At the mercy of a stranger

“bu' i am apologizing, am i not?” you heard his purring voice, a deep cadence that felt entirely infuriating. yet his face had already dipped to your collarbones, gaze locked onto the angry rise and fall of your plump breasts within the tight corset at your every breath. bristled jaw scruffing across your tender, oil scented skin, looming frame shielding you completely from any passing eyes.

his lips trailed a path upward, pressing lingering kisses towards your bobbing throat, breath searingly warm and carrying the faint, sweet tang of honey. you were still furious, very much so, your fingers straining against his grip to dig your nails into his hand, yet a sweet, melodic whimper escaped your lips the moment his teeth nibbled playfully at your shoulder. his hips shoved firmly against your thigh, leaving no doubt of the hard, tightening swell against his trousers seam.

“i'll bite your nose off” you mumbled, the breath leaving your lungs far too soon as his tongue soothed the bitten flesh at your shoulder. you writhed against him, hips twisting helplessly as sudden warmth flooded your undergarments, cunt dripping slick from undeniable arousal. jaime only laughed, a low, resonant rumble that sent a tremor straight to your belly, knotting in like threads, and pressed on, forcing his knee between your thighs until your legs surrendered to accommodate his weight.

you ground down against the firm muscle roped beneath his trousers, whimpering from the sharp friction against your pulsing clit. feeling his sharp smile against your skin before you tilted your head back, meeting his heavy, almost glazed gaze. blonde brown strands falling into viridian eyes, but there was no masking the way his pupils had dilated like lion's. hips rolling in sloppy rhythm, humping against your leg like some common dog.

the moment he released one of your hands, sore from his grip, your fingers immediately sought his nape, weaving into the thick strands of hair and tugging hard just to hear him groan.

“i'll moan, then” and he does, the low sound vibrating against your skin right as he nuzzles into your cleavage valley. releasing your other hand only to reach down and claim your ass, palming at the swell, hoisting you upward against him. you no longer cared, utterly forgetting what had even made you angry, or how you might look into the shocked eyes of a handmaiden who could stumble upon you two at any moment.

he dropped heavily to his knees with a hasty, loud thud, sword sheath scraping the stone floor, leather boots creaking under the strain.

his golden hair, messy and gleaming where the spilling sun caught it, vanished beneath the folds of your skirts as he wasted no time bunching the fabric out of his way. calloused palms wrapped around your thighs, fingertips sinking deep into your skin, completely obsessed with the plush warmth of your body against his weathered, scarred hands.

you muffle your moans behind a palm as he feasts upon your weeping cunt, crooked nose digging just below the puffy nub, tongue trapped between contracting, spongy walls, slurping at your spilling slick with guttive groans.

barely allowing him to help you adjust your undergarments and smooth the creases at your gown before eagerly tugging at his hand. with your fingers tightly entwined, you urged him down the corridor toward your chambers privacy. wet shimmer lingering upon jaime’s chin as he slowly licked the trace of your taste from his lips, a taste you would share with him, hours later, while straddling his cock in the bed's gloom.

"Please. Please, I'll come with you." You are begging, now. Folding your good hand into his worn jacket, you clutch at him. "My arm is fine. I can ride and—"

"Sweetheart," Arthur says, patience lacing every word. His bloodshot eyes are soft with affection "You're hurt." He peels back the fingers fisted in his lapel and flattens them over his heart. Each breath rattles through his lungs. His heartbeat, once steady and reassuring, is erratic against your palm.

Sighing, he gathers you to him, curling his arm around your good side. He threads his other hand through your hair, cradling your head to his chest. Your cheek moulds to his heart. You let him protect you with his body for the last time.

He's so thin. He needs to eat more.

. . .

1902, Cumberland Forest

The throat under the steel toes of your boot swallows with fear. The muzzle of your gun presses hard into the skin of a liver-spotted forehead. Just an old man. You wait for pity to pierce the crocodile-hide of your heart. It doesn't. Grinding the tip of your boot into the paper-thin skin of his neck, you watch as he splutters. Droplets of spittle coat the toe of your boot and soak his tobacco-stained moustache. This putrid show of weakness sends a wave of revulsion over you. You press the gun into his forehead so far back that it smushes the back of his rotten head into the dirt.

"He's no good to us dead," Charles says mildly.

"Ain't no good to anyone alive." You ease the pressure of the gun back.

"Three hundred dollars seems like a pretty good reason to keep him alive."

William Randall. Killed his young wife, killed his children, too. Then lit off to live like a wild man in the woods. A three-hundred-dollar bounty for a man approaching his seventies. Wanted alive so the good people of Valentine can see the Sheriff enact justice. Light work for you and Charles. Apparently not.

You look back at Charles. He stands, quite at ease. The ends of his long, dark hair lift in the wind and pieces come loose from the cord, pulling it off his face. They drip into the collar of his coat. His face is unreadable. You take your boot off the old man's chest, and he coughs. Chest rattling, he curls in on himself, coughing and writhing. You flinch violently at the sound, and your grip falters on the gun. Before you can gather your wits, Randall yanks the knife from your boot and a starburst of pain explodes on your shoulder. It sends you reeling back. The old bastard is spry. Charles is on him in a moment, dragging his body up and slamming him face down into the dirt.

You groan and drag yourself up.. Charles has his knee planted on the old man's thin back. Blood soaks into your old duster coat. Arthur's old coat. Charles turns his head to look at you, his brow knit.

"I'm fine." You call. "Just my shoulder. He slashed it." You lift yourself from the mud, pressing the heel of your palm, trying to stop the slow spread of the blood over your coat. The mud soaks into your breeches, cold and slimy. Charles grabs Randall by the wisps of grey hair covering his skull and holds his hunting knife to his throat, beads of blood collecting at the razor edge.

"Want me to kill him?" He looks at you, solemn as an owl.

"Nah. Like you said, no good to us dead." You manoeuvre yourself to your feet, and with all the strength in you, kick the old man's jaw sideways.

Charles ties the man up, lest he wake up and try to escape. Fat chance of that happening with a broken jaw and the ankle Charles obligingly shattered. You lean against Guinevere heavily, and she noses at you, anxious. A little blood drips onto her silken red coat. Your initial assessment was correct; it is just your shoulder. But the blood loss makes your vision swim. Charles turns into an amalgamation of colours, blending in against the backdrop of the woods. Once Randall is stowed on Taima, who paws restlessly, he catches your elbow. You hadn't even realised your knees were trembling.

"That's a lot of blood." His voice is calm. Carefully, he peels open the collar of the coat and feels along the wound. His hand is warm, and you watch minute movements of his jaw as he checks you for any serious injury. From his saddle bag, he takes a clean rag and, with a soft apology, tourniquets your arm. You gasp and clutch at the frayed sleeve of his coat. Murmuring soothingly, he adjusts your wrist against your side so you do not jostle the wound.

"Think you can ride?"

"'Course I can ride." You scoff, and then wince as speaking jostles you. He does not contest this, but helps you onto Guinevere all the same, boosting you up with his hand braced on your calf.

A six-mile ride feels like six years. Your vision swims, and a steady drip of blood is pooling under your coat. You fist the reins and blink hard. Every rock and ditch makes itself known to your shoulder. Even the sway of Guinevere's flanks makes you gag a little, your head stuffed with cotton.

"Camp here tonight. I can ride into Valentine tomorrow to deliver. You can rest."

"So you can claim all my money?" You giggle very unseriously. Charles's brow knits with concern.

"I wouldn't." He says quietly. "But we can wait to deliver him, I was only worried his heart would give or somethin'."

You feel rather foolish, looking at his serious face. The blood rushes to your head, and when you dismount, he is there to catch you. Gratefully, you slump into the circle of his arms. He's warm, and the fabric of his coat is rough against your cheek. Charles's breath comes quick and panicked against your hair, but when he speaks, his voice is steady as ever.

"Could use a few stitches. Still bleeding."

You find yourself eased onto the ground and steered into a sitting position. When you slump into the broad bulk of his shoulder, his arm goes around you, and you feel his flask against your lips. The whiskey in it burns against your mouth pleasantly. He is talking, low but urgent. You cannot make out words, only the deep rumble in his chest. He smells like smoke and leather. Familiar.

Drifting, a velvety sleep overcomes you. The quiet, even voice in your ears turns gravelly and accented. The hands on your face and hair do not touch you impersonally, like a carer's. Instead, it is a lover's touch. You go, willing.

You wake to the crackle of a fire and a piercing pain in your shoulder. Blearily, you get your bearings. Charles sits across the fire, a piece of wood and a carving knife in his hands. Wood shavings curl into scrolls, falling at his feet. You sit up, feeling at your shoulder. It has been sewn and bandaged neatly.

"Charles?"

Looking up, he rises from his spot at the fire, and he kneels beside your bedroll. The shirt you wear is one of his, you realise. Soft and brown, the collar sags around your clavicle.

"I cut you out of your shirt." He says apologetically. "Don't think it'll scar too badly, though."

"When have I ever cared about that?" You snort with wry laughter. Once, a long time ago, a whole lifetime ago, you were ashamed of them. You had wanted to look as pretty and as lovable as Mary Beth or be as graceful as Tilly. All those women, like beautiful flowers in the desert of your life. Arthur used to kiss the scar where he shot you and tell you that it looked like a comet against your skin.

Charles has seen you, you realise. Your cheeks burn hot.

"Where's Randall?" You say suddenly, thinking of the three hundred dollars.

Charles grins a rare, wide grin and rises. With Charles no longer blocking your vision, you are treated to the sight of William Randall, the family killer, trussed up like a hog and tied to a tree in his shirtsleeves.

You feel better already.

. . .

1902, Valentine

"Is my nose really so big?"

The woman in the bounty poster stares back at you, her face hardened by rough living, her eyes sharp and mouth downturned. The cloud of hair rendered around her head makes her look wild and unkempt. The scar on her face cuts through her brow viciously. You touch your hair. Three thousand dollars for the woman in the poster. Good thing that isn't you, you have long since changed your name. Ripping the poster from the board, you shove it into your coat pocket. Your shoulder aches from the wound. Stitched up at Charles's insistence, it throbs under your ruined coat.

"The saloon's got a room. Could ride out to the reservation in the morning." Charles says from behind you. The sun is beginning to set, and staying in plain view is unwise. Valentine has expanded from the backwards cattle town; it is harsher and darker. Buildings have sprung up from where there was only flat earth and soft grass. Eyes are everywhere. A woman in men's garb and a man as scarred and massive as Charles are sure to attract attention. But the two of you are effective. So you go by different names and drag in criminals of a lower status than yourselves—and you get by.

The saloon room is dark and small, but clean. It is not crowded, but there is no point getting separate rooms. You would not be able to sleep without the even sound of Charles's breathing. You lie side by side, faces turned to the slanting ceiling. A thin shaft of light illuminates the room. The bed is too soft.

Charles speaks first.

"Arthur's grave is out this way."

You shut your eyes.

"Could ride past it. If you want." He says, no pressure behind his voice.

You have not seen Arthur's grave. You only know that it was Charles who buried him, and you are grateful that it was. If it had been you, given the chance, you might have crawled into the grave with him. You would have curled yourself around the bones that had carried him for so long and let yourself be taken by the elements. A hillside, Charles said. Where he would have wanted to be. As long as you do not see it, Arthur is where you want him to be. You might wake and find him snoring next to you. You can imagine that you hear the scratch of his pen, or feel the scrape of his beard against your face.

You wake slowly to the faint light seeping through the saloon window's grimy panes. Sometime in the deep of night, Charles must have shifted in his sleep, his arm now slung heavily across your waist. He's warm, and you can feel his heart beating steadily against your spine. Mumbling, he buries his face in the loose masses of your hair.

You shift in his arms, and he stirs into wakefulness, not before you feel the hard press of him against your lower back. There is a heartbeat’s worth of stillness where neither of you moves, where the creak of the bed and the faraway buzz of the waking town are the only sounds in the room. Then he draws in a sharp breath.

“Sorry,” he mutters, voice thick and low, and his arm jerks away as if burned.

"It—it's fine." But he is already turning away, dressing hastily. You exhale, an odd, brimming guilt in your stomach. Sleeping side by side under the stars is one thing; the whole land is your witness. Despite how quiet he is, it is never awkward between you two; there is always that steady companionship. The peace of knowing he will never push you to speak.

Charles is so warm.

. . .

1903, Temporary Wapiti Settlement

Hidden in a wide crevice of rock near the settlement is a creek. Water has been scarce, and you have had to make do by washing yourself by wiping the sweat and grime off your bodies with rags. Bounty hunting alone is tough on the body, and having Charles with you has made it easier.

Carefully, you work the buttons of your shirt open. Your shoulder aches from the wound, but it has healed considerably better than you thought it would. You unwrap the bandage, flexing a little. It will leave a scar, one of many. You survey yourself without emotion. The scars on your stomach and arms, and slashing over your collarbones. Vanity no longer afflicts you, and you have come not to worry about beauty any more. Undressing, you remove your hair from its plait and comb it out with your fingers. It has grown since you took a pair of shears to it and cut it to your jaw. It just sweeps the tops of your breasts, now. It is not convenient to have long hair in the wild. Charles does, though. It had struck you as odd that he would keep it so long. When you asked him, he said that it was something his mother believed was important.

The water is warm. Slipping in, you let it soothe your aching muscles.

Footsteps crunch softly on the gravel. You turn your head. It is Charles. Fully dressed, still in the clothing you wore while travelling. His shirt, tucked into his trousers, and his vest open. The afternoon sun slants through the crevice, gilding his dark head. His hair has been freed from the piece of twine he had been using on the ride, and the breeze picks it up so it curls in the air like black smoke.

He stills completely when he spots you, dark eyes widening a fraction as they find you among the water-worn stones of the creek. Surprise distorts the strong planes of his face, and his hand goes to the back of his neck as he averts his eyes. Even though it is just your shoulders and the hints of your breasts he can see, you feel oddly exposed. How ridiculous. It is only Charles who has seen you undressed a thousand times before. His voice carries over the bubble of the creek and the call of the birds.

"Didn't know you were here." His voice, low and steady. His skin is so smooth and dark that you never see him flush, but you can hear it in his voice. Fixing his eyes on the ground, he takes a half-step back. "I can go. Give you some peace."

"I—It's alright. Nothing you haven't seen before." In all these weeks travelling to see Rains Fall, how many times have you curled into the same bedroll for warmth? How many times has he woken you from the nightmares that plague you and held you till you fall asleep again? You have lived in such proximity that it should not be strange for him to see you undressed. Still, he hesitates, "There's no point to riding back. Stay."

Quietly, he sheds his clothing on the gravel surrounding the spring. You turn your head to give him some privacy, but in your periphery, the expanse of scarred skin is slowly revealed with every movement. His ribs are a bruised, blotchy purple, just visible in the deep, warm brown of his skin. He winces as he unbuckles his belt and shucks his trousers off. He is so graceful that you forget how large he is sometimes. Arthur had never been graceful, his bulk always apparent in the way he fought, the way he made love.

This thought dissolves as the water ripples with Charles's entry. Sighing, he shuts his eyes as he leans against the rock basin. The ends of his inky black hair swirl at the surface of the water.

"Feeling better?" He says, angling his head towards your shoulder.

"It's my own fault." You say, "I lost focus."

He shuts his eyes again, and you find yourself oddly struck by his nakedness. He is not hairy, as Arthur had been; the skin of his chest is smooth and deep brown, littered with scars. The ball of his bicep flexes as he takes a cupful of water in his hand and splashes it onto the laceration on his ribs. You had not noticed he was hurt. Then again, he does not let you worry about much.

You turn in the water, and Charles reaches for you, that instinctive movement so like the one where he draws for his shotgun.

His hand catches your elbow to keep you from slipping against the slick rock. You look up at him. He is already looking at you.

The body keeps score, you have realised. While your mind roils with guilt, your body wants and wants. Charles's hand has curled to cradle your elbow, and a keen desire to read his mind strikes you. Immovable as he seems, Charles is a man. He must have desires, too. Unconsciously, you have turned your body to his, the way a flower faces the sun. If you could not see the rapid rise and fall of his chest, you would think he was made of stone.

Turning your palm inward, you brace it against the inside of his forearm. The veins in his forearm pulse with his breath. You slide your hand upward, along the swell of his bicep, the slashing scar on his pectoral. The scar is ridged against your fingertips. He is still now, barely breathing. His heartbeat slams against your palm.

Slowly, his hand begins to search you. The pads of his fingers are rough as they travel up your shoulder, thumbing the healing wound.

"It's healing well." He says, you can almost hear a tremor in his voice.

"Yeah. It's thanks to you. I wouldn't have stitched it if I were on my own."

Somehow, you stand close in the sway of the creek, braced on each other for balance. Something brushes your thigh. Charles tenses, all the muscles in his body locking. Oh.

Shifting, he leans his body away from yours. "I didn't mean to—" He mutters, the scar on his cheek turning pink.

“No.” Your fingers tighten around his wrist before you can stop yourself. “Don’t—you don’t have to pull away.”

His eyes flick up to your face, searching. The sound of the water, like bells.

"I want to. I do." You splutter. "But I—not all at once."

He exhales. His other hand comes up to rest at your waist, careful, like he’s afraid you’ll break. “Alright,” he murmurs. “Alright.”

Curling your arm about his neck, you press close. His hair is thick and silky against your hand, and you tentatively pull your fingers through it. Then, he sighs and presses his mouth to yours, tentatively at first but then with a swift urgency that leaves you gasping and clutching at him. How long has it been since you have been touched? Mumbling, you brace your back against a rock. He crowds you against it. Both of you deserve something to ease the loneliness.

Reaching under the water to grasp him, you circle your hand around the heft of his cock. He grunts and twitches in your hand. Tentatively, you stroke upward, and he makes a strangled noise. He is hard and thick in your hand. Pressing your thighs together, you twist your wrist experimentally. The thick fringe of his eyelashes brush the tops of his high cheekbones. The scar on his cheek pulls taut. Slowly, you move your hand, studying the play of his muscles. Groaning, he drops his face to the slope of your neck, tasting the droplets of water collected there.

Then, his hands search between your thighs and find the parting in between. He, too, moves experimentally. Easing one thick finger in, he mouths the curve of your neck. You tighten around him, and he gentles the movement, those deft archer's fingers making you gasp. Everything in you is aching and crying out, desperate to be touched. He eases a second finger in, and you whimper, a desperate, animal sound.

"Too much?" Charles whispers, mouth brushing your temple. You kiss his cheek, his jaw.

"Go on, Charles."

. . .

1904, Three Sisters

Taima is dying. Her head rests in Charles's lap, his big hand smoothing along her shuddering neck. She is felled by a bullet, a flyaway one from a stage you and Charles foolishly tried to rob. And now Charles, always proud, always steady, comforts his dying horse. The spots on her flank blur as you blink away tears. You stand in the grove, the wind whistling around you. His hair lifts in the breeze, but otherwise, he is still.

"It's getting dark. Should bury her." You say softly. He says nothing. You cannot see his face.

Tentatively, you reach out and touch his shoulder. He flinches as you do, and you withdraw your hand.

"Go." His voice is choked. "I'll catch up with you."

"Charles—"

"Go." His tone is so final that all protests die on your tongue.

You leave him to mourn her.

. . .

1904, Temporary Wapiti Settlement

Dragging the comb through your hair, you peer into the wooden-framed mirror. The scar curving along your temple and through your brow is softened by the low light. The new Wapiti settlement is small, and the people are tired. Rains Fall has more streaks of grey in his hair by the day. Still, you had wanted his blessing. Any family you have is long dead or long gone; it has just been you and Charles. You are handfasted on the settlement, with as much ceremony as is possible. But it is enough, and the ceremony has never meant much to you anyway. It means something to Charles, though.

The tent flap falls shut behind Charles with a soft rasp of canvas, sealing the night outside. The wind murmurs against the walls, distant firetalk fading to a hush, leaving only the two of you in the low glow of a single lantern. You sit on the edge of the cot, still in the soft, borrowed dress. He stands a moment too long by the entrance, broad silhouette filling the space, his hair loose and catching gold in the light. When he turns, his eyes find you with that rare flicker of uncertainty you've only seen in private. Slowly, he lowers himself beside you, close enough that the heat of him cuts the chill.

"I ain't got much to give you—" He begins.

"Don't be foolish."

He takes your hand and presses something cool and beaded into it. Turquoise and bone, and smooth wood. It slips through your fingers. The necklace you have never seen him without.

"Charles. This is your mothers. I couldn't possibly—"

"It's yours." He says simply. "Like I am."

You want to tell him you have been his for years now. That you will be his for as long as you live. You open your mouth, but nothing comes out.

Charles takes your hand, the necklace still fisted in it, and kisses your knuckles. His mouth is soft against the scarred, bruised skin. Silently, he draws you to your feet and steps behind you, the cot creaking softly as your knees brush it.

Your pulse stumbles as Charles gathers your hair over one shoulder with infinite care, his knuckles brushing the back of your neck. The beads are cool against your skin, and rest just below your collarbone. He hesitates, and you feel the soft press of his lips at your nape, where he fastens it. Charles’s hands slide slowly down your arms until they rest at your elbows. When you lean back against him, you feel the hitch in his breathing.

Turning, you face your husband. You lean up on your tiptoes and press your mouth to his. There is only his sigh into your open mouth and his arms around you. You reach for the top button on his shirt and giggle as it slips from your hands, trembling with anticipation. You loosen another one, and his breath hitches. His fingers find the ties at your collar and undo them with the same reverence he shows everything else. He presses a kiss to the column of your throat, and you twist your fingers into the thick, soft hair at the base of his skull. Pushing the shirt off his shoulders, you touch him, the hard planes of his chest and stomach.

"Charles." You say softly, sweetly. "Charles, you are so beautiful." You press another kiss to his sternum. He tips your head back in his hands and kisses your eyelids, slow. When you kneel, kissing the spot above his navel, he catches your shoulders, stroking the line of your jaw.

When he eases you onto the cot, he settles on his knees. You look down at his face, framed by your thighs and watch the lamp dance in his brown eyes. He takes your ankles in his wide hands and lifts them onto his shoulders. From this angle, you are laid bare and open for him. Charles bends his dark head to the soft inside of your thigh, the rasp of his stubble making you shiver. The want building all day is met with his soft mouth. Crying out, you twist your fingers into his hair and arch into his face. To steady you, he reaches up and flattens his big hand over your quivering belly; you grasp it blindly. Once you are left gasping and sweaty, he relents and rubs his cheek against the soft thatch between your legs.

Breathlessly, you beckon him closer. Crawling over your prone body, he cages himself over you. His long, muscular legs hang over the edge of the cot, tangled with yours. As he picks open your dress, you finally relieve him of his breeches. Then the two of you are joined. Strands of his dark hair are plastered to his face, and his eyes are sealed with pleasure. You take a moment to appreciate the architecture of his body, lined with heavy muscle and golden brown skin. Cradling his face in your hands, you kiss away the sweat beading at his temple, the bridge of his nose. You push at his chest, urging him to roll over.

"Charles." You whisper. "Lie down."

With difficulty, he opens his eyes and loosens his grip on you. You flatten your palms against his chest, and he falls back willingly. There is a shimmer of sweat on his chest, and the heavy length of his cock is angry red at the tip. Pulling the dress over your head, you swing your leg over his thighs to straddle him. He groans as you grasp his cock to guide it into yourself. Bracing your hands on his stomach, you sink on him slowly. Steadying you with one hand to your hip, he reaches up with the other to lay his palm over your sternum; your heart kicks against him. Tightening around him like a vice, you undulate your hips a little faster. Suddenly, he heaves himself up so you can twine your arms around his neck and he can mouth the peaks of your breasts. Cradling his head to your heart, you stroke his soft, dark hair as he comes. You kiss him as you reach your finish, you mouth at the salt on his cheek.

Afterwards, you lie with your cheek against his chest on the little cot. Throwing your leg over his hip, you lift his hand and bring your mouth to the rough pads of his fingers.

"Don't. I'll want you again." He says, a little helplessly.

"Mmph." You draw his index into your mouth. His cock stirs again, and he rolls onto his side, taking you with him. This time, he draws your leg over his thigh, chest to chest. He takes you again, with less ceremony than the first time. When you sleep, it is with him still inside of you, his head to your breast.

Dawn filters through the canvas, and you wake to Charles's broad form dressing next to the cot. You tuck your hand under your head and watch him. How many times have you watched him dress before, but never as his wife. Only as his companion. He buttons his loose shirt over his broad chest and ties his hair up with a piece of twine. When he draws his bow over his shoulder, he notices you watching. Leaning over the bed, he hesitates and then presses a kiss to the peak of your bare shoulder.

"Rains Fall asked me to go hunting with him." He says softly. "I thought I'd let sleep."

"Mm. He must miss Eagle Flies." You yawn. "I can help out around here."

"Could join us."

“I’d only slow you down,” you murmur.

“That’s not true.”

A small smile tugs at your mouth. “It is a little.” He smiles in response. "And, you can get used to Falmouth. He's still skittish." Your wedding present to him had been Falmouth, a spotted stallion that had taken you three bounties to purchase. He will not replace Taima, Charles's companion since he was eighteen, but Charles had needed a horse.

"Rains Fall. He doesn't say much these days." Charles says, thoughtfully.

"I know. Go. It'll be good for him." And for you too, you think.

"You'll be alright here?" He says, fingers still lingering on your arm.

"Sure. They're packing up this camp, I'll keep myself occupied."

Charles leaves, pressing a last kiss to your hair, his eyes lingering on your body under the pelt.

You stretch. The tent feels large without him. You've been pressed so close to him that the beads around your neck have left divots in your skin.

It must be early; the air is chill. Nobody would grudge you another hour of sleep.

. . .

1906, Saint Denis

"It's okay. It's just me. Wake up."

Charles's hands are soft on your hair. When he lifts you into his arms, you go limp. Regaining your senses, you can smell the oil from the lamp and the cool night air from the cracked-open window. The rented room that has been your home for months now is small and cramped. Charles hates it. Sometimes, he wakes in the night and sits on the small terrace, smoking for hours. He says he cannot breathe in Saint Denis, that the city doesn't suit him. It doesn't suit you either; you miss the open plains and long to press your cheek to cool grass. To sleep under the stars and smell fresh country air. Shivering at the draft, you cuddle into his broad chest. The acrid tang of sweat and drink clinging to his skin makes you wrinkle your nose.

"Bad dream?" He says against your hair. Pulling back, he cups your hot cheek in his hands. Nodding, you snuffle closer.

"I didn't hear you come in."

"Got back a few hours ago." He says softly, stroking your loose hair.

"You smell bad." You say, but slip your arms around his neck and bury your face in his shoulder anyway.

"Was too tired to wash." He says, and you lift your head to look at him. Charles's face is distorted with concern, and the light from the window illuminates his eye, swollen half shut. "And, too drunk."

"Did you lose?" You reach up to touch his swollen eye, he winces a little and then kisses the heel of your palm.

'Course not. He got a lucky hit in." The hint of indignance in his voice brings the slightest of smiles to your mouth. He relaxes when he sees it. "What about you? You get him?"

"Some idiot with a whole crew got to him first." You roll your eyes as you recount the day. "Don't know why you'd need a whole crew to get him. He came up to my shoulder. A strong gust of wind would've sent him to the grave."

Bounty hunting in Saint Denis has proved a little easier. Charles throws fights, and you pick up petty criminals off the outskirts of the city. This time, it has been a bespectacled doctor who had been lacing his medicines. It would have taken you an hour had that buffoon Jared Golding not gotten to him first. A whole crew of thoroughbreds. Guinevere, fast and faithful as she is, had been no match.

"S'alright. The payment from this fight should tide us over a while."

"Oh, your poor eye." You say, the guilt is hot and sudden. Tipping your head up, you press a kiss to the purpling mess.

" It ain't too bad." He says, a little embarrassed at the affection. "The other fighter came off a whole lot worse."

"I'm sure he did." You say, nuzzling his cheek. "But it's my fault you're throwing fights. I shouldn't have killed him."

"He started with you. I'd have killed him if you hadn't."

"I know." You say mournfully. "But you hate this." Nosing at your hair, he kisses your forehead in response.

The sun is beginning to spill through the windows, and there is no point trying to sleep. You slip out of bed and make two cups of coffee in tin mugs and hold a cool cloth to Charles's eye as he drinks his. You assuage your own guilt by kissing his battered face and combing out the tangles from his long hair.

"Got no bounties today." You say, buttoning your shirt. He sits at the small, round table, clad only in his breeches and nursing his third cup of coffee. "Could take the day off."

"A day off." He says slowly. "You alright?"

"Fine." You do not meet his eyes.

"What do you want to do on your day off?" He catches your wrist and pulls you to stand between his knees. Bracing your hand on his shoulder, you look down at him. His eyes are steady, but you can see the concern behind the question.

You do not tell him that you dreamt of Arthur, his voice wrecked with illness and pain, lying white-faced and feverish. You do not tell him that Arthur’s face had gone strange and blurred at the edges, then changed not all at once, but in terrible pieces until it was Charles looking at you through the same pain. Charles with Arthur’s voice. Charles begging you, over and over, to save him from the slow erosion of his insides.

“I want to go to the gunsmith,” you say. “Get my gun fixed.”

He nods once. “Alright.”

“Then I want to walk through Chinatown.”

“Mm.”

You swallow, then let yourself smile a little. “And then I want you to take me to bed.”

That gets the ghost of a smile from him. “That so?”

“That so.”

His hand tightens lightly around your wrist. “Alright, then.”

The knot in your chest does not ease until later that night. You lie on your belly with Charles over you, his weight warm and solid along your back. His hand rests over your hip, while the other braces beside your head as he ruts with slow, careful rhythm. His breathing is rough against your shoulder, but his touch stays gentle. You sleep easily.

. . .

1907, Mount Hagen

Charles has been shot.

The frost bites through the worn knees of your breeches as you kneel beside him, his blood bright and terrible against the snow. For one blank second, you cannot make sense of it. Then he makes a low, ragged sound, and your body moves before your mind does, half-dragging him behind the boulder as another bullet cracks past.

“Charles.” Your hands are already on his shoulder, pressing, slipping, pressing again. “Charles, stay with me.”

His face has gone ashen. Blood pours between your fingers, warm enough to make you feel sick. “I’m okay,” he says, but the words are thin.

“No, you’re not.” Your voice comes out too sharp, too fast. “You’re bleeding too much.”

“I said I’m okay.”

“You don’t know that.” You press harder, as if you can force the wound shut by will alone. “Has it hit anything important?”

“I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?” Fear knots your throat so tight you can hardly breathe around it. “Charles, look at me.”

He does, and the sight of his eyes half-lidded with pain almost makes you fold in on yourself. Snow has fallen onto his hair, his shoulders. The bright glitter of it makes your eyes burn.

The shooting has stopped, you realise dimly, and the silence is worse than the gunfire. Sadie appears through the snow, breath ragged. “Hey. You’re okay,” she says, though she sounds like she’s trying to convince herself. “You’re okay.”

Charles lets out a rough breath. “I will be.”

You sag closer, hands still pressed to the blood. “Then we’re getting you out of here.”

“No.” He shifts weakly and winces. “Go on with John.”

You shake your head once. “No.”

"Move fast. Or they'll come down that hill and kill us all."

"I won't."

“Go,” he says again, quieter now. “I can follow. Just not fast.”

You stare at him, at the blood soaking through his shirt, at the strain in his mouth that he’s trying so hard to hide. Your fingers tighten on his coat.

“I don’t care about Micah. I don’t care about any of it. Let John have him.”

Sadie glances between you and Charles, then steps back, leaving the two of you in the cold. Charles’s gaze stays on your face.

“John and Sadie need you.”

“Don’t.” You blink hard, but it does no good. “Don’t ask me to go.”

He studies you for a long second, blood still spilling through your fingers, his own breath shallow. “Why? This is what you wanted.”

The words tear out of you before you can stop them.

"Because I'm not having this child without you."

Even Sadie does not speak. The wind seems to go quiet around the boulder. You stare at Charles, suddenly sick with the fact that it is out now, impossible to take back, impossible to bury in the lining of your skin.

For a long moment, he only looks at you.

Then his face changes — not in disbelief, exactly, but in shock so deep it seems to cut straight through pain. “You’re—”

You give a tiny, helpless nod. “I was going to tell you.”

“When?”

"After this. After I kill Micah."

Madly, you wonder if he is upset with you. With his blood spilling through your fingers and his face grey with pain. You wonder if he thinks what a reckless, selfish woman he has married. One who will risk anything, everything for vengeance.

But then, his hand comes to cover yours. You exhale, a cold puff of air that makes your relief visible. The light weight of Sadie's hand is on your shoulder, but you barely feel it. You watch Charles's eyes, glazed with pain and love.

"I'm sorry." You whisper, stroking his hair away from his face with your free hand. His skin is slick with sweat despite the cold, but his heart, thrumming beneath your hand, is strong. "I should have told you. I thought you wouldn't let me—"

“No.” His voice is low, roughened with pain.“No.”

He swallows, and you see the effort of it. See him try to gather himself for you.

Then his fingers tighten over yours with weak insistence, as if he can tether himself on earth, simply by touch.

“You’re not leaving me,” he says.

. . .

1903, Ambarino

"I'm getting married."

The breeze sifts through your hair. You look down, feeling idiotic. Arthur's grave is a cross. On it, inscribed;

"Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness"

Blessed. Arthur would have laughed. Are you supposed to weep? That is what women are supposed to do. Weep into hankies and lay flowers on the tombs of their lovers. You do not have flowers. What you do have is the mad urge to laugh.

Arthur Morgan is dead. Dead! His massive, powerful body has been reduced to bones underneath your feet. The man who loved you and fucked you and danced with you by the fire is dead. The man who killed for you and killed with you and seemed tall as the mountains, as bright as the sun.

Charles has buried him, and you think what it must have been like. Charles shooing crows off Arthur's rotting flesh, picking maggots out of his sunken face. Charles has said none of this to you, but you know.

He had been so tired. He had been so brave.

"I don't want to leave you." Arthur's eyes are bloodshot. Exhausted. He has woken at midnight, his skin burning with fever. He sits at the edge of the cot, his aching head cradled in his hands. You sit beside him, kissing the sharp jut of his shoulder blade. You taste sweat.

"I'm hard to get rid of." Your voice trembles. You force a smile.

"I know." He enunciates slowly, forcing the words through the feverish delirium. "But I'm tired. Real tired."

"Rest a while, then."

"You'll wake me?"

"'Course."

"Will you—will you rub my head a little? It hurts."

You sit up on the cot, patting your lap. Crawling over your legs, he puts his head in it. Silently, you run your fingers through his hair, press your thumbs against his sweaty temples. His breathing evens, and he drifts. You lean down and whisper in his ear.

"Rest, my love. Rest."

“you're actually impossible” you chided in a light whisper, wriggling fruitlessly within his iron grip while your hands remained busy holding the bowl, whisking the thick cream and folding the viscous honey into the white, creamy mass until it took on an ivory yellow shade. he simply watched, his stubbled chin hooked lazily over your bare shoulder.

nightie straps thin, and he rubbed his carob brown beard across your delicate skin deliberately, the grating friction bringing a tingle that sent unhidden shudder ripping down your spine. he proved your point further, pressing an open mouthed, burning kiss to your shoulder blade and then trailing higher, his full lips gracing the sensitive skin just beneath your warming ear.

a small sound escaped your throat, body curving instinctively despite the need to work, pert ass slotting against his groin, and his cock grew heavy instantly, with no undergarments to restrain, you could feel the massive, warm outline dig beneath your round cheek through his trousers thin flannel fabric.

his broad hands slid lower, calloused fingertips drumming against your thighs as his palms kneaded into supple skin, dimpling it in his grip, bunching your nightie hem higher, delicate cotton and lace giving way to his searching, marrow hungry touch.

“don't blame a man fo' bein' en love” this one erupts through you, mouthed against sensitive earlobe, and there was no denying how treacherously your body responded to him, underwear sodden through, pulse dropping to your pussy. fingers loosening their grip around the whisk, leaving it forgotten in the bowl, head tilting slowly, tummy fluttering as if invaded by butterflies, feeling entirely too small for all the feelings to contain within.

arthur welcomes your face with a cream coated finger against your lips, smearing the sweet liquid along plump curve, and when your lower lip loosens slack in surprise, he chases the opening, leaning in to slot your mouths together, dipping inside to suck at sweet tongue. peering down at you from beneath the thick fringe of lashes, snagging on how your eyes grew caught in the haze, turning misty and hooded, breath a shallow hitch until it dissolved into a moan that sang his name.

it bothered him little that anyone might hear, even knowing that townspeople were already gathering in a row outside to visit your bakery, right beneath the open window. observant sun spilling across your skin, leaving him breathless far too soon as your fingers nestled deep into his fluffy hair, tangling in the wavy, sleep tousled strands to pull him closer still, mussing them further by knotting your digits against his scalp.

arthur stepped forward, pressing you back until your tailbone dug into the kitchen counters edge. with a waving movement to his hand, he pushed the bowl sliding across, and then hoisted your frame clean up, letting your weight settle against the cool surface. you watched as he dropped to his knees, abdomen folding as he bent one leg, littering hungry kisses across your legs.

damp lips gliding over goosebumped skin and knees bony curve, sharp canines peeking out to graze your shivering thigh with a teasing bite, right where his head lolled against you. his blue green irises were thinned to narrow rings around dilated, charcoal dark pupils, as he tracked how slick soaked through the thin cotton between your thighs. wet patch spreading through gusset that clung to puffy folds, squished together as your legs quivered, pulling taut.

“gonna postpone the opening, doll” he grunts, a distorted rumble, as his crooked nose bumped against your inner thigh, dragging upward until he found your panties waistband. catching the lace between his teeth within seconds, he tugged it down in one unhurried motion, nightie hem hovering over to cover you from wandering breeze.

but he sees it all, the way shimmering strings connect your slit with the cotton, slick beading out your pussy and gushing onto the counter, hole giving a rippling clench that has you whimpering. there's no denying how hard he is in his own pajamas, cock swollen and resting heavy over hairy, muscled thigh.

the dark trail of hair mapping down from beneath his navel and following the pudgy fullness of his lower abdomen thickened into a coarse, heavy tuft at his groin. his trousers held up only by the wide spread of his thighs, cast down in a frantic rush, roughhewn thumb pressed against your fattened up clit.

cock lengthening rapidly, standing heavy with it's crown no longer rosy, but a deeper, more urgent color. beading with pearly droplets, precum sliding in thin tacky lines along veiny girth, nudging against fluttering hole, and your swollen lips move as you suck in a shallow breath.

arthur splits you open meticulously, legs spread, sweat building across sun caught skin, beneath your thighs and across his rippling spine, pleasure already strung through every nerve. broad hips rocking in to shove himself deeper, the thick already sucked in within tight walls that draw inwards, slick weeping around, easing the slide that makes you a little breathless, feeling every ridge and throb.

there's tacky honey smeared against your peaky nipples, over the nightie, sucked clean by his tongue that teases along their shape, cleaning the sweetness and rolling your nubs within his hot, wet mouth. that's too much, his titillating tongue, his thumb on your aching clit, his gorged cock twitching inside your silken walls, pussy pulling tight and needy.

pumping into your soppy heat, setting a shallow, sloppy rhythm, losing the control over his voice, noises close to come off as pained. the fat head nudging that bumpy, gummy spot inside you, so you keen out, around tongue fed into your mouth, twisting with your own, hips bucking.

gasping through heaving chest, release syrupy liquid within your every limb, getting closer, as you watch arthur's scarlet hued cheekbones, the swimming shimmer in his droopy eyes. your pussy drooling, clutching tighter and tighter until the wet squelch and gasping moans reach the street below, his cock pushing to the hilt, balls drawn up as he spills right against your cervix.

warm seed filling you up, splattered within pulsating walls while you cum, clutching on his bunched biceps, nails digging in skin already crisscrossed thin and raw red. his spine bowed, freckled shoulders curved over, hovering above your body, one hand at your spine, panting grunts rattling his chest as he kisses away your breathy whimpers.

“reckon aah should watch ya cook more often” he purred somewhere against your chin, breath warm and humid, kiss bitten lips parted to press a heavy mark along your jawbone curve before his tongue lazily soothed the tingling bruises. arthur wore an utterly sated expression, rugged features completely softened, his limbs gone loose and his skin dewy with sweat.

a single bead hung precariously from his dense brow, and when you reached out to brush it away, the salt bit slightly at his skin, prompting him to rub his flushed face against your hand with a feline affection. you both would undoubtedly need a shower, and the hour had long since passed the usual time you fluttered about to open the bakery, but you hardly minded, consumed by the smoldering, buzzing aftermath.

cock softening gradually, pulling out your sore, still fluttering pussy, arthur's abdominal muscles coiling, a creamy ring around swollen tip. frothy mess oozing out your hole, gathering to drip down your wobbly thighs when he lowered you gently from the kitchen counter, large hands steady and grounding upon your hips, not without sneaking a pat to your ass.

as your feet found the floor and your body swayed helplessly into his embrace, he gathered you up once more. sliding one muscular arm beneath your knees, he hoisted your frame against his chest, carrying you effortlessly down the hallway toward the bathroom. missing how your soiled panties had vanished from their place on the floor, his pocket bulging suspiciously.

by the time you finished washing, the cupcakes and other dessert preparations had cooled to perfection. you gathered them carefully to be garnished with fresh cream, plump berries, and caramelized lemon slices, though a few pieces found their way into arthur’s awaiting mouth, his tongue licking your fingertips completely clean.

he helped you maneuver the heavy baking trays, holding them effortlessly in his large hands as he kicked open the back door and descended the stairs toward the bakery below. the glass showcases stood empty, but they would soon be filled to the brim with every variety of cake imaginable.

outside, the townspeople were slowly gathering, waiting for you to officially call the morning open, while arthur welcomed them through the glass with his charming, lopsided smile. he had tied some stray hair strands away from his face, and an old lady in the front of the queue was utterly unable to take her eyes off him, chuckling aloud about how lucky a woman you were.

you agreed with a tiny, knowing smile, carefully hiding a fluster at the deep ache lingering in your backside, the sharp imprint of his teeth still fresh against the pillow of your ass. his deep, raspy voice carrying across the shop as he began brewing the first pots of coffee, chest rumbling with a gravelly laugh whenever a customer shared a joke.

and you could feel that the place would soon be flooded with new reviews praising the handsome new bakery hand. only hoping none would mention how he occasionally allowed himself to steal a cheeky, proprietary swat at your ass whenever he thought no one was watching. flashing that devastating, crooked smile your way every single time he walked past you.