The horrendous cramps that struck Laney less than two hours after Boris’ declaration took some of the bite out of his point. Unless he wanted to become a complete monster, Boris couldn’t touch Laney, except to offer her comfort. If she weren’t in such terrible pain, Laney would have enjoyed the irony of his consistently being denied the prize he was so sure he would have once he got her on board the cargo ship.
She watched from her position curled in a tight ball on the bed as the giant man paced like a caged bear from one end of the cabin to the other. She had both arms wrapped tightly around her middle as wave after wave of burning hot coals crashed against her insides, searing and tearing at her. She moaned and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Tell me you are doing this to stop me from touching you again?” Boris demanded in a growl, coming to a halt in front of her and looking down at her with a look of helpless frustration.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’m doing this so you won’t touch me.”
He dropped down on one knee next to the bed and brushed hair off her face. She relaxed as his fingers sifted through her hair and just enjoyed the feel of someone touching her scalp. No one had done that for her since her mama had passed away. It felt good to be comforted when she wasn’t feeling well.
“Does this happen every month? How do you stand this pain?” he rumbled quietly, still touching her hair as if sensing how much she needed the comfort.
She shook her head slightly. “I get cramps every month, but the really bad ones only happen a few times a year. Maybe every four months. I was overdue. I think last time was about six months ago.”
“What do you usually do?” he asked. “I mean when you are at home alone, suffering.” He made it sound like the idea bothered him very much.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him curiously. “I take a Midol and go to bed with a hot water bottle and HBO on my iPad. I watch until I fall asleep.”
“How long do they last?”
“You mean how long until you will get your sex slave back?” she grumbled.
“Laney,” he growled warningly.
She sighed. “Sometimes several hours and sometimes up to two days. I never know until they're done.”
He nodded and stood, towering over the bed. “You stay here and relax. I’m going to find pills and water bottle for you. Do not try to leave this cabin, you will not like consequences.”
Laney nodded weakly. “I’d like to take a shower.”
“Wait until I come back. Do not want to risk you falling and hurting yourself.”
She sighed, but acquiesced. She was in so much pain she wasn’t sure she could manage on her own anyway. He left the cabin, locking the door behind him. If she'd been at full capacity she had no doubt she could find her way out, but in her current state she was weak as a kitten.
She hunched in on herself as another wave of agony hit her. Tears gathered in her eyes and she had to force them back before they could fall. She learned long ago that no amount of pain was an excuse. It amused her that she’d experienced many types of pain, but these menstrual cramps were some of the worst. It was her secret laugh, when she sparred with other Yakuza and they moaned over injuries she was easily able to ignore. Women’s pain was often so much worse.
She could have kissed Boris when he showed up with a bottle of painkillers and a water bottle already filled with hot water. He helped her sit up and take an extra strength Advil with some cold water. Then he lifted her from the bed and carried her to the shower where he helped her stand and washed her as though she were as delicate as a newborn. He even washed her hair, careful not to tug too hard on the wet strands with his thick fingers.
Laney watched him through long lashes, wondering how he managed to hold her so delicately with such large hands. She wondered how he would be with a child. He dried her off and then left her alone for a few minutes so she could have some privacy. She took care of a few personal needs and then pulled on a pair of comfortable cotton panties and a white T-shirt.
Another wave of pain hit her and she bent over the sink with her arms wrapped around her stomach. She bit her lip, but a moan escaped her. Boris came crashing into the bathroom behind her, startling her. She straightened and then swayed. He scooped her up easily into his arms, despite the tight quarters. He was wearing a pair of jeans, but his torso was still bare.
He placed her gently on the bed and set the hot water bottle against her belly. Laney wrapped her arms gratefully around it. She squeaked in surprise as Boris climbed in next to her, causing the bed to dip low. He curved himself against her back, tucking her ass firmly against his denim clad hips. Laney stiffened, but gradually relaxed when she realized he was doing nothing more than trying to make her comfortable. He flipped the quilt over both of them, tucking it around her as though she were a child.
Laney smiled and dipped her face into the mattress. They barely fit on the bed together, with absolutely no extra space. She could feel the press of Boris’ thick cock against her backside. He very clearly wanted her again. But she knew he wouldn’t do anything about it, despite his threats. He wouldn’t hurt her. The care and concern he’d shown her touched something deep inside Laney. It made her feel safer than she’d felt in a long time. Perhaps safer than she’d ever felt in her life.
***
Laney narrowed her eyes at Boris. She had drastically underestimated the man. He had maneuvered her into a corner and now he was going to attack. There was nowhere for her to run this time. She’d tried all of her wiles on him, but he wasn't falling for anything. Granted, her idea of flirting was calf-length leggings and a white sleeveless T-shirt with no bra (because the asshole had cut her only bra to pieces). But it seemed to work. Russian couldn’t take his eyes off her dark nipples beneath the light shirt.
Except to slaughter her at checkers.
“You distracted me,” she mumbled as he took her last, lonely white checker piece.
He flashed her a white-toothed grin through his beard and handed her another bottle of water before leaning back against the wall with his arms stretched behind his head. She glared at him and leaned back against the pillows with a huff. She eyed the tattoos along his bare arms, which snaked out from where his grey T-shirt strained against his swarthy flesh, and sighed. If only he knew exactly how badly he distracted her, she would be flat on her back instead of playing another safe game with him.
It had been four days since he had solicitously tucked her into their shared bed and taken care of her. He hadn’t touched her sexually since their first encounter, believing that she was still in too much pain. The pain had passed two days ago and her period had pretty much stopped the night before, but there was no way Laney was giving up her only source of keeping Boris at bay. As the hours passed, she saw his speculative gaze pass over her, but his tone was nothing more than kind and concerned.
Laney knew he would soon suspect she was pretending to still be menstruating and start pushing her for sex again. She would have to get out of the cabin and disappear on the massive ship before that could happen. Boris confused her. He was too intense. She loved the way he could make her feel, but she couldn’t handle the chaos that he stirred up in her head and her heart. It was best to put some distance between them while she figured out what to do about the man she was supposed to kill in a few days.
If only she could get out of the cabin. He hadn’t allowed her to step foot out the door since he hauled her back through it and made crazy, intense love to her. He said he didn't want any of the other men to see her. Which was insane. They had to know there was a woman on board by now. The captain had seen her after all. She tried arguing with him, just to get a little relief from the four walls of their shared cabin, but he flat out refused to relent. She also suspected he was taking no chances on losing her and missing out on their last days together before they reached Hong Kong and went their separate ways.
“I want my answers,” he rumbled, his dark eyes piercing her.
She growled and lifted her chin slightly in acknowledgment. During their enforced time together, they had played many games together including checkers, chess, gin rummy, poker, cribbage and many others. It didn’t take them long to start wagering on their games. At first Laney flat out refused to wager when Boris’ suggestions were anything but innocent. Eventually he agreed to let her set the rules, though it quickly became apparent that he could win virtually every game they played. Including the checker game that gave him the right to ask her three personal questions.
He sighed heavily at the pointed glare she sent his way. “I won fair and square, kotenok. You know this. Will you promise to stop staring death at me if I give you what you wanted after I get my three questions?”
An eager smile spread across her lips and she sat up straight and nodded her head, sending her braids flying. “Yes, please, Boris! I want to go outside more than anything. I need fresh air so badly!”
He growled and seemed to think it over before finally nodding. “Fine, agreed. I will take you up after shift change. You are to look at no one and speak to no one. Say that you understand me?” he demanded.
She laughed lightly and rolled her eyes, borrowing a popular Claudia King mannerism. “I understand.”
“Now I get my questions,” he demanded.
Looking happier than she had in days, Laney settled back on the pillows and nodded her head. Her eyes were soft and happy. She twisted the top off the bottle of water he’d given her and took a long drink. It was hard to resist Boris when he showed her such flashes of caring.
He reached out a massive hand and tweaked one of the braids that lay against her shoulder. She glanced down at his hand but didn’t move. Though he hadn’t pressed her sexually, they had lived in close quarters for four days and, much to Boris’ delight, she had been forced to accept some level of intimacy from him. His touch didn't bother her as it once had.
“What is with the braids?” he asked. “You look like school girl.”
She shrugged. “The braids keep my hair off my face while I train or work.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “So would… how do you call it… a tail?”
Laney frowned at him for a minute and then realized what he was getting at. “A ponytail? Like on top of my head?” She pulled her braids back in a faux ponytail.
“Yes, like that. Why not like that? I like the braids, but is unusual,” he said studying her as though he wanted to know everything about her and what made her tick.
She flushed and dropped her hair. The man really had spent a lot of time watching her during their time in the United States. She hadn’t given him enough credit, assuming he simply wanted to get in her pants.
“I wear the braids because they’re easier to hide weapons in that a ponytail,” she said with a shrug as though that’s what every girl would want to do with braids.
A frown bit deep between his eyebrows. She didn't like the look that came into his eyes, as though he were trying to figure something out about her. Had she just given something away about herself? But what? He’d checked her hair for weapons before, so clearly, he knew that was a popular hiding spot for persons of their ilk.
“Next question,” she chirped.
He narrowed his eyes on her. “Why are your eyes blue? You are from Japan, yet you have blue eyes. You are clearly of Asian descent, except for your eyes. You are not completely Japanese?”
She titled her head to the side. She hadn’t expected that question, though she probably should have. She really didn't want to have this conversation, it was getting far too close to some uncomfortable truths about her. “Was that two questions?”
“Don’t fuck with me, Laney. If you want to go topside, start answering my questions.”
She sighed. Her big Russian could be very sweet one moment and quite an arrogant beast the next. “My mother was English.”
He looked startled. “From England?” he asked incredulously.
She nodded her head. “I took my last name from her. You never wondered about Paul? It doesn’t sound very Japanese.”
He shrugged. “I wondered, but you look Asian so I guess I didn't wonder for long. Why did you take your mother’s last name? Where is your father?”
“Which question are you asking me?” she asked sweetly, looking up at him with innocent sapphire eyes. “You only get one more question.”
“Fuck,” he growled and looked as though he wanted to shake the answers out of her. Laney rarely gave him anything personal. This rare glimpse into her life was a definite treasure trove. He didn’t want to relent, yet he didn’t want to waste his last question either. “Neither. I want to know how many lovers you’ve had.”
Laney swallowed hard. Now that question she had been expecting. She stared at him, not wanting to answer but knowing she had to. She’d promised him three questions and Boris would hold her to that promise. She sensed he was reaching the end of his patience. He was sharing a cabin with the woman he’d obsessed over for seven long months, but he still couldn’t touch her. The best thing she could do now was appease him.
“One,” she whispered biting her lip and looking away.
“Are you lying to me?” he demanded, his voice suddenly deeper and more guttural.
Laney shook her head, her heart hammering in her chest. She sensed significance in his demand, but couldn’t understand why it was important to him.
“When were you last with him? Is he your fiancé?” he demanded.
She shook her head and forced her eyes up, making them as glacial as she could when they met his. “You got your questions,” she said as icily as she could. “I want to go up on the deck.”
His thick brows lowered over stormy eyes and she realized she made a mistake right before he grasped her ankle and yanked, pulling her flat on her back on the bed. He moved swiftly for such a huge man, covering her body with his and pinning her to the mattress. She cried out and brought her hands up defensively, going for the pressure point in his neck. He captured her wrists and held them over her head in one of his massive hands.
Using one thick, denim-clad thigh, he shoved her legs apart so she couldn’t kick him. Then he used his weight to hold her down until her struggles calmed. It took Laney less than a minute to figure out his strategy and stop beating herself against a brick wall. Forcing her muscles to relax, she lay passively beneath him and tried to think of anything but the huge erection pressing against her hip.
He wrapped his free hand around her jaw and forced her head up until her blue eyes clashed with his dark ones. “Tell me what I want to know and I will let you up and escort you topside.”
“Liar,” she hissed.
His fingers bit into her jaw for a second before loosening. “Start speaking,” he growled.
She glared up at him and remained silent for a full minute before finally giving him what he demanded. “I was seventeen. He’s not my fiancé.”
He nodded, satisfaction flaring in his eyes that she hadn't been with her mythical fiancé. “How many times?”
“Fuck you!” she spat.
“Laney,” he growled in warning, shifting his hips and thrusting his erection against the softness of her pussy and forcing a gasp from her. “Don’t fuck with me right now. You are on tight leash and I want answers. How many times did he fuck you when you were seventeen?”
Laney wanted to cry. The memories of her first lover and what her father had done to him swept over her. She glared up at Boris, putting every ounce of hate she felt into that one look. “Once.”
He nodded as though finally understanding something. His grip on her softened. Big mistake, Godzilla. Laney yanked her wrist out of his grip and sent her fist flying into his throat. Boris snarled and choked, reared back and drew his fist back automatically, but then immediately checked the response. Instead, he maneuvered Laney so she was laying facedown with her arms wrenched behind her back.
“Blyad, woman, you are fucking menace,” he snapped hoarsely, massaging his throat with his other hand.
He watched her slim body for a moment as she heaved underneath him before finally giving up and simply turning her face to the side so she could breathe. When he had his own temper under control he leaned across her back, crushing her arms between then and placed his bearded cheek next to hers.
“Is this why you ran from me, moy kotenok? You were scared? You are still frightened, aren't you? This is why you have not told me you are finished your pain and your period. I have tortured men before, Laney, I know when a person is faking pain and when they are not.” His voice took on a soothing edge as he spoke. “You are inexperienced and I am large man. It makes sense that you might fear to be with me, but you do not need to fear any longer. I will take care of you.”
“Fuck you,” Laney snapped.
“Yes, that will definitely happen again. But before we do that, let us go topside. I need to show you that I keep my promises.”