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Cutler pressed his lips firmly to mine before giving me a gentle push towards the door, "Now run along. I don't really think you need to meet Mr. Mercer." I noticed Cutler's eyes darken and his body stiffen at the mention of Ian Mercer. I couldn't help but wonder why. Unfortunately, that meant I had the mistake of stopping and asking, "Why not? I've already met him."

Cutler shrugged as he finished buttoning up his vest. He went to sit behind his desk with all the letters and documents littered upon it. He finally answered, "I don't know. I just don't think it's a good - oh shit." There was a knocking sound at the door that alerted us both that Mr. Mercer was here already whether we liked it or not. Personally, I still disliked Ian for unknown reasons.

Sighing, Cutler turned to me and whispered almost harshly, "Next time, leave when I tell you to." Pretending to be deeply engaged in some document, he called out in his emotionless voice, "Yes? Come in." I quickly straightened my skirts and hoped my hair wasn't too much of a mess. Really though, why would I be in Cutler's office if it weren't for sex anyways? Ian would guess the truth.

The door opened with a loud creak and Ian Mercer stepped in. He was dressed all in black and was even wearing black gloves. His hair was tied in a tight ponytail at the back of his neck. Ian's dark eyes wandered the room and came to rest on me. I froze and offered him a half smile, not really sure what else to do. I started to hurry towards the door, but Ian grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop.

"Where do you think you're going, little girl?" Ian asked with an evil smile creeping around the edges of his lips. I frowned at him and tried to pull away from him. Unfortunately, Ian was much stronger than he looked and there was no escaping him. Still gripping my arm rather fiercely, he turned to Cutler and asked, "So did you get yourself a little sex toy?"

Cutler gave him a menacing look, "Don't you dare call her a 'sex toy'. Let her go, Ian." Cutler's voice was firm and harsh. I hated to think what would become of you if you dared to disobey him. Ian must've been thinking the same thing. He let go of me with a shrug and pushed me towards the door, "That seems a shame, but as you wish."

Just as I was pulling the door open, Ian reached forward and slapped my ass, squeezing it slightly. I tensed and turned to shoot him a look of confusion and annoyance. Ian smirked, but apparently Cutler had seen the gesture too. His jaw stiffened and he motioned for Mr. Mercer to come to him with two fingers, "Mr. Mercer, I need to speak with you."

"Yes, Mr. Beckett," Ian said, shooting one more evil look at me before crossing the room to Beckett. I quickly slipped out the door and straightened myself up a bit more. I didn't want to go to James' home looking like I was a hooker or something. After fluffing my skirts and tucking my hair, I took a deep breath and walked briskly until I found James' home and knocked on the door.

Bianca opened the door and clapped her hands together excitedly when she saw me, "Why, it's Miss Cook!" She pulled me inside the room and shut the door behind me. Bianca took my hand and led me over to the sofa, "What do we owe the pleasure of your visit? I'm sure James will be happy to see you. He's been locked up in his office all day. Silly boy." Bianca shook her head.

"I'll go find him for you," Bianca said once I was sitting down. "What can I do for you in the meantime? Do you want any tea or anything to eat?" I quickly shook my head in response. More food was the last thing that I needed. I thanked Bianca for her kindness and then settled down on the sofa as she scurried off to find James.

For some reason, James' mansion kind of intimidated me. I guessed part of the reason was because James himself lived her. I also speculated that another reason was because James obviously knew what I had been up to with Cutler last time I visited. He had even given me a little warning. I wondered why. Why would he even give a shit about me?

Abruptly, the door to the parlor opened and snapped me out of my reverie. James stood in the doorway looking just as handsome and gorgeous as ever. He gave me a small, formal smile and came to sit down on a chair across from the couch. I would have preferred if he had sat next to me, but I guess that wasn't exactly for me to decide.

"I didn't expect to see you here this soon, Miss Cook," James greeted me, crossing one long leg over the other. "What is it you're here for?" He did look surprised to see me. I figured that he probably thought I wouldn't come back after the embarrassment of yesterday. But no, when my friend was in danger, not even humiliation would keep me from her.

"I'm here about Elizabeth," I told James, already feeling a blush creep into my cheeks. Great. So I couldn't even keep the blush out of my face. I looked at the ground so I at least wouldn't have to look him in the eye while I blushed, "I want to know if anyone's going after her. Will she be okay? What do pirates usually do to prisoners?"

James' jaw stiffened, "I'm not quite sure what they do to prisoners, but I don't spend my time thinking about it. Yes, we're going after her later this afternoon. Gillette is preparing the Dauntless. We'll go after the Interceptor, take it back from Turner and that goddamn pirate, and then go after the Black Pearl until we find Miss Swann."

"Oh good," I said, sighing with relief. "So someone is going after her then?" James nodded. My heart immediately lifted. Elizabeth was going to be okay. People were out there searching for her. Everything was going to be okay after all. Suddenly, an impulse shut through me. Why couldn't I come too? I wanted to go see Elizabeth!

"Take me with you," I said spontaneously. "I want to go and help save Elizabeth. She is my best friend after all." I didn't see why James wouldn't bring me along. Unfortunately, he had other ideas though. At my request, he gave me a stern look and shook his head quickly, "No, Miss Cook, you will be staying here at Port Royal like you belong."

"Why?" I protested. "I want to come." Deep inside, I also reasoned that it would be a way for me to get away from my parents for a while. I'd be lying if I said that was something I didn't want. Nonetheless, the commodore was resolute. James shook his head and said, "No. We just lost a girl to the sea and I'm certainly not willing to lose another one."

"Oh," I said sadly, looking at the ground rather depressed. James must've felt sorry for me. He came over and sat by my side. He raised my chin so that I was looking at him and said, "Don't cry. It'll be okay. You must know why I want to keep you here." Rather stiffly, James tucked my hair behind an ear and then stared straight ahead of him.

I actually had no idea why he wanted to keep me here. I shook my head and said, "No. So you don't get into trouble with my parents?" James looked back over at me and gave me one of his stiff smiles. He shook his head and looked ahead of him, "That too, I suppose, but my main reason is because of the same reason I warned you last time."

I looked at him in confusion, "And that would be?" James swallowed and looked at the floor. Finally, he admitted in a quiet voice, "I care about you, Miss Jenna. There's something about you that needs someone to take care of you. As nobody else seems to be doing that job, I'm taking it into my own hands and I'm going to keep you safe right here on land."

My jaw dropped. Was James trying to say that he liked me? I thought about this for a moment and then shook my head. No, it wasn't like that. James wanted to keep me safe and just didn't want me to fall into the hands of pirates like Elizabeth had. To be honest, that wasn't too surprising considering just how much James hated pirates.

James coughed and looked around the room, staring at everything but me. I started to reach over to touch his arm, but James touched me first. He took my wrist an put my hand back in my lap. Hm...that wasn't exactly a good sign. I blinked up at him in confusion, trying to figure out what his situation with me was.

"Miss Cook, forgive me, but I must be straightforward with you about the matter at hand," James said decidedly, still refusing to look at me. "You have...ahem...been seeing someone, haven't you?" Basically, I figured he was stating that I had been having regular sex. It had only happened twice so far, but I didn't see any reason to point that out to him.

"Yes," I admitted to his question in a small voice. James nodded and replied, "Yes, I kind of figured that. Miss Cook, I'm worried about you. I'm afraid you're going to get hurt quite badly. Don't you know what will happen to you very soon? It could happen to you in the next month or tomorrow for all we know. You must think before you act."

I wasn't quite sure what James was talking about. I gave him a blank look, "James? What could happen in the next few months?" This time, James actually turned and looked at me. His green eyes searched mine and even though we weren't touching, I felt close to him. James sighed and held out two fingers, "Two things. First of all, you could be pregnant. Secondly, don't you think your parents will be arranging a marriage for you quite soon? You are around Elizabeth's age, are you not?"

It took me a moment to register James' words. To be honest, that thought had never crossed my mind before, but suddenly I realized he was right. I could get pregnant. God, I didn't even want to think about the consequences of that. My mom would probably kill me for that. And my father? Let's just say that I'd rather not face him about that anytime soon.

And about becoming engaged to someone...well, the thought had crossed my mind once or twice. I had never thought about it seriously though. The last thing I wanted to do was get engaged to some man that I didn't give a damn about. But what was the point of life if you didn't take risks? I couldn't just spend my whole life locked up in my room, could I?

I shrugged at James and said, "I'm aware of those risks. They're risks that I'm willing to take. But thank you for the advice." Already I was thinking about being in bed with Cutler. He had been so gentle with me. The way he had stroked my body had been so loving and it had felt so good. I couldn't wait to be with him again...

"Well then," James said, cutting into my thoughts. "I suppose there's no more reason for you to still be here." James stood up and offered me his arm. I took it, hoping he wasn't too mad at me. Those tingles ran through my body as James touched my arm as always. He led me to the door and opened it.

"Take care of yourself," James said softly. He gave me a push out the door and then did something entirely unexpected. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before he shut the door. I stood outside the door rather shocked for a few minutes. I shook my head with surprise and started on my way home. Had James' kiss meant something? Or had it been given away carelessly?