Page 62 of Hate Mates

His voice caused me to shiver, which he noticed because he smirked right afterward. “Actually, I’m more of a Sauvignon Blanc woman,” I responded, then smiled as his smirk disappeared.

THREE

Kingston

So much toxicity and beauty rolled up in the same package. She was tempting like forbidden fruit, but she was nowhere near as sweet. She was rotten to the very core. I knew it, and more importantly, she knew it. Ekaterina was also defiant. It had to have been that spirit that had possessed Princeton to even want to give her the time of day. If he’d chosen any whore other than this one that night, he might still be alive.

Even more importantly, he could be the one fulfilling our grandfather’s antiquated notions of bloodlines. Not me, and not Cillian, who appeared far more sober tonight than he had in years. He was also surrounded by women, all of whom were eating out of his hands. Maybe he was actually taking this seriously. If I didn’t want to end up working for him, I needed to do the same.

“You heard mydate,” the attorney said as he made sure to put emphasis on who she was to him. “And I’ll have the same as her.”

I eyed the attorney and his proud smirk as he looked between her and me. Mine returned at that, especially when the other man squared his shoulders. I straightened my frame too, and itwas truly ironic that we were both posturing over the same girl. He looked at Ekaterina and wanted to take her to events like this where he could parade her around ballrooms, while I only wanted to fuck my rage out before killing her.

Fucking kill her. That is it.

I turned my attention away from him and to his date who was smiling up at the man. I’d done my research on her over the years which was how I’d been able to recognize her earlier tonight. On my brother’s death bed, I’d sworn to him that I’d make her pay one day, and I never realized how easy that might be until now. After she’d disappeared, I’d reached out to the one who gathered intelligence on not only the family business, but on anything I asked of him. This princess was in serious trouble back in her homeland. Her father was in so much danger that he’d gone into hiding because Ekaterina’s fiancé was on the warpath. And the man, Aram Grigoryan, was not some run of the mill douche like her current date. He was a leader in the Armenian mafia, and had the ability to bend her to his will.

He's not the only one.

Soon, she’d need someone to protect her, and her current date could do nothing more for Ekaterina than get her out of a few speeding or parking tickets. Grigoryan would kill him in plain sight, then drag her kicking and screaming back to Armenia. Only, she deserved to suffer more, and at the hands of someone who could make sure that she did. Not just for a night, week, month, or a year, but a fucking lifetime, however short it might be. She needed the kind of protection only I could offer her.

The two got their drinks, and she looked back at me as they walked away. I hated to see her coming toward me, but walking away... That was a different story because her ass drew my attention, and kept it with every seductive sway. After what she’d done to Princeton, I shouldn’t even want her, but I could makeher suffer in ways she never imagined once I got her naked.And I would.

“Do you need anything?” the bartender asked me, and I shook my head.

On my way over here, I’d downed two more shots, and I needed to keep my head clear the rest of the night. I moved away from the bar and in the same direction the other two had gone, but I didn’t follow them all the way. I found a spot in the corner where I could keep my eye on her, and I stayed there for several minutes until she gave her date a quick peck on the cheek, then headed toward the lobby.

She’d never kiss me that way. I’d make sure of it. I’d keep those luscious lips of hers swollen because I’d fuck them often. Hate was a type of passion, and it was the only thing that could fuel me because I despised her. Everything about her. I wanted to break her, and that I would, but not before she took my name and gave me a damn child I had no desire to raise. I’d get control of my birthright just after that, then she would meet her demise.

Deciding to cut her off before she could return to the event, I quickly moved in the same direction she had. When I reached the hotel lobby, I saw her on her cell phone talking animatedly to someone on the other end. She then smiled, and I knew it had been a good conversation.

That smile faded the moment she saw me. I closed the distance between us just in time. “...so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“An important call,” I asked as soon as she ended it.

She eyed me with a look of indifference, and perhaps even irritation. “That’s none of your business.”

“On the contrary, everything you do could be my business,” I answered.

She shrugged. “It’s not. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She tried to move past me, but I stepped in front of her. “I need to get back to Stephen.”

“Ahh, yes. Your date. Unless you want to spend the worst twenty minutes of your life in bed, I’d suggest you send him home alone.”

“What?” she asked, and the anger in her dark eyes set them aflame. “You’re so out of line.”

“But not off base, huh?” I asked her, and smirked at her still angry expression.

“You’re a fucking asshole. Stephen’s a?—”

“There’s no chemistry between you two.”

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking ab?—”

I quickly grabbed her by the throat, but I didn’t squeeze. She took two steps back and I kept in step with her. Those lush lips of hers parted as a slight tremor shook her frame. I leaned in and when just a hairsbreadth from her, I blew softly in her direction eliciting a small moan, then moved to her ear.

“I know because you wantmeto kissyouright now. Admit it, and maybe I’ll?—”

“You’re right. I do want you to try to kiss me so I can kick you in the balls. Now, unless you want to have to wait for the swelling to go down in them before you see the teeny tiny pair again, I suggest you take your hands off of me right this instant.”

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