Page 22 of Bound by 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.

CHAPTER TEN

Laney had time on their journey back to the cabin to marvel at how Boris moved with such ease for a man so large and solidly muscled. Even her added weight didn’t faze him at all. Their climb down the containers, though dizzying from her vantage point, had seemed effortless for him. He continued to stride purposefully past the tiers and rows of containers until they reached the gangway that led below the ship to the crew quarters.

Laney also marveled at how they ran into no one on their way back. It was like the crew members sensed it was in their best interests not to cross paths with the giant Russian enforcer just now, while his mood was a little on the horny and unstable side. Laney wasn’t sure if she wished someone would stumble upon them. On the one hand, she rather hoped for rescue, but realistically she knew, aside from Daniel Mercer who was presently not on the ship, no human man would stand a chance again the mammoth Russian. If any of the crew tried to intervene on her behalf it would likely mean instant death. Besides, Laney was pretty sure they all worked for Sitnikov anyway, which meant they also worked for Boris.

Marveling at things kept Laney from losing her mind and panicking during their seemingly very long trek.How freaking long is this damn ship, anyway?Laney twisted around as much as she could to see if they were near the cabins, but Boris brought his palm down in a painful slap on her ass, drawing a short scream from her.

“Be still,” he snapped.

She wanted to kick him in the chest, but she also didn't want any more painful spankings, so she remained still, seething and plotting his many deaths. They arrived at the cabin moments later. Boris swung the door open and ducked beneath the frame, careful not to hit her against anything. He kicked the door shut behind them and reached back to flip the lock.

In one smooth motion Boris dropped her off his shoulder and onto the bed. Laney landed on her side with a bounce. She rolled over as far from him as she could get and wiggled and pushed herself up until she sat against the wall. She glared up at him as if daring him to touch her. Wet hair had worked its way loose from her braids and clung to her face and body.

He stared down at her. The hard look was still present in his face, but satisfaction and blazing lust were now there as well. She remembered his words when he’d proposed his game of hide and seek. That when he found her he would ‘keep her.’ He didn’t say for how long. She shivered, becoming terribly afraid she’d underestimated Boris Grekov all along.

Without breaking eye contact, he reached for the zipper on his leather coat and drew it down over his massive chest. He let the heavy coat fall to the floor with an ominous thump. Blood from the wound she had given him traced a path from near his elbow down to the back of his hand, following the veins and tattoos that snaked over his muscular arm. Laney slitted her eyes in a furious glare as he reached for the bottom of his T-shirt, peeling the fabric up and over his head, baring his huge, tattooed chest. It was the first time she had seen him even partially naked. Not that he hadn’t offered many times before. Now he was taking the choice from her hands.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but she was helpless against the image of a large intricate cross with aVirgin Marykneeling below it tattooed in the middle of his chest. She realized right away that she shouldn’t have closed her eyes when she felt the bed shift under his knee. Her eyes flew open and she came face to chest with his brutal tattoos. He used his T-shirt to wipe the blood from his arm before tossing it carelessly aside and then turning purposefully to face his prey.

Her panicked gaze flew to the side and she lunged away from him, but she had no place to go. He grabbed her and shoved her face down into the bedding with one hand at the back of her neck. Laney struggled but she couldn’t possibly break free. With a deep sigh, she forced herself to relax her body in defeat.

“Do you yield?” he growled in her ear, leaning over her prone body, his beard tickling the delicate skin of her neck.

She buried her face into the soft quilt of the bed and breathed deeply, her mind racing frantically for a way out. Then she realized, this was not the ugly brown blanket that had been on the bed when they had first arrived in the cabin. Lifting her head a little, she looked at it. The quilt was made of lovely patchwork with a wide variety of pretty shapes and colours, very much something she might pick out for her bed. Not at all Boris’ style. He must have brought it with him and placed it on the bed.

With a tiny sigh, she nodded her head.

He shifted himself backwards until he was straddling her, his massive erection pressed into her backside. He ignored his own immediate needs for the moment though, while his huge, nimble hands began searching her for weapons. She didn’t blame him. Though she said she would capitulate, if the situations were reversed, she wouldn’t believe him either.

He unknotted her braids and ran his fingers through them, searching her hair for weapons. Smart. She’d definitely hidden blades there before. She moaned in ecstasy as his fingers massaged her scalp. Her hair had been in tight braids for almost two full days and it felt both deliciously painful and pleasurable to have it taken down. Boris paused at the sounds she made and, if she weren’t mistaken, pressed his erection a little tighter into her backside.

He lifted her slightly to run his fingers down her front and under her breasts searching for hidden sheaths. Then he ran his hands down her sides and searched all the hidden crevices and seams in her clothes. She squirmed and bit her lip as he pressed his fingers into her armpits. He searched her waistband and just as he was about to dip his fingers into her panties she stopped him.

“There’s a hidden sheath in my boot!” she gasped.

He twisted back and quickly found the knife she confessed to. “Is that all?” he asked.

She nodded. “I promise, you have the last of my weapons.”

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