Chapter 20

Sergei had been hot on the trail of Grigori Kachanov for a week now and after following the leads he received from his crew, he eventually found himself participating in a tournament taking place across town. It was the belief that Grigori would be a participant as well which led Sergei to his current plan of action, but now looking over the list of contestants, he wasn't all too sure. Placing his chin in between his fingers as he thought, the tournament mediator approached him and awoke him from his thoughts. "Mr. Dragunov, sir," he spoke, "your match is next."

So concerned of finding the name of the infamous crime lord, Sergei didn't look over the name of his next opponent nor did he care. All of these contestants were mere amateurs hoping to stake a name for themselves or claim the money reward. None of them were elite enough to take him down or give him a challenge.

He followed the mediator down the halls until the lights of the stadium were seen. The mediator looked over his shoulder at him and passed him a smile. "Good luck, sir," he said before running out into the stadium to introduce the next contestants.

As the young man was doing so, Sergei took the time to study the dome which housed these tournaments. The huge crowd holding up to thirteen-thousand audience members circled the stage from the floor up and following his gaze upward, Sergei saw that near the roof of the dome were windows where the VIP seats were located. He narrowed his eyes. So that's where his target was…

"And exiting from the red side we have Sergei Dragunov!" Upon hearing his name, Sergei stepped out into the stage and at the sight of him, the crowd went wild. While men cheered, women swooned. Sergei however ignored all of it as he kept his gaze upward at the special seats. Before Grigori could be allowed to make his escape, Sergei had to finish this match up fast.

Grigori who was indeed watching from the skybox narrowed his eyes at the soldier below and grunted. "Why's he looking at me like that," he said to a nearby man. "Freak."

Too busy concentrating on the crime lord who was watching him from above, Sergei didn't notice his opponent entering the stadium until the crowd fell silent and all could be heard were heels upon the marble ring. "Sergei…" his opponent said in a sexy smooth tone. At the sound of their voice, Sergei froze. He knew that voice.

Quickly shifting his gaze from the skybox to his opponent, Sergei's eyes widened at the sight before him. It was the one and only love of his life, Anna Williams. She was dressed in a dark blue latex suit which had sparkly silver ribbons running down vertically around her entire body. The suit ended just where her legs began, giving everyone a full view of those beautiful limbs she possessed, and to top it off, she wore silver heels equally as sparkly as the ribbons that adorned her body. Letting his eyes travel to her face, he saw that her chestnut brown hair was messily pinned up while her face was exactly as how he remembered it from a year ago. It was no wonder the audience had quieted upon seeing her…She was gorgeous.

Feigning shyness, Anna averted her gaze from him and said, "Oh Mr. Dragunov…Please don't look at me like that…"

The crowd watched on in silence as their hero, Sergei Dragunov, began making his way towards his opponent until not even a foot stood between them. He looked her over once more as if assuring himself that the beauty before him truly was the Anna Williams he knew from all those months ago.

Bothered by all his staring, Anna pressed herself up against the man and asked sensually, "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to do something?" Before the spectators could even predict what was going to happen next, the White Angel of Death snatched his ladylove's lips with his own resulting in an eruption of gasps, cheers, and hoots by the audience.

Surprised by his boldness, Anna almost stumbled back from the force of his kiss if not for the strong arms that wound their way around her body to support her. Gradually she wrapped her own arms around his neck as the soldier continued to crush her lips with his searing hot, passionate kiss. It had been too long since they had last tasted each other and neither knew, until this moment, how overwhelming the need to see one another was.

Ignoring the many eyes watching them, Sergei continued crushing her lightly painted lips until the need for air became too dire. When he separated from her, he gazed into her ice blue pools and ran a finger underneath her jaw. "I'm looking forward to all the gifts you have waiting for me…" He heard her say sensually right before she snuggled her way into his chest.

Planting a light kiss on her forehead, Sergei gave a small smile. "Thank you…For coming back to me…" For the past year, he had been so overwhelmed with tying up loose ends in his country he never once had the opportunity to seek her out. However, that never meant he never thought of her. It was quite the contrary. Since he began his reign over SPETSNAZ, not a day went by in which he didn't think of her. There were days when he wished she would show up on his front doorstep or even better, she would be beside him when he woke up.

"The pleasure's all mine," she replied. "After all, I can't go on living by myself…"

As they continued to embrace in the middle of the ring, the men in the skybox looked back and forth between one another, confused. They had come here to watch a fight not a romantic interaction between a stunningly gorgeous woman and a soldier. One of the men, while twirling his wine in his glass, gave the couple below a gentle smile before pulling out a wad of cash. "My bet is on the male," he replied calmly as he gently placed down his wager.

All the others turned to look at him as he sipped his wine, curious as to whether he was serious about this or not. However, looking at the cash on the table, they tossed aside any doubts and began making wagers of their own. Money was money to a crime lord.

Looking back up at Sergei, Anna pulled herself away from him and whispered, "Y'know…All these people, your people, came to watch a fight. You can't disappoint them, can you?" Before Sergei could grasp what she was hinting at, he found her attempting to land a hard kick into his abdomen which he effortlessly caught.

Running his eyes over the long limb in his hand up to Anna's lovely face, he smirked. So she wanted to play rough, was that it? Yanking the leg so that it was now wrapped around his waist and she was up against him, Sergei shook his head at the brunette. There was a rule that had come about since he took over as SPETSNAZ leader: Don't push Dragunov's buttons.

After about twenty minutes, the match had ended and the crowd, usually rowdy and rambunctious, was silent as they were contemplating whether or not what they just saw was a fight. There were two people involved of course and they were fighting for dominance though not in the "traditional" method. There were a lot of takedowns followed by some straddling, a lip lock, and a whole lot of slapping. In fact, it was a slap to the rear that ended the match as it had sent the loser stumbling out of the ring.

Nonetheless, despite how unorthodox the match was, there was a victor and the tournament was going to continue. As of now, spectators, legal and illegal alike, watched as the winner, Sergei Dragunov, carry his opponent into the back, all of them wondering what they were intending to do together. They didn't have to think too hard.

Once alone in the back, Sergei placed the young lady on her feet and stared down at her, his heartbeat quickening. He had never been so intimate with her in public before but now with all their teasing put aside, Sergei wanted nothing more than to share his affection with her in the way he knew she loved best. He grabbed her hand, prepared to lead her back to his assigned locker room, but found that she was resisting.

"Not yet," she sang teasingly. She pecked him on the lips with a wet kiss and continued speaking. "Give me fifteen minutes."

Walking back to his locker room alone, Sergei still couldn't let his mind wrap around the idea that Anna had come back to him, that the dreams he had could finally become reality. It seemed all too good. She had said that she didn't want to be alone and now that he thought about the empty mansion he returned to every night, neither did he. And perhaps, just like him, Anna couldn't think of a better person to come home to. As these thoughts swarmed his mind, Sergei couldn't help but smile.

Back in her own room, Anna was digging through her belongings, excitement coursing through her veins. She had been anticipating this moment since they had said their farewell and it seemed her impatience was getting the better of her as she was now throwing all of her sundries, clothing, and jewelry all about the room in search of the one outfit she wanted.

After tossing a bottle of shampoo over her shoulder, she heard the gentle vibration of a phone. Turning around to where the pulsating came from, Anna spotted the cell phone and looked over the name of her caller. Realizing who it was, she gave a pout and hesitantly answered it. "Do you need something?"

A gentle chuckle was heard on the other end causing Anna to sigh. "You seem to be in a hurry, Anna," the male voice replied. "Is it safe to assume that you've found him?"

"I have," she answered kindly, "Thank you, Lars."

There was a pause on the other end before Lars gave his reply. "It's not a problem. I'm glad to hear we were able to be of help." Without either having anything else to say, the Swede concluded with a farewell. "Tell Sergei that we're proud of him, won't you Anna?"

With a smile on her pink lips she nodded. "Of course. And you take care of yourself. I don't plan to deliver any message from a dead man to anyone."

"Goodbye. Until we meet again."

Anna shut her phone off, feeling a pang of sadness as she did so. Yggdrasil had treated her so kindly while she was with them, but after she had defeated Nina, she left. However, upon realizing that she had no way to find Sergei again, or even get back to Russia for that matter, she came back and they welcomed her with open arms.

Now that she had found Sergei, she doubted she would ever see them again. They had their own lives to fulfill and she had nothing to do with it. Yet when she walked off on them for this final time, she felt as if she was saying goodbye to her family. The thought brought out two complete opposite emotions from her, making her wonder if the tear that ran down her cheek was one of joy or sadness.

Once Sergei finished rinsing off his body in the shower, he stood before the mirror, staring at his reflection. Looking back at him was still the same scarred man from years past. He still held the same sins and lives under his belt, but the emotions that his past self had once hidden were present as well. And it was those emotions that brought him from there to here; from being the renowned White Angel of Death to the hero of Russia. It had been a rough start, but he had managed to overcome and conquer the battle within himself.

Looking back at his two-year journey, Sergei found he was proud of the outcome of his battles, scars, and all. And especially—

"Sergei," a sexy voice purred, "Don't keep me waiting…"

Forgetting about the passage of time, Sergei quickly exited the bathroom, a towel around his waist, and was immediately greeted by a bikini clad Anna Williams posed seductively on his bed. He froze where he stood, wondering how a woman can go from stunning to drop dead gorgeous with a simple change of clothes.

His eyes skimmed over the white one-piece swimwear, down those long legs of hers, to the silver heels on her feet. Quickly discarding himself of the towel, he approached the brunette and pinned her beneath him. His animalistic urge taking over, he treated her to a rough, passionate kiss that stole the breath from her.

"Sergei…" she moaned between their kiss. His name on her tongue sent shivers down his spine as he prepared to remove the attire from her body. However, before he could do so, she gently pushed him back by his chest and waggled a finger. "Before we go any further," she said, her breath ragged, "You made a promise to me the last time we saw each other…"

Sitting up, Sergei looked down at her, wondering if this could wait until after they were done. However, at spotting the hand on his chest, the barrier that held him back from ravishing her, he decided it would be quicker if he do what she wanted and thus waited for her to speak.

"You promised that you would tell me three words…"

Recalling that he did indeed make that pledge, he gave a smirk and, grabbing the hand she had on his torso, he leaned down until his lips were beside her ear. Once in that position, he gave her what she wanted as his breath warmed her ear with his three words of "I love you…"

As said before, Sergei Dragunov was proud of his battles, scars, and all. But especially, he was glad he listened to the Call of the Bluebird…

The End

Author's Notes: And there you have it. I send a big "Thank You!" to all those who stood by me through this entire journey. I don't think I would've been able to finish if you guys never reviewed. Though I'm proud of this story, I think I'm going to be sticking to oneshots from now on…