Midnight Ride, Part 1

Libby & Barth

Barth pulled into the marina parking lot and looked over at Libby. She hadn’t said a word during the 30 minute drive from The Glen. She was coming alive now, looking out the window and around the parking lot. He had no idea who she’d called, but she seemed to be expecting someone to be there. At least she hadn’t fought him. He had no desire to hurt her…she had information he wanted.

“Okay Libby, we’re going to get out and walk down to my dock, quietly.” He made a show of taking a folding knife from the glove compartment and putting it in his pocket.

Libby was watching desperately for Frank, sure that he must have gotten her message by now. She didn't see him anywhere but surely, she thought, he must be hiding, trying to assess how dangerous the situation was before he revealed himself.

When Barth spoke to her, she turned slowly to look at him, her eyes widening at the sight of the knife. He'd use it, she was sure. She'd seen it in his eyes. Richie had been right to tell her not to approach him, she saw now. But now it was too late.

Dammit, if only she hadn't put her gun so carefully away when she'd first arrived home. She'd had no chance to get to it with Barth watching her closely. Thinking of it, locked in the cabinet she kept it in, Libby felt disgusted.

He made her get out of the truck on the driver's side, keeping a hand on her arm the entire time. Libby was still looking all around her, hoping for help to arrive any second. Maybe there'd be someone out on the dock she could shout to, she thought.

“Be nice now,” he said quietly as he moved her through the parking lot to an alley short cut to his dock. There were some people at the end of the dock getting off a boat, so he took the knife out of his pocket and just put the end of the handle to her back so she’d know to keep her mouth shut. “Don’t get any dumb ideas, Libby.” He said wrapping one arm around her shoulder and keeping the knife handle to her side he moved her toward his boat.

“How was it out there?” he called to the guy who just finished securing his boat.

“Nice and smooth,” the man called back and winked at him as he stopped by, noticing the pretty girl. I’ll give you a hand.”

“Easy now,” he helped her onto the sailboat, “Thanks I appreciate that,” Once the ropes were off, he started the auxiliary engine and backed it out of his space. Libby hadn’t moved from the spot he’d put her when they came aboard.

Frank hadn't gotten her message, Libby knew. She knew that nothing would have kept him from being here if he had. She was alone out here with Barth.

Keep your wits, Libby, she said to herself. This man could rape you, kill you, anything he wants. The only thing to do now is not to panic and to make it through this. She was a good swimmer, she thought to herself. She could always jump overboard, swim back. She watched for a chance.

Barth was keeping an eye on her as he headed out of the harbor. “Don’t think about jumping Libby…I’d hate to have to run you down…but I would. Come back over here beside me…now.”

Hesitantly, she moved back over toward him. "Listen, Barth-" Maybe talking to him would work. "You really don't wanna do this. Just take me back to the dock and let me go and I won't tell anyone. It won't be anything but a date that didn't go well."

As soon as she was close enough, he grabbed her and pulled her in front of him between his arms with his hands on the wheel. She was caught with her back to him. He leaned over a little and said in her ear, “This is not a date and I’m not playing games with you anymore.”

Libby was shivering more trapped between his arms than she had from the wind off the water, even though she'd worn a jacket. Barth's voice was hard in her ears and the full length of his body was pressing into hers as he leaned forward.

"Okay..." she said quietly, her teeth almost chattering. "Okay, you're not playing games. So, what is it you want from me? Why'd you bring me out here?"

Barth checked his fuel gauge and looked out toward a tiny island where he’d planned to anchor for the night, just off shore. He’d have to use the sails tomorrow and conserve the fuel. He looked down at her and noticed her shivering “What I want from you is the same thing you want from me.” He slowed the engine looking for the spot he wanted to anchor.

"What?" she asked impatiently. "I don't know what you mean! I just wanted to find out something about you!"

“I asked you before what you wanted to know about me. What is this ‘something’ you want to know?” Barth cut the engine and stepped away to toss over the anchor. He came back to her, “Let’s go below and get you out of this wind.”

Get her out of the wind? He'd kidnapped her and he was concerned about her? Right! Go below. Small, cramped quarters. No way of getting away from him.

How had she let herself get into this mess? There'd been a few minutes, back there at her house when they'd been talking, that Barth hadn't seemed so dangerous. That he'd almost been just some guy she was talking with, getting to know. That had changed the minute he'd forced her out of her house and into his truck.

"I don't want to go below," she told him. "The wind is fine. I'm not cold."

He grabbed her arms, “Well I am and I don’t plan to sleep on the deck so move.” He pushed her toward the steps and down into the cabin. He gave her a look that said 'don’t even think about it' and shed his jacket.

Barth went over to the tiny galley and poured some water into a kettle and put it on to boil. He took two mugs from the cabinet below and found a couple of tea bags. “You might as well make yourself comfortable.” He looked at her over his shoulder.

“I don’t have any milk, hope you can take your tea with just sugar.” He handed her a mug of tea. “That should warm you up.” He leaned against the tiny counter and looked at her over the rim of his tea mug.

"How touching," Libby said sarcastically. "You kidnap me and then you're worried about me being cold and how I take my tea!"

She was perched nervously on the edge of a berth. Looking around for something she could use to hit him with, or a knife or something else sharp. Anything she could use for a weapon. Briefly, she considered throwing the hot tea in his face, but would it be hot enough? If it wasn't, it would only make him angry.

“You know you put on a pretty good act…you come in MY bar all dolled up, giving me the eye and, fool that I am, I bit…then I find out you were looking for me by name. So I come to see ya, right? And all you want is to know something about me. So I think to myself…this Sheila is working…for who or why I don’t get yet. I don’t leave loose ends behind me, so I can’t think of anything I’ve left undone or hanging out there to come back and bite me in the arse.” He took a drink from his mug.

“I didn’t want to rough you up, Libby. I don’t treat women badly…I like them too much,” he grinned. “I don’t want you to be cold…I don’t want you to be thirsty…I want you to be comfortable.” He looked around the cabin, “This ain’t nothing like McGee’s yacht, but it’s home to me right now. It’s warm and dry, it’s what I had left after the divorce…it’s mine.” He locked his eyes on hers, “Now…how well do you want to know me?”

"YOUR bar?" Libby had caught the emphasis he put on that word. "The bar is yours? You own it?" She'd also caught the word 'divorce', but she let that lie for the moment. She also let lie his question about how well she wanted to know him.

“I own ¾ of it and I’m working on the last fourth, so I guess I can call it mine. Not many people know that,” his eyes had a teasing look, “so now you know something. Not that it’s anything earth shaking. Your turn…give up something…why were you looking for me?”

He was acting as though this were a friendly game of 20 Questions. Reluctantly, she said, "I wanted to find out what you did for a living."

He studied her for a minute, “I can’t imagine what that has to do with you…I’m a bounty hunter. I get paid to bring people in who have broken the law and fled. I’m legit, I got a license to carry. I even got fucking business cards. What I do for a living is not a big secret. Anybody at the bar could have told you that. Are you looking for a bounty hunter, or have I stepped in your stuff somewhere along the way?”

He finished his tea and put the mug in the sink.

"I don't guess you'd believe me if I told you it was for the paper?" Libby was a little surprised at his answer. Had he taken in one of Richie's clients or something? What was the connection there?

“No, honey I wouldn’t. Think about it…it would be hard for me to believe anything you tell me. Who were you trying to contact when I came into your room…are you working with someone…what interest could they have in me?

"I was only trying to contact a friend of mine, to let them know where I was going. Going off all alone with a strange guy, you know? I felt like someone oughta know where I was?" That made sense, didn't it, she thought to herself.

"As far as who I'm working for-" Libby stopped, looked at him uneasily. "I can't tell you that. I won't." Her look at him turned defiant. She would not betray Richie.

“Hey that’s cool, I don’t tell who my clients are either. That’s confidential.” He dismissed her story about contacting a friend. He didn’t believe it, but that was okay. She was giving a little, he’d given a lot…time to move on.

“Have I satisfied your burning curiosity?” he moved to the berth and sat down beside her and removed his boots.

"Yes." Libby rose from the berth uneasily, watching him take off his boots. "So, can we go back now?"

“Go back?” he looked up at her and reached over and took her arm pulling her between his legs. “No Libby, we aren’t going back tonight.” He ran his hand up her arm and across her breasts stopping, at the button on her jeans. “You’ve been making me uneasy, pulling at my mind…just wondering what you’re up to.” He jerked her waistband toward him, “You wanted to know something about me…now I want to know you.”

A thrill ran over her body at his touch. "Know me?" Her voice was nervous, desperate. "You can't touch me like that!" She tried to draw away.

He ran a hand under her shirt, “I can do anything I want with you. Don’t fight me…I know it was all an act on your part, but sometimes you know you have to step up and take what you’ve got coming to you. You start playing with fire…” He unsnapped her jeans, “sooner or later…you’re going to get burnt.”

Gasping, Libby said, "You can't-can't honestly believe I'd want to-to sleep with you! After you kidnap me?"

Earlier, when they'd been talking, she'd found herself admitting that this guy was actually somewhat good-looking, had even thought she could like him, if circumstances had been different. Meaning if she hadn't already been in love with Richie. But, my God, he actually thought she'd wanna go to bed with him now?

Barth wasn’t interested in what she wanted anymore. He pulled her down on his lap and kissed her, pushing her back on the berth. His thigh across her legs held her down, unzipping her jeans and easing his hand down beneath her panties. He stopped her protests with his mouth on hers.

Libby tried to ignore the fact that her body was actually responding to him. It had been awhile since the last time she and Richie were together and her body was missing something that it had grown used to. But- With this man?

When he drew back a little, she looked him in the eye. "Barth-" It was almost whispered. "I- There's someone I'm in love with. I don't- don't want to sleep with anyone else."

“You should have thought about that before you came sniffing around me.” He had her jeans off and started on his own. “I don’t really know you and you don’t really know me…let’s leave it at that.” He kissed her again, “because I don’t care…what you don’t want.” He had her breast in his hand and moved down to its tip. He heard her quick intake of breath. She was responding to his touch. He knew she would and he was glad, because he really didn’t want to rape her, but he intended to have her.

Libby's mind was in a whirl. If she told him that it was Richie who wanted to know about him- But no, she wouldn't do that. She'd led him on, let him believe she was interested, and now here she was. She had the information she'd been searching for. She'd do this... Just for tonight... And then would he consider that a fair trade? Her body in exchange for his story? But she didn't have the whole story yet, did she? Would he give her any more?

For just a moment, she fought him hard, "Barth!" she was crying out. "Wait a minute-!"

When he raised his head to look at her, Libby said, "I have to-to know something! Are-are you going to let me go after this? Take me home?"

Barth smiled, “I’ll think about it Libby.” He moved up her body and settled his on top of her. “You may not wanna leave when I’m through with you.”

Stopping her protests, Libby let him continue. Allowed his hands to move over her body as his lips followed. He wasn't being rough or forceful. His touches, his movements were gentle and careful and, despite his statement that he didn't care what she wanted, he was working hard to arouse her. And he was succeeding.

Her body liked what it was feeling. How could she possibly dislike a man so much, yet enjoy what he was doing to her? Closing her eyes, she told herself that this was for Richie, that she'd do anything in the world for him and that's what this was.

Barth took her, but he had surprised himself. This had been his plan all along to have her and he was enjoying her…even liked her. He wanted her to want him. Despite what he told her, he cared what she was feeling and so he took his time, making sure she was with him all the way. She responded when he kissed her and he felt her arms go around his back. He blocked out all those thoughts he was having and just went with the moment. Time to sort it out later…now there was just her beneath him…and the gentle rocking of the boat.

A little while later, Libby turned onto her side, facing away from him, wondering how she could have done this. She had responded to him, and that made it even worse. Closing her eyes tightly, she fixed Richie's face in her mind and moved her fingers up to clutch the locket around her neck, her Christmas present from him. Tears rolled down her cheeks.