Unlawfully Yours

Chapter XII



Cole averted his eyes as he extended his hands hesitantly toward the revolting amalgam of skin and hair the two men looked like to him. He had almost worked the nerve to grab them when Phoebe put a firm hand on his forearm.

"Wait," she uttered, and then Cole was certain that the groan coming from them was caused by their desperately wanting off each other. At least, that's what he would've have been thinking, he was certain of it.

"Come on, Phoebe, I thought we agreed it was enough…"

Rather than answering, she pulled on his arm to force him away from the carriage.

"Look back there," she said then, indicating a point to their left.

Cole squinted against the already blazing sun and thought that he could see some vegetation.

"A waterhole," he questioned while looking back at her.

"I think so, but there's more…"

He frowned in wonderment as Phoebe went back to the front of the carriage without explaining herself.

"What do you mean," he finally called to her.

Phoebe glanced at the men in the carriage with a wicked smile that gave Cole a slight chill before she answered.

"Come on, you'll see…"

Still avoiding looking at the men, he slowly made his way back to the front seat.

"You're enjoying this way too much," Cole reproached half-heartedly, as he turned the carriage toward the patch of vegetation.

"Hey," Phoebe protested mildly, "I thought we'd agreed they deserved some punishment."

"By this, I meant punching them…I never thought we'd play a sadistic game like…"

Cole stopped short and this time his eyes widened when he saw what Phoebe had referred to as something more. In the receding distance, he could see tall cactuses with strange shapes, along with small weakling trees. However, what really caught his attention and almost had him noxious again was the thick brush of small spiny cactuses that lay around the taller ones. It almost looked like a dark green mini jungle, and a very uninviting one at this. "Phoebe," he uttered under his breath, "you're the devil in disguise…"

Phoebe chuckled and was very satisfied to hear some fear in the men's groans behind her. Meanwhile, Cole's imagination played dirty tricks on him as he thought he could feel those spines prickling him painfully. "Phoebe…you can't be serious…" he added uncertainly.

"Hey, that'll give them something to…..scream about…"

Suddenly, Cole thought that the ordeal they had been through didn't look so bad anymore. Maybe it was this comparison, or the fact that when he finally deign looking at them again, he met Lenny's very scared eyes over Reggie's ass. He knew that what she had planned was utterly sadistic, but he couldn't help the hilarity of their situation from hitting him hard then. Once he got past the disgusting display, seeing Lenny like this gave him the idea that in fact, this man deserved to be where he was; which was inches from his partner's ass. Cole started chuckling at first in little bursts, and then he positively exploded, laughing uncontrollably. Phoebe turned to him uncertainly at this point.

"Hey, I thought you said I was the evil one?"

Cole couldn't seem to stop laughing, not even to say a word. He could barely manage to keep the horses in line. Behind them, the prisoners were struggling harder than ever, possibly more scared by this laughter than any threat they could've received. Even with her side hurting as she did, the contagious laughter gained on Phoebe and they were soon both laughing, while Reggie and Lenny's anxiety level rose exponentially. As Cole tried to find his voice again, he'd also found that something else was rather funny. Something that had not seemed so hilarious until now… Yet, as he looked back on his own humiliation, he saw it for what it truly was. Phoebe had said it best. Had it not been for his damn pride, he wouldn't have been in any danger except from ridicule. In hindsight, he understood at last that everything had started from there.

"I'm sorry Phoebe," he uttered through the receding giggles, "I was the stupid one…"

"What?" Phoebe questioned, totally dumbfounded.

"I…when you did that to me, I saw myself going home and having not only to admit that a small woman like you had thwarted me; but that I'd also have to live with the fact that everyone would know how. I could almost hear my old man's laughter, and frankly that's what enraged me. I thought if I took my revenge on you, it'd make up for it. I know you'll never forgive me for that, but I'm still sorry," he added, while a disturbing sorrow threatened to overcome his present hilarity. By then, it wasn't those men behind him he was laughing at, but rather at his own stupid pride.

Phoebe wasn't answering and in fact, she wasn't laughing anymore. When he glanced at her, he saw that she seemed uncertain. Cole wondered about that and then decided to lighten things up again.

"If I grovelled at your feet begging for forgiveness, do you think you could throw me a bone here?"

Phoebe felt another urge to laugh coming at this. "Nah," she said with obvious amusement in her voice, "then you'd want me to get on my knees and do the same."

"I could think of something infinitely more satisfying for you to do in that position."

Phoebe was startled by his rowdiness, and without even thinking she slapped him hard across the face. She wasn't so put off by the sexual allusion, which in reality didn't surprise or shock her in any way, but rather disappointed that he would do so when she had begun to believe in his sincere apology. For a second, she wondered if he would respond in kind, but after a slight hesitation, his smile returned as he massaged his cheek.

"I deserved that…"

There it was again, Phoebe thought. That darn smile that melted her insides. What's more, this time she knew it was sincere.

"Yes you did," she replied mockingly.

His smile slowly vanished as he questioned much more seriously.

"Phoebe, I know I'm not too good at this apology business. Heck I'm an ass at it, but could you?"

"Could I what?"

Cole shifted position uncomfortably then.

"I mean…could you ever forgive me… in time maybe…"

Phoebe hesitated and again, the sorrow threatened to invade him.

"Maybe," she finally conceded…

Then, she deposited a soft kiss on the cheek she'd hit earlier.

"Maybe I will," she whispered afterward. Her lips lingered there and he couldn't help the urge to try kissing her, but before he did so, she added:

"You must be one hell of a lawyer…"

"I like to think so," Cole responded huskily.

At this, Phoebe felt the doubts coming back and she tried to pull away, but he didn't give her the chance. Dropping the reins, he grabbed her neck and pulled her to him, crushing his lips against hers. In that moment, she even forgot why she had become upset as she responded. Only the carriage stopping on its own reminded them of where they were.

Even then, they barely pulled away from each other and Phoebe whispered.

"You know counsellor; you really have a way with your mouth…"

Cole chuckled:

"In more ways than one…Although, I have to learn to choose my words more carefully," he added with renewed amusement.

"You've got that right," Phoebe replied, but thankfully just as amused, he thought.

Phoebe reluctantly looked back at the prisoners with a sigh and a sly smile.

"Torture first," she said loudly for them, and then when she turned back toward Cole, her voice softened as she finished, "fun later…"

"Right!"

Only then, Cole glanced at the front of the carriage and understood why the horses had stopped. They had ridden all the way to the water hole and were now leaning toward the offered water, which lied just out of their reach. Before allowing the horses to drink however, Phoebe and Cole went to get some of the lukewarm liquid themselves. It wasn't very tasty, but it still felt good after the dry desert. Not to mention their bout of hilarity… Then, after letting the horses go to the water, Cole pulled Phoebe some distance from the carriage.

The thick cactus brush was mere feet from them, and Cole stared at it with a grimace before addressing his concern.

"Ok babe…I've kind of figured out what you had in mind…but…"

"Look, Cole…," Phoebe began in a low voice. "Reggie is a tough cookie. It's gonna take more than a few punches to make him talk, trust me…"

The reminder of Reggie's roughness also brought back to him what Phoebe must have endured at the hands of this monster. It quashed his good mood as he bent closer.

"Phoebe…I know that he hurt you bad too…"

"Don't worry about that," Phoebe dismissed. "You'd be surprised what a person can learn to endure… Those marks you saw on my back…yeah, he did whip me. But that wasn't the worst that's ever happened to me. It's not why I was so angry earlier…I could take it, but I couldn't stand that he was hurting someone who couldn't…"

All the while, Cole's expression became more incredulous.

"Phoebe, you can't seriously say that being whipped by this beast was nothing. I could twist his neck," Cole added angrily.

"Hey," she interrupted soothingly, "what I have in mind is a much harsher retribution…and so is the fact that we'll take his money. I'm not sure which will hurt more; the spines in his balls, of the thought that I'll spend his gold while he rots in jail…"

Cole sighed uncertainly, but soon a wicked smile spread over his lips in turn.

"You're right…let's have some fun here…What do we do first?"

"Well," Phoebe trailed as she glanced to the back of the carriage, "we should start by disorienting them a little. Some good old fashioned humiliation along with blinding them should do the trick…"

Cole frowned uncertainly, but then, he decided that he didn't wanna know.

"It's your party…"

"Nope," Phoebe replied with a wicked smile of her own, "it's our party…"

Cole grimaced in disgust as he had a good idea of the nature of her plan. Nevertheless, he followed her toward the carriage.

Meanwhile, ever since they had halted, Reggie and Lenny had redoubled their struggle, fearing what was to come and their inability to do anything about it. Reggie had been tempted to bite Lenny's dick again, taking a modicum of satisfaction in the pain he would inflict on him. However by then, Lenny had closed his teeth around his shaft, and Reggie knew that, was he to try, this time he would suffer the same fate. Instead, they both started rolling toward the back of the carriage and they finally managed to fall off just as Phoebe and Cole arrived. Phoebe couldn't help laughing again at their predicament, since this had only hurt them and done nothing to improve their situation. Now that their prisoners were out of the carriage, Cole gave a better look at it and saw two packs lined up toward the front. He was vaguely surprised to see that one of those was his. Phoebe was already on her way toward these and she soon pulled two scarves from the other pack. Then, she took the knife out of her boot and came back toward the bound gangsters.

Swiftly, she tied the scarves over their eyes, effectively blinding them. Their grunting became louder then. Using the knife on the rope that held Reggie against Lenny's crotch, she cut it at once. This one felt the release immediately and he pulled away, coughing and spitting in disgust, as his jaws seemed to be made of wood to him. Then he turned his head up toward where he thought Phoebe still stood.

"You bitch, when I'm done with you, you're gonna beg me to kill you. I'll tear you apart with my bare teeth, starting with your cunt."

Cole had had enough and kicked him hard in the mouth. Blood spurted out as Reggie felt that a few of his front teeth had come loose.

"Shut up," Cole growled. "You're only allowed to talk if you tell us where you hid the money. Anything else and I'll be the one tearing you apart slowly…and trust me," Cole added coldly while leaning toward Reggie, "by the time I'm done with you, you'll have to suck your steaks…"

When Reggie tried to protest, Cole illustrated his point by hitting him again. This time, Reggie grunted in pain, while one of the loosened teeth fell off and he had to spit it out.

Cole then pushed him on his back which brought Lenny on top of him along with the offending crotch. This he couldn't see but he felt it against his face with another grunt of disgust. Meanwhile, Phoebe was leaning toward Lenny and whispering in his ears.

Without freeing him, she then moved toward his backside and pressed the knife against his dick.

"Now Lenny, we wouldn't want poor Reggie to miss one last thrill before losing his dick. I'm not that cruel. You started something, and it's time to finish it."

Lenny tried again to pull away, but this time, Phoebe put the point of the knife on him and drew a drop of blood at the base of his shaft. Lenny howled as much in fear as in pain. His legs were shaking and Phoebe thought that she saw a few drops of pee coming out and falling on Reggie's face.

"I said suck, Lenny…"

Reggie finally understood what she had in mind, even as he felt Lenny sucking slowly on his shaft.

"No! Get him off of me!"

Cole came closer in spite of his feeling really squeamish at Phoebe's idea of fun, and he put his booted foot on Reggie's mouth.

"I thought I said to shut up."

Reggie tried to get away, but Lenny was still bound to him in as tight a position as before. Meanwhile, Phoebe thought this was getting too long.

"Oh come on Lenny, you can do better than that, we don't have all day."

Phoebe traced the length of his shaft with the pointed edge, and Lenny bit on his partner's dick in reaction to the pain. Reggie howled in turn, but his scream was muffled by Cole's boot still on his mouth.

'Now, now, that's not the way to get a hard on from a man," Phoebe mocked. "If you want to keep your dick, Lenny, you better get to work…"

Almost crying, Lenny started sucking harder on the throbbing shaft, while Reggie tried again to scream invectives. In the end though, Lenny felt noxious and he threw up in Reggie's crotch.

"Ah well," Phoebe said at last, releasing him in turn, "it was for a good cause, but I'll enjoy cutting your dick first, Lenny…"

As he fell on his back, Phoebe distinctly saw him pee himself with a smile of satisfaction.

"But we're in no hurry," she pursued, "are we Cowboy?"

The two men were still bound by their arms and legs and Cole picked up Reggie by his legs without answering. He then dragged him toward the brush and pushed him face down into the cactuses before Reggie could realize what was happening. If he had thought that the bite hurt, this was pure agony. Spines were plunging all over his front side, including his dick and his balls while he screamed again, and then Cole pushed him further down with his foot.

"I bet right now you wish he'd bit it off, don't you," Cole mocked.

"I'll get you for this," Reggie uttered between clenched teeth, while trying to keep from screaming.

Cole pushed harder at this.

"You really have a problem with instructions don't you?"

Lenny got even more scared at hearing his boss' screams and desperately tried to crawl away. However he had no idea which way to go and ended up moving toward the brush as well. Phoebe decided to help him along by picking up the whip used for the horses and snapping it harshly on his thighs. Immediately, Lenny tried to go faster, and Phoebe hit him again, on his buttock this time, leaving a satisfying red mark on it.

Soon Lenny was crawling onto the first cactuses and he stopped there when he realized what he had done. He tried to get off of them, but Phoebe redoubled the lashing and he couldn't decide which was worse, staying there and screaming with tears in his eyes. In the end however, Phoebe decided that she had a better solution for Lenny. After she stopped hitting him, Lenny stayed in the same position, halfway inside the brush.

Phoebe knew that he simply was trying to avoid more lashing and that suited her fine since she needed some time to prepare. She went to the nearest tree and cut a long and thick branch off of it. Then she proceeded to sharpen both ends of the wooden stick. When she was done, she went with the stick and a rope to one of the tall cactuses, which was a typical trident looking one. She then snaked the rope around the opposite branch and the trunk. After this, she planted the stick in the ground at an angle and when she was satisfied, she went back toward Lenny and the others. The former was still very immobile and, only for kicks, she snapped the whip beside his face, eliciting another grunt of fright.

When Cole saw her coming back, he removed his foot from Reggie's back and this one immediately tried to move away from the uncomfortable position, only to roll onto more spines. He saw the uselessness of trying to escape when Phoebe hit him in turn with the whip, sending him rolling further inside the brush. By the time he stopped, he knew that he must have spines all over because he felt each and every one like as many small daggers piercing his skin.

"Hey Reggie," Phoebe taunted, "that's a new look for you…well done porcupine…"

She laughed at her own joke, while pulling Cole away from them for some regrouping. As she spoke, Cole began exclaiming loudly.

"You can't mean that? No way Phoebe!"

"I said that we're doing it and that's that. You want the money don't you," Phoebe uttered just as loud.

"Hey I thought you were joking earlier. This is getting serious…"

"You bet your ass it is," Phoebe replied before going toward Lenny and kicking him in the ass. Of course, he had heard every word, but was still not expecting her there so that it made the hit all the more painful and scary. Again, he tried to escape her but only planted a few more spines in his stomach in doing so, screaming anew. He stopped moving, bracing himself for another hit, but instead, he felt himself being pulled away by the legs. The blindfold was still firmly in place and he had no idea where they were going.

"What are you gonna do to me," he asked fearfully. "Let go of me, I don't know anything. Please, don't…"

Before he could continue, one of his tormentors had turned him on his back roughly and he feared that it was the end for him as he felt something moving over his midsection. Surprisingly though, instead of the pain he expected, he sensed that the bounds on his legs were removed. Lenny tried to pull away, hoping to make a run for it, but the whip hit his bottom hard when he tried to get up.

"Don't move," Phoebe shouted harshly. Soon, he was dragged for another short distance, and the rope returned on his calves, although this time, his legs were bound separately. As he was pulled again, he felt the spiny trunk of a cactus scraping the insides of his legs and braced himself for the worse, as his legs were pushed apart and then tied together again beyond the cactus. He knew that the spines were mere inches from his crotch and shook in fear that he would be pulled further.

"Please Phoebe," Lenny cried, "please; I swear to you, I don't know anything. Reggie didn't tell me where the money is. If you gotta, shoot me… but don't cut me up like a piece of meat…"

The voice of the male answered instead.

"That's really too bad, Lenny," Cole said, as he put a rope around Lenny's neck and pulled on it until the noose was tight under his chin, "I wish I could help you, but Phoebe is hell bent on cutting you up. She doesn't care whether you know something or not. She just wants you to scream and scare Reggie."

Lenny wondered if he couldn't sway this one, since he seemed so much more squeamish, although the way Cole pulled him up with his crotch scraping on the trunk, he had his doubts. Still, he was desperate.

"Please man, you gotta help me. I know you don't want her to do that. Put a bullet in my head instead…Even if I knew something and I told you, Reggie would do even worse to me…"

"I'm sorry, really, but think of it this way. What worse than sawing your dick can he do?"

"W…what?"

"Oh did I forget to mention the screams? That crazy bitch is dulling my best blade right now…she wants it to take some time. See, the longer it takes, the more you'll scream…the more likely she'll get Reggie to talk before she saws his…I hope you'll pass out soon…I really wouldn't wanna be you. My balls hurt just thinking about it…"

Lenny shook as much from exhaustion as from fear and for a moment, he considered letting the rope hang him. However, when he tried to let himself go down, a sharp object entered his ass, making him howl again.

"Oh boy…it's your choice really, if you want to impale yourself. But I heard that pierced intestines hurt even more than being cut…she's thorough…and don't expect to hang before the pain starts. The babe was very precise in her instructions. No choking. Wouldn't do since she wants you alive and…screaming. It'll only hurt like hell and you'll take hours to die. By then of course, she'll have added the pain of cutting your dick and your balls."

Cole watched the man actually crying in abject fear as he tried to get away from the stick only to press his crotch on the spines. He had to look away as he truly felt the man's pain echoing uncomfortably in his loins.

Once he was certain that Lenny would have something to think about for a while, he went back toward Phoebe who was really sharpening his razor blade.

"Phoebe," he whispered, "you don't seriously wanna do this…"

"Don't worry; I'll just perform a little surgery on him. Heck, I did it on another guy before. He had a little infection and needed to have a piece removed. Of course, he was loaded with whisky at the time."

Cole opened wide eyes at this, again wondering why he still felt like risking precious parts of his anatomy in her hands…yet, he did. His mind was already wandering on some more pleasant activities when he caught sight of her bloody shirt again. This brought him right back to reality.

"Phoebe, you haven't let me take care of this wound yet."

"I told you that it was nothing…"

"Do I have to use the same argument you used on me?"

Phoebe frowned, trying to remember. Then when it came to her, an amused smile floated on her lips.

"Somehow, I don't think you'd leave me behind…"

"Does that mean you trust me again?"

"It means I'm beginning to…"

"I guess that's the best I can hope for… But I'd still prefer taking care of this. Those guys need to simmer a little longer, don't they?"

A cry coming from Lenny got their attention, but they saw that he had simply lost his balance and fallen on the stick again. Even as they watched, he moved back up, albeit on evermore shaky legs."

"Well, not too long," Phoebe agreed grudgingly, "I don't think he can take much more of this…You're sure he can't actually get killed on that thing?"

"I made sure it would only enter a couple inches up his ass. More than enough to hurt, but he'll live…"

"Alright then…"

Cole pulled a clean shirt from his pack and grabbed her hand. Phoebe gave another look toward Reggie, but this one was now totally entangled into the cactuses. She figured he wouldn't go anywhere for a few minutes and, after dropping the now very sharp razor blade on her own pack, she allowed Cole to drag her away.

The silence was even scarier for Lenny. He found that if he moved aside, the stick was only touching his ass cheek, but he was in such unbalance, with his legs tied on the other side, that he was continuously falling back in the wrong position. As if that wasn't enough, the next voice he heard was Reggie's.

"Lenny! If you tell her anything, what she'll do to you is nothing in comparison to my wrath…I'll find you and I'll make sure that your agony is gonna last for days…"

Lenny swallowed hard and didn't answer. However, from their spot besides the water, Cole and Phoebe heard it as well.

"I hope that your plan works, Phoebe…and frankly, I almost hope for poor Lenny's sake that McKail gets here before Reggie starts working on him…"

"They'll probably both hang soon anyway…" Phoebe replied, while pulling her shirt up to expose her wound. Cole wet the fabric in the water and proceeded to clean the fortunately superficial wound. Still, he felt bad for what happened.

"I wish I could've prevented this…" he said softly.

"It wasn't your fault and remember, I saw the other guy," Phoebe said then with a little smile.

Cole smiled as well and then bent toward her side, kissing the soft skin beside the knife wound. When she didn't move away, he continued depositing light kisses, going up to the tender skin of her breasts. Delicately, he pushed the shirt further up, exposing her bosom, while she exhaled contentedly at his touch.

"Phoebe…" His voice sounded like a caress to her and when he gently lowered her, Phoebe didn't resist, even though she still had doubts. It felt so good to just let it happen. He was now sucking on her nipple, and for each new stroke, a wave of delightful shivers coursed through her body, while at the same time her hips were already moving invitingly. Phoebe ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him to her, and was unpleasantly surprised when he stopped and escaped her grasp. For a moment she thought that something happened with their prisoners and tried her best to steady her senses.

Then she looked up and saw that Cole was only gazing at her.

"What is it," Phoebe questioned with some distress.

"I'm sorry…" he answered, peeling his eyes off of her but still making no move to leave.

Phoebe sat up abruptly.

"Sorry for what? You know, for a guy who is not good at apologies, you're using that word left and right lately."

Cole irritably made a snapping sound with his lips while he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I'm trying to do the right thing here. Would you please…?"

"The right thing? You get me all hot and then you leave me hanging…How's that supposed to be the right thing?"

Sighing, he still tried to explain:

"Look Phoebe, I apologized earlier for having abused your trust…and we both know how I did it…No matter how sincere I am now, you'll still wonder if I didn't apologize just to get in your pants as you put it…I don't want you to think that…"

"Not even if I said I won't?" Phoebe replied in a little baby voice that made him look back.

Phoebe was smiling teasingly and, if at first he was tempted to feel offended, he resisted it, instead giving in to her playful attitude. An amused smile formed on his lips then.

"You're the devil, you know that?"

"Yeah you told me that twice today. I'm getting the picture."

Cole felt another urge to kiss her right then, but again he resisted it and somehow, surprisingly enough, he felt better about himself. Not that the urge wasn't still very powerful, he had to admit, but he was convinced that this little abstinence would bring up their level of mutual trust. Indeed, at this moment, he truly wanted her to trust him.

"You know it's strange," he said aloud.

"What's that," Phoebe questioned more seriously.

"I hardly ever refused anything for myself…but right now, even if I want you more than ever, I also feel better about myself than ever before…how weird is that?"

"Speak for yourself," Phoebe answered with a grin.

Cole wasn't too sure how he should take that, until she came to him and brushed her lips against his.

"Now then…If I understand this well, you're saying that you won't try to seduce me because you wanna feel good about yourself… but if it wasn't for that, we'd be having the time of our lives right now. Is that it? So… what about if I'm the one seducing you?" Phoebe uttered suggestively, before pressing her lips harder against his.

Phoebe's mouth was now exploring his tauntingly and he knew then that abstinence was highly overrated. Giving in altogether, he encircled her waist and pulled her tight against him, while their kiss deepened. He was already impatiently reaching for the soft skin under her shirt when a cynical laughter startled them both. Looking up, Cole found himself staring at a very irate Reggie, who was holding the sharp razor blade toward them. Cole pushed Phoebe behind him while silently cursing his own stupidity. Then he tried to get up and reach for the gun at his belt, but Reggie was faster and pressed the blade against his throat.

"Not a move Cowboy… Now you, the little lady and I will have words…" he uttered harshly while Cole felt warm liquid dripping down his neck and had no trouble guessing it was his own blood with a hint of panic.