Page 31 of Merciless Promise
Memories of rushing back to the city to sit by Prince’s bedside filled my head, causing the heart in my chest to constrict. He, Cillian, and I had all vowed to run this organization together one day, but the woman in front of me had ruined it all. The worst part was that after she’d left ourlives in shambles, there had been no charges filed against her, which had been bad enough, but she hadn’t been able to let my slain brother rest in peace even then. She’d smeared his name with lies, and it would now be forever synonymous with sexual assault.
It’d been a long road trying to bring honor back to the Brannington name, and just when nearly successful, she was back to wreak havoc in my life and undo everything I had basically done myself because Cillian had been a mess the last several years. She was trying to ruin us again, and it now made even more sense as to why she’d agreed to this marriage so quickly. Yes, she’d been scared about Aram, but she was resourceful and dangerous enough to get out of any arrangements with him.
“I think coming here to this party with you was a mistake after all,” I retorted.
“Finally, something we both can agree on.” And that was the thing. I hated to agree with her about anything. “Since you did make me get dressed up, I would like to stay and mingle. You can send Nolan to fetch me in a few hours.”
I stared incredulously at her. Ekaterina was testing the very limits of my patience. “You want to stay for him, don’t you?”
That venomous smirk spread across her face as she didn’t even try to hide her amusement. She was very adept at pissing me off, and I suspected that this little performance was nothing more than her doing so again. Still, the very thought of her canoodling with that Caleb for all to see had me seeing red.
“The only place I’m going is upstairs to the room I’d reserved for us,” I said to her.
“Then I’ll see you later,” she said as she turned and started to walk away.
I reached back out and yanked her toward me. She was now back to chest against me, and I heard her slight intake of breathas my hand moved back to her throat. If I was smart, I would just end her life already as I’d promised Princeton, and rid myself of her once and for all.
“You’re coming with me,” I said before releasing her.
I quickly grabbed her hand and dragged her back through the partygoers to the glass elevators, which would lead up to the top floor where our room was located. It had been a last minute decision to book it, and I was now thankful that I had.
Ekaterina kept up with me for the most part, and to the casual observer, we were two newlyweds rushing to our room. It wouldn’t cause the kind of headlines I needed to avoid, so I kept with my initial mission. Once we were in the glass elevator, I released her hand from mine.
“You’re not mad at me despite what you think,” she said as I was about to hit the floor key.
I looked over my shoulder at her. “What the hell are you talking about?’
“You were jealous, and?—”
“Jealous of someone touching you? I’m sure half that fucking party has had their dirty hands on you.”
Something flared in her eyes, but she wiped it away while continuing to grin at me. “What if I told you that I had come for Caleb multiple times, screaming his name as he fucked me?” I felt vindicated in that moment, and after hitting the key, the elevator slowly started to ascend. “And he might’ve fucked me better than you ever could.”
My hand balled into a fist, and I slammed it against the key panel, causing the elevator to come to a complete stop midway up. It was still in the ballroom, and I knew others down on the floor would be able to see us, but I didn’t care. The red hot anger I had rushing through my veins was now a white hot desire I was unable to control.
“I’m s-sorry,” she stammered. “I was lying. I’ve never done anything with Caleb.”
I advanced on her, and she took the few steps she was able to take before her back hit the cold glass of the elevator wall. The fear I sometimes witnessed was now very prevalent in her eyes and on her terrified expression. Seeing her so afraid of me was better than any aphrodisiac, and my cock hardened painfully the longer I looked at her.
“Shut up,” I said to her.
“Are you going to hurt me?” she asked me softly, especially when I reached out and brushed one hand down her bare arm.
“Only if you beg nicely,” I responded.
“Kin—”
“I said toshut up!” I said, emphasizing my command, before spinning her around.
She was now facing the crowd, and I knew the moment she saw the partygoers down below. Her body was now tense, and as I leaned in and nuzzled her neck, one of my hands moved to her dress, and within seconds, I had one side of it hiked up to her waist.
“So you want to be fucked hard tonight, and you have doubts about whether I am up for the task or not?” I asked her as I slipped one finger between her silk panties and warm flesh. “I should show Caleb, and any other male down there, that no one will ever make you come the way that I make you come.”
“You don’t have to do this,” she whispered. “I’m sorry about using Caleb to goad you.”
“And now you’re about to pay the consequences for that, puisín.”
“Please,” she cried out the moment I tore her panties from her. They were damp because, despite her protests, this little game between us turned her on as much as it obviously did me.
