Just a warm, snuggly blanket of future fluff for your Saturday reading…
There is little sound to be heard beyond the occasional drip of wax hitting wood, tiny sparks popping from the near burnt down wick by their bedside. Shadows from the flame dance along the planes of her back, golden waves caressing the ivory curves. He can't help but wonder if she is in fact an angel, a guardian sent to guide him towards the light, this perfect creature who chose to stay once her mission was fulfilled. From all he's seen, he can't rightly disregard the possibility.
Her skin is still warm to the touch, the flush of spent passion lingering beneath his fingertips along her spine. Pressing his palm flat, he lets his hand rise and fall with her deep breaths of slumber, hoping not to wake her with his need to touch. He rarely falls asleep first, not wanting to miss the moment she succumbs. There is something intoxicating, fulfilling, knowing he is the one she has chosen to share her life, to share her bed and her home. In breaking down her walls, she exposed his, helped him see that he is worthy, that he can hope and dream and want the life she's offering. Ever the pirate, he has taken it.
His treasures are no longer of silver and gold, rubies or emeralds, unless you count the sparkling green of her eyes or the kiss swollen red of her lips. His bounty is now made up of moments, this one no less spectacular than the last. A pirate captain who once craved adventure, now marks his conquests by days free from harm, nights such as this with soft breaths and hands reaching towards him in sleep.
The last flicker of the candle sputters out and he closes his eyes, his hand curving about her waist as he places a soft kiss to her forehead facing him on their shared pillow. She stirs only slightly, her arm tightening around his scarred wrist she has cradled against her side. The action threatens to unravel him, tears of unbidden happiness prickling at the corner of his eyelids at her utter acceptance of all that he is, all that he was, all that he has yet to become.
Having been granted a second chance by the Gods themselves, he reaffirms his vow to be the man they saw, the man she helped reawaken from his slumber. As his body relaxes, he knows his heart is wide awake, his soul cleansed along with the lives saved by his actions below. As sleep pulls him in its grasp, he whispers his love for her into her hair, hoping she will hear the words somewhere in her dreams.