Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ The Beat of the Drum ❯ The Beat of the Drum ( Chapter 1 )

The sun dipped low behind the trees and threw the Seireitei into shadow, yet the spirits remained high. It was the first time in a very long time that anyone had had such a fun evening, despite the threat that loomed over them from Aizen.

Zaraki squad had wanted a party, and they had gotten one. The group had drank sake in obscene volumes and when the drums and flutes had begun to play, they had danced.

Still feeling tipsy and off balance from the sake she'd consumed, Claudia Abarai, captain of squad three, stumbled to her window and stared out into the Seireitei, suppressing a giggle as she fell. Covering her mouth with her hand, she glanced back into her room at Renji to make sure she hadn't woken him. He'd drank just as much, if not more than she had, and had passed out almost immediately after they'd managed to stumble back into their home.

Claudia let her hand fall away from her face as she walked toward the bed and stared down into his sleeping face. His hair had come loose from its tie and was draped over the pillows, and his haori had come un-tucked from his waist. She smiled down at him for a moment, then slipped away again to shed the captain's garb and shihakusho.

She'd still been emotionally raw from the goings on of the passed week, and had hesitated in accepting Zaraki-taichou's invitation to join in on the party. She'd been even more hesitant to dance, even though that sexy little smile Renji had given her had made it very enticing. But she'd relented when she'd watched Gin, only just healing, drag himself off the mat to dance with Rangiku. She, at least, knew where Rangiku was sleeping tonight, even if her captain did not.

Claudia shivered as a cold breeze swept in through the open window above their bed and touched her skin. She moved back toward the bed and sighed quietly. Renji's body was predominantly everywhere. She didn't want to wake him, but she wasn't sure how that was going to work since her side of the bed was against the wall and she'd have to climb over him to get to it.

"This was poor planning on my part," She muttered under her breath as she bent down, gripped the side of the bed and carefully eased one leg over his lap. Once she had one leg on her side of the bed, she brought her other leg up and tried to ease herself over. Halfway there, she stopped, two strong, warm hands gripping her waist.

"Where you going?" Renji asked huskily beneath her, his hands squeezing her waist gently.

"My side of the bed. I'm going to sleep," Claudia whispered, breathless as he pulled her down on his lap in one smooth motion. He grinned at her when a small moan escaped her, then he sat up, wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her hotly.

"You sure about that?" Her stomach gave a little flutter as he kissed her and slowly turned them until she rested in the pillows below him. She wanted to respond with a smartassed retort, and he had to have known that because he slid his hands up from her waist and let his fingers graze ever so gently along the curves of her chest. She gasped quietly at the wonderful feel of his hands as they found her breasts and squeezed gently.

"Renji…"

"Claudia?" He chuckled at her throaty moan, kissing along her jaw, to her ear and down her neck to her shoulder. She wanted him to speed up the process, he could already tell, but he had no intention of giving in just yet. Dancing with her had ignited a fire he hadn't felt since her tragic return from Hueco Mundo. He could still feel the heat of the fire and the beat of the drums on his skin, and he knew she still felt it, too. He kissed back up to her neck and bit down gently, grinning at the shuddering moan that escaped her as he ran his tongue along the damp flesh. When her hands fisted in his hair, he gave her breasts another gentle squeeze, then bent low and showered kisses over her chest as well. He made it halfway down her along her belly before she locked her legs around his waist and rolled them over.

"Renji Abarai," Claudia moaned as she straddled him, grabbed his hands and pinned them above his head. "You, sir, are insufferable!"

"Didn't sound like it!" He chuckled, gripping her waist in his hands again. "I thought you liked my foreplay?"

"Baka! I considered the dancing foreplay!" Claudia bent forward and kissed him fiercely, moaning again as one of his renegade hands slipped below her waist and teased the skin at her thigh. A second later, his hand slid between her legs, teasing even more when his fingers danced over her. Claudia shuddered on top of him as he stroked her, then slipped his fingers into her. She gasped and fell forward, bracing her hands on his chest as his fingers slid in and out of her.

"That's my girl," Renji moaned. He smiled when Claudia pushed his haori aside and began tracing his tattoos with her tongue. So much for skipping the foreplay! He could get her going so easily, it made him grin. It wouldn't take much to get her off, especially not after the dance they'd shared, so he wasn't surprised by the cry that escaped her when he pressed his thumb to her clit and stroked her into oblivion.

Claudia pressed her head to his chest and cried out as she crested and road the waves that took her body, her thighs locking around his waist when he gave her another teasing stroke with his fingers. She was just beginning to catch her breath again when she felt him shift beneath her, pressing himself against her.

"You want me, Claudia?" He asked huskily, tilting her head up toward him to kiss her while he positioned her hips over him. She moaned, only able to manage a nod as he slid her down on him and sank into her. That initial thrust sent her over the edge again, and he laughed quietly at her. "I guess that answers my question,"

"I hate you!"

"No, you don't," Renji chuckled, giving her breasts a rough squeeze. She moaned again and braced her hands on his chest, her long brown hair falling into her face as she slowly began to rock her hips back and forth. Now Renji moaned, his eyes closing while his wife road him. He'd missed her so much it almost hurt. When she crested a third time, he sat up and took her left nipple into his mouth, grasping her hips and rocking her on him, savoring the feel of her tightening around him. Just a few minutes had passed, and he'd taken her so far already.

"Renji…Oh, god…"

"I've got you," He said huskily, kissing her deeply as her arms came around his neck and held on. Their tongues danced as he rolled them again and pressed her back into the pillows, thrusting into her gently.

"Oooh," Claudia gasped, arching her back as he slid a hand down below her belly and teased her again. She was so close, he could taste it.

"Let go," He murmured then kissed her hotly. "Let go, Claudia, I've got you,"

His thrusts got faster when she cried out and locked her legs around his waist, and he moaned, too, when he felt her tightening around him again. It felt so damn good to move inside her. His heart was beating relentless in his chest, sweat beaded his forehead and his own body started to tingle. Renji sat up on his knees, grasped her hips and pulled her up, thrusting into her now with reckless abandon. He couldn't help it!

"Renji!" Claudia's hands fisted in the sheets beneath her and her back arched toward him. "Renji, yes!"

Smirking, Renji bent forward and claimed her mouth, his tongue dancing with hers as he slammed into her. She screamed in pleasure and shuddered violently on him, and he moaned into her mouth. Another thrust sent her over the edge, and he went with her, moaning into her neck.

They fell into the pillows in a tangled mass of limbs a moment later, and it took several long minutes for either of them to catch their breath again. When Renji finally found the strength to push himself up a little, he was floored by the tears in her eyes.

"Claudia? What's wrong?"

"I…" She shuddered again, that miniscule movement of his hips eliciting another small crest that had him smiling. "I've missed you, Renji,"

He smiled softly and gave her another long, loving kiss. "I've missed you, too, sweetheart. Aishiteru,"

"Aishiteru," Claudia whispered, closing her eyes as he gently pulled out of her then snuggled up beside her. Renji pulled the blankets over them and tucked her tight against his body, his slender fingers stroking through her hair as she drifted to sleep in his arms. Even as she began snoring softly into his chest, Renji grinned.

There was no way she was going to manage making the captain's meeting in the morning.