Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 06

"Sounds like he was into it to me," Lace grinned.

"That was my conclusion too," Jack said with a wink.

"It still doesn't seem right to me," Will shook his head.

"When did you become uptight?" Jack side eyed her former lover.

"It isn't that." Will shook his head. "I've never cared who you slept with, before, during, or after me. I think I was always pretty clear about that. It just makes me uncomfortable. The idea of having sex with someone when you aren't really sure if they're doing it because they want to or because they feel obligated to makes the whole things seem..." He trailed off, unable to find the right words.

"But you're fine with Bella working in a brothel?" Jack asked flatly.

"Yeah. That's different. It's business, and both sides are upfront about everything," Will said, trying to explain.

"Doesn't seem that different. At its core, Quinn and I's relationship is business too," Jack countered.

"So you're comparing Quinn's religion to prostitution?" Will argued.

"Wouldn't be that strange. Sacred prostitution exists in a few different religions. His is just more... full service," Jack smirked.

"Did you pay for that service?" Will asked pointedly.

"Yes," Jack said firmly. "The price was quite steep."

"Might as well enjoy it then," Lace shrugged.

"Might as well," Jack agreed. "I'll let Quinn know that you're so concerned about his well being though. He doesn't laugh often, but that might do the trick."

Will sipped his rum. "I guess it's his life. He can do what he wants with it."

"So when do I get to borrow him?" Lace looked like a cat with a canary in its mouth.

Jack laughed. "Quinn would be disappointed if I didn't ask for something in trade. What are you offering?"

"What do you want? I'm a sailor. I don't have much," Lace shrugged.

"I want to know what the hell Will's plan is." Jack wasn't even trying to hide her devious expression.

Lace looked to Will, who was looking at Jack with trepidation and exasperation. Then she looked back to Jack and shook her head. "Not my story to tell. You bargain with him for that." Will looked relieved.

Jack shrugged. "Worth a shot. How about a favor? Sometime later."

Lace's brows went up. "I get right of refusal," she said firmly.

"Done," Jack smiled, offering her hand. The two women shook and Jack stood up. "Come on, let's go get you laid."

As Jack walked behind will she casually ran her hand through his hair, just like she always had. It was a habit. A small ritual. She hadn't thought about it. She probably would have, but the alcohol in her system had dulled her forethought. Will's eyes turned her way and met hers, and for a moment they both looked shocked and confused. Neither of them said anything, then Jack turned away as Lace hooked an arm through hers and pulled her in the direction of the stairs.

Will watched them leave until they disappeared below deck. Jack glanced over her shoulder just before she was out of sight. She still looked a bit bewildered. Will was sure he probably did too.

It was a small thing, somehow meaningless overloaded with complications at the same time. Tonight had been good. Cathartic, informative, healing. And also confusing and frustrating. He was usually pretty good at going with the flow of things, trusting that everything would work themselves out if he just kept his eyes on the horizon and adjusted course where he needed to. That small, familiar touch had felt like hitting a rock below the surface of the water. Unexpected. Jarring. It was hard to judge the extent of the damage, but he could tell right away that something was leaking.

Things he didn't like thinking about were bubbling up. He suddenly found himself struck by what the years without Jack had been like, and who he'd become without her. Or perhaps because of her.

No, that wasn't right. She'd been the catalyst, sure, but becoming a cynical shut-in had been because of his choices. He blamed the curse, but in truth that was an excuse. He'd been mourning and sulking and refusing to deal with how he really felt about losing Jack. The curse made it easy not to move on, so he hadn't.

Bella had come to him and said that Jack was back, and that was all it had taken. He'd broken out his self-imposed hermitage so hard that he'd left the life he'd built in Jack's wake in utter ruins, and it felt great. If not for what happened to Janie he'd have no regrets about any of it. He'd been wanting to destroy his life for years.

He wasn't sure what he felt about Jack anymore, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that once again she'd been his reason for finally getting off his ass and doing something.

He was left feeling relieved, and also faced with the unavoidable realization that waiting for Jack to come along and give him a push every time he fell into a rut was a very bad habit.

_______________________

"Wait here a sec, I want to talk to him alone first," Jack said to Lace right outside her cabin. Lace found a spot of wall and leaned against it as Jack went in and shut the door behind her.

Lace was already excited. She'd been called a xenophile in the past, and while she didn't didn't understand exactly what that meant, she was smart enough to infer from the context. Her mind was wandering back to the most intense sexual experience of her life so far, that time she got it on with an Akula Animist shaman. His totem had been a bear, and he'd been partially transformed. Not much, just enough to grow some fangs and fur, and about a hundred pounds of muscle.

Lace had a hard time with most men. She liked to be in control, which wasn't something men tended to enjoy in her experience. It didn't help that she was most attracted to to big, powerful, dominant types. That was the kicker for her. She instinctively found herself drawn to dangerous men, but she wanted to have them submit to her. In her whole life, she'd only found a few who were willing. Apparently, what she'd really needed was an Asura.

Hearing Jack talk about Quinn had gotten her attention like nothing else ever had. A strong, dangerous man who was spiritually driven to serve? How the hell had she never heard about that before? And where could she get one of her own?

She was surprised at how nervous she was. As she noticed, she scoffed at herself. If everything Jack had said was true, this was a sure a thing as there ever was. She didn't have to worry about anything.

The door opened. "He's all yours. I'll be topside. Come find me when you can walk again," Jack winked as she headed down the hall.

Lace looked at the open doorway with her heart pounding in her chest. She slowly smiled and walked through.

________________________

Belita sat on the bed next to the dark-haired witch staring at the mirror in wonderment. She'd been around magic before. She had her own hex bag, and a few other spellworked trinkets. She'd even employed a Ship's Witch before to help trick the winds into being helpful. In her experience, magic was a fairly subtle thing that if you didn't know better would be easily overlooked. Even when Bella had worked the illusion that saved them on top of the lighthouse, it had been invisible to everyone but the person seeing it. This was not like that at all. Bella had created a window from the captain's cabin into a brothel in Bastard's Bay.

"Aren't you the drunk lady who barged in on us last night?" Tonya asked.

That shook Belita out of her reverie. She laughed. "Aren't ye the girl who came so hard she fell offa her chair?"

"Sure am!" Tonya grinned proudly.

Bella laughed. "Captain, this is Tonya, my apprentice. Tonya, this Belita. She's the captain of the ship we left on."

"You know, I really should have guessed that. You look like a sea captain," Tonya said.

"Please tae meet ye. Who's yer friend?" Belita asked.

The woman next to Tonya tilted her head slightly, her expression mosty masked behind the white veil that covered her face from the lips up. "Captain..." the woman said. She lifted the veil and hooked it to her small hat.

Belita's eyes went wide as Janie revealed herself. "Fuck me," she muttered. "Damn lass, ye're a whole different woman than ye were last time I saw ye."

"I'm in disguise," Janie smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"Aye, ye really are," Belita nodded, standing up and getting closer to the mirror to see Janie more clearly. "I'm glad ye're alright. That was a hell of a scrape we left ye in."

"It was difficult at first, but I'm doing much better now," Janie smiled. "How is the journey so far?"

"Smooth sailing," Belita shrugged. "Will got intae a tiff with Miss Hunter an' my Rigging Master, but it's sorted now."

"He does have a gift for finding trouble," Janie sighed.

The cabin door opened.

"Speak o' th' Harvester and she'll appear," Belita chuckled as Will walked in.

"What?" he asked, seeing the two women sitting on the bed and looking at him.

"We were talking about ye," Belita explained.

"That's never good," Will said walking over to sit down on the bed and start working on his shoes. Tonya laughed. Will stopped and slowly looked up at the mirror. He blinked, then looked at Bella. He started to speak, but then did a double-take back to the mirror and stood up like his pants had caught fire. He took two steps and put his hand on the mirror like he was trying to reach through it.

"Janie."

_____________________

The thickly muscled green-skinned man watched her implacably with black eyes. He wore a thick belt and a sarong, and nothing else. His chest and shoulders were covered in raised markings, like thin ritual scars in a filigree pattern reminiscent of waves. He exuded an aura of calm, patient menace, like a resting tiger. She remembered what it had been like to be in his grip. She'd felt like a kitten trying pitifully to claw at the hand that held it by the scruff. He was stronger than he looked, and he looked like he could give Colin a run for his money. This exotic, inhuman man could kill her without half trying.

"Nice to see you again, Quinn," she smiled.

Quinn said nothing.

"You know why I am here?" she asked him, starting to walk around him in a slow circle, prowling, looking over his broad back and bulky shoulders.

"I do," he rumbled.

"Jack said you were all mine," she said with exaggerated sweetness. "What's that mean?"

"I am to pleasure you," Quinn replied.

"You don't seem to be doing a whole lot of pleasuring so far," she said, coming around in front of him again.

"I am waiting for your command," Quinn said, meeting her gaze unexpectedly.

He was amused.

That wasn't what she expected. Of all the things he could have done, his aloof amusement was the thing that threw her off the most. Suddenly she was the kitten held by the scruff again, rendered off balance and feeling like she was flailing not by a strong arm, but with only a look.

She glared at him. "Something funny?"

"Many things," Quinn replied. "You will need to be more specific."

"About me? Is something funny, about me?" she said, her voice full of menace.

"Yes," Quinn said simply.

"Why don't you let me in on the joke?" she growled.

"No," Quinn said, not moving.

"Are you refusing to do what I say?" Lace demanded.

"Yes," Quinn repeated.

"Not a very good servant, are you?" Lace stepped forward, getting closer and looking up into his face.

He met her gaze calmly. "Not to you."

"Jack said you were supposed to serve me tonight," Lace said flatly.

"Mistress Jaqueline instructed that I was to provide you with sexual pleasure you tonight," Quinn clarified. "Nothing more."

Lace looked into his face for a long time, then stepped back. "Sterling's right, this is bullshit. You don't want this at all."

Quinn said nothing.

Lace ground her teeth in frustration for a moment, then shook her head, pun on her heel and took a step toward the door.

"Miss Webber?"

Quinn's voice managed to stop her. She looked over her shoulder at him with naked hostility in her eyes. "What? I'm not going to stick around and be laughed at. You don't want this, I don't either. Let's just pretend this didn't happen."

"What do you want?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing from you," she glared.

Quinn raised one green eyebrow.

"Look, this was supposed to be just some fun. Jack said you'd be into it. I don't know why I believed her. Things that seem too good to be true always are." Lace was at the end of her rope. This was twice in one day Quinn had humiliated her.

Quinn didn't move. He simply stood there, waiting, the question still present on his face.

"I wanted you to make me feel good," Lace shrugged.

"Is that all?" Quinn asked.

"No!" Lace snapped. "I wanted you to serve me, to want to serve me, to treat me like I'm a fucking queen and all you want in life is to make me happy! I know that it's fucked up, alright! I'm not going to force you. It's no fun if you don't want it too."

"That is the amusement. You want power, but only if it is freely given to you. You refuse to take what you want. Your conscience stands in the way of your desires," Quinn still hadn't moved. He stood there naked, but somehow Lace was the one who felt exposed.

"What, you'd rather I didn't have a conscience?" Lace sneered. "You want me to fucking rape you? That's pretty sick."

"What I want is irrelevant," Quinn said with a small shake of his head.

"The hell it is. I just told you it's only fun if you want it too. Why don't you tell me what the hell you want?" Lace snapped again.

"Is that a command?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah. What do you want?" Lace folded her arms across her chest.

"To serve those with clarity of purpose," Quinn said.

"I gotta say, this is the worst foreplay in history," Lace scoffed.

"I have no need of foreplay," Quinn said.

Lace looked down at his flaccid green penis and gave him a smirk. "Looks like you're raring to go alright."

Quinn said nothing.

"You're a really shitty conversationalist, Quinn," Lace rolled her eyes.

"Are you here for conversation?" he countered.

"At this point I don't know why I'm here!" Her hand went to her hip, challenging and mocking.

"It was my understanding that you were here for sexual pleasure," Quinn explained with all the passion of a stone.

"How the hell can Jack fuck you?" she said in disbelief. "You're impossible!"

"She tells me what she wants," Quinn said.

"I want you to want to serve me and worship me and make me feel like I'm the most important thing in the entire world to you while you fuck me," Lace said, her voice full of challenge.

Quinn gave her a small smile. "Yes mistress,"

___________________

Will's hand was touching the cold mirror, marveling at it. Janie's hand was on the other side, trying to touch his, so close, but with untold distance between them.

"Well that's a bit cliché," Captain Vex said with a small smile on her face.

Next to her on the bed, Bella was still naked save for the white paint on her face. The witch gave the Captain a gentle backhand on the arm. "It's cute. Let them have this." Belita had hung up her hat and coat and was unbuckling her boots. "And that's my job." Bella continued, swatting the Captain's hands away from her buckles and sliding off the bed to one knee.

"You're alright? Really?" Will asked, ignoring the women behind him.

Janie nodded. "Now, yes. I wasn't doing well at all when Caine came to find me, but it's amazing what a hot bath and a change of scenery will do."

"Tell Caine I owe him another one," Will smiled. "I'm sorry about what happened. I never should have let Morant let Cal go while Jakob still had ahold of you."

"I will not let you blame yourself for this. It wasn't your fault," Janie said firmly. Her hand dropped from the mirror. Will's followed. They simply looked at each other for a moment.

"If there had been more time, maybe-"

"No," Janie cut him off. "There wasn't. You did the best you could under impossible circumstances. Nobody died. Nobody even got hurt beyond a few scrapes. Things turned out as well as they could have."

Will nodded. "I'm glad you see it that way. It's hard not to blame myself."

"Your guilty conscience is duly noted," Janie said with a small smile on her face.

Will laughed. "Was that snark?" He looked at Tonya, who was sitting on the table behind Janie kicking her legs back and forth. "This is your fault, isn't it?"

Tonya gave him an innocent look and a small shrug.

"No, Will. That was wit. I wouldn't expect you to know the difference." Janie's small smile seemed to grow without actually widening.

Will's eyes went wide, half surprised, half proud. Behind him Bella made a choking sound. Tonya covered her mouth with her hand.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Janie?" Will demanded, unable to hide his smile.

"She's Evangelina now," Tonya piped up.

"What?" Will asked. Janie suddenly looked less sure of herself. She turned around and gave Tonya a fierce look. Tonya shrugged again, clearly enjoying the trouble she was causing.

Janie turned back to Will and sighed. "I needed a name for my disguise. Things got a bit... carried away."

"Evangelina?" Will said, trying the name out in his mouth. "Fancy."

Janie looked down at herself. "That's one way of putting it."

"I like the disguise, by the way," Will said.

"I'm sure you do," Janie said with a small laugh. "I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet, but everyone else seems to love it."

"It's actually still pretty much what you usually wear, just with a whole lot less fabric," Will offered.

Janie sighed. "Yes. Well, that extra fabric is quite important. How would you feel if we removed three quarters of the fabric in your clothes?"

Will looked down at himself, imagining mostly see-through clothing on himself. "Alright, I see your point."

"Sounds fine to me," Bella quipped behind him.

"Aye," Belita agreed.

"Same," Tonya piped up.

"We're surrounded by shameless harlots," Will deadpanned.

"And somehow I've become one of them," Janie admitted, looking down at herself again. "It is rather fun, all things considered."

"I never thought I'd see the day when you'd say something like that," Will smiled.

"Nor I," Janie shrugged. Will's gaze dropped to her chest as the simple movement of her shoulders did distracting things to her breasts. Janie scoffed, and caught his eye when he looked up again. Then with a small, mischievous look in her eye, she shrugged again, a little faster. Will laughed.

"Evangelina is obviously a bad influence," Janie said, still smiling.

"She's in good company," Will grinned.

"Yes she is," Janie agreed. She looked over Will's shoulder. "Thank you," she said to Bella. "If I can't be there with you, this is the next best thing."

"You're welcome," Bella said with a shrug of her own. "I should probably teach everyone how to work the mirror's magic." She stood up. "I don't think you and Tonya can see it, but there's a couple candles on this side. While they're lit, the mirrors will act as a window to each other. There have to be two, one on each side. They light the path. When they go out, the mirror goes back to normal."

"How long will the pattern hold?" Tonya asked.

"Forever, as long as it stays charged. Having the candles lit burns off the energy held in the pattern, but it can be recharged from either side," Bella explained.

"How do we recharge it?" Janie asked.

"Well, any kind of energy transfer ritual would work, but personally I prefer the fun ones," Bella grinned.

"So, sex." Will chuckled, not surprised at all.

"While the mirror is activated," Bella clarified, slipping her arm around Will's waist and giving him a playful bump with her hip. She winked at Janie. Janie's eyes lit up as she realized the implications.