Chapter 4 –Heat
A/N: Thank you sooo much for all the reviews, I appreciatesssss it sooo muchhh, keep reading and reviewing! :D
Previously:
He groaned and decided in that moment to just ignore his rational side and stood up, heading for the bed.
Charlie rolled over as he sat down on the bed, pulling the covers on his side off and over himself before laying down, sighing contentedly at the softness of the mattress underneath.
She yawned and smiled, seeing that he finally decided to join her on the comfortable bed.
"I told you it was more comfortable."
He looked at her, not at all surprised that he awoke her, "So it would seem."
She smiled at him and rolled over, bunching the sheets around herself again.
Miles stared up at the ceiling, urging himself to go to sleep and the inappropriate thoughts of his damn niece to go away as he closed his eyes, drifting off into slumber.
Morning came and Charlie stretched out, yawning as she blinked, enjoying the smooth firmness of the bed beneath her.
Firmness….
Wasn't the mattress soft when she fell asleep last night?
She shot up to see she was sprawled out atop her sleeping uncle.
Her face burned red and she flung herself off, overestimating herself as she proceeded to fall ass first off of the bed with a loud thud.
Miles woke up with a start, looking around wildly, and ready to attack when he noticed her on the floor. "What the hell are you doing on the ground Charlie?"
"Gee I don't know, it looked comfortable!" She snapped before getting up and heading to the bathroom, her face burning.
He blinked, wondering if he missed something as he stretched and shook his head, women….couldn't live with them or without them it seemed.
As they walked out of the house, careful not to wake anyone up or so they thought, Jane's voice floated through as the woman ran out to them, a bow in her hand and arrows slung on her back.
"Miles, Charlie, I thought I heard you two leaving. I wanted to give you this for your journey." She thrust the bow at Miles and he took it, looking at her in question, about to protest when she silenced him with her finger.
"I want you to have that as a means of protection and for hunting out there, swords come in handy but bows are better for getting food."
Charlie smiled, "Thank you so much for everything Jane."
The older woman turned to her and smiled back, giving her a hug, "Of course dear, you two take care of yourselves."
Miles nodded and placed the bow and arrows inside his pack.
"I mean it; take good care of this one Miles." Jane winked at them and before either could say another word, she turned and walked back inside, shutting the door behind herself.
Uncle and niece stared at each other, slightly shocked, before heading off down the road and into the thick forest ahead.
They walked through the clearing and back on the path that would lead to Charlie's brother, his nephew and everyone else.
Hours flew by and he thought of stopping to hunt for food when the crunching of leaves nearby alerted Miles that they were not by themselves anymore.
His hand flew out, stopping Charlie from walking any further and she stared at him curiously before realizing he was listening, hand grasping his sword.
"I hear the sounds of water, run towards it Charlie and don't look back."
She shook her head.
"Now Charlie!"
He drew his sword.
She stayed firmly in place.
"Dammit Charlie!"
And before she could utter a word out he threw her just as a bullet grazed past. "RUN, DAMMIT CHARLIE RUNNNNN!"
She took one last look at him and took off, running as fast as she could and praying he would come out alive as she couldn't do this alone.
She heard another gunshot and tears came down her face as she continued running before coming to the edge of a cliff where the water poured downward into rougher waters, rocks poked out around the area and she skidded to a stop and looked back for any sign of Miles.
Suddenly he came running out of nowhere and came towards her, "Come on Charlie, they are right behind us."
His eye looked bruised but other than that he appeared to be intact at least.
She peered over the edge again, seeing the water was rushing rapidly and Charlie shook her head furiously, no way was she jumping in that, he was crazy; he had finally lost his mind.
"We have to!" He yelled grabbing her arm only to have her shove him away, fear crippling her eyes as she backed away.
He sighed, glancing back, hearing the militia getting closer. "Trust me?"
Her blue eyes locked with his and she nodded without hesitation.
With that, he grabbed her arm again and pulled her against him, "Take a deep breath."
She did and he jumped, her scream echoed through the clearing as they fell into the rushing waters. The water felt like ice cubes prickling as they fell into it, going under.
Charlie rapidly swam upwards, breaking the surface, coughing violently as she swam with the current. She looked around franticly not seeing her uncle anywhere in sight until he came up sucking in air and swimming towards her. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"Go with the current, we can ride it downstream." He instructed.
She nodded and continued swimming, the rocks hitting her shins and arms occasionally as she tried swimming around them or over them.
As the stream took them down, she felt her arms wearing out and Miles must have noticed because suddenly he was by her side, throwing her on his back, obviously wanting her to hold on. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried not to lean all her weight on him as he swam through the icy waters.
"Relax kid, years of training in the military remember?"
She smile and kept a hold on him as they swam further down until Miles came to a bank and slowly made his way up it.
Once her feet hit solid ground she let go and waded through the shallow water to shore, shivering as the cold hit her from the cold air flowing through. She moved upwards and over to where a bird sat on the top of a shrub chirping, admiring nature for a moment and attempting to forget how cold she felt.
Miles glanced upward seeing the sun beginning to set once more and lugged his pack onto the grass before leaning against a tree, catching his breath from all the swimming and ahem…extra weight he'd drug through the waters.
He finally caught his breath only to realize Charlie was no longer in front of him, in fact it was unnervingly quiet and she was usually asking what the next course of action was.
"Charlie?" He looked over to see her nowhere in sight.
Panic
It tried taking over him but he squashed it down and grabbed his pack, knowing she couldn't have gotten far.
He moved quickly through the branches and trees in the forest before hearing his name, "General Matheson…."
And he turned on his heel to see to his complete horror, the only man who ever made him nervous and that itself was an understatement, brandishing a knife against his niece's throat.
"Strassuer." He was the one who had followed them, the one who'd nearly blown Charlie's head off. Miles felt enraged and clutched his sword.
The man smirked and tipped his hat at him in greeting before summoning his other man to come around towards him.
Miles gripped his sword, about to unsheathe it.
"No sudden movements General." Strassuer sneered and ran his tongue over the side of Charlie's face. She flinched and yelled only to have him strike her; she screamed and held her nose.
Miles attempted to pull his sword out only to have the other man draw a gun on him.
Strassuer smiled, "Now I see your weakness, that's always a mistake." And with that, he grabbed Charlie's jacket, ripping it from her body and throwing it in the distance. He let his sword run over the front of her wet shirt before slicing it down the front, her bra the only thing covering her as the material fell to the floor.
Her eyes welled up in humiliation but she refused to let him get the satisfaction of hearing her scream again as she bit her lip, still struggling against his hold on her arms.
"Beautiful," The man leered at her and let his knife dip further down her now bare stomach.
Miles knew he only had seconds before the monster took her for his own and there was no way in hell he would allow that. He yelled out and before the other man could react, he'd knocked the gun out of his hand and let his sword sink into his chest before withdrawing it and charging at Strassuer.
Charlie watched her uncle run the other guy through and tilted her head as Strassuer's head came closer to her, using her teeth, she bit as hard as she could into the flesh of his ear and watched as he screamed out and the sword fell from his hand, giving her an opening and she dove for the ground just as Miles slammed into the man.
Both men fell and rolled, throwing punches. Strassuer laughed, enjoying the fight, enjoying the pain, as he attempted to choke Miles.
Miles growled and slammed his fist into the side of the disgusting excuse for a human being's face, pulling his fist back and repeatedly slamming it into him. "You tried to rape her you piece of shit!"
Strassuer howled with laughter, spitting up blood, "You want her for your own GENERAL; I see it in your eyes!"
Miles rage had filled him and he brought his sword up, "Fuck you Strassuer, you piece of shit!" And with that, the blade hit home and he moved no more as Miles stood up.
Charlie sat on the grass, bunched into a ball, knees drawn inward as she hid her bra and jeans clad self from him.
He went towards her and took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders as he awkwardly ran a hand up and down her back.
He could feel her silent sobbing as her back shook and made his mind up as he pulled her towards him, letting her sob on his shoulder. "It's ookay, he's gone, you're okay Charlie."
She cried and hiccuped, catching her breath shakily for what seemed like hours but was only minutes. "It's just at every turn I have to worry about this, about someone trying to kill you….and my brother, I just want to get him and everyone else. It's so much to handle, too much."
He pulled away and stared at her, seeing the shy little girl she used to be and now the brave and yet scared woman sitting next to him, tears flowing down her face.
"You can't lose it Charlie. I know it's hard, it's hard for anyone to handle but we will get through this, we will get everyone…." He trailed off, not used to pep talking someone, especially someone of the opposite sex, "And I promise you I will not let anyone lay a hand on you like that ever again Charlie." He surprised himself by how hard and low his voice had become with this statement, and he knew he meant every word of it.
Charlie wiped at her eyes and nodded her head, "I know I know, you're right I have to keep it together." And with that she threw herself against him, taking him by surprise as her scent filled his nostrils and he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her lean body, "Thank you for protecting me."
And at this his mind reeled.
He would always protect her
But what if she needed protection from him
Then what?
He brushed the thoughts aside and watched as she let go of him and smiled a small smile before standing, clutching his jacket over her front.
"So where to now?"
He stood up as well and looked up at the sky, it was almost nightfall and his stomach growled.
"I say food and camp for the night a little further up by the stream."
Charlie nodded in agreement and walked after him.
They placed their packs by the shore and she turned to look at him as he took out the bow and arrows he'd acquired from the house they'd stayed in.
"Now we hunt."
She followed after him into the forests once more and they crept along the bushes, both looking out and seeing deer grazing in the far distance.
He put a finger to his lips and pulled an arrow out. "I know you know how to use a bow and arrow to defend yourself; do you know how to hunt with one?"
Charlie thought on it and nodded, "Yes I used to get rabbits and squirrels for our dinners."
Miles smirked, "Well then I will show you the art that is hunting for bigger game."
She watched him as he showed her how to use the arrow and aim it properly and deftly at a bigger target and instead of watching the quill she found she was focused on his hands, hands which are pulling the arrow back, the sleek and masculine digits so diligently maneuvering the arrow.
His lips are moving but she's lost in the sight of the hands, the muscle that rips slightly and veins ever so slightly prominent which each little movement.
"Did you hear a word I just said?!"
She blinked and felt her cheeks fire as she looked towards the ground, "Umm."
"That's what I thought." Miles smirked and shook his head, "I think that's enough for today, time to cook up some dinner." He gestured to a doe laying some feet away from them and she blinked again.
Had she really just been so absorbed in her UNCLE'S hands, that she missed that?
She mentally punched herself and decided it must just be all of the craziness she was feeling from the insane day they had and her loneliness combined, nothing more.
Miles watched in amusement as she walked back towards their makeshift camp, nearly stalking off. He wondered briefly what was on her mind as he gathered the animal and carried it back towards their camp.
Food was plentiful this night and Miles continued skinning the doe, already having started the fire, the sparks lit and he wiped the sweat from his brow, continuing his task at hand.
Charlie sat on the opposite side of him, watching as he prepared their dinner. His muscles flexed as he skinned the animal, the hand that sliced the blade through meat, veins prominent which each movement and soon she found herself in a daze, a wicked daze that nearly consumed her had he not interrupted her.
"Earth to Charlie?"
She felt her cheeks heat up in what she was sure was a fiery blush as she snapped out of her extremely inappropriate line of thoughts and stared at him stupidly, "Huh?"
"I said you can go get cleaned up while I cook this if you want."
"Oh…" She stammered, "Right, okay, I'll go now."
And with that she stood up shakily as his voice rang out to her again, "There's an extra shirt of mine in my pack, just take it out. I'm sure you'd rather wear that than my jacket, it's probably going to be big on you but it should do the job."
She nodded and went to his pack, pulling out the gray colored shirt he'd had stuffed in the bottom of his bag.
Seeing he was back to now carving the meat for their meal, she turned and headed towards the stream to bathe.
Miles sat at the camp, finishing cooking the venison to perfection as he turned it in the fire on the sticks he used to keep it above the flames.
He wondered why Charlie was blushing when he'd snapped her out of her daydreaming or whatever had been going on in her head. He wondered further why that blush made the thoughts he'd been having of her return tenfold. He figured he was just lonely and being a man stuck with a woman, it was just messing with his head.
He told himself it was nothing more than that and to just rid himself of the images and thoughts. She was just a girl, not a woman, and his niece to boot.
He could only wonder what Ben would say to him if he were here; probably punch him in his face which he would rightly deserve.
As he continued being lost in his thoughts, the object of his attentions appeared beside him, sitting down all fresh and clean.
"Food is ready." He smirked and handed her a stick with the meat on it. She smiled at him and thanked him as she ate.
He started to bite into his own venison on a stick when he noticed something different. She was in his shirt.
She was in his shirt
She was in his shirt and somehow she made it look …. Good
He completely forgot he told her to borrow his shirt.
He momentarily forgot how to eat as he felt the blood rush down to a more prominent area of his body.
He sucked in breath and forced himself to eat, attempting to distract himself before he had a …. issue.
Charlie finished her meal and noticed her uncle acting weird, his eyes glued to the fire as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world and she could see color in his cheeks…..was she seeing things or was her usually collected uncle blushing?
He noticed out of his peripherals that she was staring at him and he glanced over at her, "Yes?" Eyebrow raised.
It was her turn to blush and look away. "Nothing just thought something was wrong, you are very quiet tonight."
He chuckled, his low rumble stirring something unfamiliar in Charlie as she crossed her legs. "I am never talkative Charlie."
"Well….your cheeks were red; something must have been bothering you."
He cursed her perceptiveness, "So were yours earlier, care to explain?" He countered, watching smugly as she blushed yet again. He was enjoying it; her blush dipped down from her face to her exposed collarbone and led him to wonder just how far it spread.
He caught his mind drifting again and promptly shut that line of thinking off.
"Not really." She looked away, unable to look him in the eyes.
Now Miles was very curious seeing that she wouldn't look at him, "Tell me."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because isn't an answer."
"Well it's the only one you are getting."
Miles stood and decided he needed to do something to distract himself as he reached down for his extra sword in his pack. He kicked it at her and drew his blade. "Tell me." And as he spoke, he moved the blade diligently toward her direction.
Charlie stood up as well and saw he was ready to fight and picked up the sword at her feet, immediately clashing it against his as he came at her swiftly.
"Tell me." He repeated himself, more commanding this time, slipping into his general mode.
She shook her head, striking against him as he lashed out, nearly knocking her over with the force of his hits.
"You think Monroe will let you just walk away if he seeks information from you?"
She saw where his line of thinking was at and cursed that she had to blush the way she did in front of him for him to use now in this form of training.
"No."
"So tell me." He spoke with an edge, one that sent chills up her spine, his beautiful brown eyes lighting up as he locked blades with her, forcing her down on one knee. "I said tell me." The words dripped venom and she saw he was testing her, seeing if she would break.
"No." And with that, her foot shot out as she stood back up and she watched him form an 'o' of surprise as he fell backwards, sword clattering to the ground.
Charlie smiled victoriously only to have it short lived as Miles stood up and was suddenly on her, knocking her to the ground, pinning her.
"Fine. Show me your hand to hand combat." He instructed and watched amused at her useless struggling beneath him.
"Fight harder than that girl unless you want to end up one of the militias playthings."
Her mind flashed to the near occurrences that had taken place in which he had been the one to save her. She yelled out and used her legs, wrapping them around her uncle's waist. He was momentarily stunned at what she was doing as she pulled him even closer into her body before twisting violently and managing to knock him on his back, the positions now reversed.
He breathed out, catching his breath, "Nice one."
She smiled, "See I got some skills."
He nodded, "That you do."
And it was then that they both realized what kind of position they were in and both parties quickly moved off of one another, standing up and seeing how late it had become.
Miles cleared his throat as they both pulled out their bed rolls, "You never did answer my question."
She smirked and shook her head, "I know."
And with that she continued laying out her roll before sitting down, yawning and stretching.
"You never answered mine either."
It was Miles turn to smirk as he laid down, "No I didn't. "
