Endless Passion

Cinna found her first night aboard the ship restless. Warren had insisted they sleep in the same bed. He had fallen asleep easily, but she had remained wide awake. The heat from his body seemed to reach out and grab her, making her shift uneasily. She glanced down at his hand that was resting on his bare chest and thought back to the bath she had taken earlier. Heat flooded her face as she remembered the foreign feelings that his finger had elicited from her body. Just thinking about it made her body tingle and crave that feeling again.

Warren shifted in his sleep to his side, his face now facing her. Cinna stared at him in mixed wonderment and horror. What if he were to awake and find her staring at him? Would he try and kiss her? She had never been kissed before. The idea excited her and for a moment she willed him to wake. Then her senses returned to her and she turned on her side away from him. What was the matter with her? This was a pirate! So what if he be Atlantian? She had not been raised this way. She should be praying for her betrothed to come and rescue her. But that idea made her ill. She didn’t want the Greek. And she didn’t want him bad enough to stay with this pirate.

Soon the gentle rocking of the ship lulled her to sleep.

A storm approached and the thunder woke Warren from his light sleep. He had never been a heavy sleeper. The slightest movement or noise would wake him. He had trained himself to be like that. Sleep too deeply and you might not wake even after the blade slides across your throat.

The thunder was followed by flashing lightning bolts and a constant rain. It had been raining a lot lately and the waves had been more unruly than normal. Yesterday had been unusually calm. The night proved differently.

For a moment Warren forgot the previous day’s events. But as he rose to tend to his ship he realized he wasn’t alone in his bed. Cinna. How could he forget the beauty? She was in a deep sleep, Warren could tell. Her eyes were darting back and forth beneath her pale eyelids. Her red lips were parted slightly and Warren caught a glimpse of her small pink tongue.

Her black hair was unruly around her face and made her look like she had spent a night in passion. The tightness of his body told him no such thing had occurred. It was so tempting to reach out and touch her he could feel his hand shaking. But what good was it to torture himself? He needed her to remain in tack if he were to ransom her.

She moaned. The sound froze Warren in his place. What was she dreaming about? Could it possibly be him and what had transpired between then in the tub? He liked the idea of her dreaming of him. Warren couldn’t take it anymore. He touched her reach with his fingertips and savored the warmth it brought him.

She turned her head into his hand and he found himself cupping her cheek. It was such an endearing action he found himself at a loss of what to do. He didn’t like being in situations like this. He had never had a relationship with a woman that lasted longer than the night. And he had kidnapped women before that he had been able to resist so that they could be ransomed back to their families. He would be able to do it this time.

Warren retracted his hand and felt a loss that was more than just physical. There was an emptiness inside him that he didn’t like nor wished to acknowledge.

Cinna turned more towards him and the top of her dress parted slightly and he caught a glimpse of her breasts. Warren balled his fists. This was driving him crazy. He needed to get out of here before he did something stupid. But he couldn’t leave the bed.

He found himself touching her dress against his better judgment and parting the fabric to get to her flesh. Her body was warm and as he cupped her right breast in his hand he felt a satisfaction rush through him. He brushed his thumb over her nipple a few times, rubbing it gently into a hard nub. He could feel her heartbeat quicken, but she remained asleep. Soon it wasn’t enough to just touch her body, he wanted to taste her. He lowered his head and took her hard pink nipple into his hot mouth. He sucked gently, his eyes fixed firmly on her face. She was still asleep. He wanted to keep it that way. He wondered how much pleasure he could give her before she woke up.

Warren decided that her left breast must be feeling lonely and began to cup it gently while he continued to suck on the right. His body was aching for its own release, but that probably wouldn’t happen right now. He soon found himself feeling unsatisfied even after a moan escaped Cinna’s sleeping form. He didn’t want to just taste her skin, he wanted to taste the most sacred part of her body.

The dress and sheets were annoyingly in his way and removing them would surely wake her up. Trying to touch her there would probably wake her as well, but it didn’t stop him for thinking about it. He hesitated a moment before leaping from the bed and storming out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

Cinna woke at the loud sound and found herself alone in the bed. Her body felt strange and she looked down and found her dress had been pushed apart and her breasts were bared. Both her nipples were hard and the flesh was a dark pink shade. She blushed at the sight and wondered what had exactly happened while sleeping.

Now that she was awake she realized that something had changed. The gently rocking of the waves had turned violent and thunder shook the ship and frightened her greatly. A bad stormed had rolled in and it seemed they were caught in the middle of it.

She pulled her dress back into place and moved on unsteady legs to the door and found it locked. She shook it a few times in frustration and then finally gave up. If the ship were to capsize she would be trapped and drown. It was not a lovely thought and her stomach churned.

The storm didn’t let up for the rest of the night. Cinna had tried to go back to sleep, but the rough waves had knocked her onto the floor too many times and her body ached. Soon seasickness set in and she found herself bent over a bucket on the floor and empting her stomach into it. Her eyes were heavy as sleep tugged at her body.

The sun was starting to rise, but the thickness of the rain clouds blocked out most of the light. The waves didn’t let up, but she found that she had grown accustomed to their erratic behavior, or it might just be the fact that she was so tired it didn’t bother her anymore. Sleep claimed her body and she fell into a deep sleep on the floor. She found that the sea couldn’t knock her anywhere if she was already on the ground. Although the wood wasn’t the most comfortable she found sleep came easily.


Warren spent the entire night making sure his ship didn’t get swallowed up by the sea. It took a lot of effort and he was beyond exhausted. He had never seen a storm like this one and wondered what was wrong with the world. The roughness of the sea had done one helpful thing though, it had given them more speed and had pushed them a days journey closer to home. They would only have to spend one more day at sea. He loved being at sea, but not in this kind of weather. He would feel much safer with his feet planted firmly on Atlantis soil.

“How’s it going with the girl?” Warren’s first mate Orite asked. Orite was a year younger than himself and was almost the exact opposite in looks. His hair was fair and his eyes were so many different colors Warren had a hard time keeping track of them all. He was Warren’s closest friend and they had been sailing together since they had been children. Although neither really ever felt like a child. It was hard growing up alone in the world and fighting from the moment you’re alive to survive.

“Damn near want to kill her,” Warren muttered as he held onto the wheel of his ship. Thunder roared in the distance, but was no longer a direct threat to them.

“She’s quite a beauty, huh?” Orite said with a smirk. Warren felt anger rush through him and for a moment he wanted to hit Orite as hard as he could. The sudden pang of jealously didn’t last long and he remembered that Orite was his best friend, but the feeling of anger left a bitter taste in his mouth that he didn’t care for. This girl meant nothing to him. He didn’t know her at all and was most certainly not worth killing a friend over.

“I think we’ll reach home a day sooner thanks to the storm.”

Orite seemed to take the change in topic in stride as he smiled lazily. He could sense his friend was a bit too infatuated with this girl and it could possibly cause problems in the future. The crew would not accept loosing the gold this girl could bring them. They could tell from just looking at her that money would soon follow. There were plenty of girls back home that were willing to warm their beds and Warren should seek one of them out as soon as they got back.

“I’ll bet Myra will be waiting for you.” She had slept with Warren many times, as well as half the crew. But she was Warren’s favorite and everyone knew it. Many expected him to marry her, even though she was just a whore. Many pirates did the like. The crew would leave her alone if he did, but she was still fair game and Orite was thinking of taking a turn with her in the sheets.

“She’ll be glad to see me, I’m sure,” Warren smiled, but Orite saw a certain emptiness to it that set him on edge. Warren didn’t normally act like this. He might just have to step in and do something if Warren forgot himself.

“You should get some sleep, Warren, you’ve been up all night. I’ll watch the ship.”

Warren nodded and clapped his friend on the back before returning below deck. He unlocked his door and found Cinna asleep on the floor by the bed. He frown at the sight and scooped her up his arms and placed her in the bed. She woke instantly.

“You locked me in here.”

“Yes.”

“If this ship sank I would have drowned.”

“It didn’t.”

Cinna was not pleased with this conversation. He said little and was watching her too closely. She looked down and made sure her dress was in place and his eyes followed her direction. She snapped her gaze back up and found him smiling at her.

“I demand you release me at once.”

“We are in the middle of the sea. If you truly wish to leave, you are free to step into it.”

Cinna looked out the small window in the cabin and watched the sea churn angrily in the storm that was still going strong. The rain was now coming in as a mist and the lightning had dissipated, but the wind had not let up. There was no way she would last five seconds in that water. And although the idea of being anyone’s prisoner did not sit well with her, dying was not that appealing either.

“Will you send me home?”

“And where is home exactly?” Warren asked smoothly.

“Atlantis.”

“And I half expected you to say in Greece with your betrothed.”

“I didn’t want to marry him.” Cinna didn’t like how that sounded. “It’s none of your business.”

“So where exactly on Atlantis is home?” Warren questioned. Cinna froze. If she mentioned her father’s name or his land Warren would know immediately that she was worth her weight in gold.

“I can get there myself if you’ll lend me a horse.”

“Oh? I’m to give you my horse and watch you ride away without any information on who you are? You know what I’m thinking Cinna? I’m thinking you are a liar and that your father isn’t poor. If you tell me who he is and he is worth money, no harm will come to you or your family. Just their bank account.”

“You’re a monster.”

“Because I like gold? I think the whole world would then be classified as monsters.”

“I’m not yours to barter with.”

“On the contrary, you are mine. Until I give you back to your betrothed you belong to me.”

“My betrothed?” Cinna gasped. She would still end up in Greece? No!

“You don’t seem pleased? I thought you wanted to be rescued. Why would your father come for you? You aren’t his problem anymore. Your betrothed paid good money according to you, he won’t want to lose it.”

Cinna felt her world slip out from under her. She had to get away from him. He wasn’t going to keep her in Atlantis. And she refused to go to Greece. She had managed to escape her fate thus far, perhaps the gods were on her side and would aid her in her escape.

Warren crossed the small distance between then and captured her lips with his own. Cinna froze as she felt his hot lips press against hers. His snaked his hand in her hair and pressed her head closer to his. She was trapped there and couldn’t move. But she didn’t really want to move. His lips tasted wonderful and She found herself enjoying her first kiss. She felt his tongue run along her bottom lip and then press against her sealed lips. They parted easily and his tongue slipped inside her mouth.

Warren groaned at the taste and intensified the kiss. It sent shivers down his body. He had never felt a kiss like this one. It made the world seem right. He didn’t like how much he was enjoying it. It went deeper than just a physical enjoyment.

Warren broke the kiss and stepped back to breathe. Cinna stood there, her lips swollen from his kiss and he felt a satisfaction in that. Then without a word he turned around and walked back out the door and locked it behind him.