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Jamie hates the city.
He gets nervous with so many people milling about, so many police officers just hanging around. He knows that it’s been years since he escaped prison, years since his face has been plastered in every post office on the damn island, but it doesn’t help his paranoia. He’s relatively unknown now, especially in a big city like Geelong. It’s harder in the smaller towns, where strangers are scrutinized intensely, but his anxiety is on high alert here.
He’s been out of prison for years now, having escaped into the bush with Mako at his side long ago.But he knows that once upon a timw, their faces were plastered across every major city, and someone surely kept theirs. It wouldn’t take much for him to get nabbed.
He stops into a saloon, needing a drink to calm his nerves. The alcohol runs smooth down his throat, bitter with a bit of kick. He waits for the gentle haziness to kick in and give him enough courage to get his business done without seeming suspicious. He orders another, hoping that’ll last long enough in his system.
He thinks nothing of it as someone sidles up next to him and drops some coins on the bar. The whiskey helps a little with the anxiety rolling in his gut, makes him relax a little.
What he does not expect is her.
She’s tall, outfitted with a well worn buckskin jacket, wearing work pants and tall riding boots. Her hat rests on the counter next to her, the black leather well-loved and clean. Her sleek braid trails down her back past generous curves, and he doesn’t realize that she’s been watching him size her up and down until he catches her smirk.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “How d’ya do.”
“I’m well,” she says, her voice like velvet and sophisticated. “Especially now that I’ve spotted Jamison Fawkes, notorious bushranger.”
Jamie takes in a deep breath, downs his shot and sets the glass down with a clatter. He scowls and turns to look at her. She looks disgustingly pristine, despite the layer of dust that coats everything else in the saloon. Her lips are painted deep like wine, and he doesn’t know how she’s not attracting the stare of everyone in here.
“Relax,” she says, taking a shot of her own. Her lipstick leaves a mark on the glass as she overturns it. “I’m not here to turn you in.”
He regards her with a raised brow.
“Then what’re y’here for?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
Her accent is bothering him, he keeps trying to place it. It’s not quite English, like if they put it in a jar and shook it up and it came out not quite the same.
“Proposition? Fer what?” he says, still evaluating her with narrowed eyes.
She’s relaxed, leaning onto the bar almost seductively, back curved and head held high and proud. Her neck is long and slender, exposed to her collarbone, her skin warm like the sun outside. She’s elegant and proud, and Jamie wonders what the hell she’s doing here.
“I heard you’re a demolitions expert,” she says, her voice low, eyes skittering around the room.
“‘S right,” he says, nodding.
“Could use your skills for a job,” she says almost flippantly, giving him a questioning smile. “Pays well. Pays in gold.”
Now we’re cookin’ with gas!
He lets out a slow grin, his gold tooth glinting in the midday light that seeps through the dusty windows.
“‘M listenin’.”
“S’listen, Mako, I know it ain’t our usual deal,” he says, the two of them trotting down the trail back to their usual camping spot after a supply run in Geelong. “But I gotta good feelin’.”
Mako grumbles, eyeing him with disdain under the brim of his hat, but makes a noise of affirmation to allow Jamie to continue.
She had introduced herself as Satya Vaswani, a gunslinger of her own. According to her, she runs with a gang that operates around the coast that calls themselves Vishkar — a funny sounding name, if you asked him. They were looking to finish a job, a big one, and they needed extra firepower and locals.
They head to the location that Satya had described after they pack away their camp and stow away their supplies for the night. The camp is surprisingly large, caravans perched across the hilltop, beginnings of fire lighting up the spot in the frame of the setting sun. A dozen or so horses linger on the outskirts near them, occasionally snorting in the dust they kick up. Tents are hitched, people already lounging in them after dinner, bellies full and ready to sleep.
It"s not a bad spot for a camp at all, out of the purview of the bigger cities" lawmen and away from most bushrangers" typical robbery spots. Plus, they were a big enough group that most solitary robbers" wouldn"t dare try to swipe anything. Easy to defend, on top of a hill.
They slow their horses down to a walk as they near, Jamie squinting in the sunlight that peaks at the hill just enough to blind him.
He sees Satya"s figure, standing perfectly prim and proper, and she gives them a little wave.
"G"day," he says, when they finally pull up beside her, pulling at his horse to stop. He wrangles himself off his horse with as much grace as he can muster, but it"s hard to hop off a saddle with a peg leg and uneven balance. "Can we hitch up?"
"Of course," she says, holding out a hand. "Give me your lead."
He tries to pretend he doesn"t notice the spark that runs through him as his hand brushes against hers, but she smirks at his ill-contained shiver.
She leads them to a large and open tent, with ornate hangings and even a gramophone playing soft music that, to be honest, sounds like a dying dingo to Jamie.
"Hello," a man greets, his voice smooth and rich. His accent is the same as Satya"s, heavy and refined, and Jamie"s nose wrinkles as he tries to place it. "My name is Sanjay, you must be Jamison and Mako."
He knows that Mako isn"t a fan of his name being known. He can"t say he is, either.
"Yeah yeah yeah," he says, waving off all the pleasantries. "What"s this job all about?"
"Right to the point, aren"t you?" he says, a disdainful look passing over his face for just a moment before it is back to sickly sweet pleasantries. "Very well, sit down."
Jamie resists the urge to narrow his eyes. He doesn"t trust people like that, fuckin" suits, all syrupy words and fake smiles, plastered on like plywood. He understands that he might be following his dick a little on this one — and also his need to blow things up — and this slimy motherfucker is making him reconsider.
The stools are simple and wooden, and Jamie tries to stifle laughter at how ridiculous Mako looks on his own tiny stool. If Mako"s uncomfortable, he doesn"t show it.
"We don"t usually involve outsiders," Sanjay begins, fiddling with the gramophone to turn it off. "But this is a special case."
"We need some locals," Satya continues, "since, as you can see, we stick out like a sore thumb in most places."
Jamie takes a moment to look around, confusion evident on his face, before he places it. "Oh, yer Indian!" he exclaims, slapping his thigh excitedly. "I"ve been tryin" ta place yer accent all damn day. All roight, go on, we"re straight now."
"Not the brightest of the bunch," he hears Sanjay mutter under his breath.
It"s clearly not meant to be heard, but Jamie doesn"t take too kindly to insults to his pride. He could read the disdain on Sanjay from the moment he saw him, and the pot has finally boiled over on Jamie"s (admittedly small) reservoir of patience.
"Ya need a demolitionist or not?" he finally spits, golden eyes narrowed.
Sanjay backtracks into a carefully composed picture of manners, which makes Jamie respect him even less. Clearly, Sanjay doesn"t understand how things work proper in the bush, no less how matters of pride were sorted out.
Coward, Jamie thinks.
The plan is simple.
The three of them would set out to Ballarat where they would impersonate a rich couple that had RSVP"d to a ball aboard a train carrying many other rich entrepreneurs in two weeks. Jamie would be masquerading as an Australian goldmonger and Satya as his wife. Mako would come along in some form or another, either as a bodyguard or a business associate. They would use their inside job to set charges to the train, rob everyone blind, and take off with a cart full of gold, diamonds, and all the riches Jamie could dream of. They"d meet the rest of the gang in Melbourne a month later, and split the winnings.
Okay, so it wasn"t so simple when he thinks about the details and the fiddly bits, but that"s why he"s not the strategist. He"s just the dynamite guy.
He lays on his bedroll, tinkering with a trap in the warm firelight. Vishkar"s allowed them to stay at their camp for the night, though they set up near the edge. Jamie thinks they all prefer it that way, and he can"t help but wonder if there"s another game being played here. Clearly, they know who he is, but he has no idea who any of them are.
He takes the moment to examine Satya, who he can see a couple tents away, eating her dinner in the firelight along with a few of her—friends? That doesn"t seem like the right word. Satya is naturally elegant and refined, he can tell, but he can see the tenseness in her shoulders even from this far away. She smiles politely, her face tight, perfectly pulled into a smile, but it doesn"t reach her eyes. He sees the way she crosses her legs, faces slightly away from the companions she converses with. He watches as she walks away, and how the smile drops immediately into a tired visage as she turns away from them.
Jamie straightens up when he realizes that she"s walking towards him, and that he"s been staring at her like a creep. He pretends to only notice her when she takes a seat in the grass next to him.
"I apologize for Sanjay," she says, her voice quiet over the crackling firewood. "He doesn"t approve of me going off on my own."
"Wasn"t he the one who needed ya for th" job anyway?"
Satya shakes her head, brown eyes glinting in the light. "No, I suggested the job, and came up with a plan in order to convince him why we needed to hire outside."
"Why"s that?"
Satya looks at him for a moment, inquisitive and contemplative, as if she is weighing something in her head.
"I"ve been wish Vishkar since I was a child," she says after a pause. "I don"t remember my parents or much of India, really. I"m grateful to them, but I have to prove to myself that I can do a job on my own. I must prove to themselves that I pull my own weight."
She gets up and brushes off her pants, before extending a hand to him. He stares it for a moment, dumbfounded, before reaching out to take it. Her skin is warm from the fire, her palms soft as they shake.
"Please don"t let me down."
They had been traveling for a few days’ now, generally staying out of the purview of the general populace, preferring to stick to quiet roads and foraging for most of their essentials. He’s a good trapper, and Satya isn’t a bad hunter, so they’ve had their fill of meat for days. Venison and game aren"t his favorite meat in the world, but its free and Hog fixes it up right nice.
Jamie wouldn"t say he"s taken to staring at Satya, rather just...analyzing her. Yeah, analyzing. He definitely hadn"t taken to staring at her ass, or thinking about the way her tongue rolls over certain words in her accent, a sound that was quickly becoming more and more like music to him.
He learns little things about her. She"s slow to catch on to jokes, and she doesn"t understand Aussie slang at all. She finds gambling distasteful, but if she has to make a quick buck, she prefers blackjack to poker. She hates the way sweat rolls down her scalp under her thick hair if she puts on a hat, and would rather deal with cheeks tinged pink from the sun. He notices that her shoulders don"t hold the same tension they did when she was at the Vishkar camp, and she laughs with the two of them with ease.
Now, they"re waiting together in the dark of night to rob a homestead. They needed some cash or jewelry to fence off so they could get some proper garments for the big job. Mako sits on the other side of the house, waiting for the noise to die down in the house and to signal them that everyone was asleep.
Jamie hates sitting quiet like this. His hand itch to tinker or to do something and he takes to pulling out blades of grass in his boredom.
"What are you doing?" Satya whispers, elbowing him.
They"re hunkered down behind a boulder and a couple of trees, their horses hitched to the ground a kilometer down the road, hidden in the wood. There was nothing for him to do, and it was almost pitch black, a sliver of moonlight between the trees their only light.
"Bored," he replies, his voice just as hushed. "Too much waitin", nothin" to do."
"I can relate," she chuckles. "I"m not good without something to occupy my hands with."
He feels more than sees her press something into his hand. It feels like a wooden cube, sigils drawn into the sides. The corners are worn, as if it might have been sharp at the edges once upon a time. The wood is aged with love and wear, soft and smooth under his touch.
"What is it?"
"Just a cube," she says, shifting closer to him. "I carved it myself as a child. It was the first thing I ever made."
"D"ya like makin" things?"
She hums affirmatively, and she allows her hands to join his as they roll the cube around in their hands. Her skin is unbelievably soft, despite the callouses from riding and whatever crafts she likes. "It"s calming. I"m good at it. Things make sense with plans and measurements."
Jamie likes tinkering, too. But with bombs and guns and traps and all their fiddly bits. He enjoys working around with not a clue as to what he"s doing, building something entirely new.
""S satisfyin" when things finally click inta place, ain"t it?"
The whisper comes off a hair more raspy than he intends, and before he knows it he feels Satya"s lips against his, toy in his hand forgotten.
"Yes, it is," she murmurs against his lips.
Jamie lets out a surprised groan as her tongue dips to meet his own. Luckily, he"s aware of himself enough to put his hands on her hips as she slides onto his lap, her movements quiet in the padding of the grass beneath them. Her hips are godly, he decides, firm and wide, giving way to thick thighs that he could spend the rest of his life worshipping. Her nails gently comb through his hair as they kiss, giving him enough of a bite to excite him and draw his attention.
Satya isn"t a shy kisser, not like what he"d thought she"d be. She roams her hands over his chest, unbuttoning his shirt and running her nails down his bare chest. He"s intrigued by her — and more so by the warmth that emanates from her, teasing him as they grind into each other just enough to be polite. Her hair is just as soft as he thought it would be as he releases it from the pins holding it up, thick as it tumbles to her waist.
She lets out breathless little moans when he grips harder at her waist, quiet enough that only he can hear it. She instinctively grinds down into him, and he lets out a squeak in his attempt to stay quiet. His trousers are uncomfortably tight, and there is no doubt that Satya is very, very aware of it.
They hear Mako"s distinctive owl hoots, the signal that it"s time to move. They break away from each other, foreheads resting together, chests heaving with heavy breath. Satya bites her lip, infuriatingly sexy, and gives him a smile as she stands up.
"Come along," she says, tying her hair back up and offering him a hand as if what had happened hadn"t just happened.
Jamie gapes at her.
The fire crackles in the cool of the night, sending sparks of kindle up into the air. Since robbing the homestead, Satya continues to tease him to no end, with the swing of her hips and her sultry smile. Even now and then, she would pull him aside for a heated kiss, then pull away and act as if nothing had happened.
It infuriates Jamie. He"s had a casual fling every once in a while, to work one out with something other than his hand. But he"s never let himself become so...undone, so unguarded with another person before. He let himself go with her in a way he never has before, and it pisses him off that she was as nonchalant as ever!
Satya had left a while ago to go do something, and if he was being honest, he hadn"t been paying attention because he was a little bitter. He grumbles as he stands up, kicking the dirt beneath him.
"I"ll be back," he tells Mako. "Takin" a walk."
It feels like every cell in his body is vibrating, and he can"t sit still anyway. The plains are illuminated by the full moon, meaning he can walk easily without having to carry a lantern with him. He kicks rocks and squashes bugs along his way, angrily digging his toe into the dirt every chance he"s got.
He knows he"s stupid to get this worked up over a woman — nonetheless a woman that was so far out of his league, it was sad. But she had kissed him and his brain tends to go into overdrive at the most inconvenient of times. Especially when he"s fucked himself rightly and gone and caught feelings.
Jamie is too engrossed in his mutterings to notice his surroundings, and ends up tripping over a rock. He stomach does flips as he experiences free fall, arms flailing uselessly before diving into water. The cold is a shock to his system, especially in the balmy heat of a summer night, and he shrieks as he comes up.
"Fuck!" he whispers to himself, trying to wipe the water out of his eyes and right himself, discovering that the water only comes up to his hips once he stands up, but he is now drenched. At least he had left his shirt back at camp due to the heat, but his pants would take all night to dry.
When he takes a moment to assess his surroundings, he comes face to face with a shocked Satya.
Satya who is...
...very...
...naked.
"Shit, fuck, uh, shit "m sorry," he stutters, turning himself around as quickly as he can. "Went fer a walk an" didn"t know y"were here."
"I said I was going to go bathe in the lake." Her voice is steely, and as cold as the water on his skin.
Fuck, of course she had. He berates himself in his head, unintelligible mutters and apologies leaving his mouth. He stiffens as he hears water move, feels the upset of the current in the water by him. He feels Satya trace her fingertips along his waist, following the deep V of his hips, pressing herself against his back.
"Uh, Satya?" he asks, trying to keep his voice from fucking quivering. He doesn"t think he"s very successful. "Uh, whatcha doin"?"
She pulls him to face her, sultry smile on her face. He can feel her chest pressed up against him, her bare skin like fire against his own. Her nipples are taut from the cold, pressing into him, and he doesn"t even try to repress the shiver that runs up his spine as his hands shake at his sides, unsure of where to go.
She"s gorgeous. Her long hair is slicked back, droplets of water sticking to her lashes, rivulets tracing her collarbone to run down her chest.
God, her tits...
Perfect and full, dark nipples framing the planes of her stomach, all soft curves and gentle lines. Her hips disappear beneath the water, the moonlight reflecting on the surface.
"J-Jesus, Satya," he breathes, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks and pooling in the bottom of his stomach, combating the cold bite of the lake. He can"t help but let out a groan as her hands roam his chest, his heart fluttering underneath the deft touch of her palms. "What"re we doin" here?"
She lets out a laugh, as if she has no idea what she"s doing to him. "You"re the one who came here to peek on me, Jamison."
"N-No, that"s not—"
She kisses him then, her lips cold and tasting like lake, but he doesn"t mind. He finally allows himself to touch her, and doesn"t hesitate in exploring the curve of her spine. When he brings his hands up to explore her chest, she lets out the cutest moan in his mouth that makes him kiss her back with a renewed fervor.
She makes him feel all sorts of ways, and he can"t explain to himself the draw he has to her. He can"t explain why her sounds and her touch drive him mad with want. She"s intoxicating, and when she breaks away and sinks further into the water to bid him farewell, he can"t help the disappointed whine that leaves his throat.
"Be patient," she says to him, dipping her head back into the water, exposing the long angles of her neck. "Good things come to those who wait."
“Three of a kind!”
Jamie groans, slapping his cards down. Not like he had anything anyway, but he always calls bluffs. Though maybe he should have folded when the bearded guy went all in. He grumbles under his breath, deciding to down another one of the shots lining the table. Empty glasses litter the table, no one feeling quite like getting up yet to give them back to the bar keep.
They have another days ride ahead of them tomorrow, before the big job in Ballarat. Jamie isn’t familiar with the area, preferring to stick out of the bigger cities completely, but Satya evidently is.
She sends him a smile across the table, already a few drinks in herself. Her hair is pulled back into a braid again, but she has bangs that fall out, framing her face at the chin. He can"t help but notice the devious glint in her brown eyes, her long lashes brushing against her cheeks as she blinks.
Mako"s dealing the cards out, and he wonders what her plan is. She has an unfortunate habit of deciding to tease him in the worst possible way, and he doesn"t doubt that she"d do something out here, just to mess with him. Especially considering they"re at a poker table with seven other people.
Aaand there it is.
Jamie yelps, jumping up in his seat for a moment, causing his hat to fall off onto the floor beside him. He felt something solid knock into his inner thigh, far too close to some...valuable goods.
The men around him laugh, already drunk enough. "What"s wrong, mate? Your hand that bad?"
Jamie grumbles, leaning down to grab his hat and put it back on. He sees Satya"s boot, pointedly outstretched under the table, making little circles with her toe. He gulps, heat flooding to his cheeks as he understands exactly what is going on.
Oh. Oh God.
He returns upright, cheeks burning as he flashes a look to Satya. She sits, leaning back in her chair, locking eyes with him, smirk in place. He sees the fire burn behind her brown eyes, unapologetic and devious. She looks casually at the cards in her hand, as if she wasn"t about to just wreck him on the spot.
He feels her boot slowly move up his leg, brushing teasingly between his thighs, and his hands shake as he goes to pick up his chips to toss them in the pot. Satya locks eyes with him as she raises the bet, the whooping of the men around them background noise in his ear as they toss in to call it. As he does so, the toe of her boot presses firmly on his slowly hardening cock.
His eyes widen and he goes stiff, biting his lip. He can barely focus on the cards in front of him, just upping his bet every time it"s his turn, not even knowing what he"s at. She switches between light, teasing touches up and down the outline of his now hard length, to pressing on the insides of his thighs with the tip of her boot. He literally has to keep himself from squeaking.
"Yer hands so bad y"ears are red!" the man to left of him says, pulling at his ear before guffawing. "Man, yer a bad bluff!"
He can feel Mako"s gaze on him, who knows that Jamie does exceptionally well at poker. Hell, he usually doubles their take from a robbery by playing a few hands. Of course, he usually cheats, but...
He can fake a poker face, that"s for damn sure.
Satya is just so damn nonchalant the whole time, betraying nothing of the torture she was inflicting on him. He almost wants to rut up into her foot, desperate for friction and release. It takes everything in him not to start moaning, his palms sweating. He"s uncomfortably hard, a wet spot beginning to form at the front of his pants. It would be a wonder if he wasn"t tented.
"Full house," Satya says, laying down her cards with a breathtaking smile. The men around her groan, slapping their cards down in disappointment. Jamie looks at his own cards. An ace high, with squat else.
She locks eyes with him, and the pressure leaves him as she stands up, gathering several of the shot glasses that litter the table. He almost whimpers at the loss of contact. "Who wants a new one?"
"L-Let m" help ya," Jamie stutters when he gets up, gathering some of the glasses, as they clatter loudly in his hands. He almost drops a few on his way over, basically scattering them on their sides as he plops them unceremoniously on the bar.
Satya hums, leaning her elbow on the bar to look at him from under her lashes.
"You"re awfully bad at keeping a straight face," she says with a sultry smile.
"I — You," he gapes, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. "Yer— God..."
She laughs, touching his shoulder and allowing her hand to slide down his arm. The places where their skin meet feels like a blazing fire, the trail of her hand leaving a buzzing on his skin like sparks. She drives him so crazy, and she doesn’t even know it. Or doesn’t care.
She seems to enjoy teasing him, given how much she’s done it now. But he knows that no one ever really means it with him, they just enjoy his reactions or a quick bit of company for the night. In the morning, they’re always gone.
Jamie knows that after this job is done, she’ll be gone, too.
But he allows himself to enjoy it. Allows himself to enjoy the thrill of another’s touch, and lets himself shamelessly appreciate her beauty and her attention.
“Yer killin’ me, Satya,” he mumbles, running a hand through his coarse blonde hair. “Not fair, teasin’ me like this.”
She smiles demurely, her lips painted the same wine red as the day that he met her in Geelong. He stiffens as she steps real close to him, her hand stroking the rough fabric of his shirt and just brushing the cool metal of his belt buckle. She presses her nose to his temple, her breath hot and close in his ear.
“Is it truly teasing if I intend to follow through?”
With that, she turns on her heel to bring the next round of drinks to the table, leaving him breathing heavy, fire unfurling in his belly.
Gotta go wring one out, what a damn she-devil…
Most of his masturbation involves Satya now. She"s beautiful, inside and out, and they way she teased him… Well, he ends up with a hard-on most nights now, thinking about just what she does to him.
But tonight? Well, he’s going to fantasize about her dressed like this for forever.
She’s positively delectable, dressed head to toe in a deep, rich blue. Her gown touches the floor, her collar diving deep to reveal her cleavage. Her collarbones are elegant, the slope to her exposed shoulders slender.
He is dressed head to toe in the most extravagant clothing he’s ever seen. A proper French dress shirt, buttons lining the whole front and his collar stiffly starched. His vest is made of silk, so soft he tries not to touch it, lest his calluses tear threads from it. The pants disguise his peg leg and they made a makeshift boot for him to wear so as to take more attention away. He has to use a cane to finish the disguise, which he despises, but he’d rather be angry for one night with a back-up weapon than thrown in jail again.
Unfortunately, they had not been able to find clothes big enough for Mako — or rather, a tailor that would fix them up for him. Instead, they were sneaking him on as train staff, working at the front with the conductor and the engineers shoveling coal. It actually worked better for them in the long run, if they needed to stop the train or had to make sure a witness had an…unfortunate accident.
Jamie’s hands itch as they cycle through the party, greeting rich suit after suit. He tries to hold back his accent as best as possible, most of them speaking with an accent a touch more English than anything, but Satya easily covers for him with her smooth guile. He sees so much fancy jewelry, nicking what he can inconspiciously. By the time they reach the storage cart, he has pockets full of jewels, rings, and watches that sift heavily in his trousers.
They open the back door for Mako, so he can start loading everything onto the truck, before they go to stand watch at the door. Jamie isn’t a fan of suits or any of these complicated ruse shit — he prefers simple robbing and thievery, thank you — but he can’t deny that he’s salivating at the thought of all the money that’s about to come into his hands. He watches as all the passengers begin a dance, a gramophone playing a grainy waltz that echoes through the car.
Satya holds out a hand to him, delicate and covered in golden rings. “Dance with me?”
He takes her hand, the other coming to rest at her waist, silken fabric smooth against his skin, all the while admitting that he has no clue how to dance, much less waltz like a proper gentleman. Satya just laughs, and guides him gently. She’s skilled at processes and techniques, and teaches him with ease despite his clumsy feet, unused to the weight of a shoe on his amputated leg. He doesn’t look so out of place to the other guests since he had been limping with a cane all night, and he allows himself to enjoy this moment of closeness with Satya.
He knows she’s bound to leave soon, and he tries to shake the thought of out of his mind. Despite that she has driven him crazy in the last month, he thinks his heart would ache without her. He loves her elegance, her spitfire wit wrapped up in a veil of nonchalance, and the way she knows how to wrangle a beast twice her size without breaking a sweat.
Mako taps at the door to the storage car behind them, signalling it’s time to go.
They feign giggles and almost-kisses — which is maybe not so much acting as he wants to pretend it is — and they slip into the storage car, as if they were going to neck in privacy.
Jamie sighs as he sees a tied up engineer, his own hat stuffed into his mouth, looking frantically at them with wide eyes. He’s about to take out his pistol and threaten him, but Satya’s already produced one from God knows where and is pointing it at him, her painted lips twisted into a hard line.
“You will forget our faces if you want to live,” she says, eyes narrowed and cold. “Would you like that? To live?”
He nods frantically, the top of his bald, sun-scalded head turning redder.
“Good boy,” she coos, and a shiver of excitement runs through Jamie. She turns her eyes to Mako. “Did you disconnect the telegraph?”
He gives an affirmative grunt.
“Good. Let’s stuff him somewhere so they won’t find him for a few hours. By then, we’ll be long gone.”
Jamie’s not sure what it is about a woman with a gun that makes him hot and bothered, but he’s not sure he minds. Granted it’s not pointed at him, of course.
(Also, he thinks he might like being called a good boy. But he wouldn"t admit that.)
Jamie doesn"t think he"s ever had this much money in his entire life. There"s thousands of pounds and bags full of jewelry, watches and gemstones that twinkle in the light of the fire, all in the back of the cart parked at the edge of their camp.
"I can"t believe we pulled that off!" he laughs, before taking a hefty chug of whiskey, passing it to Satya.
She laughs and takes a sip herself, the bottle nearly half gone by now, between the two of them.
Jamie doesn"t remember how long ago Mako had left, the alcohol making his brain hazy. He had gone to go get them some more firewood, but Jamie suspects he also was giving the two of them space. Which leaves him alone with Satya, the two of them curled up in the cargo section of the cart, pillows and blankets spread out over the false top to conceal their takings.
Alone. By the fire light.
Jamie would be a liar if he said that the idea of being alone with her like this didn"t affect him, especially with the way that she had been teasing him over the last few weeks. He"s thought about her a lot, and she"s still wearing that infuriatingly teasing dress. Between all the commotion and her slowly growing state of intoxication, the neckline of the dress has drooped lower and lower, the gentle swell of her breasts peeking past the collar.
""S I dunno if it"s the whiskey or if I"m finally losin" my damn mind," he starts, his heart hammering in his chest, "but you look far too damn good in that dress."
Satya chuckles, her hand coming up to play with the delicate gemstone of her necklace.
"Is that so?" she asks, her voice breathy and deep. Jamie knows he"s in for it now, but somehow, he doesn"t seem to mind too much.
"Y"ve been drivin" me crazy," he murmurs, his voice suddenly going low of its own accord. He reaches out a hand to brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He can feel her breath on his face, the way her eyes gaze like fire into his. "Too fuckin" beautiful."
They don"t say anything, but they don"t have to. She reaches over to close the gap and kiss him, and the rest is instinct.
Her lips are fire against his, and he lifts her up with ease to straddle his lap. She seems comfortable here, instantly wrapping her arms around his neck and threading her fingers through his hair. Her lips are soft as they open against his, tongue hot and tasting like alcohol. She hums into his mouth, content and heady, arching her back to press into his body.
He breaks to nip at her neck, reveling in the moans she gives him as he works his way down to her collarbones, to the tops of her breasts. She feels magnificent in his hands, her skin tasting like sweat and spice, the smell of her perfume lingering, sticking to her hair and her dress.
"Get this fucking thing off," she murmurs, reaching behind her to start undoing the corset laces. He fumbles with it as best he can with nervous fingers, unfamiliar with the complicated clothing. He helps her pull the skirts off herself at least, thick layers no doubt unbearable in the stifling heat.
"Christ," he mumbles. "Yer fuckin" killin" me."
She"s wearing silken black knickers, smoother than her already remarkably soft skin. She"s staring down at him, arousal in her eyes and a sultry smile on her face. He goes to pull those off, too, but she slaps his hand.
"Ah ah ah," she says with a grin, giving his hair a tug. "Be patient, not yet."
He whines, but all she does is pull hard enough to make him gasp.
"It"ll be worth your while," she murmurs in his ear, her breath hot and it makes his dick twitch in his trousers. His trousers which are still painfully uncomfortable, especially with the tent he"s now sporting.
He learns very quickly to let Satya take the lead, not that he"s complaining. A beautiful woman on top of him, and all he had to do was let her take him for a ride.
Easy choice.
By the time his clothes come off, he"s hot and his head is swimming with alcohol and arousal. Jamie lets out a low groan as she touches his cock, eyes rolling into the back of his head. It"s been a long time since he"s been with anyone, but the way that his body reacts to her touch is like nothing he"s ever known.
"Jesus, love," he gasps out, hands roaming down to grip at her ass which is firm and thick in his hands. "Downright ungodly what ya do t"me."
Satya laughs, wriggling out of his grip to press a kiss to the tip of his cock. "We"ve all done bad things, Jamie. I don"t think that making you suffer a little will have any effect on my place in the next life."
As she envelops his cock in her mouth, he can"t consider anything that she has done so far to deserve anything less than the world. It"s like heaven, her tongue is wet and hot on his cock and he can"t help but run a hand through her hair. He has to physically restrain himself from bucking up into her mouth, whimpers dying in his throat. He doesn"t know how long she does this, but he can feel the telltale signs of release and he wriggles out of her mouth, despite her deathgrip on his hips.
"Gonna come if y"keep goin" like that, darl," he sighs, running a shaky hand through his own hair. It"s disappointing when she pops off of him, his cock left sadly neglected but... she did say that good things come to those who wait, right?
He picks her up and swallows her surprised noise with his mouth, laying her down on her back. He kisses down her chest, taking his time to nip at her chest and fully appreciate her gorgeous chest. He decides quickly that her whimpers and moans, deep and unhindered, are his favorite sound in the world. He loves the scent of her, and he is so very intrigued to find out her taste.
Her silk knickers slide off with ease, and she is bare before him, all sultry smiles and heaving breaths. He wastes no time in sloppily mouthing at her clit, pleasantly surprised to find her practically dripping for him. She tastes like the best dessert, salty and heady in his mouth.
She lets out a low moan as he continues, slipping a finger into her. She"s so incredibly hot and tight, and he can already imagine what she"ll feel like when he"s inside her, his cock pulsing at the thought. She claws at his back as he continues, tugging at his hair and gripping his fingers tight inside her. She finally pulls him off of her, twisting them around to straddle him, legs shaking.
"Fuck me," she breathes, wrapping him in her scent.
When she lowers herself onto him, he sees stars. He kneads at her hips and her ass, and the vision of her languidly fucking herself on him will be forever burned into his memory. Her hands spread on his chest, hair tumbling out of its pins. She moans into his mouth as he ruts into her, breathless.
Despite the instinctual arousal enveloping them entirely in their drunken haze, she is still incredibly elegant. Jamie is mesmerized by the roll of her hips, by the face she makes as her eyes flutter closed, eyebrows knitting together into a look of pure ecstasy. She pants softly, biting her lip to swallow her moans as he brushes up against her sweet spot, thumb circling her clit with a sloppy focus.
She comes before him, stuttering his name and rolling her hips into his. The way she tightens around him, red hot and pulsing triggers his own orgasm, the best one he"s had in fuck all. She slumps into his chest as they both let the aftershocks roll over them pleasantly like waves. He holds her in his arms, drawing patterns on her back.
She tilts her head up to kiss him, and as he stares into her brown eyes, he knows he"s fucked.
It had been two weeks since the job, and since Jamie woke up to Satya curled on his chest in the back of the cart, blanket thrown over them.
He had worried that when it was done and over with, Satya would treat him the same. She would give him that same nonchalance, and not look at him with a second glance now that she had gotten what she had wanted out of him. It wouldn"t be the first time, and he knew that she was out of his league.
But he was pleasantly surprised.
She"s taken to curling up with him at night, and even if their bed rolls are spread out at first, he always wakes up wrapped up in her arms. She touches him with ease now, every so often taking his hand or pulling him to lay his head on her lap and play with his hair. It"s a level of intimacy he"s never experienced before, but he craves it so deeply now that he doesn"t know what to do without it.
He doesn"t know what to do about her leaving.
They were slowly making their way to Melbourne, meandering their way through the bush, mostly just trying to draw the least amount of attention to their cart. They sold a few valuables off to fences along the way, just to lighten the load and put some extra cash in their pocket.
He notices that Satya gets more and more anxious as they near Melbourne, sleeping less and craving touch more. He watches the bags under her eyes grow darker, and watches her appetite lessen and lessen.
"Satya," he says one night, his head nestled firmly in her lap, fire crackling. Mako had gone to fish for the night. "What"s wrong?"
She takes a moment to think, fingers deftly combing through his unruly blonde locks. Her nails scratch at his scalp, sending a pleasant buzz through his body at her comforting touch.
"This is the first time I"ve ever been without them," she says, gaze furrowed and firmly set on the fire. "I feel awful because they"re my family, they raised me, they took me from poverty but..." She takes a deep breath, eyes closed. "This is the happiest I"ve ever been. Here, with you and Mako, and nothing but choices."
"Y"have a choice right here, love," he says, lifting up a hand to brush at her cheek.
"Is that betrayal, if I choose to stay? Is that selfishness?"
"Nah," Jamie replies, letting a hand linger at the soft locks of her hair. "It"s growth. Yer grown. Don"t need "em no more. "S how all family works."
Satya laughs. "Not in India. In India, family is a duty you are expected to carry out for the rest of your life."
Jamie sits up, pressing his forehead to hers. She leans into his touch, one hand idly tracing the scar of his amputation at his thigh, his prosthetic lying a few meters away.
"Darling," he starts. "I don"t know nothin" "bout nothin" in India. But I know that y"make me feel things "ve never felt before. I know that I"d really like it for ya t"stay with me. Don"t have a glamorous life or a spot in heaven,, but I"d love you "till the end a" my days, whenever that is."
His hands tremble at her cheeks, his heart fluttering in his chest. He"s never been this honest with anyone, this vulnerable — but she drives him mad in all the best ways, and he can"t help it. Just the thought of her leaving him, forever, sets an ache so deep in his chest that he doesn"t know if he could ever recover from it. Her touch sparks a fire in him that he"s never experienced before. He feels pulled to her, like a magnet, and he knows that if she left he would travel the world to find her again.
"Alright," she whispers, quietly, her eyes hesitant but alight.
"What"cha thinkin", darl?"
She kisses him then, and every time she does so it feels like the first to Jamie. She smiles into the kiss, hands gripping at his shirts before she whispers against his lips.
"I"ll stay here. I"ll stay with you."