Chapter 3: You Can Lead A Horse To Water…
“How long would you say the voyage will take?” Giles asked curiously, taking another bite of his sausages. Strangely, ever since the adrenaline rush that accompanied the pirate attack, his stomach had been quite settled.
“Another two days ta get to Dead Man’s Island,” William responded. He sipped from the wineglass before him. “An’ then maybe a week or so down to Buenos Aires…”
Xander raised an eyebrow at that. “Thought we were headed to I-er…” he trailed off when he realized that revealing the location of their homeport to two passengers that would soon have the opportunity to contact the British navy wasn’t such a good idea. Not that he thought Anya would turn him in, but it never hurt to be extra careful.
William gave him a slight smile of approval. “We are,” he sighed, “but ‘d hate to keep our guests inconvenienced for that long…”
“I don’t mind,” Anya piped right up. She reached over under the table and gave Xander’s thigh a little squeeze. The two of them shared a conspiratorial little smile. “The longer the journey, the better…”
Riley rolled his eyes when the pair leaned in for a quick kiss. He viciously began to butter his bread, taking out his irritation at the treatment of their ‘guests’ on his unsuspecting food.
Giles also looked away from the little display of affection, his face flaming slightly at the sheer audacity the couple had in displaying their illicit relationship for all the world to see.
William merely wore an amused smile as he watched his first mate and the woman he was so obviously smitten with.
“I-I take it Elizabeth is faring well?” Giles asked, desperate for any distraction from the rather tempting display the pair beside him was making of the one thing he was sworn from doing.
William chuckled at that. “Tried ta tie me up in ‘er blanket this mornin’,” he announced. “Jumped me soon ‘s I got in the door an’ wrapped it right around my head.”
Xander turned his attention back to the conversation at that. “Which makes three times I’ve saved you from her little escape attempts,” he smiled wryly.
“Quite the li’l firebrand,” William agreed with a small smile.
Riley’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. That little bitch had been the one who cut him during the attack. Now, everywhere he turned, someone on the crew was mocking him for having been beaten by a little girl. And there she still was, threatening the captain and the first mate did nothing to stop it…
“You’re going too easy on her,” he insisted gruffly. “Give her a quick thrashing, show her who’s boss…”
William raised his scarred eyebrow at this. Riley’s poor opinion of his treatment of Elizabeth was all too clear; his second mate had a nasty penchant for vendettas. It was one of the things that troubled him most at night.
“I can ‘andle myself,” he commented, piercing blue eyes boring into the larger man. “Besides,” he added with his distinctive smirk, “she keeps me on my toes…”
“You weren’t on your toes when she tackled you down to the floor this morning,” Xander teased.
William sighed at that. “She is bein’ a bit stubborn ‘bout this whole arrangement… ‘aven’t been able to talk any sense into her, I take it?”
Giles removed his glasses and carefully cleaned the lenses with the cloth he kept in his breast pocket for just that purpose. “I’m afraid she’s rather persistent in being the unwilling captive,” he commented.
“I tried to explain that she could be enjoying many pleasing orgasms,” Anya began.
Giles’ face turned a deep maroon color.
“Remember that discussion we had about the ‘O’ word and not saying it in front of the poor clergy who will never have any?” Xander prompted her.
She instantly looked penitent. “I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized to Giles before turning her attention back to William. “For some reason, she’s refusing to be reasonable,” she huffed slightly. “I don’t know what she’s so scared of…”
* * *
Elizabeth paced her room like an animal caged. A few minutes ago, she’d heard the door to the room beyond hers close and then the telltale creaking of bedsprings that indicated that William had settled in for the night. Her pacing increased tenfold.
Somehow, she had to find a way to escape. There was no way she would just sit down and endure her kidnapping like, like… Well, like Anya and Giles and every other normal person that had the commonsense to realize that escape was pretty damn near impossible.
Elizabeth halted her agitated pacing and flopped down on the bed, trying to come up with a viable escape plan. Unfortunately, she was running low ideas, and all the good ideas she’d had had failed miserably. One of these days, she assured herself, he’ll grow overconfident and then I’ll make my move… The only difficulty with that plan was that she didn’t have to patience to lull her captor into a false sense of security; hence, he was constantly prepared for her latest attempt.
Elizabeth let out a deep sigh and watched the door with eyes narrowed, scowling at him through the wood even though she couldn’t see him. The real problem was that for once she’d met her match. William had counteracted all her escape plans with an amused, good-natured grace that just make her blood boil and want to…
She blushed as their morning encounter played back in her mind, the part where he’d tripped her down onto the floor and held her firmly beneath his well-muscled body playing over in her head again and again. She’d never felt a man that closely before – and for good reason since gentlemen just didn’t manhandle ladies in that way – and it had caused a deep, powerful heat to rise up within her…one that had nothing to do with anger.
He’s nothing but a common criminal, she chided herself inwardly. He shouldn’t even merit a second thought…
But the way he perfectly matched her wits, the way his scarred eyebrow rose and his lips quirked into that delicious little smirk, the way his white-blond hair had felt even though she’d been trying to yank at it at the time, and of course the way those beautiful blue eyes looked so deep into her own, finding her soul bare and exposed to her gaze…
The room began to feel unbearably hot, and she found herself suddenly more uncomfortable and restless than before.
Have to escape, she repeated her mantra over and over again. Then I can turn him over to the authorities and be done with him…
Even as she reasserted this opinion for the umpteenth time, the lock on the door rattled. Unconsciously, her hands moved to straightened her dress and smooth her hair as the door opened.
“You missed a lovely dinner,” William said with a cocky smile on his face as he entered the room, a small tray in his hand.
“And how many people did you kill to steal that ‘lovely dinner’?” she retorted coldly.
He chuckled slightly and set her tray down on the desk. “The preacher din’t mind,” he argued, opening up the lid and letting the scent of warm sausages and potatoes into the room.
Elizabeth was practically salivating at the delightful aroma. She ignored her desire – a skill she had become quite accomplished at. “Well, I do,” she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose up in the air haughtily.
William’s smile merely widened. This woman never gave up, did she? “Shall I take this back then?” he teased lightly. “Since you’re not hungry an’ all…”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “If you think to starve me into submission…” she said in what she hoped was a low growl.
To William’s ears, it sounded more like a kitten’s purr. He laughed. “Wouldn’t dream ‘f it, luv,” he said in a deep, sensual voice.
Elizabeth consciously stilled the fluttering of her heart and fixed him with a calculating scowl. “I’m not your ‘luv’,” she said disdainfully, “and I won’t eat your stolen food.”
William let out a sigh of exasperation; they’d had this same conversation every meal since she’d come on board over a week ago. “Look, pet,” he began in a soft voice that attempted to cover up his growing impatience.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, frustrated, waving his hands in the air, “ ‘’m not your pet’. Heard it a dozen times before…”
“Then maybe you should heed my request,” she hissed in a low voice, rising to her feet so that she could meet his eyes on a more level playing field. Of course, the effect was ruined by the fact that she still had to tilt her chin upwards…although not so much as on taller men.
He took a step into her, invading her personal space, trying to force her to back down. She refused.
“In any case,” he said with a snide little smile, “you’ve already eaten half our stocks. A bit more ‘f that ‘stolen food’ you so refuse to eat isn’t gonna hurt anythin’.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened at the audacity of his depiction of her eating habits, and she swung at him as fast as she could.
It wasn’t fast enough, however. He caught her fist just inches from his nose, deflecting the blow. She struggled against him, and he refused to let go, flashing that cocky smirk at her the entire time.
“Can’t quite figure out where all that food goes, though,” he teased, appraising her body in a way that made her cheeks burn. “You’re still a skinny, scrawny li’l thing…”
“Scrawny?!” she exclaimed in outrage, swinging at him with her other hand. This one caught him by surprise and clipped him squarely in the chin.
His head snapped back, but he didn’t loosen his grip on her right wrist in the slightest. With an amused little smile, his free hand checked his lip and came away with a few drops of blood.
Heartened by the fact that one of her blows had actually done some damage, she swung again.
He was prepared this time and caught her easily. “You’re thin as a pole. Surprised the wind doesn’t blow you away,” he couldn’t help poking at the jibe that had irritated her so. “Need to fatten up a bit, fill out those curves…” He appraised her again and licked his lips.
“Pig!” Elizabeth exclaimed, thrashing wildly about. She wasn’t able to break either wrist free, however, so she turned to the hard toes of her boots as weapons.
William leapt aside just in time to prevent his voice from permanently rising an octave before forcing her back up against the wall, trapping her legs effectively as he did so.
She squirmed helplessly against him, but with the wall at her back there was no place to escape from the hard warmth of his muscular body. Breathing was starting to become difficult and she had the sudden, irrational urge to just melt into his arms – both of which were obvious signs of near-fainting terror, she managed to thoroughly convince herself.
“I-I shall cry rape,” she said in a voice that sounding more needy – no, not ‘needy’, ‘SHAKY’, she insisted mentally – shaky than she’d intended.
She watched with something akin to fascination as his pupils dilated wide in response. His eyes turned a deep midnight blue as he fully noticed their closeness for the first time. She was warm and soft and yielding against him, and he felt a burning heat between his thighs that he had gone far too long without…
“Who would come?” he countered, his voice a husky whisper against her ear.
Elizabeth flinched at that. It was true; certainly no one on his crew would come to save her…even if they managed to hear… “Y-You promised you would not,” she reminded him nervously.
He pulled back slightly to look at her and gave her a little smile at that. “I did indeed,” he agreed in a voice that for one second sounded far more upper class than the one he usually used.
Her eyebrows shot to her hairline in response to the unexpected accent, but she made no comment. After all, she was still trying to determine whether or not she’d be ravished. The frightening thing was that there was this one little voice far in the back of her head that… She bit it back before the thought could even fully form.
“’f I let you go,” the rough Cockney was back fully in place, “will you be’ave?”
“ ‘Behave’?” she repeated incredulously. She knew that she really didn’t have the right to make any demands given the compromising position he had her in, but…well, fighting this man every step of the way just seemed instinctive to her.
“Stop threatenin’ my manhood an’ eat your food like a good li’l girl,” he teased lightly.
“ ‘Little girl’?!”
“You havin’ trouble hearin’ me or somethin’?” he leaned in unbearably close so that she could feel his warm breath against her lips. “’Cause you keep repeating everythin’ I say. Could always move in…closer if that would ‘elp…”
Her breath caught in her throat as he tilted his head to the side, bringing their lips into perfect alignment, and for a moment she thought he would… No, he pulled back instead, slowly releasing her.
“Your food,” he cocked his head in the direction of the tray.
She gulped slightly, taking in the strong form of his chest as it breathed heavily beneath his white silk shirt and then sharp lines of his cheekbones that just begged for her thumbs to run up and down them, and… She shook her head, snapping her rational mind back into control. He was obviously using physical proximity and her lack of experience to his advantage, and it was thoroughly despicable. Her eyes narrowed on him with newfound fury.
He shrugged. “A week’s a long time to go without food,” he offered as his final argument before his closed and locked the door behind him.
Elizabeth bit her lower lip and looked at the tray. There was a deep hunger within her – a craving – but somehow she didn’t think food would satisfy it.
Stop it! She scolded herself. You’re acting no better than a cheap whore!
What about Anya? She countered. SHE’s enjoying the full ‘hospitality’ of our hosts. You don’t think her a whore, do you?
Even her strictest thoughts couldn’t condemn the young woman who had been her only friend after all those lonely years living in her father’s estates by herself after her mother had died. Slowly, she reached out to take the fork in her hand, her objections unnecessary now that the fun reason behind objecting was in the other room. She took her first bite and pondered the situation further. What about Anya indeed…
* * *
“I get that you’re a virgin,” Anya began, looking at Elizabeth askance from her position on the bed, “but do you have to be such a prude all the time?”
Elizabeth practically choked on her wine. “Prude?!”
Anya rolled her eyes. “We’re captured,” she informed her mistress succinctly. “Even if you could escape, you couldn’t get off this ship…not until we reach land, at least. There’s no profit in making this trip more difficult than it needs to be.”
Sometimes Elizabeth hated Anya’s straightforward logic. “It is my duty as a lady to resist these criminals in every way possible,” she practically quoted off of some priest or other that her father had subjected her to during his attempts to ‘tame’ her. She found it ironic that despite all the resisting she’d done at the time, she would quote back her father’s moral training now.
“You know what your problem is?” Anya finally decided.
“Not enough orgasms?” Elizabeth guessed with a mixture of sarcasm and amusement.
Anya batted one hand in the air dismissively. “Besides that.”
Elizabeth groaned and sat herself down on the desk for another of Anya’s long lectures. “What?” she asked reluctantly.
“Morality,” Anya said seriously.
Elizabeth snorted in response.
“I’m serious,” Anya insisted, lying back against the pillows. “You’re so convinced that you’re right and William’s wrong because of some stupid moral beating your father gave you when you were a child—”
“He’s a pirate, Anya!” Elizabeth exclaimed in disbelief. “It’s not ‘some stupid moral’ thing. Piracy is amoral!”
Anya shrugged. “Give up on the whole virtue thing and just enjoy yourself,” she advised. “Living on a pirate ship’s a whole lot nicer than living in your father’s mansion.”
“That’s only because you have Xander here,” Elizabeth countered with a wry smile.
Anya couldn’t help a little hint of a smile from creeping up upon the edges of her own lips at that. “He does kind of…light up my day,” she conceded with a slight blush.
Elizabeth’s jaw dropped. Anya blushed?!
“What?” Anya exclaimed defensively, nervously fingering a thread on her long skirt.
“Anya and Xander…” Elizabeth teased slightly. “You’re really serious about this one, aren’t you?”
If at all possible, Anya blushed even further. “I’ll have you know that he has a very large and enjoyable penis,” she countered, hoping that her characteristic bluntness would be enough to embarrass Elizabeth off of this topic.
Her strategy didn’t work. “So it’s only a physical thing, huh?” she jibed. “You don’t feel little butterflies in your stomach every time he walks in the room? The entire world doesn’t narrow down to just the two of you whenever you’re together?”
“I enjoy his company,” Anya repeated slowly, “but that doesn’t mean anything. I’ve enjoyed many men’s company. It’s not like I would ever settle for just one…”
“You’ve thought about just settling down with Xander then, have you?” Elizabeth joked, knowing she’d caught her friend in the act.
Anya’s eyes widened in horror. “What? No! I didn’t say that! I—”
“—Wouldn’t bother to deny it so quickly if you hadn’t thought about it,” Elizabeth taunted lightly.
Anya sputtered in denial. “He’s…he’s…just a man and…”
“Anya’s in lo-ove!” Elizabeth sing-songed.
Anya leapt at her in an amused playful fury and batted halfheartedly at the other blond, trying to get her to shut up.
“Oh, Xander!” Elizabeth did in a high-pitched mock-Anya voice. “Only your orgasms are enough to satisfy me forever! Make me yours, you manly—”
Anya’s face turned bright red, and she let out a little squeal before aiming right for Elizabeth’s weakest spot.
“Ah!” Elizabeth exclaimed in horror as Anya’s fingers got her right in the side, tickling her mercilessly. Then, the uncontrollable giggles overcame her, and she fell back down onto the bed, taking Anya with her.
The two of them laughed, Anya continuing to tickle Elizabeth while Elizabeth shouted out (hopefully loud enough for Xander to hear in the next room) “Anya sends her undying love!”
Their little romp ended when the door outside opened, and William cautiously peeked in. “Are you two killin’ each other or what?” he asked, mildly bemused. His eyes widened when he saw the two of them on the bed together, and he licked his lips when very nasty thoughts sprung into his mind.
“We’re fine,” Anya informed him matter-of-factly just as if she hadn’t heard the humor in his voice. “I was merely explaining to Elizabeth the difference between sex and love.”
Elizabeth’s face turned a fluorescent pink color as William’s hungry eyes turned to her. “Anytime you need help with that lesson, luv…” he teased.
She buried her head under the pillow in mortification.
A cocky smirk spread across William’s features in response. “An’ ‘ll tell Xander he’s got Anya’s ‘undyin’ love’,” he threw Anya’s way before closing the door behind him and leaving the two best friends to their ‘visiting hours’.
Anya practically shrieked in response and snatched the pillow away from Elizabeth so that she could bury her own head beneath it.
Elizabeth didn’t mind; she was too busy laughing at someone having finally gotten the better of her friend. “Step out of denial and snatch Xander up before someone else gets him,” she said with a knowing smile.
Anya managed to look – of all things – demur at this. “All right, so I was thinking about it…” she admitted nervously.
Elizabeth let out a delighted little squeal. “I know he’s a pirate and everything but…congratulations!”
Anya rolled her eyes. “It’s not like we’re getting married or anything,” she insisted. “It’s just…he has a nice penis, and I’d like to monopolize it.” She watched Elizabeth closely and waited for a reaction.
Elizabeth stubbornly refused to blush. “It’s not going to work,” she insisted, arms crossed over her chest.
A wicked smile curled across Anya’s lips. “You know,” she began conversationally, “William has a rather nice penis as well…you can see quite clearly, you know, with those tight pants he wears…”
That worked. Elizabeth wondered if it was possible to die of embarrassment.
“It’s particularly obvious when he’s around you,” Anya continued to ride her best friend. “I almost wonder how he can walk sometimes… You’re not doing naughty things to him that I should be aware of, are you?”
“Anya!” Elizabeth exclaimed in pure horror. “O-Of course I’m not…” she trailed off, unable to even complete the thought aloud…although her mind provided several nice visuals.
“He talks about you all the time, you know,” Anya teased. “And after Riley cut you, he made him mop the entire poop deck by hand…” she wrinkled her nose slightly, “which isn’t what you’d think it is; I asked. Still,” she turned back to her incredibly entertaining topic, “he’s been a very nice…host, hasn’t he?”
The way she said ‘host’ implied all sorts of naughty connotations. Elizabeth decided that she very well could die of the heat that suffused her entire body.
“Think about it,” Anya said with a smug little smile on her face, knowing that she’d hit a definite nerve, “he’s been such a gentleman – giving you your own room, saving all your things from the other ship, bringing you all your meals personally…not to mention how incredibly attractive he is. And it’s obvious he likes you…”
“Stop.” Elizabeth’s iron will reasserted itself at that moment, and all the hatred she felt for everything William stood for came bubbling back up to the surface.
Anya was surprised at the coldness in Elizabeth’s tone. Her brow furrowed for a second, trying to puzzle out the reason behind her friend’s anger…and her eyes widened when she came to the only conclusion. She kept it to herself, however.
“Never mention that again,” Elizabeth insisted primly.
Anya nodded, but in her head she was busy scheming. Her idea was just too tantalizing to pass up…