Enjoy your Kidnapping (Rage)

[Alexei Nabokov]

The shopping spree complete, Alexei boarded the yacht with the most Fatal of Beauties, Rage Simone. He’d convinced her, though in truth, it had taken very little actual convincing, to join him for a few days away from everyone and everything. The only requirements had been that both leave behind their commlinks – a huge sacrifice on both their parts.

They had met only the night before – over a drink at an establishment that he owned called the Golden Crescent. It was a high class, high rolling sort of place, and while Rage could easily be found in such a place, Alexei had not planned on finding such a gem. Hadnt imagined it, in fact.

There was something between them – something undeniable. Something that had caused Alexei to throw caution to the wind and take the woman with him into the lower levels of the club to his suite – to a place he had never taken anyone before.

His henchmen – trusted men who had proven their loyalty time and time again had been there – but never before had he, so out of character taken a woman back there. Or, for that matter, trusted someone as he had trusted Rage. A self proclaimed assassin…was he crazy to have taken her to bed with him?

Perhaps.

But he was enjoying every moment of insanity as he offered her a hand on the gangplank.

It was a beautiful day, the breeze somewhat tropical as it came off the water. The docks were full of people milling about, going about their every day tasks. Rage and Alexei were two of the few who were actually…on vacation.

“This is your last chance to make a break for freedom….” He warned his ‘kidnapping’ victim. Typically cold green eyes looked to her, something not quite so cold about them. They were piercing, yes, but within them there was little of the coldheartedness he used for business. No, rather within them today was a sense of peacefulness that he had not felt for quite some time.

[Rage]

As she set her bags down, Rage looked over the water, taking in a deep breath as she closed her eyes for a moment. Even now, the water was so peaceful, so quiet. Something she had not experienced in a long time. She turned bright brown eyes upon Alexei, drinking him in with a slow look wondering if she had actually lost her mind.

Her words from earlier this morning came back to haunt her and she smiled. There was something there between them. She knew neither herself nor Alexei had ever connected so fast to someone before. She sighed, walking to his side to curl into his arms as she wrapped her own around his waist.

Rage and Alexei were going to learn alot about each other the next few days and she pondered if either of them were ready for that. She knew one thing was for certain, she was not letting Alexei go...not just yet.

"Escape? Now why would I want to do that?" Rage purred against his cheek.

Rage pulled away from him as they moved their belongings aside and she turned to look at the city for a moment, sliding her dark sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose. With a shrug, she turned back around to kiss Alexei's cheek, asking with her dimples quite prominent,

"What can I help with? Or like any abductor would do, are you going to tie me up and hide me away in the dark recesses of the yacht?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

He honestly wasn’t sure if there was anything that felt quite so perfect to him as the feeling of wrapping his arms around her. The way she had come up to him snuggling against him, he had found…well...endearing. Here she was, a woman entirely capable of taking care of herself – a killer – and yet….there was something entirely feminine about her. Something that left him with the feeling that yes, she could take care of herself, but she would also like to be taken care of – by the right person.

What can I help with? Or like any abductor would do, are you going to tie me up and hide me away in the dark recesses of the yacht?

He reached to caress her cheek. That soft cheek of hers. In only a few days, a few hours, perhaps, it would be tinted pink by the sun, sun kissed…His thumb traced her cheekbone, marveling at the definition and cultured look about her.

“That wouldn’t be such a bad idea, you know…” He replied. He was not wearing sunglasses….he had them. Somewhere. But his eyes, he knew, were one of his strong suits, and so he did not venture, ever, to hide them. Rather, he looked to Rage now and sighed softly.

“But for now….for now I have other plans for you, Fatal Beauty…” It was perhaps his nickname for her, said teasingly, though he did not doubt that she was every bit capable of living up to it.

He slipped from her arms then, just enough to walk with her. His arm was still about her shoulder, perhaps somewhat protectively as they moved further onto the yacht. There was a crew to take care of what needed to be taken care of – all the two of them needed to do was to relax.

He led her towards the cabin suite, now, as the crew prepared for departure.

“I believe you mentioned something about a new bikini you wanted to model….”

[Rage]

'Fatal Beauty' Rage thought, adding to herself that little did he know she did not see herself in that light. Maybe just 'Fatal'. Being with Alexei definately made her feel more attractive than she ever felt in her life and his reactions to her were making her more and more confident about herself than she ever dreamed of.

"You want to see the new bikini, huh? Well, there's not much to see." Rage said, looking at him sideways with her now ever present smirk.

Rage let him lead her into a suite and realized that they would be sharing one instead of two. She liked that idea. She reached down into the small bag she was holding and withdrew the small, black (of course) bikini that looked like mere eye patches than anything else. She held it up between her thumb and index finger letting it sway on its own as she wiggled her eyebrows at Alexei.

"Too much?" She asked, trying her best to look innocent and then proceeded to strip out of her clothes right there infront of him, not looking at him until the bikini was on. She straightened a few of the ties and then ran her hands through her hair before walking up to Alexei, her body just a breath away from his.

"So what do you think, Alexei? Meet with your approval?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

He had perhaps assumed quite a bit – leading her to the suite they were to share – but he didn’t think that now was the time to get shy. Particularly not after last night, and this morning and later this morning…..No, there was really nothing either one of them needed to be shy about. To have separate rooms now would be…well…they’d already put the cart before the horse.

And somehow, things seemed to be working just fine.

As she produced the…did they call a thing like that a bikini? He could heard his father, in his mind, saying something like ‘Hope you got that at a discount – seems they forgot the rest of the material’ or something to that effect. His father….it had been such a long time since he’d last heard the man’s voice. A faint flicker of memory lane might have given him a distant look – or perhaps, simply a look of intense thought, as he was wont to do at times – what with the nature of his business.

But it was gone instantly as Rage brought him back to the present. She was….well, she wasn’t clothed. And that…that was a distraction for any man. As her body approached his, remaining but a whisper away, he smiled down at her.

what do you think, Alexei? Meet with your approval?

He shook his head and grinned.

“I suppose it will have to…” He replied with a raised eyebrow, before sweeping her off her feet into his embrace that told her that he more than approved of her selection. He kissed her then, teasing and working to evoke from her the deepest of her desires. And as their kiss broke, he took her hand and led her further into the room, and out to a private deck.

He took a seat on one of the lounge chairs and removed his shoes and shirt. And then squinting the slightest bit, as he looked up towards the sun towards Rage, he reached a hand to her, clasping hers within his and pulling her gently into his lap.

“It looks great on you….” He commented now sincerely about her bikini.

His fingers traced over her smooth bare skin as they sat there.

As he’d requested, there were drinks set out for them nearby, as well as fresh fruit. There wasn’t a thing he had spared. Not on a day like today.

“You told me last night that Rage was not your given name...” He began, somewhat thoughtfully, “What, may I ask, was your given name…?”

He asked because….well, to him, she wasn’t a Rage. He didn’t doubt she could be….but…no. To him, she seemed something else entirely.

[Rage]

Rage closed her eyes and layed her head against Alexei's shoulder as he softly ran his fingers over her skin. She let out a sigh, relaxing totally at that moment. She brought one hand up to rest on his shoulder as she snuggled closer to him in the chair.

She heard a cart being wheeled in and knew Alexei must have ordered something for them. She looked up briefly and smiled before snuggling back against him.

“What, may I ask, was your given name…?” Alexei had asked.

Rage sat up and looked at him, a playful grimace on her face. She reached for a glass and some fruit, chewing on it thoughtfully before answering him.

"You really must know?" She asked, trying to put off answering him, but the look he was giving her let her know he would not give up until she answered him. "Don't laugh...it is Ileya."

Rage raised an eyebrow, daring him to laugh at the name she had not been called as a child. She was surprised she remembered it, being a small child when her name was changed. It had always stayed in the back of her mind, as if she would need to remember it at some point later on her life.

[Alexei Nabokov]

“Ileya…” He repeated her name out loud, testing it out upon his tongue. It rolled easily off, being a name so close to others within the language to which he was the most familiar. And her name as he spoke was given its own accent, its own unique sound by the accent of his basic.

“Why would I laugh?” He questioned as he reached for a glass of water. As he did, drops of condensation, cool drops of water, dropped to fall upon Rage’s exposed skin. His fingers moved to sooth the shock of the cold water, rubbing and warming her skin in conjunction with the sun that was shining down upon them.

He took a drink then and set the glass back on the table beside them.

“I think it suits you…” He added, the soft breeze picking up enough to caress the two of them, cooling them beneath the heat of the mid-day sun.

[Rage]

Rage's eyes were drawn to his mouth as he spoke her birth name for the first time. Even though the breeze cooled her, she warmed as her name rolled off his tongue. She looked at him, her hair a curtain falling against one cheek as she tilted her head a little to the side.

"I must say, I do like how you say it." She whispered with a smile. "You are the only one who knows it and has even spoke it since my name was changed."

Rage looked to his chest, her eyes staring at the taught muscles for a moment.

"I cannot believe I am saying this, but I like you calling me that instead of Rage." She admitted.

She moved off his lap to walk to the handrail and leaned on it, watching the water as they sailed smoothly over it. She closed her eyes, letting the breeze blow through her hair. The salt air filled her nose and she let out a contented sigh. She looked back over her shoulder to Alexei, marveling at just how handsome he was. Rage turned around, held out a hand for him to take and join her at the rail.

[Alexei Nabokov]

You are the only one who knows it and has even spoke it since my name was changed.

There was something about being the first and only one.

Something he very much liked.

He tilted his head down towards her, kissing the top of her head as she rested it against his chest. He was glad that she liked him using it – it just seemed to suit her, at least in his eyes, better than Rage. It was a beautiful name – very much like the woman to whom it belonged.

She moved from his lap then to walk over to the handrail. She was a vision as the sun caught the highlights in her hair, and warmed the pink tint of her cheeks. The breeze carried her hair, and he watched as she stood there so naturally. And he got the same feeling he’d gotten this morning – when he’d looked to see the vision of her upon his couch.

She was meant to be there. Everything about the moment suggested this to him. And as she gestured for him to join her, he did. He stood from his seat on the chaise and walked over to her, coming up behind her and taking her into his arms.

One wrapped around her waist, finding purchase on her hipbone. The other held onto the rail, as she sank into his embrace.

“Tell me, Ileya,” He began, his hand leaving her waist to brush her hair from the back of her neck and bending his head to kiss her there, “The things you didn’t tell me last night. The things I should know about you.”

[Rage]

Rage turned in his arms to look at Alexei and smiled up at him, dropping her sunglasses back on her nose.

"Tell you everything, huh?" She asked. "Ok, as long as you return the favor Alexei."

Rage turned back around to face the water, smiling as his arm tightened around her waist.

"My parents...they were taken from me when I was thirteen. Taken as in killed. I did not see it happen. They went out one night for some time alone and when I woke up the next morning, I was being told by a family friend that they had died in an accident. I was quickly packed up and out on my rear end in a matter of hours. I spent a few years bouncing around different group homes until some kind lady ran upon me as I was exacting my revenge on some poor school mate by punching his lights out. Lyla saw something in me and took me home, no questions asked. I was seventeen and will always remember that day.

"She brought me into this huge house. It was obvious just by looking at her she was rich, but when you walked into her house, it became obvious she was dripping with wealth." Rage paused for a moment to relfect on the few happy years she had with Lyla and a soft smile appeared. "I always thought of her as a mother, Alexei. She treated me like any mother would treat her daughter."

Rage sighed and turned to look at Alexei.

"I was there a year before Lyla finally told me how she became rich. She was an assassin as well. She flat out told me, thinking I would be shocked, but I was not. I looked at her and asked her to teach me. Lyla taught me everything I know. That brought us even closer together. When I turned 21, she got careless on a hit and fell for her target. She fell hard. Little did she know that he had turned the tables on her, knowing she was out to get him. He had her killed as she slept in his bed. I doubt he even cared."

Rage had wiped the tear that fell down her cheek and continued.

"As for Lyla's wealth, she made sure to pass it onto me. I'm wealthier than even you can probably imagine, Alexei." She grinned up at him, laughing. "I did not have to continue working as a hit woman, but I got so sucked into it, I found I enjoyed it just for the thrill of it, not the money. Though I have to admit, the thrill has not been the same lately..." Rage let the sentence trail off as she placed her forehead against Alexei's chest. She moved her head a little to place a soft kiss on his collar bone, then went back to resting against him.

[Alexei Nabokov]

He did not interrupt as her story was laid out before him. Rather, he listened, his eyes squinting only a bit in the sun as he looked steadily down at this woman who had captured his attentions. Her story explained much about her and revealed more than he had thought she might tell him.

He did not question the authenticity of it, for something in her voice sounded sincere enough to tell him it was true. And the tear, the single tear that had fallen had been heartfelt. He had reached to cup her face, then, his thumb brushing away the remnants left after she had wiped it away.

He did not offer apologies for what had come to pass in her life. Not because he wasn’t sorry – but because they would do nothing to help. She was a grown woman and he did not doubt that she was strong enough to have already accepted the events that had come with her life. His apologies could not change these things or make them any better.

He could only affect here and now. And the future.

His arms wrapped around her as her head returned to resting so naturally against his chest. He ran a hand through her hair, catching it for a moment and then disentangling the smallest of knots created by the ocean breeze.

“What’s made it so different lately?” He asked, picking up on the somewhat wistful tone of her voice.

In time he would tell her about himself. But now there was no hurry. They had days and days together – longer, even, if they wished it. And what was foremost on his mind was hearing and understanding her thoughts – for clearly, she had doubts about her life, lately. He could hear it in her voice.

And being someone who didn’t know her (at least, not beyond the level of intimacy they had experienced over the past twenty four hours or less), perhaps he was in the easiest position to hear this, and act as a neutral sounding board for her thoughts.

[Rage]

Rage shrugged against him, placing her lips softly against the skin of his chest as she pondered her response to his question. She already could not believe she had opened herself up so much to him. He knew everything about her now and was still standing there holding her.

"I don't get the same rush I got when I first began lately. Nowadays, it just seems like a job...something I do with no rewards to it." Rage worried her bottom lip with her teeth and then added.

"Fatal Beauty is great, don't get me wrong. Katya...Taz...they're great and are extremely smart business wise. Just my part in the whole business...I just don't know. I do not know if it is time for me to branch out into a different part of the business or just change careers all together. "

Rage looked up at Alexei to find him squinting down at her listening intently. She smiled up at him, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek, stroking the skin with her thumb.

"Why is it so easy to talk to you, Alexei?" She whispered before kissing him, nibbling on his bottom lip like she loved to do.

[Alexei Nabokov]

He could understand what she was talking about when she’d mentioned her thoughts on branching out. For so long, work had been his one and only priority. He’d put years into it, just trying to build it into the business it had become. It took time to create a name and the trust of the type of people he worked with.

But he had a mind for business, and equally as important, he had the sort of personality that made him seem the trustworthy sort of type. It suited him well.

And it had brought him much wealth and prosperity. He really could not complain – for despite all the headaches, organized crime had truly been beneficial to him. It had put him in a place to be able to assist his family members, and to live a rather luxurious life. It just hadnt given him the time, really, to enjoy those luxuries. And that was perhaps what was missing in it for him.

And Ileya had made him realize this. Moments with her were a luxury. Something he had not allowed himself – nor, particularly, had the opportunity until now to pursue. For her to have fallen into his arms as she had – well, he realized it was an opportunity he would be a fool to waste.

Why is it so easy to talk to you, Alexei?

He had merely raised a subtle eyebrow as his lips curled into a small smile. His answer was to merely pull her body a bit closer to his and kiss those lethal lips of hers. It was not hungry, as their kisses had been earlier (though later, this spark would certainly return), rather, this kiss was somewhat searching…taking the time to explore. The time that they now had, as opposed to just the one night they’d both maybe thought it would be.

As the kiss ended, his hand remained where it was on the back of her neck, his fingers only slightly entangled in her hair.

“Tell me about Katya and Taz….” He suggested a few moments later, wantingto know more about her, about her life.

[Rage]

She laughed, reaching up to run her finger tip over Alexei's bottom lip.

"Well, Kat...you'd like her. She's tough as nails, but once she gets to know you, she's great, really. Her father's a successfull businessman and she's wealthy in her own right. She founded Fatal Beauty and I came on not long after. We've been best friends the moment we met, really. Now Taz..." Rage laughed again, shaking her head.

"He's computer geek. You know the type, teenage male, hormonal, knows anything and everything about technology. He gets on my nerves most of the time, but if anyone would try to hurt him, I'd kill them."

Rage traced a line from his lips to his jaw, then took her sunglasses off and looked into his eyes.

"So Alexei, the table are turned. Tell me what I should know about you? Why do you have henchman around you all the time?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

He wanted to know how she met Kat. Wanted to know how they had come to be such good friends. Wanted to know what a woman like Kat would think of her best of friends being with someone like him. Because if they truly were that close, he did not doubt he would have to meet Katya’s approval. Not that he doubted that he could, but it was something to keep in mind.

But she wanted to know something of him, first.

So Alexei, the table are turned. Tell me what I should know about you? Why do you have henchman around you all the time?

He smiled at this question, released, even, a low chuckle. Henchmen? So that was how she saw them. Well, he thought, it was what they were.

But he thought of them perhaps a bit differently. Drago, his right hand man, the one who dared to call his commlink whenever he damn well felt like it, had been with him for years. They’d been in school together and their friendship went back beyond the days of organized crime. The others had come on later, throughout the years, but had proven time and time again that they could be trusted. They did not dare to be so familiar with Alexei, but respected him all the same. To them, he was their boss. And they worked hard to stay within his good graces, for doing so paid off in the end – and paid well.

“Henchmen?” He questioned with a shake of his head.

“Yes, I suppose you could call them that.” He admitted, leaning to kiss her temple.

“I have them around because they’re a necessity.” He replied. It was evasive, perhaps, but at the same time, it was the truth.

He caught the look she gave him – the one that suggested he keep talking or she’d consider pulling out some of those knives of hers. Or perhaps that she questioned whether or not to stay. But more, that simply told him she expected more.

He continued not because of undue influence, but because he was content with letting her in. She was in the dirty world of assassination – surely she would be able to understand and handle what he had to tell her.

“Im running a bit of a crime ring.” A ‘bit’ of a crime ring was a very understated way of explaining what he was truly into. But he wasn’t one who felt the need to brag or extol upon his good fortunes.

“Dealing in weapons, drugs, prostitution….” He shrugged, “It’s not pretty, but it’s been pretty god to me….”

He studied her features then, searching her brown eyes for a flicker of….something. Something to tell him that she wasn’t truly surprised.

[Rage]

Crime ring? Weapons...drugs...prostitution? Rage thought to herself with an extremely raised eyebrow.

"Aren't you a very busy boy." She murmured, tilting her head up to look at him. "Well, as long as you don't 'socialize' privately with the prostitutes, I guess its ok."

Rage's dimples appeared and she tossed her head back, letting out a heartfelt laugh, showing Alexei that she truly was not bothered with what he did for a living. Frell, she was a professional killer, what right did she have to be judgemental of what someone did for a living?

"You know, Alexei, I've come across some pretty slimy crime bosses in my line of work. You definately have broken that mold, I can tell you." Rage's eyes roamed over him ever so slowly and when her eyes reached his, she reached for him and kissed him longingly. She moved her body closer to his as her arms wrapped tightly around him. She broke the kiss slowly, murmuring against his lips,

"If you're ever in need of a finely trained killer for a body guard, you let me know. I know of someone who would uh...fill that position nicely."

[Alexei Nabokov]

He had caught the expression of hers – the extremely raised eyebrow, and for a moment, he’d wondered if he’d misjudged her.

"Aren't you a very busy boy."

Perhaps he had looked somewhat chided by this, as if he was not one hundred percent proud of what it was that he did.

"Well, as long as you don't 'socialize' privately with the prostitutes, I guess its ok."

He had laughed at this. It was one of relief, and as he laughed, then, too, so did she. And hers sounded heartfelt to him. It was a sound that was almost magical. A sound that he likely had not ever thought he would find to be such a relief. He hadnt much cared before what any woman thought of him or what he did.

“I think I can manage to keep my ‘socializing’ to assassins instead, if you insist…..” This, he had replied in a murmur, but one that she most certainly could hear.

“One in particular if need be….” He added this with perhaps a somewhat disarming expression on his face. So serious were his jade green eyes and the angle at which he held his head.

”You know, Alexei, I've come across some pretty slimy crime bosses in my line of work. You definitely have broken that mold, I can tell you. If you're ever in need of a finely trained killer for a body guard, you let me know. I know of someone who would uh...fill that position nicely.”

He had not responded immediately to this with words, but instead with a kiss that spoke of his hunger and desire for her. To have found a woman who not only was willing to accept the world in which he lived, the circles in which he ran, but one who would volunteer her services to him – it seemed too unbelievably good to be true.

And perhaps a part of him wanted to enjoy it while it lasted, not believing it could possibly be the start of something entirely new and lasting.

His arms wrapped around her, holding her as tightly as she held him.

“Come with me…” He suggested between kisses, and together they left the deck in the mid day sun to return to the cabin suite.

[Rage]

Rage walked out of the shower to find Alexei still lounging in bed. She laughed, unwrapping her towel and throwing it at him. She took her time dressing, knowing his eyes were watching her every move. Grabbing her brush, she quickly ran it through her hair then turned back to face him.

"I want to make one thing clear." Rage said, climbing on the bed and over his body, straddling him. She let her hands travel the length of his arms, bringing them up above his head, grasping his wrists and holding them there. "The only assassin you will be 'socializing' with is going to be me. Is that clear?"

Rage laughed at the look on Alexei's face as she settled herself on top of him.

"Hmmm, I think I do have a pair of restraints...." Rage began, then pouted. "But you made me leave my bag at your place."

She laughed softly again, placing kisses on his bare chest and then his lips. She was enjoying seeing this side of Alexei, so relaxed and hopefully care free.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Still lounging in bed. Why not? Why bother moving? After the experience they’d just had, he’d had zero interest in doing anything but maybe sleeping. But it was impossible to sleep with images of Ileya racing through his mind as they were. As he listened to the drops of water fall in the shower, he’d been able to picture her. And he’d almost joined her there.

He laughed and reached to catch the towel she’d tossed. And he’d had somewhat of an amused expression on his face as he’d watched her get dressed. He had every intention of removing that clothing once again before too long….

”I want to make one thing clear."

He didn’t move as she climbed onto the bed and straddled him, except to bring his hands to rest on her thighs.

“And whats that?” He murmured somewhat lazily as he’d looked upwards at the beauty he had been unable to be far from these past twenty four hours.

He let her take his hands and bring them over his head, unable to suppress the devilish grin at her being so playful with him. And it would have been the hugest lie he’d ever told – so much bigger than any lie for business, to have said her actions didn’t turn him on.

He could feel his heart beat a bit harder in his chest as the simple thought of what she might do.

"The only assassin you will be 'socializing' with is going to be me. Is that clear?"

He nodded slowly in understanding.

“And if I stray…?” He questioned, though, it was merely teasing. He had no intentions in this moment of straying at all.

"Hmmm, I think I do have a pair of restraints…But you made me leave my bag at your place."

His chuckle in response to this suggestion had been deep and somewhat husky.

“I’m sure you can come up with something creative….” He replied, knowing full well that she could if she did indeed intend to.

And indeed…she could be creative…..

************************************************** **


Much of the morning and early afternoon had been spent inside. The attraction between them was, at the moment, highly fueled by lust. Perhaps neither had one who could challenge them in ways that they challenged one another. And it had been a long time since Alexei had taken a woman to bed for more than a simple tumble.

With Ileya, he found himself working harder. He wanted to please her – and more, he did actually get some sort of benefit by knowing that he could. It was a stroke, perhaps, to his ego.

Eventually they had emerged once again to stroll about the craft, coming up on the upper decks where they were now surrounded by nothing but the blue and green of the ocean around them.

And the sun was slowly beginning to sink into the horizon. Its rays settled over the surface of the water, creating reflections of light that could be stared at in fascination for endless hours.

They stood along the railing, looking out and he reached to brush her hair from her face, cupping her finely shaped cheekbones, and leaning to capture her in a kiss.

“Tell me about your life as an assassin…” He suggested, wanting to know more about this woman. As far as he was concerned, the wealth of information about her was endless. It was a well that would never dry.

She was fascinating to him.

And he could feel himself falling. Falling hard for the Fatal Beauty.

[Rage]

She turned to face Alexei when he asked about her life as assassin. She knew he would ask that sooner or later, but her question to herself was would she tell him the truth or lie to him about it? Besides Katya and Taz, she had no one to call a friend, no loved one's to spend time with. When she was not on a job, she was purely miserable. She turned her brown eyes up to his and decided to tell him the truth.

"It's lonely, Alexei." Rage whispered painfully, her eyes giving away her feelings. "Being on a job keeps me from thinking about the lack of things I have in my life. Friends, family, a warm house to go home to. Sure I have Katya, but our lives have been so different lately that we do not have time for each other. She and Taz are my only friends. Taz, well, even though he tries to get down my pants every chance he gets, he's a good kid, but has his own life as well." She laughed at that, shaking her head.

"As you know, I lost my family when I was young. My home, well, it's more like cold and sterile. So much so that I am hardly there." Rage tilted her head into Alexei's hand that cupped her cheek and closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the warmth of his touch.

"When I am on the job, it's just like any other day for me. Track down the target, watch them carefully for a day or two and then take them out, go home, get paid and do it all over again the next day." Rage shrugged, moving away from Alexei to sit down on one of the chairs, pulling her legs up infront of her to rest her chin on her knees.

"So there you have it, Alexei. My oh-so exciting life." Rage laughed softly, turning her head to rest her cheek on her knee. "Not so exciting as you thought it might be, huh?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

Most probably would have thought the life of an assassin to be exciting. It was, he was sure – thrilling at times. The thrill of a job well completed – he had seen the high that Rage had been on last night and he knew that despite the fact that she considered it a lonely life, there was a part of her that fed upon the thrill of it.

And there was a very real part of him that understood the dissatisfaction with it. It was disenchanting, really. It was like thinking that the life of a rock star was great – until you were on the road all the time, tired, away from home, and drinking the nights away to make the time pass a bit faster. It wasn’t so glamorous as everyone thought.

And he was one who would know. Being a crime boss wasn’t all that great either. Everyone saw the power, the money, having an entourage and free food and drinks.

No one thought about the fact that you were always watching your back, just waiting for that new up and coming entrepreneur to take your feet out from under you. Just waiting for your men to turn and put a blaster bolt through your back when you weren’t looking. Not being able to trust anyone. Not being able to raise a family. To care about anyone in concern that they would become a target for your enemies or dissatisfied customers.

It was equally as lonely as the life of an assassin.

"So there you have it, Alexei. My oh-so exciting life. Not so exciting as you thought it might be, huh?

She looked adorable sitting there on the lounge chair, her head resting upon her knees. And for a moment he simply stood where he was along the railing admiring her. But then he moved to sit beside her, a comforting hand reaching to caress the smooth skin of her back, toying with the tendrils of hair that fell there.

“I suppose it kills any idea of it being a dream job….” He quipped, though as he spoke there was marked concern in his voice. He was teasing, but he was doingit gently.

“But I don’t think I had any pre-conceived notions that killing for a living was glamorous.” He added, quite seriously. He killed when he had to – not because he liked to.

“Theres something about it that draws you in, though….” He suggested this carefully. It was not done in an effort to convince her that all was not bad – he knew her well enough in these few hours to know she was the kind of woman who would think whatever she wanted – and the only one who could convince her differently was herself. Rather, it was said to gently remind her that all was not lost.

“I saw the look in your eyes last night…”

[Rage]

She smiled then, a pure predatory smile as she remembered last night's opportunity at a job.

"Last night, yes." She whispered. "Something new to get involved in. That's what you saw."

Rage or rather, Ileya she was starting to actually like, closed her eyes as Alexei's hand stroked her back. She lifted one eye lazily at him and then laughed.

"Do not get me wrong. I like the thrill of the hunt, the success of doing my job...but other than that, no...it is a quiet and lonely existence that I have grown to despise outside of my job." She stretched out then, her arms going up above her head to cross over the top of the chair.

"I used to do it twenty-four/seven, Alexei." She whispered. "You could not get me to stop. After one job was done, I was onto the next and the next. Katya came to me then, a few years ago and showed me there was more to life than just doing my job. She basically showed me how to live all over again, to make what I loved only part of my life, not let it consume me like I had been. That of course, is when I discovered how to unwind after a job and discovered men."

Ileya glanced sideways at Alexei with a playful smirk on her lips and reached for his hand with her own. She enterwined her fingers with his, staring at them silently.

"You tell me, Mr. Nabakov, how did you end up in your chosen career?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

”…That of course, is when I discovered how to unwind after a job and discovered men."

Had he bristled then at the mention of other men? He might have. The slightest bit. Though not visibly, certainly. He was much too refined to let such a thing show. Jealousy not only got people into trouble – but it could be their undoing. He had watched this firsthand time and time again.

But uncontrollably, and entirely human, was a part of him that did not like at all the idea that another’s hands had roamed her body the ways his had last night. This morning. Even now.

Perhaps she had sensed this – or perhaps it was simply the sort of thing a woman would do. She had reached for his hand then, entwining her fingers with his and giving him a playful look.

"You tell me, Mr. Nabakov, how did you end up in your chosen career?"

Chosen. That was such an interesting word. And one he wasn’t sure truly defined what it was he did for a living. How much, really, had he chosen to do what it was that he did? And how much of it came from wanting to continue what his father had started – to outsmart the authorities who had taken his father from him at such a tender age.

“My father used to do the same thing.” He replied quietly, reflecting for a moment. It was not a sad gesture, but one that certainly indicated that he’d had enough respect for his father that the old man deserved a moment of thought.

“Only he got caught by the authorities and was considered too dangerous, I suppose, to let him live for a trial. The police reports read that he was armed and tried to escape.”

He gave a small shrug, indicating that perhaps this was true. Perhaps it wasn’t. But it did have an air about it that seemed to carry disdain for authority. As if he didn’t really believe those reports.

“And I was young and angry and foolish enough to think that getting into the same business and outsmarting those who caught my father would make everything better. That somehow, it would take away the sting of the loss.”

He gave a rueful sort of smile to Ileya.

“If I could go back and do it over again, I think maybe I’d choose to do something different, though….” He grinned now the slightest bit, “I haven’t the faintest idea what I’d choose instead.”

He moved to sit on the chair beside her, allowing her to stretch out and languish in the fading few minutes of sun.

“Would you choose differently, if you had the chance to do it over?” There was a sincere tone of curiosity in his voice. One that suggested that he wasn’t expecting her to put up a happy façade. That he would be more satisfied with an honest answer. With one that helped to define her – to explain the woman who was here, watching the sun begin to set over the ocean waves with him.

He fully realized that they couldnt go back - but they could move forward. And that was where he hoped the two of them would go - together.

[Rage]

She listened carefully to Alexei's story, her heart going out to him at the loss of his father. She could truly relate to that part of him. Her fingers slowly stroked the skin of his hand as she turned her head to face him.

As he spoke, all she could do was listen and stare at him. He was such a wonderment to her, he made her feel alive again, made her realize that there were other things in life more important than a job, booze and men. Well, technically he was in the men department, but she knew he was more than a one night stand, more than a temporary distraction from her mundane life outside of being a killer.

If Alexei could peer into her mind, into her heart right now, he would see that she was beginning to fall in love with him and that scared her. She had never fallen in love before, much less spent this much time with a man and she wondered how much of it was beginning to show, how much a man like Alexei was picking up from her.

“Would you choose differently, if you had the chance to do it over?”

"It's all I know." Ileya whispered, loving the way the fading sun was highlighting his green eyes. "I have never thought about if I could do over. It was never an option for me. Like you, I was thrust into this line of work."

She grew silent for a moment, thinking it over, wondering if she would have chosen different, given the chance, at a new life. Her mind went to Katya and Taz and her eyes lit up.

"I would not choose differently." Ileya smiled softly. "I would not have met Katya and Taz." She cast her eyes downward for a moment and then looked back up at Alexei, her eyes matching his. "...or you."

[Alexei Nabokov]

"...or you."

He smiled at this last comment.

“When you put it like that….” He replied, something in his eyes coming to life a bit more, something a bit warmer in his green depths, “I’d be a fool, then, to change anything about the way my career has progressed…”

His hand squeezed hers gently within his. He certainly would have been difficult to identify at the moment as a crime boss – he looked too relaxed – and entirely too happy.

His gaze left hers for only a moment as he picked up on footsteps nearby. It was the man captaining the yacht who merely gave them a nod and moved somewhat more quickly to get out of the way. His boss was a fair man, but he’d seen the tempermental fits he could throw when a deal went south, and sought to remain, as best he could, on the good side of Alexei Nabokov.

Alexei’s eyes followed the man for a moment, watching as he walked with a distinct limp. Alexei knew how the man had gotten it – had been there when the man had had his kneecap taken out with a blaster bolt. It sickened him the slightest bit to remember it, though he did not let this affection for the man show. Although he was on vacation, he was still a boss – and a certain degree of his reputation had to be maintained.
He turned back to Ileya as the man disappeared from sight.

“Dobbs is a good man.” He stated quietly, giving a subtle nod in the direction of where the captain had disappeared to.

“Now...tell me about this kid who’s always trying to….as you so thoroughly described it…” His eyes betrayed him. There was amusement in them as he asked her, teasing her for the fact that she had spoken so…bluntly, “Get down your pants.”

He grinned then.

“You met him through Katya….?” He asked, trying to understand the multiple facets of her world.

[Rage]

“I’d be a fool, then, to change anything about the way my career has progressed…”

"Good answer, Alexei." She murmured, leaning over to kiss him softly.

"Taz Finch." Ileya laughed with sisterly affection. "In all honesty he's a goofy teen that is too sweet not to like. He's always walking into the office, well, when I am there, calling us 'Babe' and trying to get Katya to redo his contract stating I have to sit on his lap every day I am in."

Ileya suddenly laughed at the memory of the 'spat' that happened afterwards and she could not help the grin that appeared on her face.

"He's good with computers and technical stuff like I am in my job." She offered with a confident smile, that smile slipping as she went into another round of laughter. "You would like him. He would probably bow at your feet and swear his loyalty to you if he found out the resources you are tapped in to. He was already with Kat when I came on board. Always his infront of the com, doing something. That boy's I.Q. is off the charts, Alexei."

She moved from the chair then, back to stand against the railing to watch the final moments of the sun before set for the evening. She crossed her arms and leaned on it, an absent-minded smile on her face.

"Taz and Kat would be the only things I would miss about the business." She said more to herself than Alexei.

[Alexei Nabokov]

”…That boy's I.Q. is off the charts, Alexei."

He had smiled as she’d said this, perhaps in fondness of her, or perhaps already somewhat liking the kid she’d described.

“A kid that smart should get out of this business and do something worthwhile…” He’d commented, not putting himself or Ileya’s choice of careers down, but speaking from a standpoit of someone who knew that it wasn’t necessarily worth it. That maybe, just maybe, Taz would be better off following the straight and narrow.

Not that Alexei would suggest it to the kid – he’d been one himself at one point, and while it had been a while, it was not so long enough ago that he had forgotten what it was like to be told what to do – you did the opposite. You rebelled.

He watched her as she moved back to the railing. The smile on her face seemed content enough, and he perhaps might have memorized it. Memorized that look about her.

[I]”Taz and Kat would be the only things I would miss about the business."

He had a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he were considering several options. Several options that he would discuss with her…later, perhaps. Now was not the time. And he honestly wasn’t in the mood to talk business.

“Would leaving really mean you’d have to leave them behind?” He questioned, remaining where he was for the moment. His chrono beeped to remind him of something – perhaps simply that it was a new hour, but he didn’t bother to look at it. There were far more important things that had his attention at the moment.

[Rage]

Ilyea turned around to face him, leaning on the rail as she did so. She tilted her head for a moment, thinking his question over.

"I would probably have to. Katya would always be trying to get me back in." Ileya laughed jokingly. "I really do not know the answer to that, Alexei."

She turned her head slightly to watch the ripples in the water for a few minutes and then turned back to Alexei with the softest smile.

"Alexei," She said, walking over to him and reaching for his hands."Show me on this yacht of your's where some music can be played. I've had enough talk...I want to dance with you."

[Alexei Nabokov]

She could have asked for the sun, moon and stars and he would have somehow found a way to give it to her. Her simple request for music and a place to dance was…well, that was easy.

Like any man, he was not one hundred percent sold on dancing. But he was sold on the idea of having her in his arms and making her as happy as it was possible to make her.

He stood from his seat on the lounge chair and grabbed his shirt. Pulling it on and buttoning it as he crossed the small amount of space between them, he took her hand in his. The sun was still setting, and it would be a dance in the sunset that they would have as he led her to the upper decks of the ship.

They stopped on the way there, passing through a corridor into a smaller room where Alexei opened the doors to the cabinet that housed the stereo system. He hadnt used it all that often – in fact, he’d never used it for such an intimate voyage – but was able to find relatively easily, the correct combination to send music through the speakers just outside on the deck.

It was smooth jazz that filtered through to the deck, and he took her hand and led her there. Around them, the sky was a brilliant mix of colors, and the first twinkling stars were beginning to shine through.

“May I have this dance?” He asked, offering his hand to her, every one hundred percent the gentleman.

[Rage]

She smiled, slipping her hand into his and then followed it with her body into his arms. As she placed an arm around his neck, she leaned in and layed her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes as the soft music washed over them as they began to move to the rythm.

Ileya found herself smiling alot more since meeting Alexei than she could ever remember. He was bringing out a softer side to her that she had forgotten existed, well, it was more like she did not know existed.

That moment in time, the last rays of the sun disappearing, the music, the water, the two of them in each other's arms, it was perfect to Ileya. To her, it could not get any better than that. She moved her head to look into Alexei's face, memorizing every detail about him as her fingernails gently grazed the back of his neck.

Ileya felt her eyes grow moist with unshed tears and she blinked them back, giving Alexei a million watt smile through blurry eyes. She laughed a little, embarrassed and tucked her head back into the crook of his neck, placing a kiss at the hollow of his throat.

[Alexei Nabokov]

He thought that he might have seen tears in her eyes, but with the sun shining down upon them, it was difficult to tell. Her eyes seemed to him simply alive. Fully of light and hope. Full of something he had not seen for quite some time. Excitement. A spark.

And as she nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, placing a kiss at the hollow of his throat, he gave a soft sigh of contentment.

“I don’t remember the last time that I danced….” He commented, tilting his head to look to the woman who had awoken something within him. His voice was not reflective – he was not at all trying really to remember who the last person was that he had danced with, or where it was, or why. Rather, his tone of voice carried a hint of surprise to it. As if it certainly was nto something he’d expected to be doing tonight.

But he welcomed it. And, he found, that he rather liked dancing – with her in his arms at least.

“You’re amazing….” He stated softly as the stars began to become a bit more prominent in the sky and the rays of changing sunlight faded into darkness. In the shadows they danced, lit by small ambient lights located around the deck.

[Rage]

"Amazing?" She softly repeated, looking up at him. She smiled, kissing his jaw as they continued to hold each other and dance.

Ileya could have stayed like that forever, but something else was on her mind. She wanted to be close to him, in private and completely alone. She pulled out of his arms, taking his hand in her's and lead him back down into their cabin. Alexei wore a look of surprise and when he opened his mouth to speak, she placed a finger on his lips and brought him down with her onto the bed, laying on her side next to him.

The look she gave him expressed her wish to have no words between them right then. She let her finger tips travel over his eyebrows, down his cheekbones and down to trace over his full lips. She smiled at him then, moving closer to kiss him tenderly, wrapping her arms around him as her body crushed against his.

Breaking the kiss suddenly, she looked deep into Alexei's eyes, realizing that she was not acting purely on lust anymore, she was acting on love and she was done with fighting it. She had fallen hook, line and sinker for this man she had just met the night before and if she hadn't believed in love at first sight, she did now and she had proof of it and whether she knew it or not, it showed in her eyes as she gazed at Alexei in wonderment.

[Alexei Nabokov]

There was something slightly different in the way she moved. As she led him to the cabin, his expression had likely expressed surprise, perhaps even been somewhat questioning.

But he was a man who knew not to ever question a woman who was leading him to the bedroom. No…no it was much smarter to just keep your mouth shut and see what came of it.

It was there that she led him to the bed and lay down beside him. Strong arms reached to hold her, his touch on her skin tender, but carrying the firm, comforting grip of a confident man. His eyes had closed at her touch, reveling in the sensation of it, and responding to her kiss with a desire that seemed foreign to him. Foreign in that he had not responded in such a long time, if ever, from something more than a simple lust. And something about his reaction to her now seemed slightly punctuated by…something…that was distinctly different.

As the kiss broke, seemingly rather suddenly to him, his eyes opened, perhaps expressing, though he would never have wanted this – alarm. He had trusted her so completely, fallen so fully into the web she had woven around him – perhaps he half expected to be facing the barrel of her blaster.

Instead he found….he found this woman, this beautiful, enrapturing woman named Ileya gazing at him. Gazing at him with an expression of….well an expression that matched his.

Love at first sight was not something Alexei Nabokov believed in. Lust, certainly. But love….? Love was entirely a foreign concept, with the exception of loving his siblings. But he wasn’t thinking about Ileya the way he thought about his sisters, that was for damn sure.

“You’ve been surprised by something….” He stated quietly. He had not read her mind – was not capable of such things – but he had been able to read her expression. He was rather good at such things – as certainly, his life, in the world he lived in, often depended on it.

[Rage]

"Surprised is an understatement, Alexei." Ileya whispered, wondering whether to stay or bolt back to the deck. For a woman who was so sure about things in her professional life, she did not know how to deal with this thing in her personal life.

She pulled away from him as her senses screamed to stay where she was at, but Ileya ignored them and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the carpeted floor. Her mind and heart were reeling with emotion as she was deciding on what to do. If she told Alexei what was going on, he could either: A) toss her over board and leave her on her own, B) be patient till they got to the next port and dump her or C) actually feel the same way about her that she was feeling about him.

With wide eyes, she turned back around and looked at Alexei. She took risks in her professional life, why not in her personal? With a nervous smile, she turned and crawled back on the bed and over him, placing her hands on each side of his head as she straddled his waist. She paused for a moment, thinking to earlier and this exact same position and laughed, then looked at him.

"I am going to be honest with you about something." She whispered, her voice shaky.

Ileya pulled her hands away from his head and let them rest on his chest as she sat up. She looked away for a moment, gathering her courage and then looked back down at Alexei.

"I do not know if you have ever dealt with or believe in love at first sight, Alexei. In my profession, probably your's as well, you do not find many people you want to get to know or even get close to, much less fall in love with...that's why I was surprised...Oh by the Dark Lord I can not do this." Ileya whispered, moving quickly off of Alexei and walking to the door. She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, surprising herself when she turned around, looked at Alexei and said,

"I've fallen in love with you."

Ileya did not wait for a reaction from Alexei. She was too chicken to. She slammed the door behind her and quickly left for the upper deck of the yacht to be alone and bask in her foolishness for telling him what was in her heart so soon.

"What a frelling idiot." She muttered to herself as she went to the edge of the deck and sat down next to the railing, her legs hanging over and arms crossed on the bar of the rail. She rested her chin on top of her hands, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall as her embarrassment washed over her.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Very clearly, his jade eyes had expressed concern as she’d suddenly pulled away from him.

“Ileya…what –“ She’d cut him off then by moving back to him, straddling him and laughing so softly.

"I am going to be honest with you about something."

She had whispered this, her voice sounding a bit unsure and so he had not said anything, but instead looked to her with a sincere expression that seemed to beckon her to continue.

What he expected to hear was that she had been sent to kill him. And that, perhaps, he’d changed her mind. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but by the dark lord, he didn’t altogether believe that something this wonderful could truly have come along. It just seemed too….too good to be true.

"I do not know if you have ever dealt with or believe in love at first sight, Alexei. In my profession, probably your's as well, you do not find many people you want to get to know or even get close to, much less fall in love with...that's why I was surprised...Oh by the Dark Lord I can not do this."

He’d reached for her as she’d moved away again – but her fingers had slipped through his grasp. He sat up as she walked to the door. Though they were on a ship and there wasn’t all that far that she could go – he had no intentions of letting her out of his sight.

"I've fallen in love with you."

She had what?! Had she really said what he thought she’d said?! It wasn’t warning bells that went off in his head, but a stunning siren that anchored him where he was. He’d had women say this to him before. But the words had always fallen on deaf ears. He’d never cared to hear them.

And what had him anchored was shock. Shock that this time, it did matter. Everything about it mattered.

He heard the door slam and stared blankly at it for a moment before it registered. He had to go after her. Any sensible man would follow in her tracks and take her into his arms and assure her that what she felt was fine. Scary, certainly, but something he was willing to deal with.

As he left the cabin, she was nowhere to be seen. It was Dobbs who had been standing out there in the walkway, who had silently pointed in the direction she had gone. The old man didn’t question what might have happened – lovers quarrel, perhaps Alexei getting violent, none of it was his business. Alexei was his boss and it wasn’t his job to question what the boss chose to do.

His footsteps had been quiet as he’d approached,

"What a frelling idiot."

He had smiled just a bit at this. She had such a firey spirit. He loved this about her. He watched as the breeze picked up her hair, blowing it softly in the early evening air.

“You, or me?” He asked quietly as he came just a bit closer. He did not move to sit beside her just yet, or beckon her to her feet. He wanted to hear what she was thinking – and she’d clearly escaped him for a reason. He didn’t want to step on her toes – if she needed some time alone – well…he would give it to her. But not without having a chance to put in a few words first.

Green eyes gazed at her, his expression even. Well, as even as possible. There was concern written there, concern that he did allow to be expressed, perhaps in the subtle way that he took a seat on a chair nearby, leaning forward to let his elbows rest on his knees, his hands clasping casually together as he looked to her.

[Rage]

She knew he was there even before he spoke...her internal killer's instinct working for her. When he did speak, her back stiffened and she felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment. She let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Dobbs give me away?" She asked, turning her head slightly in his direction, hearing him take a seat behind her.

"Why can't you just leave me alone in to wallow in my embarrassment, Alexei?" Ileya moaned miserably, laying her head onto her crossed arms. No wonder she had never gotten emotionally involved with someone of the opposite sex before!

Even though she asked that, she knew she did not want him to leave her alone. She had blind sided Alexei with the truth and how ever he felt about it, she needed to know.

It grew silent between them for a few moments and she sighed, swallowing her cowardness to turn her tear streaked face in his direction, her eyes seeking his out.

"Do not lie to me, Alexei." She whispered. "I need to know what is going through that mind of your's and quit sitting there staring at me like...like...oh frell I don't even know."

[Alexei Nabokov]

The sarcastic laugh that came as her response surprised him and he was somewhat taken aback. Unsure, perhaps, for the first time in his life as to how to proceed. This was unchartered territory for him.

"Dobbs give me away?"

He had simply nodded, “He does work for me….” He added in a quiet murmur.

"Why can't you just leave me alone in to wallow in my embarrassment, Alexei?"

Did she honestly want him to. He didn’t get that feeling..but then…he really wasn’t sure. Until he saw her tear streaked face.

And this was when, perhaps it hit him over the head like a ton of bricks. He was, afterall, a man, and he did not think the same way that Ileya did. It did not occur to him that she would be embarrassed by what she had said. It didn’t occur to him most likely because he perhaps believed he felt the same way. He just hadnt….well, he hadnt had the time to process it.

"Do not lie to me, Alexei. I need to know what is going through that mind of yours and quit sitting there staring at me like...like...oh frell I don't even know."

He had perhaps chuckled then. It was soft and he had stood, as she had demanded of him and moved to her. But it was difficult to really put his arms around, to pull her into his embrace with the way she was sitting there, her legs dangling over the edge of the ship.

But he did the best that he could. And he could only hope that it would be enough as he sank to the deck of the ship on his knees beside her, his hand reaching for hers to pull her closer –if she would let him. To let her fall into his arms.

“First, milaya,” He began, using a term of endearment from his native language, meaning sweet girl, “My sweet girl, I haven’t lied to you ever, and have no reason to begin. Second….”

He released a quiet sigh and bent to kiss her tears from her cheeks, “What is going through my head, beautiful, is that you’re acting very silly. Why would you feel embarrassed? And why would you run from me?” His words were not cruel, but rather they were spoken in a tone of voice that was somewhat kindly chiding her.

“Im rather flattered that you’ve fallen for me…” He added, giving her what was a somewhat cocky grin, as he kissed yet another tear away.

“And had you given me a moment to respond before running throughout the ship to avoid me and giving Dobbs all kinds of stories to make up in his mind about the lover’s quarrel we must have, you might have heard my response….”

His tone continued to be mildly teasing, trying to get her to smile once again, and to realize that with him, she would never have anything to hide. Nothing to ever be embarrassed about.

[Rage]

Ileya looked at Alexei through wet, spikey lashes as she thought of poor Dobbs and how she must have looked running out of the cabin like she did. A smile fought to come out on her lips and she quickly darted her eyes away from him, not wanting to smile or to laugh, but she failed...she failed miserably. The laughter started soft, her shoulders gently shaking and then she just let it go, laughing in a carefree manner as she looked back at Alexei, her eyes shining.

"I will have to apologize to Dobbs if I scared him in any way." She said, wiping her eyes with her free hand. She looked at the one Alexei held as she gently tugged on it to pull her closer and she let him, sighing as her head rested against his shoulder.

"I know you have not lied to me, Alexei." Ileya said, her free fingers tracing a button on his shirt. "I was embarrassed because I have never been in something like...like 'us' before. You just sat there on the bed like you were frozen and I did not know how to react. I ran on instinct. "

Ileya looked up at him as he still wore that cockey grin and she shook her head.

"If you don't stop grinning like the biggest stud on the planet, I'm going to wipe that grin off your face myself." She half-threatened.

Ileya straightened, wiping her face with her hands and looked at Alexei. She reached out to touch his face, her fingers trailing down his cheek. Ileya suddenly moved, knocking Alexei onto his back on the deck and crawled over him. Her hands came up to frame his face as she kissed him deeply, nibbling on his bottom lip as she pulled away.

"So...as you lay here with me on top you, remembering what I do for a living...." Ileya said, a teasing glint in her eyes. "What would your response have been or, shall we say, what is your response, Alexei Nabokov?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

Oh, to hear her laughter again was such a relief. And it sounded even more melodious than it had before. Every note was perfect, a symphony of perfection.

"I will have to apologize to Dobbs if I scared him in any way."

Alexei laughed.

“You’ll do no such thing….” He teased, “You probably made his day…” He added, knowing that there was no way Dobbs had not found Ileya attractive. The poor man would probably dream about her – a restless sleep indeed unless she was lying in your arms….and that was exactly where Alexei planned for her to be.

Tonight and every night to follow.

He listened as she explained why she had run, and his expression expressed sympathy, or perhaps simply and understanding.

"I was embarrassed because I have never been in something like...like 'us' before. You just sat there on the bed like you were frozen and I did not know how to react. I ran on instinct. "

He nodded, slowly.

“I was frozen.” He admitted quietly, but she hadnt given him a chance to continue. Instead, she’d knocked him onto his back on the deck and straddled him. He rather liked this position and it was becoming rather familiar. He could get used to it – he certainly could get used to it.

"So...as you lay here with me on top you, remembering what I do for a living....What would your response have been or, shall we say, what is your response, Alexei Nabokov?”

He sat up at this point, stomach muscles flexing, for he had a woman upon him holding him down. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet where he could look easily into her eyes, and hold her in his arms.

“My honest response, Ileya, is that it scares the heck out of me.” He could see her about to protest and raised a finger to her lips, beckoning her to hear him out.

“It scares me not because Im afraid of falling in love, but because
Ive never had the feeling of falling so quickly. Its unfamiliar and….”

He bent to brush his lips over hers, assuring her that he did care, that he did want this as much as she did.

“I don’t want to do anything to ruin it. I want to do everything right….”

He said this not because he was a businessman accustomed to doing everything one hundred percent correctly – because really, in his world, there was no room for error – but because he truly felt it. He did not want to cause anything to go wrong.

“I want it to always be as perfect as it feels right now. Because I don’t think, after experiencing what Ive experience in the past twenty four hours with you, that I could ever go back to accepting anything less…”

[Rage]

Ileya could have been knocked over with a feather then. Never in a million years would she have fallen so quickly for someone and then to find out he was doing the exact same thing.

"I don't think either of us could ruin it, Alexei." She smiled tenderly. Ileya moved closer to him, kissing his cheek and then his lips. "I'm beginning to feel we were made for one another."

They stood on the deck like that for awhile, holding each other and exchanging soft kisses and whispers to each other as the moon began rise, shining it's eerily beautiful light on them.

"You are in for one wild ride, Alexei." She murmured against his lips, softly nipping on them as she stared into his eyes with a message that she was indeed telling him the truth.

"Now, where were we?" Ileya asked, letting her hands travel up underneath his shirt, raking her nails against his skin. "Hmmm...I think I remember now." She grinned as she winked at him, pulling out of his arms to lead him back down into the cabin.

The two of them passed Dobbs on the way and she playfully winked at him as she tugged Alexei closer to her as the door to the cabin closed behind them. Leaning against the door, she pulled Alexei closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I just thought of a good idea." Ileya whispered against his ear, licking the outer lobe. She placed a kiss on his lips and then moved out his arms, walking towards the bathroom and discarding an article of clothing, not that she was wearing much any ways, on her way there.

Standing in the opening of the bathroom, she raised that eyebrow again and tilted her head.

"You are going to join me, aren't you?"

She blew him a kiss and then slowly turned away from him so he could get a full view of her before disappearing behind the door.

[Alexei Nabokov]

"You are in for one wild ride, Alexei."

This was one thing of which he had never had doubts. A woman with hips that moved as hers did when she walked, and lips that formed such a lethal pout was hardly the kind of woman he’d expected would keep things tame. No, he’d fully expected that it would be anything but a quiet saunter into the sunset.

Alexei had not seen Ileya’s wink to Dobbs as they passed. But he had noticed that the man had tried very hard to look as if he were not at all interested in his boss’s adventures, but Alexei knew very well that he was. Oh, Dobbs would never tell anyone a peep of what he saw, but the old man did look out for Alexei.

And he’d never seen the crime lord acting so…normal. Like a normal man who was very clearly infatuated with this woman.

And Dobbs could easily understand why.

She was a catch, this woman, and he’d been unable to hide a smile as he turned away.

In the cabin, Alexei had easily succumbed to the wild ways of the woman in his arms. And then she’d slipped away. She was an elusive one. He’d have to keep an eye on her or she’d slip through his fingers, he was sure.

"You are going to join me, aren't you?"

With that kind of offer, he’d have been an insane man not to have taken her up on it.

“Yes, Fatal Beauty, I am……” He replied as his clothes also fell to the floor.

************************************************** **
As they stepped from the shower and began dressing, Alexei turned to the woman he had fallen for. He studied her for some time, his green eyes taking in everything about her.

”What?” She had asked, catching his gaze upon her.

He’d taken her into his arms then, his wet hair spilling droplets of water onto her face as he tilted his head to look down at her.

“How would you feel about a walk on the beach after dinner….?” He asked.

[Rage]

She laughed softly as the droplets fell onto her face. Wiping them away, she reached up to smooth his wet hair out of his face and then wound her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to kiss him.

"A walk on the beach sounds wonderful." She sighed, placing kisses on his neck, licking the missed droplets away on his skin. "That is, if we ever make it to dinner."

Ileya smiled, winking at him playfully as she suddenly hugged him tight and kissed him with everything she was feeling and more. She may be too chicken to say those three little words 'I love you' right now, but she would frelling show it.

Giving his chin a parting nip with her teeth, she walked to the bed and went to reach for her bags, pulling out dark blue bikini and wrap, a color she and Alexei had playfully argued on. She didn't want it and he did. He won. Shedding the towel, she quickly dressed, adjusting the bikini and then tied the wrap around her hips and slid her feet into some sandals.

"You picked it out, you better like it." Ileya smiled, turning around to model it for him. She walked back to him, reaching for the towel wrapped around his waist. "Get dressed, I worked up quite the appetite and that walk you suggested sounds too irrestible to pass up."

[Alexei Nabokov]

"You picked it out, you better like it."

He smiled at this as he stopped midway through reaching for his clothing to stare at her. No woman had the right to look that good in a bikini. She was bound to drive men insane – and he was first on the list of casualties.

She’d come to him then, tugging the towel off that was draped about his waist.

"Get dressed, I worked up quite the appetite and that walk you suggested sounds too irrestible to pass up."

He shook his head and took her hand in his, leading her over to the bed.

“I think I can show you something a little more irresistible…..” He retorted, fully confident as he sat down on the bed, pulling her into his lap and giving her a reason to forget about that walk for a while.

************************************************** **

It was as they were finishing dinner, several bottles of champagne having been emptied in the process that the yacht anchored just some distance from the shoreline of a quiet island.

The moonlight shimmered off the water, its reflection casting a glow about the beach with its fine, soft sands.

And it was then that he finally stood. He was somewhat intoxicated – for while he did drink socially quite often, he rarely had more than a few drinks. Always, he needed to have a level head about him for business. But tonight…tonight had nothing to do with business. Only pleasure.

But he held his liquor well. It showed really only in the flush of his cheeks in the moonlight, and the somewhat glazed look in his eyes….but then, around a woman like Ileya, the eyes of most men would glaze over…with lust or fascination to be sure.

By the time they arrived at the lower levels, a smaller boat had been lowered. Alexei stepped on first, and then offered his hand to help his lady on. And then seeing her settled, they began the short journey to the island.

The small craft took them in, and a small distance away, the motor was cut and lifted and they drifted onto the sands.

Alexei stepped out and took her in his arms, carrying her through the foot of water and lowering her to her feet upon the deserted beach. Tropical breezes floated softly about them.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to return to real life after this…” He commented as his hand gently squeezed hers.

[Rage]

Leaning into Alexei's arms, Ileya closed her eyes and took in the sea air. It was so clean, so crisp. She wanted to turn around push the boat away from the island, trapping them there for the rest of their lives. No more crime rings, no more hits...just the two of them like they were now.

Ileya smiled, turning her face up to look at Alexei, placing a kiss on his jaw line. She grabbed his hand and pulled out of his arms, walking side by side along the shore in content silence. Every now and then she would sneak glances at his handsome face, squeezing his hand softly in her's.

Never in a million years would she had ever figured she would be with someone like Alexei. Frell, she never thought she would be with anyone thinking the things she had been the last twenty four hours.

"Katya would be rolling right now." She murmured to herself, realizing then she had said it out loud. Ileya laughed softly, moving closer to Alexei, letting her arm wrap around his waist as they walked.

[Alexei Nabokov]

"Katya would be rolling right now."

He’d heard her soft murmur, the amusement in her voice as she mused about this. His arm slipped about her waist then, his fingers somewhat claiming her as his.

“I have a feeling that Katya would not be the only one rolling…” He responded, his sun streaked blond locks framing his face somewhat. This was the unbuttoned Alexei Nabokov – the businessman in him well hidden beneath the rougher, more relaxed attitude.

Katya’s name rolled off his tongue very easily. It was a name familiar to him, as he had a cousin with the same. He had pronounced it perhaps as one with his accent would, making it sound a bit more exotic than the version that basic reduced it to.

“Have you given thought to introducing me to her when we return…?” This was perhaps his subtle way of inquiring as to whether or not she had entertained the thought of continuing this…whatever it was between them – once they returned to the realities of life a few days from now.

A yacht did not pay for itself – Alexei would need to resume business at some point if he intended to continue to provide both he and Ileya with such extravagances. Not to mention, he did not doubt that they both…to some degree, needed the rush that came from their professions.

He had asked this as they had continued to walk through the sand, the waves lapping at the shore and on occasion, washing over their feet.

“To Katya and this smart young man who tries to seduce you at every turn…?” A smart young man Taz was indeed - if only for trying to pursue Rage at every oportunity. He'd have been a fool not to, Alexei thought, on somewhat of a side conversation with himself.

[Rage]

Ileya stopped walking as he asked that and turned to face him.

"I have every intention of introducing you to them. They are my closest friends, why would I not?" She asked, her eyebrow raising as she knew there was something behind Alexei's question and that raised eyebrow demanded to know. "Once Taz finds out what you do for a living, he may defect."

Ileya laughed at that thought as she imagined the teen's eyes growing wide with admiration and total devotion. She shook her head and leaned into Alexei.

"I have to introduce you, Kat will know I am seeing someone by just looking at me and she'll give me hell until she meets you." Ileya grinned at him. "Think you can handle meeting her?"

Ileya suddenly laughed and took off running down the beach, looking over her shoulder to see if Alexei was following. She took off her wrap and flung it to the sand as she dove into the ocean water, swimming out a bit to enjoy the cool salt water against her skin.

Alexei was right, how could they return to real life after this?

[Alexei Nabokov]

He was amazed at the way the child within her could emerge at the most unexpected of moments. As she took off down the beach, her long legs carrying her across the sands, he had merely smiled and shaken his head as he watched her. She was a vision. Certainly, she was. And he wondered if perhaps the light of the moon was playing tricks on him as he watched her dive into the ocean’s water.

He considered the things she had told him. Yes, he was sure he could handle meeting Katya. He’d seen her sitting at the bar – and somewhat from looking at her, he had made a few quick assumptions. She was strong. She was bold. And she loved the woman she knew as Rage.

And he….well, he knew that he as falling in love with Ileya.

He briefly wondered if Katya would allow both women to exist – Rage and Ileya. Or if she would be the jealous sort who would step up to reclaim the friend she might think she had lost. Though, Alexei had no such intentions of taking Rage from her…simply…stealing a bit more of her time. And her heart.

And Taz….part of him mused on this as well. Certainly, he could use a bit more help. And a young, smart man with such devotion to Rage….might prove a to be a good investment. It would take time and training….but surely Alexei could show him the ropes.

And if he was as smart as Ileya claimed, perhaps he could one day take over the Empire Alexei had begun. So that he, Alexei, might finally get to enjoy his life.

He watched from the shoe as Ileya played about. She was a mermaid, it seemed. A beauty from the ocean.

“You’re not going to swim off on me, are you?” He teased as his green eyes watched her frolicking.

[Rage]

She laughed, hearing Alexei call out to her. Ileya tilted her head to the right a little, letting the playful smile stay on her lips as she watched him for a few minutes.

Coming out of the ocean, she picked up her discarded wrap and walked slowly back to Alexei's side. Dripping wet, she purposefully snuggled up close to him, laughing at the look on his face. She wound her arms around his neck and held him to her, feeling as though she never wanted to let him go.

"Alexei, what do you think is going to happen when we get back to the real world?" Ileya asked suddenly.

Ileya needed to find something new in her life, something to kick start the passion she once had for her line of work again. She was torn, she wanted to quit the business, to not put anyone she cared for in danger, but she would miss the danger of it all, the rush she felt with a job complete.

She sighed, leaning her head against Alexei's and closing her eyes, trying to envision things when they got back.

[Alexei Nabokov]

His look, she might have misinterpreted. Most would think him the type, perhaps, to object to getting water all over the ridiculously expensive clothes that he wore. The truth was that he didn’t care. He didn’t are at all. At least, not here.

In a business meeting...well...yes. Because there was a certain put together air that he needed to have about him. But here, with her….no, the water dripping from her rather bare body was a welcome thing.

"Alexei, what do you think is going to happen when we get back to the real world?"

He wrapped his arms about her, holding her close.

“I think, sweet girl, that things will be difficult.” He gave a somewhat sad smile at this, and seeing her expression, the soft sigh as she rested her head against his, he continued.

“But we’re both intelligent and…stubborn. And I think we can find a way to manage things.”

He waited until she looked back to him.

“I don’t expect you to give up anything that you love doing. I would accept you as you are, as you were….”

He kissed her forehead.

“We’ll find a way to make outr worlds co-exist…if that’s what you wish….”

He didn’t add that he [I]did[/I[ wish it – he somewhat left it to her, but the wa he held her moe than made up for this. The way he held her spoke more than any words ever could.

[Rage]

"You know I wish it, Alexei." Ileya whispered, closing her eyes briefly.

Things would get difficult for them, for that she was sure of, but if they truly wanted to make things work, they could do it and she had a huge feeling Alexei did. She smiled, laughing as she bit his chest playfully through his wet shirt.

"It shall be quite the experience, huh?" She chuckled, moving so that they could continue their walk along the now darkened beach. She slipped her hand back into his, her fingers softly threading through his.

They walked in silence for a bit when Ileya started to laugh at the thought of Katya once again.

"You know, I'm positive Kat will be waiting at the dock when we get back." Ileya could picture it, the two of them walking off the yacht and Kat standing there with her arms crossed and head tilted to the side with a smirk playing on her lips. "And I'm sure you are going to get a very thorough questioning."

Ileya noticed some rocks and pulled Alexei towards them, sitting down to lean her back against them. She looked up into the night sky, smiling dreamily as the stars shone brightly, as if shining for the two lovers as a special request. She moved, placing her head against Alexei's arm as she let her fingers trace over his hands that she held in her lap.

'Things just could not get any better.' She thought to herself with a smile.

[Alexei Nabokov]

She laughed at the most unexpected of times. He loved it. Laughter was something that had been altogether lacking from his life. Meeting after meeting, interaction after interaction…laughter was not something commonplace to criminal activity. At least….not real, from the gut, from the heart laughter.

He looked to her, his expression curious, as if entreating her to explain. Not that she ever needed to explain her laughter to him. She could laugh all that she wanted. Whenever she wanted.

"You know, I'm positive Kat will be waiting at the dock when we get back. And I'm sure you are going to get a very thorough questioning."

He nodded slowly at this, as if taking in this bit of information.

“Yes,” He began, his voice expressing his acceptance of this fact, “I expected as much.”

He gave her hand a light squeeze within his.

“You speak so highly of her that I wouldn’t expect anything but the third degree. And I assure you, I’ll do my best to answer honestly.” He gave her a somewhat impish smile then. Oh he’d be honest alright – perhaps a bit too frank if need be.

And then Ileya led him over to a set of rocks where they sat down to enjoy the evening. All was quiet except the lapping of waves on the beach and the occasional sound of a fish jumping or perhaps a crab rustling over the pebbles of the shore.

"What do you think she'll have to say about this....about us?" He asked as his jade eyes gazed evenly upon her. There was always something new to discover about her - the way her forehead creased now in thought, in perhaps, concern.

He bent to kiss her then, in an effort to smooth the wrinkles - not because he found them unsightly - quite the opposite, truly, but because he did not want this woman to ever feel the need to worry about anything.

She had certainly stolen his heart. And she held it in the palm of her hand.

[Rage]

Ileya did not answer Alexei right away. She thought it over for a moment. How would Katya react to them? How would she take it? She looked down to the sand for a moment and then up into Alexei's gorgeous green eyes.

"Well, she may congratulate you first." Ileya laughed lightly. "She would often tease me that I would let know man snare me, that I would not get involved with anyone for more than a few hours."

Ileya realized how she had worded that and grimaced.

"That was not how it sounded." She chuckled, shaking her head. "To be honest, Alexei, I am really not sure how she will react or what she will say. I just know that you two will like each other once you meet, though when it comes down to it, I'm the one with you and not her, so no one else's opinion of you is going to change how I feel or think. Katya means the world to me and once she sees how important you are to me, you'll win her over. Just give her the Nabokov charm like you did the night we met...wait, scratch that thought."

Ileya tilted her head back and laughed freely, her eyes dancing with merriment as she turned to look at Alexei in the moonlight. If she would have thought about it, she would have brought sleeping gear with them so that they may spend a romantic night sleeping in each other's arms under the moonlight.

'Maybe tomorrow night.' She thought to herself.

"Tell me, Alexei, you are always bringing things around to me...now your turn." She grinned. "Am I going to meet any of your 'friends' or are you afraid that they may be my next 'job'?"

She was only teasing of course and her dimples proved that to him as she moved to stretch out in the sand, laying her head in Alexei's lap, to look up at him with soft eyes.

[Alexei Nabokov]

"Tell me, Alexei, you are always bringing things around to me...now your turn. Am I going to meet any of your 'friends' or are you afraid that they may be my next 'job'?"

It was true. He did always bring things around to her. And there were four reasons for doing this. First and foremost of them all was that he wanted to know these things about her. He wanted to know them because she interested him. She more than interested him – she had entranced him.

The second reason was that he was truly a rather conservative man. This whole thing with Ileya was entirely out of character for him, and perhaps a part of him felt that he had to know more about her in order to rationalize his behavior. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever believed in love at first sight – it wasn’t something men sat around thinking about. And certainly not something Alexei Nabokov had ever given one single thought to until Ileya.

The third of these reasons was an unconscious reaction. He was used to keeping things about himself rather quiet. It was best, with what he did, that people knew very little about him. The less they knew, the safer his family and friends would be. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, it was simply that it was something he was used to doing – protecting.

And last of them all, and not on his mind, but etched into it through experience, was that women liked to have conversations. And conversations consisted of both sides asking questions about the other. Men who spoke only about themselves and didn’t ask questions of women were boring. This, he sisters had early on told to him, and it had become something of a joke between them.

He was one of seven siblings – four boys and three girls. He had two older brothers and an older sister, and two younger sisters and a younger brother. He’d been given plenty of advice throughout the years.

He knew she was joking about his friends being her next hit – but a part of him was truly concerned with such a thing. It was entirely possible – and certainly, when he’d begun to get involved with her – taking her back to his room – it had always been on his mind – that he, even, was a target.

And so, while she was joking, he did somewhat feel the need to address this – for undoubtably, if they were to continue to build on what was between then when they returned, it would come up at some point in the real world in which they both lived.

“In answer to your question, yes, that certainly is a concern. And a conflict of interest…” His tone of voice might have become a bit more serious as he considered such a thing. He was, by nature, a protector. He had always been the one to try to keep his family together and he was responsible for the lives of those within his organization. Though he was known for being cold and sometimes unforgiving, he was also known by those who worked for him, as a very fair and protective man. If you worked for Alexei, you were well taken care of.

“And something that perhaps we can discuss….later.” He didn’t want to think about such things right now. He knew things would be difficult when they returned – he didn’t want them to be difficult now. And he thought that he perhaps might have a solution – but it wasn’t one he was willing to suggest just yet.

“As to whether or not you’ll meet my…friends…” He smiled a bit at this.

“Depends on your definition of friends.” He added, shifting the slightest bit as he held her in his arms on the rocks.

“There will be little need for you to meet my business associates – and for the safety of both of us, I’d ask, I think, that what exists between us be kept as quiet as possible. Not because I would ever want to hide my feelings for you, but because I’d like to live to be old enough to enjoy our lives together….and I’d like you to live to enjoy them as well.”

His hands traced over her skin, rubbing it softly to warm it from the gentle breezes picked up off the ocean.

“Those I truly trust and consider friends…of which there are few….yes, yes, you’ll meet them.”

He smiled then.

“You’ve already met some of them, Im willing to bet….” He added with a bit of a sparkle in his eyes.

He did not mention his family to her just yet. They were something that he protected rather fiercely. And while he wanted to trust Ileya completely, he did not. Not yet. He wanted to – his heart wanted to, but his head – the ultra conservative part of him, ran a very tight ship. And it wasn’t going to give in without a bit more time.

[Rage]

Ileya knew he was holding back from her, frell, she did not blame him. Why spill everything about yourself to someone you had just met only twenty four hours ago? She too, was hiding something she held dear to herself and would not give it up until she and Alexei spent further time together.

Ileya kept her sister's existence quiet in her line of work. It was bad enough that Katya and Taz were targets, but she would not risk Raevin's life as well. She had only just found her, had just found out that what she knew of her past was a lie. She was not ready to divulge that information to anyone. So, she could not hold anything against Alexei for hiding things from her.

She sat up, dusting the sand from herself as she stood. Looking out over the water for a few silent moments. She reached out with her hand so that Alexei could take it, her thoughts still on Raevin and their shaky relationship.

"Come on, let's go back." She whispered softly, turning away so that he would not see her pain.

[Alexei Nabokov]

"Come on, let's go back."
She was constantly running. He wasn’t sure if she was aware of it or not, but she was. All day, she had not been content to remain where they were. Always she was wanting to be somewhere else.
And so as she suggested leaving, standing and looking out at the water, her face turned away from him, he had resisted.
Carefully. Gently. But he had resisted.
Instead he remained where he was, and with the slightest of pressure as her hand reached for him, his hands asked her body not to move just yet. To come back to him. His eyes, as she now turned to look at him, asked the rest of her to be honest with him.

“You’re always running, Ileya…” He commented softly. It was not accusatory, but rather, somewhat questioning.

“This time is ours, sweet girl, to do with as we wish. And its my wish to hold you in my arms a bit longer…to know why you'd feel the need to run from me...would you deny me such a request?”

Ah, the challenge was back in his voice. But it was not the challenge used when speaking with his employees or business contacts. No, it was the tone he had used the night before when flirting with her. When he was seeking to draw her in….

[Rage]

“You’re always running, Ileya…”

She turned back to look at him, her brown eyes wide. She smiled lopsided at him as she allowed him to bring her back down in the sand next to him.

"Job hazard, something that is programmed into me." She said, her voice expressing her apology. "I am not running from you, Alexei. I have no reason to." Ileya added softly, turning to look up into his face.

She smiled, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. She heard the soft challenge in his voice and her smile grew even bigger.

"You are used to getting your way, aren't you?" Ileya asked with a smirk on her lips. "You know I would never deny you anyting." She added with a whisper before kissing him tenderly, knowing that was true. She would pour everything out to him if he asked her to.

[Alexei Nabokov]

It felt so much better to have her back there with him. It surprised him, in fact, just how much better it felt. And perhaps it scared the hell out of him as well.

"You are used to getting your way, aren't you?"

He hadnt chuckled at this, but he had somewhat smiled as he’d looked to her, his gaze settling on the beauty of her face, and more distinctly, into her brown eyes.

“Always….” He replied, which was pretty much true. Things didn’t always go his way – but they did enough of the time for it to have become something that he pretty much expected.

"You know I would never deny you anything."

He had given her a somewhat dangerous look at this…one that suggested that later tonight, when they were lying upon his bed, he would remind her of this.

“So….” He began, his fingers playing with hers, “Your job has trained you to run….” He considered this for a moment, a smile playing on his lips, “I wonder how long it will take to break such a habit…” He mused out loud, very clearly teasing her just a bit.

“There are very few projects that I begin and do not see through to completion, you know…” He warned her.

They both seemed to consider this for a moment, before he had a question for her.

“Your birthday…..?” He asked, “When is it?”

[Rage]

Ileya matched her own dangerous look with Alexei's as she continued to run her fingers through his thick hair.

"And what makes you think you can...break me?" She whispered naughtily, leaning in to nibble on his jaw. She seemed to have taking a liking to doing that and could nibble on him all night if he let her, which she was sure he would.

"So you see me as a 'project' to finish, Alexei?" She purred against his ear, nipping it softly. She laughed huskily against his cheek as she kissed her way along his jaw line to his lips.

Ileya pulled back to look at him when he asked of her birthday. She looked away from him for a moment, her eyes being drawn to the sand as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

"I do not remember when it is, Alexei." She murmured. "I stopped celebrating it when my parents were...." Ileya paused for a moment, her throat constricting on the newly discovered lie she was told. "When they were taken from me." She finished in a harsh tone, maybe too harsh as she looked up Alexei.

[Alexei Nabokov]

He heard the change in her tone – it had gone from so playful to almost...harsh.
When she’d spoken of her lack of parents earlier – when they had not been quiet as. .intimate as they were now, she had seemed to breeze over it. She hadnt seemed so affected.
And to see her as she was now set of warning bells. Perhaps that she had been lying to him about something. Another part of him sought to control this urge to freak out – perhaps it was simply that she was more comfortable with him now – that she felt she could let him see the true feelings behind that steady wal she had created around herself.
He sought to find the best way to approach this – to soothe her tortured heart.
“Do you want to talk about it…?” He offered slowly, carefully, after a moment for her to consider her thoughts, her words. She seemed almost angry or bitter perhaps from her tone – but he wasn’t entirely sure.

He only knew that something was so very, very wrong. And he wanted to fix it. Wanted to cradle her in his arms and kiss the concerns away. But a simple kiss, he knew, would not solve whatever this was.

Love, understanding, compassion, and room to express anger, grief or bitterness, would perhaps help. But until he knew what had upset her so much….he couldn’t know.

“I didn’t mean to bring up such a sensitive topic…” He added gently.

OOC: Im really sorry, but I wont eb around tomorrow. I'll try to reply on Sat when I get back. BUt then I'll also be gone Mon, Tues, and Wed. Sorry sorry! :)

[Rage]

O.O.C. No prob! Have fun :)

I.C.

Ileya realized Alexei had picked up on her feelings and turned to look at him, almost embarrassed. She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Do I want to talk about it?" She repeated in a whisper. "How much time do you have?" Ileya shook her head, wanting nothing but to curl up in his arms and forget about everything, but if they were going to truly be together, Alexei would have to know everything about her. Time for no more secrets.

She moved out of his arms to sit on the rock next to him, wanting to look at him as she told him. She felt empty not being next to him, but she wanted to be able to see his face.

"Remember when I told you that my parents were killed when I was young?" Ileya asked as he slowly nodded. "They weren't. Well, up until about a month ago I thought they were."

Ileya grimaced at the confused look on Alexei's face and she continued on.

"Ok, let me start at the beginning. About a month ago I had just gotten done with a job and went to do my usual unwinding at a bar. Katya was to join me. Little did I know I had a hit out on me. Another female hitman had been on my tale for some time and I didn't even realize it. She followed me into the bar and attacked after Kat came in. Kat was badly wounded during that and needless to say, the other hitman, Raevin's her name, by the way, took the fight out into the streets and I can't remember how long it lasted. Taz got caught in the middle of it all, as well. He was barely hanging on, but he pulled through. Not only was she after me, but the people I held dear."

Ileya stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath, blinking away the burning tears that stung at her eyes. She wiped them away as they fell down her cheeks.

"She and I are on the outskirts of town ready to do one another in when she reveals to me, she is my younger sister. My parents weren't killed after all." Ileya bit out. "She bears the same family crest that I have on the small of my back. I noticed it right away. Raevin came after me because she hated me. She had to live in my shadow growing up and learned to despise my very name."

"I don't know why I was lied to, but I was and I intend to find out why. Raevin took off on me when she realized I really didn't know she was alive, that I was lied to myself. I've been trying to find her ever since. Kat and I...well...I tried quitting but she wouldn't let me...at least not right now. "

Ileya sniffled, looking up at him through spiked lashes. She ducked her head for a moment, staring at the sand.

"I am sorry I lied to you before, Alexei. But I feel as if I have to protect her right now as I try to mend things with her." She whispered, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "But I also feel that if you and I are going to be together, we need to know everything."

[Alexei Nabokov]

"I am sorry I lied to you before, Alexei. But I feel as if I have to protect her right now as I try to mend things with her. But I also feel that if you and I are going to be together, we need to know everything."

For a moment, he did not move to her. She had lied to him. Had lied to him and he had not detected it. And it had him a bit on edge for a moment – the simple fact that she was an assassin – one who had very successfully lied to him.

But this was for only a moment. There was so much more to Ileya than what she had revealed to him. He had known this. He had known this the moment he’d laid eyes upon her, he’d known it the entire time they had been together. It was in the way she was constantly moving – always ducking out of his arms to walk or pace or stare out at the ocean. It was in the way she teased him - getting close enough, but never fully letting herself just be close.

But there was something in her words, in her tears that fell from her eyes and stained a path along her beautiful cheeks. Something that told him that this time, she was letting him in to a world very few were permitted to enter. Her walls were crumbling around her, and it was his job to either be there to help her pick up the pieces, or to run – to run and never look back.

And Alexei wasn’t exactly the kind to turn tail and run.

He moved to her then, kneeling on the sand where she sat, her arms wrapped around her knees, holding her body tight to her. As if she could cocoon herself and protect herself from the world around them.

He reached to brush a hand gently over her cheek, wiping the last of the tears from her striking features. She was beautiful was she cried. She was beautiful when she didn’t. She was the kind of woman he could stare at and hold in his arms for the rest of his life and never tire of her.

“And we will know everything, Ileya. I promise you we will.”

In the light of the moon, his intense eyes of green looked to her. This woman who had stolen his heart in a matter of hours.

“What can I do to help you?” He asked, leaving this open in many ways – it was an offer to help her find her sister, or simply to help her. Whatever she wanted, however he could help – if it was only to be there for her, or to hold her at the end of a long day – or if it was to spend hours tracking this girl down – he would do it. For Ileya, he would do it.

The breeze carried gently to them, the ocean mist upon it, settling on them and making them perhaps shiver slightly in the briskness of the evening that was slowly beginning to settle in.

He reached for her hand – perhaps being somewhere warm and dry, by the fireplace in the master suite, would be a more comforting atmosphere.

[Rage]

The gentleness that Alexei was showing towards her was her undoing. She let the walls down and flung herself into his arms as they rose from the sand. She wanted to stay in his arms for ever, let the world pass her by, but she knew she could not let that happen. Not with Raevin out there somewhere hurting as much as she, even more.

"You are too good to be true, Alexei." She whispered against the skin of his neck.

His offer of help wrapped tightly around her heart. Here she had lied to him about an important part of her life and he did not get mad, did not leave, but kneeled before her offering his help to her in any way he can.

Ileya began to shake from the cold air and she took Alexei's offered hand, walking back to the smaller boat in silence that would take them to his yacht.

***************

Wrapped in a blanket, Ileya sat on the bed staring into the fireplace in Alexei's suite. She heard the clinking of glasses and she knew he was pouring them a drink. She looked up to see him standing next to her, offering a glass of whiskey. She smiled up at him, scooting over a bit to make room for him on the bed and turned to face him as he sat down.

She stared at his long fingers for a moment as they were wrapped around the glass and then she began to speak softly.

"I do not know why I was lied to Alexei. I was only a child when I was taken. Poor Raevin, she had to grow up thinking she could never be as good as me. Isn't that horrible to put an innocent child through?" Ileya took a long swallow of whiskey and looked at her glass.

"You should have seen her, Alexei." She whispered with a smile. "She's beautiful and so full of spirit. I have to admit, she's turned into an excellent hit woman. She almost had me."

Ileya could not help but grin as she thought of the showdown between herself and her sister. She looked up to find Alexei watching her quietly. She reached up to stroke his cheek with her fingers and leaned in, kissing him softly.

"Thank you for not running."

[Alexei Nabokov]

"Thank you for not running."

It wasn’t with words that he replied, but with a kiss. Whiskey on both their breaths as their lips met and tongues searched and explored. As if, perhaps, in a simple kiss, all questions could be answered. As if another word would never need to be spoken.

And it wouldn’t – it would have to be. So much could be spoken between them in the way their bodies responded to one another.

But sometimes, somethings needed words. Needed for the words to simply escape in order to begin to heal. And as their kiss came to an end, always too soon, as far as Alexei was concerned, he leaned back and reached once again for the glass of whiskey he’d set on the bedside table.

He took a healthy slug of it, no trace of a grimace to be seen. He enjoyed the taste of it, enjoyed the warmth as it traveled.

“Running would perhaps have been the safest thing….” He commented with a small smile, “But it would have been the most foolish.” He finished.

“I cant remember ever feeling the way I feel being with you.” He looked then down at his whiskey, tilting the tumbler the slightest bit and then drinking another healthy slug of it before he looked back to her.

“So why do you thing she chose to run after finding out you hadn’t known about your parents?” He asked, standing and moving to the fireplace to toss another log upon the flames. He turned to her then, somewhat shadowed in the flickering flames of the fire, before he moved back to the bed and settled back against the pillows. His broad shoulders relaxed a bit and his head settled into the softness.

“Why didn’t she stick around to….” He gave a small shrug, as if, as a man, he could not understand this odd thing about women – how they always seemed to run away from things rather than just face them, “sort things out with you?”

All of it was asked without an attitude of any sort. It was asked out of concern, from someone who did sincerely want to help, in any way that he could.

[Rage]

She watched every move Alexei made, watching how his body could move fluidly like that of a cat. She smiled then, watching as he settled against the pillows. She stretched out next to him, covering him as well as herself with the blanket and also revealing to him that she wore nothing underneath it.

Ileya placed her head against his chest, listening quietly to the rythmic sound of his heart beating before she spoke.

"Like myself, I think Raevin was in shock, Alexei." She whispered, her fingers drawing circles on his chest. "If you could have seen her face after she realized I knew nothing of her existence, that I was in the dark about my...our parents being alive. She took off on me and I lost her in the crowd. I've searched the city since and no trace of her. I've got the feeling she headed back home to confront them. I know I would have if I was her."

Iley continued to draw circles and she laughed, almost hearing the wheels turning inside Alexei's head.

"You are wondering why I have not gone back myself?" Ileya sighed, moving to sit up on one elbow to look at him, the blanket falling off her shoulder. "It is because I found myself not ready to face them. I just want to find my sister, Alexei. That's all."

[Alexei Nabokov]

To simply listen after what she’d revealed was a challenge in itself. Clearly this woman either: 1) Did no realize the effect that she had on him, or 2) Fully realized it and was using it to her advantage. He assumed it was the second of the choices – that she did fully realize what she was doing to him.

She was so comfortable with herself, with her body….this was different. Granted, most of the women he’d spent time with at all in the past few years had been the somewhat questionable sort who were entirely secure in their figures, but this was the first real woman he had known who was willing to be so daring.

And his thoughts could not help but leave what she was saying to think of somewhat naughty things.

The wheels she’d heard turning in his head had nothing to do with her not having returned to her parents. No, they had everything to do with Ileya and Ileya only.

But her soft sigh, the blanket falling off her shoulder brought his mind back to where they were.

And he reached for her shoulder then, tracing it with a gentle touch, but one that was certainly hungry. His gaze flickered to the bare skin, skin that he knew to be soft to the touch, and skin that reacted so willingly to his touch. As did…other parts of her.

“I don’t doubt that you’ll find her again…” He replied, sincerely, despite the increasing desire that he felt for this woman. He could hear in her voice how much this meant to her, and he would not make light of it by seducing her now. despite how badly he wanted to.

“Would she respond, do you think, to an open call for an assassin to be hired by me?”

He sighed contentedly as her fingers continued to trace circles upon his skin. And he had to quietly clear his throat – his thoughts were somewhat scattered by her touch.

“Im assuming she runs in a similar network of people,” He began, “Our worlds, afterall, aren’t all that…different.” He added, knowing that those who hired assassins were not always the most innocent of people themselves.

[Rage]

Ileya let out a sigh and snuggled closer to him, basking in the warmth his body was radiating. She placed a kiss on his cheek and then looked at him for a moment before replying to him.

"She might respond, but I do not want her feeling like I have tricked her in some way to get back into her life."

Ileya closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the touch of his fingers on her skin. In such a short time, he had found ways to make her forget her name with just a simple gesture, like he was doing now.

"I thought....I thought about asking Katya to offer her a job, to take my place maybe, but I do not think it would work being Katya was on the receiving end of her bullet." She said with a smirk.

Ileya shivered from his touch, her body screaming for more than just gentle caresses. She was amazed that he could make her tell him her inner most thoughts to him and then with a just a soft look, a tender touch...she could forget what was bothering her and want him like she had never wanted anyone before. Her mind had scattered then and she moved her hand from his chest to cup his cheek, forcing him to look at her as she leaned in and kissed him, letting him know she wanted more than just talk then.

[Alexei Nabokov]

It wasn’t tricking the girl that he had in mind – but rather having an opportunity to keep a closer eye on her. If she responded to an open call, it would give him the opportunity to assign one of his own to the task of keeping an eye on the girl. She might have given up her desire to kill Ileya, but at this point, he wasn’t really willing to take any risks. He wanted tabs kept on the girl. Ileya had already admitted she’d been close to being done in by her – and he was thankful someone had been looking out for her. Someone out there somewhere.

And though he knew there were secrets he shouldn’t keep from Ileya, this would perhaps be one of them. Ileya would not be the only one looking for her sister – his men would be on it the moment they returned to port….before, even, if he had a moment alone with Dobbs.

It wasn’t that he wanted to keep secrets from her – it was that he’d just been a bachelor for so long that there were some things about him that would never change….or would, perhaps, with a bit of training on her part. It would all depend on how good she was at teaching an old dog new tricks.

But he was wiling, more than willing to put aside conversation for now. He was always willing to put that aside for what she offered him. And in only the soft glow of the firelight, they gave in to one another, both in search of what only the other could give.

************************************************** ************

As they awoke to a new day, another day of learning about one another, Alexei lay there in silence. His green eyes were open – had been for some hours now as he had held Ileya in his arms. She had slept there, moving every so often against him. And in these hours, he had been reminded of the reason why he had refused to let anyone get this close – why he had refused to let anyone in.

In telling him about her sister, and what she had tried to do, she had awoke a very real sense of fear in Alexei. A feeling of the potential to lose someone he could not bear to lose.

And it had kept him from sleeping. He looked down at her, at this beautiful woman in his arms and sighed quietly. He didn’t want to wake her from her sleep – she seemed so at peace. Yet a part of him wanted to wake her immediately, because he couldn’t wait to see her eyes look into his, couldn’t wait to hear her voice as it spoke to him.

And in this moment he realized just how much he had been missing out on. To feel the feeling that gripped his heart, squeazing it until he felt nearly breathless. It made him realize what it was like to feel so alive. It made him realize that there was so much more to life than he had been experiencing.

This was a woman that he wanted to take home to his family. This was a woman that could deal with him, and his life, and all that was related to it.

These thoughts were interrupted by what could only be the sound of a blaster bolt. It rang from somewhere outside the door to the cabin, ricocheting off of metal and sizzling off into the air.

Alexei bolted upright, Ileya with him. And in only seconds he was out of the bed and pulling on a pair of pants. He could read the expression in her eyes – sorrow that she had left her blaster behind in his room beneath the Golden Screscent.

“There’s a blaster in the drawer of the bedside table…” He began, without the chance to even say good morning to her. But, perhaps, this was what their life was destined to be like – never a dull moment.

[Rage]

Ileya had been sleeping peacefully, dreaming of life and what it would have been like if she had been able to grow up with Raevin, to stay with her family, dreaming of Alexei and the night before on the beach. She began to wake, her arm tightening it's hold on Alexei's waist. Ileya smiled a little, not wanting to open her eyes just yet, wanted to enjoy the warmth and comfort she was feeling just then.

Snuggling closer to Alexei, she was about to wake him in a way anyone should be woken up in the morning when the bolt of a blaster made its way into their cabin. Eyes wide, the two of them bolted upright. She clutched the sheet to her chest, looking around as Alexei jumped from the bed to get dressed. She spied her leather pants and tank top and with one look, Alexei had thrown it to her.

“There’s a blaster in the drawer of the bedside table…” Alexei said.

Ileya quickly dressed, the knelt beside the night stand, yanking the drawer open. Reaching in, her fingers wrapped around a cool blaster and she turned back around, a wicked happiness lighting her eyes.

Standing, she moved to where the shot first came in, examing the hole carefully and then moved to one of the curtained windows. Peaking out, she slowly looked around, her eyes examining everything, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Make sure Dobbs is ok." She said, bringing the blaster up next to her cheek. She would not move until she knew Dobbs was either down or he was safe.

"Have you pissed off many people, Alexei?" Ileya chuckled, moving her gaze to him. "How many people know this is your rig?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

"Have you pissed off many people, Alexei? How many people know this is your rig?"

He fixed her with a somewhat grim expression.

“Enough.” He replied in answer to both of her questions, though to him, pissing off one person was more than enough – more than enough only now that it suddenly meant a risk to a woman he cared about. Perhaps without her it would have been somewhat amusing. Now it was not. Now it meant something he cherished was at risk. And that, to him, was no laughing matter.

He opened what had looked to be a simple decorative box on the mantle of the fireplace and pulled another blaster from it. Perhaps he felt a bit bad – afterall, Ileya had left hers behind – but she’d forgive him for it…maybe. And right now, there wasn’t time to think on it.

“Don’t worry about Dobbs….” He added as he took the safety lock off the blaster. Though he was fond of the old man, and would later mourn any loss, preservation was the most important thing. Dobbs had been hired to protect Alexei – and right now, that was the way Alexei needed to think – professionally – with his head and not with his heart.

Another blaster bolt shattered the nearest window, barely grazing past them. It caught Alexei’s tricep, illiciting a sharp yelp and a curse that quickly followed.

[Rage]

Later, when they were safe, she would have a 'chat' with him about why she was ordered to leave her weapons back at his place when he obviously was well equipped with his own. A thought crept into her mind then, one she did not want to even think, but it sat there, nagging at her. Considering her line of work, did he really trust her alone with her weapons? Ileya shook her head, getting rid of those thoughts. She jumped when another blast came through the window, oh so close to them and she quickly made her way to Alexei when she heard his curse.

"Okay, forget Dobbs...you're more important." She whispered, helping him to a corner chair away from any windows. Ileya checked his wound, breathing a sigh of relief when it did not seem that bad. She looked up at him, reaching up to place a kiss on his lips.

"Neither one of is leaving the other any time soon, so do not even think ill thoughts, you got me?" She lovingly ordered.

Ileya worried her bottom lip, deep in thought for the moment as to how to go about finding who and why they were being shot out, but more importantly, getting away with both their lives intact. They were basically sitting ducks in the water.

"If you can get to the pilot's room, I'll cover you and we can get this rig moving. I'm assuming it can get up and go when you want it to?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

[Alexei Nabokov]

"Okay, forget Dobbs...you're more important."

He let her lead him to a corner chair away from the windows – he knew that he should have just told her he was fine – not have wasted precious time – but her whisper, the concern that she had been unable to hide from her voice – had made him want nothing more than to just be with her for a few more moments.

"Neither one of is leaving the other any time soon, so do not even think ill thoughts, you got me?"

He nodded, allowing a quiet chuckle to hide to grimace of pain. It wasn’t a serious wound, but it stung like a ….

And she was all business now as she moved on – it was clear that she was concerned – he was as well, but he was having a bit more of a difficult time concentrating. It was a good thing he hadnt fallen in love before – his career would certainly have been disasterous had he been so distracted.

"If you can get to the pilot's room, I'll cover you and we can get this rig moving. I'm assuming it can get up and go when you want it to?"

He nodded.

“It can go.” He assured her with a slow nod. His eyes closed for a moment and he released a quiet sigh as he looked to this woman he had fallen for. She had trusted him – had left behind her weapons, her comm…..left it all behind and trusted him. And he had come knowing full well that he was not only armed, if need be, but followed by his own men, and the rather expensive timepiece he wore looked expensive for more than just the precious metals it was made of – it was also a line of communication between he and his right hand man.

He felt every bit as guilty as he looked. And later, he was sure she’d have more than a little ‘chat’ with him about this – that is, if she didn’t demand to be taken home that instant that he admitted all of this to her.

The truth was, he was concerned about what was going on outside – but scuffles like this had happened often enough that he was sure – almost one hundred percent sure that things would soon be taken care of.

He glanced down at his chrono as it beeped – seemingly a typical beep on the hour, or an alarm set for something.

“I know this isnt the best timing, but I’ve got to be honest with you about something, Ileya…..” He began, looking back to her. He would have admitted everything, but the door burst open then, two bodies falling to the floor. One a man, the other a woman – and both were grappling for a blaster.

OOC: *laughs* If a certain relative feels like joining in, she can. Only maybe her target this time wasn’t Ileya. Just thought I’d throw it out there – if you’ve got other ideas on how they’re going to find one another, no worries – just take this and run with it in whatever direction you feel like.

[Rage]

O.O.C. :lol You read my mind. Oh Sister Dear or a certain best friend....GET IN HERE!

I.C.

Ileya raised her eyebrow at the expression on Alexei's face, he almost looked...guilty.

Things were starting to not match up and she was definately going to get to the bottom of this, even if Alexei did not want to. The quick glance at his chrono set her jaw tightly and the look she gave him, he must have known she was not happy.

“I know this isnt the best timing, but I’ve got to be honest with you about something, Ileya…..” Alexei began. He was cut off by a crashing of the door and scuffled noises. Professional instinct told her to turn around and protect Alexei, but Ileya paused, sitting back on her haunches, the blaster gripped tightly in her hand, watching Alexei very carefully.

"I don't need to cover you, do I? We don't need to get to the pilot's room at all, do we?" She bit out, everything falling in to place. "You've got your men following us, don't you?"

Before Alexei could answer, Ileya turned around to see who the intruders were. She raised the blaster, standing at the same time to cover Alexei, her fingers itching to blast someone away.

"Give me a reason, you two...just give me the slightest reason and I will." Ileya hissed out.

[Alexei Nabokov]

"I don't need to cover you, do I? We don't need to get to the pilot's room at all, do we? You've got your men following us, don't you?"

She had turned too quickly from him to see the chastised expression on his face. A crime lord and man feared by many, respected by most in the business, this expression was not one familiar to any of them. Not familiar to him, really. Except that was exactly what he’d felt – chastised. And extremely guilty.

He hadnt meant to be so deceptive, really. He had wanted to trust her – did now trust her – but when he’d left for this trip, he’d had every reason to be careful. She had lied to him, afterall, about her family. Even if it wasn’t the sort of lie that was all that harmful – she had lied.

And so hadnt he. No, he did not think they needed to get to the pilot room. And yes, his men had been following them.

But he felt bad about it. He actually did feel bad about it.

Except for the fact that thanks to his men, whoever this woman was grappling on the ground with one of them, would perhaps have less of a chance at reaching whatever goal it was she had had in mind when she’d boarded his yacht.

She was standing in front of him – covering for him. His assassin. And despite the still potential danger, he couldn’t help but check out the rather attractive behind that he had a very good view of. If she ever forgave him for his dishonesty, he would make it up to her. In more ways than one.

"Give me a reason, you two...just give me the slightest reason and I will."

Hearing her at work – her natural instincts kicking in, the adrenaline likely coursing through her veins (along with anger at a certain crime lord) – he found her even more attractive. She was multi-talented, this woman, and though she was perhaps angry with him – livid with him, he suspected – he was not going to let her go.

He would prove to her that he was worth it. Worth forgiving.

From behind her, he stood, his hand coming to rest on her waist protectively – so that his men still unseen would know she was not to be harmed. He half expected her to wrench it off of her, but it came as second nature to him – to place a protective hand on her.

“He’s on our side…” He stated quietly, the tone of his voice somewhat subdued – a tone that maybe she would recognize as somewhat apologetic as he did his best to make amends and let her know what was going on – or – at least, as much as he could decipher. He didn’t have much more idea than she did – though he suspected that the woman didn’t exactly have the nicest of ends in mind for him.

The fact that Alexei had used the word our to let her know what the side the man was on, as opposed to my was perhaps another small indicator meant for Ileya.

[Rage]

Keeping the blaster pointed at the twosome on the floor, Ileya turned her head a bit when she felt Alexei's hand on her waist. She glanced at him for a moment before turning her full attention back on the two intruders.

" 'Our' side or not, he makes one wrong move and he'll get it...both of them." Ileya hissed. Until she knew what was going on, both of them were the enemy.

It did not slip by her what Alexei had said. 'Our side'. She heard the tone of his voice and leaned back into him, even being as angry as she was. Ileya knew she could not talk, she had lied to him about her family, but before they had left on this trip, he agreed to no comm's and no 'henchman' on his part. That's what got her, finding out that they had been tailed...and just how much privacy did they really have together?

Ileya moved her free hand behind her to rest on Alexei's hip, squeezing her fingers quickly in reassurance. The hand holding the blaster tightened it's hold as she glared at the pair on the floor.

"Alexei, you and I are going to talk later. But right now, we've got other pressing matters."She whispered, then continued in a voice that was meant to catch anyone's attention. "Stand up now or I will shoot you both without any questions."

[Alexei Nabokov]

" 'Our' side or not, he makes one wrong move and he'll get it...both of them."

He did not like hearing that she’d willing shoot one of his men. When this was over, they were going to have to have a ‘chat’ about such things. But for now….

He gave a somewhat even sigh. Marco was there to protect Alexei – and would certainly make a wrong move if need be. It was what he was paid to do. And Alexei knew it. He could suggest to Marco all he wanted that the man listen to Ileya, but it wouldn’t matter. Marco would assume Alexei was under duress, and would follow his original orders – to protect Alexei with his own life.

“I’d prefer that you didn’t do that.” He replied quietly, calmly. It was not only a lover speaking now, but a man who had a business to run, and men of his own to protect.

"Alexei, you and I are going to talk later. But right now, we've got other pressing matters. Stand up now or I will shoot you both without any questions.”

Yes, they certainly would have a talk. He was sure of that. He would have to apologize – but he also hoped to explain to her that it was a necessary part of life to have his men around – case in point – that such sorts of things happened – and they happened often. Too often to drop caution completely. And he hoped she would be able to not only understand this – but accept it. Accept it as a part of his life – as a part of loving him. Afterall, he really couldnt have her going around and shooting his men.

But until they would have a chance to have that conversation, it was time to focus on the matter at hand – that his man and a possible assassin lay on the floor, both their hands grasping a blaster.

[Raevin]

This moron was really starting to get her miffed. She had come looking for Ileya, only to get "interrupted" by this idiot she was wrestling with and his partner who was unconscious in the cabin whose door they had come through. First off, you don't "insist" on a frisking when she says no....and second, when you tell her gimmie the gun, she'll literally "give" you the gun...right between the eyes. Why? it's the killing mode....it tickles her.

She was just getting herself in position when her sister called out, that got the lackey's attention just enough to get where she wanted to be in a span of ten seconds shorter than she expected. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drove a knee into his groin, laying back as his eyes widened in pain, she thrusted her right arm up and an open palm connected under his chin, forcing his head to snap back......followed by a left cross that took him off of her.

As this "guard" fell to his side, groaning in pain, Raevin stood up and strightened her coat. Picking her slug thrower from the idiot's hand, she holstered it and fixed her thin rimmed sunglasses.

"*Sigh*...... Ileya, havent you learned from our last meeting?? You shoot first, THEN mutter your nonsence."

She gave a smirk as she walked closer. Taking in the man behind her sister. She jerked her head to Alexei.

"Who's the looker?"

[Rage]

Ileya lowered the blaster to her side when it finally dawned on her it was her sister Raevin that had just killed Alexei's man. She figured there were probably other's in her wake as well. She glanced back at Alexei to find a shocked look on his face and suddenly felt sorry for him at his loss. The hand that was on his hip came up to cup his cheek behind her before she threw the blaster she held onto the bed.

Ileya turned around and placed a kiss on his cheek, looking deep into his eyes to show him that she was indeed sorry for the man or men (probably men if she knew Raevin).

"I am sorry my love." She whispered for only him to hear. "I would not have shot him, you must know that."

"*Sigh*...... Ileya, havent you learned from our last meeting?? You shoot first, THEN mutter your nonsence."

"You have your way Sister, I have mine." Ileya turned back around to face Raevin and grinned suddenly.

"Who's the looker?" Raevin asked and Ileya had to keep from laughing as her sister let her eyes roam over her man appreciatively.

"He is quite the looker, isn't he?" Ileya purred, raising an eyebrow as she looked back at Alexei and winked at him. "Alexei Nabokov, meet my sister Raevin Simone."

[Alexei Nabokov]

"He is quite the looker, isn't he? Alexei Nabokov, meet my sister Raevin Simone."
Marco groaned loudly enough that Alexei had to turn from the introduction to look to his man. The bodyguard grimaced in pain and humiliation as he lay on the floor clutching body parts that hurt so badly he could barely see. And a moment later, the man hurled on the cabin floor. Raevin was not delicate with her methods of freeing herself, and truly, Alexei felt for the man she had just disabled.

“She killed Dobbs.” Marco managed to blurt out as he then struggled to his feet. What would his employer think of him? Marco had been working for Alexei for some time now, and in that time had witnessed what happened to those who were disloyal or incompetent. His words were…warning? Something to make him seem a bit stronger than Dobbs?

Alexei turned now, back to look at Raevin. His green eyed gaze locked on her as he sought to keep emotions from his response. This was a very delicate situation, and he needed to handle it with care.

And certainly, there were hundreds of questions burning a hole in his tongue. Why was Raevin here? Had she come to bring harm? He’d assumed she’d been on a job to assassinate him and it had him on guard still. Had she truly come in search of her sister? And for what? To finish the job she’d started the last time?

The blaster he held in his hand remained down by his side, but he didn’t toss it to the bed as Ileya had.

“Had I known you’d be dropping by for a visit, I would have sent a welcoming committee…” He replied. Behind Raevin, who was looking at he and Ileya, Alexei could see his men, lining up.

This really wasn’t how he’d pictured this cruise.

[Raevin]

She could hear footfalls behind her, a predatory smirk appeared as her well sculpted eyebrow arched upwards. If those baffoons wished to tangle, then she'd oblige them, but she also knew that so long as she doesn't make any hint of aggression to Alexei, that that situation would be avoided. So she chose to behave and ignore the men gathering.

" Well you wouldn't have known Mr. Nabokov. I myself didn't know I was going to show up till I had made the decision to show up. I came for my sister.... She held a hand up to quell any speculation of her "why" she came for her sister. " I came to get her to see our parents."

She pulled her sunglasses off and her eyes were hard, from years of emotional and psychological abuse.

"She wants answers, and she needs to claim them before I kill the ones responsible for both our ruined childhoods...that lied to us....and had me believe that it was she who deserved my wrath.....she has her chance right now to confront them before I kill them."

Raevin could see the surprise in Ileya's eyes as she just let her sister know what she had planned and why.

[Alexei Nabokov]

" Well you wouldn't have known Mr. Nabokov. I myself didn't know I was going to show up till I had made the decision to show up. I came for my sister...I came to get her to see our parents."

It was a good thing Ileya had told him about all of this, or he would truly have wondered what in the world was going on. As the woman removed her sunglasses, green eyes stared into orbs that nearly radiated anger. Perhaps she meant for them to appear nonchalant, perhaps even dismissive, but instead they seemed angry to him, the result of so many years of abuse.

“Perhaps in the future you might simply request to see her…” He replied somewhat evenly. He was not trying to be provocative, but she had just caused quite a bit of chaos – and he truly didn’t want it to continue in the future. “I’d hardly have denied such a thing…”

She seemed to ignore him, continuing on with why exactly she was there. Cutting straight to the point. She was al business – which he could respect – but he’d wished she’d been a bit more subtle about her means of getting to it.

"She wants answers, and she needs to claim them before I kill the ones responsible for both our ruined childhoods...that lied to us....and had me believe that it was she who deserved my wrath.....she has her chance right now to confront them before I kill them."

Alexei turned to Ileya then. This was between she and her sister, and he wasn’t going to interfere.

[Ileya Simone]

Ileya blinked, realizing that two sets of eyes were now upon her, awaiting what she would say to Raevin's little speech. She shook her head slowly in shock, turning from both of them to walk to the other side of the suite. Running her hands through her hair, she went to lean her forehead up against the full length mirror hung on the wall, closing her eyes as hot tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"Alexei, please tell our audience their attention is not needed right now...please?" Ileya asked, her voice breaking on the final 'please'.

Raevin had found her, after Ileya spent so many months looking for her, to come tell her she was going to kill their parents after they got the answers they were looking for. Ileya felt torn. Torn because she understood the hatred her sister was feeling and torn because she felt she should protect them...but how long she would feel like that, she was not sure. Where she once felt love and pride for them, she too, was beginning to feel hatred and shame for what they did to their youngest daughter.

Ileya brought her arms up to hug herself as she continued to lean against the mirror. She would not, could not open her eyes to look at the two people she loved as they waited for an answer.

"I need a moment." Ileya said, "Do NOT go anywhere, Raevin, please." Her voice quivering as she dashed out of the room, leaving her sister and her lover with questioning looks on their faces.

Ileya made her way to the upper deck, finding one of the deck chairs and curling up as tight as she could on it, watching the sun rise higher into the sky. If she had been in Raevin's position, she would be feeling the same hatred for their parents.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked to the deck floor, trying to make the hardest decision of her life. Should she make the treck with her sister and stand by and watch as she kills them...or should she help her?

[Alexei Nabokov]

He had moved to her as she had moved to the mirror. A gentle hand on her waist, and his lips pressing a soft kiss to her neck in reassurance.

"Alexei, please tell our audience their attention is not needed right now...please?"

He nodded and moved from her then, turning to his men and giving them a dismissive sort of nod of his head. Glass lay shattered on the floor where a blaster bolt had passed through, and he stepped over it to help Marco to his feet. The man’s eyes refused to meet those of his boss, but they did give Raevin a rather nasty glare before he limped outside.

Alexei shut the door behind them – at least, as much as it would shut, for it was the old fashioned sort of wooden door and then turned to face Raevin and Ileya once again.

"I need a moment. Do NOT go anywhere, Raevin, please."

He’d been about to offer to leave them to have some time alone when Ileya had rushed from the room, the wooden door swinging on its hinges behind her – leaving he and Raevin all alone.

He could see the similarities between the two women – they certainly were sisters. But there was something much softer about Ileya. Not something more feminine, necessarily, but not something quite so…injured, perhaps.

“She uh, she doesn’t seem to mind it if you go running after her….” He suggested to Raevin. The last time Ileya had run off on him, he’d chased after her – finding her sitting there on the upper decks alone.

“She likes the upper deck….” He added, the smallest semblance of a sheepish expression passing over his face as he admitted that he had already upset Ileya once himself.

[Raevin]

She looked at Alexei , her hazel eyes then following his gesture towards the door her sister had just exited through. She looked back at him and gave him an ever so curt of a nod, then walked through the door to go to Ileya's side. Coming topside, she looked around and put her sunglasses back on. She walked over next to Ileya and leaned against a railing. The wind played with her hair and silken coat.

" Talk to me....What's wrong?"

[Ileya Simone]

Ileya turned hard, cold eyes upon her sister, looking at her for a few moments before something 'clicked' inside of her. Slowly unfolding herself from the chair, she made her way next to Raevin and leaned on the railing, watching the water quietly.

"So how long were you tailing me this time, Rae?" Ileya asked with a proud smile.

She turned to look at her sister, their last meeting on the outskirts of town still fresh in her mind. The shock they both felt still new and their relationship just blooming. Letting out a sigh, she looked around the yacht, her eyes scanning carefully. She knew they were being watched by Alexei's men...watched carefully since Raevin made her appearance known.

"Give me two weeks time, Raevin..." Ileya whispered, leaning in close to her sister. "...and I will help you."

Raevin had pulled back to look at her and Ileya stared at her, hard and unblinking, to let her know what she meant.

[Raevin]

She smiled when she heard Ileya use a short version of her name....Rae...she kinda liked that. It was also the first time Ileya had seen her smile at all. And she kept her smile on as she turned her head to face her sister to anwer.

"I had been tailing you for about two weeks now. The last week was trying to figure out how to see you....then I just threw caution tot he wind and decided to take th emore "direct" approach."

"Give me two weeks time, Raevin..." Ileya whispered, leaning in close to her sister. "...and I will help you."

She stepped back with a shocked look....she expected Ileya to talk her out of blowing away their parents....not this.

"You....want to....help me??"

[Ileya Simone]

"Isn't that what you wanted to hear, Rae?" Ileya asked, turning back around to face the water. She realized then that they had turned around and were now heading back to port.

'Guess the vacation's over.' She thought to herself with a wry grin.

"They were not my parents, Rae." Ileya whispered, glancing over her shoulder at her sister. "If you want my help, it is your's. You are my family, not them. My parents were the kind widow that took me in and taught me everything I needed to know about life and my work."

Ileya cast sad eyes down to the deck and let out a heartfelt sigh.

"Like I said, Rae. Give me two weeks." Ileya looked quickly in the general direction of the cabin she had shared with Alexei and then back at Raevin. "We will go on this trip, you and I. The outcome of it, I am not sure. But we shall get the answers we are looking for."

Ileya turned back around and without saying anything, brought Raevin into her arms and hugged her.

[Raevin]

She smiled when Ileya hugged her. Finally someone showed her some kind of affection that held no "price tag" on it....unconditional. She hugged her sister back, tightly. She held that hug for a few, longer than she should have. She finally got what she had been looking for all these years....to be accepted by her family....but funny thing was, it was by the one she was taught to hate....the one she wanted dead for so long. Now she couldn't think of her sister dead.

"Two weeks time Ileya......I will find you in two weeks, then we can go visit our "loving" parents."

[Ileya Simone]

Ileya could tell neither of them wanted to let the other go. Both had wanted something for so long and finally found it.

"Two weeks time Ileya......I will find you in two weeks, then we can go visit our "loving" parents."

Ileya smiled at her, then pulled away to dig into the pocket of her leather pants. She fished out a key to her place, one of many she had, and placed it in Raevin's hand.

"I've got the feeling you know where I live." Ileya laughed. "Take the key, Rae. No arguments. Feel free to come and go as you please. What's mine is your's." Ileya paused, looking back again towards the direction of the cabin and then turned back with a smirk on her face. "Well, one thing isn't."

She winked at her sister and then hugged her again.

"I have found the two things that have been lacking in my life, Rae. Family and...someone to love." She said with a hint of blush to her cheeks. "I do not want to lose either."

[Raevin]

She followed her sister's eyes to the cabin and shook her head.

"No worries there Ileya, he's definately not my type. But as long as he makes you happy, he won;t have to worry about me comin for him."

She took the key and pocketed it in her silken coat.

"And yeah, I know where you live.......been inside already......ya got a nice couch."

[Ileya Simone]

"Why am I not surprised." Ileya stated with raised eyebrow and smile. "Are there any booby traps set or anything of the like waiting for me there?"

"It is new between he and I." She confided softly. Ileya looked at her sister for a few moments and then shook her head. "I mean it, Raevin. My place is your's. If you need money, let me know. Anything you need....please, tel me, will you?"

Ileya hugged Raevin one more time and then grabbed her hand, dragging her back down to the cabin where Alexei was there talking to a few of his men. They had turned around, giving Raevin a cold stare and the two Simone sisters stood together, defiantly staring back at them with identical looks of 'I dare you.'

[Alexei Nabokov]

All conversation had come to an automatic halt the moment the women had walked back through the open cabin door. Alexei was there, gesturing somewhat towards the shattered window, perhaps asking how Raevin had managed to outsmart Marco, who had been, until this point, a man that he had full confidence in.

He was still dressed in his torn shirt from the blaster bolt that had caught him, and in this moment, as he turned to Ileya and Raevin, seemed every bit the crime lord that he was. The serious expression on his face, the hardness in his eyes. The way the men surrounded him, waiting for his word.

One of them stood off to the side. The righthand man and childhood friend of Alexei’s. He clearly was not pleased with what had transpired and did not hesitate to speak in their native tongue to voice his concerns. Even if it was right in front of Ileya and Raevin.

It put Alexei in a difficult position. This man, this right hand man of his had every right to be concerned. He was a loyal man and had worked with Alexei to build this empire. He did not want to see it crumble. And the blaster bolt that had singed Alexei’s arm was more than too close for comfort as far as he was concerned.

Alexei nodded curtly, hearing his friend’s words.

“Later.” He replied, meaning, later they would discuss this.

And then he turned to the women.

“I can see the resemblance.” He stated. His expression softened the slightest bit as he looked to Ileya.

“And forgive me for asking it, Raevin,” He began, “But if you are to remain on this ship you will be asked to refrain from harming, maiming, or killing anyone.”

He gave Ileya a look, hoping she understood that while he cared very much for her, and would tolerate her sister, there were some behaviors he could not allow. Not on his ship. Not in the presence of his men.

“It’s the only way I can assure her safety.” He added, speaking to Ileya in hopes that she would tame her murdering sister.

He did not take the death of one of his men lightly. Nor did he like the fact that she had been responsible for the bolt that had caught his arm.

[Ileya Simone]

“And forgive me for asking it, Raevin, but if you are to remain on this ship you will be asked to refrain from harming, maiming, or killing anyone.”

Ileya's eyebrow raised at Alexei for a moment, her body stiffening at his request. She placed a protective hand on Raevin's shoulder before speaking.

"Do not worry...Alexei...no harm will come to anyone while on board this ship."

Ileya looked at the other men one by one and realized she and her sister had stepped into something.

"I will leave you to your business." Ileya said, turning with Raevin to walk out of the cabin.

[Alexei Nabokov]

“No…” He replied before she could truly leave.

“Its fine. We were just wrapping things up anyway.” The ship was not the place to discuss these things. Later, when they returned, there would be a meeting – a very long meeting to discuss security measures. But for now it was time to salvage what was left of the trip back.

“Why don’t we all move out to the deck? The sun should be setting shortly and the view over the water in one that no one should miss.” His words were hardly a question – they were a command, and his men did as he ordered, filing from the room and holding the door open.

Alexei’s right hand man hung behind just a bit, still eyeing Raevin and Ileya. But Raevin more so.

Alexei turned to him, raising an eyebrow just a bit. The words passed unspoken between them and the man then moved to Raevin, holding his arm out as an offer of an escort.

And it was then that Alexei moved toward Ileya, offering the same.

“Im sorry…” He commented quietly as he approached her, “This was not how I imagined our trip would turn out…”

[Ileya Simone]

“No…its fine. We were just wrapping things up anyway.””

Ileya stopped and turned around to look at Alexei quietly, her eyes watching as the men commanded his silent order. One hung back, watching the two of them carefully. Both she and Raevin stared at him until he too, began to leave. Her eyes widened as he came up to Raevin and offered his arm. The sisters exchanged cautious glances.

She turned to Alexei, feeling him next to her, offering her his arm as well.

“I'm sorry. This was not how I imagined our trip would turn out…”

"Me, either." Ileya whispered, dragging her eyes away from his to Raevin. She reached up with a hand to stroke her fingers on his cheek, pain and confusion in her eyes as she let out a sigh of regret for the concluded trip.

[Alexei Nabokov]

He caught her fingers there on his cheek, holding them in his hand. And when she took them away, her arm slipped into his and they moved toward the door. They were held back only by Raevin and Alexei’s closest of friends. A man he truly trusted and did not want left alone at the moment with Raevin.

He did not doubt that Ileya did not intend for more violence, but he did wonder to what extent she could control her younger sister. Raevin seemed to have a mind of her own, and he didn’t want any more trouble.

There was already enough tension building between he and his men and Ileya and her sister – he didn’t want it to continue.

He had seen the pain and confusion in Ileya’s eyes and he leaned now to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“We’ll be fine…” He stated softly to her, his voice low enough for only her to hear.

And then he paused. It occurred to him that changing shirts would perhaps help to ease the tensions –his men did not need a reminder of the fact that he had been wounded at all – even if it was only something that would heal without medical attention.

“Do you mind waiting a moment…?” He asked as he slipped from her and moved to the closet to grab a shirt from a hanger. He tossed it to the bed and then stood there, gazing at Ileya as he unbuttoned his torn shirt and slipped the new one on. It was a plain white shirt, but with the tan from being outside, and the sun streaks that seemed to have developed naturally in his hair, it might have made him look just a bit more dangerous. His green eyes looked to her as he began to fumble a bit with the small buttons.

“What…?” He asked slowly, in question as she stared back at him.

[Ileya Simone]

Raevin had stepped unhappily out onto the deck with her escort and Ileya turned back to watch Alexei change his shirt. Her eyes went to his wound and she felt suddenly sick to her stomach. Her face must have given her away for she caught Alexei's questioning look.

“What…?”

Without saying a word, Ileya walked over to him, bringing a hand up to push his shirt aside to reveal where he had been shot. Her hand shadowed his wound for a moment before she turned hard eyes up to his face.

"This will never happen again, I swear it, Alexei...by anyone." She whispered in a fierce promise. She bent her head to kiss the skin just above the burnt skin, as if sealing her loyalty to him.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Ahhhh…so that was it. As she pushed aside his shirt to reveal the wound, his gaze had gone not to look at the burn mark on his arm where there was a rather uncomfortable sensation, but at her. He could see the pain and confusion and…something else in her eyes.

"This will never happen again, I swear it, Alexei...by anyone."

His head dropped to kiss the top of her head as she leaned against him, her lips pressing against the skin just above his wound. Her promise was fierce and protective and he did not doubt the sincerity of it.

But he knew too well. It had happened before, and despite all of the increased security, it had happened again. And it had take only Raevin to do it. Not that she wasn’t talented – Alexei did not doubt that she was to have gotten past his men like that – but the fact that anyone had gotten past them at all….

“I wish, sweet girl, that you could prevent it. But its happened before, and I do not doubt that it will, despite all efforts, happen again, as it did tonight.”

He gave a small sigh and pulled her into his arms. His hands traced a pattern on her back, expressing both concern and perhaps reassurance that while this was something that had him – perhaps both of them a bit on edge, they would get through it.

“We should get out there before theres any more trouble…” He stated as he puled away from her the slightest bit to be able to look down into her beautiful eyes of brown.

[Raevin]

Raevin walked with this man who had chosen to escort her out. Her hand rested casually in the crook of his arm. As they exited, she could see how he looked at her...like daring her to do something she could easily regret. Something she wouldn't do to her sister right this minute....but being provoked like this, she could make an exception.

This man of Nabokov's was indeed seasoned as a veteran of such dealings, but she was a trained killer....she held no remorse when she pulled her trigger....she didn't have it when she shot her sister's friends....and she didn't have it when she shot that lackey earlier....she sure as frell wouldn't have it when she dispatched this one if it came down to it. She turned her head to look at this "gentleman" and softly said in an audible whisper for him alone to hear, as her hazel eyes stared back at him coldly.

"Look at me like that again and I will answer your challenge quickly and deadly."

She then looked at Nabokov and Ileya together as they had now glanced over. She smiled pleasantly and gave a curt nod. But knowing both of them knew something was up between the young assasin and his right hand man. Turning back to him she whispered once more.

"I will behave if you do."

[Alexei Nabokov]

Drago was indeed a seasoned veteran of such dealings. And while he was bigger and burlier than Alexei, he had a much more even temper. One that he had learned over the years was best kept in control. Particularly in such a line of business. Still, he did not take any sort to his boss and best friend’s life lightly.

“There’s little need for threats, Miss Raevin. You were present for the conversation in which your safety would be guaranteed so long as you chose not to bring further harm to those on this ship.”

He, like Alexei typically was, was dressed in a suit. But there was less about him that seemed to be a refined gentleman and something that more suggested he would perhaps have been just as pleased wearing a wrestling outfit and slamming people’s heads into the mat. His basic was a bit more heavily accented and much deeper than Alexei’s. and while he may have looked to be a thug in a three piece suit, he was actually more intelligent than most gave him credit for.

Alexei had not chosen this man to be his right hand on a whim. He had done it with a solid sense of business and a complete sense of trust.

Alexei had asked Drago to escort Raevin because he trusted the man to be able to handle her.

“Can I get you a drink?” He offered, moving the conversation away from any sort of challenging situation. He was a henchman, yes, but he was also a peacemaker. Even if he did harbor resentment for the fact that she had shot his boss. It was his job to do as Alexei asked – and if Alexei had asked him to do such a thing, there was often a god solid reason behind his motivations. And Drago had learned to trust them completely.