The Mercenary takes a wife: Bet

Chapter One

He looked at his cards again and then pushed the rest of his money into the pile. “Raise ya 50.” He casually looked around; checking that the meeting the Captain was having was still going good and then looked back at the stranger he was playing cards with. He noticed that the man didn’t have enough to cover the raise and reached over to collect his pot. “Wait a minute.” The stranger reached into his jacket. Jayne brought his gun up onto the table. “Just wanted to put this in to the pot.” He tossed a piece of paper onto the table. Jayne looked at it and then at the man. “What the hell is that?” The man turned and waved over a young woman. “Those are her papers, got 6 months left on them. That ought to be worth 50.” Man smiled at the crowd of men that were vying to get closer to the girl. The girl looked at Connor, the man that had owned her for the last three years and then over at the man who might own her for the next 6 months. At the realization of what Connor had said sunk in, the man didn’t have the look that she was used to seeing. The leering look and the smug smile at what they would do with her, this man just looked angry. “Her papers? She a slave or something?” Jayne had his hand on his gun, but was fighting the urge to use it. “An indentured servant, I won her a few years ago and she is a fine worker. She can sew, cook, clean and….. other things.” He smiled knowingly at Jayne. “Yeah, well I don’t want her, so she ain’t worth 50.” He reached again for the pot. “Wait, I’m sure I can get 50 credits for her from someone.” He looked around, he wasn’t used to men not accepting the paper. He saw Brook and waved him over. “You look like you could use a good worker, you willing to give me 50 for her?” The offer was causing a ruckus and the man Mal was dealing with gave them a nervous look. The look Mal gave Jayne was much more murderous, as backup Jayne was supposed to be keeping a low profile. “Fine, fine, go ahead and play it.” Jayne saw Mal shake hands with their contact and that was his signal to get out ahead of them to look for an ambush. He tossed his cards on the table and raked in his winnings, including the girl’s papers. He stuffed them all into his pocket and stood to leave. “Ain’t you gonna give me a chance to win back my Bet?” Connor asked. No man had ever risked losing the girl after they had won her. Most immediately left and headed for the closest dark area. Connor signaled Brook and made a fuss about losing the Girl, said good-bye and handed her her bag. “You take good care of her.” He said to Jayne, who was half way to the door, having already forgotten the girl. “Huh, oh yeah.” He knew he couldn’t just leave her, so he grabbed her arm and headed out the door. “Seems kinda in a hurry, don’t he?” Connor smiled and all the other men laughed. They made it outside just before Mal and the contact left their table. Jayne walked quickly and quietly down the street, looking constantly from side to side. He had let go of the girls arm and was surprised when she bumped into him when he stopped. “What the hell?” He looked at the young woman, gave her a push back towards town and headed the other way. “Y’re on your own now, so git.” The woman followed him and the pair soon reached the woods. “I said you was free.” Jayne again gave the girl a push. She made a noise and Jayne put his hand over her mouth as he spied Mal and the contact walking down the road. The girl followed quietly as Jayne ran to stay in front of Mal. When they stopped again she pointed to Jayne’s pocket, she reached over, removed her papers and handed them to Jayne. He took his eye’s off Mal long enough to see that what he had was not the girls papers, but a room receipt. “Man cheated me!” Jayne whispered loudly, pissed that the man had fooled him. He looked at the girl again. “Well, ain’t your fault, but best you git before we have trouble. He won’t find you now.” Girl pulled up her sleeve and pointed to the small bump under her arm. Jayne grabbed her arm and turned it in disbelief. “He tagged ya? Hell, ya tag cattle not people.” Noticing that Mal and the contact had walked by, Jayne and the girl followed. At the crossroads, the two stopped for a last farewell, when from town they heard the sounds of hoof beats. The contact walked back towards town passing the man Jayne had been playing poker with. Mal stepped aside for the horse to pass, but it stopped instead. “Good evening, My name is Connor Maxwell, did you happen to see a young girl and a rough looking man come this way? She is my servant and seems to be missing. I fear for her safety.” The man dismounted and looked around. Reader said she was around here somewhere. The girl touched Jayne’s arm softly and when he turned to look at her she pointed to the tag in her arm and then at his knife. As what she wanted dawned on him, he looked back at the man and realized that she must have to go thru this in every town. He slowly took the knife and the sheath from his belt and placed the sheath in her hands. “Bite down on this and no screaming, Dong ma?” She nodded and placed the sheath in her mouth and closed her eyes. Jayne was as gentle as he could be and the girl didn’t move at all. When he got it out, he mashed it between his fingers and handed her the pieces. The box in Connors pocket beeped and Mal raised his gun. “What the hell?” Connor took the locator out of his pocket. “So, you say you know this man?” “Said I knew a man that looked like that.” Mal casually looked around, he knew Jayne was out there somewhere. Three other men on horseback came up. “You find her yet?” Brook noticed the locator box in Connor’s hand. “Not working?” “She’s out there some where.” Connor looked around, knowing she couldn’t have gotten far. “Well, good luck in finder her.” Mal headed towards the landing field, hoping Jayne knew what he was doing. Connor watched him leave. “Brook, follow him and keep an eye on his ship.” The man nodded and headed out. Jayne watched Connor send his men out looking for them and swore. He looked at the girl next to him. She was binding up her wound with out a sound. “You’re a quite thing ain’t you?” He sat down next to her. She reached out and slowly took his hand, taking one finger she ran it over the scar on her neck. “Gorram it?” Jayne had an inkling of what the scar meant, but was surprised with the sound that came out of her mouth. “He tagged you and muted you? Bastard.” His communicator vibrated in his pocket. “Yeah?” “Jayne, what the hell is going on? And who is this girl?” “Not sure Mal. Guy used her as a bet and I didn’t have a choice but to take her. Hell Mal, he cut her throat and tagged her like a dog. Can we come in?” “We? Jayne, just cut her loose and stay out of sight, our contact is a might skitterish” “Bastard owes me money and I plan on collecting. I can take care of the lookout.” “No, you stay out there, they’re not sure this is your ship. Zoë and I will pick up the cargo tomorrow. After that I don’t care who you kill, Dong ma?” “Yeah, OK. I’ll wait ‘til tomorrow to kill the bastard.” He put the communicator back in his pocket and looked around. “We need to get farther off the road.” He started off into the woods, not really caring if she followed or not. Jayne had done some questionable things in his life, but couldn’t under stand why anyone would treat a pretty girl like that. And she was pretty, in every way that mattered to Jayne the girl was perfect. Blonde hair, big brown eyes and a very nice set of tits. Yep, she was just about perfect.

Chapter Two

Jayne found a spot that was far enough away that the smoke wouldn’t be seen from the road. He dropped his coat and got his knife out. “You stay here. I’ll be right back.” She nodded and dropped her bag. “You got a weapon in there?” He pointed at her bag. She shook her head no. Jayne dug out his boot gun and handed it to her, he realized she would not be able to yell if Connor showed up and Jayne wanted revenge. “Just aim it and shoot, won’t do much damage, but I’ll hear it.” He headed off into the woods. He wasn’t sure why he cared, knew he wanted his money back, but there was more, she reminded him a little of Kaylee. She wasn’t sure why the man kept her around, but she knew he was her best chance of getting away from Connor. He didn’t seem very interested in her; most men took her right from the bar into the ally. Only to be robbed minutes later by Connor and Brook, sometime too late to stop the molesting. She decided that her best chance was to make herself very useful. Jayne came back surprised to find a fire going and a lean-to made. The girl took the five cleaned rabbits from his hands and showed him to the shelter. While Jayne cleaned and sharpened his knife, the girl set up a spit and started the rabbits to cooking. When she had everything started, she walked over to Jayne and handed him an old fashion note board, the kind you use to use in school. He put Binkie away and took the note. “What’s this?” He read it as she watched his face. After reading it twice, he set it down. “Bet huh? You sure about this?” Girl nodded. “So, six months of cleaning and doing my chores or two months of all the sex I want?” He watched her eyes, for any tells that she was lying, there were none. “I got quite the appetite, you sure?” She smiled and nodded again, she had been worried. This man didn’t seem interested in her at all; she thought maybe he was sly like Connor and Brook. “Not sure the Captain will let me keep ya.” He walked over to the fire. ‘Thank god he is at least thinking about it.’ She thought to herself as she walked behind him and checked on the rabbits. She set the rabbits on the cooling rack and waited for him to make up his mind. He watched her closely. ‘Damn, I would like a taste of that.’ He tried to think of a way to sneak her onboard, but was sure River would give him away. She handed him his first of three rabbits and they ate in silence. When they had finished eating, she collected the carcasses in her skirt and headed down to the creek. After tossing everything in and making sure it floated away, she took off her clothes and rinsed them off, laying them on a bush; it was quick dry fabric and she should be able to put them back on after a quick rinse of herself. She washed in the cold water and when she turned to get dressed, Jayne was there. “No need putt’en those things on, just gonna have to take them off again. I’m gonna need a sample of what you’re offering, see if it’s worth pissing Mal off for.” He looked her up and down again and headed back to camp. She shivered a little, not only from the cold, but also from the thought of bedding this man. She wasn’t a virgin; Connor hadn’t always been in time to stop the men he had lost her to. She put her slip back on, gathered her clothes and headed back. Jayne was sitting in the lean-to; he had removed his boots and was picking at his teeth with his knife. Bet put her stuff down and got her brush out. Removing the pins from her hair, she started to brush it, wincing when she pulled her arm and the bandage moved on her wound. “Here, give me the brush.” Jayne took it from her hand and scooted over so he was behind her. She had the most beautiful hair he had ever seen. Bet closed her eyes and let the sensation of having her hair brushed wash over her, no one had brushed her hair in years. She vaguely remembered her Mom doing it, but nothing had every felt like this. Jayne was just mesmerized by her hair, the way it flowed and shimmered. After a while, he handed back the brush. He put his hand on her shoulder and slid the strap down her arm. He cleared his throat. “You need to take this off.” Standing he started to remove his clothes. Bet turned her back to him and pulled her slip off. She had never really seen a man naked; up against a wall in the dark with your eyes closed, you never really see anything. She felt him kneel behind her, felt his breathe on her shoulder, felt his hand as it snuck around front and caressed her stomach. He pulled her around and laid her down on her back. She kept her eyes closed, not sure what to do. “Open your eyes.” He whispered. She did what she was told, seeing the lust in his eyes, she shuddered. “What?” Jayne sat up a bit, he saw the fear in her eyes. “Thought you’d done this before?” She closed her eyes again and nodded. Jayne watched her face closely. “Damn it, you ain’t never bedded anyone before.” He pulled her to a sitting position. “Look at me! I ain’t ever forced anyone.” He started to get up; she grabbed his hand and leaned over to point at the notepad and the offer she had made. “You still want to do this? I like women that know what they’re doing. You’re not still a virgin are you?” Part of him was excited at the thought; he had never had a virgin before. Bet shook her head. Jayne looked confused. “Is that no, I’m a virgin. Or no, I’m not?” She smiled. “You still a virgin?” He asked again. She slowly shook her head no. “But, I’m still thinking you ain’t ever seen a man naked, so…” Jayne didn’t like the way his mind was thinking. “Was you forced?” She nodded yes. He sat down next to her, thinking. Girl wanted to do this, so who was he to say no. But, he knew he would have to go slow, he had no use for a girl that shuddered every time he got naked. “Ok, I’m gonna go slow, if you want me to stop just say so…” Realizing that she couldn’t do that, he smiled at her. “Well, just pull my hair or something.” He leaned over, forcing her to lie back down. Part of her was scared and part of her was very excited.