Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom

He smiled. “That’s a lot of questions.”
“Take them one at a time, then.”
“Right.” He raised three fingers, then bent one down. “First, I did it
because you’re a pretty girl, and I’m a man. Most men want to kiss
pretty girls that they…like, and, um, care about. Especially if the pretty
girl gets within kissing range. We don’t always do it, obviously, but the
impulse is there.”
She nodded, intent on his words.
He bent the second finger down. “Second, I shouldn’t have,
because, even though you’re a pretty girl, and I’ve rather wanted to do
that for quite a while now, you’re a princess, Your Highness, and if I’d
done that when we were on Kerma, and your brother was so inclined, I
suspect he could have me head chopped off for taking such a liberty
with his sister.”
Ayisha nodded again. She could imagine her father’s reaction to
such a liberty.
Jack bent down the third finger. “Third, if you were an English girl
from a noble or royal family, you’d probably be expected to slap the tar
out of me, for presuming like that. Even if you were from a poor family,
if you didn’t like me, and didn’t like what I’d done, that’s probably what
you’d do.”
“I should slap you?” She stared at him.
“I’m afraid so, love.”
“Have you been slapped before, is that how you know all this?”
Jack shrugged, then sighed and nodded. “Yep. It’s happened
before. More than a few times, actually.”
“Oh.” Obediently, Ayisha raised her hand. Jack seemed to brace
himself, but he made no effort to turn away, or shield his face.
Ayisha leaned forward, and brought her right hand up to his face,
then she patted it, feeling the roughness of stubble beneath her fingers
and palm. She smiled at him. “There you go, Jack. Consider yourself
slapped.”
Jack laughed out loud, then he caught her hand and held it against
his cheek. “Thanks, love. Best slap I ever got.”
They smiled at each other, then she pointed to the jug sitting on
the crate that passed for a table, and said, “Please pass me that.”