Catt

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

The question caused Elijah to laugh, not because it was ridiculous, but because it was true. "And they aren't wrong." He said, untangling his fingers from Josephine's hair, only to curl them around a strand that had fallen into her face. "Let's just say that I'm, well..." Making a bit of a face, he thought of a gentle way of saying what he wanted to, while tucking that strand behind her ear. "Observant, maybe?" The slightly concerned face remained a bit longer as he thought ahead. "But that's about the extent to my knowledge." Being the youngest and the shyest man on a ship full of rowdy pirates put him at a disadvantage in just about every way. It seemed that every woman at every stop on land that they made didn't even see him. In a way that was probably a good thing, as he had seen many of good men fall ill to diseases they contracted during their land hop.

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

The few moments of hesitation after he kissed her made him nervous. Elijah was about to get up and make a quick getaway before Josephine's cool hand on his cheek held him in place. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her close, bringing their chests together. Something clicked in his mind and took away his babbling idiot mode. For once, he had made a move and wasn't rejected or laughed at. Here he was, kissing the woman whom he has lusted after for nearly two years. Taking another chance, he moved a hand up to tangle in her hair and teased at her lips with the tip of his tongue. His mind drifted for a moment, wondering if Josephine could feel how hard his heart was pounding, and the thought made him chuckle against her lips.

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

Remaining quiet as he gathered his courage, Elijah kept having to shut up the little voice that wanted to remind him that he promised to behave. Looking over at Josephine's silhouette, he could make out key features on her face thanks to the moon outside of the window. "I'm asking you to n-not cut my hands off..." He said while he was in motion. Unfortunately there would be no time for a response from that statement as his lips landed on hers. After a moment, and what seemed like an eternity, Elijah pulled back slightly, "I-I know I said I'd b-behave, but I can't h-help it..." Although he remained stationary, he backpedaled, not knowing how she was going to react.

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

"N-no, n-no, it's nothing." Immediately looking away as she rolled over, Elijah's eyes found the ceiling before he squeezed them shut, praying she would just drop it. From the moment she came onto the ship, screaming and spitting Spanish at every crewman on board, he lusted after her, causing him to trail after her like a puppy, and be destroyed when Jack proposed. He had never quite gotten to the point of thinking about what he would do if he was ever in the situation he was in now, why would he? Women never seemed legitimately interested in 'the kid'. "Please d-don't cut my hands off.."

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

Even though his pulse was pounding, Elijah followed suit. After blowing out the lamp on the end table, he slid under the covers, very nearly praying that he didn't bump into her. "G-goodnight, then..." Staring at the ceiling in the dark, his mind went over every possible scenario for the night before bleeding off into thoughts of the morning. How were they going to get out of this one unscathed, especially with Amy being notorious for waking everyone up at the crack of dawn just because she was awake. Turning his head to look over at the back of Josephine's head, he longed for the courage to just slide in behind her and hold her. "Ah, Jo...?" He surprised himself by saying out loud, "I-I..." Making a face in the dark, he pressed his palm against his face, "Never mind.."

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

Taking a moment and staring up at the ceiling as soon as the pants were off and replacement linen shorts were on, Elijah could feel Josephine looking at him. Like hell he was going to sleep tonight. "It m-makes no difference.." Scrunching his face up as the stutter made an appearance, he mentally slapped himself, "Which side would you like?" Turning to face her, he felt his warm cheeks heat back up. It wasn't that he was self conscious about being shirtless, it was that he was self conscious about being shirtless in front of a woman. There's a first time for everything, and he could think of someone much worse for this situation. Her expression was odd, freezing him on the spot. "S-Something wrong?"

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

Having forgotten the details in the layout of his room, Elijah glanced around, trying to remember which drawer held his shirts. "Um.." Balling up his dirty shirt as he moved, he opened and closed a few drawers before coming across the one that his mother had used to unpack his belongings. Chuckling, he now realized how Marabelle had spent her time while they were springing his sister. "Here." Turning around right as Josephine realized she was staring, the smile that had been on his face grew. "Jo, here's a shirt." Tossing it at her, Elijah retreated to the other side of the bed to finish getting changed out of his dirty clothes. The tumble in the grass outside smeared a good deal of mud on his legs. His hesitation to remove them left him standing with his back to his potential bedmate, staring down at his legs, debating whether to change the pants or to say screw it and sleep as if she weren't here. But she is. He thought with a grimace, "Aw, hell..."

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

"Erm..." Swallowing as he was yanked towards the bedroom, Elijah fought to find something to say, but failed. The closer they got to the door, the more heat gathered in his cheeks. He could act slick and charm the pants off of every other woman in the world, but there was something about Josephine that turned him back into that tiny young boy that everyone picked on. "Inappropriate..." Giving in, he closed the door by leaning back against it, almost reluctant to move any closer to the bed that he was now going to share with this Spanish beauty. "I have a feeling you'd cut off my hands if I accidentally brushed against you." Sucking in a breath, Elijah forced himself away from the door and began taking off his outerwear, hyper-aware of Josephine and the remote possibility that she would look over at him.

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

Goosebumps formed along Alice's arms as she shuddered in her sleep. Whimpering once, she turned her head sharply to the other side, her teeth chattering together as the fever raged just beneath the surface of her skin.

---

As Josephine stood, Elijah followed suit, holding the door open as she entered. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?" He asked with a half cocked smile as he trailed her through the house, not realizing where she was going until she stopped dead in her tracks. "Stay in mine." Offering without a second of hesitation, until it sank in what he said. "I-I mean, I'll stay on one of the couches and you can stay in my room." Blushing and looking away, Elijah cursed his mouth. "Really, I'm not trying to get you into my bed or anything, just..." Blowing out a sigh, he reluctantly returned his gaze to Josephine's face, unsure what he was going to see there. "Yeah, I'll stay on the couch." He stated, turning on his heel and began walking back towards the front room.

A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

As always, being wrapped in Sebastian's arms and held made her feel infinitely more secure. Breathing out a sigh, Marabelle rested her forehead against his chest, listening to the rumble of his voice as he spoke and taking in his familiar scent. Nodding once in agreement, she felt the soft tug from her husband as he led her down the hall leading to their bedroom. The flickering glow from Alice's room drew her attention and she paused to watch the movement of Jack's shadow as he watched over her daughter. "One moment..." She whispered, pulling away from her husband to pad barefoot down to the other end of the hall. "If you need anything," Marabelle started as she peeked into the room, realizing instantly that she probably startled the boy, "I'll be just down the hall." With a final glance at her daughter's beaten face, she gave Jack a soft smile and retreated back to the safety of her husband's arms.

---

Resting his cheek against the top of Josephine's head, Elijah took in what Josephine was saying. "Knowing my sister, she had something to do with the severity of the treatment she got." He said on a sigh, "Not that it gave the men the go ahead to beat her like they did..." Although he was a little shocked to hear from her that she wished a speedy recovery for Alice, it made him smile. Running his hand up and down her bare arm, he straightened and prepared to stand. "Come on, let's get inside. I'm sure Alice will wake us all if she needs anything." Looking down at the woman he had his arm around, Elijah's heart gave a heady thump and threatened to crawl up into his throat.