Bounty

I shivered.

And got more cocky and hot.

He bent deep, touched his mouth to mine and when he moved back, it was only half an inch.

“I gotta get to work. Go back to sleep, baby.”

“Okay, Deke.”

He went in for another kiss and I forced my body to use the small amount of energy it had left after being torn asunder through two massive orgasms (and a final one that was no slouch) to cup his bristly cheek.

He got my message and that kiss was not a touch. It went deeper and lasted longer.

He ended it lifting up and kissing my temple then pulling away at the same time tugging the sheets up to my shoulder.

I watched him walk back to the bathroom.

Deke was halfway there when my eyelids fluttered closed.

They didn’t open.

* * * * *

Showered, dressed, phone in one hand, mug of coffee in the other, I walked out to the great room and found Bubba there working with Deke. Bubba was checking the plastic that had already been taped at the edges of the windows in preparation for priming. Deke was working on some equipment, getting ready to spray the paint.

“Hey, Bub, how’re your two girls?” I asked.

“You’re gonna see,” Bubba answered, grinning huge at me. “Krys texted. Said you and Laurie are coming for a visit.”

“Yup,” I replied, this whole conversation happening as I made my way straight to Deke. I stopped close and tipped my head way back as he dipped his chin way down. “News that’s not news, Lauren called while I was getting dressed. We’re paying a visit to Krys. And she’s letting me borrow her Crock-Pot.”

His brows went up. “Crock-Pot?”

“You down with me going to the trailer after my visit with Krys and putting dinner in to slow cook for us tonight?”

He dug in his pocket, asking, “What’s for dinner?”

“Steph’s chicken.”

“Who’s Steph?”

“Some unknown, faceless but undeniably brilliant woman who came up with a killer Crock-Pot recipe for chicken.”

Deke chuckled, taking a key off his chain and handing it to me, muttering, “Remind me tonight, Jussy. Get you a spare.”

I went solid.

Deke shoved his keychain minus a key back into his pocket.

My eyes slid to Bubba.

He was still grinning huge but I had a feeling it was for a different reason because he was doing it staring at Deke.

“Want you texting me when you get to Krys’s,” Deke ordered and I looked back to him.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“And when you leave.”

“Right.”

“And when you get to the trailer.”

I stood there silent.

“And when you’re on your way back here,” Deke went on. “With sandwiches,” he kept going. “Roast beef,” he kept at it. “And Swiss,” he finished.

“Uh…” I began, heard Bubba make a weird noise, looked to him, saw him widen his eyes to me, and I got it.

Bubba was a mountain man. Deke was a mountain man. Hence Bubba knew what Deke was doing. And what Bubba was communicating was that I should keep my mouth shut and text Deke incessantly so he didn’t worry (even if there wasn’t anything to worry about, it was still the first time I went out on my own after being strangled, the operative part of that was me being strangled).

I gave Bubba wide eyes back and looked up at Deke.

He still was eyes to me.

“You do know none of that between you and Bub was lost on me since I’m standin’ right here,” he noted.

“Um…”

“And you made a good call,” he continued. “No sass.”

I felt my eyes narrow.

“Don’t start,” he grunted. “Just text.”

Before I could say anything, his gaze went beyond me toward the front door.

That was when I heard a car approaching.

I looked over my shoulder at the door but Bubba started moving, muttering, “I’ll go see who it is.”

Bubba lumbered away and I turned back to Deke.

“Key to your trailer?” I whispered.

He grinned down at me and I felt that grin everywhere.

“I like you,” he whispered back.

Suddenly, I wanted to start crying.

Instead, I smiled so huge, it even blinded me.

Deke lifted a hand and captured a long tendril of my hair, twirling it around his forefinger.

He also bent his neck so his face was closer.

“We gotta talk tonight, Jussy.”

That didn’t sound good.

“Can’t we just have amazing orgasms, banter, your cocky, my sassy and Steph’s chicken?” I asked.

“We’ll have all that too.”

At least that was promising.

“Deke—”

“None of it’ll be bad, baby,” he said gently. “You think, what we found, it could be bad?”

I didn’t think that.

But I wasn’t the one who’d established boundaries blown through after assault, strangulation, a week of closeness, all this leading to amazing orgasms.

“Well…” I started.

“Jussy,” Bubba called and I felt the pull on my hair, hair Deke didn’t let go, when I twisted to look at the door.

Bubba was plodding back toward us and Mr. T was standing inside the closed door.

“Hey, Mr. T,” I called.

“Justice,” he called back, and even across the large space that was my great room, I saw he had attention keenly focused not just on me, but on me with Deke.

Deke gave a soft tug at my hair before letting it go.

I shot him a grin before I took off toward Mr. T.