Bulletproof

Chapter 5 - A deal with the Devil

I groaned, the pain in my arms was too much, I screwed my eyes shut and let out a whimper.

"Tell me Jesse," Dutch demanded, once again.

"Mama's wedding band, I want it back," I groaned, "and..."

"Arthur," Dutch growled, "help me get her on the cot, then start looking for the damn wedding ring," he hissed.

"Jesse, tell me what else?" Dutch demanded.

I opened my eyes, "Strauss and Arthur," I groaned, "they have to stop,"

Dutch stared at me, "That's a big ask, Jesse. I might need something else in return."

I closed my eyes, right now I'd agree to anything to ease the fire in by arms.

"Pl... please," I begged, "my arms."

Dutch nodded. He started to unbutton my blouse, my arms hurt so much, I couldn't even move to stop him.

"No!" I screamed, "What the fuck are you doing!"

He stopped, and looked at me, "don't you trust me Jesse," he smirked.

"You sick fuck!" I Screamed, "you do anything and you can kiss your ruby goodbye."

He rolled his eyes, and carried on unbuttoning my shirt.

"Please don't!" I sobbed.

Dutch sighed, "just calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you," he whispered.

He dragged the shirt off my shoulder, and pulled it down my arms, so it pooled at my wrists.

I watched through teary eyes, as he took off his rings. His hand gripped my shoulder, and I flinched. He completely ignored that, as he started to knead and massage the muscles in my shoulders and arms. He was rough, and it hurt. But not like the pain I had in my arms from before. It was a good hurt, as the pain from the cramped muscles started to subside.

My sobbing stopped, and was now a gentle whimper, as Dutch's strong hands worked away. I found myself relaxing, and I closed my eyes.

I heard him chuckle, "See, I ain't all that bad, least not all of the time!"

I opened my eyes, "you're still a bastard," I hissed.

He stopped his massaging and slid his hands down my arm so they were holding my wrists. He clamped them down on the cot, and leant over, his face just a few inches from mine.

"You have no idea," he smirked.

I tensed up. I tried to pull away from his grip. Even though the pain had eased from my muscles, they were still sore, and I was no match for his strength.

He stared at me intensely, as he licked his lips.

Before I could even think, his lips were on mine. I tried to pull away, but there was nowhere to go, each move of my head to get away from him, he matched with his own.

Eventually he pulled away and chuckled, licking his lips.

"Don't you taste sweet, Jesse Maddox. I can't wait to taste more."

I glared at him, "you complete..."

"Tut tut, Miss Maddox!" he interrupted. "Sit up!" he released my wrists.

I looked at him, not sure what he would do if I declined, so I sat up.

He sat on the edge of the cot, and pull my shirt back over my shoulders, and buttoned it back up.

I looked at him, a little confused. One minute he's forcing kisses on me, the next he's dressing me. He must be one fucked up son of a bitch.

He stood up, "Now, I'm sorry to have to do this, but needs must."

He sat behind me, and grabbed my wrists again, tying them behind my back.

"You should still have a little movement, so the muscles don't get cramped," he added.

I shook my head. "you could have left them untied."

Dutch chuckled, "and let you run away, I don't think so!"

He stood up, and walked to one of the open ends of the tent.

"Mary-Beth," he yelled, "be a dear and fetch me a bowl of stew, would you?"

I frowned, why the hell would a gang of outlaws have women running around the place.

After a few minutes a pretty young girl came walking over, smiling.

"Here ya go Dutch, you need anything else?" she asked.

Dutch smiled at her, as he took the bowl, "Thank you, sweetheart, you run a long and read some of your books."

I stared at him, "what the hell...?"

He laughed, "not what you were expecting eh? Now, you must be hungry."

Dutch sat on the edge of the cot, and lifted up a spoon of stew.

"Your gonna feed me?" I huffed.

He smiled, "well you can't feed yourself, and its been almost a week, since you ate. You must be hungry!"

"A week!" I exclaimed.

He just stared at me, with the spoon raised. I opened my mouth, and he put the spoon in it.

The stew was surprisingly good. As the food hit my stomach, it begged for more, with a loud grumble coming from it.

Dutch chuckled, and carried on feeding me, until all the stew was gone.

He stood up. "Now get some rest," he ordered, "I'll come back later to discuss what you can do for me!"

I frowned, "What?"

He smirked, "if you want me to stop Strauss and Arthur, you're gonna need to give me something in return!"

"Like what!" I retorted.

Dutch chuckled, and stroked my cheek. "You're a clever girl, you work it out!"

I watched him as he walked to each end of the tent, and closed the flaps.

"I'm not..." I started.

Dutch walked over to the cot and pressed his hand on my chest, forcing me to lay down.

"Sweet dreams, Miss Maddox. We'll talk later." he chirped.

I watched him as he walked out the tent. In hindsight, maybe asking him to stop Strauss and Arthur had been a mistake. I should have been satisfied with getting mama's wedding band back. Now I'd jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. After him forcing that kiss on me, goodness only knows what he would do next. Or if I would have any real choice in the matter.

One thing he was right about though, I was tired.

Despite my hands and ankles still being tied, I managed to adjust my position, so I was lying on my side. The cot was surprisingly comfortable. So I closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.