You know I'm gonna find a way to let you have your way with me
You know I'm gonna find the time to catch your hand and make you stay
- D. Brown
Even as they locked up the smithy, Elizabeth had still refused to tell Will the nature of the 'First' she planned to accomplish tonight, though she'd let slip it would take place in town. Still, they'd mutually decided to return to the Pearl to shower and change and generally make themselves more presentable after their afternoon of fencing.
Will was left in suspense the entire time he did all three, and afterwards while he waited for Elizabeth's call telling him she was ready. She'd been so vague and distinctly mischievous about where they going – telling him only to 'dress for going out' – he was somewhat uneasy over what the evening had in store. Nevertheless, he was glad to be getting back to her list of new experiences. After all that's what this holiday was supposed to be about. True enough, when he'd come up with the idea he would have agreed to anything to get her to stay, but he really did want to introduce her to the real world, and enjoyment, and simply living her life as she saw fit – all the things that seemed to be passing her by. So whatever it was she planned to do, he would go along with it. Where Elizabeth was concerned, 'no' was simply not a word in his vocabulary.
He continued, phone in hand, to muse on the evening to come and the woman herself but he never did get her call. She simply found him sitting beside the pool in the courtyard just beyond their cabanas, obviously waiting for her.
Will took one look at Elizabeth and unconsciously came to his feet. She was dressed in a deep teal sleeveless halter top that softly cupped each breast, dipping into a low V and revealing a tantalizing peek of cleavage. The shirt gently skimmed her hips, giving way to a black flounce skirt that stopped four or so inches above her knee. Her long legs were bare – just the way he liked them – with strappy healed sandals on her feet. She was absolutely luscious, and his gaze openly flitted up and down her body, proving as much, but he just couldn't help himself.
"You look….amazing," he told her, his voice betraying awe – and hunger.
"It was Anna's," she explained, feeling her body heat beneath his intense, thorough gaze.
"I – I don't remember ever seeing her wear it, but I promise you she never made it look the way that you do."
Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you. You look rather amazing yourself."
He'd pulled back his chocolate curls into a low ponytail again, but several rebellious strands fell loose, framing his face, making him look wild, just a little bit dangerous, and altogether more handsome than any man had a right to be. She wondered for a moment if the dark facial hair skirting his upper lip and falling into a perfectly maintained goatee beneath his lower lip would tickle if he kissed her, or scrape across her skin in a hot teasing burn. She nearly moaned out loud at the thought. Goodness, she had to get a hold of herself. She'd never come close to guttural utterances with James, and Will wasn't even touching her.
"So," she said, jumping into conversation to keep her wayward mind busy, "I thought I could complete two firsts tonight."
Will nodded. "That's very efficient."
Lest he think she wanted to get them over with in a hurry, thus expediting her return home, she added, "Well, it's a very long list. It could take me months to get through – if not longer."
His brow lifted a fraction at her words. They surprised, but indescribably pleased, him. Perhaps he did have a chance after all….at something with her anyway. And tonight, wherever they were going, whatever they were doing, he intended on romancing her.
"Anyway, I…." She hesitated for just a second before boldly stating, "I want to go to a bar. I've never been; I was never allowed. And not a restaurant that serves liqueur, but an honest to goodness bar. And……And, while I'm there, I want to have my first drink." She said the last part more quietly and with far less bravado.
"Wait," Will stopped her. "Did you say you've never had a drink?"
She shook her head 'no', looking a little embarrassed.
In any other circumstance he would've let the subject drop to keep her from feeling uncomfortable, but he was too dumbfounded at the moment to think of such things. "I can understand the whole bar thing, but you've never had a drink of any kind?"
Again she silently shook her head.
"I don't get it. Between all the state dinners and grandiose balls you've been to, you must have had something. I mean, isn't half the point of those things for everyone to get free drinks."
Elizabeth laughed. Of course he was wrong, and nobody at any of the aforementioned gatherings would have a bit of trouble affording their own drinks, but still most of the males present – and half the females, come to think of it – did leave the late-night balls with a least a very healthy buzz.
"You may have something there," she admitted. "But Father never allowed it with me. He thought it was 'unbecoming' for a woman to drink hard liquor. In fact, all the women at my father's gatherings were only served wine and the men did their heavy drinking apart from us, usually in my father's study. I know it sounds antiquated and sexiest – and it was – but that's just how he did things. And on top of that my mother was a teetotaler, which I'm told means she didn't believe in drinking alcohol of any kind. I guess, before I was born, my uncle was quite the alcoholic, and when drunk he used to beat my aunt. It was a horrible situation, but eventually the drinking caught up to him. His liver gave out and he died, but my mother never got over it. She made my father promise to never allow my so much as a sip of alcohol for fear the disease would plague me too. Of course I understand they say alcoholism can be genetic, but he was an uncle by marriage, husband to my mother's sister, so I never could quite figure the connection. But my father was unrelenting." She shrugged. "I suppose over the years I could have snuck something, but the idea of hiding whisky in shoeboxes and drinking alone in my room did seem awfully sick and depressing. But now it's different. That's why I want to go to a real bar and have the whole experience."
Will had to fight a smile during Elizabeth's longwinded explanation. How a woman could be so sexy and so adorable at the same time was beyond him, but she managed to pull it off in spades. He couldn't say he was crazy about the idea of her in an 'honest to goodness bar'. He was still absorbing the fact that she'd never drank – not so much as a sip – and he was leery about her starting now, tonight, with him. But if she was determined, and she seemed to be, he wouldn't try to stifle her and at the very least would be there to protect her. One thing was for sure though: he would be a something of teetotaler himself tonight; they couldn't afford for them both to lose their heads.
"Okay," he agreed. "I'll take you to a bar. I think maybe the – "
"I know there's the Empress, and I do want to go there sometime – with the whole underwater, inside a pirate ship theme I've got to see it soon – but that's more of a nightclub. Tonight I want to have the local bar, small town pub experience."
Man, she was cute. He was utterly charmed by her. He'd come to find she sometimes viewed the world through a tint of happy clichés without a full idea of what she could be letting herself in for – like jumping off that boat in the middle of the ocean, going home with a strange man, and now wanting to go to a seedy bar and get drunk – but it was only because she'd never been out in the world or exposed to its sordid side. And the last was something he intended to remain the case.
"Where were you thinking then?" he asked her, knowing her well enough to realize she already had a place in mind.
"I've heard some of the men talking about Calypso." Will opened his mouth to protest, but Elizabeth cut him off. "I know that's where they spend all their free time, so there's no point in saying otherwise. I want to go there, just like everyone else." Stepping closer, she softly asked, "Take me there, Will."
He wondered if she'd figured out how easy it was for her to manipulate him, but he'd bet she had no idea of the effect of one softly spoken word from her lips or the gentle sidling closer of her body to his.
"Alright. I'll take you," Will relented. He mentally went through the days of the week, realizing there wouldn't be another liar's dice game for two more nights, so it should be relatively tame this evening. "But there's something you should know. Calypso isn't an ordinary bar. It's owned by a woman, Tia Dalma, who is….rather unique."
Elizabeth was intrigued by his cryptic words. "How so?"
"She's believes she's a clairvoyant, a mystic, a psychic – whatever you want to call it."
"Ooh, how exciting," she beamed. "But you don't believe she is?"
That was a hard one to answer. For years, he would have easily said 'no', but Tia had foreseen a touch of destiny for him the night he met Elizabeth, just minutes in fact before he discovered her passed out on the pier. He found it difficult to argue with that.
"I don't know. She seems to have been right in her predictions at least one time."
Elizabeth was even more intrigued by that statement, but she let it pass. "Well I for one can't wait. Maybe she'll read my future."
Will wasn't sure he wanted Tia to do that, as odds were her future involved palatial estates, the crown of a queen, and a houseful of children by that bastard Norrington – a future he couldn't bear to think about, not yet, not tonight.
The ride to Calypso was pure torture for Will. After their almost-kiss on the beach, and all that had nearly happened at the smithy, holding back was already difficult. Then seeing her tonight, dressed in such an attractive way, restraint was near unattainable. In response to her delighted squeals, he took each bend and dip of the road faster than the last, Elizabeth holding her body tightly to his. Her laughter warmed him from the inside out, but all he could think about as her thighs gripped his was if she was wearing any underwear beneath that skirt.
What was the matter with him? Of course he'd never let on that was where his thoughts lie. He'd treat Elizabeth with respect – and he felt genuine respect for her, respect and whole lot of affection. But he felt desire too, desire that wouldn't be ignored. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted any woman, anything. It was becoming increasingly impossible to reign that in. But he would have to. She'd chosen tonight as her introduction into drinking. Now was definitely not the time to let his control slip.
Will pulled the bike to a stop in front of the bar and Elizabeth gingerly got off, righting her skirt where the wind had greedily blown it up her leg. It seemed even the forces of nature were determined to tempt him. He took respite in securing the Lambretta, but she came up behind him, unnoticed until their shoulders touched.
Reaching around him to the bike's side, she ran her finger empathically along the scratch he still hadn't found time to repair. "I am sorry, Will. I know how important the bike is to you."
He took her hand from the Lambretta, folding it into his. "You're more important to me," he disclosed, reminding her of the fact that all that mattered to him was that she had survived that night unharmed. In truth, he wasn't sure if he wanted to remove the scratch. It would be something to remember Elizabeth by when she was gone. "Besides, I think it gives her character."
He was rewarded with a trickle of Elizabeth's soft laughter before she stopped, looking up at Calypso's weathered wooden sign. "This is perfect," she proclaimed. "Exactly what I wanted. Just the sort of place Father would never let me in."
"Yeah, but I'm going to warn you ahead of time. This isn't exactly up to the standards you're used to. It's actually kind of a dive."
"But all of you love it," she pointed out.
He had no argument there. For better or worse, Calypso had become their home away from home.
Will reached for the handle but, before his hand got anywhere near it, the door flew open on a gust of wind in what had otherwise been a calm, serene night. Tia Dalma stood but a few feet away, her eyes glued to them with a look of satisfaction, like she'd been expecting them and they'd at last arrived.
At his side, Elizabeth had either grown suddenly timid or was simply taken aback by her surroundings, their dramatic entrance, and the Obeah woman who was slowly approaching.
Tia stopped before them and her mouth formed into a wide smile, but her eyes held more than a hint of her usual mystery. "William, your destiny has caught up to you. I see you've succumb to fate," she said, her tone obviously pleased.
Elizabeth may not know what she was referring to, but Will did. They'd had this conversation once before, the morning he came to pick up his BlackBerry.
Her none too subtle insinuation came in loud and clear, but he laughed it off. "I've succumb to nothing and no one, as always." She gave him a look that unmistakably conveyed she did not believe a word of what he said, but he continued anyway. "Tia Dalma, I'd like you to meet – "
"Elizabeth Swann," she cut him off, stepping forward and reaching out to take her hand.
Elizabeth felt a cold chill of trepidation. How could she know her? It was strange, eerie, but everything about this woman was. Her hair was in thick, heavy braided dreadlocks, similar to Jack's. Round her neck, Tia wore strands of beaded necklaces, their trinkets jostling and clanging together when she stepped forward to grasp her hand. Her eyes were lined with the same shade – black as coal – that colored her lips, whether in some statement of fashion or an attempt to look mysterious Elizabeth could not stay, but she'd certainly achieved the latter. Was she truly physic.....or was there a more rational explanation? At the moment, she didn't know which she preferred.
Turning to him, she asked in apprehension, "Will? Did – "
"Elizabeth, I swear I didn't tell her who you are," he said anxiously.
That his statement was truthful and sincere was obvious to her. So was the fact that he was clearly alarmed over the possibility that she might be mad at him.
"No, I know you wouldn't," she softly replied, reclaiming her hand from Tia and placing it gently on Will's forearm.
Tia Dalma watched the exchange in amusement, finally announcing in her heavily accented voice, "No need for anyone to be telling me things I already know. I know her name and more besides." Her next comment she directed to Elizabeth alone. "I knew you were coming. I've known for some time."
Will took Elizabeth's hand in his, deciding to let that go. You never got a straight answer out of Tia anyhow. "We've come tonight because Elizabeth wanted – "
"I know that too," she scoffed. "Go. Find a table. Sit down."
They hadn't had dinner, or really even lunch, and Will was hoping to hold off Elizabeth's drinking until he could get some food in her stomach. But Calypso didn't serve meals, just light snacks and even that sparingly. Everyone came here for one reason only, and it wasn't the food. "We haven't had anything to eat. I was hoping – "
"I've already prepared you something," Tia said, with an enigmatic smile.
Will and Elizabeth exchanged a perplexed look, as no one could have known of their plans for the evening, but when they looked back over to Tia she was gone. Will shrugged and led Elizabeth to a cozy table in a shadowed corner.
She looked somewhat spooked, and so he attempted to set her mind at ease. "Tia knew who you were because she's a photographer. She covered your visit to Brazil." He thought back to what she'd told him. "Or she was there covering something else and then saw you. I'm not sure. Either way, that's how she found out. She was the one who told me who you were."
"And then you Googled me to be sure," Elizabeth filled in the blanks. "You don't trust her."
"I wouldn't say that. I just don't believe she has powers."
Elizabeth didn't know what to believe. Will's explanation could be true, but then Tia had known other things there was no simple rationalization for.
"She said she's known for some time that I'd be coming, and I've a feeling she meant to the island, not just here in her bar," Elizabeth told him. "How could she know I planned to run away, Will? I told no one. I didn't even know myself until about five minutes before I jumped off the ship."
He had no answer for her. "I don't know."
"Maybe she is physic." Elizabeth pondered that a moment, eyeing Tia Dalma where she now stood near the bar. Then she grinned excitedly. "I'm going to go get a reading."
Will's disbelief in Tia's physic abilities was growing more and more hazy, but not enough to go in for all that. Still, he was glad Elizabeth seemed to be her old self again. "Good. For a minute there I thought you might be afraid of her."
Elizabeth shot him a look of pretended offense. "William Turner, I'm not afraid of anything."
This time, Will grinned. "Duly noted. But hurry back. I want you all to myself tonight."
Elizabeth gave him a pleased smile and then headed off to the bar.
He watched her as she walked across the room and bit back a laugh at the absurd incongruity of a princess in such surroundings. Yet he wasn't worried about how their encounter might turn out. Princess or not, Elizabeth could hold her own. And so he took the opportunity to enjoy the unparalleled sight of her – the slight sashay as she moved, the flutter of her hair…..Beautiful didn't begin to describe her.
Elizabeth approached Tia Dalma and, though the woman's back was to her when she arrived, she spun around with a light of expectation in her eyes, as if she already knew this conversation would take place.
But Elizabeth wouldn't allow herself to become shaken. "What is it you think you know about me?" she asked.
"More than most. I know who you, where you come from, and what's inside here," she answered, pointing to her heart. "Your thoughts, your dreams. Things that no one else knows….except maybe William, now."
Elizabeth studied Tia's face carefully. In that moment, she wanted to believe her, wanted it very badly. "Really?"
Tia Dalma seemed to have ignored the question, walking behind the bar and bending to retrieve a glass jar. "Handmade soaps," she said. "I make them myself and sell them afternoons in a small stand in the marketplace." She dug through the jar, evidently searching amongst the cakes of soap for a particular bar. Withdrawing her hand, she placed the lavender soap into Elizabeth's palm. "Your favorite scent." It was a statement not an inquiry, and Elizabeth realized Tia had answered her question after all.
"Thank you," she responded, slipping the fragrant proof of Tia's ability into her purse. "What else do you know about me? Something harder." Even if the woman might be telling the truth about her powers, Elizabeth wouldn't shy away from testing them.
Tia smiled knowingly, more than happy to provide further evidence, this time of a more personal nature. "Your fiancé leaves you cold as a fish. But William, dear William….You'd like to test the strength of the fire he ignites in you."
Elizabeth's face flushed and her eyes fell to the bar, to the rows of additional glass jars behind it, anywhere but into the face of the woman who seemed to read her innermost longings. "I – I don't….I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't you?"
"No. Not at all," she lied.
Tia ignored the obvious falsehood. Stepping back around the bar, she leaned in close and instructed, "Give him your heart and be together always. He is your pirate. He's what you've been waiting for."
"I…." Her accuracy was unnerving, and Elizabeth wasn't yet prepared to have this conversation with anyone – not even herself. "I don't know what wrong idea you have but, as you've perceived, I am engaged to another man."
"Piff," she replied, waving her hand in dismissal. "If you want him so much, why did you run away? And why are you here now?"
Since she had no good answer for that, Elizabeth changed the subject. "Will thought you might tell me my future."
"Your future's for you to discover, not to simply be told."
"Ah. So you don't know it then."
Tia snorted haughtily, before sharply saying, "I do….and I think you do too." Slipping her hand into the pocket of her long full skirt, she removed a small black box in the shape of an octagon. "I gave this to Jack once, but I won it back in a game of Liar's Dice," she proudly laughed.
Liar's Dice again. "Is that the only game of chance around here?" Elizabeth asked in exasperation.
"Now it belongs to you."
At that, Elizabeth turned her attention to the domed lid of the box. "What is it?"
Tia set it on the bar and let her examine it. Elizabeth gently lifted the lid, wondering what she'd find underneath, and was more than a little disappointed at the discovery. There was a dial and a needle, all the standard working components. The only thing that set it apart from the ordinary was the crop of hand painted stars on the underside of the lid's dome. "A compass?"
"Not just any compass," Tia informed. "It doesn't point north."
"Then….what does it point to?"
"To the thing you want most, whatever it is you desire the most at that particular moment in time. Could be a person, could be an object, could be a means to an end – like the car that will drive you home." She snapped the lid closed and placed the compass in Elizabeth's hand. "Let's see where your heart lies."
Elizabeth looked from Tia to the compass in her palm. Deep down, she knew what her heart – and her body, and everything else in her – wanted. But could she take the chance of the little brass needle making that public? Then again, if Tia Dalma really was a physic, or a sorceress, or whatever it was, and this compass really was magical, wouldn't it be nice to have some sort of an otherworldly confirmation of what she already suspected?
Tentatively, she peeled back the lid, watching the needle wiggle and swing and come to a dead stop…..pointing directly at Will. Elizabeth looked up at Tia in amazement. "How does it work? How did you do that?"
"I didn't. You did."
"I….." She stared down at the compass. "You can't mention this to Will."
Elizabeth looked almost frightened, glancing at Tia, then back to the needle before slamming it shut.
"Why fight it, child?" Tia asked her. "Give in to your destiny."
Elizabeth gave her one last studying look then, clutching the compass in her hand, turned and retreated to her table.
Will immediately smiled as she sank into the chair across from him. "You seemed deep in conversation. What were you two talking about?"
"Destiny."
"She told you your future then?"
"No. She said I had to discover it on my own."
He laughed cynically. "Smart. It's a fine way to avoid being sued when a prediction fails to come to fruition."
"She gave me this," Elizabeth said, placing the hand still holding the mysterious box up on the tabletop.
He looked down at it and frowned. "A compass? That's an odd gift."
She flipped up the cover and it promptly swayed to a stop on Will again, though she was now sitting at a different angle. There was no way this was some sort of magnetic trick then. "Yes. It is strange."
"Here. Let me see it better."
Elizabeth held out the compass for Will to inspect, the needle still pointing squarely at him.
He shook his head. "It doesn't even point north. Must be broken."
She quickly clicked the lid closed and almost guiltily shoved the compass into her purse. "Forget about that," she said, offering him a captivating smile. "I came for a drink. Let's have one."
"You know, there's nothing wrong with being clean and sober," Will argued, hoping to sway her from the idea. It gave him the awkward feeling that he was somehow sullying her, leading her into corruption.
And there's nothing wrong with being celibate, her mind silently added, but all at once she yearned to know what it would feel like to be neither one. "You're not going to start telling me what I should and shouldn't do are you?"
She said it in jest but he could hear the slight trace of hurt behind the joking accusation. "Never. I just think we should eat something first."
"Alright then," she beamed at Will, her hope in him restored.
He looked down at her, his eyes running over the delicate features of her face. She really was lovely….uncomfortably stunning was more like it. And, with her smile, his attention was drawn to her pretty lips. She continued to talk to him and, though he listened, his eyes fell from her mouth to her chin, gliding down her neck to the snug bodice of her shirt and how very nicely it clung to the contours of her chest. She leaned forward a bit, and the material gaped, offering him a generous view of the swell of her breasts. His pulse kicked up and he forced his eyes away, fighting the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless – and dinner hadn't even arrived yet.
Elizabeth had sensed his distraction while she was talking, but by now it was quite obvious as he scratched the back of his neck and looked absently about the room – anywhere but at her. "Well, now I'm highly offended," she said facetiously. "I'm clearly very dull company, as I can't seem to hold your interest and you obviously haven't been listening to a word I've said."
That brought his eyes back to her. The idea that he found her boring was ludicrous. Even as he pried his gaze away from her too tempting body, he was acutely aware of her presence. "I have been listening," he insisted. "You said you think you'd like your first drink to be something with rum in it, like in all your pirate stories. Then you said everyone back home would have a fit at the idea of you sipping rum in a darkened bar, and you rather enjoyed the thought of that."
Elizabeth smiled. He had been listening, quite thoroughly in fact.
"I can't say I myself am crazy about the rum part of it," Will admitted. Pulling his chair closer to hers, he revealed, "But I do like sitting next to you in the dark of this room – any room – especially when you're wearing an outfit like that."
He had such an easy charm about him, Elizabeth wondered if he even had to try. She pushed her hair back behind her shoulder, her fingers lingering at her neck as her elbow rested against the table. "You like it all that much?"
"I do." He paused for effect before adding, "Immensely," uttering the word in a tone full of suggestion.
Her hand glided down her neck to her chest, her fingers skimming through her cleavage before falling to rest in her lap. He was fairly certain she wasn't doing this to him on purpose, but the move still succeeded in drawing his gaze irrevocably right back where it had been – only this time he didn't even try to make himself look away.
"Hmm. And all this time I'd been told men liked women best in no clothes at all," Elizabeth teased.
Will laughed, soft and low, and her heart turned over.
At that moment, the food arrived. Heaping plates of jerk chicken and shrimp; something called coconut stew that she discovered was a sort of a vegetable soup made with coconut milk; and coco bread, a starchy and sweet bread perfect for dipping into the stew. Everything tasted as delicious as it looked and Elizabeth, never one to be shy about her appetite, dug in with as much fervor as Will.
As they continued to talk and laugh their way through the meal, they both unknowingly shared the same thought: how very much this meal was symbolic of their lives up till now; neither one realized how starving they were until a feast had been set before them. Elizabeth had opened Will's heart to love and closeness in a way he'd never before known. Yet, until he met her, he had no idea how much he yearned for just such a relationship. And Will in turn had given Elizabeth the freedom she so craved and introduced her to hidden desires she'd never even known existed until encountering him.
It was heavy thinking for such a place as Calypso, but good food and conversation flowed, and even doing something as simple as eating dinner out together, they shared such a deep connection. By this point, they could even finish each other's thoughts, which led them both to further reflections of how very perfectly matched they were, how much they felt for one another – though neither was ready to admit it – and how very much the other had changed their life.
To Will, Elizabeth was sweet, courageous, and so very wonderful. She was a phenomenal woman who captured every bit of his interest. She made him laugh and turned him on. What more could a man ask for? Whenever he looked at her, the warmth he felt flood his body and pool at his heart was too powerful to overcome even if he wanted to – which he didn't. But suddenly feeling so much for a woman and having no idea of where her heart stood was a vulnerable and dangerous position that kept him from revealing too much too fast. Still, armed guards couldn't have pried him away from her tonight. No, tonight he was going to enjoy her face, her smile, her company…..And, if he was lucky, maybe even touch her, hold her in his arms, before the evening was through. He would take it slow and safe and see how she responded. But, especially after his admissions this afternoon, he had to make her see that he was in it for the long haul. If someone was going to be leaving, that someone would be her.
Elizabeth looked up to find his intense sable eyes regarding her. "What?" she asked.
He gave her a private smile. "I was just thinking back to the night I met you, high as a kite on whatever drug they'd given you. I thought you were drunk then, and I was just wondering what the difference would be between high-Elizabeth and drunken-Elizabeth. And then I realized I'm about to find out."
She bit down on her lower lip to stifle her laughter. "I'm not going to get drunk, Will, just try one simple drink. You don't have to worry."
Again, it struck her how such protectiveness from anyone else would anger her, but in Will she found it endearing. Perhaps because it must mean he cared for her on some level, and to have the affections of such a man was indeed a prize. Will was caring and supportive, so sensitive to her wishes and needs. On top of all that, every time she was with him, he was completely attentive to everything she said, every little gesture she made. Taking such qualities and uniting them within the must physically breathtaking man she'd ever seen was one intoxicating combination, and she found herself pushing the empty dishes aside, leaning forward, and brushing away a lock of hair that had tumbled onto his forehead – only after first twining it about her finger.
It was a flirty gesture and Elizabeth could already tell, with or without a drink, she was heading toward crossing a line tonight, but she couldn't help it. She felt such an overwhelming attraction to Will…and, more than anything, she wanted to act on it. She just didn't know if she dared.
Thankfully a waitress arrived at their table to clear away the dishes and take their drink orders, offering a much needed distraction from her wicked thoughts. However, it only took her a moment to discover this wasn't the sort of diversion she'd originally hoped for.
This woman, who Elizabeth now noticed was dressed quite inappropriately for work unless her profession was in the field of prostitution, looked at Will as if he were the next course on the menu. And, as if her ravenous, tastelessly obvious looks weren't enough, she came to stand so closely beside him that, from his vantage point – sitting while she stood – her ample breasts were nearly shoved in his face.
"Hello, Will," she purred.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Jeannette." He endured this sort of behavior every time he came to Calypso. He should have seen it coming, but he really hadn't expected such a scene with her tonight and inwardly winced at Elizabeth's reaction. He dared to glance her way, but her entire focus was on the other woman, her eyes clouded with some emotion – anger, hostility….jealousy? Whatever it was, it was clearly lethal.
"What's your pleasure?" Jeannette asked. When he didn't respond, she rubbed against him.
Will belatedly looked back up at her. "Hmm?"
"Who, um – what are you having tonight? I might make a suggestion," she offered, bending and tilting her upper arms at such an angle as to press her breasts together, apparently a view he was meant to admire. The woman was about as subtle as Jack.
"Jeannette!" Tia Dalma's accentuated intonation could be heard from all the way across the bar.
"Just one moment," she told Will in a syrupy voice. "Duty calls."
She disappeared across the room, leaving him alone with Elizabeth, who sat drumming her fingers against the table. He finally screwed up the courage to turn and face her.
"Friend of yours?" she asked.
"I wouldn't say that exactly."
She scoffed. "Really, Will, you can do much better."
She'd worked to make her voice sound indifferent, but Will saw through the act and a smile touched his lips. "Why, Elizabeth. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous."
"No," she coolly replied. "Just disappointed in your poor taste."
"I'm glad to hear it. Because there has never been anything between Jeannette and me," he said in complete seriousness. "Not one night, not one hour, not even one kiss. And to prove it," he added, pushing his chair as close to hers as was physically possible, "I'll make it absolutely clear to her that I'm here with you tonight."
A hot little buzz shot through her at his words….or the way he said them….or his nearness, or maybe a combination of all three. Whatever it was, she was suddenly glad Jeannette had come – that is, until she returned to their table.
Will dutifully stretched his arm across the back of Elizabeth's chair. Little did she know he'd been wanting to do so all night.
Whatever Tia had said to Jeannette, her mannerisms were tempered, even more so now that she saw Will cuddled up to Elizabeth. "So I hear you're the girl who's been staying with Will."
Elizabeth hadn't expected that and was a little taken aback, both at being a subject of gossip here on the island and at the implication behind the statement. "Staying with him? No. I have a place of my own"
Her answer seemed to please Jeannette, far too much for Elizabeth's likening, and the barmaid's you-can-have-me-whenever-you-want-me smile was once again directed at Will.
"Except for that one night," Elizabeth corrected, loudly enough to regain the other woman's attention. When she was certain she had it, she dreamily repeated, "Yes, there was that one night. But you know how it is. Will being who he is….and his bed being so very comfortable."
Now the smile was gone, Elizabeth thought in satisfaction. "I'll have a piña colada," she curtly informed her. "Will?" she asked, turning to him. He gaped at her with his mouth wide open. "Will?"
"Yeah," he said, breaking from his stupor. "Yeah. Just bring me a beer," he told Jeannette, who walked away a defeated soul.
"Wow," Will said to Elizabeth. "That was…..wow. Of course you know now what she thinks," he warned. "And it was absolutely unnecessary to ruin your reputation that way since, as I told you, nothing has ever happened between us."
She gave him a self-satisfied smile, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. "And now it never will."
She was quite a woman. Then again, Will knew that thinking he was sleeping with Elizabeth wouldn't stop Jeanette from still pursuing him, but he didn't say as much aloud. He was too busy enjoying the fact that she had so publicly claimed him as her own, marking him as her territory and warning all other women to stay away. Oh, and how he wanted to be hers. Never more so than in that moment as her crossed arms lifted and set off her breasts to perfection – drawing his attention in a way Jeanette never could – while her bold words still hung in the air.
Will's gaze skittered down the slender column of her neck to stare openly, hungrily. Her cheeks flushed attractively, but she didn't stiffen or move away as he inched closer. They had spent the evening talking, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. It was only natural what would come next – and she wanted it, wanted his kisses, and touches, and….everything else.
Their après-dinner drinks arrived then, brought by Giselle this time, and accompanied by dessert. "Caribbean Chocolate Bananas, courtesy of Tia Dalma," she explained.
Elizabeth picked up her napkin from the table to make room as the woman set their drinks and the one dessert plate down before them. Evidently there were meant to share.
"Jack didn't come with you tonight?" Giselle asked Will.
"No. I imagine he has plans of his own," he replied noncommittally.
"Well tell him I'm looking forward to Liar's Dice. The last game turned out to be a whole lot of fun," she gushed.
This was quickly becoming another yikes moment. Elizabeth had grown to be close friends with Anamaria. The last thing she needed to hear was about Jack's infidelity. Was everyone here determined to ruin their evening?
As soon as she walked away, Will apologized. "I wish you didn't have to hear that. Jack can be a bit of a prat when it comes to women."
"So I assumed," Elizabeth assured him, to his relief not at all mad. "But it's really no business of mine."
She bent to sample her drink – her first one ever – beneath Will's watchful gaze. "It's good," she announced. "Really good." She took another sip and, in the time it took her to swallow, suddenly viewed the exchange with Giselle through his point of view. To Will, it must seem Anna was being used and betrayed in much the same way his mother had been.
"I said it wasn't any of my business, but I know you must hate it, watching Jack do that to a woman. But if it's any consolation, I believe Anna's gone into it with her eyes wide open."
He took a long swig of his beer. "That's good to know." He smiled at her then, and Elizabeth was pleased he'd returned to his easygoing manner. "So you like your drink," he said, seemingly examining her for signs of ill effect. "Nothing yet," he gently teased, "but I'll give you a moment."
"I've only had a few drinks," she laughed. She took another, then after a moment asked him, "Can I admit something to you? And you promise you won't think any less of me?"
"Elizabeth, after all I've admitted to you today and you still haven't run screaming, you can tell me just about anything and I owe it to you to keep an absolute straight face."
She smiled. "I….Sometimes I envy Jack. It's the whole pirate thing again, I guess. Living selfishly. Just doing what you want, taking what you want, when you want it."
Will gazed at her in confusion. "But I thought that was the whole point of your holiday. Have we missed some of the things you wanted to do?"
"No. I mean, yes, I still have a list full, but…." She gestured around them. "Were doing some of them right now, aren't we? I just….I suppose I've just discovered that doing exactly what you want isn't as easy as I thought, even when there's no one specifically stopping you. It's like you said in the smithy. There are always consequences for your actions."
"Consequences for whom?"
"For….for everyone."
Will smiled. "But that's not selfish, pirate thinking. You see, you're just good down to the very core, even when you're trying not to be."
"No I'm not," she argued. "Actually the consequences I'm concerned with right now would be all my own."
"How so?"
How could she tell him that what she wanted to take was him – right now – but she was simply too afraid of getting hurt in the process? "If I make a misstep, if I don't choose the right path and end up falling down, this time around I have no one to blame but myself."
"True, but that's the thing about freedom. Those of us who are free very seldom know ahead of time if the move we're making is the right one until we've already taken the first few steps."
Elizabeth recognized the truth in what Will said, but it didn't make it any easier. She took a healthy sip of her drink and sighed. "It's hard work, this making the right choice."
He looked at her for a long, measuring moment. "Then let's be wrong."
At his words, at his sultry tone, her napkin slid through her hand and fluttered to the table below. "What?"
His gaze held her captive, making her heart race and her body tingle – tingles that increased when he reached up and gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing the underside of her chin. "Tonight, let's be wrong. Do whatever comes naturally and worry about whether it was the right choice tomorrow."
"Ahh, the Gone with the Wind philosophy."
Will laughed. "Funny, I can't picture you watching that film." There was a sexy gleam in his eyes as he whispered, "There are no pirates in it."
"My father made me watch it," she explained absently, intrigued by that little gleam, wanting so badly to explore it further.
"Well, let's just call it Jack's philosophy."
Elizabeth nodded and lifted her glass to his bottle. "Here's to the pirate philosophy."
She took a long drink and then focused on the dessert. Something to channel her lust into; she'd always heard chocolate was the next best thing to sex. Picking up the fork, she went in with a gusto.
Will watched her dig into the food and smiled. "She must really like you," he told her. "Caribbean Chocolate Bananas is Tia Dalma's specialty. Few on the island make it, and of those that do no one's is as good as hers."
The dessert in question was made up of chopped bananas drizzled with a melted combination of butter, semisweet chocolate, and coconut cream, topped with diced nuts and served over crepes.
"Here," he said, taking the fork from her hand. "Let me."
He broke off a bit of the dessert, making sure to scoop up a generous portion of the sweet sauce. Elizabeth's mouthed watered and her lips parted of their own accord as Will slipped a bite of the decadent treat into her mouth.
Her eyes closed and she moaned in ecstasy as the rich chocolate melted on her tongue.
He saw the look of pure pleasure on her face, and all at once yearned to be the one putting it there in an entirely different context.
Then she opened her eyes and took the fork from him, continuing to attack the dessert without offering him any, but he didn't mind. He had a feeling he enjoyed the view far more than he ever could the treat. She took another bite and a splash of the chocolate sauce drizzled down, landing against her mouth. He watched her slowly lick her full lower lip, her tongue whipping it away in a heat-inducing gesture that Will felt all the way to his toes. He wondered if she realized how much this was turning him on.
But Elizabeth remained oblivious. It wasn't until she finished the dessert that she even remembered he hadn't taken a single bite. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly, worrying that alluring lip of hers, unknowingly bringing his attention back to the temptation of her mouth. "I didn't mean to be so greedy."
Will was inexorably drawn to her and he was through fighting it, even if he could. He moved in closer, the hand across the back of her chair reaching up to play with her hair. "That's alright," he whispered, giving her a secret smile. "You're living by Jack's philosophy tonight: take what you can; give nothing back."
She laughed softly. The sound was infectious and he soon joined her. "You were wonderful this afternoon," he disclosed.
The heat of his gaze made her pulse race and she was keenly aware of every place his body brushed against hers. "Yes, well, I've had years of training. And you weren't so bad yourself."
He shook his head slightly as if overwhelmed in admiration. "You're a wonder with a sword, Elizabeth. There's no question." His voice was thick as he added, "But you were pretty amazing afterwards too."
She smiled, the warmth of it lighting her eyes. "So were you. You looked…." She sighed, taking a sip of her drink before boldly finishing, "You looked damn good in that pirate costume, if you'll pardon my language – or even if you won't."
He chuckled deep and low as he watched her take another long drink. He was loving this 'wrong' Elizabeth more and more. "I'll remember you like it." He pulled her in closer to him, his hand curling around her shoulder. "But I did mean what I said….I've never told those things to anyone. Thank you for listening, Elizabeth."
He pressed a soft, incredibly hot kiss against her temple and she felt something melt inside.
"Now, back to the pirate costume," he murmured, his voice pure enticement as he traced the line of the medallion's chain she still wore round her neck.
His deep chocolate eyes were intoxicating. She'd long heard the term 'bedroom eyes' and, looking into Will's, she knew she'd found the acme of the phrase. He was effortlessly sexy, and now all that charm, that seductive male appeal, was aimed directly at her. She had no hopes of withstanding.
"Later tonight, we could go back to the smithy and I could try it on again for you," he offered, moving his hand to rest on the softness of her bare knee.
Elizabeth gave him a wicked smile, her eyes infused with interest and desire. "To play at swords?" she asked.
His index finger softly caressed the underside of her knee, setting off a pleasurable flutter that started in her abdomen and spread lower and lower. Tia was right. She did want to test the strength of this fire. If the few moves Will had made tonight could do all this to her, how good would it make her feel if he really turned up the heat? Perhaps spontaneous combustion was possible after all.
A corner of his inviting mouth tilted upward into a rascal smile, the one she'd seen while they were fencing. "To play at….something."
Before she could reply, they both were distracted from their heated flirtation by the loud scrap of tables across the wooden floor.
Looking around, Will realized they had lingered far longer than he thought. For this entire month, Calypso shut down early on Thursdays to prepare for Carnival. Currently, they were the only patrons left and, glancing at his watch, he discovered why; the bar had long since been closed. It was a shame too. He would hate to destroy this perfect mood they'd fallen into, with Elizabeth snuggled so close, his hands touching her as he'd longed to all night.
"It's alright," Tia Dalma called when she saw them looking about. "The night is far from over, and you're always welcome."
Will glanced to Elizabeth. "Would you rather go home now, or do you want to stay as we are awhile longer?" He held his breath, finally admitting, "I'd like to stay."
She studied him and then smiled. "Are you kidding? I'm enjoying myself much too much to leave…..And I may have crossed 'go to a bar' off my list, but I haven't yet finished my drink," she said, indicating the glass still a quarter of the way full of its contents. "Did you really think I was about to go home without drinking every last drop?
"Hope, not think," he teased.
"Well you thought wrong," she replied, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she took another sip. Her voice was sensual and purposefully alluring when she added, "If you want me to go home with you, you'll have to wait till I finish my drink first."
For a crazy instant he wondered if she meant 'go home with you' the way it sounded, but quickly dismissed the thought, though his fingers did flex unconsciously against her knee.
Glancing away, Elizabeth watched Tia and several of the ladies who worked for her – including Giselle but, she noted with satisfaction, not that horrid Jeannette – pushing tables and chairs against the far walls to create a large, open space in the center of the bar.
"What are they doing?" she asked Will.
"Getting ready to have practice. In another two weeks it will be Carnival. They're preparing for their entry."
Elizabeth's pretty brow furrowed in confusion. "What's Carnival?"
Will smoothed the little wrinkle away. "A cultural event. It's very important here on the island, really in this entire region," he corrected. "It's actually quite a fun time to be here. Tourism always picks up too. There are all kinds of festivities: parades with elaborate costumes and floats; live bands and fantastic music; all manner of competitions – music, dance, cooking, even beauty contests. And then there's my favorite, j'ouvert. It's another parade, but in the middle of the night. It's more like a huge street party, really, that lasts until sunrise."
Elizabeth smiled, excitement at the idea clear upon her face. "That's sounds amazing," she said, full of enthusiasm.
"You'll have to stay to see it then."
"Yes," she readily agreed. "Does the Black Pearl do anything for it?" Her eyes lit with a sudden fervor. "Perhaps have a pirate ship float?"
Will laughed. "We've thought about it, but haven't done it yet."
"But you must." Her mouth formed into a slight frown, that delectable little pout he'd come to love. "I suppose it is too late for this year, but definitely next."
He wondered for a moment if he should take hope in her planning the resort's future, but she quickly went on, "And Calypso is in one of the competitions then?"
"Yes, they're a part of the Caribbean drum and dance competition."
"I'm not familiar with that – Caribbean drum and dance, I mean."
"You're about to be," he answered, nodding toward the women, who'd taken their formation with Tia in the lead.
A stereo was flipped on, the music began, and Elizabeth was held spellbound. The first thing she noticed was the throbbing beat of the drums. And the dance….the dance was like nothing she'd ever seen before. The women held their bodies long and loose, walking with large steps and thrusting their hips and pelvises forward with each measure. Then they revolved in place, their middles swaying in a seductive gyrating circle akin to a belly dancer. From there, they went into rapid wide swings of their hips and bottoms, now bringing their upper bodies into the dance with flourishing arm movements. Then, with their bottoms stuck out, they made tiny little quick backward hops before going into a slow spin and repeating some of the earlier steps, this time incorporating even more pronounced hip wiggling and a move that could only be described as sticking out their breasts and wildly shaking their shoulders and upper torsos. And all in perfect time to the drums.
The dance was amazing, artful, and incredibly sexy all at the same time. And the women....Elizabeth was fascinated with the way they carried themselves, so full of femininity and yet so aware of their power and sexuality.
She continued to watch, enthralled, and the sprit of it soon captured her. The music was absolutely contagious. She felt as if the rhythm had crept inside her, spurring her body forward to take part.
She turned to Will, who rather than observing the dancers was watching her watch them – though he seemed to be equally enthralled.
There was pure devilment in her eyes as she told him, "I want to join in."
"What?" Whatever he had been expecting her to say, that wasn't it.
"The dance. I want to learn it too."
"I – I don't know if they – "
"Elizabeth," Tia beckoned, "come join us."
Elizabeth looked to Will with a see-there smile. There was no way Tia could have heard her across the room over this music, but he simply shrugged.
Elizabeth paused to finish her drink, the slurp of the straw indicating she'd drained the glass dry, and then set out to join the dancers while Will sat back in his chair and watched.
Tia Dalma gave her a few whispered instructions, but it seemed Elizabeth didn't need much help. For a moment or two, she stood there gently moving, running her fingers through her hair and letting the music, or the booze, or both of the above, loosen her until she easily fell in with the other dancers, the native rhythm consuming her.
There was something about Elizabeth that was so fresh and unaffected by who she was or what she was supposed to be. And everything she did, including this dance that was so new to her, she did with a flair that couldn't be replicated or topped by any other. Watching her take to the makeshift dance floor like an old pro he was utterly hypnotized. She was so damned adorable, so impossibly easy to love. Her softness, her sensuality, everything about her was mesmerizing.
And then she began to follow the steps of the overtly provocative dance, and all at once he lost his breath. Watching her move, replicating the steps of the other women who earlier couldn't even hold his interest, turned him on to the point that he stiffened uncomfortably in his chair. She wiggled and gyrated, canting her pelvis in a way that was nothing short of luscious, and all the while that glorious tumble of honey hair flitted and danced about her face and shoulders.
Arms spread wide, she lifted her head toward the ceiling and thrust out her breasts as if presenting forth her assets – an offer he was more than willing to take her up on. Then she began to shake her shoulders, bending at the waist and pivoting up and down, until the medallion hung loose from her top – and all of its other contents pitched forward and strained against the fabric until the V pulled open wider, giving him a view that stopped all conscious thought. He bit back a groan, and again shifted in his chair.
Suddenly Elizabeth looked up at him and smiled. Their eyes met across the room and held for a long moment full of promise. He'd spent the last few days trying to seduce her, win her over, but seemingly to little effect – and now it left the question of who was seducing who. Then the dance led her into a turn and the eye contact was broken.
Still, he continued to watch her, his gaze zeroing in on the sway of her hips, the tilt of her bottom, and the gentle swing of her pelvis. She was destroying him without even knowing it. A vision flitted into his mind of her repeating the same movements, only with him joining her, the two of them alone – preferably in the bedroom. He mentally shook himself. He could fantasize about that later. Right now, he wanted no distractions from the real thing.
His eyes observed her, imperviously glued to the jiggle and shake of her swiveling figure. By the time the dance was finished, Will was left speechless, breathless, his body aching for her.
He certainly wanted to, but should he make a move tonight? he wondered, as Elizabeth crossed the room to join him. She seemed to be attracted to him, but was that enough? He didn't want her to be just another woman; she never could be. But what would she say if she knew he wanted more, so much more?
When she made it back to their table, he noticed that her face was flushed, perhaps from the effort of the dance. But when she nearly missed her chair, offering the excuse of feeling 'a little light-headed from the twirling', he began to suspect the effects of her drink were hitting her.
"I think it's time we get you home," he told her.
"Alright, I'll go home with you. I'll go anywhere with you," she giggled.
"Okay then."
He took her arm and led her toward the exit, but before they could get out the door Tia Dalma stopped them with a hand on Elizabeth's arm. Just like that, she had her full attention. Tia's eyes steady on hers, she said enigmatically, "You've found your freedom. Now give in to your destiny."
Outside, in the shadow of Calypso's flickering tiki torches, Will and Elizabeth hopped aboard the Lambretta. This ride was far different from the last. He took the road slow and easy, afraid that with her balance slightly off due to the rum she might have a more difficult time holding on. And, this time, his concerns for her provided a much needed diversion from her warm, soft body pressed flush against his.
Reaching the Black Pearl safely, Will pulled the bike to a stop, but Elizabeth still clung to him, her arms about his waist and her cheek snuggled against his ribs. When she didn't move or let go of him, he turned behind him to look at her.
Glancing up at him, her mouth fell into a pouty frown. "Why didn't you go fast and wild like before?"
He waited until they'd both successfully dismounted from the bike to answer. "Because I didn't want you falling off."
She appeared mildly insulted at that. "I didn't fall off the last time," she defended, as she followed him inside.
"You also weren't tipsy the last time," he said matter-of-factly.
Her mouth dropped open and her affronted gasp echoed through the deserted lobby. "I am not drunk," she insisted.
Will found her injured assertion adorable – especially when she swallowed a hiccup. "I didn't say you were drunk," he pointed out. "I said you were tipsy."
She squinted her eyes at him. "What's the difference?"
"Tipsy is like just starting to come down with a cold. Drunk is being down in bed with the flu."
She grinned at that, stepping out of the other side of the lobby and back into the evening air. Once the dark enveloped them, Will quickly discovered the walk across the Black Pearl to their cabanas would prove much more difficult than the ride here had. The night was beautiful, with a bright full moon and a blanket of stars overhead, but even the beauty of the night couldn't distract him from hers.
He was dazzled by Elizabeth. There was just no other word for it. And here, beneath the moonlight, she took his breath away. She was radiant, incandescent, completely lovely, and he was wholly taken by her, helplessly smitten. By the time they made it past the pool and the Dauntless' outdoor seating area, he'd folded her hand into his and tugged her to his side.
He felt so good against her that Elizabeth touched her head to his shoulder for a moment, enjoying the sensation. She yearned to enjoy a few more sensations before the night was through, but perhaps he'd be put-off by his earlier concerns about her drinking? She lifted her head and gave him a slow smile which he easily returned. "I'm not drunk, you know," she assured him.
"I know."
"I'm perfectly aware of what I'm doing." And she wasn't drunk, not really…..Perhaps a little buzzed. Then again, she couldn't tell if the slow burn through her body was caused by the alcohol or simply by being so near to Will.
Out of the blue, for no particular reason at all, she wondered what her father would say if he could have seen her tonight, drinking and dancing and clinging to a man who was not her prim and proper, boring fiancé. Which brought an image of him into her mind. She could only just imagine the look on his face if he saw her shaking and gyrating in such a provocative manner. He would probably scold her…..either that or try to coerce her into the parlor again – which of course was impossible as Calypso had no back parlor. The very idea was just plain silly. She lightly chortled to herself at the thought.
As they walked through the shadows of the Empress, the dulcet sound of Elizabeth's soft laughter trickled on the wind, quickening Will's pulse and making him yearn to take her in his arms and touch his lips to hers.
She gave him a coy glance. Wrapping her hands about his arm, she asked, "Did you like my dancing?"
He paused in their walking and caught her eye, making her heart gently flutter. "Elizabeth, I loved your dancing."
Her mouth tilted into a slow smile and she pulled him onward.
After stopping a moment while Elizabeth theatrically saluted the pier where they met, the two soon reached the private portion of the property. Will couldn't remember a single moment in his life when he was happier than right now, walking along the sandy pathway with Elizabeth, the seashore spread out before them in the near distance. The crystalline blue waters, the white sand beach, the lush green all around, and the breathtaking woman at his side were quite a thing to behold.
But the scenery was lost on Elizabeth. A soft breeze coming off the waters whispered across her skin and she wondered what it would be like if it weren't the wind but Will's hands softly caressing her, his hands…..his lips. The fantasy was so tantalizing she shivered.
Seeing her gently shudder, Will let go of her hand to remove his jacket, offering her the delectable sight of his chiseled torso with nothing but a thin, snug tee-shirt to cover it. He placed the jacket tenderly across her shoulders and his delicious scent immediately surrounded her. She pulled the fabric tighter about her, not from any coldness but purely from the desire to be enveloped by him, and his jacket seemed to be the next best thing.
Will, however, thought her to still be chilled and put his arm around her, his hand warmly resting at the small of her back.
Elizabeth inhaled deeply at the collar of his jacket, and a long dissolute shy – very nearly a moan – escaped her.
"This was fun, Will," she told him. "I really enjoyed myself tonight. In fact, I'm going to confess something to you." She leaned in closer, her lips near enough to his that Will burned with the need to close those final inches. "I'm glad I ran away. I'm glad none of them are here, not Gillette, or Estrella, or even my father – especially my father. I'm having a much better time with you than I could ever have under his watch….or, I'm sorry to say, Jim's."
She suddenly dissolved into laughter. Will had no idea what she found so amusing, but he couldn't help smiling along with her.
"Will you look at that?" she said when sufficiently recovered. "I think you're rubbing off on me. I've never called him 'Jim' before."
She broke into giggles a second time, either at the very notion or the pure novelty of saying the word again; Will wasn't sure.
Elizabeth looked up at him and laughed once more. He joined in and the quiet, masculine sound wrapped around her, heating her body and touching off an awareness inside her that she'd never known until she met him. "Maybe I am a little tipsy."
"Just a little."
Gazing at her in the moonlight, Will felt the last traces of the guards that had once surrounded his heart crumble and fall away. She was such a heavenly contrast, soft and sweet and beautiful on the outside, but feisty, impish, and he was beginning to believe quite naughty inside. In that moment, he knew he lived and breathed for her.
"Anyway….what was I saying?" she asked. Will started to respond, but she charged on. "Oh yes, James and my father…..They never let me have any fun. When I'm with them, I could never do something like this."
She danced in a little circle, hips wildly shaking as she repeated a mini-version of the dance she'd earlier performed. She twirled and his jacket fell from her shoulders. Moonlight touched her bare skin, and his eyes fixed to her as she continued to sway, engrossed by the way she moved, his gaze sliding up and down her body with tangible pleasure.
All at once, she stopped dancing, coming back to stand before him. "Highly improper," she mockingly imitated. Then, in a low seductive tone, she asked him, "Do you think it's improper?"
Will could still scarcely think straight after her impromptu dance. And now that she was so close, speaking to him in such a manner, all blood seemed to have left his brain, making a coherent answer impossible. "I….uh….." The breeze kicked up again, blowing a long tendril of golden hair into her face. He reached up and gently tucked it behind her ear. "No, I don't," he said softly. "And don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
Elizabeth smiled adoringly up at him. "I won't." Her smile faltered as she added, "But they'll never understand. It's different there……" Her words somberly trailed off. She grew pensive and silent and he briefly thought that was all the more she would say. Yet, just an instant later, she perked back up, her cheerful grin restored. "But, here with you, I'm so happy – and free!" To illustrate the point, she flung her arms out wide, lifting her face to the stars and executing a perfect little pirouette.
She took a step toward him. Maybe it was the spinning, or the piña colada, or more likely a combination of both, but when Elizabeth's toe hit a small stone in the sandy path she lost her balance, tripping and pitching forward – directly into Will.
He reached out and caught her as she fell heavily into him, absorbing the weight of her body. Her hands clutched his upper arms to keep from falling, but she quickly recovered, speedily regaining her footing. Will, however, uncertain if her dizziness had yet passed, was taking no chances and he linked his hands behind the small of her back to ensure she stay upright.
But then they were so close to each other. Their gazes met and held, and in that long drawn out moment, time stood still.
His eyes seemed to smolder and she wouldn't be a bit surprised if hers did too. Just like that time on the beach, she thought he might kiss her – wished it desperately. Yet he hadn't then, and he made no move to now……But he'd told her to be wrong, to worry about the consequences tomorrow, she remembered as her eyes fell to his lips. This was the new Elizabeth Swann, the pirate. She needn't passively wait for the man. No, she took what she wanted.
As if under a spell, drawn in and unwilling to fight it a second longer, she leaned into him. Her eyes fell closed, and she raised her mouth up to his. Her lips touched his and Elizabeth felt a surge of heat and excitement zing through her. Will must have felt it too, she happily noted, for it took him only a half-second to respond, his hand moving up to gently cup her face.
The instant he felt the gentle pressure of her mouth against his, he was rocked by a feeling like nothing he had ever known. Elizabeth was warm and feminine in his arms, and her satin-soft lips beneath his were like a whisper and a dream. She kissed him softly, tentatively. It was such a sweet sensuous kiss the emotion of it nearly brought him to his knees.
And when she pressed her body further into his, he was completely swept away. He moved his other hand to gently cradle the back of her neck, holding her there in place to receive his kiss. She went soft and pliant against him as he continued the cajoling kiss, and his fingers slipped up under her hair, his thumb lightly stroking her ear, as he tilted his head to the side with every intention of deepening the kiss.
The tip of his tongue coaxed the seam of her lips and she slowly opened her mouth to him. Elizabeth experimentally brushed her tongue across his bottom lip in return, and Will lost it, touching his tongue to hers and drawing it fully into his mouth.
He tasted so good to her, and the slide of his tongue over hers was exhilarating, stimulating in a way she never knew a kiss could be. She wanted more of it, more of him, more of this feeling that vibrated through her, starting where their lips met and spreading to every last corner of her body.
She slid caressing hands up his back, over his shoulder blades, to the nape of his neck. Her touch ignited him and, when the fingers of both hands delved into his hair, curling against his scalp and pressing his mouth further to hers, he nearly forgot his own name.
His hand skittered down her spine to find her waist, rubbing her there with light, almost teasing fingers that must have hit their mark, for her hands tightened in his hair.
Their mouths opening together, tongues softly exploring, intuitively in sync, they stood there on the moonlit path snogging like a couple of lovesick teenagers for Elizabeth didn't know how long. She was completely absorbed by Will, wrapped up in his arms, surrounded by his scent. He was her whole consciousness. Everything else faded away. Nothing existed for her but the touch of him, the taste of him, the melting sensation his kisses aroused low in her belly. And soon it was no longer enough to simply have his lips against hers. She wanted them everywhere. Her body ached and tingled with the need to feel his kisses, his touch, all over her.
The sudden cry of a night bird overhead was the only thing that brought her mind to reason. Softly ending the kiss, she pressed her forehead to his, pausing for a moment to catch her breath. Then, shifting back, she met his gaze. He had a dazed, passionate look in his darkened eyes that brought a hint of a smile to her still-moistened lips.
"I like the way you taste, Will," she told him, the sultry timbre of her voice going straight to his groin. "Do you like how I taste?"
He looked at her and wanted nothing more than to bring her mouth back to his and have another sip. "Of pineapple, and rum, and desire." And something else sweet he couldn't quite define….something distinctly Elizabeth. "Yes," he answered in a husky, intimate whisper, "I like your flavor very much."
She gave him a full-on smile at that, her hand gliding down his chest to the tip of his belt buckle as she stepped around him, walking on.
"I'm afraid I like it far too much," he added beneath his breath. Inwardly he was reeling as he stooped to pick up his nearly forgotten jacket and swiftly shrugged it back on. That kiss had proved what he'd already begun to suspect: how far deep he was in and how very much he it was going to hurt in the end.
Elizabeth stood a few feet ahead of Will on the path, her back to him. She hadn't let on, but she had been shocked by the force of their kiss too, by the still nearly overwhelming desire to return to his embrace and continue it. She touched her fingertips to her lips wonderingly. She'd never known such yearning as when she was pressed against him, his mouth on hers. It made her feel powerless, but in a good way, just…..completely engulfed in the sensations.
In the time it took Elizabeth to ponder all that he'd made her feel, Will appeared unseen at her side. He was going to get hurt, he knew, but oh well. Tonight he had her with him, and that was all that mattered.
"Elizabeth," he breathed, his voice a tender caress, unraveling what was left of her.
He reached for her, sliding his arm around her waist and drawing her against his side. With a soft sigh, she settled into him, laying her head upon his shoulder – this time to stay – as they resumed the walk home.
There was something raw, guileless, and reverent surrounding them in the wake of their kiss. Neither said a word as they walked on, but it didn't matter; they were too immersed in the mood, the sensation, the soft rightness of simply holding one another.
And that's when it hit her: this is what it's supposed to feel like. Nothing forced, nothing strained, nothing required of you. Just a gentle, sweet, warmness when he held you…..and a hot awakening, melting fire burning out of control, when he kissed you. The sudden realization was as thrilling as it was terrifying. There was a world of passion, pleasure, love, and excitement she was just beginning to scratch the surface of…..and the man – the only man – that could introduce it to her was the one man, for a million reasons, she could never have. But she pushed such thoughts from her mind, for now anyway. Tonight was meant for enjoying.
The rest of the walk down the sandy path, through the courtyard, and past the pool was accomplished in a contented silence. They finally stopped on her porch, both reluctant to break the spell, to let go, to say goodnight.
After taking one last moment to breathe her in, Will slowly released Elizabeth and they took up positions facing one another, each leaning on opposite sides of her door jamb.
"I….ah….." Her words faded away as she found nothing sufficient to say at such a moment.
Will reached up and ran the back of his hand tenderly down her cheek. "Me too."
Elizabeth wanted to reply, but she was yet at a loss. Her lips still tingled from his. She was tired and faintly dizzy from the rum, and from Will, and….all of it. But, more than anything, she could still taste him on her tongue, a taste she wanted to savor, to know for the rest of her life.
At length, he seemed to forcibly remove his hand from her. "Good night, Elizabeth," he whispered.
She faltered, on the edge of saying something more. "Good night, Will," she finally replied, slipping inside her cabana and closing the door.
AN: So finally an update! I've been working on this one for quite some time, but it is the longest one yet. I've got to admit, at this point I've all but given up on weekly updates. With my schedule right now that's just not going to happen. But know that even if it's been a week or two, I'm still working on the story and will be posting a new update soon (honestly, it's probably going to be closer to every two weeks now, but I'll try my hardest to make it sooner). Anyway, I always love hearing what you think – and, yea, they've finally kissed!
Also, if you're wondering about the dance Tia Dalma, Elizabeth, and the other women of Calypso perform, I highly encourage you to go to Youtube and just search the phrase "Caribbean drum and dance". You'll find some excellent examples there of this style of dance. It's very striking.