To Sail the High Seas: Pirate England x Reader #Wattys2017

Chapter Seventeen

The ship had left for open waters once more, and you soon found yourself staring out over the crystal ocean without even the faintest glimmer of land on the horizon. Things had quietened down since your latest confrontation with the Captain, and it seemed like your stern tone had been enough to prevent the situation from escalating any further. Not much had changed in you so-called “relationship” with him, aside from the occasional stolen kisses and his persistent demands that you sleep by his side at night – demands which you firmly declined. Although nothing had been said directly, you knew that the change in the nature of your relationship with the captain had not gone unnoticed by the crew. Be it amused murmurings or sidelong glances, there was certainly an interest in you, and it was significantly larger than before.
“Well if i’ isnae the lassie. I heard ye caused qui’e the stir the other day.” You tore your eyes from the horizon and met the twinkling gaze of your favourite red-head.
“And the elusive Allistor Kirkland has graced me with his presence! So where were you anyway? I was so terribly disappointed that you missed the show.”
“I was ou’ on the town lookin’ fer yer. Surprised ye came back actually.”
“Arthur said the same thing.”
“Arthur huh?”
“You know: tall, blond, and British? The hot-tempered one with the nice coat, pretty sure he’s your brother.” You frowned at the apparent hilarity the Scotsman had found in your words. “Does that amuse you?”
“Nah, I think tha’s the firs’ time I’ve heard ye call ‘im by ‘is name though.”
“Oh.” Failing to prevent the deepening hue of your cheeks, you silently cursed your own slip-up.
“I’m jus’ wonderin’ lass, does yer sudden familiarity wit’ the man ye couldnae stand the sigh’ o’ a couple o’ days ago, have anythin’ tae dae wit’ tha’ badge o’ yers?”
“Badge? What badge?” You looked down at yourself, following Allistor’s smirk, and with a sharp intake of breath you realised exactly what he was talking about. “Ah. Yes, well… that.”
“I didnae think ye’d le’ him ge’ away wit’ somethin’ like tha’.”
Despite your best efforts, you couldn’t prevent the blush which crept up your cheeks as you continued to stare down in mortification at the hickey the captain had so kindly left you with a few days earlier.
“You can stop laughing now.” Ruffling your hair playfully, the still chuckling Scot left you to your embarrassment.

You’d promptly returned to the cabin in search of a top which wasn’t quite so low-cut, but to no avail. Every shirt was too big for you, and as such, every shirt exposed just enough of your skin for the stupid little blemish to be visible. You thrust the useless shirts back into the drawers and groaned. You stood, planning to get yourself another book, but were swiftly halted by the broad chest which had materialised before you.
“Going somewhere, love?”
“Not anymore, clearly.” You felt him hum in amusement against your neck as he nuzzled the tender skin affectionately. “Is there a problem?”
“Perhaps.” You stood there in him arms, and when it became clear that the captain was not inclined to continue, you bit back your frustration and instead brought your hands up to his chest and pushed him away slightly so that you could see his face.
“Don’t you have a job to do? Some sort of captain-business or something?”
“There certainly is something I need to attend to, yes.” The growing pompous expression on his face was becoming irritating.
“And that would be…?”
“You.” His hands were at your jaw in an instant, cupping your face and holding your lips against his in a searing kiss. These kisses had been a frequent occurrence over the past few days, and they troubled you to no end. Each time his chapped lips engaged yours, you found your common sense waning as the little shard of desire which had embedded itself in your heart grew. This man, this wolf in sheep’s clothing, drove you insane. With each flirtatious glance he seduced you a little more, with every fleeting touch you found yourself craving him, and his stupid kisses were the worst of all; you could describe them as nothing less than intoxicating. God did you hate him for it.
When he finally pulled away and allowed you to breathe, you realised that your arms had become wrapped around his neck, your fingers entangled in his hair. That was becoming a problem too. Your body clearly had a complete disregard for the fact that this man was a pirate, not to mention your enemy, and had no problems with indulging in your lust for him.
“You just don’t play fair.” He cocked an eyebrow and stared down at you, a boyish grin of his face.
“I am a pirate love, or have you forgotten?”
“If only I could.” Pushing him lightly away from yourself, you vehemently rejected the irrational part of your brain which was telling you let the handsome captain have his way with you.

Watching you saunter across to the bookshelf and pick out a new novel to entertain yourself, the unsatisfied Captain contemplated your flippant attitude towards him in light of the events which had transpired over the past few days. You must have noticed his lingering gaze, as you felt the need to make some impudent comment about his abundance of free time. Fighting the urge to pin you against the wall and silence that sharp tongue of yours, the captain instead opted to snort at your somewhat cold attitude and gather up the array of maps which had been his original objective upon entering his cabin.
“Oh so you do actually have a job to do.”
“But of course,” He looked up to meet the pair of beautiful eyes which peered disapprovingly at him from behind the newly selected book. “It’s hardly my fault that there’s such a distracting creature in my cabin.”
“Well then Captain, I’d hate to be a distraction. Perhaps I should see if one of your crew would be so kind as to allow me to use their cabin instead…” You trailed off your sentence at the sound of a disapproving growl from where Arthur sat at his desk.
“(y/n)…”
“I’m just teasing, love.” You sang, mimicking the pet name he was so fond of using. Returning your attention to the book in your hands, you sank into your favourite cushion and ignored the feeling of emerald eyes glaring at you.
“Regardless I’d rather you didn’t.”
“You make it too easy.” When his gaze didn’t waver you sighed, resigning yourself to the fact that you would be unable to read while that man was examining you from across the room. Shutting the book purposefully, you locked your eyes onto his. For a moment, the room was deathly quiet and neither of you spoke, engaging in some unspoken battle of wills. Slumping back in the large desk-chair, Arthur held one arm out towards you, palm up and fingers outstretched, like a child’s silent plea of a toy. Begrudgingly raising yourself from where you were comfortably nestled, you stalked over to his side with your arms crossed in an unimpressed manner. Before you could make a sharp comment, the blond man tugged at your waist and sent you sprawling into his lap with a squeak of surprise. By the time you’d regained your bearings; a very smug captain had already trapped you in his embrace, and was resting his head on your shoulder with a smile of contentment which was hidden from your sight.
“Arthur Kirkland, I was trying to read.”
“Past tense.” His voice was muffled as his lips moved against your skin with each word, but you could still hear the smirk of satisfaction in his voice.
“You sir, are an utter arse.”
“We’re well suited then.” You scoffed at this answer, but couldn’t help the smile which tugged at the corner of your mouth. Seeing as the captain clearly had no intention of releasing you any time soon, you tucked your legs up beside you on the chair, and relaxed in his arms with frightening ease.
While you companion mused upon how well you fit into his arms, you were concerned. It felt too natural to be curled up in his embrace. Had the pair of you not been seated in the straight-backed chair, you were sure that you would have had no difficulty in falling asleep as he held you so tenderly. But that was wrong you reminded yourself. So very wrong. This was for the sake of freedom and survival. Just until the right circumstances arose. As soon as they did, you would take flight from his arms like an uncaged dove. Of course you would. That had been your plan all along after all.
Past tense.
His voice rang in your mind and a frown marred your features. It was still your plan, you firmly reminded yourself. Nothing had changed. The situation may require more physical contact that you were comfortable with…
If it’s so uncomfortable then why are you so relaxed in his arms?
…but the plan remained the same. Manipulate the captain’s apparent attraction, wait for an opportunity, and disappear into the night. Too caught up in reaffirming your plan in your mind, you didn’t notice that your fingers were slowly winding their way through blond locks in a gentle and loving caress.