Somewhere Weaknesses Are Strength

With dainty kicks, Sebastian removed the stilettos from her feet, leaving them near the wall, and perched on the bed. Hayley yanked her heeled boots off and tossed them to meet Sebastian's shoes. She collapsed on the bed, the silk sheets cool against her skin.

Sebastian couldn't help noticing that Hayley lacked most of the grace she would have acquired growing up in a wealthy home. Living as a pirate for so long, Hayley had lost most of her womanly training. There were some things she was sure to remember, but those wouldn't be useful to her. She was the lord of house. No female training could help with that.

That lack of grace was extremely attractive.

"I hope you don't mind if we relax in here," Hayley stifled a yawn, "I know you wanted to do something but I'm exhausted."

"That's fine. I'd prefer not going into the garden at night anyway."

The garden would be the only thing outside of the house that would be lit on the estate. Holly had told Sebastian about the lighting system that was created so Hayley could enjoy the garden when the darkness hit.

"You just don't like roses."

"Well, who has a garden with so many roses?"

"The king of this country."

"Remind me not to visit him."

"You won't have much of a choice if he summons us."

"Can’t you say I'm ill?"

"Do you honestly think Taylor would make a fake diagnosis?"

"If I beg."

Hayley snorted, "He's too passionate about his work to give a misdiagnosis just to get you out of seeing a bunch of roses."

Sebastian liked this, the relaxed conversation. It was refreshing. After the time she spent cooped up and deathly afraid, she needed this. The freedom of the conversation made her feel loved, like she belonged here, like she was more than just the heir to the throne.

Her father hadn't even been able to treat her like that.

"He seems like a stickler for rules."

"He is. I think it's because he had to work so hard to get through medical schooling. He's not from a very well-off family. Anything that would jeopardize his career is avoided."

"Like a misdiagnosis, regardless of the reason."

"Exactly."

"Well, it is comforting that he follows regulation. He is amazingly precise."

It was comforting to Hayley, too. She put a lot of trust in Taylor to help her heal the princess. Sebastian's wounds had healed considerably. She wasn't likely to have any scars as long as Hayley continued to take care of her. All of the medications he had prescribed to rub on the princess' wounds did what they claimed to.

"Can I admit that I was jealous when he was touching you?" Hayley asked.

She had been. She remembered clearly the jealousy bubbling inside her as Taylor looked over Sebastian's wounds.

Though the princess had dressed for the visit, she had to strip down into her underwear to get inspected properly. Most of her wounds had been underneath her clothing. Hayley knew Taylor was a good man. He wouldn't have been part of her crew if he wasn't.

But she couldn't help wanting to put a bullet through his head everytime he prodded at Sebastian.

She could admit she was territorial.

"I don't see why. His touch was hardly the same as yours."

"Please tell me my touch is better."

"Yours doesn't have the ability to heal," Sebastian teased.

"My ego just dropped ten notches."

Sebastian giggled, and Hayley pouted.

"Is the big, bad pirate going to cry?" Sebastian asked.

"Depends, what will I get out of it?"

"What do you want out of it?"

"An admission that my touch is the best you've ever had."

"Well, considering you're the only one to touch me that way, I guess that would be true."

"I still don't see how you evaded marriage. I mean, you're gorgeous, an heir to the throne, obviously have some sort of wit, why didn't someone snatch you up?"

"I'm more conniving than you give me credit for."

"Except you couldn't get out of the mansion without getting caught."

"I don't know if I really wanted to leave. I was having second thoughts the whole time. I probably would have turned around and walked back upstairs within a few minutes of messing with your stupid lock system."

"So you're saying that, if you had your mind dead set on leaving, you'd have made it out."

"Exactly," Sebastian sighed, "But your touch had to be so amazing."

She didn't feel like talking about how she could have escaped if she really wanted to. It was true that she could have. She knew she could have. Looking back, she realized her planning had been about as good as a pedestrian's. Her thoughts had been a bit skewed by the things going on.

Like Hayley.

"Tell me more about how amazing it is," Hayley smirked.

While she was sure Sebastian's statement was true, she knew that she could have caught Sebastian within a number of days. She could only get so far before Hayley would catch up.

But she felt it more important to egg Sebastian on about how much she liked their sexual encounters instead of pointing out the obvious.

"I can honestly say I've never felt anything quite as delicious."

"So it was better than Taylor's?"

Sebastian rolled her eyes, "I don't recall moaning for him. I'm pretty sure that’s a clear indication of which I like more."

Hayley pushed herself up on her elbows, eyes dancing with amusement. When had the princess decided it was okay to be open about these things? She had been embarrassed to admit she wanted a kiss from Hayley, that she missed Hayley, not long ago. And now, she was okay with the fact that she liked to be touched.

What had she and Holly talked about?

Oh, well, it wasn't all that important.

"Do I make you moan? I think my memory is failing me," Hayley said.

"You know well the answer to that."

"Do I?"

"Yes, you were there, I'm sure you remember."

"You're sure it was me?"

"Yes."

"And what did I do to make you moan?"

Sebastian's face coated red almost instantly. "I, uh, well, it, um, I-I-I, and you, um uh, you know."

Hayley struggled to keep in her laughter. Sebastian had been doing so well. Not that Hayley wanted her to be a sexual nymph who went around town spilling her exploits and offering herself to people. That wasn't the case at all. Hayley wanted Sebastian to be able to communicate these things to her. What she liked, what she didn't like, what she wanted and when. It was important. They hadn't gotten very far in their relationship but Hayley wanted to be a sufficient lover by Sebastian's standards.

She didn't want Sebastian to feel the need to become the town's carriage because she wasn't fulfilled in their bedroom. There was no way she could handle that happening again.

"Why don't you refresh my memory?" Hayley mumbled, trailing a nail up and down the princess' arm

The light touch caused a shiver to run through Sebastian's spine, heat spreading slowly through her body. Despite the excitement and anticipation she could feel, she didn't know what to do. Was she to make the next move or was Hayley?

She wanted do this right.

"Are you cold?" Hayley asked, her tone filled with mock concern.

"No," Sebastian responded, a slight tremor in her voice.

Smirking, Hayley pushed herself to a seated position and let her eyes wander Sebastian's frame.

"You're flushed," Hayley said, keeping the concern in her voice. Placing a hand against Sebastian's cheek, she said, "And you're hot. We should get your dress off before you pass out from heat exhaustion."

Sebastian gave a short nod and mumbled, "We should do that."

"Stand up."

She did so quickly, not wanting to prolong their interaction. Her eagerness amused Hayley. A two week absence had truly been too long for Sebastian.

But it had been too long for Hayley, too.

Hayley stood, positioning herself behind Sebastian. She didn't reach for the dress strings, but ran her nails lightly over Sebastian's skin, raising goose bumps. Sebastian could feel her heart thumping wildly against her ribcage. Her breathing was gradually becoming shaky. She would rip her dress off if Hayley wouldn't take it off soon.

"What would you like me to do?" Hayley asked, moving her fingers from Sebastian's arms to the ties of her dress, undoing each slowly.

"I," Sebastian hesitated, "I don't know."

Fingers continuing to undo the ties that kept the girl's dress in tact, Hayley brought her lips close to Sebastian's ears. "I think you do."

Her breath hit Sebastian's ear, and the heat increased between her legs. She fidgeted, willing the dress to be removed faster. Hayley's teeth took hold of her earlobe, nibbling the sensitive area. Sebastian released a squeak of surprise.

Why couldn't Hayley just throw her on the bed and take her?

Hayley undid the last tie on Sebastian's dress, letting it fall from Sebastian's body and pool around her feet. Air rushed Sebastian's exposed skin, her nipples puckering, hard and in need of touch.

"I can tell you what I want," Hayley whispered, taking hold of Sebastian's panties and pushing them down to meet her dress.

"What's that," Sebastian mumbled.

"I want to touch you. I want to feel you're body shiver under me. I want to hear you moan. I want to hear you beg for more. I want all of you."

"I'd like that."

"Would you?"

Sebastian nodded.

"Well, sweetheart, I'll make you feel things you never thought were possible."

Hayley tipped Sebastian's face towards hers and fused their lips together.