Angel Discovered Ch. 02

I was dressed more plainly in a teal cotton gown. A simple black enameled broach adorned my neckline. My blonde locks tumbled down my shoulders in glossy waves. Elizabeth used a light hand with the paint, picking up a girlish blush in my full cheeks, the green in my hazel eyes, and the fullness of my cherry red lips. I left Jack's ring on my finger after a long internal debate.

The port town grew louder and more raucous as the sky grew darker. As Will had explained, all manner of beverages were served. Barkeeps didn't bother to charge Elizabeth or I any coin, probably assuming we were working women. We sat in a brightly lit tavern, sipping the spiced rum I'd sampled during my first night with Jack and laughing alternately at the sideways glances from Will and Jack's table and the barroom quarrels that broke out with regularity. Most of fighters were calmed easily with ale and a few were tossed into the street.

Jack finally stood and crossed the room to my side and sifted my hair through his fingers, "You, pet, are irresistable. I don't know how long I can keep up the strength that it will take to fight off the hounds in this bar when I carry you upstairs."

His grin warmed me through and I almost abandoned Elizabeth then and there, but I stayed seated, knowing full well that anticipation was the greatest aphrodisiac. I ran my fingers across his palm and smiled up at him. He exhaled sharply and walked to the bar. When I made eye contact with Elizabeth, we both giggled.

"You see, Elizabeth, a woman does not even need to speak. Men are so easily won over," I grinned at her, then looked after Jack, "It is keeping them that is a chore."

"Do you intend to keep Jack?" she asked.

I had not intended it at all. But, I feared that my heart was betraying me. I smiled at her, the lie tumbling easily from my lips, "Taming him would be as useless as courting a hurricane. I would forever give chase and he would always run to the next port. I'd be left adrift, broken and mangled. But," I paused with another smile, "We are here for you and Will. Let us concentrate."

We glanced at his table. In Jack's absence, Will's look grew stormy. He was facing us, but not looking at us. In fact, he seemed to be staring a hole through his mug. A prostitute bounced her way over to him. She caught his attention when she ran her finger across his exposed collarbone and into his open shirt. Elizabeth gasped. I hushed her, "You mustn't let him know you care yet. In good time, dear."

She nodded, but she was now staring openly. Will had accepted the girl into his lap. She giggled and tipped her chestnut curls back, giving Will a good look at her nearly exposed breasts. And did he ever look. Elizabeth huffed. I patted her arm, absently.

Jack rejoined Will and soon enough, he was practically wearing a raven haired woman. He made no attempt to remove her, so I folded my arms across my breast and joined Elizabeth in her pout. She stood suddenly, pulling me up with her.

"Come on, Angel. I will not bear witness to this... this debauchery!" She fairly dragged me past Jack's table and up the stairs. I looked back just in time to see the men's gazes following us. I smiled, but didn't share this with Elizabeth. I knew their jaws would drop if they thought we'd spent the night together. So let them! It might even be enough to make them abstain from the whores.

Once we were in our small room, Elizabeth took a long swallow from a bottle of rum of unknown origins. She offered it to me and I drank. She giggled and sat back on the bed with her elbows propping her up. In the low candlelight, her half-lidded eyes smoldered. I sat next to her, rather decorously. She pulled my backwards and tumbled against the pillows, laughing. She stole the rum from my hand and took another long drink.

"What are you drinking to?" I asked.

She thought a moment, "To never getting married!"

I nodded and added more, "And to becoming pirates!"

"And to finding adventure without the likes of those filthy, lying, conniving men !" she finished, taking another drink before giving me the bottle.

I follwed suit as she continued on, "You know, I think we need pirate names!"

I nodded. "Yes! What shall they be?"

She thought for another moment before bursting forth, "Betty the Black Hearted!"

I laughed. "Betty? I don't think it suits you. How about Lizzy the Loathsome?"

She laughed at me. "It does have a certain ring to it. How about for you?"

"Angel the Awful?" I answered.

"No, you need something lovely," she paused and considered, "How about Angel the Alluring?"

"Yes, they shall run in fear from that name!" I laughed, sampling more of the rum. It was becoming easier to swallow. I continued, "Fear the dread pirates Lizzy and Angel! They shall commandeer your ship and put your crew into curls and dresses!"

Elizabeth laughed and fell back on the bed. "Angel?" she asked, he voice quiet.

I laid back, staring up at the low wooden ceiling. A breeze came in through the window and caressed my warm skin. "Yes?"

"Remember what you said about French girls teaching one another about... well, about love?"

I nodded, though she couldn't see me. "Yes. Of course."

She propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at me, "Maybe you can teach me?"

I smiled and nodded again. I sat up and faced her. "Lay back against the pillows," I instructed. She complied immediately.

I moved up along beside her and stroked the fine skin of her arm. Though it had been browned by the sun, it remained alabaster from the inside of her wrist all the way to her underarm. Gooseflesh spread at my touch and she sighed. I bent my head and laid my lips to hers.

She knew this much at least. She kissed me back fiercely. Her lips we tender, but her tongue found mine within moments. She wrapped her hands around my neck and held me fast to her. I freed one of my hands and stroked a nipple through her dress. She let go a ragged gasp that broke our kiss momentarily. I pulled back and searched her eyes for apprehension. She showed none, rather, she smiled up me and replaced my hand to her breast.

I laid down next to her and she rolled to face me. Without instruction, she let her fingers slide up my abdomen to my breast. Tentatively, the stroked me over my dress. I kissed her again and allowed my hands to play over the nape of her neck and down her back. As she grew bolder, she let her hands wander the length of my torso, stopping now and then to tantalize the exposed tops of my breasts. I knew it was time to remove the dresses.

I sat up and she followed suit. "Turn around," I whispered softly. She complied. I kissed the back of her neck and the lobes of her ears, feeling her tilt her head back in arousal. Her hair came loose and fell in waves down to the middle of her back. I worked loose the bottons of her dress and allowed it to fall away from her until it lay pooled at her middle. I looked down and saw the beautiful sweeling of her breasts. They weren't as ample as mine, but they boasted hard pink nipples that begged for further attention. I gave it. At my gentle tugs and stroking, she moaned. Again, I was surprised at her inexperience. She was one of the most sensual women I'd yet encountered.

I quickly unfastened the lacings of my dress and let it fall away from me. I pulled her back against the pillows and continued my ministrations by mouth. As I nibbled and sucked at her ripe nipples, she caressed my back and the sides of my breasts. She moaned and writhed beneath me so I moved lower.

As I kissed around her belly button and over her flat belly, she wiggled out of her skirt. I followed suit, kicking my dress from the foot of the bed. I sat up on my knees and she laid before me, naked and pink. Her legs were open, giving me full access to her molten center. I knew I did not have the power to take her virginity, but suddenly, I sorely wanted to be there when it happened. The image of Will sinking himself to the hilt made me shiver with excitement.

She reached up to me at that moment and caressed my bare breast. Her hands roamed down to my own thatch of caramel curls and then over my hips. I smiled and dipped my head to her hips, nibbling and suckling them and her thighs and belly, making an ever smaller circle to her clit. She moaned the word "Please" and grabbed my shoulders. After one more look to her enraptured face, I dropped my skilled tongue to her dripping, liquid slit. I licked up from the bottom and heard her gasp. I smiled against her and rubbed her apex with my thumb. She moaned. I dipped my head and laved her clit, feeling it as a tiny, hard nub against my soft tongue. I feinted, thrusted, and parried, my tongue my only weapon. Soon, she was arching against my mouth, her juices running down my chin. I nibbled and suckled her faster, rubbing her with my fingers to watch her face. Her eyes were closed, her head thrown back, her mouth a perfect O.

At the moment when I knew she was about to burst, I pushed one finger inside of her and made a come-hither motion. That sent her over the edge. I felt the tight walls of her pussy clamp down on my pointer finger and grasp and release for several moments. As I watched her face relax, I moved up beside her. I licked my sticky fingers then stroked her body, now glistening with a fine sweat. She shivered when the breeze touched her, so I pulled a sheet out from under us and covered our naked bodies. Wordlessly, she turned away from me and pulled my arm across her chest. Her breath was returning to normal and I knew she would soon be asleep.

In my last moments, she murmured, "You are a great teacher."

The candle finally guttered out behind me and our shadow disappeared from the dingy wall. I smiled and buried my face in her sweet-smelling hair as I drifted off to sleep.

***

Sleep did not last long, however. I was awakened by a shaft of sunlight falling over my eyelids. When I opened them, I was surprised o find Jack sitting in a chair in the corner.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd wake, luv," he said.

I felt the slight weight of an arm across my belly and turned back to see Elizabeth sprawled face-down, her naked back looking soft in the early-morning sunlight. I removed her arm and sat up. My head pounded and I closed my eyes and pushed the heel of my hand to my forehead. Jack laughed.

I glared at him and stood, fully aware that I was nude. Jack deserved what little torment I could afford for laughing at me. I heard his sharp intake of breath when he saw me and I nearly laughed. Nearly.

He proceeded, still sitting, "I was wondering where you went last night. I was afraid you'd found a new lover... I never expected it to be Miss Swann."

I smiled and strode to him, my dizzyness subsided. I straddled his lap and faced him, "Jealous?"

"Only that I wasn't invited," he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me close for a kiss. "Oh, my favorite flavors: rum and a woman," he quipped when our lips parted.

I sat back and swatted his arm, "She wanted lessons so that she knows what she's doing when she seduces Will," I paused, "He didn't go off with that harlot last night, did he?"

"No, once we saw the two of you run upstairs, we were ruined for any other women."

I grinned, "Good. Our plan worked."

"Irresistable," he repeated, dropping his forehead against my chest.

I dropped my hand to his lap and felt his arousal. I grinned and stroked him through his breeches. He fairly growled and stood. He tried to set me down on the floor, but I wrapped my legs around his waist and clung fiercely to him. I slid my hands down the back of his breeches and cupped his hard cheeks in my hands. I raked against them with my short fingernails. He closed his eyes and barely stifled his moan.

"Angel, my dear, I really can't. I just came up to get you," Jack struggled to pull me off of him, "We have a new ship and we need to make for Grande-Terre."

"Please," I begged in a hushed voice. Elizabeth had stirred and rolled over. Her breathing remained regular so I knew she would not wake. "Please, Jack. I wasn't exactly fulfilled last night and I decorated myself just for you." I bit my lower lip and pouted slightly.

He exhaled, "You know I couldn't deny you anything."

"Oh, and this is such a hardship for you?" I asked, giggling.

He turned me to face a low vanity table with a broken mirror and I bent over it automatically. I wiggled my bare ass at him and he groaned. I felt him move against my wet center as her grasped my hips. He hesitated only a moment before burying himself inside me. He uttered a curse and follwed it with my name like a prayer. I smiled and clutched the top of the table with one hand and caressed my clit with the other. I moved against him, loving the feeling of his hips slamming against my ass. He sped up and I matched him. I raised on my tiptoes to take him deeper yet and soon, he was moving in and of me with such speed and force, I was barely restraining my voice. I glanced at the mirror to see him watching my expression. I smiled at him and seconds later, I heard him speak my name aloud again as he finished inside of me. He laid across my back and kissed my neck.

"That was perfect, Angel. Get Elizabeth and come down quickly, though." I stood and nodded into the mirror. He grinned again and gave my a gentle swat on my behind and another kiss on my cheek. I turned and kissed him on the mouth. I had him entangled, briefly, but he pulled away. "Behave, luv," he said, righting his pants and slipping through the door.

I pulled my discarded dress over my head before I shook Elizabeth awake.

She smiled up at me, "Morning, Angel."

I grinned at her, glad she wasn't embarrassed or upset, "Come on, we've got a new ship and Jack wants us on it tout de suite."

She climbed out of bed and dressed quickly. Soon, we were standing on the dock where we'd left The Agility . In her place was a smaller frigate. Her oaken sides were dark from years at sea and crusted with barnacles. The figurehead was the likeness of a mermaid. The carving was badly worn and hardly distinguishable froom the bowsprit. It was probably a lovely ship twenty years before. But, she stayed afloat and boasted sixteen guns visible to us on her port side. And Marty said she looked fast and fierce. I believed him.

Soon we were aboard La Courageux sailing south toward the French colony of Guadeloupe. I knew that's where Alexandre would be. I stood next to Jack on the quarter deck and watched the horizon race toward us.

"Do we have a plan?" I asked.

"We'll go by night, retrieve your brother, and sail north towards Port-Royal."

"That sounds simple. And, when we get to Port-Royal?" I was afraid of his answer.

He looked down at me for a second. I wish I had never asked.

He spoke softly, "Close your eyes, Angel." I did as he asked. "Do you feel the wind on your face, luv?" he asked. I nodded. "And can you hear the sea, uninterrupted by the rattle of a carriage or the shouts of a marketplace?" I nodded. I felt a lump rise in my throat. "And can you imagine living this life, day in and day out? Rarely seeing anyone but the crew? Never dressing in fine things again? Constantly on the run towards some treasure or away from some enemy?" I opened my eyes. He watched me intently.

"And if I say yes, Jack? Would you take me with you?" He looked away. It was the only answer I needed. I turned my head and went to the main deck ad into the grand cabin before he could see my tears.

***

He never came to me that afternoon. I fell asleep, thoughts rattling through me. Assertions that I'd be better off in Port-Royal with Alexandre. I could make a nice life as a seamstress or something. Maybe Elizabeth would return home. Maybe she and Will could marry and settle there, and I would have friends. Maybe I'd never miss Jack Sparrow. Miserable tears.

I woke to find Elizabeth reading in a corner, a low candle flickering near her. I saw the dark pinks and grey-blues of dusk through the windows. I'd slept all through the day.

"Hello," I spoke. Elizabeth started and rushed to my side, grinning from ear to ear.

"I did it!" she exclaimed. She grasped my hands in hers.

I was still a little sleepy, so I didn't understand right away. She filled me in before I could ask, "With Will! I got him alone below decks and explained everything. And I did it! I seduced him. Or, well, I really didn't have to. I just... we just did." She was flushed and excited.

I grinned wearily. "That's wonderful, Elizabeth. I'm happy for you."

She searched my eyes for a moment, "What's wrong?"

I smiled, trying hard to make it look sincere, "Nothing. I was just tired is all. I really am happy for you. So, you'll marry now?" My question did ring with true hope. I didn't want to be alone in Port-Royal.

"Yes! Oh yes!" she giggled and went off on a tangent pertaining to her wedding. "And of course I want you to stand beside me, Angel! I never really had any girl friends growing up," she finished.

"And you'll settle in Port-Royal?"

"Oh, no!" she began, aghast, "No. Will and I are both fugitives from there. If we go back, we'll be killed. I think we'll disembark in Guadaloupe, maybe settle in Grande-Terre or south in Martinique. Maybe we'll go all the way south to Curacao! I don't care. I'm just so relieved."

So much for my plan. Just then, Cotton the Parrot flew down and landed on the lip of a teacup. "Here we are! Here we are!" he squawked. And indeed, abovedeck I heard Gibbs yell, "Anchor aweigh, lads!" Apparently, we'd arrived in Grand-Terre. Elizabeth and I went abovedeck and saw that we were perhaps two hundred yards from shore. There were no lights directly ahead of us, but to the far left I saw the land dotted with lights. Jack appeared next to me.

"You have to come with me, luv. I doubt your brother would be inclined to accompany pirates in a longboat on our word alone," his deep, slurred voice melted my insides, but I merely nodded.

Jack climbed down a ladder into the longboat. He grasped my waist and pulled my down alongside him. His touch made my skin burn, but I said nothing. Ragetti and Pintel were at the oars and I merely smiled at them before setting my sights on the shore.

"Row on, then, lads," Jack said gruffly.

It was a quiet journey and I hopped out of the boat as soon as the boat scraped against the sand. The sky was inky black and I saw nary a star above. The moon was covered by a cloud, so the white beach looked dull. Jack told the men to stay at the boat and to be ready in case we needed to run. They nodded, but I heard their grumbling a long way down the beach. Jack kept pace with me, never leaving my side. We stayed close to the trees, but never entered them. Soon, we were upon a small village. It was much quieter than St. Thomas had been, with only a few souls about.

We walked through town, his arm about my shoulders. For all to see, we probably looked like man and wife, or at least customer and whore. I smiled at this deception as we headed toward a large building. It was a stucco home, with several shuttered windows. The upper floor boasted two balconies. Light shone from one window.

"How do you know Alexandre is here?" I asked.

"One can find ut a great many things if one knows just who to ask," he answered. Jack slipped his cutlass from his belt and put it in my hand. He held the pistol and gestured that we move to the back of the house. I followed him and we found a garden trellis that was the right height to climb onto a rear balcony. I went up first.

The room I'd come to was darkened. I saw two canes leaning against a bedstead and a slight form was under the blankets. It was Alexandre. Jack landed on the balcony beside me and I raised my finger to my lips. The window was open and I slipped through. I sat on Alexandre's bed a moment before layig my hand on his head. His eyes fluttered and I placed my fingers over his mouth before he could speak.