Chapter two:

''I'm scared of flying.'' Rose whimpered. ''You flew over the rail, faster than a bird. Like a bullet. Like a…'' As a touch colder than ice spread across her forehead to soothe her, she ceased her blind panic. Tenderness…that is what it was.

He was tender. He felt as though there must be a piece of him that cared. A shred of humanity…

He was-

Rose was vaguely aware of his presence before she had even opened her eyes. It was as though, as eerie, as his appearance from the shadows had been, there was also some sort of meaning behind it. It felt as though she had gone to some other place, even though the Atlantic chill still wrapped itself about her body.

As her eyes opened, she found herself trembling below Jack, as his body covered hers. His weight spread over her. His hands at her waist and within her hair, her hands still clutching onto his shoulders fiercely as though her life still depended on it. Jack felt her shudders, smelled how close her scent was, her breath and then, for one serene moment, drew himself away in order to examine her; their gazes were locked together in an intense moment. Those wide, shining eyes, raked over him with such an innocence; the way that his shirt had torn, his hair was no doubt dishevelled and now hung in his eyes, and then, Jack, in turn, allowed himself to see how her erratic breathing caused her breasts to press to his thin shirt, her pumping heart could be felt beneath him and it was beyond strange to feel the warmth of a woman beneath him once more. Feel the beauty of her skin. The way she moulded against him. The tears flowed freely, and for a maddening moment, he was hypnotised enough to almost reach up to wipe them away and croon excessively just how she would be all right now. That he wouldn't let her go, not again…

If only so. If only…

Until, he bolted up and away from her as though he had been scolded by boiling water. Feeling utterly frigid and exposed from the dazzling bright lights of the deck lamps, and from the depths of his gaze, Rose moved her arms across her chest as her teeth, clattering from the cold seemed to fetch her back to some sort of normality and she could only frown towards him. At his change of demeanour. At what had happened. Everything then came rushing back to her in one horrible sweep.

''You let go of me!'' Rose shouted out as she scrambled into a sitting position upon the deck. If the man was any sort of a gentleman then he would have helped her but he seemed so…unaware of women. How to treat them. Her rage doubled. ''You told me to hold your hand, then let go of me-twice. You almost allowed me to fall to the depths of the sea.''

The tone of her voice, so shrill, should have pulled a reaction from him and Jack had to respond in some way, but her very presence seemed to be affecting every single part of him.

''What were you doing?'' Rose narrowed her eyes. Toying with the weird sequence which had just taken place. It made not a shred of sense. ''You leapt over the rail and almost flew towards me. If any other person had seen us then we could have been seen in such a way." She baulked, trying to accommodate the senselessness. ''You were flying, almost. You caught me mid air-''

''Rose-'' Jack attempted to calm her down. With a hand at his head, it started to throb beyond any knowing.

''We were flung overboard one way, and then the other! How did you?'' Rose tried to rationalise within her mind, until she started once more, '' you were on top of me, barely clothed…''

''-because I was about to jump in after you.''

''And, you did! You caught me. You were holding me in such a way that it would be a travesty to be caught in such a state.''

''Then, perhaps I should have let you fall to your death, huh?'' Jack raised his voice above hers but not in a way to frighten her, only make her see sense.

''But there was no need to remove your coats, your shoes, too-''

''It made you listen to me, didn't it?''

Suddenly, maddened with the fact that Jack had answered every single question, every accusation she had thrown toward him, Rose thrust herself to her feet, so sudden and abruptly that she almost lost her footing and her vision blurred. She could see him moving towards her at an alarmingly fast rate and a pair of freezing hands were at her waist before it cleared and Jack was in front of her again, mere inches from her face and to Jack, it all went cloudy. Everything had gone mad in this world. On this voyage. Knowing that he needed to stop, to move away from her but found in the very moment, he just couldn't. He was frozen.

''You're so annoying.'' Jack whispered, lost within the depths of her innocence. How had he lost himself within a few small minutes? Never had he allowed another human to see him the way that she had. Never had he slipped up once, not even in Paris but getting her, saving her, seemed to be the only thought cradled in his mind. She was all that mattered in that very moment.

''I saw just how fast you moved towards me, I feel…'' How did she feel? Strange. Under a spell. Inebriated. Yes, that was it. "You put your hands on me…"

''Rose, I never touched you in a way that meant you harm.''

Jack had caught her waist. Been pushed against her. Atop her. Rose trembled beneath her gown. Beneath his touch. Her lips quivered. Her eyes searched. Perhaps they looked for the trust, or for a reason that he was lying, but being a man who would forever wear his heart upon his sleeve, Jack only gazed back solemnly.

''I-I trust you.''

''Good.'' Jack smiled, still with his hand at her waist until she frowned again.

''But-you moved to me, you saved me. You were fast…''

''No faster than a normal person. When you're falling, everything feels slower. Trust me, I have fallen into thin ice too many times as a kid.''

Jack allowed his hands to release her waist and instead, came up to steady her using her left hand. There, he found a sizable diamond. Dazzling. Bright enough to make even those with visual impairment blink back to life again. She seemed to sense the change between them then.

''Gloucester,'' Rose smiled, ignoring every single evoked emotion which the man before her made her feel. As he gazed at her engagement ring, she felt the need to change the subject away from the obvious question which would come next.

''What?''

''You asked where I was from.'' Her crystal clipped accent seemed to awaken him. ''I am from Gloucester but spend much of the season in London.''

''I see.''

''And as you can probably imagine it is deathly dull.''

''Yes.''

''And I am incapable of staying out of trouble, it seems.''

That prompted the first, almost genuine smile to have come from him but as she saw slight dimples appear on his strangely tanned but glowing cheeks, she noticed how it seemed to be almost a struggle for him to bare his teeth. To smile openly. And he turned, too quickly away from her and she shivered at his lack of touch.

''I bet your fiance isn't happy that you're out here right now, and he definitely doesn't know that you're with a stranger who could cause you any harm.''

''I just said that I trusted you.''

''Perhaps you shouldn't.''

''You saved my life, Mr. Dawson. You threw yourself overboard at an alarmingly fast rate and when I come about from whatever fainting spell I appear to have had, you were on top of me, in a way that only a husband should be to a wife.'' Rose felt her cheeks simmering beneath her freezing cold exterior. ''I think if you were about to bring me to any harm then I shall either be dead or-''

Rose abruptly stopped speaking when his ice cold knuckles grazed her neck when he placed his once discarded coat about her shoulders. She shuddered, failing to recall just what she was about to say at the end of the sentence. There, beneath the utterly bewitching spell of Jack's pale blue stare, Rose felt as though the man could see through into her very soul. He made her feel unsettled. A riotous mess. The strangest calm.

''Thank you, for pulling me back.''

''You're welcome.''

''And I trust I can count on your discretion?'' Rose asked.

''I speak to no-one, Rose.''

''Then, why speak to me?''

It was as if her question had startled him. If that was possible to do. And then, he went right back to staring through her, as though she was either transparent or invisible.

''Because I had to.''

''I fail to see why.''

''Because if I would have let you go, then you'd be dead. And you're too young, too strong to die. You may not feel it right now, but there is no place for you in either heaven or hell. Not just yet.''

The way his words punctured her heart, it was as though he had experienced both and yet, he stood right in front of her. As plain as day. As handsome as the Devil. As fractured as her, she feared, perhaps in more ways. How did she suddenly want to know the very depths of this man? He was of a lower class. Of a different era, sometimes, she felt even though he was only a year or two older than she was, at a guess. His clothes were neat and tidy even though he was not a man with money. Even the coat around her shoulders was pleasant enough. It kept her warm. It carried a scent of…him, perhaps.

''I doubt it was your choice to make whether or not I made either of those places, or whether or not I died tonight.''

''You believe in fate or something?'' Jack asked, rocking back on his bare feet, attempting to keep a good distance from her.

''I believe that one makes their own choices in life. Or they should be allowed to. Especially women.''

''Women are limited to what they can do.''

''Indeed. In my world, we are expected to simply shut up, to sit down and say very little on the matter. Women carry the children, make the home and then be decorative. Heaven help the woman with an opinion, with a different story or background. Heaven help it is a woman fell in love with the wrong man. The wrong class. It would be like a lion falling fast in love with a lamb. A cat and mouse together. How utterly ridiculous that would be.''

That smile appeared again, and it was as though it was as painful as a sin to commit. ''You know from experience?''

''Well, no… not about falling in love.''

Rose's heart began to drum with furious force. Force. He looked like something from a dream, a dark enigmatic ghost. He approached her slowly. The closer he came, the more it seemed everything around her was unravelling, falling away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable. Her breathing wasn't quite steady. After a long pause, he finally spoke.''You don't love your fiance?''

His face was created for sin . . . the brooding mouth, the angular jaw, the strangely grey-blue eyes shaded by long straight lashes. His hair needed cutting, the heavy dark blonde locks curling slightly over the back of his collar. Rose's throat cinched around a quick breath as she saw his fingertips approaching her cheek and she ducked away to retreat.

''What?'' His question, as direct as it was, made no sense to her at all. ''How could you ask such a thing? You're a stranger to me.''

Jack smirked. She waited stiffly for a response. His eyes flashed dangerously, somehow and it ignited the flame of fire within her once more.

''I think we're a bit more than strangers now.'' Even though she had moved away from his touch, he could sense just how she, too, was nervous. He felt the energy from her. It fed into him, and the need to calm her. Ensure her that he meant no harm, even though standing so close to her was the ultimate sin. ''And you just confessed to not knowing about been in love.''

''Mr. Dawson, stop playing this silly game.'' She exhaled to see his face, which was still half soaked in amusement and it sparked a rage in her that she had never felt in her life. ''Oh, for heaven's sake, I am engaged to Caledon Hockley. I love him. I love Cal.'' The final words were said with about as much desperation she could muster just in order to make him believe it to be so. He had to believe it. She had to believe it.

''I would believe that if I didn't already knew the truth.''

''You know nothing of me, or about me. How dare you judge me based solely on this evening.''

''You're trapped and you'll die if you don't break free.''

Jack completely winded her right there and then.

''And I suppose you are the one to save me, Mr. Dawson?''

''No, because that is one thing you have to learn. You can only save yourself. In the end, all a person has is themselves.'' Jack took a step towards her, seeing her shivering body did something to him. ''You lose people you love. They can be taken away in a simple heartbeat. If you'd have jumped tonight, who would you have left? A mother or a father? Brother, sister or friends? A fiance who you claim to love.''

There was a pregnant pause. All silence seemed to be deafening. Crackling. The air about her seemed to be completely useless and breathing was difficult.

''I am travelling with my fiance. My mother is in London and my father passed last year.''

Jack's eyes flashed with something that she couldn't quite catch.

''It was cancer and it happened very quickly. My mother is still recovering from the death.'' Rose seemed to offer no more insight, even though Jack suddenly wanted to hear everything about this woman.

''I am sorry to hear about your father.''

''Indeed.''

''So, you see, there would be people who loved you and missed you if you had jumped.''

Rose's eyes flickered across Jack. ''What about you? You jumped in after me so quickly, that I still fail to know just how we both wound up on the right side of the rail.''

''I think you see things differently because you were panicking…''

''I know what I saw, Mr. Dawson. But I can only assure myself that it was through some hallucination because I know that I almost touched that ocean. I saw the waves below me until you came for me.''

Jack remained silent. Yes, let her believe they were some form of hallucinations. Let her think that. There would be no other choice for either of them to believe otherwise, would there? ''I am just glad that you were all right.''

''But what of you? In a strange twist of fate, what if you jumped in after me and failed to survive. Who would miss you?''

Raising his hand to the place where his heart had once beat, Jack believed to have felt something there for just a second. ''No one.'' He answered her, completely honestly. ''For I have no one in my life that would care.''

Rose's lips parted, and her eyes stung with the wind whipping about her face but there, in the lost, lonely eyes of a stranger, she thought that she had seen just a little glimpse into the life of a lower class man. A man who had no money and no family. The thought caused her stomach to sink. Blinking, she remembered that he was still only wearing his shirt, trousers and socks.

''Well, at this very moment, I care.'' She started, pointing towards his discarded clothing. ''Please dress, you will catch your death.''

''Don't worry, I will be alright.''

''Can you not feel the cold?''

''I haven't felt the cold in years,'' Jack cocked his head back, realising his own stupid mistake once more. ''Being from a colder climate, you grow used to it.''

''What about loneliness, Mr. Dawson? Do you get used to that?''

Jack's jaw suddenly went tight, and she saw it. Suddenly, she felt completely on fire and ice cold at the same time. Breathless. Weak. Nervous. It wasn't the strength of her corset stripping away the last remnants of oxygen, it was awaiting the answer which suddenly felt as though it could change the course of her life.

Everything.

''I shall walk you back, to the man who you will marry. He will be worried. I know I would be if you were going to be my wife.''

The final word left a bitter taste within Jack's mouth, like metal or another foul chemical. Quickly, he put on his boots, and Rose could only nod.

Silently, she started towards the First-Class entrance in a fast-paced hurry and Jack, collected his jacket and went onwards, trying to forget what would indeed be an unforgettable night.

The walk back to the warmth of the interiors of the ship was silent. Jack could only stay a step or two behind Rose as she attempted to neaten her hair, brushing her fingers through it and pinching at her cheeks for colour and swiping away any last tears which had fled from the emotional, tidal wave of an evening. Every minute or so, she would catch a small glance behind and it was at the B-Deck corridor that Jack walked beside her, with his hands at the base of his back and he could hear the faint strings of the band, the smallest of chatter and Rose's heels clattering on the wood of the floor and then it muted at the carpet, when he could make out how her breathing had returned to regularity aside from the occasional sigh. It all seemed to come together once more into a massive loud din which echoed about his head and sent him dizzy.

At the doors, she shook his coat from her shoulders and shoved it into his hands as though it was soaked in poison.

''Goodbye, Mr. Dawson.''

Rose turned upon her heels and started towards her stateroom, leaving Jack there, alone.