Page 5 of Cruel Bet

His tone is light, almost playful but I’m pretty sure men like Nikolai Kuzmin don’t make jokes, and I sure as hell don’t want to spend the journey to god knows where locked inside a trunk. So, I stay silent, simply glaring back at him. To my surprise, he climbs into the back and sits next to me. Sitting so close to him has my stomach doing backflips and my treacherous body is responding to him far more than I would like. This is going to be torture. I try to move as far away from him as I can, pressing against the window, but I’m still painfully aware of his presence. The other man hops in the car and we speed away, leading me into my uncertain future at the hands of the mysterious, sexy, and downright dangerous man next to me.

Chapter 4

Nikolai

“Where are we going?” Arianna demands, glaring up at me as if she has any control over the situation.

“To my house,” I reply.

She rolls her eyes, “And where is your house?”

“Which house? I have several,” I reply dryly, enjoying the expression of frustration on her face.

“The one you’re taking me to!” she says exasperatedly.

“You’ll find out soon enough. For now, you’re on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know.”

I’m not sure yet if I can trust her, or what her angle is. This whole kidnapping idea could be a deliberate ploy on her father's or Lucchese’s part. Have her infiltrate my sanctum, get close to me, and report back. For now, I need to keep her close and find out if the Kuzmin Bratva is under attack or if she truly wants out. I can see why a beautiful young woman like Arianna wouldn’t want to marry a lecherous old pervert like Lucchese—not to mention the fact that his wives one through three met untimely and suspicious ends after they failed to bear children—but most Mafia princesses are raised to do as they’re told. They are well prepared to do their duty and marry a powerful man to strengthen the Family. Most don’t care who they marry as long as they’re kept in fine clothes, jewels, and the lifestyle to whichthey’re accustomed. What I need to be sure of is what Arianna wants from me.

“Okay, so what do Ineedto know?” she asks sarcastically.

“Nothing. Just that I did as you asked,” I grunt.

Her face flickers and her defiant expression softens, “I didn’t ask you to kill people,” she says in a small voice.

“Honestly, for a Mafia princess, you seem awfully against killing. You should know it comes with the territory. Like I said, how else did you think I’d get you out? Don’t play games with me, you knew full well what you were asking for and you got it. If you don’t like it, you should be more careful who you ask favors of.”

She sighs, falling silent for long enough that I think the conversation is over, before speaking up again. “So, what happens now?”

“Now, you fulfil your part of the bargain. You tell me the information you promised about your father, in exchange for my kidnapping you. Then I decide how useful that information is to me and whether or not you get to live,” I state calmly.

“You were supposed to pretend to kidnap me to help me escape, to be free, not to imprison me yourself,” she grumbles.

“And I will keep up my end of the bargain if you keep up yours. If you’ve tricked me with promises of useful information that turns out to be worthless, well then, all deals are off,” I reply, my tone making it clear exactly what happens to those who cross me.

I’ve known men to become quivering messes over less in my presence, but she doesn’t even flinch. Perhaps this little dollis made of stronger stuff than I thought.

“Trust me. You want to know this information. But I’m not going to tell you it before you make me some guarantees about my safety and future.”

She stares at me defiantly. With her hair disheveled and still spattered in blood, she looks like an avenging angel. No one tells me no and holds me to ransom. But fuck, the way she does it is sexy as hell.

“Is that rightkukolka?What if I make you tell me? I can be very… persuasive,” I purr, inching closer to her and grasping her face in my hand, her lips a fraction from mine.

The smell of her and her proximity is intoxicating, her breath hitches and I feel her tremble.With fear or desire?The way her lips part and she leans fractionally closer to me makes me sure it’s the latter. My cock strains against my pants just thinking of all the ways I could punish her for denying me, how I could persuade her. The basement is usually reserved for forcing information out of people in less than pleasurable ways, but I’m sure the way I’d make her tell me would be far more fun. By the time I was done with her, she would be begging for more. She would submit to me willingly, of that I was certain.

A soft sigh escapes her lips and I swear I might explode. I’m seconds from ripping her clothes off and fucking her right there in the backseat of the car, but then her expression shifts, as though she’s coming out of a trance, the desire in her eyes is replaced by fury.

“I am not afraid of you,” she hisses, yanking my hand away and pulling back until she’s pressed against the door of the car, creating as much space as possible between us.

“You should be,kukolka,” I warn.

She turns away from me, staring out of the window. The silent treatment. Good. No more questions, and I don’t have to look at her beautiful, distracting face anymore. I ease back into my seat but remain nearer to her than before. I try to tell myself it’s so I’m close enough to stop her from trying to do anything stupid.

From the front, Endo chuckles. I bet he’s loving this. I’m sure I’ll hear no end of jokes about this later. He may be my second, but he’s also the closest thing I have to a brother, and he teases me like one. Anyone else would lose their tongue, but Endo gets away with it. He has the fighting skills to make up for it. He’s a blackbelt in just about every form of martial arts and one of the few people who could give me a run for my money in a fight.

***

After several hours of driving, Arianna finally succumbed to sleep. If I thought the incessant questioning followed by stony silence and sexual tension was difficult, then this is torture. She’s slumped over, after tossing and turning in her sleep she eventually ended up with her head resting on my shoulder and a small, delicate hand placed on my chest. The fear and revulsion in her expression have melted away to leave her untroubled in slumber, giving me time to study her delicate features. The pouty rosebud lips, sweetheart face with high cheekbones, and the long dark eyelashes that frame her soulful eyes. At least insleep, those eyes can’t bewitch me. I should move her off me, but somehow, I can’t bring myself to.

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