InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hijacked Honeymoon ❯ Chapter 15

Hijacked Honeymoon

 

Chapter 15

 

At Sesshomaru's question, Kagome's eyes brightened and her cheeks flushed, but she didn't back down. “It's simple. You're hurting. I want to help. Don't read anything more into my offer, Sesshomaru.”

 

Her fingers closed over the tight muscles of his shoulders and worked on the knots of tension. She had a gift for finding each sore place and slowly digging into the muscle until the tautness relaxed into a much more pleasant ache. Despite what she'd said, there was nothing simple about her. However, if she wanted to hold on to her naiveté, he certainly had no intention of disabusing her of the notion.

 

Besides, her hands on his neck felt too good for him to do more then accept whatever she wanted to give him. However, knowing himself as he did, he realized that he already wanted more from her. He ached for her to lean forward and angle her mouth to his, longed to know how she would taste, wondered if her kiss would fell as good as her hands working the kinks of his neck.

 

Sesshomaru had two serious relationships in his life. He liked women, enjoyed talking to them and had no problems with committing to one person. He imagined himself happily settled down one day with a few kids. But that future was always far in the distance, like the milestone of passing his fortieth birthday. Sure it would happen, but not for almost a decade.

 

While Sesshomaru had no difficulty with his work for the Shey Group and a relationship in his down time, the two women he'd been serious about couldn't cope with his absences. Rarely had he been able to call in or e-mail like men in the military. Nor could he discuss his work, and both women had found his secretiveness aggregating. One had cheated on him, the other had simply told him he had to choose between his career and her. Three years later he had no solutions and no prospects.

 

However, he'd seen other men cope with both marriage and work. Jack Donovan's wife, Piper, seemed to have little difficulty accepting Jack's absences. But then, she was a cop who obviously had similar values. Ryker Stevens's wife ran a multimillion-dollar floral business and kept quite busy during his missions, proving that marriage and a career with the Shey Group weren't mutually exclusive. Still, it was difficult enough to find the right woman without a career that could call him away at a moment's notice for mouths at a time.

 

Kagome's fingertips rubbed the sensitive spots around his ears and he let out a soft groan. “That feels good.”

 

“You don't pamper yourself much, do you?”

 

“Pampering takes time.”

 

“And money.”

 

“Kincaid pays us quite well.” In fact, Sesshomaru had built more then a modest portfolio balanced by stocks, bonds and real estate so that whenever he retired, he could do as he pleased.

 

“Are all of your missions…dangerous?”

 

“Actually, most missions are long spurts of killing time under boring conditions between infrequent bursts of high-octane activity.”

 

“But that's what you life for—the adrenaline high of risking your life?” She didn't sound as if she was condemning him, but she didn't sound enthusiastic, either.

 

“Perhaps,” he admitted. Despite his interest in her, he wanted her to understand what made him tick and what he enjoyed. He didn't have time for games or misleading her. He really didn't want to begin another relationship unless the woman understood up front about his career. “There's a great satisfaction from using the skills I've learned—like a race car driver who takes the perfect curve. Or a gymnast who times a perfect landing.”

 

“Or a general who plans a perfect battle?”

 

“Now you got it,” he teased. “And if more of my combat missions ended like this one, I'd be more eager to return home.” He gazed up at her. “So now that your marriage is off, what are your plans?”

 

“My mother's illness interrupted my education. I'm going back to school to finish college.” She sounded self-assured, as if she'd thought out her future and knew exactly what she wanted. “And meanwhile, I'll keep temping.”

 

“Temping?”

 

“Taking temporary employment.”

 

“What kinds of jobs have you done?” he asked.

 

“Secretarial work mostly. But I've temped as a waitress and a cashier. I've picked pecans. I've delivered rental cars and newspapers. I've cleaned pools and boats, and once when my boss at the agency was away on vacation, I ran the agency and handed out assignments. Someday I plan to open my own temp agency.”

 

“What did Hojo think about your plans?”

 

“I never told him.”

 

“You never told him?” Sesshomaru tilted his head back to look at her, but she avoided his gaze.

 

She shrugged. “Hojo never asked. I suppose I never said anything, but instinctively I knew he wouldn't approve. He had some old-fashioned values that I figured I'd change after we married. Which just goes to show how poorly I was thinking. People don't change. I've read books that say one's personality is ninety percent set by age two.”

 

“That still leaves the other ten percent.”

 

She grinned down at him. “Nope, the rest of us are set by the time we're six. And I knew this. But Hojo told me what I wanted to hear. I suppose I returned the favor. After Mom's death, I didn't want any more conflict in my life. I just drifted and was content to let Hojo make all our plans for the future. I don't know what was the matter with me. What was I thinking?”

 

“You were grieving.”

 

“That's no excuse for turning off my brain.”

 

“Don't be so hard on yourself. Hojo fooled espionage experts for years. He's trained to manipulate people, and after your mother's death you were vulnerable.”

 

“Sango tried to tell me…” Kagome gently pushed his head down and urged him to lean forward, a movement that gave her better access to his spine. Her fingers worked downward, easing sore spots he hadn't known he had. Nit now he couldn't see her face and had to interpret her mood from her tone as she asked. “Have you ever lost anyone close to you?”

 

“I lost my father a few of year's ago. My mother before I was born, but I don't remember that.”

 

“Don't you have other family besides the bother you told me about?”

 

“Aunts and uncles. A whole bunch of cousins I lost count.”

 

“I can't imagine…”

 

He heard the wistfulness in her tone. “Well, it's not all wonderful. Not a week goes by where someone isn't bad at someone.”

 

“I once read that the opposite of love isn't hate—but indifference. Anger just proves that your family cares about one another.”

 

“I suppose they do.” He leaned back and tugged her around the couch until she sat next to him. He ached to take her into his arms and tell her that she wasn't alone, that he was here for her. But she wasn't ready to hear the words. “I know Sango assumed we would stay the night, but after a shower and a meal, we need to get out of here.”

 

She didn't argue but accepted his leadership and he appreciated it. “Where are we going?”

 

“Someplace no one will find us.” He grinned at her, a manly, charismatic grin that told her he enjoyed her company.

 

“And where would that be?”

 

“How would you like to spend some time at Polaris?”

 

She chuckled. “Perhaps that fall did more damage to your head then we thought. You want to hide out at the North Pole?”