Page 31 of Merciless Wager
“There’s no need to be nervous or scared with us,” the dark-haired woman said.
I looked over and flashed a small smile at her. Ekaterina was absolutely stunning, and might’ve even been one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. Long, dark hair framed her symmetrical face, and her eyes were the same shade of espressoas her hair. And as she smiled at me, my gaze was now drawn to her lips, which were naturally full.
The other woman was also striking with her bright red locks and piercing blue eyes. Her face was a bit fuller, but she was still stunning nonetheless. Either one could grace the cover of any fashion magazine, which only made me feel more insecure about myself.
Since arriving here, I had little access to the same beauty supplies I had used back home, so my hair lacked its normal sheen. I barely had any makeup either, so my skin had started to look ashen. I was nowhere near as put-together as either one of these women.
“Are you okay, Aurora?” Reagan asked me.
“She does look a bit pale,” Ekaterina said in response to the redhead. “Let me get you something to drink.”
“I—” Before I could even get more than that out, she rose quickly to her feet and walked into the kitchen. I watched as she opened the refrigerator and stood in front of it for several seconds.
“You can tell this is a bachelor’s pad, but I found something.” She then closed the door and returned with three bottled waters. She handed one to me, but I hesitated. “Go ahead, hun. We wouldn’t want you to get dehydrated.”
“Thanks,” I said and knew she was right. Besides, the bottle would hide some of my fidgeting, so after appeasing them by taking a large swallow from it, I put the cap back on the bottle and held it in front of me.
“How have things been going with Zarren?” Reagan asked.
“I guess they’ve been okay. You two do know that I’m here against my will, yes?” I had suspected they did, but I decided to throw it out there in the off chance that they didn’t. If so, maybe I could convince them to let me go.
Any hope was instantly dashed when Ekaterina smiled. “I preferred to think of it as forced proximity.”
“Same, “ Reagan chimed in. “Although, kidnapping can be hot at times.”
I actually blushed. Did she know I’d let Zarren fuck me unconscious already? I didn’t want to dwell on that, and my face often gave me away, so I cleared my throat. “The two of you were kidnapped before?”
“I was kidnapped, but not by Kingston. It was my father and the man he’d tried to force me to marry. The kidnapping happened after King and I had wed.”
I looked at the other woman. “And you?”
“I was kidnapped by my husband,” she said gleefully, and my eyes furrowed.
“You make it sound like a good thing.”
“God, no. I wanted to throttle Cillian when he’d kidnapped my daughter and me. I tried to escape a time or two, but I was never able to get away.”
“I’m sorry,” I responded.
“It actually turned out to be for the best.”
“How?” I asked her.
“Cillian and I fell deeply in love not long after we first met. We’d planned to be together forever. His grandfather happened, and my mother and sister were murdered by his men. I’d fled and started a new life, but seven years later was kidnapped by Cillian once he found out I was alive.”
“That had to be terrifying.”
“It was, but I’m forever thankful now that it happened. If it hadn’t, the two of us never would’ve found our way back to one another, or had the last almost two decades together.”
“They are disgustingly in love,” Ekaterina said, earning a sigh from Reagan.
“This one over here was on the run from an Armenian mobster her father had sold her to, and Kingston stepped in and married her to protect her from the man.”
“That sounds kinda romantic,” I said.
Both women laughed, but finally Ekaterina spoke. “Romantic if you are a fan of enemies to lovers. I planned to kill my husband and might’ve actually tried it had I not fallen in love with him. A marriage of convenience turned into the real deal. Not long after, both King and Cill rescued me from the man I was engaged to and my father.”
I was listening intently as I started to wonder if I’d be able to do this with the guy I was being pawned off on soon. Clearing my throat, I decided to throw the question out there that had been burning on my tongue. “You are Russian, yes?”
