Snow. The chill of gently falling snow, the sort of chill that froze one's breath as soon as it escaped the lungs. For a moment she wondered why the curtains had been left open, surely a maid should have closed them since Willa preferred a cold bedroom to read in. If her room had grown so cold it would clearly be a day of sitting beside her brother while they took turns reading to one another. The sort of day where her mother would have gathered her and Friedrich up in her chamber with a roaring fire and soothing songs; oh she missed her mother.

Willa cuddled closer into the solid, slightly hairy, warmth of her pillow determined to eke out just a few more minutes of slumber. There was always time for more slee- wait, 'slightly hairy'? Her head shifted just a bit and something tickled her cheek. Everything snapped back in that moment. The Revenge! She was on Bonnet's vessel and she'd snuggled herself into Izzy Hands

Finally green eyes fluttered open regardless of how much sleep wanted to keep them firmly shut. She peered up at the much elder man to find him still under slumber's protection. A bold smile tugged itself onto her lips slowly at first until it dominated. Izzy's salt and pepper hair was all over the place which she truly did adore the sight of, it covered his forehead, partially concealed his eyes and made him look years younger. Relaxed, that would have been a better word for it and she couldn't quite brush off the wave of endearment that washed over her.

Wilhelmina was anything but dumb, she knew the crew didn't like him in the least, and she knew also knew him to be overbearing; although he had been trying to keep the ship afloat. His unhealthy attachment to Blackbeard hadn't been lost on her either, however, whether that was obsession or actual romantic feelings remained to be seen. That said, someone who was nothing more than an ill-tempered brute wouldn't have been so kind to her, wouldn't have held and spoken with her after taking what he wanted from her. Yes, Willa firmly believed there to be more to Israel Hands than people knew. He was just as fucked in the head as the rest of them, if not more, and, ultimately, that went for Willa as well.

Soft fingers slowly raised from Izzy's chest to trace along his swallow tattoo. The ink was old so it had clearly been there a long time and, to her unknowledgable mind, had been well done by someone with skill. The lines were long, still nice and neat. When she turned her attention back to his hair her smile was renewed, he honestly did look so peaceful while asleep. Cute puppy. She made to brush a few stray locks out of his eyes when his left hand shot up to grab her wrist in a single, smooth motion.

"What are you doing, little lass?"

"Your hair was in your eyes." She told him honestly.

"Doesn't really matter when I'm asleep, now does it."

The first mate's eyes finally opened, they blinked forcefully in quick succession before he finally focused those surprisingly dazzling blue orbs upon her. He raked them up then down the sixteen-year-old girl.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Pause, small and hardly there. "You're hurting me."

Finally Izzy took notice of the way he grasped her wrist, quickly he released the Prussian and she moved to rub at it a little before she rested her hand back on his pectoral. Silence lingered between them a moment while Izzy properly woke up; just another thing Wilhelmina thought him adorable for.

"I think I need another bath. My hair feels like straw, and I'm pretty certain you're the reason my thighs are stuck together." She chuckled. "Naughty puppy."

Israel swallowed audibly. "You're quite vulgar for a noble's daughter."

When he thought about it she hadn't shown any shame being naked before him either, she swore as well which had caught him off guard the first time. More pirate than noble, Izzy stood by that assessment.

"Well," she began with a small shrug, "I've spent most of my life surrounded by vulgar people."

"Join the club, we have meetings on Wednesdays."

"I had governesses teach me about right and wrong, how to display myself to society as the perfect lady. One of them even went so far as to tell me I shouldn't spend so much time with my brother because I was 'unconsciously pushing away suitors'. She acted like I was trying to wed Friedrich."

"Sounds like a fucking bitch." Said Izzy as he kept up with the conversation without really paying attention.

"She is – was – I don't know, she left because of my father not long after."

Suddenly screams of 'ship' erupted from the upper deck and, judging by the accent, it was the Swede. Before Willa had even mentally taken note of the screaming, Izzy had launched out of bed and started to yank on his clothing. The Prussian teenager pushed herself up onto her elbows, as uncaring about her nakedness as ever, as she listened to the ruckus above their heads and the passageways.

"Why does it matter if he's seen a ship?" She mused allowed with the hints of a yawn.

Izzy just stared at her like she were totally vacuous. "Lass, we're pirates. When pirates see another ship they're usually attacking or being fucking attacked. Get dressed!"

Okay, hearing that Willa even thought herself a bit mindless.

Quickly she hurried to dress like Izzy wanted, so quickly that she didn't even bother righting her shirt when it slipped off her left shoulder. Izzy launched out the cabin door while still fastening the buttons of his waistcoat, his neckerchief in held tight in his teeth. A combination of morbid curiosity and a desperate urge to stretch her legs had her follow the older man out with haste.

The pair burst out onto the main deck to find everybody else already there as they rushed this way and that. Blackbeard's spyglass was pinned to his face while Bonnet asked ridiculously incessant questions like a child. Izzy just spoke over the blond as he approached the idiot and his beloved captain.

"Who we dealing with, Captain?"

Blackbeard didn't look away from the vessel distantly on their starboard side, not that Izzy had expected him to.

"French merchant ship by the looks of it." He told his first mate off-handedly. "We can take 'em easy."

Izzy practically preened. "Oh I've missed a good fucking raid! Finally some real pirating." He couldn't keep the grin off his face. "I'll get the lads ready."

Stede raised an eyebrow as his attention drifted from the ship to his fellow captain.

"Are you sure about this, Ed? They look rather big."

Blackbeard shrugged. "Might be bigger than us but they're poorly defended. To be honest they're asking for pirates to take their shit. We can do it." He finally lowered his spyglass then and loosely gestured to the shorter man beside them. "Specially with Izzy. Iz is damn good at organizing a raid."

Izzy surged with a sense of pride, a tingle inside him that banished some of the darkness there for a few seconds. He shook himself mentally, couldn't go getting distracted.

"Run up the flag!" He screamed at the crew he'd all but written off as useless.

Much to Izzy's pleasure the crew didn't give him any shit, didn't complain or argue, just obeyed the order. Perhaps they were as excited about a raid as him. Although, when Izzy saw the plethora of flags he had to ask himself how these twats had survived this long.

"Fire a warning shot."

The man with salt and pepper hair glared at the crew. "You heard the Captain! Shot across the fucking bow, now!"

Fortunately it didn't take long to get into range and fire the cannon just as ordered. Meanwhile Willa felt somewhat useless in the situation. She'd got no idea how to assist them despite the skills she'd learned while on board, so the Prussian simply shuffled over to where Fang and Ivan had stationed themselves so she could observe.

Ivan slipped slightly closer to his friend. "Bet you that bottle of rum I've got that they fight."

Fang pondered the situation a moment to assess whether or not he stood a chance before a smile pulled itself onto his bearded face.

"You're on." He agreed. "They'll surrender, we're too close and Captain is right, they've got hardly any defence."

Willa's brow furrowed with question. "Do you do this a lot? Bet on if there will be a battle?"

"Gotta have some fun." Fang shrugged.

"You want in on this?"

"Nein." The teen shook her head. "I'm good. Besides, I don't have any rum."

That got a laugh out of the two burly pirates while they all waited for the French to make their choice.

To be honest Willa had sided with Fang, she didn't think they'd fight. While she had no real understanding of ships or sea battles, she did know that if Blackbeard thought they were asking to be raided then heroics would be unlikely. Sure enough the French vessel surrendered without issue shortly thereafter.

"Willa, you could loot something from them then use it to bet next time." Fang suggested with that surprisingly happy tone of his before he turned his attention to his friend. "And you owe me that rum."

Ivan sighed. "Yeah, yeah."

For the first time since Wilhelmina had found herself aboard the Revenge everybody looked to actually function like a single crew. They took orders from Izzy without much snark or defiance. They were … efficient, yes, efficient was a good word for it. Honestly Willa was impressed, or at least she was right up until the moment they went to board the boats.

"No!" Izzy commanded, actually went so far as to shove her back a step or so. "You're staying here, lass."

"To do what?" She protested.

"I don't fucking know, guard the ship."

Willa's eye twitched. "Guard the ship? Guard the ship?! Really, arschloch?" (Asshole)

She felt like a child being forced to remain in the carriage so she wouldn't be in the way. They were the ones who'd made her one of them, they'd made her a damn pirate, and now her job would be to guard the fucking ship?

"Izzy is right, Willa, you've got no fighting experience so we wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Why was the first time she ever saw Izzy Hands and Stede Bonnet agree when they were being total fucking dipshits? It was a merchant vessel with less defence than a virgin on her wedding night!

"All due respect, Captain, but neither do you." Irritation had her accent thicken a little. "And they've already surrendered. That and my job is to be your translator, can't do that from here."

Blackbeard broke in then but if it was to speed things along or because he actually wanted her to come Willa didn't know.

"Oh let the girl come. Iz will keep her safe, Stede."

Irritation gave way to another feeling then, she almost felt as though she were being parented by the two captains; one more cautious and caring, almost motherly, while the other seemed like a father wanting their child to learn by experience. Willa hadn't ever been parented like that before, her mother had died when she'd been so young and Gerhard von Krieger couldn't have cared less.

While the sixteen-year-old girl lingered in her internal thoughts a moment, Izzy glanced from his Blackbeard to Bonnet with a sigh. He knew that the blonde idiot would keep the conversation going until the French died of old age if he didn't step in and as long as Willa didn't wander off without his permission he supposed she would be all right.

"Get in the fucking boat then." He pointed a gloved finger out at her warningly. "You stay by Blackbeard until I tell you that you can move."

Willa nodded. "I understand."

That was how the youngest child of the von Krieger family embarked on her very first pirate raid. As instructed she remained just behind Blackbeard and Stede so she sort of had to look over their shoulders once they were on board; in a weird sort of way they looked like an odd little trio of a family.

Israel, Fang and Ivan didn't take very long to get everybody on their knees before the two captains with swords trained to cut down anyone dumb enough to try something. Fear practically dripped off of the merchant and his crew, Willa could almost taste its bitterness.

"You're all now under Blac-" Izzy was abruptly cut off.

"Iz, let Stede do it." Blackbeard jutted a thumb out at the blond. "It's his ship so it's kind of his raid."

First Mate Hands just stared at him dumbstruck. Bonnet couldn't pick a fucking flag so how the hell would he be able to not screw this up?

"You serious?"

Blackbeard nodded. "Yeah."

Izzy's mouth floundered a moment or two before he just gave up and stepped back toward Willa with his arms folded across his chest. It was plain to see just how little faith Izzy had in Stede Bonnet.

With that settled Blackbeard flashed his fellow captain a charming smile and a thumbs up. "Go for it."

Stede cleared his throat a little too dramatically as he stepped toward the kneeling merchant; Lucius flipped his notebook open and prepared to write as though Captain Bonnet would give some eloquent speech.

"Would you like me to translate?" Willa asked when it occurred to her she should probably do her job if Lucius had decided to, especially since she'd used it as an excuse to get on the vessel.

"Very kind, thank you, Willa." He turned to the captives then and started to speak with no pirate flair whatsoever. "Well, morning folks. I am the Gentleman Pirate and, as you can see, we've taken your vessel. I apologize for the inconvenience and we hope to be out of your hair soon."

"Are you for fucking real?" Izzy grumbled to himself which had Willa cast him a sideways glance.

While she continued to translate for the kind blond she found herself mentally investigating the merchant and his crew. Clearly the ship wasn't owned by some large company, this one was privately owned judging by the little quirks dotted about. It seemed to have been ferrying a couple of passengers as well; they really should have upped their firepower. When Stede's little speech came to an end Willa looked again to the people she'd labelled as passengers, in hindsight some of them may have been the merchant's family. She shifted slightly closer to Izzy then which allowed her to finally see around Blackbeard for the first time, there she caught sight of a middle-aged woman with fading red hair and an excessive amount of jewelry.

Willa's eyebrows shot up. "Warte, eine Frau?! Fantastisch!" (Wait, a woman?! Fantastic!)

Gone, in an instant Willa had charged away from the crew below deck without any knowledge that literally everybody had been staring at her.

"Iz, could-" The first mate cut the bearded man off already traipsing toward where Willa had vanished.

"Already on it."

So he followed her below deck where he quickly found her rushing from one door to another, she'd shove one open, glance around inside then hurry off to another to repeat the process regardless of what could be waiting on the other side. When she rounded a corner Izzy found he hurried a little more to keep up with her.

Stupid girl. "Lass, you can't just go wandering around without a care, you'll get yourself run the fuck through."

Around the corner Izzy was met with yet another open door and when he entered Willa was sat on her knees by an open trunk as she hauled out item after item one after another.

"The fuck are you doing?" He demanded impatiently.

"Praying I find what I want."

He leaned against the door frame convinced no one had hidden themselves in preparation to strike.

"Which would be?"

Suddenly she yelled out with success and yanked a large piece of blue fabric with a brocade pattern on it. She held it tight in her pale hand as though someone would attempt to take it from her; frankly the whole display was kind of adorable. Just from the color Izzy could tell it was a pricey item.

Willa rose to her feet and practically cuddled it to her chest. "Do you have any idea how desperate I've been for a new stays?"

"Why?"

That earned him an unimpressed expression. "Don't ask silly questions, Izzy. As you like to keep pointing out, I have a rather large chest for a girl my age. I need some support and stays aren't normally found on a pirate ship."

Not a single shred of warning was tossed Izzy's way before Willa yanked her oversized shirt over her head so she could slip on the blue stays. A better man would have averted his gaze but Izzy had already seen her naked, already played with her breasts and fucked into her body, so he soaked up the sight of her.

"Not how this is meant to be worn but the shirt is too big." She said mostly to herself before she fixed her green eyes on him and shot him a smile. "Would you please lace this for me?"

"Like I know how to do that." He huffed.

"It's basically just pull, Izzy. You can do it, you're a big, strong pirate."

Izzy sighed, maybe he had preferred the innocent child act after all. Sill he shuffled over to aid her, it did mean that he'd be able to go a little longer without having to listen to Bonnet sweet-talking French merchants. When did I become a fucking maid?

Ultimately lacing her in was much easier than he'd anticipated, as easy as the laces on his leather pants, and Willa seemed delighted when he'd finished. She spun around on the spot with glee before she rocked up onto her toes to kiss him sweetly.

"Danke, Izzy. I feel much better now."

Looking at her properly Izzy could see that she did stand a little straighter and seemed infinitely more comfortable. Izzy Hands hadn't ever been a man to freely offer complements but even had to admit she looked rather beautiful in blue, it complemented the emerald color of her eyes and brought out the red tints in her auburn hair.

When she slipped back to her knees to root through the trunk Izzy stepped closer so he could peek inside. Willa pulled out a new slip that was still white, unlike her original one, as well as some other items which found themselves all balled up inside the slip.

Footsteps sounded in the passageways then and Izzy cautiously stuck his head out to see Stede and Lucius muttering to one another about 'putting on a good show'. Any caution he'd had died a quick death at that but annoyance grew when the blond caught sight of him.

"Ah, is Willa all right, Iggy?" He asked when he stopped in the doorway.

"She's fine, Bonnet. And it's fucking Izzy." He growled out practically through gritted teeth.

"Should have expected you desired some more clothing." Smile Captain Bonnet. "Please, loot whatever you want." He turned to Izzy fully. "You as well, you've earned it after how quickly you got everyone rounded up."

Izzy's mouth slipped open to tell Bonnet to fuck the hell off but Stede left with Lucius in tow before he could. Everything about that man made Izzy want to take out his knife and just keep cutting until there wasn't anything left of Bonnet.

"There is a box of jewelry in here you could have." Willa suggested, the words bumped Izzy out of his inner anger. "Got some gold and silver in it. That woman is rich enough to be ostentatious. Well, ostentatious or just greedy."

"Probably the latter. Let me see."

The jewelry box was quickly proffered and Izzy pretty much snatched it out of her hands to rummage a moment. He lifted out a string of pearls for a better look before they were unceremoniously tossed back into the box, the same was done with a ruby ring then the ring and box were tossed toward the bed.

"It's junk."

"Junk?" Wilhelmina's voice was littered with confusion.

"It's fake. None of it is heavy enough to be real and the gold is scuffed. Maybe she ain't as rich as she wants to be." He smirked. "Certainly won't be after you've taken all her nice clothes and Edward has all her husband's goods."

Willa stood again, this time done with the trunk, and stepped toward the older pirate.

"So what are we stealing then? Just the goods in the hold and any gold we find on people?"

How is it she shows more interest in being a pirate and learning how things are done than Bonnet's gang of twats does?

"Normally anything we can sell or use. It's as simple as that."

Izzy's eyes drifted downward, with her so close he could see the way her new attire pushed her breasts together a little, he found it rather inviting.

"Go take whatever you want then." His eyes flicked back up. "Stede said you could and I'm okay here. I have what I want."

"I'm meant to watch you." An order from Blackbeard may as well have been an order from God.

Willa rolled her eyes. "Fine, then you go looting and I'll follow. I can see how a professional does it that way." She teased.

Israel paused a moment to think about it. On the one hand they were meant to split things equally amongst the crew but, on the other hand, Bonnet's crew was a bunch of morons who didn't deserve reward for doing fuck all. The former argument quickly fell victim to the latter. With his mind made up Izzy spun around and left the room knowing the noble girl would follow him.

Together the pair went from room to room turning the ship over in search of worthy items to steal. It wasn't very often a single pirate got to take literally anything they wanted from a ship. Stupid blond bastard, I could have found a gold bullion or some shit. Didn't take Izzy long to sniff out a coin purse or three.

Willa watched him the entire time, he seemed to have a natural skill for sniffing out valuable things. She couldn't prevent the shirk she got when the imagery her brain gave her was Izzy with cute, fluffy ears atop his head.

"You really are a puppy."

"What?" He queried despite not having been listening to her yet again; Izzy was more focused on sifting through a box he'd found.

"Nothing." She replied while going through another of the small boxes. From inside came two new soap balls of good quality inside a bag. She tossed the bag to Izzy. "Catch."

He did so and flashed her a questioning expression. "Trying to tell me something, little lass?"

"Nein, just noticed you have a thing about good quality soap. Not that I blame you."

Izzy didn't respond, just shoved the soap bag into his waistcoat out of sight so he could return to what he'd been doing. He looked at this and than, noted that most of the people on the vessel didn't seem to have as much as the merchant and his family. In fact he looked so long that he only realized Willa had wandered off when he wondered why the room had been quiet for so long.

"What did I fucking say to that girl! Why can't she just do as she's told?! It wasn't that goddamn hard."

When he finally managed to track the Prussian down his anger jumped from Willa to Bonnet. The pair knelt together by a bookshelf so they could fawn over its contents while Lucius stood with a stack of tomes in his arms and an displeased expression on his face. As soon as Lucius noticed the first mate he threw him one of those little smiles he thought was cute.

"What happened to following me?"

Willa hardly even took the time to spare him a glance. "I got bored and then I found books."

"Bloody women, they can never do as they're told."

"That's not fair." Lucius snapped in defence of Willa.

"You're right, you can't do as you're fucking told either."

The scribe giggled clearly unaffected by the insult which irked Izzy. Out of Bonnet's crew Lucius truly was the most aggravating in Izzy's opinion, after the blond himself of course.

"Whoever stocked this bookshelf has very good taste." Stede approved happily."

Willa nodded. "I agree. Shame most of them are in French, my reading of French isn't perfect."

Izzy's brow furrows. "How many languages do you actually fucking speak, lass?"

She shrugged, most of her attention remained with the bookshelf. "I told you already. German, Danish, English and French. Thanks to you though I'm learning sarcasm pretty quickly." She glanced to Stede. "Aren't all nobles taught French?"

The last bit was directed at Stede who quickly confirmed for her. "Pretty much, yes. I was taught it as well but I'm not very good."

"We're pirates, you're lucky we speak English."

Lucius let out a little hum of amusement. "Not with much eloquence though."

"Oh fuck off, seductress."

First Mate Hands moved away then, she would be all right with Bonnet and Lucius for a while. All he heard before he rounded a corner away from them was the scribe getting in one more comment; 'as if to prove my point'.

Willa watched the pirate leave with his grumpy aura before her polished emeralds to the tall scribe who'd started to look weighed down with books.

"Be nice to him, Lucy."

"Lucy?" He questioned as his head tilted to the side.

"Sorry, I'm not sure where that came from."

For the fist time since he'd met her Lucius saw real concern in her eyes, so much so that it sent a shiver down his spine.

"No, no, I kinda like it." Lucy, could be a cute nickname to work with should the mood take him. "And why should I be nice to him? He tried to make me scrape barnacles off the ship's hull before you showed up."

Willa paused in her search through the available books. "I know he's poor-mannered and instantly hostile most of the time but he is first mate. His job is to keep the ship in working order."

Lucius shrugged. "Not my first mate."

Stede piped up then suddenly reminding the pair that he was with them as well.

"I must agree with Willa, we can't let the Revenge fall into disrepair and everyone should pull their weight."

Lucius nor Willa paid him that much mind, in fact Lucius focused himself more on looking the teenager over suspiciously as a tiny smile grew.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Dizzy Izzy, and don't think I didn't see you combing the bird nest out of your hair before we came over here."

Stede's brow furrowed. "What's your point, Lucius? Not as though young Willa has a comb." He turned to look at the teenager then. "You should see if you can find one while we're here."

Willa waved him off with a gesture to the ball of clothing she'd gathered from the merchant's wife. "Already have. First thing I took."

"Oh she knows what I'm talking about." Said Lucius to bring them back to his preferred topic.

"Well, I don't."

Willa sighed. "He's asking if I've had sex with Izzy."

"And?" Lucius asked quickly, his eyes sparkled with want, an unnatural urge to get gossip and all the details that went along with it.

"Lucius!"

Willa wasn't offended by Lucius nor was she in need of Stede's concern. The scribe had asked a plain question so she opted to provide a plain answer.

"Ja, I fucked him."

In an instant Lucius' interest evolved into glee as his eyes lit up. He dropped the books, slipped to the floor and rested his chin atop his fist. Gossip was so close he could taste it.

"Ooh, do tell! How was it? Was it any good?"

"Schrullenhaft und wunderbar." (Quirky and wonderful.)

"Not a clue what that first word means but I can guess the second." His smile turned to a grin. "Izzy has been hiding talents. Has he got a hairy chest? I bet he does."

"Could we speak of something else please? And don't drop the books everywhere." There was a pause while Stede gathered the literature back into two neat piles then started to return one pile to the shelf."

"Hang on, are you swapping books? Why not just take them all?"

"This way my shelves don't overflow."

Lucius gestured to the entirety of the captain with the hand not supporting his chin. "He's got a whole system apparently."

Meanwhile, Izzy had found Blackbeard in the hold checking out the cargo with Frenchie and Olu. As soon as he entered three sets of eyes turned to look at him.

"Iz, there you are. Baby girl didn't hurt herself I take it."

"She's fine, Edward. Went to raid the merchant's wife's undergarments."

Blackbeard let out a deep laugh from the pit of his belly while Frenchie just snickered to himself until Izzy cut it off with a glare. The Captain pointed to the barrels and crates when his laugh died down so they could get back on track; Izzy was thankful for that.

"This Frenchman's got some good shit, not a lot bit some good shit. We can shift it easily in the Republic of Pirates."

"Aye." Izzy agreed. "Cargo looks good but the jewels in the cabin are imitations. Good job we're pirates otherwise I'd be worried about his finances. Want me to gather up the twats we call a crew? They're all looting whatever they want but there are rules."

"Nah, this is Sede's raid, if he's letting 'em take what they please then they can. You should get in on it too, Iz." The short first mate opened his mouth to speak but Blackbeard just carried on, he'd known Izzy long enough to guess Izzy's response. "That's an order, Izzy."

The leather-clad man sighed. "Understood, Captain."

So he left to obey the command, he'd already found some coin and soap so he wasn't really interested in anything else. He should have been seeing to the cargo being moved to their ship, it was part of his job not something Blackbeard needed to concern himself with. However, he had to obey his captain, his beloved Blackbeard. Fuck, Izzy would obey the shit out of his orders.

First Mate Hands slinked back toward where he'd left Willa after a quick trip up on deck to make sure Fang and Ivan still had control of their captives. Every now and again he'd spotted someone looting in the halls like it was fucking Christmas. Twats, all of them are twats.Maybe he should have let one of the more capable prisoners loose and used it as an excuse to slit them from navel to apple. Yet when he reached the companionway ladder he found Willa with her clothes and a box tucked under one arm while a stack of books call the other arm home. Her movements were slow as she tried not to drop anything and Izzy just had to fuck with her.

"Bit weighted down there, little lass?" He said as he slipped out of the shadows to reveal himself.

Willa jumped dropping three of the books. "Gottverdammt!" (Goddammit) Green eyes glared daggers at Izzy, maybe she'd picked such intensity up from him. "Don't do that."

Izzy chuckled devilishly to himself before he bent to retrieve the three tomes she'd dropped. He peered at the cover of one.

"What does it say?"

"L'école des femmes. It means The School for Wives."

"Sounds dumb." He muttered as she took the books and awkwardly tried to balance them all again. "Oh for fuck's sake, give it here."

He practically snatched the books from her hands leaving her with just the clothes and box. With a sweet smile Willa rocked up onto her toes for the second time that day and kissed him.

"You being all gentlemanly, it's adorable. Such a sweet puppy."

For a moment she braced for Izzy telling her to fuck off as he normally did with conversations he'd rather end, but instead he just motioned to the steps with his head.

"Go on then."

Izzy may not have wanted to admit it but Willa knew he stared at her ass in the leather pants on the way up.