Page 36 of Cruel Bet

“Fuck, yes, oh god yes, Nikolai,” she screams as we simultaneously orgasm.

I feel her pussy clench around my cock as I release. As I straighten myself up, she does the same. Though she’ll have to go without any underwear since I tore hers off. The thought of her totally bare underneath her dress, with my seed running down her thighs has me getting hard again. There will be no doubt now who she belongs to.

Chapter 21

Arianna

Nikolai has the infuriating ability to make me forget everything. When we’re together everything else melts away and, for a moment, it’s just us. He managed to make me forget how pissed I am at him. He made me no promises, he’s been straight from the start with me. Despite this, the jealousy I felt seems to have gone away. We were loud enough for everyone to hear. If the woman with him didn’t realize he was not hers before, she will now.

As if the mere thought summons her, the woman who has been fawning over Nikolai all evening enters the bathroom and comes over to stand next to me by the mirror. Slowly, she checks her reflection, applying a slick of lipstick. She looks at me through the mirror and I feel myself squirm under her naked scrutiny.

“Hmm… You’re pretty, but I’m not sure I see what all of the… what is the word you Americans say? Oh yes, fuss… I can’t see what the fuss is all about,” she states calmly appraising me. “No matter. I wanted to come and speak to you. Woman to woman. To make sure we have an understanding, you and I,” she continues in her blunt Russian accent.

“I’m not sure I understand…” I say, confused.

“As the daughter of one of the most powerful Bratva in all of Russia, I am not someone who takes insults lightly. I will forgive you this one time. I understand powerful men like Nikolai have desires—needs—that must be met. That a wifewould be foolish to expect fidelity from someone like him. So, I am happy for this little… tryst… to continue for now. I am sure he will soon tire of you anyway. But I will not have it done so… publicly again. Do you understand?” she says, raising an arched brow at me.

I’m utterly bewildered. What is she saying? That she’s Nikolai’s wife? That he’s married after all? How can that be true? It can’t possibly be when I know there’s been discussion over who he should marry.

“You’re Nikolai’s wife?” I ask, confused.

“I will be,” she states.

Relief floods through me. She’s just some delusional woman who thinks she can tame Nikolai. One of the many women that want to be his wife. Does she really think that by threatening me she can have him? If she thinks I’m afraid of her empty threats she’s got another thing coming. A bubble of laughter escapes my lips and I defiantly meet her gaze. It’s me he’s been with. Me he followed in here and just fucked like a man possessed.

“Then it sounds to me like you’re not in a position to demand anything of me. From where I’m standing, it seems like he’s made his choice. And honey, you’re not it.”

I give her a pitying smile, enjoying the shocked way her mouth pops open and her eyes practically bulge out of her head. Clearly, she’s not used to being spoken back to. I don’t give her a chance to think of a response. I snap my purse shut and sashay past her out of the bathroom.

As I turn the corner, I spot Nikolai standing near the main entrance. He’s talking to a man and a woman, my view’s blockedso I cannot see who the man is, but the woman looks vaguely familiar. From Nikolai’s posture, I know he’s annoyed. Tension radiates off him like a cobra ready to strike. I notice Dimitri quickly striding toward me, looking more panicked than I’ve ever seen him. Endo is stalking across the room toward Nikolai with Kimiko hot on his heels.

It's then that the crowd parts and I see who it is. It’s one of my father's and Lucchese’s associates from Mexico, Diego Castro. It dawns on me then why the woman looks familiar. Her appearance has been drastically altered since I last saw her, her hair has been darkened to the same color as mine and grown out to be almost as long. Her nose shape is different, her lips fuller, and her breasts enhanced. But I still recognize her face.

It’s a face I never thought I’d see again. Maria.

I want to cry out, to run to her. I start to walk toward her, pulled as if by an invisible force. Not caring that my father’s man is by her side. What are they doing here? How is she alive and well? She looks up at me and her eyes meet mine. They look almost hollow, vacant. They’re the haunted eyes of someone who has lived a life of unimaginable pain. I see a flicker of recognition in her eyes and then she gives an almost imperceptible shake of her head. She’s telling me to stop. If you can communicate wordlessly through looks alone, hers is clear. She’s telling me to run.

Automatically, I stop, rooted to the spot.

At that moment, Dimitri reaches me. “Arianna, we have to go. Now.”

But it’s too late. The man notices Maria’s attention has flickered away, and his eyes follow her gaze to land on me. Asmall glint of recognition flickers in his eyes. He’s seen me. He recognizes me.

Dimitri ignores my protests, firmly gripping me by the arm as he continues to hustle me away from the party, out of the back exit, and into a waiting car.

“What’s going on Dimitri? Why was Maria there with Diego Castro?” I ask.

My head is spinning. I can’t believe Maria is alive. What was she doing there? Does Dimitri somehow know Castro might recognize me and that’s why he made me leave?

He looks at me from the corner of his eye as he keeps his gaze laser-focused on the road.

“I don’t know who Maria is, I assume that’s the real name of the woman with Castro. Who is she?” he asks.

“She was my maid once. I haven’t seen her in a long time. My father sent her away. I thought for sure she’d be dead.”

“Well, she’s not Maria the maid anymore. She’s you,” Dimitri states seriously.

“You mean…” It dawns on me then what Maria’s fate was. It’s the exact kind of sick and twisted punishment only my father would think of. “Oh god. She was the woman who married Lucchese in my place, who pretended to be me.”

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