A/N: Ermm… so without giving too much away… warning? (Especially the latter half of this chapter. You've been warned.)

Charging ahead! No fear!

To The Posse: I can put a cameo somewhere, but it won't be what you expected. :) And thanks for reviewing my other stories! I don't know which reviewer you are lol, but I appreciate it nonetheless! That's kind of you!

Thank you for the reviews everyone! Every single one means the absolute world to me! I'm glad the story means something to you! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own GMW otherwise Maya would be kicking asses for real.

Maya sat uncomfortably on the edge of the bed in the guest room, a little light-headed and feeling hazy. Her nose was a little sore, but at least she could breathe more comfortably once again. After getting her nose fixed, Lila had ushered her rapidly to a guest room, stating that whoever was after the two of them had finally come asking for them and for the time being, they should hide. Lila had shoved one of her husband's old night shirts at her and all but locked her in the room. Maya had been instructed to stay in the room and wait until it was safe to come out.

Maya's scrapes on her arms and legs and torso had already been cleaned up in the bath, and she looked and felt wholly clean. But the water had irritated all her injuries, and she sat stiffly, trying not to wince every time her injured skin chafed uncomfortably against the comforter. She idly stared at the puckered skin of her hand. At least it wasn't oozing blood anymore. Lila had left it unbandaged in order to air out the wound to let it breathe a little so it could heal more nicely. But chances were, from the fact that the rusted blade had pretty badly infected it, she would most likely scar disgustingly. At the moment, it was very difficult to clench and unclench her fist, and Maya wondered if she would ever be able to use it again.

The throbbing in her leg briefly grew for a moment, and Maya grimaced while the wave of pain rode on by. She stared down at her bandaged leg, where the gunshot had punctured her skin. Lila had given her a fairly strong sedative in tea to dull the feeling of pain, and she did feel a little less stiff than beforehand, but the pain was ever present, lurking around the corner. She stood shakily, gripping the foot of the bed to test the usability her leg, but she couldn't take more than a few tentative steps on it without it violently tremoring from the effort and with a low growl, she plopped back down on the bed. Great. She couldn't use her hand and her leg might as well have not existed.

Maya frowned. She could barely remember what had happened the night after Lucas had gotten her on Clutterbucket, and they'd ridden away. Everything was a hazy jumble of lost memories, though she did remember at some point asking him to remove the bullet. And somewhere deep in her mind, she remembered registering the deep, all-encompassing pain that had wracked her body as he had done just that.

But that was as far as she could recall.

After that, she remembered drifting in and out of consciousness in a warm bed. Each time she had woken up, Lila had been changing the towel on her forehead, treating her fever and singing soothingly to her to calm down her shivers and hysteria. She'd asked Maya about her situation, and Maya had revealed it all.

Trying to free her mother, stealing the documents, having to escape, being attacked. Lila had watched her through the entire fever-induced warbling with something akin to horrified astonishment. It had taken a couple days for Maya to somewhat heal from the fever, though she didn't feel completely fine just yet. Once she was much better, Lila had fixed up her nose—which had hurt like a motherfucking bitch—and forced her into the bath, stating that she smelled like the rear end of a mule. Maya hadn't been bathed by anyone since she was a child, but she wouldn't lie. The old woman had done a much better job than Maya could have ever done with one usable hand and a busted leg. It was the first time she could run her fingers through her hair without her fingers getting caught or finding leaves and other creepy crawlies. Riley would be proud. Hell, Cory would be proud.

And then Maya sighed, lying back onto the bed, worrying her lower lip in between her teeth. All of their plans, everything they'd done to ensure they succeeded had crumbled to the ground and gone so horribly wrong. And it was all because she had been too careless. Too rushed and anxious that she didn't take care to make sure that the situation was under control.

As far as she knew, her mother may not have even been alive anymore. And the Matthews—her family—they could all have been corpses in Death Valley at this very moment. Even if she and Lucas returned at some point, Maya had no idea what they would expect. If there was even anything left in town that was worth going back to. And that scared her like nothing else.

And speaking of Lucas, she was particularly apprehensive about seeing him. Lila had informed her that he had woken up, but Maya kind of wanted to avoid him. It wasn't because she was scared of him or anything. Yes, Lucas was infinitely dangerous on so many levels, but he made her feel undeniably safe. And it wasn't because a single glance in her direction from him was enough to set her pulse on fire.

No.

It was because he had saved her life and gotten screwed. Again.

And it had unfortunately opened her eyes to something.

Maya had thought Lucas was a fucking brute and an ass before, but the more time she spent with him, the more she was starting to realize he was compassionate and selfless, and he was just a severely damaged man. A man dealing with the pain of his past. Badly (clearly since he was only interested in revenge) but basically the same as everyone else who had been dealt a rough hand in life because of that fucker Jed.

Which reminded her…

Lucas was related to Jed.

That much was clear, seeing as how they apparently had had the same last name. And from what her mother had told her about the previous mayor and his family, it all just clicked into place. What if Lucas was that son? The son of the previous mayor? He'd mentioned coming back to town a few years ago. He could very well have come back seeking revenge. And it would definitely explain why he knew so much about the mansion. The pieces just sort of fit.

But that meant that not only was Lucas related to Jed, but that Jed was his uncle. Which was crazy in and of itself. That he wanted to kill his uncle so badly was pretty insane.

But that still didn't explain why Lucas was so adamant to kill him. What the hell had happened to him years ago for him to be feeling the pressing need to kill Jed? And then there was the fact that her mother had said the son of the previous mayor had actually died. If Lucas was indeed the son, how the hell was he alive and well?

Maya groaned when she felt the pangs of the beginnings of a headache. All the thinking was making her already dazed head hurt. Why the hell did Lucas have to be so secretive?

"Damn insufferable grump…" she muttered under her breath.

"Thinking about me?"

Maya sat up with a start, pounding in her head be damned, because she hadn't even realized Lucas walked into the room in the first place.

"What the hell are you doing in this room?" Maya hissed, crossing her legs uncomfortably, because she literally had on no underclothes and the old man's night shirt was not particularly covering her legs as well as it should. It was the first time in her life she had ever felt self-conscious about being inappropriate, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Lila told me to hide out in here until their guests have left. I think those are Jed's men downstairs."

He closed the door and stepped further into the room, and Maya stiffened because Lucas was still a little wet from the bath he had just finished. Water was dripping methodically down from his hair, trailing beads of water down his chest. He had his shirt only partially buttoned, his torso open to her sight, and she held her breath. Aside from the fact that his body was completely toned, he had an unbelievable amount of scars and scratches aligning and marring his skin that she hadn't noticed before. Across his abdomen were two jagged scars that looked like stab wounds.

And she knew her face was heating up. In her life time, despite the fact that she secretly carried herself as a boy the majority of the time, she had never really seen a male body. Sure, there had been that accidental occurrence when she had been trying to save Billy and Lucas, but aside from that, never.

And suddenly, her mind was filled again with the image of Lucas tied to that tree and the trail of soft hairs leading down to his… Her gaze almost lowered to his trousers, but she stopped herself, admonishing her lack of self-control and the stupid drugs making her judgement cloudy.

Maya liked to pride herself on her complete disinterest in any of the male species in her town, but she realized that wasn't quite right. She hadn't had any particular interest in the idiots and assholes and fuckers because none of them excited her or challenged her.

Until now.

And she suddenly understood what Topanga had tried to explain to her all those years back when she had become a woman about desire and the effect it had on the female body.

You may not feel anything now Maya, because you're not interested in anyone, but when it happens, you'll know.

Maya had blown off her cryptic words because she had been so sure it would never happen. The boys in her town all revolved around the word dumbass. But that had been years ago. Before this fucking mess. Before being acquainted with Lucas Friar.

Fuck…

She met Lucas' gaze, and he was watching her calmly, his expression difficult to read.

"Do you mind?" she snapped, feeling apprehensive about the way his eyes were clinging to her form. What the hell was going through his mind?

"It's nice to see you awake." he ignored her words, his eyes dancing in the light. "For a while there, it seemed like you were going to die."

"Yeah, well I didn't." she said sharply, checking her injured hand just to give her something to do to avoid his unrelenting gaze.

"How's your leg?"

"It's fine."

"You're a terrible liar, Maya."

Before she could respond, Lucas walked over and stooped in front of her, gently uncrossing her legs and carefully peeling off the bandage to inspect the wound. The action was so tender that her face erupted in colour once again, her heart near flipping out of its cage. She jolted in her seat, itching to pull her leg away from his cautious prodding and fingers trailing down the skin of her leg.

Why was she so hyper aware of everything?!

"Does it hurt?" he asked in concern, looking up at her from the ground.

She didn't respond, steadily holding his emerald gaze. Why did he have to be so difficult to understand? One second, he was a raging lunatic who wanted nothing more than to kill the mayor, the next second, a real annoying little shit, and then the next, this compassionate human being who dropped everything just to care for her, regardless of how badly it would affect him. They barely knew each other, yet within the time they'd spent together, he had easily become someone she had unrelenting trust in. And she hated it.

"What's wrong?"

"You saved my life." Maya finally said, quietly. "You should have left me behind. You should have finished up the plan. But you chose to save me instead."

Lucas replaced the bandage and set her leg back carefully against the footboard before standing up, his expression a little subdued. He was staring at the wall on the other side with narrowed eyes.

"I knew he was going to kill you. And I couldn't let you die."

His eyes went back to hers, his gaze warm and lacking any of the harsh edge she had come to associate with his thoughts of Jed.

"There was no choice to make."

She stared up at him in slight shock as he silently regarded her, her heart hammering in her chest.

All this time she'd been mistaking this feeling of being nervous around Lucas, thinking it was disgust. But it was desire. And she understood it now perfectly. Why she had always hated his gaze on her and the way it felt like he could see right through her. Why she had liked his kiss so much. Why his face would never leave her mind. Why she had used his image when she had tried to seduce Jed.

Because she was attracted to him. Extremely attracted.

"A-are you stupid?" Maya said, "Why would you risk your life for that?"

Though he said nothing, Maya's stomach clenched when his eyes flared with something dark and carnal. She felt chills run down her back.

Maybe she was delusional or a little messed up, but she wanted him. She wanted to take this crazy big leap and hope that he would catch her. How the hell was she supposed to resist when the depth of his hooded gaze held sensual promise?

Swallowing thickly and holding his gaze, Maya slowly stood up, right in front of him with her expression resolute. He didn't back away, watching her, the heat in his eyes sending a jolt of expectant pleasure through her body.

She knew there were consequences to this. She was supposed to remain completely chaste until she married. She wasn't supposed to bed anyone until she had wed. And she certainly wasn't supposed to bed an outlaw and criminal in society. But in that moment, she couldn't care less.

Hell, she could make her own decisions about her life and it wasn't like she was ever planning on getting married. So what the hell did it matter if she wasn't "pure"? She'd never cared for conventional norms of society anyway.

Maya stood up on her tip toes, ignoring the sharp protest from her leg and kissed his neck, right near the underside of his jaw. Then she kissed the edge of his jaw. Then the corner of his mouth. And then she backed away, her gaze flickering up to his. Lucas was scowling, teeth clenched and sea-foam eyes swirling with so many emotions she wasn't sure whether to be afraid or thrilled.

"What are you doing?" he ground out slowly.

She responded by chewing on her lower lip and taking hold of the waistband of his pants, an eyebrow slightly raised and her expression serious. His eyes narrowed almost immediately, and he stopped her hand abruptly.

"Don't start something you don't intend to finish…" he said, eyes glinting dangerously.

Maya felt excitement course through her veins and removed his hand. She rose up on her toes once again, her gaze trained on his lips. She paused, their lips barely touching, and locked her gaze on his, her heart skipping. And she waited.

With a low growl, Lucas closed the gap between them, his hands sliding around her waist and crushing her to him. She looped her arm around his neck, pressing herself as closely as she could and accepting his scorching, aggressive kisses, each one stealing her breath away and making her vision dance. She didn't care that her shirt had ridden up. She didn't care that she was being highly inappropriate or that her right hand was stinging or that her leg was shaking with effort. They kissed almost feverishly, intense and fiery, and Maya gasped into his mouth when his hands slid down, and she could feel his fingers on the naked skin of her ass.

She didn't know who lost their balance first, but they wound up sprawled on the soft mattress, and Maya groaned long and low as his hands crawled under the shirt, caressing her with feather light touches. He sucked on the skin of her neck, soothing each of his bites with his hot tongue. Her mind was racing and she could feel the hard planes of his body pressed against her, and it was more than anything she had ever experienced. Her heart felt like it was about to stop beating. Her body was on fire. It was like her body had spontaneously combusted from all the sensations. It felt so much better than what she had experienced with Jed.

"Lucas…" she moaned, surprised by the wanton tone her voice had taken.

Lucas responded by bringing his lips to hers again, hot and heavy, his hand trailing down her leg and teasing the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh. Maya squirmed as he started running his mouth lower, down her neck, past her ribcage, over her belly button and down past the gentle coils of blonde hairs to the space between her legs. He glanced at her mischievously before dipping his head down and kissing the bundle of nerves between her legs.

Maya sucked in a sharp breath, body flushing and eyes fluttering shut as he sucked on her folds, flicking his tongue out and teasing the sensitive flesh. Her breathing harshened, her hips arching as he worked her, sensually suckling her clit.

He held her hips steady as he swirled his tongue languidly over her slit, slowly dipping inside and gently nipping her sex. Her moans grew louder, flashes of ecstasy washing over her as her insides clenched with the increasing pressure. A fire pooled low in her abdomen, sending waves after wave of pleasure through her core.

"Oh god…" she whimpered breathlessly, clawing her hand into his still damp hair from the overwhelming sensation.

He was unrelenting and continued his slow, torturous strokes. The tension expanded and spread to her other limbs as she skirted dangerously close to something profound and heavy growing at her core. What the hell was happening to her?

The tightness grew and grew and grew until her body felt like it couldn't handle anymore. Lucas pushed a single digit inside of her, curling his finger and pressing a spot that made Maya see lights behind her eyes. And then a bone shattering jolt of electricity coursed through her body like white hot lightning, scorching everything in its path. She let out a strangled noise through her mouth as release left her body, her legs trembling uncontrollably as Lucas slowly lapped at her. Shockwaves of dizzying pleasure rippled through her body, rendering her quivering body immobile as she gasped for air.

Eyes shining mischievously, Lucas licked his lips and crawled over her, lowering himself on top of her and capturing her lips before she could catch her breath. She could taste herself on his lips and groaned when he pulled her hips up, and she briefly made contact with his groin. And the pulsing, agonizing heat from the hard bulge in his pants. Maya ground herself against him, but Lucas broke the kiss, pulling away abruptly, his gaze darkened and teeth grit to control himself.

"Tell me to stop." He growled hotly, the green in his irises molten and burning her as he watched her, "Tell me you don't want this. Or I'm going to kiss you and this time, I might not be able to stop."

Maya said nothing, just wound her hand behind his neck and into his hair to bring him back to her lips. She knew whatever happened next would change things forever, but she had no reservations. She had infinite trust in him and couldn't think of anyone else she wanted to be with at the moment. She vaguely wondered how her family would react to her losing her innocence in the guest bedroom of a town house while hiding out from capture, but she was roused back to reality when she heard the sound of a zipper. Lucas tugged his pants down and then grasped her hips, positioning himself at her entrance. She could feel the heat from his erection and chewed the inside of her lip, feeling slight trepidation.

He gazed at her apologetically. "It's going to hurt, Maya."

"I know." She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. "Just… go."

Without another word, he sank deep into her, and Maya inhaled sharply, wincing at the stinging pinch as he filled her. Her breathing harshened and she dug her fingers into his shoulder as he continued to stretch her, her walls expanding painfully, clenching and unclenching around the intrusion. Lucas waited, rubbing soothing circles against her skin and kissing her softly, murmuring quietly that it would be okay.

She took a deep breath, trying to adjust to him. It was strange, this feeling of being whole. Of being completed. But not strange in any bad way.

The pain subsided after a few moments and Maya's eyes fluttered open, meeting Lucas' concerned gaze. There was a slight change in the feeling—a subtle, but growing wonderful feeling—and she gave an experimental upward roll of her hips. Lucas breathed out harshly against her neck when the action caused him to slide further into her, and then finally moved in her.

Maya's breath hitched as something else increased and overtook the pain. Something really intense and fiery, building up with each of Lucas' thrusts. She felt pangs of pleasure so strong it sent heat flaring through her entire body. The feeling of euphoria swelled and spread as he moved in and out of her and Maya released a long, low moan, splaying her hands on Lucas' back. And she loved it; the friction of his hardness inside her.

Her eyes met his heady emerald gaze, and he kissed her, long and deep and so mind-numbing that her toes curled and she gasped for breath. Her entire body was burning, overheated and flushed from the terrifying feeling building up, not just in her abdomen, but also in her chest.

Her heart lurched and she clung to him with soft cry, wrapping her legs around his waist and relishing in the unimaginable bliss coursing through her veins. She was drowning. Drowning in pleasure, drowning in his darkened gaze, drowning in his soft growls, drowning in the feel of his warm body rocking against hers.

She didn't know what this was, these all-encompassing feelings of warmth, but she knew she never wanted them to end.