Miss Anya...I know that I would not be able to restrain myself ;-) Will would never have to know :-) Thanks for the review. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long to see what happens with Jack.

Vipera berus...Thanks for the review! Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I have to keep y'all coming back for more somehow ;-) Glad you're enjoying :-)

Drink up me 'earties! Yo Ho!

Chapter Nine

Just as Jack thought that all hope was gone, he saw a faint light in the distance. Please, he thought to himself, please let it be her! Jack began to row hard in the direction of the light. It didn't take him long to see that it was The Pearl. He had not felt such joy and relief since he had seen Will push through the crowd that day he was to be hung.

Soon Jack was being pulled out of the ocean and on deck by several of his best crewmembers.

"Welcome back Captain Sparrow," Anamaria greeted him.

"Thank you," he said. Quickly dismissing the other crewmembers by asking them to take care of the small rowboat, he turned back to Anamaria. "Think you kept me waiting long enough?" His voice was angry. "I've been at sea for a bloody long time waiting on you."

"Worried that I wouldn't be back to get you?" she asked, an odd smile playing across her lips.

"No," Jack retorted, not wanting her to know how worried he really had been, but still mad that she would keep him waiting. "Ok, maybe. Where the 'ell 'ave you been?" He gestured wildly with his hands.

"I'm sorry, things have been hectic, we got here as soon as we could."

"Hectic! How hectic could they 'ave been? You were supposed to sail out and wait for me. Nothing more, nothing less. Just keep the ship safe," Jack was not in the mood for excuses.

"And I did," Anamaria said, gesturing at her surroundings.

Jack shook his head. "If you ever keep me waiting like that again..."

She cut him off, "Then what? If I hadn't decided to come back and get you then what would you have done? That is what you did to me after all, isn't it?"

"I told you I was sorry for that. I came back for you eventually," Jack said.

"Eventually," Anamaria repeated sarcastically.

"Yes eventually."

"I'm sorry we ran late," she paused, dropping her head and then looking back up at Jack. "A few hours after we dropped you off, one of Norrington's ships got a hold of us. I thought we were far enough out, but I must have miscalculated somehow. Our sails were down so we couldn't outrun them. We had to fight."

"What happened?" he asked. Jack was both surprised and slightly disappointed that Anamaria had allowed a Navy ship to catch them so fast. He had warned her they would be on the lookout for him at this time of year.

"Fortunately, they were a much smaller ship running a skeleton crew. We sunk her."

Jack sighed, bringing his hands to his face to rub his forehead.

"None of the crew wanted to turn pirate. Some of them were shot, but most of them drowned." Anamaria's voice had become softer. She had dreaded telling Jack of the casualties.

He nodded slowly, thinking to himself. "Norrington will want our heads if he finds out it was us."

"I'm relatively sure he won't find out Captain."

"If anyone reports seeing me in the city, he will know it was us," Jack said. "We'll have to double our efforts to stay out of his way. Will said he's making a campaign of clearing the Caribbean of pirates. Apparently he thinks he has something to prove."

"Well, as I see it," Anamaria commented, "we have a few days before the ship turns up missing. They could have been caught in a storm, had a malfunction, anything."

"Yes, but if someone saw me, Norrington will know what really happened. We have to get clear of the port tonight."

"Do you want to take control?" she asked.

"No, I think you can handle it," Jack said, surprising her. "I'm going to retire to my cabin for the evening."

"I'm sorry we kept you waiting Captain," Anamaria apologized. "It won't happen again."

"I hope not," Jack said, turning to go.

For the first time that evening she noticed how clean the pirate was. "What happened to you?" she asked.

Jack almost didn't answer; it was sort of embarrassing to think about having to tell one of his fellow pirates. He decided to give her a one-word answer, "Elizabeth."

"She washed your clothes?"

"And gave me a bath," he said, dejected.

Anamaria began to chuckle, "I bet you enjoyed that way too much."

"It wasn't like that," Jack stated.

"I'm surprised Will allowed it."

"He was at work."

"Oh, that explains it," Anamaria laughed.

"It wasn't like that," Jack insisted again.

"It's ok Jack, I really don't want to know. I'll come by your cabin once we drop anchor and let you know that we've stopped for the evening."

"That will be fine," Jack said, slowly walking away.

A little over an hour later, Jack heard the knock that he was expecting at his door. He had already taken off his hat, boots and sash for the evening, but he no longer felt uncomfortable meeting Anamaria in only his shirt and pants.

"Captain," she said, greeting him.

"Anamaria," he said, stepping to the side to allow her to enter the room.

She came in, closing the door behind her. "We've dropped anchor. I think we should be fine until early morning. If you want, I'll get up early and weigh anchor…"

"No, that's alright. You've done a fine job, as long as you never keep me waiting that long again on my ship. I'll get up early and take care of 'er." he said, handing her a new bottle of rum. His temper had cooled a good bit and he was no longer mad at her as he had been before.

Anamaria took the bottle, looking at it for a moment, "Where do you get all of this stuff from?"

"It's always good to keep a healthy stash."

"Right. I am sorry that we were late. As I told you before, it won't happen again." She took another look at the bottle and decided to pop the cork after all and begin drinking.

Jack sat down on his bed and she sat beside him.

"How are our friends in Port Royal?" she asked.

"They're doing just fine. Married now," Jack started.

"Of course," Anamaria added.

"Will owns the smithy and Elizabeth is pregnant," he finished.

"Wow." That last little piece of news surprised Anamaria a bit.

"Yeah, I guess a lot can change in a year, huh?" Jack asked as they both took long drinks from their bottles of rum.

"You actually clean up pretty nicely," Anamaria commented, looking over at him.

Jack stared at her.

"Not sure about the clothes, but I'm definitely glad she gave you a bath," Anamaria said, smiling at him. She took him slightly by surprise, kissing him hard and he reclined on the bed, pulling her on top of him.

"You smell good," she said, sucking hard at his neck.

Jack moaned, enjoying the sensations being created at the hollow of his throat. "Thank you." He ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her up to meet his lips again and then moving to gently nip at her neck with his teeth before pulling her shirt over her head and then removing his own.

Anamaria's hands ran over his well-toned chest as she kissed at his neck and then down to his stomach. She paused to pull off his pants and Jack sighed, feeling her hands begin to caress him. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed the moment, waiting for her to begin kissing him before she lowered herself onto him, but that moment didn't come. At least not right away. The next thing he felt was warm and wet, enveloping him and he opened his eyes in wonder to watch her take him in her mouth.

"Ohhh Ana," he moaned deeply. He was breathing hard now, his breath coming in short gasps. It had been so long since a girl had actually gone down on him that Jack had forgotten how good it felt. Sure, he had paid girls in Tortuga to pleasure him this way. But it was completely different for someone to decide to do it of her own accord and he never would have thought Anamaria would have agreed to it in a million years. However, she was very good at it. He fought to control himself, to make it last as long as possible. His fingers tangled in her hair as he reached to encourage her. He wondered if she knew the effect she was having on him, not only on his body, but on his brain. He had not known she would be so willing to do this for him. Soon he couldn't hold back anymore. He hoped she wouldn't stop, but he felt that he had to let her know what was coming.

"Ana," he said, still holding her head, "I'm going to…"

"Sssh, don't talk Jack," she said, returning to him.

He moaned deeply as she continued to pleasure him until he felt he would burst. Then he came. Ana didn't back off, but continued to lap at him until he could offer her no more. When she was finished, she moved to kiss him again. He kissed her once and then began to feed hungrily at her neck. He knew he was marking her, but for once he didn't care. He pulled himself on top of her and pulled at her pants, ripping them in his effort to remove them as quickly as possible.

"Sorry," he apologized in a heated breath between nips at her neck.

Ana didn't care. "Just get them off," she said to him after a breathy laugh.

He complied, ready to go again. An idea occurred him and he slipped his bandana from his head. He reached for her hands and she allowed him to tie them to his bedpost. He kissed her again and then entered her roughly. She moaned loudly, enjoying the way he was handling her. Now that he was in control, he took the opportunity to truly ravage her body. He took her harder and faster than he had ever had the courage to before, but enjoyed every minute of it. As she climaxed, she begged him not to stop, but to please give her more.

Jack reached to untie her hands and as she was released she switched their positions. She wanted to be on top, to be in control and although she did not bind his hands, Jack laid back and let her be in charge. She handled him just as roughly as he had her and soon they were ravaging each other, biting, sucking, licking and clawing until they both could go no more.

As Jack lay in his bed, Anamaria's head gently resting on his chest, he ran his fingers through her hair until she began to doze off. He knew he was going to have marks from their encounter in the morning. They had both left lasting symbols of their passion on each other's bodies. For Jack, it was a new feeling. He had never in his entire life allowed a girl to mark him the way Ana had. He knew he had claw marks down his back because he could feel them already beginning to sting. He also knew that his neck would be marked for the next few days. She had known what she was doing, but he had let her. Jack had a passion for rough sex, but this night with Ana had set new records and he almost believed she had enjoyed it more than him.

Anamaria woke up alone in Jack's bed the next morning. She was still nude, but Jack had covered her with the sheets when he left. As she moved to sit up, she realized how sore her body was. Maybe she and Jack had been a little too rough last night. Nah she thought it had been wonderful. She looked down at her body and saw several large bruises. It looked like Jack had really had his way with her. But she knew she couldn't blame it all on him, she had been every bit as forceful as he had. Just then Jack entered the room.

"It's good to see you're awake," he commented.

"Yes, just examining my battle wounds," she said, holding her arm out to show him a bruise.

Jack took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her arm. He then reached to touch her jaw, softly turning her head to the side to get a better look at her neck. "You should see your neck," he said, studying it carefully. "Sorry luv, it did get a bit rough, didn't it?" he added, kissing her softly on the lips.

"It's alright, you know I like it that way," she said, pulling at his lip with her teeth before biting it.

Jack smiled into the kiss. She pulled him into the bed with her and the two lay there kissing for a moment before Jack pulled away.

"I've got to get back on deck," he said, giving her one last kiss before getting out of the bed.

"Speaking of marks," Ana said, "you should see your own neck." She laughed.

"Maybe I'll wear me coat," Jack said crossing the room to his closet. Once he had retrieved it, he moved back to the bed, dropping it in front of her.

"Tell me how this looks," Jack said, pulling up his shirt and turning around. "It hurts like bloody 'ell."

"Oh Jack," Ana felt bad instantly. Long red marks were clawed deep into the flesh on his back. She touched one of them softly with her finger and he cringed. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"So it looks as bad as it feels?" he asked.

"I would stay away from direct contact with the ocean for a few days," she commented. She kissed his back as gently as she could.

The sensation made him cringe, but the thought was sweet and Jack enjoyed it despite the pain. He pulled his shirt back down, carefully rewrapping his sash. He then put on his coat, turning the collar up in an attempt to cover his neck. Fortunately his long tangled locks covered most of the marks.

"Better," Ana stated.

"Hurry and get dressed. I need you on deck." Jack left the room.