‘You can’t lock me up.’
‘I made a mistake in believing that you could follow my instructions. You’ve failed previously and proved you’re still not capable of doing what you’re told.’
‘So you’re locking me up?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘You’ll be locked up for your own safety.’
‘Why do I have to be naked?’
He scrutinised her figure. ‘For the art.’
‘I thought you were concerned with the others coming in.’
‘Seems you’re happy to be pawed.’
‘I didn’t ask him to touch me,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t listen to her screams and do nothing.’
‘That’s exactly what you should’ve done.’
‘You didn’t,’ Flick said rising to her knees. ‘You listened to me scream, and you came to my rescue.’
‘You think that’s what I did?’
‘I think that’s exactly what you did.’
‘Have you seen her body?’ he demanded, striding to Flick. ‘Did you go out there? She’s been lying face down in the mud, just left there to rot!’
‘They left her there?’
‘I thought it was you! Driving up here, her body was lying out there and I thought...’
Now his strong reaction made sense, though this was the same guy who had claimed not to care about her.
Flick snagged his jeans pocket, Rushe complied to her unspoken request and dipped down to smother her mouth with his. He might not have kissed her often but when he did, he made it count.
Pushing her hair away he tipped up her chin, beckoning her tongue with his. She parted her lips and the soft, moist motion of his lips wasn’t like the first bruising kiss they’d shared, or the soothing motion of the second.
Moisture tipped over her lashes at the feel of his large hands cupping her face without force, yet urging her to fulfil his will.
‘I’m gonna take you home,’ he said against her, smudging the tears on her face. ‘Ok? Don’t worry, Kitten. I’m gonna get you home.’
‘What happened to turning me out to them?’
‘I thought it was you.’
Something in the way he said the words stabbed at her heart. He was more open and more vulnerable with those five words than she’d ever thought he could be.
His hands remained holding her head and Flick was cuffed to the bed by one wrist. Using her free hand she tugged at the buttons of his jeans.
‘Not now,’ he said, joining their mouths again.
‘Yes, now,’ she said, surprised he’d ever be reluctant.
But his reluctance was short lived. Rushe backed off to take the gun from his waistband and kicked out of his boots. He pulled off his tee-shirt and his socks, then came back toward her.
‘Jeans too,’ she said, and he shirked them.
Already he was fully erect but he swept her body under his to lay over her bracing his weight on his forearms. He let his fingertips comb through her hair where his digits could reach.
Again he linked their mouths and kissed her for what seemed like hours, but Flick would do it all over again. Her whole body had become liquid, a thick soup of hormones and raging want.
Locking her ankles at his back, Flick tried to lead him into her but with his superior strength he held back.
‘I could be of a lot more use to you if I had both hands.’
‘I’m not unlocking you,’ he said, kissing her jaw then shifting down to kiss her throat, right on her voice-box down to her cleavage, and back up again.
‘I want to touch you.’
While he spent his time kissing her breasts, Rushe took her free hand down and rolled her fingers around his penis.
‘There,’ he said, suckling her nipple.
This wasn’t like any time they’d been intimate before, compared to that he was being positively gentle.
‘There’s more to you than him.’
‘That’s the only bit of me that’s good for you.’
Flick’s smile burst into a laugh and he froze. Running her free fingers through his hair Flick’s grin made her cheeks ache, but Rushe lifted his head to look down at her.
‘I’ve told you not to let your guard down,’ he said. ‘Don’t think that this is fun.’
‘Ok.’
Rushe cursed and pounced away from her, standing with his back to the bed. ‘How am I supposed to keep you safe?’ he mumbled, and Flick didn’t know if he expected an answer.
‘You’ve done alright so far.’
On spinning to face her, Rushe’s attention scanned down every inch of her spread out figure.
‘When I’m on a job I don’t have women,’ he said, stooping to grope each of her breasts before he scooped her clothes from the floor and dumped them on her. ‘Get dressed.’
‘I thought I wasn’t the first or the last,’ she said.
‘I lied. Get dressed.’
‘What about the strippers?’
‘What strippers?’
‘That you took to bed night before last,’ she said.
‘Skeeve told you that?’ She nodded. ‘How did you feel hearing that?’
‘Do you care?’
‘No,’ he said, shaking sense into his head. ‘No, I don’t care. Get dressed.’
‘You do care,’ she said, moving onto her knees again. ‘Why can’t you be honest with me?’
‘I’m honest.’
‘You lied about that, about me not being the first, about turning me out to your gang, what have you been honest about?’
‘I don’t argue with women,’ he said, snatching up his own jeans to pull them on.
‘Funny, I’m sure I’m a woman,’ she said touching her breasts. ‘Yeah, I am.’
‘And I’m not arguing with you, get dressed.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘Not until you admit you care.’
‘About what?’
‘About me.’
Rushe scoffed into a sneer. ‘I don’t care about nothing.’
‘You don’t have women on the job. You just admitted that, but you have me. I’m different.’
‘As different as the strippers the other night.’
‘You implied that was false,’ she said.
‘I lied.’
‘But you don’t have women on the job.’
‘Sex and women aren’t the same thing,’ he said.
‘So you had sex while you were gone from here? While I was here waiting for you?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re a good liar, and I imagine in your line of work that’s an asset.’
‘Here we go,’ he said. ‘You don’t know anything about me.’
‘I might not know the physical details of your life, but I know that you keep me at arm’s length to protect me. You tell me not to trust anyone, and to always be on guard. You don’t want me to trust you because you don’t want to let me down, and you don’t want me to rely on you. If I do that and things go wrong you don’t want to be responsible.’
‘Put your clothes on,’ he growled.
‘No,’ she said. ‘You’re not going to hurt me. And being crude won’t work either because I like it when you talk dirty to me. You can tell me you don’t care, and make fun of me for my lack of sexual expertise all you want, but I’ve seen the truth.’
‘And what’s that, Kitten?’
‘When you thought I was dead you panicked, the thought hurt you. Just like it hurt me when I thought you were screwing around.’
‘You think we run off and get married now?’ he sniggered in his condescending way. ‘You gonna take me home to your daddy?’
The very notion made Flick smile. ‘My family don’t want anything to do with me,’ she admitted, figuring they had nothing to hide and that at least one of them should be honest. ‘They don’t want me around, so I doubt they’d welcome you.’
‘Why don’t they want you around?’
‘Because I didn’t do as I was told,’ she said, not missing the irony.
‘I
’m glad to know it’s not only me you defy... when was the last time you spoke to them?’
‘A year ago,’ she said. ‘A bit longer maybe.’
‘What did they want you to do?’
‘Marry a man I felt nothing for.’
‘Why?’
‘Because it’s what’s done... it was good for business.’
‘You high society or something?’
‘Not anymore,’ she said. ‘Now it’s just me in my studio apartment...’ Flick picked at the corner of the pillow. ‘It’s funny how our lives can change so drastically with just one decision.’
‘Do you regret it?’
‘No,’ she immediately answered. ‘My life might be different than what I’d envisioned, but it’s better... I’m better.’
‘Until you chose to walk into Dell’s.’
‘I don’t regret that either,’ she said, taking her eyes up to his.
‘Don’t say that. Think of what you’ve been through.’
‘We are the sum total of our experiences,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to worry; no one will shed any tears for me if this experience turns out to be my last.’
Flick hadn’t realised she’d looked away until Rushe came into her peripheral vision and sat on the bed.
‘Are you hungry?’ he asked. ‘You look tired.’
‘I didn’t sleep while you were away. This place is spooky at night, and you weren’t here to keep me warm.’
‘You were spooked when all the hired guns were away? That’s backwards, isn’t it?’
‘I never thanked you,’ she said, ‘for saving me that night and for keeping me safe since.’
‘My last,’ he said, scooping her up and giving himself room to lie down. He then settled her on top of him.
‘What?’
‘Rushe is my last name,’ he said, stroking her hair away from his face. ‘Get some sleep.’
‘Sex?’
‘I’ll wake you up in a while,’ he said. ‘You’re not gonna get out of it.’
‘Thank you for coming back.’
‘I told you I would.’
‘I trust you Rushe, like it or not, it’s the truth; no argument required.’
By the time she had spent her tenth night in the shack with Rushe, things had levelled out. Flick moved freely around Skeeve, Glen, and the Kid, though it was clear they all bristled in her company.
She and Rushe had sex a minimum of five times a day. He’d brought a truckload of condoms back after his trip away, and it seemed now to be his mission to use them all.
Flick sat on the porch to read, and when the rain had stopped, she and Rushe had ventured into the trees. The ground was still very soft, so she’d gone in her bare feet, wearing a sundress. They came across a lake, and Flick actually managed to convince Rushe to join her in the water. She’d never skinny-dipped before but there was little swimming done. At least now Flick could add sex outside and in water to her list of experiences. It was just like Rushe to be carrying condoms, even out in the wilderness.
They didn’t talk much, but when Rushe got a certain look in his eye Flick knew he was thinking about sex, and that was certainly a place where words were welcome.
Now Flick took her toast from the toaster to the kitchen table and leaned across it to reach the butter, except she couldn’t. As she was about to right herself to move around the table, Rushe’s hand landed between her shoulder blades keeping her bent over.
‘What are you...’ she asked trailing off when he lifted up her dress and pulled her underwear down to her knees. ‘Here? Like this?’ Scanning to ensure the others weren’t in sight. ‘It’s lunchtime.’
‘I know,’ he rumbled, and stuck two fingers into her while rubbing her clit with his thumb.
‘Don’t, Rushe,’ she whispered. ‘You know I can’t be quiet. I always fail at that.’
‘That your only objection?’ he asked, still concerned with her consent.
‘Yes.’
‘Good, then I can ignore it.’
His hands slid down her outer thighs, stalling Flick’s words because she wondered at what he was doing. Pressuring them apart, he kissed each of her thighs. Next, his lips closed around her clit and he sucked on her then flicked her with his tongue.
‘Rushe,’ she gasped. ‘Do you want to go to bed?’
‘No,’ he hummed around her. ‘It’s lunchtime.’
Flick’s smile spread but when she tried to push away from the table his hands clasped her hips in place. Rushe’s tongue circled her then probed into her, and her knees almost gave out. He licked at her and sucked her clit between his teeth while his fingers dipped into her again.
No man had ever done this for her and Flick had no idea what she’d been missing. His pace increased, and she squeaked, and wriggled against him.
‘Rushe,’ she groaned.
‘I’m gonna take my time,’ he mumbled, against her but his tongue moved faster.
His experience showed because it was less than a minute later when Flick cried out at the explosion in her womb. Sharing this intimacy brought her closer to him. Rushe might not agree with her, but he’d given her something selflessly, he got nothing in that orgasm except the knowledge that he’d spoiled her.
Flick knew Rushe was on his feet again when he pulled up her underwear and then lowered her dress, giving her back her modesty. Flick reached back to steal his wrist.
But if she said thank you he’d rebuke her, and she wasn’t sure of her other options.
‘You should stop wearing underwear.’
Her solemnity vanished into a smile and Flick spun to stand up sandwiched between him and the table. More and more he invaded her personal space, and Rushe never apologised for it. Even now Flick had to lean back a little where her breasts pressed to his torso because there wasn’t quite enough room for her, but he didn’t apologise and he didn’t back off.
‘You bought underwear for me,’ she said.
‘On day two,’ he said. ‘It’s job was to keep those bastards out.’
‘It doesn’t still do that?’
‘None of them are going to touch you now. It’s keeping me out.’
‘It delays things by like two seconds,’ she said. ‘I like wearing your gift.’
Rushe leaned down. ‘If I bought you underwear as a gift it sure wouldn’t look like that.’
‘I’m scared to ask,’ Flick said, taking his front jeans pockets. ‘If you want me to stop wearing it I’ll stop wearing it.’
‘Damn right you will,’ he said, sweeping his hand under her hair to cup the back of her skull and tip her mouth up for his consumption.
He kissed her a lot more now these days but reserved it for when they were in private. At night when the men lounged around the TV he’d keep her in his lap, fondle her, do whatever he wanted, but he still instructed her to get beer, food, and fulfil his commands.
She had noticed that any familiarity between them was lessened when the others were around. Rushe pawed her and commanded her, but showed no affection. Flick trusted Rushe and followed his direction. If the others saw her as a weakness, they could hurt Rushe, and she didn’t want that.
‘Could we maybe go to bed?’ she asked sinking her hands deeper into his pockets to explore the now solid length of him.
‘You’re turning into a randy little slut, aren’t you?’
‘Only for you,’ she said, pressing her breasts against him. ‘I have to return the favour... I need the practise, remember?’
Flick had blown him at least once a day; it was becoming something of a morning routine.
‘You hungry for my cock?’
‘Yeah,’ she breathed. ‘Right now, please... sir.’
Gathering her skirt up he gripped her rear, forcing her against his erection. ‘You get it when I want it,’ he growled. ‘I fuck you to satisfy my appetite.’
‘I want you to fuck me,’ she murmured. ‘Every minute of the day I want you inside me.’
‘Ah, my dirty little whore, I�
��ve trained you well.’
‘I love being your whore, Rushe,’ she said. ‘The things we do together... the way it makes me feel.’
A door banged open, Flick didn’t turn, but Rushe’s grip on her backside increased.
‘Phone,’ Skeeve snapped.
Rushe gave her butt a smack. ‘Get naked,’ he said to her quietly, then left her alone to take the phone from Skeeve.
The only phone in the place was a cell phone. No outgoing calls were made; it was there purely for Victor to get in touch with these men. Skeeve’s job it appeared was to play secretary, look after the device, and answer it when needed.
Rushe took it outside as he always did, leaving her alone with Skeeve. So she spread the butter on her now cold toast. From experience, she knew these calls could take time so there was no hurry for Flick to comply with Rushe’s order.
‘Tick, tock, little girl,’ Skeeve said. ‘Time’s running out for you.’ Flick ignored him but he carried on. ‘Boss has got orders, we’ll be moving out soon. Pieces are moving on the board.’
‘I’m sure that’s lovely for you,’ she said.
Lifting her toast Flick was going to go back to the bedroom, but Skeeve blocked her way between the fridge and the table.
‘Boss gets to sample anything he wants,’ Skeeve sniped. ‘You’re gonna be on the market, or in the boss’ bed... your boy’s gonna be in his place then.’
The grating sound of Skeeve’s laughter followed Flick to the bedroom, and long after he’d quieted she could hear it still.
Rushe didn’t come to her after the phone call. He didn’t come to her at dinner, or while the men sat around watching television in the evening.
Long after light had disappeared from under the door Flick lay awake listening to the sound of nothing from the rest of the house.
Flick didn’t know where he was, or if he would come to her at all. Worrying about Rushe’s welfare did nothing to help, but she doubted he’d appreciate her going out to look for him.
When the bedroom door did eventually open Flick made no disguise that she was awake but he didn’t look at her. Rushe shirked everything but his jeans and scooped her on top of him when he lay down.
He didn’t speak but she didn’t either. In any of their recent nights together Rushe hadn’t kept his jeans on, and he made no attempt to touch her tonight either.
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