A/N Update 10-24-15: The rated M version of this chapter originally existed as its own separate entity, but I decided to put the full version in with this story and give a fair warning to everyone that there is some smut to follow. So if you have a delicate constitution, skip this chapter.

The Aftermath

The next morning, Gibbs was with Jack at the helm trying to plot out a course of action after the previous evening's attack.

"We need to be on high alert. One navy ship means many more to come, you know that. The only way to be on the defensive would be to hide out for a couple of days. Maybe find an inlet to anchor in." Gibbs cautioned him.

Jack had not been listening. He stared dumbly ahead as he stood at the helm, replaying the events of the previous night over and over in his head.

—-

She had surprised him. He'd only meant to comfort her, and she had looked at him so strangely, he was sure that she had actually lost it. Instead, she grabbed his face and kissed him so feverishly, that for a moment he was frozen to the spot. She pulled away from him, eyes glassy, the dopey smile turned into a sheepish one, but her eyes never left his. Jack just stared at her. She searched his face for any kind of reaction, afraid she had gone too far. Her eyes soon fluttered shut as Jack ran his hand along her exposed thigh. She trembled as she felt warm lips pressing against her neck and trailing soft kisses along the side of her face. When his lips found hers, any reservations she had were extinguished as he kissed her with a feverish passion. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to the bed. A guttural sound escaped his throat as he landed on his injured side.

"I'm sorry" She whispered, reaching for his shirt.

"Don't be." He exhaled, helping her to remove it. The pain, he found, was most definitely worth it.

She ran her hands over his chest, exploring every inch of him, marveling at the tattoos that covered his body. She had no idea he had so many. She pressed her lips to his many scars before her lips found his again, kissing him as if he would disappear completely if she stopped.

Jack snaked a hand beneath her shirt, brushing it lightly against her hip. She moaned at the contact, and Jack deepened the kiss. He pressed his other hand to the small of her back, pulling her toward him. He broke the kiss momentarily to catch his breath, and cupping the side of her face, he stared deeply into her eyes, giving her a lopsided grin. Gods, she is beautiful. He thought to himself.

Elizabeth raked her fingers lightly up and down his back, staring at his lips. No turning back now, Lizzie, She thought. Elizabeth leaned into him and brushed her lips lightly against his. He captured her lips hungrily in return.

Desperate to feel her skin against his own, Jack started pulling at the bottom her shirt.

"This needs to go." he grunted, breaking the kiss.

She laughed breathlessly and sat up. As she lifted her shirt over her head, Jack ran his hands up the sides of her slender figure. Gently guiding her back down to the bed, Jack leaned over her, placing feather light kisses along her hip bone, fingers just grazing the inside of her waistband. She shivered beneath his touch. He continued moving up toward her neck, stopping to tease the sensitive area of her breasts. It was almost too much for her to handle. She grabbed his face and brought his lips to hers, claiming them with urgency, wrapping her legs around his waist. He pushed himself against her. Feeling his length rigid beneather, caused her to moan again, and Jack was nearly undone. He pried himself from her grip and grabbed the back of her knees, pulling her further down toward the foot of the bed. With deft fingers, he removed her breeches, careful not to irritate her wound further.

Her breath caught again, as he started kissing his way up her leg toward her center. He had taken her by surprise when he actually kissed her there, gently flicking his tongue against her most sensitive area. She had never experienced pleasure in this way before. Her time with Will had been hurried and awkward. She didn't have much time to think about the past, though, as Jack was quickly sending her over the edge, lights flashing behind her eyes, and her voice gasping his name.

He pulled away just before she lost herself completely. Hovering over her, he gave a roguish smile when her eyes snapped opened, happy to have such an affect on her. She met his lips halfway as she sat up. With a feeling of desperation she reached her hands out to undo his breeches. Jack claimed her lips again while she slid the garment off of his hips, never breaking contact as he stepped out of them. Elizabeth broke the kiss and held her hands on his hips, pushing him to stand squarely in front of her. She gently rubbed her thumb along the muscles there, taking in the sight of him. Without giving it a second though she slowly lowered her mouth around him, taking him completely by surprise…again. Jack was positively euphoric as she ran her tongue along him. But he had to push her off of him as he was very close to his end.

"Not yet" he groaned, and pushed her back on the bed.

He wrapped her legs around him as he entered her. She moaned wildly at the sensation. He ravaged her mouth again as they began to rock rhythmically with each other. He could feel her moan in his mouth as he moved in and out. Jack pressed his thumb against her, eliciting new and wonderful sensations. She could feel fire rising inside her, electricity was shooting through her in all directions. Jack whispered her name against her ear, almost ready to burst, and like a white hot flash, they both erupted with intense pleasure.

Out of breath, Jack moved down to the bed and scooped her up in his arms, placing a kiss against her forehead. Her breathing ragged as she curled into him.

"Well, that was unexpected." She said, still out of breath and they laughed while they clung to each other.

—

"Jack, are you listening to me?" Gibbs interrupted his musings.

"Of course I am." Jack turned his head slightly to look at his first mate.

"Well than what course should we take?" he asked, a little flustered.

"We'll hide out for a few days. Find us a safe place to anchor."

Elizabeth emerged from their cabin, hair tied neatly into a braid, wrapped in a wool coat. She favored her injured leg slightly. She had been most surprised to find it didn't bother her all that much. In fact, they had both been surprised to find their injuries inhibited them very little.

She looked up at the helm and Jack tipped his hat toward her, practically beaming. Elizabeth smiled back and headed down to the galley for breakfast.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows at Jack in suspicion.

"Don't look at me like that, Gibbs. I haven't done anything wrong."

"Just don't be stupid." Gibbs scolded him like an older brother would and headed toward the galley himself.

Jack's thoughts wandered back to where they had previously been.

—-

Elizabeth sat up against the headboard, donning a blue silk robe and biting into an apple. She watched Jack pick through a plate of food he scavenged from the galley. Settling on a piece of hard tack, he made his way back over to the bed with a bottle of rum. Uncorking it, he handed it to Elizabeth.

"So, I think it fair to say that I'm the reason your compass hasn't been functioning properly?" She teased him and took a sip from the bottle before handing it back to him.

"I already told you it functions perfectly." he grinned at her, taking a sip of rum.

"I can most certainly see that." She grabbed the bottle back from him and took another sip, noticing, with great interest, his excitement rising.

"You shouldn't tease the man that knows how to make you melt with just one touch."

"Are you referring to yourself?"

He stared down his nose at her. "Am I to understand that you believe yourself impervious to my powers of seduction?"

"Is that what you were doing?" She continued, purposefully playing coy.

"Shall I demonstrate?"

"If you must." She said trying to appear nonplussed.

Jack set the rum bottle on the side table and made his way over to where she was sitting. He lightly pressed a kiss to her neck. Her eyes shut as he touched her.

"Are you melting yet?" He asked her.

Eyes closed, she shook her head.

"I must have done it wrong" he said. He ran his hand up her arm, bringing it to her neck, and sliding it inside the opening in her robe, delicately tracing circular patterns with his finger around her breasts. She shivered. "Still not melting?"

Elizabeth exhaled a sound very similar to the word "no"

"Very well." He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her intensely while sliding his hand further and further down, letting his fingers tease the delicate space between her legs. She gave in and returned the kiss with just as much fervor.

He pulled away and catching his breath asked her again, "How about now?"

"Shut up, Jack." She said grabbing his face and kissing him.

Jack slid the robe off of her shoulders, touching his lips to her newly exposed skin and returning his hand to its previous task. A small gasp escaped her as he slipped a finger inside her.

"Ah, now we are melting." He said pulling her down on top of him, kissing her madly.

She couldn't help but smile against his mouth. It was amazing to her how natural it felt being with him. Years of tension between them was finally culminated into an evening of bliss. The realization made her ache for him all the more.

Elizabeth lowered herself onto him and bucked against him wildly. Jack held his hands on her hips, guiding her up and down. He could feel himself, edging closer and closer, but he didn't want this to end just yet. He held her in place and flipped her over onto her back, pinning her arms above her head. Pumping slower, he trailed kisses down the inside of her arm, savoring the feel of her surrounding him. His mouth found her breasts, and he licked small circles, gently biting the tips. She gasped his name, digging her nails into his back. Unable to maintain conttrol, he moved faster and faster as she came closer to the end, her gasping getting louder and louder, nearly screaming his name.

"Shh, love. We don't want to wake the crew now, do we?"

He covered her mouth with his as they finished, Elizabeth moaning hard into his mouth. They lay tangled together for a few minutes. Jack's head rested on her chest, breathing heavily. Elizabeth could feel him throbbing inside her. Jack moaned again as she contracted around him.

She wrapped her arms around him, grazing her fingers along the back of his neck. He trailed kisses along her breast bone and down to her stomach before he removed himself from her embrace. He gathered her into his arms again as hey lay down next to her. She smiled at him, feeling truly happier than she'd felt in a long time. He kissed her again, and they both drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Elizabeth woke in the morning with Jack's arms wrapped tightly around her. She laughed to herself. He must be afraid I'll disappear too. She turned toward him and ran her fingers over his face, placing light kisses against his mouth.

"If you keep doing that, I'll have to ravage you again." he grumbled with his eyes closed.

"Is that a threat or promise?" She teased. He opened his eyes and smiled, looking down at her.

He looked for any trace of regret, but could find none. She buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"I think we might be in trouble." She mumbled, placing kisses along his neck.

"Oh? And why is that?" he asked curiously.

"I don't fancy leaving this bed anytime soon, and we have a ship to run."

"And a world to save, don't forget." he added still clinging to her tightly.

"What are we to do?" she lay her head across his chest.

"Let Gibbs handle things a few more hours."

"I like the sound of that." She closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply. It was silent for a short moment before she spoke again. "If this is going to be a regular occurance, I think it might be prudent for us to set down some rules."

"Rules? Such as?"

"Well, keeping this from the crew as a start."

"They already assume this is what we do in here." he said waiving his hand.

"They do?!" She said, embarrassed, looking up at him.

"Lizzie, don't be naive." he started planting kisses along the side of her face. "Besides that, you also aren't very quiet." He teased her. "If they didn't know before, they certainly know now."

"In any case, what we do behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors. So, there will be no 'ravaging' on deck, savvy?"

"You're no fun."

"And under no circumstances are we to let this get in the way of why we're on this trip to begin with."

"Of course, your highness!"

A loud knocking interrupted them.

"Jack! Are you in there?! We need to talk about the attack." Gibbs yelled from the other side of the door.

"You better go." She said pressing her lips to his.

"But I don't want to." He pouted.

"If you go now, you'll be rewarded greatly later." She kissed him again, sliding her hand around his manhood, and he growled against her mouth

"If you're trying to get me out of bed, this isn't the way to do it."

She straightened her mouth, staring sternly at him.

"Damn you, woman. alright I'll go."

He got up and started looking for where his clothes ended up. He had such a beautiful body. Muscles expertly toned from many, many years at sea. It seemed as if his bronzed skin was glowing. And the way he made her feel…Elizabeth got up from the bed and creeped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Jack turned his head, eyebrow cocked.

"Maybe a few more minutes won't kill him." She said pressing her lips to his back.

With a mischievous smile he spun around and lifted her. Legs wrapping around his waist, he carried her over to the bed. Kissing every inch of her while she giggled, they were quickly lost to each other again.