A Lesson in Seamanship by Clonesgirl
Part V: Taking Command
"Come, let us refresh ourselves. And perhaps some clothing is in order," Captain Pellew announced. "There is a certain chill to the air." He donned his dressing gown as Hornblower retrieved his uniform and began to dress.
They subsequently repaired to the Captain's private cabin where they sat on his bunk nibbling on cheese and dry biscuits washed down with some excellent wine.
Hornblower smiled when he saw the label on the bottle. "French, sir?"
Pellew's mouth turned up in the tiniest of smiles. "The French may have their faults, but wine-making is not one of them. This war, like the others before it, will not last forever."
They ate a little more in silence, savouring the wine, Captain Pellew enjoying the sight of his most attractive young officer leaning back on his bunk barefoot, one long leg tucked up under him and wearing nothing but his shirt and breeches.
How beautiful! he thought. He is like a young colt, he ruminated, noting the long length of the legs, the sweep of the powerful thighs, the grace of the neck. His eyes wandered further to small nipples showing through the thin cotton of the shirt. Unbidden came the memory of what it felt like to suck on them while listening to the sweet boy's sighs of bliss.
He observed Hornblower finish the last of his wine.
"Lie back, Mr Hornblower."
Hornblower smiled. "If you will only lie beside me, sir."
"Alas there is little room to spare on even a Captain's bunk."
"Then you must lie on top of me, sir."
"Captain's privilege, Mr Hornblower," Edward Pellew muttered, climbing on top of his lover.
Soft and tender lips pressed kisses to his tanned cheeks while he was simultaneously caressed by long arms and longer legs. Never could he recall feeling so wanted as he did with this beloved one. In the close embrace of this most excellent young officer he experienced the freedom to love with his whole heart. With it came the simultaneous craving for physical completion and all the longing in his soul for a kindred spirit.
The dear boy was pressing their groins together, their renewed lust more than evident to both now as Hornblower opened his Captain's dressing gown and slid it from his shoulders.
"Much better," his Captain murmured.
"Oh, yes, sir. And, if I may say so, sir, you belong naked in my arms."
"Oh, do I?" his Captain marvelled while long, deft fingers proceeded to undo his queue and loosen the dark locks.
Edward Pellew briefly considered that a Captain should not be lying naked with a junior officer, but for now that brilliant smile held him in thrall as lustful words were whispered in his ear.
"Oh, indeed you do, my beloved Captain. You shall lie naked in your bed and I shall embrace you most dearly..." Hornblower reached between them to fondle the insistent hardness that now pressed into him, "... and your dear flesh, this tall and wonderful mast, shall be where you long for it to be..." he whispered.
Edward Pellew, a man hardened by many years at sea, wanted to cry at the beauty of what was being offered to him. He allowed his head to rest on the smooth, bare flesh, listening to the steady beat of the heart which had become so very dear to him.
So many years now he had been alone. Once, long ago now it seemed, there had been a young lieutenant who had showed great promise and he had taken him under his wing, only to later realise that the man was using his friendship in the hope of gaining a faster promotion. At the time he had been hurt, though thank God he had given no indication that he wanted anything more from the man. He had exercised utmost care and restraint ever since. Now... Now here was a most beautiful, brave and intelligent young officer, a boy who willingly gave all.
His heart full, Edward Pellew squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to stem his tears, but Hornblower saw it. Saw it and understood.
"No! Oh, no, my beloved Captain!" He held him tightly. "God, no, you mustn't cry! I love you and I'm here. I am only young, but I'm strong, and I'll be by your side, sir, now and in the future. Anything you wish of me you have only to ask it." He stroked the shoulder-length locks of dark hair, running his fingers through them as his Captain seemed to calm somewhat. "Shh." With one finger he raised the older man's chin to gaze into dark eyes that overflowed with love for him. Leaning forward he left soft kisses all over the damp cheeks, tasting the salty tears there and marvelling that this tough man, hardened by battle and inured to grief as he was, could still cry.
After a while Captain Pellew seemed to take a deep but shaky breath and calm himself.
"Forgive me, sir." A deep sigh went through him. "Forgive my loss of control."
"Only if you will also forgive me, sir." his young officer insisted.
As Edward Pellew looked into the dark eyes so very close to his own, he saw to his amazement that they too bore traces of wetness, as did the smooth cheeks. At that moment he understood the priceless gift he had been given. Whether it lasted six weeks, six months, or six years, he vowed he would always be eternally grateful for whatever time he spent in this young man's arms.
Leaning a little closer, he murmured, "Close your eyes," and proceeded to kiss the long, dark lashes, feeling the moisture there on his lips and loving the way they tickled a little as they fluttered. However, the sweet, full lips parted, begging for a kiss, and he was more than happy to oblige.
Hornblower felt the touch of warm, gentle lips on his own in a soft kiss and smiled, awaiting another. When it came, he sighed with pleasure. "You are too good to me, sir," he murmured, voice languid as the smile lingered and he opened his eyes to gaze on the countenance of his dear Captain.
"And your dear lips are far too tempting to ignore," his Captain replied, hands running though the thick softness of the young man's curls, "and far too wanton for your old Captain. I believe you will wear me out, Mr Hornblower, and then what will happen to my ship and her crew?"
"Why I shall take command, of course, sir."
This audacious statement was uttered with the straightest of faces and, for a moment, Edward Pellew, esteemed Captain of 'Indefatigable', blanched. That is, until he realised that his young officer was pulling his leg, as indeed he had often done to his lover.
"Damn your impudence, sir! So that is your intention, is it? Seduce the Captain, wear him to a skeleton with debauchery day and night so you can take over his ship!" As he lifted Hornblower's chin the smile returned, if indeed it had ever gone away. "Well let me tell you, sir, if that is your plan, by God it's working!"
Hornblower's giggles, which he tried to muffle behind his hand, shook them both and, as his lover joined him, they convulsed with laughter. When their mirth had died down to snickers, the Captain reached out to stroke the smooth-skinned features of his beloved, tracing the full, smiling lips and contemplating his earlier decision to put an end to the youth's innocence tonight.
"Mr Hornblower, I have come to a decision." Large, dark eyes watched him in expectation. "I have decided that tonight you shall be in command."
The eyes widened. "Sir?" Hornblower queried in bewilderment. "You... surely can not mean...?"
"Aye, Mr Hornblower. You, sir, will navigate us through a heavy swell. The seas might get a little rough at times but I have every confidence in your ability to guide our ship!"
"Oh, sir!" His lover nodded in confirmation. "Oh, sir, you do me a great honour and I shall do my very best to steer a straight course!"
Lips buried in his companion's soft curls, Edward Pellew smiled in his joy and anticipation. He had not allowed another to take him in many years.
"In that case, sir, I am sure your efforts will be more than sufficient. Carry on, Mr Hornblower."
"Aye, aye, sir, but you must forgive my inexperience in matters of love."
"Shh," came the murmured reply as Edward Pellew reached out to fondle the beloved boy's hardening member. "Masts to the stars, Mr Hornblower!"
Hornblower smiled, reaching for his dear Captain's lovely balls and feeling their ripe condition. "Yes, sir. And sails full!"
They both smiled at the analogies.
Hornblower manoeuvred them so that he was now lying on top of his Captain, kissing him, hands stroking his arms and shoulders. Gathering up his lover's hands he brought them to his mouth to press tender lips to the palms and each long, tapered finger, this action eliciting smiles and sighs of appreciation that went straight to his heart. His own desire and his inventive mind more than made up for his inexperience as he worked his way up the wrists, kissing and licking, both men enthralled by the mood he was creating. As he stroked his way up the rest of the arms he kissed the older man's neck, loving the taste of him, licking a little at the throat and under the chin, before working his way lower, using his tongue to create a trail of fire in the soft scattering of dark hair before touching it lightly to the tender little nipples. He smiled as each crinkled and hardened, whereupon he sucked them avidly, loving the small protrusions and the way they tasted in his mouth.
"My dearest Captain, you are a delight!" he murmured, stroking the belly and ribcage, lips moving lower to dip into the tiny navel. Much lower now, eyes on the object that rose tall and bare while his lips travelled to the hips on either side and his hand dipped lower to part the thighs and once again cuddle the dear balls surrounded by their dark, curling hair.
Growing bolder, he lifted a thigh and trailed tender lips and tongue the length of it to the bent knee and back. The other followed in due course, the older man stretching and sighing his pleasure at the loving touches his beautiful lad was bestowing on him in most devoted fashion.
As Edward Pellew watched avidly, his lover's tongue darted out to lick at his balls. God, how beautiful! was all he could think, spreading his legs more to accommodate his adored lover. Lord, but he wanted the boy so much!
"Come here!" he moaned. As Hornblower complied his Captain grasped his young lover's wonderful manhood and guided it to his mouth to lick it thoroughly, wetting it all over as his lover whimpered in his ecstasy. He then stroked and squeezed the tip to moisten it further, spreading the silky fluid as much as possible.
"A particularly strong mast, sir!" he admired, continuing lower to stroke the firm, fullness of the testicles. "A strong mast and full sails. That is what I require of you, sir. Think you're up to it?"
"Oh, yes, sir! Very much so, sir!" Hornblower murmured in rather breathless manner.
"Then give me your finger."
As Hornblower raised his hand, his lover took hold of a long index finger and inserted it into his mouth, licking it and wetting it thoroughly.
"Now place it inside me," he instructed.
Hornblower stroked his wet finger over the entrance, willing the muscles to relax and admit him. When, of a sudden, they did, his finger slid rapidly inside to stroke easily against the smooth walls.
"Am I hurting you, sir?" he inquired softly, but his lover shook his head.
He stroked more, and he discovered as he stroked downward that this caused his lover to gasp in delight and groan his approval. Gratified that he seemed to be doing it right, he continued, his Captain now writhing beneath him.
"Now, my love. Now!" Edward Pellew beseeched, longing to be impaled on his lover's hard and glistening column.
Hornblower shifted them both now, getting comfortable, stroking his senior officer's firm buttocks, squeezing and fondling them as he brought his yearning manhood to the small opening. Pushing gently, he begged admission to his Captain's body.
Without warning, he was suddenly enveloped in tight heat as his dear one jerked forward without warning. He also heard the gasp of discomfort but he was on fire, needy flesh craving ever more of his lover's body.
"More!" his lover begged, so he dared to push a little deeper, stroking the thighs and back with his hands, soothing as he could, knowing that his dearest Captain was in considerable discomfort, if not outright pain.
"Oh, sir, I am hurting you! Let me withdraw!" he pleaded.
"No! Carry on, sir!" his Captain muttered through clenched teeth.
He pushed in a little further, withdrew a little and continued to repeat the action, each time sliding just a little further in.
"Yesss!" his dear Captain hissed. "Yes, more!" as he pushed back on his heels, now leaning back against the beautiful lover kneeling behind him.
"My dearest, my beloved Captain!" Hornblower wrapped his arms around him, stroking his arms and shoulders, leaning over to lick enticingly at his neck and nibble on the lobe of his ear. As his lover leaned back further and turned his head their mouths met in hunger and brazen need, devouring now, sharing ravenous sucking that left them only wanting more.
"Move, my beauty!" his Captain commanded. "Your sweet flesh is huge within me. God, so good!" He threw back his head in his excitement. "Move, my dear sir! Thrust, sweet lad."
Hornblower needed no further bidding. "God, yes, sir! Yes, my most adored Captain!" He pulled back and thrust in gently, now almost all the way. "Is that better, sir?" he inquired solicitously.
"More, my love! Hard!" A harder thrust from his dear one rocked them both. "Yes, my love, yes!" he gasped. "Steer us, Mr Hornblower. You have the wheel, sir, but there is a heavy... swell," he panted. "Keep the bow pointed to the swell, sir!"
"Aye, aye, sir!" his young lover answered, thrusting harder, buried to the hilt now, the pleasure building within him.
As heat grew in them, steam rose in the cabin's now-chill air. Breaths rasped in their throats, bodies heaving in their search for perfection and the ultimate moment of sweetest fulfilment.
For Edward Pellew, each stroke of his lover's hard and fiercely swollen manhood was causing great shocks of bliss deep within him. Never had it been like this before and it was all he could do to clench his teeth not to cry out in his delirium.
As Hornblower grasped the hard column of his lover's sex to pump it strongly he found himself groaning, "Oh, sir! Oh, can't hold on! Oh, God!"
His Captain reached back to grasp his lover's thighs, his head thrown back in ecstasy. "Together! God, yes! My heart and my fire!"
Heat turned to a blazing inferno, spreading in delicious flames that rapidly engulfed them. Flesh seared together, hearts soaring, they moved as one now, their rapture a living thing. The cabin was filled with their soft moans and gasps of pleasure, the stars and the ship they both loved witness to their mutual adoration.
Edward Pellew sobbed his release, body bent back gloriously like a bow and soaking his lover's hand as his dear one, deep within him, divine in his ardour and whimpering in his delirium, jolted them both with the fervour and beauty of his passion.
The last thing he remembered was collapsing, only to feel the sweet lad gather him up in his arms and cover them both.
*
Startled from a dream, Edward Pellew opened his eyes to find he was lying in bed. The only light in the room came from the outer cabin. His body felt warm all over. No, more than warm, he decided; totally relaxed and utterly content. He was lying in the close embrace of his Acting Lieutenant, his head on the dear boy's broad shoulder, his arm across his flat belly, his legs he could not decide, but they were definitely tangled with his lover's.
Turning his head slightly, he endeavoured to gaze in the semi-darkness on Hornblower's sleeping countenance. He could make out the straight sweep of the nose, the strong jaw and chin, the softness of the full lips, swollen a little from their kisses.
Edward Pellew's heart warmed at the memory of all they had shared this night. And there would be other nights too, he realised, smiling in the darkness. He wondered if he would feel a little sore in the morning, and decided he did not care in the least. He would perform his duties as normal but if he walked the deck a little less no one would notice, would they? He wished he was a composer, or a writer so that he could somehow express the happiness that welled within him. Instead he turned a little to embrace his beautiful lover and run wandering fingers through the soft curls of hair that tumbled to his forehead.
Vaguely he wondered what time it was, unable to twist his head enough to see the clock which hung on the bulkhead.
Whatever time it is, my dearest one, it must be time for you to leave, at least while it is still dark and no one need see you depart, he realised.
With utmost reluctance he placed a soft kiss on the warm flesh of the pale neck. When nothing happened he bestowed another, and still another, memorising his lover's scent and the smoothness of the tender flesh.
"My dearest Mr Hornblower," he whispered into the ear so close to his lips. Succumbing to temptation, he nibbled on the lobe. This elicited a soft catch in the breath. Smiling, he did it again, this time a small sound, half protest, half pleasure, issued from the full lips. Placing a lingering kiss on the smooth cheek, he murmured, "Time to wake up, my good sir." This elicited a long, "Mmmm..." and a delicious stretching of the long, lithe body. Without warning, the eyes opened as though their owner of a sudden realised where he was, and with whom.
"I see you are awake at last, sir!" Edward Pellew murmured into his lover's ear, placing a quiet kiss on it.
"Captain!" his new lover whispered, smiling and turning toward him so that they lay, of necessity, very close, embracing warmly. "Oh, sir, you were in my dream!"
The Captain smiled. "Tell me," he whispered.
"I can't remember much, only that... we seemed to be flying."
"Flying? Like the birds? Would that we could!" he muttered with a touch of irony.
"We were flying, sir. Somehow we were soaring above the sea and you took my hand and said, 'Look there!' and below us everything was the most beautiful blue. And there she was! The Indy was sailing along, every sail set, and she was so beautiful. Then somehow we were on the deck and it was a fine, sunny day, and you took me in your arms in front of all the officers and men and you smiled and said, 'She is ours, you know.' Then in front of everyone you kissed me."
"Outrageous!" his lover commented, a smile on his somewhat swollen lips.
"I... uh, trust that it was a gentle kiss?" he queried after a moment.
Hornblower smiled. "No, sir."
His Captain appeared dismayed. "No?"
"No, my Captain. You held me hard against you and I could feel your... uh... enthusiasm. Very much so," he added. "And it was a most passionate kiss."
"Good Lord! In front of the men?" He sounded positively scandalised at the very notion, even if it was only a dream.
"Aye, sir. You... you put your tongue down my throat." His Captain winced at the thought of this ever happening in front of the men. "Finally, when we had kissed for the longest time, you said, 'As we are hers.'"
Pellew rolled his eyes. "Well really!"
Hornblower hugged him. "Oh, sir, it was so beautiful! It was as though I could feel everything you felt; your love, your desire for me. Felt so marvellous!" he sighed. "And there was something else too."
"Dare I ask to what you refer?"
"I... It... It was the ship herself, sir."
"What about her?"
Hornblower bit his bottom lip, not knowing how to express the ineffable.
"She... She was somehow part of us, sir."
"In what way?"
"I... I don't know, sir. But it all made sense in the dream. We loved each other very much, and she was somehow part of us. Part of our love for one another." He shook his head. "I know it doesn't make much sense now..."
"None at all!" his Captain interjected.
"...but it was most beautiful," his lover insisted. "I wish..." He halted, realising his words would make little sense.
Captain Pellew kissed the sweet boy's smooth forehead feeling as though he wanted to give his young lover the world.
"What do you wish? Tell me what is it you wish, and if it is within my power I will grant it."
Hornblower was somewhat sheepish about voicing his wish but, gazing into the depths of his lover's eyes and seeing the great affection there, he forced himself to continue.
"You will think it fanciful, sir, but I wish only that we could share such a dream."
The Captain disengaged himself from his lover's arms and rose from the bed.
"A fanciful notion indeed, sir!" He smiled down at the youthful beauty gracing his bed and considered himself fortunate indeed. "Also, a wish I confess I do not know how to grant, dreams being rather capricious creatures." He held out his hand to Hornblower and pulled him to his feet, only to have him wrap sinuous arms around him and kiss his cheek.
"Then perhaps if we were to both wish for it, sir?"
He grasped Hornblower's chin, tilting it up toward him and as he gazed into enormous, dark eyes, unable to deny his lover anything the lad wanted, whether it was within his power to grant or not.
"If that is your wish, Mr Hornblower."
There was that smile that could light up a room. "It is, sir."
"Then I shall also wish for it. In the meantime, much though I wish you to stay, you must leave now, my dear."
*
After Hornblower had quietly left his quarters, Captain Pellew looked thoughtfully at the quilt still lying on the table. Sighing a little, he examined it but could find no trace of the brandy he had most lasciviously used on the luscious body of his young officer, but then he had been most thorough in his tasting, he reflected. The thought brought a smile to his face.
Picking up the quilt, he began to fold it up prior to putting it away once more, however, he had a sudden change of heart. Unfolding it, he lifted it to his face and inhaled its scent. It was there! Faint but there none the less! Smiling to himself, he hugged its heavy folds as he inhaled the unique aroma of his young officer.
For long moments he merely stood there, absorbing the essence of his new lover into his being, remembering his taste and how it felt to touch his sweetly naked flesh, knowing that the dear boy welcomed his every touch; knowing also that he was only a few doors away and that they would be together again very soon.
Finally, still clutching the quilt to his breast, he walked into his private quarters, spread it out on his bunk and lay under it, its thick folds wrapping around him and covering him like a gentle lover.
* * *
