The Accidental Seduction of Edward Teach by Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate

Chapter 30 - Rise Up

So far, Ed and Stede had caressed each other, and they had made love in a slow, gentle, tender way.

That night was the first time they fucked.

They had destroyed their cabin in the process. Clothing was strewn everywhere, books knocked out of place and dishes toppled to the floor. The various decorative throw pillows on their shared bed had lived up to their name and been tossed about.

Ed and Stede were comfortable enough with each other to read body language and to know how energetic they could be. For instance, it was understood that because Ed had enjoyed Stede's show of dominance, that he would be the one on top. It had started with Stede pinning Ed's arms to the mattress after he'd tickled him, and it escalated from there.

It felt so freeing for Ed to be with Stede, to drop all the little things he did to perform a very certain kind of masculinity. Until that night, he hadn't realized how much he was still hanging on to some of those crutches, those affectations - how he was still afraid to be totally vulnerable in bed, even as he was laying his soul bare in other contexts.

In the twilight of the cabin, as the sun was still setting and Stede was moving above him, Ed felt all those worries slip away. He knew he could be as gentle as he liked, as yielding and as vulnerable as he cared to be, and Stede would treat him tenderly, respectfully, and not only without judgment, but with full-chested love.

In the messy throes of passion, with legs and bodies intertwined, Stede still smiled down at him with warmth in his eyes, still whispered his name and called him darling. And then one of them would shift and hit an elbow or their head in the narrow alcove. Rather than spoil the mood, one or both of them would laugh, until inevitably it happened again.

Those thumps would be heard very clearly by any passing crew. But they'd be idiots if they didn't know what their captains were up to. This continued for far longer than either man would assume their stamina could last for, until eventually they settled down to sleep.

Since Ed and Stede had gotten their horny business started early, that meant they drifted off to sleep quite early as well - and without their supper.

Ed woke in the early hours of the morning with a plan to sneak to the galley, but was pleasantly surprised to find a tray waiting for them outside the door. Roach was smart enough to not give them anything that would have gone off or been no good cold, so the tray was full of bread, fruit, cheese and a bowl of hard boiled eggs.

"Thoughtful of the crew," mumbled Ed as he examined the spread.

"Ed, you asked for food hours ago. Don't you remember?"

Ed tilted his head, his expression going quizzical. "Oh yeah. Sorry, my brain sort of exploded moments later by that thing you did with your teeth."

Stede turned pink and made a few adorable sounds of embarrassment.

Ed then brought the platter to bed and fed Stede grapes and bits of cheese while he combed his fingers through his hair. They stayed like that, quiet and gentle, utterly content in wordlessness, for quite some time.

It was slowly growing brighter outside. As it did, Stede shifted and scruffed Ed's cheek. "Come on. Get a robe. We're up. We might as well watch the sun rise."

And so, the captains picked their way across the quiet deck. Buttons was on early watch and just gave them a nod as they crept up the crow's nest at the stern, cups of tea in hand.

After a few near-misses where Ed nearly dropped his teacup, the two men settled in the nest, with Stede leaning against his shoulder. The Osprey was sailing just ahead of them, its wake visible in the gently rolling waves.

And behind them, the sun crept over the horizon until it suddenly exploded in full brilliance, light dancing against the thin, high clouds and across the light waves of the ocean.

"Wonderful," whispered Stede with childlike delight.

Ed tightened his arms around Stede and wrapped his foot around Stede's leg. Instead of watching the sunset, he watched the other man's reaction to it, then nuzzled a kiss along his neck.

Stede reached for his hand when he felt the kiss. He raised the other man's hand to his mouth and pressed his own kiss before deeply entwining their fingers.

Ed knew that the peace wouldn't last, but that wasn't going to stop him from enjoying every single second of it.

—-

"Captains," said Frenchie as he stuck his head in the cabin door just as Ed was helping Stede do up his waistcoat, "...we have a problem."

Stede and Ed emerged on deck to find the Revenge in the small cove that Greaves had led them to. The other captain was on the deck of his own ship that had come up alongside. He was looking off to the horizon.

Ed smelled the smoke before he saw it. Floating in the harbour were the charred remnants of a ship. There were three identical dinghies on the beach, and what looked like a dozen tracks that led off into the jungle.

"What happened here?" murmured Stede.

"I'm afraid Edward might have been right when he questioned the loyalty of my crew. It looks like the crew of the Donegal might have been betrayed to slavers or privateers." Greaves was trying not to let it show, but Ed knew that the idea that any of his men might have turned against him was a shattering one. He was far tougher on his crew than Stede, but no man would doubt he cared deeply about the men he sailed with.

"Could we have been too late to stop your scribe from giving them up?" Ed asked as his attention was drawn to a charred piece of wreckage that passed between the two ships.

"No," said Greaves, his jaw tight. "There wouldn't have been time for that. This was someone else. Which means pirates everywhere are in danger. All of our save havens are in jeopardy. Make sail!"

The Osprey crew started to move.

Ed looked to the shore, then to Greaves. Then he moved to the side of the Revenge and followed Greaves as the other man paced along his deck. "Where are you going? Your men are somewhere on this island!"

"Always so short-sighted, Edward," huffed Greaves, as he picked up a rope. "We have a responsibility to the others to warn them. That's more important than a handful of men."

"Bullshit," snapped Edward. "I know you, Robert. You know all of them. You know their names, their families, details about their lives. You give a shit about them. It's not like you to just leave them."

"Men change, Edward," said Greaves. "I inherited some of your pragmatism over the years."

Ed smacked his fist against the railing of the ship and flared his nostrils.

"If you won't save them," came Stede's voice from behind Ed, "...we will. You can run off if you'd like, but we won't abandon them. Mister Feeney, Pete, please lower the dinghies."

The crew looked from Stede to Ed. Ed squared his shoulders. "You heard him! Drop anchor. Arm yourselves," he looked Greaves in the eye, "We're going bushwacking for slavers."