It was just a simple declaration. Simple enough, straightforward, and easy to understand. And yet it echoed again and again through Jack's mind.
'I'm afraid I don't want to leave here the way I came.'
Of course not. And no matter what he did, it would be his fault. It would be he who had seduced her, or he who had rejected her, or any and all combinations thereof which would make him the evil party.
"Jack," she spoke, looking at him over the fire, her skin glowing.
He didn't turn towards her or acknowledge that she had spoken. Would it really be so bad? Would it really be that big of a production to take Elizabeth Turner on the sandy floor of a cave in God-knows-where?
Would it?
"Jack," she said again, cocking her head to the side, confused as to why he hadn't responded.
His mind raced to Will's last moments. Will, lying there on the ship's deck as the life flowed from his body. Elizabeth, cradling his head in her arms, screaming for it to stop. Jack pulling her from the scene, clutching her to him to shield her as he himself watched Will's face contort and struggle to take his last breath. It was horrible, and he would never be able to erase it.
"I didn't mean today, Jack," she said, her voice lightly teasing.
He responded, emptying his mind of the vivid imagery of Will.
"I know." He turned his head, deciding he would not think about it any more. Not today.
"I'm sorry I keep coming back to this. A very unattractive quality in a woman, I might add."
He turned towards her, and spoke. "How do you mean?"
Her eyes met his, and she shrugged as she then looked at the cave wall. "I mean…having a woman who keeps talking about the same thing over and over-"
"I find it most attractive, Elizabeth," he said, his eyes flat and serious.
He paused until she was looking at him, then continued. "I find it most attractive when a woman tells me what she wants."
It was Elizabeth who was uneasy now, as she felt the newly familiar stirring deep in her belly start up again. He was so direct it was…disarming…
"I find it terribly attractive when a woman tells me she wants to give herself to me."
He turned back to the fire. "Any man would."
The crackle of the fire seemed twenty times louder than it actually was, and again Elizabeth realized how they were so very alone here. That she could do this, give herself to him, and he could show her how to make love as he'd done many times before. That it could be easy, and permanent, and somehow not wrong at all. That she'd be safe with him, no matter what happened to them. That she wanted to believe all these things.
The world seemed to melt away moment by moment in her mind until there was nothing left except her and Jack.
"Elizabeth-," he started as he moved towards her slowly.
"I don't know how long we'll be here. I have no idea. And this time, I'm afraid I can't think of a quick fix to get us off, savvy?"
She shook her head.
"But all I can think of in this moment is how much I want to kiss you again."
Her breath left her body in a silent whoosh. She turned to face him as he moved closer to her, an inch at a time. Her mind was finally tired from imagining every possible angle. She was exhausted, physically and mentally. And more than anything, she just needed to connect; to feel someone there with her. He moved until he was less than a foot away.
"No regrets?," he asked her slowly as he sat next to her, touching her neck gently.
She closed her eyes as she leaned in to him. "Not a single one."