Just a kiss
"Jaysus! These damnable sharks are getting bold! Ade! I should've gone out with the harpoons rather than waste my time with diving for worthless shite! Nearly lost my hand to one of em!" Captain Edward Kenway floats on the surface of the water and throws up a few cracked bottles, their contents spoiled beyond use or even recognition and their labels long since lost. The tall, muscular, dark skinned quartermaster catches each of them easily and only glances at them briefly before tossing them back into the turquoise depths they came from with a shrug. Edward doesn't even bother to follow their arcing path or observe the splashes of his troubles disappearing from sight. Instead, he watches as the heavy diving bell is lifted from the sea on its boom, sending a shower of sparkling seawater cascading down onto the surface of the ocean beside him.
"Perhaps you'll take my advice next time." The quartermaster's deep voice is heavily marked by a certain smug tone, though his words are innocuous enough.
"Yes, yes, chasing a fool's dream," Edward mutters as he climbs up the side of the Jackdaw where it sits, anchored beside the salt and barnacle encrusted remains of the old wreck that had lodged itself into a jagged reef and yielded such pitiful and useless bounty. His crew is watching him expectantly when he reaches the top and Edward sighs, defeated. He needs something to lift his spirits and he's sure he can find it in the bottom of a rum bottle. The nearest port is Nassau, a few hours' sailing away.
"Make way to Nassau, lads! I need something stronger than our stock to help me sleep tonight!" A shout goes up from the crew as they are quick to follow his command. As Edward turns to walk toward his cabin, he catches sight of Adewale's disapproving expression and crossed arms. He pauses and shouts up at him.
"You surely take your post too seriously, Ade! Our life isn't one of rote or responsibility! We're free men, so we should live as such! You might try it some time." Adewale's rumbling voice follows him through the doors of his cabin.
"And you might try being sober, Captain." Edward slams his door behind him in response.
The tavern called La Sombra is the first place Edward comes to upon beaching and securing his dinghy and it seems as likely a spot as ever despite its rather unimposing appearance. The place sits close to the beach and it resembles some of the residences scattered on this side of the island with their faded wood sides, stilts and grass roofs. His motley bunch of sailors had insisted on going to the more popular side of Nassau so Edward had ventured off by himself, still irritated at his fruitless morning. His thirst is strong after such a wasted endeavor so he shoulders the swinging door open and marches over to a pretty young woman standing behind the counter. At least he'll have a nice view, even if the rum selection is wanting.
The woman's thick, shining hair is twisted and pinned up in a careless way, with most of it hanging to the right side of her face. A few tendrils drape down her lovely neck, drawing Edward's attention to the delicate, swan-like perfection of its sensual beauty and dragging his eyes from her darkly shaded eyes and full, red lips, over her finely curving collarbones and finally down to her more than satisfyingly ample breasts. She wears a tightly fitting dark brocade underbust corset and a loose, white top that hangs from her shoulders and is secured in place by a leather strap that loops around her arms and crosses in back. Down Edward's eyes travel, caressing her lithe figure with pleasure and settling on the tantalizing exposed skin of her narrow waist, marred by a rather jarring, angled scar. It lends an interesting juxtaposition to her beauty. Her curving hips are swathed in a rich red scarf and Edward wishes she weren't standing behind the bar so he could see the rest of her magnificent body.
When his eyes return to her face she's watching him expectantly. Edward nearly starts and wonders how long she had been observing him observing her. Her lips are curved into a knowing smirk. Long enough, it seems.
"Hello there, my lovely. I came looking for a drink but I might ask for you instead." Her enticing lips press together and she narrows her striking blue eyes at him.
"Hmm. I'm charmed." Her voice is rich and soft, a slightly lower pitch than some women but all the more attractive for it.
"Come on, love, I've got enough coin to buy the place but all I want is you." The woman's eyes open wide and her lips part in a most inviting way.
"That much! What wealthy man is this before me who wishes t' buy the building and me with it?" She sweeps her hand across the air in front of her body, gesturing toward where he stands jauntily on the other side of the wooden counter and tilting her head slightly down and to the right to show off the alluring beauty marks beneath her left eye. Edward tucks his thumbs behind his swords and throws his shoulders back proudly.
"My men call me Captain Kenway, but such a lovely lass as you can call me Edward." As he finishes his statement, he leans one arm on the counter top casually and crooks a finger at her. She gives him a twisted, long-suffering smirk and her eyes sparkle in the half light of the place. She leans over the scratched and worn counter, offering him a splendid view of her cleavage, and pinches the lapel of his brown jacket between the slender thumb and forefinger of her left hand. Her eyes travel over his attire, resting on his various weapons and scrutinizing him carefully before moving back up to his face.
"A Captain, hmm? I find that hard t' believe with what a disheveled mess yer presentin' here." As quick as a slashing knife, she clenches her fist in Edward's jacket and drags him closer. Her face is beside his head and he just barely feels the creamy smoothness of her neck against his cheek as she breathes in deeply through her nose. Edward takes a whiff of her in return, inhaling the sultry, subtly spicy perfection of her bare shoulder and the inviting dip of her collar bone. He lowers his lips to her soft skin only to be roughly pushed backwards before he can experience nearly enough of that intoxicating flesh. He barely stops himself from stumbling back a step from the force of her surprisingly strong arm. Edward looks up at her in shock at her where she stands with her left hand resting on her hip and the fingers of her right sliding daintily over the pistol tucked into the front of her wide leather belt . Her pretty face carries an expression of utter disgust.
"Ya' stink like a lyin' rogue. Get outta' my tavern."
"Your… Your tavern?"
"Yes, my tavern." The woman enunciates her words clearly, as if he's a deaf idiot and then turns her back to him, effectively ending her side of the conversation.
"Fine, my lady… tavern owner… I beg your forgiveness. I'll take that drink instead." Edward raises his palms up toward her in a placating gesture and she eyes him over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. She rests her hands on her hips and turns slightly back.
"What'll ya have, then?"
"Rum, of course. Your best." Edward slides a gold coin across the counter and keeps his finger pressed on it. She slaps a cup down on the counter and trains her eyes on him as she reaches beneath the bar and takes out a bottle. She uncorks it and pours, only taking her azure eyes off of him for a moment to ensure not a drop too much fills the glass.
"That's a bit of a light pour, if I may be so bold." The woman slides her fingers lightly over the neck of the bottle on the counter and a small smile plays on the corners her mouth. Her chin is tipped up slightly and she smugly looks down her nose at Edward.
"Ya' may not. Take it or leave it, rogue. But fer my enduring of yer insufferable presence, I'll keep the change." With a deft move, she leans closer to Edward, snatches up the coin from beneath his finger and deposits it slowly into her cleavage with a smirk of self satisfied delight at his surprised expression.
"You're an audacious one." Edward mutters.
"I've been called worse." She saunters away with a sway of her hips, taking the bottle with her and leaving Edward with a distinct desire to tame such a fetching and magnificent woman. She clearly knows her way around the types who inhabit Nassau, and doesn't seem fazed by what being such a beautiful creature brings out in men.
Edward watches her make her way down the bar, filling drinks and sharing banter with some of the luckier patrons. She smiles and laughs at their senseless antics but never fails to get her gold. With a shrewd eye and a keen awareness of her surroundings, she seems to hear whispers of underhanded behavior before they happen. One man stealthily reaches across the bar behind her back for a bottle seemingly left forgotten on the surface. Without blinking an eye, spilling a drop from the bottle she is pouring or breaking off the conversation she's having with the man before her, she reaches into her corset and whips out a small, thin knife that she spins elegantly in her hand before slamming it into the surface of the bar between the thief's fingers. He pulls his arm back with a hiss, examining his undamaged hand with shock and embarrassment, accompanied by laughter from those who witnessed the event. All the woman has to do is turn her head to meet his eyes with a fiery glare and a tilt of her head to make him go out the door in a flash. That glare is turned on Edward momentarily as she pulls the blade free from the counter and makes it disappear.
Edward runs his fingers over the scarred and pitted wooden bar top and wonders if all of the marks in it are from her sharp little blade and overzealous men. His drink is empty and it is some time before she returns to him, silently offering him more rum with one hand leaning on the counter and the other holding up the bottle. Edward taps his cup and she pours him a second serving with an equally scanty exactness as the first. He frowns at it but then moves his hand over to run his finger over the back of her wrist. Perhaps she needs some encouragement to be more generous. She snatches her hand away with a softly spoken warning.
"Unless yer a complete fool and blind, you'll not do that again. I'm capable a' more than idle threats." Edward leans back and grins at her as he holds out a coin in payment for the drink.
"I imagine you are…" She reaches for it but he moves it beyond her grasp.
"Have it yer way." Her hand falls on Edward's cup and she takes it off the bar.
"Oy! Fine! Just give me back my drink!" The woman waits for him to relinquish his coin before returning his cup, sloshing some of its contents over the rim intentionally. Edward hisses at the loss of his precious alcohol so ungenerously given.
"Listen, I'm sorry, alright? Can I at least give you a kiss to make up for my brutish ways?" She snorts and starts to walk away. Desperate to get her back, Edward gulps down his drink and holds up his cup.
"I'm not done drinking yet."
"I have other customers." She pours him a slightly larger cup full, takes his coin and then leaves him, unmoved by his protestations.
The night wears on and she continues to snub him yet he persists in entreating her to let him at least have a kiss. Near midnight, Adewale finds him and takes a seat beside him. Edward is drunk enough by then to reach across the counter and slap the tavern owner's backside when she comes over to see what her newest customer wants. The contact of his palm on her firm, round derriere makes a satisfying sound and Edward watches her spin to face him with a disappointingly calm expression on her face. The regulars go silent. She pulls out her silver tooled flintlock from her belt, jumps up to sit on her hip on the counter, grabs his collar and presses the muzzle to his mouth. Edward turns his head away and she digs the cold metal into the soft skin of his neck just under his chin.
"Do you really want a kiss from me?" Edward raises his hand up to pull the gun down and she squeezes the trigger slightly. He freezes in place and glances between Adewale and her.
"Do you? No? Not anymore? Good." Just as quickly as she had neutralized him, she hops down and tucks away her weapon. Folding her arms under her breasts, she waits for his reaction. Edward stands and staggers slightly from both the shock of such a sudden brush with his own demise and the liquor in his system. Adewale stands as well and pushes on his shoulder to guide him towards the door. Edward moves compliantly enough, dumbfounded, entranced by the woman who so easily could have taken his life, completely smitten by her beauty and confidence. Then someone starts laughing at him.
"Ya see that, boys? He ain't got nothin' in his pants but a twat, there!" Edward casts about for the source of the voice and takes hold of the handles of his twin cutlasses.
"Oh I've got a bigger cock than all of you!"
"Tha's enough, Captain." Adewale rumbles, taking a handful of Edward's jacket and hauling him further toward the door. Edward draws his swords simultaneously and spins them about.
"Come on then! Who wants a dustup?"
"Not you!" Adewale insists, using one final shove to push Edward outside. He pins him up against the side of the building and Edward lets his hands drop down by his sides and the tips of his swords dig into the sand drifted up against the weathered boards.
"Ade, why can't you just let a man have some fun?"
"She almost shot you! We're going back to the ship." Edward clumsily sheathes his swords.
"She's magnificent…"
"She's trouble."
"Mag… magsiffinlent…" They stumble back to the dinghy and Adewale drops Edward unceremoniously into it to begin paddling back to the Jackdaw.
In the morning, Edward is at the helm. They sail out of Nassau on the early breezes. Adewale is his usual quiet self in between bellowing orders at the crew. Edward looks at his quarter master.
"Ade…"
"What Captain?"
"What do you think her name is?"
"Who?"
"That beautiful woman at the tavern?" Adewale crosses his massive, scarred arms over his chest and turns to look incredulously at Edward.
"You must be jesting, Captain. She nearly killed you and you want to know her name? How about Heartache? A pretty lady like her who knows her way around weapons that well? Nothin' but heartache and trouble. Stay away from that one."
"Jaysus, Ade, you act like a woman with a weapon is something we've never seen before! I don't see you running from Bonny!"
"She doesn't point her weapons at me."
"And that's what makes this one different, my friend. There's more to her… something special. Something I want to know more about. What drives her to be so contrary, so… interesting?" His voice trails off as he stares out into the open sea before them.
"I assure you, Captain, it's better you just don' know. If you dig where you ought not to and get yourself killed by that woman, as beautiful as she is, I am taking the Jackdaw and all the crew on it as my own." Edward scowls at his quartermaster and drops the subject.