Page 35 of Cruel Bet

With the meal over, people begin getting up to dance.

“Oh Niki, let’s dance!” Svetlana declares, grabbing me by the hand.

I’m about to refuse when her father says, “Excellent idea my darling, I am sure Pakhan Kuzmin would be most honored to dance with you. My daughter is quite the accomplished dancer,” he directs to me.

To refuse would be a deliberate snub so I reluctantly rise, holding out my hand for her to take, “Shall we Miss Petrova?”

She giggles, takes my hand, and practically drags me toward the dance floor. I try to maintain as much distance between us as possible, standing rigidly and making sure to keep my hands in perfectly respectable positions. Svetlana has other ideas and continues to edge closer and closer to me. Her father was right, she’s a good dancer and I twirl and spin her around with ease. Several men direct hungry gazes her way and she enjoys the attention.

As we dance, I try to steal glances at Arianna. I can’t see her at her table and I panic, where is she? Just as I’m contemplating going to look for her, I spot her on the dance floor. She’s dancing with one of Garcia’s sons. A known playboy and ladies' man who frequently cheats on his wife with his several mistresses and regular one-night stands. He’s looking at her like she’s some sort of tasty treat he’d like to devour. My inner lion rages and roars, I want to go over and rip his head off. How dare he look at my woman like that?

“Excuse me,” I say through clenched teeth to a bewildered Svetlana, abruptly ending our dance and stalking across the dancefloor.

I’m intercepted by Dimitri.

“Pakhan. I know what you’re about to do. Think rationally about what’s at stake here. If you touch Garcia’s son, the deal is off, and you’ve made a powerful enemy. Is she really worth it?”

I want to scream that yes, she is. But I take a breath and try to calm myself. Dimitri notices this, visibly relaxing.

“It’s just one dance. Neither she nor I could refuse it.”

The anger is still there simmering, but he’s right. I can’t jeopardize everything I have worked so hard for. The Bratva comes first.

To my relief, the song ends, and Arianna politely curtseys to her dance partner and excuses herself, heading toward the ladies' room. I see him briefly contemplate following her. Luckily for him, one of my men whispers in his ear and he glances over at me. The expression on my face and the dangerous energy that is radiating from me causes him to rethink and he finds one of the waitresses to flirt with instead. He’s smarter than he looks. I’d have killed him with my bare hands if he’d followed her, alliances be damned.

“Thank you, Dimitri,” I say, clapping a hand on his shoulder, “Allow me to introduce you to Svetlana,” I add heading back over to where a confused Svetlana is standing.

“Svetlana, this is my uncle Dimitri. Would you do him the honor of a dance?”

As I expected, Svetlana would no doubt do anything I ask of her.

“It would be my pleasure, anything for you, Pakhan,” she purrs.

Dimitri knows exactly what I’m playing at. He also knows me too well to try to stop me. So, he takes Svetlana’s arm and distracts her while I slip away to the restroom.

Arianna is standing by the mirror reapplying her lipstick when I enter, locking the door behind me.

“Nikolai, what are you doing in here?” she asks, surprised and a little pissed off.

“Why, were you hoping your dance partner would come join you?” I ask sarcastically.

Her eyes blaze, “What, so you can dance and flirt with whoever you like, and I can’t?”

“Exactly,” I growl. “I didn’t bring you here to whore yourself out to the Cartel.”

“Don’t you dare call me a whore!” she snaps, “Why did you bring me if you were going to ignore me all night and parade that woman around in front of me? You have no right to go all jealous caveman on me when you’re the one who’s had some bimbo hanging off your arm all night.”

She glares at me defiantly. She looks unbelievably hot when she’s jealous. I move closer to her, wrapping my arm around her waist. Her breath hitches and I can tell that, despite her anger, she still wants me as much as I want her.

“I brought you here because I wanted to. Because you are mine,” I growl.

She opens her mouth to argue back but I catch her by surprise, cutting her off by kissing her. It’s a raw, angry kiss, one that channels my jealous rage and desire. She responds in kind, as eager and hungry as I am. I lift her onto the counter, parting her legs and ripping the thin fabric of her thong off in one deft move. She lets out a gasp of surprise and desire.

I spring my aching cock free from my pants, plunging straight into her wet and ready pussy. She feels so fucking tight, perfectly made for me.

“Fuck, Nikolai,” she cries out as I thrust in and out of her, fucking her hard and aggressively.

The sex is possessive, I want my scent on her, to mark her as mine. She screams and cries out, not caring who can hear us. My little wildcat claws at me, pulling me closer, hungry and desperate for more. I happily oblige, thrusting faster and faster until we both reach climax.

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