This scene was kind of meant to be written into A Twist of Fate, but I felt I had put too much M stuff in there and decided against it and all honesty, it didn't fit in ultimately where I wanted to lead with it as it ended up going from the car scene to Lovejoy coming into the Cargo hold, but I have decided to re-write it as a stand alone. I have always been really curious about the swimming baths on Titanic and we have no pictures of it really and it is hidden behind the watertight doors so can never be seen in its current state. It would have filled with water (when sinking) about 12-12.10am so literally whilst the men were still looking in the cargo hold for Rose and Jack. When I researched for Twist of Fate I tried to make it all as true to timing and in regards to where things were on board to transition between like a mad woman so this is the same as that.
Thanks for reading this, and anything which I write. Rated M!
Shivers. (yes title was inspired by Mr. Ed Sheeran!)
Burying his face in her neck, he collapsed upon her, his muscles slowly easing, but his hot, damp breaths a pulsing remnant of his pleasure. In the aftermath, he eased his weight to the side but slid her thigh up over his, refusing to pull free of her.
Happily, replete, she lay half beneath him, still joined, running her fingers over his arms and savouring the thought of lying like this each night. This was the first time she had allowed herself to think forward, of a life, with him. Yes, she wanted him there beside her every night. Forever?
A long breath whooshed from him as though he'd been holding it in for years.
Then, voices came. Jack stilled for a second to distinguish just where they were resounding from. The boiler rooms.
''Shit, we have to move!''
Filled with such exhilaration and adrenaline, Jack pulled Rose up a staircase, both of their legs unsteady and bodies trembling after exchanging such beautiful intimacies. They had been given around ten seconds to pull on what clothing that they could before finding their way, silently amongst stacks of mail and Rose had allowed Jack to lead her out of the freezing cold cargo hold and now, they were fuelled with a fire neither had felt before. It was burning brightly and both had never felt more alive.
'F' deck was off limits to passengers, and as they rounded another endlessly long corridor, Jack glanced about, feeling how sweat still trickled across his damp skin. It must have been close to midnight, if not after the hour and Rose clutched onto his hand, still flushed from their love making. Turning to see the soft blush tint to her cheeks, he smiled gently. The rough sounds of a quick foot stopped his adorned stare and he quickly pulled her to the side, finding the first door and with a strong hand when he twisted the knob, he found it locked.
''Shit!'' He cursed beneath his breath. Rose quickly reached into her hair, pulling out two small hair pins and she offered them in the palm of her hand.
''Will these work?''
Glancing at her initiative in surprise, he nodded and took them before straightening them out into a single length and inserted it into the lock, within a second the door was open and quickly, they piled in and fell against the wall in another sigh of relief. It was dark inside, well, dim to say the least, with the only light been from lamps either side of a large swimming pool, with another door leading towards the Turkish Baths.
''What do we have here?'' Jack whispered, examining the space as his eyes adjusted to the light and Rose's sparkled in wonder.
''The swimming room.'' Her voice echoed about the empty space.
The baths were designed in a Moorish style with heating blankets and service waiters when it was open. Passengers had to visit the Purser's Office to get a ticket usually, but after 6pm, they were closed. It would have been eerie if one had come unaccompanied with boiler room 5 situated just behind it and the sounds of the ship's engines working to propel them onwards, having experienced the dizzy heat of the boiler room and freezing temperatures of the cargo hold, it felt refreshing to be in a comfortable environment. The walls and tiles were pristinely white, with the sound of her heels cracking on them caused what was the only sounds. It was 30ft long by 14ft wide, and included a number of changing rooms off to the left separated by heavy curtains.
With a glance to Jack's face, Rose saw the amusement as he bent to lean forward and dipped a finger into the heated saltwater within the six foot tank.
''This is a novelty, right?''
Rose came to him. ''How else do you expect the first-class to maintain their physique?''
''God knows how they would ever cope with manual labour.'' Jack stood, tracing his wet finger down her cool cheek. ''Or having to wipe their own ass.''
A giggle circulated the room, echoing about and the sound was wonderful. How was it that on a ship of two thousand people it felt as though they were the only people in existence? As though nothing else seemed to matter and as his hands went to her waist and circled her as they span about in a circular pattern across bright white tiles.
''Did you see those guys faces?'' Jack asked, the moment upon been found still flickering about his mind. His eyes shone, exuding his amusement and his gaze locked to Rose's and she found the way they beamed; the way his entire face was just happy. Carefree. Without rules, or ties, or barriers. They were just two people, barely adults and having fun. Laughing. Playing. Caring. After sharing their souls to the other in the steamy backseat of a stranger's car, Rose had felt the hook of his thorn sink further into her heart and belly. Imbedding itself slowly and she wouldn't stop it if she even could find the strength to try.
Rose tenderly placed her finger upon Jack's lip and silenced him.
''When the ship docks, I am getting off with you.'' Confidently, Rose watched as he stared at her beyond disbelief.
''This is crazy!''
Rose was about to respond that she knew just had mad it was, but Jack caught her hand, held her up against the rail of the pool and crushed his lips to hers as he pressed her forehead to hers. He could taste the sweat on her face as he ran both of his hands down the curve of either side of her silken dress. She allowed him to kiss her neck as she pulled his jacket from his arms and it fell to the forgotten floor. With the same hesitance but with a little more confidence, Jack's hands caressed the swell of her breasts on the outside of the dress, she arched into him, pulling at his shirt wanting him to remove it and every layer which separated them. In the car, they had only removed their torsos from their garments, with most clothing left around their waist or legs, but there was a strong primal instinct to remove everything and to bathe with him right there in the pool, completely without an inch of cloth. Somehow, blindly, she was led back into the changing rooms which behind a heavy curtain contained nothing more than a chair. The minimal light still filtered through but not as much, leaving Rose free to see Jack, pulling his shirt untucked from his trousers and her hands tickled across the top of his buttons, in an unknown tease. Backing her against the cool wall, Jack slowed down his lips, coming to a stop so that they could breathe for just a second. She was flushed; her cheeks glowing and her lips swollen from their kiss.
''You are crazy.'' Jack repeated, ''to get off this ship with me, is crazy!''
Rose entwined their fingers, brushing her hands over his. Feeling the thrum of his accelerated pulse through his wrists, and he blinked at her, completely as though she had taken leave of her senses. Perhaps she had.
''I know. Perhaps that is why I trust it.''
Jack looked at her differently then, with a sudden flicker of feelings which had never come about him before, and suddenly, he was ablaze with something.
''Will you swim with me?''
Rose blinked. Looking at though he was the one who had now gone utterly mad. She was swept out of the changing rooms and back into the swimming room where her gaze met the calm and warm salt water. Rose blinked again, breathed through the wild, soaring flutters within her belly and how they threatened to fly across the ocean and take her with it. The air was suddenly stuffy, suffocating...
She walked towards the steps which descended into the calmness below, her heels clacking as she went, until about half way she stopped to kick them away and discarded them as though they meant nothing to her. They hadn't. In the back of the car, Jack had placed his hands upon her inner thighs and had expected to find layers of stockings or pantalettes but instead had been met with a bare thigh and it was then, he recalled that just beneath the beautiful layers of pale pink, white and dove grey was nothing but her body. Bare. Sheer. They were sudden at opposite ends of the very wide pool, and one whisper to the other would echo about the room. Jack could only watch though, with a weighted gaze as she stepped forward nearer to the pool and slowly, her dainty hands were down at the hems of the dress, slowly drawing it upwards and as she snaked it up, her body was submerged into the water without so much of a gasp. With a raised eyebrow she was naked beneath the water with her red curls floating about her like some sort of angel. The water line caressed the tops of her breasts and she was flushed from either revealing herself or the excitement of the day but now there she was, dripping wet and unashamedly bare. When she shifted her head to look at him, his breath seized in his lungs. It was a sirens glance; one full of heat or hunger. Perhaps longing...
''Rose,'' he said gruffly, aching. ''You're stunning. And you're crazy.''
Jack was in a riot of lust; of tumbling emotions one had never even felt pulling him to one side before pushing back to another.
''You asked me to swim, Jack.'' The sinuous invitation of her movements was not lost on him. ''So, will you swim with me?''
Without even thinking, Jack began to unlace his boots before kicking them off to the side. Rose came closer to him slowly, swimming her way through the water and relishing the feel of the water gliding against her bare body. Not once had she felt such sensations before.
Coming to the side, where he was stood, he knelt to the side, and she used her wet hand to feel his hair, running it down his chest before reaching toward the buttons of his shirt and undoing them one by one. The slow way she did, was almost seductive and sensual as her wet fingers soaked into his linen. He removed the shirt from his shoulders, dragging it down his arms before discarding of it on the tile along with her dress. Jack ran a self-conscious hand across his tanned chest, running it downwards towards his naval but then he caught her eye and stopped.
''You're beautiful,'' she told him, quietly, and he was. More than she envisioned that a man could be.
Bowing his head, the strands of wet hair fell into his eyes. As her wet hand traced down his chest, Jack closed his eyes to enjoy the shudder. Beneath her touch, he quivered, revealing his own innocence at the same time.
Jack touched her hair, waved and red cascading into the water, floating about her before leaning forward to kiss her one more time. Her beautiful words had pierced his heart. She led his hand to her frantically beating heart, he felt it there, as his tongue was in her mouth, swirling and touching. She lingered for a second, before letting go and swimming further into the pool.
It was her invitation to join her.
Jack stood from the tile and removed his trousers. As he slid them to the ground, Rose watched him entirely exposed from afar and the flames of desire raised. It was as though there could never be another naked man to ever witness aside from him. Her fingers ached to hold onto him. Frightened as a doe, she sensed that there was an innocence with intimacy about him, too.
Jack slipped into the water, allowing it to engulf his lower body. She came towards him, placing her hands upon his shoulders. Her nipples were puckered by the chill of air on wet skin. He stroked his tongue deliberately along the curve of his bottom lip, teasing her visually with a physical enactment of the thoughts smouldering in his mind. Lowering her head, she licked her lips and moved to kiss him. She saw the understanding of what she was about move through his eyes. Once again, he grew very still. Expectant. Watchful. He gave her the lead in the approach, but when their lips connected, he took over. Snaring her nape with his hand, he adjusted the fit of her mouth, his lips opening under hers with barely tempered hunger. Rose gasped as she fell into him, the lone support of her arm giving way. The water was deep enough to stand in, with it reaching about their chest but as they moved, their toes brushed against the hard surface of the bottom but they floated about completely boneless. Jack's lips were firm, but soft; his skill evident, but restrained, it was as though there was still a coil so tightly wound inside of him that he was keeping a tight leash on.
The approving groans, bouts of sudden fervency followed by savouring licks, and the gentle movements of his lips made her mad for a deeper connection. Canting her head, Rose tried to take what she wanted. Surprisingly, he allowed her to. His touch at the back of her neck did not restrain her. It kneaded, as if he couldn't help but touch and was restraining himself to an innocuous part of her anatomy. As if she would or could protest a roving exploration. She turned her head to gulp down much needed air. The tender pressure of his fingertips spread outward from that one relatively innocent place, creating the phantom feel of his fingers running down her spine and between her legs.
"Jack . . ."
His name slipped from Rose's lips with remarkable, breathless ease. As he took her mouth, his hand ran down the length of her torso, stroking along her waist and coming to rest at her hip. He gripped her hip bone with a clenching of his palm, nowhere near painful but more than enough to relay his fervency. That tell-tale grasp excited her, made her feel powerfully feminine and seductive. Her hands lifted to his hair, pushing into it, gripping the strands by the root and tugging—a returning message to him that she was feeling equally passionate. The slow, deep thrusts of his tongue into her mouth so perfectly mimicked what she wished would happen between them. She arched upward, pressing her aching breasts into him. His grip on her hip tightened, pinning her down. Both of her hands stroked over the curves, then slid down his biceps, her fingers squeezing and finding no give to her applied pressure. He was like warm marble. She wanted to touch him all over, take her time, nuzzle her nose against him and breathe him deep into her lungs. She wanted him. In that moment, she wanted him more than anything else in the world. Her need and longing for him was all that was left of her after he'd stripped the entirety of her defences away. Stripped away every single part of her past and left her nothing but a woman who was above all needed, desired and had a worth.
Wrapping her arms around him, she drew closer still. He pressed his lips to her forehead in a quick, hard kiss. "I am trying to keep from making love to you, right here.''
Rose stilled, her breath panting across his skin, her chest constricted by the weight of his expectation.
"I love your hair, the colour of it."
Rose glanced up to his face through wet eyelashes. ''No person enjoys red hair.'
''I love it. Perhaps it's part of your fire.''
''That fire that won't burn out.'' Rose raised a brow, smiling, referring to his earlier words in the gymnasium. Oh, how far they had come since dusk.
''No, it won't burn out. I only want you to burn brightly, Rose.''
Rose's hands shook as she reached into the water and wrapped her hands around him. He groaned and jerked in her grip. He made a low, sound as he fell into her palms. Her fingers explored carefully, following her gaze. She traced the sinuous curving of the thick veins that coursed the rigid length beneath the water making it feel smoother.
"Say something," he whispered, almost terrified in a way.
''I-I have never touched a man in that way before.'' she stammered through her own uncertainty. She had never seen a man before him. Never thought of another in such a way until him.
"Rose." The serrated edge to his voice thrilled her, made her disregard the discomfort of the hardwood beneath her. Jack stood still, his hands tangling in her hair. His chest heaved with laboured breaths, and a slight sheen of perspiration glistened across his abdomen even with the water lapping up against them. He backed her slightly against the side of the pool and pressing himself against her, he pushed through the token resistance of tightness. After their early intimacy, Rose was sore and she gasped as the crown breached the stretched opening.
''Tell me that you're all right.''
''Yes. I am.''
Jack bit back a sound and fought the urge to fall upon her with a hard, deep weight. That would be too quickly done, robbing her of the full awareness of his possession. He wanted her to feel the stretch of every wide inch, wanted her to writhe as he sank deeper, wanted her to remember the sensation of that last leisurely stroke that seated him. So, he kept her spread against the side, her leg about his waist and worked his way into her, his eyes riveted to the point where they were joined. His lungs burned as he gulped in air, every nerve in his body attuned to the feel of her satiny tissues quivering and clasping around him. A surfeit of sensation burned through him. Sweat coursed down his back and chest, a physical manifestation of the rigid control he exerted.
Rose moved restlessly beneath him, biting her lower lip as he slid in and out, pushing deeper and deeper with every leisurely thrust. Hunching over her, Jack sank his teeth into her shoulder. Hard enough to leave a mark, but not enough to break the skin. She moaned and arched into his mouth. It was a primitive act, one goaded by the feel of her. Bare. Nothing between his most sensitive flesh and hers. His forehead against hers. Watching how she was emotionally stripped bare of everything and only aware of him, just as he was her. It was lovemaking in its purest form and it had never felt this way to him before. Never would it again. He saw everything which she felt and it was mirrored in every way. Barriers were torn down and discarded. Souls were bare. Bridges were built and the fire which he had seen from the very first glance across a thousand rails and barriers, was now burning brighter than ever before.
Jack's hands moved from her thighs to her behind, supporting her weight as he moved his hips in a timed, unhurried rhythm. She took advantage of her sudden freedom, wrapping her legs around him and tugging him deeper. Her breath left her in a gasped cry of his name as he slid in, buried completely. Jack held still, struggling for control. He fought to make allowances for her straining body to grow accustomed to him. She stared up at him, her eyes wide and luminous, windows to her soul. The look on her face was one he'd never seen on anyone, yet it mirrored how he felt—profoundly affected, split wide open, with nowhere to hide. When she pushed upward and kissed his clenched jaw, something shifted inside him, shaking him to the core. His blood was raging for her, spurred by five years of waiting to be right where he was, but she stayed his violent need with a single soft, sweet kiss. He was devastated by her tenderness in the face of his ferocious desire. Pressing his damp cheek to hers, he nuzzled against her, breathing in the smell of everything about her.
Bracing himself with palms flat to the side of the pool, Jack withdrew slowly, relishing the feel of her clinging to his him. He returned with effort, pushing through the tight resistance. Her head thrashed and her eyes closed, which he could not allow. He needed her to stay with him, to see him through the storm he knew was coming. The pressure of his impending orgasm was fisted around him and pulsing throughout, warning him that he would soon be wasted by the woman beneath him. Even knowing how she could destroy him, just by walking away from him; he couldn't pull away. Pushing his arms beneath her thighs, his mouth came down over hers, his head tilting to deepen the contact. Their perspiration and the water sealed their torsos together, adding another raw layer to their heated coupling. He moved. She moved. The found a rhythm. She clawed at his back; he kissed her as if he'd die if their lips were parted. His tongue plunged and retreated along where they joined, both seeking to drive her wild. He needed her wild, as crazed and desperate as he felt. Jack rolled his hips, probing, absorbing every nuance of her fevered response. He found a spot that made her shiver beneath him and exploited it, stroking over it again and again. He came apart when she climaxed, the delicate muscles inside her rippling and gripping him. He hung on to his control by the thinnest of threads, needing to see her through first before he took any more than she'd already given him. He slowed, gliding in and out, lifting his head to watch the pleasure take her. Her eyes were dazed, her lips swollen. She breathed his name as she almost drowned there and then within him.
Jack shivered, again. Trembling. He had taken an arrow to the heart. His head fell against her shoulders, taking in what small, painful breathes he could through his violent shudders.
''Are you cold?'' she whispered against his cheeks, and her mouth against his skin caused goosebumps to appear across his body as the glowing aftermath of his orgasm came.
''No,'' his right hand came up to cup her face, as he had lowered her legs back to the ground of the pool to allow them both to regain their return to earth. ''No, I will be all right.'' Wide, innocent blue eyes watched his shivers, and he stroked at her cheek. ''It is just overwhelming.''
She softened then, her concern vanishing for a moment until she rested her head against his shoulder and claimed his heart right there and then. The last time she had been truly overwhelmed herself was when presented with the Heart of the Ocean just two nights before and now, she was naked within a pool with the man who had saved her life. In the aftermath of their lovemaking, Rose clung to him; the man who she was slowly falling in love with. She shivered then, and he clasped onto her tighter pulling their beating hearts together.
''Don't move,'' she whispered into him. ''Hold me until we're cold.''
Jack couldn't move, with her mouth finding its way onto his again, the coolness disintegrated into another warmer embrace. It would never be cold, Jack recalled thinking, not with their fire.
They would burn forever. The only time they would shiver, is in the afterglow of passion.