Author's Note: Since I changed my name to protect me from embarrassment (heehee) I decided on getting Madeline out of there – just didn't like it. So when you meet "me" I shall be Loralei.
Just as the sun set, Jake and Nic, now dry and reenergized, entered an inn called "Secret Cove." (One of the quieter establishments on this particular island.) They settled in at a table near the back and waited for the "bar wench." Jake had bought a new journal for Nic after their romp in the ocean. She loved to write her thoughts, poetry, anything that came to mind, and she had already filled the last five he had gotten for her. She was lost deep in thought, which Jake didn't mind at all - he loved her intellect - so he took the opportunity to enjoy a hobby of his: people watching.
The Caribbean was home to people of every shape and size, which made for a feast for the eyes. Jake usually tuned out the "women of the night" and instead focused on the men - it paid to look out for any potential threat. One particular man caught his eye, not because he looked like a threat, in fact, he looked quite the opposite. He was simply interesting. Various trinkets of all shapes and sizes were entwined in his hair and his eyes were thickly outlined in kohl. His hands were busy dancing in front of him while he spoke to a young woman with long dark hair, wearing a bright red dress; she looked positively entranced by him. Jake couldn't imagine what in the world the man could have been saying, but noticed that his face, as well as his gestures changed rather quickly. His eyes became dark and his hand ran the length of the woman's arm. He noticed that the man had grasped her, pulling her to her feet. Her eyes widened as the man led her from the inn.
Rape was something that made Jake's temper flare. He had seen too much on Tamsin to ever accept that a woman "deserved what she got" whore or not. Feeling that the woman was going to meet this fate, Jake excused himself from the table and grasped the handle of his blade. Knowing a pirate's mind, he slunk around the corner of the inn to the alleyway; sure enough the man had the woman pinned against the wall and was already in the midst of ravaging her.
Jake felt his blood boil and didn't take the situation into full consideration. He pulled his blade and pressed it to the man's back. "Let 'er go!" he demanded.
The man turned his head. "S'cuse me?" His tone wasn't gruff or even upset, merely surprised.
"Let the lass go!" He watched as the woman's face reddened. She gently pushed the man away, her skirt falling into place.
"You think he's hurting me?" she asked, embarrassed. Her accent was a proper as Nicolette's.
"E's not?" Jake asked.
The woman smiled sweetly. "Chivalry among pirates," she said, awed. "I apologize. My husband and I get carried away at times."
"Yer…that was on…purpose?"
The man smiled, several gold teeth glinting in the dim light. "Aye, lad. Bit o' fantasy mixin' with reality. Good t' know there's someone who'd be willin' t' save a lass though. Ye have a good eye."
Jake went back into the inn, dumbfounded. He was more than glad that he hadn't fallen into a fight for his interruption, but he couldn't imagine what sort of - well, he was obviously a pirate - behaved in such a…but what of the woman? She was surely not of the pirate's class…of course, neither was Nicolette. Then he remembered, in the right conditions, he'd do exactly the same thing. He laughed to himself as he sat back down at the table.
"Everything all right, Jake?" Nic asked.
"Jus' fine." He kissed her hand. "Creativity leave you?"
"Never…but you did. I was getting worried."
"No worries, love." He looked up. "Ah, grub." They ate, then returned to their campsite. Jake didn't ravage his lover on this night. Instead, he lavished her body with butterfly kisses until they drifted to sleep.
