This chapter is rated M for sexual contact. Please skip it if this will offend you.


Two days away from the coast was the best distance for picking victim ships for pirates. Cargo ships were fat with merchant cargo and the plunder was well worth the risk of lifting. Renji knew that from his time aboard Zaraki's ship.

He also knew with Seireitei shutting down harbors, there were few ports he could dock at and then make an easy departure. He'd chanced that in Merristone and knew the odds were far greater now with Aizen's escapades along the coast. It was one reason he wanted to dock at Middle Rock. It was a lax port with heavy pirate and smuggler traffic, and the Scarlet Reaper would blend right in.

He stood at ship's bow in the growing dusk, watching the hull cut through the water under good winds in the faint fog. It had been a muggy, hazy day, and the wind that filled the sails was damp and should have lent to rain. His injuries were a day old, healing better than they should have been, but still hampering some of his movements. They put him in close contact with Orihime for occasional inspection, which had led to a few pleasant kisses, but nothing more. It was there, though, that shared closeness on a personal level. He liked the promise of it.

A low mumbling of voices made him look to the forecastle hatch where Broc and his cronies were keeping to themselves. Renji had every intention of leaving them in Middle Rock, and from what he'd heard from Izuru, Broc wasn't exactly happy about it.

A light mist finally fell from the dark gray skies that were turning violet with the evening, layering the deck with a slick sheen of water, and every crewman not needed for duty and sober enough to walk headed for the crew's quarters in the forecastle. Renji gave the boatswain and helmsman a few final orders and left for his quarters.

Orihime was sitting in the window of the first room behind his desk as he came in. She turned to look to him, her hand closing in her lap as he glanced to her in the muted light of an oil lamp.

"It's starting to rain," he said, crossing the room. The lamp was bolted to one side of the desk, the wick shedding light on the chart he'd left out. "You'll get wet, Orihime. Come out of the window."

She took a deep breath, looking back to the water chasing along the side of the ship outside. "I like the rain."

He sat down in the desk chair near her, turning to see her better. He'd escaped the rain in time, judging by the sound of the raindrops falling harder on the water outside the window. "I guess weeks in a desert prison will do that to you."

She smiled, her attention going back to him. "I've always liked it." Her fingers moved around something in her hand. "Will there be a storm?"

He shook his head, watching her pull her leg closer to the window ledge seat, grinning at the fold the blue material made over her hip. "Doubt it. No storm today." He saw the hint of a blush cross her cheeks. "It'll be dark early; getting there now."

He reached under the desk's side drawer for a magnifying glass and unrolled the chart completely on the desk. He wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject, but he figured she deserved to know a bit of what he knew. After all, if the Quincy at the Kuchiki estate had braved the mainland from which he was banned to deliver the braid of hair, Orihime may want to know that she was still in the heart of her brother. He smoothed the chart with his hand, turning up the wick on the lamp with the other so the map was better defined.

"Before I left the mainland to get you," he said, "a Quincy paid a visit to the Kuchiki household." He half turned to see her, ignoring the brief spike of pain that shot through his torso.

Orihime sat straighter, the rain outside forgotten. "A Quincy?"

"I didn't hear what he wanted," he said, nodding, watching her face carefully. "He had a braid of hair with him, the color of yours, with the beads attached."

"Oh." She let her legs drop from the seat, pulling her skirt over her knees. Her fingers went to the tips of her hair.

"It was yours?"

She nodded slowly. "Maybe. I'm not sure, Renji. I don't know. It might be from another hostage."

He sat back in the chair, watching her twist the strand of hair which was a little fuller from the humid day. The movement caught the lamplight, making her hair take on copper and bronze tones. He saw the doubt flit over her face; maybe he shouldn't have brought up the subject. She was clearly the type to worry over her friends, and he hadn't heard any names. "He was at Byakuya Kuchiki's with a letter," he said. "You say your brother isn't wealthy, and if he's already paid Aizen several times, I figure now it was an appeal to aid with your ransom."

Her gaze dropped to her hand as her fingers relaxed in her closed hand. "I don't know why Lord Aizen wouldn't let me go if my ransom had been paid."

"Because you were a profitable captive." Renji didn't like saying it. He held out one arm, his hand nearly touching her knee. "Come over here and show me which dot is Weaver's Isle."

She stood, looking to each of his eyes quickly before realizing he wasn't serious. "Oh, you know where it is. Don't you?"

He grinned as she stood beside him. "Yeah, I know, Orihime." His arm came around her waist, pulling her closer, bringing with her the scent of warm amber. He moved one leg so she could stand nearer the desk. "Show me anyway. See if you can find it on the chart."

She smiled more, letting herself move into the circle of his arm, and then let her hand rest on his shoulder as she looked at the map. For a moment she examined the small brown dots and landmasses outlined on the tan parchment chart, vaguely recognizing some of them. She pointed to one small dot near a long coastline. "Here. I think."

He nodded. "That's it."

She looked to his arm as he pulled her down to sit on his thigh, facing the table. She hesitated only for a second, and then settled more comfortably, her hand going to his neck as his arm closed around her waist better.

"Have you been there?"

He nodded. With the proximity, the lamplight made her eyes take on a dark violet, nearly without color. "It smells of ylang ylang in summer and aromatic resins when the tree saps are being burnt out."

She nodded, her unvoiced question as close to being answered without asked as she could hope. "You really have been there."

He grinned, pleased that she'd finally accepted him into her confidence. His attention flicked to her closed hand on the table. "What do you have?"

She smiled a little, opening her fingers. In her palm were the few garnet, amber, and pearl beads.

He sat back and pulled her closer. His fingers moved the bulk of her hair to find the unbraided strand at her shoulder now crimped and empty of beads.

On the table his hand covered hers, turning it to let the beads roll onto the chart. She glanced to them, the movement making her hair tuck under his chin.

She giggled slightly, seeing the small stones and pearls drift across the chart's sea. "Like little ships."

"They could be." His hand moved from hers to pull her legs across his other knee.

She turned back to him, studying him intently. The smell of sea air was about him, something she'd noticed the first time he'd come near her in the prison cell. At that time she was unable to determine what it was, but she'd liked it.

She let herself lean to him, pushing the headrag back from his forehead as his hand slid up her back and brought her face closer. She felt her hair drape across them, and this time she was ready for his firm kiss as his arm anchored her closer. Her fingers wiped the black rag from his hair, leaving it only in a loose ponytail at his neck. Her arm settled around his neck as his hand followed her knee below her skirt to the back of her thigh. Her knees bent, locked over his leg as he deepened the kiss, catching her breath away, feeling her heartbeat quicken against his.

Both were oblivious to the increase in rain outside until a low rumble of thunder grumbled into the room. Orihime sat back a few inches, still surrounded by his arm, very aware of his other hand at the back of her leg. Beneath her leg at his lap she could feel a definite hard length forming, making her look to his face. She blushed, and then found she liked the feeling against her, that it summoned a response new to her. For a moment she watched his eyes, feeling the pulse build beneath her fingers at taut skin of his neck.

"I want to take you to the other room," he said in a low tone, his hand beneath her skirt moving slightly to the side of her hip.

She nodded, swallowing.

This time his hand moved to the top of her hip, fingers spread wide over the curve there. "You're sure?"

Her fingers traced up the side of his neck. "Yes, Renji."

His hand moved and his arm slipped under her knees, and then picked her up bridal style and blew out the oil lamp.

The room darkened.

The bedchamber was already dark when they got there. The window shutters were half closed already from the expectation for rain. Renji lowered Orihime to her knees on the mattress and sat beside her. He pulled the sheet and blanket down from the bed pillows, then let his hand rest at her ankle to her side. For a moment his fingers edged beneath her skirt folded at her legs, eyes on her face. In the hazy moonlight he could see the nervousness in her eyes.

He sat back. "Are you cold?"

"No."

"I can build a fire if you are."

She shook her head.

In the faint light she watched him take off his shirt, feeling body heat from the movement even without touching him. She could see the black tattoos at his chest, the ones she'd studied so shyly a few nights before when she'd tended his wounds. He wore no bandages now, but a little bruising still showed as a dark spot at his lower ribs.

"Can, can you do ... this?" she asked, smiling a little as she nodded to his side.

He grinned, kissing her mouth. "Don't underestimate your healing abilities, Orihime."

She wanted to giggle, but didn't, instead shifting her knees to her side as he slipped her skirt from under her. She thought it would be more awkward, but he eased the dress over her hips and then waist and shoulders, his arm wrapping around her in the muggy air as the material was shed. For a few seconds she felt exposed, even knowing the only eyes on her were his. He brushed the hair from her cheek, kissing her lips lightly as his hand cupped the edge of her jaw, turning her face up.

She hadn't time to feel the pale light of the cloudy moon her breasts as he pulled her close to his chest, hiding most of her against him as he kissed her lips for a long moment. She let her arms return his embrace, feeling the muscles at his back tighten as his arms moved around her.

He kissed a warm line from her lips to her chin and then lower, tilting her head back with a nudge of his lips at her throat, his hand in her hair as her back cradled against his forearm. She kept her eyes closed in the dark room, every sense following his lips as they touched softly along her neck to her collarbone.

He lowered her back, lips returning to hers in a stronger kiss that pushed her into the pillow. She pulled him closer, both arms around him in an eager hold. Her hand found the tie holding his ponytail and pulled it free, dropping it absently in the dark. She wasn't sure if it was his hair or hers lying on her shoulders as he kissed again from her mouth to her neck, content to be absorbed with him. One arm was still around her back, keeping her in a strong hold as his other hand glided over the angle of her waist to her hips as his full weight covered her, and she wondered, very briefly, when he'd removed his pants.

It was a blink of a thought, and she let her legs come around him, hesitantly at first, until his lips paused at throat, kissing softly until she felt his hard length against the inside of her thigh. At first her leg over his instinctively flinched, and then her body relaxed beneath him, succumbing to his lips caressing her throat.

With unpracticed movements, she pulled him closer, easing her legs around him more, breathing a trembling sigh as the hard end of his length rubbed against her soft sides of entry. His kiss brought her pulse to a pound in anticipation, her hands pressing at his back as a new eagerness welled in her. Her hand lowered along his back, feeling the movements his hip made, a rhythmic motion that touched her deeper.

Renji slid one arm beneath her waist, lifting her against him, the warmth between them heavy with the damp air and mingling with amber and musk. Orihime opened her eyes to his, taking a ragged breath at the prodding verging within her. She let her eyes drift closed, arms around him as her face buried in his chest.

With a quick movement he pushed in, holding her as she gave a short gasp. Her arms contracted around him, for a moment her tight embrace freezing as he slowed, letting her catch her breath. She waited for the new pain to subside, her hands gradually easing down his back, taking a breath as he began moving within her. Within a few slow strokes she responded with a growing craving, moving with him in less ineptness.

His lips pressed to hers, now with kisses that nearly took her breath, bringing her to short panting. She didn't know how long they moved, that rocking motion that made her long for every thrust he made, his name silent on her lips as she exhaled hot breaths over his shoulder.

She loved that his face was hot in her hair, feeling the swell inside her increase in intensity at his skin with hers. She clamped her arms and legs around him, feeling herself clench him within as her deepest core arced in a wave of response, pulling moans from her she'd never known. Beneath her hands his tattooed back suddenly hunched tighter, more powerful trusts echoing in her with equal fervor.

Renji let her head lower to the pillow as she groaned in complete satisfaction, catching his breath as her hands loosened around him, fingers still light as they trailed to his waist. He kissed her wet throat, licking the angle of her soft skin to the bottom of her ear, feeling her throat as it moved as she swallowed, still panting.

Her hands drew up his back, fingers reveling in the touch of him over her. She sighed in the thick air, the sounds of the rain on the sea broken by far away thunder. She opened her eyes as he pushed the hair from her face, some of it his, and laid back down on her. She'd never been so weak, so exhausted, but she lifted her lips to his jaw, kissing softly as her fingers moved to the nape of his neck.

Orihime sighed again, her head dropping to the pillow, smiling as his arms moved from her back and he braced both forearms at the pillow on either side of her. He watched her smile in the dim light, and then hungrily kissed her lips, unwilling to resist. He eased away a few inches, enough to see her eyes.

"Enough for now?" he asked, kissing one eye as she closed it.

She giggled, something she wondered if he could feel inside her. "Is there more?"

He grinned. "Not right at this moment." He let two fingers separate a strand of hair from the others, feeling the damp auburn tresses, smelling the heady fragrances pervading her body. "But if you give me a few minutes, Orihime..."

She shuddered involuntarily, her arms returning around his back. "Maybe a little longer than that?"

He nodded, kissing her throat before easing out of her and lying down beside her. The muggy air did little for the heat still clinging to them, but Renji pulled the sheet over them, taking the moment to see better the shape her body made in the filtered moonlight.

Her forehead touched his shoulder as she curled onto her side, her knee against his thigh. He pulled her closer, slipping one arm beneath her waist so she was leaned to his chest.

She looked across him, across the black marks beneath her fingers that moved with his breathing, at the half open window that allowed the gray light of night invade the room. She sighed, feeling her heartbeat still race against his side.

She looked to his fingers as his hand went to her bare shoulder, and closed her eyes, contented.

Renji watched her eyelashes lower, felt her breath warm on his chest in the hot night. The air hung with intoxicating scents, of her, he knew, and of them.

He closed his eyes. It was something he wanted to make permanent.