Yo Ho!
Chapter 3: Rise & Shine
The next morning, the sun returned, and James laid awake in his bed waiting for something, anything, to happen. His entire body ached from all he'd endured - being drugged, tied up, tied down, listening to two women have rough, passionate sex without the use of his hands - and he was starving for breakfast. Soon enough, the lock on his door clanked against it's setting, and his Blondie walked in. She smiled when she saw he was awake, letting the door swing all the way open as she leaned on the jamb. She crossed her arms and let her head fall back, lifting one bare foot to press it against the wall. She was wearing a silk robe, and it was thin enough - and tied loosely enough - to let him know she wasn't wearing anything else.
"Good morning, James."
She looked sooo relaxed. James tried to sit up, pulling on his wrists until his head was against the backboard. He sighed and looked at her with a fairly amused expression.
"Good morning, Juliet." he said. "Oh Juliet, oh god, sweet Jesus Juliet don't let it stop." he continued, reciting what he assumed was her full title in a tone most dry. They smirked at each other. "Is that your maiden name?" he asked her.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, ignoring his question.
"Depends on what's being served." said James, eyebrows jumping as he looked her up and down.
Juliet smiled, and chuckled through closed lips. "You're not in the position to be picky." she reminded him.
"Untie me and I'll get into any position you want, Blondie."
"I think you're fine where you are." she said, smirk remaining.
"But I don't want you doin' all the work." said James, tugging at his hands for emphasis.
"I'll come get you when breakfast is ready." said Juliet, pushing herself away from the door jamb and leaving his door open. She walked down the short hallway, passing Eli on the way back to the master bedroom. She gave her young bodyguard a kiss on the cheek, and a nice pat on the chest to thank him for protecting them all night. His eyes, as well as the aim of his pistol, remained on James the whole time.
"Take it easy, Cabin Boy." James muttered, furrowing one brow and raising the other when he saw the murderous look of contempt on the younger man's face. It made him uncomfortable, and it blocked his view of Juliet.
"Rise and shine!" Gillian sang as she unlocked Cal's door. She threw it open and stood in the light that streamed down from the open hatch above her head, smiling Cal's way. She was in a frilly white men's shirt, the tie in front left loose and the thin, sheer fabric leaving nothing to the imagination when it came to her breasts, and on the bottom she wore a pair of soft, baggy cotton pants. Not yet fully dressed for the day.
"Forgive me if I don't shine, love." said Cal, letting his eyes wander shamelessly up and down her body. "I was rising all night."
Gillian chuckled, obviously in a good mood. She walked toward the bed, and Cal made a dramatic gesture of shrinking away from her. It actually gave her pause.
"Youuu witch." he said, his voice low in his throat. "You evil siren of the sea..."
Gillian scoffed allowing herself a short laugh, shaking her head before she closed the distance between them and got to work untying his ankles.
"Ya gonna tie me upside down now, love? Or hang me out the porthole by my fingernails?"
"Oh, it wasn't that bad." Gillian cooed, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"It was bloody torture, and you know it!" he insisted.
Gillian's smug smile told him she knew it very well. Once his ankles were free, she walked around the bed and got right on top of him again, straddling his chest. Oh, how he wanted those thighs wrapped around his waist, only lower.
"You're not wearing any underwear." he declared happily once she'd settled.
"Maybe I stuffed them in your friend's mouth." said Gillian. She enjoyed the way Cal's mouth came open when he got turned on.
"Oi! Jimmy!" Cal called out, raising his head and peering out the door. "You out there?"
"Rising and shining, just like you!" James called back from his room. Cal rested his head on his pillow and gazed up at Gillian.
"Liar." He said quietly, his eyes shining playfully as he shared a smug smile of his own.
"You had to check, though." said Gillian. "Didn't you?" Cal smiled like a kid as she reached for one of his wrists. Her breasts were directly over his face, mesmerizing him. He realized a few seconds later that she'd paused again, and he looked up at her face..
"Promise me you're not going to do anything foolish." she said, regarding him as a strict teacher might regard a naughty pupil.
"I may be a pirate, love, but I'm still a gentleman. I'll at least get you drunk first."
Gillian smirked and got to untying his wrists, satisfied that he wouldn't make a move. Eli strolled down to that end of the hallway anyway, covering Gillian as she worked out her knots. Cal craned his neck so he could look around Gillian's body at the lanky weirdo outside.
"How do you stand it?" Cal asked him, nodding in the direction of Gillian's chest, referring to her, to Juliet, to all of it.
"I'm rewarded for my patience." Eli said calmly. "Often." He smiled, and his eyes said it all.
"Bloody bastard." Cal said through his teeth. His hands were now free. He could feel Gillian stiffen, ready for a fight, but he moved very slowly, keeping his hands out where she could see them and wincing only slightly at the stiffness in his shoulders. "See?" he said, looking into her eyes. "You can trust me."
"About as far as I can throw you." was her retort. She still held the rope. "Give me your hands."
"Yes, Mistress Gillian." Cal said with a grin, bringing his wrists together so she could tie them in the front.
"That's Captain Gillian to you, English."
The ship hit a big wave as Juliet led James to the galley. They'd just entered the narrow corridor that led to the small kitchen when the floor heaved sideways. James was thrown forward, and he did nothing to prevent himself from crashing into her. In fact, he raised his hands, bound at the wrist, a little higher so that his hips could connect with her backside. She was indeed naked underneath that silky robe. She'd been pushed against the counter, forced to throw her hands out in front of her and catch herself, and she felt him grind his crotch into her ass, as much as he could in their awkward position. Juliet's eyes rolled into the back of her head for a moment as she realized she could feel the shape of him even through their clothing. She managed to get a hold of herself, completely stifling her aching moan, and she turned her head to look at him like she couldn't believe he'd been so bold.
"Oops." James said, showing his dimples. Juliet smirked, and pushed away from the counter with her hands so she could shove him back with her ass. "Ooh!" he said as he hit the opposite wall, again surprised at her strength. "Baby, be gentle." he scolded her.
"Be quiet." she said to him, though she'd clearly enjoyed what had just happened, if only on the level of pure entertainment.
"Where's Cal?" James asked, taking it upon himself to take one of the two seats in the galley. The table was tiny, and he had to squeeze himself into the space.
"On his way." Juliet said, flipping her loose blonde hair as she looked toward the door. Sure enough, Cal was pushed inside a moment later, followed by Gillian.
"Well isn't this cozy!" Cal said, smiling at all of them in turn.
"I hope you like dried fish." Gillian said dryly, guiding him forcefully to the other seat. James and Cal shared a knowing glance. It occurred to both of them how easy it would be to overpower both women, even with their hands tied. But neither of them had any reason to take over the ship and be free. Not when being manhandled and tossed around and tied up and sat on was proving to be so much fun. They'd make a run for it once they reached the shore, but not a moment sooner.
"Stop that." said Gillian, not fooled for a second.
"Stop what?" James said innocently.
"Plotting." said Juliet.
"You're not getting off this ship." Gillian told them. "At least, not as free men."
"If you free us, we'll lead you to that treasure I mentioned." Cal reminded her.
"I'm not interested in any 'treasure' you have to offer." Gillian murmured, taking it there before Cal or James could. She turned to Juliet, who smiled softly back at her. They both leaned toward each other at the same time, and their lips met in a tender kiss.
"Then why don'tcha give us some of yours?" James asked. That tender kiss brought back all the memories of the sounds they'd heard the previous night. They had treasures aplenty. Juliet turned to look at him, and she shook her head no.
"You couldn't handle our treasure." she said. Both men took a breath like they were about to say something dirty that they thought would be devilishly charming, but Gillian, still looking at Juliet, held a finger up, and they froze, mouths still hanging open.
"Eli said the storm only took us a few miles off course." she reported in a more business-like manner. "We should still arrive early tomorrow morning."
"Arrive where?" James cut in, hoping to make himself part of the conversation by pretending he already was. They were women, right? They'd slip up and include him by accident eventually. Gillian and Juliet both looked at him this time.
"Don't mistake this little breakfast arrangement as hospitality." said Gillian. "You're not our guests, you're not our associates - you're our prisoners."
Cal pouted, tilting his head from side to side as he made a show of considering that fact. "For now." was all he would concede. Gillian raised her eyebrows and tilted her head back at him as if to say Oh really?
"We don't normally remain prisoners for very long." James explained patronizingly. "As I'm sure you've heard." he added, expecting them to be impressed like all the other girls.
They were not. They might have been very turned on - horny for them, even - but not impressed. Unlike all those other girls, who dropped their panties after one exaggerated story of near-death and a daring escape, Gillian and Juliet were themselves pirates on the same level as the notorious Ford and Lightman - they just didn't sit around and brag about it in taverns full of gossips and whores. They'd heard all about James and Cal, and Juliet and Gillian were positive that they'd be able to contain them. Their egos were their weakness, after all, and half their stories were lies.
"I hate to be the one to tell you this," said Juliet, affecting a very obviously fake sympathetic tone. "But the infamous Captains Ford and Lightman might very well be spending the rest of their lives in a prison."
"Prison, eh?" said Cal. Deep down inside he shuddered at the thought, but he'd never let it show. Instead he concentrated on some detective work, eager to figure out their master plan. "So you've made a deal with the police somewhere, to have us arrested?"
"Well that's not so bad!" James said, pretending to be relieved.
"Not bad at all!" Cal agreed. "'cept maybe for your purses, ladies. Cops don't pay very well, I'm afraid. Common mistake for first time bounty hunters. I'm sure you'll do better next time."
"You might even have a chance to catch us again," James said, his upbeat tone even more patronizing than his apologetic one. "Since no prison's been able to hold us for more than a day or two."
"We've escaped from Chateau d'If." Cal said matter-of-factly.
"Twice." added James with a smile, even though they'd never been to France.
Gillian and Juliet looked at them like they were children, waiting patiently as the boys raised themselves onto that shaky pedestal. Once they'd taken the stakes all the way up to those legendary heights, Juliet decided to knock them down.
"Did I say prison?" Juliet said innocently, turning to Gillian, who frowned thoughtfully.
"Prison, dungeon, brig, watery grave..." Gillian listed off some of the other possibilities. "Whatever suits the highest bidder." she said with a one shoulder shrug, condescending to the condescenders.
The lustful stirrings within Cal and James grew to near uncontrollable levels when they realized the ladies were even more experienced and in control than they'd realized. After a moment's reflection on this matter, Cal made a sound with his tongue as if he were preparing to speak. At the same time, James wondered aloud, "How much are we talkin about here?"
"How cute." said Gillian. "They don't even know their true worth."
"We're pricless, sweetheart." said Cal.
"We just wanna know how much you think we're worth." said James.
"As I said," said Gillian. "We're going to wait for the people with the money to come to us. Who knows; if there aren't any takers...we might end up having to keep you for a while longer."
"Oh, there will be takers." Cal assured her. "But if you wanted to keep us on indefinitely as your willing sex slaves, it would be completely voluntary on our parts."
"How very generous of you." said Juliet, her smirk returning.
"Yes." Gillian said to Juliet. "Why don't we go fuck each other dizzy in our bedroom while we ponder that offer?" she suggested, patting Juliet on the bottom to start her on her way.
"Hey, aren'tcha gonna eat with us?" James said, purposefully sounding desperate.
"Oh, we already ate." said Juliet over her shoulder. "Fresh fillet of fish, fresh cut fruit. We even had a little bite of chocolate."
"Sounds delicious." said Cal, sitting up straight and waiting for his own serving.
"It was." Juliet sighed. Gillian merely giggled in response, and left with Juliet, presumably to live up to her promise of fucking her dizzy. Eli walked in after they left with a plate of dried fish in his hands.
"Oh." Cal said dryly. "Hi. I'm sorry, there's been some sort of mistake. We ordered the special breakfast. You know, the one we get to eat off of their naked bodies?" He gestured with his tied hands in the direction of the ship's captains, raising his eyebrows expectantly at Eli.
Eli stared at him coldly. "If I cared any less I'd be dead." Then, with a sickeningly smug smile, he lifted a piece of fish and held it out for Cal. "Now open up!" he said, as if to a baby.
"I'd rather not." said Cal, staring back with the clear intention of killing him with his eyes.
"Just leave the plate on the table." James sighed. "And if it wouldn't be too much trouble - some water?"
"The ocean's right out there." said Eli, nodding toward the porthole, tossing the plate on the table between them and leaning against the counter to watch them eat.
"I'm never eating here again." said Cal, reaching for a piece of fish with both hands and popping it in his mouth unceremoniously.
James started eating too. He glanced at the holster on Eli's hip, regarding the young man himself like a hovering gull rather than a guard.
"Didja remember to load your gun, cabin boy?" James asked him.
"I can check, if you want." Eli began innocently. "Where should I shoot you?"
"Hey now, let's not quarrel." Cal said soothingly. "We're all friends here."
James flashed Eli a mean smile, and continued to eat. The fish was disgusting, salted beyond what was necessary to keep it from spoiling, but it was all they'd had to eat in at least twenty-four hours. Those girls were causing all sorts of hunger. After a few minutes of chewing, no longer under the influence of lust the girls had over them, James had an interesting thought.
"You know what I haven't had in a dog's age?" James said to Cal, sounding for all intents and purposes like he was just making idle conversation.
"What's that?" Cal humored him, sensing a plan hidden in James' tone.
"Monkey brains." said James, and his eyes flashed with certain mischief. It was one of their codewords, for when they had a clear shot at escaping and needed to signal to the other that they were about to make a move.
Cal nodded, the corners of his mouth turning up at the disgusting suggestion. "I could go for some of that about now."
Eli's eyes narrowed. He could tell they were thinking something devious, but he was still caught completely off guard when James lunged at him.
Gillian was seated at her desk, bent over a ledger, counting their money while Juliet got dressed, when she heard a loud crash in the galley. Juliet slowed the tucking in of her fresh white blouse, and she glanced at the door before looking to Gillian with both question and answer in her eyes.
"Dammit." Gillian muttered and sighed. She stood, reaching for a very pointy dagger.
"I'll go around the back." said Juliet, shaking her head and chuckling as she pulled the revolver out of the holster hanging from the nearest bedpost.