"Oh!"
She gasped, her whole body tensing as the large blur that came flying through her carriage window landed squarely in her lap.
Suddenly, the blur sat upright.
A man.
He had a look in his eye that she couldn't quite pin down. It was determined… focused. She couldn't say she knew exactly what his plan was, but she knew he had one.
Before she could ask what was going on, he moved forward, placing kisses along her neck and nibbling her ear.
She gasped, surprised at first, then she remembered just how long it had been since someone kissed her in such a way. She could remember the exact number of years it had been. She only knew it had been far too long. She'd heard stories of highwaymen bursting into carriages, the lady being ravished and loved like she never had before only to be left cold and alone as soon as the man was sated.
Oh well. She decided it was worth it.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy it, getting more and more lost in the moment as his lips traveled up her neck to nibble on her earlobe.
Then, without words or any sort of warning at all, he pulled away, climbing out of the window with a lot more grace than he entered it.
She froze for a moment, confused by the sudden lack of attention.
She watched him pull himself the rest of the way out of the carriage.
"Is that it?"
She wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to happen, but she thought it was horribly cruel for him to leave off there. Why stoke the fire if you don't intend to cook?
Oh well… she at least had that little bit of excitement to liven up her day.
She raised her hand and ran her fingers over the places his lips had vacated just moments before. She could still feel the warm tingle of his mouth on her skin.
"Oh!" she gasped, startled.
Her diamond earring.
It was gone.
She realized he must have slipped it off while he kissed her. And she was too far off in her own little world… she didn't feel it at all. She craned her head to look backward but with the crowd in the streets, he would have been impossible to find.
Riled up and robbed on top of it all.
She would have pouted, but she decided very early on that pouting was reserved for children and the lower classes. It wouldn't simply wouldn't do to pout. So she huffed and slumped back in her seat instead.
The carriage rode on for about a mile longer, her glancing out the window every few minutes.
She didn't know what she was hoping to see. She knew the mystery man was long gone. Maybe she was secretly hoping another would crash land in her carriage to finish what he started.
She sighed.
It was no use.
Her small glimmer of excitement had been great fun, even if it was short lived. She opened her hand and looked down at the other earring that now lay nestled in her handkerchief. She'd taken if off shortly after the highwayman leapt out. It felt foolish to only wear the one. She turned her hand over with a sigh, letting the diamonds fall to the floor before turning her attentions back out the window. She never really liked them anyway. They were a gift from her mother-in-law. Dreadful woman.
Then she heard it.
Gunshots.
She instinctively ducked down in the carriage, hoping whoever they were shooting at was in the opposite direction.
No sooner did she cover her ears than the mysterious man come crashing through her window again, only from the opposite side.
She gawped at him.
How did he find her again? Had he been tagging along on the roof? She quickly put two and two together and figured out that the shots must have been aimed at him, otherwise he wouldn't have risked coming back, especially when she'd gotten such a good look at him and could have described him to the authorities.
She meant to ask what he was running from. She meant to ask a few things. But he was staring at her again. Those piercing eyes. But there was something different about his gaze this time. As if he wanted more than an earring.
"Are you going to kill me?" the woman asked, looking him man dead in the eye. She was surprised at how steady her voice was. She sounded braver than she felt.
The man could see she was frightened and was impressed by the woman's spirit.
He shook his head. "No."
The woman looked relieved and he took a moment to really take in her appearance. He hadn't noticed very much about her before, other than the fact that she was older than he. Her face was lined with the years, framed by soft grey curls. Her eyes were a startling shade of blue and when she relaxed her mouth went from a taut line to a rather pleasant curve. He found his eyes travelling down a delicate neck to a heaving, generous bosom, hardly contained in her corset. He couldn't help thinking she must have really been something in her day. Hell, she was quite something now and he never took himself for the toy boy type, flitting around after older women. Her dress was powder blue and the many skirts seemed to be far bigger than necessary but that seemed to be the fashion among the rich at present.
"Are you going to rob me?" she asked. "Well… again."
His eyes darted back up to her face. She was a little less frightened now that she was only worried for her jewels and not her life.
He shook his head again. "No."
She breathed a sigh of relief, making her breasts push even harder against the restrictive corset. The man swallowed, his eyes travelling over the lightly freckled skin of her ample chest. The woman followed his eyes and flushed deeper, remembering his actions from their first meeting.
"Are you… are you going to..?"
She didn't need to finish. Her question was clear.
If not her life or her money, what else would a man want?
He was surprised, then contemplative. His eyes trailed up her corseted torso. He wouldn't mind having a go. But not that way. He might have been a lot of things but a rapist wasn't one of them. If a woman came to his bed, she came willingly.
For some reason, her to-the-point questions had warmed him to this woman and he decided to reassure her.
"No. No, nothing like that. I've just… got a bit of a situation at the moment. I just needed a quick place to-"
Just then, the carriage ground to a halt and the man toppled forward onto the woman's lap in surprise.
Two men could clearly be heard outside.
"We're looking for a thief, we have reason to believe he might have... commandeered your carriage."
She chanced a glance out the window.
"Palace guards?" he whispered.
She silently nodded.
"'I haven't seen nothing," her driver's gruff voice drifted through the open window.
"We require a look inside," the guard said.
"Help yourself," the driver replied.
He let down the steps to make it easier for the guard to climb aboard.
The man froze in a panic.
He had lingered too long. He was caught. And without any defense.
He'd run out of bullets and ditched his gun back at the palace. Granted, he thought he would have been back on the ship by now. He wasn't expecting this turn of events.
They both watched as the door handle began to turn.
Suddenly, she grabbed the man and shoved him to the floor, dropping her heavy skirts over his body, effectively concealing him. He curled into a ball, unsure why she was helping him, but taking the offer just the same. The woman adjusted her position, covering him completely with her cumbersome dress just as the door opened.
"Evening, ma'am," the guard said, "we have reason to believe a dangerous criminal came aboard your carriage."
"Thank heavens you're here!" the woman replied, her voice shrill with fright, "he did! He came through the window!"
He stiffened.
That wasn't the answer she was supposed to give.
What was she doing?
"Through the window! I thought he was going to- to-'
The woman began sobbing, the movement making her whole body shake.
"It's alright, ma'am, you're safe now," the guard reassured her, "just tell me where he went. We'll find him."
"Through the other window! He left so quickly… he lost his hat."
She handed the hat to the guard.
The man subtly felt his head. He hadn't realized it had fallen off.
He carefully lowered his hand back to the floor, hardly daring to breathe as the woman lied for him. His eyes shifted again. He noticed that she had fairly shapely legs for a woman of her years.
He screwed his eyes shut. This was definitely not the time.
"Please catch him. I can't bear to come into town again knowing he could be there somewhere."
"We'll find him. Thank you ma'am, you've been a great help," the guard took the hat and closed the door as he jumped from the carriage and let it drive on.
After a few seconds, the man crawled out from under her skirt, sitting opposite her in the now danger-free carriage. The woman was smiling, breathing quickly, the adrenaline from lying to the guards obviously giving her a little excitement.
He stared at her.
"Thank you."
"Lady Olivia," she said in a quiet voice.
She wanted him to know her name though she wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't as though he asked for it. The man took her hand and kissed it, his lips lingering slightly as he looked up at his unexpected savior. Olivia's breath visibly hitched and he felt a stab of triumph as he finally pulled away.
He looked into her eyes.
"It doesn't have to be," he said softly.
"Sorry?"
"Earlier… you asked 'is that it?'…," he smiled at her, "That's my answer."
Olivia blushed faintly. She didn't realize he'd heard that.
"I didn't really think you would…" she trailed off. "Not with me, anyway."
"And what makes you say that?" he asked, intrigued as to where this conversation might lead.
"I have read books where… that sort of thing happens…," Olivia cleared her throat. "But it's always some young girl with sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks. Never… someone like me." She looked down and shrugged slightly, trying not to seem too deflated. "Not that it matters," she added.
He laughed softly. "My crew entertain themselves with those sorts of stories but…"
"Crew?" she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and smiled. "So I was right… you are a pirate."
He smirked. "Captain. Yes… though I'm a lot better looking with a ship." She chuckled. "And anyway I didn't think ladies read books like that."
"Perhaps you shouldn't presume what a lady does and does not do… Captain." Olivia challenged.
She quirked her eyebrow, giving him a faint smirk before sitting back in her seat.
He looked at his hands then his eyes darted back up to her face. He was taken over by the urge to rise to the woman's challenge. And also to wipe that infuriating smirk from her face, at least for a little while.
"Perhaps." He looked at her for a second. "So… Milady. In these books of yours… do the men do this?"
He sprang into action. He was suddenly inches away from her, hands gripping the seat on either side of her shoulders as he leant down and his lips trailed over the soft skin of her throat.
"S-sometimes," Olivia whispered.
He smiled triumphantly at the stutter in her voice. His lips found her pulse point and he gently sucked, his tongue brushing over the flesh making her gasp softly. He pulled away and was greeted with the delicious sight of her flushed face. Eyes closed, lips parted and a faint smile of pleasure in place as she breathed slow and deep, her breasts barely contained in her dress.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. He could see they were dark and stormy with desire. He calmly sat back in the seat on his side of the carriage, crossing his legs and feigning nonchalance.
Well… partly to feign nonchalance. Partly to hide the fact that he was becoming increasingly harder with each passing second. This shocked him, but not unpleasantly so. He couldn't say he'd ever been with an older woman before, but to his surprise, it didn't bother him as much as he'd thought it would. He was always up for a new adventure. Besides, there was something about this woman in particular. Her steely bravado… even in the face of danger. Her fiery spirit. He didn't take her for one to back down from a challenge.
He liked it.
He liked it a lot.
He tilted his head and sat back in his seat, thinking to himself that she would have made a great pirate.
"So… what else do they do?" he asked, his voice huskier than he'd intended it to be.
He stared her down, his eyes challenging, daring her to say it.
She looked into his eyes.
She knew he was baiting her.
Well… she would show him.
She wasn't like all those other stuffy society ladies. She swore like a sailor (when she was in the privacy of her own home, of course) and she could get drunk with the best of them if she wanted to. Granted, when her husband was alive, she had to maintain a certain appearance. But now… she could do what she bloody well wanted. And right now, for whatever reason, what she wanted was him.
She took a deep breath.
"They... touch."
He smirked, thinking he had won, before the delicate lady surprised him again. She took his hand and placed it over her breast.
She smirked.
Two could play this game.
She tried to keep her breathing steady, although she knew her heart was hammering away beneath the confines of her corset.
He bit his lip, feeling the warm, soft flesh of her breast, straining against the fabric of her expensive corset. He took a chance and squeezed softly, watching as Olivia moaned softly, arching into his touch as much as she could in the restrictive garment.
"Like this?" He asked, caressing the flesh beneath his fingertips.
He slipped his fingers beneath the fabric where he was met with a hard, pebbled nipple. Olivia groaned, her eyes fluttering closed as he teased the rosy bud with his fingertips. He moved closer and she grabbed his arm, gripping tightly as she squirmed in her seat.
"I didn't think it would be-" she struggled for words as he leant forward and began to kiss and lick her breasts. "Mmmm… so good."
The Captain moaned softly, gently biting her chest and making her gasp.
"What else do they do?" he whispered, kissing back up her neck and tugging her earlobe between his teeth.
"I- they-" she stammered, trying to speak. Trying to find the courage to come out and say it.
He grabbed her skirts and began pulling them higher, his hand caressing her thigh.
She cried out softly, not wanting to alarm the driver but not expecting the intimate touch.
Before she could think really rationally about it, she found herself opening her thighs.
Yes, she wanted him to touch her… and it certainly didn't seem like he had any opposition to the idea, but... surely this had gone far enough?
She didn't...
Ladies didn't...
He swiftly moved his hand and placed it on her hot centre, both of them groaning as he pressed his finger down just slightly.
He pulled a knife out of his boot and carefully sliced the expensive material of her knickers, exposing her desire. Olivia whimpered, feeling his questing fingers on her naked flesh. She quivered beneath his touch, aching to be ravished by this strange, enticing man.
"Do they do this?" he smirked, his index finger sliding between his lower lips, flicking her swollen pearl, making her jump and grab his shoulders, hissing through her teeth. He smiled and his finger circled lower, collecting her juices on his fingertip as he explored her folds. He moved slowly, teasing around her slit as Olivia rolled her hips, her entire body begging to be taken.
"Yessssss," she moaned, her breath hitching as his finger returned to teasing her swollen clit.
"Mmm… and what about this?" he asked, kneeling on the floor, holding her skirts up with his hands as he kissed up her thigh.
"What are you doing?" she gasped.
She frantically turned her head to and fro, looking around as if paranoid that someone else might see, despite the fact that they were moving at a fair rate and the driver was too busy paying attention to the horses to really take much notice of what was going on in the carriage. She gawped down at him, unable to look away as he slowly extended his tongue and licked over her mound.
"Oh!"
He smirked up at her from between her thighs. She tried to restrain herself, but she couldn't help it.
She had stopped keeping track of how close the carriage was to her destination and she knew she'd be horribly upset if she got home before anything good happened. She grabbed at the seat cushion, gripping tightly as she waited desperately for more. More of what exactly, she wasn't quite sure. She just knew there was a fiery ache in her lower belly and that he was both the cause and the solution.
"Is this how they make love in your books, Lady Olivia?" he whispered with a smirk.
"No… I don't… what are you- you can't mean to…" she panted as his lips closed over her engorged clit, "Oh my God!"
She bit down on her fist to stop herself crying out too loudly. She didn't want to alarm the driver, after all.
He moaned against her cunt, coating his tongue in her arousal as he licked and sucked and teased her quivering flesh. It had been far too long since he'd been able to have a woman this way. To have her come undone at the work of his hands and tongue. He missed it. And he had to admit, he was feeling rather lucky to have stumbled upon Lady Olivia. Her years did nothing to diminish her beauty. Perhaps they had even made her more beautiful. He couldn't really say for sure, not knowing what she looked like when she was young. But then again, he didn't care. He knew what she looked like now… and he wanted her. Badly.
His tongue slid through her folds, dipping inside her entrance before honing in on her sensitive clit and licking fast. She moaned, bucking her hips helplessly against his face as she gave herself over to the sweet torture of his tongue. She tried not to squirm too much for fear of hurting him, but it was all too much. She'd never felt anything like what she was feeling now. She couldn't decide if she was squirming away from the exquisite torture or begging for more.
"Oh… oh god… please," Olivia begged, her voice strained with pleasure, "I feel… I don't know what's… I can't-AH!"
She swore loudly, clapping her hand over her mouth to muffle her scream as he sucked her clit into his mouth.
She saw nothing but white light before her eyes as her body spasmed with pleasure. The evidence of her pleasure dripped down onto her skirt and thighs as he eagerly lapped up every drop he could find with his wickedly talented tongue. Olivia shuddered under his ministrations as she panted from her orgasm.
He licked his lips, looking up at her with a smug grin as her eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked down. Their eyes met for a second before her eyes travelled to her own sex. Pink and flushed and glistening with her desire. She stared at herself for a second or two. It wasn't her first time seeing it of course. She knew it was there, obviously. But she couldn't really say she'd taken much notice of herself before.
She was never really intimate with her husband. She married him when she was fairly young and it was a marriage of convenience more than anything. She always suspected he had lovers elsewhere, and the few times they did make love were always very basic. Mechanical in a sense. The same old routine: he'd take what he needed and when he was finished, he'd roll over and go to sleep. It was a couple of years in before she found out that it was not only possible for the woman to feel pleasure as well, but that it was supposed to be pleasurable for both parties.
She felt she couldn't get too angry with him. She wasn't really in love with him, after all. But for a time, she did feel resentment toward him. She felt that he was depriving her of an experience. Her best friend, Lady Margaret, told her stories about what it was supposed to feel like when done correctly and she longed to feel those things. Those heights of pleasure. For a while, she thought there was no such thing and Margaret was just making it all up for the sake of entertainment.
But now…
Now she knew the stories were true. And they positively paled in comparison to the real thing.
What she'd felt just then was indescribable. No amount of words could truly explain the sensations coursing through her body at that moment.
He slowly leaned in and placed a delicate kiss on her clit, making her jump and shiver. He smiled and helped her rearrange her skirts, making them appear as though nothing at all had happened. That is, unless you noticed the flush in her chest or her dilated pupils.
He kissed her hand again, smiling fondly at the woman she had only just met but felt a strange sort of connection to.
"My Lady," He nodded respectfully at her before climbing out of the window again, leaping out of Olivia's life just as suddenly as she had leapt into it.
She sat in awe for a minute or two, wondering if she would ever see him again. She knew it wasn't likely. He was a pirate, after all. But… she still couldn't stop herself thinking of it. She felt the carriage slow and she knew they must be on the winding road that led up to her estate. Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt the difference in the road as the carriage left the cobbled streets of the city and eased onto the grainy graveled roads of her property.
She sighed and looked out of the window, noting that the sun was beginning to set now, the pink and orange casting a gently glow around the deep green trees that surrounded her home.
She sighed and sat back in her seat and smiled.
For some reason…
she didn't quite know why… it was just a feeling.
But for some reason, she knew that she would be hearing from the Captain again.
She stepped out onto the balcony, into the chilled evening air, pulling her outer layers even tighter around her.
Her handmaid's voice drifted in from the doorway, the faint Irish lilt making Olivia smile.
"Will you be needin' anythin' else, ma'am? Would you like me to draw your bath for you?"
"No, thank you. I think I can manage on my own tonight."
Olivia glanced over her shoulder too see the girl draping her blue dress over her arm so she could take it to be laundered. She didn't want to wash it. Not just yet. It still smelled of him. Of warm rum and the salty sea. She wanted to remember the carriage ride for as long as she could.
"No. Leave that one." The girl looked a bit confused, but carefully set the dress down to drape across the bed as it had been before. "Thank you." Olivia smiled. "I think I'll turn in a bit earlier tonight. Thank you, Catherine."
The young woman curtseyed. "Ma'am."
"And Catherine?"
"Ma'am?"
Olivia turned around. "Take the rest of the evening. In fact… it is the weekend. I know it's been some time since you've been able to really visit your family. Take the next three days. And dismiss the rest of the staff too. Let them all have a nice holiday," she smiled.
The girl was now more confused than she'd ever been. While her husband was a bit more stern with the staff, Lady Olivia was gentle and gracious. She'd never been selfish or cruel in any regard, even going out of her way to make sure that all the servants' families were taken care of. Of course she hid this from Lord Mannering when he was alive. She told him she had spent the money on jewels or new dresses. She'd always been very generous, but… she'd never known the good lady to do anything like this.
"Ma'am? Are you well?"
Olivia giggled. "Yes, of course I am. In fact, I feel better than I have in quite a while."
"I'm glad, ma'am." Catherine smiled, curtseying again before walking over to the door. She stopped just as she was about to open it. "All of the servants, ma'am?"
"Staff," she corrected.
She hated calling them servants. It just sounded so… so vile. So wrong. Though socially speaking she was technically above them, she didn't feel that way personally. She really only allowed them to do the bare minimum, as she always liked to be relatively independent. It was her husband's idea to hire staff in the first place, even though she insisted she was perfectly capable of maintaining a household on her own. In fact, she strongly considered dismissing them all after he died. But they were such good people and she knew if she let them go, they might not find work again.
Catherine nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Yes, ma'am. But… all of them? I mean… will you be alright?"
"Yes, all of them." She chuckled. "You all forget I wasn't always a Lady. I didn't have maids and butlers to attend me when I was young. I still remember how to take care of myself."
The young woman smiled. "Of course, ma'am."
Olivia smiled. "Go! Off with you!"
Catherine giggled. "Yes, ma'am. Enjoy your weekend." The girl practically skipped out of the room to tell the other staff.
Olivia stood on the balcony for a few moments longer, taking in the sight of the stars and the moon. She couldn't remember the last time she allowed herself to simply admire the night sky. Somehow it all seemed a bit more magical tonight.
A knock on her door drew her out of her reverie.
"Come in."
The quick clicks of little black heels on the floor let her know without turning around that it was Catherine again.
"I thought I told you to take the evening."
"Yes, ma'am. I know. But… Mr. Rhodes said he found this outside." She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket. "He said something about seeing a man disappear around the bend of the drive on horseback. And then when he turned around… he saw this tacked onto the door."
Olivia took the small parcel from the girl. There was a note tacked onto the outside. She carefully unpinned the note and as she gently pried it open, a familiar scent wafted up to her nose.
Salt… and rum.
She smiled.
"Thank you, Catherine. Now go. And give your family my regards."
The girl gave her usual curtsey and left the room quietly.
Olivia finished unfolding the paper and quickly walked over to get her spectacles from her nightside table. She held the paper a safe distance from the lit candle there and read the sentence aloud.
The message was simple.
'Look for me in the sunset.'
Olivia bit her lip, slowly removing her spectacles to rest them on the nightstand again.
She carefully unfolded the handkerchief next.
She looked down and smiled.
Her diamond earring.
She clutched it to her chest before taking it over to her vanity where the rest of her jewelry lay. She giggled quietly to herself.
Perhaps pirates weren't as cold hearted as people made them out to be. Perhaps the Captain was sentimental for her after all.
She walked through to her ensuite bathroom, her bare feet cold on the marbled floor. She prepared a bath for herself and slowly undressed, taking her time now that she was alone. She climbed into the steaming water, the warmth soothing her muscles.
She was glad she had dismissed the staff.
She wanted time to think. To remember.
She sank into the hot water, the steam misting over the large mirror on the opposite wall above the wink. She sighed, causing her chest to rise, her pink nipples partly visible above the water, along with a knee and the tops of her soft shoulders. She sighed again, more loudly this time, rubbing the back of her neck, remembering the mysterious Captain's eyes; the way he looked at her. Excited… hungry. As if she was a new expanse of ocean he'd yet to explore. How she longed to see him again.
Her arm gently dropped back down and her hand landed, quite accidentally, on the knee that was protruding from the water. She stared at it for a few moments, then watched as slid to her thigh, almost of its own accord. She swallowed, her breaths becoming quicker. She'd read in her books about women doing this too, and while she didn't exactly agree with the idea at first, she had to admit, thinking about her encounter with the Captain made her sex throb with desire and she wanted to ease that thrumming pressure. She wanted to stroke herself to the heights of bliss that she had reached earlier.
She bit her lip. She was surprised by how arousing the thought was. She remembered how beautiful she felt in the carriage… how her whole body hummed with passion she'd never known before. It was all his doing, that mysterious man. He had awoken this strange creature of desire within her. But she didn't know when she would be seeing him the next time, or more importantly if there really would be a next time. And if she were honest, she wasn't willing to have to wait until that time to feel such pleasure again.
She looked around the bathroom, holding her breath for a few seconds in order to listen carefully for movement in her bedroom. She wanted to be absolutely sure she was alone. She wasn't sure she could explain such actions, such noises, to Catherine or any of her staff. Her hand dipped under the water, still sliding higher up her leg until she reached the crease of her thigh.
She stopped.
Not yet.
She remembered how he'd touched her breasts first and, using her other hand, she gently stroked the tender flesh, teasing her own nipples to stiffen proudly. Each light touch of her fingertips sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. She allowed her other hand to continue its journey and gently cupped her mound under the water, enjoying the way she felt herself pulse with excitement at the prospect of what was to come.
She ran her middle finger over her lower lips, gently parting them, gasping as she brushed over her clit. She did it again, pressing down a little harder so that her finger parted her moist lower lips, making her shiver. The water rippled slightly from the movement as she kept stroking her finger up and down, increasing the pressure each time. After a few seconds, she couldn't take it anymore and she began rubbing her clit furiously. Her body was on fire as she touched herself, rubbing her clit in quick little circles, the thoughts of the Captain filling her mind. The way he touched her, the way he looked at her. The way he made her feel like the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted.
The water began to slush against the sides of the bath as she gasped and moaned, rolling her hips as she brought herself closer and closer to her completion. She lifted one leg out of the water, hooking her knee over either side of the bath so her sex was spread wide for her own merciless assault. She squeezed her nipple between her fingers and cried out with a short, sharp yell of pleasure. She arched her back, steam continuously rising from the water and a generous amount splashing onto the floor as her body spasmed with her release.
She lay in the tub, panting heavily, her harsh gasps of breath filling the room. Carefully lowering her leg into the water again, she took a moment to collect herself, groaning at the soft pressure on her clit as she pulled her legs together.
She sank back down into the water for a moment, her eyes still closed from her orgasm.
She sighed and allowed herself to imagine the Captain was there with her, making love to her amongst the crashing waves of the sea.
Olivia sat in front of her vanity mirror and brushed her hair down as Catherine had the previous night. When she was satisfied with the state of her silvery tresses, she put them into a simple braid that hung over her shoulder. She was about to get up, but before she did, she took one last look in the mirror.
She smiled as she noticed the flush in her chest, the way her eyes twinkled. She thought her skin seemed to glow and she bit her lip in an effort not to blush at the memory of what made her that way.
She looked down at the handkerchief containing her earrings. She gently took the earrings out and lifted the silk to her nose. She hummed softly to herself and got up from the vanity, taking the silken cloth with her.
She climbed between into her oversized bed, the cool of the sheets making her nipples pebble again. She shivered and tried not to groan at the simple stimulation. She laid back against the pillows and stared at the cloth in her hands, letting it glide over her fingers for a few moments before holding it to her nose again.
She sighed and tucked it under her pillow, wanting to have a bit of him close to her.
Perhaps she would dream about him tonight.
She blew out the candles and snuggled down under the covers before turning onto her side, nuzzling into her pillow. She took deep breaths to calm herself, trying to pretend she wasn't grinning from ear to ear like an infatuated schoolgirl at the memory of being taken by a stranger. A pirate.
'A pirate captain.' She mentally corrected herself. 'The captain. I got top pickings,' she smirked.
She rolled onto her back and lay there in the quiet darkness, staring at the canopy of her four poster bed. She seemed more aware than usual of the feel of the soft sheets on her skin. Her nightgown had hitched up around her thighs and the sheets were gently caressing her legs and arms as she lay there, thinking. She idly wondered if she would touch herself again that night, when…
Something… what was that noise?
She heard it again.
A soft scuttling sort of sound.
Olivia sat up, ears pricked.
There it was again.
She frowned and made her way over to the window, grabbing the empty silver candlestick on the nightstand from what used to be her husband's side of the bed.
The more she listened the more it sounded like... scratching.
She drew back the curtains from the large french windows and jumped back in surprise, a hand clapped over her mouth to stop her screaming.
The Captain was on her balcony smiling down at her.
She dropped the candlestick and flicked the latch to open the doors, the Captain stepping gracefully into her bed chamber.
"You- you…" Olivia stumbled over trying to say... something.
"Couldn't stop thinking about you," he finished.
Olivia bit her lip, blushing.
"How did you know where to find me?" she asked.
"I'm a Captain," he smiled. "I know everything."
She looked at him.
"Alright, I asked around."
She chuckled. "And how did you know which room was mine? Did you scale all the balconies until you found me?"
"I saw you earlier."
"You did?"
He nodded. "You look quite lovely in the moonlight, Olivia." He smiled and caressed her cheek.
She shook her head. "I don't even know your name."
"Jack." He whispered.
"I missed you… Jack." Olivia breathed.
"I think… I missed you too."
She stepped closer to her, nuzzling his nose against her skin, inhaling the scent of her.
He growled as his lips found her throat. Olivia held onto his arms to keep herself standing as her knees were turning to jelly.
"Wait… bed…" she breathed.
He carefully backed her over to the large bed, slowing down as she ascended backward up the three steps of the raised platform. He made sure they both remained standing for a few seconds more.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes as he tore her nightgown over her shoulders and let it drop to the floor at her feet, leaving her naked, her nipples hardening in the chilly night air.
Olivia gasped at the action.
"You can't keep ruining my clothes you know, Jack," she scolded, but she didn't look too much like she minded. A smirk played about her lips as she pulled back and sheets and got into bed again.
"Allow me to apologize," he whispered with a smile.
He pushed her back into the pillows and straddled her hips. He discarded his belt with his knives and pistol on the floor. They landed with a resounding thud that filled the room. The belt was followed by the knife in his boot... and the one under his shirt.
Olivia raised an eyebrow as Jack sat above her and emptied an armoury onto her bedroom floor.
"Can't be too careful," he shrugged.
"I suppose not," she pulled him down into another kiss and moaned. He trailed his kisses lower, nipping at her neck, making his way further down until he reached her full breasts. Olivia arched against him, gasping as his lips closed over her hard nipple, sucking it into his mouth, tongue swirling over the stiff peak, making her moan.
Olivia held his head close as he continued to assault her chest with kisses.
"I was thinking about you too," Olivia admitted with a faint stutter in her voice.
She exhaled a slow, calming breath as he lifted his head just slightly to kiss his way over to her other nipple.
"I know," he whispered, "I saw."
Olivia blushed deeply, about to ask how he saw her and exactly how much she saw when his muscled thigh came to rest between her legs, pushing tight against her hot centre. She moaned and her head fell back, deciding she'd have plenty of time later.
"I was going to come to earlier, but there was some girl in here… I thought it best to wait." He kissed her gently. "I didn't think you wanted her asking questions."
Olivia whimpered and he kissed her neck, nipping lightly at her pulse point.
"I saw you undress," he whispered against her heated skin, answering the unasked question, "I saw you have a bath."
His hand gripped Olivia's hip, pulling her down harder against his thigh. Olivia whimpered, rolling her hips, moaning at the friction against her sex. He shifted back up to her face, leg still firmly between her thighs. He tilted his head so that his lips hovered over the shell of Olivia's ear.
"I saw you touch yourself… my Lady," he breathed.
Olivia whimpered, feeling herself growing surprisingly wet at the thought of being watched. She wondered if he grew as aroused watching her as Olivia had thinking of him, but she wasn't sure if it was a question she should ask.
"I was- I…" she tried to explain herself, but the delicious pleasure coiling inside her was making it hard to concentrate.
"I know," he said again. "I know exactly what you were doing. And believe me, it was a pleasure to watch."
"I wanted it to be you," Olivia groaned desperately, grabbing his shoulders as they rocked against each other.
He moaned. Suddenly the room was far too hot. He sat up and quickly undressed himself the rest of the way. Olivia watched with rapt attention as he stripped above her. It had been a while since she'd had the pleasure of seeing a young handsome man in the nude. It had been a while since she'd had a young handsome man in her bed. And yet here was one. Ready to claim her. To ravish her.
He flung his shirt and the rest of his clothes across the room before bearing down on her again, skin on skin. Olivia gasped at the contact, wrapping her arms around him, pulling their bodies tighter against each other.
"Jack…" Olivia whispered. "I need… I can't…"
He kissed her neck before sitting up. "You don't want this…"
"No!" she pulled him down to kiss him. "I do. Believe me, I've thought of nothing else. But… I can't just…" she stammered, embarrassed at having to explain it.
He caressed her cheek. "Tell me what you need."
She looked down, grateful for the darkness of the room so he couldn't see just how red she was.
"Older bodies don't work like young bodies do. I need… a bit of help."
He said nothing. She could see he was still confused so she took his hand and guided it between her legs.
His fingers stroked her gently and he felt that she was wet, but not nearly wet enough to take him inside her. He wasn't an idiot so he put and two and two together, figuring out that this must be what she was talking about.
He bent down and kissed her neck gently, nibbling on her earlobe.
"Well… we'll just have to see what we can do about that…"
He kissed his way down, and down, and further still.
She bit her lip, her whole body tensing at what she just knew was coming.
He moved down her body carefully, making sure to keep his weight on his arms. His lips and tongue left a fiery trail from down her belly until he got to her core. Any sense of shyness she thought about developing was long gone and she spread her legs for him, eager for his talented tongue. He kissed one thigh, then the other, making Olivia whimper from anticipation.
Just when she thought she would have to resort to begging, she felt him give her sex a long, slow lick from her entrance to her clit. Her head fell back against the pillows and her back arched off the bed. She grabbed the sheets in her hands, flexing her fists and taking deep breaths trying to make herself relax. But it was no use. His tongue danced over her clit in the most perfect way and when he let his fingers join in the effort, she was lost. She could not only hear, but feel him moaning into her and it just made her that much more desperate for release.
He put his hand on her hip to steady her, as she'd begun writhing uncontrollably now. She was tight and considerably wetter than she had been just minutes ago, and she couldn't help her body jerking against the fullness of his fingers inside her. Her head thrashed against the pillow and she was having some difficulty keeping herself quiet. Though why she needed to be quiet confused him as he knew she had dismissed her servants. He'd seen them all leaving.
He stepped up his efforts, desperate to make her cry out his name.
He added a third finger, thrusting deeper, harder. He moved his tongue as fast as he could before sucking hard on her pearl and curling his fingers.
Her eyes grew wide.
She hastily grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her face to muffle her scream of completion as it tore from her throat. She arched off the bed. Her orgasm slammed into her with full force, making her entire body convulse in pleasure. She could feel Jack holding her hips steady and she tried her best to make her body comply, but she just couldn't help it.
After a minute or two, her aftershocks subsided, thought the odd tremble still ran up her spine when his finger touched her thigh.
Suddenly, she felt him pulling the pillow from her face.
He gently took it from her hands, tossing it aside and moved to lie next to her.
He tilted his head and ran a hand through her hair. "Why do you do that?"
"What?"
"Why do you stop yourself from making noise? I mean… in the carriage, I could understand, but… there's no one else here. You don't have to do that."
Olivia looked down. "I… I don't know. I was taught that women weren't supposed to make noise. You were to lie back and think of England and wait for it to be over." She bit her lip. "And I don't think I've ever had cause to cry out before. It never… " she blushed in the darkness. "It never felt that good before."
He smirked and leaned down to kiss her. Whether or not she knew it, she'd just boosted his ego tremendously.
"It's always supposed to feel good." He pecked her lips again, settling his body over hers. "Generally speaking, you shouldn't be able to think straight at all. If you're lying there thinking of anything other than the way your lover feels against you… inside you… then you, my lady, have got a problem on your hands."
She trembled beneath him. "Show me."
"Gladly."
His hand slid between their joined bodies, slipping two fingers inside her to make sure she was still wet enough. He didn't want to hurt her. He carefully aligned himself with her entrance and pushed forward, inch by inch, until he was fully inside her.
"Oh god!", she gasped, clinging to him as she adjusted to the feel of having him inside her. Her muscles fluttered around him and the delightful pressure was almost enough to make her climax instantly, but she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She groaned, loving the way he stretched and filled her and when she began to rock her hips against him, he began moving instantly, not able to wait any more than her.
He went slowly at first, making sure she was fully adjusted before he really let himself go. She was arching and moaning beneath him, whimpering as he caressed her breast with one hand. She instinctually wrapped her legs around him and gasped at the change. He was rubbing something inside her that she was almost certain her husband had never touched, but whatever it was, she wanted him to stay there, to keep hitting it. She tightened her legs around him, his thrusts getting harder and faster. She began to reach for the pillow but he stilled her hands, grabbing her wrists and pinning them to the mattress beside her head.
"No. Don't. Let me hear you."
"Jack…" she whimpered, squirming against him. She struggled against his grip, not because she wanted to get away, but because she felt like she needed to hold onto something or else she'd float away… explode… goodness knows what was liable to happen.
"It's okay. It's only us."
He bent down to nibble her ear again.
"I want you to show me… show me how good it feels." he whispered. "Because you… you feel incredible. So good…"
"Oh god… Jack…"
He felt her hips jerking irregularly and he knew she was right on the edge.
"Let me hear you. Come on… " he let the tip of his tongue glide over her throat just as he reached down to let his fingers caress her clit. "Come for me, Olivia."
Something inside her snapped. She arched completely off the bed, screaming herself hoarse as indescribable pleasure shot through her body. He released her wrists and she threw her arms around him, clinging to him tightly.
He thrust about five more times and he came hard, calling out her name.
Olivia moaned. She felt him empty himself inside her, but unlike with her husband, it felt… good. She wanted it. She actually liked the feeling and she gently rocked her hips against him trying to prolong the sensation.
He carefully rolled to one side, conscious of his weight atop her, and she immediately snuggled into his side.
He tensed, unsure of what to do.
"What's wrong?" she looked up at him.
"Nothing… exactly."
"Exactly?" she searched his face as best she could in the darkness. "Oh…" she moved away from him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so presumptuous."
"No… please." He sighed and motioned for her to come back to him. "It's just… I don't normally cuddle after. They always just sort of leave."
"That's alright. If you'd prefer not to. If it's too intimate a gesture…"
"No. I… I want to try."
"You don't have to for my sake."
"I want to."
He opened his arms and she slowly moved back into his embrace.
He sighed. "This is… nice."
"Nice?"
"Very nice." She hummed softly and he rubbed a hand along her back, purely out of instinct. "It's a wonder I never tried this before."
She smiled a small smile. "Well being a pirate, there's not very much room for sentiment, I would think."
"True." He sighed. His hand stopped. "Olivia…"
"I know." She whispered. "But… let's just have tonight."
"I don't think it's very wise for a lady to have a thieving pirate sharing her bed."
"Well normally no, it wouldn't be, but… I think I can make an exception for a certain Captain."
He smiled. "Alright then."
He snuggled down next to her, allowing her to wrap her arms around him and lay her head on his chest. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to remember the feeling as best he could. He knew the time would come when the sea would call him home.
He stood on the deck, tall and certain, looking out at the open sea. His crew bustled around him, but he didn't seem to notice. He just stared out at the open water. New expanses of waves. New battles. New adventures.
He looked back over his shoulder. He could barely see the land anymore. But somehow he knew she was there. She was there and she would be waiting.
He felt a tug in his chest. He wouldn't call it love. That would never do. But he couldn't deny they had shared something.
Then one day you'll go away, but I will too
Until then my darling friend, I will hold onto you
She stood on the docks, pulling her coat around her, looking out at the sea. The people bustled around behind her, but she didn't seem to notice. She just stared out at the water. It had been great fun. Exciting, passionate, surprisingly tender… a new adventure.
She sighed, pulling the familiar scrap of silk out of her pocket and holding it to her nose. She could barely see the ship anymore.
She felt a tug in her chest. She refused to call it love. That just wouldn't do. But she couldn't deny they had sharing something. Something unique.
He watched as the land slowly disappeared into the horizon, and all he could see was the open ocean.
She watched as the tiny dot that was his ship faded into the line of the horizon and the light pink and orange of the sky bled into the blue of the sea.
You can move me if you want to
Olivia gave another sigh and turned around to go home.
She knew he couldn't stay. His life was at sea, just as hers was on land.
She wasn't sure how long it would be before the good Captain decided to pay her another visit, but at least she knew one thing.
She always knew where to find him.
She opened the french windows and stepped out onto her balcony.
She smiled.
The sun was setting.