Marianna felt watchful eyes on her as she tended to the patrons of her Aunt's Inn. The Inn was alive with the sound of chatter, but the source of the eyes on her was in a pocket of silence in the dimly lit corner of the Inn.
She shot a glance towards the man watching her, and felt, as she had the first time she laid on eyes on him when he walked in, a warmth spread through her. He had sailed in with the ship that had docked earlier. She was certain by the way the other members of the crew were engaging in shady dealings that the ship was home to pirates and other unsavoury folk, but it was hard to remember that looking at him.
He wore a loose-fitting shirt, its top buttons undone and providing a glimpse of the chiselled chest underneath. She bit her lower lip as she looked at him, her eyes drinking him in before she noticed his warm brown eyes watching her, a small smile on his face. She felt her face heat up, and she turned away in embarrassment.
Marianna weaved throughout the Inn, collecting empty tankards and providing fresh ones the men and women throughout. Her Aunt's Inn was often host to folk such as these, and the ladies of the night that tried to earn a quick buck from the men that so rarely felt the touch of a woman. Marianna's Aunt turned a blind eye to it all, but she had remained firm with her patrons that no man was to touch Marianna, unless they intended on wedding her. It was the least she could do for Marianna's late Mother, who had only wanted the best for her daughter.
Marianna remained chaste, but she could not deny the curiosity that stirred within her whenever she caught a glimpse of the debauchery that took place. The way some of the men pawed at the ladies of the night, and the way these women were all too eager to service them both frightened and aroused Marianna. She longed to be swept off her feet, to feel a man between her legs, but she worried that her enjoyment of the act would be the same as the ladies she saw -- fake.
But whenever she looked over at the man in the corner, his brown eyes trailing her, she couldn't deny the desire that flowed through her, making her momentarily weak between the knees. And as the night wore on, and the patrons began to trickle out, either to their homes, their ships or to the rooms above, and the man stayed where he was, Marianna began to wonder if she could control herself if left alone with him.
Her concern grew when her Aunt left Marianna in charge of closing the Inn for the night. It was not the first night Marianna had been left on her own, her Aunt trusted Marianna now that she was an adult.
'Stop it,'
Marianna told herself, '
you've been around handsome men before and remained chaste. You will do so again.'
But she had the sense she was lying to herself, as his eyes drew her in, like a moth to a flame, his curly brown hair begging to have her hands running through it, gripping it tightly in her fists as he performed any number of unspeakable acts on her.
His smile flashed into view, and she realised she'd been biting her lip as she looked at him. She took a sharp breath and turned away, sure that her face was bright red. The Inn was empty, save her and the man in the corner. She took a deep breath, to steady herself. The only way she was going to leave tonight with her chastity intact would be if the man left. To do that, she was going to have to ask him to leave.
She kept her back to the man in the corner as she took a tray of empty tankards behind the bar, before sneaking a sip of the ale for liquid courage.
"Thirsty?" came a warm, smooth voice behind her, startling Marianna mid sip. She whirled around, painfully conscious of the drops of ale dripping down her throat. The man stood on the other side of the bar, leaning against it. His eyes followed the trail of liquid now making its way down Marianna's chest.
"I -- no -- I'm sorry, can I help you?" she stammered out, cursing herself inwardly for sounding like a bumbling fool. His eyes lazily made their way back up to hers, and she felt herself biting her lip again. Out of the dimness he was previously in, they were even more gorgeous, the light catching them in a way that made them look like honey in the sunlight. Stubble coated his square jaw, and it took more self-control than it should have to stop herself from reaching out to feel it under her slender fingers.
He reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a gold coin, before lazily spinning it between his fingers.
"I've come to pay for a room for the night. I was going to stay on my ship, but the service here is too good to resist," he said, his voice low. It took Marianna a moment before she registered what he was saying, causing a deep blush to show on her pale cheeks.
"I'll have to check the books," she replied, turning quickly away from the man at the bar, and hustling down to the end where her Aunt kept the books logging those who stayed the night. She felt a bittersweet mix of relief and dismay when she saw several empty rooms listed.
"I just need to take your name, Sir," she said, avoiding looking at him.
"William, yours?"