A/N: I just have to say that you are all amazing and every time I see a new comment or kudo, my heart soars. You're the loveliest bunch of people and I'm so, so, SO happy that you've made it this far. This chapter is where we earn the 'Mature' rating, so hang on to your knickers!
Billy's long stride ate up the distance from the surf to the shelter quickly, so Abigail just held on. Literally. Her hands grasped at his soaked shirt and she curled her legs over his arm, tucking her head so that her forehead rested against his chin. His grip on her tightened and dear heavens, he smelled wild. Like weather, something untameable and fierce. Similar feelings rose inside her and she darted her tongue out to lick at the droplets of seawater on his chin,
"Fuck," he muttered and smiling, she did it again. She ran her tongue along his jaw, up to his earlobe, where she marvelled at how soft it felt against her lips.
"Abigail," he groaned in warning.
She giggled and she hardly knew who she was in that moment, only that she was on the verge of something incredible. Something visceral. Something real.
He carried her past the fire, straight into the shelter, where he knelt down and resumed kissing her. Her arms wound around his neck as his framed her ribcage. Their tongues met and while Abigail started off with tentative strokes, she felt a hunger build and build in a place never before explored and soon she returned his deep kisses with desperate ones of her own. She was so absorbed in exploring every crevice of his mouth, it took her a moment to realise that his hand once again cupped her breast.
But when his thumb found her nipple, she cried out into his mouth.
He pulled back, and asked, breathlessly, "Sorry! I didn't-"
"Don't stop," she said as she reached for his hand. "It's all right, please don't stop."
"Abigail," he breathed and then he looked down.
She blinked down as well and watched as his fingers plucked at the torn ties of her stays. It fell open, revealing her wet chemise that clung to her. She watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard and hardly had a moment to think before he bent his head and took one fabric-covered nipple into his mouth.
Heat filled her even as she shivered from the pure, rich sensations he stirred with every suckle and lick. She'd never taken much notice of her body before. She kept herself clean, tidy and presentable, and dressed as was expected, but now… It had never occurred to her that the simplest touches could produce such pleasure. When he tugged at her chemise and bared her chest to suckle with nothing between his lovely mouth and her flesh, she lost her breath. Her back arched and her hands held Billy to her breast.
"So beautiful," he said around her wet, hardened nipples. "So god damn beautiful. I want to see all of you, sweetheart."
"Yes," she said as her hands fumbled under his as they both tried to untie her sash. "Wait."
She moved off his lap and untied her sash, then her skirt and finally her petticoat, and then she shoved the lot off.
Billy stared at her where she knelt, completely naked to his gaze, beside him.
With a slightly trembling hand, he reached out and with the tips of his fingers, he traced a wandering line down her throat, around the curve of her breast, the dip in her waist, over the flare of her hip, and finally, along the crease between her stomach and thighs. She sighed and shivered, even as she giggled softly. He looked at her with an arched eyebrow.
"Tickles," she whispered and before she lost her courage, she asked, "Now you?"
With one hand, he reached for the collar of his shirt and pulled it up and off and oh, all that glorious skin was revealed. Her hand traced the lines of his muscles and his collarbone before she could think.
"Fuck," he muttered and then she was in his arms again, his mouth hard on hers and oh, she felt every inch of him. His chest muscles bunched and flexed against her skin as he moved his hands over her hips and down to her bottom. Then one hand traced lightly over her thigh and dipped in between her legs.
She tensed and he gentled his kiss. "It's all right, it's all right," he murmured. "Do you want me to stop?"
"No," she whispered shaking her head. "No, don't stop."
His fingers danced along where she felt herself grow hot and slick and eventually, she discovered that she chased after his touch with the gentle rocking of her hips.
When his fingers finally delved inside her, she was more than ready for it.
"Oh," she said, as her head fell back and her eyes stared up, unseeing, at the ceiling of the shelter. "That's… Billy, that's…"
"Yeah," he said ducking his head to mouth at her throat. "I know, love. You feel fucking amazing, Abigail."
She didn't reply as her eyes closed and she gave herself over to the sharp twinges of pleasure that crept along her insides and throbbed in time to his touch. On a particularly wonderfully wicked shock of sensation, she lowered her head to look at Billy. He stared back at her, his blue eyes intense and determined as he pleasured her.
"You too," she said gasping, and she grasped his wrist where it danced along her flesh. "I want you to feel this, too. How do-"
He looked at her and with his other hand, he reached for his belt. It proved too awkward for one hand and he cursed as he took his other hand from her. She gasped as the mounting feeling paused and she watched, panting, as he finally undid his belt and tossed it to the side, his weapons clanked as they hit the ground. He shoved his trousers down and off and she stared. He chuckled.
"It won't hurt you," he said leaning down and gathering her up.
"Are you sure?" she asked, only partly kidding.
He nodded. "Yeah. I'll not...not this time."
She wondered what he meant by that, but was soon distracted by the way he pulled her astride his thighs as he crouched on his haunches. She gasped, feeling terribly exposed in this position, and her arms wound around his neck, then cupped his face as she kissed him. His hands squeezed her bottom and then cupped her breasts, his thumbs gently massaging her nipples. Her head fell back and his mouth moved to suckle at her breast and the pleasure mounted within her once more. She discovered that her hips resumed their previous rocking motion and she ached for his touch.
"Please," she said breathlessly. "Oh, please."
"Yeah," he said and his fingers returned to the throbbing place between her thighs. "Hold on."
She tightened her hold on his shoulders as his other hand fell to his…
Cock, she thought gazing down. That's what it's called. His cock.
He wrapped his hand around the base of it and squeezed as he pulled his hand upwards. He groaned as he did so, as he rubbed and caressed the growing wetness between her legs.
"Jesus," he said and Abigail's hand fell to grip his wrist as he tugged on his cock.
"Yes," she said, hardly knowing what she was saying. "Yes, oh yes, Billy."
His fingers slipped inside her and curved a little. She arched her back, her breast pressed against his chest as her thighs tightened around his as pure sensation ripped through her body.
"Yeah, yeah," he murmured as he pressed his forehead to hers. "That's it, love. That's it."
His finger curved again and touched something inside her. Sensations burst through her, starbursts exploded behind her eyes and her breath held for one incredible moment, before it escaped her in a slow, tremulous sigh that left her body tingling and limp. She blinked and her vision returned to see Billy staring at her in wonder.
"So beautiful," he said, his voice rugged and awed. "Abigail, fucking hell."
She smiled and cupped his face, pressing kisses to his mouth. Sweet kisses turned into deep kisses and she felt his hand resume stroking his cock.
"Yes," she said into his mouth. "Feel what I feel. Please? It's so wonderful. So lovely. Oh, please feel it, Billy. Feel me."
With a pained groan, he crushed her to him as his body shuddered and she felt a warmth spill onto her thighs.
They remained, clung tightly to one another for several shivery moments. Billy lifted his head from her shoulder and asked, his voice soft and warm, "All right?"
"Very," she said, her eyelids felt heavy and her limbs languid, as though she was still suspended in the ocean. "You?"
"Yeah," he said smiling a little. "Yeah, I'm all right." He frowned. "You're shaking."
"I know," she said as she met his eyes. "I think… Billy, I think I'm happy? I think that's what it is."
He stared at her in wonder and then kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks and then her mouth. Softly, slowly, and deeply, he kissed her until she felt taken apart and put back together into a new person whose body had discovered what it felt to be cared for and pleasured.
Practical matters eventually became necessary and Billy cleaned up her thighs where he'd spilled. She set her skirts and stays aside and just pulled on her chemise.
"I'm going to see if the spoils of our competition are still where we left them," he said tugging on his trousers. "I'm leaving your fish for the seagulls."
"As you wish," she said. "I still won, though."
He looked at her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him, as he said, "I think we were both the winners this evening, don't you?"
The kiss he gave her was beyond cheeky and fun and she giggled when he nipped at her throat before letting her go to collect their supper.
They ate quickly and then repaired back into the shelter, where he pulled her into his arms. Their hands traced the various dips and curves of one another's bodies as they watched the sun set and the moon rise.
"That wasn't all there is, was it?" she asked in between caresses. "You didn't...take me."
His hand paused mid-glide, before he answered, "No, I didn't. I… Abigail, what do you know of...all this?"
"More than I did before I left England," she said somewhat wryly. "Lady Hamilton asked me certain questions...about what may or may not have been done to me. And then she explained everything about the act, which filled in several gaps."
"Oh," he said and his hand resumed its steady caress. "I don't suppose it's really taught to well-bred young ladies."
"I should say not," she said with a laugh. "And it really should be. Most of us live in perfect fear of what might happen once we're married, when in actual fact, it's really rather lovely." She pressed a kiss to his jaw and he smiled at her. "Lady Hamilton said it could be."
"Did she?" he asked rubbing his nose alongside hers.
"She said that with the right partner, there was an endless sea of pleasures and delights to discover," she said. "She was right." She ducked her eyes down. "At least, I think she was. What's been your experience?"
"Minimal," he said. "And lacking. Abigail," he paused, "it's never been like this for me. Never. It's not the act. It's you."
Despite everything they'd done, pink filled his cheeks and Abigail was secretly delighted by it. She pressed her lips to his and he pulled her to him, slotting her against him so that her leg curved over his. They kissed while the moon rose in the night sky, and fell asleep curled around each other.
Abigail awoke the next morning alone.
She sat up and immediately looked towards the surf when she heard a splash. It was about then that she realised that Billy's clothes were still inside the shelter beside his boots.
"Oh," she breathed and bit her lip as she emerged from the shelter.
The sun was just breaking over the horizon and the rays outlined his bare body where he washed waist-deep in the surf. Absently, Abigail reached for some water and quickly swallowed several mouthfuls as she watched him. He paused mid-splash and turned to look over his shoulder.
She waved a little and he grinned before he started up the beach, his skin golden in the early morning sun, his limbs long and strong. He was utterly, utterly beautiful.
I want to put my mouth on him, she thought madly. All over. I want to taste him all over.
She looked down, somewhat surprised at herself and took a long sip of her water.
"Morning," he said when he was near.
"Good morning," she said and she turned her face to receive the kiss he leant down to give her. Her hand cupped his neck and he grinned against her lips.
"Rain's coming," he said as they pulled apart and he moved to put his trousers back on.
"Really?" she asked looking out at the horizon.
"Look behind you," he said nodding at the other side of the island.
She turned and saw a heavy grey cloud headed their way.
"Is it a serious storm?" she asked.
"Nah, just a shower," he said. "Should freshen up the water at the spring."
They went about their usual morning routine of eating some coconut and watching the sunrise. But this morning was interspersed with Billy sneaking quick kisses on Abigail's neck and Abigail eating the entirety of her coconut whilst perched on Billy's lap.
She'd just finished her last bite of the flaky insides when the rain started. It was a cool, soft rain that washed away some of the mugginess and Abigail tilted her head back to let the drops fall on her face.
"Hey," he said after they both stood in the rain for a few minutes and as it rained down harder. "Come with me."
He held out his hand and Abigail glanced down at herself, still only clad in her chemise that fell to just above her knees. With a shrug, she took his hand and he led her across the beach to the trees. The rain intensified and fell down in sheets on the sea, but under the trees, it was softened by the large leaves.
"Remember this?" Billy asked as he led her over to the tree with the large leaves.
He reached up and tugged a leaf down, and the water streamed into his open mouth.
"Of course," she said grinning. "My turn?"
She stood in front of him, her back pressed flush against his chest and as he aimed the leaf at her mouth, she laughed when the water struck her nose before it found her lips.
She swallowed what she could, and Billy ducked his head down over hers to capture the rest. He pulled down a few more leaves as the rain poured down through the trees.
Unable to stop herself, she turned in his arms while he drank and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his chest, directly over his heartbeat.
He groaned, released the leaf which sprang back up, showering them both with water, and cupped her rain-soaked face. His mouth was cool from the fresh rainwater and they kissed lazily, their tongues stroking slowly as they pressed as close as they could to one another.
The ache deep down between her thighs that Abigail felt the night before returned and she arched against him, her hips automatically seeking pressure against where she needed it the most.
Billy tore his mouth from hers as he knelt in front of her.
"What-?" she asked dazed.
He didn't say a word, just lightly pushed her back so the she leant against a tree trunk. Then, without taking his eyes from hers, he smoothed his hands over the backs of her legs, up her thighs, to cup her bottom, leaving her bare to his gaze, her chemise bunched around his wrists.
Unable to say a word, and honestly unsure what she'd say even if she could find her voice, she simply stared down at him with wide eyes.
He pressed a soft kiss to her belly, just above her mound. He dragged his lips over the curve of her hips and licked at the crease of her thigh. Her hands rested atop his head, her fingers digging into his short hair.
When he slid a finger along her wetness, her head fell back and her eyes closed. She moaned as he feathered kisses along her mound and when he lifted her knee to rest over his shoulder, exposing her completely, she gasped.
"Trust me," he said, his voice a ragged, rasping thing. "Abigail, please trust me."
"I do," she breathed.
"Good," he said and then his mouth touched her swollen flesh and coherent thought fled her completely.
Several wonderful minutes later, she cried out when her pleasure struck out across her body from where Billy's tongue had been doing such incredible things. When she looked down only to see him with his hand on his cock as he stroked himself to his own end, her pleasure peaked again.
She panted as he leant forward, resting his head against her stomach, her chemise falling to cover her once more.
"I...had no earthly idea that was something one could do," she said, as she ran her fingers over his head.
He nodded. "I'm not exactly practiced at it. Are you all right?"
To answer his question, Abigail pushed him back a little, settled herself atop his thighs, and kissed him until they were both breathless.
After the rain stopped, and after they finally emerged from the trees, they went about their usual business. Abigail fished while Billy tended the fire which had died during the storm.
Supper time came upon them and Abigail cooked some fish over the fire, which they ate with their fingers sitting side by side.
Abigail finished her supper and ducked into the shelter to find the comb Murphy made her. She returned to the fireside and Billy, then undid her long plait. She wrinkled her nose as she tugged at small knots and tangles. Once it was loose, she sectioned it and started to comb out the ends of one section.
"May I?" Billy asked and she looked at him in surprise, but he just shrugged. "I've never done it before."
She smiled and moved to sit in front of him; he parted his legs a bit so she could sit between his knees. Handing him the comb, she said, "Just start at the base and work your way up."
After few moments and a few tugs that she laughed off, he got the way of it and methodically combed out the salt and snarls. Every time he finished a section, he carefully laid it over her shoulder and Abigail sighed as her eyes fell shut.
"Think my father might've done this for my ma, once," he said.
She hmm'd. "Did they love each other? Your parents?"
"Yeah," he said as he ran the comb through the length of her hair. "I think they did. They believed the same things. My father always listened to my mother's opinion, too. Not like some of the other men. Did yours? Your parents, I mean. Did they love each other?"
"I've thought about that a great deal since Charles Town," she said opening her eyes and tilting her head as he pulled the comb through her hair. "At one point, I would have said unequivocally that yes, they loved each other. But now, I'm not so sure."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Well, it was arranged, of course," she said sighing. "So it wasn't a love match in the first instance. My father's family had the title, but my mother's family had the money and the land. However, I always thought there was a decent measure of affection between them." She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on top. "Looking back, I think there was an imbalance that they never managed to navigate. They knew the other had married for the other's need, not for who they were. I don't even know why it bothers me; it's how things were done. Still is how they're done."
"Was that to be your future?" he asked, substituting his fingers for the comb and she shivered as they ran along the back of her head. "Some arrangement with some stranger?"
"Yes," she said simply. "My father's last letter to me before I set sail had the names of two families who were...eager to make my acquaintance."
Billy snorted, but gently finished combing her hair and tucked it over one shoulder, so he could lean down and press an open-mouthed kiss to her bare neck. She hummed and closed her eyes.
"Would you have done it?" he asked, lightly brushing his lips along her throat. "Married some man your father chose for you?"
"It's what I've been bred to do," she said arching her neck for more. "I was born a daughter. I had no use or ambition beyond what I could provide for my father." She turned in the circle of his arms and looked him in the eyes, her hair loose and wild about her shoulders. "But not anymore. I'm my own person. I'll not be bartered or traded ever again. I refuse to be." She paused. "Am I mad for wanting that?"
"Mad?" he asked as he cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. "For wanting to make your own way? No. Never. Take back your power, Abigail. If anyone can, it'd be you."
Overwhelmed and her body aflame from his touch, she pressed herself as close to him as she could and kissed him with everything she could muster. She felt fierce and wanton and free and she hitched up her skirts to straddle him. He groaned when she settled atop his lap.
"Yeah, love," he said his hands curved around her hips and tugged her down on his cock that hardened beneath her. "Take what you want. Tell me what you want and I'll do it."
She gasped and tucked her face into his neck, her cheeks burned with desire. "I can't," she whispered.
"Yes, you can," he chuckled. "Come on, tell me. What do want, Abigail? Tell me how to make you feel good?"
"Your mouth," she said against his throat as she pressed kisses and licked at his pulse. "Please, Billy, I want your mouth on me."
In a move that showcased all of his strength, Abigail found herself carried inside the shelter, gently laid down, her chemise pushed to up above her breasts, and Billy's mouth precisely where she wanted it.
When she'd found her pleasure, she pushed him to his back and took him in hand while she pressed fevered kisses to his mouth over and over.
Once again, they spent the night entwined as the moon waxed above them and Abigail wondered if she'd be allowed to take these wonderful feelings with her when they left the island?
The days passed in a haze of kisses and touches the likes of which Billy had never indulged in before. He longed with every part of himself to fuck her properly, but he'd meant what he said. While he was more than happy to touch and pleasure her, he wasn't about to saddle her with a babe. He'd seen what childbirth could do to a woman and he wasn't about to bring a child into his war.
Not yet, at least, a voice whispered in his mind. He shoved such longings to the side and remained grateful that he could enjoy her smiles and her touches which were becoming bolder by the moment.
The afternoon where she'd eyed him after he'd finished fishing stood out in particular. She'd sat in front of him, prim as you like, as she opened his trousers and promptly applied her mouth to his cock. He'd nearly passed out from the pleasure of it and knew that moment would stay with him forever. As would the proud look she'd given him as he recovered from coming so hard, he'd lost vision for a spell.
When he'd been coherent enough to speak, she'd said, "Power comes in many, many forms, doesn't it?" Then she'd lowered her eyes and blushed. "Was that...too much? I mean, was that all right?"
He'd knelt before her, flipped up her skirts and proceeded to show her how 'all right' it had been.
Twice.
Not that it was a hardship to do so; he hadn't realised a man could get drunk off the taste of a woman, but there he was.
Part of him knew it was too good to last, but he did his best to just experience as much of the happiness and closeness as he could.
His suspicions proved to be true when he awoke early one morning to find that he was alone. He sat up and spotted Abigail sitting beside the fire, her spine straight as she stared out at the horizon. Rubbing his forehead, he crawled out of the shelter and sat beside her, his arm falling around her shoulders.
With a sigh, she curled close to him and he rubbed the chill from her arms.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked pressing his lips to her head.
"Not really," she replied. "My eyes opened and sleep escaped me. It's fine, though, I've grown rather fond of having such a large fire to sit beside as I watch the sun come up."
He chuckled. "They're not exactly practical on board a ship.
"I shouldn't think so," she said. "Do you know-"
She cut herself off and looked away. He frowned and looked down at her, noting that she'd closed her eyes.
"What is it?" he asked. "Abigail?"
"How long did you say it would take your crew to come for you?" she asked, her voice strange. "Fourteen days?"
"Yeah, about that," he said. "Why?"
"Today marks the twelfth day since we last saw Mr Murphy," she said, before she looked at him. "Your crew is early."
He stared at her and then looked out at the horizon. Smoke from the fire drifted in front of his eyes, but he saw the outline of a mainsail against the dawning light.
"Is it them?" Abigail asked quietly.
"Yeah," he breathed, even as his arm curled her close. "It's the Walrus."
A/N2: Dun, dun, DUN! This ends Book I of 'a tide of hope'. I'm afraid I'll be off for the next couple of weeks but will return with the start of Book II. You're all amazing and thank you!
