Chapter 37 – Stormy Seas:

Jane's hands lightly grasped the rail as the cold, salty wind whipped through her hair. She revelled in the wildness of the weather as the bow of the Zephyr ploughed its way through the dark water, dipping and rising over the waves.

Jane heard some footsteps and she instantly knew from its rhythm who it was and even with the strong smell of salt of in the air she could smell his wonderful, masculine scent. It was her husband; he had come back out from their cabin with a large woollen shawl in his hand.

When they were in the Indian Ocean or in the Mediterranean, they would rest on deck in their normal, summer suitable clothes. But now they were in the Atlantic with winter fast approaching, Jane succumbed to wearing a coat and Tarzan wore a thickly knitted fisherman's jumper and scarf. When the weather was warmer he would wear half-mast trousers, a loose cotton shirt which would be left unbuttoned and a bandana to keep his dreadlocks out of his face when the wind was too strong. Jane teased him playfully about his choice of outfit, telling him that it made him look like a roguish pirate. She often thought that if her husband were to have an occupation, she could easily imagine him being a sailor roaming the seven seas. It suited his nomadic lifestyle and his sense of adventure.

"Hey you," he said softly before gently kissing the skin behind her ear.

"Hey you," she replied, enjoying the feeling of his warm lips on her cool skin, his nose breathing in the scent of her freshly washed hair.

"I thought you might be cold," Tarzan wrapped the woollen shawl around her shoulders and Jane was grateful for it. Her hands were starting to turn red with the cold and her face tingled from the harsh wind and sea spray. Tarzan snaked his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder, the couple enjoying a quiet moment alone together on deck.

"Where are the children?" Jane eventually asked after a long period of silence.

"In the cabin with their grandfather," Tarzan's breath was warm on her neck, "Belle was playing near the stern but she came in because she was feeling the cold and William is napping."

Jane nodded, Tarzan and Annabelle had both found it difficult adjusting to the dropping temperatures and she made a note that they would have to get some more suitable winter clothing when they arrived in London. Even she found it strange experiencing the cold, wet weather again after years of living near the Equator. But in some ways she liked the freshness of it after years of high humidity and scorching sun. It was as if the wind was blowing away the inner cobwebs of her body and mind.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr and Mrs Porter," Captain Gerald said as he came over and stood alongside them at the bow. He took out a cigarette case from his coat pocket and before he proceeded to light one with a match he looked to Jane for permission, as etiquette dictated. Jane nodded, she was not a fan of smoking but he was the captain and this was his ship, he had every right to do as he pleased. Captain Gerald lit his cigarette and took a long drag, enjoying the taste of the tobacco.

"Everything alright Captain?" Tarzan asked as he watched the Captain smoke. He never wanted to try it but he did like to watch whenever the crew blew smoke rings.

"We're on course, we should be approaching Brest by tomorrow and then Calais in a couple more days. But you should all stay inside tonight."

"Why's that Captain?" Jane asked.

"I have been at sea since I was 14 Mrs Porter and I know when a big storm is coming," Captain Gerald used his cigarette to point out the brooding grey clouds and the dark waters becoming slightly more choppy.

"Are we going to be alright?" Jane asked uneasily.

"Don't worry Mrs Porter, the Zephyr is a tough old vessel," Captain Gerald reassured the nervous couple. "She will plough through it. Just make sure you and the children don't go out on deck. Now if you would excuse me, I'd better tend to my duties in the cockpit." The captain finished his cigarette and ground the butt under the heel of his shoe before walking away, leaving Jane and Tarzan to watch the dark storm clouds ominously encroaching the grey sky.

Sure enough, Captain Gerald was right. That evening the Zephyr sailed into a pretty nasty storm. Heavy rain lashed against the hull, the wind howled so loudly that sounded as if it threatened to tear the ship apart! The unforgiving wind and rain was interspersed with deep rumbles of thunder and brilliant flashes of lightning, which seemed to the Porters truly ominous. But Captain Gerald claimed that he had sailed through far worse, Annabelle's eyes widening when he claimed to have sailed over waves nearly 50 feet high! The ship rocked and rolled with the huge rough waves and everyone, including all the crew stayed inside.

Tarzan returned to his and Jane's cabin after using the lavatory and saw his wife playing a game of Patience on the small square table, the remnants of their dinner of corn beef hash stacked to one side. "Good game?" he asked as he saw that his wife was pondering hard over her next move.

"Stuck," she replied and made a smile. Tarzan came over and leaned over her shoulder from behind, looking at the cards.

"Well if you move the six, you can get the queen and put it there and that allows you to turn that card over."

"Oh thanks Tarzan! Well done!" Jane smiled as she did what he suggested and became unstuck.

"Where's William?" Tarzan asked as Jane finished off her game, noticing that the cot was not in their cabin.

"He's in Daddy's room tonight. Anna's asleep in her cabin and Daddy offered to babysit so I jumped at the opportunity… fancy a game of cards?"

"Sure, which one do you wanna play? Wist? Old Maid?"

"Don't mind, I was thinking War though. Just for a change," Jane smiled and raised her eyebrow. Tarzan grinned and sat down at the table opposite her as she expertly shuffled the deck. She then dealt them 26 cards each, face down. She couldn't help blushing and giggling as Tarzan watched her deal, his green eyes intensely observing her nimble fingers slide the cards across to him.

"You place your top card face up and whoever is the highest wins those two cards," she said and Tarzan did as he was told. He had a 5 of Spades but when Jane turns her card over he saw that hers was a Queen of Diamonds.

"Looks like I'm off to a head start!" Jane teased as she playfully took the two cards and placed them in her points pile.

"Don't speak too soon, I will beat you Jane."

"We'll see," Jane purred as they began to play War.

The couple played with a great, tense energy, regularly calling War and winning each other's cards. It was a close match, with Tarzan slightly ahead of Jane. As she played her cards, she took in the shadows of his strong, defined muscles through the fabric of his shirt and she felt something that she had not felt for a long time. Arousal. Desire.

She didn't know if it was the storm raging outside or her corset being too tight but her heart was beating faster and her body was hungry for his. Her body had fasted like a monk during Lent and now she was yearning for him, ready to taste him once more. Suddenly the ship lurched and all the cards flew off the table and onto the floor. Tarzan cursed and knelt down to pick one up but was stopped by Jane's naked foot pinning it down. Tarzan saw the slit in his wife's skirt showing her long golden leg and his eyes followed it up to her face.

"We can play another round," he said as Jane began to circle his hand with the tips of her toes.

"No…" Jane's voice was breathy and a rumble of thunder sounded outside their cabin. "I fancy a different game."

"Pity… I had a winning hand," Tarzan remarked, his lips forming into a sexy grin. His hand ran up the inside of her leg, revelling in the smoothness of her skin. His eyes lit up as he could feel that she was not wearing any drawers. Jane leaned down to kiss him and her lips gently caressed his. Tarzan responded strongly and Jane snaked her tongue into his mouth. They had not kissed like this for such a long time. They had only recently been sharing affectionate pecks; but this one was filled with a quiet passion and a pent up sexual energy. Jane bit his lower lip and then their kissing became faster, deeper and more passionate, with Tarzan stroking her legs.

Tarzan suddenly stood up and grabbed Jane, picking her up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist, her hands clasping the back of his neck. He moved them away from the table and in a few hasty strides he almost slammed her back against the hull wall of their room. Jane panted as he greedily caressed her lips, neck and collarbone after she managed to unbutton her blouse. Tarzan pulled the blouse off her and then unhooked the busk of her corset, exposing her round golden breasts. He aggressively tossed the garments across the room before going back to kiss and massage her breasts, still swollen with milk.

Jane groaned at his kisses, her heart beating faster and faster, getting more and more desperate for him to make love to her. She could feel his hardness through his trousers and she grabbed onto his braces to pull him closer. Tarzan moved his hand down, roughly pulling up her skirt, desperate to get to her sex. His fingers went in between her legs and felt that she was ready for him. Jane almost manically pulled down his braces and ripped open his shirt. Shirt buttons flew and bounced across the floor whilst he undid his fly, desperate to get inside her. She was like the rumbling thunder, dark and brooding, begging to be fulfilled.

She emitted a loud gasp of shock as well as pleasure when Tarzan finally entered her. It had been so long since they last made love that she had almost forgotten at how well endowed he was, the feeling of him being inside her. Tarzan also made a low satisfied groan. It felt so good, better than ever. His wife's sex felt just as tight as it did when they made love for the first time.

He thrust his hips, gaining speed quickly whilst his hands clasped his wife soft buttocks, his lips locked onto her breasts. Jane panted wildly, gasping and moaning in ecstasy as she ran her fingernails up and down her husband's back, lightly scratching the skin. Tarzan groaned loudly and that made Jane dig her nails in a little deeper into his shoulder blades. They had not had sex since she got pregnant with William, her extreme morning sickness being a good libido killer. It was like spring had finally awoken in her body after a long, harsh winter and the unbelievable sting of pleasure was rushing through her like never before.

"Wait, don't get there already," Tarzan panted, surprised at how quickly Jane was close to orgasm. She normally had no trouble climaxing but she usually took a little more time to get there than that. He released her, put her down and then roughly turned her around so that she was facing the hull. Jane slammed her hands on the cool metal wall and spread her legs wide so that Tarzan could take her from behind. She felt as wild as the storm raging outside and her hot breath misted up the porthole window as her husband pulled up her skirt and continued to thrust with great force.

"OOOOOHHHHH TTTTAARRRZZAANNN! OOOHHH JJESSUSS CCHHRISTT!" she cried as Tarzan grunted and groaned, his fingers teasing and massaging her bud. She was so close, he was close, both so close. A huge flash of lightning lit up the cabin, making everything an unnatural silvery blue. Its deafening strike masked Tarzan's groans and Jane's screaming as they climaxed together in one, amazingly passionate, almost animalistic coupling. They collapsed in a heap on the floor, utterly exhausted as the storm continued to rage outside.

They panted and gasped for a bit and then Jane started to giggle and before they knew it they were both laughing almost hysterically as another bout of thunder rumbled outside.

"I hope we weren't too loud!" she laughed, running her fingers through her damp sweaty hair.

"Give the crew something to talk about over breakfast I bet!" Tarzan chuckled, "So… who was the winner in that game?"

"I think it's too close to call… I'd say it was a tie," Jane smiled, a wickedly playful glint still in her eye.

"Well we need to decide a winner… so… shall we play another round?"

Jane didn't even need to think twice! She laid down on the wooden floor as Tarzan started to kiss her body from head to toe and soon enough he was ready to go again. They made love several times that night until they could do it no more. Jane never felt so happy, she felt like she was getting back to her old self again. She was reconnecting with her husband, emotionally as well as physically. She was not just a mother to a daughter and young baby son, she was a wife and a lover too. Her marriage was back on course just like the Zephyr as it made its way through the rough, daunting seas to England.