Word count; 3109 (ex notes)

Notes at the bottom

CHAPTER 5:

It was nearing sundown. They had been traveling all day and Charlie was completely exhausted. Her back was aching and her butt was sore from the hours spent sitting on the hard, wooden bench. She wished she had a pillow of some kind, maybe tomorrow she'd place her sleeping bag on the bench before sitting down, at least that was softer than the unforgiving wood. Next to her Monroe silently steered the horse down the road. The men in the back of the wagon equally silent, Mark and Connor even fast asleep, though how they managed that in the uncomfortable wagon, Charlie had no idea.

That morning she'd woken up after a night of amazingly good sleep. It had been a while since she'd gotten that and she'd felt amazing. To her surprise there were two blankets draped over her but what had surprised her most was the fact that she wasn't surprised at all when she'd found that the extra sleeping bag belonged to Monroe. When her eyes had drifted in his direction however he had been busy doing something to the fire, what, she wasn't really sure. She had a suspicion that he was just busying himself to keep her at bay, why he felt the need to do that she didn't know.

She had been slightly annoyed that he'd insisted she'd take Pete with her to the river, not like Pete wasn't over protective enough already. But since they would be moving away from the river this might be her last chance for a bath in a while so she decided not to argue with him and just let Pete escort her down to the river. When they'd gotten back, Pete wanting to take a bath as well so it had taken a bit longer, she noticed Monroe's hair was also damp, curls sticking against his forehead and the back of his neck.

She shook on the bench when the wagon went through a pothole in the road. She wondered what it would feel like to run his hair through her hands. Stealing a glance at the man next to her. Really, no former dictator should have such ridiculously adorable, sexy hair. When he'd just washed it it seemed a little lighter than normal, a little softer and cute. But after a few days of traveling it became a little darker, more tangled and that's when she fantasized burying her hands in his hair. It just looked so sexy and so tempting and she had to fight the urge to sink her hands in his lock and give them a good pull, see what that'd feel like.

As soft as it looked now though, she just wanted to run her fingers through his hair, see if it felt as soft as it looked. She wondered if he'd like that, if he enjoyed it when a woman ran her hands through his hair. Though she figured he'd like his women a little more experienced, sure, she'd had encounters with men before but they all had been hurried up against some vertical surface. Quick, rough and dirty, the only purpose was to get off.

She wondered what Monroe would be like in bed. A few days ago this train of thought would have cause her to seriously doubt her sanity but now the dreams were almost standard. She was so used to them that she didn't even question her attraction to Monroe anymore. In her dreams he kissed her, licked her. In the forbidden depths of her subconscious he had covered her body with his, skin against hot skin and he'd repeatedly sank himself inside her. She wanted him. She wanted to know what he tasted like, what his kisses would be like. She wanted to know how those rough, calloused fingers would feel like on her bare skin. Her dreams were nice and very vivid but when she'd wake they would slowly slip from her mind leaving nothing but the faint thought of satisfaction.

The feel of previously mentioned fingers on her arm started her from her musing. Not really what she had in mind but she would take anything she could get. "I'm pulling over for the night. We should get some rest, tomorrow afternoon we'll be in Willoughby." A part of her was disappointed that they were already almost there. She knew they needed to get the men to her uncle but she also knew that being around her uncle and mother made it more difficult to be around Monroe. They would be watching her every move and if she were friendly, kind or anything of the likes towards Sebastian Monroe her mother and Miles would grow suspicious.

Everybody did their part in setting up the camp for the night. Charlie and Roger went out on a hunt, see if they could scrounge up some food in the surrounding area the preys Charlie had caught before all long gone with seven men and one woman who could eat like a man. Monroe and Connor tended to the horse and wagon and the rest busied themselves with making a fire and getting water for the entire camp. To her surprise and relief Monroe and Connor had fallen back into their easy banter, seemingly resolved the thing that had gotten between them in New Vegas, or just ignoring it completely, they were men after all.

Luckily Charlie and Roger found some rabbits they'd quickly shot, skinned and cleaned before taking them back to the rest. Skewering them on sticks over the fire and watching the orange flames as the meat cooked.

A container filled with water appeared in front of her face, a strong hand with long, lean fingers offered it to her, the red, still angry burned flesh of a lower arm right near her nose. She understood why he'd burned his tattoo off, it was to recognizable by anyone who had ever seen the Monroe Republic insignia but she felt sorry for him. It couldn't have been easy to do that, not just because of the pain but because it was his name, the name of his family that he had buried all those years ago. He still smelled good, even after a day of traveling. Woodsy, warm and male. "Thought you'd be thirsty." He sat down next to her as she took the container he offered.

"Thanks" She said after taking a few large gulps "I was." He sat down next to her, the bare skin on their forearms touching. "You keep doing that." His blue eyes confused at her words "Offering you water?" He asked. Charlie smiled and shook her head "Putting me in a position where I should thank you. Saving me, the water... Last night, the extra sleeping bag." She saw his eyes dip down, a small smile on his lips. "Just... Doing what Miles and Rachel asked me too."

He got up and walked away, going to check on the cooking animals in the fire. Damn him. Was that all she was to him. First Miles' annoying niece who was hell bent on destroying his republic and now Miles' annoying niece that needed to be taken care of and protected. Of course she knew he was the same age as Miles and yes, that meant he was literally old enough to be her father but she'd hoped he'd see her as more than just a kid.

It was weird to think about it. Mere months, weeks ago, even she'd been hell bent on killing him, on taking him out. How the hell did that turn into wanting his respect, his approval. She wanted him to want her back. She wanted him to wonder what it would feel like if she'd tangled her fingers in his hair, she wanted him to fantasize about putting his hand in her hair, his lips on hers. It seemed though, that he was just taking care of his best friends little niece. Maybe his brotherly love and need for Miles would keep him from ever seeing her as something else. She didn't want him to profess his undying love to her, just his desire. She wondered what those blue eyes would look like, hazed over with lust and need instead of anger and loathing. Charlie watched him as he bent over to poke the fire and she couldn't help a little groan from escaping. The man had a phenomenal ass, not that she spent an enormous amount of time checking out men's asses but his... yeah, his was definitely a winner.

"What was that, Charlotte?" His voice caused her head to snap up and she fought a blush as he'd obviously heard her groan. "Nothing, sore muscle, that's all" She thought she handled that one pretty well. She always rolled her eyes at him when he called her 'Charlotte' but secretly she liked it when he did that. It was ... Intimate. Recently he'd taken up calling her 'Charlie' as well and she found that even though it was nice to hear her nickname spilling across his lips it was her full name that sent shivers down her spine. She wanted to know if he would have the same reaction to her if she were to call him by his full name but he'd been 'Monroe' for so long and 'Bass' or 'Sebastian' just sounded so familial.

"Well, then. Let's go stretch those muscles. Let's go scout the surrounding area." He pulled her up by her arm. "It needs to be done, and right now we're the only ones not doing anything useful." She looked around the camp and noticed he was right, all the other guys were busying themselves with setting up for the night. Not like he had to tell her twice though, stretching her legs on a walk sounded pretty damn good to her. Her muscles were sore and stiff and it took a minute for them to loosen up once more before she could walk comfortably.

Monroe was always very specific on how he scouted the area, he zigzagged through the trees, silent and focused and Charlie followed him without question. The man had lead a Militia, she was pretty sure he knew what the hell he was doing. They'd been walking for about half an hour now and Charlie was pretty sure the area was safe. Suddenly the man in front of her stopped and she nearly slammed against his back, just barely stopping before she'd actually did. "What the hell, Monr..." But her question was cut short as Monroe, in one swift movement swung her around and pressed her into the embrace of a hollowed out tree. His body slamming into hers as he placed his hand across her mouth to keep her from making any noise.

She was about to bite his hand and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing when she heard it. It was faint and it was a little while away from them but it was there. The sound of boots hitting the ground, several in fact. She froze on the spot, all her muscles tense and her ears trained on any suspicious sounds in their immediate vacinity. Thankfully it seemed that the group wasn't using scouts to recon the area because she only heard the group, no other footprints on hardened ground.

Charlie nodded, her eyes in understanding as she let Monroe know she'd keep quiet. Slowly he took his hand away from her mouth and pressed in a little closer. Both sides of the tree were wrapped around them but she figured he didn't want to take any risk of them being spotted. She had no idea who or what was out there but she trusted the former General enough to know that he would not be pushing her into tree trunks for sports. Although, on second thought you never knew with this man. Just when you thought you'd figured him out he took a right turn and left you stumped.

They listened as the group of people went by, luckily for them they seemed to be veering off to the left, which meant they were moving away from their camp in stead of towards it. That was a good thing because the last thing they needed was for their little group to be discovered or attacked.

As the threat of being discovered lessened Charlie couldn't help but focus on how close their bodies were. Monroe's hard chest was pressed against hers, his leg in between hers and his hands, one on her hip and the other resting next to her head against the dead wood of the tree. She felt her body light up, her stomach jumped and her skin felt like it was slowly catching fire. Her breathing became labored and erratic and she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. Her hands were resting against his Pecs, their hips touching, pressed together in the tight space he'd pushed them in. Charlie could feel the pool of heat starting to concentrate between her legs and hear her heart beating in her head. Pure insanity, the reaction her body had on this man.

Footsteps were coming closer and she felt his body tense against hers. His blue eyes stared into hers, silently urging her to be as still and quiet as humanly possible. She didn't make a sound but to her own ears her breathing and heartbeat were deafening and she was sure they were going to be found out. Charlie's hands were now clutching his shirt, she hadn't even noticed that her fingers had curled against his chest but she was now holding on for dear life, though if it was because of the fear of being found out or because he was just so damn close, so damn warm and so damn manly... She did not even want to contemplate.

Once more she heard the footsteps fade away and she felt him relax ever so slowly. That was, until he finally noticed the close proximity of their bodies. Charlie felt the muscles in his arm tense up but he didn't move away. His eyes were glued to her, the blue even more vibrant then it usually was. "Charlotte?" She'd never heard his voice sound like that before. Raspy, low and rough, barely more than a whisper and her eyes were fixated on his mouth, the line of his lips and once more she couldn't help wonder what he tasted like.

Unbeknownst to her she had ever so lightly parted her mouth, her blue eyes were trained on his lips and with every heaving breath her chest pushed into his. Their stomachs touching and it was only because he was wearing a full length shirt that their naked skin wasn't touching because her shirt had ridden up several inches. She wished she was brave enough to pull his shirt over his head so she could feel his naked skin against hers. She noticed that his breathing was nearly as erratic as hers and she gasped softly when she felt his fingers squeeze her hips. For the length of a second she wished his hand was a little higher, was touching bare skin but then there was no more room for coherent thoughts.

Monroe's eyes narrowed, his tongue came out to wet his lips and he growled "God damn you, Charlotte." Before she could even think about asking what he meant he was leaning in closer. The brush of his lips against hers barely there, no more than a ghosts. Someone made a pathetically needy noise, low in their throat and it took her a moment to realize that it was her who'd made the noise. It seemed to have the desired effect on him though because he cursed her name again before forcefully taking her mouth with his.

Charlie gasped into his mouth and she didn't know if it was planned or if he was taking advantage of her parted lips but Monroe immediately slipped his hot, wet tongue into her her's, dancing around in the wet and hot cavity of her mouth in a slow but demanding manner. Her heart pounded in her chest as his other hand slipped down to her hips and grabbed on for what seemed like dear life. Large fingers were pressing bruises into her jean-covered hips as his lips and tongue did unspeakable things to her mouth. She couldn't control it any longer and she slipped her hands into his hair, clutching at the strands at the base of his skull as he kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

Another needy sound made it's way out of her throat and this time it was answered with a little growl from Monroe. Her fingers refused to move, grabbing fists full of that delicious feeling hair and pulling his head down to her. She pressed her breasts against him, reveling in the feel of his hard chest against her soft one. She was sure that when he would pull back there would be a damp spot on his jean covered thigh where her center had been. Never in her life had she been so aroused at a kiss. This was better than anything her mind had come up with in her dreams, the feel of him pressed so closely against her. His demanding hands and mouth setting her on fire.

"Bass" She gasped his name against his lips and tugged insistently on the hair in the back of his neck. This turned out to be the one thing she shouldn't have done. It was like someone threw a bucket of ice-cold water on him. All of a sudden he was stepping back, his hands clenching and unclenching as he stared down at her, a look of horror in those beautiful eyes. "Fuck!" The word was harsh and loud in the silence of the woods. "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!" She watched him run a hand through his hair as he cursed out loud.

"I'm sorry." The apology was unnecessary and unwanted if you asked her, but there it was. "I'm sorry, I should not have done that. It was a mistake." She watched as he took several more steps back from her, missing his warmth instantly. "That should not have happened." Charlie wanted to disagree, wanted to argue. It should have happened, hell she wouldn't mind if it kept on happening, if it had never stopped but he was already turning around and making his way back to the camp. Not once did he turn around to see if she was following him and she was left standing there, hot, bothered, wet and fuming.

Author's notes;

Yes, finally a kiss! It was about damn time. I'm gonna probably continue with switching pov's each chapter if that's working for you guys so far. I just like showing both Bass' and Charlie's thoughts and I figured this was the easiest way to do that. My Charlie is a little different from TV Charlie, I felt they made TV Charlie too bad-ass too soon and I don't like it so my Charlie will be more like season 1 Charlie, though she'll have het kick-ass moments too :D

I wanna thank the people who left a review for their time and effort to do so. I always love reading them and finding out what you liked (or didn't like) about the story so if you have a spare minute, keep them coming ;p

Hope you enjoyed this chaper. More coming soon. Read, review, let me know what you're thinking so far! It's gonna be a pretty long fic btw because my Charlie and Bass have decided that they won't do PWP for this one, they want a full on romance novella. haha :D

Thanks for reading.

Love, Marisa