change that.
I walked into the bathroom to inspect my makeup once more and to apply a few spritzes of perfume before exiting andreturning to the living room. When I did, I noticed a series of missed messages on my cell phone. I must’ve accidentally turned the volume down again because I hadn’t heard the first call. As I picked it up, I noticed they were all from my father, and in the off chance that whatever it was happened to be important, I hit redial on the last missed call.
