Chapter 66
Explorers

Whenever Eli came by one of those couples' outdoors make-out session, her reaction always followed the same schema of emotions. First surprise, a split second later, curiosity and even less than a fraction of that time to feel disgust taking over her in a spasm of repulse. Squishy, squashy sounds of the tongues' wrestling reaching her ears, she'd soon avert her gaze while her face displayed an outraged, nauseated wince.

With a deep moan, Eli arched her hips a bit more, feeling a heat wave washing over her as her pounding desire chaffed along Ace's hardness.

The electrifying surprise that had struck the girl the moment Ace's lips had made contact with hers had quickly vanished along with the rest of her. She had felt herself melting under his kisses, and, without breaking the exciting connection, the two explorers had slowly slid down on the ground for a more pleasurable position. Ace was sitting on the soft ground and Eli was straddling the young man's hips.

And then, it had came to her like an epiphany, the flame user had slipped his tongue inside of the girl's mouth and, as shivers of delight shook her body, the reason why the idiotic lovebirds' mouths seemed like glued together became an evidence; how one could manage snapping off this exquisite touch ?

Her fingers waving through the silky wisps of hair falling on his nape, Eli felt shivers racing underneath the flame user's skin.

The chronicler had no idea how long it had been since they had entered the forest. Her mind roughly evaluated the lapse of time between a few minutes and a long and delicious eternity. After all, it didn't matter. All things that might have been considered as significant before seemed now rather distant from the place where Eli and Ace were. Time was a blurry and useless notion and words had been replaced by moans and whines. The only thing that seemed to be of importance at that moment was to give and take as much pleasure as possible.

For their exploration, Ace was evidently the leader and Eli had let herself follow him obediently, eager to learn from his experience. But the girl was a quick learner and, during this voyage where instincts were the key of success, she didn't wait too long before acting on her own.

It was a dance for which the tempo to follow was directed by a voice in the back of one's head.

Eli let her tongue caress Ace's, slowly, almost sluggishly, before pushing it with more force. It would go lax for a moment, tasting the flame user's mouth, feeling his wet flesh gliding along her own, and while she soaked in his luscious heat, the girl inhaled deeply to fill her whole self with his familiar scent.

It was a tune that Eli would never grow tired of.

With his wet kisses, Ace's warmth was covering her from the surface of her skin to the depth of her womanhood and, as these heat waves washed over her with a delightful randomness, a different Eli was awakened; a hungry Eli, a lustful Eli. So close to him that she could feel his hard heartbeats against her chest, she felt sensual, desirable and, for the first time of her life, Eli felt beautiful.

Her skin was tinkling all over her restless body. She wanted to curl and flex, hunch and arc, she wanted to fill the burning hollowness aroused by his touch... That fire was pushing her boundaries further and further with every passing heartbeat. Somewhere in the haze lingering in her mind, she knew it wasn't the first time, but this time alcohol wasn't the reason for such a release. Like never before, the girl felt sexual and, if her mind was intoxicated, it was because of him. Tasting Ace's kisses, Eli reckoned that the most exquisite liquors would hardly be in the same league as the fiery young man.

A low groan left his throat as Ace sucked on the girl's tongue, eliciting little moans from her with every dawdling suction.

Letting herself be carried by the song that only she and Ace could hear, Eli's hands traveled on his body. Her eyes were closed and, like a blind, she was using the sensitive skin of her fingertips to prospect every muscle of his chiseled chest. They crept up and down, passing by and back on his heated skin as if they were walking upon a conquered land. After all, he was; Ace was hers just like she was his.

The girl was immersing herself completely into the delicacies that the flame user's body offered her, Ace, however, was almost well behaved. His upper body resting on his arms, his hands were firmly planted into the soft ground. His lips and tongue were doing things Eli wouldn't dare to mouth, his body was burning and hardening under her touch, but his hands kept their distance.

Why ?

Eli's eyes fluttered open as she pulled back slowly. The contact broke and cold caressed her wet lips. Unbearable, the tiny distance was soon closed as she took Ace's bottom lip between hers and lightly sucked on his warm flesh. In her half lidded field of vision, obsidian orbs appeared. He was looking at her, deeper that anyone before. Green reflecting in gleaming blackness, a burst of energy ran up the girl's body, her every muscle tensed and loosened on its course until it reached her mouth, which released as a whine slipped through her swollen lips.

He was exciting, he was intoxicating, he was maddening, and Eli wanted more, she was starving for more.

"Freckles..." she called out in a breath.

Something exciting flickered in Ace's eyes upon hearing the girl's voice. That voice that was unknown to her. It was hers though, and it felt as if it has always been hers. But it was the very first time she had let it speak. Languid and sulfurous, the chronicler would have been surprised if she wasn't so dazed by the marvelous sensation swelling inside of her.

Exquisite, a force was taking the control of her body. Her hands fetishizing on his body, she could feel the flame user's desire underneath his tanned skin. She could feel it pressed against the lust that throbbed between her legs. She could see it smoldering in the dark depth of his eyes. It was fighting his with tight restraints and her mind was focused on one and only one purpose; tear these bonds to shreds and unleash the young man's passion.

Reluctantly, she pulled away and lifted her hands to the clips of her dungarees' straps. A metallic noise made its way to her ears as she unfastened the first strap, and Ace swallowed dryly. Her eyes locked on his, her heartbeats pulsated with more force and speed as her hands moved to the other clip, making it harder to command her fingers. Out of anxiety, her head dropped, as did her clothing.

Her messy bangs were shielding her eyes from the young man's and, as she watched the flimsy fabric of her swimsuit tightly fitted around small breasts, she wondered if he watched them too. Did he like what he saw ? Could he see how excited she was ? Did he know how much she yearned for him to take those small growths with his hot lips...?

With a short intake of air, Eli lifted her hands again to unbutton her small tube top and expose herself completely to the man who was setting her body aflame. But as her fingertips brushed against the first button, large hands captured hers and Eli's face slowly raised toward Ace's.

"Touch me..." she said quietly, almost pleadingly, as she gazed at his face, which was flushed almost as much as hers.

His hold on her hands tightened and Eli closed her eyes feeling a thrill as a light and warm touch brushed against the acutely sensitive flesh of her breast.

"I- I... That's not a.. good idea," he said, and as she watched his lips moving, Eli sucked hers, feeling the need of his kisses swelling inside of her flesh.

The jade of her half lidded eyes was electrifying as Eli pushed her face in his direction. Ace let an agonizing sigh escape his mouth before releasing the girl's slender fingers and settling his hands on her hips. His hands, his large and warm hands... the girl could only fancy about what they could do to her body four years after their first clumsy intercourse. Eli invitingly arched her hips, as the air around her grew a little hotter. The girl wrapped her arms around his neck and, just like her lips on his mouth, she pressed her chest on his, the shift of her weight on him making the pirate lay on his back slowly.

Her forearms framing his head, Eli lavished Ace's lips with sluggish kisses, feeling the young man's hot breath flowing from his parted lips into her mouth. She traced the small opening with her tongue, her eyes diving deeply into his.

He was more than a drug, he was in the air she breathed, and he was flowing through her veins along with her boiling blood. He was all her eyes could see, the only scent she could smell and the only thing she wanted her skin to touch.

Ace opened his mouth and Eli slid her fingers in his hair, running in his mane like her tongue along his. A groan resonated through his throat as the girl sucked on his tongue just like he did several whines ago and, with every suction, the hollowness burning inside off her grew unbearable. Supplicating moans floated through the air as she rolled her hips against his while, in her mind, Eli wished and longed for Ace to fill the vibrant void pounding in the confines of her womanhood.

His grip on her hips tightened, his hot fingertips digging into her skin; he was restraining her movements.

"Why...?" she breathed against his mouth and bit his bottom lip hungrily.

His strong hold lessened but did not disperse. Ace took a deep intake of air before swallowing hard.

"You'll flee," he breathed.

What...?

"If we go too fast, you'll run away."

Too fast...? The languish fire burning inside of her morphed and burst inside of her chest, easing her heartbeats on its path. Without her consent, a smirk crept on the girl's lips and Ace stared at her, a gleam of surprise in his dark eyes.

"What a strange choice of word." Eli rested her hands on his chest and lifted her upper body. "Don't you know ?" Her smile grew a little more wicked as the girl sat up comfortably on his hips and let her fingertips slowly slide down his delicious bare chest. "Nothing is, or will ever be, too fast for me."

As her fingers brushed against the rim of his shorts, Ace's eyes grew wide. Staring at him, Eli took the buckle of his belt in her hand and unfastened the clip without an ounce of doubt. A malicious glimmer fluttered in her eyes as she pulled the leather band slowly and regularly. With a gasp, the flame user covered his face with his hands, muttering behind his greeted teeth, which only made the playful girl chuckle.

The countless fantasies she had had of him only pushing her forward, she threw his belt away and reached for his fly. Eli was very serious with her plan of unbuttoning his shorts when she heard a little cry coming from her left. Puzzled, she turned her head around in search for the source while her fingers remained under the thick fabric, very close to Ace's arousal.

What the...

Her eyes widened on the spot as they set on the most adorable creature she had ever seen. A fox, a little fox, white and fluffy just like the clouds he was standing on. His eyes appeared close and he had a long, thin nose.

"Suu~ ?"

And the sweetest voice in the whole wide world.

Utterly infatuated, Eli scrambled in his direction and the fox briskly turned around as she approached.

"WAIT !" The girl stood up and followed the fox's fluffy tail swaying oh so charmingly.

As she ran through the forest behind the mysterious animal, Eli's dungarees slid down along her legs, almost making her fall. Muttering and frowning, she pulled the piece of clothing up and attached the straps, while not losing the fox's sight.

As they burst out of the forest, the whiteness of her new surroundings blinded her on the spot. Squeezing her eyelids rapidly, Eli saw a human figure appearing in her hazy field of vision.

"Heso, pardon me." It was a man. "Are you a pirate ?"

Average height, he was almost bald if it wasn't for two sort of brown, hairy antennas sticking upward from the top of his head. A round bear was covering his mouth entirely and his eyes were closed, just like the fox. He wore a yellow and light brown robe long enough to cover his knees. The man also had white wings on his back, which led Eli to believe he was a sky-lander.

"Pardon me, my name is Pagaya," he said, through his thick, brown beard.

If he was a sky-lander, he didn't seem as dangerous as the first one the pirates had met.

"Ah, yes." Eli snapped out of her observation and crouched to gaze at the little fox hiding behind the man's legs. "I'm pirate. You can call me Eli, cutie-cutie-cutie~" she said with a childish voice, moving her fingers in front of the scared animal.

"Oh, this is Suu," the man said looking at his pet.

"Owwwwwww~" Eli eyes turned into hearts as she clasped her hands to her face. "Suu ! How cute !" She raised her head upward to look at Pagaya. "Can I hold him ?"

"I'm not sure..." A fist lifted to his mouth the sky-lander cleared his throat with embarrassment. "Pardon me, but your friends asked me to look for you."

"Friends ?"

"Yes. Your crewmates are in a terrible danger," he said, and looked around apparently in search for something. "But, your captain told me there would be two persons... Pardon me."

The fear that had spread through the pirate girl's blood upon hearing the words 'terrible' and 'danger' so close to 'crewmates' was quickly washed away at the mention of a missing person... The second person she was supposed to be with. The person she had completely forgotten the moment her eyes met with the cloudy fox. The person she was, quite outrageously, making out with just a few minutes ago...

Damn ! Ace... A sharp wrench of guilt on her guts, Eli bit her bottom lip nervously.

He would be mad. He would be beyond mad. The black-haired pirate was probably already burning every tree he could see... if he was able to use his flames again... A nervous laugh seized her as she pictured Ace fruitlessly trying to set the forest aflame, Pagaya looked at the girl rightly puzzled because of her odd reaction.

"Pardon me but-" The sky-lander startled as Eli fell on her side holding her stomach from the pain of her laughing fit. "This is very serious..."

Focus ! she ordered herself, remembering that her friends were possibly in danger. Her fit quickly died out and Eli stood up.

"I'll be right back," she said, as she walked in the direction of the forest. "Please, wait here."

I didn't take her long enough to spot Ace in the forest. He was sitting on the ground, his back facing her. Eli hid behind a tree, while observing the young man as he slid his belt around his shorts. From where she was, she couldn't see his face, but the girl was sure it didn't look pretty. She could quite perfectly picture his dark brows furrowed in a heavy frown while the corners of his lips crooked down.

Staring at his nape partly hidden behind shaggy wisps of dark hair, the girl wondered how she could excuse herself and, with every passing second, the possibilities multiplied in her mind in a complete, unmanageable chaos. With a deep intake of air, Eli ruffled her mane rapidly to clear her mind, and breathed out slowly to unwind her tight insides.

"Hey-"

Ace's head snapped around and, in spite of being very prepared to face his furious glare, the girl startled the moment his burning eyes met with hers.

With a sheepish laugh, she slowly walked in his direction and sat on her feet next to him. Playing nervously with the tip of her fingers, she stared down. Many apologies were flowing on her mind yet her lips were still, tightly pursed as she feared that a wrong word might fan the flames of his anger. But she has to say something, and so, while observing blindly her fingers, Eli opened her mouth.

"Listen, I-"

"No, YOU listen," Ace interrupted. "You can't do this, you just... CAN'T !" He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him and Eli bit her bottom lip when her eyes met with furious ones. "You understand ?"

She opened her mouth once more, only to find that now her voice was gone. Slowly, she swallowed air and tried again.

"I'm sorry but..." Eli lifted her hands and curled her fingers around his. "Did you see him ? He was so cute..."

Her puppy jade eyes only faced dark and boiling ones. Apparently Ace did not understand, or estimate that the girl's plea was legitimate. Grabbing her wrists, he pinned Eli on the soft ground, a gasp escaping her mouth as he pushed his heavy chest on hers.

"Do you know for how long I've been waiting for this, Eli ?" His voice was dangerous, and so were his eyes.

"Do you have any idea how painful it was to restrain myself, Eli ?"

Yes, she did.

"I knew you would flee," he said harshly, giving his head a brutal shake as he spoke. "I knew it and you-"

"I didn't flee," Eli stated calmly.

"What ?"

"I didn't flee," she repeated a bit louder. "I saw a cute animal and I followed it."

"Are you kidding me, Eli ?"

"I'm not... That's who I am." She sighed and Ace's grip on her wrists loosened. "That was always who I was and you knew it, from the beginning."

The young man's expression was uncertain; while his gaze was sharp, his mouth was slightly agape. Averting her eyes, Ace sat up and lifted a hand to his hair while the other clutched on the soft ground.

"You..." he snarled but never finished his sentence. Briskly, he grabbed his mane, looking like he needed to hold something.

If Ace's gaze was elusive, Eli's was firm. Slowly, she sat up as well and once more curled her thin fingers around his fist clenched on the ground, a gentle feeling arising from where her palms were as she felt his tensed muscles loosening within her embrace. As the warmth spreading from her hands told her to speak what her heart murmured, the girl shifted a little closer to the man she loved.

"I won't change, Ace." Eli's tone of voice was sweet and strong at the same time for she was sure of her words and only spoke the truth. "I won't flee, but I won't change who I am."

A soft smile settled on her lips as Eli lifted a hand to his freckled cheek; she knew he'd understand. She felt lighter then, she felt true, and as she let her thumb caress his skin tenderly, the girl felt more in love with him than ever before.

"Okay ?" Her voice was shinning with all of her affection for the young man as she dove deeply in the blackness of his shining orbs.

"Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of kid." As Ace rolled his eyes away, once again averting her loving gaze, his sullen mood making Eli's smile grew larger.

"I know you're not." Out of love, she kissed his freckles. "I'm sorry." She placed a kiss on the crooked corner of his lips. "Don't be mad," she whispered against his mouth.

Their roles seemed so undefined during their interactions. He was acting childishly when she wasn't. He was restraining himself when she wound up. And now that she was sweet and tender, Eli found herself, once again, pushed down by the young man in a flicker of flame. But this time, it wasn't anger that was burning in the depth of his eyes.

Lust.

For a few hard heartbeats, a heated haze blurred her vision as Ace was looming over her, a dangerous aura emanating from his body suddenly becoming several degrees hotter. One of his hands slid up her nape to plunge into her messy hair while the other moved down along her arm, firmly pressed against her pale skin. His dark eyes gazing at her intensely, Eli felt her thoughts melting within his intoxicating heat; her friends and the possible danger they were in grew distant, almost out of her reach.

Moving onto her waist exposed by the wide gap of her dungarees, Ace's fingers traced a hot path up her chest, strangled moans escaping Eli's mouth as his burning touch reached the side of a breast. Involuntary, she rolled her head backward, exposing her neck to the young man.

As the eye contact broke, the urgency of the pirates' situation tingled in her mind. She had to tell him... if only she could find her voice.

In a breath, the flame user lowered his head and nipped hungrily on her skin, leaving a hot and wet trail as his mouth crept toward hers. Grasping tightly the back of Eli's head, he pushed her lips on his. They were moving deliciously on her rosy skin and the girl didn't made him wait long before opening her wanting mouth.

Ace's passionate kiss felt like a delicious invasion. Strong and sly, his tongue pushed and nudged hers, bold and never rough; Eli shuddered against his hard body. The restraints that had been holding him back previously were a thing of the past and long forgotten. Unleashed, the young man's hands mapped her body freely and Eli offered herself completely. An agonizing moan flew from her mouth as his fingers slipped under the fabric of her swimsuit to squeeze her breast tenderly. Searing were her thoughts and so was her skin upon the path of his large hands.

And these eyes, these deep eyes, Eli couldn't close hers as they were mesmerized by Ace's black eyes. Feebly, her fingers blindly crept up his arms and tightly curled around his strong muscles; she had to stop him, she had to tell him.

Ace wrapped one of her leg around his waist and, with a groan, thrust his hips into hers.

"Wait...!" she whined lustily, finally finding her voice with the forceful burst of energy.

But if her voice was back, her mind was still wavering and, with another hard thrust, Eli saw blank for a split heartbeat.

Impossible dilemma, she wanted this, she wanted this for so long now, so strongly, so furiously. Her emptiness had awakened again, stirring, sizzling, and this time, Ace was ready to fulfill her desire. His mouth ravishing hers, his hands roaming over her needy skin, the roll of his hips into hers... He was driving her insane.

Eli squeezed eyelids shut and took a deep intake of burning air while her nails dug deeper into the tanned skin of his arms.

"Luffy !" she gasped, freezing the flame user on the spot.

There was a moment of silence then. Ace was immobile, not even breathing, while Eli was panting hard, her body still shaken as shivers of desire raced under her skin.

"WHAT !" he finally yelled, fire and ice spreading in the air with his screech.

With a hard swallow, Eli settled her green eyes on dark, bewildered ones. "Luffy and... everyone..." Another gulp. "They're in danger."

Oddly, Ace seemed extremely relieved then. He breathed out deeply while running a hand through his shaggy hair. As he sat up, Eli felt perturbed when she heard him laugh...

Timing.

Timing has always been a problem between the two lovers. But somehow, the frustration of being interrupted once more was lessened as they both knew that there would be another time they could finally satisfy their desires, for they had a whole life before them.

to be continued

Beta by Fox MC.

Gotta love the end.
I didn't plan it. It is one of those things that come to me just like that and I totally burst in laughter the moment my fingers typed "Luffy !"

I like lustful Eli and I like lustful Ace even more :)

So many of you asked for the 'exploration'. I hope you're not disappointed ! Please tell me, I'm starving for your reactions !

Oh and Suu ! Did you forget about the little fox ? I didn't, he is my favorite, favorite, favorite animal in One Piece. Well, now I prefer the south bird... But before I gave the south bird a name and personality, Suu was my favorite :)

See you on Monday~

You can go read Twig 17 now :)

Little note : I have a deviantart account now ! (link on my profile)