WARNING M CONTENT AHEAD!
Once the men were on the other side of the door Vane turned to Jack throwing him a murderous scowl.
Jack immediately threw up his hands in defense, "I told you she was difficult!"
"Yes thank you for that."
Jack chuckled, "I rather like her. I've only known one other woman willing to speak to you like that."
Vane flashed him a warning look.
"Speaking of Miss Guthrie did she give any indication of what we were to do once we had the Annesley sisters?"
"Back to Nassau."
"Pardon me Charles but is that…wise? Their father and uncle are bound to realize within the fortnight that they are missing. Do we really want to rain royal hell down on our heads that quickly?
"Jack…" Vane growled. At the moment he was not in the mood to be questioned. Vane was loathed to admit it, but his head and groin hurt like hell and all he wanted at the moment was some peace and quiet.
"Right," Jack took the hint. "I'll inform Jacobs," and with an elegant swish he was off.
Vane made his way towards his cabin. Once inside he let out an exasperated sigh, he hoped Eleanor had been right about all this. Taking a swig of brandy he settled himself into his chair, letting his mind wander…
It was messy with them. It always had been and always would be. Messy and violent. Every time they came together it was like a storm finally break upon the shore. Two forces colliding, each relentless pounding, hurting pushing, trying to break the other. Neither willing to show weakness, neither willing to fall first.
But when it was over…when each lay spent together, in those moments, he was able to make sense of it all.
He tried to keep his breathing steady as he shifted, loathed to wake her. She had something important to tell him, something she insisted on, yet they had only gotten three steps inside of his tent before they crashed against each other. Whatever she wanted to tell him would have to wait.
He had no complaints.
After a moment she began to stir, one hand flexing against his chest. He would never tell her, never admit it, but he loved watching her sleep. She carried the weight of her ambitions with her every moment of every day. It was only in the embrace of sleep that they lifted.
She really did look like an angel. If he told her, she'd probably kill him. The thought brought a small smile to his lips.
As he was well aware, nothing lasted forever.
She shifted again, pulling her head off of his shoulder blinking the sleep from her eyes. He knew she hadn't meant to stay. She never did.
"I have a business proposition for you." There. There was the Eleanor he knew. The calculating business women, the ambitious little girl eager to prove herself the son she never would be.
He let a lazy grin spread across his face as he gently pulled her into his lap. "I rather liked our earlier discussion," he said brazenly rubbing a knee between her thighs to emphasize his point.
She was not deterred. Coming to a sitting position, she straddled his thighs, unabashed in her nakedness. "What if I told you that with one prize we could earn enough money to ensure the protection of Nassau?"
Vane chuckled, "I'd say you were daft," he said letting his hands roam to her hips in an attempt to urge her forward.
With a frown she bat his hands away, "Charles I'm serious."
"So am I," he said threading his fingers through her hair, yanking her down for a bruising kiss. Business could wait. He wasn't ready to relinquish this moment. Not yet.
In one quick move she was under him again, his hips nestled between her thighs. She didn't even have a chance to breathe before he was inside her. She didn't control this. She didn't control him.
"Fuck!" She screamed unprepared for the onslaught.
He pushed against her, drove against her, trying to prove to himself but most of all to her that he was in control. Her lips bit him, her nails tore at his skin, but he was relentless. Eliciting sounds from her that would make a seasoned of whore blush. Tearing her hands from his body, he manacled them above her head in a vice grip.
He was in control.
Her breath hitched, and she began to thrash against him signaling that she was close. Still he refused to relent. A litany of curses fell from her lips as her body began to tremble.
He would make her beg.
He brought a hand to her knee lifting it above his shoulder as he continued to push into her. The deeper angle elicited a scream from her that he was sure half the beach could hear. The thought made him chuckle. Her eyes flew open. "Fuck you Charl…" The retort earned her a deeper thrust.
She would beg.
He would make her.
She was close, he knew she was.
Using his free hand, he reached between their joined bodies. With the pad of his thumb he gently caressed her. That was all it took. Immediately her back arched her eyes squeezed shut, a look halfway between pain and pleasure frozen on her face. He gritted his teeth against the onslaught of sensation.
He would make her beg.
With her arms manacled above her head and her body completely open to him she had no choice. He continued to push into her as his thumb caressed her. Urging her, forcing her again. Once. Twice. Three times her body tensed and exploded beneath him. Each time her cries became more desperate. Each time he held out.
"Charles I…I…can't…" She was so close she felt dizzy.
He couldn't take much more. Releasing her hands, he gripped her hip holding her to him, forcing her to meet him thrust for thrust. She threw her arms around his neck, her lips grazing his ear. "Charles…"
She would say it. She had to.
His body ached. His muscles burned. He was so close to his release.
"Please…"
There it was. Barely above a whisper. That small plea.
Burying her face in his neck, she bit him hard. Punishing him for making her say it.
The pain mixed with the pleasure did it. With a roar he exploded into her as her body shook for a fourth time beneath him.
They collapsed in a sweaty tangle of limbs panting hard. Neither spoke.
It was some time later that he felt her leave. The ease with which she slipped from his side still sometimes surprised him. He tried to keep his breathing even, feigning sleep.
She wouldn't stay. She never did. That was the way it was with them. They fought, they fucked, and they pushed. Neither willing to admit their feelings. Never wanting to be the first.
Once she was gone Vane brought a hand to his neck, gingerly touching the spot where she had bit him. As his fingers grazed the area, he winced slightly. There would be a mark. Of course there would be. Was he surprised? She would be angry with him tomorrow, of that he had no doubt. Angry that he had gotten her to admit it. To beg for him, to plead. She hated that. Hated showing weakness, hated not being in control. That was the story of them. Neither willing to admit their feelings, secretly hating the other for revealing otherwise.
A sharp rap on his door yanked him back to the present and out of his musings.
"Enter," he yelled.
Vane took a final swig from the bottle before turning to acknowledge his quartermaster. "What now?" he asked with a raised brow. Jack wasn't looking forward to this exchange.
"Well you see Charles, I was wondering if it might be prudent that we make accommodations so that…"
"What Jack, out with it!"
"Right, erm…are we feeding them?"
"What?" Vane wasn't prepared for the question.
"Feeding them. The Annesley sisters?"
Vane just started at him, the thought honestly hadn't crossed his mind.
"We're almost a month from Nassau and we can't starve them," Jack continued.
"Yes, fine. See to it."
"Right."
"Anything else?" Vane inquired, sending Jack a sardonic look.
"Ah, no."
"Good. Get the fuck out."
"Jesus," Vane muttered running a hand over his face. He hoped to God that Eleanor was right about the payoff. It was only a few hours in and already he was getting a headache.
Kati sat against the wall directly opposite the door with her knees huddled to her chest. She had no idea how long she had slept, the ever present darkness depriving her of any sense of time. She had already circled the whole room seven times. She tried the door, the lock, felt along every crevice, nook and cranny trying to glean some useful bit of information. There was no way out that was for certain, but even if there had been where would she go? She preferred not to dwell on the thought. Her search hadn't been utterly fruitless however as she had discovered a few things about her present location. The sway of the ship was relatively minimal, which lead her to believe that she was probably somewhere near the deck. She could not hear men's voices which meant that she wasn't anywhere near the bunks, nor the kitchens, nor easy access to the main stairs. She discovered on her second search around the room that she was in an area about twice the length of a cabin, probably used for storage owing to the coils of rope, odd barrels and what felt like flour strew across a stretch of the floor.
There was only so much a square wooden box could reveal. Now she had nothing to do but wait. Before long, the gentle rocking of the ship had almost lulled her to sleep again. To keep her eyes open Kati began to hum. The words were slow to come, but eventually with the passage of each note they drifted back to her.
Here's a health to you bonny Kellswater
Where you get all the pleasures of life
Where you get all the fishing and fowling
And a bonny wee lass for your wife.
It was a familiar tune, one she often heard the cooks sing through the open kitchen windows. Her voice was quiet at first but gaining confidence with each note.
Oh it's down where yon waters run muddy
I'm afraid they will never run clear
And it's when I begin for to study
My mind is on him that's not here.
Someone was singing. Jack's steps faltered as the distant melody drifted to his ears, slow and haunting and sweet. It was singing and a female voice at that. A sound Jack hadn't heard in a long time.
And it's this one and that one may court him
But if any one gets him but me
It's early and late I will curse them
The parting lovely Willy from me.
Jack leaned against the doorjamb for a long time, content just to listen as the dusky alto recounted each of the sad lines. Most of the songs he was used to hearing were sung by raucous male voices recounting notions not quite as noble as lost love. He stood in the dim hall and listened to that ghostly echo.
Oh a father he calls on his daughter
Two choices I'll give unto thee
Would you rather see Willie's ship a'sailing
See him hung like a dog on yonder tree.
Oh father, dear father, I love him
I can no longer hide it from thee
Through an acre of fire I would travel
Along with the lovely Willie to be...
Was it her imagination or what she heard something? She waited, then came the unmistakable turn of the lock. In an instant she was on her feet. However, the sudden light piercing the gloom momentarily blinded her. Blinking rapidly her eyes slowly adjusted to reveal the lanky pirate once more.
Her gaze immediately narrowed.
"Don't worry I come in peace," he said holding up one hand in a bid at truce, a genuine smile gracing his thin lips.
Kati was skeptical. He wasn't Captain Vane, but he was still a pirate. "What do you want?"
"There are so many things really, where do I even begin?"
Kati simply stared, nonplussed by his attempt at humor.
Jack smiled ruefully after a moment, "to start, only for you to eat. Here." As he stepped fully into the room, the man produced a metal plate with a chunk of bread, a small slab of cheese and a steaming bowl of soup.
Kati was dumbfounded, staring from the plate to the man then back to the plate again.
Jack chuckled at her expression. "We weren't going to starve you, here."
Kati took the offering wordlessly.
"It's not the fare that you're used to I'm quite sure, but its food."
"Thank…thank you…I…" She honestly didn't know what to say.
"I'm Jack, by the way, Jack Rackham." He swept her a dramatic bow.
Despite herself Kati smiled.
Earning another from Jack, "well then Miss Annesley I bid you goodnight."
"Wait!"
His stopped midstride, turning in a swish of colorful silks to face her once more, "Yes?"
He had her full attention, "please, where is my sister Elizabeth? Is she alright?"
Jack bit the inside of his lip as his forehead creased in a frown. He could efficiently handle many dire situations. The bloody fray of battle, the threat of the hangman's noose, even their Captain's volatile temper. Yet, faced with a woman in distress, he was hopeless. For a moment Jack teetered on the edge of indecision. However, one look into her somber eyes and his resolve broke like a poorly constructed dam. "She is well, or as well as can be expected given the circumstance."
Kati's entire body tensed. "Given the circumstance? What circumstance?"
Oh no. She was even more distressed! He could see it on her face plain as day. "Oh no. No. No. What I mean...that is..." He took a breath, "what I mean to say is that no harm has come to her." Jack's flush stained his high cheekbones, it was a wonder Anne put up with him.
Her body immediately relaxed, as though some great weight had lifted off her shoulders.
Jack congratulated himself. That had worked somewhat.
"Thank you." For the moment, that was enough.
He offered her a small nod. "Oh, and Miss Annesley" he was half turned to leave.
"Yes?"
"You do have quite a lovely singing voice," then he was gone, taking the light with him.
The song Kati sings in this chapter is an old Irish tune called Kellswater. The best rendition, in my opinion, is by the Canadian songstress Loreena McKennitt and can be found on youtube here: watch?v=qwWJjAwb524
