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Chapter Four
Amber wasn’t a drinker, so the single shot of vodka she’d swigged the previous evening had almost knocked her out. She didn’t remember much about getting to bed but thanked her lucky stars that she’d only had one drink, so the effects had worn off by the next morning. She wanted the chance to warm up in the gym before sparring with Alexei. Exciting though the thought of grappling with him was, she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t apprehensive. She was agile and fast, but Alexei was built like a tank.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She had graduated top of her class in self-defense. The thug on shore in Monte Carlo had just gotten lucky. She would rely on her speed. Loading her determination with a double dose of stubborn intent to keep her job on board Russian Thunder, she brushed her hair back and secured it out of the way.
~o0o~
He swam in his lap pool first to loosen up his muscles, and then grabbed a towel, dried off, and strolled to his gym, where he was surprised to find Amber already well into her routine, kicking six bells out of his punch bag. With her fists raised and her feet flying, she was quite something in sweatpants, gloves, and a tiny exercise top. He stood watching her from the doorway as she gave the bag everything she got. She was fast and effective. And as hot as hell.
“Don’t let me stop you,” he said when she sensed him watching and paused mid-blow.
Wiping her forehead on the back of her arm, she leveled a stare at him. “You’re not stopping me. Shouldn’t you be warming up?”
Things had changed between them since last night. She demanded respect now. She got it, and he looked forward to testing her further.
/> “How’s your arm?” she asked as she launched a flurry of kicks and punches at the bag. “I don’t want an unfair advantage.”
“You won’t get one,” he assured her. Temptation swung between teaching her a lesson and a primal need that had nothing to do with a workout.
He worked methodically through his sets, finding the calm that always filled him when he used his body to the full. “Ready?” he asked her as he toweled down.
“If you are,” she said.
She had guts. He’d give her that.
~o0o~
Ten seconds in, Amber knew she was in trouble. She might be fast, but Alexei was warp speed. Stripped to the waist with loose-fitting fight shorts slung low on his hips, he was also a dangerous distraction. She couldn’t afford to get caught by one of those swings. He’d kill her if he landed a blow. He parried and deflected her shots as easily as swatting a fly. Her speed was all that saved her, for a while—
She yelped with shock as the mat flew up to meet her. Alexei had tripped her. She hadn’t seen that coming. Somehow he got to the mat before her, and she landed on top of him with a grunt.
“Since when was playing dirty in your rule book?” she demanded when she could find enough breath to speak.
“Lesson one, myshka. In my team, there are no rules.”
“Little mouse?” she demanded, outraged, struggling to break free before her body insisted she rub against him. “Did you just call me a little mouse?”
“You speak Russian?”
“Enough to know when I’m being insulted.” She narrowed her eyes. “I thought you’d read my CV. The unofficial one?”
As she scrambled up, Alexei reached out and grabbed her wrist. ‘But you are tiny, myshka.”
“Maybe. But I’m no fucking mouse!”
Grabbing her towel, she stalked, head high, out of the gym, with Alexei’s laughter following after.
~o0o~
Not knowing if Alexei would throw her off at the next port, Amber decided to make up for her loss of control by working through every single instruction the purser had given to her in half the time expected. She cleaned every one of the guest cabins until they gleamed and made sure they were restocked with necessities. Returning to the spacious galley after taking a shower, she gratefully accepted a giant bowl of spaghetti from one of the chefs. She had just dug her fork in when a familiar voice rang out.
“Idling on duty, myshka?”
Stifling the urge to upend the bowl of spaghetti on Alexei’s feet, she turned slowly to face him. Everyone else in the kitchen was standing to attention, Amber noticed, while she was still seated with her chin resting on her shoulder. Something about the look in Alexei’s eyes and the faint angling of his chin brought her to her feet like everyone else. His air of command was impossible to ignore.
Trying not to be impressed by a sight that made her heart go crazy, she saw he’d showered and changed into snug-fitting jeans and a casual shirt with the sleeves rolled back to display his formidable forearms. She could detect the faint scent of shower gel on him, and his hair was still a little damp. She refused to be intimidated, either by his incredible physique or by the way he moved like a silent big-pawed predator across the galley toward her. She certainly wasn’t impressed by the mocking expression on his hard, ruthless face, or by the freakin’ ridiculous bulge in his jeans. Especially not that.
“Hello again,” she said coolly.
