Page 51 of Cruel Bet

I don’t know if it’s because of his commanding tone, the fact that I want someone else to handle this for me, that I desperately want to check if Mads is still sleeping, or because he called me by his old pet name, but I do as he asks. Perhaps it’s a combination of them all. I don’t bother to ask if Nikolai is going to kill Luis. I’m surprised to find I don’t care either way.

Chapter 30

Arianna

Mercifully, Mads has slept through the whole ordeal. I’ve always joked that even a herd of elephants couldn’t wake her she’s such a heavy sleeper, I’ve never been more grateful for that fact than now. I sit watching her sleep, innocent and untroubled. So precious and fragile.

The horror of the situation dawns on me. This whole time I thought that everything I was doing was to protect her, and yet we’d been so close to danger the whole time. I hadn’t escaped. My father had found me. God knows what he had planned for me, or for my child. I suddenly feel cold and shiver—shock I presume. I can’t hear what’s happening outside. I’m not sure I’d want to.

I finally allow myself to cry. Big, silent tears fall down my cheeks. As terrifying as the situation was, as awful as it is to realize that my father could have destroyed everything so easily, the main feeling I have right now is overwhelming relief. Relief and gratitude that Nikolai was here to save me. I’ve no idea why he’s here, or what he came for, but I will never be able to thank him enough.

Now my father knows my whereabouts, I will have to uproot my life here and leave. The thought is overwhelming and daunting. I can’t face it right now. Pushing it to the back of my mind, I dry my tears, take one last lingering look at my precious daughter’s sleeping face, gently brush my fingertips across herforehead to smooth away the baby hairs, and tiptoe out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

I should head to the bathroom to survey the damage and freshen up. I need a long, hot shower to wash away the feeling of that creep’s hands on me. But first, I have to go back into the other room and face Nikolai. To thank him. To find out what he’s doing here. Did he know I was in danger and simply came to help out of a sense of obligation? Did Kimiko tell him her suspicions about Mads?

To my relief, Luis is gone when I get into the kitchen. Nikolai is mopping up his blood from my kitchen floor, turning the water in the bucket pink. He hears my arrival and turns to look at me. For the first time in almost three years, our eyes meet.

And just like that, I’m lost.

Those aquamarine blue eyes pull me under into his depths and I know I can never leave this man again.

“Arianna,” he says softly. “I know you’re probably wondering why I’m here…”

I don’t respond, walking over to him as though pulled by an invisible tether.

I’ve never known Nikolai to ramble or be uncertain of his next sentence, but there’s a first for everything. He takes my silence as upset or hurt and continues to speak.

“I didn’t know your father… I came here because I wanted to… I can explain everything… Do you want to know what happened to him?” he says unsure of what to say before landing on the last question.

The whole time, my eyes never leave his. I finally come to stand before him, tilting my head back to still meet his gaze against his impressive height.

“No. We’ll talk. But not now,” I say.

He looks crestfallen as though I’m asking him to leave.

I don’t let him speak before I tell him, “Now, I want you to kiss me.”

His surprise and confusion are quickly surpassed by a look of hungry desire. He doesn’t wait, he simply pulls me into an embrace that lifts me off my toes and into his arms and kisses me.

Everything stops.

It’s as though we were never apart, we never hurt each other so deeply, and the past just melts away. Leaving only him. And now.

The kiss becomes deeper, more frantic, it’s not enough for either of us.

How I’ve missed him. My body aches for him more than I ever thought possible.

He picks me up and I eagerly wrap my legs around him, I’m soaking wet with need. I don’t want foreplay, to wait, I just want him inside me again, completing me.

“Nikolai, fuck me, please,” I murmur between kisses, gasping with pleasure as his tongue caresses my neck.

It seems he feels the same desperate need that I do, as he quickly carries me over to the couch where we frantically tear off each other’s clothes. I can see he’s as aroused as I am andgrab his ass, pulling him toward me. My legs are spread and I’m ready for him. He looks me in the eye, as though checking if I’m still sure, that I haven’t changed my mind, and I nod. He guides his cock into my slit and slowly enters me until he’s completely inside me.

It feels so full, so right, like we are made for each other.

“Fuck,kukolka,I’ve missed you,” he groans.

“I’ve missed you too, Nikolai,” I reply breathlessly before a moan of pleasure escapes my lips.

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