Misconception

Chapter 22

Jack opened the door to the cabin with a scowl on his face while Joan followed him inside, still laughing.
“It was funny, Jack! Admit it!” she chuckled loudly and Jack’s eyes widened as soon as he saw Isabella on the bed, lying under the covers. He turned sharply to Joan and glared at her.
“Shut the bloody hell up!” he hissed as he motioned towards the bed.
Joan stopped laughing immediately and looked over Jack’s shoulder.
“Oh, sorry.” She apologized and he glared at her one more time before he turned away and walked further inside the cabin. He pulled off his soaked shirt and threw it on the floor before he leaned over a chest in search of a dry one.
“Did someone take a bath?” she asked in a whisper and he shut the chest quietly before he turned to her.
“I don’t see why it’s any of your business but yes. Now get out.” He murmured firmly as he glanced towards the sleeping form of Isabella.
Once they were out of the cabin, Isabella peeked from under the covers with a small frown before she decided to lie back down.

**********************************
“Will you stop laughing already? It’s not that funny.” Jack scoffed as he leaned against the rail and looked at the water.
“Cotton throwing a bucket of water all over you is not funny?” Joan smirked and he sighed.
“I’m in no mood for your dry humor, Joan.” He muttered as he busied his fingers by playing with one of his rings.
“Oh, boy. Now what happened?” Joan asked as she came to lean beside him on the rail, “It’s about her, isn’t it?” she asked and he stiffened.
“She is…different.” He said as he gazed at the calm waters.
“Good different or bad different?” Joan asked as she looked at his profile.
“It depends.” He said with a small smirk.
“On what exactly?” she wondered with a sigh.
“She’s good different because it’s exciting for me to play cat and mouse with her. It’s bad different because until the cat manages to catch the mouse, I think I’m going to go daft.” He said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. He suddenly stopped and turned to Joan, “The cat is me by the way.” He cleared and she smirked.
“I think I got that. So, you haven’t caught her yet.” She repeated and he nodded.
“She’s hard to catch, if you get me drift.” He smiled to himself without looking at Joan.
“Hmm…Is she frigid?” she asked bluntly and Jack’s turned sharply towards her.
“No!” he growled and Joan shrugged.
“Just asking.”
“Well don’t. It’s not any of your business anyway.” He huffed and she sighed.
“You make it my business when you come back to whine to me.”
“I am not bloody whining!” he said in a low voice.
“Yes, you are. Have you considered the possibility that she might be afraid of you?” she asked and Jack paused.
“Eh?” his nose scrunched up in confusion.
“Maybe she’s afraid of you. I mean, you kidnapped her, didn’t you? If that was me, I’d have a hard time trusting you.” Joan said and Jack frowned.
I kidnapped her. Check.
I took her virginity against her will. Check.
Great!
“I hate it when you’re right.” He mumbled grudgingly and Joan smiled to herself as he walked away.
“I hate it too…” she murmured before she headed for her own ship.

*********************************
Isabella emerged from the cabin a few hours after they had weighed anchor again. As soon as she stepped put she looked up and gave a small smile. The sky was crystal clear and the air was surprisingly refreshing.
“Hey, lass.” Gibbs greeted with a smile and she couldn’t help but return it.
“Mr. Gibbs.”
“You’ll get cold.” He commented when he noticed her bare arms.
“Um…I just want to talk to Jack. Is he up?” she asked and the older man nodded.
“Aye. Brooding by the helm.” Gibbs sighed as he looked upwards.
“I’ll go see him and then I’ll go help in the galley.” She said nervously.
“You don’t have to do that.” He said with a small frown and she shrugged.
“I have nothing better to do.” She smiled before she headed for the helm.
Jack was gazing at the horizon when she climbed up the stairs. He was so lost in his own world that he didn’t notice her. At all.
“Jack?” she cleared her throat before speaking and his head turned sharply towards her.
“Aye?” he asked hoarsely before he coughed to clear his voice, “You should be inside. It’s cold.” He said as he looked at her from head to toe.
“I just…Well, I just wanted to say something.” She fidgeted where she stood and that caught his attention.
“Oh? Well, go ahead. You can come closer by the way. I won’t knock you over with the spokes.” He smirked but it didn’t reach his eyes like it usually did.
“Okay.” She whispered before she stepped closer.
He looked briefly away from her to turn the helm slightly to the right and then steadied it with both hands before he turned his attention to her.
“I just wanted to apologize for my behavior last night.” At her words his eyebrows almost disappeared under his bandana.
“Oh?”
“I guess I was upset that I didn’t won.” She said and he grinned a little.
“If you’d let me, I would have made it worth your while. But alas you chose to insult me instead.” He said teasingly and his words pulled a heavy weight off her chest.
“Uhh…Alright.” She mumbled as her cheeks flushed, “I didn’t exactly insult you. I just stated that I have a difficulty in trusting you.”
“If that ain’t an insult, then what is?” he asked as he leaned against the helm in a way that made him more aristocratic than it should. He was a bloody pirate for God’s sake!
“Okay, I apologize. I’ll try to be more trusting in the future.” She took a deep breath before she continued, “And I have yet to thank you for complementing me last night.”
“I did?” he asked and the playfulness returned to his gaze quickly, turning his eyes into brown pools of liquid chocolate.
“You called me pretty. I think. So, thank you.” She rushed the words out quickly before she turned around to climb down the stairs.
“You’re welcome-…Wait! Where are you going?” he called with a small laugh at her eagerness to get away from him.
Isabella paused mid-step and turned her head to look at him, “To the galley.” She answered as more heat rushed to her cheeks.
“Just hold on a minute.” He said as he reached into his pocket and threw her a key. She caught it just in time and looked at him quizzically.
“Go below deck and open the hold. Get any supplies you need for a good meal. Something warm if you can. It’s bloody cold.” He explained and she nodded before she walked away with a small smile on her lips.
“Lock behind you!” he called just before she disappeared out of sight.

******************************
The galley was full of hungry men by the time Isabella finished preparing the food. After all her hard work, the pot of steaming stew was ready and the men were helping themselves to a bowl each.
At some point Jack appeared at the doorway and beckoned her over. She went to him and he nodded.
“I need that key back, love.” He said and she reached into the front of her dress for it. Jack’s eyes widened at that and she blushed. Again.
“My dress has no pockets.” She explained as she handed it to him.
Jack took it and he smirked when he felt it warm from her flesh, “Now that’ll make our next game interesting.”
“Why?” she asked and he shrugged.
“It just gave a nice imaginary is all.” He replied as he stepped back, ready to leave.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked as he walked away.
“Later.” He called over his shoulder before he disappeared down the corridor.
Isabella watched the way he went before she went back inside the galley to finally eat.

********************************
Isabella twitched when something woke her up from her sleep.
Sleep? She thought before she opened her eyes wide and sat up. She had fallen asleep waiting for Jack to appear but he hadn’t. She looked around the semi dark cabin and she realized that it was really dark outside.
The noise that woke her up echoed again and she realized that it was footsteps and…humming. She sat up straighter on the bed and narrowed her eyes towards the doorway. The footsteps got closer and so did the humming until the door finally was opened.
“My name it is Maria, a merchant’s daughter…fair…”
Isabella’s eyes widened when she realized that it was Jack. And he was singing. She watched as he stumbled inside and shut the door or tried to. It didn’t close with the first shove so he used his foot to get it to close.
“And…I have left my parents aaand three hundred pounds a year…” he paused at that line and clicked his tongue in irritation, “Or is it six pounds…?” he wondered out loud.
He obviously hadn’t noticed Isabella yet.
“Jack?” she spoke up and he blinked before he narrowed his eyes towards her direction.
“Bella? That you?” he asked and his face lit up.
“Yes…What are you doing?” she asked as he stumbled his way towards her, a rum bottle clutched in his hand.
“I’m singing! Now, is it three or six pounds a year?” he asked as he tripped over his on feet but caught himself by grabbing onto the bed.
“What is?” she asked puzzled and he rolled his eyes as he collapsed next to her on the bed.
“The pounds she has left for the sake of the lad! The lyrics of the song, love!” he chuckled drunkenly at her blank expression.
“I think it is three.” She answered and his eyes widened.
“Me thoughts exactly! So you do know the song! You wanna sing it with me?” he asked excitedly as he bounced on the bed and took a swing of rum.
“You’re drunk.” She stated with amusement and he frowned.
“Am not! Now sing!” he exclaimed as he started singing again. Off key.
“I am not singing with you.” She chuckled as she reached over and made to grab his bottle. His eyes widened as her cleavage hovered next to his face and he licked his lips.
“Why?” he asked and he almost went cross-eyed while trying to keep his eyes on her breasts. She finally took the bottle from him and he let her.
“Because I won’t.” she huffed and he sat up trying to look down her dress again.
“If I paid you, would you come back and let me look?” he asked as he blinked up at her.
Isabella sighed and shook her head, “Nope. You’ll have to earn it.” She said with a laugh before her eyes widened at her own words.
Jack’s eyes widened at that and he leaned closer, “How?”
“Forget that.” She shook her head and reached over to take his hat off so he could lie down without stomping on it.
“Are we gonna play?” he asked her as she put his hat away and tried to wrestle him out of his coat.
“No.”
“Why not?” he actually pouted and she realized that this drunken Jack was far too different from the one who had taken her to bed that night. He was…She couldn’t find the word for it. Well, he hadn’t groped her yet anyway.
“Because I will sure win if we do and that won’t be fair.” She frowned and he grinned.
“Who says you’ll win? Want a bet?” he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she blinked.
“I wonder what we’ve been doing so far.”
“Are you gonna sing then?” he asked curiously as he blindly reached next to him for his bottle.
“No more rum. And no, I won’t sing. Especially that song.” She shook her head.
“Why? It’s nice!” he exclaimed loudly as he laid down on the bed and started singing again, “My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold! There is nothing can console me than my jolly sailor bold-…” he was cut off by her hand covering his mouth.
“Oh, my God. Stop it. It sounds so wrong coming from you.” She chuckled and before she had the chance to take her hand away he parted his lips and pressed them against her palm. Isabella stilled as he pressed openmouthed kisses to her hand but when his tongue was added to the mix she tried to pull her hand away. She would have succeeded if his own hand hadn’t come up and closed around her wrist tightly, preventing her escape.
And there goes the no groping. She thought as she shivered from his attentions. Suddenly she was yanked down and she collided with his chest as his arms snaked around her back to hold her to him. Her legs somehow winded up between his and he wickedly locked her in by closing his legs around her calves.
“Jack, what are you doing?” she asked as she wiggled in his arms.
“You’re beautiful.” He murmured and she paused in her struggling to look down at him.
“Um…thank you?” she whispered and his gaze focused on her eyes..
“What color are your eyes?” he asked and she hesitated before she placed a hand against his forehead.
“Gray…Do you have a fever?” she asked and he laughed, the sound more loud and hoarse than when he was sober.
“Nope.”
“You must have one or you wouldn’t be asking me about my eyes.” She said as his hands started sliding up and down her back. She shifted above him and even though she was uncomfortable her body gradually relaxed under his touch.
His eyes never left hers even as she tried to avoid his feverish gaze by looking right and left. She almost gasped when she felt one of his hands sliding up her back to the back of her neck. His warm fingers twined into the hair at the base of her neck and he gently but firmly pulled her face down towards him. She knew what was coming when she saw his eyes drop to her lips but she didn’t stop it.
His lips brushed hers and his familiar scent and taste made her head spin. Who was she trying to fool anyway? She was attracted to him but she didn’t completely trust him. It had always been like this even back in Tortuga.
His mouth pressed firmly against hers and she tried to relax. Her body fell against his and his arm tightened around her in order to hold her up to his chest. His fingers pushed her head closer to his lips just as his mouth parted and his breath mingled with hers. His lips sucked her bottom lip lightly at first and then more firmly as he pressed her closer to his body. The rhythm of his kiss gained momentum at her compliancy and soon his tongue was exploring her lips and the inside of her mouth. Her hands left the mattress and went to his shoulders, clutching them tightly as he widened the stance of his legs and arched towards her. His pelvis pressed hard against hers and he moaned into the kiss before he suckled her top lip between his lips. She groaned into his parted mouth and he pulled back to let her breathe.
“Joan asked if you’re frigid.’ He said all of a sudden and Isabella gaped at him.
“What?” she exclaimed as his hand left her neck and trailed over her jaw towards her flushed lips.
“Wanna know what I think on that?” he murmured and the touch of his finger on her lip was far too distracting. She really wanted to be mad at their nerve of discussing her behind her back.
“I…I don’t know. Do I?” she said shakily as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over her bottom lip.
“I think that despite your obvious embarrassment and untrustfulness...distrustness…is that even a word?” he slurred in irritation and she swallowed hard. Rum made him talk. A lot.
“My lack of trust towards you?” she offered helpfully and he grinned.
“Aye. Despite that, I think that you’re the most hot-blooded woman I’ve known for a while.” He finished and she flushed.
“Why…why do you say that?” she asked and her voice shook as he stared at her.
He gave an experimental twist of his hips and she gasped and reflexively pressed closer to him, causing him to chuckle.
“There.” He murmured as he kissed her again and then buried his face in her neck, placing small kisses there, “So responsive.” He breathed and Isabella stiffened at the familiarity of his words.
Jack, despite his state, realized the sudden stiffness of her body and pulled back. He released his tight grip on her and gave her a wide but inebriated grin.
“So, are we going to play, darlin’? I bet you can’t win.” He said and she relaxed again.
“Fine.” She pursed her lips before she stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his unsteady feet.
Unfortunately he fell asleep on the desk before he even had the chance to cut.

End of chapter 22


Xxx Lina :)