The Tempest

[Chevi]

Lucius was beginning to think this was a dream. A marvelous, vivid dream. He had had some of them before, very similar to this, but not nearly as good. Not nearly as real. Ovinia wrapped her arms around him and then they were kissing, with enough passion to make his head spin. Was this really happening? Hell if he was going to question it. Lucius growled, responding to her kiss with equal hunger. His hands slid down her sides and she lifted her off her feet, motion made easy with the help of the water. He held her close, hands on her thighs and her backside, their hips pressing together. He felt so much desire he almost lost his balance in the waves. But not enough to break the kiss.

[Sara]

She moaned against his lips as he picked her up and dutifully wrapped her legs around his hips. Even without the water she would have felt like she was floating. This was heaven, she was sure of it. The feeling of his hands and the taste of his lips was ecstasy and she broke away to catch her breath just for the briefest of moments, resting her forehead against his with the softest, laziest of smiles on her well-kissed lips. 

She didn't know exactly what to do so instead she just did what felt right, moving to kiss down the side of his throat and then along the line of his jaw whilst her fingers rant through his hair. Bliss. Everything was shimmering and golden and warm and the sensation in her body was unlike anything she'd experienced before. "I want you." She mumbled against his skin. She didn't even really know what she meant by that, she just knew she wanted more of him.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius felt like he could exist without taking a breath ever again, as long as he got to keep kissing her. Ovinia wrapped her legs around his hips and he moaned against her lips, fingers pressing into her skin. He finally gasped for air as her kisses traveled to his jaw and neck. Gods, was this really happening?

"I want you."

Everything was bliss. Bliss, desire, warmth, a light spinning feeling. Lucius moved, walking towards the shore. As they emerged from the water he was still carrying her, water running down their bodies. He made it to the pillows before dropping to his knees, placing her down. His hands worked on the strip of cloth across her chest, tossing it away. "Fuck, you're beautiful."

[Sara]

She was lifted up and then suddenly she wasn't in the water anymore and she didn't know how that happened but she didn't care. The air was warm and the beach was bathed in golden light and she couldn't keep her fingers, her lips away from his skin. She kissed the column of his throat and then found his lips again as he led her down and fumbled at the cloth against her chest.

She giggled at the comment, smoke billowing around them and making everything but the pleasure she was feeling, fuzzy. "You're Apollo." She grinned, squinting up at him, moving one of her hand to the curve between his beck and his shoulder, trying to tug him down on top of her so she could keep kissing him. She'd only been kissed twice before and it had never, ever felt like this. She didn't want it to stop as her fingers gripped his back and she wound one leg around his waist. The thought that she was going too far, irreparably far, never, ever even entered her mind.

 

TAG: @Chevi

 

[Chevi]

He laughed at her calling him Apollo, although in the moment, by the fire, he did feel like a god. In the company of a goddess. She pulled him down to her and he went willingly, enveloped in her arms and kissing her lips hungrily before he moved down, kissing his way along her neck to her breasts, then her belly, and beyond. She tasted like sea salt, and she was perfect, so perfect. Lucius lost himself to pleasure, in the desire to caress her, and please her, and make her call his name. Sunset faded into night, and night faded into bliss.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia woke up to birdsong. And a chill. And the worst headache she had ever experienced in her life. She moaned into...something. A pillow. She managed to crack open one eye and saw it in...sunlight. The shack, despite the many holes, was not this bright in the mornings and then she realised as she glanced beyond the pillow...straight to the sea. She was outside. Yet somehow sheathed in the blanket and next to the burned down embers of a dying fire. Why did Lucius let her sleep outside? 

She moaned again, in pain, trying to dredge up the memories of what happened and reached down to pull the blanket over herself more but...she choked, both eyes flying open as her hand met skin and she realised she was naked. Utterly naked. And warm. And there he was - led next to her, one arm slung over her hip. Memories came back in a surge - laughing, choking in pleasure, a feeling that she had never experienced before; lust. May the Gods protect you you foolish girl what have you done?! She shoved Lucius off as hurriedly as she could, gasping and panicking. No, no this was a dream...she'd wake up...she clutched her head in pain.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

It had been a night filled with pleasure. Lucius could not remember ever having experienced anything like this before. Then again, he could not remember... much of anything. He floated into sleep, wrapped comfortably around Ovinia, keeping her warm under the blanket. It was a happy, fuzzy feeling.

And then suddenly it was morning. He woke up to being shoved forcefully away. Light stung his eyes and he groaned, mouth dry as if it was full of wool.

It had to have been another dream. Damn. "Hey!" he muttered in protest, peering up at Ovinia. Who was... naked?

[Sara]

The act of clutching her head had revealed far more of her body than she intended and it was only when she glanced sideways at Lucius, peering up at her, that she realised it. She hurriedly clutched the blanket to her chest, swaddling herself up to her chin. 

Memories surfaced more readily now; an indescribable feeling, pleasure, warmth, the sensation of being held and wanted with such ferocity...the feeling of wanting him so badly her body couldn't cope and she'd clutched onto him with...no! Stop it! She choked and dropped her head into her hands, rocking very gently side to side."What...what did we do?" Had sex. A lot. And it had been amazing. That's what they had done. "How...how could we? How could I have?!" She understood why he would have - he had nothing to lose and everything to gain but why had she given in against all of her better judgement? Had she gone insane?

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Memories were seeping back in. Not dreams... Lucius blinked. Everything was fuzzy, like after a night of heavy drinking. But they had not been drinking at all. And yet, Ovinia was naked next to him, and... very much freaked out.

Lucius sat up, groaning as he rubbed his eyes.

"What...what did we do?"

"We..." Oh. They did... a whole lot of things. Made love. Passionately. Peering over at her, he could see the light marks on her skin, on her neck and shoulder anyway because she covered the rest of it up. He made those marks. He suspected he had some of the same.

Gods help me.

"How...how could we? How could I have?!" 

Well then. That was... not what anyone wanted to hear after a night like that. Lucius' heart sank. This was going to hurt.

"I... am not sure what happened. It's like we were... drunk?"

@Sara

[Sara]

"Well we weren't drunk!" She snapped, furious, embarrassed, panicked and shot up, clutching the sail to her body to shield herself. She needed to get away from him, and here  but glancing around, she had no idea where her clothes even were. Guilt ate away at her as well, as she glanced down at him, confused on the sand. 

She groaned, her head pounding, mouth dry and screwed her eyes shut as tightly as she could bare. "I...I need to go for a walk." She needed to figure out what on earth had possessed her and what on earth she was going to do now. She was ruined. The thought made her well up.

She ignored the ache between her thighs as she unclenched her eyes and glanced around, pointedly ignoring him, trying to find her clothes. She'd have to make do with what was in the shack, and stormed off in that direction...still attempting to clutch the sail to herself although she frequently became entangled and progress back to their home was slow. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Well we weren't drunk!" 

"No we weren't." They had not been drunk. Lucius had not been properly drunk since way before the shipwreck, and she probably had never been drunk in her life. But then... what? Did both of them just... lose their minds at the same time?... If Lucius wanted to be honest with himself, he had felt desire for Ovinia for months now. But he never wanted to act on it. Mostly because he knew she'd never want him to. And he had no idea what would make her change her mind.

Oivnia stood in a hurry, wrapping the sail around herself. That left Lucius sitting by the remains of the fire, naked.

"I...I need to go for a walk." 

She really didn't. He didn't want her to walk away. Not like this.

"Ovinia, wait" Lucius scrambled to his feet. For lack of a better option, he grabbed the cloth that had been laid out for the food, and wrapped it around his hips. It was kind of too late for any of that now, but he did not want to make her feel any more awkward. He caught up with her before the shack. "Ovinia. Look at me. Let's talk."

@Sara

[Sara]

"No." She choked stubbornly but nonetheless drew to a stop. She bit at her lip, a frown creasing her forehead as she clutched so tightly at the sail her knuckles turned white. 

"There's nothing to talk about," She swallowed, shaking her head vehemently, "I...I..." She what? She did round on him now, her face completely open and pained, "I'm ruined." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

The look on her face was heartbreaking. She was not throwing one of her hissy fits; she was genuinely upset. Her voice was raw. She really did believe what she was saying. Lucius felt a tightening in his chest. He wanted to take it all back now. As amazing as it had felt. But he couldn't.

He reached out gently, holding up the edge of the sail that was trailing after her, and wrapping it over her shoulder. There were so many things he was worried about now.

"Did... did I... hurt you?"

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia shifted her shoulder so it was in his palm as he wrapped the sail over her shoulder in some sort of makeshift toga. Her face crumpled. Even now she wanted his comfort. 

"No." She breathed, shaking her head as she shut her eyes. Memories flooded back from last night though they were hazy and slowed down, cast in some sort of golden light, but they were real. She choked as she opened her eyes. She couldn't think of it. She shouldn't. "M...My father will kill me," He likely wouldn't but exile was a very real possibility. Of course, it didn't occur to her that her father might never hear of this, never see her again, never give his judgement..."I'll never marry." She choked and gave him an anguished look, "Why did we...?" She couldn't even say it.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

She pressed against his hands and he held her shoulders gently, keeping her steady. He was afraid he'd hurt her. He remembered passion, pleasure... but she was different. Gods, he hoped he had not done something wrong... more wrong, than the fac that they had done anything at all.

She was scared of her father. Of what they'd do to her... ruined, in a way only a Roman woman, only a patrician girl could be ruined. So completely.

"Why did we...?"

Lucius sighed, shaking his head slowly. He had been asking himself the same question.

"I don't know... Divine madness, maybe?" he really was at a loss. "I don't know. But I should have known better. I have been... I knew. That this was a bad idea. And then suddenly, it was all so..." So full of light. So perfect. "I'm sorry."

@Sara

[Sara]

Divine madness sounded about right. What else could have taken away all of their inhibitions? Given the sky that glimmering, sparkling light? Driven them into the water? And then each others arms? The Gods had never, to her knowledge, played with her life in such a way before but now...it seemed logical. 

She gave him a sad, earnest look. He looked wrung out, she imagined exactly like she did, and apologetic. She wanted to be angry at him - to take the shame that she felt and put it on him, blame him, but she couldn't. She remembered clearly  that she had instigated him. Told him to continue. Wanted him. It wasn't his fault. It was all hers and tears welled up in her eyes again. 

She couldn't be here, and without another word she moved past him, shuffling down the beach until she slumped to sit in the sand, wrapping her arms over her knees which she drew up to her chest. She cast her eyes to the water - so serene. Her voice was quiet and hoarse when she spoke, presuming he had followed her. "I wanted you. Not just yesterday." Honesty was a rare concept for Ovinia but what else did she have to lose now? "But..." She swallowed, fingers gripping her knees, "I knew I couldn't and I thought you hated me and then yesterday when you were out fishing I was just so...happy, so at peace...It was as if all of the worries about my father, about being found just completely, utterly drifted away." She had a weak smile on her face, "And now I'm just like every other whore in the subura." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Ovinia walked back to the beach and Lucius followed, sitting down next to her. He wasn't sure what he could say to make any of this better.

"I wanted you. Not just yesterday."

His eyes widened for a moment, looking at her. He'd fully expected her to blame... the madness, the gods, whatever.

"But... I knew I couldn't and I thought you hated me and then yesterday when you were out fishing I was just so...happy, so at peace...It was as if all of the worries about my father, about being found just completely, utterly drifted away. And now I'm just like every other whore in the subura." 

"No. No you're not." he was certain about that, giving her a serious look. "And I don't hate you. I... I wanted you too." He sighed, shaking his head. "It's not fair, is it?"

@Sara

 

[Sara]

She gave him a thin smirk and nodded determinedly. "I am." Because really what was the difference? Beyond that she hadn't been paid for it, of course...but that was semantics to somebody like Ovinia who had been taught, since her youth, that her piety and virginity were sacred and reserved for her husband and nobody else. Certainly not a sailor on a beach on some spit of land in the seas of Greece. She flushed at the thought. 

The flush heightened as he said he wanted her too. She didn't look at him, but didn't mumble in agreement. "It's not. But..." She exhaled and dropped her forehead down to her knees, trying to breathe in deep cleansing breaths. She pulled her face up and faced the sea, squinting her eyes into the horizon, "But I suppose it doesn't matter so much. Last night I realised we're never going to get off of this island Lucius." She exhaled. "So you're all I have now." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I am." 

She wasn't. Others might say that - her family might say that - but she was very, very far from being a whore. Lucius wished he could let her see that. None of this was fair.

"It's not. But... But I suppose it doesn't matter so much. Last night I realised we're never going to get off of this island Lucius. So you're all I have now." 

Lucius winced, looking out at sea as well.

"I don't think that" he sighed. He glanced at her, reaching out to touch her hand. "But... I'm here for you. I know it's not... not anything you'd imagined for yourself, or how this... would happen" No Roman girl did, really. "But I care for you, Ovinia. And I want you to feel safe."

@Sara

 

[Sara]

She dropped her eyes down to his fingers, brushing her own as she took a breath. Then she threaded hers through his, clinging to his hand. "I feel safe with you." she did, despite what they'd done last night. He'd made it plain he'd wanted her before and had never made a move, never made her uncomfortable (on purpose), never forced himself on her as she'd so feared in their first few days and weeks stuck in this place. He'd waited until she'd asked for it. Which she had. She flushed again and exhaled. 

"But we can't...again." She gave him a meaningful look when she finally summoned the courage to look at him. "Not yet." But not never. Because she was slowly coming to realise it might be weeks or months or years or perhaps never until they got off of this sandy, rocky outcrop and the damage - such that it was - was already done. What did it matter anymore? Beyond... Her eyes widened in a slight panic and she gripped his palm tighter, "What if I fall pregnant I..." All she knew was that you had to do the act to have a child, and they had done that. More than once if the fuzzy, golden memories were accurate. She winced and then cast her eyes out to sea again, trying to straighten her thoughts, trying to find some comfort. "It was not what I was expecting." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I feel safe with you."

He held her hand. He wanted her to be safe. He wanted her to feel all the comfort he could give.

"But we can't...again."

He nodded. He knew. That moment... would not happen again.

"Not yet."

He glanced up.

"What if I fall pregnant I... It was not what I was expecting." 

Oh gods. What if she was pregnant?... Lucius had no idea how that worked. Or what they would do... He squeezed her hand. "What... what did you expect?"

@Sara

[Sara]

She gave him the ghost of a smile as the conversation flowed and drifted on from the severity of what she'd done to lighter pastures. Humiliating, lighter pastures. 

"Some pain." She admitted with a mumble against her knees. "That's all my mother mentioned. And brevity." She chuckled and shook her head, "My married friends were talking about it lasting no more than thirty breaths." She cast a glance sideways at him and rested her cheek on her knees as she did. "And the slave girls always looked dejected...sad...after they'd been with one of my brothers or my father." She frowned to herself and then flicked her eyes back up to his face. "Are you just an exception to the rule, Lucius, that I got lucky with?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Some pain. That's all my mother mentioned. And brevity. My married friends were talking about it lasting no more than thirty breaths."

She chuckled a little, and he smiled too. Being a man, and a plebeian, he had clearly had different experiences.

"And the slave girls always looked dejected...sad...after they'd been with one of my brothers or my father... Are you just an exception to the rule, Lucius, that I got lucky with?" 

Lucius smiled, chuckling at her question. "Whoa. I didn't realize patrician men were quite that... bad at it." He shook his head. "It shouldn't hurt if it's done right. And not short either... if you care about the other person enjoying it." He smiled a little. "I assume most patrician marriages don't require the couple to actually like each other?"

@Sara

[Sara]

She smiled a little, embarrassed but...comfortable. She stroked her thumb across the plane of the back of his hand. It was warm and comforting. 

"No." She shook her head and looked up at him through her lashes from where she'd rested her head. "So you have saved me from that at least. It's all political, about blood lines and positions on the cursus and familial fertility and such..." She smiled gently. "Like breeding horses, I suppose." Very much the same, actually. She wondered if any of the men in charge had considered that they were really no better than animals being picked and selected as studs for breeding stock. How amusing. "I suppose, if we were to get off of this place I could join a Temple in repentance." One buried away in the provinces somewhere of course, not in the city. "Or perhaps my family would just say I died in the wreck and leave me to live out my life." but what sort of life would it be?

"You don't have to think of any of this...you just...see a girl you like and..." She shrugged.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"No. So you have saved me from that at least. It's all political, about blood lines and positions on the cursus and familial fertility and such... Like breeding horses, I suppose."

"Well that's... charming" Lucius wrinkled his nose. Breeding horses, indeed. The patricians, the cream of the empire, who literally had the power to do whatever the heck they wanted, decided to make their children miserable, for generations to come. Yikes.

"I suppose, if we were to get off of this place I could join a Temple in repentance. Or perhaps my family would just say I died in the wreck and leave me to live out my life." 

Well, that was bleak. Options were really meager for women who had been... spoiled was the word the patricians would use. Loved. By someone.

"You don't have to think of any of this...you just...see a girl you like and..." 

Lucius chuckled a little and nodded. "I have had sex before, yes." Young and eager, people usually found a way. Even people who did not have money for prostitutes. "Marriage... is a bit more complicated. We have a version that too... less about bloodlines, more about... pooling family wealth. But yes, we marry for love more often than the patricians, apparently. And have better sex too." he added with a grin. He moved closer, wrapping an arm around Ovinia's shoulders. He was quiet for a while, watching the sun rise above the sea. 

"You are not ruined." he said, more quietly. "You're perfect. I've never... felt like that before. Whatever happened that made us... lose control like that, it doesn't account for all of it."