InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Our Love Affair ❯ Define Love... ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters, Rumiko Takahashi does.

Our Love Affair

Chapter 1: Define Love…

By Cataluna

Kagome clenched her hands tightly at her sides, exhaling once more before knocking softly at the large cherry wood doors. Something about that phone call she had received this morning made her uneasy. He had been careful, perhaps too careful in giving away any details concerning this "important" meeting.

"Come in," a shaky voice called out from the other side.

"Grandpa." She gave him a peck on the cheek, before taking a seat in one of the large armchairs in front of his desk. They sat in complete silence for a while, playing a game of staring contest before she finally spoke up, "So… what's going on?"

A bit startled by her assertiveness, he brought his fist to his mouth and coughed loudly. Finally settling down, he leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the desk. "Kagome, as you already know, I will be retiring my position as CEO of this company soon… "

She nodded and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He was getting old; news of his intended retirement had not come as a surprise.

"And I plan on passing it to you."

She blinked several times in shock, jaw dropping slightly. "Huh?" Her family was very traditional; usually the business was passed to the oldest male in the family. "Are you serious? But I'm only 25, you think I can handle being CEO?" she managed to spit out each word rapidly, her nails digging anxiously into the leather armrests. She had always thought her younger brother, Souta, would have been next in line. But since he was still in high school and Grandpa was retiring soon…

"Kagome, you are more than qualified. You have been helping me run this company since your junior year in college. People like you and respect you. And…" He trailed off, breaking their eye contact and twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"And?" she pressed, completely disliking his sudden change in posture and behavior. She knew from experience that he only avoided looking into her eyes when he had bad news. She narrowed her eyes at him and stood up, planting her hands firmly on his desk. "And?" she repeated, looking menacingly down at him.

Gathering up his courage, he took a deep breath and let it all out in one long sentence, "You'llhavetomarryCEOofFukumoriCorporation."

"What?" she turned her head and leaned over even more, nearly falling over. All she was able to pick up from his string of mumble was something about the Fukumori Corporation.

Looking incredibly guilty, he reluctantly raised his head. "You'll have to marry the CEO of Fukumori Corporation," he repeated softly. He was considered one of the toughest businessmen in Japan, but when it came to confronting his own granddaughter…

Her knees shook; she fell back down on her seat dully with a dumbstruck expression painted on her face.

"Ka… Kagome?" he spoke out carefully, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Marry?" snapping out of her trance, her head still swimming. "I thought they were our competition…"

He cleared his throat, "Umm…yes. We've been planning a merger of our two companies for a while now to end our rivalry, and he agreed that a marriage would be the best way to cement the deal. He is a perfect gentleman… not bad looking either. I'm getting old and I would like to see my favorite granddaughter be taken care of."

"Only granddaughter," she mumbled a half-hearted reply to one of their favorite jokes. Feeling like she was trapped in a small box, she stood up quickly, nearly knocking the armchair over. "I-I have to… I need to go," she stuttered, her shaky hand brushing her locks back, almost tugging at it.

"Wait… Kagome!" her grandfather called out, and was met by the sound of the door closing.

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She slammed the shot glass on the counter, and gestured at the bartender for another drink. "More," she stated, giving him a shaky smile.

Wiping his hands on his apron, he signed loudly and shook his head. "Girl, don't you think you've had enough?" He had long ago lost track of how many times she had asked for a refill at this sitting.

Kagome dug a handful of cash from her purse and flung it at him. "There! Just fill up my drink. Don't worry about me," she slurred, one hand massaging her temple. Her head was already aching, since she had never been much of a drinker in the first place. She liked being in control of her action, but the desire to forget what happened this afternoon was causing her to act very outside of her character.

"Don't," a silver-haired young man sitting a few bar stools down from her commanded, and set a crisp hundred dollars bill on the counter.

The bartender quickly snatched up the bill, thinking it must be his lucky day. "Sorry, we're closed," he apologized to Kagome.

"What the fuck!" she protested, and began digging in her purse wildly for more cash. "Don't listen to him, I have more." A strong hand wrapped tightly around her slender wrist, and took the cash from her hand. Her head snapped up quickly, blue eyes darkening with anger as she struggled to get loose from his strong grip. She was a grown woman, nobody could tell her what she should or should not do. "Damnit! Let go of me… what do you think you're doing?"

Eyes narrowing with disapproval, "It's not fucking worth it, whatever it is… you're going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow, or worse." Not wanting to bruise her, he loosened his grip slightly.

"I want to forget," she yanked her hand away and clumsily jumped out of her seat, only to fall back into his arms. She felt lightheaded, and her both her legs shook, threatening to give out under her weight. But for some reason, she felt safe wrapped up in this stranger's embrace, like nothing could harm her.

He cupped her chin gently in his hand, forcing her to look up. "Let me take you home."

She shivered at his intense gaze, and nodded against her better judgment, finding herself completely speechless for the first time in the evening.

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"Hey…you're cute," Kagome giggled, running her hand through his thick hair. Swaying back and forth on her heels, she stared him in the eyes. "Pretty gold… I can see myself in them."

He could see her in a lot of things, but chose to ignore her advances. He opened the door to her penthouse apartment. "Come on," he commanded. She was becoming more and more flirty with each passing second. If they had met under a better circumstance, he would never even imagine resisting her. But, he was a gentleman, and taking advantage of a drunken girl was not something he would be proud of in the morning. He was not about to leave her vulnerable at the bar either. Too many men would love to be in his place right now, and he doubted that they would have been worrying about their moral.

She remained bolted at the door, arms folded stubbornly across her chest. "No," she pouted, and stomped her foot down on the carpeted floor for emphasis.

Sighing heavily, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, flinging her over his shoulder like she weighted nothing more than a piece of feather.

"Hey-" her legs kicking a bit against his chest.

"Where's your bedroom?" His eyes darted around the room, trying to choose between the few closed doors.

She let out a sound that was a cross between a giggle and a hiccup, and slapped his ass, startling him. "Good idea! The room is th-that way." Instead of a door, she pointed to the wall.

He sighed again and decided the most efficient way would simply have to be by opening all the rooms. He found what he was looking for upon his second try, after nearly stumbling inside the linen closet. It was not an easy task, with her hands roaming all over him. She was like a bitch in heat, making him wonder what she was like when she was sober. He carried her in swiftly and dumped her down on the bed. His hands worked to remove her heels from her tiny feet, then her jacket.

He wasn't sure how she was able to do it, but one minute he was trying to pull the cover over her, the next he was laying directly on top of her with her arms looped securely around his neck.

"Hey handsome," her voice was soft and silky. Her legs opened, causing her skirt to ride up to her waist, so that his hip was pressing directly over hers. She gave him a seductive smile, before pulling him down for a kiss.

A low growl rumbled from the back of his throat, when their lips touched. He felt the last drop of his sanity was stripped away. Wanting more of this, he parted her mouth with his tongue, exploring and tasting what was hers. She whimpered and rubbed one of her inner thighs against his hip, her hands grabbing a fistful of his hair. He gave into her warm lips hungrily before reluctantly pushing himself away. Running his hand through his hair in frustration, "I can't… we can't… you're drunk." Panting deeply, he tried to pay attention to anything but her sweet lips that he was luckily given the chance to taste.

She giggled loudly and stumbled out of bed, throwing her silk shirt at him. "No I'm not!" Her knee-length skirt quickly followed and soon she was in front of him in nothing but her underwear.

He gulped audibly at the sight, blinking several times to make sure he was not dreaming. It wasn't that he had never seen a half naked girl before, in fact he was used to beautiful women throwing themselves shamelessly at him, but this one… Pale, flawless skin, supple breasts barely covered by black-lace bra, long and shapely legs outfitted in garters and stockings…

Standing up on tiptoes, she gave him a soft kiss. Her mouth sucked gently on his bottom lip, while her small hands swiftly worked at loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, revealing a broad muscular chest. Her lips found themselves at the junction between his neck and shoulder. She smiled as the sound of a low moan escaped from the back of his throat.

His hands circled around her wrist tightly at her sides, causing her to stop her administration and look up at him. "Don't," his voice sounded a few octaves lower, for the second time this evening, warning her to stop before it was too late. Only this time his mind and his body had decided to wage a full-blown battle against one another; logic versus lust. He had never wanted or desired someone as much as he did now. There was nothing more he would like to do right now than to bury himself inside of her heat, and have this vixen scream his name out over and over again.

"Don't what?" she asked slyly as she led him back towards her bed, once again pulling him on top of her.

His control was barely hanging on by a threat. Images of them pleasuring each others body continued to flash through his mind. "You don't know what you're-"

She silenced him by pressing a finger on his mouth, at the same time her other hand reached down between them to gently massage the content of his pants.

He groaned, eyes squeezed shut. `I'll take that back… she DOES know what she was doing.' Whoever she was… this woman was driving him insane, spreading liquid fire throughout his body with the slightest touch. He felt like he was a horny teenage boy again. He pressed against her hand, losing himself into the sensation, as she expertly teased his manhood.

His lids fluttered open in confusion after a few moments when her hand suddenly stopped.

She had fallen asleep.

He got off of her and looked down at his hardened crotch. "Fuck!" Exhaling deeply, he pulled the cover over her and straightened out his clothes. Flinging his jacket over his shoulder, he glanced one last time at the sleeping figure before leaving.

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// RING RING //

"Mmm…" Kagome moaned at the loud ringing noise and buried herself deeper inside her cover.

// RING RING //

One hand reached out from beneath the cover and fumbled wildly for the phone, eager to stop the cause of her splitting headache. Her mouth felt as sandpaper, she had to swallow a few times before she was able to mumble a weak "Hello."

"Kagome?"

She opened her eyes at the recognition of the voice. "Mom?"

"Are you sick, sweetie?" her voice full of concern and worry.

Massaging her temple gently, she sat up. "Nothing much to worry about, I just have a bad headache. Maybe it's just a 24-hr flu or something…" she drifted off, her eyelids were heavy as lead, threatening to shut at any second.

"Well, do you need me to come over and make you some soup?"

Yawning, "No…I'll be fine, just need some sleep."

"Kagome…when you're feeling better, give me a call, I want us to have lunch, okay?" she asked.

"Yea, sure, bye" she hung up and reburied herself under the comforter.

She woke up a few hours later, feeling a bit better, memory of last night completely forgotten in her mind. `Why am I in my underwear?'

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She wiped her mouth carefully with her napkin, and took a sip of water. "So mom…what is the real reason for this meeting?"

Her mother smiled, "Always perceptive. Well…I want to talk to you about your meeting with your grandfather."

"What's there to talk about?" she responded glumly, one arm wrapped across her stomach, the other hand fisting at the fabric of her pants.

"Your grandfather means well you know, he just want to be sure that you and the company are cared for when he's go-"

"An ARRANGED marriage, mom… to a man I've never met before, a man I don't even love. I've always thought I'll marry for love. God! What is this? This is the twenty-first century, not the old age," she countered, trying hard to keep her temper under control at the restaurant.

"You know… your father and I had an arranged marriage. We grew to love each other very much."

Kagome's eyes widened, totally speechless. Her father had died when she was in elementary school, but even then she could see how much love her parents had for each other. To know that a love this great was born out of a marriage between strangers…

"I've met him, Sesshoumaru…he's a good man. Maybe you'll grow to love him even more than I'd loved your father. Your grandfather wants you two to meet tomorrow night… just promise me you'll give this a chance."

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Her future fiancé had chosen the most expansive restaurant in Tokyo as the setting for their first meeting. She took her compact out to check her appearance one last time before walking in with her head held in the air. She found the entire situation of meeting your potential fiancé completely humiliating and degrading. Plus, it was not exactly the most romantic thing to do. "Umm… Fukumori," she told the hostess.

Recognizing the name instantly, and a bit envious at the girl standing in front of her, "Yes, he's here already, right this way Ms. Higurashi."

She nervously tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear and followed, trying to spot him through the sea of tables.

He was sitting at a table by several large windows overlooking the view of the city. At least he was good looking, with short silver hair and an aristocratic face, though she found his expression to be a little too icy. `Wait… silver hair?' she pondered, his appearance seemed familiar, but why? `Maybe I've seen his picture in one of those business magazine.'

"Hi," she said shyly, giving him a warm smile.

He stood up and pulled her chair out for her. "Hello."

"Thank you," looking down at her lap, unsure of what to do or say. She could feel his cold eyes studying her intently, sizing her up, as the waiter took their order. People around the restaurant were looking at them with curiosity. It wasn't everyday to see the supposed rivals of the most prominent companies in Japan sharing dinner together.

"Higurashi, I'm sure your grandfather has discussed to you about our marriage and merger of our company."

She nodded, "Yes but-"

"I've studied your reports and the improvements you have brought to your company…I am very impressed. I'm sure that our merger will bring much benefits to our companies," he interrupted.

"But is a marriage necessary? It's so extreme and ultimate. I'm sure that you have other women whom you would much rather marry."

He took a sip of his wine, swirling it around a bit before setting it down. "My work has kept me too busy for any serious relationship. Because of my wealth, many women want me for my power and money."

She nodded in agreement, having been in the same situation many times herself. Her heart had been broken too many times upon discovering her latest boyfriend was only interested in how many shares of stock she had in her portfolio. Lately, she had found it hard for her to trust in men and their intentions.

He took her hand, and produced a large diamond ring from his jacket. "You're beautiful and smart, also your wealth nearly equals mine. I will treat you well as my wife." He placed a small kiss on the top of her hand. "Marry me?" his thumb flickered lightly across her skin.

Kagome nodded, and blushed slightly as he slipped the glimmering jewel onto her finger. `Maybe mom is right, maybe I'll grow to love him.'

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A/N: Yea yea, I know I need to finish up with Between Darkness and Light, but I just couldn't resist. Well let me know what you think, if you want me to continue or not.