Author's Notes: 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....

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?

Rating: NC-17

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…

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…”

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…

“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…

TBC

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