Victoria's POV
"Victoria," Max whispered. She was laying in the same position she had been the past few days. I was laying next to her, an arm laid over her midsection as I tried to fall asleep. I groaned my response, my nearly sleeping brain coming back to the waking world. "Do you hear that?" She asked, making me sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes, pricking my ears for whatever it was she was talking about. When I was done positioning myself, I could hear the sound of someone's voice through the wall, but I couldn't tell who it was. I felt my cheeks heat up when I realized what the sounds meant, filling my insides with nervous butterflies.
"Yeah," I whispered, unsure of what else to say.
"Do you think they're…" The question was there, she didn't even need to finish the sentence. I just nodded, wishing that I couldn't hear it.
"I think so," I replied, clearing my throat and laying back down, my back to Max. "Just try to sleep, they'll stop eventually."
"But it's been like this for the past two days," Max whined. She had a lot less trouble moving now, so she turned onto her side and snuggled up against me, making the butterflies even worse when I felt her chest pressed against my back. "How do they even have enough energy to… And why are they so loud?" She buried her face between my shoulder blades.
"Maybe it's really fun," I said softly, wishing that she would fall asleep. If Max went to sleep then I could at least service myself a little to release the tension building in my core. I just wished that Max and I were the ones blowing the roof off of these rooms instead of them.
"Oh, Kate!" Chloe's voice broke through the wall that separated the rooms, making Max jump. She squeezed me tighter, groaning a little. I felt her legs intertwining with mine, her thigh between my legs. I clutched at the covers, praying to whatever god was laughing at me to take out my hearing and nerve endings for a night so that I wouldn't have to endure this. Max's warmth pressed against me was like torture. But part of me couldn't help wondering if I could get Max to say my name like that.
Max must've been thinking something similar because she moved closer to me, pressing her thigh against my core. I whimpered softly, feeling her lips gently pressed against the back of my neck. Her hands moved up my stomach until they were on my chest, her thin fingers gently massaging my breasts.
"Max," I whispered, using every last scrap of willpower I had to stop myself from grinding myself against her thigh. She just kissed my neck, biting gently at where my shoulder and neck connected, making me moan softly.
"It's ok," she whispered, kissing my cheek. "We won't go all the way if you don't want to, but you need to relax a little."
"What about you?" I asked, gasping sharply when she took one of my nipples between her index finger and thumb, pinching it gently.
"Don't worry about me," she replied, moving her hands down to find the hem of my tunic. "Just do what you need to do so you can get some sleep." I swallowed hard, sparks igniting beneath my skin as her fingertips traveled up my belly to my breasts again. "Just tell me where you want me and I'll do my best." I moaned when her warm hands connected with my skin, making my hips twitch against her thigh. The friction sent a jolt through me, making me screw my eyes shut to keep myself from moaning again.
"You don't have to do this," I managed to choke out as Max shifted, her thigh rubbing against me as she kissed my neck again.
"I want to," she whispered, starting to move back and forth. I moaned, feeling the pressure in my core tightening with each pressing motion. I felt like my whole body was being set ablaze and I loved it, I wanted the heat to consume me. I wanted Max to consume me.
"Fuck," I breathed, hearing Max chuckle next to my ear, her fingers still doing their amazing work on my breasts, making the coil of pressure even tighter. I was already so close, but I wanted to enjoy this. Finding Max's wrist, I wrapped my fingers around it and guided her right hand down to the waistband of my trousers. She tensed a little, stopping herself completely.
"Are you sure?" She asked, making me groan a little in frustration, but I just nodded, turning my head a little as she raised herself above me to look into my eyes.
"I'm sure," I whispered, catching her lips in a kiss before she could respond. Granted, this wasn't the most comfortable position, but I didn't want to move so that we were face to face in case things got too heated and Max opened up her wound again. She traced her fingers under the edge of my trousers, filling my body with an unbearable heat at the idea of what was about to happen. She deepened the kiss, tracing her tongue along my bottom lip.
But before anything else could happen, a huge bang made us both jump out of our own skin, getting a surprised yelp from Max.
"Shit," she said, jumping out of bed stiffly. I threw the covers off me, following behind her as she opened the door that lead out onto the deck.
"Maxine, you can't be walking around so much, you'll hurt yourself," I said firmly, grabbing her wrist to pull her back. Her hand was on the doorknob as she looked back at me, her gray eyes shimmering in the candle light.
"I'll be fine," she said, grabbing her sword from where it sat next to the door. "Now stay here, alright?" Her voice was firm and the smile that she'd worn before was gone in an instant. She threw the door open and I grabbed her by the shoulder, staring into her eyes with all of the ferocity that I could muster in that moment.
"If you think for one second that I'm going to let you go out there and fight alone, then you're dead wrong," I said, grabbing the dagger on the dresser next to us. Max just gave me a small smile, pulling me in for a kiss before turning and running onto the deck.
When we got out there, the air was ablaze with cannon fire and filled with the sound of shouting men and gunshots. Just as Max and I were about to run to help the crew, Chloe and Kate burst out of Chloe's room, breathing heavily underneath their barely thrown on clothes and messy hair. I would've laughed at them both if the situation was different.
"Captain!" One of the crew called out, drawing Chloe's attention away from the ship that had their cannons aimed right for the Arcadia.
"What the fuck is going on, Liam?" Chloe shouted, holding her sword tightly in her hand. Kate had a musket in her right hand, her eyes wide as she stared at the ship in the distance. It was hard to make out the figure it had on its sails, but I knew almost instantly that it wasn't a ship from any army.
"It appears that the White Knight has fired warning shots," the crewman replied. Chloe let out a frustrated sigh, lowering her sword and running her fingers through her hair.
"Fly the white flag, tell the crew to stand down," she said, shaking her head as she turned to Kate and smiled sweetly.
"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped at her, my chest filling with a boiling rage. "Why are you surrendering?" Chloe gave me a satisfied smirk, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What? You didn't know that pirates could have friends?" She asked, causing Max to chuckle beside me. I threw her a glare, making her shrink away a little. I felt something soften in me, but it didn't stop me from being angry.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, looking back at Chloe. She looked past me, giving Max a knowing smile. There was a bit of a pause as the crew put everything back in order, the air suddenly much calmer as the night air chilled us all. I turned around and looked at Max expectantly, getting a nervous smile in return as she avoided my gaze.
"Well, we know the captain of the White Knight," she said simply. "We met him on one of our jobs in South Africa."
"Then why was he pointing cannons at us?" I asked, feeling my frustration begin to ebb at the way Max fidgeted under my gaze.
"It's how we say hello," a man's voice interrupted, taking my attention from Max for a moment. A man who was about as tall as Chloe stood near the railing of the ship, his hands on his hips as he smiled at us. He must've just climbed up the side of the ship after being on a rowboat from his ship. He took a few steps forward, feigning a confidence that made me roll my eyes as I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Who the hell are you?" I asked, not really liking the way he smiled at Max, almost ignoring everyone else.
"I'm Captain Warren Graham of the White Knight," he replied a little too proudly, holding out a hand for me to shake. Every fiber of my being screamed at me not to shake his hand, but I did anyway. I wasn't raised to be impolite. Well, not always. "And who are you?"
"Lady Victoria Chase," I replied, finishing the handshake as quickly as I could. I was shorter than him, but that wouldn't stop me from showing him that I was far superior to him. He just smiled at me, the feeling of genuine happiness I saw in it making me feel guilty for feeling so strangely irritated by him. Well, I did feel guilty, but only until he turned away from me and pulled Max into a hug that put a slightly uncomfortable look on her face, her nose scrunching up a little. And I would've thought the face she made was adorable if Captain Graham holding her close wasn't setting an angry flame ablaze in my gut.
"Max! It's been so long," he greeted her, ruffling her hair. "How've things been?" There was a long pause as everyone looked at each other, but my eyes were locked on Graham, watching his every move. He had Max hugged to his side now, looking at each of our faces.
"We just took off from France," Chloe said, taking a few steps forward and holding out her hand for Graham to shake. "It's a pleasure to see you, Captain, as always." There was a hint of teasing in her voice, but she was smiling like it was true.
"Ah, the most romantic place on planet earth," he said, smiling at all of us. When he finally let go of Max, she took a step away from him, smiling as sweetly as she could.
"Yeah, it's really beautiful there," she said sheepishly, looking up at me with shy eyes that made me smile a little, lessening the tension in my body.
"Pas aussi beau que toi," I said with a smile, feeling slightly embarrassed when I felt everyone's eyes suddenly on me. They couldn't have known what I said, but still. Max blushed a little, looking away from me.
"Wow, you speak French?" Warren asked, his eyes lighting up a little. I cleared my throat, smirking a little.
"Oui," I replied, taking a few steps towards them and wrapping my arm around Max's waist, pulling her close. "Come now, Maxine. You've had a long few days and need your rest." I couldn't help the way my smirk grew when I saw Graham's features fall a little.
"But, I -" Max started to protest but stopped, letting out a little squeak when I moved my hand a little lower, grabbing at her rear as I moved her towards her room.
"Don't be so stubborn," I replied, leaning down and whispering in her ear. "Permettez- moi de prendre soin de vous, ma douce." Max just let out a shaky sigh, following as I lead her back to her room.
"Don't have too much fun in there, Chase," Chloe called after me, making me blush a little.
"Shut up or I'll make a noise complaint," I fired back, wishing that I could've turned around to see the looks of embarrassment I got from Chloe and Kate, but I also didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing the blush on my own cheeks. When I let go of Max and closed the door behind us, I heard her sit down on the bed before her suddenly squeaky voice broke the short silence.
"What was that all about?" She asked, her eyes wide as she watched me. I cleared my throat, holding my chin high.
"I'm not sure what you mean," I replied, walking around to the side of the bed I'd been laying on before Captain Graham decided to ruin our fun.
"You - but… You grabbed my… and you got all -" Max stammered, watching me with wide eyes and pink cheeks.
"What, you didn't like it?" I asked, feeling suddenly guilty when I saw the way Max deflated a little. I sighed, moving to sit so that I was facing her fully, taking her hands in mine. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I just… I don't know. He was being really touchy." That got a smirk out of Max as she met my eyes, making me feel even more embarrassed.
"Oh, you're jealous," she said, grinning at me. I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"Jealous?" I asked sharply, but it didn't have as much bite to it as I hoped. "Of that simpleton? He has nothing that I want." Max's grin didn't fade as she gently glided her fingertips down my arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake.
"You're right," she whispered, leaning closer to me until her lips were barely a breath away from mine. "You shouldn't be jealous," she whispered, closing the gap and kissing me tenderly, her hand slowly moving from my arm to my shoulder as she pushed me backwards onto the mattress. I let her lay down on top of me, feeling fire in my core as she traced her tongue along my bottom lip. She was so warm against me, her gentle hands gripping at my clothes as I moaned into the kiss, feeling the world around me fade into nothingness. There was only Max. Her hands, her lips, her chest pressed to mine as I felt warmth wash over in a way that I didn't know was possible. It filled me to the brim, making me wish that I could give her everything in that moment so that she'd never want for anything in life again. She deserved that more than most people did. "I'm yours." Was all she said when she pulled away for air, laying her head down on my chest and closing her eyes. My heart was racing in my chest, making my vision a little hazy as I panted softly, the small puffs of air brushing against her hair.
"I love you," I whispered, my heart thudding in my chest as I realized that I'd said it out loud. But Max just giggled, looking up at me and kissing my cheek.
"I love you too, Victoria."