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“It’s a stupid fucking plan!” Miles spat impatiently at Nora, shoving his swords into his belt.
“And do you have a better one?” she shouted back, stepping around him to get in his face, even though he towered over her.
Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Miles growled, “No. But anything has to be better than intentionally getting ourselves killed.” With that, he stormed off, not giving her a chance to respond.
Nora gritted her teeth in frustration and turned back to the crudely-drawn map spread out before her. She was trying to figure out a way to get their small fighting force to attack a known Patriot outpost, and Miles was being less than helpful.
“He can be a real asshole, huh?” A voice over her shoulder startled her slightly. Who the hell had managed to sneak up on her?
Turning, Nora saw that it was Monroe Junior. Connor. (She’d recently started to actually remember his first name.) “Yes he can,” she replied crisply, turning back to her map.
“Your plan’s not bad,” Connor added. “He’s just pissed off because he didn’t think of it.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “Thank you for that stunning insight into the mind of Miles Matheson,” she said. “Now if you don’t mind…”
“But you know what his problem really is?” Connor went on, undeterred by her dismissiveness. “El quiere una fresa, pero eres una luchadora.”
Nora snorted at that. She had to agree. Rachel Matheson was a total fresa: spoiled, stuck up, pampered, naive. They’d left her back in Willoughby so she could “care for her father,” and to Nora, it was good riddance. Nora had given up trying to understand Miles’ obsession with her.
But still, she wasn’t going to indulge Connor in this thing where they both spoke Spanish to each other. As if it gave them some kind of common bond. She had nothing in common with any Monroe.
So instead, she just said, “Is that so?”
“Pienso que si,” he answered with a wide grin. “It’s a shame. He doesn’t understand the value of a woman like you.”
Suddenly, Nora felt the ends of her hair growing hot and goosebumps rising on her arms the way they did when she was embarrassed. “Whatever,” she muttered, turning back to the map, clearly signaling the conversation was over.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Connor staring at her for a beat or two longer, still smiling, before he loped away. Once she was sure he wasn’t looking, Nora flicked her eyes up to glance at him again.
Annoying-ass punk, she thought, but she couldn’t help the small spark of interest that flared in response to his flirting with her. So, yes, tall, lanky, dark-haired men had always done it for her. Hence the endless amount of shit she tolerated from a certain ex-General of the Monroe Militia. Connor was about twenty years younger than the men she usually went for, but hey. That didn’t mean it wasn’t nice to look.
With a small smile on her face, Nora went back to work.
* * *
Nora’s plan went off almost perfectly. They approached the Patriot stronghold from both sides and sent one group in to attack first, followed quickly by the other. Miles led the first group, and Nora led the second. Just as they were just wiping out the last few Patriots, Nora felt a sharp sting in her leg.
“Shit!” she cried as she went down, crawling as quickly as she could under cover, a small stand of scrub bushes. There, she assessed the damage to her leg. Flesh wound, bad one. If she kept it clean, she'd be fine, but she sure as hell wasn’t running out of there.
After a few minutes, the screams and sounds of gunfire died down completely, and the calm after a fight settled over the area. Nora breathed a sigh of relief, but just to be cautious, she waited for one of her fellow fighters to find her, rather than shout for help.
Connor stepped around the bushes, “Mierda, ahí estás,” he said when he saw her, then turned around. “Guys, I’ve got Nora,” he yelled. Leaning forward, he extended a hand to her, and she took it, allowing him to help her up. She slung her arm around his waist and couldn’t help but notice the strong flex of his body against hers as he helped her along. And he was warm. Unlike Miles, she couldn’t help but unfairly compare, who ran as cold as a snake.
They made their way back to their safe place. That night, everyone either sat around campfires chatting quietly, or went to sleep. Nora got her wound stitched up and rested with it elevated, sipping a cup of hot tea, staring into the fire one of the men had built for her.
Nora’s heart sped up suddenly as Connor sat down next to her. She cut her eyes over at him and waited for him to speak.
“Como te sientes?” he asked her, concern evident on his face.
“Fine,” Nora said pointedly. Then added, “Why are you always speaking to me in Spanish? I may be Latina, but I do speak English, you know.”
Connor smiled, that easy grin he seemed to have in response to almost everything. “Yeah, I know,” he said. He shrugged. “I guess I just miss it sometimes, being around all these blancos. And you’re the only one who understands it.”
“Well, stop it,” Nora said, her tone sounding much more irritated than she actually was. “I don’t want the others to think we’re talking about them.”
“Okay,” Connor said. He took a quick swig out of the flask he was carrying and held it out to her.
“I don’t drink,” Nora said.
Connor laughed at that. “Really?” he asked. “How the hell did you and Matheson ever end up together then?”
“Contrary to popular belief, sex is actually better when at least one of the parties is sober,” Nora replied dryly. “Why are you so interested in my relationship with Miles, anyway?”
“Oh, no reason…” Connor said, looking her up and down blatantly and biting his lip.
Nora pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, fighting down a smile at his obviousness. Connor didn’t miss it, and he smiled confidently as he got up and walked away.
So mini-Monroe was definitely hitting on her, Nora realized. Interesting. She didn’t usually think of herself as a cradle robber. That was more the territory of the elder Monroe, whose constantly running off to have sex with with Charlie had been noticed by pretty much everyone in camp except Miles.
Anyway, Connor wasn’t that much younger than her, Nora figured. Maybe eight or ten years… and Lord knows going for older men hadn’t exactly worked out well for her in the past, she thought, thinking of Miles.
Catching herself, Nora was appalled. Was she actually thinking of hooking up with Connor? No way, she thought. Temporary insanity caused by her injury. That was it. And if her mind kept going back to how sexy his dark brown eyes had looked in the firelight, how strong his arm had felt around her as he pulled her up after the fight, well. She would just have to ignore it.
* * *
A few days later, Nora was walking back after her first bath in about two weeks, and she felt amazing. She’d also washed out her spare clothes, and she was carrying the sopping wet garments, to hang them up when she returned. She spotted Connor coming down the hill toward her, and she couldn’t help smiling.
Gesturing at her as she approached, Connor commented, “Looks like I’m just a little bit too late,” he said, referring to missing the sight of her taking a bath.
Nora frowned and cocked her hip, “Yeah, too late if you were hoping to get your balls cut off,” she agreed sweetly.
Connor laughed. “I don’t know, it might be worth sacrificing one of them to see you naked.”
Nora snorted. “You’ve got very high hopes for what it would be like to see me naked.”
Shaking his head, Connor corrected her, “No, no, I just have really enormous balls.”
"Ew," Nora replied, swatting Connor with her soaked t-shirt, leaving a wet stripe on his side. With lightning fast reflexes, Connor grabbed the shirt out of her hand and twisted it up, whipping it out and catching the side of her butt cheek. Nora yelped in surprise and leaped toward Connor. Predictably, he held the shirt over his head, high out of her reach.
Nora didn’t hesitate in grabbing Connor’s bicep and pulling his arm down, while at the same time kicking out the back of his knee, causing his posture to buckle so that her shirt was once again in reach. Triumphantly, she snatched it away and shook it in Connor’s face for a second, then continued loping back up the hill. She refused to look back, but she knew that Connor was watching her the entire way.
Nora was so distracted by their little tiff that she almost ran right into Monroe, who was also making his way down to the river.
“What the hell was that?” Monroe asked, incredulous. “You flirting with my kid?”
Nora deflected. “Fucking the barely-legal set is more your style,” she said.
Monroe gave a small smile, not denying it, then said, “Well, you could do a lot worse than a Monroe, I’ll tell you that much.” Quirking an eyebrow at Nora, he turned and continued down the hill. Shaking her head, weirded out by the whole conversation, she continued on her way.
* * *
A few days later, the group arrived at a city that was under the control of the Patriots. The enemy was too thick on the ground for them to make a move here, but the population was large enough that they could enter the city -- broken into smaller groups -- and not raise suspicions. They decided to go in and gather what intel they could, and take advantage of staying under actual roofs for a night or two.
Nora spent the day shopping, taking her time and keeping her ears open. That evening, she made her way to the local hotel, which had a restaurant and bar in the bottom level. She sat down with a bowl of the evening’s special, chili, and studied the crowd. There were plenty of Patriots in uniform just hanging around, shooting the shit. Nora smirked at how disgusted her daddy would be to see them. He had been a military man, and he always abided strictly by the dress regulations, which included not wearing your uniform while off-duty unless absolutely necessary. These Patriots seemed to wear nothing else.
“What’s so funny?” A voice at her elbow asked. Nora’s stomach clenched, and she prepared to blow off this interloper as rudely as humanly possible. Turning around, she saw that it was Connor.
“Go away,” she murmured while taking a sip of her water. “They’ll figure out we know each other.”
“No, they won’t,” he objected reasonably. “As far as anyone knows, I’m just a guy hitting on a beautiful woman.”
“You… you really think I’m beautiful?” Nora said, making her eyes hugely wide and parting her lips slightly.
“Well, yeah, I mean…” Then he seemed to catch on that she was mocking him. “You know you’re gorgeous, alright,” he concluded, and she covered a smile by eating a spoonful of chili. Connor stood in silence for a few seconds, then went ahead and sat down next to her. Nora tried to ignore the fact that she was happy he did.
“So how did everything go today?” he asked her in a low voice.
Sighing, Nora went ahead and told him about what she’d done all day, the intel she’d gathered. Connor offered his commentary throughout, and when she was done, he gave her the rundown of what he’d been doing. Nora was actually impressed by how much he’d managed to find out.
“Overall, seems like we might be able to eventually remove the Patriot assholes from this city,” Connor concluded.
“You and Monroe must be happy about that,” Nora said. “I hear you’re trying to get the old Republic back.”
“Where’d you hear that?” Connor asked.
“Charlie,” Nora said.
Connor rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, not to contradict the old man's pillow talk, but you and I both know that we aren’t getting the Republic back.”
Nora was surprised. Sure, Connor didn’t walk around constantly balanced on the razor’s edge of sanity like his father did, but she’d figured he had to be at least somewhat delusional to think that the Monroe Republic would rise again. “You’re saying that’s not what you’re after?” Nora asked.
Connor sighed. “Nah. Not sure it ever was. Chasing after the idea of the Republic just gave me an excuse to leave Mexico.”
“And what was the real reason?” Nora said skeptically.
A flash of regret colored Connor’s face. “Nunez.” She waited for him to continue. “Things had been bad between us for a while. He kept testing me, making me do crazy things to prove my loyalty. It was fucked up, but I didn’t know how to get out. When Monroe showed up, I saw my chance.”
While Nora considered this, the guitar that had been humming away in the background suddenly picked up the pace, bursting into a familiar salsa tune. Nora couldn’t help but sway slightly to the music. Connor noticed immediately.
“Dance with me,” he said, holding his hand out with the unfettered confidence of the handsome son of two warlords.
“Um, no,” Nora said, leaning away.
“Yes,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her off her stool. She followed him, not altogether unwillingly. Okay, so she liked it when a man took charge.
Connor began to move with grace and rhythm. Nora was impressed. She considered herself a good dancer, though she almost never had an opportunity to do it, anymore, and Connor was keeping up with her, no problem. She plastered herself against Connor’s body when the music called for it, then twirled away carelessly.
For his part, Connor pulled her close to him, holding her lips just inches from his, so close she could feel his breath, then dipped away. Nora’s heart pounded, and not just with the exertion of the movement. She couldn’t deny that she was getting turned on by Connor’s skillful dancing, and his hands all over her body.
He ran one hand down her side, then up and over her chest, his fingers brushing her collarbone. Nora couldn’t help but hum her approval. She never would have predicted this, but Connor was driving her crazy.
The song they were dancing to transitioned into a slower, sultry beat. Nora turned her back to Connor and pressed her ass into him, letting him put his hands on her hips possessively. Nora quickly felt the effect their dancing was having on him, as he grew hard behind her. She leaned into his chest, throwing her head back.
“Eres increible,” Connor murmured, and the feeling of his lips on her ear made her shiver. “No sabes lo que me haces.”
Nora smirked and rolled her hips into his now-obvious erection. “Tengo una idea,” she murmured back, forgetting momentarily that she refused to speak Spanish to him.
The song drew to a close, and the musician put his guitar in its stand to take a break. “Do you want to go upstairs?” Connor asked.
Nora hesitated. Connor was making it so easy, so natural. With Miles, even fucking seemed like a fight. Half the time, she felt like he was doing her a favor by sleeping with her, like it was somehow annoying that she was a woman with sexual urges.
“Yeah,” she finally said to Connor. “Let’s go.”
Once they were in Connor’s room, he bent down and kissed her gently. Nora pushed him, backing him into the wall, slamming her hips against his as she plunged her tongue into his mouth. But Connor refused to adopt her frantic pace. Instead, he turned her around so that her back was to him. He pinned her hands behind her with one hand and explored her body with the other, lightly tracing over her hipbone, her breast, one thumb grazing a peaked nipple, then over her shoulder. Connor lifted her hair out of the way and kissed her neck, with just enough pressure. Nora felt pleasure coiling in her body, and it made her impatient.
“Aren’t you… going to fuck me…” she asked breathlessly.
Connor laughed softly. “I was planning on it, yes. Does it have to be right now?”
“Now’s good,” Nora said, twisting slightly to try to get her hands free.
Connor released them but ran his hands down her arms, stopping her from turning around or touching him. “I was taught that a man should know how to please a woman,” he said in a low voice. “Know how to go slow, how to claim her body for his own, how to make her cry because the pleasure is too much.” Nora felt herself growing wet, her body trembling at his words. “Do you trust me?” Nora's only reply was to lean into him, but it was all he needed.
Connor ran his hands over her body, pulling her shirt off as he kissed and stroked her back, his fingers tracing intimate patterns over her ribcage, her belly button, the sensitive skin below her breasts. Nora reached back to try to stroke his cock through his pants, but he gently pushed her away. So she surrendered herself to sensation.
He ghosted his fingers over her breasts, and she gasped, arching her back up into his fingers, trying to get him to touch her there. Her breasts felt full and heavy with arousal, her nipples aching with the need to be rubbed, twisted, pulled. She growled with frustration, and Connor finally unclasped her bra, letting the straps rest on her shoulders for a few moments, reaching up under the fabric to palm her breasts, finally, pushing her bra off as he did.
Abruptly, Connor turned Nora around and dipped his head to take one nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, twisting the other in his fingers roughly. Nora shrieked with the sudden onslaught of sensation, grinding her soaked pussy against the strong thigh that Connor had edged between her legs. His soft curls brushed her chest as he continued to lave and lick at her breasts, setting her nerves to jangling, and the tension between her legs built to the breaking point. Finally, with a loud cry, Nora came, slick moisture coating her pussy as she shuddered with her climax, clutching Connor’s shoulders.
Pulling away from her, slightly, Connor smiled, looking down at Nora as if she were utterly radiant. “So fucking hot,” he murmured, backing her toward the bed. Nora collapsed backward with a sigh, still a bit dazed from her orgasm.
Connor stayed standing and leaned down to unfasten her jeans, pulling them down her legs but leaving her panties on. Nora watched him, lips parted. Connor kneeled down between her legs, pressing her legs gently apart. Nora’s breath came in gasps as she felt his breath on her inner thighs, felt the scrape of his five o’clock shadow on her skin. Then, he pressed his lips against her burning center, tonguing her through the thin fabric of her panties.
“Fuck,” Nora bit out, clutching the sheets on the bed. It had been a long time--too long--since a man did this for her. She spread her legs wider, begging Connor for more pressure, harder. Instead, he ran his hands up and down her smooth legs, giving only the slightest pressure to her clit. He lifted his head slightly and hooked his teeth over the waistband of her panties. Nora was thankful for the loosened elastic, as he caught the material in his teeth and dragged her panties off, pulling them all the way down and over her feet.
Now she was completely naked, and Connor gently brushed his fingers over her soaked slit. Nora moaned, begging him for more, and he plunged two fingers into her entrance at the same time his tongue found her clit. She felt warmth and wetness as he licked her and fingered her, and he hooked his fingers inside her to find the bundle of nerves that would send her over the edge.
Nora grasped her own breasts greedily, unable to stop herself from rocking into Connor’s mouth as sensation overwhelmed her body. She pinched her nipples viciously, and with one last, long stroke of Connor’s tongue against her, she came again, her wails of pleasure taking on a disbelieving tone that it had happened again, so quickly.
“Now fuck me,” she begged, turning over. “Please, damnit.” Nora was nearly incoherent with lust--the orgasms Connor had given her had served only to peak her arousal.
Behind her, Connor pulled her back so her legs were hanging over the edge of the bed, her toes touching the floor. Nora felt him run his hands over her ass, squeezing the firm flesh there lightly. Then she heard the sound of him removing his clothes, the garments hitting the floor, and his legs were suddenly against hers, the muscles strong and taut.
Nora felt him edge her legs apart and she tilted her hips up to expose her wet folds to him. Finally, she felt the blunt, hot head of his cock rubbing against her, and she groaned with need. Connor slicked himself in her wetness, angling his cock down to rub against her clit, then up and over her entrance, not yet penetrating her. Nora thought that surely this was what it felt like to go crazy, to want… to need…
Connor pushed inside her with one hard thrust, and she screamed with the sweet relief of it, of finally being filled by him, fucked by him. He pounded into her, done with teasing, plunging his cock into her deeper with every stroke. In her position laid out in front of him, Nora was helpless to do anything but take his battering ram of a cock inside her, and she welcomed it with ecstasy.
“God, Connor,” she cried out. She shoved one hand underneath her body to tease her clit, and within seconds, she was coming for a third time, shuddering around his cock buried deep inside her.
His hands were strong and firm on her hips as he thrust in and out of her. After a few minutes, he moaned, “So fucking good, baby… Goddamnit… gonna come…” Nora felt his thrusts speeding up, and she pushed back into him as much as she could, wanting it, wanting him.
With a loud yell, Connor pulled out of her, and she felt hot streams of come land on her lower back. When he finished, Connor pulled a towel off the wash basin and wiped it off, so she could turn over. He laid down and assertively pulled her into his arms, which she found a little disconcerting but not unpleasant.
“Fuck,” he said, kissing her hair. “That was amazing.”
Nora smiled. She had to agree.
* * *
Nora spent the next night in Connor’s room, too, after he found her at a bonfire where she was socializing on the edge of town. She had to admit that Connor was fun, and he was really good in bed. So what was the harm in spending a couple nights with him? It wasn’t like they were the only ones getting laid. Monroe and Charlie were openly sharing a room at their hotel, and Nora had caught wind that a few of the other men had found company while they were in town.
The group got back on the road the next day, making it about ten miles out of town before setting up camp for the evening. Nora had just put a pot of water over the fire to boil, and when she stood up, Connor was there.
“Hey,” he said with a flirty smile. They hadn’t seen much of each other all day.
Nora couldn’t help but smile back. “Hi,” she said, before moving to walk off. Connor stopped her by grabbing her hand and holding it, pulling her back around to face him.
“Got a dinner date for tonight?” Connor asked, smoothing his thumb over the back of her hand.
Nora snorted. “To share my dried beans and apple with? Shockingly, no.” Despite her sarcastic words, she was pleased by Connor’s interest. She had wondered whether he was one of those men who only wanted the shiny new toy until they actually got to play with it once. Apparently not.
Then, Nora noticed Miles watching her and Connor. Quickly, she pulled her hand away from Connor's and looked at the ground.
Connor cut his eyes over to where Miles stood, and his face dropped. “Right,” he said flatly. “Well, I won’t bother you…” Now it was his turn to step away.
Suddenly, Nora’s chest felt hot with indignation. Fuck Miles. He had no right to look at her, let alone judge her, not after… everything. Decision made, she grabbed Connor’s arm.
“Hold on,” she said. Connor turned back to her, still frowning. She didn’t really know what she wanted to say, so instead she decided to skip the talking. Rising up on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around Connor’s neck and pressed her lips to his. Strong, eager arms immediately pulled her close, and Connor kissed her back without reservation.
At first, Nora had been aware of Miles watching them, but as the kiss went on, she forgot about everyone but Connor. Finally, they broke apart. Nora heard a smug voice behind her.
“Told you she was flirting with my kid,” Monroe said through a mouthful of food to Charlie who was sitting next to him. Charlie smacked him on the shoulder, then met Nora’s eyes with a mischievous smile.
“Él está celoso,” Connor said knowingly. Nora smiled and nodded, looking at Monroe pointedly.
“Wait, what?” Monroe said. “Was that about me?”
Nora couldn’t help it. She cracked up. Connor grinned at her reaction and threw an arm around her, pulling her into his side. As Miles looked on in annoyance, Connor and Nora went over to sit by Monroe and Charlie. So maybe Connor wasn't the love of her life, Nora thought. But she had an idea that they were going to have a lot of fun together.
* * *