*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much.*
"Hey, Sweetheart," says a man dressed in a pair of dingy overalls, his hair a mess and a stained white t-shirt underneath. His face is dirty and his hands are just as dirty. It looks like he hasn't washed up in a few days.
"What will it be?" I ask as I am wiping down the counter of the bar that I am working at.
"I had a rough day on the farm hit me up with some whiskey," he says.
"Coming up," I say giving him a smile as he smiles back at me. I can see Joe in the distance watching me and this man interact before I go to get the man his whiskey. "Here you go, Honey," I say handing him his whiskey.
"Thanks, Sweetheart," he says in his deep southern drawl. He takes a hit of his whiskey and groans as he swallows it down. "That's strong."
"Strongest around here," I say with a smile. Despite his filthy appearance he isn't too bad looking and that southern drawl is very attractive.
"I never seen you around these parts before," he says. "You new here?"
"Yeah," I say. "Just started tonight," I say.
"What's a beautiful girl like you doing working in a place like this?"
"Making a little extra money," I say, "things ain't going too well on our farm," I say.
"Yeah with all these big companies moving in to town they are putting small towns folk like us out of business. I lost my biggest buyer today because times are changing," he says downing some more whiskey. "Ugh," he says, "I expected it. We're in 2015. Technology is takin' over. It was only a matter of time. Big businesses move in here and take over our jobs leavin' us with nothing."
"I'm sorry," I say. "Your drink is on the house."
"Thanks, Sweetheart," he says. "Where you from? You ain't from Texas. You sound like you're from up north."
"Nah, I'm from Texas," I say.
"Never seen you here before," he says.
"Been hidin' away on my farm," I say as I see Joe's interest spike as he moved a bit closer to us. I give him a look of warning to stay away.
"I don't know why you've been hidin', Sweetheart. Not many girls around here look as beautiful as you are," he says giving me a smile.
"Thanks," I say smiling back. "So what's your name, Handsome?" I ask as I see Joe move even closer to us. I take in a deep breath and let it out. "I'm Karsen."
"That's a pretty name for a pretty girl," he says with a smile. "Lucas," he says holding his hand out for me to shake. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," I say with a smile after I look at Joe and he gives me a look of warning. It's almost as if he is telling me to behave. I don't listen to anyone. No one tells me what to do not even someone as hot and handsome as Joe. This is the only fun I'm going to have for a while so I want to make the best of it no matter what Dean or Roman tell me. This is my life.
"How are you likin' it here tonight?"
"It's okay," I say as Joe comes over to interrupt.
"Can I have a beer please," he says giving me a look.
"Sure," I say giving him a look to back off before I go to get his beer. "Here you go, Sir," I say handing it to him. His hand brushes against mine and my heart skips a beat as the electricity flows from his touch. His blue-grey orbs meet my dark brown eyes and we look into each other's eyes for a minute or so before we look away.
"Thanks, Ma'am," he says as I feel my face heat red as he flashes me a smile.
"You know him?" asks Lucas as Joe takes his seat two stools down from us.
"Just a customer," I say looking at him as he looks at me before taking a swig of beer.
"I would have thought he was a boyfriend or something," he says, "the way you two were lookin' at each other."
"No, no boyfriend here," I say with a smile. "What about you? You have a girlfriend?"
"Single," he says giving me a smile. "So if we're both single what time do you get off?" he asks.
"About 2," I say.
"You want to hang out after you get off work?" he asks.
"That would be nice," I say with a smile, "but I have to get home after work. I gotta wake up early to work on the farm," I say.
"What is a beautiful girl like you doing working on a farm? Come on. Save that work for the men and let me spend some time with you," he says.
"No, I don't think so," I say looking at Joe and then back at Lucas. "Not this time."
"Oh come on," he says. "We'll have fun."
"No," I say. "Not tonight. I have work to do in the morning. I'm sorry maybe another time," I say as he stands up.
"Come on, Karsen," he says as he leans over the bar and tries to kiss me as I back away.
Before I can say anything Joe is there and has Lucas on the ground with one hit. My eyes grow large at the sight in front of me. I never saw Joe lose his temper like that. It's hot and scary at the same time. "I believe the girl said no," he says as he looks down at Lucas. "Now do yourself a favor and leave."
"I'm not leavin'," says Lucas as he stands up and pushes Joe only to get another hit to the jaw. They start to have a brawl in the middle of the bar. I yell at them both to stop before my boss comes out to break it up along with the security team. They finally break them apart and Lucas looks as if he was run over by a truck. "You're nuttin' but a whore, a tease," he says before he is taken out of the bar along with Joe as I shake my head at him. I could have handled myself.
After Joe and Lucas are escorted out of the bar my boss wastes no time firing me and asks me to leave. I am the only person that can get fired on their first day of work. I get my stuff and make my way out of the bar to see Joe standing waiting for me. I shake my head at him. "You didn't need to do that," I say.
"He was getting too close, Karsen. It is my job to protect you," he says.
"You don't need to protect me all the time. I was fine. He wasn't going to hurt me."
"He was going to put his hands on you. He tried to put his lips on you, I couldn't risk it."
"Jealous are we?" I ask as we make our walk back to the house.
"Jealous?" he lets out a chuckle. "Why would I be jealous?"
"Because it wasn't you," I say.
"I'm just doing my job, Karsen. You were in danger so I did what I needed to do. That's all there was to it. Besides you're a married woman remember," I say, "what would that have looked like for Dean or Wyatt if you were kissing some other guy?"
"He's not my husband, Joe," I say, "and I don't need you to try to protect me all the time. I'm a big girl. I can protect myself. I don't need you standing by me 24/7 to make sure I'm all right. I wasn't going to let him do anything that I didn't want him to do."
"Karsen, you didn't want to hang out with him. He tried to kiss you against your will. I did what I needed to do. You were flirting with him. You shouldn't have been doing that." I roll my eyes.
"Are you my father now? I can't have any fun?"
"Not fun that's going to get you in trouble," he says, "look just do what you need to do and everything will be fine. Stick to the identity."
"I don't want to be a married woman and I don't want to be married to Wyatt or Dean or whatever his name is. I want to be a single woman and have fun. I never needed a relationship before I don't need one now and I sure as hell don't need someone like YOU telling me what to do and protecting me. I can protect myself."
"So if one of those thugs from New York finds their way here you would be able to protect yourself?"
"I managed to be the only one that survived the attack didn't I?" I ask. "I just don't want someone on my back 24/7 watching everything I'm doing and stop me from having fun. It's not me and I hate it."
"Well, no matter how you feel about it I'm going to continue doing my job. I'm not letting you out of my sight, Karsen."
"You might not have a choice," I say before I take off running from him as I hear him run after me, yelling my name. I run faster but for a bigger guy he is pretty fast. I run through the woods as he continues to chase after me and holler for me.
He finally catches up to me as I stop to take a breath. "Stop running away, Karsen," he says. "You're not helping any of us by trying to run away. You're only hurting us. Stop running," he says.
"Stop telling me what to do and I'll stop running," I say as I cross my arms as he stands in front of me crossing his arms too. "Stop telling me who I should be and what I should do and I'll stop running. Stop hanging around me all the time. I hate it. I hate how you're always there. Stop being there," I say. "I'm 21 years old. I can take care of myself. I don't need you or Wyatt to do it for me. I'll be fine. Just back off," I say.
"You're so frustrating," he says. "So fucking frustrating. I'm doing my job, Karsen. There isn't a doubt in my mind that you can take care of yourself but I'm doing my job. If something happened to you because I back off or because you keep running I will never forgive myself. I care about you, Karsen. I really care about you not because it's my job but because I genuinely care about you. I don't want to see anything happen to you. Stop running, stop being stubborn. I know this isn't the life you want or the place you want to be but for now this is the life you have and the place you're going to be. It's to protect you. Stop running, Karsen."
"Why do you care so much?" I ask. "Why do you care so much? I'm a spoiled little brat that wants everything she sees and needs to have a new pair of underwear to match every outfit. I'm spoiled, and I'm heartless and I'm selfish. Why do you care so fucking much, Joe? Just let me go and you can go back to your normal life and stop protecting a brat like me."
"Is that what you think of yourself? Is that what you think you are? Do you think you're a brat? Do you think you're selfish? Do you think you're spoiled? Is that what you think of yourself, Karsen?" He asks as he uncrosses his arms.
"It's the truth, everyone says it. Haven't you read any newspaper articles or articles on the internet? It's what I am. I'm a spoiled brat that is selfish and I only care about myself."
"That's not true," he says as he reaches up and touches my cheek with his hand. "That's not true at all. The people that say that don't know you."
"And you do?" I ask. "You don't know anything about me."
"I don't know you that well but I know you're not a spoiled brat and I sure as hell know you're not heartless. What I do know is that you're beautiful. You're smart and you care a lot about people even if you think you don't, you do. You just told me that you would rather I go back to live my life than protect you. Karsen, I would die protecting you. Protecting you has been one of my favorite cases," he says making me smile. "There's just something about you and it's never boring watching you. You keep me on my toes and I like that but I want you to stop running. I'm getting old I can't keep chasing you like that, you're really fast."
"I ran track in high school and college," I say with a smile. "Maybe I like you chasing me."
"Oh really?" he asks with a smile as he strokes my cheek with his thumb as I lean my face into his hand before he quickly removes it. "Stop, Karsen, I can't do this. It's driving me crazy. You drive me crazy. This is not part of the plan," he says as he turns away, "this is not part of the plan."
"What's not part of the plan?" I ask as I grab his arm so he can turn to face me. "What's not part of the plan?"
"This, you, me, me falling in love with you, me having feelings for you," he says. "I'm not supposed to fall in love with the witness. I'm not supposed to have feelings for you. Maybe I should leave this case. I shouldn't feel this way about you but damn it I can't help myself. You're so beautiful and smart; I can't not feel this way about you. Every time I look at you I just want to kiss you. I want you, Karsen," he says taking my breath away.
"Maybe I want you too," I say honestly as I bite my lip.
"Don't make this harder for me. I think I'm going to need call my boss and get someone else on this case. I can't do this, Karsen. I think the best thing for both of us is if I call my boss and get myself removed. If something happens between us it could ruin the whole thing," he says.
"I don't want you to leave, Joe," I say. "I want you to stay here. It will break my heart if you leave. Please, Joe don't go. I'm willing to take the risk. I have these feelings for you that I don't understand. I never felt this way about anyone. I find it annoying you're around all the time but I wouldn't have it any other way. I want you around all the time. I like having you around but then I hate it but I love it. I'm so confused but if you and I having something is a risk I am willing to take it. Joe, I'm not one of those people in life that give things up. I live with no regrets. I don't want to live the rest of my life wondering what would happen if I didn't take this risk or I didn't take this chance. I want to see what happens and I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay with me. Please, stay with me, Joe," I say. "Please, I wou…" before I can finish my sentence his full and thick lips are on mine. His hands on my cheeks and my hands on his large biceps, I part my lips allowing his tongue access into my mouth. His tongue finds mine, he kisses me deeply, his tongue twisting and intertwining with mine. He deepens the kiss as he backs me up against the tree. I take my hands through his soft long hair after taking out his ponytail. I have never been kissed like this, never felt this much passion in a kiss as I feel in his deep kiss. He presses his hand against my flat bare stomach as he kisses me. He pulls away leaving us both breathless. "Whoa," I say.
He gives me a smile and says, "I don't think I ever shared a kiss like that with anyone."
"Me either," I say with a smile. "I'm going to be blunt, Joe. I'm not playing the games anymore. I want you and I don't care about the rules. I want you and if it's a risk I'm taking it."
"I want you too, Karsen," he says as he brushes a piece of hair out of my face as his body is pressed against mine. "Fuck the rules. I'm doing this but I am going to bust my ass making sure you're safe."
"Okay," I say with a smile as I bite my lip again. "So Wyatt thinks we will be at the bar till 2 in the morning you want to make out or whatever?"
"You must be reading my mind," he says with a smile. "What are we going to do about Wyatt? He's already on my ass about this."
"What he doesn't know won't kill him. We just have to be careful," I say.
"Okay," he says with a smile. "Damn it, you're beautiful," he says making me smile.
"You're not too bad looking yourself," I say with a smile, "now kiss me."
"I plan to," he says with a smile before his lips are on mine and he's kissing me again.
*A/N: What did you think of Karsen and that guy in the bar? Did she bring it on herself? Was she trying to upset Joe or was she just having fun? What did you think about Joe attacking the guy for coming onto Karsen? What did you think about Karsen and Joe coming out about their feelings for each other? Do you think the line has been crossed now? Do you think this is a bad idea for them to be involved? How do you think they are going to hide this from Dean? What are your thoughts on their relationship? What about their kiss? Please review and thank-you for reading.