Chapter 14: An Honest Woman?
Twin delighted laughs echoed through the salty sea air as the lovers reunited. William snatched Elizabeth up in his arms the instant he set foot on the deck of his former ship, and their lips melded together as if each were tasting their first meal after weeks of starvation. Needy hands caressed and stroked as if reassuring their owners that the other was truly there, truly real…
“A little help here?” Anya demanded in annoyance.
Several of Angel’s men managed to tear their eyes away from the spectacle mid-deck and helped Anya up onto the ship from the small rowboat they’d taken across. Xander climbed nimbly up the rope ladder behind her.
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Anya sulked. “It’s not like they haven’t done this before…only with less groping.”
“Imagine going for an entire week without sex,” Xander whispered in her ear.
Anya’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh, those poor people!” she lamented, wiping a tear from her eye. “It’s so romantic, isn’t it?”
“Anya, you are undoubtedly the strangest woman I’ve ever met,” Xander informed her.
“Oh?” Anya gave him a skeptical look.
“Why do you think I love you so much?” he countered.
A smile lit up her face at that. “You know,” she commented shyly, “that mission from hell taught me something…”
“Did I mention that I didn’t like that?” he inquired.
“It turns out that the prospect of being with other men is unappealing,” Anya bit her lip. “I mean, the gatekeeper was disgusting and kinky, but even the more handsome men…nothing!”
“That’s…sweet,” Xander said, mildly confused. “Although in a very strange way…”
Anya nodded vigorously. “Do I get another ‘I love you’?” she inquired hopefully.
“I love you…”
Darla pointedly nudged Angel and gestured in the direction of the second couple. “Pick up some pointers,” she advised.
“About how you’re going to become monogamous?” he countered.
Darla frowned. “Good point,” she agreed, letting out a bored yawn. “Can we go yet?”
Angel sighed. “Will?” he tried in vain to catch the other captain’s attention.
“What is it?” Xander demanded, approaching Angel with Anya on his arm.
“We want to get out of here before the entire navy swoops in and blows us sky-high,” Darla informed him matter-of-factly.
“Sounds like a plan,” Xander agreed, instantly stepping into a role of authority. “We don’t have enough of the original crew left to sail this ship. Angel, can we borrow some of your men for the voyage back home?”
“Take whoever you like,” Angel agreed with a shrug. “We brought more than enough to man two ships.”
“Good,” Xander nodded, “I’ll try to get all my men to their posts.” He rolled his eyes when he realized that the men in question were all standing in a circle around Elizabeth and William who were still kissing. “I’ll need about a dozen of yours,” he instructed Angel before dashing off to the task in front of him.
“Rather bossy for a first-mate,” Darla commented, removing a nail file from the folds of her dress and examining her perfectly manicure hands. “Isn’t he?”
A proud smile lit up Anya’s face. “Oh, he’s not first-mate anymore,” she informed them, turning to follow her lover. “He’s captain,” she shot back over her shoulder.
Angel coughed in surprise, half-choking as a stunned Darla pounded heavily on his back. “What?!” he demanded to the empty space on the deck Anya had just occupied.
* * *
“Mmm,” Elizabeth whispered against the curve of William’s throat, “I feared you were dead.”
“I feared you were dead,” William countered, placing gentle kisses on the fine golden silk of her hair.
“Alive and well,” she assured him, “although my jaw still aches a bit…”
He frowned at that, stroking her back in a soothing manner. “Who?” he demanded fiercely.
“Riley.”
“I’ll kill him!”
“You can’t.”
He gave her a baffled look at that. “Why not?” he demanded, almost petulantly.
“Because I already did,” she answered with a soft smile, but he could still see the pained look in her eyes.
“Oh, luv,” he whispered in anguish, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” He peppered her face with soft kisses. “My fault,” he insisted. “It’s all my fault…”
“Mmm,” she murmured contentedly. “Tell me more about how it’s all your fault…”
He let out a mock-annoyed huff at that. “Such a bleedin’ menace,” he muttered affectionately. “So beautiful…”
“William, my love?” she whispered.
“Hmm?”
A sly smile curled up the edges of her lips. “I think I’m ready for you to make a dishonest woman of me…”
He gulped at that, feeling the fire stir deep within his loins. “Funny,” he commented, his voice ragged with desire, “’cause I was just thinkin’ that I was ready to make an honest woman of you…”
Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’. “William, you mean…?”
He nodded assuredly. “Elizabeth, will you—?”
“Yes!” she cut him off with a wide grin, throwing her arms around his neck.
“Doesn’t even give me time to propose properly,” he grumbled under his breath before her lips practically attacked his, tasting him with newfound fervor.
“Uh, Will?” A voice tried to intrude in their private little world.
It wasn’t even noticed by the happy pair.
“Will?” A not-so-subtle cough accompanied the request this time.
William caught Elizabeth up in his arms, moaning into her mouth when her legs wrapped around his waist, only the thin cloth of his pants and several layers of her voluminous skirts separating them.
“Will!”
“Bugger off, Peaches,” William managed to say between kisses. “’m busy gettin’ engaged.”
Elizabeth began frantically kissing every inch of him she could reach at the sound of that delightful phrase, and her hips rocked against his slowly. The hardness she felt had been startling at first, but already she enjoyed the way he gasped and moaned when she rubbed against him.
“Yes, that’s lovely,” Angel shook his head slightly in confusion. How a man could limit himself to just one woman was beyond him. “But, see, there’s this rather odd rumor floating about that Harris is captain now.”
“So?” William shrugged, stealing a taste of Elizabeth’s delicate throat.
“It’s true, then?” Angel demanded.
William grunted an inarticulate ‘yes’.
Elizabeth froze in surprise at this as well and tilted his head up so that she could look into his clear blue eyes. “It’s true?” she repeated breathlessly.
“Gave ‘im the ship on the way over,” William agreed, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw.
“W-Why?” she asked, overwhelmed.
“I couldn’t live with it,” he whispered, “knowing’ my work was puttin’ you in danger. And I couldn’t bear leavin’ you off somewhere where ‘d be separated from you for months.”
Elizabeth murmured her distaste for that idea.
“Plus,” he added with a rakish smile, “I believe I owe you a quiet, li’l villa somewhere down in South America.”
A bright smile lit up her features. “You really want to—?”
“I really want to.”
“I mean, give this all up…?”
“Ever since I met you,” he pressed a fingertip to her lips, hushing her, “my heart ‘asn’t been in it anymore. Somethin’ else has captured it instead.”
“Oh, William…”
Angel made audible gagging noises as the kissing began anew.
“It’s sweet, you ass,” Darla informed him, whapping him lightly in the shoulder.
“Whatever you say,” he looked unconvinced.
“Oh dear, yet another couple living in sin,” Giles sighed. “You know, perhaps I should retire from the priesthood. I don’t seem to exemplify any of its values anymore.”
“Welcome to our world,” Xander agreed, patting the older man on the back. “We could certainly use someone with your skills at infiltration.”
A proud smile lit up Giles’ face at that. “It’s quite simply, really,” he began. “Nothing more than a basic understanding of human nature and—”
“Mmf!” Elizabeth abruptly exclaimed, pulling away from William’s lips and dropping her feet back down onto the deck. William whimpered in response, and she gave his hand a little reassuring squeeze. “Don’t quit just yet,” she instructed Giles urgently. “We still need you to marry us.”
“Oh, well yes,” Giles smiled, obviously flattered that she wanted him to perform the ceremony.
“Wait…” William broke in. “Now?” he inquired of Elizabeth.
“Do you want to wait?” she whispered, subtly shimmying her hips against his hardness.
“God, no!” he exclaimed with a moan. “Only I thought you’d want a big weddin’ and all…”
“All I need is you,” she smiled softly.
Angel began coughing again.
Darla and Anya simultaneously elbowed him in the ribs. The effect created a rather amusing wheezing sound.
Elizabeth abruptly turned to Giles. “Marry us right now,” she ordered.
“Now?” Giles seemed equally flustered by Elizabeth’s haste. “Y-You still need rings, and…”
“What else?” Elizabeth demanded.
“Well, nothing really, but I—”
“Rings…” Elizabeth repeated.
“You know, you don’t have to wait,” Anya pointed out helpfully. “A life of virtue isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“I plan to live a life of authorized sin,” Elizabeth retorted, bemused. “William? Rings?”
“’m on it,” he assured her, moving below deck.
She quickly caught his hand and gave him a deep kiss. Her fingers wound into his hair as she clutched him to her.
He groaned and pulled away after a minute, panting and resting his forehead against hers. “Better go now before my ability to walk ‘s severely impaired,” he pointed out.
“Don’t go…” she pouted lightly.
“’S only for a few minutes, kitten,” he assured her.
“Too long,” she decided.
“’Lizabeth…” he scolded lightly.
“Right,” she sighed, “go.” She reluctantly unwound her body from his. She watched him venture towards the stairs below deck rather awkwardly and licked her lips in anticipation.
“I suppose a life of authorized sin has its advantages, too,” Anya decided.
Elizabeth nodded distractedly, watched William vanish from her sight, and then dashed off after him.
“Enjoy!” Anya called out after her.
* * *
William had been searching quite innocently through his drawers when he was brutally assaulted. “Mmf!” he managed to exclaim before he was tackled onto the bed, a soft, supple body pressing him into the mattress.
“You were taking too long,” Elizabeth whispered huskily into his ear.
“I was gone less ‘n a minute!” he protested in response.
“Exactly,” she agreed. “Far. Too. Long.” She punctuated this statement with light licks along the strong lines of his cheekbones.
“Feelin’ frisky, are we?” his own voice lowered to a seductive whisper.
“Need…need…” Elizabeth found herself having a hard time articulating the sensations that were overwhelming her.
“Don’ worry, pet,” he soothed her. “’ve got it.”
Her body seemed to have melted into a warm liquid at his growling baritone, and he easily rolled them over so that he lay atop her. Elizabeth felt her heartbeat accelerate in response. Something about feeling his weight pressing her down onto the bed, his scent surrounding her, the tender look in his eyes as he gazed down at her…
“Yesss…” she hissed, every fiber of her being screaming out how right this was.
“Shh, William’s got you,” he murmured softly, his fingers tracing down the side of her breasts to her hip, her thigh…
She whimpered when he continued down to her shin, instinctively knowing that this was a step in the wrong direction. Her fears were put to rest, though, when his hand slipped under the hem of her skirt and retraced its pattern once more, only this time against her heated flesh…at least until he encountered her undergarments.
“Damn,” she swore.
“Oh, ye of little faith,” he countered, resting his forehead against hers.
Her cheeks flushed in delight when she felt his skilled fingers navigate the complicated array of cloth, only to arrive at…
“William!” she cried out, her hands clutching at his silky white locks as he stroked her pleasure out of her.
“That’s my ‘Lizabeth,” he whispered, practically moaning at how wet he found her.
She managed a scowl at that. “Not…yours…you’re…mine!” she exclaimed between moans.
“Yours,” he agreed, chuckling softly against her throat. One finger ventured deeper into her, tracing the soft petals that concealed her fiery core.
“Oh, god!” she cried out, eyes widening, staring directly into his passionate blue orbs. She had touched herself before, true, but never had it felt like…
“William!” she screamed, her nails digging into his scalp as pleasure unlike anything she had ever felt before washed over her. Once the bright lights stopped flashing behind her eyes, she collapsed back onto the mattress in a boneless heap.
“Mine?” William whispered smugly against her ear, taking the lobe between his teeth and nibbling on it lightly.
She nodded numbly. “Yours,” she couldn’t help but agree.
The victorious smile of a successful conqueror crossed his face as he watched her pant frantically beneath him, bosom heaving and cheeks flushed. “Guess we’d better go make it official then,” he decided, lazily getting up, stretching like a contented feline as he rose to his feet.
Elizabeth licked her lips at the subtle beauty of the man that would soon be her husband. “Rings?” she repeated her request from earlier, still half dazed by the talent of those hands.
He returned to the drawer he’d been digging through when she assaulted him and plucked two shiny gold objects out to the treasure box there. “These’ll have to do…” He held out the identical bands for her inspection.
She slid the smaller of the two onto her finger, smiling when it fit just perfectly. “ ‘Have to do’?” she repeated in disbelief, turning over the band of thin gold strands tied together in a Celtic knot. She didn’t think she’d seen a more beautiful ring in all her life. “You’ve got better?”
“I told you, luv,” he pulled her to her feet with a shy smile, “’m a very wealthy man.”
“Then I suppose I shall have top marry you for that,” she teased, “now that you’ve given up your power…”
“After my fortunes, now, are you?” he jested back.
Her expression turned serious as she gently cupped his cheek. “I would marry you if you were a pauper,” she whispered, catching his lips in another kiss…
* * *
“…You may ki—” Giles began, but his statement had been anticipated.
Mister and Missus William Arlington’s lips locked, finalizing the ceremony.
From the sidelines, Angel pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Darla gave him an odd look.
“What?” he demanded. “I’m no good at weddings…” He blew his nose again before a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “I don’t suppose I have the authority to claim the right of First Night…” he speculated.
William and Elizabeth gave him a dark scowl.
Darla slapped him upside the head. “Liam, you are such an ass!” she exclaimed in exasperation.
“What?” he protested. “Weddings make me wanna…” He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.
“Everything makes you wanna…” Her own brow mirrored his motions.
“So,” Elizabeth asked coyly, tracing one finger down the center of William’s chest, “can we go downstairs now and finish what we started earlier?”
William was about to comment that he didn’t know if he could make it all the way downstairs – apparently, Angel wasn’t the only one turned on by weddings – when a shout from the crow’s nest interrupted him.
“Ship coming up fast along the starboard bow!”
“Oh, bloody hell!” William complained, spotting their pursuer.
Elizabeth frowned. “That’s one of my father’s ships…” she began, confused.
William groaned in response. “Not that wanker again!” he complained.
“What?” Elizabeth turned to him. “ ‘Again’?” Her brow furrowed. “And don’t call my father a ‘wanker’,” she added as an afterthought.
“It doesn’t look like they’re armed,” Angel commented incredulously. “No canons at least.”
“Ah, the old Abrahms set-up…” William rolled his eyes.
“I take it we’re not blowing him out of the water?” Xander inquired of Elizabeth.
She shook her head and stalked over to the deck her father’s ship had now pulled less than a dozen meters from. “Father!” she stomped the ground petulantly.
Henry Summers blinked in amazement at the sight on the deck across from him. “Elizabeth?” he blinked in disbelief. “But you’re—”
“Very irritated that you’re chasing down my husband!” she retorted. Ooh, that sounds nice, her mind drifted. Husband…William…
“Husband?” Henry repeated in shock and disbelief.
William’s arms slipped around Elizabeth’s waist from behind, and he rested his chin atop her golden curls. “Tried to tell you,” he couldn’t resist gloating.
“You’re—” Henry was still shocked into disbelief, but at that moment the sun glinted off of their twin gold bands, letting him know that it was true. “You mean…I don’t have to put up with her any more?” he inquired in barely-concealed delight.
Elizabeth and William both frowned at that. “Just go,” Elizabeth said wearily. “And maybe you should take a hint that Lord Abrahms sent you after two fully-armed ships with nothing.”
Henry’s brow did furrow at that. “Yes, quite intolerable,” he agreed. “But…Elizabeth is yours now?” he was obviously giddy at the thought of being rid of his troublesome daughter…and not having to feel obliged to be outraged at her circumstances. “No sending her back when it doesn’t work out?” he inquired. “Because I’m washing my hands of her right now.”
Williams’ jaw twitched with barely suppressed fury. “You’re lucky I love your daughter so bloody much,” he seethed, “of ‘d blow you outta the water right now…”
“Yes, yes, whatever,” Henry said disinterestedly, signaling for his ship to turn around. “Good luck!” he called out with a snicker that indicated that he obviously thought William to be the biggest sucker in the world.
Elizabeth winced as the other ship pulled away. “Have I mentioned lately that I really hate my father?” she said apologetically.
“Christ, what’s that man’s problem?” William asked, outraged.
She flinched slightly. “Well, I do have a slight tendency to terrorize those around me,” she admitted with a sly smile. “Verbal abuse, sharp-toed boots, tying various servants up…” She squealed when he clutched her up against him.
“We’ll have to do somethin’ about that,” he agreed in a low growl, carrying her below deck. “’Cause ‘m a jealous bloke, an’ I don’t think ‘ll take kindly to you terrorizin’, yellin’ at, kickin’ or tyin’ up anyone else…”
“I suppose I could merely terrorize you,” she agreed with a sly smile.
“I can hardly wait,” he practically purred. “One request, though. When you tie me up, can it be to a bed?”
Her thumb reached out to trace the side of his face. “I think that can be arranged,” she agreed.
With a moan of anticipation, he carried her over the threshold into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him…
“Anya!” Xander’s voice exclaimed in exasperation from the top of the stairs as he yanked his lover back.
Anya pouted. “But it’s going to be good!” she protested. “I want to listen!”
“No listening,” Xander informed her sternly, dragging her up onto the deck and letting the newlyweds celebrate their impromptu honeymoon in peace…