Julia - Why do you stay

[moonshadows]

"Why do stay with me?" Duke asks softly.

When I open my eyes, he's staring thoughtfully at me, one finger tracing my cheek. A serious question, then. All the joking, flirty response fall away. "Because I love you."

"I was the most reviled kid in all of Haven. Your mother gave you constant grief over even breathing the same air I was, but I couldn't shake you."

"Were you trying?" I ask, eyebrows raised skeptically.

That makes him smile briefly. "No. It was...really nice, having at least one person who wasn't out to screw me over, but why? Why me? You helped me with my boat, you work in my bar although I know Vince and Dave have you going all day, you let me commandeer you to do odd jobs for me, you cook for me even though I can actually feed myself, you put up with me wanting you pretty much constantly, and you've re-arranged half your days around my...condition. Why do you put up with me? What have I ever done for you that wasn't just adding more crap to your life?"

I pull his hand down and kiss his knuckles. "You gave me hope and more than ten years of freedom. You gave me a chance to see the world outside of Haven before the Troubles sucked me back in. You gave me a place where I felt safe and valued as a skinny little teen, and as an equally skinny little adult you gave me a home. You give me a reason to fight to end the troubles instead of being content to let them pass for another twenty-seven years." He's looking shaken, but in a good way. I smile wickedly. "And you think everything I do is sexy. That's very good for a girl's ego, you know."

The longer Duke stares, like the lights are on but nobody's home, the funnier it gets. I release his hand long enough to boop his nose, and he grins as his eyes focus on me again.

"You," he says in a vaguely-menacing way, hand dipping below the covers again, "are the wickedest wench in the west!"

With that he lunges, rolling me onto my back and straddling me in one motion, both hands going for my sides where I shriek and ineffectively beat at them, but the onslaught of tickles continues unabated. "I surrender!" I gasp out finally, both hands raised when they're not instinctively jerking down. His fingers pause. "I surrender to the mighty Pirate-Gypsy king Duke Crocker, long may he reign!"

"Really?" He leans over, hair falling forward to form little curtains, the area between our faces becoming something close and intimate as he hovers over me, braced on his forearms, hands cupping my face. "Do you swear fealty to me?" he breathes.

My pulse is either still racing from the tickling, or is racing from his nearness. Somehow, his silly question doesn't feel silly at all, but the darkness obscures his expression. "If I do," I murmur back, "will you accept it?"

Instead of answering, he kisses me softly.

"Maybe I'll just kidnap you, keep you aboard my ship and sail away. Show you the world, have fantastic adventures together."

I can hear the smile in his voice, and return it. "We're already aboard your ship, and neither of us can really leave Haven."

"You had to go and spoil my fantasy," he teases, kissing me again. "I'm sure Vince and Dave can do without you."

Carefully, I bring my hands down until I can run fingers through his hair, imagining the look on his face as he fights the desire to let his eyes roll back and groans softly. "But who will keep Nathan from giving up on Audrey, if not you?"

Duke groans again, the sound this time more exasperation than arousal. "The things I put up with for him," he complains, but there's no heat in it.

"Just think of how much more personable he'll be once he's gotten some." My fingers keep moving gently over his scalp.

"Wench," he mutters, shifting so that he's not straddling me anymore, head dipping to bury itself into the pillow beside me. "I don't think you surrendered at all."

"You fell right into my trap," I agree pleasantly.

"I...am at your mercy," he gasps out as he fall over dramatically, still managing to leave one hand conveniently on my breast.

I pull his head up enough to kiss him, hard. When I ask, "Is that so?" it's in a challenging growl.

"No," he replies, grinning. "That was a ruse to make you think you'd won." His fingers knead gently and he leans in for another gentle kiss. "And now, my wicked wench, I'm going to ravish you."

"Do your worst," I tease, arching my back to rub against him.

He does.