They had moved camp three times this week. With each passing day, Ben said less and less about Washington's plans and Charlie didn't prod, knowing an explanation was unlikely even if she had. This meant meals were shared with Anna and Caleb and when Ben was away from camp or preoccupied with his work, Charlie made friends with many of the soldiers, laughing with them just as she once laughed with the redcoat officers her parents entertained. When the two met up again they'd slip off to some remote spot just outside of camp. It was dangerous but there was a thrill to the risk, especially as the time they shared was spent mostly in silence, with hands and lips moving more quickly than their thoughts ever could.

On this day in particular the pair found solace beneath a cypress tree on the cusp of land separating the river from its sandy shore. The pair had the bend of the stream to keep them out of view of any passing boat and the steep nature of the riverbank made disguise beneath the tree's branches easily attainable.

Those same limbs moved in the barely-there wind, coaxing the couple into a light slumber. As was typical of late, Ben couldn't remain sleeping for too long. He originally thought it was because Charlie was no longer by his side but on afternoons like this one, with her present, he realized that perhaps he just couldn't shut his mind off. Too often Charlie would catch him staring off, lost in a thought he'd never share with her.

Now Ben was staring, but not absentmindedly. Though Charlie had fallen asleep holding onto him she now laid upon her back. Her usually braided hair was hanging freely, fanning out behind her head as her eyes remained gently closed. The tree above cast her skin in various leaf-shaped shadows, hiding the pronounced freckles on her nose or the way her fingernails were dirtied by that morning's chores.

Ben stared all the same, first thinking of their trip to Setauket before carelessly moving on to more simple topics: the plumpness of her cheeks and the way he swore she was always smiling in her sleep. The more her beauty distracted him the more he began to wonder about other things: where she'd go when the war was over and if he'd join her — or even be invited, much less welcomed — wherever they went. It perplexed him that for as effortlessly as Charlie fit into his world, Ben didn't know if he could ever return the favor. They also hadn't discussed if that was something Charlie wanted. What sense of normalcy would she be craving when the fighting ended?

The smirk Charlie wore in her sleep was confirmed as her eyes fluttered open and it grew. The heaviness of each lid combined with the sun peeking through the tree canopy above had her squinting. "Hi," she giggled through a whisper.

Ben grinned too. "Hi."

Immediately Charlie was reaching up. She didn't want to sit up but instead wished for Ben to come down to her. He complied, of course, but the way she gripped his neck gave him little option in the matter. All senses and self-control were hindered when Charlie was around and Ben honestly didn't seem to mind. He was unreasonably independent but it was nice to share all of this with her — they shared kisses like secrets and not once did Ben doubt the things Charlie said or the way they made him feel.

With her hands draped lazily around his neck, Ben's body nearly covered her. Their legs intertwined, where already both had removed their shoes in an attempt to invite summer in. The wave-like motion of their passionate embrace had Ben gripping Charlie's hipbones and only when she involuntarily ground her hips into his, did Ben reposition his hands to her ribcage. Naturally, those same hands brushed at Charlie's chest, even through the thick material of her stay. Slowly she pulled away and he paused, frozen as he waited for her to give him permission to continue.

Maybe she just needed to breathe, Ben thought, almost in agreement.

His surprise continued, his eyes scanning her form as she gently pushed him away, if only so she could sit up and then inevitably stand.

"Charlie?"

She smirked as she casually walked toward the shoreline. Charlie was light on her feet, almost teasing Ben with the sway in her hips. When she turned around her playful nature intensified, shown in the way her fingers worked to quickly unclasp each eyelet keeping her jump fastened. The garment eventually separated, giving Charlie much-needed room to breathe — her breath had quickened under Ben's curious gaze and she couldn't calm her beating heart even if she wanted to.

"It's so hot, Benjamin…" she gave raspily.

Ben only barely sat up now. Though she was offering herself up to him in this way, Ben felt the need to pause, as if asking her to mentally reevaluate. All of his body itched just the same, his fingertips on fire when he finally stood and began to pace toward her.

By the time he was close, Charlie was already stepping out of her petticoat. The garment fell from her waist with ease and landed in a halo around her feet. The soft linen was tossed into the same heap as her waistcoat, leaving all of her to stand before Ben in just her shift.

"Jesus Christ," he murmured, taking all of her in.

All of her, the same woman who had now spent many near naked nights by his side, was in his view. Beneath the sunlight the same silhouette he had fallen for was all the more apparent; the swell of her chest and the shadow concealing the apex of her thighs caused his breath to hitch.

Charlie reached out for him, not asking but demanding that he touch her as she took his hands and placed them on her waist. She then leaned in, thanking him with a forceful kiss to the mouth as if assuring him this was what she wanted. This confirmation was all Ben needed to soften into her. Holding her like this made it easy for him to keep her close and when the two finally pulled away to breathe, Ben was so hesitant to give Charlie distance that he felt her nearly smiling against his lips.

"Come swim with me?" she asked, somehow rather innocently. Already she was detaching from him, moving to turn back toward the river.

Ben didn't let her go that easily. The grip he had on her waist transitioned to her hands where she gingerly held his fingertips, asking that he join her. "Charlie, we shouldn't…"

"No?" she tossed back simply. "Maybe Caleb will swim with me—"

"No!" Ben took a strong step forward. It broke their bond but caused Charlie to laugh into the back of her hand.

"No?" she finally asked again, this time with feigned composure. "You need to make up your mind, Benjamin. Get in this lake with me before I find someone to take your place."

Her voice trailed off as she took several steps backward, inviting the cool water to touch her toes, then her ankles, then her knees. Each step had her shift moving higher until finally she stood with the water just below her waist. Charlie pushed at the thin linen of her chemise, banishing it to the water below. It kept her covered but did little to deter Ben's gaze from her now wet backside. Just as he had suspected, the summer material of her undergown was made to be practically invisible when wet. The curve of her hips and the roundness of her backside was completely in his view, encouraging him as he soon did, to begin undressing.

With his jacket and waistcoat already beneath the tree, it was far more simple for Ben to join Charlie in her current state. His shirt was unbuttoned, tugged out of his breeches and then tossed aside. The starched white cotton stood in contrast to Charlotte's silk petticoat when the item landed right atop it but by then Ben was already wading into the water, unable to take his eyes off of Charlie until he was beside her. Only then did she move further in, letting the water stain her sleeves as she delicately lunged forward to swim away from Ben.

He immediately followed, incensed by her playful nature but also encouraged by the see-through gown she wore. Charlie was nearly exposed to Ben in a similar way just a few days ago, before Caleb returned to the tent, interrupting what could have been a defining afternoon for the pair. Like all the times before it was darker then and all of this felt brand new in the light.

"When you said you wanted to swim, Char, I didn't think you meant you actually wanted to swim."

Charlie stopped. She found a place she could stand and turned to face Ben. "What else would we do?" she teased, only motivating Ben to splash toward her.

His goal was to have her in his arms again and it was a likely victory, considering his broad shoulders did far more to displace water than Charlie's small form did. Ben allowed her to float on her back, slipping away from him in a flirtatious way. He watched her go, his hands on his hips as he calculated his next move. His chest heaved, both out of breath from their splashing.

Charlie stood once more and quickly Ben was before her, wrapping his arms around her midsection and nearly picking her up in the process.

"Ben!" she yelped. It was not his hands that shocked her but the air that surrounded her wet skin when taken out of the water.

He put her back down and Charlie instantly relaxed into the water again, this time bringing her with him. Immediately she was kissing him, her arm with a tight grip on his bicep while the other cupped his neck. Charlie had such a thirst lately and was doing her best to be proper but she wanted Ben and was doing all she could to wordlessly tell him that. Each time he refused to push at her quickly fading boundaries, Charlie wondered if it was a sign for her to also slow down. They were young and there was talk of this war ending very, very soon; there was no need to rush any of this if the very real possibility of a shared future was only weeks away.

Their lustful embrace had Ben catching Charlie as she jumped up and naturally wrapped her legs around his midsection. He could feel all of her pressed into him, a fact that only aided in the way he moved against her. Ben's mind greedily calculated if and how he could have more of her in his grasp.

When they broke away, Charlie's mouth detached from Ben's in a languid pull. Their lips were reluctant to part and their eyes remained closed as if savoring the moment they were previously lost in.

"Good choice," Charlie finally whispered as her eyes slowly blinked open. She beamed before leaning in again, asking for yet another kiss.

"We shouldn't...I don't want anyone to see you," Ben said, urging her to stand again. It was also a selfish attempt to get her back on the shore. The blanket they'd laid out seemed like the perfect place to finish what they'd only just started. As he waited for an answer, he could only stare at her breasts, telling himself it was the rise and fall of her chest and not the darker color of her pert nipples beneath her wet shift that had him so distrait.

Charlotte felt Ben staring and couldn't reprimand him for it. She liked the heat of his glance far too much to care if perhaps it was inappropriate. All of this was anything but chaste and while her goal was to always have him lighthearted and laughing, it wasn't unpleasant to see him intensely loving her with his eyes.

In an effort to keep up the light mood, Charlie swam up to Ben again, this time wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a kiss to the sensitive patch of skin behind his ear. When he involuntarily shied away, Charlie heard the sound of his laughter brushing at his ear, making her next move of kissing his neck to be an easy one.

"No one can see us," she said between hot open-mouthed kisses to his dewy skin. "I'm an expert at finding hiding spots."

Her voice trailed off as she placed a final kiss to his pulsepoint, adoring his skin with a soft mouth that urged his skin to plump in its wake. Before Ben could say anything Charlotte was back to him, angling her face so she could taste him once more. The way he held her in his arms now was as strong as it had ever been. He was hungry for her touch and somehow content having her like this for several more hours if the now setting sun above would allow it.

"Charlotte?"

Charlie's eyes snapped open at the sound of such a familiar voice. Ben was looking too, not toward the noise but instead to Charlie who now hid herself behind him. He took notice, even pulling her closer to shade her exposed skin.

On the embankment with a concerned Anna standing by, Michael Grayford stared down at the pair. He had a hand on his hip and the other raised in the air almost in search for explanation. His little sister was hidden behind this man, causing Michael to tense. He saw only the taut muscles of the man's back and the way his hair touched his shoulders. For all he knew he was naked beneath the water and though Michael caught a flash of white as Charlie avoided him, he knew her shift did little to conceal her own nudity.

"Michael?" Charlie finally called out. There was bravery in her voice as she peeked around Ben, forcing surprise to cover up the sheer horror that pumped anxiously at her lungs. That fear turned to panic as she watched Michael avoid her gaze before quickly walking away.

"Michael, wait!" Charlie called. She used Ben's arms to push away from him, no longer caring about her state of dress when the prospect of losing her brother seemed like a possibility yet again.

Ben let her go. He was already defeated by the moment, shown in the way he shared an irritated look with a bewildered Anna before glancing back to Charlie. His shoulders dropped as she continued to swim away from him, back to the riverbank. It was as if he was still lost in the moment, all of this seemingly unreal.

"Apparently so is your brother," he let out sarcastically.

It's a short one but I think it's my favorite thus far. Let me know what you think!

x. Elle