Bounty

by Kristen Ashley

  I let go, chest dropping to the mattress, cheek to the pillow, arms stretching out in front of me and experienced the heady ecstasy of an orgasm tearing me apart.

  Deke’s finger left my clit, his hand wrapped in my hair and he held it firm, driving me back into him as I climaxed and he kept thrusting, faster, harder.

  My thighs quivered, my nipples dragged on the sheets, I whimpered and gasped as orgasm one was shoved out of the way so orgasm two could rocket through me as Deke kept powering inside me.

  Finally I heard it and felt it, Deke losing control, bucking into me through his climax, doing it grunting, each thrust, each noise blasting up my pussy, exploding against my clit.

  Enter orgasm three, not as soul-shattering but it was no slouch either.

  I knew it was over when he slid in, stayed buried, his fingers sifting out of my hair, down my back and both hands coming to my hips, trailing, drawing mindless patterns as he started to glide in and out tenderly.

  I heard his breaths even, felt the light, gentle beauty of his touch, the intimate caress inside me before he slid out.

  He trailed a finger down my right thigh, over and then I felt a tug and the scarf he’d grabbed from my walk-in closet sometime before this morning came loose.

  I did a full body shiver as he slid the silk away.

  He’d woken me.

  We’d had some fun.

  Then he’d tied my thighs together and pulled me up to my knees, my legs bound tight together, and he fucked me from behind, his hand around to my front, finger digging into the close heat to manipulate my clit the whole time he did it.

  It had been awesome.

  He ran his fingers then his lips over one of my ass cheeks before he put pressure on my hip and I fell to my side.

  He yanked the covers to my waist.

  I felt him pull my hair aside, his lips touch my shoulder and then the bed move as he got out of it.

  I watched his fantastic ass as he went into the bathroom.

  My alternate and arguably better view was his cock as he walked out.

  My head stayed down but my eyes aimed up as he sat on the edge of the bed. He twisted at the waist, bent and got close, one forearm in the bed, fingers of his other hand sliding slow and lazy up and down my spine.

  “Can you move?” he asked, hazel eyes twinkling, cocky and hot.

  “No,” I gave him the truth.

  And I got more cocky.

  And hot.

  “You gonna pass out?” he went on.

  I gave him more truth. “Probably.”

  And from that I got more cocky…and hot.

  I turned my head slightly so I wasn’t looking into his face through the sides of my eyes but straight on.

  “No one has ever tied me up,” I whispered.

  “Get used to that, gypsy,” he whispered back.

  I shivered.

  And got more cocky and hot.

  He bent deep, touched his mouth to mine and when he moved back, it was only half an inch.

  “I gotta get to work. Go back to sleep, baby.”

  “Okay, Deke.”

  He went in for another kiss and I forced my body to use the small amount of energy it had left after being torn asunder through two massive orgasms (and a final one that was no slouch) to cup his bristly cheek.

  He got my message and that kiss was not a touch. It went deeper and lasted longer.

  He ended it lifting up and kissing my temple then pulling away at the same time tugging the sheets up to my shoulder.

  I watched him walk back to the bathroom.

  Deke was halfway there when my eyelids fluttered closed.

  They didn’t open.

  * * * * *

  Showered, dressed, phone in one hand, mug of coffee in the other, I walked out to the great room and found Bubba there working with Deke. Bubba was checking the plastic that had already been taped at the edges of the windows in preparation for priming. Deke was working on some equipment, getting ready to spray the paint.

  “Hey, Bub, how’re your two girls?” I asked.

  “You’re gonna see,” Bubba answered, grinning huge at me. “Krys texted. Said you and Laurie are coming for a visit.”

  “Yup,” I replied, this whole conversation happening as I made my way straight to Deke. I stopped close and tipped my head way back as he dipped his chin way down. “News that’s not news, Lauren called while I was getting dressed. We’re paying a visit to Krys. And she’s letting me borrow her Crock-Pot.”

  His brows went up. “Crock-Pot?”

  “You down with me going to the trailer after my visit with Krys and putting dinner in to slow cook for us tonight?”

  He dug in his pocket, asking, “What’s for dinner?”

  “Steph’s chicken.”

  “Who’s Steph?”

  “Some unknown, faceless but undeniably brilliant woman who came up with a killer Crock-Pot recipe for chicken.”

  Deke chuckled, taking a key off his chain and handing it to me, muttering, “Remind me tonight, Jussy. Get you a spare.”

  I went solid.

  Deke shoved his keychain minus a key back into his pocket.

  My eyes slid to Bubba.

  He was still grinning huge but I had a feeling it was for a different reason because he was doing it staring at Deke.

  “Want you texting me when you get to Krys’s,” Deke ordered and I looked back to him.

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “And when you leave.”

  “Right.”

  “And when you get to the trailer.”

  I stood there silent.

  “And when you’re on your way back here,” Deke went on. “With sandwiches,” he kept going. “Roast beef,” he kept at it. “And Swiss,” he finished.

  “Uh…” I began, heard Bubba make a weird noise, looked to him, saw him widen his eyes to me, and I got it.

  Bubba was a mountain man. Deke was a mountain man. Hence Bubba knew what Deke was doing. And what Bubba was communicating was that I should keep my mouth shut and text Deke incessantly so he didn’t worry (even if there wasn’t anything to worry about, it was still the first time I went out on my own after being strangled, the operative part of that was me being strangled).

  I gave Bubba wide eyes back and looked up at Deke.

  He still was eyes to me.

  “You do know none of that between you and Bub was lost on me since I’m standin’ right here,” he noted.

  “Um…”

  “And you made a good call,” he continued. “No sass.”

  I felt my eyes narrow.

  “Don’t start,” he grunted. “Just text.”

  Before I could say anything, his gaze went beyond me toward the front door.

  That was when I heard a car approaching.

  I looked over my shoulder at the door but Bubba started moving, muttering, “I’ll go see who it is.”

  Bubba lumbered away and I turned back to Deke.

  “Key to your trailer?” I whispered.

  He grinned down at me and I felt that grin everywhere.

  “I like you,” he whispered back.

  Suddenly, I wanted to start crying.

  Instead, I smiled so huge, it even blinded me.

  Deke lifted a hand and captured a long tendril of my hair, twirling it around his forefinger.

  He also bent his neck so his face was closer.

  “We gotta talk tonight, Jussy.”

  That didn’t sound good.

  “Can’t we just have amazing orgasms, banter, your cocky, my sassy and Steph’s chicken?” I asked.

  “We’ll have all that too.”

  At least that was promising.

  “Deke—”

  “None of it’ll be bad, baby,” he said gently. “You think, what we found, it could be bad?”

  I didn’t think that.

  But I wasn’t the one who’d established boundaries blown through after assault, strangulation, a week of closeness, all this leading to amaz
ing orgasms.

  “Well…” I started.

  “Jussy,” Bubba called and I felt the pull on my hair, hair Deke didn’t let go, when I twisted to look at the door.

  Bubba was plodding back toward us and Mr. T was standing inside the closed door.

  “Hey, Mr. T,” I called.

  “Justice,” he called back, and even across the large space that was my great room, I saw he had attention keenly focused not just on me, but on me with Deke.

  Deke gave a soft tug at my hair before letting it go.

  I shot him a grin before I took off toward Mr. T.

  “How’s it hanging?” I asked when I stopped at him.

  “Fine,” he said crisply. He took a look around my now fully-walled space and then his gaze came back to me. “I came up here to tell you that, with your situation clearing up, I need to get to Nashville. Your aunt is going back into the studio and I have to make sure everything is as it should be.”

  That was a bummer.

  I liked having him around.

  Still, my situation had cleared up and Aunt Tammy, when recording (and performing, and breathing), could be a diva.

  I nodded. “Okay,” I said and grinned. “Back to regularly scheduled programming.”

  He nodded back. “Just so you’re aware, I’ve had a word with a few people I know in Los Angeles and a few others who can pull strings here. They’ll be expediting the DNA tests so we can be assured this gentleman in LA was the same as the gentleman who paid a visit to you.”

  Paid a visit to you.

  Mr. T was a stitch.

  I did not laugh.

  I nodded again.

  “I’ve also had a few words with the authorities in LA. I’ve not only been clear that what happened there has nothing to do with you, I’ve been assured there’ll be no leak about any connection between what happened there and you.”

  “Right. Great. Thanks as usual, Mr. T.”

  “And Jacob Decker will continue to report to me as well as to you through Hightower.”

  “Sounds good,” I approved, not that he needed my approval but I gave it to him anyway.

  “Please continue to be careful, Justice,” he warned.

  “Not gonna be an issue since I’m going to visit my friend Krys and her new baby in about five minutes. Then I’m setting dinner up in a Crock-Pot at Deke’s for tonight, where we’re going to escape paint fumes. And then I’m back here with sandwiches and I’ve been ordered to text the progress of my travels so often, I might be able to get a few breaths in in between but we’ll just have to see.”

  After I said that, Mr. T looked beyond me to where I knew Deke was.

  “It pleases me,” he started softly before he brought his gaze back to me, “that when the foundation of your father was pulled from under you, you found a safe place to land.”

  That gave me goosebumps.

  “Pleases me too, Mr. T,” I replied just as softly.

  His lips moved in what was a semi-kinda-semblance of a smile.

  That vanished and he stated briskly, “I must be on my way. My flight leaves in three and a half hours.”

  I nodded again and turned, calling, “Deke, Mr. T’s taking off. He’s gotta get to Nashville.”

  “Hey, dude. Cool to have you around,” Bubba called while Deke headed our way. “Come back and visit Jussy soon. We’ll make it a party.”

  Mr. T made no reply to Bubba and Bubba had been around him enough he didn’t expect any. He just went back to checking the plastic taped on my windows.

  Deke stopped close to me, throwing an arm around my shoulders and shoving out a hand.

  “Bill,” he said.

  “Deke,” Mr. T replied, taking Deke’s hand for a firm squeeze before letting him go. “I trust you’ll look after Justice,” he said unnecessarily.

  Deke just grunted unintelligibly. This was both his affirmative answer and an indication he was slightly insulted Mr. T voiced those words.

  “Of course,” Mr. T said to Deke then looked to me. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “Can I get a hug?” I asked.

  “If you must,” he sighed.

  Deke grunted again and that one was just masking a chuckle.

  He let me go and I moved into Mr. T, wrapping my arms around him tightly, but carefully, still holding coffee and phone.

  “Safe trip,” I said into his ear. “Thanks for everything. And love you to pieces.”

  He gave me a short squeeze and stepped out of my arms.

  Then he gave me a look that made my heart squeeze.

  “Good-bye, Justice.”

  “Later, Mr. T.”

  He nodded once, turned, opened the door and moved through it.

  Deke claimed me again and moved us into it before Mr. T could close it.

  He glanced back only once before he walked directly to his rental car, got in and drove away.

  “I’m gonna miss him,” I muttered wistfully.

  “Always tough to see the back of someone you love.”

  I looked up at Deke.

  Deke was watching my drive, but when he felt my gaze, he looked down at me.

  “Even far, babe, think you get, they never really are,” he finished.

  “Yeah,” I said softly.

  “Get to Krys,” he ordered. “Her man’s back at work, she’s at home with a new baby, she’s gonna need her girls around her.”

  I nodded and started to pull away.

  “Kiss first, Jussy.”

  I looked into his eyes and just saw Deke looking down at me. It was not distant. There were no boundaries. He was close, his arm around my shoulders, waiting for me to roll up to my toes and give him a kiss.

  I didn’t know what this talk was going to be about that we’d have over Steph’s chicken.

  What I knew looking in his eyes was that, if Deke said it wasn’t going to be bad, it wasn’t going to be bad.

  So I rolled up on my toes.

  The kiss was hard, closed-mouthed, and not short, but also not long.

  Deke had his fingers in my hair, his hand cupping the back of my head when it was over and he didn’t let me roll back to my toes.

  He commanded, “You’re gonna be texting me.”

  “Yeah, I am,” I agreed.

  He gave the back of my head a squeeze, filtered his fingers through my hair and stepped away.

  I went to dump my coffee in a travel mug and get my purse and keys. I called my good-byes, walked out the front door and got in my granddad’s truck that someone somewhere along the way had driven back up to my place from the police station.

  The last time I was in that truck, I was racing away, terrified of what had happened to me right along with being more terrified the guy was still around and could get to me.

  I negotiated around Deke and Bubba’s trucks and didn’t give it more than a passing thought.

  * * * * *

  “Are you two boning?”

  “Krystal!”

  “What?”

  “It’s kinda not any of your business.”

  “Seein’ as I’m gonna be kickin’ some big white boy ass he doesn’t pull his finger out, it is my business.”

  “Ladies,” I cut in and when I had two sets of eyes aimed at me, I shared, “He’s totally boning me. And it is seriously fine.”

  Lauren, holding Breanne, grinned at me.

  Krystal smiled huge and said, “Well, all right.”

  Not all right.

  Deke had tied my thighs together, fucked me hard, and through it, gave me three orgasms.

  Totally not all right.

  It was fine.

  “Always wondered, he rough or can he be gentle?” Krystal asked.

  “God, Krys!” Lauren snapped, cupping little Breanne’s head like she could understand a word we said even if she wasn’t right then fast asleep and all of about a day and a half old.

  “Check and check,” I answered Krys before they could get into it.

  “Best of both worlds,” Krystal m
uttered. “Surprising. Always figured Deke would fuck like a freight train.”

  “And check,” I said, grinning at Krystal who grinned back at me.

  “Lord,” Lauren whispered, her head bent to Breanne. “Don’t listen to your mommy. And you’ll be spending lots of time with Auntie Laurie so you can learn how to be appropriate. Though I’ll have to have a word with your Uncle Tate. He’s got a mouth on him. But I suspect he’ll curb it for baby girls.”

  Krystal rolled her eyes at me, but otherwise she was apparently unoffended.

  “So it’s good with you two?” she asked.

  “Well, yeah, except he says we’re gonna have a talk tonight over Steph’s chicken.”

  Lauren turned her attention to me. “Talk about what?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the fact that he wanted me at arm’s length then lost his mind when I got attacked and wouldn’t let me out of his sight, including us sleeping together every night since that night, though no nookie until Sunday night. And now we’re all, ‘what’s for dinner’ and ‘pick up sandwiches’ without us even having a date.”

  “Deke doesn’t date. He claims then he fucks,” Krystal told me. “Though, not sure I know a single woman who spent more than one night in his trailer.”

  “Me either,” Lauren muttered.

  “That said,” Krys carried on, “not sure more than a handful of women have even been to that trailer.”

  That made me smile.

  “Tate called it,” Krystal announced.

  “He sure did,” Lauren agreed.

  “Called what?” I asked.

  “You,” Krys stated.

  I was confused.

  “Me?”

  “You,” Krys repeated. “Tate said later, after you left that first time in Bubba’s, he saw Deke watchin’ you talkin’ to Bub and me. Said he also saw you lookin’ at Deke. Said you two had a spark even if you didn’t even share a look. Also said, if anyone could do it, it’d be a woman like you. Confident, got her act together, that would be the woman who could bring Deke to his knees. And he was right.”

  I was feeling weirdly like I was about to hyperventilate.

  “I didn’t buy it,” Krystal added. “Hippie rock ‘n’ roll chick did not say Deke.”

  “I’m boho,” I corrected.

  “Boho is hippie, just less goofy,” Krys returned.

  She had me there.