AN: Sword practice gets a little crazy in this chapter and Will and Elizabeth begin to earn the story's teen rating.
After three months of lessons – at least a portion of which were spent actually practicing – Elizabeth had grown quite adept at the art of swordplay. She had a natural ability which worked to her benefit and, having learned under a master, she could've easily bested many a woman, man, or pirate. Her skills were so advanced, in fact, by this point in her training that lessons were no longer about rudimentary skills, but about fine tuning her craft, cleverly outsmarting an opponent, and learning to fight in tandem – although, as Will pointed out, it was difficult to "imagine an occasion when we would ever have need of it."
Their fencing sessions also provided the additional benefit of a physical outlet to release the palpable sexual tension that flowed between them like an electrical current whenever they were in sight of one another. Unfortunately for the two of them, as their wedding was yet six months away, their sword practice often generated as many licentious feelings at it assuaged.
Still, as there was no other alternative, they lunged and parried, swords clashing violently as they danced about the smithy engaged in a particularly vigorous match. Though Will had enjoyed the early advantage over Elizabeth, his concentration was beginning to falter as he was distracted by the alluring sight of his fiancée's long legs – perfectly outlined in the formfitting breeches she wore – along with the rapid rise and fall of her bosom caused by a combination of exertion and the wild exhilaration engendered within by her handsome sparing partner.
Judging by the sparkle of anticipation in Elizabeth's eyes, Will's amatory mood was exactly what she had hoped for. Very soon she knew they would dispense with their swords and move on to other more enjoyable sports. His keen perception of her thoughts did nothing to help ease his urgent need for her or his inexorable craving to feel her body against his – especially as she seemed determined to place it there, even in the midst of their swordplay.
Since the beginning of their courtship, Elizabeth's avid reception of his advances and her frequent instigation of her own never failed to excite Will, but he loved and respected her enough to keep his carnal desires in check. Still, he ached to be with her in ways that a proper gentleman simply did not mention to a lady. However, it quickly became apparent in the course of their relationship that all of the improper things he dare not name she longed for just as much – knowledge that Will found extremely pleasing. He enjoyed the fact that she wanted him. It made him desire her all the more. He loved that he could drive her to distraction as much as she could him.
A sudden, cunning move by Elizabeth brought Will back to awareness. He had taught her well; she very nearly had him cornered. Employing all the tenacity he could muster, Will forced himself to focus on the sword and not the woman, quickly regaining his footing and putting his fiancée back on the defensive. Within a matter of minutes, his victory was cinched. He executed one final, decisive strike, loosening Elizabeth's grip on her sword and sending it clattering to the ground across the room. Her regarded her complacently, a slight smile playing across his lips at he presented at her throat.
Though a naturally competitive creature, Elizabeth did not mind losing this particular match. As the afternoon wore away, she'd grown tired of fencing; her appetite lie elsewhere. "I surrender," she said invitingly. "I am entirely at your mercy."
Lowering his sword, Will's gaze flitted down and back up her body, yearning to follow with his hands the path his eyes had just taken. Wordlessly, he took a step closer to her, noting her excited intake of air at what was to come. Stopping mere inches from her, Will teased, "I freely admit, my thoughts were elsewhere. In my distraction, I could've easily been defeated, and still I've come out the victor. I'm afraid your sword skills are growing lax."
Elizabeth's mouth opened in indignation, her amorous plans of seduction forestalled by this affront to her abilities. "They are not," she resentfully pouted. Coyly looking down, an uncharacteristic blush colored her cheeks as she admitted, "I was a bit distracted myself."
Will laughed. "Perhaps it isn't wise for the two of us to wield swords in such a state." He set his sword down on the work stone, meticulously watching as she further parted the collar of her blouse in an effort to cool her heated skin. "I'll go bring us some water," he whispered unsteadily, laying a soft kiss to her damp forehead before he left the room.
Elizabeth watched him go, amusement dancing in her eyes. Many times during their courtship it had been extremely obvious that Will's desire for her threatened to overwhelm him. But, though she was certain he desperately wanted to do a great deal of inappropriate things – none of which she imagined she'd object to – he always had the strength and presence of mind to stop himself at that crucial moment and pull away before they crossed that line. Will was so noble in that aspect. If nothing else, that alone revealed the depth of his love for her. While the knowledge warmed Elizabeth's heart, making her love him all the more, it did nothing to stop the unquenchable hunger she felt for him. Only one thing could satisfy that need – and it was most definitely not sword practice.
Flapping the hem of her untucked shirt, attempting to circulate air, she glanced about, searching for a momentary distraction from her agitating thoughts. Spying her sword lying sadly in the straw, Elizabeth frowned. Will had been right about her fencing; she did seem to be off her game as of late. While her incessant yearning for her provocative teacher was a valid excuse, it did not lesson her determination towards excellence in swordsmanship. Looking over at the many weapons of her fiancé's creation, hanging in place on the rack above her, gave her a sudden idea to bandy about while she waited for his return.
Outside at the well, Will was immensely thankful for the early evening breeze. He hoped it would help calm his irrepressible thirst in a way that mere water could not. His unconquerable lust for Elizabeth was daily proving more impossible to constrain – to the point where at times he did not fully trust himself when alone with her.
Nevertheless, he hastily filled the pitcher and hastened to return to her. It may be a tease this limited sample, making him long for the full portion but, having now had a taste of her, he found himself addicted to the flavor – so much so that the day when he no longer need fight for control, when he could do with her – to her – as he wished seemed almost a dangerous thing. Elizabeth professed to desire him as ardently as he did her, and though he did not doubt her passion to be intense – he'd had ample proof of that – he still wondered that this could be true, for he wanted her fiercely, desperately and, when she was finally his, when there was nothing to stop him, he would love her with such abandon it would take her breath away. Yet, whenever Will began to think he should tame his thoughts, quiet his feelings, and still his actions so as not to offend or frighten her feminine gentility, Elizabeth would respond to him in such a manner which made it perfectly clear that, come their wedding night, she would quickly match his ardor and hasten to love him in equally thrilling ways. The thought was as tantalizing as it was pleasing. It often served to agitate his mind and provoke his body – especially in the dark of night, in the quiet of his bedchamber.
Will reentered the smithy through the backdoor, expecting to find his beloved resting near the small table and chairs, but was as yet unable to locate her.
Elizabeth was so completely engrossed in the consideration of the swords overhead that she heard rather than saw Will's return. "I've been thinking," she called back to him, her eyes still fixed on the weapons, "since you've specialized my swords skills for practical application and we are trying to make this as realistic as possible, I ought to try using a different blade. After all, it's very unlikely that I would actually have my personal sword upon me should the need to defend myself arise. I would most likely have to make do with whatever weapon was at hand."
Will set the full pitcher down upon the table, intending to go to her and ultimately agree to whatever it was she had planned. Looking up from his task, however, all thoughts of swordplay left his mind. In fact, his mind itself rather left office, as his body was now being lead by another organ entirely.
His stunning fiancée stood before him, reaching up to pull a sword down from above her head, exposing her bare midriff to his hungry eyes. Silently walking over to stop just behind her, he watched her with a sudden heat in his eyes, taking a long moment to simply marvel at her figure and the silky smooth appearance of her skin. Yet, soon, merely looking would no longer suffice, and he found himself unable to fight the urge to discover if her skin was as heavenly soft as it seemed.
Still reaching for that elusively high-placed sword, Elizabeth was unaware of Will's voracious thoughts or close proximity until she felt his hands upon her stomach, pulling her back by the waist until she rested flush against his body. She wondered if the pirate in him had at last won out over the gentleman, for a dam seemed to have burst within Will – and it was carrying them both away on its current.
Elizabeth shivered with pleasure at the sensation of his rough hands upon her supple skin, sensually caressing her abdomen, his finger slipping into her navel, rubbing slow circles there. Encouraged by her heady response to his touch, Will slid his hands across her waist, down her hips, to her upper thighs and back up to retrace the path, causing her to tremble in his arms.
As dusk began to fall outside, the sun sinking low in the early evening sky, the smithy was quiet, nothing but the sound of her quick, uneven breath filling the air. Keeping his left hand firmly planted at her hip, Will brought his right hand up to her hair, burying his fingers in the silken strands. He suddenly pulled her head back to lie against his shoulder, exposing her long neck to his thirsty lips which instantly alighted on her throat. Elizabeth's hand flew up to his neck, holding his lips there, urging them to continue their blazing descent down her throat and chest. She felt as if she were floating someplace beyond space and time where all she could feel were his lips and hands upon her body.
Abruptly, Elizabeth turned in Will's arms, pausing for a moment to drink in the sight of his handsome features, seeing the fierce desire she felt mirrored on his face. Her eyes slowly drifted to his lips, yearning to feel them against her own….But not yet. She wasn't finished admiring him. Gliding her hands across his shoulders and behind his neck at a teasingly slow pace, she hastily removed his hair from its tie, helping it to fall down in chocolate brown waves along his neck. A whisper of a smile upon her lips, she began massaging his scalp, fingers weaving about in his curls. Will gave himself completely over to her touch, eyes falling closed as he tilted his forward to rest against hers. His closeness, his scent, the sight of him, the feel of him in her arms all became too much for Elizabeth. Her need for him overpowered her and her once gentle hands fiercely twisted into his hair, roughly pulling his mouth down onto hers.
The quickness of her action unexpectedly jolted Will from his trance, but he'd never been so pleasantly awakened as by the sensation of Elizabeth's soft lips against his own. He rapaciously kissed her, his tongue tracing her mouth as his hands trailed her body. She returned his kiss with an answering intensity, fervidly running her hands along his chest and stroking the firm muscles, feeling them twitch in response to her caresses.
Surely this was heaven, the sheer ecstasy she felt at his touch. Yet it had to be a sin to feel the primal, naked lust he stirred up within her. Either way, she must have more of it; it was no longer an option, but an instinctive need. Elizabeth feverishly pulled him closer, desperate for further contact, needing to feel every part of her body touching his. Pulling back from his lips, she ravenously kissed her way across his jaw.
"Will," she moaned, shamelessly pressing herself against him and taking his earlobe into her mouth, biting it gently.
The fervently eager ways Elizabeth reacted to Will's kiss, his touch, even his smile, were a powerful aphrodisiac, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep things chaste between them and ignore the burning passion that threatened to consume them both.
"E – Elizabeth," Will murmured weakly, "please do not tempt me any further. I don't know how much more I can withstand."
"Good," she wantonly replied, continuing her torture at his ear and neck.
A low chuckle rumbled from his throat. "So you propose I take your innocence here and now, beside the forge?"
"You cannot 'take' that which I freely give," she mercilessly continued. "But if the hay pile is not to your liking, we could easily move to your bed."
"You enjoy teasing me, but you'd hardly think of me the same if I took you up on that offer."
"No," she taunted. "After you've loved me, I doubt I will ever be able to think of you in quite the same way. New images will forever creep into my mind."
Will's response to her suggestive statement was a greedy kiss, followed by a little torture of his own. Nibbling his way down her neck, his hands slid to her lower back, bringing her hips against his. "Has anyone ever told you, Miss Swann," he breathed huskily, "that you are impossibly bold?"
"There's something amiss about you addressing me by my surname while your tongue is trailing my neck," Elizabeth sighed. "As if you hardly know me. As if what you're doing is terribly wicked." The thought was electrifying, causing her to clutch his shoulders more tightly.
Will couldn't help but laugh lightly against her neck. The idea of danger and illicit rendezvous' never failed to excite her. It appeared his Elizabeth would enjoy playing pirates with him in the bedroom as much as she had years ago upon the sand. Though as a child he never much cared for the game, as a man, he found it had distinct merits and was a scenario he would readily enact with her – after all, pirate was in his blood.
Elizabeth enjoyed his laughter, but wanted more kisses, brazenly rubbing against his noticeable arousal to incite such an action.
A low groan escaped Will as he pulled away, his eyes darkening to near black, wanting nothing more in the world than for her to repeat the action. He suddenly reached up and violently plucked down the sword she had been seeking. "Here," he said hoarsely, handing it to her. Swiveling around to retrieve his own sword, he looked at her with wild passion evident in his eyes. "We fence."
A broad smile stretched across Elizabeth's lips. "It's not the same, you know."
Will sighed, running a shaking hand through his tousled hair. "I know quite well."
The unabashed lust that had clouded her face and eyes suddenly dimmed, replaced by what Will could only decipher as jealously touched with a twinge of hurt. "How well?" she softly inquired.
A hint of a smile tugged at his lips as understanding of her abrupt change of mood hit him. "Are you asking me if I've ever been with a woman?"
"I….I'm not…...Have you?"
"No," Will answered sincerely, wishing to set her mind at ease, though he found her needless jealously adorable. "I never wanted to. That is, I wanted to but, since I was old enough to 'want to', all I wanted was you. You filled my every fantasy, my every dream, my every desire. There was no room for any other woman. I might have found one…..but she would've only been a poor substitute for you. And if I held her, I would be seeing you. And if I touched her, I would be feeling you. But it wouldn't have really been you, and so it never could've worked. You awakened them; you alone can satisfy those needs. So I placed my pent up desires into practicing at swords three hours a day."
"Then you have me to thank for your great sword skills?"
"For causing the tension that needed relief? Yes, Elizabeth, I have you to thank for that," he smiled. "But, over the years, I learned quite well that it's not the same at all. And now that I can hold you, kiss you, and touch you, I'm finding swordplay a very poor substitute – much more so than I ever before realized."
"Is it wrong for me to love the thought of you lying in bed at night wanting me?"
"Practically seething with desire."
"Yes."
"Not as long as you're doing the same."
She moved to kiss him again, but he stepped away.
"Elizabeth," he breathed, "truly I cannot. I do not trust myself to kiss you right now."
She sighed with frustrated longing, yet she understood the truth of his words. "I'm sorry," she said, moving away least she be further tempted to continue. "I do not mean to make you suffer. It is only that I yearn for more of you, more of the intoxicating feelings only you can give me."
Her admission touched off something in Will and she saw his reserve begin to falter. "How do I make you feel?" he asked in a low, almost threatening voice.
"As if I'm on fire. As if I'll die if I can't press my body to yours."
He took a step towards her. "Elizabeth – "
"As if I must have your hands and lips upon every inch of my skin this very instant."
Will slowly approached her, Elizabeth observing his progress with palpable anticipation, as she'd never seen him quite like this and was uncertain of what he meant to do. She was certain that, whatever it might be, she would enjoy it.
He stopped before her but, rather than touch or kiss her, he merely held up his sword. "Do you care to engage me in a match?" he asked.
She couldn't disguise her momentary disappointment, though she was cognoscente of the very real need to return to their swordplay lest they do something they should not without the benefit of matrimony. "Of course," she replied alluringly. Drawing her weapon into a fighting position, she tantalizingly stroked the sword up and down the length of his blade. "I find swordplay with you endlessly stimulating."
"Elizabeth Swann, you are a tease," Will said, moving his sword in a circle around hers, catching her off guard and easily knocking it to the ground. "But, as I recall, you already surrendered to me. Is that not correct?"
She held her hands out, motioning for him to examine her. "What choice do I have? As you can see, I am quite without any weapons."
A slight smirk formed on his lips. "Oh, I wouldn't say that," he replied, slowing circling her, his eyes trailing her body. "Still, I believe your words were 'I am fully at your mercy'," he reminded her.
"Yes," Elizabeth said softly. "Do with me as you will."
Will ran his hand along her side, drawing close to whisper in her ear enticingly, "If only that were possible."
He allowed his mouth to find hers, ardently sucking her bottom lip, eliciting a whimper of pleasure from his fiancée. "But," he said pulling away, leaving her dazed and hungry for more, "I think it only fair to allow you another chance to defend yourself."
"Very well, but I wish to have my own sword back."
He scoffed at this. "An accomplished swordsman should be able to use whatever weapon is within reach."
"That may be, but have you never simply liked the feel of a particular thing in your hand?"
"Do not ask me such a question now."
"Will I not like the answer?" she playfully countered.
"I'm afraid you'll like it too much."
"You may be right," she said simply, walking across the room to retrieve her fallen sword.
He watched her appreciatively as she bent to pick it up, eyeing her shapely legs and taunt bottom, wishing to feel her softness there.
Turning to meet his challenge, she saw the look in his eyes and smiled. Purposefully walking back over to Will, she set her hands upon his chest and, stepping up on tiptoes, vigorously kissed his lips. After several moments in which neither one of them was aware of the passage of time, Elizabeth reluctantly broke the kiss, her mind thoroughly clouded with desire. Her lips still against his, she whispered, "To the swords?"
"To the swords," he weakly agreed.
AN: My hope for this story is to show the progression of Will and Elizabeth's relationship over the course of their one year courtship. In doing so, I'm attempting to make their feelings and reactions as realistic and human as possible, including their desire for one another that is building and increasing the longer they are together without the ability to "resolve" it. However, I am a purist when it comes to their relationship and, though I believe they no doubt had "close calls", I'm not one of those who supports the idea of the two of them "enjoying" one another before their wedding in AWE. In other words, there isn't going to be any consummation at this point, so chapters such as this are likely to be as much of a tease for you as it is for them – but an enjoyable one, nonetheless. I thought I'd just put that out there ahead of time to give everyone fair warning.
Thanks for all your reviews! I love to read what you're thinking.
