Unforgivable

Sorry for the wait....and thank you for your eagerness to read the next chapter, it does my ego the world of good!!! (My soul I do) swear, I will/do update as often as I can..but as a single mum of 2, real life has a nasty habit of getting in the way sometimes!! Anyway..enough waffling!! On with the story.....and my muses took over (again) and took this one to a place I wasn't expecting.....hope you like!!!!

Elizabeth sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, staring blindly at the waves as they hissed and bubbled along the sand towards her, creeping inexorably closer.

Every muscle in her body was rigid with tension, her emotions swinging from misery to anger and back again.

“How dare he, how DARE he!” she moaned, thumping the sand with clenched fists, her eyes blazing with righteous indignation.

Then she slumped again, her anger swamped by something worse, something that sat like a lump of stone in the pit of her stomach. She had laid herself bare to him, opened her heart and given herself to him, body and soul.

Why couldn’t he give the same to her? Why did he insist on hiding the man she loved beneath that arrogant, self-centred, self-serving mask?

“Stupid! Stupid!” she berated herself. “Should have stayed away, should have sailed for England as I intended, instead of jumping ship in Tortuga and begging to join his crew!”

Then she smiled bitterly, knowing she had no more control over her feelings for him than she did over the tide.

“Too late, Elizabeth,” she whispered, shaking her head. “He has you, pirate that he is. He has you and he knows it….”

The thought filled her with unease – and a new determination. She had gone though too much, fought too many battles to give up on him now.

“I’ll find a way to take away your masks, Captain Sparrow! I’ll lay you bare and make you expose your true self to me. And no measure of wit or avoidance will save you…”

Gibbs took another cautious step towards his Captain’s lass, not eager to approach the girl while she fussed and fumed at the unsuspecting ocean. But he had no choice – if they were to catch the tide and make sail, they needed the currently absent, aforementioned Captain on board. Well not needed, he amended, shuffling closer, but t’would be better to sail with him than without.

She’d stopped ranting now, at least, and merely glared at the sand as if its very presence offended her. Gibbs seized his chance.

“She’s ready to go, Miss.”

Elizabeth looked at him, nonplussed.

“Beg pardon?”

“The Pearl, Miss….we’re ready to make sail.”

“Oh. I suppose you want me on board then…” sighing, she got slowly to her feet.

Gibbs resisted the urge to mutter ‘Not really!’ and forced a smile instead.

“Actually Miss…..I need you to fetch the Captain.”

Her scowl made him wince, but he ploughed on.

“Crew are all aboard, Miss….tendin’ to their duties. I havta get back and oversee the useless swabs. Tell ‘im….tell him we’re all set and awaitin’ his orders.”

He gave her a nod then turned on his heel, striding away at a fast walk that was almost a run.

Elizabeth groaned and turned unwillingly towards the trees.


As her feet took her along the now familiar route her mind worked furiously. On the one hand, she had a burning need to confront him, to tell him how she felt in no uncertain terms. On the other hand…she needed time to prepare. Jack had a way of twisting things, of wriggling out of awkward conversations and uncomfortable situations that was truly a wonder to behold. A spur of the moment, emotional attack would only serve to leave her more frustrated and miserable.

A few feet away from the clearing she stopped, deliberately unclenched her fists and forced herself to relax, her decision made.

‘Cool, calm and composed,’ she told herself firmly. ‘Polite but distant. Let him know you are upset but keep your temper.”

Tilting her chin up defiantly, she assumed an expression of cool distain and prepared to face her lover.

He wasn’t there.

Quickly she scanned the area. His abandoned shirt and breeches were laying near the water’s edge, his boots nearby. The blanket remained where she had dropped it. But of Jack, there was no sign.

Feeling deflated and a little un-nerved, she wandered slowly around the periphery of the pool, searching for clues. If it weren’t for the untidy pile of clothing she would have assumed he’d found another way back to the ship. Where could he be? What was he doing? And why was he doing it naked?

Elizabeth shook her head, exasperated – and a little worried. What now? Should she look for him, or wait? She moved into the shade of a tree, leant back against its solid trunk and closed her eyes, wondering what to do.


Jack edged carefully along the branch and wished for the thousandth time that he’d thought to pull on his breeches before attempting this rescue mission. The fledgling chirruped softly in his cupped hand, a helpless scrap of feathers and fluff. He’d seen it fall from the nest, and climbing up to return it to safety had seemed an easy enough task – from the ground.

But from his precarious position up here that ground seemed uncomfortably far away. Very cautiously he readjusted his grip and stretched out again. His fingers brushed the edge of the nest – so close, but not enough. Cursing silently, he inched forward a little more, wincing as the branch creaked and bent under his weight.

Jack reached out again. Finally! His cupped hand hovered over the nest and with a satisfied grin he gently dropped the tiny creature inside.

Without looking he reached behind for an adjacent branch, intending to use it to pull himself back to safety.

He missed.


Elizabeth sighed. This was such a peaceful place. She inhaled deeply, allowing the heady scents of nature to fill her as the musical chatter of unseen wildlife soothed her with its calming, ceaseless lullaby.

“Oh Jack!” she whispered sadly. “Why must you be so difficult? Why do you feel the need to hide yourself from me?”

“Bugger!”

Her eyes snapped open. She glanced frantically from left to right, but there was no sign of him.

“Jack? Where...”

Elizabeth’s question ended in a scream as a naked, flailing pirate flew past her eyes and hit the ground with a loud grunt.

“Right….here…..luv!” Jack gasped painfully.

She found herself glancing stupidly upwards then down again.

“What….How…Where...?”

“M’fine luv,” he wheezed, “thanks for asking! Just winded….I think…”

She watched dumbly as he struggled for breath, her eyes running over his scratched and lichen- smeared body.

“You – you’re a mess.”

“Mmmmm.” He held up his hand as if to silence her. “No no, darlin’. No need to be concerned. Me lungs’ll start workin’ again in a while I’m sure. Don’t fret.”

She shook her head at him.

“Well I know your tongue is undamaged, at least!”

He pouted and she fell to her knees beside him.

“Are you alright, Captain Sparrow?” she enquired solicitously. “Did you break anything?”

“Only me pride!”

“Good.”

Now that the shock of his unexpected appearance was abating Elizabeth remembered her intention to remain distant and aloof. She tried to rise, but his fingers closed around her wrist.

“Don’t go Lizzie. You wanted to talk to me. M’listening. Talk.”

“How did you know I….” she began, irritated, then stopped with a groan. “Yes. We need to talk. But now is not the time. Or the place.”

He glanced around them.

“Seems like the perfect place and time to me.”

Flustered, she wriggled in his grasp.

“No Jack. Not now. Not yet. I need to…I need to think, first.”

He stared at her and she stared at the ground.

“I suppose I shouldn’t ask.” She muttered finally, breaking the long drawn-out silence.

“Ask what?”

She rolled her eyes at him.

“The tree, Jack. Why did you take off your clothes and climb the tree? Seems odd behaviour even for you.”

“Ah. Well…the removing of the clothes was not a prerequisite of climbin’ the tree luv. See – after ye disappeared so suddenly I felt a need to cool off. Better done without the impediment of clothes, savvy? An’ there I was, sunnin’ meself on a rock, mullin’ things over, as it were….when me musings were interrupted by the unfortunate and unplanned descent of a small and helpless creature from it’s home in the earlier mentioned tree.”

Elizabeth frowned as she untangled his words in her head and tried to translate them from Jackish to English.

“A bird?”

“Aye. S’what I said luv.”

“You climbed the tree to return a baby bird to it’s nest?”

“What are you, an echo?”

“Jack! That was – surprisingly sweet of you.”

“’M a bloody pirate!” he huffed. “Not sweet – surprisingly or otherwise.”

“It was a very thoughtful gesture, Captain Sparrow!” she told him firmly. “And I’m glad you rescued the poor little thing. It would no doubt have died if you hadn’t intervened.”

He shrugged.

“Not glad you fell though.”

“Thought yer might be. Thought yer might be hopin’ it’d knock some sense inta me!”

Elizabeth bit back a smile.

“That hadn’t occurred to me….but now you mention it….”

“Humph.”

He hauled himself into a sitting position, his eyes taking a quick inventory of his body.

“No. No damage!” he grinned, satisfied.

“None that is visible, at least!” she muttered, trying again to pull free of his grip.

He scowled, then shrugged again.

“We’re all damaged, luv, he whispered, his gaze burning her with its intensity.

“Let go of me Jack,” she said quietly. “Please. We have to get back to the ship – you need to get cleaned up and dress, and Mr Gibbs said….”

“Gibbs’ll bloody wait!” he growled. “There’s somethin’ I …there’s a certain thing I need to do…need to get off me chest…need to reach an accord wiv you about, as it were….”

Elizabeth sighed. His expression was wary, uncomfortable – and – she realised with some surprise – more than a little nervous. Abruptly he released her and sprang to his feet, turning away. She felt her heart plummet. Whatever he wanted to tell her – it was obviously not good.

She watched him walk back towards the pool, her heart thudding in her chest. Was this goodbye then? Was he about to cast her off, tell her of his intention to leave her at the next port? To confirm his warning that it would never have worked between them had been correct after all?

She climbed slowly to her feet and began to close the distance between them, glaring at his back, tears of anger and humiliation blurring her vision.

Sensing her approach Jack swayed nervously, staring anxiously at the sun-dappled water.

“S’close enough!” he barked, more harshly than he’d intended.

“Fine.” With some effort she kept her voice from trembling, determined to survive this nightmare with at least her pride intact.

Jack gulped, took a deep breath, and gathered his courage.


“Never set out to be what I am, Elizabeth,” he told the water softly. “Never imagined me life would take me where it has. Started out with ordinary hopes and dreams, just like any young lad – a life on the sea, a ship of me own – and a clear conscious to help me sleep at night.” He laughed bitterly. “Had that ripped away though, didn’t I? Did the right thing – and got branded for it. Sold me soul for it. Paid the price for it. Became a different man because of it.”

“Captain Jack Sparrow!” she whispered, intrigued. “But the man you were is still there, Jack! He didn’t disappear. He’s still inside of you – the good man.”

“Aye. The fool that acts without thinking, the soft bugger who risks his neck and gets locked up fer it – or killed for it.”

“Don’t. You know how much I regret that, you know how sorry I am…”

He silenced her with a wave of his hand.

“S’alright luv. T’would have happened anyway, regardless of yer part in it. M’not here to lay blame on you. The blame lies entirely with meself.”

He paused, and she sighed impatiently.

“Please, Jack…Whatever it is, whatever you need to tell me….get it over with. I need to hear it.”

“Alright then. This ain’t easy for me to say, not somethin’ I’ve ever said before…so listen well and don’t expect ta be hearin’ it too often, Savvy? I need yer to know it, and just cos I don’t say it much don’t mean it stopped being the case, so no need fer you to worry on that account….”

“Jack! Just tell me!” she begged, too miserable and anxious now to untangle his words and guess their meaning.

“M’tryin!” he moaned. “S’not easy.” Heaving a sigh, he tried again. “What I’m tryin’ to say, Elizabeth….What I’m tryin’ to let ye know…Well, let’s just say that it’s the most unlikely event ever to have befallen a man whose life has been a serious of unlikely and improbable and all but impossible events. And for said event to be incurred by the beautiful and high-born daughter of a Governor, who turned out to be more pirate than me – who MURDERED me wiv a kiss then risked her pretty neck to bring me back….well tis just typical of the vagaries and unexpectedness that by now I should really come to expect – seeing as I am, in fact, Captain Jack Sparrow…”

Elizabeth’s hands clamped down on his shoulders and he yelled in alarm as she swung him round to face her.

“Bloody hell, Jack!” she bawled. “Will you get to the point!”

“I’minlovewithyoualright?” he spat, then his eyes widened with shock.

Elizabeth stared at him, the tears she’d been fighting spilling over at last.

“Oh Jack!” she choked, and he frowned.

Suddenly his arms were full of sobbing female. Perplexed, he patted her back absently and wondered if her reaction was the normal response to a declaration of love. After a few moments he pushed her gently away so that he could see her face. Blotchy and tear-stained, it was still the most beautiful, adored face in the world and his heart ached with love for her.

Elizabeth smiled at his bewildered expression, read the tenderness in his eyes and quickly bent her head to brush his lips with her own.

Feeling slightly better – she couldn’t be too horrified if she was still willing to kiss him – he gave a tentative grin.

“Don’t cry about it, luv! Weren’t s’posed to make ye cry…..”

“I’m crying because I’m happy, you silly pirate!” she croaked tearfully. “I’m crying because I needed so much to hear you say that, because I love you too, more than you’ll ever know.”

“Love me, do yer? And I’M the silly one?” he teased, but his beaming smile told the truth of his feelings. “We’re as daft as each other, my Lizzie! An’ we’ll doubtless spend as much time sparrin’ as we do beddin’ each other…but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Not ever.”

She gazed at him, drinking in his beauty, the depth of feeling that shone from his unfathomably dark eyes. The enormity of his words struck her anew and fresh tears filled her eyes.

“You have no idea how much this means to me, Jack!” she whispered. “Or how desperately I needed you to say it. I know how hard it must have been for you…”

“Harder than fightin’ the Kraken, luv!” he grinned, then his expression grew serious. “Weren’t easy to admit, not even to meself. Truth is these feelin’s I have for you – they scare me. Tried to ignore them. Tried to get past them. But t’was hopeless.”

“I know, Jack. It must be so difficult for you to trust anyone, me included – me especially, given what I did – yet here we are. Where we were destined to be. Together. No more masks.”

“Barin’ our souls, eh?”

“Yes!” With a cheeky grin, she slid her arms down his back and gave his naked rear a gentle squeeze. “And some of us are baring more than just our souls, Captain!”

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, then his lips parted and he tilted his head towards her.

Elizabeth accepted his invitation, her fingers gently stroking the curve of his buttocks as she devoured his mouth, tenderness quickly giving way to something much more demanding.

Abruptly he pulled away and they stared at each other, the overwhelming urgency that suddenly consumed them both unspoken but instantly understood.

Frantically she pulled at the ties on her breeches, yanking them over her hips as he lowered her to the ground. Jack tugged off her boots so that she could rid herself of the offending clothing completely, then he was lowering himself over her body, his hardness pushing insistently between her thighs.

“Need you, want you, please Jack, now Jack….” she gabbled, desperate for him to fill her.

“Now, Lizzie?” he growled, and thrust inside hard.

She inhaled sharply, stunned with the force of it, the rightness of it, and with barely a pause he began to move, his strokes deep and strong. Winding her legs around his hips she urged him on, her breathy gasps echoed by his deep-throated grunts as he pounded into her welcoming heat, again and again. The suddenness of it, the fierce passion they aroused in each other sent her spiralling towards ecstasy, stealing her breath.

He’d never been this rough with her before, this demanding, but she loved it, felt the heady thrill burning fire through her entire body until she shook with it.

Sensing her impassioned agony Jack moved faster, harder, feeling himself coil towards release more quickly, more urgently than he’d ever known before.

She screamed his name, trembling with shock and desire as her orgasm took her, and it was too much for him.

Instinctively he started to pull out – then gritted his teeth and pushed forward again, burying himself inside her.

He tensed above her, muscles quivering with effort. An agonised groan escaped his lips then she felt the rhythmic spurts of liquid fire deep within, his balls throbbing and jerking against her folds as he pulsed hot semen into her body.

When he was spent he flopped against her, shuddering, and she held him tenderly, the question already on her lips even as her inner muscles continued to spasm gently around him.

“You didn’t pull out. You came inside me.”

“Glad you noticed,” he panted into her shirt.

“Why? You were so insistent that we mustn’t, that you couldn’t……”

“Mmm.”

“But Jack!” she persisted, “If you come inside you might get me with child! You didn’t want that – that would be bad, wouldn’t it?”

Finally he raised his head and looked at her.

“Maybe t’wouldn’t be that bad, Elizabeth,” he said softly. “Maybe it would in fact be good – amazing – incredible. A life-changing, momentous sort of good.”

“You – are you saying that you want me to have your child, Jack?” she whispered incredulously.

“Can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have as mother to me offspring!” Then he grinned, a little sheepishly. “That is, if yer willin’ to take on the job, o’course...”

“Perhaps you should have asked me a little sooner…” she reproached. Jack frowned and she added hastily, “But as it happens...I’d be honoured, Thrilled. Delighted. Can’t think of anything I’d like more.”

He kissed her, slow and tender, and when he pulled away she saw his eyes were suspiciously moist. Blinking rapidly, he rearranged his face into his customary smirk.

“O’course it might take a bit of practise. Might entail frequent and concerted effort, takin’ every opportune moment that presents itself in order to ensure yer end up wiv a big fat belly to parade around me ship!”

“I’d say we practise enough to be experts already!”

Gently he slid his hands under her hips and rolled them over so that she straddled him, careful not to let himself slip out of her body.

“Ah Miss Swann,” he grinned, reaching down between their bodies to caress her where they joined. “There are some things you can never get enough practise at…Savvy?”

And as pleasure flooded anew through her body, Elizabeth found she had to agree.