Brazen stood on the shore pulling on her fatigues. The river was cold but well worth it in her mind. She felt clean again and it was a break in Plissken's non-stop pace. He still moved like he was being chased. Maybe he was and she just hadn't realized. Brazen shrugged to herself as she pulled on her shirt.
"You shouldn't do that where you can be seen. Some people might stare."
His voice stunned her both to hear it and the rough silkiness to it. Brazen pulled her shirt closed and turned on him. How long had he been there? From the smile and the way he was leaning on the fallen tree she imagined it was quite awhile. The taunting laughter drove her over the edge. Instantly she was furious and picked up her boot throwing it full force at him. It clipped him on the cheek near the patch. Snake went silent and the deadly glare pinned her. Brazen was realizing too late that was the wrong thing to do when she saw the telltale twitch in his good eye. He was pissed off.
"You fucking cunt!"
His voice was a growl and Brazen cringed at the way he stalked off. Hurriedly she dressed and took off toward camp. He was packed and about to go when she made it to the clearing they had slept in the night before.
"Aren't you going to wait for me?" She pulled on her boots standing a few feet from him.
"NO."
"Why?" She knew the answer but it was buying her time. Brazen wasn't bad in the outdoors but the middle of wherever they were was not where she'd like to be left.
"You hit me."
"You deserved it for ... for staring." She was flustered from her anger, his rage and the very fact he had been staring.
He dropped his bag and Brazen felt a tinge of fear. Not that she thought he would hurt her more from the unpredictability. She wasn't sure what to expect.
"I can't help it you got a nice ass." He said it matter of factly like you would state something so obvious everyone would surely agree. Brazen felt her anger flare but her cheeks reddened realizing he really had been watching for a while.
"I hate you!" Brazen was furious with herself because deep inside she liked the fact he had been looking. She couldn't think about it because he was coming across the clearing, enraged and moving briskly right for her. Brazen held her ground. He stopped a pace or two from her and she watched his lip curl like a wild animal. It was unnerving.
"You're a bitch!" He spat the words at her.
"At least I don't stare while you're dressing." That was a bit of a lie. She had watched him take his shirt off on a couple of occasions but she'd never followed to watch him bathe.
"You're a liar, too."
Brazen was caught but she played it off as if he was crazy.
"I've seen better things to stare at dead on the road." She yelled at him unable to control the flurry of emotions. His breath hissed in and out but his eye was fixed on hers. He didn't even blink.
"Fuck you!"
"I wouldn't do that even for your bounty price." She knew that was quite an insult since there was a 2 billion BlueBack price on him since LA. His hand shot out faster then she could dodge grabbing firmly to her hair. Brazen cried out as he pulled her forward by the handful of her dark, bobbed hair.
"Let me go." She pushed his other hand away afraid that he would hit her for the look in his eye. He didn't hit her. He took a kiss so fierce and ruthless it took her breath away. His mouth tasted of booze, smoke and spicy food. She struggled gasping. She wanted to get away from him. Not because she was afraid of being hurt but for the way her body reacted to his.
As soon as he started he let her go with a bit of a shove. That kiss left her breathless. Brazen still felt the rough growth on his face burning the skin around her lips. He turned away and started pacing the perimeter of the clearing like a caged animal. When he reached the point farthest from her he stopped staring in the other direction.
"You going to get your shit so we can go?"
The anger was still in his voice and Brazen found herself studying the way he shifted, agitated with his hands on the pummels of his guns. Her cheeks flushed again still tasting the pungent alcohol on her lips. Suddenly she couldn't look at him anymore and busied herself collecting her things without so much as a glance in his direction as he started to pace again.
