Page 29 of Merciless Promise
His scowl said everything he couldn’t voice aloud, and satisfied that I had pissed him off more, I pushed hard at his chest, causing him to take a few steps backward. Once I had enough room to escape, I did.
He was right behind me as I walked to the door. While it likely killed him to do so, he opened and held it open for me, then locked it behind us. It was now that our destination returned to my thoughts, and the reason for the event made my face fall flat. I knew it made perfect sense as to why we would be there, and that was the Brannington name. Cillian and Kingston were cousins, and I was now family due to my marriage to the latter.
As non-ideal as this arrangement was, I still could’ve done much worse. Aram Grigoryan had to be out for blood by this point. Spurning not only my father and him, but generations of tradition had to have stung. It also had to have made them both see red when finding out about my marriage, which was nothing more than either deserved. The nerve of my father using me to settle his debt by selling me off to the highest bidder, and how dare that old fool think that I would give up the rest of my life to take his name and live miserably ever after.
While that was what a life with Kingston would also include, at least he was hot and could fuck like a machine. Aram would be lucky enough to get it up unless he had medication. Even then, the very idea of him pumping into me as he hoped to impregnate me filled me with nausea. And it had each time I had thought about it over the last week or so.
The sickness would come and go, and once or twice I had even wondered if Kingston had accomplished what he’d set out to do, but my cycle had come on time, and I disregarded those thoughts completely. Refusing to focus on Aram, this fucked up plan to procreate, or even my husband in name only, I forced all thoughts of them away as I got into the car.
A half hour later, Kingston had his arm around me as he ushered me into one of the luxury hotels in Manhattan that lined Times Square. This particular one had a unique glass elevator that went from the ballroom where the event was being held, upward to the expensive suites on the top floors of the building. It was an engineering marvel, and directly next to the open bar.
“I know this should go without saying, but I expect you to be on your best behavior tonight,” Kingston told me.
“As if you’ll let me out of your sight long enough to stir up any trouble,” I muttered under my breath, but not low enough that he wouldn’t hear me.
“Cillian deserves a night where?—”
“Yeah, yeah. He needs an uneventful night so I am to be the doting little wife and smile for your friends and make nice with all these fucking snobbish women who would also rather be anywhere else but here.”
“So young to be so jaded, and I thought I had a terrible outlook on life.”
I could hear the teasing tone in his voice, and instead of countering with another smart-assed quip, I resigned myself to the night and this party, so I let out a sigh instead.
“I’ll not do anything to embarrass you tonight. I make no such promises about tomorrow.”
“I’ll take it,” he quickly said, then added, “We should go and greet the birthday boy.”
“I guess,” I relented.
I’d never had anything against his cousin, but we had never been close despite the time we’d both spent at the same private school in the New York mountains. I allowed myself to be led over to where a small crowd had gathered. Most were women, and once Kingston pushed our way through, I could see why.
I had not paid him much attention when at our wedding because the truth was that I had just been trying to get throughthe ceremony without fleeing. While I was sure there were many runaway brides to be seen, I doubted many ran away from these Brannington men. If they had, I doubted they lived long enough to enjoy said freedom.
He was surrounded by women, and ones I knew were all too willing to do his bidding. I suspected that Kingston’s life had also been that way before me, and Princeton’s would have been as well had I not accidentally run him down in the streets. Remembering that made me even more nervous, especially when Kingston thrust me toward his cousin.
“Meet my new bride, Ekaterina,” Kingston said to him, then smiled at me. “And while I think the two of you might know each other already, this is my cousin, Cillian.”
“It’s nice to see you again,” I lied politely.
The blonde, who was as equally hot as his cousin, looked up at me with a bored expression before turning back to the blonde woman at his side. I looked over at my husband, then shook my head slightly, before pulling away from him.
“I need to talk to my cousin. Give us a few minutes.”
“Gladly,” I said, and smiled genuinely for the first time since arriving here tonight.
As I turned and started to walk, his strong arms wrapped around me as he pulled me tight to his chest. I could feel his erection against my lower back, and I teased him briefly by wriggling against him. His low growl stopped me in my tracks right afterward.
“And remember, there will be no further alcohol tonight, puisín.”
“You can’t be serious?” I asked in a rushed whisper.
“Oh, but I am. Give me a few moments alone with Cillian, then I’ll find you so I can show you a good time without the need to drink.”
“Doubtful, but whatev?—”
His hands moved up, and I sucked in a deep breath as they covered my breasts. Small electric shocks passed from his palm to my flesh, even through the satin of the dress. I closed my eyes as his fingers flicked back and forth over my hardened peaks, before he released me altogether.
I used that moment to flee, and once away from Kingston and Cillian, I moved to the very far end of the room. That particular location was the least populated, and it would not only give me time to recover from Kingston’s touch and unspoken promise, but also to avoid most of the noise of the crowd.
