Bass felt Charlie move over him and smiled inwardly. He knew when a woman was trying to sneak off without letting him know. Should he let her? Her hair whispered over his bare chest, and he felt the curve of her ass slip in his hand, probably accidentally, but it caused his dick to harden all the same. He pretended to still be asleep and pulled her tighter against him, lightly thrusting against her lower belly. She laid still for a few moments, her head on his chest, her ass in his hand. Part of her leg moved against his crotch and the game he had been playing with her suddenly became all too real.

His fingers curled putting them in a much closer vicinity to her suddenly wet warmth. Her breath hitched, coming in much shallower than before. His hips involuntarily surged lightly against her leg and at the same time he dipped his hand lower, slowly skimming his fingers up and down her slick, wet heat.

She seemed to be really trying hard not to make a sound and he wondered if she could actually come that way. How far should he take it? The thought was fun, but unfortunately he was impatient. Or rather Bass, Jr. was. He drew her close to him and kissed her shoulder.

"Monroe-"

"Call me Bass." He pushed her very gently onto her back and moved on top of her, quickly undoing his pants and pulling them down just far enough to so that he could access her.

"Monroe, we can't-"

He pressed against her entrance, eliciting a gasp.

"I'm still sore from last night."

He smiled. "Good." Then he glanced down. "Charlie, I can feel you. You're so wet right now-it won't hurt."

She colored slightly at his blunt choice of words. It did hurt, but the slow rubbing against her also felt so good that she didn't care. It took some time for him to enter without causing her distress, but eventually he did.

"Shit, Charlie," he gasped into her neck. "You're so tight."

"Go slow," she gritted out, spreading her legs wider to alleviate some of the discomfort. He nodded and slowly moved inside her, letting her adjust to the intrusion.

But eventually the pain mixed with pleasure and disappeared completely. He still took it slow, holding her knees apart and taking great interest in watching himself move in and out of her. She watched his face, watched every time he bit his lip, or inhaled through his nose when he was trying to maintain control. Always control with this one, she thought.

She clenched hard around him as he went to withdraw and he sucked in a breath, icy blue eyes snapping to hers. A spasm of pleasure crossed his face and that was all it took for him to hook a leg over his shoulder and fuck her for all she was worth. He came hard and fast, gasping out a hoarse moan that tightened her lower belly. Then he pulled out, collapsing next to her on the blankets.

She was surprised when his fingers slipped between her legs and started circling her sensitive flesh. "What are you doing?"

"You didn't come yet," he mumbled against her neck, still drugged from the ecstasy he was coming down from.

"I don't think I can right now. It's fine."

He kissed her shoulder and she shivered. His voice dropped. "You don't think you can? Well, I just don't believe that." His finger lightly slid back and forth over her clit until she was panting. "Don't you love it? Making me want you so bad? Until I can't even see straight?"

She rolled onto her back and flung an arm above her head. "Don't stop," she breathed.

"I won't. I can't stop, Charlie." He bent down and kissed her nipple, taking it into his mouth and sucking gently. Her breath came faster. One hand wrapped around the back of his head, threading her fingers through his hair and pressing him closer to her.

His hand moved faster between her legs and she arched her back. "Yes," she moaned. "Monroe, faster."

His mouth popped off her nipple and he looked at her darkly. "Call me, Bass." When she merely moaned again, he deliberately slowed his pace until her eyes opened in frustration. "Say it and you can come."

She slid her hand down over his and tried to make it move, but he just stopped completely. "Alright, Bass," she half-snapped, half-moaned. Pleased, he resumed his pace and brought her closer than she'd been before. "Almost," she gasped out, arching her back again.

He dipped his head once more to envelope her nipple and worked between her legs furiously. Just as she came, he kissed her, swallowing her cries of pleasure until his hand was soaked and her tremors subsided.

A few minutes later, he moved away from her and dug around his pack for a clean shirt, pulling it over his head and tidying himself to go outside. Before he left, he looked back at her. "Charlie, you should get dressed. Just in case." He was pretty sure that by now someone was out looking for them.

She nodded, sleepily, and he shook his head. Charlie never obeyed. He pulled the barn door closed behind him and started walking toward the river to fill the canteen.

"Bass?"

He stopped up short and looked to his left. "Miles?" He really hoped the sudden all-consuming fear he felt inside hadn't translated to his face. "Miles!" he shouted, jogging toward him, a nervous laugh escaping. "Where've you been? I thought you'd find us hours ago." He made sure to pitch his voice loud enough so that Charlie was sure to hear it.

Miles stopped up short in front of him, a sour expression on his face. "I ran into some trouble. Nothing I couldn't handle. Where's Charlie?"

Bass wiped his suddenly dry mouth and flung an arm backwards toward the barn. "I left to give her some privacy. I think she's changing or something." There. That was good. An explanation for if Miles walked in Charlie naked. It had nothing to do with him. She was changing.

Into his shirt and underwear.

He'd deal with that later.

"What happened?"

"Charlie got a fever. She couldn't walk anymore so I sent the guys ahead to find the dam and I stayed with her. Found us shelter. Her fever broke yesterday morning but she was still too weak to leave." Miles nodded absently. Bass' eyes sharpened on his friend's face. Something was off. "What's wrong?"

Miles glanced at him and there was a sudden fleeting look of vulnerability in his expression that made Bass take a step closer in concern. Miles opened his mouth, hesitated, and then closed it again. He straightened up. "Nothing. I'm gonna check on Charlie."

"Okay, I'm going to the river to fill the canteen. I'll be back soon." Bass continued on toward the river feeling Miles' eyes on him for few moments. When he dared to look back, Miles was almost to the barn door and he exhaled in shaky relief, wiping his forehead free of the sudden icy sweat that had formed the instant he'd lain eyes on his old friend.

He wasn't the least bit unmanned by the fact that Miles made him want to piss himself sometimes. Miles was a scary bastard and the fact that he'd already tried to kill him numerous times made Bass even more nervous about enraging him.

Like screwing his niece multiple times, he thought, sidestepping a rock on his way down the embankment to the river. Or if he ever found out about his night with Rachel in Philly. Bass shuddered. He was really counting on Rachel keeping her crazy mouth shut about that one.

XXXXX

When Monroe had called out Miles' name, Charlie's eyes flew open in alarm. She sat straight up, naked as a jaybird and peered through a crack between the wooden planks in the wall. Yes, there as plain as day was Miles speaking to him just about thirty feet away.

She threw on her T-shirt and boxers and frantically looked around the stall for any sign she'd just had mindblowing sex with his frenemy. Twice. The whiskey bottle. She tossed it over by Monroe's bag and then straightened up the bed area.

"Charlie, you in there?"

"Yeah," she called out, hoping her nerves didn't show in her voice.

Miles slowly opened the barn door and peered inside. She smiled in relief, still glad to see him even though she was scared he'd take one look at her face and just know.

He walked over and she met him with a tight hug. There was a moment of weird tension about him when he didn't hug her back right away. Just as she was about to pull away and ask him about it, his arms came around her squeezing tight.

She tried not to wince so he wouldn't let go. "Sorry if I worried you guys. I barely remember how I got here. Is mom with you?"

She felt him shake his head against the top of hers. Finally, he let go and backed away. "No, she stayed behind. I told her she needed to get everyone settled. Those damn cadets are useless."

Charlie smiled at her uncle's familiar gruff exterior. She knew who he really was on the inside. "Well, I'm sure you'll whip them into shape in no time."

He made a face and then eyed her attire critically. "What the hell are you wearing?"

She glanced over at the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. "Mine were all disgusting after my fever broke. I washed up and didn't have anything else so I borrowed some of these."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "From Bass?"

"I didn't have anything else," she snapped. "Believe me, walking around in an oversize shirt and boxers looking like I'm twelve is not my idea of high fashion. Especially, coming from him."

Miles squinted a bit at her and suddenly she felt like she was under one of those microscopes her mom was always talking about. "He's seemed to take an interest in your welfare lately. What's up with that?"

"Oh, did you want him to leave me with strangers from a war clan? I'm sure I'd be real safe." Miles rolled his eyes. "And then I'd die, and you'd kill Monroe for leaving me behind."

"Alright, alright, you made your point. I told your mom it was crazy," he muttered.

"My mom? What's crazy?"

He shook his head and waved her off. "Nothing. It's nothing. I've gotta sit down. I've been on my feet for two days straight. Is there any whiskey?"

Charlie feigned ignorance. "I think I saw Monroe drinking some last night over there." She pointed to the far side of the horse stall as if it was incredibly far away and not just a few feet.

"Thank God." Miles walked over and bent down to get the bottle.

"If you want to get some sleep, I'm going to go to the river and wash out my clothes. I can't wait to get to camp and have all my stuff again."

Miles sat down heavily on the horse blanket and Charlie tried hard not to feel guilty that he was planting his ass right where they'd just… ugh. "Be quick. It's not safe out there. I ran into a couple Patriots on my way here."

She nodded and bent over to pull on her boots. Then she grabbed her gun that had been stowed in the corner all this time and slung it over her shoulder, exiting the barn quicker than she'd ever left a place before.

The sunlight felt good on her skin. Bass was just coming out of the treeling when she met him on her way. Her face must've shown her anxiety because he laughed and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I almost pissed myself when I heard my name. What are you doing?"

She looked down at the bundle in her hands. "Washing these so I can get dressed. We'll have to go soon. It's already been too long."

He nodded and did an about face, striding alongside her. "There's no way you're going to river alone. I'll stand guard."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"It's called being smart. I didn't just save your life so that some bandits could come along and rape and murder you. Now let's go."

"Are you ever going to let it go about saving my life?"

"Absolutely not."

Charlie sighed and started walking down the embankment. She was still a little weak and had to hold onto the trees for support. Bass tried to give her his arm, but she ignored it.

"Oh, I see. So it's business as usual now that Miles is around?"

She glared at him and glanced backwards toward the barn as if Miles had superhuman hearing. "Keep your voice down."

Bass rolled his eyes. "He can't hear, Charlie. Don't get paranoid."

She paused, and then smiled. "You know how I knew he was coming earlier?"

"How?"

"Your voice was so high-pitched and terrified that it carried all the way to the barn and through the walls."

Bass scoffed. "I was not terrified. I was talking loudly on purpose so you'd hear."

"I mean, it was really loud. I thought the Patriots had found you."

"I'm not scared of Miles or the Patriots."

She couldn't contain her laughter as they neared the river. She dumped her clothes on the bank and knelt down. "If you say so."

"We're grown adults. What we do is our business."

"Tell that to my mom," she muttered. "And by the way, there is no more 'what we do'. It was a couple moments of insanity, and that's it." She plunged her underwear and bra into the river first since they were the closest to her skin and probably the filthiest.

"Yeah? You're probably right. We should stop while we're ahead. I mean, if you can."

She turned around and looked at him incredulously. "If I can? You're the one who started it."

He laughed hard, right at her. "Me? Who kissed who first?"

She reddened and turned back to her work. "I thought I might die. You were there. That's it."

"We're always gonna be on the verge of death, Charlie. By that logic, we'll be banging all the time."

"Shut up," she hissed. The last thing she wanted to do was actually talk about what they'd done less than an hour ago. Her shaking hands tried hard to scrub out the sweat and dirt from her bra and then she started on her pants.

"I'm sorry. I won't tease you anymore. I know…"

He drifted off and against her better judgement she finally turned back to look at him. He wore a serious expression on his face now and seemed somewhat subdued. "You know what?"

He glanced up at her. Finally, he sighed. "You were crying last night."

Her face burned at the knowledge that he'd caught her. She turned away and kept scrubbing at her pants.

"Is it … about the kid? Jason?"

Her eyes filled, unbidden, but she didn't answer him.

"Did Miles ever tell you about my wife?"

Now that got her attention. Her hands stilled.

"Her name was Shelley. We met, oh, about ten years ago? Twelve? She was… well, better than I deserved, that's for sure. When she told me she was pregnant, I was actually happy."

Charlie was shocked. She'd never known any of this. Miles had never said.

"Something went wrong towards the end and she died. The baby, too. It was a girl. The doctor said if only there was a working hospital, lights, machines… the shit everyone used to take for granted just a few years earlier she wouldn't have died."

Charlie bit her lower lip.

"I've never stopped blaming myself for her death, and I probably never will."

"It wasn't your fault," Charlie said after awhile.

"Doesn't matter."

"Yeah," she said, faintly. She knew just as much as everyone else about carrying unwarranted guilt. She went back to scrubbing for a moment and then stopped again. A frustrated sigh escaped her and she bent her head. "Jason." She willed herself not to cry and breathed through her nose. "Before, when we were together, there were moments. Just a few." She stared up across the river, not really seeing it. "Moments that really get you through one terrible day to the next. Sometimes I'd allow myself to envision a future…" She plunged the pants into the river to rinse the soap off. "I guess last night…" She drifted off and then shook herself from her reverie. She started wringing out the water from the clothes and then turned to face Monroe. He was watching her with far too much interest, as if everything hanged on what she said next. "It doesn't matter."

As she started past him, he stood up and blocked her way. "What about last night?"

"Nothing." She tried to move past him again but he blocked her once more. "What is your problem?"

Monroe looked down at her, his face unreadable. "I just wanna know, what happened last night? Tell me and I'll leave you alone, I swear."

Charlie glared at him. "Does the concept of personal space mean anything to you? I don't have to tell you anything."

Almost without meaning to, he asked, "Please?"

She paused.

"Please, Charlie?" he asked quietly, piercing her with his stare.

Her mouth went dry. "It's nothing." He wouldn't move. Fine. To get him to leave her alone, she tried to answer. "Last night… laying there… it made me think of him. He was my first … boyfriend, I guess. If that's what you want to call it. I'd only ever done that with him."

Monroe's brow creased. "Sex?"

Her face flamed red. "No, not that. Sleeping. Like that. I only did that with Jason. And it just made me remember… and then I was sad for a minute. It's not a big deal. In Austin, I thought that maybe…" She stared off into the trees, seeing Jason's face again. So desperate to change and make right what was done to him. She squared her shoulders and looked at Monroe with a stony expression. "But then I put a bullet in his chest and that was that. Happy?"

Monroe looked down for a minute at the ground, shifting his stance. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged and once again went to move past him, but he spoke again.

"I mean, I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

She was confused and it showed.

"You asked me once why I was making such a big deal about you and Connor being together. I wasn't very … flattering in my response and I'm sorry about it now."

She pushed her hair back behind an ear and shrugged a shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Monroe. It really doesn't matter now."

This time he let her go.

XXXXX

Bass let her keep a distance between them on the way back. There were too many emotions flying around he needed a breather. Thinking about Shelley made the old familiar pain flare up in his chest once more and it was a struggle not to spiral down into murderous anger. And hearing her speak about the Neville kid, the depth of her feelings for him still, made him sad for her, but also jealous. And weirdly, there was an elated part of him that realized Charlie had connected sleeping with him, in his arms, with memories of someone she'd loved before.

His mouth lifted in a half-smile. It had been such a good idea to seduce her last night. He hadn't felt right ever since their first encounter. Somehow she'd gotten the upper hand with him, and it made him feel a little out of control. Last night, and then again this morning, he'd gained his control back and completely owned her, every inch of her body had been his to do with whatever he wanted.

Except when she'd slid on top of him. Then he'd felt something old, something almost foreign to him now. He'd wanted to kiss her, hold her, feel her skin against his. He'd wanted that contact. God, just remembering how she looked when he was inside her and she was moving on top of him was enough to make him go instantly hard.

Fuck. Think of old ladies. Think of Neville. Think of anything else before you get back to the barn.

Arriving back at the barn with Charlie and a boner… He almost laughed at the thought of how quickly he'd die.