A/N: Hello, and welcome! If you're looking for sass and trash, you came to the right place. I just wanted to make a quick note that a copper tub would be considered a luxury in camp, so Anna probably wouldn't have one, but given all the stuff in her cart, I figured I'd take a creative liberty there.

CH 1: The Proposition

A meeting in Anna's cart in the dead of night, though strange, didn't sound off any warning bells to Ben's intuition. Though the moment he actually entered her quarters, he immediately wished it had.

"Oh, sweet Jesus…"

Indifferent to his arrival, Anna kept washing herself in her copper tub, only glancing up to spare him a brief, almost contemptuous look before she went back to scrubbing her arms again. "Secure the flap," she muttered. "What are you trying to do, give the entire camp a show?"

"Y-you…y-you're…"

Rolling her eyes, she set aside her lye soap and shrugged. "I'm what?"

"You're…bathing."

All at once, her eyes lit up and she laughed. "Goodness! I suppose you truly are the smartest to hail from Setauket."

"Anna, it's not funny." Flustered, Ben quickly moved over and secured the flap, if only to keep his focus on something, anything other than the naked woman behind him. "I thought you invited me here."

"I did."

Again, he was met with indifferent silence, so he hissed, "You are indecent."

"Well! There's no need to call me names, is there?"

"Enough jokes!" Turning toward her again, Ben swallowed and tried to keep his eyes on her face. Anna was presently much, much too comfortable, what with her body being full-on display from the waist up. "Have you no shame?"

"Why? Do you wish to borrow a cup?" When she saw Ben's upper lip curl, she laughed and amended, "Right, right – no more jokes. Sorry." Sighing, she reclined and sank beneath the water. It came up to her firm, rounded breasts, which brought even more attention to her nakedness as she laid there. "Thank you for being so punctual."

Rattled, Ben jammed his hands into his breeches' pockets. "Evidently, not punctual enough," he snapped. "You are in a state of undress."

"I'd say I'm in a complete state of undress," Anna agreed, gesturing to her body, "but thank you for yet again stating the obvious." Her lips quirked into a cheeky grin. "Could you hand me that cloth over there, please?"

Despite it being the clear answer to covering her indecency, Ben remained rooted to the spot.

With a dramatic roll of her eyes, Anna muttered, "All right, then," and started to rise from her perch.

"No, no, don't!" Ben cried, rushing forward just as she cleared the water. Shaking and jittery, he doffed his coat and wrapped it around her naked frame, his breath shallow and almost painful in his chest as they locked eyes. From this close, there almost appeared to be an amber ring around her dark, aphotic irises. He trembled and forced himself to maintain eye contact, if only to avoid peeking down at the soft, supple flesh beneath his coat.

Tilting her head, Anna smirked. "So gallant," she purred, lifting a hand to skim over his cheek. "Could you be that much of a gentleman, or are you so pure, so untouched that seeing even a hint of flesh gives you the vapors?"

He flinched at her mockery, yet his jaw set like steel. "I am not untouched," he snapped.

"Oh, no?" Raising her brows, Anna gave him a discomfiting once-over. "You're behaving as though you've never seen a naked woman before."

Ben sighed, frustrated. "I love and respect you, Anna, so yes – of course I'm going to behave differently." He shifted then, uncomfortable with her closeness. "You are not some common strumpet, so I'm…I am distressed by your indifferent display."

For once, Anna's smile wiped clean from her face. "You care that much for my honor?"

He hesitated, uncertain of her change in demeanor, before giving a tight little nod. "Of course I do."

Drawing her hands across her indecency, Anna pulled his coat in about her shoulders and straightened, lifting her chin to look him in the eye. "What if I told you my intentions were untoward?"

Ben's mouth went dry, his throat visibly swallowing. "What do you mean?"

"My invitation," she said as if it were obvious. "I invited you here, quite late at night, and allowed you to see me in a state of undress."

It suddenly felt much, much too warm. Ben squirmed beneath her sharp gaze, laughing softly. "But why would you wish-?"

"Because it's been months, Ben. Forgive me for being indelicate, but as a woman, I do have needs. And perhaps I'm wrong, but I would imagine that you do, as well." Slowly, a hint of her good humor returned. "If you actually took me up on my offer, I feel you would be far more pleasant to be around."

Ben's chin jutted. "Anna, what you are proposing…"

"Tupping, blanket hornpipe, bread and butter fashion – whatever you want to call it."

"Jesus, Anna…"

"What?" She rolled her eyes. "My best friends are men, so I apologize if my speaking like a man offends you." Expression softening, she reached out and laid her hand over his heart. "And besides…I do care for you a great deal. I know you wouldn't be too rough, nor uncouth, nor a scoundrel. I can trust you."

Something in Ben's stiff posture melted at her admission, and fondly, he curled a hand around her own. "Yes, of course you can, Anna," he murmured. "I would never…th-that is to say…" Somehow, he still couldn't bring himself to speak the words. Perhaps he was still a little virginal, given how one night with a stranger hardly screamed of experience. To be frank, sex had been soured for him to a certain degree. Intimacy of that level required trust, and neither he nor Sarah had been truthful.

"I don't care," Anna finally said, curling her fingers around his cravat. She tugged on the fabric and drew him down to her level, her lips grazing his as a heated look passed between them. "I just want your hands on me."

Ben breathed out as though punched in the gut. He felt winded, and when she kissed the corner of his mouth, his hands finally fell to her waist, holding her steady as she deepened her exploration. Sliding her lips over his in a firmer, messy kiss, Anna licked at his mouth and hummed approvingly, allowing his coat to fall from her shoulders while she reached down and cupped him through his breeches.

Ben groaned into the kiss, meeting her tongue with his as her palm rubbed in careful, forceful circles over his swelling hardness. Weak in the knees, a shuddery breath caught between their lips and he staggered, holding onto her shoulders as he felt her smile into their kiss.

"How do you want me?" she whispered.

Dazed, he brushed his lips over her cheek and shook his head, feeling drugged as he weakly said, "I can't."

"You can."

"No…"

"Ben, I'm giving you permission."

Taking an abrupt step back, he swallowed and tightened his fists. Beneath his breeches, his arousal throbbed and strained, and he found himself cursing his damn moral code. "I can't," he said again more firmly. "Goodnight, Anna."

He thought of touching her, promptly ruled against it, and instead turned to stagger out into the cool night air.

Rather than the evening chill snapping him out of it, as he'd hoped, Ben found himself restless and full of long-suppressed urges when he stumbled into his own tent. Manic and desperate, he unfastened the front flap of his breeches with unsteady, jittery fingers, and then finally exposed himself to his own hand.

With a short, choking breath, Ben got a firm hold on himself and started stroking, fast and hard and rough. Tilting his head back, a series of grunts caught in his throat and he jerked himself harder, a restless, tingling ache shooting up his spine as he found himself barreling closer and closer toward release.

Behind his closed eyes, he could see Anna's teasing smile – feel her damp skin, feel her mouth – and it made his cock twitch achingly in his palm. "Oh, fuck," he snarled.

Seeking stability, Ben sank to his knees and jerked off excitedly, his mind's eye able to conjure Anna lying there beneath him, her sex feeling so warm, so wet as he drove strongly between her thighs. When he tightened his hand around his cock, much as he imagined she would do around his length, something uncoiled deep inside of him and he crumpled, catching his weight against the ground as he came hard across his thighs and the grass.

"Fuck," Ben swore again, groaning before resting his forehead against the ground.

Where had that come from? Had he always desired Anna in such a wrong, morally corrupt way?

Swallowing, he shakily tucked himself inside his breeches and rocked back on his haunches. With a shuddery intake of breath, he smoothed a hand over his mouth and headed for his cot. He knew sleep would be well out of reach that night.

A/N: I've already started chapter 2, but this is definitely a back-burner fic since I'm sure only four people are reading this, haha. Love the show, but it's my own fault for rolling in so late! Either way, I hope the four of your enjoyed! 😛