Chapter 4

Jane sat frozen in her chair caught between laughter at the absurdity of his proposition, and terror. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You would let a cop get that close to you? Just to scratch an itch? You like to live dangerously, don't you, Sitnikov? Sure, yeah, let's do it. Can we go back to your place now? Can I have the code to your safe before we get down?"

His lips curled in a quasi smile at her sarcasm. "No, I would not allow a police detective access to my private life," he said calmly.

Jane frowned. "I don't understand. Supposedly you want to have a fling with me, a detective, but you don't plan on letting law enforcement near you. I'm not sure how long it's been for you, but usually that kind of intimacy requires a physical presence. Not that I'm even remotely entertaining the idea of any kind of relationship with you. Not happening, Russian." She spat the last word.

He didn't seem to enjoy the way she spoke to him. His body was rigid in the seat and he seemed to be struggling with himself. She was happy to have a weapon close at hand. She suspected that no one spoke to the Boss the way she just had. Or if they did, they quickly found themselves without a tongue and having silent conversations with fishes. She had to bite her own tongue just from pointing out her original assertion that she tended to annoy people.

"Listen to my offer, then give your opinion, woman." He deliberately sneered the last word. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were sharp, taking in every expression that crossed her features. "You will quit your job and come to live with me. For a time, we will share a home and a bed. I will pay you a monthly fee that will make your current salary look like a child's allowance. I will also give you a generous settlement and a house once we have finished our association."

Jane's breath caught in her chest and pain blossomed. She felt sudden and intense hatred for the man sitting across from her. It made her feel out of control, something she hadn't felt for years. Not one to hide her feelings, Jane reached out and picked up the gun. She pointed it at him, flipped the safety off and said, "We're done with this conversation. You can go now."

His dark eyes snapped in fury before he hid it under his usual icy visage. "You do not like my terms, though they are more than generous? Name what it is you want then, I may be willing to negotiate."

Jane clenched her teeth and spoke in a furious voice. "I want you to admit to the murder of Dennis Yankovich. On record. Then I want you to go rot in a federal prison somewhere for the rest of your life. In the mean time, you can take your offer and go fuck yourself."

He thought for a moment, his body straining in his seat, and then shook his head slightly. "I don't think I will accommodate that request, no matter how attractive I find you. Put the gun down, Jane. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Fuck you, Sitnikov. Get out of my apartment. Now!" she snapped. "The answer is no. You don't get to touch me, ever."

Sitnikov stood, his long limbs unfolding with the fluidity of a lion rising from rest. Jane stood also, not wanting to feel small or trapped around this predatory man. He stalked around the table toward her. His lean, muscular body tensed with lethal intent. Jane brought the gun up, her grip steady and professional. She snapped, "Stop, don't you come near me!"

Rather than waste time responding, Sitnikov stepped swiftly to the side, forcing her to bring her gun arm around. Before the gun settled on him again, he reached out and gripped her wrist in a ruthless hold that made her cry out, and yanked the gun from her grip with his other hand. He moved so quickly Jane didn't have a chance. He flipped the safety back on and tossed the gun in the direction of her couch.

"No!" she gasped as he took hold of her arms and hauled her bodily up against his hard chest.

Jane reacted quickly, twisting in his arms, attempting to break his hold. He lifted her easily off the ground, giving her less space to fight in. Jane slammed her forehead into his face, aiming for his nose. He moved his head to the side, but she still managed to score a solid hit.

Sitnikov grunted, his cheek and mouth taking the brunt of her hit. His lip split against his tooth and blood spurted down his chin. He twisted her in his arms so her back was pressed against his chest.

"Enough!" he growled.

"You promised you wouldn't hurt me!" Jane snarled, struggling in his unbreakable hold.

"I have no intention of hurting you, Jane." His voice was deep and steady against her ear, despite the hit she'd meted out. "But you mistake my intention in coming here. The offer is not contingent on your acceptance. The offer is a bonus for what is inevitable. You will become my mistress."

He turned her to face him again, his fingers tightening around her arms. He lifted her up until only the tips of her bare toes touched the floor and she was forced to brace her hands against his hard body for stability. She felt the flexed pectoral muscles under his expensive shirt. His heart beat steadily against her fingertips. He dropped his face towards hers, his lips inches from her mouth. He ignored the blood dripping steadily down his chin and onto his shirt collar.

Their breaths mingled as tension snapped in the air around them. He smelled like mint with a hint of cigar and vodka. She braced herself against his chest, her fingers digging into the muscles, as she tried ineffectively to push him away. She tried kicking him, but he moved faster, kicking her legs apart and shoving his legs between hers.

Every self defence maneuver she tried was countered and subdued. She was out of options and trapped in his hold. He seemed to enjoy her fight. There was nothing she could do to stop him. "I don't want your offer, my answer is no. Now go away!" she hissed. "I knew you were pathetic, Sitnikov, but I had no idea how much. Is this the only way you can pick up women?"

He laughed shortly and tilted his head until his nose touched the damp, sweet-smelling hair just above her ear, smearing blood on her freshly washed skin. He inhaled and said in a deep voice, "I'm giving you the choice to quit your job at the police service, Jane McKinley. Walk away now and I will reward you. I have money. I can buy you beautiful things. At my side you will know only respect and fine things."

"No!" she snapped. "You're out of your mind, you fucking psychopath!"

He yanked her up onto her toes and bent his head until their faces nearly touched. He appeared to reach for patience, his lips thinning. "I am giving you this one chance to accept my offer. It is how do you say a one-time deal, little cop. If you do not accept now, then you will suffer the consequences of coming to my bed in a much less honourable way."

"Fuck you!" she snarled trying to rear back.

"In good time."

"Not in this fucking lifetime you motherfucking son of a bitch. Let me the fuck go!" she snarled at him, her rage and fear making her more reckless than she might have otherwise been in the presence of a criminal boss who had her alone and at his mercy.

Jane tried to lunge backwards in hopes of knocking him off balance enough so she could go for the gun. She didn't even care if it looked like self defence any more, she was going to empty that gun into his male chauvinistic ass, reload and then shoot her initials into him. He gripped her by the back of the robe and yanked. The robe was wrenched down her arms trapping them at her side and exposing the pale skin and small rounded breasts of her upper body.

He took a handful of her black hair and pulled her head back in a brutal grip. He dropped his head so she could see his dark eyes. They finally showed some emotion, a terrible kind of anger mixed with intense lust. The blood on his mouth and chin gave his already terrifying visage an extra sinister twist.

"You will treat me with respect, woman, or you will find out why I am the most feared man in this city." He didn't need to raise his voice to make his message clear. "I am in control now and I will tell you something that I have told no one before."

"What?" she snapped, her voice quavering slightly.

"You test my control."

His words were simple, but chilling. They were enough to ensure her silence for the moment.

"I have killed men. I have beaten and broken men. I have destroyed them and done so with extreme control. I never do anything without control." His breathing altered, becoming more rapid. As he continued, his voice took on a savage edge. "But you, my fuckable little police woman, test my control. I want things I should not want with you. I want to lose my control with you. I want to keep you, own you, hurt you."

Jane's breath caught in her throat. "You don't scare me," she lied. She shivered, a chill coursing across her bared breasts, causing goosebumps to break out and her nipples to harden.

He laughed. Unpleasantly. Chillingly. "You should be afraid, woman. Because I have never denied myself something I have wanted."

She stilled completely and ever so slightly pulled her body away from any contact with his.

"Da, I see you comprehend."

She nodded, daring a look up at him. "What are you going to do?"

He stared down at her for a moment, his gaze sweeping her throat, breasts and belly with scorching heat, and then allowed the tiniest of frowns to mar his otherwise expressionless cold face. "I am going to deny myself, just this once  for both of our sakes. I will walk away from you, Jane McKinley. I will give you the chance to have your shining career without my interference."

"I repeat, what do you want from me?"

"You need to disappear from my sight, Jane. You need to make yourself scarce." He spoke next to her ear causing a shiver to trace down her spine. As if he couldn't help himself, he followed that shiver with one long finger. "You will not seek me out again and you will drop the Dennis Yankovich line of questioning that involves me."

Jane had known why he was there from the start. He was threatening her in an elemental way to drop the case against him. She had experienced this before. As a small, attractive female policewoman she had endured her share of rape threats. None quite like this, but she was experienced enough to understand where he was going with this.

The predictability infuriated her. She wanted to rage at him. Why couldn't a man just want her for herself, not for what she represented? Not to fuck away a policewoman's sense of power.

"What if I don't?" she spit out glaring up into his face.

His actions were swift and ruthless.

Jane barely managed a gasp when he pulled her hair back, forcing her to arch her neck and back, thrusting out her gorgeous, rounded breasts. He devoured her without further touch. She suddenly felt as small as he wanted her to feel and tried to shrink away from him. He wouldn't allow it and dragged her closer, his eyes tracing her pale breasts down across her flat stomach to her strong thighs still hidden beneath the folds of her robe. She struggled, but he shook her viciously, causing her head to swim.

"If you do not obey me, there will be consequences, officer McKinley. Consequences you will not enjoy, I promise," he snapped. "You have declined my generous offer and I have kindly decided to back off, for now. If you continue down your current path, I will give myself free reign to indulge what I am now holding back for your sake. I am not a lover. I am a killer and a loner, a man better left alone. I enjoy hurting other people, Detective. If you pursue me, then I will end the chase my way. I will take you, put you in a cage and I will keep you for my exclusive and particular use. In short, I will break you."

His words were so rapid and so accented she had trouble following them. But she understood the gist. "Are you threatening me?"

"Yes, Jane, I am most definitely threatening you," he agreed. "But the question is, will you take heed, or will you continue on this reckless course you seem so intent on?"

She remained silent. She believed him. But she wouldn't stop. She was close to pinning Yankovich's murder on him. And now she could add threatening a police officer to his charges.

As if reading her mind, he gave her the cold smile that seemed to be his signature. "You are very easy to read, my pet," he said, stroking the hair back from her temple. She jerked her head away, but he ignored the small defiance. "If you must have it your way then I will choose to look forward to the hunt with anticipation."

Releasing his grip, he reached down to cover her exposed curves. His fingers shook very slightly, betraying how close to the edge of his control he had reached. She wondered if perhaps, maybe a little, she did test his legendary icy calm. The image of herself forced into slavery to this man sent a shudder rippling through her small frame. Sitnikov smoothed a hand down the front of her robe ensuring it was in place and her modesty was intact.

"Goodbye, my pet." His deep, accented voice caressed her. "And forget I exist. It is perhaps better for both of us."

She said nothing. The scariest man she had ever crossed paths with turned and left. She briefly considered shooting him in the back, but was too shaky to go after the gun. Legs wobbling, she sunk to the floor of her small apartment, wrapped her arms around her knees and allowed weakness to wash over her. She touched the spot behind her ear that his lips and nose had caressed, and her fingers came away wet with his blood.