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Bounty Hunter Ch. 01

By: intropervert



Author's note: The nonconsent/reluctance part of this story will be in upcoming chapters, and it will be on the lighter side of nonconsent, intense but nothing too dark or violent. Thank you for reading my first Literotica submission. Special thanks to HardSalami for a great job editing!

Prologue

Prescott, Arizona, circa 2000

The woman sank effortlessly to her knees in front of him, no small feat with her hands cuffed behind her back and her lower body equally imprisoned by tight jeans. Her companion didn't notice the pants muffin-topped the few extra pounds on her midsection and cut a prominent camel toe in her crotch.

"C'mon baby, I'm a lot more...talented with my hands free."

Dan Bell looked down into the brown eyes of the fugitive currently in his custody. His brain knew the wide-eyed, innocent look on her face and softly parted lips were intentionally crafted, but his body seemed to not mind one way or another. Especially when those softly-parted lips were close enough to his prick he could feel the heat of her breath.

The woman leaned forward a few more inches and softly bit the crotch of his jeans, lightly grazing her teeth over his erect cock through the denim.

He hissed, struggling to maintain control of the situation. "Brandi Lynn, don't...I can't...we can't..." he admonished, but his words trailed off as she giggled and continued to nuzzle his privates.

Dan Bell was a family man -- married 17 years, 3 kids. He had never cheated on his wife before—never even been tempted. Certainly not enticed by the thugs and criminals he hunted and returned to the court system.

"You're overthinking this, sweetie," the woman said teasingly. "We're stuck here in this hotel room for the night; why not make each other feel good? No one ever has to know." She put her face on his crotch and breathed in deeply. "Fuck, Dan, you smell good. I bet you taste good, too." She cut her big brown eyes up at him again.

He felt the blood leaving his head. He hadn't had a blow job in years...decades...he thought of how she'd repeatedly showed him her tongue piercing throughout the day and the crude comments about what she could do with it. She stuck her tongue out again and wiggled the tip suggestively, again showing him the silver metal stud. Dan felt his defenses eroding.

Hands trembling and sweaty, he reached back and unclipped his handcuff keys.

*********

Chapter 1

Farmington, NM

The archaic fax machine was on Will's very last nerve. Suppressing an urge to chuck it out his motel window, he gingerly tried to feed in the paper one sheet at a time. He didn't do "gingerly" very well.

"One more time, Debbie. I think I got it fixed," Will said, jiggling the paper feed a final time while trying to balance the phone to his ear with just his shoulder. "Debbie? You there? Oh, good," he said, "I thought this goddamn thing had dropped another call. Don't worry about page two, just get me the photo."

The fax machine screeched as it jerked to life again, and he watched it grab the paper and slowly feed it through...and slowly get jammed again. The document that came through had several accordion-like pleats in it, and now it looked like the toner was low. He swore loudly with his hand over the phone. His conservative, middle-aged office assistant didn't like foul language, so he usually tried to dial it down a few notches for her.

"Yeah, this could be anyone," he sighed in frustration at the grainy, creased photo. "One more run through of the description?"

"Sure, boss. Brandyne Lynn Fowler. Aka Brandi with an "i", aka Brandy with a "y". White female. Age 27. 120 lbs. 5'3". Red hair. Brown eyes. Last seen in Montrose, CO at a Texaco gas station on route 50, driving a silver late model Chevrolet pickup with AZ tags, 919 RWM —"

Will cut her off. "Good enough. Can't be too many gingers running around in the desert out here. Brown eyes, huh? Don't most redheads have green or blue eyes?"

"Most do, yes," Debbie agreed. "Did the bail piece come through clearly?"

"Clear enough," Will replied gruffly, folding the grainy photo and documents into his back pocket. He unplugged the fax and placed it on top of the small trashcan by the desk. Fucked-up piece of shit, he thought. He'd get a new one when he got back to Tucson.

"Mr. Carlsen, please stick to the rules on this one...," Debbie chastised.

"Now Debbie, quit your nagging. This one is personal. The bitch has just about ruined Dan's life, Christ."  "All the more reason to stick with the rules, Will." Debbie reminded him. "And Dan holds a fair share of the blame for his troubles. Just don't do anything foolish."

Will hissed into the phone and the put it back to his ear. "What was that Debbie? Debb--? You're break-- up, -- losing you, darlin'. Gotta go. Buh-bye."

He flipped his phone closed, finished packing his small duffle, and left the motel room.

*********

Driving from Farmington to Montrose, Will Carlsen thought about his friend and business partner Dan Bell's recent troubles. Nothing like getting stranded in a cheap motel room, handcuffed to a bed, pants around ankles to fuck up a man's life. The motel housekeeper who found him had called the police, somehow it got leaked to the local press, and Dan's wife had found out all the sordid details, right down to the lipstick on his pecker. The valuable bail jumper he'd apprehended had escaped, Dan's wife had taken the kids and gone to stay with hiss, and the state of Arizona had suspended his bounty hunter license pending investigation.

Will shook his head angrily. Dan just wasn't the type to do this.

"I'm telling you, Will," Dan had lamented to him. "She's a suckub, er, suckyoo..."

"Succubus?"

"Yeah, that. I swear she cast some kind of spell on me. You didn't hear the things she said to me, Jeezus! Kept sayin' how she loved to suck cock. Said she was a sex addict. Said she would rock my world. I ignored her at first, but eventually...shit I'm so fucked," Dan had sobbed. Actually broke down and sobbed.

"Look, Dan, there was a lead on her heading up towards four corners area. I have a quick job up in that area. If I get any leads, I'll go after her. I promise. I can't fix things up with your old lady, but I can at least get back our share of the bond. That ought to be some comfort," Will assured his friend.

"Don't fall for her feminine wiles," Dan had wailed. "She seemed like kind of a skank when I picked her up, but when she wants to, she can look all sweet and innocent and shit."

Will had laughed. "Dan, don't worry about me. I'm not—," he stopped himself before saying that desperate, "— going to fall for your succubus." The only thing that limited Will's success in scoring with women was time. His job didn't leave him any time to nurture a 'relationship', and too often, his long hours didn't even leave him with time or energy for a hook-up. But lower himself to fuck some bail-jumping slag? Not likely.

He did sympathize with Dan though; after years of what he imagined must be stingily-metered-out, boring married sex, the poor guy deserved a little excitement. "Did she at least finish sucking your cock?" Will had asked.

"Fuck no," Dan had lamented sheepishly, turning beet red. "She got me right there to the edge before she wrangled the cuffs away from me. Left me there with blue balls and a ragin' hard-on. Tied up so I couldn't even...you know."

Yes, Will thought, this bitch was going down.

*********

The Texaco station attendant on duty in Montrose was the kind of distrustful redneck who made it a point to be passive-aggressively unhelpful to any and all strangers not from the local area.

"I done told the sheriff what I know," the redneck said gruffly, eyeing Will with suspicion. "Her truck was broke down and she wanted someone to take a look under her hood. Then she was gone. When I called for a tow truck t' git her truck off my lot, the sheriff showed up sayin' she had a whole mess of warrants out. He searched the truck an' left it, and the tow truck still ain't showed up. And that's alls I know."

"So did you?" Will asked, trying to be patient. "Look under her hood?"

The attendant cut his eyes to a fellow drinking coffee near the counter. They both snickered. "Shore wanted to look under her hood. She was flauntin' her stuff."

"Did she talk to anyone else while she was here?"

"Don't know."

"Okay fine." Will rubbed his hair over his head, smoothing back an unruly lock of blond hair that had come free from the short ponytail at the base of his neck. "Did you see how she left?"

The attendant gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look. "Uh, she walked through that door." He pointed to the store entrance.

Will let out a hiss of frustration. It was shaping up to be one of those days. "No, I mean did she leave the premises by foot, or did she leave with someone?"

"Don't know."

"Well, her truck's still here, and yet she's not. If she didn't fly away, it must be one of the two," Will's patience was rapidly evaporating.

"Boy, I don't really like your attitude," the attendant said menacingly.

But about then the coffee-drinking customer piped in, "Hey fella, I heard her ask someone where she could get a horse."

"What?" Will asked unbelievingly.

"A horse. You know, a four-legged means of transportation. Don't know what the guy told her, but there are some stables right across the road the way. Maybe that's where she went."

"Did you mention that little tidbit to the sheriff when he was here?" Will asked the man. Now that the suspect had fled the state and committed more crimes in Colorado, Will's chances of getting paid for returning her to Pima County depended on him beating the local law enforcement to her.

"Nope. Sheriff didn't ask about that."

"Fucking great," Will muttered, heading out to his truck. "Horses. Fucking great."

*********

The stable attendant at Montrose Outfitters was less belligerent but no more helpful. He offered Will a friendly greeting, but turned nervous and paranoid as soon as Will inquired about Brandi Lynn Fowler. Then suddenly he wasn't sure about anything, including whether a redheaded woman had rented a horse that day or not.

"I'm just saying, we rent a lot of horses here, and I can't keep track of everyone." He fidgeted with the pencil he was holding until it snapped in two.

"How many rentals have you had today?" Will inquired.

"Oh, um," he mopped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the clock, "I really can't say for sure. Fi— I mean, well I—I—I mean quite a few."

"It looks to me like you only have one horse currently out," Will commented casually, examining the dry erase board with a list of what he guessed were the horses' names.

The attendant cut a nervous glance at the board and faultered for an explanation. "Oh, well, hmm...actually I haven't been here all day, so I really don't know what..."

Will had a hunch what the problem was. He leaned against the corner and stared hard into the man's face, trying his best to look intimidating. "So tell me, buddy, this redhead, did she blow you or did you just bend her over the counter here?"

From the man's look of shock and panic, Will knew he was at least close to the mark.

"Look pal, I just really need this job. I fucked up, okay? Yeah, she was short on cash so she offered up a different kind of payment. Pulled her top up and flashed me, right where you're standing. What the fuck did you expect me to do? A dweeb like me don't get to play with titties like that very often. If my boss finds out, he'll kick my ass to the curb. Plus, she didn't have any I.D., and I don't think she was planning on staying within our designated riding area. She was due back an hour ago, and I have this sick feeling we ain't getting ol' Crackerjack back anytime soon."

Will tried to soothe the man's nerves in hopes he'd cough up some useful information. "Look, if you can help me find her, I will do whatever I can to keep your indiscretion under wraps, okay? But I need you to help me figure out where she might have been headed. Did she say anything, give any clues to where she might have been going?"

"Yeah. She asked for the best climbing horse we had. She headed south. I'd guess she was heading up the Uncompahgre."

Will was already dashing out to his truck.

*********

Meredith pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily, while Kyle continued his onslaught of apologies.

"Dr. Lee I'm so sorry! I can't believe I forgot them. Geez, I'm an idiot! I just --"

"Kyle," she snapped, "enough!" Then, suppressing her frustration, she continued more softly, "look, please stop apologizing. I'm not angry. Everyone makes mistakes. Just give me a minute to figure out the best course of action."

It was all her fault for having mentally characterized the weekend field trip as "easy." A quick, final trip of the season to her final study site to collect the final bits of data. So, of course, her undergraduate assistant had forgotten to pack the only special equipment required for this particular trip: the set of Shelby tubes they needed for the soil core samples. And, deviating from her normal control-freak tendencies, Meredith hadn't double-checked his preparations.

It was a beautiful, crisp, early fall afternoon, and the air at her remote study site in southwestern Colorado was fresh and clean. Meredith sat down on a rock and considered her options. They were a half-hour hike from the car, two hours of rough, 4-wheel drive roads to the nearest town, and 5 hrs further from Boulder. If they left now, they could drive to Boulder and back with just enough time to collect the soil tubes, but that would leave no time for the detailed soil descriptions she also needed to get. She had to be back at the university to lecture at 9 a.m on Monday. There might be some Shelby tubes to be borrowed at the Forest Service Station in Montrose, but it was already 3 p.m. on a Friday, and by the time they trekked down the mountain and into town, there would likely be no one on duty until Monday morning.

They could split up, but she didn't feel comfortable leaving her student alone in a remote wilderness area, and besides, Kyle wasn't experienced enough to do the soil descriptions by himself.

"Ok, look, the only way we get everything done is if you drive back and get the tubes, and I stay here and start working on the soil descriptions."

Kyle looked miserable. "Crap, Professor, I feel horrible leaving you here to dig all those pits by yourself. What do you have, ten of them?"

Meredith laughed. "Kyle, believe me, I'd much rather have a strapping young student worker doing all my hard labor for me, but I am fully capable of digging ten soil pits on my own. I dug hundreds of them in graduate school, and that hasn't been too many years ago.

"Just throw my camping gear out of the car and take off. Tent, sleeping bag, my duffle, the small cooler, and one of the water jugs -- and make a list this time!"

He hurriedly scribbled the list she dictated in his field notebook.

"Doc, wait, what if someone steals your stuff back at camp? You'll be stuck here without supplies until tomorrow afternoon...."

"Not likely. You saw the campground; it's deserted. Most of the summer vacation crowd is past, and hunting season is weeks away. "

"What about bears?"

"Leave the bear spray."

"I don't like this."

"I don't care. Go! Time's a'wastin'!" She was already slicing the shovel into the dry embankment.

She was his boss, an authority figure, but she was also a petite, young, attractive woman. He didn't like the thought of leaving her alone and on foot on top of a mountain, especially because of his own dumb ass-ery. But, he reluctantly followed her orders and turned back into the direction of the vehicle.

*********

Meredith worked until the late afternoon sun cast insufficient light to work by, then she packed her equipment into her daypack and stowed it in one of the partially-excavated pits. She had gotten three soil pits dug and collected part of the data on them and would continue the work in the morning. Now, she needed to set up camp and get some food. She realized she'd eaten nothing since breakfast, and her stomach was growling.

Walking back towards camp, she noted obvious sign someone had been by on a horse very recently. She must have only just missed them. She was glad to see they were heading into the backcountry and not towards her campground.

She spied something lying on the ground and picked it up; it was a leather bag, she thought of the type that attached to a motorcycle...or maybe a saddle. It must have been dropped by whoever had just ridden by. Perhaps she could catch them on their way out. Hitching it over her shoulder, she moved to continue down the trail, but was startled to see a large man standing in the path.

He was staring right at her. Her hackles were immediately raised, even before he broke out in a run towards her. Terrified, she turned and fled.

Panic engulfed her as she realized she had nowhere to go except further into the vast wilderness area. But, maybe she could catch up with whoever was on the horse. She tried screaming but realized it sucked precious oxygen, so she just put all her energy into running.

She stumbled on a rock, hit her knee hard on the ground, but somehow bounced back up with only a second or two lost.

Her pursuer was gaining on her. When she knew capture was inevitable, she turned to fight, hitting him as hard as she could with the saddle bag. It was surprisingly heavy and made a good projectile weapon. The blow knocked him off balance a little bit, but before she could bring it around for a second strike, he swept her legs out from under her, and she hit the ground hard, getting her breath temporarily knocked out of her. He scrambled around and pounced on top of her.

Desperately she struggled, still gasping to refill her lungs, but he easily pinned her much smaller body beneath his, and in a few more seconds had her wrists pinned above her head.

"Game's up, baby," he drawled, his mouth right next to her ear.

Bounty Hunter Ch. 02



Author's note: Once again, much thanks to HardSalami for effectual editing and corralling of copious commas. Also you can thank him for prodding me to heat things up just a bit faster. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Meredith screamed at the top of her lungs, grasping at the slim hope there would be someone within earshot. But her assailant only transferred both her wrists to one hand and placed the other over her mouth.

"Shut up, already!" he barked gruffly, and she automatically complied, realizing at this point, complacency might buy her a better probability of survival. But then he added, "Don't make this any harder on yourself than it has to be."

"Oh God, he's going to rape me." The thought evoked another pitiful round of struggling, but he had her well and truly immobilized. Trying to use her body to throw him off of her only highlighted the intimacy of their position, his muscled torso being pressed along the entire length of hers. He emanated male power, and it overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes and sobbed hopelessly.

He shifted a little bit, and she fully expected him to start tearing her clothes off. Instead, he rolled her over on her side, keeping her hips pinned down with one powerful leg. A rock bit into her hip as she was crushed under his weight, but he ignored her cry of pain. Deftly, he swung one of her arms and then the other down and behind her, and before she realized what he was doing, she heard the zip tie being pulled tight around her wrists.

"C'mon, up we go sweet cheeks," he rose to his feet and pulled her up by the arm, wrenching her shoulder sharply. More pain. Once on her feet, she immediately twisted and broke free from his grasp, but only for a microsecond. Mercilessly, he grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her back. This time the pain in both shoulders was excruciating enough to drop her to her knees screaming.

"Stop running and you'll stop hurting yourself," he said unsympathetically.

Out of options, she was reduced to desperate begging. "What do you want? Please, take anything I have, just don't hurt me. I don't have any money."

"Save the lies and drama for the judge, baby." He sounded perfectly calm, bored even, as he yanked her down the path towards the primitive campground area.

"Judge? What judge? What are you talking about?" Meredith asked. She felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe she wasn't the person he was after. Maybe this wasn't a serial killer or rapist.

"The Pima County first district court judge who's going to lock your ass up, hopefully for a very long time. I'd say this little jaunt has probably double or tripled your sentence."

"Yeah, look buster, you obviously have me mixed up with someone else. I haven't done anything I need to see a judge about."

"Of course not. It's all just a big misunderstanding, right Brandi?" He mocked her.

"Apparently it is! Look, my name isn't Brandi; it's Meredith. Meredith Lee. Dr. Meredith Lee! I'm a geologist at CU, I have long-term study sites here, people know where I am, they'll come looking if I don't show up..."

"That's great," he said sarcastically, "something else you can explain to the authorities."

They arrived back at the primitive campground area, and he was unlocking a big black pickup. Oh no, she thought, I can't let him take me in a car. She had heard that advice many times: never let a kidnapper take you away in a vehicle. But, then she thought about the situation. She wasn't in a parking lot at the mall; he already had her at the most remote place possible. If he wanted to kill or rape her, surely he would just do it here, right?

He opened the passenger door and threw her in as effortlessly as if she were a sack of potatoes, then he reached around her and fastened her seatbelt. She noticed his hair was pretty: blond and wavy and long enough to be pulled back in a pony tail—and smelled good. She immediately felt guilty for noticing such a thing. For Christ sake, the man was kidnapping her! It did not matter he had pretty hair.

As soon as he walked around towards the driver's side, she twisted and backed herself towards the door, awkwardly trying to open it. Locked! With the seatbelt on, she couldn't reach the lock button. She sunk dejectedly back into the seat.

He got in the truck and started it up without a word, leaving it to idle. In the last few glimmers of daylight before the sun went behind the mountain, she couldn't make out his features clearly, but he was a large man, probably six feet, and muscularly built. Thirty something. She sensed, rather than saw, his attractiveness in the darkening car. She reminded herself he might still turn out to be some kind of ruthless, violent, insane monster.

He pulled a water bottle from the console and drank the whole thing in a single unbroken swig, and tossed it behind the seat. Only then did he look at her.

"So, what was it you were saying? Dr. Meredith Lee?" More sarcasm.

"Are you a cop?"

"Nope."

"Who is it you are looking for?"

"You."

"No, you think I'm someone named Brandi," Meredith protested.

"Because you are. Look, baby, cut the bullshit. You know who you are. I know who you are. You jumped bail in Pima County, and I'm getting paid to take you back."

"Oh God, you're telling me you're a bounty hunter?" she asked incredulously. Her adrenalin high was wearing off, and anger was beginning to replace some of her fear.

He didn't answer her, but instead turned on the interior light and began rifling through the leather bag she had picked up on the trail.

"That isn't mine. I found it on the trail..."

He smiled wryly, shaking his head. "After that very entertaining story about you being a geologist, I was expecting a more interesting lie than that."

"No, really—" she stopped talking as he pulled a sheet of paper out of the bag.

"So, Dr. Meredith Lee, do you want to explain to me why you have this? Let's see...receipt for a one-day horse rental from Montrose Outfitters, dated today, made out to one Brandyne Fowler, the exact person I traced up here from Montrose. Oh, and Brandyne Fowler's police record lists her as a redhead with brown eyes." He grabbed her chin and angled her face so he could see her amber eyes and hair.

"Tell me, Dr. Lee, how many brown-eyed, redheaded females of your approximate age, height, and weight do you think there are right now on top of the Uncompahgre Plateau, hmm?"

Meredith dropped her eyes and felt a very deep despondence setting in. Even to her, the truth was sounding more and more improbable. She could only imagine how it sounded to him.

"Got any I.D. on you, Dr. Lee?"

Meredith shook her head. Of course not. Her wallet was in the glove compartment of the government truck Kyle had taken back to Boulder.

"Gee, why doesn't that surprise me? Oh, and look at this. What was it you said earlier?"

She looked up to see he had pulled a sizeable roll of cash out of the bag. "I don't have any money!" he mimicked in a breathy falsetto voice.

"It's not mine," she said flatly.

"Probably the first truth you've spoken today. And this isn't yours either, right?" He drew a handgun out of the bag. Her heart dropped into her stomach. He stared at her hard again, and for a moment, her fear of dying returned.

But, he just took the magazine out and pocketed it, checked the chamber, and tossed it behind the seat in the same careless manner as he'd disposed of the water bottle.

"Look, I -- I see now there are some highly...improbable coincidences going on here, but I am not Brandi Fowler. I'm not a criminal. I'm a scientist; I have a job at a major university. I don't cheat on my taxes. I don't even jaywalk. I drive like someone's grandmother. I spend most of my time working and live a very, very boring, law-abiding life, and I'm not the person you are looking for, uh -- what did you say your name was?

"I didn't," he replied gruffly, apparently unmoved by her rant.

"How much money do you get for bringing in the wrong person?"

He checked his rear-view mirror before pulling out onto the dirt road. "Nothing, but you see, you're not the wrong person, so it's a moot point."

"Well then, can we go to the police in Montrose and give me a chance to confirm my identity?"

"Nope."

"Why? Because you're not really a bounty hunter?" Oh God... she felt panic rising up in her again like bile.

"No, because I'm not letting the state of Colorado take custody of you before the state of Arizona does. Be happy about that. It means one more day not behind bars for you."

The road was washboarded, except where it was full of potholes or sand traps. With her hands bound behind her back, she had to work hard to keep from getting jolted around inside the truck. She looked forward to getting off the backroads and onto a paved highway. However, when they came to the intersection of the road leading down the switchbacks and back towards civilization, he just kept driving. Her blood ran cold again.

"Wait, where are you—? Oh God. Where are you going? This isn't the way! Oh God, you're lying to me! We're not heading back to the highway! You lying creep! You're not taking me anywhere! Let me go!"

He stopped and threw the truck into park. She could feel the waves of anger coming off of him.

*********

Will took a moment to gain control of himself. He looked at the sobbing woman sitting beside him. No, she wasn't sobbing, he reminded himself, she was just pretending to sob. He thought about how she'd deceived Dan.

She was not what he expected, at all. He expected her to proposition him crudely and aggressively, multiple times, to offer him deals in exchange for her freedom: sex acts, drugs, or money. But apparently, she was a much more talented manipulator than he'd assumed. This frightened, innocent act was understated, well-played and convincing. Fleshed out with unexpected details. Had there been any room for him to doubt her identity, he may have already fallen for it. He still suspected she would switch over to the sexpot strategy as soon as she was sure this ploy was not working.

But damn, her fear and desperation seemed real. Of course, she may have genuinely been afraid he'd rough her up before taking her in, or maybe she really didn't want to go to jail. Well, too bad for her. She was a repeat criminal and had ruined the life of a good man who'd gotten in her destructive path.

Meanwhile, though, he had to figure out how to get off this damn mountain. He wasn't familiar with these back roads, and he had been so intent on catching up with her, he may have not paid sufficiently careful attention to the route. Maybe he really missed the turn. But why would she tell him? Surely her best strategy would be to delay, delay, delay. And wait for an opportunity to escape. So, assuming that, he should ignore her and keep going the way he was. But dang it, that last turn did look more like a main road than the one he was on. Didn't it? Fuck!

*********

Meredith watched him as he threw the truck into reverse and backed up slowly towards the intersection. She quelled her earlier panic. It seemed he was, in fact, lost, and not just trying to take her to a remote place to kill her and dispose of her body.

"You're lost."

He ignored her and kept backing. They reached the intersection. He peered around like he was looking for landmarks or signage.

"You're lost, aren't you?" she repeated. "I've spent years up here; I know it like the back of my hand," she explained. "That is the road leading to the switchbacks and back down to the highway. If you stay on this road, you just go to more hunting camps, a couple of cabins, and eventually a completely unmaintained 4-wheel drive road that is usually impassable."

He hesitated more.

"If you don't believe me you could look at a map," she suggested. "Probably not though, after all you are a male." What had gotten into her? She shouldn't be provoking him.

Too late. His head snapped toward her angrily. "And you are completely at my mercy right now, lost or not. So shut the fuck up!"

The boom of thunder startled them both.

*********

Will switched the windshield wipers on as the first spatters of rain hit them. Could this day possibly get any worse?

"See, now we're screwed." She was talking again. God, she was starting to really irritate him.

"This road turns slick as snot when wet. So, best case scenario, we get stuck or slide off the road up here. Worst case scenario, we slide off the switchbacks and plunge a thousand feet to a painful, fiery death."

"What did I tell you about turning off the melodrama, babe?" he asked with seething irritation. "It's just a little rain."

"No, it's about to be a deluge. I know the weather patterns up here. When these thunderstorms crop up—"

He cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, because you know this mountain like the back of your hand. 'Cause you're a geologist at CU. And a meteorologist too, right?"

"Fine. Do what you want."

Fine. Did every woman on the planet know how to throw out that passive-aggressive, ball-busting "fine" when they were losing an argument?

The rain was starting to pour out of the sky in bucketsful. He could barely see a car length in front of him. Cursing, he threw the truck back into drive and continued down the road.

"None of your business," he said casually.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, but you were about to; I was just preemptively shutting you up."

"Oh, I see," she paused. "Well, I guess I'll shut up then. And not say anything—at all."

He hit a rock and cursed again as they almost slid off the road. Damn, it had gotten slick fast!

She kept talking, quietly, like she was mumbling to herself. "Yep. That'll teach me to ask where we're going. You won't hear another peep out of me. No sir-eee. I'm just sitting here...all...preemptively silenced."

He again stopped the car, but instead of yelling he slid across the seat until he was pushed against her, with an arm around either side of her. It was a clearly threatening posture. He bent down until his lips just grazed her ear and whispered, "If you do not shut up, I'm going to hog-tie and gag you, and you will ride back to Pima County in the back of my truck. Do you understand?"

The tactic had its desired effect. She dropped her head and nodded meekly. He could almost smell her fear. But, her skin smelled sweet—like honey or something. Damn it, where had that thought come from? He reminded himself she had fucked that pimple-faced stable boy today in exchange for a horse. And had sucked his middle-aged business partner's cock last week. He was not going to feel the least little bit attracted to this slag. He was going to find someplace to wait out the storm and then hit the road so he could minimize the time spent in her vile company.

Meanwhile, water was starting to sheet across the dirt road. He hated that she was right, but knew they needed to get out of this low, open field, or his truck was going to end up washing off the road and getting half-buried in mud. Wrong way or not, the road he was on seemed to be going slightly uphill.

About a quarter mile further down the road, he spotted a white structure off the road. Visibility was near zero by that time, so he almost missed it. A cabin. No, a camping trailer, but it was up on cinder blocks. A makeshift hunting cabin, probably unused since last season's deer hunt. He turned the truck off, making sure to grab the keys. "Don't run off, now," he taunted as he got out.

The cabin was locked, of course, but he started running his hand under the edge of the camper. Nothing. He lifted the muddy doormat in front of it. Bingo! Extra set of keys.

He unlocked the camper and retrieved his captive, and they took shelter from the torrential rain that was threatening to wash away the whole mountain.

*********

The five-second walk from the truck to the camper soaked them both to the skin. She stood just inside the door, dripping, while he found some battery-powered lights and switched them on. The cabin was cleaner than she expected, or maybe the light was just too dim to see otherwise. The coziness of it made her uncomfortable. Additionally, she suddenly become fully aware of the various aches and pains from her earlier struggles with him. Her knee, hip, ribs, shoulders and wrists were killing her. She dropped to sit on one of the benches in the camper.

He was trying to brush dirt off his clothes. "God-damned red clay." He glanced at her as though it was her fault. Her clothes were covered in the same. They had literally rolled around in it during their fight near the campground, and then the rain had soaked them to the skin.

She opened her mouth to say something, but his words earlier came back to her. She didn't know if the gag order still stood.

"What?" he asked.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to talk."

"Oh yeah, right. Thanks for reminding me."

He browsed the cabin's various storage compartments, pulling a half-full bottle of Jack Daniels from one of the cabinets and a sleeve of plastic cups.

He poured himself a drink, took a swig, and continued scavenging around until he found a stack of dish towels. He sat down on the other side of the table and toweled off his dripping hair and face. He stared at her with dark blue eyes.

He had several days' worth of scruffy facial hair, and his damp hair had mostly escaped its ponytail and was curling around his face. She had been right. He was attractive. Dangerously attractive in a way that scared her. She didn't know what scared her most, the physical threat he presented, or the way he was making her feel. What kind of depraved woman feels attracted to a man who had, just an hour ago, physically assaulted and kidnapped her?

"I can't feel my hands," she told him, breaking her silence.

He stared intently at her a few seconds longer, then set his whisky down and fished around in his pocket until he pulled out a knife.

"If I cut the zip tie are you going to behave?"

She nodded sullenly, and he reached behind her and snipped the plastic tie. He grabbed hold of both her arms and pulled them in front of her, examining her wrists. Even in the dim light, she could tell they were already marked with thin, criss-crossing bruises from the tie. He rubbed her hands briskly between his, one at a time.

"Better?"

"Yes, thanks."

"The feeling is coming back?"

"Yes, starting to." She tried to ignore the tingling in the pit of her stomach his touch was causing, and the increased blood flow to her nether regions.

He sat back down and topped off his whisky, then raised the bottle towards her questioningly.

"Sure, why not." She didn't usually drink much, but if ever there was a day that required a night cap, this one was surely it.

He poured her some and passed the cup across the table, then tossed her a clean dish towel. She pulled the soaked bandana off her head and blotted her hair as dry as she could get it. The whisky burned her throat, and she grimaced and coughed.

He peeled off his wet denim jacket, and Meredith was forced to admire his tanned, well-muscled arms, as his scent filled her nose. Earlier in the truck, his hair had smelled like shampoo, but this was much more animalic—pure sexy skin musk with notes of something vaguely herbal and more than a hint of sweaty armpit. It should have repulsed her, but somehow he made B.O. sexy. Get a grip, Meredith. Are you really that desperate, or is the Stockholm syndrome setting in early? He must be pumping out pheromones. Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

He rubbed a streak of the red mineral soil that was ground in to his jacket.

"It's not clay," she said.

"What?"

"That red stuff. It's not clay. It's very fine silt. These soils are derived from iron-rich shales. That's why the roads are so slick instead of sticky when they're wet. Oh, and it doesn't wash out."




Bounty Hunter Ch. 02



He looked at her doubtfully, one eyebrow raised.

"Really. I have a whole duffle bag full of clothes just for this site, because it doesn't wash out. I've tried hot water, bleach, everything. See?" She peeled off the wet, clingy long-sleeved shirt she had worn to keep the sun off her arms and back. At one time it had been white, but was now dirty, blotchy, peach throughout, except where today's scuffle had stained it a more intense red. "The hematite particles stick to textile fibers really strongly..."

He didn't seem to be paying attention to her stained shirt though, and she realized she was now wearing nothing but a skimpy tank top, which was also wet. It had a built in bra, but nothing substantial enough to hide her wet, chilled nipples. She was giving him a wet t-shirt show, in this tiny cramped camper, with the rain still pouring outside. Suddenly feeling very trapped and vulnerable, she tried crossing her arms in front of her to block the view, without making it obvious what she was doing.

The knowing look on his face with just a hint of a dark smile told her she was being obvious, and she felt her face flush hot.

"You never told me your name," she reminded him, grasping at any topic to pull his attention away from her breasts and their tenacious high beams.

He hesitated before answering, as if he were weighing the pros and cons. But, finally he told her. "Will. Will Carlsen." His eyes drifted back to her breasts.

"So, um, Will. How long have you been a bounty hunter?"

He seemed annoyed by her continued attempts to keep a conversation going. "About seven years. How long have you been a skanky thief? Oh wait, I've read your rap sheet. You were in and out of juvie for years, so basically your whole life."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I've been a geologist at CU for two years. I did my graduate work at the University of Utah."

He grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Utah, huh? I suppose you're an innocent little Mormon girl on top of being a geologist?"

 "No. I'm from northern California, originally. Sacramento area." She decided she really needed to convince him she wasn't the criminal he was after. "I got my undergraduate degree in soil science at UC Davis, but I really wasn't that interested in agricultural soils. I wanted to study nature, not corn fields. So, I got interested in geology and soil development on the Colorado Plateau. That's what I've been doing ever since."

He snorted derisively. "You know, if only you would turn from your life of crime, you might have a lot of potential as an actress 'cause that's some impressively-improvised horse shit."

She sighed heavily, finished off her whisky, and leaned back in her seat, watching him. He was hot. Maybe the fact he thought she was someone else was adding to her attraction. Plus, he was a quintessential bad boy: a bounty hunter. And, he seemed smart. She liked smart men. And woah, the whiskey was really going to her head. Not surprising since she was a light weight on her best day, and hadn't eaten anything in over twelve hours. But it was calming her nerves and making her feel a little relaxed. Too bad this was real and not a dream; she could enjoy it more if it were a dream.

She stretched her legs out and propped her feet beside him on his side of the seating area.

He pushed them off the seat. "Get your feet off the furniture. You're getting mud—excuse me, iron-rich silt—all over someone else's camper."

"Says the man who broke into someone else's camper and is drinking their booze. How ironic is it that so far today the only one who has broken any laws is you?"

"Right. Because you earned that wad of cash at a real job, and that gun is properly registered in your name, and you have a valid concealed carry permit. Right?"

"I told you; I had just picked that bag off the trail. Obviously, the person on the horse must have been your bail jumper. If you hadn't attacked me, you might have been able to catch her."

"So, where is your vehicle, Dr. Geologist? Why don't you have I.D. or even a single piece of evidence to support this outrageous story of yours?"

"I drove up here today with my student assistant. He forgot our equipment for sampling soil cores, so I sent him back to Boulder to get them. It all happened so quickly I forgot to get my things out of the car. He left my camping gear up here, but I don't think there is anything to confirm my identity. He'll be back sometime late tomorrow afternoon and can corroborate my story."

"Too bad, by tomorrow afternoon we'll be halfway back to Tucson."

"Tucson?" For the first time, the geography of his plan registered to her. He wasn't just taking her across the state line; he was planning on hauling her on a twelve-plus hour car ride.

"Pima County, baby. Last time I checked that's—"

"I know where Pima County is. Pardon me if I've been preoccupied with the fact that I've been assaulted and kidnapped," she said sharply. "You said you had to get me to Arizona. Why do we have to go all the way to Tucson? Can't we go somewhere closer?"

"Like where? Across the state line from here is a whole lot of nothing, and I'm not taking any chances of you escaping or putting up with any bureaucratic delays in getting my paycheck. No, you're getting hand-delivered to the Pima County jail."

"Will, you can't do this to me. Really. I won't just be losing a day or a weekend of data collection. I have a college class to teach during the week. And I'm not tenure-track; that means I actually can be fired for not doing my job. My assistant is a nineteen year-old boy who is going to freak out and have a melt down when he gets back here and can't find me."

He downed the last of his whiskey. "Storytime's over, Brandi Lynn," he announced in an angry tone.

*********

Will stared at her, torn between being entertained by her bullshit and being irritated by it. She was not what he thought she'd be; he thought again. She didn't look like a slut or a criminal. She looked like she took good care of herself: trim, athletic, smooth clear skin. Just a few freckles sprinkled over her face and the tops of her shoulders. No makeup, or it would have been smeared by the rain. Her ginger-colored hair hung in damp ringlets around her shoulders. She hadn't flashed him like she flashed the stable boy, but he'd still gotten a decent view of her tits, thanks to the rainstorm. They were nice, not too big but perky...and those nipples. Damn.

What puzzled him was the modesty act. She acted embarrassed and uncomfortable, and even in the dim light, he could see she blushed. He didn't know how a woman would fake that. And she must have been cultivating this fake geologist persona for a while; that was the most logical explanation. He couldn't fall for it, and he couldn't let himself be attracted to her. Okay, he had to be honest, he was attracted to her, but he certainly couldn't let it sway his actions. He wasn't going end up handcuffed somewhere in a compromising position with his pants down.

"We're going to sleep a few hours and give this rain time to let up," he announced. "Up," he commanded her. She stood up timidly. He reached behind the sitting area and pulled down the stow-away bunk, then motioned to her to get on it.

She kicked her muddy sport sandals off near the door and then hesitated, staring at him with a wide-eyed, frightened look on her face. "Where are you sleeping?" she asked suspiciously.

"Look, baby, I'm not taking any chances with you sneaking off or slashing my throat while I'm asleep. Now, I can either chain you down spread eagle to this bunk all night, which I promise would be very unpleasant, or I cuff you to me, and you can at least have some freedom to move around and stay comfortable."

"You've got to be joking! I'm not sleeping with you...you're not—"

"Oh please, Brandi Lynn, spare me the protests. If anyone should be worried about getting raped or molested, it's me."

"What! What's that supposed to mean? Oh that's just—and quit calling me Brandi Lynn!" She looked both angry and afraid.

He pulled out a set of padded restraints out of his duffle and dangled them in front of her questioningly. "What's it going to be, baby? Spread eagle to the four corners of this bunk, or share it with me?"

"No! Please don't tie me up! I'll...I'll share," she agreed reluctantly. When she climbed onto the edge of the bunk he couldn't miss her wincing and gasp of pain.

"What's wrong?"

She said it was nothing but pushed her cropped khaki pants up a bit to expose an ugly maroon bruise covering most her knee. He ran his hand over it lightly and heard her pained intake of air.

"When did you get this?"

"I fell when you were chasing me, tripped on a rock" she replied, then added accusingly, "I thought I was running for my life from a serial killer or something."

He swore under his breath. It was a bad bruise—swollen and probably deep, maybe even a contusion. He tried to shutter his reaction, but inwardly was kicking himself for not checking her for injuries.

"Where else are you hurt?" he asked.

"I—nowhere really," she said, avoiding his gaze. "Please, I'll be fine..."

"Where else are you hurt?" he demanded, more aggressively.

"My shoulders hurt a little, not too bad. And uh—my ribs are bruised, I think." She raised her tank up just enough to peek down at her midriff. There was a bruise blossoming there too.

"Hurt when you breath in?" he asked. She took a deep breath and he couldn't help staring at her tits again as they moved up and down slightly.

"No, not like they are broken. Just sore."

"What else?"

"My hip. I'm pretty sure it's bruised as well," she said, rubbing her flank. "I'm not showing you that!" she added sharply.

He ran his hand where hers had just been, wanting confirmation it was not serious. There was a slightly swollen area but nothing more. He realized suddenly he was standing between her knees, far closer to her than he should have been, with one hand on her hip and the other lightly touching her bruised ribs, just a few inches from her still-hard nipples poking through her still-damp tank. It was one of his favorite sexual positions: standing with the woman on the edge of the bed, or table, or desk... If they weren't clothed he could thrust right into her. He caught eye-contact with her and saw she too realized the intimacy of their position. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and there were pink blotches on her neck and chest. He realized she was as turned on as he, but he immediately tried to stifle the thought.

He realized he'd been half aroused since he tackled her in the woods, but now...now his cock had sprung to life with a vengeance, and he felt his heart pounding and his breathing get heavier. Damn it Will, get a grip on yourself, he chided.

But he felt drawn to her, against every goddamn rational thought in his brain. Dan's words came back to him: She can look sweet and innocent when she wants to. She looked sweet and sexy and vulnerable right now, her eyes holding a mixture of fear and desire. Both emotions enflamed him, and his mind balked against the knowledge that it was all a ruse.

How the hell was he going to sleep beside her? It was going to be a long night.

Reluctantly, he stepped away and locked one end of the restraints around his own wrist, and then did the same to hers. "Scoot over," he commanded, herding her to the inner side of the bed, and then swung himself onto the bunk beside her. He pulled a thin blanket over both of them and switched the lights off. Yes, it was going to be a long night.

*********

Meredith lay staring into the darkness, heart pounding. What the hell had just happened? She felt the most unbridled lust she'd ever experienced and for a man who'd manhandled and treated her roughly just hours ago. Who had cuffed and bound her and was going to drag her across the country. Geez, what kind of freak was she to be turned on by that? Part of her was still afraid of him, and that made her desire all the more disturbing.

She struggled now to control her breathing, as she had tried to mask her reactions to him earlier. She thought if he knew what a state she was in he might—God she really didn't need those pictures in her mind—him rolling over and kissing her deeply and passionately, then taking her forcefully.

She felt the heat coming off her face and lips and was glad the darkness hid her flushed skin. Hopefully he hadn't noticed it earlier. Her nipples hardened even more—to the point of being painful—and she knew her panties were soaking wet. Every time her heart beat, it was echoed by a throbbing in her swollen clit.

He shifted slightly beside her, wafting more of his sweaty man scent her way. The fire between her legs kicked up another notch and for a moment she thought she would orgasm with no further stimulation at all. She bit her lip and waited for it to pass, but her body remained at that precipice, neither receding nor pushing over the edge.

It was torturous, like a sneeze that wouldn't happen, only worse. She ached to touch herself. She knew it wouldn't take much, but she couldn't quite bring herself to frig herself with a strange man laying so close to her they were practically touching. But holy shit she needed some relief. Slowly she moved her free hand to her crotch and pressed a single finger on the center seam of her pants. Tiny jolts of electricity shot through her. Almost.

Trying to move as little as possible, she curled her finger and ran a nail across the fabric directly over her clit. Once...she felt tiny tremors in her thighs. Twice...she knew number three would take her over the edge. Three...biting down on her lip and holding her breath to stifle her reaction, she shuddered as an orgasm racked through her.

She spent a few moments trying to catch up on her breathing without gulping for air. Residual sparks of pleasure tricked down her legs all the way to her toes, but to her dismay her arousal was only partially sated. A stroke of a fingernail was not what her body had really needed. She drifted into a fitful sleep. 



Bounty Hunter Ch. 03



Will awoke from his light, fitful sleep, still achingly aroused, only to find sometime in the cold morning hours his bed companion had spooned up next to him. Or, maybe he had spooned up to her, but he didn't really want to consider that possibility. His handcuffed arm was draped over her shoulder, and her round ass was pressing against his erect cock. Her hair ticked his face and neck, and she smelled sweet and...female. His body was demanding satisfaction.

He groaned and started to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs, but she shifted in her sleep and stretched her cuffed arm out, pulling him back against her. It also caused her ass to grind into his erection again. He let out a frustrated sigh. He couldn't quite get to the handcuff keys, so he was going to have to roll them both over onto their back before he could free himself from his uncomfortable situation.

He propped himself up with one arm and shifted her sleeping form carefully onto her back. Her curly hair looked tousled and sexy as hell, and he noticed her eyebrows and eyelashes were the same ginger color. He couldn't help his eyes drifted to her breasts again. Her nipples were still hard and outlined by her tank top; noticing it made another wave of lust wash over him.

She stirred a little and started to wake up.

*********

Meredith awoke slowly with an unusual feeling of euphoria. The pleasurable sensations evaporated rapidly as details from the day before fell into place, namely she was sharing a bed with a strange man who was holding her captive.

When she finally snapped fully awake, it was to find him looming over her. She let out a yelp of surprise and tried to scramble away from him, forgetting they were handcuffed together. He fell on top of her.

"What are you doing? Get away from me!" she cried.

"Damn it, quit pulling on me and I will," he replied tersely. "Just lay there a second and let me unlock the cuffs. Shit!" He freed himself and swung himself off the bunk. "And for your information, you are the one who got all snuggly with me last night, so quit acting violated."

Meredith huffed indignantly and opened her mouth to protest, but then she remembered the time between her dreams and full consciousness when her body was blissfully aware of being enveloped in man arms and man scent, of feeling a powerful body pressing against hers and a hard cock occasionally brushing her butt cheeks. Oh, God, it was true! She felt her cheeks flame red and hot. Then she remembered her own loss of control the night before, and her embarrassment grew even more. What the hell had gotten into her? She flopped back down on the bed and pulled the blanket over her head.

*********

Will watched her display of embarrassment with suspicion. He found it hard to believe it was genuine. On the other hand, he didn't think people who had a tendency to turn red like that could control it on command. He had played poker with a "blusher" once; the guy had been a lousy player because he turned red when he had a really good hand.

"I gotta see a man about a horse," Will stated gruffly, "don't go anywhere."

"I need to go too," she told him, obviously having noticed the camper didn't have a toilet.

Will ran his hand through his hair, irritated. Female detainees were a huge pain in the ass. At the top of the list was their inability to piss conveniently.

"Just get ready to go. There's some outhouses up here somewhere, right?"

"I'm not a princess; I can piss on the ground, you know," Meredith cut back at him. 

"Yeah, but I bet you don't want me standing over you while you do it. And, it's easier for me to make sure you don't get away if you're in an outhouse." 

Will stepped outside the camper and assessed the consequences of the torrential rainstorm the night before. Predictably, it was muddy as hell, and he had to step carefully around the side of the camper. It was an uncomfortable morning piss since he had woken up with a raging hard-on that wasn't going down. 

He was still angry with himself for feeling so damned attracted to this woman—this woman he had sworn to himself would not be a temptation. The succubus, as Dan had put it. But, his anger didn't change his current predicament: he was going to have to start the morning with a dry wank, no way around it. As he began to stroke his cock, he told himself it was a simple matter of safety. After all, he had to be focused enough to somehow drive his truck off this mountain over near-impassable roads, and he had to make sure Brandi Lynn didn't trick him into doing something stupid. 

He fully intended to think about someone else, anyone else, while he did the deed. Yet, his mind drifted to her immediately: her firm little titties and hard nipples outlined in that wet shirt last night, her deceptively innocent smile. He leaked enough precum to lube his hand just a little, but it was enough. He stroked himself faster as he imagined his hands on her breasts and ass, fucking her hard against a wall. He let out an all too audible gasp as he came, and his knees almost buckled underneath him, causing him to lean against the side of the camper to keep his balance. Christ, I hope she didn't hear that, he thought. His earlier irritation with himself came back with a vengeance. 

Fuck all, he just needed to get off this damn mountain and start making some decent time back to Tucson, then the whole ordeal would seem so much closer to being over.

*********

Inside the camper, Meredith stretched her sore, bruised body. Her knee was starting to hurt more, and it felt like every muscle in her body had stoved up. Mindlessly she began straightening the bunk out and was trying to figure out how to stow it back up, when she caught a flash of motion through a gap in the curtains. Creeping up to the window, she peered out to catch a glimpse of him. She couldn't see much, but she could see enough to tell he wasn't just taking a leak. The rapid arm movement and eventual gasp told her exactly what he was doing. It made her heart race and her still aroused body throb again. 

She wondered why he had to do it. Was he hot and bothered over her as she had been about him last night? Or, did he just jack off every morning? Either way, she found herself turned on by her voyeurism. It was odd, because she normally would be rather repulsed by the idea of a guy beating off. But after last night, who was she to judge? 

When he came back in their eyes met. She looked away quickly, but felt pretty sure he knew she knew. Needing desperately to clear the air, she asked him, "Can we please just leave now? I'd like to get this whole thing over with as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sure, you and me both, baby," he replied tersely. He looked around at the camper she'd straightened. 

"It seemed like the right thing to do," she said. "None of this is the owner's fault."

He didn't reply to her, but he took out his wallet and dropped a twenty dollar bill on the table. "Lest you think I'm a whiskey thief."

Then he reached for the padded handcuffs he'd used to cuff them together last night. 

"Oh come on, is that necessary?" she asked. "Please don't make me wear those all day." Seeing him pick up the cuffs filled her with dread and something else she couldn't identify with clarity.

"Sorry, baby. I'm not taking any risks with you. I could say they are for your protection as much as mine, but really they are mostly for mine. Turn," he commanded.

She hesitated, so he gave her an impatient, angry look. She crossed her arms in front of her in a protective, vulnerable gesture. "Please? Please, I promise I won't do anything stu—"

But he grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and turned her around. He pushed her off balance just a little and had to tighten his grip to steady her. As he fastened the cuffs, she realized with disgust she was getting aroused again. She wasn't one of those warped people who got off from being tied up! So why was this happening? Sullenly, she gave no further resistance as he led her to the truck and fastened her in. 

It took hours—half the day at least—to get off the Uncompahgre Plateau. The roads were still slick, and there were some low areas badly washed out. Twice they got stuck, and he had to get out to put rocks under the tires for traction. The switchbacks were a nightmare: there were no safety rails, and losing control in some areas would plunge them off a several hundred foot vertical rock face. She spent much of that stretch of road with her eyes squeezed tightly together, trying not to hyperventilate.

When they rounded the hairpin turn of the last switch, it seemed as though the worst was behind them, but then they came upon a deep channel cut across the road by the storm runoff. Will hit his breaks but had insufficient time to stop. They hit it hard, jolting both of them against the constraints of their safety belts.

Will swore loudly and hit the steering wheel with his hand. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He eased the truck to a stop and got out to look under the front end. When he got back in, Meredith wanted to ask him about it, but decided to just keep her mouth shut.

He continued driving with a grim look on his face.

Finally they reached the highway. Being on smooth pavement felt like heaven to Meredith after hours of rough terrain. But, it was soon clear the truck had not survived hitting the trench unscathed. It started shaking and making a bad noise as soon as Will began to accelerate on the highway. 

"That doesn't sound good."

"Nope."

With the harrowing journey down the mountain behind them, she realized she was ravenously hungry. She hoped he was planning on feeding her soon. "Um, Will, I hate to complain right now, but I haven't eaten anything in over 24 hours—since 6 a.m. yesterday morning. I may be passing out soon. Just letting you know."

"I'll see what I can do," he said sounding very distracted.

*********

Will slowed the truck down to around 40 mph. He couldn't believe his bad luck. He was almost certain he'd busted a strut. He was going to be lucky if he got it limped in to a town. He didn't want to think about the logistics of being stranded on foot with a jumper. 

The four corners area was a remote part of the country. Southwestern Colorado was almost as barren and unpopulated as northeastern Arizona. There was no way they were going to make it to Cortez, and he contemplated turning around and heading back to Montrose. But by a small stroke of good luck, there was a cluster of businesses outside one of the state parks they were passing. It included a gas station, one of the old fashioned types with a full-service pump and a garage. He pulled in. It was after 3 p.m. already.

To his amazement, there was even a mechanic on duty. Will showed the guy his bail recovery agent I.D. and explained his predicament. He needed to get his truck operational, and quickly, and he had to keep his prisoner secured. He explained she wasn't too dangerous, and they needed food.

"Yeah, we can fix you right up here, buddy," the mechanic assured him. "My momma runs that motel right 'cross the street. It's got a café, and if you need a place to put up for the night, well, it ain't the Hilton, but her rooms are clean."

Will looked across the road at the mid-century style motel/café combo. It looked to have no more than half a dozen rooms, and a flickering neon sign that said "Ranchito Motel."

Will got his prisoner out of the truck and escorted her across the highway. The café was mostly empty. As luck would have it, there was overflow seating partitioned from the main area by a stainless steel rail. Will asked for a booth next to the railing. He cuffed her to the railing and sat down opposite her.

"You're being awfully quiet," he commented. "You haven't spouted any lies, drama, smart ass comments, or other bullshit since we left camp. I'm starting to get worried about you."

She looked sullen and pale. "Yeah, well you scared the shit out of me on the switchbacks," she accused, hugging her free arm around her midriff protectively. 

Will grinned mischievously. "That was nothing but a thing, baby. I've driven way worse roads than that." Actually, he couldn't think of any off the top of his head, but she didn't need to know that.

"And you've starved and dehydrated me until I'm nearly unconscious," she continued. "Do you follow the 'dead or alive' approach to bounty hunting?"

"I'm feeding you now, aren't I? There you go again with the melodrama. And you hardly look starved."

Meredith gaped at him angrily. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Will sighed heavily and raked his hair out of his face. He always forgot about women and their ubiquitous body issues, and he always put his foot in his mouth over it. And, this was not a good day for him to have to walk on eggshells around a female ego.

"Nothing. It means you look plenty strong and healthy, that's all. Jesus. And no, I don't bring jumpers in dead—unless they really, really deserve it. And I think that fucking natural disaster last night has something to do with you being hungry. What do you think?"

The red blotches were back on her neck and chest. This time he was pretty sure it was due to anger rather than arousal.

Thankfully, the waitress picked that moment to arrive to take their order.

"You want to order, or sit there and pout about being hungry?" Will demanded.

Meredith glared at him some more before opening the menu. About then, the waitress must have noticed she was handcuffed to the railing.

"Uh, what's goin—" the waitress began, but Will cut her off by presenting his I.D. again. 

"Don't worry, she's not dangerous. Unless by dangerous you mean irritating as shit."

*********

Meredith felt angry and insulted, but she also felt too weak to argue with him. "I don't care," she said sullenly. "I just need food. Burger and fries. And, coffee with cream and sugar."

Will added water to her order, then ordered for himself. He stared at her in silence until their beverages arrived. It made her feel uncomfortable, like a bug under a microscope.

Just the smell of the coffee started to revive her. She struggled to tear open the several sugar packets with one hand and her teeth, scattering some of it across the table and onto her lap before getting any in her coffee. The individual servings of half and half proved even more problematic. The first one got mostly spilled down her chin.

Will grinned at her evilly and took his time handing her a napkin. He then opened one of the half and halfs for her. "How many?" he asked.

"Two more. Thanks."

The combination of coffee and sugar hitting her bloodstream was euphoric. She drank it as fast as she could and a second cup as well. 

"Drink some water too," Will chided. "You're not starved, but you probably are dehydrated."

She sipped her water, only then realizing he was ordering her around, and she was obeying without question. That disturbed her. His apparent concern for her well-being disturbed her. In fact, just about everything about him disturbed her.

The food arrived and they both tucked in voraciously. A short time later, both had cleaned their plates. The waitress showed up asking about dessert.

"What do you have?" Will asked.

"Homemade apple pie today."

Will raised an eyebrow at Meredith. She shrugged. It sounded fantastic and she was still a little hungry. But she didn't usually order desserts.

"Sounds great. Bring us two."

********

Will looked at her enjoying the apple pie. He liked watching her eat. Some primal part of him was finding satisfaction in feeding her. The rest of him really didn't want to dissect those feelings too much. 

He reminded himself she was going to be back in jail soon, probably to be subsequently sentenced to time in the state pen. But, that only made him think this might be one of her last decent meals. Soon she'd be eating jail cafeteria swill, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. He tried to imagine her surviving within a prison social structure, and found his conclusions disturbing. She seemed tough enough in some regards, but not in that way. Not standing up to prison gangs, or some butch prison chick trying to make her her bitch. 

It was bad enough he was physically attracted to her. But now she was tugging on his heartstrings and that was just downright bullshit. 

"You know, Will, I think I know what you're feeling right now," Meredith told him between bites of pie.

Will had a moment of panic, hoping his actual feelings were not somehow showing. He shuttered his emotions and tried to answer nonchalantly. "You don't say? And let me guess, you're going to share that with me now."

"It's called cognitive dissonance."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but allowed her to continue.

"That's when the rational part of your mind conflicts with your irrational beliefs. You can cover it up with sarcasm all you want, but at some level, you know, or at least suspect, you have made a mistake. You know I am not Brandi Foster or whatever her name is. Everything about me tells you that, doesn't it, Will? You're trying to ignore the evidence and clinging to your original concept of me. But, you're uncomfortable, because you're ignoring your rational side."

Will stared at her contemplatively. "That's not exactly a textbook definition of cognitive dissonance, you know."

She shrugged indifferently. "How many philosophy textbooks have you read exactly, Will?"

"You think I'm an uneducated hick?" he asked defensively. For a moment he felt like he was actually being belittled by a snooty academic rather than a career criminal who hadn't finished high school. "For your information, I have read a philosophy book or two. How many have you read?"

She laughed. "None. Scientists don't know jack about philosophy. I'm supposed to be a philosopher of science, but I never even took a logic class."

He shook his head, exasperated. "You're a piece of work. See, I would argue it is the rational part of my brain telling me you are Brandi Lynn Fowler: a shit load of circumstantial evidence plus the papers you had on your person identifying you. If I am suffering cognitive dissonance—and I'm not saying I am—it would be because you are doing your damnedest to manipulate my irrational sympathies." 

"You're wrong," she countered stubbornly.

"What is the point of this argument, Brandi? I don't believe your story."

"Then you'll be up for a small wager, won't you?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Like what?"

"Like, if I'm right, you owe me something. Something big."

"And if I'm right?"

"Well, I'd be going to jail if that were true. So, I couldn't pay you back in any way, at least not for a long while."

"So what's my motivation to place this bet, then? 

"To prove how sure you are I'm your bail jumper."

"But see, baby, I don't have to prove anything to you. You are in my custody, and I have all the control. But just out of curiosity, what would you be claiming from me if I were wrong?"

"Well, first of all, I think you would owe me a really nice dinner somewhere."

He laughed. "Wait. If you are right, then that means I'm kidnapping you, and you would want to go on a date with me?"

Meredith broke eye contact with him and picked at the last bite of her piecrust. "Well you are kind of cute. For an arrogant bounty hunter, I mean." 

His jaw dropped a little. He'd been expecting a seduction, but it still surprised him. After the dick biting and titty flashing she'd used to seduce her previous victims, this seemed really...polite...prudish...sincere, even.

She continued, "...and I will be stuck in Tucson with no I.D or money, so you will need to chauffeur me back to Boulder."

"Fair enough. Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Of course. And, finally, I think you should have to make up for the general disruption of a week of my life. That is how long this whole ordeal is going to take to play out to its inevitable conclusion. I think a week of slave labor would be fair repayment."




Bounty Hunter Ch. 03



Will choked a little and had to take a drink of water.

"So what do you say, Will Carlsen; is it a bet?"

"Okay, fine. If you are not wanted by the state of Arizona—or by any township or county therein—for any crime, I owe you a date, an all-expense paid trip back to Boulder, and week of slave labor. Satisfied?"

She smiled—a big, toothy full-face smile. She looked beautiful, and he felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. 

"Yep. Just thinking about it almost makes all this suffering worth it," she said. "I'm going to love to put you to work sieving soil samples and washing Erlenmeyers for twelve hour shifts. And then scrubbing my kitchen baseboards and giving me a foot massage."

When they finished their pie, they walked back to the garage and got the bad news. He needed new front struts, and the hold up would be getting the parts. There were none in town, so the mechanic had to get them delivered from Grand Junction. A courier was driving them down tonight, meaning the work couldn't get done until the morning. They were stuck for the night. 

 *********

They walked back to the Ranchito and got a room. Meredith felt the same familiar mix of dread tinged with a little excitement she'd felt last night as they walked into the small motel room. She was alone again, with him , in an intimate setting. At least the room had two beds. 

After checking out the bathroom, presumably for possible escape routes, Will told her she could take a shower.

Her clothes were filthy. She looked around the room for a radiator, fan, or something else that might speed the drying of them if she washed them in the shower with her.

"What?" he barked impatiently, as she stood there timidly looking around. 

"Umm...I was just trying to come up with a plan to wash and dry my clothes."

He had brought a duffle bag in. Digging around in it, he pulled out a flannel shirt and boxer shorts and tossed them to her. "They're clean."

"Uh, thanks," she replied. 

The bathroom was windowless, so there was no escape to even contemplate. She stripped down and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like hell—the bruising on her ribcage was multicolored and her knee was dark, dark purple. She looked gaunt and sleep deprived, and her naturally curly hair was a ridiculous frizzy orange mess.

The shower revived her somewhat. She tried her best to scrub her clothes out with the tiny motel soap, then wrung them out and tidied the bathroom. It never ceased to amaze her how far and wide that Uncompahgre red soil would spread. She wiped up faint terra cotta tracks and puddles all over the bathroom.

She blotted her hair out carefully with a towel, trying to coax her hair into ringlets as much as possible, then got dressed. The flannel shirt was plenty roomy, but it was thin and well broken in. She wished she had a bra as she tried in vain to arrange the shirt so her breasts were not so clearly outlined. 

*********

Will leaned against the windowsill looking at his cell phone. There was terrible reception here, and it would probably be patchy and weak at best until he got close to Prescott. He jotted down several phone numbers so he could place some calls on a landline later. He needed to check in with his office and see if any high-paying bail pieces had come in since yesterday morning. With Dan's license temporarily suspended, Will was the only one who could actually pick anyone up. And he needed to call the courthouse and tell them he was bringing Brandi Lynn tomorrow or the next day.

He looked up when she walked out of the bathroom. Seeing her bare, shapely legs made the blood detour towards his cock yet again. That she was wearing his clothes added a hint of possessiveness to his lust. 

She hung her damp clothes up on hangers and then sat down on the edge of the bed looking at the black screen of the TV.

"The owner brought by a basketful of magazines," he said, pushing the box towards her. "Apparently they only get about two TV stations on a good day, and today's not a good day."

Meredith picked through the well-worn issues, then pulled out a National Geographic and rearranged the pillows so she could read.

Will picked up the cuffs and walked towards her. When she saw what he was doing she tossed the magazine down into her lap in despair, but said nothing as he cuffed her right hand to the bed frame. "Behave yourself, please. I'm going to take a shower."

*********

Meredith tried to calm her racing heart as she listened to Will turn the shower on. Her attraction to him was growing, and she didn't know how to handle the crazy, sickening excitement she felt any time he manhandled her, especially with the handcuffs. Her pussy had slickened the moment he touched her, and she reached out to grab the towel she had left on the end of the bed so she could dry herself off. 

As she did so, she noticed Will's cell phone on the desk. She thought about how worried people would be when she was discovered missing. Undoubtedly, Kyle had returned from Boulder by now and was probably either looking for her, or driving to Montrose to report her missing. If she could just make a phone call, she could at least spare him and her family, friends, and co-workers a lot of stress.

Will had cuffed her with the regular handcuffs, not the padded ones she'd worn during the car ride. She slid the cuff attached to the bed down the side of the headboard to examine the bed construction. If she could unhook the siderail from the headboard, she could slip the cuff down to the floor and lift the bed up just a little to slide it free. 

The shower was still running. She freed the cuff as quietly as possible and quickly picked up the phone and flipped it open. She wasn't familiar with the phone, but there was a text and phone icon on two of the buttons. She hit the text button and hurriedly began texting a message to Kyle. She hit the send button.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He had snuck up on her, and his voice sounded angry, angrier than he had sounded ever before.

She whirled around to find him dripping wet and fuming at her, gripping a towel around his waist. Her heart raced again, this time out of fear. 

He snatched the phone from her and yanked her to her feet. His eyes were a stormy tempest. "What the hell were you doing? Contacting an accomplice? Trying to arrange an escape?"

"No, I was just—" 

"I am so sick of your lies and bullshit! Obviously, I was amiss thinking I could relax my security so you could be a little comfortable."

He drug her back to the bed and reattached the cuff, then pulled another pair out of his duffle bag. 

Panic rose in her. "What are you doing? Please, I just wanted to keep people from worrying about me. I wasn't trying to escape! Will, please believe me. You can see for yourself on your phone—"

"Too bad for you all this was for nothing. There's no cell signal here, so it doesn't really matter who you were trying to contact."

He cuffed her free hand and tried to push her down on the bed. Meredith panicked and fought him, but he easily overpowered her, pinned her to the bed with his body, and cuffed her hand to the other side of the headboard, so her arms were spread.

She tried to push him off her with her hips but realized quickly that was the wrong thing to do. He kept her pinned and stared down at her. They were both breathing heavily from the struggle. She saw the anger burning in his eyes but also lust and hunger. It mesmerized her, and her body surged all too quickly back into a state of full arousal. His gaze had drifted down to her mouth, and she nervously licked her lips. Another wrong move. Or maybe a right move—he was going to kiss her, and she realized she desperately, desperately wanted him to do just that.

*********

Will had restrained both her arms, mostly out of anger, to show her who was in charge. He had felt his trust betrayed when he found her trying to escape—or whatever she had been trying to do. Why the hell should he have trusted her at all? She had a track record of manipulating people and escaping justice. 

But, his treacherous body didn't care about any of that, only that she was sexy as hell and ripe for the taking. He felt his anger being subsumed by desire. Ending up on top of her, on a bed, was the last straw of his resistance. Her struggles were only inflaming him more. 

His hand trailed over her arm and shoulder to her neck. He stroked her jaw line softly with his thumb, then grasped the back of her neck to angle her mouth towards his. As his mouth claimed hers, he had a vague, distant realization he had lost all control of the situation. 

She tasted delicious. His tongue warred with hers and plundered her mouth. She was making tiny gasps of pleasure that were driving him even further over the edge. He cupped a breast with one hand while the other remained on her neck controlling the kiss. She gasped again as he rubbed his thumb over her erect nipple.

"Oh God, Will," she whispered hoarsely against his lips. Instinctively, his hips flexed, grinding his erection against her, and she thrust back in response. 

His hands found the buttons on the shirt and undid them one by one. He pushed the shirt open, baring her breasts completely to him. He cupped one in each hand, squeezing lightly, then teasing the nipples. He bent his head down and took one into his mouth.

She came undone, crying out and arching her body upwards. He continued to suckle one, then the other, while his hands roamed her hips and thighs. 

"Will. Will, please, let me go," she pleaded, pulling on the handcuffs.

He stopped exploring her body with his mouth stared darkly at her. "What?"

"Please, unlock my hands. I just want to touch you."

As soon as she said the words, his body burned and his cock throbbed—his treacherous body again. Oh, yes, his body wanted her touching him as well, but the tiny fragment of his mind that was still capable of rational thought remembered the tale Dan had told him of how she had begged to be released, with promise of what her hands could do: "I'm much more talented with my hands free."

"Yeah, I'll bet you would," he growled at her. His hand went to her nape again, tightening his hold on her, then he claimed her mouth again, more brutally than before.

*********

His kisses drugged her, fogging her brain so she couldn't even think. Her whole body ached with desire. She wanted—needed—to touch him back, to thread her fingers through his hair, to caress his skin and explore his powerful physique that had been driving her crazy. 

The painful euphoria she was feeling had intensified since he pulled away from her. He still sounded angry, and it seemed for a moment the mood had been broken. Her desire was tempered just a little bit as she wondered what she had done wrong. His eyes were stormy and his face unreadable to her.

He was denying her request, and when he kissed her again, she felt the edge of violence in the act. Her body quickly flamed back to its previous state, but she also started to panic as she slowly realized he was neither going to free her nor stop what he was doing.

It was clear where they were headed with things, and he couldn't possibly be planning to do it this way—not with her arms spread and cuffed to the bed. No, no, no, this isn't right, she thought. She felt fear and nausea mixing with her arousal.

"No! Will, stop please! I don't want this, not like this!" she pleaded.

"Oh yes, I think you do," he murmured in her ear, trailing hot kisses down her neck and back to her breasts. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out again as he took her nipple back into his mouth—licking, sucking, biting.

"God, no! Ahh—please! Please, Will."

"Please what, baby?"

"Please stop."

His reply was to run his hand up the inside of her thigh towards her pussy and cup her sex through the fabric. She knew she was soaking wet; now he did too. As his hand slid inside the leg of the boxers, his fingers became wet before they ever brushed her folds. His thumb slid around the top of her thigh, well-lubricated by her juices, almost, but not quite, touching her where she needed touching. 

"Nnn...ah!" The ache he was causing was so excruciating she could no longer form words.

"You don't want me to stop," he said huskily. 

"Yeah...nnnuh...," she rambled.

His thumb probed her, finding her swollen, throbbing clit and began slowly circling it. This time she only partially stifled her cry of pleasure. She was fighting two enemies here, Will and her own body. She pulled on her restraints again, feeling overwhelmed by how helpless she was to him.

She was building towards a climax and could do nothing to stop it. He continued the insidious circling of her clit with his thumb as he slid two fingers into her pussy. The sublime friction pushed her over the edge and her body convulsed. 

*********

Will felt her pussy walls spasm hard around his fingers, and her body bucked so hard she nearly pushed him off of her. As she came down from her climax, she rambled incoherently and pulled at her restraints. Propping himself up with one arm, he looked at her. God, she was sexy as hell. Her hair was wildly tousled, her lips swollen and deliciously kissable, and her chest and neck had an intense rosy blush to them from her orgasm. 

But he was nowhere near done with her. His body was throbbing for her, and he was going to have her. Giving her only a few seconds to recover, he turned his attention back to her clit, stroking all around it, gradually working his way to more direct stimulation of the hard nub. 

He could tell her arousal was building again because his hand was suddenly flooded with even more of her juices, and she started saying "no" again, pulling on her restraints, and fighting her body's responses. He pulled the towel around his waist free with a single move, then deftly pulled the boxer shorts off her.

He pushed her legs apart and positioned himself between them. She was now completely bare and accessible to him, and so, so, so fuckably wet. His cock throbbed.

"Don't." she whispered.

He ran the head of his cock between her folds teasingly. She moaned.

"Tell me you want this, sweetness," he whispered seductively, and teased her again, this time pressing his nob against her entrance before rubbing her clit again with it.

"I duh—ahhh!" 

"Tell me what you want." This time he pinched her nipple simultaneously as he rubbed his cock against her pussy. She babbled incoherently.

"I want you to say it, baby. Tell me what you want." This time he stopped all titillations and just held his cock at her entrance.

"Nuh."

"Yes. You want me to fuck you, little girl?"

"hmm... uhuh" She flexed her hips upward, reaching for his cock.

He pushed into just an inch or so, then pulled out. She moaned in frustration. 

"Say it."

"Yes!" she growled at him angrily.

"Yes what? 

"Fuck! Oh God, just fuck me, please, Will, you motherfucking—"

He plunged in to her in a single powerful stroke. God, she was so unbelievably tight, and hot, and wet. Will bit down on the soft flesh of her neck, holding himself motionless and balls deep in her, just to gain control. 

For a few seconds he didn't think he could move in her without coming. He felt her body undulate underneath him a she tried with limited success to get his cock moving.

"Stop teasing me," she pleaded. 

He slowly slid out of her and then thrust back in hard. "Is that what you want?"

"Yes! More—oh God, don't stop!"

He gave her a few more vigorous strokes and knew from the sounds she was making she was getting close again. "You sure you don't want me to stop?" he asked with an evil grin.

"Fuck you!" she growled angrily, but he could see the desperation in her eyes. She needed what he was giving her, needed to be fucked, and he was totally getting off from the control he had over her. He pounded into her hard and fast, making the bedframe slam against the wall like a bass drum. 

He grabbed her legs and pushed them up over his shoulders without missing a beat. It angled he so he could thrust into her even more deeply and grind more directly against her clit. It only took about four more strokes until she climaxed violently. Will could feel her cunt squeezing his cock in rhythmic pulses, milking him. 

He reached over her head with one arm and grabbed the headboard for leverage as he poured himself into her. 

"Ah fuck, Brandi Lynn!" 

His orgasm was powerful and protracted, leaving him so weak he collapsed beside her.

*********

Author's note: Oh, no! Poor Meredith. Or is it poor Will? Nothing like yelling out the wrong name in this kind of situation to kill the mood. Anyway, thanks for reading! And thanks again to HardSalami for editing and input. 



Bounty Hunter Ch. 04



"Ah fuck, Brandi Lynn!"

She was still in the throes of her last orgasm when he said it. Meredith went limp against her restraints as tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She felt overwhelmed by the incongruent emotions crashing around in her head: passion and attraction towards her captor, fear and disgust with being fucked by a man she just met while chained to a bed, and the lack of control she'd had.

The last straw was hearing him call her Brandi. She just had the most intense physical experience of her life, and this man wasn't even attracted to her; he was attracted to what he thought she was—a slutty criminal. It made the whole situation seem extra cheap and tawdry. It made her feel cheap and tawdry.

He had violated her against her will. No, she wasn't raped, was she? Rape victims don't beg their rapists to fuck them harder and faster. Still, he had forced her to want him. Her body felt exhausted, sore, and sated, even though she was emotionally tormented.

Will rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up, his head in his hands. She didn't want him to see her cry, so she tried quietly to stop the tears. Her shoulders and wrists were starting to ache, and she could feel his cum and her juices trickling out of her. She suddenly wanted very much to cover her naked body but couldn't. Her nose was getting runny and she sniffled just a little bit.

He turned to her when she made the noise. She squeezed her eyes closed, not wanting to look at him, but it was too late. She had seen the regretful look on his face. He looked as disgusted with himself as she was with herself.

He reached across her and unlocked her wrists from the handcuffs. Instinctively, she began curling into a fetal position, but he grabbed her forearms and pulled her up.

There were red marks and bruises blooming on her wrists where she had struggled against them. She cried out in pain.

"Shit...what did you do?"

Meredith snapped. "What did I do? You fucking asshole! I had no fucking choice about anything, did I? I didn't want to—not like that! You made me want it!"

"Brandi, I—"

"And don't call me that!" Enraged, she hit his arm with a closed fist. "Don't ever call me that again." The tears came back with a vengeance, and she wiped them away angrily.

He let her pummel him without reacting, then stood up and picked his wet towel up from the floor, toweling off the remains of their sex.

"Um...why don't you go uh, clean up?" He waived towards the bathroom. She grabbed his shorts off the bed and headed to the bathroom without looking at him.

In the shower, she tried scrubbing the whole event away with soap and hot water, as she broke down in tears again. She wasn't into casual hookups, and it had been over six months ago since she'd broken up with her last boyfriend. This was not how she imagined breaking her dry spell.

She tried not to think about the possible consequences of having unprotected sex. There was a morning-after pill you could get from a doctor, right? If she could get back home within two days, there might be a chance to use that.

She washed the sore and tender flesh between her legs gingerly, and tried unsuccessfully to block out the flood of passionate memories pictures from what had just happened.

*********

Will pulled his clothes on while he tried to clear his head. What happened was an egregious loss of control on his part. In the moment, all he could take in was her extreme state of arousal and how much he wanted her, but now he remembered the multiple times she had said "no" and "please don't." And afterwards, chained to the headboard, she had looked broken. His mind balked at the memories because that was not who he was. He tried to tell himself she was probably just enraged he'd turned the tables on her plans to dupe him. Maybe. Shit.

When Dan had told him of his encounter with this woman, he had actually felt smug. Like Dan, Will wasn't one to fraternize with bail jumpers. Yet here he was. Granted, she'd not managed to handcuff him to the bed and escape, but he was inappropriately involved nonetheless.

She could get him in a lot of trouble if she wanted to. If both he and Dan had their licenses suspended, it would be the end of their business permanently, not to mention their reputations. At least he didn't have a wife or girlfriend to deal with if this blew up into a public scandal.

She had been in the bathroom a long time with the shower running. He knocked and then opened it to see what she was doing, motivated in part to make sure she was okay and in part to make sure she wasn't up to no good.

She had her back to him, standing under the stream of water. His eyes went immediately to her nicely curved backside flaring out from her slender waist. She gasped and turned around when he invaded her privacy, covering her breasts. She had obviously been crying, and the look of hurt and remorse on her face hit him like a punch in the stomach.

"What?" she demanded angrily.

"Uh...just, um...finish up soon, please," he mumbled, then withdrew from the bathroom.

He flopped down on the unused bed and rubbed his hands over his face. He heard the shower kick off, then a few minutes later she came out and curled on her bed with her back to him.

Will stared at the ceiling. It was going to be a long evening. A long, awkward evening.

Eventually he got up and switched the lamps on between the beds.

"Brandi, let me look at your wrists," he said, trying to temper the gruffness in his voice. She was still curled up in a fetal position facing the wall.

"Don't call me Brandi."

He sighed heavily. On top of everything else weighing on his mind, her game was wearing on him. "Okay, fine. Hey you, let me look at your wrists."

She hesitated as though weighing the option of refusal, then rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Under the light, please."

She stuck them out. The angry bruising had darkened up even more, and they were puffy and swollen. Will swore silently. The injury itself wasn't serious—yet. The problem was now even the padded restraints would start to cause more inflammation, which would eventually cause nerve damage to the hands. He couldn't in good conscience keep her wrists cuffed all night and all of the next day, not without risking her permanent damage. He knew bounty hunters and wanna-be bondage enthusiasts often didn't give a shit about things like that, but he did.

He sighed again. "I can't just let you roam free in here, not after you tried escaping earlier."

"I didn't—" she started to protest, but he cut her off.

"I also can't let you ride in my truck unrestrained tomorrow. That's even more of a no-no."

She dropped her hands in her lap but didn't look at him. "They're really starting to hurt."

He cringed inwardly. "What I will do is cuff your ankle tonight, so long as you don't try anything. I also want you to take some Advil, maybe get some of that swelling down."

She shrugged indifferently. He dug in his duffle for the medication and brought her a glass of water to wash it down with.

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

He cuffed her ankle to the foot of the bed. There was no footboard, so he had to wrangle an attachment to the leg of the bedframe. It wasn't the most secure arrangement, but she wouldn't be able to get free without waking him up, and he would be between her and the door. He pushed the box of magazines so she could reach them.

*********

Meredith had washed away the physical traces of their encounter, but her internal turmoil continued. She still felt attracted to him still...but she hated him for compelling her to respond as she just had...but she was genuinely starting to like his personality...but how could she like someone who treated her as he had?

She couldn't wrap her head around what happened between them, nor could she understand her own responses to him, so her mind mostly shut down thinking about it all together. Slowly, her initial despair and anger faded to a numb indifference.

She picked up the National Geographic again and tried reading an article on killer whales.

Eventually, Will got up from his bed, plopped down at the desk, and pulled the land line phone towards him. He took a card out of his wallet, then sat there for several minutes reading the dialing instructions on the phone. Meredith could see they were long and complicated, and suspected it was one of those scam systems that rely on hotel customers giving up trying to use their own calling plans and defaulting to the overpriced rates.

Finally, he picked up the phone and started punching in numbers, at least thirty—before listening for a pickup. Meredith could hear the phone at the other end ring and ring. He swore, then hung up and tried several more numbers before he finally got an answer. Meredith could barely make out the stilted "please leave a message" coming from the other end of the connection.

"Hey Debbie, Will here. I'm in uh...well crap, fifty or so miles south of Montrose, I guess. Got into some car trouble here but I should be on the road tomorrow morning, knock on wood. I'm bringing in Brandi Lynn, should be back in Tucson late tomorrow if everything goes well. No cell phone here; I'll call you on the road tomorrow as soon as I have reception. Take care now."

Meredith suddenly felt light-headed. It had never even occurred to her he might have a significant other of some kind. So on top of everything else, she might have slept with a married man. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

There was some idiotic part of her that actually had been feeling hopeful, as though this impossibly bizarre, fucked up situation could actually have a happy, romantic outcome. Realizing he had a life, and probably a partner, just represented an additional reason why that part of her was an idiot.

*********

Will put the phone down and glanced at his prisoner. She was sitting up holding a magazine, and he caught her looking away from him.

"Who's Debbie?" she asked. She sounded like she was still in a funk.

"You're awfully nosey," he commented back. He didn't want her wheedling personal information about him or his employees.

"Not much else to do," she snapped back, and Will raised an eyebrow and shared a knowing look with her. They had found some things to do earlier, after all. And damn, it apparently hadn't satisfied him because he felt his cock stirring again.

She caught his silent insinuation, huffed indignantly, and went back to read National Geographic.

Will turned the TV on and spent about 10 minutes trying to find a station. The best he found was one ghosting in "Wheel of Fortune" with a large amount of static. He clicked it off, then rummaged through his duffle bag until he pulled out some books. He went back to the desk and opened one of them.

The books perked her attention. He hadn't looked directly at her, but he could sense her attention. It was apparent he would get no peace from her tonight. Part of him didn't mind. That part of him needed to be bitch-slapped, he decided.

"You have books."

"And you have a delightful grasp of the obvious," he retorted.

She ignored the barb. "Can I have one?"

"One what?" he asked, irritated.

"One of your books. You can only read one at a time."

"You don't even know what they are about," he accused.

"It could be technical specifications for a washing machine written in badly-translated English, and it would be better than these crappy magazines," she complained. "There's only one Nat Geo, the rest are all crap. She grabbed a handful of them and flipped through them one by one. "Bullshit homemaking crap full of fifty ways to make casseroles with cream of mushroom soup. Bullshit fashion magazine full of airbrushed ads designed to make women feel bad about themselves. Bullshit gossip magazine full of who-gives-a-shit trivia about celebrities..."

"Okay. I get it already. All the magazines are bullshit. Jesus." It was obvious his attempts to study were going to be about as productive as his attempts to complete his business calls.

He tossed her the second book he'd pulled out. "There you go; knock yourself out."

To his surprise, she snapped it up with a genuinely curious look on her face, like she really wanted to read it and not just annoy him out of boredom.

"It's a textbook," she said, sounding surprised.

Will let out an exasperated sigh. "That's twice for stating the obvious, and twice for assuming I'm an uneducated hick."

She looked at cover. "Are you going to law school?"

"No."

"You're reading a book on criminal law just for fun?"

"No."

"But you're working on some kind degree?"

He sighed and pushed the book in front of him away. "I'm working on a B.S. in criminal justice. Three years into it."

"Oh...U of A?"

"No, ASU." Damn. He answered her before he could stop himself.

"So you live in Phoenix?"

"Not answering that."

"How do you attend classes if you're driving all over the place picking up criminals?"

"It's mostly online. I'll have a few on-campus classes next year."

"Oh."

She shut up for a while and actually seemed to be reading one of the chapters. Will went back to reading his criminal investigation text for about half an hour. When he finished his reading assignment, he tossed it on the bed and gestured for her to give him the other.

"Interesting?" he asked.

"Yes. Well, part of it. These descriptions of laws are pretty interesting. But the theoretical analysis is uh...mind-numbing."

Will stared at her, an amused smile slowly stealing across his face. "I agree. Now trade me. I have to study those mind-numbing theories."

She started leafing through the book he'd traded to her. "And you're wrong," she commented.

"About what?" he asked. "Or should I say, about what else?"

"I never thought you were a hick. Or uneducated."

He went back to reading and in a little while noticed she had fallen asleep. She was on her side, laying diagonally across the bed, with her head resting on his open criminal investigation book.

Will stared at her for a long time, enjoying for the first time the opportunity to study her without inhibition or consequence. She looked angelic and peaceful, and he realized he still wanted her badly. But there was a dark cloud over his desire. As though the circumstances of their lives didn't make things impossible enough, he had wronged her in a way he suspected was unforgivable.

*********

Meanwhile, back in Tucson...

Debbie listened to Will's message on her answering machine for the third time, trying to figure out if she heard him correctly or not. Worried, she called Dan Bell's cell phone, and was grateful to hear him pick up.

"Dan? It's Debbie."

"Evenin' Debs, what's up?"

"Have you heard from Will today?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Uh no, why do you ask?"

"It's probably nothing, but I'm a little concerned. I missed a call from him, and he left me a message. He said he was still up by Montrose and was having some car problems."

"Sounds like a hassle, but I'm sure it is nothing to be concerned about. Will's a big boy."

"No, no, that wasn't what concerned me. It wasn't a very good connection, but I thought he said he was bringing in Brandi Lynn Fowler."

"Oh, you must have just misheard him, Debbie. He must have been telling you he wasn't bringing her in. She got picked up by the Gunnison County sheriff's office early this morning."

"I know; we received that message at the office," Debbie replied.

"And she won't be sent back here for a couple of weeks at least," Dan went on.

"I listened to the message three times, Dan. It sure sounded like he said he has her."

"Have you tried calling him back?" Dan asked.

"He said he didn't have any cell coverage. he didn't leave the number he was calling from."

"Oh. You know, I missed a call a little bit ago, but the number was a Verizon operator, so I couldn't return the call. That must have been Will."

"Dan, call it women's intuition, but I'm worried. Would you try calling him tomorrow and check to make sure everything is okay?"

"Sure thing, Debbie, no problem. I'll be up near Flagstaff, but I'll try calling him while I'm on the road."

"Thanks, Dan. Oh, and Dan? I hope things are going okay for you...and Marcie and the kids." Debbie was too polite to bring up details of Dan's indiscretion.

"Thank you Debs. Actually things are going pretty well. Better than I deserve, I'll tell you that."

"That's wonderful Dan. You have a nice evening."

"You too. Bye now."

*********

Meredith awoke some time in the middle of the night to find Will had put a pillow under her head and covered her with a blanket. She could hear his breathing across the room on the other bed. He was asleep.

She had dreamed of him—dreamed he believed her about who she was and was taking her home. She dreamed they'd walked hand in hand through a park near her house, and had kissed—a romantic kiss that had left her breathless. Now that she was awake, the fantasy world of her dream had been replaced by her memories of that evening, and she was again tormented and conflicted.

She just couldn't let it go--she relived his mouth descending on hers, the way he tasted, his hands on her body, his cock thrusting into her. She remembered how she was helpless to stop him and stop herself from responding. It took only a minute of such fantasizing before she was literally trembling with need.

She refused to assuage her own agony this time though. She really needed to let go of whatever obsessive connection she was making with him, and masturbating while fantasizing about him was not going to take her in the right direction. She needed to forget about him, as he no doubt would forget about her very soon. Frustrated and depressed, she fell asleep.

*********

The next morning they ate breakfast without talking much, then walked over and sat in the garage's waiting area until the truck was fixed. True to mechanics word, the parts had arrived bright and early, and the mechanic finished the work quickly.

Before they got on the road, Will checked her wrists. They were still bruised, of course, but the swelling was down some. He swore to himself and ran a hand through his hair, weighing the risks of injuring her permanently vs. risking his own safety or her escape. He'd had a jumper slip out of his restraints once and grab the steering wheel from him. It was an experience he was in no hurry to repeat.

But his captive looked passive and dejected this morning. He sublimated the various feelings welling up in his gut and decided on a compromise. He'd cuff one of her wrists at a time. There were several points in the cab of his truck he could attach her to. It wasn't the most secure option, but he could at least alternate wrists to keep the swelling down.

On the highway, he tried concentrating on traffic and the desolate landscape surround them. He occasionally glanced her way, always to find her head resting against the window and her eyes focused on the desert scrubland slipping by.

They were nearing Tuba City when his phone made a noise. He picked it up and looked at the screen. It said "message sent."

"Fuck," he muttered to himself. It must have been a message she typed yesterday. With everything that had transpired, he had forgotten to check his phone to see exactly what she had done. It must have been queued as outgoing, and he must have just now driving back into cell service.

He flipped the phone open and went to the list of sent messages. The top one had gone to an unfamiliar phone number. He read it:

"kyle i'm okay don't worry will call soo—"

The area code was 303; he was pretty sure that was the Denver area. And maybe Boulder? What kind of mind fuckery was she pulling on him?




Bounty Hunter Ch. 04



He set the phone down and kept driving, but he was developing an uncomfortable ache in the pit of his stomach.

The phone beeped again. Incoming message. With trepidation, he read it:

"dr lee where are you???"

A couple of minutes passed during which he didn't form any coherent thoughts. The phone started ringing. It was the unknown 303 phone number. He didn't answer it. A minute later another text arrived:

"you need to call sheriff in montrose everyone is looking for you"

He pulled over to the side of the road as the blood drained out of his head. Cognitive fucking dissonance, indeed.

*********

Author's Note: I know, I know. It's mean to stop at this point. But here we are. As usual, thanks to HardSalami for editing, suggestions, and feedback!



Bounty Hunter Ch. 04b



Author's Note: 

Okay, so this, I suppose, is really the second half of chapter 4, had my story been properly chaptered. Sorry there is no sex in it – chapter 5 will be a substantial chapter with sex, don't worry! Thanks to HardSalami for superb editing, and helping me keep my characters in character.

**********

Will sat in his truck on the shoulder of the highway, numbed by the revelations of the past few minutes. His captive said nothing, but he could feel her eyes on him.

Either her story had been true all along, or her manipulating abilities were world class. The part of him that was drawn to her rejoiced at the prospect of her not being Brandi Lynn Foster, part of him feared the repercussions of kidnapping an innocent woman, and part of him was desperately grasping for some other explanation for the text messages he'd just received. Could she have an accomplice texting him, pretending to be worried about her? It had been obvious to him all along the geologist persona was rehearsed, not made up on the fly, so having someone else in on the ruse seemed possible. But her getting hold of his phone and sending the text was purely opportunistic; she couldn't have planned it.

He got out of the car, locked her in, and walked around to lean against the front bumper. He called his partner's number. Dan knew Brandi Lynn, of course, rather intimately, and seemed his best means to get to the truth of the matter. As the phone rang, Will chanted desperately to himself, answer, answer, answer.

"Hello?" 

Will breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Dan, Will here. Where are you?"

"North of Flagstaff, scouting a case. If you can make it here in the next six hours or so, we can pick up th—" 

Will stopped listening as soon as he heard Dan mention Flagstaff and interrupted him. "Great, I'm right outside Tuba City. Look, Dan I—I need some help. Can you meet me at the waffle place off highway 160?"

"Yeah, I guess. You okay? Debbie's worried about you."

"I'd rather explain everything to you in person if you don't mind." Will tried to keep his voice neutral, despite the panic building in him.

"Okay..." Dan didn't press him, but Will could hear the concern in his friend's voice. 

Will got back in the truck, started it up, and pulled back into traffic without a word. 

"Everything okay?" She sounded nervous. Will knew if he looked at her he would see fear in her eyes, and he couldn't deal with it right now. 

"Yep," he said, keeping his eyes on the road.

He wasn't that far from Tuba City, but the miles dragged by slowly. Dan would tell him immediately and definitively whether or not he'd made a terrible mistake. 

They arrived at the waffle house before Dan. Will parked the truck and then just sat there for a few minutes. He was still not thinking clearly. After a while, he heard his passenger clear her throat. 

"Um, what's going on? If I'm allowed to ask." 

Will could hear the tension in her voice. Of course she was tense. She was picking up on his stress levels and had no idea why he was acting crazy.

It was a while before he answered her. "I need a cup of coffee."

"Oh...okay." Her voice sounded small. 

Will glanced at his watch and tried to calculate when Dan would arrive. Finally he asked her, "Are you hungry?" It seemed ridiculous to talk about food, but he didn't seem able to do anything but continue on with the status quo.

"Oh, not really. Some coffee would be good though," she replied. 

He got out of the car and unlocked the restraint attached to the cab door. They went inside the restaurant and sat down at a booth. He put her to the inside of him. 

The waitress came by and they both ordered coffee, then sipped it in silence.

Finally, Will saw Dan's truck pull into the parking lot. As Dan walked into the restaurant, Will watched his face carefully. He could tell by the look on Dan's face he didn't recognize the woman sitting beside him. Will felt his stomach drop again.

Dan sat down opposite the two of them. Always the gentleman, he took his hat off and acknowledged Meredith with a pleasant "Ma'am." Then he looked at Will inquisitively.

"So...gonna clue me in here?" Dan asked him. 

Will hung his head and rubbed his hands over his face, then back over his hair. He felt lost for words.

"Okay then, I'll start," Dan said, breaking the silence and turning his attention to Will's companion. "Hi there. I'm Dan," he said, extending his hand across the table to her.

She extended her hand to shake his, dragging the handcuffs across the table. 

Dan dropped his gaze to her bruised wrist and cut Will a questioning look while shaking her hand.

Lust and a little guilt washed over Will as he thought again of how she'd gotten the bruises.

"And you are...?" Dan prompted her.

"Meredith. But he thinks I'm someone else," she said, glancing at Will.

Dan's eyebrows rose up at her comment and he looked back at Will. 

"You don't know her?" Will asked Dan. He had to be sure.

Dan cocked his head slightly, as though Will had asked him a trick question. He pursed his lips and shook his head ever so slightly. "Don't believe I do. Are we supposed to know each other?" he asked.

Will felt the ache in his gut intensify as the finality of his error crashed down on him: he had assaulted and kidnapped an innocent woman. And then forced himself on her. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Man, I fucked up. Big time."

He looked at the woman beside him. "I'm sorry," he said to her. "I'm so sorry." He unlocked the restraint around her wrist. At least he'd not worsened the inflammation from last night.

"Uh, Will, enough of this beating around the bush. What is going on here?" Dan demanded.

"She's right. I thought she was someone else. Brandi Lynn Foster, to be exact."

Dan gave a small laugh of disbelief. "You're serious?"

Will nodded.

"Uh, she don't look nothin' like Brandi Lynn, Will. How did you make this kind of mistake?"

Will smiled wryly and shook his head. It was a long, convoluted story, and he didn't quite know where to begin. 

"I guess it started in Farmington. I finished a job with time to spare, and had an unexpected lead on the Foster case. Debbie faxed the bail piece and all the information to me, but my fax machine was on the fritz."

"So you didn't have a photo."

Will shook his head. He told Dan about tracing her up the mountains outside of Montrose, and of finding Meredith with the incriminating bag of evidence. 

"Brandi was up there, no doubt in my mind. And that was her bag Meredith picked up. At that point, the lack of a photo confirmation seemed pretty inconsequential," Will admitted.

Dan turned his attention to Meredith. "You had no way to prove who you were?"

Meredith shook her head. "I have my own set of unlikely events that threw me in to this mess," she explained, and as she continued, her tone became sharper. "Then again—and let me be really clear here—I don't think I should have to explain why I was alone on a mountain without any I.D. Or, for that matter, why I had a gun, or a wad of cash. Even though neither were mine, they could have been, and that would have been none of anyone's damn business. Furthermore—" 

A look of surprised horror came over Dan's face, and he started back pedaling. "Ma'am I agree with you; I just—"

"Look, Meredith," Will said, interrupting the conversation before it derailed any further. "Dan's my business partner. He's just asking questions to try to understand this mess I've created, that's all. He's not blaming you for anything. He knows Brandi Lynn because he picked her up a few weeks ago. That's why I called him as soon as I got those text messages."

Meredith reeled in her temper. "Okay, sorry. I mean sorry to you, not to you," she said, addressing Dan first and then cutting Will an incensed look.

"Did you pick her up yesterday?" Dan inquired of Will. 

Will shook his head. "Day before yesterday," he said. It was becoming even more real to him this wasn't just a run-of-the-mill, random case of mistaken identity. He'd had a few of those over the years. Typically they involved him pinning a guy his size or larger against a wall, maybe slapping cuffs on him as well, only to find out shortly thereafter he'd cuffed Bubba's cousin or brother instead of Bubba himself. He'd never kept the wrong person in custody for going on 48 hours.

"Is there someone likely to be looking for you?" Dan asked Meredith.

"I imagine so, yes." 

"Oh yes, people are looking for you. The text message you typed last night didn't get sent until we drove back into service a while back on the highway," he explained. "Whoever you sent it to sent two messages back; one of them saying you needed to call the sheriff in Montrose. I guess that's what really convinced me I'd fucked up."

He showed her the last text message he'd received. "Who's Kyle, by the way?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, even though he really wanted to know who the hell Kyle was.

"He's my student," she said in an irritated tone. "The one that was supposed to come back to get me Saturday night. The one I said would be freaked out with worry when he found me missing. The one I told you about not once but several times."

Will took in stride the ass-chewing she was dishing out to him. He deserved worse, and before all was said and done, he might be receiving a lot worse. He dialed directory assistance and asked for the Montrose Sheriff's number, jotted it down on a napkin and then slid it along with the phone over to her.

Meredith picked it up hesitantly. 

"If you want me to talk to them I will. It's up to you," he said.

Dan interrupted. "Shit, Will. If I can interject here with some advice that's in both your best interests, 'cause neither of you are thinking straight right now. You both need to talk to the sheriff." 

"Yeah, you're probably right." He turned to Meredith to confirm. "I'll talk to them, then you talk to them. You can go outside if you want, for privacy. They may need formal statements and such. Honestly, I've never been in this situation before, so I don't know what's going to happen."

She nodded in approval, and he made the call. He reigned in his frustration as he got transferred to several different people and had to re-explain his reason for calling three times. Finally he got the deputy assigned to the investigation. The officer asked quite a few questions, and Will pulled out every skill he'd ever picked up on interacting with law enforcement: he was factual, professional, humble. Finally, the deputy asked to speak with Meredith, and he handed the phone over and let her out of the booth.

"Um, its just kind of loud in here," she explained in an apologetic tone.

Will nodded curtly and watched her walk out of the restaurant. He looked at Dan, who was studying him intently. 

"So?" Dan asked him.

"So what?"

"What's the rest of the story here?"

"What else is there to say, Dan? I fucked up. I assaulted an innocent woman in the middle of a wilderness area. I chased her down, tackled her, threw her in my truck and transported her across state lines, an action that is a felony kidnapping, should she wish to press charges. She's out there telling law enforcement personnel about it as we speak."

Dan laughed cynically. "We've cooked up a mess of trouble this month, haven't we?"

Will sighed. "Yeah. How're things going with you and Marcie?"

"Pretty good. She came home a couple days ago. We had a real good heart-to-heart. Seems we've both been takin' each other for granted for a long time. We're going to try to make a fresh start of things."

"That's good," Will said distractedly. He was happy his friend had patched things up with his old lady, but most of his attention was on Meredith.

"So, uh, how's she getting' back to Montrose?" Dan asked.

"Boulder."

"What?"

"She's from Boulder; she was just in the Montrose area doing research. She's a geologist." Will explained.

Dan gave a frustrated sigh. "I got two jumpers in the Flagstaff area we could pick up today. We sure could use the income, seein' as how we're way in the red this month."

Will shrugged and looked outside, where Meredith was still talking on the phone to the deputy. "I don't know what to tell you. I'll have to get her home somehow."

"Look, I still don't have my license back. You should go after the jumpers. I've already done all the leg work. They'll both be a piece of cake. Let me make the arrangements to get Ms. Lee home."

"Dr. Lee." 

"Okay, whatever."

"And you can't just drop her off at an airport or bus station; she doesn't have any I.D. on her."

"Okay, how about this: My brother in Flagstaff has a plane, and he owes me a favor. I can see if he can fly her directly to Boulder. Both those airports are tiny, its mostly just private planes and crop dusters, anyway. I'm sure he can get her around the security issues." 

"I don't know. I feel it's my responsibility."

"Will, it's a ten hour drive from here to Boulder. If you ask me, the best thing for her is to get her home quickly. It will be much quicker to fly her home."

"Yeah, okay. You're right." Will sighed and scrubbed his head. "I just...shit. You're right, I'm not thinking straight."

Dan smirked. "She's pretty, ain't she? Maybe that's why you're not thinking straight."

"Jesus, Dan. She's beautiful, but I've spent most of the last two days thinking she was the same woman who duped you in that motel room in Prescott. I was angry on your behalf, and I've said some terrible things to her. I've done some terrible things..." He trailed off as his thoughts drifted back to the previous night. He felt regret, to be sure, but he also ached with want every time those memories surfaced.

"I think she likes you."

"Oh really, what the hell gives you that idea? If looks could kill, and words could break bones, I'd be a dead man."

"Right, see? She's angry; that's a good sign. Apathy's your enemy, not anger. After the whole Brandi Lynn thing, Marcie acted completely emotionless, and let me tell you it scared the holy shit out me. A few days later, she worked up a serious temper about it, and that's when I knew she still cared."

"You don't say."

"Plus, anger's a hot emotion...I've found," Dan said with a sly nod and arch of his brow.

"Jesus, Dan, I do not need to hear this from you!"

"Why not? You were eager enough to hear all of the sordid details of Brandi Lynn and me."

"Yeah, well, that was different. It was...sordid. Not...married people stuff. Fuck!"

*********

Outside the restaurant, Meredith finished giving her account the past two days events to the deputy sheriff.

"Ma'am have you suffered any injuries in the ordeal?" he asked her.

"No, not really—oh, yeah, I fell and got a few bruises. It's not serious."

"Do you wish to press charges against Will Carlsen?"

"What? No—I mean...no. He's not a bad person. It was just a bunch of unlikely events converging. I can't really blame him for the mistake. I probably would have done the same thing in his place..."

"Okay Ms. Lee, look, you might want to go home, rest up, and clear your head a little before you decide about pressing charges."

His comment irritated her. "No, I don't need to clear my head—"

"I mean no offense, ma'am, but there's this thing called the Stockholm syndrome people can suffer from during and after kidnappings. I'll just leave the file open a few days in case you change your mind."

"Okay, fine. You want me to rest and call you back in a few days? Fine, I will do that. Do you need anything else from me today?"

"No ma'am. We can chat again in a few days, and then I'll need you to sign a statement. I'll draft it up from our conversation today, fax it to you, and you can make any necessary changes to it. Do you have a way to get home?"

"Um, I don't know. I'll have to see what I can work out. I think my student is still in the Montrose area."

"Kyle James? I sent him home this morning. The back roads are still dangerous from the rainstorm, and I didn't want another person needing rescue." 

"Okay, well, I'll figure something out. Thanks for everything."

She hung up, then called Kyle and assured him she was okay. It took a while to calm him down. He was keyed up and full of questions for her.

"Kyle, I'll fill you in tomorrow, I promise. Right now I'm exhausted. But look, I'm not sure what time I will get home, and I have class at 10am. If I'm not back in time, will you put a note on the board to cancel class?"

"Sure, doc. Call if you need anything, okay?"


Meredith hung up and looked around at the desolate landscape. She loved deserts, but they didn't fare with the poverty of Tuba City. The land surrounding the cluster of businesses was mostly overgrazed fields eaten down to rocks, invasive weeds, and badly eroding soils. 

The sheriff's deputy was right; she was probably suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Why else would she feel so sad the ordeal was over and she was going home? For some reason, the thought crossed her mind she never got to run her fingers through Will's hair, and she laughed wryly at her own idiocy. She would probably never see him again at all, and she was still thinking about his pretty hair. Her brains were addled for sure.

In contrast, he would probably be eager to forget her along with this whole mess. He'd made a big mistake, and she would forever be part of that mistake. But she would probably never meet anyone like him again; he was so intense, so full of smoldering sexuality, so alpha. The guys she dated were typically soft and milquetoast in comparison. 

She walked over to the edge of the parking lot just to stretch her legs and picked up a small rock that caught her eye; it was a pebble of pink, cross-bedded sandstone, probably late Triassic, worn smooth by water and wind. It could serve as a memento of the weekend, she thought as she palmed it and turned to walk back to the diner. 

Will's partner was outside talking on his cell phone, one finger stuck in his ear to block the noise from an idling truck. She went in and sat down beside Will again.

He looked at her apprehensively.

"I told them I didn't want to press any charges," she informed him. 

He nodded in thanks. "Meredith, I—"

But Dan crashed their conversation boisterously. "Come on, we gotta go now. I got everything worked out, but there's a tight schedule to keep."

"What's going on?" Meredith asked, turning to Will.

"Meredith, we've got plan to get you home quickly, in time for the class you have to teach. Dan's going to get you on a direct flight from Flagstaff to Boulder."

"Direct flight? No, I'd have to go through Phoenix and Denver at the least. You can't—"

"My brother's a pilot," Dan explained. "He's going to give you curbside service. Or nearest thing to it."

Meredith crossed her arms defensively and looked at Will with uncertainty. "Uh, look, no offense, but I don't really know him or his brother..."

"I've known Dan and his family most of my life. His brother is an Arizona game warden. I'll vouch for them, if that means anything. But, it's up to you. We're ten hours from Boulder by car, not counting necessary stops. A commercial flight would end up being just as long, possibly longer, plus there's the issue of you not having any I.D."

Meredith thought about it for a few seconds. She really didn't have any choice, not if she was going to be back in time to teach tomorrow morning. Like everything else in the past 48 hours, this too was out of her control, but she was too tired to protest. "Okay, sure," she agreed.

Dan put his hat on and pulled out his keys. "Well, say your goodbyes and then we're off. We're meeting him at his hangar in half an hour." He headed out to his truck.




Bounty Hunter Ch. 04b



Meredith looked at Will awkwardly. "Uh, yeah. So, it's been an interesting weekend," she said. 

Handing her a business card, Will explained, "If you ever need anything, or if there is anything I can ever do, please contact me; I know it would be just a drop in the massive apology bucket I've garnered, but please—I don't know how I can express how sorry I am. I want...err...need to make this whole mess up to you, I just don't know how I could."

She smiled slightly at him. "Will, you don't have to figure that out. It's already been decided, remember?"

He looked at her questioningly, but she had already turned and headed out to the parking lot.

Will threw some cash on the table to cover the coffee and a tip and noticed a pink striped rock by his cup that hadn't been there the last time he looked. A memento of the weekend, he supposed and dropped it in his jacket pocket.



Bounty Hunter Ch. 05



A/N Sorry it has taken me so long to update this! Some parts of this story have flowed out of my head almost without effort, while for other parts (like this one) typing each word felt like pulling a tooth. I think it is because the highly contrived and unlikely circumstances that threw Will and Meredith together are gone, reality has set in, and I now feel very compelled for my characters to behave somewhat realistically now. In other words {insert whiny voice} writing is hard, dammit!

Thanks yet again to HardSalami for his continued efforts in editing!




Meredith collapsed in her office chair, exhausted. She looked at the clock and was shocked to find it was after six pm. She had been at work since eight, and had several tasks to complete before going home. 

"Well, well, if it isn't our own little fugitive from justice. You're working late—planning your next heist?"

Meredith look into the hallway and at the balding, spectacle-clad emeritus professor, who was grinning at her and giggling at his own perceived cleverness. She painted on a fake smile and waved at him. 

"Hi Dr. Hansen, how are you this evening?" she asked politely, even as she turned her attention to shuffling papers on her desk, in hopes he would move along without pressing the conversation further.

In a department of academics leading very boring lives, Meredith's tale had swept through like the prime gossip it was. She had done her best to minimize it, having told only a very bare bones version to her closest colleagues and a few of her students. And still, for several days, she had a steady stream of people dropping by, either outright asking her for details, fishing less obviously for tidbits of juicier information, or cracking corny jokes like her colleague in the hallway. Earlier in the week, someone had drawn bars on her lab door window with a dry erase marker to look like a jail cell.

Finally, the brouhaha had died down to a trickle. She and Kyle had just returned from the study sites on the Uncompahgre Plateau after completing their field work. Having lost their narrow window of good weather, they had to dig through several inches of snow and frozen soil to do so. It was exhausting work, and together with the processing of the soil samples in the lab, teaching her class and starting the data analysis, the week had left her physically and mentally drained.

Adding to her weariness, she'd fallen into a funk over her experience with Will. Her emotional confusion over the whole experience had not lessened, and she couldn't stop thinking about him. She threw herself into her work in an attempt to erase Will Carlsen from her mind. By day, her efforts were minimally successful because she was so busy, but evenings and nights were a different matter. 

Each evening, she was slowly driven insane by memories of their sexual encounter, and each night brought wanton dreams of repeating it. The passion he'd elicited in her seemed insatiable; no amount of frigging herself dampened it.

Despite the passion she felt, she was also angry at him, angry for what he had done to her as well as how he continued to invade her thoughts. She was deeply disturbed by the occasions when those dreams involved her being bound helplessly to a bed with him driving her to the brink of insanity with his mouth and hands. Or the ones where she exacted revenge on him in a similar fashion. She was fairly certain these were not normal sexual fantasies. What the hell had he done to her?

She was disappointed he had not contacted her at all, though she would barely admit it to herself. She didn't really expect him to honor the bet they'd made in the café near Montrose—the bet that left him owing her a week of slave labor—but she had half expected him to at least phone her and ask if she'd gotten home okay. 

Her nerves felt raw, and all day she had to work hard not to snap at her three student workers, all of whom were working extra long hours to help with the heavy workload.

"Hey doc, we got through twenty samples today, and we have all the samples organized for tomorrow. And the glassware is prepped."


"Thanks, Kyle," Meredith said warmly. "Is Jessica working tomorrow, or just you?"

"We'll both be in, plus Andy, all week."

"Great, I appreciate all your hard work. Go home now, it's late!"

She finished up some email correspondence and then packed up her things to go home, not looking forward to another long evening with her own thoughts.

*********

"I wish you'd quit yer mopin' and whinin' and just call her," Dan said in an irritated tone.

Will stared unresponsively at the stack of paperwork in front of him, chewing on a pencil and rotating his office chair back and forth in a small arc.

"Earth to Will? You're not listenin' to a word I've said, are you?"

"Yep, uhuh."

"Well heck, as long as you're not listenin' to me, let me just say you've been next to worthless for the past week and a half. I'm seriously considerin' puttin' an ad in the paper for a new partner. A girl scout could catch more jumpers than you've been gettin'. And you look like shit—ain't it about time for a trip to the Laundromat?"

Will had pulled out of his introspection in the middle of Dan's tirade and was staring at him with a confused look on his face. "What the hell's your problem, Dan?"

Dan shrugged. "You had me completely tuned out, so I just thought it'd be good to vent a little."

"Sorry, man. A lot on my mind." 

"Yeah, I know what's on your mind. I just can't believe you're not doin' anything about it."

"Drop it, Dan," Will admonished sharply. He didn't like being lectured and prodded by the older man. Especially when Dan didn't really know the whole story. Will couldn't bring himself to tell anyone about it, even Dan, who was arguably his closest friend. How could he? 

Dan left the office for a quick job, leaving Will alone with his thoughts again, but within a few minutes, Debbie bustled in with a stack of new jobs for the week. 

He started browsing through them half-heartedly, but one caught his eye. "What's this?" he asked.

Debbie looked over his shoulder. "Oh, yeah, an older gentleman who's not paid his traffic tickets and refused to show up in court twice," she explained.

"Yeah, Debs, I can read. The guy's in Denver."

"Is that so? Well, it's a fair-paying pickup. He's really got a lot of tickets."

Will slapped the bail piece down angrily. "Did Dan dig this up, or did you?"

Debbie sniffed lightly and addressed him formally, which she generally did only when lecturing him on something. "Mr. Carlsen, you pay me to network with bondsmen not only in Arizona but in the surrounding states and screen potential pickups based on their lucrative potential."

"Yeah, lucrative," Will stressed. "If this were in Tucson, it'd be lucrative. My expenses will eat up all of the fee."

Debbie shrugged. "That's true, but another way to look at it is the job will pay for a trip to Bou—I mean Denver."

Further irritated, Will shook his head and continued perusing through the stack of jobs. "You know, Debs, both our paychecks come from what's leftover from fees minus expenses. This is real basic math." 

"Yes sir, it's very basic. Fees minus expenses equals zero when you are staring at the wall all day, you know. Well, I'm heading home now. See you tomorrow." 

She left the office, leaving Will staring contemplatively after her. She was a loyal and competent assistant and hadn't deserved his harsh words. What the hell had gotten into him? Maybe she and Dan were right, though not for the reasons they though. 

Maybe it was time for him to do what he could to settle his debt to Meredith.

*********

The freight elevator door opened, and Meredith hoisted the heavy box of soil samples back up and trudged down the hallway. Beside her, Kyle carried two stacked together without showing much fatigue, but it was their fourth trip up from the storage area in the basement, and she was exhausted. 

As they approached her lab, she noticed the alternative rock music her students had been blaring all afternoon was turned down to a mere trickle. She hoped that didn't mean they'd gotten off task. They were under a time crunch because some of the analyses were time sensitive following collection of the samples.

"Last load!" she announced as she swung the box up onto the lab bench. "Jessica, the two boxes Kyle has need percent moisture run asap, please. Bump them ahead in the queue. I've got a conference call in fifteen minutes. I need zero interruptions unless the lab is on fire. And—"

She stopped talking when she noticed both her students were looking at her rather oddly.

"Uh, Dr. Lee, you have a visitor." Jessica pointed somewhere behind Meredith. 

Meredith turned around and found herself looking into familiar stormy blue eyes.

He was leaning against a lab bench with his arms crossed in front of him. All six feet plus of him. Locks of unruly golden hair escaped his ponytail here and there, grazing his collar. She felt the blood draining...somewhere. It was leaving her brain, for sure. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Eventually she became aware her three students were staring at the two of them with rapt attention.

"Uh, hi Will. What are you doing here?"

"Hi Meredith. Reporting for duty. Better late than never, right?"


"Duty?" Her voice had somehow become a mere squeak. 

"You know. Soil samples, dishes, baseboards...?" he reminded her discretely. 

Meredith processed what he was saying and bit her tongue before some kind of apologetic renegotiation came out that would let him off the hook. She didn't know what kind of game was afoot, but damn him, she would play it.

"Of course. Well, glad you could join us," she said with a smile. "Guys, this is Will. He's going to help us out in the lab for a...while." She didn't know what kind of time frame to mention. "Will, this is Kyle, Jessica, and Andy."

The three younger people murmured some "heys", and Will nodded in acknowledgement. 

"Andy, why don't you show Will the glassware protocol. It looks like Jessica is about to run out of flasks."

"You mean he's going to wash dishes?" Andy asked uncertainly.

Meredith locked eyes with Will. "Yes, he's going to wash dishes. That's what needs doing, right?"

"Yeah," Andy agreed.

"When you get ahead on the glassware, Kyle can show him how to sieve, or weigh out the samples in the drying oven."

She looked at the clock on her phone; her conference call with a potential funding agency started in just a few minutes. She was glad of that as she didn't really know what to say to Will or what to think about him showing up unannounced. 

"Will, did you park on campus?" she asked, knowing he'd need a permit to avoid the over-achieving parking officers. 

"Yeah, I got a visitor pass for the day."

"Great. Andy, get Will some goggles and a chemical apron. And some gloves."

Will tried protesting. "No, that's okay, I'm not afraid of dishpan hands."

Meredith couldn't completely smother her laughter. "You have no idea what you've signed up for, do you? The glassware gets soaked in hydrochloric acid."

She enjoyed seeing Will blanch slightly. "You will wear protective gear," she said firmly, then turned to her student. "Keep an eye on him, and make sure he's told all the safety procedures," she instructed Andy. "I've got to get on my conference call now."

Meredith headed towards her office next door. On her way out, she grabbed a box of nitrile gloves and tossed them to Will. "Glove up, Carlsen," she reminded him.

*********

After she left, Will pulled a couple of gloves out of the box and started tugging them on. They were going to be sweaty and uncomfortable, he could tell. He looked around to find his new "coworkers" staring at him with interest. 

Jessica took the glove box from him and glanced at it. "Extra large," she commented with a smile. 

Will was pretty sure she was making an inappropriate comment, and was fairly horrified. These were college students? They looked too young, more like high school students. Too close to the "children" category, and he wasn't particularly comfortable around children.

He set to work on the seemingly endless stack of flasks to be washed, following Andy's instructions. It wasn't difficult, just tedious, and the acid bath made him a little nervous. 

The tedium of the work left his thoughts free to wander back to Meredith. She was just as beautiful as he'd remembered, and just as wholesome and natural looking in well-worn jeans and dark green sweater. His attraction to her was still strong, dangerously strong. 

He had been telling himself he was here to fulfill their bet, set things straight and assuage his guilt so he could move on with his life. Not to see her, certainly not to make any kind of personal connection with her. Yet that was exactly where his mind kept drifting. Could he make her forgive him for his brutal treatment of her? For the cruel and insulting things he'd said to her? Doubtful, he told himself, highly doubtful. 

He washed glassware with Andy for about an hour, then Kyle switched him to sieving soil samples, a task equally as tedious and boring, but at least there were no chemicals involved. The three students chatted about their classes and research projects, indulging occasionally in gossip about people he didn't know. Will found himself moderately interested in their conversation, simply because it was a window into Meredith's world.

They avoided asking him any questions about who he was or why he was there; Will suspected they probably had guessed who he was.

Jessica had been running some kind of complicated-looking electronic apparatus spread out over six feet of bench space. It had apparently started giving her trouble about the time Meredith returned.

"Are we running like a well-oiled machine?" Meredith asked the crew. 

"We are," Kyle replied. "Jes is having problems with the CN analyzer."

"Got a leak somewhere," Jessica explained. She and Meredith spent most of the rest of the afternoon troubleshooting whatever was wrong, with Meredith crawling around on the bench among all the tubes and wires attached to the instrument, squirting canned air at every connection, while Jessica watched some kind of graph on the computer screen.

Will enjoyed watching her work. She seemed competent not only on the technical aspect of things, but in mentoring her young helper. She was not just teaching her how to fix the instrument, but giving insight into her whole troubleshooting approach. Plus, he was getting an amazing view of her jean-clad ass as she crawled around on the lab bench.

Eventually, they got the issue fixed, and Meredith returned to her office. The sieving of soil samples continued. Will thought once they were nearing the end, but Kyle pulled out another boxful, and it became apparent the end was nowhere in sight.

*********

Meredith was having trouble concentrating. She was still reeling from finding Will in her lab earlier. Was she really going to make him work for her? Yes, she decided quickly, if he was serious about providing slave labor, she would accept it. There was more work to do than she and her students could manage at the moment. And her domestic chores had suffered from the long hours she'd been working. She could put him to work at her house, too. 

The only thing left to figure out was how she would get any work done herself with him around. Just seeing him had left her completely scattered and useless. Realizing her productivity had nose-dived for the evening, she began shutting down her computer. 

"Oh. My. God. Dr. Lee! It's him isn't it?" Jessica was literally jumping up and down outside her office door.

"Jessica, please. I'd really like to keep this under wraps if possible—"

Jessica squealed. "Ooo, I knew it! He's sooo hot! Oh my god, did you know he was coming or did he just show up? He's totally, totally into you, too, I can tell. You think he's cute, don't you? He's like a Norse god or something! Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Enough!" Meredith commanded sternly. "Jessica settle down and listen to me. I really do not want to feed the rumor mill again. Okay?"

"Oh, totally, Dr. Lee. Mums the word; I won't tell a soul, I promise."

"Thanks."

"Okay, well, I really just came to tell you Andy and I are taking off now. See you tomorrow."

Meredith locked her office and stepped over to her lab to find Will still sieving and Kyle cleaning up the work area. 

"Everything go okay?" she asked Will.

"Yeah, sure," he replied. "Don't take this the wrong way, but science is kind of tedious and boring. I thought there would be people running around shouting, "Eureka!"" 

Meredith grinned. "Sometimes. But when you are doing your own research, even the drudgery becomes a labor of love. Right, Kyle?"

"Sure. Or when your research advisor goes missing for days and you think she's been eaten by a bear or murdered by a serial killer. That tends to relieve some of the tedium and boredom, too." 

His passive aggressive sarcasm surprised Meredith. "Kyle!" She glanced at Will, who had raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Yeah. Look, sorry, Dr. Lee. It's just—everyone's treating this like some kind of joke, even you now, and I'm still not laughing. I'm just...sorry. I have to go." Kyle grabbed a backpack and left the lab quickly, leaving Meredith and Will standing in awkward silence.

Will went back to sieving his soil sample.

After an awkward silence, they began to speak at the same time, stopped, then began uttering apologies simultaneously.

"I'm sorry. Please speak," Will apologized.

"I was just going to say, uh, Kyle was really traumatized by, uh, you know, my disappearance. He's usually very easy going."

Will nodded in understanding. "And for that, I owe him an apology as well. I just didn't know what you wanted me to say in front of your students. Look, Meredith, I'm sorry for showing up unannounced. I thought if I called you first, you might tell me not to come."

"Oh. No, uh, it's okay," she assured him. "Truth is, I have more work to do than my crew and I can handle right now, and a lot of it has a limited time frame it has to get done in. I'm not going to turn you away. So, don't make any offers you don't want to follow through on because I might be desperate enough to take you up on anything you offer up."

"Understood. I don't want to disrupt your schedule or anything. I can just show up here at whatever time you say, and work till you tell me to stop at night."

"Well, I'd say it's about stopping time," Meredith said. "For this task anyway. Come on." She shut everything down in the lab and locked it up, then headed down the hallway and down the stairs to ground level. 

She had implied there was more work for him to do, but didn't tell him what, or where they were going. She sensed his agitation.

"Um." Will started to say something. 

"Yes?"

"Nevermind."

They walked out to the parking lot to her car, a decade-old Honda civic that had seen its better days. She unlocked it and put her backpack in the back seat. 

"Get in," she commanded in a firm but friendly voice.

"Uh, my truck is parked over there." He gestured towards a row of visitor spaces across the lot. 

Meredith looked where he was pointing. "That's good. Get in."

He got in, and she felt just a little thrilled at his obvious discomfort from not knowing what was going on. 

"So, uh. Wait. What are we doing now? I can follow you in my truck..."

"That won't be necessary."

"I'll need to drive to a hotel room later."

"No, you can stay at my house."

"No, that's—I don't expect you to put up an unexpected house guest. I don't want to be a bother. Really."

"Oh, you won't be a bother. I can get more work out of you in the evenings if you just stay with me," she explained.




Bounty Hunter Ch. 05



He sighed reluctantly. "Fine. You're the boss. But I want—need—to drive my truck," he said gruffly. She could tell his submissive veneer was wearing thin.

"It'll be fine parked there overnight. And they don't ticket on the weekends." She smiled sweetly at him as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

"Wait! Meredith, seriously, I've got things in there I need."

"Things you need?" Meredith asked nonchalantly as she drove away, leaving the parking lot and Will's truck disappearing behind them. "What kind of things? You mean like your phone, wallet, money, ID, clothing, toiletries? Those kinds of things?"

Will laughed wryly and shook his head. "Okay. I get it. You aren't going to let me off easy, are you?"

"Did you ever even doubt it?" Meredith asked, as she headed towards her favorite strip of take-out eateries. "I am, however, going to feed you regular meals, so you're already getting one upgrade from what I got. What would you prefer, Indian or Thai?"

Driving home with the food, Meredith could still sense Will's frustration at being robbed of his vehicle and personal effects. 

"You're pouting," she commented.

"What? I am not."

"Yes you are. You're pouting because I wouldn't take you to your truck. You don't make a very good slave, Will."

"Are you kidding me? I've done everything you asked me to! I sweated over a vat of hot acid that singed off all my nose hairs, then sieved about one thousand of your soil samples, and didn't complain once."

"It was more like twenty-five samples, but yes, you did a very good job. But that was just work. I didn't say you weren't a good worker, I said you weren't a good slave. You can't deal with any kind of loss of control, can you?"

He snorted derisively. "I can handle whatever you dish out, baby. And I'm not pouting."

"We'll see. Here we are."

*********

Meredith's home was a modest cottage that looked to be built around the 1930's or so. Will noticed it was mostly tidy, with clutter relegated to a few pockets here and there. It looked like she didn't spend much time at home. 

He looked for signs of roommates or pets but found none.

The kitchen was homey and comfortable. It reminded Will of his grandmother's house. Meredith sat the sack of food on the small table in the kitchen and opened her fridge. "Beer?" she asked him. 

"Yeah, sure."

"Good, because I don't think I have anything else to drink besides expired milk and tap water." She opened a couple of bottles, handed him one, and then began to unpack the pad thai and spring rolls.

"Not much for cooking at home, are you?"

"When I have time, I do. I've just been working so much lately..." 

"See, if I had my truck here, I could go to the grocery store for you, or run whatever errands you need done but don't have time for. " Once out of his mouth, the offer sounded oddly intimate, so he added, "You, know. As part of my debt."

"True. But robbing you of some freedom is entertaining me right as much or more than just making you work."

Will shook his head and tucked into the pad thai. He was hungrier than he thought. "Mmm...this is good," he acknowledged, washing it down with a big swig of beer. "And the beer."

"It's one of our local microbrews," Meredith explained. "So...uh, did you get into any kind of trouble from the whole...mistaken identity thing?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Trouble?"

"You know, with the Montrose police or anything. They asked me about twenty times if I wanted to press charges."

"Well, you must have said, 'no' twenty times."

"Yes, but I didn't know if they would do something to you anyway. I mean, aren't there lots of rules and regulations and overseers for bounty hunters?"

He laughed. "That's funny. No, there are surprisingly few rules, and law enforcement has pretty mixed feelings on the matter. On the one hand, they perceive us as vigilantes, but on the other hand, we clean up a lot of petty messes saving them time to devote to more important matters. So basically, we're hated but tolerated, and given way too much leeway on these kinds of matters, if you ask me."

"So, you're saying I should have pressed charges against you?" 



"Yeah," he said, studying his noodles intently. When he finally looked up she was staring at him with a look on her face he couldn't read. 

"Yes," he reiterated, "I was negligent from the moment I began pursuing someone without a photograph to verify their I.D. And...it goes downhill from there." 


They ate in silence for a few minutes, and Will studied her kitchen more closely. The counters were an old-fashioned laminate with metal edging, the appliances were so old they looked "retro", and he was pretty sure the floor was linoleum rather than vinyl. It really felt like the home of a much older person. As cosy as it was, it didn't quite fit Meredith's personality, he thought. 

"Nice house," he commented, fishing for more information. "You been here long?"

"Thanks, about three years. Actually I've been here ever since I moved to Boulder. The house was my aunt's. I lived with her for over a year and helped her take care of it in exchange for cheap rent. Then she had to go into a nursing home, and she passed away last year."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. I was her only family, so she left me the house. I've been meaning to do some renovations. I still sort of feel like it's her house, you know?"

"Understandable," Will commented. "You should paint a room."

"Pardon?" 

"Paint one room," he repeated. "Don't hire someone; do it yourself. And not white. Some color you like."

She laughed. "You're an interior decorator?"

"Nope, just an armchair psychologist. If you put some work into changing the house in some way, even a small way, it will be more yours. And motivate you to do more. Painting is pretty easy."

"Huh." She stared at him. "Maybe you're right. But right now, I need my baseboards scrubbed."

*********

Will finished cleaning the last section of baseboards in the small kitchen and looked up to find Meredith had dozed off while still sitting on the countertop, her head resting lightly against one of the cabinets. 

Temporarily unencumbered by etiquette, he drank in the sight of her, his eyes roaming over her firey curls, smooth skin, the light sprinking of freckles on her face, her soft full lips. His mind leapt back to the last time he'd watched her sleep. His hands and body remembered well the curves her bulky sweater currently hid; thinking of her perky breasts caused his cock to twitch to life uncomfortably. 

In her upright position, she would soon fall over, or even slip off the counter. Looking down at his watch, he saw it was after ten. 

"Meredith," He prompted, but she didn't respond. He closed the space between them in a few steps and touched her shoulder. "Meredith." 

She awoke startled, and in her effort to stay upright, grabbed his arm. 

"Sorry," he said, "I was afraid you would fall over..." 

Their eyes locked, and in that half second of letting his guard down, he let himself get sucked into a vortex of lust for her once again. The touch of her hand burned him through his shirt sleeve, and before he was even aware of moving closer to her, his lips were just barely grazing hers.

Time slowed for a few seconds as he held her in the almost-kiss. As he battled with himself to pull away, he became hyperaware of the heat of her breath, softness of her lips, the honey scent of her that smelled like heaven, blended with the lingering trace of tamarind from the Thai food. 

He felt her hand leave his arm and slide across his chest to grab the front of his shirt. She tugged lightly, closing the microscopic gap between their lips. 

*********

Meredith felt the blood pounding all over her body as she found herself up close and personal with the man who had haunted her dreams for the past two weeks. All of her senses went into overdrive as his lips barely brushed hers. She breathed in his scent, and every cell in her body remembered and reached for it as though starved. 

Her hand, still clamped around his arm, felt hard muscle and sinew flex beneath his sleeve. She could sense the muscular tension in his body poised to move quickly, but there was a hesitancy in it, as though he were deciding whether to flee or jump her bones right there on her kitchen counter.

The ambiguity she sensed from him made her feel simultaneously like both predator and prey: urgently desperate he not get away while at the same time overwhelmed by his physical presence. 

Finally, she could stand the expectancy no longer. She pulled him to her as she reached to press her lips firmly to his. 

His response was as though a floodgate opened. He devoured her mouth as his arms circled her body, pressing her hard against him, one hand sliding down to caress her bottom. Heat and pleasure boiled up from her center, racing to her fingertips and toes, consuming her. 

She wanted to touch him: his chest, shoulders, the nape of his neck. Her arms were trapped below his, and she wrestled to free them so her hands could explore him at will. At first her struggles only made him squeeze her harder, but as she became more desperate towards her goal, he loosened his grip enough to free her.

Finally free, she abandoned her original thoughts of caressing him softly, instead pulling impatiently at his shirt buttons and the waistband of his pants. The layers of denim between them frustrated her; she wanted him now, right here on the kitchen counter. Damn, but she had gone from zero to 60 in what seemed like a fraction of a second! 

"Will, please..." she moaned against his lips, pushing her mound against his groin, and tugging again at his shirt tails. 

As abruptly as it began, he pulled away from her, shifting to rest his head against the cabinet beside hers. "No! God, this is all kinds of wrong." His voice sounded tortured. 

Still drugged by his kiss, Meredith protested. "No, no, no it's not. It's not wrong." She reached out to touch him again and just barely grazed her fingertips across his abdomen. She felt his muscles quiver at her touch. 

"You want me, too. Tell me you don't." The aching desire she felt for him had intensified to the point of physical pain.

"Yes—no—Fuck! Meredith, I did not come here to force myself into your bed. Again."

"It was a mistake..."

He pushed her arms off of him and took another step back. "The mistaken identity was a mistake. Forcing myself on you as you repeatedly said no was way past being a mistake." He shook his head and raked his hair back, then looked around the kitchen. "Do you have another job for me tonight?" His tone was tight, his expression grim.

Meredith was still reeling from their intense encounter and his rejection. "What? Oh. Uh, no, I don't think so."

"Then I should probably call it a day. Where am I sleeping?"

Meredith had a sudden image of him asleep in her bed, naked and tangled in sheets, and felt fire rising in her cheeks again. Damn him! 

"The couch?" he prompted when she didn't answer him. It pulled her out of her reverie.

"No, uh, guest room. I'll show you." Meredith slid off the counter and led him down the hallway to her spare room. Thankfully, it was reasonably clean; she had left a stack of clean towels on the bed but otherwise it was ready to be used. 

She sat the towels on a dresser, then stupidly pointed at them and said, "Towels. I mean, umm, there's some towels if you need them. The bathroom is across the hall." 

"Okay."

Her physical frustration was beginning to morph into anger. He was really going to push her away, when he had to be as wound up as she was! 

Another moment of awkward silence confirmed this, so she moved towards the door. "Sleep well, Will," she bit out at him angrily as she pulled the door closed behind her. 

As soon as the door clicked shut, she felt tears well up and was glad to escape to her own room. She fell backwards onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. What did she expect? It was like the man had been specially created just to drive her crazy. 

Or maybe he'd just needed the tiniest bit more persuasion from her. Maybe she had backed down too readily, like the timid mouse that she was. Maybe she should have led him to her room, pushed him down on the bed, and ignored his no's. Surely she could have easily worn down his resistance? Damn! Now she was angry at herself as well—angry, aroused, and frustrated to the verge of tears.

If she stayed in her room, it would be another very long night, and she'd had too many of those lately. In a split second, she felt something inside her give way.

She wiggled out of her jeans and sodden panties, and slipped on a short cotton jersey robe that tied at the waist. Digging into the back of her lingerie drawer, she pulled out a box of condoms and slipped one into the robe's pocket; she was not going through the several days of miserable worry again as she had done last time until she finally got her period. No, she lucked out once and was not eager to test her luck again. She padded back out into the hallway to the guest room door and placed her hand on it, wavering yet again. Knock or barge right in? 

Knocking seemed laughable, given her intentions.

*********

Will stripped down to a t-shirt and boxers and looked around the room. It was furnished with an oversized, overstuffed chair next to some built-in bookshelves filled with books. Knowing there was no way in hell he was going to sleep anytime soon, he plopped down in the chair and was flipping mindlessly through a randomly chosen book from a shelf, willing his cock to go down, when he heard the knock on his door.

Shit! He looked down at his tented boxers and then hurriedly placed the book over his lap.

"Yeah?" 

She entered, closed the door quietly behind her, then turned to him. His eyes went immediately to her nude legs, then made their way back slowly to her face. Her impassioned, predatory expression and flushed cheeks made spoken words redundant, and he felt his breath hitch. Oh yeah, he was in deep trouble. 

She walked over to him and climbed onto the chair, straddling his legs. 

"Lord Tennyson," she stated, staring at his crotch.

"Huh?"

"That was Aunt Margaret's favorite poet. Just some light reading before bed?" She pulled the book away from him and tossed it aside.

He hadn't even read the title. "Still surprised I'm not an illiterate hick, I see." 

Ignoring the barb, she ran her hands up his chest, trailing them to the nape of his neck, then burying her fingertips in his hair. "Did you come here for penitence, Will?" 

"Yes."

She leaned down and kissed him deeply, and he felt his cock throb again. 

"The week of slave labor is only penitence for kidnapping me and disrupting my work." She kissed him again. He attempted to circle her waist with his hands, but she grabbed them and forced them back on the arms of the chair.

"There still remains the debt you incurred from fucking me handcuffed to a bed. We haven't yet negotiated that, have we?" The edge of aggression in her voice was new to him; surprisingly it was turning him on. Her lips and tongue trailed down to his earlobe, which she caught sharply between her teeth.

The bite ran straight to his loins like an electric current, and he his breath hitched again as he again tried to pull her into his arms, but she pushed them down again. Though he could have easily stopped her, he allowed her to guide his arms back to the chair again. 

"And what would you consider justice for that?" he asked her breathily.

"Eye for an eye sounds really good to me right now," she whispered in his ear before returning to plunder his mouth again.

"Too bad my handcuffs are in my truck," he said when she finally let him up for air. "You should have let me drive it here." 

She stroked his cock through the thin fabric of his boxers and he hissed sharply. "We don't need them. You came here willingly to pay for your sins, didn't you Will?" She stroked him again.

"Jesus, woman, what do you want?" he asked hoarsely. Her ministrations were starting to wear down his patience with whatever game she was playing. 

"I want you keep you hands right here. Deal?" 

"God, Meredith, I don't think I can promise—"

She untied the sash of her robe and let it fall apart, exposing her breasts. "Say it's a deal."

His eyes drifted down to her naked sex hovering over him. He could feel the heat emanating from her center. "Deal," he growled reluctantly. He feared her plan would be to tease him to the brink of insanity, but instead she pulled his boxers down to his knees in one swift tug, fumbled briefly to get a condom on him, then quickly impaled herself on him. 

Instinctively, he thrust up into her, allowing her to grind her mound against him. She began fucking him fast and furious as she recaptured his lips. Her kiss was aggressive and awkward, a rough and tumble tangle of lips and tongue, her teeth occasionally clacking against his own as she nipped at his lips. 

It took ever ounce of effort he had not to grab her hips and ass, but he kept his word, instead digging his fingers into the upholstery as she continued to ride him vigorously. As her arousal increased, she broke off the kiss and grabbed the back of the chair with one hand. Despite the added leverage, her thrusts became increasingly erratic, and Will felt increasingly frustrated by his voluntary incapacitation. 

Her breasts, jiggling with each hard thrust, further enticed his arms to reach for them of their own volition, but she once again pushed his wrists down. Just when Will was sure he could not last another second, she cried out and convulsed hard, burying her face against his nape, then soundly biting the tender spot where his neck and shoulder met. 

The pain sent him over the edge, and as he climaxed intensely, he thrust upward hard enough to lift his buttocks off the chair. 

The both collapsed limply for several minutes afterwards. His heart felt as though it would pound out of his chest, and his body was racked several times with electric aftershocks of pleasure. 

Assuming the game was complete, he let his arms wrap around her and caress the small of her back softly. But a final time, she pushed him away as she lifted herself off of him and the chair. "Consider that particular debt paid, Will," she said, in a tone he couldn't read. She tossed him a towel, and then the book she had discarded earlier. "Here, clean yourself up. And enjoy Tennyson."

She exited the room as quietly as she had entered, leaving him dazed and confused as to what the hell had just happened.



Bounty Hunter Ch. 06



A/N Beloved readers, thank you for your patience. I'm back on track to finish this story, so for everyone who kept it on a favorite list for a year and half with no updates, accept my gratitude and humblest apologies for making you wait so long.

If you just joining the story, it is in non-con/reluctance for reluctant consent in chapter 3. Everything from this point on will be fully consensual, but I think changing categories is confusing.

Huge thanks to Masterfuljim, who generously stepped in as editor to help me polish this up.

*

"Regrets?"

They had been sitting across from each other at the kitchen table in an awkward silence for a while. Meredith studied her coffee mug to avoid looking at him. She couldn't organize her thoughts into words, so she didn't answer.

She had woken in a black mood. Despite the slight reprieve from her incessant sexual cravings last night had brought, she felt ashamed of her wantonness, and even more, ashamed at how she had treated Will.

"I'll take that as a yes," he commented finally.

Meredith sighed heavily. "Its just—this...thing...between us is pretty fucked up, Will."

He sipped his coffee but said nothing, just let her talk.

"I—I mean, I'm not a mean person. But last night...I wanted...well, you, obviously, but I also wanted to even the score and, uh, make you feel..." She struggled to find the right word.

"Used?" he suggested.

She hung her head guiltily."I thought it would make me feel better, but it didn't. It made me feel really, really, shitty about myself. I'm sorry."

"Look, Meredith, not to one-up you, but my behavior in Montrose trumps yours on the continuum of shitty behavior. Last night? I'm a big boy, and I promise you I was a consenting adult."

His comment made her feel marginally better. Not much, but a little.

"Oh, come on. You were working off some anger and frustration in a—ahem—reasonably healthy way," he continued.

She smiled reluctantly and tried to tell herself it was the coffee making her feel better, and not him. Damn him to hell.

"Hungry?"

Only then did Meredith realize he'd cooked something as well as made coffee. It smelled good. "Um, yeah sure, but I can get it. You didn't have to get up and cook."

"I don't mind. We both gotta eat." He got up to dish the food onto two plates.

"I'm surprised you found anything edible in my kitchen—sorry I'm not stocked up on groceries."

"Well, you weren't expecting a house guest. I found eggs,potatoes, and some withered green chiles. So what do you have planned for me today?" Will asked.

"My students are coming into the lab around noon. You can help them for about four hours or so. I don't have a plan for this morning...yet."

Will pulled a small notepad out of his shirt pocket. "Should you care for some suggestions, I've been making a list of things that need doing around here."He raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her reaction before progressing.

She laughed wryly. "By all means, tell me my domestic shortcomings, Will."

"It's not like that. I'm just taking my debt seriously and trying to make this count for you. " He cleared his throat and began the list. "You need your guttering cleaned out.Badly.Once you get a heavy snow you won't be able to clear them, and they'll cause an ice dam on your roof."

"Really? I thought I just had it done in the spring." Meredith tried to remember exactly when.

"There are weeds growing in them. They have gone to seed and re-sprouted."

"Oh. Yeah, maybe it was the spring before last." She felt further embarrassment at the deferred maintenance around her home.

He gave her a sly, barely there grin. "Maybe you could study the soil development going on in them."

"Hilarious."

"But that won't take long; I can probably do a couple of other tasks this morning. The leaking kitchen faucet is probably not worth repairing; I'd suggest just getting a new one. I can install it. Your front steps going up to your porch need some simple repairs; if you have a power drill and a few hand tools I can shore it up."

"That would really be great," Meredith agreed. "I've been worrying about someone falling on those rickety steps." It dawned on her she really needed to get some balance in her life, balance in a myriad of ways, the care of her home being just one.

************

While Will climbed onto the roof to clean out the guttering, Meredith got dressed and then went on a scavenger hunt through every junk drawer in the house trying to find the list of tools he needed. She wasn't having very good luck. She kept a well-stocked toolbox in her lab, considerably less so at home. She couldn't find a hammer, and knew for sure she didn't have a pipe wrench, or the drill bits needed to fix the steps, or the plumbing goop to seal pipe fittings.

"I'm just not very domesticated," she berated herself, slamming the drawer shut.

"Will you quit beating yourself up about this stuff?" Will said gruffly from behind her.

She startled, not having heard him come in. "I'm not—" she began defensively.

"Yeah you are." He checked the bottoms of his shoes, then went to the kitchen sink to wash the gutter sludge off his hands. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll confess something."

"Your gutters also have primary succession going on in them?"

"No, I don't have any gutters. I live in an apartment. It's on the rundown side of things. I can afford a better place nowadays, but I don't have time to look, much less move. I got as far as calling a real estate agent in the spring, but she 'fired' me as a client for standing her up on one too many appointments."

"Really? I didn't know you could get fired by a real estate agent."

"Well I managed to do it. To be fair, I never even made it to one viewing she set up, so I don't blame her. She's probably black-listed me with every other agent in town, so I've avoided trying to find someone else. Since then, it's just completely fallen off the radar.

"As far as my domestic abilities, think of the worst, most stereotypical bachelor pad you can possibly imagine, and you'll probably have a fairly accurate vision of my abode: pizza boxes laying around, giant pile of dirty clothes because I have to drive across town to do my laundry, kitchen stocked with canned soup and frozen dinners, inch of dust on everything. And when I run out of clean clothes, I'm about equally likely to just go buy more as I am to take a day off to do laundry. At last count, I had about 75 pairs of socks. On any particular day, I spend about ten minutes looking for two clean ones that match."

Meredith busted out laughing. "You're kidding!"

"Nope, I'm not. I practically live at my office and in my truck, and only go home to sleep."

"I know the feeling. You work long hours?"

"Varies, usually 40 to 50, but that doesn't include the 10-12 credit hours of online classes I take every semester."

Meredith saw students in her classes struggling to balance full time jobs and full course loads. She suddenly realized what a sacrifice he was making to come up here and work for her. "Look, Will—" she began, but he cut her off.

"I'm only telling you all this so you'll stop feeling so over-sensitive about needing a few tasks done around here. Shit, if I owned a house it'd be much worse off than yours. So don't apologize, and don't offer to let me off the hook."

"Okay, I won't. So how do you know how to do all this home stuff?"

"My parents have always been do-it-yourselfers; I suppose I learned a lot from them. I visit them a couple times a year and usually help them with whatever remodeling project they have going. And I've helped out with some community projects—roofing, drywall installation, whatever they need.

 "Community projects." Meredith stared at him. "You mean charity?"

He shrugged. "There's a group of usthat help out a few people in the neighborhood where my office is. It's good advertisement," he explained. "It keeps property values up and helps me smooth out any wrinkles with local law enforcement if they see me occasionally pitching in. It's no big deal."

"Of course, just good business sense," Meredith agreed, amused by his insistence on maintaining his gruff exterior."Something to keep you busy in all your nonexistent free time."

She found herself comparing the Will she knew now to her first terrifying impression of him. Maybe she was still staring, because when he glanced up he scowled at her.

"Come on, let's go get the sink parts so we can knock this stuff out before lunch."

*********

After a trip to Home Depot, Meredith swung by campus to rob her lab toolbox of the necessary items for her home repairs. Then she pulled up alongside Will's pickup and idled her car.

He looked at her, surprised. "What happened to giving me my proper comeuppance?" he queried.

She was still feeling ashamed of herself for yesterday's mean-spiritedness. "I figure you'd probably need to check in on your business at least. You can drive back to my house, or just leave it and get it later. We'll be coming up here in a few hours anyway."

To her surprise, Will opted to just grab his duffle bag and got back in her car.

"You know, Meredith," he commented drolly, "you make a terrible slave master. I mean, you started out promising enough. I'll even admit to being impressed with your moxie yesterday, but your follow-through today has been pretty disappointing. You've apologized for about ten things, and you caved on the truck issue without me even trying to wear you down."

"Maybe you should have tried. Then I might have dug my heels in on the matter." She tried to give him a defiant look, but he was staring her down with those stormy blue eyes again. His tall frame took up a lot of space in her tiny compact car, and for a moment their close proximity was reminiscent of the small camper they had shared on the Uncompaghre, soaked in rain. She felt her insides liquefy.

"Uh...we should probably get going," she stammered, trying to compose herself. Damn him again. Clearly, last night's quick fuck had not gotten him out of her system.

She drove home feeling confused and aroused, and more convinced than ever this man was going to be the end of her sanity.

*********

Back at her house, the remainder of Will's projects went quickly. She tried to learn what she could about home repairs as she assisted him. They worked well together; she had to admit. He was more patient than she might have expected, and didn't treat her like an idiot.

She watched him intently while he was changing out the kitchen faucet fixture. That was a handy repair to know, after all. There were a few tricks involved, like breaking through the old fixture's connections where they'd been cemented in place by hard water mineral deposits, but really there was not much to it.

"Why didn't I do this a long time ago?" she mused as he was finishing up.

Will sighed in exasperation. "I though you were going to cut out the hyper critical bullshit..."

"I'm not feeling critical, just having a minor epiphany. I fixed a whole slew of leaks in the gasline of a quarter million dollar carbon/nitrogen analyzer yesterday. I do that every few weeks or so. This is the same general principle, really. But I've been looking at it as a completely different kind of job."

They gathered the tools for the front porch repairs and went outside, chatting easilyabout various topics as they worked. Things seemed, Meredith realized, significantly less fucked up than they had this morning.

"So your secret to getting your home fixed up is to relate each job to something you do at work?" Will sounded amused.

"Sure. Why not?"

"Then the next time your gutters need cleaning, which will be next fall by the way, you'll think of it as..."

"Two long transects of soil samples. And I don't even have to lug the samples back to the lab afterwards. Minor plumbing and electrical work of all types is like routine maintenance of my instruments. Fixing wood stairs is like building plot frames. Remodeling the kitchen would be like setting up a new analytical lab facility. I can do all of those things in my sleep. Somehow that makes it all sound a lot less intimidating."

Will laughed, shaking his head. "You are not like the typical girls I meet, Meredith."

"The typical girls you meet are wanted by the law."

"Touché," he conceded.

Though the air was brisk, he'd worked up a little sweat while working on her front steps, and the hair around his face and neck was curling up into damp ringlets.

She had more pictures flash in her mind of him -- stretched over her on a bed, pressing her against a wall. She remembered, all too well, those lips descending towards hers. She was inching closer and closer to insanity with every hour she spent in his presence.

"We should head to the university now," she said. "I have to get my students started on their work."

Back in her lab, Meredith got her students and Will started with more soil analyses. She and Jessica got the CN analyzer initialized while Will, Andy and Kyle continued sieving soil samples.

Everyone worked through lunch because everything was going so smoothly. Mid afternoon, she ordered sandwiches, and they took turns gulping down food in between samples.

With her students and work buffering Will's affect on her, she found herself fully focused on cranking through the analyses. Only when the late afternoon sun began throwing a hot glare on the computer screen did she realize how late it had gotten.

"Shit! What are you guys still doing here?" she admonished her students.

"Uh, waiting for you to say it's quitting time?" Jessica offered tentatively. Andy and Kyle nodded in agreement.

Meredith felt a small bit of guilt. She'd asked them to come for half a day, but worked them closer to a full one. "Well go. It's way past quitting time. You have all put too many hours in this week as it is. I appreciate everyone's hard work. We're catching up slowly but surely."

"Yeah, it helps having an extra person on the team," Jessica suggested helpfully—a little too helpfully. "If Will stayed another week we'd be caught up for sure."

"We'll see," Meredith answered, a little tightly. "For now, you guys get out of here. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."

They left, leaving Meredith and Will alone in the lab. Meredith glanced at the clock, feeling awkward once again. "I really didn't mean to make you work this long. It's just things were going well for once with the analyzer, and I lost track of time..."

"There you go again," Will warned. Half standing, half sitting on her lab bench, with the chemical apron still tied over his clothes and plastic goggles hanging around his neck, he looked stunningly out of place.

"Yeah, but...you did a lot of work this morning too. And we didn't even take a real lunch break, and it's almost 7:00..."

"Oh for fuck's sake, woman. Do you think I've never worked past five o'clock?"

Meredith sighed heavily in response.

"You are behind because of the days you lost due me." It wasn't a question, more of a lecture.

"Yes—no—not exactly. Not entirely," she corrected him. "Regardless of...that...I would have had a huge load of samples to analyze in a very short time period."

"Exacerbated by me. Did you get your work done at your study sites in Montrose?"

"Yeah, Kyle and I went back last week."

"So it cost you his time too. What about other expenses?"

"Like?"

"Like travel. Vehicles. Fuel."

"Oh. No. I can—I mean—my grant absorbed it."

"Absorbed. What does that mean?"

"It means your tax dollars paid for it, so it's not a problem, okay?" she snapped."It wasn't much. Don't lecture me. Please."

Will shrugged. "I'm not trying to lecture you. I'm just trying to keep us on track with the task at hand, which is me fulfilling the terms of our agreement. Speaking of which..." He took the chemical apron off, hung it on its hook on the wall, and unclipped his phone from his belt.

"On my nonexistent lunch break, I took the liberty of making a dinner reservation. It's for 7:30, but it is already 7:00. So, two questions: do you like steak, and if I change the reservation to 8:00 will that get us to your house to clean up a bit?"

The change of subject more than anything caught her by surprise. Followed by the surprising realization she wanted very much to go with dinner with Will. "Yeah—yes—to both questions. Dinner sounds great."

*********

Will tried unsuccessfully to scrub the stench of hydrochloric acid off himself, before realizing it was probably his nose that was off, not his body odor. He gave up and just stood under the steamy shower, letting it beat down on his head and shoulders. He let his thoughts drift to the woman in the next room, and what he hoped to do to—with—her tonight.

Had he stopped to analyze his own thoughts and behavior, he might have found it curious that he'd done a 180 and given up completely on yesterday's mission of keeping Meredith and his interest in her at arms length. The simple fact was he wanted her. Wanted her enough to pursue wooing her with the full arsenal of his charm. She was attracted to him. Chemistry wasn't the problem.

No, he had to persuade her things could be normal between them, after she'd just this morning described them as "fucked up". She seemed to enjoy their work day together. An evening of wining and dining, maybe a short stroll in the moonlight, would soften her up even more. And then a night in her bed—at her invitation, a real night of taking his time and pleasuring her properly, not the admittedly fucked up encounters they'd already had—that would seal the deal. He'd have her wrapped around his little finger in no time.

It was a great plan.

*********

"Is this okay?"

Will typed the last word in his text message to Dan and hit send before looking up. Damn. She looked stunning in a simple black dress and boots. He drank her in, forgetting to reply to her question.

"I don't know where we are going, or if this is appropriate." Her tone was unsure.

"Uh...yeah. I mean, you look great."

"I don't dress up very often..." When she noticed his unerrant gaze still on her, she smoothed her dress nervously.

Will realized it was time to begin the date.

"Really? Are you telling me..." He stepped just close enough to smooth a stray ginger lock from her face. "...a beautiful woman like yourself, even one who habitually works herself to death, doesn't find time for an occasional date?" Their eyes locked, and he heard her take in a sharp breath as he waited for an answer.

"I...it's...not in a while, no. I dated someone last year, but he wasn't much for going out, so..."

Will shook his head slightly. "Tsk, tsk, he already sounds like someone who didn't deserve you."

"It wasn't like that, it was just—well, he was vegan, and there aren't that many places he could eat..."

A smile spread slowly on his face, culminating in a short laugh. "Come on; we're late." He took her hand and led her out to his truck.

*********

"Will, tell me where we're going," Meredith demanded, a little more forcefully than the first three times she'd asked. To her surprise, they'd headed not towards downtown, but back towards the university, through campus, then towards the outskirts of town. She couldn't think of any steakhouses in the area.

"I'll give you a hint; we're driving up that hill." He pointed west.

The area he'd indicated was elite real estate: expensive, six-figure parcels of land that overlooked the town and bordered a prime area of National Forest.

"I should be concerned about going hungry then. You do have a penchant for getting lost on mountaintops."

"See, here I am trying to be an ideal date, and you won't let me forget my past shortcomings," he said, but his grin belied any insult taken.




Bounty Hunter Ch. 06



It didn't dawn on her where they were going until they passed a sign on the roadside.

"We're going to the Flagstaff House?" she asked incredulously. It was a five-star restaurant; Meredith had never eaten there, but she'd read reviews and heard rumors.

"Damn billboard," he said under his breath, clearly annoyed his surprise had been spoiled. "Does it meet with your approval?" Will glanced at her.

"Are you kidding? It's supposed to be amazing. Though I wouldn't call it a steakhouse," she added teasingly.

"I never said we were going to a steakhouse. I asked if you like steak. I'll bet they have some good steaks there."

Meredith found herself smiling contentedly as she looked forward to the evening. A gourmet restaurant was a real treat, and Will...Will really cleaned up nice. He'd dressed up a little in a sports jacket and nice western boots. And that glorious hair—he'd tamed the waves into a neat, short ponytail, but as usual, a few unruly locks had already started to sprout out of it. The man was sex on a stick. She had completely forgotten the morning's black mood.

*********

"Damn, Will, you don't do things half-assed, do you?"

Upon their arrival, the hostess had escorted them without delay through the restaurant's sophisticated modern décor, past a grand bar crafted of carved wood, to their secluded table in the far corner. The entire east wall of the dining room was floor to ceiling windows overlooking a breathtaking view of Boulder.

The dinner was divine: fresh oysters on the half shell, a delectable salad of field greens, roasted beets and herbed goat cheese, dry-aged steaks grilled a perfect medium rare, wines chosen by the chef to accompany each course.

They talked of the food, the view, the town, their jobs. Will showed an interest in everything she said. She realized he was intentionally cranking up the charm on their date, but underneath was an effortless sensuality relentlessly drawing her in.

Instead of a heavy dessert, they were brought a platter of crisp fall pears and apples drizzled with honey and accompanied by a variety of cheeses.

"This is the best dinner I've ever had, without a doubt," Meredith said between delectable bites of their final course.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have to admit, when I got up this morning I had no idea I'd be eating cheese aged in a French cave by the end of the day."

When they finished, Will told her there was one more surprise for the evening. "What would a nice dinner be without a moonlight stroll?" he asked. Their waiter escorted them to a different entrance leading to a patio area, unused at this time of year. Some steps led to a path that wound away from the restaurant.

"Where does it go?" Meredith asked.

"Just an easy half mile loop through the woods. It's supposed to be a nicely manicured gravel path. We don't have to walk the whole thing if you don't want."

"No, this is perfect. I'm glad I wore boots and not fussy shoes."

The night was crisp, and Meredith noticed the sky had clouded up while they were at dinner, obscuring the stars. There was palpable moisture in the air; snow had been in the forecast.

Will's arm encircled her shoulders. She snuggled up next to him, feeling the heat of his body even through her coat. It was a beautiful place for a walk, the path becoming almost completely closed in by evergreen trees. She breathed in deeply to take in their scent, but she picked up Will's as well, and felt an electric surge through her body to her core.

They reached a clearing with a bench and view of the town below.

"This must be the inspiration point the hostess mentioned." His hand slid off her shoulder to caress her lower back.

"You didn't tell me you were taking me to inspiration point." She protested mockingly.

"Do you feel inspired?" He asked, drawing her closer, pressing her body to his.

"I—" But she didn't get a chance to finish, because his lips captured hers. The kiss was hot and cold at the same time, but whatever chill the night had put there dissipated immediately. She parted her lips, and his tongue caressed her mouth languidly.

He slipped his hands inside her coat and cupped her ass through her dress. After feeling his touch only through her bulky coat, it kicked up her arousal another ten notches. She moaned softly, returning the kiss even more feverishly.

But he broke the kiss as suddenly as he'd begun. Too soon. She tried to complain and pull him back to her, but he drew both her hands up and kissed her fingertips.

"You're going to get cold out here."

"I don't feel cold." Only then did she notice the snowflakes swirling around them. He smiled at her, and she knew she had lost whatever battle had been raging in her head. She wanted this man. She wanted him now, in the snow on the cold stone bench in the forest, but she would settle for a little later, in a warm bed.

*********

The sexual tension grew thicker on the drive back to her house. Their conversation continued as effortlessly as it had during dinner, but there was a definitively carnal undercurrent. Will told her several funny tales of past bounty hunts that had her laughing aloud, but when the conversation lulled, he caught her gaze for a few seconds with a burning intensity that stole her breath.

"You should really keep your eyes on the road, Will."

Back at her house, they shed their snow-dusted coats onto the couch silently, and he drew her into his arms immediately, their lips drawn together with an inevitable magnetic force.

Meredith melted into him, teasing his tongue with hers. His hands caressed the curve of her hips and pressed her body into his. She could feel his hardness through the jeans; the sensation made her clit pound in exquisite agony.

"Will, I want you. Come to my bed."

He looked at her, his eyes dark and intense. "You sure?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm sure." She remembered his reticence the previous night."Please don't say no." She kissed him again and nipped his lower lip.

He nipped back, then dropped a few spine-tingling, feather-light kisses down the side of her neck. "Oh, I'm definitely saying yes. Lead the way."

She took his hand and walked to her room, anticipation building with each step. Oh yes, he was all hers tonight. In her room, he pulled her to him again, this time from behind her. Sweeping her hair off her nape, he trailed more kisses down her neck, his lips seeking and finding each ultrasensitive spot. His teasing drew tiny, breathless moans from her.

She turned to face him, and their lips met again as he lowered her down to the bed. Of their own volition, her hands tugged at his shirt and sought its buttons. She wanted his skin against hers, and was suddenly annoyed with the clothing between them.

He raised off her slightly and looked at her with a sexy smile. "Someone is very impatient," he chided.

"Don't tease me, Will," she moaned, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.

"Don't rush me, Meredith." His hands slid up the sides of her body lazily, over the roundness of her hips and the curve of her waist, brushing enticingly past her breasts. He captured her arms as he went and pushed them upwards until his hands encircled her wrists and her arms were firmly pinned above her head.

"Mmm...that's better." His lips were again exploring her neck, and the deep, husky rumble of his voice added another layer of sensations running through her body.

He may have said something else, because the seductive vibrations of his voice continued, but Meredith stopped comprehending speech at that point. The moment her body realized the position she was in—with him pressing her into the bed, and his arms holding hers firmly captive and stretched out—something snapped in her subconscious, evoking the memories of Will seducing her as she was handcuffed to a bed. Memories that filled her simultaneously with both dread and unspeakable excitement.

Her body, wound tightly after weeks of haunted dreams and unresolved desires, responded like a bomb. The orgasm that ripped through her so spontaneously made her cry out in surprise and ecstasy. She convulsed and her hips ground into his thigh desperately.

The experience was unfamiliar. In her past sexual encounters, she had never orgasmed particularly easily. Sometimes she failed to "get there" from trying too hard. Surely, she'd never had one come so suddenly and without intent.

Before the sensations had even ended, her emotional turmoil had begun. She opened her eyes to see Will looking at her, curiously and slightly amused.

"Baby, that's a hair trigger you have."

The full realization of what she had done crashed down on her. They were both fully clothed. He hadn't touched her intimately yet at all. They weren't even dry humping each other. She had climaxed because he'd held her down. Her reaction had been unmistakably fucked up and...wrong. Just wrong. She fought tears.

"You okay?" His voice held concern.

When nothing but a choked up squeak came out of her lips, he released her hands and pulled her up into a sitting position. "What's wrong? Tell me."

"That was—I'm sorry, I don't know what—"a tiny sob escaped her, and tears rolled down each cheek. She felt her face burning in shame.

"Hey, it's okay." He lifted her chin with one hand and looked into her eyes. "Meredith, you can come any time. I'm the one who has to hold out for a while or suffer embarrassment. It's okay. It took me by surprise, but you didn't do anything wrong."

She turned away from him. "You don't understand. What just happened—it's fucked up. I'm fucked up. It's because of...what happened in Montrose, what we did—what you did. It imprinted on my brain or something. I haven't ever had those kinds of fantasies before but since it happened, I can't stop thinking about it. And when you held my arms down..."

She paused to sniffle a bit and wipe her eyes on her dress sleeve. "I thought things could be normal between us, but clearly they can't, because I don't know how to make these thoughts go away."

The confession, combined with the sexual intensity still ebbing in her body, left her drained. She wanted to crawl into a hole, but instead she tucked her knees to her body and hid her head in her arms.

*********

Will slowly made sense of her words and her reactions. The full realization of what happened felt like a knife in his gut. He'd evoked something in her she didn't know how to handle and didn't want to comprehend. Something she would not have had to deal with if it weren't for his actions.

He didn't know how to fix it, and yet he had to. His crime. His responsibility. He put his arms around her and drew her to him. Only then did he feel her body jerking with the small sobs she was clearly trying to hide. 'Shh...baby, it's okay. This isn't your fault, it's mine. I'm so sorry."

She said nothing but leaned into him, accepting his physical comforting.

Will held her for a few minutes, until the sobs no longer shook her. "Talk to me, Meredith. Please. I think we need to get this out in the open and deal with it."

"I don't know how to deal with it."

"Ok, I'll start. What I did to you in that motel was very wrong. That you gave verbal consent at the last second, when you powerless to stop or leave, doesn't make it right."

She didn't reply, her face still tucked against his shoulder.

"I don't know if I created these feelings and thoughts you are having, or whether I just uncovered something already there, but it really doesn't matter. The blame lies with me."

She drew back and looked at him, and he could see the pain and fear in her eyes. "I don't want to be a woman who wants to be tied up and raped and beaten. I don't want to be someonewho gets into abusive relationships."

Will shook his head. "You aren't that person. Meredith. Look, I'm not going to make light of this, but I think you may be jumping to a really unnecessary conclusion. Fantasies are just that: fantasies. It doesn't mean you really want to be hurt or abused."

"Then why am I fixating on this thing?"

"Well, you're fighting it."

"What are you saying, I should indulge every dark, kinky fantasy I have? I'm not a submissive woman. I don't want to be anyone's doormat."

Will laughed out loud. He couldn't stop himself.

"You're laughing at me."

"Yeah, I am. Meredith, I make a living reading people by their behavior and body language. I've met my share of people that are somebody's doormat. You are not one of those people."

She looked away from him in anger, and he gently turned her head back to him. "Look at me. Baby, if you have sexually submissive desires, that's about sex, not your whole character. Do you think you are the only person in this wide world who wants to be handcuffed to a bed and fucked?"

Will saw the fire in her eyes his words evoked, and just as quickly saw her face cloud over again.

 "Not all of those people are females. Plenty of men have fantasies of being dominated by a woman. Plenty indulge those fantasies. Wanting this doesn't mean you are or will become a pushover in the rest of your life."

Will shifted them both around until he could lean back on the headboard with Meredith leaning against him. He curled his arm around her shoulders.

"So you are saying I should try to cure myself how— by letting you do that to me again?"

"You don't need to be cured, but I'm suggesting if you wanted to explore your desires, it could be done in a safe environment with someone you trust, and with you ultimately in control of the outcome."

Meredith was silent for a long while. "I trust you," she said, then was silent for a while longer. "It's me I'm afraid of. I'm afraid I'll let something out of me I can't control. I'm afraid it will escalate."

"I think it is more likely your feelings seem very intense because they are new and repressed. Repressing things is never good."

A few more minutes passed, and he felt her incrementally relaxing against his chest. Eventually, she turned to him. "I think maybe you are right."

He caressed her jawline, and saw the passion coming back to her golden brown eyes. God she was gorgeous. "Tell me what you want, sweetness."

She dropped her gaze, hesitating.

"You have to be brave enough to tell me what you want. And to tell me to stop if you become unhappy with what we are doing."

They were left looking at each other contemplatively. In the soft, dim light from the bedside lamp, her skin looked like pale gold. She was still straddling him, her dress had worked its way up her shapely legs, and he realized he was caressing her firm thighs. Her eyes burned with need.

Slowly, she leaned forward and kissed him softly, then whispered in his ear, "Will, I want you to handcuff me to this bed and fuck me." Her voice waivered just a bit. "I don't want to be hurt and I would want you to let me go if I didn't like it."

"I will never hurt you," Will replied. "Let me get what I need, then I'll give you what you want."

*********

He left her house, and she knew he must have restraints, and who knows what else in his truck. Realizing her makeup had probably smeared, she went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face and smooth her hair down a bit.

The woman looking back at her in the mirror was strangely unfamiliar—filled with unfamiliar passion and desires. She had jumped down a rabbit hole and had no idea where she would end up.