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The Brightest Star

Chapter 2:

She blew out the candle, turning over on the bed so that she had her back towards the balcony. As long as she could hear the gentle lapping of the ocean against the rocky shore she would just pretend that she had never left the Pearl. She could imagine that Jack was just a few steps away, separated from her by a mere cabin door. If she closed her eyes – focused intently – she could even make believe that she could feel his presence in the room with her. The scent of rum and seawater filled her senses.

A hand clasped firmly across her mouth. Elizabeth's eyes flew wide in horror as she clamped her teeth around her attacker's fingers, her scream stifled by its presence upon her lips. The person drew back sharply, letting out a quick breath of pain.

"Jesus, woman! What the hell'd ye do that fer?" Twisting sharply, Elizabeth almost fell out of bed as she scrambled to see through the darkness. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

"Jack?" It came out as a strangled moan from between her lips, so quiet she wasn't sure she'd spoken it out loud. She had imagined, fantasised over having Jack in her bedroom. She was sure it was just another dream.

"The one and only, luv." She could tell he was smirking without even looking at his face.

"What –" Elizabeth stammered, not knowing whether to slap him or kiss him senseless. She shook slightly as she tried to refrain from doing either, feeling the heat rush into her body, overtaking her senses with raw desire. "What the hell are you doing here, creeping up on me in the middle of the night?!" She questioned, her tone confused and accusing.

"What are ye doin' lettin' me?" He countered. His face broke into a smirk, his lips quirking to one side as she spluttered a half-hearted response. How could she begin to make sense when his mouth, slightly parted, was just begging to be tasted?

"Well…I – I was almost asleep. I was thinking." Jack's smirk grew. Elizabeth was enraptured by the shadows playing across his striking features, cast by the moonlight shining through the open balcony.

"Which one was it?" Jack questioned in a smug tone. "Asleep? Or thinking?" Elizabeth ignored his question, fighting the blush rising in her cheeks. 'Thank God it's dark' she thought before forming her next words.

"You didn't answer my question." She stated.

"And what question might that be?" Elizabeth turned her disbelieving face to his, her eyebrow quirked in a demanding question.

"You know full well what question I'm talking about."

"Oh, Lizzie." Instead of answering her, Jack quickly changed the subject. "How've ye been?"

"Just answer the question, Jack. Please." She gave him a piercing look as it defying him to avoid answering her. She wasn't in the mood for playing games. She wanted – needed – to know why he was there. Jack realised that she wasn't going to give in and his expression fell to a pout. His eyes dropped briefly to her lips before he spoke.

"I wanted to see ye." He answered simply. 'Well that's not at all helpful' Elizabeth silently exclaimed.

"You wanted to see me?" She repeated, disbelieving. "You come all this way, break into my room in the middle of the night and creep up on me while I'm in bed, all because you wanted to see me?"

"I didn't break in!" Jack was indignant as he swaggered across to the large wooden door. He pointed firmly at the lock. "See! Nothing's broken! I can't help it if ye left the room unlocked!" Elizabeth scowled at him.

"That's not the point and you know it."

"Ah, then what is the point?" The smirk was back on Jack's face. Elizabeth opened and closed her mouth, frantically searching for an answer.

"The point – the point is that I don't believe you."

"Nothing's broken. QED, I didn't break in –" Jack argued with a huff.

"Jack!" Elizabeth quickly silenced him before her could changed the subject…again. "As I was saying, you always wait for the opportune moment – one that is beneficial for you. Why are you here and why now?" He tone left no room for argument, if she had been talking to anyone but Captain Jack Sparrow. As it was, he once again avoided her question.

"I saw ye on the balcony earlier. Ye seemed t'be lost on a little world of yer own creation. But then I heard me name –"

"You couldn't have…" Elizabeth immediately flushed at his words.

"But I did. Funny that." Jack stated, amusement evident in his voice as he tilted his head, regarding her closely. He stalked over to the edge of the bed where Elizabeth was still perched and lowered himself next to her. He glanced at her lips.

Elizabeth tensed. 'How am I going to explain that one?' She thought. He was so close she could almost taste him and it wasn't helping her think at all. She thought furiously, knowing that he probably wouldn't accept any explanation without first debating it.

"I was just thinking about the Pearl. I've been going out of my mind ever since I left – the ship." She was going to say 'you' but caught herself at the last minute. "Life just isn't the same here. I need adventure. I was wondering what adventures you were having." At least she hadn't completely lied to him.

Jack stayed quiet for several minutes running over her words in his mind. She wanted adventure? Who was he to deny her what she wanted? He moved closer to her on the bed, his thigh brushing lightly against her own, sending shivers throughout her entire body.

"Ye want adventure?" He questioned seriously, looking directly into her eyes, searching their depths.

"Yes." She whispered softly. He was so close that he could feel her breath ghost across his cheekbones, his lips. He could picture himself leaning forward and capturing her tender lips with his, taking what he wanted from her.

Ever since she had kissed him aboard the Pearl, abandoning him to the Kraken, he had known her for what she truly was. A pirate. She had used her stunning beauty and womanly charms as a distraction in order to chain him to the mast and leave him to the non-existent mercy of the deadly beast. And her kiss. For just one kiss he would have happily chained himself to that mast.

He came out of his revere, his eyes focusing once again upon hers. It was then that he realised how close they really were, noses almost touching, breathing mingled with one another. Her lips parted and it was his undoing. Without giving her a chance to object, without thinking of the consequences of kissing a married woman, Jack closed the distance between then, his hot lips locking with hers in a passionate embrace.

Elizabeth was overwhelmed with a barrage of emotions. She could hardly breath as her entire body quivered from the familiar taste of rum and spice. Their tongues battled for dominance, her hands buried in his dark, thick hair, his own caressing her sides and slowly sliding upwards. He gently cupped her breast with his right palm as his left, rough and calloused just like she remembered, rested against her cheek with surprising gentleness. Elizabeth's entire body shook with the variety of sensations that flooded her.

The smell, the touch, the taste sank into Elizabeth's unconscious thought and she suddenly stiffened and pulled back. All she could remember was the drowning guilt and loss that had been the result of the last kiss. She couldn't bear thinking about her actions when they had last been this close. She couldn't bear to be this close to him again, knowing what she had done.

She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and look at him. She could still feel his breath on her face. She could still taste his lips upon hers. Yet she couldn't stop her mind flashing back to that awful day.

"Elizabeth." His voice was gentle but commanding. "Lizzie, look at me." She opened her eyes but kept them firmly fixed on his jaw line. She knew that if she looked at into the depths of his stunning eyes she would be lost to him.

The hand that still rested on her cheek was gently lowered, stroking her skin softly until his fingertips brushed the underside of her chin. Softly but determined, he lifted her gaze to his.

"There's nothin' to be ashamed of, Lizzie." He soothed her, imagining that she felt guilty for kissing him when she was still married to Will.

"I'm so sorry, Jack." He immediately seemed to recognise what she was referring to as she tried once again to lower her gaze. He refused to let her turn away from him, however, before she understood.

"Ye have nothin' to be sorry for, luv. Nothin' at all."

"I killed you, Jack. I actually killed you." She choked back a small sob, not wanting to break down in front of him. She was stronger than that. Jack realised that she had been carrying this weight around with her all this time, her guilt slowly eating away at her.

"No, luv. Ye came back fer me. Ye sailed to the end of the world and beyond…just fer me."

"But –" She tried to argue.

"No 'buts'. You did all that ye could to save everybody from the same fate as me. Ye did what ye had to and no one can ask anymore than that. Ye came to rescue me and fer that 'm grateful. It should be me thankin' ye fer savin' me, not ye askin' to be forgiven." He kept his gaze locked on hers, showing her his sincerity. "Now, about that adventure ye were cravin' a moment ago." Elizabeth looked confused at Jack's words.

'How can one man jump so quickly between so many different subjects?' She wondered, looking at his kissable lips and wondering what he was going to say next.

"How'd ye fancy a ride aboard a magnificent vessel?" Elizabeth stared straight at Jack, shocked and appalled that he would say such a thing. Jack noticed her look. "I meant the Pearl, Darlin'." He chuckled. Another blush rose in her cheeks and she realised that it happened a lot when she was around him.

"I need a new crewmember and ye are apparently in search of excitement and adventure. It looks to me like a good match." He concluded, once again glancing down at her full lips, red and swollen from their previous escapade, before letting his gaze linger over her scantly covered body. Elizabeth, who knew she would never be able to refuse being whisked away by Jack, who would follow him to the ends of the earth and beyond, looked decidedly into his eyes, getting lost in their depths.

"When do we leave?"

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