Thanks, everyone for reading! If you followed or favorited, please drop me a review and let me know what you liked! I love hearing from you all! And again, I'm writing this on an iPad, so if you notice any odd autocorrects, please let me know so I can fix them! -KM-

Chapter 2

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. He sighed, shaking his head. "Swan, if I wanted to take advantage, I'd have let you drink yourself into a stupor at the Rabbit Hole." He reached out his hand to cup her cheek. "I assure you, darling. Where you are concerned, my intentions are entirely honorable. You have my word."

She studied him carefully. "You're not lying."

He held out his hand to her. "Well, now that we're both aware that I've no plans to ravish you tonight, shall we?" She took his hand and allowed him to help her on board, and he chuckled, slightly chagrined when he saw the scene in front of him. "I had nothing to do with this, well, not much. I just asked Ruby to deliver some dinner for us. I had no idea she would..." His voice trailed off as he gestured to the deck.

Emma smiled at his awkwardness, looking head at the blanket spread out on the deck, complete with picnic basket, wine bottle chilling in a bucket, and pillows strewn about for lounging. She looked up and saw the fairy lights dancing around the sail. He followed her gaze and shook his head, sighing. "Swan, I know what that this must look like, and I did not bring you here tonight to seduce you, I swear."

She rested her hand on his arm. "I believe you." She paused for a moment. "And I believe you said something about dinner?'

He motioned her forward and they settled down on the blanket. Hook was relieved to find several bottles of water in the bucket along with the wine and made a mental note to make sure Emma finished at least one before offering her any more alcohol.

He reached into the basket and pulled out a container of fruit, followed by cheese, crackers and salami, and a plate of finger sandwiches. "Ruby is quite the matchmaker."

"Because of sandwiches?" Emma asked skeptically.

Hook gestured to the food. "This is a lovers' meal."

Emma's brow furrowed as she examined the food. "Just looks tasty to me."

"Finger foods. Small pieces." He held out a strawberry to her. "Meant to be fed to one's partner."

Expecting her to reach for the strawberry, his eyes widened as she leaned forward and took the tip into her mouth, her lips brushing lightly against his fingertips. He quickly suppressed the spark of desire that rose within him as she closed her eyes in pleasure, swallowing the bit of berry. He'd sworn to himself that this evening was about what Emma needed, about getting her to eat, relax, and rest, to forget about all the troubles that were constantly pressing on her, but her lips stained with the berry juice looked so damn kissable-

He wrenched his mind away from that train of thought and turned to grab a bottle of water for her. She raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the glass bottle in the bucket. "No wine?"

He gestured to the water. "I want you to relax, love, but I'd prefer you do it sober." She nodded and took a sip of the water, finishing half the bottle in one go as Hook held out the sandwiches. "Looks like we have cheese, turkey, and ham." He gestured to the plate and she snagged a sandwich.

His back to the mast, he looked up at the fairy lights floating around the sail and railings. "I wonder what Ruby told the Blue Fairy to get her to go along with this?"

Emma shrugged. "It was probably Tink. She's got her wings back now."

He nodded in agreement, taking a sandwich for himself and finishing it off in two bites. "Probably. She's more the type."

Emma leaned back on her hands, looking up. "It really is pretty, though, the lights and all the stars..."

With the word 'stars', the fairly lights dimmed slightly, allowing them to see more of the night sky on this moonless evening. Emma smiled "Apparently whichever fairy it was planned for us to do a little stargazing."

"Stargazing." Hook grumbled. "The stars aren't right in this accursed land."

Emma scooted over near him. "You just don't know our constellations yet." She looked up. "See, there's Cassiopeia. Her constellation looks like a W." She pointed skyward and Hook followed her gaze to the stars. "You can see her all year long, but sometimes she's upside down. Legend says that she boasted to the sea that she was more beautiful than the mermaids, and the sea god Poseidon – I guess that would be Ariel's father?" At his nod, she continued. "Well, legend says that he chained her into her throne in the sky, and she spends part of the year hanging upside down to remind those here on Earth that there are consequences for arrogance." She smiled. "There are all kinds of stories about the stars here. Some war stories, some romantic, some just sad."

She pointed out a few more constellations as they finished their meal. Hook straightened up and rested his back against the mast, dropping one of the pillows between his spread knees. "C'mere, love." he gestured to the pillow.

She looked at him skeptically and he signed in exasperation. "Swan, how many times do I have to tell you that I have no plans to seduce you tonight? If you won't believe me, believe your own super power."

She gave in, settling between his knees on the pillow, her back to him, looking out at the stars dancing on the calm water. He brought his hand up to her neck, gently massaging away the tension. Her eyes slid closed as she exhaled slowly, relaxing into his touch. "Damn, Hook-"

"I have a name, Princess."

"Killian." She corrected herself, looking back at him apologetically. "Where'd you learn that? You could've been a masseuse."

He chuckled sardonically. "Not with only one hand, I'm afraid."

"You seem to be managing just fine. That feels good." She murmured.

He let his head fall back against the mast as he worked on her shoulders, his eyes closing so as not to keep staring at that point where her shoulder met her neck, his mind focusing on his right hand pulling the tension away from her muscles. The hook at the end of his left arm dug into the wood on the deck in frustration, a manifestation of his determination to keep his desire for her out of this, but the soft glow of the fairy lights and sweet scent of her hair were certainly not on his side tonight.

So... Hook doesn't seem to be doing so well in the self-control department here, despite his honorable intentions. Do you think he should see her safely home like a gentleman, or perhaps you think the pirate should come out and play? Use the review button below to let me know!

-KM-