Charles Smith x Reader

Thirty-Three

His lips were as soft as they looked like, kind of like you'd imagine the ones of a woman, well taken care of and with a slight scent of vanilla.

The taste of coffee mixed into it, together with this natural scent of wildlife that stuck to him at all times.

You liked it. So much so that, after you broke the kiss, you buried your face in the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply.

His arms wrapped around your body, pulling you flush against his chest. He felt firm below you, like a promise of safety.

Minutes passed in which you just lay in his arms and enjoyed the comfort that it gave you. Finally, after so many nights of fantasising about how it would feel like to be held by him you now knew the answer.

Charles had never struck you as the man to openly show affection but now it seemed like he refused to let go of you ever again.

His grip was firm though loose enough for you to pull away for you had wanted to. But you didn't want to. If it would have been possible you would have stayed like this forever.

"You know this ain't a safe place no more.", you said.

"Yeah.", his voice was low as he pressed a kiss to the side of your head. "But I won't leave."

"And if I go with you?"

He hesitated.

"Would you?", he asked.

You pulled back just enough to be able to smile at him softly.

"If that's the best I can do, sure.", you let out a low huff. "I mean, this is just a house. Hell, we could go anywhere and build a new one. Or... sleep under the stars... if that's what you feel like."

Heat shot all the way up to your cheeks and made your entire head feel like it was on fire. All of a sudden embarrassment made you avoid his gaze.

Why did you say all these things all of a sudden?

It wasn't that they came from just anywhere, you had played with words and thoughts so many days and night. But now that you actually voiced them, straight to his face, it made you feel a kind of way.

Embarrassed, you buried your face on his shoulder and let out a deep groan.

You couldn't see but it made Charles smirk. A soft chuckle made his chest vibrate.

"That's... oddly sweet of you.", his hand grabbed your face to gently force you to look at him again. "(Y/N)... Where else am I supposed to ever find a (Y/G) like you?"

Annoyed, you twisted your mouth.

"I'm right here, ya know..."

"Yeah.", he breathed another kiss to your lips. "Would you be wherever I am?"

You took a moment to remember the warmth of his lips on yours.

"If you'll have me.", your finger ran along the scar that stretched across his cheek, a little hidden between stubbles of a black beard shadow.

"I'd kill for you, even.", the way he said it, his eyes lowered, his voice so stern and deep that it made you shiver to the core, did something to you.

You couldn't say what exactly. But it was enough to make another wave of embarrassment chase through your stomach.

Smiling like a giddy teen, you pulled away and wiped your nose to hide just how weak you were for him. Even if he said something that would have made you cringe if anyone else had said it to you.

"We don't have to jump head first into manslaughter, Charles.", you caressed his cheek. "Just leaving together will be enough for me."

He grabbed your hand to breathe a kiss to the back of it.

"So... you want to leave all this behind?", he gestured with his eyes through the house.

You shrugged.

"It's a place. I'd rather be with you."

That made him smile.

"Words like honey.", he admitted with a smile. "But what about the cows? And Clarence. Or the bison."

You had thought about that a few times too. Since the bison seemed to refuse to return to the wild the easiest thing to do would be to just take him with you.

"We could build a caravan.", you said. "With a wagon to sleep in. For the days when the open won't be all that cozy."

"You know, that's not a bad idea.", Charles got up to pull you back into a soft kiss. "Almost like when I traveled with the gang."

You let your head rest on his shoulder.

"Why not return to them?", you asked.

He took his time to answer that question. Even though you didn't need to hear it. It was obvious that Charles valued the gang members greatly. But that life just wasn't what he longed for.

"Let's just figure things out ourselves.", he breathed a kiss to the top of your head.

You huffed.

"Why not.", you shrugged. "It's not like we got anything else to do. Besides avoiding the law."

He chuckled.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Nah. It's not like I like what they do. It's better to hit the road."

Again, the two of you kissed before Charles released you to pack up all the necessities. You made sure to pack blankets and a few pillows, the rest of the medicine that you kept stored in the cabinets and a few metal plates and cups.

Then you made sure that there was enough food for the first few days, canned stuff, coffee beans, bread and even preserved meat that Charles had hung up to dry.

The beating of your heart stumbled with excitement whenever you thought about what the future would bring. Then again, you couldn't help but throw glances through the window.

Clark had made sure he did not appreciate your attention or Charles' presence. Packing up would only fuel the fire of his hate.

And perhaps he even expected you to leave. By law he wasn't allowed to step on your land. So technically you were safe as long as you did not leave the ranch.

If you left, he could put a bounty on your head and hint both of you down. Worse even, he seemed like the guy to do so.