InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Of Strings and Kevlar ❯ Thunder ( Chapter 18 )

Sesshomaru sat in his den, the early Saturday evening sun spilling in through the bay windows as he enjoyed his Macallan and the Bach playing on his premium sound system. He sipped leisurely on the twenty-five-year-old scotch, letting the flavors of wood smoke and citrus meld on his tongue with a beauty that could only be rivaled by the piano concerto flowing from the speakers strategically placed around his sitting room.

It had been a long week of dealing with the CEO and his ongoing incompetence; the fool truly didn't appreciate how lucky he was to have a legal expert like Sesshomaru on his payroll. Then there was having to hear the complete and utter denial drip from the ookami's mouth every time he spoke of that human college student he was dating. Something had obviously happened between them, and while Sesshomaru could only assume that Inuyasha had a hand in it, he refused to offer any opinion to Kouga about his wayward bitch, not that the lovesick cretin was asking for one anyway.

Pursing his lips in a rare show of emotion, the inu youkai scowled as he leaned forward in his leather sofa, reaching for the open bottle to pour himself another two fingers of scotch, adding a splash of chilled water from his Evian bottle. Kouga had been in seemingly high spirits all week, but under the surface lurked a dark and broken man. Sesshomaru would never want to be involved in the woes of his petty relationship with a mere human, but even he had to admit that curiosity was getting the better of him. Had she requested they part ways? It seemed like the most likely explanation, especially given how angry she was at the charity ball the week before, and how she had slipped away with the hanyou without Kouga even so much as noticing.

He snorted, sitting back again and sipping smoothly from his crystal cut glass. Inuyasha was most assuredly playing with some dangerous fire, and Sesshomaru had no intention of saving him if Kouga ever snapped out of his denial and decided to meet Inuyasha's challenge, and if Inuyasha had, in fact, stolen the wench away from Kouga, then it was indeed only a matter of time before that happened.

A low buzz from his pocket distracted his thoughts. Annoyed at the interruption, Sesshomaru set his glass back on the coffee table and took out his cell phone. He was admittedly surprised at the name he saw on the caller ID, and was almost tempted to ignore the call, but his pride would not allow for such a seemingly cowardly maneuver. Instead, he picked up his remote to lower the volume of the stereo, barely holding back a sneer as he brought the phone to his ear. “Why are you calling me?” he greeted in his ever-icy tone.

“Sesshomaru, is that any way to greet an old friend?”

“You are hardly a friend.”

“Now, you know that's not true. After everything that has happened between us… I thought we were past all of that?”

“I am past it, which is precisely why you have no business contacting me.”

Sigh. “Fine, be that way. I just called to express my condolences for your father's passing.”

“Admirable. Except you're three months too late.” He stared straight ahead, glaring at nothing as she sighed once more in his ear.

“Surely you must understand my hesitance for calling. The last time I saw you, you were telling me you never wanted to see me again.”

“Which begs the question of why you thought it was acceptable to call me now.”

“Listen, I'm not happy with how things ended between us, but surely you must --”

“There was no `us.' That assumption was your first mistake.”

“Hm. I thought sleeping with you was my first mistake?”

“I stand corrected.”

“Sesshomaru, don't be like this. Do you really hate me so much?”

“I feel nothing for you.”

“Fine. Whatever. Anyway, I wanted to let you know I'm going to be in Louisiana on Monday.”

“I'm unclear as to why I should care about this.”

“I guess you wouldn't. As if I expected any different from you.”

He paused for a moment, mulling her words over. “Perhaps it is not wise for you to come here.”

“That's not your decision. I have a job interview in New Orleans, and from the sounds of my talks with this company so far, it looks as though I will be moving there soon.”

Sesshomaru shot out of his seat, his fist curling at his side, but kept his voice cool and low. “That is unacceptable. You have no business here.”

“Obviously, I do, or else I wouldn't be interviewing for this position. And as I already said, it doesn't matter if you find it unacceptable or not, because it has nothing to do with you.”

“Liar,” he seethed.

“Oh, please. Stop flattering yourself.”

“You can't fool me, bitch. You're wasting your time if you think you can continue where you left off.”

“Oh? And what makes you say that?”

“Because real men move on with their lives when their women whore around on them. There is nothing for you here.”

She snorted. “Ironic, coming from you, and considering what role you played in that. But no matter, I need to get off the phone. I have some errands to run before I prepare for my trip.”

“We both know you're coming here for the wrong reason,” he continued coolly. “I look forward to you making a fool out of yourself.”

“We'll see about that, Sesshomaru. Until then, take care of yourself. I do worry about you.” She hung up without another word.

Clenching his jaw, Sesshomaru held the phone away from his face and scowled at it with cold disdain. “Bitch,” he sneered, staring at the device a bit longer before calmly setting it on the coffee table next to his glass. He truly hoped she was bluffing; her presence here would have most unpleasant ramifications.

His mood officially soured, the youkai looked toward the study across the hall of his plantation style home, noting the computer on the desk. At this rate, he knew that work would be the only thing to rid his mind of that back-stabbing whore. With that decided, he picked up his glass once again and headed toward his study with the intention of looking over some of next week's book agreements.

***

“There you are, Sango, my love!”

Sango cringed as she stepped into the Percussion Annex a little after five o'clock, a bright blush adorning her cheeks upon hearing Miroku call her like that in front of everybody. Sure, most of the other students were used to hearing him address her as such, but could she at least have some dignity in front of the freshmen? She shook her head and headed toward her locker, brushing past her smiling boyfriend without a second glance.

“Aw, what's the matter, Babycakes?” he cooed, following behind her. “Are you grumpy because you haven't had your Miroku fix yet today? Well, don't worry, we can take care of that right now.”

She rolled her eyes, unlatching her lock. “Not now, Miroku. I have to tune the section, and I still haven't eaten anything.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, he leaned in to whisper huskily in her ear. “I'll give you something to eat, baby, as long as you feed me, too. I haven't gotten my dose of Vitamin P yet today, and I'm feeling sluggish because of it.”

Her blush intensified, but she paused in rummaging through her locker to give in to her curiosity, giving Miroku a sideways glance. “Vitamin P?”

Miroku smiled as he nibbled on her earlobe. “Of course, my dearest. It's a natural supplement that is exuded from only the most beautiful and exotic of flowers. The easiest way to get the extract to flow is to eat the flower itself, long and slow.” One of his hands stroked her stomach, inching its way to the waistband of her khaki shorts. “Indeed, Vitamin P is my favorite vitamin, and the most fun to ingest, since you know how much I love to drink from your sweet, sweet pu--”

“Okay!” she yelled, pushing him away with one arm. Her cheeks were burning so hotly now, she was sure she could fry an egg on her face. She glanced around to see if anybody had overheard his salacious remarks, but thankfully, everybody else in the building was occupied with their own activities. Relieved, Sango shook her head, finding her drum key and shoving it into her pocket before searching for her hair brush. “Have you seen Kagome?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have,” he replied smoothly, snaking his arms around her waist again and planting a wet kiss on the top of her shoulder.

Sango rolled her eyes, hating that his moves were sending shivers down her spine. “Well, where is she?” she asked, shrugging his mouth half-heartedly off her shoulder.

“Well,” he started, kissing her again, probably just to annoy her. “She said something about needing to change her shirt, so she went to the bathroom upstairs. Why?”

“Because I was hoping to talk to her,” she said a little more softly, pulling her brush out from under her jacket in the locker. “I already talked to Inuyasha, and --”

“Wait, you talked to him?” Miroku asked, suddenly much more serious. At her slow nod, he released his grip on her waist and took a step back. “What did you say to him?”

Sango sighed, pulling her hair out of its high tail. “I didn't say much, really, other than trying to calm him down.”

Miroku gave her a skeptical look. “You were trying to calm him down?”

She shot him a hard glare and started running the brush through her hair. “Ha ha, very funny. You weren't around for what happened earlier. He's pissed at Kagome, and honestly, he probably should be.”

“Yeah, she told me,” he said, nodding. He leaned against the locker and looked toward the other snare drummers walking through the door, returning from wherever they'd been. “She didn't say what she said to him exactly, but it couldn't have been good. She seemed pretty nervous to go back and talk to him.”

“Nervous?” Sango ceased her brushing, facing him fully and narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “She's scared of him? Why? Does she think he'll hurt her? Because I swear, if that asshole gets the slightest idea in his head that he can --”

“All right, just relax,” he said, reaching out to grasp her shoulders. “It's not like that. She's just scared that she hurt his feelings. So what did Inuyasha say when you talked to him?”

Oh, how she hated it when he interrupted her! She sighed, allowing him to calm her down by rubbing her shoulders. “He's just pissed that she called him a dickhead. Really, I can't blame him. She was about to unleash on me, and he just happened to show up at the wrong time, and you can guess what happened next.” She rolled her eyes, though inwardly, she knew that Kagome came by that temper naturally. The Higurashi Curse, as some of her aunts and uncles by marriage had so mockingly dubbed it, was not a curse on those who bore the name, but on those who became romantically involved with them. It was funny to hear when they were kids, but not so much now that she and her cousin were letting it happen to those they cared about.

“Oh, wow, she said that?” Miroku asked, chuckling a little despite the situation. “That's a little rough, even for her.”

“Yeah, well, she called me a bitch,” Sango growled, taking another paranoid look around the room to make sure nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. She watched one of the sophomore snare drummers flirtatiously chase a giggling flag team girl out of the building. “Anyway, Inuyasha was about to go after her, but I was able to hold him back, and don't ask me how,” she added, honestly a little surprised herself. “Then he took off out the door and headed toward the Greek Theatre. I followed him, and eventually he turned around and just went off.” She looked into Miroku's concerned violet eyes, remembering how Inuyasha had thrown one of the large metal trash cans outside the Annex. “He was really hurt by what she said.”

Miroku sighed, reaching for her hand and pulling her into a hug. “Well, she feels bad enough, I think, that she'll apologize whenever she sees him. In the meantime, just leave her be; she's been upstairs since we got back about twenty minutes ago, but I think she just wants to be alone for a while before warm up.” He paused a moment, pulling back to look in her eyes again. “Do you understand now how he feels about her? You see now that it's for real, right?”

She had the good grace to blush, but she wouldn't go down that easily. “Yes, he's proven it now. But I was right to be concerned. She has certifiably horrible taste in men, and he came out of nowhere and just swept her off her feet.”

“I don't think it was that easy,” Miroku argued, giving her a tolerant look. “Have you already forgotten how they met?”

“Whatever,” she dismissed, waving her hand. “They were hot for each other from day one. Everyone knew it, and nobody was shocked when they finally hooked up.”

He nodded. “Love at first fight?”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “Something like that.”

“Then why did you doubt him?” he asked, squeezing her body with another hug.

She rested her head on his chest, thinking. “I don't know,” she finally admitted. “Gut feeling, I guess.”

He seemed to think on that a minute, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy his comforting embrace. `I'll give her a while, and then I'll head up there and clear the air with her,' she decided. `Hopefully she'll speak to me now that Miroku talked to her.'

“Well,” Miroku said, “We'll see what happens. I told her I'd get her a bag nasty. You didn't happen to get any, did you?”
“No, I didn't,” she said, pulling away from him. She threw her brush back into the locker and shut the door. “There were still a bunch left when Inuyasha and I got back to the band hall, but that was almost a half hour ago.”

“Come on.” He took her hand and led her toward the door of the Annex leading toward the band hall. “Let's go eat, and we'll grab one for Kagome. Do you know if Inuyasha ate yet, either?”
“I don't think he did. As soon as we got back here, he said he was going to tune his drum and just disappeared.” She chewed her lip at the memory. His eyes had still been so full of anger at that point, but at least he wasn't throwing shit around or breaking anything. “I guess he wanted to be alone, too.”

Miroku nodded. “We'll get one for him, too. He should be back soon, I would think. We got to warm up in…” he looked at his watch, “a little under an hour.” He smirked and pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist again. “Which gives us just enough time for a quickie before getting dressed. What do you say? You want to hit one of the practice rooms after we eat? Or were you reconsidering really feeding me, my little sex kitten?”

“Stop it, Miroku!” Sango cried, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice. She shook her head as they stepped into the humid afternoon air, their path to the band hall protected from the rain by the awning. `My Big Hentai,' she mused to herself, smiling inwardly as she threw her own arm around his waist.

***

“So. I'm a fucking dickhead now, am I, Ka-Go-Me?”

Inuyasha scowled at the girl at the end of the hallway, her fingers wrapped tightly around the shirt in her hand that she had been wearing earlier, and that currently smelled a lot like Miroku. He wasn't sure what the deal with that was, but that would be dealt with later. Right now, he needed to set some things straight with this wench. It had taken all of his self-control--and to a lesser extent, Sango's constraint--to keep from chasing after the cellist when she ran away from him earlier, but now that she was alone, and clearly less heated, it was time to address her little tantrum.

The rain was really starting to come down outside, pelting loudly on the rooftop of the Annex. It was doing much to set a dark mood for what could be a dark conversation. Sure enough, when Kagome's only reaction to his words was her eyes widening even further than they already were, Inuyasha bit back a growl. “Don't act so surprised,” he said, taking a few slow steps closer to her. “You couldn't have thought I would let you get away with such a blatant show of disrespect to me.”

At this, those beautiful brown eyes narrowed, her expression changing to one he was more accustomed to seeing on her… a few weeks earlier. “Disrespect? You think you're my superior now, I-Nu-Ya-Sha?” she mimicked, taking a defensive step backward despite her suddenly sharp tone.

The anxiety in her scent was rising, and Inuyasha willed himself to calm down. Despite his need to make himself clear to her, she had no reason to be afraid of him. “Superior? No.” He stopped where he was, keeping a safe distance of about ten feet between them. “But I am someone who has earned your respect. It took me almost a month to do it, but I did it, and we're not going back to the shitty way we were before just because you wanted to be a fucking bitch today.”

The sudden flash in Kagome's eyes was enough to make him want to take his own step back, immediately regretting his poor choice of words. His pride kept him rooted, however, as he waited for the bomb to drop. But nothing could have prepared him for her real reaction, when it finally came a whole five seconds later.

Kagome frowned, her features softening just slightly to contrast the rage that had been there a second ago. “You're right,” she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. Her skin flushed as she looked down to the tiled floor. “I'm sorry.”

`What?!' Inuyasha gaped at the girl, taken back by her admission. The rain was still hammering on the roof above them; maybe he had misheard her. “You… you're sorry?”

Her frown deepened as she slowly nodded, wringing the t-shirt in her hands. She was clearly ashamed and was now trying to deal with it in a way that Inuyasha suspected she wasn't accustomed to. “It was wrong of me to yell at you like that,” she said, her cheeks reddening even more. “And to call you… that.”

`Wow.' “Well,” Inuyasha started, admittedly a little shocked. “Well, y-yeah. I was just going to say, uh….” He blinked and scratched the back of his head, unsure about how to continue. He had been expecting World War Three, but not this.

Kagome's eyes slowly rose to meet his. “You were going to say what?”

“Well, I was just going to say….” He felt his own cheeks warm, his left ear twitching nervously. “I guess… I guess I was going to say that I forgive you.” What else was there? He had been expecting for this to be a battle, but she seemed sincere.

The half-quirk of a smile on Kagome's lips made the rest of his lingering anger bleed out. “You sure?” she asked, the hope in her voice not lost on him.

“Yeah.” He grinned, moving forward to close the distance between them. “I'm sure.” Plus, thanks to Sango, he knew now that she had already been pissed before he had pulled the lock from her locker, and that he had merely taken the brunt of what was probably going to originally be directed at Sango. Not that that made her outburst easier to forgive, but it did explain it a little better.

Upon reaching her, Inuyasha brought his hands to her face and brushed her clumped bangs out of her eyes. Her skin was still pink with embarrassment, and it warmed his heart to know that she had worried about his forgiveness. And on that note…. “I'm sorry, too.”

Her smile faltered slightly, the confusion evident in her eyes, and he sighed, knowing he needed to elaborate, as much as he didn't want to. Hey, he wasn't an expert at issuing apologies, either. “I'm sorry for calling you… a bitch.” Close enough.

Kagome blinked slowly and nodded, her eyes darkening slightly. Inuyasha knew, running his fingers across the heated skin of her cheeks, that the insult had stung her, but like her, he had been speaking much out of anger. Maybe they both needed to work a little harder on not doing that as much, especially to each other.

Still, she seemed appeased, and her smile quickly returned as she looped her arms around his neck. She started to say something, but the shirt that was still in her hand was now on Inuyasha's shoulder, and Miroku's stench was fuming from it. Scrunching his nose, he pulled the shirt out of her hand and held it away from them to the side, his other hand automatically resting on her waist as he stared at the offending garment. “What did you do, go make out with Miroku after running away from me earlier?” he asked, only half-jokingly.

Whoops. Wrong words again. Kagome's eyes hardened drastically, her arms tightening around his neck. “Don't go running with any of those ideas, Inuyasha. He hugged me, all right?”

Inuyasha bit back a snarl as he dropped the shirt to the floor, but the frown came through quite nicely, and before he could stop himself, his feelings came out. “I don't know if I like how much he hangs on you. I know you two are friends, but --”

“Yes!” she snapped back, pulling her arms from his neck and attempting to make space between them, but Inuyasha had instinctively wrapped both arms around her waist when she tried to push away. Once she realized she had no escape, she settled for crossing her arms under her breasts and leveling him with a heavy glare. “Yes, we are friends. Very good friends, but friends nonetheless. And you'd better not presume, Inuyasha, that you are in any position to tell me whom and I can and cannot be friends with, because I won't take that shit!”

He knew this about her. He knew it well. But her stating it so clearly didn't make it any easier for the jealous hanyou to hear. “I know that,” he ground out, his grip on her waist iron-clad to keep her from trying to pull away again. “But that doesn't mean he has to be all over you. There is such a thing as too friendly, especially now that you're taken.”

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Newsflash!” she cried, flicking her finger against his forehead. “I was taken before, too! Just because it was with Kouga and not you doesn't make it any less true!”

At that, Inuyasha did snarl, his instincts flaring angrily at the recent memories she conjured, and lowered his face to hers, staring menacingly into her now shocked mocha eyes. “Don't. Fucking. Say. His. Name.”

Kagome's brows furrowed, but when she took another breath to retort, Inuyasha decided he had had enough of this debate and quickly covered her mouth with his own in a rough, demanding kiss, his advance appropriately punctuated by a loud clap of thunder seemingly just outside the high windows. Kagome squeaked in surprise and a half-assed protest, but there was no way he was releasing her until he was sure whatever she was going to say was stricken from her vocabulary.

But she surrendered easily, as it turned out, and pressed into him to meet his kiss, returning her arms to their rightful positions around his neck and squeezing him closer. She opened her mouth and pressed her lips to his harder, demanding his compliance with her unspoken desire for more.

Silly girl. Didn't she know by now that he would never refuse her such a request? If she didn't, she soon would, and he would make sure of it by imprinting the image of his lips forcefully and permanently on her own, as well as anywhere else on her body he wished his impression to be. But for now, until she gave the green light, her lips would have to do, and so he pushed back against her and slipped his tongue inside her mouth, stealing her taste and her breath, and branding her with a less-than-gentle kiss and an ever-growing dominance. The mention of the wolf had been too much for him, an accelerant on his already sparking youkai, and Inuyasha had immediately recognized the need to make his claim on the wench known--to her, at least--in order to appease the beast within him. But when she met his hunger and returned it with a fresh batch of her own, instead of soothing his possessive ache, it only encouraged more to flare up inside his chest. He wanted more reassurance; he needed obedience from the female who had only recently become his. And it was with that thought in mind that Inuyasha crushed her petite body against his with strong arms and an unforgiving hold, and walked her backward toward the row of anvil cases against the wall behind her.

Despite her efforts to move with him, Kagome stumbled and broke away from the kiss as she fell, her balance off by being held so tightly against him. Inuyasha caught her easily with large hands around her waist, then picked her up and deposited her on one of the large anvil cases behind her.

She gasped when he sat her down, the metal of the case cold on the backs of her legs. `Well, that's easy enough to fix,' he thought with a mischievous snicker. Hooking his hands under her knees, he quickly yanked her butt to the edge of the case, forcefully parting her thighs as he pulled to make room for his hips to settle between them.

“Better?” he asked chidingly, loving how helpless she was now. More thunder rumbled outside, and there was an occasional flash of light that streaked across the tiled floor, matching the mood in their confined area.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at his condescending tone, but before she could reply with a smart remark, Inuyasha placed one hand on the small of her back and roughly pulled her closer to press her heat intimately against his groin, shuddering at the feel of her warmth on his dick through the thin, flimsy material of their respective athletic shorts. He used his other hand to pull the band out of her hair and let the black waves fall around her shoulders. With her new height, they were now nearly at eye level, and he took advantage of this new position by assaulting her lips with another hard kiss.

Once again, Kagome failed to disappoint, matching his aggression with ardent presses of her mouth against his, of her teeth on his lips and her tongue twirling with his own. Her small fingers entangled themselves in his long hair, and he followed suit, weaving his free hand through her hair to cup the back of her head and press her more firmly against his mouth with enough force bruise their lips.

Kagome groaned into him, running her soft, yet demanding tongue over his lips and his fangs, making her own claim on him like the strong female he knew she was. She was being much more forceful than she ever had with him before, and the rumble in Inuyasha's chest spoke of his approval. He bucked his hips against her to show her what she was doing to him, as well as to feel more of that wet heat emanating from her center, and swabbed her mouth again with his own tongue, tasting the apple she had eaten earlier, and more importantly, her own unique flavor that he had already become hopelessly addicted to.

But soon it wasn't enough. Her aggressiveness, as much as he loved it, was pushing him to do more, feel more, taste more. His instincts clamored to be allowed control to show her the true inu alpha that lay inside him, that she had unknowingly challenged, and put her back in her place of the willing beta. Feeling no need to question this sudden urge, Inuyasha growled deeply as he wrapped a wealth of her black hair around his fist and pulled down hard, baring her slender throat to his increasingly red-tinted eyes. He heard her grunt from the rough treatment of her scalp, and he rained ardent kisses up her neck to make up for it, being sure to hit all of the pleasure points he had discovered the night before in her apartment.

“Y-Yasha!” she stammered breathlessly in time with another bolt of lightning flashing through the windows. Her breath hitched when he hit a particularly sensitive spot right under her jaw, and she twisted and pulled his hair harder, egging him on in his new quest to drive her as crazy as she constantly made him.

The hand that had been splayed across her back gave one final tug to make sure she stayed flush against him, and then began a voyage to the front of her torso. He could feel her abdominal muscles tense when his fingers brushed across them over her shirt, and he grinned into her skin, biting down on her collarbone and earning another sharp intake of breath from the girl. Her reactions immediately kicked his libido into overdrive, and as he quickly measured his chances in his head, he knew that the opportunity had arrived to take another step forward in this lascivious game.

Oh, yes. It was time to test the waters on Kagome's will to remain chaste.

***

Kouga watched his assistant with wide eyes as she set another stack of press releases on his desk. He frowned and took note of the young marketing assistant's apologetic smile before she turned and left him to his work. His eyes shifted back to his desk, covered haphazardly with various files and loose papers, and he exasperatedly blew the bangs out of his eyes. This was going to be a much longer night than he had originally expected.

Late nights were usually not too much of a problem, but he had really been looking forward to taking Kagome out tonight after the LSU game. They hadn't seen each other since nearly a week before when she came to his house to talk, and he was eager to settle this mess she had created and get things back to normal, but with all of this work to do, that clearly wasn't happening tonight. It was already bad enough that he wasn't going to be able to go to the game, but at least he would have been able to spend some time with her afterward.

He sighed, leaning back in his executive chair and languidly stretching his arms over his head, the cuffs of his white dress shirt slipping up his forearms. He really needed to figure out a way to solve this little problem with her. She had gotten it into her mind somehow that they needed to break up, and he knew that fucking filthy piece of shit she had started hanging out with had everything to do with it. And that asshole would be dealt with in due time. Severely. But for now, Kouga needed to concentrate on finding a way to turn Kagome back around before she became completely brainwashed into thinking a hanyou was good for her.

Kouga locked his hands behind his head and looked toward his desk again, at the picture of him and Kagome taken at her birthday party last fall. His arm was around her bare shoulders, and she had one of those gorgeous smiles on her face as she held a crawfish tail up to his open mouth. He smiled, wistfully remembering that day almost a full year ago in his backyard with all of their mutual friends. She had been so happy with him, he was sure of it, and this picture on his desk was visual proof of it. She had always been shy about showing her feelings for him in front of other people, of course, but he had been able to see it in her eyes. She may not have loved him, but she was falling for him… slowly, but falling nonetheless.

Sitting forward again, he picked up the frame and looked at it closer, trailing a single clawed finger down the frame of her body in the picture. Kami, how he missed her. It hurt to be away from her like this; he was normally accustomed to only seeing her on the weekends, but with her little stunt she pulled Sunday night, this week had been especially difficult to get through. What was she thinking? Did she really not want to be with him anymore?

He shook his head. No. That couldn't have been it. It was the half-breed's fault, he was sure of it. He must have been filling her pretty little head for weeks now with all sorts of hanyou garbage, making her believe she would be better off with him. He saw it in those yellow eyes the night of the charity ball: that fuck wanted her. Kouga ground his teeth together, his chair squeaking as his body tensed. Inuyasha wanted his woman. He wanted to do foul things to his innocent Kagome, and Kouga would not stand for it. Oh, yes. That miserable little shit would meet his fate for challenging this youkai. It was only a matter of time before an opportunity would arise to make that bastard see just who had chosen to fuck with.

The sound of glass cracking brought Kouga's attention back down to his hand, where he was still holding the picture of him and Kagome. He had been holding it too tightly, and the glass inlay had broken under the pressure of his thumb, driving a crack right between his body and that of Kagome in the picture. He frowned, setting the frame on his desk. Well, he would just have to replace it. Maybe his assistant could pick up a new one on Monday during her lunch break.

Taking a deep breath, Kouga rolled his shoulders to work the kinks out from sitting at his desk all day. A good shoulder rub sounded really good right now; too bad Kagome was being so distant or else he might have been able to finagle one out of her after the football game tonight. But as the clock chimed five-thirty, he was once again reminded that he was probably going to be kept here until well after the game was over doing all of this work. He would just have to see her tomorrow.

That decided, he shuffled a few papers around his desk and found his cell phone under a file folder. Opening his text messages, he typed out another message to his woman, hoping she hadn't started warming up yet and would receive it before too long.

To: Kagome

Sorry babe, I won't be able to take you out tonight after all. Got swamped at work. Let's do brunch tomorrow - I'll pick you up around 10. I love you!

He paused a moment, then started typing again, deciding to include a private joke that they used to share in the hopes it would make her smile. After sending the text, Kouga tossed his phone onto a stack of papers next to his computer monitor. Tomorrow. He would see her tomorrow. He would go to her place and pick her up, and they'd go to brunch and talk things over. “That should be easy enough,” he said to himself, glancing one more time at the picture of the two of them on his desk. Happy times. They could have them again.

He sighed and loosened his tie with one hand, an image of his sweet, smiling Kagome in his mind as he prepared to get back to work. He grinned stupidly, remembering how she felt encased in his arms the last time he had held her. Damn. What he wouldn't give to kiss her right now.

***

Inuyasha sucked Kagome's lower lip back into his mouth, loving the way she whimpered against him and tightened her grip on his long, silver hair from her seated position on the anvil case in front of him. She kept running her tongue along his fangs as she kissed him back, and to hell if that wasn't pushing him over the edge of reason. Her taste was doing things to him no woman had ever done before, and as he drank her in like a man dying of thirst, he renewed his decision to see how far she was willing to go with him tonight. He had to try; he'd probably break his own shit off later if he didn't at least give it a shot.

Another blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed almost immediately by a booming clap of thunder shaking the building. There was a *clunk* from somewhere deep in the building, and the mechanical whir of the industrial air conditioning unit slowed to a stop. The lights flickered out, and they were pitched in relative darkness. There were a couple of shrieks from the students on the ground level of the Percussion Annex, reminding him that their privacy was limited.

Kagome started and looked around, seemingly unaware of anything that was going on outside of the air between their bodies. Inuyasha's eyes adapted quickly to the lack of light, eyeing the girl before him to make sure she wasn't frightened as he ran his claws lightly up and down her smooth calves. When her eyes finally adjusted and found his, the mood shifted, becoming darker, more sensual. `Let's see how far she'll go,' he decided again.

With enough tenderness to shock even himself, Inuyasha slipped his fingers under the bottom hem of her t-shirt, carefully gauging her reaction. From the sound of her breath catching in her throat, it was a positive one, so he continued on. His claws fluttered across the skin just below her belly button, and her skin jumped and warmed noticeably in response, but it was the sharp, spicy scent of her arousal that really gave her away. He leaned forward to lay another trail of scorching kisses down the column of her throat, taking quiet pride in her quiet gasps and the rising heat of her skin under his fingertips, and breathing in every bit of her scent that was swirling around them. But the less pleasant smell of Miroku still on her skin was suddenly distracting him more than he'd care to admit, and he found himself suppressing a growl against the sweet skin of her neck. That last scent was what was kicking him in the balls. That was what was quickly infuriating his youkai blood. That was what was driving him to claim her. Hard. Fast. Now. And her virginity wasn't helping, thank you very much.

He ran his tongue up her throat and nipped her chin lightly, allowing his fingers to trek upward on the bare skin of her tummy, playing with her belly button for a brief moment before scraping his claws a little higher. Her response was a soft gasp, a sharply arched back, and her breasts pushing against his chest with another hard pull on his hair.

`Good God,' he thought, looking down at the twin mounds of flesh pressed so wantonly against him. The oversized t-shirt she was wearing was baggy enough that he could see the tiniest hint of her cleavage past the neckline, and it was enough to make his mouth go dry. The air in the loft was already getting warm with the air conditioning being off, and her body pushed against his was creating more heat than he could stand, even with his blood scorching through his veins. The girl was practically throwing herself at him, and he'd be damned if he refused her. His fingers were already itching to touch more of her, to show her how much he worshipped her, and to make her feel things no man had ever made her feel before. Kagome's body was the closest to perfection he had ever been, and he wanted to make damn sure she knew how much he appreciated her offering it to him, even if it was just for a small taste. And taste, he eagerly would.

Feeling emboldened, Inuyasha swallowed once and released his grip on her hair so he could use both hands on her shirt. Fingering the flimsy material with both hands, he looked into her half-lidded eyes once more to be sure this was all right, to give her a chance to say no. But he saw only desire swimming in those beautiful coffee eyes he adored so much, and was further assured when she lifted her arms in the air with a shy smile, signaling to him she was ready for this. Grinning, he leaned forward again and kissed her softly, but briefly, and pulled away to slowly lift her shirt.

Slowly, slowly he lifted, taking note of her labored breathing as he did so. The girl was nervous, he knew, but she had yet to move to stop him, so he continued lifting it higher and higher until, finally, he pulled it over her head and lowered it in one hand to his side. As soon as her face reappeared, he leaned forward and kissed her again, surprising her into opening her eyes. He pulled back before too long and gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to dislodge the apprehension from her eyes. She swallowed and lowered her arms to rest behind her, leaning back and putting her upper body on display for him, the perspiration on her skin glistening in the flickering red light of the emergency exit sign at the opposite end of the hallway. A simple light green cotton bra hid her gorgeous breasts from his gaze: high and full, and pleading for his hands to cover them. They rested above a set of toned, flat abdominals, still tensing and relaxing repeatedly--from nerves, he guessed--and the cutest innie he had ever seen.

“Beautiful,” he breathed, dropping her shirt on the floor behind him.

Amber eyes drifted back up to her chest again and noticed, despite her bra and the relative darkness around them, that her hardened nipples were clearly visible due to her elevated state of arousal. Inuyasha smiled genuinely, taking note of the way the red was spreading from her face to her neck, to her chest, and even over the tops of her breasts, and the realization that hit him was too wonderful for words: she had never allowed this for any other man. He was the first to catch the slightest glimpse of her hidden treasures, and for that, he would forever be grateful.

Inuyasha reached up and lightly traced his fingertips over the swell of each mound, reveling in the way they heaved with each of her quickened breaths. Moving slowly so he wouldn't make her more nervous than she already was, he outlined each breast with gentle hands, circling around the outside, swooping under, and coming up the middle before touching her bare skin again.

A high whine escaped Kagome's throat as she closed her eyes, arching into to his hands. She was sensitive; he liked that. When he made another round, she bit her lip to contain her cry, her hands returning to his hair and pulling gently in her plea for more.

Inuyasha's breaths deepened drastically as he fought for control over his instincts, the touch of her soft skin under his calloused fingertips having a much stronger effect on him than any other woman ever had. Another one of Kagome's mysteries that left him clueless, it seemed. Likewise, her reactions to him were stronger than he had ever seen from a woman before. This may have been because of her chastity, but somehow, he suspected more meaningful reasoning. There was something about her, with him, that was igniting sparks never before experienced, and it would be a cold day in hell before he wrote them off. This was new and exciting and wholly erotic, and by the Kami, it just made him want her all the more.

Swallowing hard to reel in his raging lust, Inuyasha lowered his thumbs and experimentally brushed them over her hardened nipples, raising his eyes just in time to watch the effect wash over her face in a wave of pure euphoria. He grunted low in his throat at seeing her in such pleasure, and brushed her peaks again, more confidently this time, keeping his other fingers lingering on the exposed skin above her bra. Her skin was so soft, and almost uncomfortably warm to the touch, making his lips tingle with anticipation of kissing her there and seeing if it tasted different from the skin he had already sampled elsewhere on her body--only her neck and upper chest, so far. There were also some other places he was hoping his mouth would grow acquainted with very soon, though he was fairly certain that would not be today. But taking another glance up into her barely-open eyes, he wondered if she would grant him a taste of the fruit he was still delicately fondling with his experienced fingers.

Kagome's blush brightened even more as her eyes opened much wider, clearly reading his unasked question, and when she released her death grip on his hair, he was afraid she was reconsidering her decision to show herself to him. He sighed and looked back down at her chest, giving each breast one final, gentle squeeze before reluctantly pulling his hands away. This was just a little too soon for her, apparently. He was disappointed, and understandably frustrated given his current state, but there would be another time. He only hoped it wouldn't be too much later.

But when her hands drifted to his chest, not to push him away but to grip the front of his shirt and yank him closer, Inuyasha had to fight the urge to do backflips. Instead, he licked his lips, then dropped his head and placed a soft kiss on the top of her left breast, loving the way it rose and fell beneath his mouth with her steadily deepening breaths. He could taste the salt from her sweat, as well as the sweetness that was simply Kagome; a dangerous combination of wild and pure that drove him to want to devour her inch by delicious inch. One kiss followed the first, and then another, until he was trailing a string of wet licks and kisses along the expanse of her beautiful chest, taking a moment to dip his tongue into the valley between her breasts before moving across to the other side.

Kagome's reaction was more dramatic than he had expected. Her legs rose and locked around his hips, pulling him impossibly closer to her heat. Between that and her strained whimpers and throaty moans, she was quickly driving him to the brink of insanity, and he was greedy for more. `Just a little more,' he thought. Moving his mouth back to her cleavage, he dived his tongue deeper down between her breasts to give a slow, torturous lick back up, savoring everything that was her taste. The scent drifting from between her legs grew impossibly stronger, saturating the air in his nostrils and clouding his brain as if he were on some sort of drug. Her responses to his touches were very nearly killing his control, and he knew it was getting dangerous, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. He needed more. He had to have more.

`Just… just a tiny bit more….'

Pulling his head back slightly, Inuyasha again traced his fingers around the outside of each breast, finally letting his hands rest beneath them and lifting them slightly in his gentle hold, weighing them, presenting them for his mouth. Licking his lips once more, he inclined his head and flicked his tongue roughly over one cotton-covered nipple.

The effect was instantaneous: a sharp gasp and a fierce jerk on his shirt to bring him closer to her body, forcing his mouth to close over the hardened nub. Inuyasha automatically sucked the bud harder into his mouth, closing his eyes and shuddering violently as his own response materialized into something for which he was entirely unprepared. His blood surged with a new wave of heat, draining into the already engorged member pressing hard against Kagome's damp shorts. Perspiration beaded everywhere on his body, evaporating slowly in the warming air of the Annex loft. A deep, feral rumble began low in his chest. His neck muscles tensed. And, the final straw: Kagome's arousal peaked, having now reached the ridiculous level, and effectively shattered the brittle piece of control remaining in his body, bringing an inevitable end to their current game. He was done with this fragile foreplay. It had gone on long enough.

Inuyasha was going to dive into Kagome's virgin body like a submarine.

“Kagome,” he rasped, his voice muffled around her breast. He was having trouble breathing, let alone knowing how to speak clearly. Having her tit in his mouth wasn't helping, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Instead, he groaned and sucked harder, soaking her bra through to the swollen bud he wanted so badly to taste with no barrier.

“Uhh,” she whimpered again, much louder this time. Her hands released his shirt to move up to his shoulders where she squeezed his trapezius muscles--well defined from years of carrying a marching snare--before slowly moving up the tense muscles of his neck.

Inuyasha groaned again, her seductress's touch sending violent tremors throughout his body and making it impossible to work his mouth properly. Grudgingly, he released her nipple and looked up at her, instinctively bearing his fangs. Damn it, he needed her now. “Wench….”

“Ass,” she answered automatically, most likely unaware she had just participated in what had become their usual banter. Her eyes were still closed, and her head was still tilted back, and he could see a dark bruise forming at the base of her throat from his attentions earlier. He would have smirked if his facial muscles were cooperating.

He wrapped one arm back around her waist, tightly gripping her hip with his other hand. “Kagome,” he growled again, leaning forward to lick the mark he had left on his girl.

“Y-Yeah?” She shivered a little, but kept her hands moving upward, through his hair and finally to his ears. Having found their target, her fingers slowly stroked across the base of each furry flap, firmly, before massaging them between her thumb and forefinger all the way to the tips.

At this, Inuyasha froze, unbelieving as to what was happening. His jaw trembled as she worked him over, electric currents whirring down his spine and landing directly in his crotch. `Gracious Kami,' he thought, once again realizing just how full of surprises this girl was. How the hell did she know what that would do to him? Shit, he didn't even know; no chick had ever rubbed his ears like that before! The feeling was nothing short of incredible, and he quickly found his facial muscles going slack. How could such an innocent touch be so relaxing, and yet so erotic at the same time? Perhaps she wasn't so innocent after all. But it didn't matter; his erection was now straining against the elastic band of his basketball trunks, and he was sure she could feel it since his hips were grinding against her in his desperate need for some form of release from this impossible ache. There was no denying it now. They'd played long enough.

Inuyasha exhaled harshly, still shivering from her attention to his ears, and kissed a line up her neck and bit on her earlobe before taking the final dive with a guttural whisper against her sweet skin. “I want you, Kagome.”

Her fingers hiccupped slightly, then resumed their motions at a much slower rate, but not in a seductive way. She tensed, just a little, and swallowed, her heart rate remaining at a fairly quick tempo inside her chest. The thunder from the storm outside sounded further in the distance, apparently moving out of the region. “You… you want to….”

`Shit!' “We don't have to,” he ground out, his ego already deflating with her apparent rejection. Too bad his dick would take longer to go down. He sighed and pulled away from her ear, kissing her cheek as he passed it. “I just….”

There was a loud clank outside, and then a light buzzing sound from the ceiling, and suddenly the florescent lights were flickering back on, bathing them in harsh lighting than neither of them was ready for. Kagome blushed, as if she thought he could just now see her, but she kept up her soothing motions on his ears, allowing for no end to his frustration. Dammit, he couldn't fucking think with her doing that!

Reaching up, he gently pulled her hands down and placed them on her legs, grimacing at the crestfallen expression that had suddenly taken up residence on her face. “I just got a little ahead of you, I guess,” he finally said, his hands stroking the outside of her bare thighs that were still wrapped around him.

Kagome's eyes widened as realization apparently dawned upon her. “Inuyasha, I really… I mean, you really make me….” But before she could finish, Inuyasha heard quick footsteps on the stairs leading up to where they were.

“Fuck!” he swore, disentangling from her as if she were on fire. He picked up her two discarded t-shirts off the floor and tossed them to her as she hopped off the case, making a beeline for the women's bathroom. He heard something clatter to the floor, but he was distracted by the fact that he was now sporting an obvious erection and had nothing to cover it with. It was only after the restroom door had shut behind Kagome that he realized his mistake of giving her both shirts, and he cursed as he looked down at his hard-on, so clearly visible in his fucking brilliant choice of attire for today.

“Kagome!” he hissed toward the women's bathroom door, hoping she'd toss one out to him, but it was already too late for that. The men's room was his only chance for salvation now, but before he could dash to the door not fifteen feet in front of him, the door at the end of the hallway opened, and Inuyasha panicked, frozen in his spot.

“Hey, Yash, I didn't know you were up here in the dark,” Sango asked cheerily, striding in without missing a beat. “Have you seen my cousin? I was hoping you guys were working everything out, but then the power went out. We got you two some food if you want it. I didn't see her downstairs, and Miroku said she might still be in… the… bath….” She trailed off, her light brown eyes unable to miss the gigantic bulge tenting his shorts. “…room.” She blushed hotly and raised her eyes to his again, her mouth agape in shock and what was quickly beginning to look like anger.

Inuyasha sneered, his pride a laughable concept at this point. “Settle down, Higurashi. Nothing happened. She's in the bathroom changing, all right?” He crossed his arms, fighting his own blush as best he could. That was when he caught a whiff of the smell of very recent sex radiating off of Sango, and he smirked devilishly. “Think you can stop staring at my dick long enough to make your legs work? Or should I call Miroku up here so you two can bang another one out on the anvil cases?” Never mind the fact that Inuyasha had just been shooting for that very same goal; she didn't need to know that.

As expected, Sango fumed, her eyes hardening fiercely as she stomped past him. “Maybe you should do a better job of keeping your dick under control, and then I won't have to see it!” she ranted, pushing by him to get to the bathroom.

Inuyasha laughed at her predictable response as she burst into the bathroom, feeling like he was really starting to get the hang of her. She wasn't so bad, once he got used to her. And she really did care, but like Kagome, she had a tendency to let that rage run her mouth too much. Miroku had warned him early on about that Higurashi temperament, and now Inuyasha knew that Miroku had been speaking from well-earned experience.

He sighed, running a hand through his tangled hair now that he was alone in the main part of the loft. Putting his hands on his hips, he dropped his head a moment and sighed, rolling his shoulders to try to release the tension. But of course, that wasn't going to work; the tension in his shoulders wasn't his current problem. He opened his eyes and looked down at what was his problem, frowning. This definitely wasn't going away without some sort of intervention, and blue balls was not on his agenda for the first home game of the season.

Sighing again, he looked up and eyed the men's room door once more. Well, it would still be his salvation, but not for the same reason as it would have been before. With that, he shook his head at his lost opportunity with Kagome and made his way to the bathroom, idly wondering what she had been about to say before they were interrupted… again.

But before he made it to the door, something caught his eye, and he looked to the floor, noticing the florescent lights reflecting off something shiny. He took a step back so there was no reflection and immediately recognized the object as a cell phone. In fact, it looked like Kagome's cell phone. `That's what I heard fall on the floor,' he realized, bending gingerly to pick it up. He intended on simply putting it in his pocket to give it back to her when he saw here again, but the blinking green LED light had him curious. It probably indicated a missed call, or a new voicemail or text message. Clearly, something that was none of his business….

Inuyasha wasn't normally the type to poke around in his girlfriend's private things, but for some reason, he found himself tempted with this. He debated it quickly in his mind, mulling over the possible consequences if he was caught, but he knew he'd hear either of the girls coming in enough time to put the phone away before they actually made it to the door.

Holding his breath, Inuyasha listened for a few seconds, hearing Kagome trying to explain the bruise on her neck to her cousin--smirking a little despite the situation--and then unlocked the phone and saw that a new text had indeed arrived. Clicking on the message to open it, Inuyasha peered onto the screen to read what it said.