Eliza was sending mental curses Ares way as Jim Taylor sauntered into the bar. She immediately sat up straighter and arched her back to make certain body parts stand out more. A sideways glance his way revealed that he was scanning the bar for the best seat. When his eyes fell on her, she playfully bit down on the straw in her drink. Her eyes bore into his. A smirk slid its way onto his face.

She had to admit that he wasn't too bad looking for a criminal. His blond hair was perfectly sculpted with a prominent swoosh on the top of his head. His eyes were a striking blue that stood out against his tan skin. He had a strong jawline that held a neat array of stubble. Eliza was going to have to be extremely careful with him. He definitely knew how to win the hearts of all sorts of women.

The stool beside her squeaked as Jim sat on it. He signaled the bartender and muttered for a whiskey on the rocks. Strong liquor. He was there for pleasure only. He wanted to feel something that night. Oh, he sure would feel something.

"What brings a classy woman like you to a dump like this?" Jim said, leaning toward Eliza. She was a little put off by his strong cologne. It was overwhelming, but she remained stationary.

"They have the best drinks, don't you think?"

A class of amber liquid and ice was placed on the bar. Jim took a swallow and matched her smile. "You are very right, sweetheart."

She wanted to roll her eyes. "Sweetheart" sounded condescending from his lips. He might have looked pretty, but he talked like a prick.

"I haven't seen you around before." He scooted closer to the bar and his hand found its resting place on her knee. "And I would know if I'd seen a beautiful gal like you."

Eliza fake giggled. Her own hand gently touched his hand and she picked it up to make up an excuse to keep his hand off her. She knew the situation she put herself in, but it didn't mean she had to be okay with any man touching her.

Ares glared from his booth. When he saw the bounty head touch Eliza, he instantly went on the defense. Yeah, she was doing her job, but he didn't have to like it. He just gained her as a partner, and he wasn't ready to lose that so quickly. He looked down at his beer. The condensation made his hand wet. It'd be easy to accidentally drop it into that guy's face.

Her laugh rang through the bar and Ares' eyes shot back up. How the hell did she do it? Eliza already had the bounty leaning so close to her to whisper in her ear. She was acting, definitely, but she was too damn good at it. No wonder she worked alone. She could handle herself.

Tipping his head back, Ares finished the rest of his beer. He waved for a second one. Ares went back to staring at the back of the bounty's head just in time to see him throw back the rest of his drink. Ares sat up. He suddenly met Eliza's gaze as her fingers gracefully pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. Just as quickly as it happened, she was smiling at Jim who stood and held his hand out to her. Ares was ready, the second beer placed in front of him suddenly forgotten.

"Let's get out of here," Jim whispered in Eliza's ear as he laid money on the bar. "I've got your drink."

"Thanks, handsome." The words were so foreign in her mouth. No matter how often she was stuck in this situation, she could never get used to acting in such a way.

Jim link their arms together and lead her toward the door. She met Ares gaze once more. The determination in his eyes was intimidating. He looked like he was ready to kill. He wouldn't be stupid enough to do that, would he?

Suddenly, the chilly wind surrounded them, signaling they were outside. She involuntarily shivered and Jim gladly put his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. Draping his jacket on her shoulders would have sufficed. Eliza was not going to get out of that guy's reach easily. It was time to do something drastic. She just hoped Ares was going to follow her quickly.

Eliza yanked Jim by the tie and pulled him into a nearby alley. She practically attacked his mouth. Her stomach churned when he pressed her against the brick of a building. It was worse when his hands started groping at her. Her dress was becoming a problem fast. Eliza pulled away when she heard the bar door open and shut. A giggle flew from her lips when she tore away from the criminal. His whiskey breath fanned over her face when he let out a laugh of his own.

"Why don't we take this somewhere more private?" he muttered, staring blatantly at her breasts that were nearly out of her dress.

"Isn't this private enough?" she said, gently pushing him back. Her heartbeat was racing, but she was far from turned on.

Jim looked around the dirty alley. A wicked smirk appeared on his lips, "I like a girl who enjoys getting a little dirty. What other secrets do you hold?"

"A partner."

The bounty head turned to see Ares standing at the end of the alley. While he was distracted, Eliza lifted her knee fast. It met with his groin and he fell to the ground. He groaned, holding his goods and started calling Eliza horrible names. She just kicked him in the head hard enough to knock him out.

"Hurry and tie him up, Ares," she said, straightening her dress. "He'll be back up in a few minutes, so we need to get him back to the ship."

"Will he fit?"

He will when you hold him in a loving embrace."

What do I tie him up with?"

Eliza didn't hesitate to pull off her strappy heels and cut the strap off.

Here. Tie it up tight. He shouldn't get out."

He obeyed. Within seconds, he had their bounty head tied up and over his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

She nodded, pulling her dress in all sorts of directions to keep herself covered. Now that they got the guy, she could only think how her dress was the most uncomfortable article of clothing ever. She couldn't wait to get home and change. Eliza was going to return it as soon as possible.

"This guy went down pretty fast with just one kick," Ares said as they started their walk back to the ship.

A snort left Eliza. "You did, too."

She needed Ares to make more jokes. She needed something to distract her. Did she let that hunt go farther than she meant? Eliza wasn't a stranger to sleazy men touching her, but she never had to instigate anything before. She felt dirty she had to resort to that. She wondered if it was even necessary. The smell of his cologne lingered all over her. Eliza wanted to gag.

"Touché."

Jim groaned, coming to, but Eliza quickly hit his head with what was left of one of her shoes. He went limp again.

"Ya know, too many hits to the head can kill a man."

"He'll be fine. He deserves a few good hits to the head."

Ares looked down at his partner curiously. She looked so small and innocent, a drastic change from before. One of her hands held down the front of her dress while the other came across her stomach and gripped her arm. She was very capable on her own, but maybe she couldn't cope with the situations she created to catch bounties.

They finally got to Eliza's starship. Eliza hopped into the cab to help Ares get Jim in it. When the criminal fell partially onto her, she leaped out of the cab to let Ares handle the rest. His touch disgusted her. Yeah, she wasn't coping well.

Once Ares was satisfied that he could climb in and separate the bounty head from Eliza, he climbed out. In an instant, he pulled his jacket off and covered her shoulders with it. She nearly jumped when the warm material covered her. Eliza glanced at Ares, his eyes holding concern. He had to know she was having a mental crisis over the alley event. She shouldn't have let that man touch her. Why did it go so wrong for her this time? Did she think having a partner would mean she could push her boundaries more? She was stupid if she thought that.

"Are you okay?" Ares didn't reach for her. He knew that'd be a terrible idea. He had been around enough violated women in his past. He didn't blame her. She was trying to do a job and she did a damn good job. She just didn't know how to handle what happened. He wanted to know what was

Eliza nodded and zipped up the jacket. "Let's just get that asshole to the station."

And they did. The fly there was quiet. Jim didn't wake back up, thank God, and Ares didn't try to pry anything from Eliza. She wouldn't have said anything anyway. She started thinking she should have changed before leaving, but then she decided that Ares could bring in the bounty himself. She could trust him to give her half the reward money, right?

The starship landed gently in an empty lot near the station. Eliza turned the ship off but didn't move. "Can you get him?" she asked quietly.

Ares paused to watch her. "Yeah. I'll be back."

Eliza listened to Ares drag Jim Taylor out of the ship in a not-so-gentle way. Her eyes followed him as he walked into the station. Donovan would wonder why it wasn't her bringing in the bounty head. He did send the notice to her just before she agreed to Ares joining her. She'd have to let him know why some strange man got her reward. Next time. She would be okay to go in next time.

If she hadn't agreed to Ares joining her, would she had come out of that hunt worse? Logically, she would have taken him down much sooner, probably on his way into the bar. They should have done that. It would have been so easy. Instead, she thought using her body as a lure was the better idea. It worked, but at what cost? Her discomfort? The sexualization of herself? There would be a lot of rethinking for her later.

Ares was out within 10 minutes with the reward money in his hands. He walked back to Eliza's ship and saw her staring at nothing. Gingerly, he knocked on her ship's door before climbing in behind her. She looked at him. He could have sworn that any light she had in her eyes that day was completely gone. Was she going to be okay to go home alone?

"Here," he said, handing her the entire reward. "I think you deserve this more than I do. You did most of the work." And went through Hell for it.

"No, don't worry about it. Please, take your share."

Ares didn't listen and forced the money into the jacket pocket. He noticed how she seemed to lean away from his hand but relaxed once she realized what he was doing.

"Are you going to be okay to go home?"

Eliza nodded. She was getting a little irritated by his concern. She was going to be just fine. She'd survive. Why couldn't he just believe her? Maybe because she didn't believe herself yet.

"Go home, Ares. I'll meet you here tomorrow morning."

He sighed and climbed out of the ship, "Got it. Get some sleep, Lizzy."

Eliza didn't even get the chance to yell at him about the nickname because he was already turning a corner.

With a sigh of her own, Eliza fired up her ship once again. Her door shut and she lifted into the air. With remarkable speed, she shot forward. She flew faster than ever before until she came to a familiar apartment building.

Each floor was its own apartment with a ship hangar attached to it. It was built specifically for starship owners. It was actually required in the lease to own a starship to rent out a room. Eliza slid her ship into the seventh-floor hangar and walked into her apartment.

It was dark, aside from the lights of the city peering through her windows. She flipped on a single light before locking her door. She wasted no time getting out of her dress, tossing it by the door. She had to remember to return it. Eliza laid Ares' jacket on the back of her couch on her way to her room.

She took the longest, hottest shower she could in an attempt to forget the night. When she finished, she only put on a pair of underwear and a tank top and then went out to the couch. Eliza eyed the jacket on the couch, wondering if she should give it back to Ares in the morning. It really was nice of him to let her use it. Maybe he wasn't so bad as a partner. Plus, it was really warm.

With an irritated growl, she picked it up and put it on. She zipped it up and pulled the hood over her head. How the hell did he manage to look the part with a hooded jacket? He had a completely different talent than her. Honestly, she was acting ridiculous to keep her mind from the night. How Ares pulled off a casual, yet dressy style didn't matter to her in the least.

Eliza curled up in a ball and pulled a discarded blanket over her body. She reached for her remote and turned on her television. She found a station playing an old classic, I Love Lucy. She watched for a moment. When she realized that she was actually chuckling at Lucy and Ethel trying to shove chocolates into their mouths and blouses, she decided to stay on the station.

The show played through the night while Eliza slept away a nightmare of a night. She stayed curled up on her side, wrapped up in the black jacket. The hood barely covered her head anymore.

Thank God Ares was there.