Disclaimer: I don't own any of the
BtVS characters. They're all property of Joss. Also, the idea behind this story
was largely inspired by the 1940 movie The Sea Hawk.
Summary: AU; everyone's human. The
year is 1735, and a spirited young Elizabeth Summers is miserable at being sent
sailing for England in order to keep her arranged marriage with nobleman Parker
Abrahms. However, everything changes when her ship is attacked by William the
Bloody and his murderous crew, and soon Elizabeth finds herself a
not-so-unwilling captive. But how far will she be willing to go once she
realizes that her true love is a thief and a pirate? *WIP, CH8 new, begun
January 2003* NC17
Author's Note: Allow me explain the
source of another of my bizarre story ideas. ~_^ I had a little bit of a cold
over break (note how illness is a constant theme in my odd stories) and it
suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to see the movie The Sea Hawk
which I adored when I was a kid. And then, for some strange reason, I asked
myself "What if Spike was a pirate?" And I could so see it. I
kind of went "Argh! I've already got an AU. I can't do another one."
But my Muse just thumbed her nose at this logical argument and dropped this
entire story into my head. And it's never a good idea to argue with one's Muse.
~_^ So basically this whole story is done in the old pirate movie style, with
just enough Kantayra-style sex to make it, er...gratifying. I hope you
enjoy...
Skull
and Dagger
by
Kantayra
Chapter
One - Bon Voyage
"A toast!" Henry Summers,
wealthy colonial sharecropper and soon to be British noble, announced.
"A toast!" The forty-nine
landholders seated at the long, chestnut dinning table all arose, holding their
wineglasses up high.
"To wise investments and a more
prosperous tomorrow!" Henry proclaimed with a cultured smile.
Glasses clinked as the elite of North
Carolina shared in his toast.
"Although perhaps not quite so
prosperous as our host," Daniel Stewart commented, nodding his head in
Henry's direction. "Tell me, how ever did you manage it? Married into the
House of Lords - quite an amazing accomplishment, even for you."
"Especially given your
daughter's, er…spirited tendencies," Thomas Archer agreed.
Henry laughed. "I can assure
you," he began, "the Abrahms' aren't accepting my offer because of
Elizabeth's charming personality."
"All about business then, is
it?" Archer inquired.
"It is a shame that so many of
our fatherland's nobility have fallen into such hardship in recent years,"
Henry agreed in a manner that indicated all too clearly that all he cared about
the matter was how it had benefited him personally. "The Abrahms have
indeed fallen upon hard times in recent years. And, if they're eager to ally
with the ample estates I've set up here in the colonies in order to rebuild
their wealth, who am I to object?"
Stewart laughed. "Even though
their son must endure a marriage with young Elizabeth?"
"From what I've heard, this
Parker of theirs is quite the philanderer," Henry said dismissively.
"They're glad to have him settled down…at least officially."
"And Elizabeth is not so
displeasing of countenance," Archer joked lightly. "At least he'll
have that consolation after they're wed."
Henry raised his glass in agreement.
"I figure she'll be able to at least bare him a few good sons. Fair trade
all around."
"If he can break her in
properly," Stewart commented wryly. "You never quite managed that,
did you, Summers?"
Henry hid his displeasure at what he
considered to be the greatest failure of his life. Everything else in his work,
his landholdings, his family, and his social circle had come off perfectly,
expect for that stubborn daughter of his who just refused to bend to his as any
proper lady of her standing should.
"It's her husband's task
now," he made light of the subject, unwilling to let anything mar this,
the night of his crowning achievement. Marriage to nobility was indeed rare
with colonial families these days. He had already received reports of the stir
it was causing back in good, old England. But all that really mattered was that
the Abrahms' were desperate enough to go through with this arranged marriage.
Thankfully, the recent piracy on the Atlantic had reduced the old Lord's
holdings to virtually nothing.
"May her husband reign her in
better than her father has," Stewart pressed the point a bit bitterly.
After all, who wouldn't be jealous of Henry's recent success?
Henry gave him a tightlipped smile
and raised his glass in agreement.
"To the taming of the
screw," Archer laughed, joining in the most recent toast as well,
"provided she doesn't pull another of those stunts of hers first…"
* * *
"Are you mad?" Anya
demanded as Elizabeth slung herself over the edge of her balcony.
"Not yet," Elizabeth
retorted, "and as long as you continue to lower the rope, I'll remain of
good temper." She grabbed hold of the makeshift rope she'd created through
knotted bed-sheets and tested its strength once more.
Anya whispered a silent prayer that
she would escape this latest adventure of her mistress' concocting. "It's
really not so bad," she informed the blond beauty even as she lowered the
rope for her. "In fact, the company of a man can be most…enjoyable."
"You've heard everything I
have," Elizabeth retorted. "This Parker Abrahms is nothing but a
petty whore-mongerer!"
"Which will only make his that
much more experienced in how to please you," Anya countered.
Elizabeth gave her a dark long.
"There is no way I'm going through with this idiotic plan of my
father's," she insisted. She lowered herself further down the rope.
Anya winced when she felt the knots
strain with Elizabeth's weight. "You never know," she called down as
quietly as she could, "he could be the one to finally win your
heart…"
"Some stuffy, inbred, British
Lord?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Hardly."
"You'd rather have some idle, flaccid
landowner?" Anya retorted. "Or a dirty merchant?"
"Given the choices, I'd rather
have nothing at all," Elizabeth declared. "Lower me further."
Anya let loose another coil, and
Elizabeth fell another few feet. The sheet stretched out dangerously. "I
don't think it will hold," she commented just as Elizabeth felt the rope
give way.
Anya scrambled to hold it, but the
knot slipped and, with a little screech, Elizabeth fell some fifteen feet to
the ground…
* * *
…Coincidentally, just as Archer had
finished his comment. The sound of her cry was easily heard by everyone at the
dinner party, and they all turned to the window to watch in astonished
disbelief as the young Elizabeth Summers came falling down from the sky,
landing in an ungraceful heap on the far side of the lawn.
"Simmons!" Henry called out
to his butler, but his need had already been anticipated.
In a matter of seconds, half a dozen
footmen had rushed to their mistress' side, breathing sighs of relief at
discovering that she was uninjured. They attempted to extricate her from the
tangled sheet, but her own wild thrashings only made the job more difficult.
Poor John got a hit in the nose for
his troubles, and all the others winced in sympathy. Elizabeth Summers had an
unfortunate tendency to go for the nose, and it wasn't pretty when she did it.
"Is she all right?" Anya
called down from the third story window where she and Elizabeth had been locked
for the night in a hopeless attempt to keep the younger blond from attempting
to escape.
"Fine," Michael called up,
giving her an eager smile. Anya was known for eagerly awarding men's
friendliness, and he wouldn't mind one last shot at the blond before she sailed
away to England tomorrow.
"Get off of me!" Elizabeth
finally pulled herself free of the sheets and rose to her feet, fists ready to
pummel any nose that got within ten feet of her.
The footmen warily back off into a
circle around her.
"You fools!" Henry cried
out from the dinning room window, watching the spectacle on the lawn with
embarrassment. "Grab her!"
The six strong young men looked at
each other nervously, gulping at the enraged expression on their Master's
daughter's face.
"O-On three." Michael's
voice was shaking. "One, two…"
Elizabeth tried to bolt, but valiant
efforts on the parts of all the footmen finally got her arms and legs secured.
The six of them dragged her, still struggling, back to the dinning room where
her father awaited.
"Do I have to keep you in chains?"
Henry hissed, snatching her from the servants and marching her off into the
hallway where all his guests wouldn't be able to gawk at the spectacle.
Elizabeth tried to pull free of his
grasp, but it was like iron. "Not even that will get me on that ship
tomorrow," she retorted.
"You'll be on that
ship," Henry insisted, "if I have to throw you over my shoulder and
carry you myself!"
"You wouldn't dare,"
Elizabeth retorted. "It would sully your precious reputation to be seen in
public like that."
"It would sully my reputation
more should this marriage not go through," Henry retorted.
"I'll never marry
Parker," Elizabeth insisted.
Henry's eyes narrowed. "You
stubborn little brat!" he hissed. "This is the greatest opportunity
of my career! Do you have any idea what a noble endorsement will do for my
shipping company?"
"You care for your businesses
more than you do for your own flesh and blood!" Elizabeth accused.
"That is it!" Henry
roared angrily. "You are my daughter and will obey my commands!"
"I will not!"
Elizabeth retorted.
"Then I shall just have to make
you…" Henry hissed angrily. "Simmons, get some rope!"
* * *
Fourteen hours later, Elizabeth sat
in her small cabin aboard the ship, still tied firmly to one of her father's
sitting room chairs, narrowed eyes shooting daggers at everyone present except
Anya. She continued to gnaw at the gag her father had resorted to when she'd
refused to stop screaming bloody murder in protest to her restraints long past
midnight.
Anya eyed the two footmen that
guarded Elizabeth and gave her an apologetic smile when, once again, she
assessed that she wouldn't be able to overpower them and free her mistress.
Elizabeth nodded and her eyes
softened, letting Anya know that she didn't hold her responsible for her
current predicament.
"At last!" Henry entered
the room with a tall, slim man dressed in priestly clothing. "You set sail
in minutes," she informed Elizabeth with a victorious smile, indicating
that the two footmen could depart.
The clergyman watched the spectacle
of the rather small young woman hog-tied to a chair and guarded by several men
in astonished - and somewhat horrified - disbelief. "Th-That is no proper
way to transport a lady," he began with a hesitant stutter.
"It's the only way to
transport this 'lady'," Henry retorted, finally removing the gag from
Elizabeth's mouth.
"I'll never do it!" she
exclaimed immediately. "Never!"
"Yes, yes." Henry patted
her cheek disinterestedly. Raising her had always been his wife's job, and
after her death Anya's, so he felt no loss in her parting. In fact, he'd never
really bothered to get to know her at all. "Although I can't imagine how
even you will manage to escape this ship while it's at sea. And I have Father
Giles' assurance that he won't release you until you're well at sea…as well as
making sure you don't evade the Abrahms' once you arrive in England."
"Quite right," Giles
nodded, although he seemed a bit more nervous about his mission now that he had
actually seen the situation. He hadn't really believed that the young lady had
been literally tied to a chair.
"You should be grateful,"
Henry informed Elizabeth. "Without my contacts, you would never have found
a man that would wed you. Now, can we not at least have a pleasant
good-bye?"
"I will find a way to
escape," Elizabeth informed him coldly.
Henry let out a weary sigh. This
whole family thing had always been strange to him. At least now, his terror of
a daughter would be another man's problem. "You will follow my
instructions exactly," he informed Giles.
The clergyman nodded. "T-To the
very letter," he agreed.
Henry nodded, satisfied.
"Farewell, Elizabeth. It has been an…interesting experience…"
And then he was gone.
Elizabeth and Anya exchanged a look
and nodded.
Giles hadn't even noticed, having
been too busy settling himself down and leafing through his own personal
notebook.
Anya carefully inched over to where a
loose wooden plank rested against the wall. Still, Giles didn't notice.
Slowly, she stepped up behind him,
swinging the plank high and…
He fell to the ground unconscious
with a thunk.
"Hurry!" Elizabeth
exclaimed. "Untie me before we set sail!"
Anya produced a very unladylike knife
from the folds of her skirt and proceeded to cut the ropes that bound
Elizabeth. In a matter of seconds, she was freed.
"Let's go." She grabbed
Anya's hand and together they fled their cabin, racing up the stairs to the
deck and seeing…
"God damn it!" Anya
exhibited yet another of her unladylike tendencies.
Elizabeth's heart sunk as she saw the
distant shoreline. They must've set off only seconds after her father departed
and had very favorable winds to carry them out this far already.
"I can't swim that," she
commented with a forlorn sigh.
Anya nodded gravely. "So what do
we do now?"
"Make a break for it once we get
to England," Elizabeth decided.
* * *
"I hope you know that watching
over you prevented me from properly saying good-bye to several attractive young
men," Anya informed Elizabeth first thing in the morning on day four of
their voyage, just as she had every other morning since they'd left. "You
owe me for life."
"Think of it this way,"
Elizabeth teased back. "You've got every single sailor of this ship to
choose from. We're the only passengers aboard, so that means we're the only
women…"
Anya looked slightly cheered up at
that before she slumped again. "I can't," she sighed. "I'll be
stuck with them for the entire rest of the voyage. What if they want more sex,
and I don't? I can't deal with that kind of commitment!"
Elizabeth shook her head at the other
woman's insatiable appetite for the less fair sex - or, more appropriately, her
appetite for just sampling as much as possible of it. For all Anya's
experience, she'd never once found a man that could hold her interest for more
than a few weeks.
"Why did my father ever let you
stay on as my companion?" Elizabeth wondered at Anya's inappropriateness
for the hundredth time.
"Because I was the only one you
could stand," Anya reminded her, "and he was sick of searching."
Elizabeth laughed at that before
shuddering. "I swear you were the only woman with a personality
that father even let meet me."
"That's because I, er…convinced
Simmons to add me to the list of candidates," Anya said with a little
wink.
Elizabeth laughed. "What would I
ever do without you?" she gave her best friend a fond smile.
"You wouldn't even get to hear
about orgasms," Anya informed her.
"I suppose that's as close as
I'll ever get to one," Elizabeth sighed.
Anya patted her shoulder
reassuringly. "You could always check out all the muscular, sweaty
sailors," she suggested perkily.
Elizabeth grimaced slightly. "I
can't," she began, "I-"
"Want it to be with someone you
love," Anya repeated out of rote memory. "How many times do I have to
tell you that love is completely unnecessary to-"
"Good morning, ladies,"
Giles stepped into the small dinning cabin.
Elizabeth and Anya both broke off
their conversation with a little giggle. Giles was the true spirit of a
clergyman: wise and fatherly (about allowing Elizabeth to cry onto his shoulder
about her marriage and assuring her that everything would be all right),
forgiving (about things like, say, being hit over the head by a wooden
plank…although only after the two of them had apologized profusely and he'd
heard their whole story), and, above all, completely and utterly mortified
every time either of them mentioned "conjugal relations." So, out of
deference to the only other passenger aboard the trading ship, the two of them
just barely managed to avoid discussing the subject in his presence.
"Feel up to breakfast
today?" Elizabeth commented, surprised.
Giles nodded slowly, so as not to
create any unnecessary motion, and the two women had to agree that he looked a
bit less green today than he had the last three days.
"Sit down," Anya offered
brightly, gesturing to the only available chair.
Giles sat down in it, flinching
slightly when the ship hit a larger wave and the cabin rocked gently.
"Don't let me interrupt your conversation," he recovered his stomach
and said politely.
Elizabeth and Anya exchanged a
nervous look.
"Uh…we were just discussing what
we'd do when we got to England," Elizabeth came up with a plausible
alternative.
"And how we'll find attractive
men to-"
Elizabeth slapped a hand over Anya's
mouth before she could finish. She loved Anya like a sister, but sometimes
(well, actually all the time) she lacked any tact whatsoever.
"Ah," Giles nodded, a
delighted little glint in his eye, "planning your escape plan from that
dreadful Abrahms fellow?"
A five-minute description of Parker's
fondness for working women was all it had taken to enlist Giles as a fellow
conspirator. Even Anya had to admit that he was a rather enjoyable
companion…for a man that she couldn't have sex with, at least.
"I still think we should take
over the ship and sail somewhere else," Anya pouted slightly.
"France, perhaps. Or South America!"
"And how exactly would we sail
the ship then?" Giles repeated his criticism of her impulsive plan, amused
rather than put off.
Anya pouted slightly.
"We're going to have to sneak
off," Elizabeth decided. "It will be too risky to assume that the
Abrahms' won't have someone waiting for me."
"You could always stow away
in-" Giles began.
He was cut off by a deafening blast
that shook the entire ship. Plates and silverware clattered to the floor as the
entire cabin rocked back and forth wildly.
"What's happening?" Anya
asked frantically, eyes wide as she clutched the table.
Giles ran to the porthole window, the
fear in his system keeping the seasickness at bay for once. He could see
nothing, however. "We shall have to go up above…" he began just as
the door to the dinning cabin flung open.
"Pirates!" exclaimed the
captain before he collapsed onto the floor, a dagger planted firmly in his
back…
Fun, light, and Spike...er, William
meets Elizabeth next chapter...
Disclaimer: The usual.
Author's Note: Doesn't 'William the
Bloody' sound like a pirate's name? It really does. And this time we get to
meet the gorgeous pirate in the flesh... ~_^
Skull
and Dagger
Chapter
Two - Captured!
Elizabeth immediately ran forward and
pulled the dagger from the dead man's back, clutching it firmly in her hand as
the sounds of struggle continued outside. Anya pulled out her own knife while
Giles took hold of one of the chairs and stationed himself right next to the
door, prepared to bash anyone over the head who tried to enter.
They waited, listening to the sounds
of battle approaching closer and their own ragged breaths. Several more loud
crashes, and then all was quiet outside.
"Is that a good sign or a bad
sign?" Anya bit her lip nervously.
Elizabeth and Giles both shrugged and
held their breath as they waited for someone to come. After nothing had
happened for several seconds, Giles slowly loosened his hold on the chair…
And that's when the door burst
inward.
A man with wild black hair
immediately clocked Giles on the jaw, knocking him unconscious onto the floor.
Anya lunged at the intruder from behind, her blade flashing in the morning sun,
but he caught her wrist easily, slamming her back hard into the wall and
pinning her in place.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, was left to
face his companion, a tall, brutish-looking blond man with a jagged scar down
one side of his face. She quickly concealed her weapon in the folds of her
skirt when she saw that he had a knife as well.
He flashed her a toothy smile when he
saw what appeared to be a helpless, frightened woman as his only opponent and
advanced on her with a purposeful leer.
Elizabeth let him back her up against
the wall, not having to fake her fear at the situation. If these really were
pirates, then there were undoubtedly dozens more where they had come from, and
she doubted that even she could overcome them all.
"Pretty little thing, aren't
ya?" the pirate said in a rough voice. He quickly caught her by the waist
and hair, pulling her right up against him. "Don't worry," he said
with a lustful sneer, "I'll take good care of you…" His knife
sliced into the bodice of her dress, exposing the white lace underneath, and he
yanked her hair back to get a better look at her face. "Very
pretty," he decided.
And that was pretty much all
Elizabeth could take. She quit trying to synchronize her own attack with Anya's
and just swung at him.
The pirate cried out and staggered
backward when her knife slashed his back, and she caught him right between the
legs with her toe as he went down.
He clutched at her skirts, but she
evaded him, making a run for the door and hoping to find someone else from
their crew that could help her.
Her plan was foiled just as she reached
the door, however. She crashed headlong into a third pirate, and this one was
not so easy to defeat as his predecessor. He instantly caught the wrist that
held her knife and twisted until the blade slipped from her grasp.
She aimed her free fist at his face,
but he quickly caught that hand as well, pinning them both behind her and
holding her against him so that she couldn't get the leverage she needed to
kick him…or to reach for the sword he wore at his waist.
She froze then, realizing she was trapped,
and looked at her captor for the first time. He was of slim build, although
sleekly muscular from his many years sailing. Tight black slacks and a white
silk shirt open at the breast showed off his lean body and sun-kissed chest
admirably. His face was no less striking - razor-sharp cheekbones and scarred
eyebrow defined his features while brilliant blue eyes gave it life. Perhaps
the most exotic aspect of his appearance was his hair, however. Years of
exposure to the sun's blinding rays had bleached it until it was almost white,
giving this pirate a strangely angelic appearance.
Elizabeth quickly shook the silly
notion from her head and continued her useless struggles against him.
"You all right?" His accent
was unmistakably British, although of a much lower class than she was used to
hearing.
The bulky blond pirate grunted in
response, clutching the bleeding slash in his side and still hunched over from
her kick. "I'll live," he agreed gruffly.
The pirate that held her seemed to be
struggling slightly with mirth at his companion's predicament. "We'll 'ave
ta work on that overconfidence 'f yours, Finn," he chuckled. "One of
these days it'll get you killed…"
The blond pirate - Finn - cast an
annoyed scowl in his direction and turned to where the dark-haired pirate still
had Anya pinned as well.
Elizabeth let out a disappointed sigh
when she realized that any hope of Anya overcoming her captor and freeing her
had gone. Although…
Elizabeth's eyes widened when she
realized that Anya hadn't even bothered to try to escape. In fact, right
now, she was just letting the man hold her, looking up at him with a coy smile
on her face.
The man seemed equally entranced, his
grip changing from a rough hold to a gentler embrace.
If Elizabeth hadn't known better, she
would have sworn a string quartet was playing soft love music around the pair,
closing them off in their own private world…
The pirate who held her made the same
observation and raised one eyebrow in surprise. "Xander?" he
inquired.
The dark-haired man - Xander,
Elizabeth gathered - didn't respond, remaining transfixed by the blond in his
arms.
Her captor rolled his eyes in
annoyance. "Xander!" he exclaimed.
"Huh?" Xander turned to
look at him for the first time.
"You have everythin' under
control there, mate?" he demanded skeptically.
Xander nodded numbly. "I've got
her," he agreed.
"He's got me," Anya agreed
perkily.
Elizabeth groaned inwardly. Why
did Anya have to pick NOW to start thinking about sex? Her silent
rhetorical question went unanswered.
"Right then," the
white-blond pirate who Elizabeth deduced was in charge nodded. He glanced down
at Giles' unconscious form. "We need to get the passengers off the ship
before-"
"I'm not going anywhere with
you!" Elizabeth exclaimed in sudden outrage.
He cast her an annoyed scowl.
"Yeah, an' what're you gonna do 'bout it?" he demanded.
"I'll be happy to take care of
her," Finn's eyes narrowed at her, "teach her some manners…"
"I don't think that'll be
necessary," he gave the other man a tight smile. "Carry the preacher
out of 'ere; 'll take the girl."
"You will not!"
Elizabeth exclaimed. "I'll have you know that my father is-"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Do I
look like I give a damn who your father is?" he said sarcastically,
grabbing a firmer hold on her waist and trying to drag her out through the
door.
Elizabeth jabbed at him with her toe,
and when that didn't work managed to get her foot hooked around the doorframe,
making it essentially impossible for them to leave the room. She stuck her chin
out at him stubbornly. "I'm. Not. Leaving."
"You wanna burn down with the
ship?" he retorted.
"It's better than being
kidnapped by a bunch of…of…pirates!" she hissed.
He merely looked more annoyed than
before. "Xander?" he turned to the dark-haired man.
Xander untied the red bandana that he
wore around his neck and handed it over to his captain.
"What are you doing?"
Elizabeth's eyes widened, and she began her struggles anew.
However, he still managed to get her hands
tightly tied behind her back before flinging her back over his shoulder.
"You'll never get away with
this!" Elizabeth cried out from where her face was pressed up against his
back, kicking uselessly as he carried her out the door.
Riley followed with Giles slung over
his shoulder, eyes still narrowed at the girl that had wounded him - even if it
was his pride more than his body that had been hurt.
And behind them, Xander and Anya
walked out arm in arm, seemingly oblivious to the world around them. After all,
it wasn't every day that love at first sight occurred…
* * *
"Will you please, please
cut out that racket?!" William exclaimed irritably when the wild young
captive's piercing screams for help finally became more than he could bear.
"Heeeeeelllppp!" was
Elizabeth's only response.
William ran his hand down his face
and moved so that he was sitting against the edge of the desk in front of where
he'd tied her to the chair when he'd realized at it was the only way to keep
the lower regions of his anatomy intact for long.
"Look," he began,
"your crew's dead; the ship's burnt. The only people who can 'ear your
cries 're my men…"
"I don't care," she said
sullenly.
William breathed a sigh of relief
that at least she was talking instead of screaming now. "That may well
be," he agreed with a sly smile, "but you'll save yourself some wear
an' tear on your voice this way."
Elizabeth debated screaming yet again
just to defy his regrettably reasonable logic. However, he did have a point;
her voice was getting tired. "If you so much as think about
touching me," she informed him in an icy voice, "you'll die a death
more slow and painful than anything you've ever imagined…"
"Dyin' from my ears bleedin' due
to your constant screaming?" he couldn't help but tease.
Her face remained stony.
"Look," he began with a
sigh, "'m not gonna 'sully your virtue' or some rot like that. Truth be
told, we din't think there were gonna be any passengers on that boat. So, we'll
jus' drop you off when we get back to land, an' you can be on your merry way
then. All right?"
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed
suspiciously. "I don't trust you," she informed him primly.
"Do you think 'm an idiot?"
he asked abruptly.
"I don't know," she
countered haughtily.
"Yeah, well, 'd have to be an
idiot to take advantage 'f you," he informed her, leaning forward so that
his face just barely intruded into her personal space. "'S never a smart
idea to take an unwillin' woman to bed…'specially one who's so prone to
stabbin'."
She relaxed slightly at that,
although she didn't let it show on the outside. "I will take every
opportunity I can to escape," she informed him matter-of-factly.
He gave her a sly smile. "Why am
I not te least bit surprised?" he joked lightly.
She turned her nose away from him in
response.
"So," he sat back up on the
table, pouring a glass of wine from the decanter and offering it to her only to
drink it himself when she shook her head 'no', "shall we properly
introduce ourselves then? Given that we're gonna be livin' together for some
time…"
She shrugged disinterestedly.
"The name's William
Arlington," he said, looking down at her over the rim of his glass.
Her eyes widened in recognition.
"You're William the Bloody!" she exclaimed in surprise. And then her
expression turned to fury. "You've stolen half a dozen of my father's
shipments in the past month alone!" she began to rant. "And when you
attacked that cargo ship right in Chesapeake Harbor, half the population was
terrified to even set foot on the beach, even with British navy ships in plain
view! And-"
"Really?" William said, a
hint of pride in his voice.
"You're infamous," she
informed him coldly, "as a thief and a ruthless murderer. That's not
something to be proud of."
"Maybe to you," he
countered with a toothy grin. "Your father, huh? Who's he then?"
"Henry Summers," she said
proudly.
He blinked. "Never 'eard 'f
him."
"He's very wealthy," she
assured him before gasping at the error she'd just made. "If you hold me
for ransom…" she began.
"Painful death, yadda, yadda,
yadda," he said disinterestedly. "So, your father's 'Enry. That would
make you…?"
"Elizabeth," she said
sullenly.
"'Lizabeth," he repeated.
"Suits you - very pretty."
She blushed slightly and turned her
head away so that he couldn't see her cheeks redden. In the past men had had an
unfortunate tendency of thinking her pretty, then meeting her and instantly
changing their minds.
"So, 'Lizabeth, how 'bout we
come to a little agreement?" he suggested, cocking his head to one side
slightly to look at her.
"I don't deal with
criminals," she informed him.
"'Course not," he said with
a cheeky little smile, "but in the interest 'f keepin' me from wringin'
your lovely neck…"
"You're not exactly convincing
me that I can trust you," she pointed out.
He laughed at that. "Got me
there, luv," he agreed. "Now, will you jus' listen to what 'm
proposing?"
"Do I have a choice?" she
gestured to the ropes that bound her.
"You will soon if you just keep
quiet for one second!" he exclaimed, his infamous impatience on the verge
of breaking.
She let out a little sigh. "I'm
listening," she agreed.
"This room 'ere," he
gestured to the small cabin furnished only with the chair, the small desk, and
a mattress, "'s pretty impossible to break out of. 've got the only
key," her eyes flicked to the silver key that was tied at his waist right
beside the sword he wore, "an' the only way out's through my cabin. Now,
how 'bout I untie you, an' you can 'ave this room all to your lonesome
throughout our voyage?"
"Like I could sleep knowing
you're in the next room," she said with a little eye roll.
He gave her a conspiratorial little
smile and moved over to the bed. She watched, curious, as he felt around under
the mattress and finally produced a small dagger. "'ad an admiral who was
a wee bit paranoid a while back," he commented, studying the sharp edge of
the blade. He pulled it out further, revealing that it was attached to a strong
chain and bolted firmly to the wall, preventing it from being useful to anyone
who was not on the bed. "Should ensure that nothin' gets to you in your
sleep." He cocked an eyebrow in her direction.
She bit her lip, more than tempted.
After all, despite all her experience at being tied up, it was rather
uncomfortable. "What about Anya?" she demanded. "And Father
Giles?"
"The preacher's in no
danger," he assured her, replacing the knife in its hidden sheath beneath
the mattress. "'ve got 'im roomed up in another 'f the empty cabins. As
for your companion…"
Elizabeth nodded resignedly. "A
willing captive, I take it?"
"Prob'ly sharin' the bed 'f my
first mate even as we speak," William agreed before frowning. "'E's
not usually so quick to dive in. Tha's quite a…persuasive friend you've
got yourself there."
"That's Anya," Elizabeth
couldn't help but smile. "She sees what she wants, and she takes it."
"An' what about you?" he
asked, moving over to where she sat and crouching down in front of her feet,
the sheath of his blade scrapping the ground as he did so.
"We have a deal," she
repeated forcefully. "That does not mean that I will consort with you or
your crew in any way."
"Fair enough," he agreed
with a small smile, removing a small knife from his boot. "For the
ropes," he quickly reassured her.
She nodded that she wouldn't
struggle.
"You're not going to, er…kick,
are you?" he asked somewhat warily, noticing that certain precious regions
of his body would be open and exposed to her once her feet were released.
"We have a deal," she said
simply.
He decided to live dangerously and
quickly cut through the ropes at her feet. Elizabeth took the opportunity to
study him. The look of thoughtful concentration as he worked, as well as his
entire manner, indicated to her that he was no common thug. There was definite
intelligence and wit behind those shinning blue eyes, underneath long,
fluttering lashes and…
She stopped short when she realized
that she'd once again been appraising his beauty. Her cheeks flushed just as he
broke through the ropes and turned to look up at her.
His eyes widened slightly, and he
quickly reached out to her bosom…
She kicked like mad. No matter how
beautiful he was, no pirate would ever touch her without facing the
consequences!
"Jesus Christ!" He leapt
back frantically, just barely escaping the sharp toe of her boot. "What on
earth is the matter with you?!"
"You said you wouldn't touch
me!" she yelled right back. "I should have known I could never
trust-!"
"You're bleedin',"
he cut her off, gesturing to the wound he'd been trying to inspect.
She looked down and discovered that
indeed a small cut was bleeding where that other pirate had cut her dress; the
blade must've just knicked her skin. "I-I didn't realize," she
stuttered, instantly apologetic.
His brow furrowed slightly, and this
time she didn't pull back when he reached out to inspect the wound. "This
'as been cut…" He frowned further.
"That thug friend of yours did
it," she said, huffing slightly. "Finn. I can't imagine why you're at
all surprised."
"Passengers are never to
be harmed," he said sternly, looking up at her with flashing blue eyes.
"Riley did this? That bloke you cut?"
"Yes."
"He'll be punished for it,"
he assured her with such sincerity that not even she could doubt his word.
Their eyes met and locked for a
moment, blue to hazel, and she felt her breath catch in her throat and her
heart pound in her chest at the intensity of this man.
And then he moved behind her to untie
her wrists, and the spell was broken. She warily rubbed the flesh there,
surprised at how little it had actually bruised.
"There's water in the
basin," he informed her in clipped tones. "'d volunteer to help
but…" He eyed her foot warily and backed out of the room.
"Milady." He gave her a curt little bow before the door shut and the
lock turned, trapping her within.
She quickly ran over to check the
lock. Unfortunately, it was a good one, and her hairpins weren't strong enough
to pick it. Step two was to examine the dagger under the bed. It too was
thoroughly secured, the blade too thick to fit between the wall and the metal
bolts that held it in place. That left only the small porthole… She wasn't
surprised to see that that avenue of escape was also hopeless.
She flopped back down onto the
mattress with a weary sigh. There was no use denying it; she was completely
trapped and at his mercy. At least he didn't seem to be as much of a hoodlum as
that Riley, however…
"Oh well," she on her back
and stared up at the wooden planks of the ceiling, "at least I don't have
to marry Parker anymore…"
Does anyone besides me sense a little
UST in the future? ~_^ Review for more...
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the
BtVS characters...although I do take credit for sticking them all in
this rather unique situation...
Author's Notes: Ah, another
chapter... The young Elizabeth in the clutches of the pirate William the Bloody
who, lamentably, decided not to take advantage. ~_^ C'mon, how can you not
read on?
Skull
and Dagger
Chapter
Three - 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…
Ooh, Anya has an idea? You just know
that's got to be good. Review for more. ~_^
Disclaimer: The usual.
Previously: Elizabeth, Anya, and
Giles were all taken captive by William the Bloody and his crew. But Elizabeth
managed to kick the crap out of Riley first. Everyone else was amused; Riley
was not. Anya and Xander hit it off right off the bat and have been, er...enjoying
their time together. Elizabeth (as always) is being hopelessly stubborn and
insists on escaping...quite possibly because it allows her to get up close and
personal with her handsome captor. ~_^
Skull
and Dagger
Chapter
Four - Ghosts In The Mist
"A ship with only two women on
board," Riley continued to rant, a slightly drunken slur in his voice,
"an' the capsin…catspin…captain's!" he finally got the right word
with a victorious exclamation. "And the castpin doe'n't even use 'em
right!" He finished angrily.
Forrest giggled in an inebriated
manner. "If the captain was half backwards, he'd be catnip!"
Riley found this equally hilarious in
his current state and laughed uncontrollably for a minute before the anger took
over him once more. "Waste 'f a woman!" he practically roared.
"A real man woulda shown
her who's boss by now," Forrest agreed, shakily trying to pour from one of
the spouts in the nearby barrel into the mug. He thoroughly lacked the
coordination to do so in his current state, however, and quite a bit of the
dark liquor spilled onto the floor.
"Suzacatly!" Riley
exclaimed, raising his mug in Forrest's direction before taking another deep
swig of ale. "Pretty little blond thing just begging for me to take
her…" He abruptly slammed his fist down on the table, causing all the cups
there to rattle. "I saw her first!" he insisted.
"Way firster," Graham
agreed from the back corner of the room where he'd passed out a bit earlier. It
was quite clear that he had no idea what the conversation was about anymore,
but he was too drunk to care.
"Yeah," Riley agreed
dumbly, blinking a couple of times and trying to remember what he was talking
about. "She's mine!" he finally shouted out once he
remembered.
The door to his cabin opened in
response to that. Riley and Forrest turned in surprise while Graham just
groaned at the light that was being let in.
It took Xander all of three seconds
to figure out exactly why they all had such blank looks on their faces,
and his eyes narrowed in response. "We can hear you shouting from the far
side of the ship! Are you drunk?" he demanded disapprovingly.
"We are not *hic!*
drunk!" Riley insisted unconvincingly.
Xander batted the foul-smelling air
away from his nose. "You are drunk," he sighed in annoyed.
"Great. Just great!" His tone turned furious then. "What kind of
second officer are you?!" he demanded. "You have duties!
Responsibilities to this ship!"
"Oh yeah," Riley said with
drunken sarcasm, "tell me all about them. Hey guys!" He turned to
Forrest and Graham. "Listen up! Harrisusis gonna tell the secret of how he
got chosen to be first mate over me." His eyes narrowed at Xander, and he
quickly leapt to his feet in an aggressive move.
Xander rolled his eyes when Riley's
lunge brought on a wave of dizziness and the other man staggered about the
room, muttering vague threats.
"I'll get you…show you to order
me around…take that slut 'f yours for a ride, too…"
At that, whatever good humor Xander
had had about the situation vanished, and pure rage overtook him. Riley gasped,
wide-eyed, when he was suddenly thrown violently across the table. He landed
right on one of the rickety wooden chairs, smashing it to pieces.
In an instant, Xander had caught him
up by his shirt again and threw him up against the wall. The young man's
normally chocolate brown eyes had turned a fiery black with rage, and he
scowled at Riley, not intimidated at the other man's size for even a second.
"You. Never. Talk. About.
Anya. That. Way." Each word was spoken with precise venom.
Riley's eyes widened, and for the
first time ever, he found himself afraid of Xander's wrath. "I-I
didn't mean…" he began to laugh nervously, the extreme danger he was in
sobering him instantly.
"NEVER!" Xander
shouted.
"N-Never!" Riley agreed
nervously.
Xander's rage didn't abate since he
knew the other man didn't really mean it, but at that moment he was distracted
by a cry from on deck.
"Ship off the port bow!"
Xander frowned at that and released
Riley. The drunken man slumped to the floor in relief. "You stay
here," Xander directed the three of them. "The state you're in,
you'll only cause trouble…" And, with that, he dashed out to see what was
happening.
* * *
"So, what would you do if
someone came after you with a gun and a sword?" Anya asked curiously,
her feet dangling over the rail as she continued to question the flummoxed
helmsman.
"Uh…" he began, confused,
leaning against the steering wheel. He stared out into the deep fog that
surrounded them, searching for an answer within the mist…or, perhaps, hoping
that Anya would disappear into it so he wouldn't be embarrassed further by her
prying question's about a pirate's life.
"Yeah, Collins!" one of the
rather amused pirates that were hovering around listening to Anya's
interrogation shouted out. "What would you do?"
"Use you as a
shield!" Collins shouted back.
Anya's brow wrinkled for a second.
"Yes, I guess that would work," she finally decided cheerfully,
"as long as you don't ever use Xander for a shield."
Collins chuckled slightly.
"Wouldn't dream of it, sweetie. So," he couldn't pass up the
opportunity to try and find dirt on the first mate in order to embarrass him
later, "how's ol' Xander been treatin' you in the sack?"
Anya perked up immediately as her
favorite topic - sex with Xander - came up. However, before she could begin to
explain the high quality of the orgasms Xander provided her with, a shout
suddenly echoed from the crow's nest.
"Ship off the port bow!"
Everyone started at that, and Anya
looked to one side while everyone else looked to the other. "Right,"
Anya grumbled under her breath, pushing her way through the crowd of men who
had flocked to the side in question, "port is the ship's left, not
necessarily my left…" She blinked when she saw the dim, dark
outline in the midst. "What is it?" She purposefully poked the sailor
nearest to her.
"What is it?!" he called up
to the crow's next, belatedly realizing that it would be easier to see from
above.
"No markings!" The shout
came down.
This caused a flurry of activity.
"Someone find the captain!"
Collins ordered. "This could be an attack!"
No canon fire sounded, however, as
the other ship drifted steadily closer.
"What is it?" Xander
demanded, running up at that moment.
"Ship. No markings,"
Collins squinted into the fog. "Looks like a derelict…"
"A ghost ship?" someone
asked nervously.
" 'Ghost ship'?" Anya
repeated, fascinated.
Xander noticed that she was present
for the first time. "This could be a trap," he informed her.
"You'd better get below deck, and-"
"Blah, blah, blah, a pirate's
life is too dangerous," she grumbled under her breath, obviously
displeased but giving in to his wishes anyway.
"Where's William?" Xander
demanded, checking to make sure that the guns that had just been brought up
from the galley were all properly loaded…
* * *
"I will see a noose around your
neck for this!" Elizabeth announced primly, throwing one of her shoes at
William as hard as she could.
"For *ow* what?" he
demanded when the shoe hit him squarely in the head. "Gettin' *ow* beat up
by *ow* you?" He frowned for a second. "Waitta minute…that was three
'ow's… Jus' how many shoes do you 'ave, pet?"
The mystery went unsolved as his feet
quickly slipped out from under him, along with the sheet, and before he knew
what was happening, Elizabeth had him pinned down beneath her, the dagger
chained to the bed at his throat.
"Do I win?" she said
excitedly, practically bouncing up and down in her victory.
"You wouldn't," he gestured
to the dagger with a confident little smirk.
"Wouldn't I?"
Unconsciously, she licked her lips. After all her frustrated attempts, she
finally had him trapped and completely at her mercy…so why did all her thoughts
suddenly revolve around how good he felt beneath her?
He let out a little moan at the
unintentional sensuousness of her gesture. He could feel himself hardening
beneath her. Fortunately, the sheer volume of her skirts meant that she
couldn't also feel it.
"Do you have any idea how long
I've wanted to get you exactly like this?" she said with a sly
little smile. Her body slowly leaned further into his. "I told you I would
escape, and I'm never wrong…"
"An' where exactly are you gonna
escape to?" he countered, scarred eyebrow raised.
She bit her lip for a second. She
really hadn't thought much beyond the 'wrestle William to the ground' stage. In
fact, she wasn't even doing that part too well. She'd kind of let the dagger
slip away from his throat and was just enjoying lying there on top of him
and…what was wrong with her?
"Captain!" a breathless voice
gasped from the doorway of William's cabin. The young pirate dashed over to
Elizabeth's room when he saw that William wasn't there. "Captain," he
repeated in relief, "there's a ship - right off the bow." His face
turned a bit red when he saw what the captain and his 'guest' had apparently
been doing. "Er, uh…pardon me, Miss Summers…" He looked nervously
down at the floorboards.
"A ship?" William leapt
instantly to his feet, slipping from Elizabeth's grasp.
"Hey," she protested
weakly. She wasn't quite sure if he was able to evade her clutches because she
really hadn't holding him that hard or because he hadn't been trying before…or
perhaps an odd combination of both.
"Where are Xander and
Riley?" William was instantly in his own room, fastening his sword to his
belt and removing a small pistol from his desk drawer.
"Xander's on deck, and…er…"
The sailor really didn't want to have to report that the second mate was
drunk while on duty.
"Tha's fine," William
insisted, rushing out the door. He turned back for one last second, however.
"Stay here with 'Lizabeth," he ordered. "Anythin' happens,
you're not to let any harm come to her."
"Right, sir," he agreed
nervously, eyeing the 'hostage' warily. He had no doubt that she would knock
him out the instant William left the room.
"Good man," William nodded
before dashing up to the deck.
The young man turned and gulped just
before the heel of Elizabeth's shoe came down on the back of his head. As he
drifted off into unconsciousness, his last thought was: Told you so.
* * *
"Everyone stay where you are and
prepare to fire," Xander ordered, testing the strength of the rope ladder
that had been looped between the two ships. "Don't worry about what
happens to me." With that, he quickly made his way over to the other ship,
his feet nimble on the ropes.
It was just as he reached the halfway
point that the first shot was fired.
"Xander!" William cried out
in alarm, arriving on deck just in time to see his first mate fall into the
water. He pulled out his pistol and…
All hell broke loose.
The dozens of pirates that had been
hiding just below the rails of the 'ghost ship' all leapt up simultaneously,
firing at William's crew with brutal accuracy. The more experienced pirates
instantly hit the deck, waiting for the first volley of the enemy's shots to be
fired.
They rose up once again in a
ferocious wave, but by that time, the 'ghost ship's crew had already invaded
the decks. Swords clashed and fists swung, and in the middle of it, William
fought whoever came him, desperately trying to force his way over to the side
and discover whether Xander had survived…
* * *
"Elizabeth!" Anya exclaimed
in relief when she crashed right into her friend on the stairs that led below
deck.
"Anya!" Elizabeth said in
surprise, dropping the sword she'd 'acquired' for a second to give her friend a
quick hug.
"What are you doing out
here?" Anya demanded. "They're right behind me!"
"Who are-?" Elizabeth
began, but her question was answered when the door at the top of the stairs
shook with the force of a powerful impact.
"They're coming down here!"
Anya said in alarm. "We have to find someplace safe to-"
Elizabeth grabbed her shoulders and
gave her a quick shake, pulling the other woman out of her mild hysteria. The
door at the top of the stairs made a cracking sound as the wood started to give
way.
"What's happening?" she
demanded of Anya.
Anya shook her head and turned her
full attention to the matter at hand. "We're under attack!" she
exclaimed. "Again."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "This
is getting old," she said, mildly annoyed.
"It's only happened twice,"
Anya pointed out.
"It was old after one
time," Elizabeth retorted, snatching up the sword she'd dropped. "Is
it the navy?" she suddenly asked hopefully.
Anya shook her head. "More
pirates, I think…"
The door shook again as the foreign
pirates continued to batter it.
"I-I locked it behind me,"
Anya said somewhat nervously, "but that will only hold them for so
long…"
"Right," Elizabeth agreed.
"We need a room with a solid door that we can defend, but also has enough
room to fight in, if it comes to that."
Anya nodded. "The dinning
cabin," she decided.
"Lead the way," Elizabeth
gestured with her blade.
Anya easily made her way through to
bowels of the ship, quite familiar with its design by now. Elizabeth followed
her, nervously looking back over her shoulder to make sure the raiders hadn't
broken through yet.
"In here!" Anya announced
in triumph.
Elizabeth slammed the wooden door
shut behind them, and the two of them quickly moved to barricade it with the
scant furniture that was present in the room.
"What I wouldn't give for one of
my father's wardrobes right now," Elizabeth joked lightly when their task
was accomplished.
"So now what?" Anya asked
nervously, fiddling with the sleeves of her gown. "Do we just wait?
Because Xander's out there, and-"
She was cut off by the first pound on
this door.
"They're in," Elizabeth
whispered.
Anya gulped and retrieved her dagger
from the folds of her skirt. And, together, they waited…
* * *
Some instinct told William to duck
right before the shot was fired. The gunpowder impacted on the foe that had
been sneaking up behind him, and the raider fell to the deck, his eyes dead.
William took advantage the gunman's surprise to slash at his ankles. The man
fell to the ground in pain, and a quick stab was all it took to end his life.
Unfortunately, two more of the
foreign pirates quickly took his place.
William barely had time to scramble
to his feet before he was besieged once more. He easily parried his two foes'
blades before making a strategic retreat. With a quick jump, he caught hold of
the rigging above him, hoisting himself up and to safety.
Below him, four of the enemy followed
his ascent.
William's brow furrowed for a minute
at the intensity of the attack. Elsewhere on deck, his men were quickly
outnumbering the enemy. An unusual number of the attackers were chasing him,
given how poorly they were faring elsewhere. In fact, if he didn't know better,
he would have sworn they were after him personally…
A one-eyed pirate caught him right as
he reached the main mast, and he was able to deftly slip behind the wooden beam
before the blade could strike him. A quick lunge, and the opponent was falling
from the rigging to plunge into the ocean.
Not pausing for a moment's rest,
William climbed for the crow's nest, the other three men still hot on his
trail. He reached the sanctuary without a second to spare and finally was able
to get the advantage over his attackers.
The smartest of the three slipped
down the rigging to safety. The other two didn't have the balance or firm
footing to effectively attack him, and both quickly met their watery graves.
He chased after the fourth, not
wanting the man to make a surprise drop down onto any of his crewmen. They met
down on the mast yet again, and William was surprised to find that this one was
actually quite an excellent swordsman.
The exchanged a quick series of
feints and lunges, all while hovering forty feet over the perilous waters
below.
A quick parry and redouble, and his
opponent's blade knicked his arm, drawing first blood.
"Ha!" the other man reveled
in his victory…
Only to be caught off guard when
William's next lunge was followed quickly with a dagger to the heart.
"You fight well," William
said with a small smile as dawning realization shone in the other man's eyes,
"but you forgot one thing…"
The man gave him a curious,
disbelieving look.
"There is a reason I am called
'the Bloody'," William said in a cold, formal tone that belied his usual
rough accent. And, with that, he sent his final attacker plunging down into the
deep sea.
His head turned abruptly at the sound
of gunfire impacted less than ten feet above him, and he looked down to see the
sniper speared through the back, his arm thrown off by…
"Thought you were dead,
mate," William sighed in relief, quickly sliding back down the rigging to
guard his first mate's back.
Xander gave him a catlike smile and
pushed his drenched bangs back from his forehead. "Unlike some
people," he said with a wry chuckle, "I have the commonsense
to duck out of the line of fire."
William laughed at that before the
two of them returned to battle…
* * *
'On three,' Elizabeth mouthed to
Anya.
The other woman nodded nervously,
flinching slightly when one of the door's hinges burst open.
Elizabeth held up one finger, and
Anya's free hand reached for the latch.
Two fingers… Anya caught the clasp.
Three!
Anya flung the door open wide, and
half their attackers fell to the floor, caught surprised by the door suddenly
giving way.
Elizabeth and Anya both lunged
forward, blades flashing. Elizabeth lost track of Anya almost instantly as she
was swept up in the battle. Wielding her sword as a bat, she hacked away at the
first few, only to find her arms roughly caught over her head.
She struggled in her captor's grasp,
but he merely twisted her wrists. Hard.
She let out a little cry of pain, and
the sword fell from her grasp, clattering to the floor. Still, she refused to
be defeated so easily and kicked back at her opponent. Unfortunately, the angle
was such that her skirts got in the way and lessened the blow.
Her assailant barely even flinched
before catching one rough hand about her throat and squeezing.
Elizabeth struggled helplessly in his
grasp until slowly the world began to go black…
Don't like where I left this chapter
off? Well, then you're just going to have to review to get the resolution to
this little cliffhanger. ~_^
Disclaimer: The usual.
Previously: William's ship was
attacked by a bunch of other pirates. There was freaky moment where it looked
like Xander was dead, but he just jumped overboard. A whole bunch of the
invaders chased after William, but he got away, too. Elizabeth and Anya are
having more problems, however. Trapped in the dinning room, they were besieged
until one pirate snuck up behind Elizabeth...
Her assailant barely even flinched
before catching one rough hand about her throat and squeezing.
Elizabeth struggled helplessly in his
grasp until slowly the world began to go black…
And so we continue...
Skull
and Dagger
Chapter
Five - Breathless, Battered, and Bewildered
Elizabeth fought the blackness that
overcame her, but it was no use. She was slipping, slipping…
Rising?
She forced herself to work through
the hazy pain that threatened to overcome her to see the least likely hero
she'd ever seen finish off her attacker with a quick blow to the head.
"Giles?" she tried to gasp
out in disbelief. Unfortunately, her throat was so bruised that it merely came
out as a wheezing gasp.
In an instant, Giles was at her side,
the bat still firmly held in his hand. "Can you breathe?" he asked
anxiously.
She managed to nod numbly and tried
to speak again, but all that came out was a little croak.
"Don't worry," Giles said
nervously, moving to take off his glasses and clean them before he realized
that that probably wasn't the wisest thing to do in the current circumstances.
The current circumstances involved
Anya shrieking like a banshee and swing her knife - as well as a sword she'd
picked up somehow - in such erratic and violent arcs that the enemy was
scrambling helplessly to get out of her way. There was just no way to predict
what she was going to do next well enough to risk any kind of attack.
Even though her throat was burning
and she felt as though she would collapse any minute, Elizabeth still rose
shakily for her feet. There was plenty of time for fainting later; right now
Anya needed all the help she could get in holding off their certain deaths.
Elizabeth picked up her sword and
made the first half-dizzy lunge at the nearest enemy pirate just as Anya's
sword missed its own target and became lodged in the wall. She was forced to
leave it behind, relying only on her dagger.
Giles, realizing their grim
situation, leapt into the battle at well, swinging the large wooden bat
ferociously at their attackers.
And, all the while, more and more of
the enemy pressed inward…
* * *
"Is that everyone?" Xander
gasped, out of breath, when the deck was finally cleared of the enemy.
William let out a deep breath of
relief. "Seemed like there were more 'f 'em…" he commented, leaning
back against the rail to catch his breath…
And then, in the quiet, they finally
heard the sounds of fierce battle below.
"They're below deck!"
Xander leapt to his feet in alarm. "Anya's down there!"
A quick echo of 'Elizabeth!'
fluttered through William's mind as well before he raced down the stairs after
Xander, a half dozen of his best fighters at his heels…
And stopped in shock.
The majority of the enemy had gone
below deck after the first attack, and William and his crew quickly found
themselves fighting just as fierce a battle as they had above.
Up ahead, William saw the door to his
own room busted inwards, and at that moment, pure panic overcame him. In a fit
of rage, he crashed his way through his foes, not even feeling the slight
stings where blades knicked him. His attack had roughly the same affect as a
bull charging, and even men much larger than he was fell under his fury.
"Elizabeth!" he gasped
hoarsely, practically diving into his rooms. He found the outer room empty and
the inner door…also bashed in.
In that one moment, his world fell
out from under him. Elizabeth would've put up a struggle, of course, but in the
end, she wasn't a skilled cutthroat, and…
"Oh god!" he gasped out,
hesitantly approaching the open doorway, terrified of what he would find
within.
Memories flashed through his mind of
the infuriating little blond turning her chin up at him in her haughty manner,
throwing any projectiles she could find at him, tackling him to the ground and
trying to him up and… Well, he'd always had a rather strange definition of
romantic.
He leaned his forehead against the
doorframe, eyes shut tight. He couldn't bear it - couldn't bear to see the
warm, soft, beautiful body that had mercilessly captured him less than an hour
before, now still and lifeless and cold and…
He opened his eyes.
She wasn't there.
He breathed a deep sigh of relief. At
least until his mind provided him with thousands of other horrible images of
what could have happened to her…
"William!" Xander's voice
from down the hallway quickly shook him back to attention.
Maybe she was all right, maybe she'd
found a place to hide - yeah, right - maybe…
He ran out into the hallway just in
time to see Xander drag one of the invaders back from the dinning room and stab
him in the back.
"That's what you get for even thinking
of hurting her!" he hissed menacingly.
William was at the entrance to the
dinning hall door in a flash, his mind registering the sight of Elizabeth
beaten, bloody, but still alive…and fighting off two more of the attackers. His
mind quickly returned back to the battle at hand, and he easily disposed of her
two opponents as Xander, Anya, and Giles took out the remaining three.
Elizabeth stood shakily against the
back wall, her feet splayed at shoulder width in a desperate effort to keep her
balance, her skirts ripped and caked with blood, several light cuts on her arms
and chest, deep purple bruises just beginning to darken on her throat, hair
tangled and dirty, eyes wild, the tip of her blade still pointing to where the
last attacker had been…
And William was stunned speechless.
He had never seen anything more beautiful in all his life. The deep ache that
had begun in his heart when he thought her dead grew steadily more painful. But
this time it wasn't out of fear but… My love, my goddess… The words
flitted through his mind of their own volition.
Elizabeth finally seemed to realize
that he was there and flashed him an annoyed look. "I could've taken care
of them," she insisted in a rasping, hoarse voice.
And he couldn't do anything but
laugh. In a second, he'd brushed her weapon aside and caught her about the waist,
holding her to him, steadying her weary body against his stronger one.
"I could've," she repeated,
her voice sounding even weaker than before. And, although she wouldn't admit
it, relief flooded her entire being now that she was safe, in his arms…
"I 'ave no doubt," he
agreed with a gentle little smile, looking deep down into her hazel eyes as he
slowly leaned in and…
"Oh, bugger," he grumbled
under his breath when her head lolled suddenly to the side, having passed out
from her injuries and the danger she'd just barely survived. There was no real
anger behind the words, however. Gently, he lifted her up into his arms, one
arm behind her knees and the other cradling her small body to him. He
absentmindedly brushed one golden lock of hair from her forehead before
carrying her back to his room and her bed…
* * *
"Mmm," Anya woke up naked
several hours later, still on the floor of the dinning room. "Whatever
happened to Elizabeth anyway?"
Xander shrugged before pulling her
back down to him with a searing kiss…
* * *
Elizabeth lowered her eyelashes and
opened her mouth, obediently drinking down the soup broth that William had
guided to her lips. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that there was
something seriously wrong about letting a pirate spoon-feed her, but she was
enjoying herself too much to care.
She eagerly parted her lips for the
last spoonful and drank it down dutifully.
"There now," William said
softly, moving to put the tray over onto the desk so that it no longer
separated them. "Feelin' better?" he asked, turning back to her.
She nodded with a little smile. All
the other injuries she had sustained had been minor, but her throat had grown
even more swollen over the last day. She couldn't really even talk now and
couldn't eat anything solid. She was, of course, capable of feeding herself the
soups that William had specially made for her, but she'd come to enjoy having
him pamper her. It was definitely the sort of thing a girl could get used to…
He sat back down in the chair beside
her bed, straddling the back and using it as an elbow rest. "We're goin'
back out to sea," he informed her casually.
She sat up more against her pillows
and prepared to listen to him. The quiet was far the most tedious thing about
having no voice, and the deep rumble of his baritone was the perfect balm to
soothe her irritation.
"Wanna make sure that those
wankers don' 'ave any friends," he explained. "An', if they do, we'll
need to lose 'em before we reach Dead Man's Island."
She quickly scrambled for the
parchment and pen before her and wrote "Dead Man's Island?" in a hand
that her father had always informed her was far too impatient and not anywhere
near ladylike enough.
William didn't seem to mind, however.
"Sort 'f a pirate refuge," he explained. "'S a safe 'aven - no
fightin' or killin' of any sort allowed. An' when I find out who sent those
nonces, I fully intend to kill…" His eyes narrowed to dark slits, and he
unconsciously reached out to caress the one curve of her throat that hadn't
been bruised.
She felt her cheeks flush a deep red
and lowered her eyes, looking up at him through long, curled lashes. She found
it quite paradoxical that out of all the men she had ever met in her life, the
one to treat her most tenderly was a pirate.
William's cheeks darkened slightly as
well, and he pulled his hand back, running it through his snowy-white,
sun-bleached hair. When he spoke again, his voice was composed into a simple
friendly narrative, however.
"It shouldn't be too long,
though. A week at the most, an' that's only if we're chased." His eyes
suddenly dropped to the floor, and his brow furrowed as he spoke his next
words. "I know you're eager to get off this ship an' all…"
She gently reached out and caught his
hand in hers. He looked up at her in surprise, and she slowly began to caress
his knuckles with her thumb.
She had never really noticed before
what lovely hands he had. They were strong and callused from his years at sea,
true, but they were more slender and graceful than she would have at first
thought. And large and warm… Feeling his touch like this felt so incredibly
natural to her.
She reluctantly released his hand and
turned back to the parchment before her. "I actually think that I shall
miss it," she wrote. "It's far less dull than my father's tea
parties."
William let out a whoop of laughter
at that, and she laughed silently along with him. However, he stopped abruptly,
his hand recapturing hers and his brilliant blue eyes staring right into hers
as if looking straight into her soul. She felt herself mesmerized by his
beautiful gaze…
"You shall not miss me as
well?" he asked softly.
She was struck again by how his
accent could change. His normal tones were rough and uncultured, but when he
spoke as he did now, he sounded every bit the gentleman. As for his question…
She quickly turned back to scribbling
in her own unique handwriting. "About as much as I would miss the
plague." She gave him a triumphant little smile.
He smiled as well, but something
seemed to turn off in the back of his eyes at her response. She frowned
slightly; it was as if she could see a brief twinge of pain and then he was
closed off from her, distant once more.
He rose to his feet, putting physical
distance between them as well. "You need your rest," he commented
simply. "And," a slight scowl crossed his face, "'ve got several
crewmen who should now be sober enough to be properly punished…" He gave
her a brief nod, before exiting the room and shutting the door firmly behind
him.
He didn't lock it.
But Elizabeth was too absorbed in
other matters to care. She hadn't liked the way he'd reacted to her last little
tease; it made her feel strangely…guilty. She rolled onto her side and burrowed
deeper into the blankets, turning over the incident in her mind. There was
something off about it, something she wasn't getting…
She had quite decided that she
wouldn't be able to sleep. But, as if to mock her, drowsiness came abruptly
upon her then, and she drifted off into a dreamworld like no other…
* * *
"Drunk," William said
simply, rage and disbelief radiating off his entire being as he sat across from
his three derelict crewmen.
Graham and Riley at least had the
decency to look sheepish; Forrest just looked pissed, like it was somehow William's
fault that he'd gotten himself into this trouble…
William felt the beginnings of a
major headache coming on. "What were you thinking?" he asked in a
voice that was deceptively calm. "This ship was attacked an' you
were all too pissed to do a thing about it!"
"We were…" Riley began
before trailing off with a gulp.
"What?" William demanded,
his eyes cold.
"Well, see, we were so close to
Dead Man's Island that-"
"You decided you could jus'
shirk your duties?!" William was actively yelling now. "Do you have any
idea 'ow close we came to-!" He broke off suddenly, the thought of the
personal loss he could have suffered too much to bear.
"There's no excuse for it,"
Riley agreed numbly, hanging his head in shame.
"Damn right, there innit,"
William agreed. "And if any 'f you ever has a lapse like this
again…" He leaned forward on the table, his eyes blazing. "You're off
the ship," he finished coldly before stomping out of the room.
Graham shuffled uncomfortably in his
chair. "Guys…" he began hesitantly.
"We don't want to hear it,"
Forrest quickly snapped.
Riley let out a sigh. "Well,
that was a disaster. At least we were kept out of the fighting, though…"
Forrest frowned. "I think we're
screwed."
Riley shrugged. "Maybe," he
conceded, "or maybe not…"
* * *
Xander gave William a sympathetic
look as he stepped from the empty storage room they were using as the 'brig'
for Riley and his associates. The normal brig had been taken up by all the
surviving attackers.
"Any 'f the prisoners
talk?" William asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," Xander shook his
head. "They say they don't know who hired them."
William sighed. "Not
surprisin'," he agreed before turning back to look at the door he'd just
exited.
"Not a task I envy you,"
Xander commented simply, taking in the furious expression on William's face.
"Some day when you're
captain…" William countered.
Xander shook his head. "Not for
a long while, 'mate'," he insisted.
William raised an eyebrow at that.
"You could take the derelict as yours," he commented, removing a
cigarette from the silver case he kept in his pocket and lighting it up. He let
out a little relieved sigh and breathed out a stream of warm smoke.
"I could," Xander
agreed, "but then who would watch your back?"
William shrugged. "'d work it
out." He watched the smoke in the air thoughtfully for a minute.
"You'd make a good captain," he finally commented. "Did a great
job armin' the men before you checked out that ship. If you hadn't'a done
that…"
Xander nodded grimly.
"Now," William said with a
coy little smile, "don' you 'ave a woman 'round here somewhere that
deserves your time much more'n I do?"
Xander cracked a wide grin at that as
well. "Can't imagine what I'm thinking," he joked lightly,
"hanging around your ugly face instead…"
William chuckled slightly before
turning to head back to his quarters. "Tha's quite a woman you've got
yourself, mate," were his parting words. "'d tell 'er before you lose
'er…" He vanished into his room.
"You, too," Xander
commented under his breath before returning to his own wonderful world of Anya…
* * *
Elizabeth gasped at the first feel of
warm, wet lips on the back of her throat. Instinctively, she tilted her head to
the side, giving the man behind her better access.
He was fully pressed against her now,
his arms wrapping slowly around her waist from behind and his body brushing
right up against hers on the soft mattress. His lips abandoned her throat,
trailing upward along her jaw until they finally reached her ear.
She let out a little moan when he
first nibbled at the delicate shell, and one of her hands reached behind her to
tangle her fingers in his soft hair while the other covered the strong,
callused hand at her waist, holding him in place.
"You like that, my love?"
he whispered in a deep, husky voice, his breath tickling the short hairs at the
back of her neck.
"Yesss…" she whimpered back
headily.
"I can give you more," he
informed her, his tongue flicking out to catch her pounding pulse point.
"Yes, William," she gasped,
rolling over on the bed to face him and smiling at his slender beauty,
sculptured features, white tousled hair… "More."
His arms pulled her into him further,
bringing her soft body flush up against his hard chest. "My
Elizabeth," he murmured softly into her hair before bringing his lips down
to hers and…
And sweet niceties flew out the
window at that.
Overwhelmed by the glorious taste of
his tongue plunging deep into her mouth, Elizabeth grabbed him roughly by the
shirt, flinging him over onto his back and ripping the pale silk from his
muscled chest as she did so.
She rolled on top of his bare torso,
her hands eagerly caressing the smooth skin beneath her palms. He moaned and
returned the favor, yanking at the clasps of her gown, pulling it roughly down
her shoulders…
Somehow her undergarments had
vanished…as had the rest of her clothes. She let out a little whimper when he
twisted beneath her, sending her off balance and over onto her back.
She was dimly aware of the fact that
she should have fallen over the edge of the narrow bed at this, but in her
dreamworld the bed obligingly widened to accommodate their passion. The matter
didn't concern her at the moment, however, because now he was on top of her, as
naked as she was, and the world seemed to stop…
"You're so beautiful," he
whispered against the pale curve of her throat.
Her eyes widened when his knee
slipped between her bare thighs, opening her up to him. "Oh,
William!" she cried out, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist.
"My love," he repeated
softly, his eyes looking deep into hers as he slowly, gently thrust in…
And Elizabeth awoke with a start. Her
body was covered with a sheen of sweat, and her heart was racing like mad, and…
She blushed horribly when she
realized she'd pushed her skirts up around her waist in her sleep in order to
allow her fingers to slip inside her. She quickly removed them and had to fight
back a moan of despair as she did so; after all, her throat was still swollen
and making noises would only bring her more pain.
Horribly embarrassed by her
predicament, she straightened her skirts with her clean hand before going over
to her pitcher of washing water to clean up. She filled the small basin and rinsed
her right hand clean as best she could, although the scent of her pleasure
still lingered upon it.
Finished with that, she turned to the
desk chair and slumped into it, resting her head in her arms as she tried to
sort out what had just happened. It wasn't the first time she'd touched
herself, true. Back in her 'scare away every respectable suitor' stage, Anya
had advised her to use her hand on herself while picturing the young men that
sought her. According to her friend's theories, that would cause her to more
clearly associate the boring, pretentious men around her with the orgasms she
was trying to seek from them and thus hopefully prevent her from scaring them
all off.
It hadn't worked. Elizabeth had never
succeeded in holding any of their faces in her head as she pleasured herself.
Not until now…
And this time, she hadn't even been
trying. Of its own accord, her body had sought its pleasure with, with…that pirate!
She knew she was deeply into 'burning in hell' territory here.
"When you finally find a man
that you only need to think about to bring you to orgasm," Anya had said
one night during their seemingly innocent knitting by the fire, "that's
when you know you've found the one for you…"
Elizabeth shook her head and took a
good, long look at herself in the dirty mirror on the wall. Oh god! Her
mind was panicking. Surely, it can't be… Oh god!
* * *
William softly rested his forehead
against the closed door to her room, closing his eyes and visualizing the
beautiful, fiery young woman within. He let out a little sigh that managed to
be contented and frustrated both at the same time before turning to go to bed.
And that's when he heard it.
A whimper so faint that if he hadn't
been there listening silently, he never would have picked it up. In fact, he
still wasn't quite sure if he had imagined it.
Nevertheless, there was a smile upon
his face as he crawled into bed and closed his eyes. As he drifted off into
sleep, he replayed her heady, needy little moan over and over again in his
mind:
"William!"
Oh, c'mon, you've got to see
where it goes from here! That's why you have to send my tons of feedback. So,
yeah. ~_^
Disclaimer: Hell, I don't own
anything. Like, all these cool characters? Even though I've stuck them in a
different setting, they're still not mine. How unfair is that? ^_^
Author's Note: Sorry this chapter
took a while, but RL intervened. It shouldn't again for quite a while, though.
Stupid RL... ~_^
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Six - You Can't Run…
"'Mornin', luv," William
said with a bright smile as he entered her room, tray in hand.
"'Morning," Elizabeth said
in a voice that was still slightly hoarse.
"Voice's soundin' better
today," he commented, setting the tray down in her lap.
"I sound like a toad," she
joked, smiling up at him through long lashes.
"Then the toads you're familiar
with must sing as sweetly as nightingales." He looked away as he said it,
but consciously let the more formal accent slip through this time.
Elizabeth flushed slightly and turned
back to her tray, intent upon buttering her toast. "So, are you letting me
leave my room today?" she demanded, changing the subject.
"Your throat-" he began.
"Is fine," she cut him off.
He raised one eyebrow at the
finger-shaped purple marks that still decorated her neck. "If it was
fine," he couldn't help but tease, "you'd be attackin' me as we
speak."
Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at
that. "Maybe I'm biding my time," she countered, "waiting to
lull you into a false sense of security."
William let out a deep, rich chuckle,
and she couldn't help but blush. His smile was like honey to her soul…as was
that passionate flare of anger his eyes sometimes got.
"In any case," Elizabeth
crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm sick of being trapped in here all
day!"
William sighed. "The last time
you got out you knocked one 'f my men unconscious an' nearly got yourself
killed," he pointed out.
"And?" she demanded, one
inquiring eyebrow raised.
"An' I like to keep the chaos on
my ship to a minimum," he countered with a bemused smile.
Not even thinking what she was doing,
she rose to her feet so that she was standing before him. "You would
refuse me this?" she asked him softly, one handed reaching out to encircle
his arm in a pleading gesture. Her eyes continued to look right up into his…
William gulped. He couldn't possibly
let her know just how wrapped around her finger she had him, but…she was just
so close. Her warmth, her breath, those fiery hazel eyes…
"'f Anya's with you to keep you
out 'f trouble," he compromised.
She flashed him a radiant smile.
"Knew there was a gentleman in there somewhere," she teased lightly.
Yet, strangely, even though he'd already agreed to her request, she had no
desire to withdraw her hand. She could feel the strength in his arm beneath the
silken shirt he wore, and a little tingle ran through her body in response to
those lean muscles.
Still under her spell, William took a
step closer so that their bodies were only inches apart. Elizabeth looked up at
him with eyes that seemed unusually wide and innocent for a woman that seemed
so confident at everything else. Her breath caught in her throat as his index
finger came up under her chin, tilting her head upward so that her eyes were
looking up into his, and her lips…
"William!" Xander's voice
called out from the next room. "You here?"
William hadn't even realized he'd
half-closed the distance between them until the shout startled him back into
reality. "In here, mate!" he responded reluctantly.
Elizabeth's eyelashes fluttered open
from where she had unconsciously closed them, and she turned nervously over to
the desk, fighting the flush of her cheeks and that strange weakness in her
knees.
Xander appeared in the doorway a few
seconds later. "The winds have changed," he announced. "Are we
headed back for Dead Man's Island?"
William nodded. "Doesn' seem
like our attackers 'ad any friends," he agreed, following Xander out.
In a flash, Elizabeth was out right
behind him.
"Oi!" he exclaimed in
protest. "You-"
"You agreed I could come
out," she informed him, arms crossed over her chest in a no-nonsense
manner. "And I want to now."
William merely let out a weary sigh.
"You seen that woman 'f yours 'round anywhere?" he asked Xander…
* * *
"…Xander informs me that it's
really quite nice," Anya was commenting. "As long as the whole pirate
thing doesn't bother you. Personally, I just look forward to the fresh food,
but…"
Elizabeth sat with her feet dangling
over the edge of the deck, her arms folded over the rail as she looked out onto
the blue expanse before her.
"Elizabeth?" Anya inquired
after a minute when she noticed her friend wasn't listening.
"Elizabeth!"
"What?" Elizabeth turned to
her in surprise, her reverie interrupted.
"You're not hearing a word I'm
saying, are you?" Anya demanded.
Elizabeth gave her an apologetic smile.
"A lot on my mind," she clarified.
"Ah," Anya nodded wisely.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with six feet of sleek, lean manly
muscle topped with a crown of white hair, now would it?" she asked with a
knowing little smile.
Elizabeth made sputtering noises and
gesticulated wildly in protest, but Anya quickly cut her off.
"He's the only person you've
seen since we were attacked," she pointed out.
Elizabeth gave up with a sigh of
resignation. "William is…not what I expected," she admitted reluctantly.
Anya nodded. "He's very nicely
shaped," she agreed, "and he's very obviously interested in
you."
"He's just been so…kind to
me," Elizabeth felt a need to justify herself. "The way he took care
of me when I was injured, and the way he never angers at my attacks…" She
smiled to herself. "Actually, I think he likes it when I attack
him."
"See?" Anya said
triumphantly. "I told you that somewhere out there was a man weird enough
to love you. Congratulations, and may you enjoy many orgasms together."
Elizabeth's face turned a deep
crimson. "N-Not like that!" she insisted. "I-I just meant…"
Anya gave her an incredulous look.
"You can't tell me you've never even thought about it," she
accused. "Hell, I've thought about it, even though I already have
Xander. Although," she added to herself, "Xander was present in most
of those fantasies as well… They'd make very good sandwich bread, don't you
think?"
"Now you're just trying
to make me blush," Elizabeth accused good-naturedly. "And, as for…that,"
she blushed anyway, "well, I haven't thought about it…well, not
really…"
" 'Not really'?" Anya
repeated, one eyebrow raised curiously.
"It was just a dream!"
Elizabeth insisted.
"Ooh, a dream?" Anya
squealed in delight. "I want all the details!"
"It was nothing!" Elizabeth
repeated. "I was just…"
"Yes?" Anya demanded
excitedly.
"I was just in bed, and then…he
was there, too," Elizabeth admitted, embarrassed, "and then he
started, um…" She looked around furtively before lowering her voice to a
furtive whisper. "Kissing me…and then our clothes kind of vanished and
he…"
"Oh, yeah," Anya was
breathing heavily at the lovely images in her mind. "Mmm…William…"
Elizabeth gave her arm a playful
swat, and Anya batted back at her good-naturedly. "It was just a
dream," Elizabeth insisted before blushing once more. "Although, when
I woke up…"
"And?"
"Oh god," Elizabeth shook
her head, not believing that she was admitting this. "I
was…touching," she said vaguely.
Anya blinked once. Twice.
"You know, down there,"
Elizabeth whispered.
"Oh, wow," Anya's eyes
widened. "You were really…?" she trailed off in disbelief.
"While you were dreaming about…?"
Elizabeth nodded meekly.
"And you haven't reenacted this
fantasy, why?" Anya demanded.
Elizabeth's expression turned
flustered. "H-He's a pirate!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "I
couldn't possibly…not with…I just can't!" she finished lamely.
"Why not?" Anya asked,
truly puzzled. "It's obvious that you desire him, and if he desires you as
well…"
"I do not desire
him!" Elizabeth protested loudly enough that several of the men on the
other side of deck looked over at them curiously. Elizabeth's voice instantly
dropped once more. "I could never desire…him!"
Anya just shook her head. "Ah,
young love," she said despairingly.
"I'm only three months your
younger," Elizabeth countered.
"Yeah, but when it comes to men,
you might as well still be a child," Anya countered. "Trust me on
this - if you're having dreams like that about him, then it means
something. Have you really honestly not been tempted? You've never once noticed
that if you just got a little closer…"
Elizabeth blushed as she recalled the
position they had been in before Xander had interrupted that morning.
"And I've seen how much trouble
you cause for him," Anya added. "You're practically screaming,
'Tackle me back onto the deck, you gorgeous pirate, you!'"
"I am not!"
Elizabeth protested.
"Oh, please," Anya said
with a teasing smile. "You just can't wait for him to stick his massive
hunk of man-meat straight into your-"
"Anya!" Elizabeth
exclaimed, mortified.
"And, ooh!" Anya announced
in delight when she found the means to bring her teasing up to a whole new
level. "Here's your hunk of burning pirate love now!"
William approached, shaking his head
slightly. He had rather good hearing, but there was no way Anya had actually
said what he thought she'd said. Although, given the mouth on that woman… He
quickly decided that it was entirely wishful thinking on his part. After all,
he'd given Elizabeth numerous hints that he was interested, and nothing had yet
come of them.
"Would you like to put off the
lesson for today?" he asked Anya.
Huh? Elizabeth was immediately on alert. Lesson?
"No, we can do it now,"
Anya insisted, hastily rising to her feet. "Elizabeth can come
watch."
Elizabeth looked back and forth
between the two of them, confused.
"I asked William to give me
fencing lessons," Anya explained, keeping the sly smile that was threatening
to spread across her face hidden.
"Why not Xander?" Elizabeth
asked a bit more waspishly than she'd intended. It's not an unreasonable
question, her mind tried to rationalize it after the fact. After all,
Xander's HER man. William's mi-Augh! Where did THAT thought come from?
Aha, jealousy! Anya thought. Stage one of the
plan complete…
"I tried it," she answered
Elizabeth, "but it didn't work." She took the arm William offered
her, just as Elizabeth brushed the other one away to march beside her
(previously) trusted friend. "You see, we just always ended up having
sex."
Elizabeth and William both managed to
blush at Anya's characteristic bluntness.
She just went right on talking
without paying them any mind, however. "After all, you sometimes get up
really close, and if you have romantic feelings for that person…" She
shrugged. "Well, it's almost impossible to resist…"
Elizabeth's mind suddenly filled with
images of her and William, breathing heavily from the fight, pressed up close
together…and inexplicably their clothes were vanishing in her head once again. Bad
mind! She gave herself a few mental slaps upside the head. Bad!
Stage two complete: lust… "Actually," Anya said as
innocently as she could manage, "maybe William should give you a quick
lesson, too. After all, you were looking a bit shabby during that last
attack…"
" 'Shabby'?!" Elizabeth
exclaimed, her eyes narrowing.
William tried to keep his face from
flushing. He'd never viewed physical combat in the sensual way Anya had
described it, but now that she had put the thoughts in his head, he wasn't sure
he'd be able to teach Elizabeth anything without at least trying…
Stage three complete: the challenge… Anya thought in delight when
Elizabeth fell directly into her trap.
"By the end of the day,"
Elizabeth insisted, "I'll be fighting in circles around you!" She
turned to William. "You're teaching me," she informed him in a manner
that he just couldn't argue with.
"You first," he agreed,
gesturing into the empty storage room they used for tournaments of this sort.
And, Elizabeth thought gleefully, I'll finally manage to
prove to Anya beyond a shadow of a doubt that I do NOT want that…pirate!
Ah, Elizabeth, say good-bye to your
virginity, was
Anya's bemused thought…
* * *
Less than an hour later, Anya didn't
even exist. She didn't mind, though; it was too much fun to watch the blond
pair when they got wrapped up in their own little world. Plus, Xander had come
in shortly before, and was currently providing her with a warm and comfy
backrest.
Oblivious to their amused audience,
Elizabeth and William were exchanging a quick series of parries…with the soft
bound reeds that were used for practice purposes. William's skill far exceeded
Elizabeth's, of course, and he'd taken to teasing her lightly when she'd
refused to just obey the drill instructions he'd given her.
A couple swift swats to her padded
behind and the stealthy theft of one of her hair ribbons, and Elizabeth had
gotten that enraged flush in her cheeks he so admired and had started charging
him with a fury so wild that even he had to struggle to evade it.
He ducked and rolled to the side with
a little chuckle, just barely avoiding the swat she was so intent on giving
him. She turned on him with a little delighted smile of her own before moving
to strike once more.
He parried her first few blows with
ease, and she stomped her foot on the ground in annoyance.
"Maybe you'd like to go back to
this drills, luv?" he teased lightly, gracefully evading yet another swipe
of her mock-blade.
"Laugh now," she countered,
her eyes narrowed, "but when I get you-Ooh!"
The exclamation had been in response
to the crafty little feint he'd pulled before deftly catching the wrist that
held her reeds, pushing it to the side and bringing her body flush up against
his in her process. His grip dropped to her waist, holding her close and…
She let out a heady little gasp at
the feel of the body that held her. She had been in his arms before, of course
- in fact, far too often for it to be coincidence, her mind pointed out
- but it still shocked her every time just how good he felt against her.
However, Elizabeth Summers was never
one to back down from a battle.
"Gotcha," William whispered
softly, his eyes transfixed by the soft, full curves of her lips.
"Actually," she said with a
wry smile, "I believe I've got you." The end of her reed jabbed into
his back.
His eyes widened in surprise.
"Back-stabber," he accused fondly.
"Right up between the
ribs," she said in triumph. "I believe you told me that's the most
effective place to strike."
A smile lit up his face. "Looks
like you got me, luv," he agreed before putting a melodramatic hand to his
forehead. "You've slain me, 'Lizabeth," he cried out in mock-pain
before falling back onto the floor, his arm around her waist holding her tight
and pulling her with him.
Elizabeth laughed and squealed as
they fell to the floor together, her body landing right atop his.
"William?" she prodded him after he hadn't moved for a few seconds,
his eyes still closed in fake death.
He opened one mischievous eye to look
at her. "Can't talk, pet," he informed her. "Dead."
She giggled and rested one hand
against the smooth plane of his chest. "Your heart's still beating,"
she pointed out.
"No, 'm sure 'm dead," he
insisted. "After all, how else can I 'xplain the angel above me?"
Elizabeth's cheeks reddened.
"This 'angel' wields sharp, pointy objects," she reminded him,
propping herself up on one arm, her other hand still pressed against the rapid
beating of his heart. She looked down at him, admiring the strong lines of his
face as curtained by her long blond hair.
"My kind 'f angel then…" he
said softly, a lazy, contented smile crossing his face.
Elizabeth's lips suddenly felt dry,
and she unconsciously licked them. William's eyes followed the motion of her tongue
hungrily, his own mouth drying out in response. Elizabeth's gaze flicked down
to his lips in turn, and slowly she leaned in closer until their warm breaths
met.
"I thought you said you didn't
desire me," she whispered softly, coyly.
"No," he countered, "I
said 's never a smart idea to take an unwillin' woman to bed, 'specially one
who's so prone to stabbin'. 've got no hesitation when it comes to a willin'
one…" His hands trailed up her back, pulling her closer and…
So beautiful… Elizabeth's mind hummed in pleasure.
Does it really matter what he is?
And then she realized in horror what
she'd just thought, leaping back from his body just as their lips brushed.
"'Lizabeth?" He still lay
back on the floor, flushed, confused, aching for the touch that had just evaded
him.
"Oh my god…" Elizabeth
brought one hand up to her mouth at what she'd nearly done, at how far she'd
drifted from the lady that had been dragged kicking and screaming aboard. What
was wrong with her that she would actually consider…? And with a pirate?!
"G-Get away from me!" she
exclaimed, frightened, when he rose to his feet.
"'Lizabeth…" he held out
one hand to her.
And she bolted.
Xander and Anya separated from where
they'd been enjoying each other's lips in surprise as Elizabeth dashed right
past them and out the door. A beat, and then William was right after her.
"What the…?" Xander began.
"We have to follow them!"
Anya quickly demanded, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along with her.
Elizabeth picked up a fourth pursuer
in her mad dash up the stairs. "What on…?" Giles echoed Xander's
previous sentiments when Elizabeth, William, Anya, and Xander all dashed by him
in quick succession. With a weary sigh and a glance to the heavens, he chased
after them.
"'Lizabeth!" William
exclaimed once they were on deck and had no place else to go. "What's
wrong, luv? Why 're you-"
"Stay back!" she insisted,
wide-eyed, back against the railing. "Y-You won't have me!"
The spectacle caught the attention of
half the crew, and soon a crowd had formed.
"Easy now, pet," William
held out his hands in a soothing gesture. "'m not gonna hurt you." He
took a cautious step toward her.
"Don't come any closer!"
she insisted, gripping the railing behind her so hard that her knuckles turned
white.
"'S all right," he insisted
with a disarming smile, taking yet another step toward her.
The worst thing was that she so
wanted to believe him. The soothing timber of his voice, the affection in his
eyes, even the way he moved - it was all screaming to her, trying to draw her
to him, body, mind, and…
"Get. Back!" she repeated,
brushing the softer emotions aside. In an instant, she was over the railing,
the thin strip of wood right at the edge of the deck the only thing keeping her
from plunging into the ocean below. "I'll jump," she insisted.
"She can't swim!" Anya
cried out in horror from the assembled crowd.
William instantly froze in place, not
daring to risk that she was bluffing.
"I-I need to get off this
ship," she insisted, tears in her eyes. "Now…before…" she
trailed off. "It's not right," she pleaded to William with tears in
her eyes. "I can't be… I can't feel… Not with you. It's wrong!"
"What on earth is she talking
about?" Giles came up behind Xander and Anya.
"I have no clue,"
Xander shook his head.
Anya merely frowned, trying to figure
out what had driven her friend to this sudden flight of theatrics.
"Luv…" William began
cautiously.
"Don't call me that!" she
insisted.
"All right, 'Lizabeth," he
agreed. "Now, you really don' wanna take a dive. So why don' you
jus' take my hand an'-"
"Please, don't," her voice
sounded weaker than before. "This is hard enough already…"
"'Lizabeth, what's wrong,
luv?" William persisted. "Can't you jus' get away from the edge so we
can talk?" He hazarded another step.
She gulped and looked down at the
water beneath her. She was scared, so scared. But she just couldn't give up.
She couldn't let… This ship was doing things to her, dammit! And she had
to fight it!
"Oh, god!" Anya exclaimed,
slapping her face when she realized what this was about.
"I beg your pardon!" Giles
felt obliged to point out his priest's outfit.
Anya gave him an apologetic shrug
before turning back to the matter at hand. "If this is about the pirate
thing," she called out to Elizabeth, "I am so going to give
you a good whipping!"
Elizabeth's eyes left William's for
the first time, and she turned her attention to Anya. "But, my
father…" she insisted.
"Is an idiot," Anya rolled
her eyes and stepped forward, now that she knew what this was about.
All the men just watched, completely
confused.
"It's not just him!"
Elizabeth protested. "Even I know that…" she trailed off
abruptly.
"Yeah, well I've known my fair
share of 'gentlemen'," Anya batted one hand in the air dismissively,
"and, from what I've seen, pirates are far better behaved."
"It's wrong," Elizabeth
insisted vehemently.
Anya sighed in annoyance before
noticing that William had taken the opportunity to get a few steps closer to
Elizabeth during the distraction she'd provided. "Father Giles?" Anya
turned to the priest in hopes of prolonging her little previously-unintentional
diversion.
"Um, yes?" Giles fiddled
with his glasses, a bit agitated and confused by the current state of affairs.
"Is the devil in me?" she
demanded.
Giles frowned at that. "Um…not
that I know of. Why do you ask?" he said, still slightly baffled by the
question.
"Then can you please inform
Elizabeth that if I'm not evil for sleeping with a pirate, then she's not
either?" Anya demanded as direct as always.
"What?" Giles sputtered in
disbelief.
"What?" Xander turned a
shocked glance to the blond pair.
"What?" William looked at
Elizabeth with hopeful, disbelieving eyes.
"Anya!" Elizabeth
exclaimed, too annoyed to worry about being embarrassed. And then she realized
just how close William's 'what?' had been. She started in surprise just as he
dashed forward and caught her arm. "Hey!" she protested half-heartedly
when he hauled her up and over onto the safe side of the railing.
"Gotcha," he said softly,
his words stirring the hair on the crown of her head as he held her close.
"I-I can't…" she whispered
softly, whimpering slightly when the feel of his strong, warm arms around her
faded her resistance to nothing. "I can't let myself fall in love with
you," she breathed raggedly against his shoulder. "What kind of
person would…?"
"Hush, kitten," he murmured
into her hair, his embrace turning tender now that the danger had passed.
"'S not so bad…"
She couldn't do anything but nod in
agreement, her own arms slowly slipping around his back to hold him as well.
"Love you, too," he
whispered somewhat raggedly.
She pulled back slightly to look at
him in surprise. "You're a very strange man," she informed him with a
shy little smile.
"Mmm-hmm," he murmured,
leaning slowly forward and resting his forehead against hers. "No
stranger'n you, luv."
She let out an annoyed/amused sigh.
"A normal man would've kissed me by now," she decided before tilting
her head to the side and reaching up to brush her lips lightly against his.
In an instant all his lassitude
vanished, as if he had just been waiting for her to make the first move, and
his lips crashed into hers with passionate and needy intensity.
She moaned against his lips, allowing
her tongue to come out and duel with hers as they pulled each other closer
together. And Elizabeth's last thoughts were, Anya never said it would be as
good as fighting. Hell, BETTER than fighting…
* * *
Cheers and catcalls rose from the
crowd as their captain and the woman who so obviously loved him met in a
passionate kiss.
At the back of the crowd, however,
one man's eyes narrowed.
"Woah!" Forrest exclaimed,
eyes wide. "Who would've thought…?"
Riley angrily caught his shoulder and
spun him roughly, so that the two of them were face-to-face. "She was mine,"
he hissed angrily. "I had her first!"
"Hey, calm down," Graham
lay a calming hand on Riley's shoulder. "Forrest didn't do anything…"
"No," Riley agreed,
apologetically letting his friend go. His gaze returned to the pair that was
still kissing in the middle of the deck. "He's the one who keeps
robbing me of what's mine!" he hissed before stalking away angrily.
A nervous glance, and then Graham and
Forrest followed after him…
So, it's clear sailing from here,
right? Because we all know that Spuffy relationships are always so easy? ~_^
You'll just have to review to find out what happens next...
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the
BtVS characters. See, there's this guy Joss, and apparently he never learned to
share. The result: he's got lots and lots of money, and I'm still stuck being
the poor college student. ^_^
Author's Note: Welcome back to the
high seas! And do realize that it's the 1700s; people don't just leap into bed
after one kiss...well, except for Anya, but she's the exception that disproves
the rule in every universe. ~_^
Previously: After a creative
intervention by Anya and Giles, Elizabeth realized that it wasn't wrong for her
to have feelings for William, and they shared a rather dramatic kiss.
(Elizabeth and William, that is. It would slightly disturbing if Giles and Anya
had kissed...) Riley was none too happy about this development. Meanwhile, the
ship is returning to Dead Man's Island after successfully defeating its unknown
attackers...
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Seven - Angels Tell No Lies
"William!" A delighted
smile graced the face of the man who sat at the end of the table, the seeming
friendliness of the gesture subdued by the wicked curl of his lips.
Elizabeth had to admit, she could see
why he'd acquired his nickname. Even as he sat, she could tell he was a tall,
broad man. His form practically exuded strength and subtle power. His face was
no less striking - strong jaw, dark and penetrating eyes, sensitive brow. He
was every bit as handsome as he was reputed to be. And, if the evil glint in
his eye was any indication, every bit as dangerous as well.
Her own companion was just as
dangerous, however, and didn't cower in the slightest from the living legend
before him.
"Angel," William said
evenly, walking right into the center of the dinning room.
Xander was at his side the entire
time and, despite Giles' attempts to hold her back, so was Elizabeth.
Angel cast the young woman a curious
glance, looking her up and down and obviously approving of what he saw. His
attention quickly turned back to the young captain before him, however, an
enigmatic little smile curling the corners of his lips.
"We've been expecting you for
some time now," he commented, drinking deep from the golden goblet in his
hand.
"Got held up," William said
simply. "Attacked, actually. Right on the way in. You wouldn't anythin'
'bout that, now, would you?" There was a harsh glint in his eye when he
met the other captain's glare.
Angel didn't even blink.
"How…unfortunate," he responded. "Done something else to set the
navy against you?"
"Ghost ship," William
replied. "Pirates. I din't know better, 'd think someone set me up."
"If you didn't know
better," Angel said simply, raising his goblet in a welcoming gesture.
"But, you've made it after all. By all means, have a seat. I'm sure your
crew is hungry." He shoved roughly at the man to his left, knocking him
from his seat.
The man fell to the ground, blinking
up dumbly in a drunken haze. The two women that had been fawning over him were
instantly at his sides helping him up.
"That seat," Angel informed
the fallen man, "is always reserved for my former first mate."
The displaced man, apparently too
drunk to really care, wrapped his arms around the two women that held him and
made his way from the dinning hall. Several other men got up to leave with him,
obviously his friends.
"Still with the high-handed
gestures, I see," William commented, offering Elizabeth his hand so that
she could sit on the long bench that lined the table.
"Ah, Will, my boy," Angel
let out a melodramatic sigh, "you expected something different?"
William's eyes remained cold and
calculating. "I suppose not," he agreed.
Elizabeth raised a curious eyebrow at
the exchange, and Angel noticed her reaction.
"I do believe we're boring your
lady, William," Angel flashed a devilish smile in Elizabeth's direction.
Before she knew it, he had caught her hand and brought it to his lips for a
kiss. "And such a lovely creature should never be kept waiting…"
Despite herself, she blushed. What
was it about her and pirates? She couldn't help but wonder. After years of
rejection, suddenly two of the most attractive men she'd ever met were looking
at her like she was good enough to eat. She couldn't deny that all the
attention was…nice.
"And, if I may ask your name,
milady?" The slight Irish drawl vanished from Angel's voice as he took on
more formal tones in addressing her.
"Summers," she informed him
primly, belatedly snatching her hand back from his when she realized she'd let
him hold it for fall too long. "Miss Elizabeth Summers."
"Elizabeth…" he let the
syllables of her name roll off his tongue. "A beautiful name for a
beautiful woman."
She blushed again.
William frowned. He'd warned her
about Angel's womanizing tendencies, but had she listened to him? Oh no, of
course not! Well, if she wanted to flirt with him, then so be it! After all, it
wasn't like he cared…
"Would milady Elizabeth sit at
my side?" Angel was absolutely pouring on the charm.
"I thought you said that seat
was reserved for William," she countered, coming back to her usual self a
bit.
"Over any man, yes,"
Angel agreed shamelessly, "but I'm afraid William is no competition for a
charming lady such as yourself."
Her eyes narrowed, and she turned in
surprise when William settled in the seat next to her, leaving her trapped next
to Angel. He gave her a wry grin off of her incredulous look.
"So, Elizabeth," Angel's
hand moved beneath the table so that it just barely brushed against her skirts.
They were crowded together enough that it could have been an accident, but
Elizabeth highly doubted it. And, unfortunately, the cramped seating
arrangements meant that she couldn't move away. Angel continued just as if
nothing were different. "How on earth did a fair lady such as yourself end
up with such an…uncouth companion?" He gestured to William with his knife.
Elizabeth snorted in a way that
wasn't ladylike in the slightest. "My 'uncouth companion', as you call
him, at least has the decency to keep his hands to himself!" she retorted.
Xander coughed and started choking on
his drink while Anya patted him repeatedly on the back. Giles' eyes darted
around the room nervously, waiting for them all to be sentenced to death any
minute. Riley's eyes just narrowed at Elizabeth's latest infraction. William's
face remained indifferent the entire time.
But it was Angel's reaction that
truly mattered, and all he did was laugh, slapping the table with his fist.
"A feisty vixen, this one!" he announced in delight, turning to
William. "Where'd you find her? I don't recognize her from the courtesans
here."
"I should say not!"
Elizabeth exclaimed with an indignant shriek, cocking her fist to strike with
her full force.
William caught her elbow before she could
do any such thing, however. "I thought we agreed you'd avoid
brawlin'," he hissed at her.
"I did no such
thing!" she informed him primly, yanking her arm free of his grasp. "You
just ordered me not to fight. I never agreed to anything."
William's eyes flashed, and the
muscle in his jaw began to tick.
Angel laughed again at William's
obvious frustration. "Haven't completely tamed her yet, have we?" he
taunted, taking another sip of his ale. "She's a pretty thing, though.
Well worth the wait…"
"Oi!"
"Hey!"
William and Elizabeth both lurched
out of their seats simultaneously, both intent to defending Elizabeth's honor.
Anya merely rolled her eyes.
"They're not actually having sex," she informed Angel from her seat
between Xander and Giles. "We've had people listening at their door for
days now."
Elizabeth's face turned a deep maroon
at this, and William's cheeks darkened slightly as well.
Angel's smile merely grew. "I
would've thought you'd have had the sense to snatch this one right up,
Will," he commented, his eyes raking up and down her body once more,
"before someone else beats you to her…"
William didn't bother to stay
Elizabeth's blow this time. Unfortunately, despite her practiced skill at
kicking between the legs and bashing people over the head with blunt objects,
her slap wasn't much more effective than any other woman's.
Angel barely even flinched, but that
deadly light lit up in the backs of his eyes as he chuckled in response.
"A word of…friendly advice," he leaned in close so that she
could feel the warmth of his breath, "William's not quite the biggest fish
in the sea. That means if you piss off the wrong people," his hand came up
to cup her chin, making her gulp, "he's not going to be able to protect
you…"
"Angel." William's voice
was tight, and he reached over to put a warning hand on the other man's arm.
Angel laughed again at that, his
seemingly abrupt mood changes from jovial to deadly frightening Elizabeth more
than his words had. "Luckily for you," he turned back to his drink,
"I don't hold grudges. Innit that right, m'boy?"
William merely gave him a tight smile
in response.
"So, er, yeah." That was
Xander, desperate to change the subject. "We heard you ran into some
trouble down in South America."
Angel batted one hand in the air
dismissively. "Nothing of importance," he insisted. "The
Spaniards're too caught up in their own problems to pay me the slightest
attention." The glint returned to his eyes. "Now you, William, seem
to have royally aggravated the British navy. Not a smart move there…"
William gave him a disinterested
shrug. "'ve got no quarrel with the navy," he insisted. "They
stay outta my business, I stay outta theirs."
Angel shook his head and attempted to
share a conspiratorial smile with Elizabeth; she didn't smile back.
"Surely, certain…families have picked up on your attacks by now,
though?" he persisted.
William's brow furrowed slightly.
"I would 'ope so," he agreed, downing the entire contents of his
goblet.
Angel tisked him softly.
"They're going to come after you with a vengeance one day, m'boy," he
warned.
"Let them," William
insisted darkly. "Finish this once an' for all, then."
Elizabeth had been getting
progressively more confused as the conversation proceeded and decided she was
sick of it. "What are you talking about?" she demanded of William
matter-of-factly. "What's this 'family'?"
Angel laughed in response. "You
haven't told her yet?" he asked in disbelief. He shook his head at
Elizabeth solemnly. "Doesn't bode well for you, my dear. The man hasn't
even bothered to tell you his life's work yet…"
Elizabeth spun on William in
surprise. "What is he talking about?!"
Her cry was loud enough that the
entire room heard it. All across the dinning room, conversations quieted as
everyone became curious about the argument taking place between the two
captains and former allies.
"Not here!" William hissed
through his teeth, noticing the audience they'd built up.
"I can't believe you've managed
to hold off your Abrahms' rants," Angel said with an amused smile.
"Maybe you're developing some restraint after all…"
"Abrahms?" Elizabeth's eyes
widened in surprise.
Angel frowned when he saw recognition
there as well. "You know the Abrahms'?" he asked curiously.
"Know them?!" she
turned on him in disbelief. "I'm engaged to one!"
William groaned and put one hand over
his forehead.
Angel merely blinked a few times
before realization dawned on him. "Brilliant, William!" he declared
in delight. "Kidnap the latest fiancée, seduce her while she's in your
care… The perfect revenge!"
Elizabeth felt her stomach sink as
Angel's words connected the dots for her. Of course, how could she possibly
have been so foolish to think that that villain actually cared about
her? She should have known he had ulterior motives all along. And, to think
that she had actually let him…
The emotions became too much, and she
dashed from the room, fighting back tears, before anyone could stop her.
"What on…?" Angel looked
quite confused.
William's hand fisted in the fabric
of his shirt pulling him back up to his feet. "Don't you ever talk
'bout her like that!" he exclaimed, enraged.
Angel's face paled slightly.
"You mean…it wasn't a ploy?" he asked in disbelief.
"No, of course it wasn't a ploy,
you ninny!" William hissed.
Several of Angel's men reached for
their swords at the perceived threat to their captain, and Xander, Riley, and a
very reluctant Giles rose to their feet in response. There was a moment of
tension as everyone waited for all-out war to break out…
And then William practically threw
Angel back down to the floor before racing out the door the way Elizabeth had
gone as well.
"Ah, well," Angel rose
gracefully to his feet, dusting himself off as he did so, "mistakes
happen…"
Xander scowled but moved to sit back
down as well. "Too bad you always seem to be the cause of them," he
accused before returning to his meal…
* * *
Elizabeth hadn't paid any attention
where she'd been running, and, to tell the truth, she really didn't care.
However, it wasn't until she found herself on one of the soft-sand beaches that
surrounded the isle that she finally let herself break down.
God, I'm such a fool, she berated herself internally. How
could I possibly believe anyone would ever love me? Especially a pirate? No one
ever loves me. All anyone ever sees is my family…
A soft sob choked in her throat, and
she collapsed on the sand just outside of the light from the small town that
made up the only settlement on Dead Man's Island.
He was just using me like all the
others. And, god, I actually let him kiss me! Touch me. I-I would have given
him my… Oh god! Such a fool, such a complete and utter fool…
"Elizabeth!" a voice
shouted over the rhythmic pounding of the waves on the beach.
She didn't hear it, though. She was
too busy caught up in her own misery. To think that I actually lo-
"Elizabeth!" William
breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her outline collapsed on the beach. He
quickly ran over to her. "Are you all right?" he asked, concerned,
crouching down to touch her shoulder.
Before he knew what had happened, her
fist shot out, striking him right in the nose. "Don't touch me!" she
screamed through her tears, crawling back away from where he'd fallen on the
sand.
William lay back on the sand,
blinking up at the night sky, and holding his nose in pain for a second. Then,
with a quick shake of his head, he managed to push himself back up onto his
elbows. "What the bloody 'ell was that for?!" he exclaimed,
enraged.
"Like you don't know!" she
screamed right back.
William's eyes widened. "You
don't honestly believe that ponce, do you, luv?" he asked in
disbelief.
"Don't call me 'luv'," she
hissed angrily, scrambling up to her feet and stalking away.
He was on his feet in an instant and
chased after her. "Will you just listen?" he asked in
exasperation. He caught her elbow roughly in one hand and yanked her around to
face him.
"Don't touch me!"
she repeated again, jerking away from his grasp.
"Luv…" he pleaded,
"'Lizabeth…" He wisely changed his form of address at angry flicker
in her eyes. "Angel doesn't know what 'e's talkin' about."
"Really?" she said with a
laugh that sounded more like a sob. "Because after listening to him,
suddenly everything makes a lot of sense. I've got to hand it to you, it was a
brilliant plan."
"There was no plan!"
William insisted, catching her shoulders. She merely yanked herself free of his
hands once more. A deep ache began in his heart at the thought that this
beautiful, fiery woman that he'd held so tightly in his arms might never let
him close again. The mere thought made life suddenly seem unbearable.
"Please, believe me…"
If she hadn't known better, she
would've sworn there were tears in his eyes. "Y-You used me," she
accused hesitantly, "made me believe that you actually cared for me…"
"I do," he insisted softly.
"Ever since I first laid eyes on you, stabbin' merrily away at my
crew…"
"Ever since you realized that I
was Parker Abrahms' fiancée," she countered. "When were you planning
on telling me about your vendetta against my soon-to-be family? After I gave
myself to you? Or would you have waited until you had gotten me with child?
Humiliate both me and the Abrahms' at the same time?"
"Never," he insisted
vehemently. "I-I would've told you…"
"When?" she demanded.
"Seems rather convenient that you just 'forgot' to mention it."
"It din't seem important at the
time!" he argued.
"Not important?" she
repeated in disbelief. "My future husband?"
"No," he ground his teeth.
"An' you know why? Because nothin' else mattered once I met you. You were
so different…no one's ever been able to stand up to me before, an' then there
was you with your li'l 'escape strategies' and your projectile shoes an'…"
A fond, nostalgic smile lit up his face. "Knew at that moment that there
was no one else for me." His tone turned pleading. "Please, luv,
don't you see? I din't fall for you because of who your fiancé was. I fell in
love with who you are…"
She brushed away the tear at the
corner of her eye. Oh, she so wanted to believe him, but… "How can I know
you're telling me the truth?" she whispered hopelessly. "How can I
ever know-?"
She was cut off when he pulled her
roughly to him, his lips crashing into hers. Her eyes widened, and she moved to
struggle for a minute. But then she relaxed against the warmth of his embrace
and the soft sweetness of his lips. Hesitantly, her arms slid around his neck,
holding him to her.
He murmured against her lips in
response, his heart becoming whole again now that she was in his arms once
more. However, he didn't prolong their kiss, merely put every fiber of emotion
in his being into the sweet junction of their lips. All too soon, he pulled
away, leaving her panting against her chest.
"If you still can't tell how
madly I'm in love with you," he whispered softly, placing a gentle kiss
against her forehead, "then I don't know what else I can do to convince
you."
"Perhaps," she said with a
sly smile, "you could kiss me again? Just so that I can make sure, of
course…"
"Of course." The twinkle in
his eyes met hers, and he pressed his lips against hers once more, gently this
time, savoring every second they were together…
Elizabeth sighed contentedly and
didn't object when William fell to his knees on the sand, bringing her down with
him to settle in his lap. Her fingers twined tenderly into his sun-bleached
curls as his lips trailed away from hers, leaving a path of sweet kisses down
her throat and all over the bare skin that was exposed by her dress' low
collar.
"William?" she asked
softly.
"Yes, m'love?" he whispered
against the smooth pale flesh above her collarbone.
"Will you tell me of your
vendetta?" she requested.
He looked up at her in surprise.
"It has nothing to do with my feelings for you," he quickly assured
her.
"I know," she agreed with a
fond smile, her hand reaching up to cup the sharp line of one of his cheeks,
"but I love you as well. And I want to know everything about you."
She placed a soft kiss on his nose.
"Mmm, I like that, luv," he
murmured softly. "Much nicer than your punches…"
Her face reddened slightly. "Oh,
I'm so sorry! I…well, I thought…" she trailed off, embarrassed.
He chuckled. "'S all right,
kitten," he assured her. "Just…next time you think 've taken
advantage of you, could you maybe leave off the nose?"
She gave him a mortified little nod,
and he chuckled in response. As he had thought, his reaction brought her right
out of her characteristic bought of meekness.
"Are you going to tell me or
not?" she demanded huffily.
He managed to restrain his chuckling
and began. "I first met Lord Abrahms on my eighteenth birthday, mere
months after my father died," he opened his tale, his accent returning to
the clear, precise tones of the upper class as he returned to that time…
Yeah, I kinda spliced Angel and
Angelus together to get the Angel for this story. Hopefully, he's still
recognizable. -_-;; And, if you want to get William's story, well you're just
going to have to review... ~_^
Disclaimer: I so don't own them it's
not even funny.
Author's Note: To answer what's
becoming a FAQ, this story will probably end up being around 15 chapters. So,
definitely a bit more to come but not too long.
Previously: Having escaped from their
mystery attackers, William and crew arrived at Dead Man's Island. There they
met Angel - William's former captain - who seemed very interested in Elizabeth
and started putting ideas into her head once her realized that she was Parker's
fiancee. However, William managed to convince her that he loved her for herself
before preparing to tell her what led to his vendetta against the Abrahms...
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Eight - Once Upon A Time…
London, 1730 - five years ago…
"…You have my deepest
sympathies, Lady Arlington," the barrister said solemnly, glancing at the
signed death certificate in front of him.
Across the desk from him, the
recently widowed Lady Arlington sobbed softly into the black handkerchief she
held before her face. The black dress and veils she wore couldn't even begin to
describe her grief that her much beloved husband was truly gone.
Beside her, her only surviving son
looked equally pale, his father's death really hitting him for the first time.
"A-Are we positive he went down with the ship?" William's perfectly-cultured
voice demanded. "You said they haven't found the body…?"
The barrister sighed. Cases like
these were always the most difficult on the families because they never had a
complete sense of closure. "There were no survivors," he insisted.
"The storm was too violent. Several other ships were lost as well. I'm
afraid there's no chance that your father is still alive."
Lady Arlington let out another sob,
and William was instantly at her side, holding on tightly to the only family he
had left now.
"I-I see," he tried to
sound strong, but his voice wavered. He knew he was technically a man now, but
he felt anything but it at the moment. Nothing could ever have prepared him for
taking over his family at this young age. "What needs to be done,
then?" He tried to bite back his own tears, but the first drops of salty
liquid ran down each of his cheeks before he could stop them.
"Your father's business accounts
were in the process of being transferred," the barrister informed him.
"Lord Arlington was shifting his investments to an entirely different
shipping company. A decision must be made quickly on whether to continue the
transfer of funds."
"What does that mean?"
William ran an agitated hand through his sandy-blond curls.
"It means that you have a choice
to make, Master Arlington," the barrister informed him kindly. "I recommend
that you meet with Lord Abrahms to discuss the business dealings between
himself and your father. He can undoubtedly provide more insight into your
father's intentions than I can."
William nodded slowly. "Yes,
quite," he agreed, still horribly nervous. "I shall do so as quickly
as possible…"
* * *
"Now, 'd known Lord Abrahms'
eldest son for a while before that," William commented, his fingers
tracing over the hem of Elizabeth's voluminous pale-blue skirt as he spoke.
"Both heirs to noble houses an' all that rubbish - had to run in similar
crowds…"
"You know Parker?"
Elizabeth asked in disbelief.
William winced. "Wished I din't,
though," he sighed. "The younger Abrahms is scum, luv. Has his fun
with the skirts, then leaves 'em to pursue his latest conquest."
Elizabeth gulped slightly. "I
had heard as much," she nodded slowly.
"We 'ad a fancy for the same
lady once," he admitted. "Cecily Addams - high-society, well-born,
an' such. 'f course William din't stand a chance while Parker was there seducin'
her. So Abrahms 'as his fun and then tosses her aside - with his child, no
less. Completely broke her." Angry tears stained his face. "Couldn't
stand it 'f he did that to you, too…"
Softly, Elizabeth wiped his tears
away with her thumb, placing a gentle kiss upon his brow. "It won't,"
she whispered softly. "I'm yours, never Parker's…"
He gave her a soft smile at that, but
then his face darkened again as he returned to his tale. "So even back
then I knew that the son was scum. What I din't know was that the father was as
well…"
* * *
"You have no idea how sorry I
was to hear about your father." Lord Abrahms sat back in the leather
armchair and sipped slowly at his brandy.
As a young William sat in the
spacious sitting room watching Lord Abrahms' cool demeanor, he quickly realized
that he was completely outclassed. "Th-Thank you, sir," he said
nervously, looking into his glass as if something were about to jump out of it
and bite him. "I-I just had some questions…"
"Of course," Lord Abrahms
agreed magnanimously, the dark points of his eyes glittering like a serpent's
in the light from the fireplace. "Your father and I worked together for
many years…many profitable years," he amended. "Our combined
investments in colonial shipping made our chosen companies a force to be
reckoned with."
"Y-Yet my father withdrew most
of his holdings just prior to his…" William gulped, still unable to
express the sentiment, "…trip," he finished lamely. "Have you
any idea why?"
"Merely for convenience's
sake," Lord Abrahms waved one hand in the air dismissively. "The
transfer of bonds requires frequent withdrawals."
"My father's auditor seemed to
think that my father was moving his business elsewhere," William
commented, thumbing desperately through the notes he'd taken.
"I would've known about
that," Lord Abrahms insisted with a tight smile. "I'm very intimately
acquainted with my fellow investors' business activities."
"Then, perhaps you could tell me
what my father intended," William requested innocently.
"A new…trade route we
found," Lord Abrahms said evasively. "Safer, more favorable winds -
that sort of thing. Your father was to inspect it after he returned from his
trip to India."
"And you were his partner in
this?" William asked.
"Your partner now," Lord
Abrahms agreed with a sly smile…
* * *
"I was young," William
sighed. "Naïve. I knew nothing of the business and so fell into the very
trap my father had been escaping."
"Your father had been
escaping…" Elizabeth repeated slowly.
William flashed her a wry smile.
"I had the same thought, but my father's death still looks like an
accident…albeit, a very convenient one for the Abrahms."
"You're sure?" Elizabeth
raised one eyebrow skeptically.
He shrugged. "Doubt even the
all-mighty Abrahms could rig that storm," he argued. "Besides, my
father was too important to try that kinda underhandedness. I, on the other
hand, was a nobody who was better gotten rid of…"
* * *
William leaned on the rail of the
ship, watching the rhythmic waves of the ocean until they vanished at the
horizon, lit up brilliantly by the setting sun. At first he had been quite wary
of leaving England for the very first time, but Lord Abrahms had insisted that
as the new executive of the Arlington title, he should investigate his father's
businesses himself.
And, much to his surprise, he had
found that he rather enjoyed the sea. It soothed his nerves in a way that
nothing had done ever since he'd learned of his father's disappearance. His
only regret was leaving his mother behind. She had been ailing more and more of
late, as if she had nothing left to live for now that her husband was gone.
He and his mother had never been
particularly close, true - she had wanted a strong, athletic son rather than
the bookish intellectual that she got - but it still pained him that he was
seemingly not reason enough for her to keep going.
But it was yet another problem that
the ocean seemed to sweep away. He felt as though he could get lost on the
seas, bury everything else until all he heard was the gentle lapping of the
waves against the wooden planks of the hull.
All that changed when night fell upon
them, however. William had just thought that he had dimly seen the outside of a
ship in the pitch black that surrounded them when the first shots were fired…
* * *
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Is
there anyone who hasn't been attacked by pirates?" she wondered.
"Actually, there's less'n a
dozen ships around here," William pointed out. "'S actually fairly
rare."
"Then it's just my incredible
misfortune?" she teased before a sly grin spread across her lips. "Or
fortune, as the case may be…"
His blue eyes twinkled back at her in
response. "Can't say I can bring myself to hate the circumstances that
brought me you," he agreed softly.
One of her hands reached up to stroke
the soft curls that had paled to white after years exposed to the harsh sun.
They were beautiful, though, and she wouldn't have him any other way.
"So, I'm guessing you didn't
die," she jested lightly. "Which means that I'm also guessing that
Angel was the captain of the ship that attacked you…"
He scowled. "You jus' had ta go
and blow the big surprise, din't you?" he sighed in exasperation.
"Let's just say that I'm
starting to see…parallels in our situations," she conceded.
He let out a low chuckle at that.
"You're a bleedin' menace, luv," he whispered softly against her
hair. "Don't know what 'd do without you…"
"And you're not kissing me,
why?" she demanded, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised.
He couldn't come up for a good
response to that and brushed his lips softly against her own, shutting his eyes
and savoring everything about her - her perfume, the warmth of her body, the
softness of her lips, the sweet taste of her mouth, and the little mewls that
escaped her throat as he set her body ablaze with his passion. Together, they
pulled apart, amazed at how the connection between them seemed to grow each
time their lips met.
"Satisfied?" he asked with
a wry smirk.
"For now," she agreed with
a coy smile. "Aren't you going to finish your story?"
"Only if you stop
interruptin'," he mock-huffed.
"Promise," she insisted
with a dancing light in her eyes that indicated that she would do anything but.
He let out a resigned sigh but
continued nonetheless…
* * *
The battle that had followed had been
brief, bloody, and William hadn't seen any of it because less than five seconds
in, he had been knocked unconscious - all in all, not a promising sign for his
future well-being.
Nevertheless, he awoke safe and sound
- albeit with a splitting headache - some hours later. He was somewhat
surprised to find himself lying on a cot, and for a moment he assumed that the
crew had defeated the enemy threat and brought him back to his room.
That was until he opened his eyes.
The dark-haired man before him had not been on his ship, of that William was
sure. He would have recognized the cold, calculating eyes and the wicked smile
had he ever seen the man before.
"Awake so soon, my boy?"
Angel commented, his accusing ebony gaze never leaving William.
"Wh-Who are you? Where am
I?" William stuttered nervously, jerking up into a sitting position and
groaning at the pain in his head as he did so. He exploring fingers quickly
found a rather large lump at the back of his head.
"They call me Angel. You're my
guest," Angel said simply, "aboard my ship."
"Y-You've kidnapped me?"
William's heart sank.
"I want some answers,"
Angel explained simply.
William was confused now.
"Answers?" he repeated.
"The money," Angel
demanded. "Where is it?"
"Money?" William blinked in
surprise. "What money?"
"Don't play stupid with me,
boy," Angel hissed angrily. "I know that coward Abrahms used you as
his errand boy."
"What?!" William was too
confused now to be frightened. "My job was merely to inspect the docking
ports in Carolina."
"My contacts informed me that
the money would be coming with this shipment," Angel insisted. "So
where is it?"
"I know nothing about any
money!" William was just as vehement.
"If you're in this with that
double-crosser…" Angel began menacingly.
"I don't even know what you're
talking about!" William protested.
Angel leaned in close, his eyes
narrowed to slits as he studied William intently. The younger man felt a pang
of real fear for a second before Angel let out a weary sigh and collapsed back
into his chair.
"I believe you," he said
with a sigh. "Looks like I'm not the only one Abrahms set up…"
"Wh-What are you talking
about?" William's voice still shook from the way the other man had stared
at him, at the deadly precision in those black eyes.
"Abrahms must've leaked the
information himself in order to send me on a wild goose chase," Angel
decided, "and you, boy, were the patsy he sent to take his fall."
"But Lord Abrahms was a friend
to my father!" William protested.
Angel laughed aloud at that.
"Abrahms has no friends," he said coldly, "merely…assets. And it
seems that both of our value is gone now."
The first inklings of the truth
filtered into the edges of William's mind as he thought about it. "H-He
intentionally sent you after my ship?" he repeated in disbelief. "I
could've been killed!"
"That, my boy," Angel said
with an amused smile at the youth and innocence of his captive, "was the
point."
"B-But why?" William still couldn't
quite believe it.
Angel sighed. He really didn't have
time to babysit this kid, but he figured he at least deserved to know why all
this was happening. "Let's just say that not all of Lord Abrahms' ships
carry cargo," he began.
William's eyes widened. "Are you
saying that THIS is his ship?"
Angel chuckled. "Originally,
perhaps," he agreed, studiously examining the point of the dagger he held
in his lap. "You see, the best way to ensure good business is to remove
the competition…"
More pieces were falling into place
by the minute. "My father knew," William decided. "That was why
he decided to withdraw…"
Angel shrugged. He didn't really
care. All he wanted was the money that Abrahms owed him from his last ten
attacks. Cargo was well and good, but he didn't run a cargo ship after all…
"I-I need to get back to
England," William decided. "Report Abrahms' activities to the
government and-"
"They know," Angel sighed
in annoyance at the foolish kid he'd picked up. Oh well, maybe the boy would be
useful for scrubbing the decks or something… "They don't care. After all,
Abrahms is nobility. As long as he only attacks the ships of commoners, England
will look the other way."
"H-He attacked me!" William
announced triumphantly. "Since I am the heir to-"
"Nobody," Angel rolled his
eyes.
"Pardon?" William asked,
confused.
"You're nobody yet, kid,"
Angel informed him. "Hell, Abrahms probably already has you listed as dead
and is delving into your family estate as we speak."
"Then I must get back on
once!" William exclaimed. "Mother-"
"Too late, my boy," Angel
informed him. "But," a smile lit up his face, "if you want to
get revenge on Abrahms, there are…other options…"
* * *
William chuckled. "You should've
seen the expression on Angel's face durin' the first battle I stayed awake for
- took out eight 'f the enemy, an' I din't even know which edge of the sword
was which. Got me right outta the kitchen and onto to deck. Became somethin'
like his protégé after that…"
"So, the two of you attacked
Abrahms' ships," Elizabeth concluded.
"Abrahms 'imself was
untouchable," William agreed. "But his investments…"
"You intentionally bankrupted
the family," Elizabeth said with a little huff. "You're the
one who set about the unfortunate events of my arranged marriage."
William raised an eyebrow at that.
"Was a money thing then, was it?" he said with a sly grin.
"Turned out best for the both 'f us then…"
"I can't say I object to seeing
Parker getting quite thoroughly screwed over," she agreed with a little
smile.
His eyes widened in surprise.
"Been hangin' around Anya too long, I reckon," he teased.
"You're startin' to develop a bit 'f a mouth."
"Whereas, I was known for my
dainty, polite conversation before," she couldn't help but retort
sarcastically.
His chest vibrated with a deep, rich
chuckle at that, and she lay her head over his heart, savoring the sensation.
"Although," she added with
a little smile, "you really have no right to criticize my speech. The way
you talk, I would think you'd grown up on the streets."
"S'pose 've gotten a li'l…rough
around the edges over the years, pet," he agreed, "but 's all part of
my charm."
She rolled her eyes. "By whose
definition of 'charm'?" she demanded.
"Yours, apparently," he
countered, "seein' as you're curled up in my lap an' all."
She pulled away slightly and sat up
so that she could look straight down into those deep cerulean pools.
"Rough around the edges," she agreed softly, "but still every
bit the gentleman…"
His eyes widened when her lips crashed
down upon his with enough force to send him falling backward onto the soft sand
of the beach. He had no clue where she'd learned to kiss like this - it had to
be pure instinct - but he wasn't about to complain.
Her body fell atop his, pressing down
against him, as her tongue carefully traced all the contours of his mouth,
fully exploring the moist cavern. She stroked his tongue languidly, slowly
stoking a raging fire deep within him.
His body responded, becoming hard
beneath the grinding of her hips, but she didn't let off until she finally
deemed that he had been well and truly kissed.
"Luckily for you," she said
with a wry grin when she pulled away, "I've never been much of a
lady."
"Lucky…" he agreed breathlessly.
"So," she lay down upon his
chest, quite content to remain there on the beach, her body tangled with his,
for eternity, "why aren't you and Angel still fighting the good
fight?"
He snorted derisively. "Let's
just say that the grand ponce is an opportunistic bastard…in more ways than
one."
She looked up at him curiously.
"Clarify?" she demanded.
He let out a weary sigh. "A
woman," he sighed. "Innit always? Snatched her right out from under
me…"
Elizabeth brow furrowed to a scowl.
"Metaphorically speaking, that
is," he quickly clarified. He shrugged. "Drusilla was more Angel's
type anyway. A quick romp an' then gone."
"And, yet, you're still mad at
him," she pointed out, still a bit ticked at the image of another woman in
his arms.
"That an' he abandoned our li'l
revenge a few years back. Wasn't profitable enough for him," William
sighed. "So I set off on my own."
"Don't you ever get tired of
it?" she whispered softly, her voice barely audible over the regular waves
of the sea. "Constantly living for revenge?"
"For so long, I 'aven't had
anythin' else to live for," he murmured against her hair. "Until
now…"
She looked up at him in surprise.
"You mean…?" she began hesitantly.
"'ve never met anyone like you
before, 'Lizabeth." He pulled her down to him so that their foreheads
rested together. "When I met you, I met my match."
"And I, you," she agreed, a
feeling of deep, warm contentment seeping into her bones as she lay there with
the man she… She started a bit at the thought before letting a soft smile creep
upon her lips. "I love you, William," she admitted.
"Love you, too," he agreed,
tilting his head to give her a quick kiss. "Y'know," he commented
thoughtfully, "'ve actually built up a decent fortune over the past five
years. Was thinkin'…you, me, nice big villa down in South America…"
"Mmm," she murmured,
"sounds wonderful."
"'S a plan then," he agreed
with a small smile.
"A perfect one," she agreed
before leaning in to kiss him once more…
Is it really that easy? Or is
disaster still waiting to strike? You'll just have to keep reviewing to find
out. ~_^
Disclaimer: I own Spike. See, I've
got him chained up in my closet and pull him out whenever the mood strikes me.
So, why doesn't the mood strike me right now, you ask? Er, uh...he's sleeping.
Yeah, that's it. (Damn! Why did you have to burst my bubble? ^_^)
Author's Note: Welcome back to more
melodrama on the high seas!
Previously: Everyone's at Dead Man's
Island. Elizabeth freaked slightly when she found out that William had a
vendetta against the Abrahms', but it's all good now. William explained how
Lord Abrahms ruined his life. Lord Abrahms is not a nice person. And so
we continue...
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Nine - One Last Stand
If her father had ever given her any
good advice, it was this: A woman should never trust what a man promises to
her in heat of passion. And, right now, Elizabeth was practically seething
at the truism of it.
Having returned to the dinning hall,
Elizabeth and William had taken their seats once more, although William had
strategically placed himself between Angel and Elizabeth this time. He gave his
former captain a cold look and returned to his food.
Angel opened his mouth to speak, but
a harsh glance from Xander shut him up immediately. Elizabeth wondered what on
earth could've transpired to make the pompous and confident Angel actually
listen to Spike's first mate. She figured she could probably get the story from
Anya later.
The ice that had fallen upon the
dinner was soon broken, however, when a blond woman dressed in the most
diaphanous thing Elizabeth had ever seen approached Angel and whispered
something into his ear. He seemed to freeze in place for a second before
casting a nervous glance in William's direction.
William's own eyebrow rose in
response, and he intently watched the pair continue to whisper back and forth
frantically for a few seconds before the blond slipped from the room once more.
"Still holding up with Darla, then?" he inquired casually. The steely
glint in his eye indicated all too clearly that he demanded to know the subject
of their conversation as well.
"She's a pleasant
distraction," Angel said simply. "Shrewd, too." He took another
swig of his ale. "Has ears all over the world."
William's head tilted to one side as
he studied Angel. "Oh?" he tried to sound disinterested as he took a
bite out of his bread.
"Something you might want to
know," Angel agreed with a sly smile.
Elizabeth had some sense of
foreboding and let her hand under the table stray to William's knee, seeking
comfort from his touch. His tensed body relaxed an almost miniscule amount
under her caress.
"And what would that be?"
William inquired.
"It seems some old 'friends' of
ours still have a few contacts somewhere high up," Angel seemed to delight
in teasing his former first mate.
" 'Friends'?" William hated
taking the bait, but patience had never been one of his virtues.
"Old man Abrahms," Angel
leaned back with a sigh. "He's a persistent bastard, gotta give him
that…"
William was squeezing the knife in
his hand so tightly that Elizabeth feared that the handle would snap and he
would hurt himself. Cautiously, her hand moved above the table and she caught
it from him, blushing slightly at the display of affection in front of all
these strangers. Not that many were paying attention to what she was doing, of
course.
"Abrahms is broke," William
said calmly. "And all his associates know better'n to deal with him if
they want their shipments to get through…"
"True," Angel agreed,
taking an almost delicate sip from his goblet, "but there is one
distributor that need not fear pirate attacks…"
William's brow furrowed for a minute,
and Elizabeth bit her lip.
"The navy," she finally
said softly, eyes widening when the answer came to her.
Angel raised his golden goblet in her
direction. "Smart girl you've got yourself there," he said with a
quick flash of the seductive smile he'd used on her earlier.
William shook his head.
"Abrahms' power is entirely in business," he insisted.
"Was, my boy," Angel
corrected. "It seems the old swine's figured your little scheme out at
last."
Xander frowned. "There's no way
the navy would agree to deliver Abrahms' shipments," he insisted.
"It would be a waste of British
Naval resources," Anya agreed perkily.
"Like I said," Angel said
with a shrug, "friends in high places."
William's brow furrowed. "'m not
about to attack the navy," he finally commented, taking a deep swig of his
own ale. "Hate to let Abrahms get away, though…"
Elizabeth frowned at this. It had
been, what? Less than half an hour ago that they'd been discussing retiring to
a sunny villa? "There's nothing you can do about it," she informed
him somewhat primly.
"The girl's got a point,"
Angel agreed. "Tough luck is all." A hint of a smile twitched at the
edge of his lips. "Unless…"
"Unless what?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. William
wasn't actually falling for this, was he?
"Abrahms has taken heavy
losses," Angel answered, "due to your tireless efforts, of course…"
He raised his goblet in William's direction.
Elizabeth felt about ready to
strangle Angel for his over-dramatic theatrics. Why couldn't he just spell it
out?
Apparently, she wasn't the only one
who thought so because at that moment the previously silent Giles finally
couldn't stand it anymore. "Would you get to the bloody point
already?" he demanded, annoyed.
The entire room paused and blinked at
the language the priest had chosen to use.
Giles' face flushed slightly, but
then he shrugged it off. "Well, it was damn irritating!" he defended
himself, daring anyone to comment on this latest blasphemy.
"The point," Angel
interrupted the awkward silence that followed, more than a little amused
himself at the priest's antics, "is that Abrahms only has two offices
remaining. On in London and a second along the coast that he uses for
shipping."
"His cargo 'as to go through
there," William realized, his eyes narrowing in a predatory manner.
"It would be impossible to
defeat a navy ship," Angel agreed, "but if Abrahms' shipments were
destroyed before they even entered the navy's hands…"
The sinking feeling in Elizabeth's
stomach increased as this new line of conversation progressed. She could tell
by the glint in William's eye that he was sorely tempted by Angel's plan.
"It would be suicide!" she
insisted, somewhat illogically, in the hopes of discouraging the man she loved
from taking up this dangerous mission.
"Not necessarily," Riley
commented for the first time. "A sneak attack at night, burn the place down,
and then no more Abrahms."
"The port's to the north,"
Angel added his input, "far from regular naval patrols."
"We could be in and out before
anyone was the wiser," Xander was picking up on the rising enthusiasm as
well.
"And we were headed to England
next anyway…" William said thoughtfully.
Elizabeth cast a desperate look in
Anya's direction. Her friend nodded in realization at Elizabeth's desire not to
see this carried out.
"I don't particularly enjoy
having orgasms in high-stress situations."
The room was stunned silent for a
second.
Anya sighed at the general
cluelessness of men. "That means that we wouldn't be able to have sex if
you make this attack," she spelled it out for Xander.
Xander's eyes widened in horror.
"Wait a minute," he abruptly changed his mind. "Maybe we
shouldn't attack. You know, it's dangerous and…dangerous…" he finished
lamely.
William eyed Anya skeptically,
apparently oblivious to Elizabeth's desires. "Didn't seem to mind it
before," he commented curiously.
"There was no danger then,"
Anya tried desperately to concoct a remotely plausible story. "This is
much…more…dangerous…" Her lower lip jutted out at the lameness of that
excuse.
"In fact, we should probably
disembark if you're going off on such a dangerous venture," Elizabeth took
up the ball since Anya had so spectacularly dropped it. "We should remain
in South America."
"Wait a minute!" Anya
screeched, dropping all pretense. "I'm not leaving Xander! I need my
orgasms!"
"But you wouldn't be getting any
because you wouldn't be sleeping with him, remember?" Elizabeth reminded
her through gritted teeth.
"Oh…yeah," Anya agreed with
a nervous laugh. "I…forgot?" She let out an annoyed sigh and decided
to go with bluntness since her attempts at subtlety had failed so miserably.
"Elizabeth doesn't want you to go because she thinks you're going to get
yourself killed," she informed William pointblank.
William turned to Elizabeth in
surprise, noticing the extreme worry in her face for the first time.
"There won't be any danger," he assured her, his hand reaching up to
cup her cheek. "We'll go in at night, real secret like. Be out before
anyone's the wiser…"
"You'll be in England,"
Elizabeth bit her lip nervously. "If they catch you…"
"Shh," he leaned into her,
his thumb brushing over her lips, and the rest of the world seemed to fade
away, leaving only the two of them. "They won't catch me, luv," he
assured her. "Haven't managed it in the last five years. This won't be any
different…"
"What if it is?" Her gaze
lingered over the now-familiar planes of his face. "I thought…you and
me…just the two of us…nice little villa…"
"We will," he insisted,
giving her hand a little squeeze. "This could be it. Abrahms' finished off
once an' for all… Jus' this one final attack, luv."
"I see," she pulled away
rather harshly. "And I suppose the next five attacks after that will also
be the 'final' one."
"I promise you," he
practically begged. "Let me finish this, give us both a fresh start when 'm
done…"
"I like the start we have
now," she persisted.
"So do I, kitten." He
leaned in once more, and this time she didn't pull away, allowing their lips to
lightly brush. "I need this, though," he pleaded. "I need it to
end."
She let her eyes drift shut, hating
the choice she had to make but reassured by his nearness at the same time.
"Only if I come with you," she finally conceded. "We will share
in the danger equally."
A small smile curved at the edges of
his lips. "Wouldn't 'ave it any other way," he agreed.
The room watched, fascinated, as the
blond pair met in a passionate kiss. As their lips lingered upon each other's,
however, everyone eventually returned to their meals, trying to pick up the
conversation around the interlocked pair at the table.
"I take it you're going
then?" Angel asked hopefully.
"I'd say that's a yes,"
Xander cast an amused glance in William and Elizabeth's direction. She had
managed to insinuate her way into her lover's lap, oblivious to all onlookers,
and even watching the way her hips were grinding made Xander hard.
Apparently, he wasn't the only one
who was turned on. "Xander?" Anya licked her lips as she studied the
pair.
"Yeah, Ahn?"
Her eyes never left the blond pair as
she lifted her hands, the fingers of one hand forming a circle while the index
finger of the other thrust in and out of it several times.
"Yeah, Ahn," Xander agreed,
catching her hand and practically dragging her from the room…
* * *
Lord Abrahms looked up from the
account-book in front of him with a scowl. The messenger nervously walked up to
the massive oak desk that Abrahms always sat behind while at work, making him
seem to tower above all those who entered.
"Well?" Abrahms snapped.
"Do you have word?"
"Our ally had the message
delivered, and the trap is set," the peon agreed nervously.
A wicked leer curved across Lord
Abrahms' lips. "Then all we need do is wait for the bait to be snatched
up." His hand clenched at the paper before him for emphasis. "And,
then," he added with a satisfied smile, "William the Bloody will be
no more…"
* * *
"You said I could come
with you!" Elizabeth repeated, eyes flashing dangerously.
"And you are!"
William insisted just as vehemently.
"By what definition does
standing around on the beach waiting for you count as coming with?" she
demanded angrily, her cheeks flushed from the heat of their argument…or perhaps
from the nearness of their bodies.
Paradoxically, as their minds warred,
their bodies curled up together on William's mattress, Elizabeth's skirts
encircling them both, their arms wrapped around each other, and her head
resting in the curve of his shoulder. It was a testament to how well matched
they were that neither found the seeming contradiction at all troubling.
Rather, arguing while holding each other seemed perfectly natural to both of
them.
"You don' actually 'xpect to
help burn the place down, do you?" he demanded.
"If that's what you are doing,
then that's what I am doing," she retorted.
"What happened to that
persistent morality 'f yours?" he countered. "Arson's not exactly
ladylike."
"I've never been much of a
lady." She batted one hand in the air dismissively. "Besides, you are
working for justice, righting a great wrong-"
"Oh yeah, 'm a bleedin'
hero," William rolled his eyes sarcastically.
Her expression softened as she looked
up at him. "You are handling the fate life gave you as best you can."
Her fingers lightly traced the outlines of his strong features. "And, yes,
that does make you a sort of hero…"
He sighed. "You think too much
of me," he said wearily, leaning his forehead down to rest against hers.
"I think you a good man and a
true gentleman…as well as my love," she whispered back with a soft smile.
"And I am never wrong about these things."
The edges of his own lips lifted into
a shy smile at that. "Have I told you lately that you are amazing?"
His accent reverted to its old upper-class patterns for a moment.
"Not recently enough," she
teased.
"You're amazing," he
accepted her bait with a grin, leaning in to steal a kiss from her soft lips.
"I love you," he murmured against her hair as they broke apart.
"And I, you." The arm flung
about his waist squeezed him more tightly to her.
They lay like that for some time,
completely content to just be together in the other's embrace. It was William
who reluctantly broke the comfortable silence between them, however.
"I need people to watch the
coast," he began the argument anew. "Make sure nothin' blocks our escape
route…"
"Xander can do that," she
insisted, eyes narrowed. "I'm coming with you."
He let out an exasperated sigh.
"No, you're not," he insisted.
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
"Am."
"Not."
"Am."
"Not! And 'm the captain so
that's final!" he commanded.
* * *
"A hand would be
appreciated," Elizabeth informed him primly from where she was stuck,
half-climbed over the fence behind the building that housed Abrahms' shipping
offices.
With a resigned sigh, William helped
her over, his hands practically reaching around her slim waist as he brought
her gently to the ground. Even he had to admit that she'd been wise to forego
her skirts for this mission. He still didn't think she should be with him in
the first place, but as he didn't seem to have any say in the matter, it was at
least a good idea that she had dressed herself in his spare clothing, if a
bit…distracting.
His clothes were large on her, true.
In fact, she had rolled the pant legs up to about half of their normal length.
Nonetheless, the dips and curves of her body were far clearer in her current
garb than the normal layered skirts that surrounded her.
William's attention snapped back to
matter at hand when Riley and Forrest climbed over the fence behind them, Riley
handing the can of kerosene oil to William before he made the final jump.
William handed it back to him when
they stood together once more. "Surround the building with the oil,"
he instructed in a whisper. "Elizabeth and I shall light the fire
inside."
Riley nodded, and he and Forrest set
off on their appointed task.
"Up for a bit 'f arson,
luv?" William asked lightheartedly, offering his arm to her as they headed
for the back door.
"You sure know how to treat a
lady, don't you?" she teased, pressing a gentle kiss into his palm before
stepping away so that he could pick the lock on the door.
"'S part of my charm," he
agreed with a little wink. He twisted the two thin pieces of metal into the
lock, and they heard an audible click.
"After you, milady," he
said with a sweeping gesture, opening the door for her.
She stifled the laugh that bubbled up
in her chest and entered the small office building. William followed behind
her, his arm slipping about her waist in a loose embrace as they searched for
the optimal place to begin their fire.
With William holding her close and
the flush of excitement and danger lighting up her face, Elizabeth almost
wished that their lives could always be like this. Perhaps they could return to
this on occasion, just for old time's sake and all…
However, even as she thought it, the
hiss of matches lighting sounded all throughout the empty room. The pair
started in surprise when they first discovered that they were not alone and
were, in fact, surrounded.
"I wouldn't move if I were
you," a young man bearing a musket instructed them.
Elizabeth's hand reflexively clutched
over William's heart in response, as if that simple gesture could defend her
love. He, in turn, seemed to be trying to shield her from the enemy as he
searched frantically for an escape route.
"William the Bloody," a
cold voice sounded throughout the room. "We meet at last…"
"We've met before, Abrahms,"
William's eyes narrowed as they honed in on the source of the voice.
"Have we?" The older man
stepped into the light then, his face looking harsh and skeletal in the
flickering candle flames. "I can't say that I recall you…"
"You ruined my family,"
William hissed angrily.
Lord Abrahms let out a short bark of
laughter. "Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down,
boy?" he retorted.
William's eyes darted back and forth
among the men that surrounded him. There were three dressed as police in
addition to Abrahms and two others that seemed to be in the Lord's employ. Not
good odds, but not impossible, either. Especially since the man with the gun
seemed to think the situation was well under control.
William's head inclined slightly in
the direction of the table behind them, and Elizabeth caught the gesture,
reaching for the heavy inkblotter that rested there.
"Can't say 'm surprised,"
William responded to Lord Abrahms' last comment, hoping to lull the enemy into
a false sense of security. He himself inched behind the large wooden table in
the center of the room. It meant that he had to distance himself from
Elizabeth, but he trusted that she would keep her cool without him. "They
call me the pirate, but you've ruined far more lives."
"And I should care, why?"
Lord Abrahms waved his hand in the air disinterestedly.
"Because sooner or later, 's
gonna come back to haunt you." William stepped back further into the
shadows, an evil smirk on his face.
The armed constable cocked his gun in
warning, his attention focused entirely on William…and didn't see Elizabeth's
blow until it was too late. The gun went off just as the blotter struck his
brow, knocking his aim askew.
There was a second's hesitation
before the other two officers rushed William, but it was all the time he needed
to overturn the table, knocking them both to the floor.
He and Elizabeth both darted for the
exit in that moment as Lord Abrahms stood there sputtering, speechless. Their
hands met just as they reached the door and linked together before they ran…
Yeah, we had to get back to the plot
sooner or later. Life's rough, isn't it? ^_^ As always, reviews are much
appreciated. Plus, they make the juicy Spuffiness come faster. ~_^
Disclaimer: If I owned Spike, don't
you think I'd be off snogging him right now instead of writing this story? Your
Honor, I rest my case...
Author's Note: Wow, evil villanous
villains are fun to write dialogue for. ~_^ Hope you enjoy...
Previously: William found out from
Angel that Lord Abrahms was trying to ship with the navy. In order to stop
this, he tried to burn down Lord Abrahms' offices. However, he and Elizabeth
found themselves caught in a trap. They managed to disable several of the
police and flee for the door...
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Ten - 'Rescued'
"Oh, no," a cold voice
halted them dead in their tracks, "you don't get away so easily this
time."
Elizabeth began to panic when she saw
that their escape was once again blocked. The men they had disabled were coming
to, and the door was no longer a way out. She glanced at one of the narrow
windows that lined the small office and contemplated whether or not William
would be able to fit through it. She was fairly confident he could; after all,
he was quite fit and lean.
However, when she tugged his hand in
the direction of the only possible venue for escape, he remained frozen in
place, unable to move.
"William!" she hissed
desperately, watching the trap close in around them.
But the pain of betrayal had overcome
him too far to worry about escape now. "Riley?" he finally whispered
in disbelief.
Riley rolled his eyes and snorted
derisively from where he and Forrest blocked the door. "Don't sound so
surprised," he retorted. "You knew that sooner or later I'd have to
get you out of my way…"
"What?" William was still
dumbfounded by this turn of events. "What the bloody hell 're you
thinkin', Finn?" There was now a hint of anger in his voice.
"Simple," Riley retorted.
"You have what I want." His cold eyes darted over to Elizabeth for a
second before returning to his former captain's. "I'm sick of following
your orders, tired of being second best…or not even that - third best.
So I'm taking what's mine."
Lord Abrahms let out a bored yawn,
drawing the captive pair's attention back to the trap they had been quite
thoroughly caught in. "This is all fascinating, I'm sure," he said
wearily, "but I have things to do, deals to make…"
"Innocents to screw over,"
William's eyes narrowed.
Lord Abrahms didn't bother to respond
to that. With a quick snap of his fingers, he summoned two of the officers
over, and they quickly moved to restrain William and Elizabeth.
William didn't even protest, the
fight still gone out of him. However, Elizabeth's heel connected sharply with
the officer's shin, making him stumble.
Outraged, the man struck her across
the face. She staggered backward, her vision bleary from the force of the blow.
At the hit, William seemed to spring
back to life, although too late. "You'll pay for hurtin' her," he
hissed, deadly intent in his enraged eyes.
"Her?" The officer in
question looked puzzled as he yanked Elizabeth back up to her feet. It was then
that he noticed that the red handkerchief she'd used to bind her hair in place
had come off at his blow. Her golden tresses spilled down her shoulders, and
for a second he just stood their stunned, his gaping mouth not looking unlike
that of a flounder. "Bloody 'ell!" he finally cried in complete and
utter shock. "'E's a she!" He pointed an accusing finger at what he
had thought was a second pirate.
Elizabeth took advantage of all her
guards' sudden bashfulness at touching her to try to break away. However, one
of the young men who had accompanied Abrahms seemed to have no qualms about
holding a lady captive. Elizabeth would've struggled, but her brow was still
stinging from the officer's punch.
"Honestly, miss," the
officer in question now seemed flabbergasted at his actions. "Din't know
you was a lady, I swear!"
"That's right," Elizabeth
tried to maintain her dignity despite her pulsing headache and her arms being
held by the man behind her. "My name is Elizabeth Summers, daughter of
Henry Summers, and if you know what's good for you, you'll release me at
once!" she practically screeched.
The grip on her arms suddenly
weakened as the man behind her gasped in surprise. "Elizabeth Summers?"
he exclaimed in astonishment.
Lord Abrahms looked no less shocked.
"Henry's daughter," he hissed under his breath. "Impossible! You
were…"
"Who d'you think captured that
ship, moron?" William rolled his eyes and struggled against the ropes that
were being tied around his hands.
"Miss Summers," Lord
Abrahms' attitude instantly softened. "I had no idea, of course… I don't
believe you've met my son Parker, yet?"
The young man who had held her gave
her what he probably thought was a seductive smile. It didn't have much effect
on her, especially since she'd been on the receiving end of William's gorgeous
smirk so often. This boy couldn't even hope to stand up to her love.
"I believe my father had an
arrangement with you," Elizabeth continued to press her advantage.
"If you don't wish to incur his wrath, I suggest you do as I say and
release William and myself at once."
William couldn't help but smile.
Really, this woman didn't know when she was beat. A stubborn little thing,
determined to have her way even when the logic of the universe itself was
against her…
"But, surely, lady-" Lord
Abrahms began, trying to salvage the rather profitable marriage and the easy
access to Henry Summers' fortunes it would provide.
"She's no lady," Riley
hissed, finally breaking his prolonged period of silence.
A sound very much like a growl
emitted from William's mouth.
Elizabeth was equally outraged.
"How dare you?!" she exclaimed indignantly.
Riley snorted derisively. "She's
not much better than a common whore," he informed the Abrahms'. "Had
only known William for about five minutes before she started sniffing around in
his pants."
Elizabeth's cheeks reddened with both
anger and embarrassment. "You're jealous," she accused. "He
didn't let you take me, and now you're trying to get revenge on us both."
Riley bit out a bitter bark of
laughter. "You are an arrogant, self-absorbed little thing, aren't
you?" he countered. He leaned in dangerously close so that she could feel
the heat of his angry breath against her face. "You're no different than
any of the other foolish women he's taken up with in the past. They're all the
same." His eyes narrowed. "They fall for the charm and leap right
into his bed, only to be cast aside when he grows bored with them. Don't tell
me you didn't know?" he added harshly. "It's all an act, 'luv'…"
"'Lizabeth…" William's
voice was pleading, horrified.
"Shh," she hushed him
softly. The strangest feeling settled over her at Riley's words. Not so long
ago, she'd heard something similar from Angel and been torn up by it. But now… She
bit out a bark of laughter. "God, you're pathetic," she informed
Riley coldly. "You don't know the first thing about William, do you? Or
me?"
"That's my girl," William
gave her a fond smile - one that stirred the fire deep in her belly even in
this dire situation.
"Cheap harlot!" Riley
hissed angrily. "I'll show you who-"
"Halt!" Lord Abrahms had
been studying the situation with morbid curiously and finally decided it was
time to intervene. Instantly, two of the men moved to restrain Riley as well.
"What is this?" Riley
demanded in indignation.
Forrest looked torn over whether it
would be a good idea to aid his friend or not.
"Just…calming tempers,"
Lord Abrahms said evasively before moving over to Elizabeth. His son reasserted
his grip on her in response. With a cruel smile, Lord Abrahms caught her chin
in his palm, tilting her head upward to look at him. "Pretty thing,"
he commented absentmindedly. "Such a pity that she's been…spoiled…"
"Father?" Parker demanded,
confused and slightly hopeful. After all, if this marriage could be averted, he
would be free to enjoy the variety of womankind for some time to come.
"Henry Summers would undoubtedly
be grateful had we rescued his daughter from her great peril," he began.
"You're not 'rescuing' me!"
Elizabeth hissed.
"Not any more," Lord
Abrahms agreed with a sinister grin. He turned to his son. "Quite a
tragedy, wasn't it, son?"
Parker looked thoroughly clueless
about what his father was referring to, but years of being trained as a simple
yes-man led him to instantly agree.
"It was such a shame that we
didn't find the infamous William the Bloody in time to prevent him from
violating and murdering Henry's only daughter," Lord Abrahms said with
false gravity. "However, we at least managed to bring the monster himself
to justice." His serpent gaze flickered to William. "I think your
father will be quite grateful, don't you?" This last statement was
directed at Elizabeth.
"You're mad," she accused,
eyes narrowed.
"Really, my dear," Lord
Abrahms moved away from her disinterestedly now, "you shouldn't take
things so personally. After all, it's just…business." He gestured to the
guards that were restraining Riley, and they released him. "The girl is
yours to do with as you like," he announced, "just keep her away from
my affairs."
A wide grin split Riley's features,
and he yanked Elizabeth away from Parker, trapping her in his steely embrace.
"Things are finally as they should've been," he said victoriously.
"Let me go!" In an
uncharacteristic ladylike gesture, she attempted to swat half-heartedly at him
and wriggle free of his embrace. It didn't help that he held both her hands
firmly and had her legs trapped. There really wasn't anything she could do to
escape.
"Don't touch her!" William
began struggling frantically as well, desperate to aid his love.
"How touching," Lord
Abrahms said drolly. "A thief and murderer in love. Poetic and all that
rot." His tone turned more taunting. "Tell me, boy, will you profess
your love for her when you hang from the gallows?"
The reality of William's precarious
position suddenly hit Elizabeth then for the first time. "No…" she
breathed in horror, her eyes widening.
"I love you." There were
tears in William's eyes as the constables finally began to drag him away.
"Please!" Elizabeth cried
out. "I want to stay with him!"
"You are dead to the world
now," Lord Abrahms reminded her coldly, placing his hat upon his head
before he moved out into the chilly night.
"Just one more minute…" she
practically begged.
She got a cold sneer in response.
"Pathetic," he spat back. "No wonder your father's ashamed of
you…"
"I love you, William!" she
cried out. The door slammed shut, blocking her last fleeting glimpse of the man
she loved…
* * *
"My ship, my crew, my
woman," Riley said with a contented smile as he and Forrest re-boarded the
ship, Elizabeth slung over Riley's shoulder.
"Not a bad night," Forrest
agreed with a grin.
Elizabeth was too numb to protest.
Images of William's beautiful, loving face promising her a lifetime together
flashed before her mind's eye, interspersed with his utterly broken expression
as he was dragged away from her, a bound captive awaiting his inevitable death.
Her eyes teared at the very thought. He had such a beautiful neck with soft
skin that felt so warm and vibrant under her lips. The thought of his body
cold, pale, lifeless…
"Always knew she wasn't so
tough," Forrest chuckled, watching Elizabeth sob softly as Riley set her
down. Nevertheless, he quickly moved to bind her hands at feet. She didn't even
seem to see him as he worked.
"Graham!" Riley called out
to the group of pirates that had approached after they had returned. His friend
didn't step out from the throng. "Graham?" he repeated, brow furrowing.
"'E never came back from
land," one of the mercenaries that Lord Abrahms had hired for this mission
informed him.
Riley's concern deepened. "You
have all of William's followers in the brig, though?" he demanded.
The mercenary looked puzzled. "They're
tied up on the beach so the coppers can 'ave at 'em," he insisted.
"Din't you see 'em there?"
A bit of a panic settled on Riley
then. "They were supposed to remain here!" he insisted.
"That wasn't what Graham
said!" the mercenary countered defensively.
"What Graham said?"
Riley was hopelessly confused now.
"'E had us all bring the old
crew ashore an' then told us to wait back 'ere for you," the mercenary
insisted. "Said those was your orders."
"You're sure it was Graham?"
Riley repeated, still stunned.
The mercenary nodded. "Him an'
that other bloke with the hot bird," he agreed.
Riley's eyes suddenly widened with
understanding. "Xander!" he hissed.
"Oh man, is he still
loose?" Forrest's eyes shifted around nervously.
"Graham was supposed to tie him
up for the police…" Riley trailed off when he realized just how big a flaw
his plan had had. "We need to get out of here," he abruptly
announced. "Now."
"But if Xander's still out
there-" Forrest began.
"We've got a ship; he
doesn't," Riley countered. "There's nothing he can do to us after we
get out of harbor."
"But what about Graham?"
Forrest demanded.
Riley's brow furrowed as he stared
into the ink-black waters. "What about Graham, indeed…"
* * *
Earlier that night…
"I don't like this," Anya
announced, wrapping her arms around herself at the cold wind blowing down from
the cliffs. "You men are so caught up in your revenge that you don't even
notice how too bloody perfect this situation is, and it's stupid!" She
stamped her foot on the ground for emphasis.
Embarrassed at being caught in what
appeared to be a lover's quarrel, Giles inconspicuously began to wind his way
up the rocky cliff to meet the only other member of their landed party.
From his position as lookout on the
cliff-face, Graham had heard Anya's sudden outburst as well. He didn't spot the
priest's movements at first, however, absorbed instead with the swirling
sensation that began in his gut as he continued to look through his telescope.
One ship flanked each escape route from the narrow inlet, concealed by the
cliffs from everyone in the crew except him.
The sound of Giles' steps sending a
cascade of pebbles down the cliff abruptly caught his attention, and he quickly
went down to meet the priest. After all, he didn't want Giles to see the enemy
ships and sound the alarm. This early in the game that could be dangerous for
all concerned.
As it was, should William somehow
manage to get back to the ship, his escape would still be cut off. Everything
was going according to Riley's plan. So why did everything feel so off?
He got out his resigned sigh before
Giles could see the warring emotions on his face. "Paying me a
visit?" he asked curiously.
"Yes, well…" Giles began,
gesturing sheepishly to couple below, "I didn't want to…intrude…"
Graham chuckled softly before passing
Giles and heading back down to the beach. "I think the two of us should be
able to keep them decent," he countered wryly.
A smile crossed Giles' face at that.
"I should hope so," he agreed.
"C'mon," Graham led the way
back down the cliff. After all, he still had work to do…
"Anya, what's this about?"
Xander asked softly down below, his arms moving to wrap around her waist.
"I thought you accepted this life."
"Accept it, yes," she agreed
before biting her lip. "But it seems really dangerous," she confessed
softly, "and I'm worried about you…"
A soft smile lit up his lips.
"It'll be all right," he assured her. "This mission is nothing.
We've gotten through a lot more dangerous in the past."
She managed a shy smile in response.
"I know," she admitted softly. "Guess it'll just take me a
little while to get used to this whole lover-in-peril thing."
Xander felt a stirring in his heart
at her words and her manner. He had never seen Anya act so bashful and
vulnerable before. Despite her bluntness, she generally kept her deepest
emotions hidden and safe. But seeing her like this…
"I love you." The words
escaped his lips like a caress, binding her to him, drawing her deeper into his
arms.
Just as instinctively, Anya whispered
back. "Love you, too…"
And then they both froze at their
mutual admissions.
"Anya?" Xander's eyes
widened in hope and disbelief.
Her cheeks flushed a dark,
embarrassed crimson. "It's just that you're kind and funny and nicely-shaped,
a-and you give me nice orgasms and make me feel beautiful and-" She knew
she was babbling but couldn't seem to stop.
Until Xander's lips captured hers,
however. That left her far too breathless to speak.
"God, I want you!" Anya
gasped when she finally had to pull away for breath. Her hands instantly
starting tugging at his shirt, struggling to get at his smooth, bare flesh.
An overly polite "ahem"
interrupted her. However, Giles couldn't help but smile at the touching display
he'd just seen.
"Oh, uh…Giles, Graham…"
Xander looked significantly embarrassed at being caught in this compromising
position and tugged his shirt back around his chest…for the moment at least.
Anya let out an impatient sigh.
"I know you're supposed to be look-out," she complained, "but
can't you look at something other than us?"
"Sorry," Graham said,
wincing inwardly at the sight before him. He'd been near enough to hear the
admissions of love, but even if he hadn't, it was all too apparent in the
pair's eyes.
"Uh, yeah…" Xander was
scratching his head and trying to diffuse the awkward situation…and the fact
that certain regions of his anatomy were thrumming for Anya's skilled
attentions wasn't helping. "Look," he began, his lower brain winning
out, "I don't suppose you two could keep watch for us while we…um…"
He trailed off, embarrassed.
"Go have steamy sex to
consummate our newfound love," Anya provided helpfully.
Xander's face turned a bit more
maroon, if that was possible. "What she said," he agreed sheepishly.
If anything, Giles blushed even more
and began stuttering uncontrollably. "Er…um…I…well, that is…uh…"
Graham felt the twisting sensation in
his stomach increase. These two had no idea that in a couple of hours their lives
would be over - Xander hanged as a criminal, and perhaps Anya as well…
"Go," he agreed, cutting
off the never-ending cycle of 'um's. Have your one last moment of happiness,
he added in his head. "We'll keep an eye on everything."
"Thanks, man," Xander gave
him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "We owe you one."
"Don't mention it," Graham
said, trying to hide the guilt in his voice.
Anya stood up on her toes and gave
him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're much nicer than Riley's other
friends," she informed him. "You exhibit many admirable qualities. I
hope you find someone to give you many orgasms in the near future. And Giles is
nice, too, of course," she added after the fact. "But, without the
orgasms because he's a priest and all…"
"Thank you, Anya," Giles
rolled his eyes.
Graham was a bit more effected by her
speech. "Uh…thanks," he blushed horribly, "I think…"
Xander gave him a knowing smile
before taking Anya's hand and leading her off into a secluded spot in the
cliffs.
Graham sat down heavily on the sand.
He'd always liked Xander. Despite the competition that had been between Xander
and Riley over who got to be first mate, Xander had always treated Graham with
respect. And Anya was turning out to be really sweet - loved by all the crew
for the astonishing things that came out of her mouth so enthusiastically, even
if she was a little weird at times.
And, to tell the truth, he'd always
rather thought that William was a good captain. Despite Riley's perpetual
rants, William had never led them astray.
In fact, if it hadn't been for the
fact that Riley had saved his life…
"Are you quite all right?"
Giles asked hesitantly, noticing that his companion seemed to be contemplating
something seriously.
Graham managed a weak smile.
"Just making a decision," he answered enigmatically.
Anya's scream of "I love
you" broke through the still of the night. And, at that moment, Graham
snapped. He had followed Riley's every beck and call for far too long. And,
while he may not have been best friends with any of those Riley wanted to
betray, he sure as hell wasn't going to turn traitor over Riley's stupid
vendetta.
With a deep breath, he braced himself
for facing Xander. With any luck, it wasn't too late to salvage things…
* * *
"But Graham was one of us!"
Forrest insisted, still stunned.
Riley snorted derisively. "He
was always the weakest," he countered. "He's made his choice; I can't
help him now." His eyes narrowed. "The police will scour the shores
for our escaped 'friends'. They won't get far." He abruptly turned away
and went over to Elizabeth, dragging her up to her feet once more. "Now,
if you don't mind, my woman and I would like to get settled in…"
Uh-oh, this doesn't look good... Will
Elizabeth escape Riley's evil clutches? Will William be hanged? Will Xander,
Anya, Giles and the rest avoid the police? Review to find out. ~_^
Disclaimer & Author's Note: The
usual.
Previously: Lord Abrahms captured
William. Riley took Elizabeth with the ship. Graham turned on Riley and helped
everyone else escape. And so the story continues...
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Eleven - Hope and Despair
"Let me go!" Elizabeth screamed,
struggling to free her hands from where Riley pinned them down to the bed.
He gave her a nasty sneer.
"Playing hard to get, huh? Honestly, bitch, who do you think you're
fooling?"
She screeched in anger at this and
lashed out with her booted foot, kicking him squarely in the shin.
His eyes widened in pain, and he
struck her hard across the jaw in response.
Elizabeth felt blackness trying to
overcome her and just barely managed to bite it back. Even so, it felt like her
head was spinning drunkenly, and she didn't have the conscious thought to
struggle as Riley tied her hands roughly to the headboard.
By the time she regained herself, he
was tying her last ankle, leaving her spread-eagled on the bed. Elizabeth
couldn't help it then; she let out a little sob.
Riley glared down at her in response
before his gaze turned cold. "It's about time someone put you in your
place," he sneered.
"Why?" Elizabeth didn't
want her voice to sound so desperate, pleading, but the emotions escaped,
nonetheless.
"I saw you first," Riley
said simply. "That makes you mine."
"You led a mutiny just over me?"
Elizabeth couldn't help but mutter the implied "idiot" at the
end of that statement.
Riley let out a cold, heartless
laugh. "Stupid little girl," he shook his head. "You honestly
think you mean anything to me? That you're worth this? Well, allow me to
enlighten you then." His hard eyes bored into hers. "You're nothing,
you whore!"
"Then, why?" she was
hopelessly confused now.
"William!" Riley
practically spat the word out. "I saw you first, yet he still took you
from me! Just like he takes everything else..." He leaned over her, and
she hated herself for flinching. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that
you whored yourself off to him," he began casually, almost conversationally.
"After all, that's what they all do. Like he's something special,
something better..." His voice turned icy once more. "Tell me,
harlot, just what is it all you women see in him, anyway?"
"H-He loves me."
Elizabeth's voice was shaky with fear, but she said this statement with
complete assuredness.
Riley laughed. "I hate to break
it to you, but there's no such thing as love."
His fingers trailed down the side of
her face, and she turned her head away from him. She received a harsh slap in response
and reluctantly didn't move as he traced her cheek once more, fighting back her
tears. This was such a horrible mockery of the way William had touched her. His
gentleness, tenderness, the love in every gesture, the way he made her burn for
more...
"There's only power," Riley
continued in an almost-whisper, "possession, control... And now it's
mine." His hand drifted down to the front of the shirt of William's that
she was still wearing.
The thought of being separated from
the last reminder she had of him was too unbearable to contemplate, and she
grasped for anything to distract her attacker. "You're wrong!" she
hissed vehemently. "He loves me! It's real! Just because you can't
love-"
"What did you say?" His
eyes flashed dangerously as his hand gripped her throat roughly.
She didn't care then, though. Death
was preferable to being violated by this criminal while her true love was
hanged. "You're so green with envy it's pathetic," she practically
spat at him. "You just can't stand that he's a better man than you in
every way."
She did pass out briefly from
the force of his blow then. It was only for a moment, however, before she woke
to the sound of him ranting like a madman.
"-and chose Harris, of
all people, as his first-mate! Harris! Like he's any better than me?
That boy?! The only reason he did it was because he knew I was too
strong, too powerful to control-"
"Or because you're a crazed
drunk," Elizabeth muttered under her breath, but Riley was too caught up
in his own speech to hear her.
"But now, finally, I've won,
taken everything from him..." His hand traced over the curve of her thigh,
displayed so revealingly through the pants she wore.
"Touch me and you'll never have
me!" she snapped, somewhat illogically.
However, to Riley's mind, it made
perfect sense. "Yeah," he agreed thoughtfully, "I'll make you
mind completely, just like he did." He chuckled slightly to himself as he
pulled away. "Keep you tied up in here, completely under my
control...watch you fall in love with me the same way you fell for him.
And then, when you beg for me like you did for him, I'll show you who
the real better man is..."
Elizabeth gulped and remained silent.
She'd pretty much resigned herself to being violated by him, and now that she
seemed to have a viable way of averting this, she wasn't going to rock the
boat...metaphorically speaking, of course.
"I'll make you love me the same
way he did," Riley announced in sudden triumph. "Then, everything of
his will really be mine..." He was so delighted by this prospect
that he didn't bother to spare her another word before he left the room,
slamming the door shut behind him.
And it was only then, still bound to
the bed that she and William had embraced upon only too recently, that
Elizabeth finally allowed herself to break down.
She cried for the man who until so
recently had been constantly at her side. She cried for his fate as well as for
her own. She cried for her lost love, and the love that was never fully
consummated. And, beyond all else, she cried for the fate that would
undoubtedly befall her the instant Riley learned that he could take her whereas
she had never allowed William to...
* * *
William sat on the dirty floor of his
dungeon cell, the dire expression of one who knows he is about to die on his
face. There was an eerie silence and stillness to that place - and emptiness -
that made his fate seem all the more cruel.
What was it, only twenty-four hours
ago, that he had lain in his Elizabeth's arms, planning a life of paradise? And
now Finn...
He choked out a sob that his
once-second-mate could be breaking the woman he loved right now. The thought
was too terrible, too unbearable, to consider, and he quickly distracted his
mind.
A rueful smile graced his lips at the
thought of Elizabeth, standing proud and tall - well, short,
technically... - nailing Riley right between the legs with the hard toe of her
show, bashing him over the head with various blunt objects, stabbing, jabbing,
poking...
A wistful sigh escaped his lips at
the memory of her, nose turned up haughtily, hazel eyes glaring defiantly, all
feisty and outraged. Yet so sweet and yielding to his touch as well, melting
into his arms after she'd tried one of her many plans to attack him, cheeks
flushed from the fight, panting heavily, looking into his eyes with such love
and fire... OK, so he had bloody weird taste in women, but he'd finally found
The One, and now...
No, she's a fighter, he banished the horrid thoughts
from his mind. He can't hurt her. Not my angel...
And there was the other name he was
studiously not thinking about. No matter how difficult he found it to believe,
a nasty little voice in the back of his head couldn't help but point out that
Angel and Lord Abrahms had formed an alliance before.
Given that Angel had turned him onto
this set-up in the first place...
There was a clang in the corridor
outside then that roused him from his thoughts. He heard the sound of a key
turning in the lock, and then the massive cell door swung open. Instinctively,
he rushed for the opening, only to be jerked roughly backward by the chains
that bound him to the wall.
Lord Abrahms merely looked amused by
this sequence of events. "I saw to it that you were put in the worst
hellhole imaginable," the older man began conversationally. He sniffed his
nose at his surroundings. "Nice to know that someone managed to carry out
my orders correctly."
William refused to be baited. Rather,
he let out the most bored yawn he could manage.
Lord Abrahms huffed visibly at the
other man's lack of fear. "I know who you are, boy," he said coldly.
"Really?" William raised a
disinterested eyebrow. "What a coincidence. I know who I am, too."
Lord Abrahms let out a snide chuckle.
"William Arlington," he said with a slight shake of his head. "I
wouldn't have even recognized you...except for the fact that you're still a
gullible fool, of course..."
That got a rise. William lunged violently
once more, but the chains held firm. He scowled up at the other man.
"Don't you have anythin' better to do 'n gloat?" he demanded before a
ghost of his old smirk crossed his lips. "'Though I s'pose you don't,
seein' as you're broke..."
Apparently that was the tender nerve
to strike because Lord Abrahms became absolutely livid in response.
"You honestly thought you could destroy me, boy?" he taunted.
"You think I didn't have my eye on you all along?"
"So losin' your family fortune
was the plan?" William retorted sarcastically. "Ooh, bloody
brilliant, that..."
Lord Abrahms snorted derisively.
"Now that you're dead and gone..." He shrugged. "Let's just say
that I've got the right allies to put me back on top shortly."
"Finn." William's eyes
narrowed.
"Ah, yes, your friend was more
than obliging," Lord Abrahms agreed. "And, really, what does it
matter to him whether he attacks me or my competitors? In another few years, I
shall rule the seas once more..."
"'Cause that deal worked so well
with Angel," William retorted.
"I was a bit...disappointed that
dear old Liam didn't dispose of you properly," he agreed. "But he
still has his uses. He did a lovely job selling you into our little trap, after
all..."
A frown marred William's brow.
"You're lyin'," he insisted. "Angel wouldn't-"
"Just like Riley wouldn't?"
Lord Abrahms countered. "It's almost pitifully sad." He shook his
head. "You too much of a fool to see the betrayal right before your very
eyes. That's what made you so easy to ruin. Your father, too..."
"Yeah, about my father,"
William refused to be baited. "'E saw right through you. An' you
honestly think 'm gonna keep my mouth shut 'bout what you did? By the time my
trial is over-"
"Trial?" Lord Abrahms
repeated in disbelief. "You can't honestly believe you'll have any such
thing!"
"This is England, mate. You
can't jus' hang me," William insisted.
"Can't I?" Lord Abrahms
said coolly. "You forget how much my name still means."
"An' mine as well," William
hissed.
"Except, my boy," Lord
Abrahms gave him a false pat on the cheek, "no one aside from myself knows
that the last of the Arlingtons will meet his death by the end of the
week."
William gave him an evil smile,
noticing how close the other man had gotten to him.
A look of confusion passed over Lord
Abrahms' face, and it was all the hesitation William needed to make his move.
He lunged forward, wrapping his
chains easily around Lord Abrahms' throat.
However, the old man let out a cry
before the strangle hold was complete. William immediately began constricting
the metal links, feeling the old man weaken in his grasp.
He was wrestled to the ground before
he could choke the life out of the other man, however. Three of the prison
guards slammed him back into the wall, loosening the noose around Lord Abrahms'
throat.
The old man rose to his feet, gasping
for air.
William lunged again, but the guards
locked him firmly in place. He winced when several well-placed blows landed
squarely on his ribs. With a hiss of pain, he fell to the floor of the cell,
finally subdued.
"Sooner or later, you'll be
destroyed," he gasped through the pain. "There'll be another after
me, an' we'll just keep comin' until you're destroyed."
Lord Abrahms, visibly shaken by his
close shave with death, rubbed at the bruises on his throat. "But you will
not be there to see it. It will be a pleasure to watch you hang," he
hissed before practically fleeing from the prison...
* * *
"I can't believe you
people!" Anya stamped her foot in frustration, glaring back and forth
between the solemn men that were hiding out in the cave with her. "They're
going to kill him!" she insisted.
She got no reply but a few meek nods.
"And who knows what's happened
to Elizabeth!" she persisted.
Still no response.
"Giles?" she pleaded.
"Quite right," Giles
readily stepped up in agreement, glancing around at the defeated pirates.
"You all are giving up far too easily."
"See?" Anya stood directly
in front of her lover, pointing to Giles. "Even god says you should
go break William out of prison!"
Giles got a decidedly uncomfortable
look on his face. "Well, I wouldn't go that far..." he
protested.
Anya ignored him. "I mean,
honestly, how many guards can there be? Sure, you lost the ship, so we have no
possible means for escape, but..." She stamped the ground with her foot
once more. "We can't just let them die!"
Xander let out a weary sigh.
"Ahn," he began regretfully, "we don't even know where they took
him..."
"We'll find out then," Anya
insisted. "We can't give up yet! Elizabeth didn't even get to have any
orgasms yet, and knowing her this is the last chance she's got..."
"Ahem!" Giles cleared his
throat.
"Sorry," Anya gave him an
apologetic look before turning back to Xander. "But, still, she's my
friend, and she's very hopelessly in love, so we're going to save her and
William, and in the process we get to save your best friend, and then everyone
is happy, and we all get many orga-"
"Ahem!"
"-ns," Anya quickly
amended.
She got several odd looks.
"Organs. We can all learn to
play the organ," she improvised on the spot. "Because, you know, they
play organs in church and all, and thus it doesn't have anything to do with
sex..." She trailed off at the pathetic-ness of that cover.
"It's the thought that
counts," Giles assured her, giving her a reassuring little pat on the
shoulder.
She brightened visibly at that.
"We've got to at least try," she pleaded with Xander.
Xander sat in contemplation for
moment before finally nodding. "We've got nothing better to do," he
agreed.
"What?" Several cries
echoed throughout the cave.
"Not gettin' arrested..."
"Savin' our skins..."
"If it were your necks in the
noose, do you not think that William would come to your aid?" Giles
countered to the few who had opposed the plan.
Grudging apologies were offered in
return.
"If nothing else," Xander
decided to compromise, "we might as well at least find out where they took
William and Elizabeth..."
"Fort Norbrook."
The surprise intrusion of the voice
caused over a dozen heads to turn.
Graham, who had been subdued and
silent ever since he'd ushered everyone to freedom, reluctantly spoke up again.
"They're at Fort Norbrook," he repeated.
"How do you know?" Xander
asked curiously.
Graham winced inwardly. "The
reason this location was chosen for the trap was because it's near Fort
Norbrook," he explained. "Lord Abrahms still operates it - including
the prison. That's where they'll have been taken...unless Riley took Elizabeth,
that is."
A flash of anger darted through
Anya's eyes at that. "If that rat has touched her-!" she exclaimed,
throwing a threatening look in Graham's direction.
He winced at the thought of Anya's
vengeance.
Xander was more thoughtful, however.
"We're not going to be able to break into a fort," he commented.
"No," Giles agreed, pacing
as an idea came to him, "but there may be another way..."
* * *
A satisfied smile crossed Riley's
face as he leaned on the rail and watched the empty seas that surrounded them.
"Finally got the girl,
huh?" Forrest commented.
"Not yet," Riley shrugged,
"but soon..."
Forrest practically rolled his eyes
in response. "You means after all that trouble you didn't even bother to
sample the wares?" he asked in disbelief.
"I've got all the time in the
world," Riley insisted, a smug smile on his face. "I've already won.
There really isn't anything that can stop me now, is there?"
Forrest merely shook his head in
response. He may have been indebted to serve Riley, but one of these days that
man's over-confidence was going to be his downfall...
Yeah, I know Riley was nowhere near
that bad on the show. But pirate/romance villains just beg to be
exaggerated, and Riley was no exception. ~_^ Review for more and...yeah. You
know the drill by now...
Disclaimer & Author's Note: The
usual.
Previously: William's locked up in
Fort Norbrook, awaiting execution. He nearly managed to strangle Lord Abrahms when
he visited, however. Lord Abrahms was freaked. Meanwhile, Xander, Anya, Giles,
Graham, etc. are all hiding out in a cave, planning on how to save William.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, is trapped with Riley abroad ship where he's begun a
rather crazy plan of forcing her to love him. And so we continue...
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Twelve - Out of the Frying Pan...
"-And I bet you never even
guessed," Riley bragged, strutting about the room like he owned the place.
Which, actually, he did, but only because he'd stolen it, so Elizabeth decided
it didn't count. "I mean, really, it was a brilliant plan. Getting drunk
so that my allies were out of the way while William was attacked? No one even suspected
me! If William had been half as smart as he pretend to be, he would've seen
right through that scheme. But, oh no, and I won either way it went, too.
William dies, I win; William doesn't, I'm still free to work against him."
He turned to face Elizabeth. "Don't you think that was clever of me?"
She fought the urge to roll her eyes.
She'd been listening to Riley rant on and on about how he was better than
William in every way for hours now. "Very clever," she agreed
with a fake smile.
Riley's face brightened. "He was
no match for me, really. I almost feel sorry for him; he never had a
chance."
Which was why you were too afraid to
fight him yourself...
Elizabeth thought.
"And he never even
guessed!" Riley cried out in delight.
Quite possibly because you weren't
really worth paying attention to... Still aren't.
"I suppose I shouldn't be
surprised, though," Riley continued to extol his own virtues. "After
all, he could never really hold his own against a real man..." He gave her
a pointed look, expecting her to respond.
"Like you?" It wasn't too
hard a wild guess to hazard. She might have been bored, but the overriding
topic was pretty difficult to miss.
"Have you ever had a real
man before?" Riley leaned in close, stroking her cheek once more.
She bit her lip and forced herself
not to flinch from his touch in revulsion. "Tell me more," she bit
out reluctantly. It was the only sure-fire way she'd discovered to distract
him. "How'd you meet William?"
Riley smiled at his own mind's
version of the event. "It took quite a bit of hard work for me to get on
Angel's crew," he informed her. "But he knows a good man when he sees
one. Saw me back when William was nothing more than a captive. Of
course, Angel feared me as well..."
Yeah, right. That jerk's never been
afraid of anything in his life...
"...Which is why he made William
his first-mate." Riley gave her a knowing grin. "Someone he could
control easily."
Because William's so obviously under
Angel's thumb... She
couldn't help but roll her eyes at that one. Luckily, Riley was too busy
pontificating to notice.
"Angel is powerful," he
said thoughtfully. "And, while he's an excellent middle-man, I don't like
to allow anyone else that much power." He let out a confident sigh.
"I suppose I'll have to take out Angel next... Such a pity."
Over my dead body! I'm going to be the one to take
out Angel for luring us into that trap!
"I'm my own man now," Riley
announced. "Everything I've ever desired will be mine." His fingers
traced the curve of her breast. "And you're so very beautiful..."
And you're so very foolish...
Riley let out a wistful sigh.
"I'll come back this evening then," he decided. "See if you'll
have softened to me by then..."
Not bloody likely...
The door shut behind Riley, and
Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief. For some reason, Riley seemed to think that
boasting and exaggerating his own accomplishments would win her heart. And the
scary thing was that he seemed to believe his own lies. Although, given
how in love Riley seemed to be with the sound of his own voice, Elizabeth could
see why he might believe in the delusion that she could actually love him.
And, honestly, mentioning William's
name every five seconds? Not exactly the best way to make her forget him.
In fact, every time Riley loaded that
name with disdain just reminded her of her love's strength - strength that
obviously still had Riley frightened and insecure in his power, despite his
vigorous denials.
And this gave her newfound hope.
William was the strongest man she'd ever met, her equal. If anyone could escape
this dastardly trap, then certainly it was he.
And when he did, she had absolutely
no intention of lying here like the helpless damsel in distress, just waiting
to be rescued. Why, the cocky, smug smirk wouldn't leave his face for weeks if
he saved her from this...
Well, she would show him!
Casting one wary look back at the
shut door, she slid the rope around her wrists down the solid wooden beam it
was attached to. Within five minutes of being left alone in the room, she had
decided the quit whining to herself and find a way to escape. Less than five
minutes after that, she had discovered the jagged, splintered edge of wood
behind the board that held her left hand. She'd had almost a day to work on it,
and already she'd half worn through the rope that bound her.
At this rate, she would be free by
this time tomorrow. The 'at this rate' being the operative phrase in that
sentence. Because, in all fairness, her patience was dwindling hourly.
She wanted to get free, knock that
smug look off of Riley's face, escape, find William, give him a good yelling at
for falling for that obvious trap, and then kiss him senseless. Well, maybe the
kissing part could occur before the chewing-out part... And maybe a bit more
than kissing...
A flush rose on her cheeks as she
continued to whittle away at the ropes. She couldn't deny that her body's
reaction to William's touch had been increasing in intensity since their first
kiss. The sensations were strange, but not at all unpleasant. And, as of late,
they'd left her constantly craving more...
She didn't even allow herself to
consider the thought that William might not survive to carry out on the heated
promises his more forbidden touches had suggested. No, she would find her
William unharmed, and then she'd finally learn the truth about all those
orgasms Anya raved about. It would be so because she decided it was so, and
heaven help anyone who stood in her way once she made a decision...
She felt another chord in the rope
snap and smiled to herself. Soon, my love... And you had better make
this up to me...
* * *
William sat in his cell, horribly
frustrated and still quite angry that he hadn't managed to kill Lord Abrahms
before the guards intervened. After all, if he had to die, he might as well
take the old bastard out with him...
The key jangled in the lock, and he
looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected anyone to dare to venture back into
his cell for quite some time.
"I seem to be quite the
celebrity, what with the constant parade 'f visitors an' all," he
commented snidely.
"And, if you know what's good
for ya, ya'll not 'urt this one!" the guard retorted gruffly, opening the
door to reveal...
William quickly hid his sudden hope
at the sight of the familiar face before him. It wouldn't do to play this new
and interesting hand too soon...
"Don't know what good your
preachin' 'll do this one," the guard commented. "'E's already
damned."
"It is still my duty to speak
with him before the end," Giles said primly. "And I would thank you
to leave the two of us alone."
The guard cast a skeptical look in
William's direction. "I got orders that 'f he grabs a hostage, tough luck
on them," he informed Giles.
"Yes, very good," Giles
said disinterestedly. "Now, leave us."
"Your funeral," the guard
shrugged before closing the door behind them.
Giles quickly put a finger to his
lips, listening to the guard walk away. Even after they seemed to be alone, he
sat right next to William and whispered softly so that there was no chance they
could be heard. "Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.
William sighed. "As well as can
be 'xpected," he agreed, wincing at his still-bruised ribs.
Giles nodded sympathetically.
"And Elizabeth? Do you know where she is?"
William's expression darkened.
"Riley took her," he bit out angrily. "That bloody bastard
helped set me up."
"Yes, we know," Giles
agreed. "Graham turned on him and helped us all escape. Riley has your
ship, but the loyal men in your crew are waiting outside the fort."
"Xander?" William asked
anxiously.
"Fine," Giles assured him.
A sly smile crossed his lips. "Still trying to keep a rein on Anya's
more...outrageous statements."
William managed a chuckle, despite
his dire situation. "Hasn't been givin' you too much trouble, I
hope."
"It's amazing how quickly one
grows used to her," Giles assured him.
William gave him an approving pat on
the shoulder for that before turning serious again. "I take it this is
more 'n a social call?"
Giles nodded. "We're going to
get you out of here," he agreed.
"Forget about me," William
insisted. "'Lizabeth is-"
"-Beyond our reach at the
moment," Giles pointed out. "We will undoubtedly find a way to save
her as well. But if we allowed you to perish in the meantime..." He
shuddered. "I would not care to face her wrath," he only half-joked.
William conceded the point with a
longing smile. "Downright menace, she is," he remembered fondly
before his mind turned back on topic. "You've got a plan?"
"We have," Giles agreed.
"However, we cannot manage it while you are locked in the dungeons. A
priest can enter almost any fortress, but a large group of men is something
else entirely."
William nodded. "When
then?"
"Well, the only time you will be
allowed out is when you are ushered to the gallows," Giles pointed out.
William grimaced. "That's
cuttin' things a mite close..."
"There is a plan," Giles
insisted. "The noose may be put around your neck, but the trapdoor will
never fall out..."
"What do you need me to
do?" William agreed.
Giles pulled a small object from the
folds of his robes and handed it to him. "They never bother to search men
of the cloth," he explained off of William's disbelieving look.
"And a damn good thing,
too," William commented before wincing inwardly. "Er...sorry 'bout
that..." he referred to his casual swearing.
Giles shrugged. "You wouldn't
believe how much worse I've heard in the past few days." He rose to his
feet. "You know what to do?"
William nodded.
"Elizabeth?" he demanded.
"I'll make sure Xander sees to
it straight away," Giles promised.
"Thanks," William said
sincerely. "For helpin' me, I mean. You're runnin' a risk that you don't
have to, an' I know it goes 'gainst everythin'-"
"If my faith has taught me
anything," Giles cut him off, "it is that I should trust in the mind
and heart that god gave me. And I currently have no doubt that you and
Elizabeth deserve very much to be happy together."
A soft, shy smile crossed William's
face at that, betraying something of the innocent young man he had once been.
"Thanks," he repeated.
"You can thank me by following
Xander's excellent advice for you," Giles retorted.
"And that was?"
"Try to keep that furious temper
of yours under control...at least, until the time is right," Giles
responded with an amused smile.
William chuckled at that, hiding the
object in question in his sleeve. "'ll remember that," he promised.
"I owe you one."
"Don't mention it." Giles
gave him a paternal smile before signaling to the guard that he was ready to
leave...
* * *
Forrest frowned. The sight before
them was...concerning, to say the least. And Riley's way of handling it...
"The ship is mine," Riley
insisted. "He'll just have to deal with that. And if he can't..."
"You honestly think we can take
'em?" Forrest eyed the opposing ship warily. It had appeared on the
horizon a few hours before and was quite obviously closing in on their own
ship. It was only recently that Angel's characteristic winged-skull flag had
been identified, however.
"William successfully stood up
to Angel in this ship," Riley countered. "This will be no different."
Forrest looked less than convinced.
"Keep me informed of the
situation," Riley ordered. "I'll be in my quarters..."
* * *
Elizabeth hadn't quite gotten through
the rope when she heard the door open once more. She didn't have time to move
her hands back to their original position.
Fortunately - of perhaps, unfortunately
- Riley was too focused on other matters to notice. "Angel,"
he spat.
Elizabeth just blinked at the
inconsistency of her captor's rants.
"I saw you with him," Riley
continued. "You were writhing all over him like a bitch in heat. Right in
front of William, too."
"I was not-"
Elizabeth began, outraged.
"Don't deny it, tramp!"
Riley cut her off furiously before stalking over to her and roughly fisting his
hand in her hair. He yanked her head so that she was looking him right in the
eye as he sat down on the bed. "I'll not put up with that sort of behavior
from you," he hissed coldly. "You're mine now, and I'll prove
it...to both you and Angel..."
Elizabeth was tempted to ask what the
sudden Angel obsession was all about until she realized what Riley meant by
that statement. She thrashed violently in her bonds, feeling the rope at her
wrist strain further but still hold.
Riley quickly trapped her hips on the
mattress in response before crawling over her, his face leaning in far too
close, his hot breath on her face making her cringe with disgust and loathing.
"You're mine,
bitch," he hissed. "Angel may want you, but he'll never take you from
me..." And, with that, his lips crashed down upon hers.
The taste of his tongue against her
lips was repugnant, and she kept her mouth closed against the invasion. Tears
formed in her eyes as she struggled helplessly beneath him.
"Stop fighting me!" Riley's
palm struck her cheek.
His lips were on hers again then. And
she reluctantly gave in...but only because she noticed at that moment that his
blow had jarred her rope right against the sharp edge of wood, leaving only one
thin strand holding her hand in place. She fought to ignore the feel of his
tongue in her mouth - thick and slimy - as she wore through the last chord that
held her...
"You're mine, and I'm taking you
right now," Riley announced, his clumsy hands fumbling with her pants
before he just gave up and ripped them.
Cautiously, she inched her free hand
over to the edge of the bed, desperate not to attract his attention...
He gave out a triumphant little cry
when he finally exposed her, settling between her thighs. "You're going to
enjoy this," he informed her.
Her hand found the dagger beneath the
mattress and pulled it from it scabbard...
"Oh, yeah," she managed to
say, a false smile plastered to her face. "There's just one thing I need
to tell you first..."
Riley leaned in at her conspiratorial
tone, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. "Oh?" he
inquired.
She nodded. "It's something a
very wise man once said to me."
His expression turned somewhat
confused; this was not the admission of victory he'd been expecting of her.
" 'It's never wise to take an
unwilling woman to bed'," she quoted William's reasoning the first time
they'd met.
Riley's eyes widened when he felt the
point of the blade at his back the instant before it plunged deep into his
flesh. Elizabeth angled the knife upward between his ribs the way William had
taught her. Then, with a vicious turn of her wrist, she twisted the blade with
him.
" 'Especially one who's so prone
to stabbing'," she finished the quote icily.
And Riley gasped in pain before
collapsing atop her...
* * *
Forrest felt a near-irresistible urge
to tell Riley 'I told you so' just instants before Angel's blade pierced his
heart. After all, there was a reason Angel ruled the seas, and they had really
stood no chance against him.
Satisfied that the deck was secured,
Angel turned to his latest first-mate, a recently-escaped slave willing to
fight to the death in order to retain his freedom. "Hold this position,
Gunn," he ordered. "Finn's still on the loose."
Gunn nodded and began to round up the
few remaining prisoners while Angel and a handful of his best men ventured
below-deck.
Blades poised and ready to fight,
they cautiously fanned out, searching through the eerily-quiet hull of the ship
for their quarry. The first few rooms had already been searched when Angel
heard the first whimpering sound. He gestured for his men to be silent as he
followed the noise straight back to William's cabin. He flung the door open to
discover...
Well, it wasn't too difficult to
figure out what had happened there. Riley's corpse lay on the bed, pants
wrapped around his knees, surrounded by a pool of his own blood. Cut ropes were
at all four corners of the bed where his captive had obviously been tied.
The woman in question was currently
huddled in the corner, clothes torn and drenched with blood, dagger still in
hand, sobbing softly.
"Just the pretty little thing I
was looking for," Angel said with a sly smile, approaching her carefully.
Through tear-stained eyes Elizabeth
recognized Angel, and all hope in her breast died. Riley was foolish and
overconfident, but even William was wary of Angel's strength. She severely
doubted that she could overpower him. And even if she could...
There was just so much blood, blood
everywhere... Could she really spill more?
Still, she lunged at him violently.
Angel sidestepped her attack easily,
knocking the dagger from her hand and trapping her in his powerful embrace.
"Brave little girl, aren't you?" he commented, stroking her hair back
behind her ear. "I can see why William loves you..."
The fight left her at that, the
combined horror of the events of her captivity finally overwhelming her. She
slumped in Angel's arms in a dead faint, having escaped Riley's clutches only
to become Angel's prisoner instead...
And just when you thought things were
getting better, too... I'm undeniably evil. ~_^ And you'll just have to review
if you want to see how this turns out...
Disclaimer & Author's Note: Make
up something really funny and then pretend I said it. ~_^
Previously: Elizabeth managed to kill
Riley, but then Angel attacked his ship and captured her. William's still
locked up awaiting execution, but Giles used his position in the church to get
in to meet with him. A plan for his rescue is brewing...
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Thirteen - ...And Into The Fire
"It is absolutely
intolerable!" Giles exclaimed in a mock-huff, trying to look as dignified
and outraged as he could manage.
"I assure you, the chapel has
its own upkeep staff," Lord Abrahms attempted to placate the
overly-persistent priest.
"Oh yes, I noticed," Giles
retorted sarcastically. "What with the mulch pit by the altar and the
abundance of rats. Tell me, are they the upkeep staff?"
"Look, Father Giles," Lord
Abrahms did his best to calm the other man, "I'm sure something could be
arranged to fix up the chapel."
"I should say so!" Giles
exclaimed. "I cannot believe you've let it go this far! I am inclined to
seriously doubt your ability to-"
"I'll have a cleaning crew come
in next week," Abrahms cut him off before another rant on his unsanitary
management of the fort could begin.
"Next week?!" Giles
practically cried in agony.
"In order to hire a work
crew-" Lord Abrahms hastily insisted.
"Why, I could get one within the
hour!" Giles countered. "I swear, this must be the most
incompetent fortress in the world! Why, all it would take would be a dozen or
so men from the town! I just can't believe this! I can't believe it... Wait
until word gets back to the church about how crass and disrespectful you
are towards a place of worship! I have every mind to see you removed from
authority, and when I-"
Lord Abrahms felt a rather nasty
headache coming on at the prospect of listening to yet another rant
about the goddamned chapel. "You do it then!" he finally
bellowed in frustration.
Giles nodded curtly and forced back
the triumphant smile that was curling at the edges of his lips. "Very
well, I will."
* * *
"We're in."
Xander looked at Giles in disbelief.
"How on earth do you do that?" he demanded.
A sly smile lit up Giles' face.
"Never underestimate the church's powers of persuasion," he said
simply, ushering the pirate crew towards the now-open gates, "...or of
annoyance..."
* * *
Elizabeth awoke to the feel of
fingers gently caressing her face. In that dazed, half-asleep state, she leaned
into them, a smile on her face as she whispered the name "William"
like it was the most precious thing in the world to her.
She got a chuckle in response.
"Try again, my sweet," Angel instructed her.
Her eyes flew open in horror and
surprise as she remembered the events of the previous day, and she instantly
leapt back from his touch, pressing herself against the wall along one side of
the bed.
"You are beautiful, aren't
you?" Angel commented in a husky voice.
His hand reached out to touch her
once more, and she slapped it away.
"Feisty, too," he grinned.
"I like that..."
The way he said it made Elizabeth
start searching frantically for a weapon. Another voice cut her off, however.
"For Christ's sake, Liam!"
the woman Elizabeth vaguely recognized as Darla exclaimed. "Quit
traumatizing the poor girl!"
"I think she can handle a
little-" He turned to face her and wisely cut his sentence off at her
brassed-off expression.
"Out." The stern order was
accompanied by a demanding finger pointed right at the door.
With a resigned sigh, Angel rose to
his feet. He approached Darla first, however, wrapping his arms around her
waist and placing a sensual kiss in the hollow of her throat. "Forgive
me," he practically purred his command.
Darla's resolve softened, and she
relaxed in his embrace. "You're an ass, Liam," she informed him.
"And don't you love it?" he
taunted before crashing his lips down onto hers.
His hips thrust up against hers so
suggestively that Elizabeth blushed and turned away...and wondered why William
had never done that...
"You know you're the only one
for me, baby," he said as he pulled away, a smug smile on his lips as he
watched her gasp for breath.
"Yeah," she retorted
sarcastically, "I'll believe that when I've got a ring on my finger and
the whoring stops." She gave him a pointed shove toward the door.
"Now... Get. Out."
He turned back to say something, but
she slammed the door shut right in his face. Elizabeth could hear him cursing
outside as the solid wood impacted with his nose.
Darla winced. "I'm going to pay
for that later..." she sighed before turning back to Elizabeth, who was
still huddled against the wall on the bed. "You OK, dearie? Liam can be such
a pig sometimes. I swear, he thinks everything with two legs was just made for
him to stick it in." She gave Elizabeth a kind smile.
And Elizabeth blinked in confusion.
"Huh?" she finally managed to utter eloquently...
* * *
"I don't like this!" Xander
exclaimed for the umpteenth time.
Giles merely rolled his eyes.
"Oh, go sweep the altar," he sighed in irritation.
"I can't believe Abrahms fell
for that," Graham commented. "This place is spotless..."
"Yes, well, I rather counted on
Lord Abrahms' never bothering to visit it," Giles countered. "Can't
say I was surprised that I was right..."
At that moment, one of the fortress
guards entered the small chapel, helmet in hand. He nodded politely to Giles
and walked over to the altar...
There was a loud 'thunk' as he was
bopped over the head and then dragged into the back room by several of the men.
All the others just continued on as
if nothing had happened.
Xander stood up, paced back and forth
twice, then threw his arms up in the air in frustration. "I don't like
this!" he insisted.
"Yes, we figured that out the
first fifty times you said it," Giles grumbled under his breath.
Xander didn't even hear him. "I
mean, she's up there alone, with no one to defend her, and-"
"William hangs tonight,"
Giles reminded him sternly.
Xander let out a weary sigh and ran
one hand through his unruly black hair. "I know," he agreed, sitting
down... Only to get up and begin pacing once more. "But I don't like
this!"
* * *
"I mean, really," Anya
said, hands pressed over her heart in her low-bodiced gown, eyelashes
fluttering, "it must be awfully exciting work. Lowering the gate, raising
the gate, knowing that the very safety of this fortress depends on you..."
The gatekeeper gave her a wicked
leer. "You better believe it, honey," he agreed, stroking his control
lever.
Anya fought the urge to roll her
eyes. "And you must be so strong to do it, too..." After five
seconds of analyzing the mechanism, Anya had determined that the system of pulleys
and chains that raised the gate was set up so that a child could lift it. There
was no harm in lying, though. Especially when it boosted men's egos and
therefore distracted them.
"That's me." The gatekeeper
gave her a toothless grin. "Strong, built, burly...thick..."
"Oh, yes," Anya agreed in a
falsely cheerful monotone. "Please, tell me more." Only one more
hour...
"No," the gatekeeper
retorted with a coy smile, "you tell me more."
Thank heaven for men and their
bizarre kinks, Anya
thought as she tried to come up with more gate-related innuendos...
* * *
"I mean, I really don't
like this..."
* * *
"Again?" William exclaimed
in disbelief when he heard his cell door unlock. "'S like a bloody holiday
spot in here, what with all the visitors..."
The man who appeared in the doorway
was one he had never seen before but, given the finery of his clothing, was
obviously an important person.
"Who're you?" William
scowled at him.
"This is he?" the visitor
inquired of the guard. After the nod he got in response, his eyes burned with
rage as he turned back to William.
William frowned for a second at the
familiar anger in those hazel eyes. "Oi, wait a minute..." he began.
His visitor cut him off. "I am
the father of the girl you brutalized," Henry Summers announced. "And
it will be my pleasure to watch you die."
"Oi, now, hold on just a
second," William protested, still trying to absorb the fact that he was
talking to Elizabeth's father. "I didn't do anythin' to
'Lizabeth!"
"You raped and murdered her, you
fiend!" Henry cried out, tears forming in his eyes. "My sweet, little
girl... How could you?!"
"OK, first off." William
retorted, "'s far as I know, your daughter's still very much alive, virtue
fully intact. That is, unless the nutcase Lord Abrahms handed her off to in
order to fake 'er death 'asn't done anythin' to her yet. Second, 'sweet, little
girl'? Have you ever actually met your daughter?"
"How dare you?" Henry
accused furiously. "You dare deny...and then accuse..." He was too
livid to finish either sentiment.
"I do 'cause 's true,"
William retorted. "You're bein' played, Summers, and 'f you don't wise up
to it soon, you're gonna end up 's broke 's my family did."
"That's it!" Henry
exclaimed, practically fleeing from the cell. "I can't hear this
murderer's words any more!"
William sighed. "Man lives
happily in the land of denial," he informed the guard as the cell door
slammed shut once more...
* * *
"Oh dear, he really scared you,
didn't he?" Darla asked, concerned.
"Scared? Me? Huh?"
Elizabeth would characterize her mood more as confused than scared.
"Liam, you are such an
ass!" Darla called through the door, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, that fits in with the
whole kidnapping thing," Elizabeth agreed, coming back to herself a bit.
" 'Kidnapping'?" Darla
repeated in disbelief. "We saved you!"
"Only so that Angel could ravage
me instead of Riley? Oh yeah, that's a real comfort," Elizabeth retorted
sarcastically.
"Angel what? No, he won't- He's
just-" Darla stuttered.
"An ass?" Elizabeth
suggested helpfully.
Darla nodded vigorously. "Oh
god," she put her face in her hands, "what exactly did he tell you
was going on?" There was a hint of dread in her voice.
"He didn't tell me
anything," Elizabeth insisted. "I inferred that Angel took out
Riley after helping to take out William, and I was one of the spoils of
war."
"Wait a minute...Angel helped
who take out what?" Darla seemed shocked and horrified.
"Riley said it, and Lord Abrahms
implied it," Elizabeth insisted primly.
"Men!" Darla muttered in
despair. "Liam had absolutely no part in the plot against William, and he certainly
doesn't mean you any harm," she assured the frightened blond.
"But...Angel led us straight
into that trap!" Elizabeth insisted.
Darla winced. "Lord Abrahms used
Riley to buy out my informant," she confessed apologetically. "I
didn't find out about it until William had already left. We chased after him to
warn him, but...well, you had too much of a head start..."
Elizabeth frowned at the completely
different picture of events that was being painted before her. "Angel
wants me..." she began hesitantly.
Darla rolled her eyes. "Angel
wants everything that even remotely qualifies as female. And some things that
don't." Her voice softened then. "You're lucky in that. William is
much more...single-minded in his affections..."
"So Angel won't...?" Relief
flooded through Elizabeth as she finally fully absorbed the fact that she was
among friends.
Darla shook her head. "He
respects William too much to hurt you. Even if he'll never admit it outside of
the bedroom," she added with a roll of her eyes.
Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at
that. "So why do you put up with him?" she asked.
A blush lit up Darla's cheeks.
"He's the only one for me," she admitted before returning to her
usual confident manner. "Besides, where else am I going to find a man that
lets me keep up my...profession?"
"I can't argue with that,"
Elizabeth agreed, slumping slightly now that the adrenaline had worn off.
"Here," Darla said kindly,
"we need to wash the blood off of you, get you into some clean
clothes..."
Elizabeth shook her head.
"William-" she insisted.
"We're on our way there right
now," Darla assured her. "But, first, we've got to take care of
you..."
* * *
"I will watch,"
Henry Summers insisted.
Lord Abrahms had no choice but to nod
in acquiescence. Henry's presence had thrown him for something of a loop,
especially since he had managed to speak with William before Abrahms had even
learned that he'd arrived. He had no idea what the two men had discussed, and
that made him nervous. If William told Henry the truth about what happened and
Henry believed him... Fortunately, his new business partner still seemed eager
for William's blood, so his cover most likely hadn't been blown.
"These types of things
are...nasty affairs," he informed the other man.
Henry shrugged. "He hurt my baby
girl. I want to see him hanged now..."
* * *
"Oi, now, this 's getting
bleedin' ridiculous!" William exclaimed when the door opened once more.
"The last time," the guard
assured him with a wicked grin. He stepped aside, allowing two more guards to
enter.
"Don't s'pose I should hope that
've been paroled?" William managed to joke lightly.
"You've got a free one-way
ticket to 'ell," one of the guards informed him, dragging him to his feet.
William reluctantly walked with the
procession up and out of the dungeon. His eyes surreptitiously scanned the
crowds as he made his way towards the gallows that had been set up in the
center of the small courtyard. However, he saw no sign of his men.
The smug face of Lord Abrahms did
greet him as he stepped up onto the platform, however. He had half a mind to
take the older man's eye out with Giles' little 'gift' but just barely
restrained his impulse. After all, Xander had instructed him to wait.
Taking orders from my first-mate now. He couldn't help but smile at the
irony of that. Just bloody brilliant...
The guards backed away from him as
the cleric stepped forward to read the charges against him. "Having been
found guilty of..."
Blah, blah, blippity blah... William caught a slight movement out
of the corner of his eye and just glimpsed one of the guards being drawn around
the corner and...was that Graham stationed by the doors to the inner
wall?
He quickly reassessed the situation
and realized that only a half a dozen or so of the guards were men he didn't
recognize. The vast majority of the real guards would, of course, be set
on the inner walls, but those were far enough away that the troops wouldn't be
able to stop his escape if it was quick enough. The large metal gates,
however... Those were a problem.
Feeling significantly more confident
in his position, William openly yawned at the rather long list of charges still
being laid against him.
"H-He doesn't even repent!"
Henry Summers stuttered in outrage.
"End this," Lord Abrahms
agreed, anxious to permanently remove the thorn in his side.
William discovered then that Giles
had a talent for exaggeration. The noose hadn't even come close to his
neck when Xander shouted out for him to duck.
A brief squabble ensued, wherein
William's men - he could only guess how they'd acquired the guards' uniforms -
quickly overpowered the remaining guards present at the 'execution'.
William himself had dropped to the
ground upon Xander's command, the chains he had broken open with the knife
Giles had provided him slipping easily from his wrists.
Shouts sounded from above, and he
knew that he would stand out as a bulls-eye in the crowd with his white hair.
He ducked and rolled off the platform, only to be caught by a member of the
crowd and a priestly robe thrown over his head.
Giles himself was in full guard's
uniform and looking quite pleased with himself as well. "Try to look meek
and mild," he instructed with a teasing smile before ushering William away
from the fight.
New guards rushed into the scene,
greatly confusing everything, and William's men all managed to station
themselves back by the gates...
* * *
"Yes, because your...gates are
so sexy and..." Anya breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Xander's
shout. Because, honestly, even she couldn't come up with any more gate
comments.
"Look!" she ordered.
"Look down at your gates as I talk to you."
The gatekeeper eagerly did so,
started in surprise at the fight below, and promptly fell to the ground
unconscious.
"I'll show you where you can
shove your gate," Anya grumbled, dropping the large wooden beam and
yanking hard on the lever to open the gate...
* * *
"You know, I had an old friend
back at the seminary who believed that Chaos was the most powerful force in the
universe," Giles commented. "A decidedly strange fellow, but he was
proven right today..."
"Yeah, you go on and
gloat," Anya huffed, "but I was severely traumatized! I don't think
I'll ever be able to look at a gate again..."
Xander wrapped a comforting arm
around her waist. "No gates in my line of work," he reminded her with
a quick peck on the nose.
A delighted smile spread across her
face. "I remember," she agreed, pulling him not-so-inconspicuously
into a side cavern.
"Abrahms and Summers 'll keep
lookin' for us," William pointed out, unable to keep the wistful smile
from his face at the happy pair. "An' we've got nowhere to run."
"And now we're surrounded!"
Graham announced in a panic, dashing into the cave.
Everyone's attention turned to him.
"Riley's back," he
announced. "The ship is in the harbor. And Angel's with him..."
Ah, but we know better, don't we?
Review for the lovely upcoming reunion. And isn't Giles just adorable in this
chapter? Mmm...I want one... ~_^
Disclaimer & Author's Note: The
usual.
Previously: Mih, it was so recently
that I'm sure everyone remembers. ~_^
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Fourteen - 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...
I figured that since I've never had
Buffy and Spike get married before that I could let the cliche slip just this
once. Plus, romances all have to have the requisite wedding in them. ~_^ And,
yes, folks, there's only one chapter left to go. You'll also note that this
story is rated NC17, whereas so far it's only been a light R. I think that'll
let you know how much you want to review for the next chapter... ^_^
Disclaimer: The usual.
Author's Note: Finally, the
juicy smut I promised. ^_^ Hey, I figured it was a more conservative time, so
let them get married and such first so it's all legit...
Previously: If you don't know yet,
then it probably doesn't matter any more. ~_^
Skull
And Dagger
Chapter
Fifteen - Apparently Not...
"William..." Elizabeth
whispered softly as he set her back down on her feet next to the bed.
An almost giddy smile crossed his
face then. "My wife," he breathed into her hair, inhaling the
fragrant scent of wildflowers that always lingered about her.
"My husband," she agreed,
shutting her eyes tight and wrapping her arms around him as she leaned on him
for support.
William felt the shiver run through
her - whether of fear or anticipation or a combination of both, he could only
guess - and reminded himself that, despite her passionate nature, she was still
a fluttering virgin. This was all new to her, and he was going to do everything
in his power to make it an experience she would never forget.
"Hush, my love," he
whispered soothingly against the golden crown of her head. "We'll go real
slow and easy-like, OK?"
She nodded jerkily against his
shoulder, cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment over how nervous she was.
He gently cupped her chin in his palm
and tilted her head up for a quick, gentle kiss. "No worries, luv,"
he practically purred. "'m gonna be so gentle, gonna make you feel so
good..." His lips brushed hers again.
Now, the kissing she knew and
enjoyed. Her hands trailed up into his hair, tousling it until it turned wild
and curly. She used her leverage to pull him down deeper into their kiss,
savoring the sweet taste of him on her lips.
His tongue flicked out against her
mouth, and she parted her lips in response, allowing him to thrust deep inside
of her. He let out a little moan at her wet heat and began stroking his tongue
against hers sensuously, drawing her into their lovemaking.
She eagerly responded, unable to
resist a duel as always. Her tongue lunged into his mouth; his parried. A quick
repost, and the he was on the attack again, plundering her mouth with a
passionate intensity that made her dizzy.
Feeling her relax against him, he
slowly began to caress her body. His hands drifted from their solid grasp of
her waist to gently trace the curve of her spine. She shivered again, but this
time he had no doubt that it was in response to his feather-light touches. His
hands became bolder, one index finger tracing over the bare flesh at her
collarbone, outlining her throat, before sliding along the collar of her
dress...
She gasped when it dipped between her
breasts, always astonished at how needy the flesh there was for his touch. He
was palming her lightly now, while his other hand not-so-subtly began to
unfasten the complicated array of hooks and laces that held her gown in place.
"Wanna feel you," his lips
murmured against hers before trailing up her cheek to nibble at her ear.
"Want you to feel me..."
She was all too eager to comply with
the latter. Her lips found his throat as her hands drifted down between them.
She felt the hard lines of his chest through the thin fabric of his shirt and
sighed at the raw muscular power beneath her fingertips. Truth be told, she had
been known to slip inside the silken fabric in the past, glimpsing more of his
bronzed skin than any decent woman should. Now, however, she wanted to learn
exactly what it was that indecent women enjoyed so much...
His shirt fell aside at her
persistent touches, revealing a torso just as spectacular as all the Greek
statues she'd seen, only more so because this flesh pulsed and trembled beneath
her wandering hands. She leaned against him once more, then, her cheek resting
against the bare muscle of his chest. If anything, the skin-on-skin contact
made her body tremble with desire for him even more...
With nimble fingers, he finally
opened the back of her dress. The fingers of one hand worked on her corset,
while the other traced the newly-exposed flesh. He could feel the pent-up
tension in her body grow and quickened his pace, stripping her from her
garments with ease. "That feel good, princess?" he continued to
whisper to her.
Her fingers skated over the defined
muscles of his stomach. "Mmm..." she agreed.
"Well, this," he announced,
lifting her up off of her feet so that her dress and the vast majority of her
undergarments fell to the floor in a heap, "is gonna be even
better..."
She flushed slightly at that. His
efficient disrobing had bared her breasts to the warm sea air, and now the
milky mounds were flattened against his chest, molding against him. If she had
thought the heat of him was burning before, now it practically branded her
flesh, wiping away her fears and anxieties, making her just want more...
He carried her over to the bed and
laid her back on it before covering her body with his own. Their legs still
remained covered, but he had enough delightful newly-exposed flesh to keep him
more than satisfied for the moment.
Her arms wrapped around him, pulling
him down into her heated embrace, feeling the strong muscles of his back... And
then she lost all modicum of control when his mouth descended upon one of her
mounds, engulfing it.
William smiled against her soft,
supple flesh when he felt her thrash beneath him, desperately seeking further
contact. He suckled on her gently at first, like a newborn babe, but then began
biting and twisting harder as her hands in his hair urged him on.
Elizabeth cried out and held on tight
as his tongue did the most amazing things to her sensitive rosy bud. Her
other breast was not neglected as he kneaded it slowly in his palm, his thumb
flicking over the hardened tip. "William..." she whispered in delight
as all the wondrous tingles in her nerve endings trailed right down to the
juncture between her thighs. "Please..." She spread her legs for him
in anticipation, remembering his touch from earlier with growing desire.
He looked up at her with a roguish
smile then, obviously pleased by her responsiveness. "Want more, do
you?" he whispered seductively, rising up on his forearms so that he
towered over her slight form.
She nodded numbly.
"Are you sure?" he pressed,
enjoying teasing her.
She scowled up at him. "You
haven't managed to remove my boots yet," she threatened lightly.
"Hmm, better go see to that,
then," he agreed, sliding back down her body. He took each of those
dangerous feet into his lap in turn, slowly unfastening the laces of her boots
and pulling them off of her dainty feet.
"I'm not a delicate
flower," she informed him impatiently. "Get on with it."
He laughed at that, caught her in his
arms, and kissed her breathless. "We're going to have such a marvelous
life together," he decided. "Never a dull moment, eh?"
She nodded, still panting heavily
from the intensity of his kiss.
"Looks like 've finally found a
way to shut that smart mouth 'f yours," he said with a triumphant grin.
His hands slid down her remaining undergarments, pulling them off and leaving
her body bare beneath him.
She instinctively moved to cover
herself up, never having thought before that a man would see her like this. She
looked up at him, inquiring, when he halted her hands' motions.
A look of pure awe crossed his face
as he drank in his wife's nude form for the first time. "You're so
beautiful..." he whispered breathlessly. "So perfect,
so...beautiful..."
"Looks like I've finally found a
way to shut that smart mouth of yours," she couldn't help but
retort.
"God, I love you!" he
groaned, tackling her back onto the bed once more.
"Love you, too!" she
exclaimed.
His still-clad thighs slid in between
hers, but he ignored his throbbing arousal for the moment. He wasn't a
schoolboy anymore, and he was going to do this right... Carefully, his
fingers encircled the nub of her womanhood, making her gasp his name and
causing the wetness there to pool further.
She buried her face in the crook of
his neck and clutched his body to her, feeling a strange tightening sensation
begin deep within her at his persistent strokes. This wasn't like before, the
quick release of need; this was a slow, oven-hot fire being stoked within her
belly, rising to inferno intensity...
His first finger slipped within her,
penetrating her soft folds for the first time. Her inner walls clamped tight
down around him, not yet stretched. Just the thought of that tight passage
surrounding him made him nearly lose it, and he gasped raggedly into her hair,
fighting for control.
His finger slid in and out of her
several times, letting her grow used to it, until his middle finger slowly
joined it. Her body accommodated the increased invasion after several more
strokes, growing more open, preparing to welcome him inside...
Three was a strain, and he peppered
her face with kisses, distracting her from the pressure within her.
She hissed at the unaccustomed
stretching between her thighs, but it was a good kind of stretch. And knowing
that it was him, that he was kissing her, loving her, whispering sweet nothings
in her ear... She relaxed around him and easily took in his pinky as well when
it came...
And then ecstasy began to wash over
her as he began moving inside her, touching, caressing... She wasn't even aware
when his free hand moved to undo his belt buckle, she was so absorbed in the
pleasure he was giving her.
She only opened her eyes when his
hand pulled away, letting out a little whimper of protest.
"Shh, luv," he soothed her,
stroking her hair. "We'll be together soon..."
She glanced down at him then, her
cheeks flushing at her first look of the portions of male anatomy that had
always been oh-so-inconveniently covered up on the statues. Anya had discussed
the mechanisms with her before, true, but nothing could've prepared her for the
actual sight.
His shaft stood out from his body,
long and proud, nestled within his honey-blond curls. She had always feared the
sight would scandalize her, but she quickly discovered that it was not at all
unappealing. In fact, her body reacted instinctively to the sight, as if she
had been awaiting it all her life.
He bent down to kiss her, and she
savored the feel of his lips, dimly aware of his hips settling between her
spread thighs, the tip of his manhood just brushing her wetness.
"'ll be gentle," he assured
her in a voice husky with desire, "but there'll be a moment of
pain..."
She nodded in understanding, tenderly
stroking his cheek as their eyes locked.
Slowly, he pushed in, one inch at a
time until he came up to the barrier with her. "Ready, luv?" he
whispered.
She bit her lips and nodded. He felt
so good so far and...oh god! She cried out when one hard roll of his hips sent
him all the way inside, ripping her virgin barrier asunder. There was a quick
flash of pain, and she felt her eyes water in response.
"Oh, luv, pet, sweetheart, don't
cry," he whispered raggedly, kissing away the lone tear that spilled down
her cheek. "That's it, luv, I promise. No more pain, only pleasure. 'S
gonna be so good for you, 'Lizabeth. 've got so much to show you..."
During his impassioned pleas, he trailed kisses all over her face while
fighting to keep from thrusting roughly in and out of her. She fit him more
snuggly than even he had imagined, and it was heaven and hell at the same time.
Heaven for being sheathed within her at last, and hell for having to keep
still, for not being able to lose himself within her at once...
Elizabeth felt the pain fade as he
kissed her. His lips finally landed on her own, and she kissed him back
fervently, letting her love for this man wash over her. Any discomfort she had
felt was disappearing now, and in its place was the most curious sensation...
She wiggled her hips against his experimentally...
And, involuntarily, he thrust in
deep.
Her eyes widened. Not curious, good!
He watched for her reaction
anxiously, unsure of how ready she was.
"A-Again!" she stammered.
His hips moved slowly at first,
thrusting in and out of her tentatively. With each push, her cry of
"Again!" came a little faster as her own hips surged up to meet him,
increasing the intensity of their coupling.
His hand caught under her thigh,
lifting it up to give himself greater leverage. She caught onto his hint and
wrapped her legs around his waist, moaning into his mouth when the new position
allowed him to pierce even deeper within her.
"L-Love you!" she gasped
out when their lips finally separated for several shallow breaths of air.
"Love you so much..." he
agreed, once more caressing the body beneath him. His hips drove into her at a
slightly different angle each time, searching, searching...there!
"William!" she screamed,
her hands fisting in his hair, clutching it roughly.
He struck the sweet spot within her
several more times rhythmically until her cries of pleasure became too much,
and the last of his control snapped. Their bodies and lips fused as he spilled
his pleasure and love deep within her womb.
She cried out at the same time, his
name on her lips, as the world swam and shimmered around her, until there was
nothing left but him and mind-blowing pleasure he brought her.
Falling down from the pinnacle
together, they collapsed in a mass of tangled limbs, both finally sated and
content. It was quite some time until either stirred, and even then it was only
so William could roll off of her and come to rest at her side.
She snuggled her back against his
warm chest and let out a happy sigh. "That was...exquisite," she
breathed, still in awe of the intensity and intimacy of the experience they'd
just shared.
"'ve never felt anythin' like
it," he agreed. And it was true. Despite her inexperience, no other woman
had ever inspired such passion in him. Lazily, he draped his arm over her
waist, holding her to him.
Elizabeth placed her hand over his.
"We're well-matched, aren't we?" she commented.
"Well-matched and very well-mated,"
he whispered against the curve of her throat.
She smiled and glanced down to where
her hand covered his larger one, their twin gold bands rubbing together
slightly as her thumb stroked his wrist. "I never thought I'd find
this," she confessed softly, turning in his arms to face him. "My
father never wanted me, and I scared off all my suitors... I had rather sworn
myself to the life of a spinster. I never thought a man could-"
"How could I not?" he
insisted, cupping her cheek. "How could I not see your strength, your
beauty, your stubborn pigheadedness, and love them?" His lips softly
brushed her forehead.
"Mmm, made perfectly for
me," she decided, running her fingers through his already-tousled bed
hair.
"Right from the same mold,"
he concurred.
She looked up at him...and broke out
into uncontrollable giggles.
"What?" he demanded,
confused.
"Hair! Spiky!" she managed
to get out between chuckles.
He gave her a mock-offended look as
he straightened out his snowy-white locks. And then a wicked grin lit up his
face. "Like the spikes, do you, luv?" he practically purred.
"Well, 've got a big one for you..."
She gulped as she felt the truth of
his statement press hard against her stomach. "Big Spike good," she
announced, pulling his body atop her once more. "Want Spike now..."
* * *
"Well?" Anya demanded two
days later, cornering Elizabeth the instant she left her room for any
significant amount of time. "How is it?"
Elizabeth's cheeks were still
slightly flushed with pleasure at her and William's most recent union, but she
managed to blush nonetheless. "As good as you said it would be," she
confessed with a conspiratorial giggle. "No, wait. Better..."
Anya frowned. "Better?"
she demanded.
"Better," Elizabeth
agreed.
"Xander!" Anya stomped her
foot on the ground. "Get over here right now! I want better,
too!"
Elizabeth chuckled as she watched
Anya chase off after her lover...and wondered how she could trick William back
into the bedroom and get some more better for herself...
* * *
"Haven't seen much of you
lately," Angel commented with a wry grin.
William rolled his eyes at the other
man's dirty mind. "I hear we're partin' ways today," he commented,
leaning against the railing beside his former captain.
"No rest for the wicked,"
Angel commented before he turned a suggestive leer William's way,
"hey?" He nudged the other man in the ribs.
"God, you're hopeless,"
William complained. "How does Darla put up with you anyway?"
"I 'put up' for her." Angel
couldn't help it; he was on a roll.
William groaned. "Thanks for
remindin' me why I won't miss you," he said sarcastically.
Angel snorted at that. "Who'll
watch your back, then?" he retorted.
"You? Watch my back?" William
asked in disbelief. "Nothin' but trouble, you are...'specially when women
're involved..."
Angel's expression turned serious at
that. "Brought this one back to you," he pointed out.
"You did, at that," William
conceded.
"I figured I owed you after
Dru," Angel bit out. "I mean, I really didn't know that she..."
"'S OK," William assured
him, a bemused smile curling up the edges of his lips. "Don't think I can
take much more of your half-assed attempt at apologizin' without splittin' my
side..."
Angel gave him an annoyed scowl.
"Knew I should've blown you outta the water when I had the chance,"
he sulked.
"Prob'ly," William agreed.
"You never wondered?" Angel
asked the question that had been nagging him ever since William's return.
"You never thought that I was in on it?"
"Not for a second," William
assured him with a smile, "you big poofter..."
* * *
Anya bawled her eyes out and clung to
Elizabeth. "Who am I going to tell all my dirty secrets to now?" she
lamented.
Elizabeth patted her on the back.
"There's always that dashing captain of yours," she pointed out.
"But he is my dirty
secret," Anya mock-pouted.
Elizabeth laughed before releasing
her best friend. "Be sure to visit," she said, her own eyes teary.
"Only...not when I'm busy getting my orgasms..."
William blushed in response to that.
"Now I know what you've been goin' through," he told Xander
sympathetically. "You're a brave man, Harris."
Xander laughed and patted him on the
back. "Try not to let marital bliss make you go soft," he teased.
William scowled, but his expression
softened when Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him.
"Definitely not
soft," she said with a wink before turning to her blushing husband.
"C'mon, luv, the carriage awaits."
"Take care of yourself,"
Xander gave William a good-bye nod.
"You, too," William agreed.
"You ever need anythin'..."
"I won't call you and
risk Elizabeth's wrath," Xander joked with a wave before turning back to
Anya. "Ready to head back to ship?" he inquired.
"I can hardly wait to get back
our life of sin," she agreed with a happy smile, "complete with many
opportunities to make lots and lots of money..."
* * *
"Mmm," Elizabeth murmured
against William's chest as they cuddled up in the back to the carriage
together, "it's dark in here, isn't it?"
"Yeah," he agreed, raising
once scarred eyebrow in her direction.
"The driver can't see
anything," she continued slyly, "which means..."
He gasped when he discovered where
her hand had gotten.
"...that Spike can come out and
play," she finished.
"God, luv, don't ever stop
keepin' me on my toes," he requested.
"I won't," she agreed
coyly, "as long as you never stop keeping me on my back..."
With that, her lips crashed into his,
loving him, holding him, making him hers forever...
The epilogue's up. Go on and read
it...
Disclaimer & Author's Note: The
same.
Skull
And Dagger
Epilogue
Elizabeth smiled softly as the last
rays of the sun tinged the sky a brilliant orange. She breathed in the salty
night air and leaned forward on the balcony of their cozy little villa,
savoring this moment of peace for as long as it would last...
Which was inevitably all of five
seconds.
A crash sounded from Dawn's room,
followed by her high-pitched scream of "Get out! Get out! Get out!"
and only seconds later Alexander ran streaming by, a look of satisfied guilt on
his face. Elizabeth caught her son by the arm before he could flee.
"What exactly is going
on, young man?" she demanded as sternly as she could manage. She always
had a hard time remaining cross with this one, though. He had the same
beautiful blue eyes as his father, and all she had to do was look into them and
her heart would melt.
Unfortunately, Alexander was also
every bit the mischievous imp his father was and used those eyes of his to his
advantage as often as possible. "Sorry, Mum," he insisted with
suspicious innocence, "it was just an accident..."
Accident!" his older sister
screeched, stalking out of her room. "He up-ended my entire bag on the
floor, Mum!"
"She threw her shoe at me!"
Alexander countered, pointing accusingly. "Nearly hit me right in the
head!"
"Me?!" Dawn repeated
in disbelief. "I'm not the one who keeps sneaking out his bedroom
window to terrorize-"
"Dawnie?" a soft, meek
little voice broke up the shouting match. Elizabeth smiled as her youngest and
calmest child, Joyce, managed to break up the war with nothing more than a
whisper. "I wepacked your bag..."
Miraculously, that ended the
confrontation, and Dawn and Alexander scampered back to their separate rooms.
A soft chuckle greeted Elizabeth's
ears, and she turned to see her devilishly handsome husband standing behind
her, watching the younger generation with obvious amusement in his eyes.
Unconsciously, she wet her lips, already imagining how she would free his
magnificent body from the clothes that so cruelly concealed it the instant
they went to bed tonight...
"Caught you fantasizin'
again," din't I?" he teased, slipping his arms around her waist from
behind.
His hands came to rest on her
once-more-flat belly, and he stroked it sensuously, obviously imagining it full
and round with his fourth child. Fortunately, Elizabeth had borrowed several of
Anya's techniques and had thus prevented herself from becoming a perpetual
breeding factory of little Williams. Not that she had anything against
little Williams, mind you. In fact, she absolutely adored the little
monsters, as she referred to them affectionately. But she already had three
loveable demon-spawn to deal with - all born within four years - and she didn't
really think she could handle any more at the moment...
"I need something to get me
through the chaos," she agreed, snapping out of her reverie long enough to
answer William's question.
"They always get like this right
before they go off to school," he reminded her. "But, just think,
after tomorrow it'll just be the two 'f us, pet. All alone, big soft
bed..."
"Nice, sturdy walls," she
agreed with a wistful smile.
"Quality Spike time straight
through Christmas," he murmured into her ear.
"Mmm...Spike..." she had
drifted off happily into a wonderful little fantasy world - one where her
children weren't threatening to appear at any moment so she could safely tackle
her husband to the ground and have her wicked way with him.
"Although we could always take
up Xander's offer for a visit..." he suggested. "You know how 'e
always gets lonely when Anya's pregnant and shore-bound. It'll be even worse
this time what with Giles off with Jennifer..."
"You're just trying to convince
me to let you return to your thieving ways," she accused.
"Well, yeah," he agreed.
"You can't tell me you don't love the...excitement. It'll be like a
second honeymoon..."
"Fourth," she corrected
with a smile, "and...tempting. I'll consider it."
"Don't s'pose you can be
swayed?" One of his hands slipped down her thigh...
She gasped in response. "You're
welcome to...try..." she murmured breathlessly.
"It'll be better'n visitin' your
dad at the least," William pointed out.
Elizabeth winced at that. There had
been something of a reconciliation several years back so that Henry could check
out his 'newest assets'. The family gathering had begun with Henry commenting
to William how impressed he was that William had finally succeeded in taming
Elizabeth, and William promptly bursting out into hysterical laughter that was
only stopped after several pointed jabs in the ribs. It was obviously not the
response Henry had expected, and things naturally went downhill from there.
The only good thing that had come it
was that they had finally learned that Lord Abrahms had passed away the
previous year, his fortunes never recovered and knowing full-well that his only
son had picked up a nasty disease of the sort that guaranteed he wouldn't be
able to produce any viable offspring in the few years before he withered away.
Ah, happy times...
"Y'know, pet," William
said, continuing to rub her stomach, "we could put ourselves to good use,
create another li'l William - one the age of Anya's Margaret. Be a nice li'l
playmate..."
"You just want me pregnant again
so that you can fuss unnecessarily and try to order me around," she
accused.
"Maybe," he conceded, blue
eyes shinning. "So whattaya say?"
"Maybe," she agreed with a
coy smile, leaning in to kiss him...
"Mum!" Alexander's cry
broke the moment.
"Or maybe not," William
agreed with a chuckle.
"Dad!" Alexander stalked
into the hallway. "Someone stole my-"
He was cut off when Joyce tapped him
on the shoulder and handed him the cricket bat he'd left in the living room.
"Hewe."
"Never mind," Alexander
shrugged, heading back to his room.
William and Elizabeth watched their
youngest with awe.
"You're positive you're
her real mother?" William whispered in Elizabeth's ear.
"I resent that!" she
mock-huffed. "I can be a sweet little angel, too!"
He gave her a skeptical look.
"When?" he demanded. "'Cause in all the ten years we've been
together-"
"Oh, hush!" she scolded
him, batting his head playfully. "Besides," she couldn't help but
tease, "did it never occur you that maybe you're not her real
father?"
He growled at that and pressed her
against the wall, kissing her breathless. "I keep you too well satisfied
to go lookin' around elsewhere," he argued persuasively, his hand cleverly
demonstrating his point.
"That you do," she agreed
with a happy smile. "That you do..."
The End
*Sniff, sniff* It's done! My first
completed AU... I figured the whole story was done in the romance style, so I
could get away with the extra fluffy ending. ~_^ And, now, the requisite final
business:
Sequel? Probably not. Sorry, kids,
but there are many other lovely Spuffy storylines to be explored. ^_^
Another AU? Coming soon, but not
immediately. 'Blue Horizons' is resuming again now, however. If you
haven't read that so far...well, shame on you! ~_^
So, what's next then? I new non-AU
Spuffy saga, complete with fangs, spirits, and other nasties. It's called
'Haunted' and will begin tomorrow. Hopefully.
Thanks so much to everyone who's sent
me feedback on this story! I've been really sucky at responding to my e-mails
lately, but I really do appreciate them all. I hope you enjoyed the ride
and continue to do so with my future stories...
~Kantayra
--~~*~~--
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