so you decided to ignore that warning?" Morgan asked her; her gaze sliding up and down Allison's barely covered body. Allison swallowed hard and nodded. The captain grinned rakishly at her and chuckled a little. "So, my courageous captive, do you think you would like to join me for dinner? Both of us missed lunch, so Cook made us up quite the meal. And, I don't know about you, but I'm famished." Allison smiled back into Morgan's twinkling eyes."It would be my pleasure," she answered. They set about getting everything ready for dinner in a companionable silence, Allison glancing often at Morgan from the corner of her eye. As she set her stool down and started to sit she watched Morgan smother a delighted smile. Allison puzzled over it for a moment, then realized that she still wore Morgan's shirt. She felt her cheeks warm a little as she blushed, but she resolutely sat down and tugged the hem of the shirt down over her thighs. Morgan smiled again and set a bowl of hearty stew in front of her along with a couple of thick slices of bread. Allison opened her mouth to say thank you and was cut off by an extremely loud grumble by her stomach. Morgan looked at her in shock then both of them started laughing.
"You better get some food in you, Allison, before that thing comes out and gets me!" Morgan teased her. Allison smiled sheepishly and started in on her dinner. Once again they ate in silence, though this one was much more comfortable than the one the night before. Allison felt relaxed and stimulated all at once in Morgan's company. Soon she was sopping up the rest of the soup in her bowl with the last of the bread, feeling wonderfully full. As she stood up to start setting her dishes on the tray she looked at Morgan inquisitively.
"So, are you ready for our rematch, Captain?" She smiled at her companion and teased, "Think you might be able to rise to the challenge this evening?" Morgan took both the stools, tucked them away, then crossed her arms and shot Allison a smile that sent shivers down her spine.
"Oh I think I will be the challenge for you, this evening, Miss Allison, do you think you're up to handling me?" Allison started to move the wingback over to the desk and answered Morgan with her back to her as she struggled with the heavy chair.
"Absolutely," she answered, the butterflies in her stomach dancing as she did, feeling that they were talking about more than just a chess game. She almost jumped out of her skin as Morgan's hands reached around her and easily moved the chair. Allison's mouth went dry with the other woman so close to her she could smell the same spicy scent that had tickled her nose in the bed and in the shirt. Morgan's eyes met hers for a long moment, their faces a mere foot apart, and Allison held her breath. Morgan's eyes were a smoky blue, and her lips curved into a slow smile before she backed away and moved around the desk to her chair. Allison felt a momentary stab of disappointment, the look that Morgan had given her sending her heart racing. She turned around and sat down in her chair, watching as Morgan laid out the board and pieces. She motioned for Morgan to take the first move and admired the Captain. Morgan had let her hair down and it spilled around her shoulders, making Allison's fingers itch to play with it. Blue eyes flicked back and forth between the board and her as they moved their pieces, her eyes twinkling a little every time they caught her staring.
Allison moved through the game in a bit of a daze, finding it incredibly difficult to concentrate on positioning her pieces with Morgan smiling at her from across the way. She shifted in her chair and stretched one of her legs out, accidentally bumping into Morgan's. She murmured an apology, but left her leg where it was. The inside of her calf rested against Morgan's, and her skin tingled at the contact even though a layer of fabric separated them. As she moved her queen she saw the eyebrow quirk across from her and a smile pull at one corner of Morgan's mouth. Morgan paused for a moment and frowned at the board, then looked up at Allison.
"Are you trying to lose, Allison?" Her rich voice asked. Allison jerked her eyes down to the pieces and saw that she had put herself in check. Morgan reached out and moved one piece, and there went her king. "Checkmate." Morgan said softly. "Are you feeling ill?" Allison shook her head.
"I'm fine, just a bit distracted, I guess." Allison found herself pinned by a very skeptical look. "Really, I'm fine. I guess I just didn't have a good strategy this evening." Morgan frowned for a moment. Then glanced at the dark portholes.
"Would you like to go to sleep?" Allison knew that it was rather early to be turning in for the night, but she nodded anyway. Morgan got up and motioned to her to do the same. With a worried look on her face she helped Allison up into the bed and pulled a blanket over her. She gazed up into the warm, blue eyes, something teetering on the tip of her tongue. Morgan reached up and smoothed her hair back away from her face.
"Get some sleep, Allison," she whispered and turned away.
Morgan quietly put away the chess game, her mind in turmoil. The subject of her thoughts watched her from the bed, those green eyes trying to say things to her that Morgan couldn't afford to hear. She set the chair back in the corner and sat back behind the desk. Turning the lamp down she sat in the dim cabin trying to ignore the tension in the room. She could still feel Allison's gaze on her, though the other woman thought that she couldn't see her peeking from beneath her lashes. Pulling open her top drawer she pulled out a well-worn pocket watch. Absently she turned it over in her hand, letting her mind wander back to the last time she'd seen it in the presence of its rightful owner.
Morgan stood in the middle of a ship, facing a thick mast, lashed tightly to it. Her father was tied opposite her, stripped to the waist. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at her. He started to say something and she shook her head.
"No, don't say it, Daddy. It's not your fault and I won't let you take the blame." Heavy footfalls approached and she looked up over her father's shoulder to see a huge brute of a man heading their way. The man looked her over then addressed her father.
"Well, well, the captain and his wife. Isn't this a sweet picture." Morgan silenced her father with a touch on his arm. His eyes widened in understanding. They both knew that she was safer being thought of as his wife than his daughter. The man waved over another and took a long whip from him shaking it out on the deck. Her father looked at her and shook his head. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the mast in front of him as their captor snapped the whip against the deck a couple of times. A loud snap rang out across the ship and her father jerked in reaction, his jaw clenching in pain. Morgan ground her teeth, the sound loud in her ears as the whip fell again and again. Tears were streaming down both of their faces by the time the man had finished. He walked around the mast and looked her father in the face. "Thank you for your ship, sir, I will enjoy her greatly." Reaching into the pouch hanging at his side he pulled out a pocket watch and flicked it open. Morgan's head jerked when she realized it was her father's. Clicking it closed he flashed a cruel smile at her and walked away. Another man walked over and picked up the whip.
"Cap’n says we're to whip yer man here til he tells where that gold is, and if he don't tell then we're to whip you." He announced, making it quite clear that he was going to enjoy it.
