Chapter 19

Laney sighed and grinned. She had never in her entire life felt freer. The entire Pacific Ocean stretched out in front of her in all of its pounding grey and blue glory. Even the continuous rain that had been falling on her since she'd climbed to the top of the eight shipping containers a few hours prior couldn't stop her happy mood. She didn't have a care in the world in that moment and it felt wonderful. The only thing that could make it better is if she knew Jin were safe.

Heavy footfalls echoed behind her, effectively answering a question she'd pondered previously. No, apparently Boris' incredibly muscular arms would not hamper him from climbing all the way up to the top of the shipping containers to look for her when he finished searching the bottom of the ship.

"Laney," he growled down at her, shaking his head like a dog and showering her with a spray of raindrops from his big body. Because she wasn't wet enough having spent several hours in the rain.

She leaned back on her hands and glanced up at him so she could answer question number two. Yes, after nearly thirty hours of searching for her, he was very pissed off at being deprived of the sexual prize he thought he was getting when he first boarded the ship.

"Godzilla," she acknowledged, tensing from head to toe without visibly tipping him off to the imminent attack.

Apparently, he noticed anyway. He growled and shook his head, showering her face with water once more. "Do not attack me, woman. I am not in the mood. I will hurt you."

She shivered and briefly considered just going with him quietly. Then she remembered who she was. She was Laney Paul, Yakuza assassin. She was no one's bitch. Slowly turning over, Laney came to her feet in a crouch. Reaching under her jacket, she unsheathed both of her blades and held them down and away from her body.

"You refuse to go with me?" he snarled. "This was not our agreement."

"There was no agreement," Laney argued, slowly circling away from him, keeping the edge of the shipping container in her peripheral so she wouldn't slip off. "You gave me two minutes to disappear and I took your kindly proffered time."

"You skate the edge of my patience, little girl," he growled from between clenched teeth, hands fisted at his side. He circled her, stalking closer, readying himself for an attack. "You must know if I get my hands on you after this I won't be gentle. You had your chance."

She smirked and slashed one of the blades through the rain. "It won't be an issue after this, Grekov."

Without replying, he lunged for her. Laney danced away from him, keeping her body low and out of his reach, knowing if he got his hands on her it would be game over. She didn't have the strength to fight him off and his battle skills were at least equal to hers. It became quickly clear to her that she had the advantage. Boris did not want her anywhere near the edge of the shipping containers and was doing everything within his power to keep their fight in the middle. Which was rapidly frustrating him, because Laney was using her quick, lithe body to dance circles around him, closer and closer to the edge, while taking jabs at him with her sharp daggers. Boris was forced to duck her light thrusts, while trying to drive her back to where he wanted her.

"Laney, watch the fucking edge," he bellowed at her, "it's fucking slippery!"

She grinned and threw her dagger, while he was distracted. He jerked back, bringing his forearm up to protect his throat and face, catching it in the meaty part of his arm. He stared at her with something approaching murderous intent and yanked the knife out of his arm. His leather coat would have stopped it from penetrating very far and her throw had been light, but blood still dripped off the end of his fingers. He'd taken a solid hit. Without taking his eyes off of her, he drew his arm back and hurled it as hard as he could. Laney stared in shock as it hurtled end over end across the metal container and into the ocean far below.

Her Sensei had given her the blades when she'd achieved her first black belt at the age of ten. She turned angry eyes on Boris, determined to give him a piece of her mind, but he used her momentary distraction to close the distance between them. A scream of surprise was choked off when he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her right off her feet. Blood smeared on her neck where he held her. Laney clutched at his wrist with her free hand and tried to stab him with her other dagger.

He shook her and growled furiously, "Drop the blade."

His eyes glowed in a way she'd never seen. This was the Russian enforcer that other people saw right before they died. He held her up in one hand like she weighed nothing. She was a rag doll against his incredible strength. He would slowly choke the breath out of her unless she did as he demanded. Tears of fury and pain jumped unbidden to her eyes. What choice did she have?

Finally, she submitted, opening her fingers and letting the blade clatter against the rain-slicked metal. Boris slowly lowered her until her feet touched the ground. As if knowing her legs could not hold her, he continued to lower her, allowing her knees to buckle until she was crouched at his feet with his fist still wrapped around her neck. Finally, his slave.

Her eyes landed on the blade. Determined to bury it in his foot, she lunged for it, heedless of the fingers that could crush her throat, finishing their struggle once and for all. Her fingers touched the hilt at the same time Boris' boot landed on the blade making it impossible to lift.

She looked up into his dark eyes. There was no amusement shining there. He was done playing games with her. She shivered under the onslaught of the beast she had brought forth. She opened her mouth to speak, to beg him for mercy, for more time, for anything. She wasn't ready to submit to him or to any man. Nothing in her life had taught her the value in the type of loving Boris wanted from her. She simply couldn't do it.

He didn't let her speak. He pulled her up by the neck and crushed her lips beneath his own in a kiss that told her how their time together would be. Violent. Dominant. Passionate. Painful.

Laney tried to pull away from him, but the fingers around her neck tightened until she was nearly choking again. She brought her hands up, but he gathered them in one of his massive hands and held them behind her back, forcing her to submit to his kiss. She tasted blood against her tongue and whimpered, unsure if her lip was cut or his. Boris pulled back, hearing her distress and stared down at her, his eyes hard. He brought a thumb up and touched her lip, smearing the blood.

Laney watched, her heart beating out of control as he brought his thumb to his mouth and sucked her blood off of it. He looked down, between their bodies at her dagger, then drew back his foot and kicked it, sending it spinning toward the edge of the container.

"No!" Laney screamed, watching in horror as her second precious blade slid toward the edge.

She twisted in his arms, trying to send an elbow into his stomach or crotch. When that didn't work she lunged toward him and bit the skin of his neck hard enough to draw blood.

"Blyad, you little bitch!" he snarled, dropping her and reaching automatically for his neck.

Laney immediately raced full tilt for the edge of the container, knowing she would be too late, but not caring. She would climb down the side of the fucking container without the ladder and see if it landed on the deck. Without slowing, she reached for the edge and hurled herself off the side, grabbing hold of the top. Before she could start her downward climb, Boris was on top off her, gripping her wrist and hauling her back up.

"Let me go!" she screamed, kicking out at him, viciously catching him in the thigh with the tip of her boot.

"Enough!" he roared. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

She twisted in his arms, screaming and biting, using every trick she knew without pulling a single punch until he finally had enough. He grabbed hold of one of her braids, yanked her head back and slapped her hard enough to send her spinning into the top of the container. Black spots danced in Laney's eyes as she lay in a puddle of water attempting to pick herself back up so she could resume her fight. He crouched over top of her, pinning her hips to the metal, and pulled her arms ruthlessly behind her back.

Laney moaned and twisted a little, but she was too weak to fight him in that position. He used something to secure her hands tightly behind her back, then he moved down her body and did the same with her feet. Slowly, he stood. Laney rolled onto her side and looked up at him. He towered above her in that position, every inch of his 6'7" solidly muscled frame on display. She must have been insane to take him on. He looked angrier than she had ever seen him before. She had horribly miscalculated when she'd run from and then fought him. Now she was going to pay for it.

He bent over, picked her up and slung her effortlessly over one broad shoulder. Laney caught one last glimpse of the gorgeous Pacific Ocean stretched out in every direction before he began descending the shipping containers with her. He didn't say a single word as he took her back to his cabin.