InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Patchwork Family ❯ Out of Breath, Positive Pressure, and a Prescription for Starlight ( Chapter 40 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/N: All Inuyasha characters and references belong to the creator of Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi and published by Shogakukan. Any other characters are more than likely my own creation. If I borrow directly from another story I will do my best to make sure I give credit where credit is due. I will be pulling some material (ideas and inspirations) from Burn Notice, Leverage, Scorpion, Supernatural, and Lockwood & Co.

(Looong note, I know, but bear with me until the end of the third paragraph below)
Hey all, sorry it’s been so long. I needed some time away from this story and have been working on another one which I hope to post eventually. I’ll need to step away from that one now in turn for a bit and go back to it with fresh eyes later for an edit. It’s more frivolous fluff and drama than this one.

I have several other ideas I want to develop and can’t decide which one to work on. I figured I’d ask you guys and see what you’d like to read (as they all interest me equally and I suck at working on one thing only at a time). This is NOT choose-your-own-adventure fishing! I know that is bad form and not allowed—even if it might be a fun idea.

I’ve listed most of the major ones below, if you’d care to peruse the list and pick one or two favorites. You can message me or leave your choices in the reviews. If you aren’t interested at all, skip down to the end of the list to find the next chapter of Patchwork, ready and waiting. Thanks for reading!

A)Is a post-apocalyptic space adventure of sorts- in some ways inspired by the show Firefly. Inuyasha is sort of a merc/wrecker who spends most of his time drifting from one place to another, back and forth between the space colonies and Earth. Kagome is the current guardian of the Shikon no Tama (unless I decide to use something else for a change) and is (at the start) prepping for the transfer of the jewel to its next guardian. Unforeseen events occur for both parties, and their worlds collide. (outline partially started)

B)Is a Kagome-Sess pairing that takes place in present day, but still observes much of the original story in the past. The catalyst for the premise is that Inuyasha ultimately decides to send her back to her own time after they complete the jewel. Kagome is looking for a home of her own several years later, seeking a fresh start of sorts-- and gets the surprise of her life when she quite literally falls into a strange situation with the older of the Taisho brothers. And here, she thought she was done with demons and their problems. (outline started at length)

C)Alternate Universe (pretty completely) Kagome and Inuyasha both live in the town of Pensacola, Florida and unbeknownst to them, have a mutual friend. Kagome, a stalled college student-turned full time waitress- is set to marry a man she thinks she could love long-term. Inuyasha is a single guy, but still dealing with the fallout of the first relationship he’d ever really thought might work. Neither is looking for the other, but when Kagome’s fiancé does the unthinkable, Inuyasha just happens to be there to pull her out of the fire…literally. Many changes ensue for both. (outline started at length)

D)Kagome is a young woman, searching for a fresh start, a new space, her own home (after some difficult times as yet undetermined) and comes into contact with someone looking to rent an old house some distance out on the edge of town. Rumors are that it’s haunted, but little does anyone know that the strange stories aren’t the result of a ghost- not quite, anyway. Inuyasha has been trapped, invisible and unheard to all for a very long time. He’s driven off the last few tenants who’ve had the nerve to move into his house with little trouble (perhaps even killed one, with good reason-undecided), but Kagome might turn out to be a different case. (Semi-outline started, still foggy as to what the end goal would be… but it bears some thought)

E)Post-apocalyptic (sorta). Inuyasha was pinned to his tree while the world fell, and then began to recover in an entirely new order. There are a few larger cities, but mostly the remaining peoples live in small pockets, hidden away and trying to get by in the faded rubble of the old world. Kagome is a student of the healer in her village/town and serves part-time with the gathering personnel teams, perhaps starting to realize she isn’t satisfied with what others expect for her. They’re out replenishing necessary supplies one day and are attacked. In their bid for escape from a monstrous demon Kagome, left behind by others, finds herself in the clearing with the Goshinboku and Inuyasha. Their first meeting is hardly even that, but their second meeting is what brings about a different future for both of them. (outline partially started)

F)Some similarities to the world I created in (A) except this one is Sess-Kag pairing. This time, Kagome is a wrecker and she and her little brother Souta are doing all they can to stay afloat, to keep food in their mouths and air in their lungs. They are working for a rough merc outfit of sorts in one of the space colonies closer to what most people in space still think to be a ruined planet. On a salvage operation/supply run, Kagome and Souta find an old stasis pod that seems to still be partially functional. When they start to dismantle it for parts however, they aren’t quite prepared for the demon they find inside. Sesshomaru has been under for a while, but now he’s awake, and he’s not about to cow-tow to anyone. (Semi-outline started, still foggy as to what the end goal would be… but it bears some thought)

G)Inuyasha runs a garage that is partly legal, and partly chop shop, as well as a beloved home and hangout to a group of misfit racing rats and car thieves. Their boosting ring supplies contracts for different people, and when Inuyasha has to meet with one of their more distasteful clients, he can’t help noticing the man’s personal assistant. Kagome is holding on with both hands to a job she hates, working for a man that makes her skin crawl so that she can take care of herself and her little brother. She doesn’t have the time, the energy, or the hope to be looking for alternatives at this point, but when she goes with her boss to one of his black-filed meetings, a strange solution she never would have considered is thrust upon her without warning.


*** Out of Breath, Positive Pressure, and a Prescription for Starlight ***
03222015 (numbers are for my own purposes, don’t mind them)

It was nearly two in the morning when Gabriel opened his eyes in the last guest bedroom on the right. He tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but his stomach had other plans. It growled, informing him that now he was awake, it was time to eat again. With an irritated groan he pulled on some pants and tucked his phone in his pocket before he opened the bedroom door.

He padded silently down the dark hallway to the kitchen, where the stove light was still on, illuminating a bowl of fruit on the counter. He grabbed an apple and took a bite while he opened the refrigerator to search for something more substantial. After he’d wolfed down a sandwich and a glass of milk he grabbed a second apple and made his way back into the hallway. He was turning into the door of his bedroom when his slightly pointed ears picked up a small sound.

Gabriel paused, narrowing his glinting leonine eyes in the dark. The sound came again, muffled, by the door across from his; Rosalind’s room. His nostrils flared as he inhaled, searching for more information. The smell was almost as faint as the sound, but it was there. The stink of fear combined with a suppressed gasping sound was plenty of motivation to get him moving. He didn’t know why it was so hard to hear, and wondered for a moment whether something was wrong with his own senses; until he looked down in the dark and saw there was cloth rolled up and wedged under the door-- where the majority of sound and smell tended to escape a room.

He frowned and knocked on the door. There was no answer from the young woman and the sounds changed their pattern slightly, becoming more erratic. He twisted the knob and to his relief, it was unlocked. Rosalind always left her door unlocked in case Rin wanted her. It was that consideration that saved Gabriel from having to break the latch. He managed to push the door open enough to reach around it and pull the blanket aside. When he barged in he found Rosalind curled up in the bed on her side, her knees pulled to her chest as she gasped for air.

He bent at the side of the bed and brushed her mass of red hair away from her face. She was pale and her brow sweaty, her chest heaving as she squeezed her eyes shut. Gabriel tried to figure out what the problem was, but he could see no cause or damage. “Rose, what’s going on?”

Her smile was faint as she whispered raggedly. “I’ll be okay. Just go- ”

Gabriel shook his head and looked at her like she was nuts. “Not on your life… What’s wrong? What can I do?”

Rosalind shook her head and panted out between gasps, “it’ll stop… I just have to… have to wait…”

He shook his head again, finding her racing pulse with his fingers at her wrist. “This isn’t right, it’s not good Rosie, understand me? Do you need a doctor?”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, pushing his hands away. No doctors, no people. She just wanted to work through it and move on, like always. But now there was someone here, watching her struggle and her chest felt all the tighter for it. Someone else saw her being weak and afraid. He wanted to take her to the hospital. The thought that Inuyasha hadn’t taken Kagome to the hospital because Naraku had people watching there wormed its way through her sluggish brain and her gasping became more frantic.

She pulled away from Gabriel, pushing to sit up and wrapping the duvet around herself, shaking her head harder and hiding her clammy face in her arms against her knees as she muttered. “No... don’t tell… just go… please.” ‘He’s only making it worse!’ she thought, trying to banish the images that were flashing through her mind again as chest seized with panic.

Gabriel swore under his breath and stalked quickly down the hall. He glanced at the two doors across from each other at the far opposite end from Rosalind’s room and his own. He wasn’t sure whether to wake up Inuyasha or Sesshomaru. In the end, he decided Inuyasha had Kagome to deal with and anyway, and Sesshomaru was the cooler head of the two dog demons.

He knocked once and found Sesshomaru’s sitting room door was partly open, swinging wide at his touch. The aforementioned demon was planted on the big leather couch in black lounge pants with a plain, gray cotton button-down shirt left open over his chest. He looked up as the door opened and saw the look on Gabriel’s face. Sesshomaru dropped the folder of notes he was reading onto the coffee table to demand, “what’s happened?”

Sesshomaru’s eyes glanced briefly in the direction of Rin’s bedroom to make sure her door was closed as Gabriel said, “it’s Rose, I would have found her earlier but she had a blanket stuffed under the door. She can’t breathe right. She doesn’t want to see a doctor or we would have left already. Come take a look at her and tell me if you want me to run her to St. Joseph’s anyway.”

The Dai-Yokai was on his feet before Gabriel had finished his statement and it was all Gabriel could do to get out of his way. In a blink of the eye, Sesshomaru pushed through Rosalind’s bedroom door, kicking the rolled up blanket on the floor out of his way. He sat down on the side of the bed and Rosalind looked up in surprise, then hid her face again when she saw who it was. She shook her head, muttering as she coughed and gasped. “No no no… please… I don’t… want…”

Sesshomaru frowned and said firmly, “Rosalind, tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt?”

She shook her head and almost sobbed, “not hurt… it’ll pass… don’t need the hospital.”

He studied her for a moment, watching the way she moved. He reached up and pressed on her wrists and shoulder, forcing her to sit back a little and look at him. She was very pale and she pulled away slightly, refusing to meet his eyes. He listened to her gasp in and out, trying to get a deep breath and failing every time. He looked at Gabriel for half a second and nodded once, “go back to bed. I’ll take care of this.”

Gabriel was frowning in concern and raised a brow. “Are you sure? Can I get anything?”

Sesshomaru shook his head and ordered simply, “go.” His tone was not cold, but it was firm in a way that brooked no argument, and the much younger demon left, reluctantly pulling the door closed behind him. Sesshomaru folded one leg beneath him so he could turn more fully towards Rosalind. He took one of her hands and brought it towards him, letting his fingers explore the small bones in her wrist as he said, “take smaller, shallow breaths. You won’t manage more, so don’t try.”

Her brows drew together as she looked up at him doubtfully.  He frowned at her and she did as she was told, closing her eyes and trying to force her oxygen-starved brain to be satisfied with what the smaller breaths could give. She opened her eyes again and cried out, trying to jerk her hand away when she felt an aching pain. Sesshomaru wouldn’t release her hand and held her wrist in a steel grip, quietly saying, “hn… there it is. This will hurt, but it will help you.”

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and let him hold her wrist where he pressed his thumb into the tender spot at the inside base of her palm. She was ashamed to feel a few silent tears leak from her closed eyes, running down her cheeks as she panted, trying to order her chaotic thoughts. Some of the pandemonium in her head faded as he took her other hand in his, squeezing it once in a solid, determined sort of reassurance. If it weren’t for the pain lancing through her other wrist and hand she might almost enjoy it. “In through the nose… out through the mouth,” he ordered.

For a few minutes they just sat that way. Rosalind focused her eyes on the rise and fall of his bare chest, doing her best to replicate his breathing pattern. After a moment she realized he was exaggerating his breathing for her on purpose, taking the slow, shallow breaths he’d instructed her to use. Something about this made her want to really start crying and she wasn’t sure why. She blinked away the fresh moisture in her eyes and found that her panic had quieted a bit, that she had a little more air. It wasn’t much, but it was an improvement. Her hands still tingled, but her face no longer felt numb.

She was relieved when Sesshomaru let go of the pressure point on her wrist but winced as he found the same one on the opposite hand, pressing down on it firmly He held the pressure for several minutes, as he had the first one. His left hand switched across his lap to hold her right, and he gently worked the sore wrist he’d first seen to while he still held its counterpart in pain.

After another few minutes she was able to suck in one full, glorious breath and she nearly choked on it in surprise. He frowned and shook his head in disapproval when she gasped. “Slow,” he reminded her sternly. When she was calmer-- and no longer as white as the bed sheets, Sesshomaru released her hands and stood. “Stay quiet. I’ll return in a moment.”

When the Dai-Yokai closed her bedroom door behind him, he saw Gabriel sitting on the bench in the hallway, waiting, it seemed. Gabriel rose to his feet immediately and Sesshomaru told him, “her breathing is improved, but there’s more to be done. Thank you for alerting me. I intend to stay with her.” Something about those last words made the beast in his chest rumble in approval, and he chose not to examine the feeling too closely.

Gabriel was still frowning. He searched the taller man’s face but he knew better than to argue. He nodded once before disappearing into his own bedroom. Sesshomaru quickly made his way down the hall to his own quarters and pulled a small knife from a drawer. The blade was only about three inches long and crystalline, with a leather wrapped handle. The weapon was nearly identical to one Inuyasha possessed. The knives had been gifts from an ancient demon that had been a loyal friend to their sire eons ago. Hosenki had produced the finest, strongest adamantium ever to be found. There were few blades to match one created from such material.

Without hesitation, Sesshomaru smoothly disposed of the dangerous ends of his claws. He hadn’t performed the task more than a few times in the last several years. Occasionally he’d done it for Rhiannon, fearful of accidently harming her when they were intimate. But he’d done it far more often after Rin had been born. His daughter had been so small and soft and full of energy. He’d been quietly terrified of hurting her when he’d held her or played with her. Rin had no fear of his lethal teeth and claws, and he’d had to be extra careful with her until she was old enough to understand they would hurt her if she squirmed at the wrong moment and he wasn’t prepared.

There was a small hiss as each poisonous claw hit the metal base of his bathroom trash can and turned to a dense ash-like material. When he walked back into his sitting room, he paused for a moment, an idea occurring to him as he saw the decanter of cognac out of the corner of one eye.

When Sesshomaru re-entered Rosalind’s bedroom he found her leaning against her pillows, head resting back on the metal headboard rail, eyes closed as she concentrated on pulling air carefully in and out. The small lamp beside her bed had been turned on. Her green eyes opened when she heard him come in and she her faint smile was self-conscious. Her expression registered surprise when he sat down on the bed near her again and pressed the small glass of cognac into her hands.

When her eyes flicked from the glass to him he explained, “liquor has been used to facilitate respiratory recovery, among other things for many hundreds of years. It helps to dilate the airways and increase blood circulation.”

Rosalind nodded once, thoughtfully. It made sense, she supposed as she took a large sip of the aged brandy. Sesshomaru studied her and asked, “what caused such an extreme response?”

She chewed her lip and pulled her knees up to her chest under the coverlet again, balancing her glass on top of them and choosing to look at the cognac rather than him. “I just had a rough dream, that’s all.” Her eyes flicked to his briefly and she looked back at the glass, her lips twisting into a tiny, self-deprecating smile. “It’s stupid. I woke up in the middle of a minor anxiety attack… and that started the trouble. I was getting it under control, but then Gabriel busted in on me and it got worse again.”

Sesshomaru frowned and said reprovingly, “he said you used a blanket to barricade the door.”

Her lips twitched up again for a second and she shrugged. “I knew what was happening and I didn’t want to bother anyone else. It calms down after a while, but you all have such sensitive noses... it was the only thing I could think of. I’m sorry he woke you up.”

Sesshomaru’s frown eased and he shook his head, admitting silently that the blanket under the door was a smart way to try and hide her scent. All he said aloud was, “I wasn’t sleeping.”

Rosalind took another sip of the cognac and asked, “do you ever sleep?”

Now Sesshomaru’s lips twitched, just for a moment and he glanced at the clock next to her bed. “For a few hours at a time, most nights.”

She pulled in a slightly deeper breath than she’d been able to get before and said, “that must be nice. I could do so much more if I didn’t have to sleep.”

Sesshomaru took the empty glass from her as she swallowed the last of her drink and set it on the bedside table. “Does this escalate by such a degree often?”

Rosalind shook her head so quickly that he wondered if she was being entirely honest.  His jaw stiffened in response to the idea that she might be lying to him, but he held his peace. He readjusted his posture and moved a little closer to her. His frown returned full force when she flinched as he reached up towards her shoulders. It was only for a split second, but the fact that she had the subconscious programming at all to respond in such a way to him made the beast in his chest snarl and shift restlessly.

Before he touched her he said, “there is a little more I can do to ease your symptoms and prevent a recurrence tomorrow.”

She looked embarrassed, her slightly wind-burned cheeks flushing darker pink in the dimly lit room. She nodded once, lowering the blanket to her waist and sitting cross-legged a bit closer to his reach. He gave her a moment to collect herself before he reached up again and systematically smoothed his fingertips along her collarbone, feeling for the slight hollow beneath it on either side of the sternum. This spot, like most other pressure points, especially in the midst of a problem, was very tender. He could tell by the pained tug in her expression when he’d found the right place.

Rosalind’s mouth tightened briefly before she smoothed her face, breathing out and doing her best to think of anything but the deep ache caused by the pressure he applied with his thumbs. Her fingers twisted in her lap and she closed her eyes, focusing for a moment on her respiratory rhythm. In through the nose… out through the mouth.

After a long minute Sesshomaru heard an improvement in the rustling that came from her chest and murmured, “good…” Then she grunted a small sound of discomfort and winced as he moved his hands, settling his long fingers on each shoulder, bare but for the straps of the old camisole she slept in. As he moved his thumbs down an inch from where they’d been and pressed again, she realized too late that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and as close as he was sitting to her, he had to have noticed.

This thought prompted an internal cringe of humiliation and she cracked an eye open to look at him. His expression was one of intense focus; and though his eyes seemed to be fixed to his own hands, she couldn’t be sure he wasn’t looking at anything else. She didn’t have enormous breasts, but they weren’t anything to scoff at either, a respectable C cup. Her cheeks went hot and she closed her eyes again. She tried desperately to relax and think of something else before he picked up on her train of thought in her scent….       Yeah… right.

Sesshomaru held his hands steady, shifting through to another application point at the base of her throat after a few minutes. A part of him was relieved she sat with eyes closed, her attention apparently turned inward. Firstly, it demonstrated that she trusted him, and secondly, he didn’t have to try as hard as he otherwise might have to look completely inscrutable.

He very much had noticed that she wore no bra, and a part of him insisted that this was deeply inappropriate. He should withdraw and request that she put on more clothing before doing any more. But the beast in his chest had settled its apparently rather substantial bulk firmly on top of his sense of decorum, effectively suffocating his good sense and communicating its feral satisfaction with the situation.

His nostrils flared for a moment as he pulled in her scent, now only slightly tainted with the fading fear and panic. It was warm, spicy and sweet and he was briefly floored for a moment at what else he found. He nearly dropped his hands, his thoughts faltering in surprise as he detected a faint curl of arousal. Did she realize she was feeling such a thing? Was it in response to him, or was she thinking about something else entirely? He’d never smelled that intimate stimulation in her before, and the way it enriched her already pleasant fragrance took him entirely off guard. He spent a long minute gathering himself and making sure both his mind and body were completely under control before he spoke. “I will need to be at your back next.”

She opened her eyes and looked relieved when he eased the pressure and dropped his hands from her throat. However, as his fingers moved into her range of vision she frowned, one hand flying up to the skin at her neck where he’d just been touching her. Confused, she asked, “what happened to your claws? I didn’t even think…”

His expression was blank and noncommittal as he said, “they can be removed, for a short time.”

When she was still frowning he arched a somewhat curious brow. “This bothers you?”

She took one of his hands gingerly in her own, examining his fingers closely before she looked up at him again and asked, “did it hurt? How long before you get them back?”

Rosalind swallowed down the question she wanted to add. ‘Did you cut them off just to help me?’ She was conflicted by the idea. On one hand it was very thoughtful and considerate on his part, but that he would remove something of himself that way for her, for any reason was also slightly troubling. He was a demon, he was supposed to have claws. It was just the natural way of things.

Sesshomaru smiled a little smugly and took his hand back. “They will grow back within a few hours. It has been necessary many times the past. Your back, please. Lay on your stomach,” he prompted.

Rosalind nodded once, feeling a little self-conscious as she slid down in the bed again and turned over to lay on her front. She elected to remain under the blanket and let him move it only if and when he needed to. She was wearing a pair of sleep shorts, but they were thin and really more like women’s boxer shorts than anything else. Her cheeks burned again and she turned her thoughts quickly as she felt her body temperature rise a degree. Mentally, she shot another guilty apology out towards Rhiannon, should her spirit be aware of this awkward scene.

Sesshomaru stood and rearranged himself so that he knelt next to her prone form on the mattress. Carefully, he folded the blanket down only to her hips, reluctantly admiring the curve of her waist for the second time in 24 hours. He closed his eyes for a moment and ordered his suddenly undisciplined mind to remain on task. Rarely had he ever been forced to do this before. He’d always been nearly immune to distraction.

When he didn’t move for a second, she turned her head to look up at him and caught his distant expression. Her movement, however, was enough to pull him from whatever internal process had gripped him. He brought one hand up to sweep her thick red hair aside. The sight this revealed stopped his frustration cold. He gathered the remaining strands after a moment’s pause and combed them all aside with his fingers to reveal the skin of her upper back and shoulders, largely exposed in the camisole. His voice was hard as he asked, “what is this?”

Rosalind frowned slightly and shrugged, the marks he stared at shifting slightly with the movement. “They’re just scars.”

When his eyes dropped to hers, his sharp gaze seemed to demand more information and she said quietly. “I’ve had them since I was about five years old… I think. I don’t remember for sure how old I was. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you didn’t know they were there.”

Sesshomaru felt the beast in his chest rise, back arched and hackles raised as he studied the long dark reddish brown lines that marred her back. They stretched across her shoulders and disappeared beneath her shirt. There was one mark that was much wider than the others, more of an oblong rectangle. Without thinking, he traced the mark with his fingertips. She shivered a bit under his touch and murmured, “that part was from the buckle. My dad had a big pewter belt buckle he always wore.”

He tried to imagine doing such a thing to his own daughter and found himself regretting the fact that he’d left the despicable man alive when he’d left with Rosalind a decade ago. He resolved to correct that mistake as soon as was convenient. Sesshomaru slid his fingers to the hem of her shirt and glanced back at her face as he asked, “may I see the rest?”

Rosalind surprised him slightly by pursing her lips in a teasing smile when she nodded, saying, “everything that’s currently north of the blanket, yes.”

His brain stalled for a moment, two thoughts violently colliding with each other. The first was absolute outrage that there were more of the marks he saw on her shoulders, and the other was the thought of anything else he might see beneath the blanket. He shook himself and raised the hem of her shirt, examining the long curving lines that arced across her back.

The muscles beneath the skin were well toned and strong, but those marks made him angry. There was another long gouge from the buckle just above her left hip. Sesshomaru did his best to soften his tone, lest she think he was angry with her, which he wasn’t. “I’m sorry,” he said, running his fingertips along one particularly jagged line over the back of her ribs.

She just shrugged again and said quietly, “you don’t have anything to apologize for. My father was the sorry piece of work with a propensity for beating the tar out of his children, not you.” She slid her hand across the sheet hesitantly and lay her fingers against his hand where it rested on his knee while she added, “you’re the reason I made it out of there alive, so no apologizing… unless you ever decide that was a mistake.”

Sesshomaru frowned and shook his head at the thought. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before he placed it on the mattress again so he could lean over her back while he clipped out, “don’t be foolish.”

Her lips twitched in a smile and she closed her eyes again. Carefully, he worked his fingers along her spine and shoulder blades and she made a small noise that gave him pause. He stopped and asked, “does this cause pain?”

She shook her head a little and murmured, “no, I’m sorry, the muscles are just stiff. It’s been too long since I was on the paddle board. That’s all.”

He took a minute to work those muscles for her, rationalizing that it could only help her breath easier. Shortly though, he moved on to the pressure points he’d been looking for; after she released a small, involuntary moan of appreciation. The simple sound threatened his composure in a way that made him slightly exasperated with himself.

He could tell once again when he found the right place, his fingers pressing into a dip between her spine and scapula on either shoulder. She stiffened and gasped in discomfort, but over the next few minutes, gradually her body relaxed. As he held the pressure he told her, “if we tend to these locations regularly it will decrease your difficulties.”

She breathed out a small sound of acknowledgement and said, “I can get Sango or someone to do it for me.”

There was a silent pause before Sesshomaru said in an enigmatic tone, “I will do this.”

Rosalind thought about that for a moment before she asked curiously, “how do you know this anyway? It’s working.”

He reluctantly admitted, “between what you told me in the truck and the way you sounded when you came in after the rain, I did some research on the human lungs and asthma.”

She frowned a little in slight irritation before she said, “I don’t have asthma. I’m healthy; I run on a regular basis.”

He emitted a low sound and said with dry humor, “this asthma you don’t have is the reason Gabriel was prepared to run you to the hospital in the middle of the night.”

Rosalind didn’t answer, just closed her eyes again and breathed in deeply, releasing a long, sighing exhale. She didn’t want to think about it. Sesshomaru began rubbing small circles against the points on her back, distributing the pressure over a wider radius as he asked carefully, “what dream upsets you so badly?”

She chewed her lip a little, images flashing through her mind of an old iron bed stead, yellowed lace curtains, and large, vague figures of darkness that reeked of whiskey and sweat. Rosalind turned her face away again and said, “just old stuff, it doesn’t matter, it was a long time ago.”

Thoughtfully, Sesshomaru reiterated the statement he’d made to her before. “If it continues to affect you, it matters still. The day something has no bearing on your present or future existence… that is when it no longer matters.”

Rosalind considered his words, glumly admitting at least to herself that he was right, and that meant that her past did matter, at least at night… in the dark. Though she said nothing, Sesshomaru could smell the thin, sickly tendrils of pain and shame creeping through her scent. The muscles in her shoulders had tightened a bit beneath his hands in a way that left him in little doubt that whatever had stalked her mind in sleep made her unhappy.

Sesshomaru’s eyes caught the reflection of the lamp in the dark glass of the window and he had an idea. He stood and turned the lamp off for a moment, looking out her window in the direction of the shore line. Without the reflections thrown by the light, he could see the night sky was clear, and he turned the lamp back on, directing his sensitive eyes away from the electric bulb and closing them a moment in discomfort.

When he opened his eyes a second later, Rosalind had pulled herself up to lean on her elbows, looking at him curiously. He studied her, listening carefully to the way she was breathing. “Are you well enough to go out? I believe it’s cool, but not cold.”

She raised her brows and looked at the clock. “It’s almost three in the morning. Where do you want to go?”

Sesshomaru didn’t answer her, but instead eyed the clothing folded on her dresser. He picked up the thick red turtle neck she’d worn the other day and said, “put on your swimming clothes under this.”

Rosalind rolled to her side and sat up, holding the comforter up over her chest and looking thoroughly confused. Her eyes went doubtfully from the sweater to him, and then back again. She got to her feet, dragging the blanket around her half naked form. Her lips twitched in a curious smile as she took the sweater. “What 3 a.m. mystery could possibly call for a bathing suit and a turtle neck?”

Sesshomaru was unreadable; and only said, “something I believe you will enjoy, as I assume you’re not likely to return to sleep soon.”

Rosalind’s smile faltered for a second before she put it firmly back in place and nodded once, gesturing to the door. “Alright… you win. I’ll meet you in the front room.”

She walked down the hall a few minutes later, wearing the same aqua-blue two-piece swim suit that she’d worn on the boat, the big red turtleneck sweater, and her board shorts, which were still damp with sea water. She’d chosen to leave her hair down, only running a brush through it a few times before she’d left her room. Sesshomaru had not changed his clothing. He stood in the darkened room waiting for her, arms crossed over his chest as he looked out the large window over the lawn in front of the house.

When Rosalind stepped onto the wooden floor he turned and looked at her, noting with mild amusement that the sweater was so large on her it nearly made her look as if she wore no pants, and her hands were covered by the long sleeves. She fidgeted a little in her flip flops and waited to see what it was he had planned. He opened the front door and ushered her out onto the step before he closed it behind him, leading her down the path to the garage.

Sesshomaru walked back out of the garage with her wide paddle board under one arm, the long paddle staff easily carried in his other hand. Rosalind raised a brow, but again, he chose not to explain. She followed him down the short trail to the beach without question, but when he walked into the softly lapping water she stopped. “I thought it was dangerous to be in the ocean at night, and I’m not swimming in my sweater… this thing will weigh a hundred pounds if it’s wet.”

He turned and said smoothly, “we’re not swimming. Come.”

When she still hesitated, his voice was quiet and deep; his eyes glinted in the night as he glanced back at her. “Do you not trust me?”

Rosalind let her head fall back, emitting a small sound of exasperation before she stepped out of her sandals and into the slightly chilly water with him. They stopped when the water was a few feet deep and Sesshomaru climbed onto the board, straightening easily from his knees to balance on his feet towards the back end. Then he did his best to keep the board steady while Rosalind sat down in front of him. She found her balance and pulled her knees up into her sweater to keep her legs warm, rolled her sleeves back, and dropped her hands to cling to the edges of the board.

Sesshomaru moved the paddle in long, broad strokes from side to side, doing his best not to drip water on the young woman perched in front of him. After several minutes he stopped, making sure the paddle was attached to the safety tether before he dropped it in the water to float next to them. “Be still,” he warned, as he maneuvered himself to sit down cross legged on the board behind her. She sat close enough to the front of the board that there was just sufficient space to manage this without too much rocking or splashing.

They sat quiet for a minute, bobbing a little on the calm ocean, and Rosalind could see why he’d wanted to come here. The sky seemed bigger somehow, endless over the dark water, and in the absence of cloud cover it was filled with a brilliant velvet tapestry of lights. The smallest sliver of moon hung among more stars than could ever be counted. She pulled the thick cowl of her sweater up around her ears, snuggling into it as she gazed up at the view.

After a few minutes passed she said wonderingly, “I don’t know why I never did this before. It’s beautiful.”

Sesshomaru let his legs slip into the water on either side of the board to straddle it, back straight, hands resting on his knees as he looked up at the sky as well. “Because it would be foolish for you to do so… dangerous for any human. As you said, you’re smart enough not to be on the water in the dark.”

She aimed a narrow-eyed look over her shoulder at him. His gold eyes glinted at her again, and his faint smile in the pale starlight was smug as he explained himself. “You cannot see in the dark well enough to always be sure of the shore line and currents. Even the best swimmer would be at risk of going the wrong direction to drown or suffering injury.”

Rosalind turned her eyes back to the heavens, craning her neck a little to see the thicker spatter of stars that lined the Milky Way across the sky. “But you can see in the dark,” she said. As she watched the sky she wondered if the stars looked different through his night predator’s eyes.

“I can,” he confirmed, unnecessarily; then he confessed, “I come here periodically at night to think.”

Rosalind smiled and sighed softly, letting the sounds of the water around them sooth her. Sesshomaru was satisfied that he’d assessed the situation correctly, the beast in his chest quietly content. She seemed to feel much better, if the set of her shoulders was anything to judge by. He could understand that. The water had always calmed him. It was one of the few things he and his brother had in common, and the reason he’d selected this property after his mate’s death. He’d spent many nights swimming when he couldn’t focus on anything else, when his mind wouldn’t let him rest.

About five minutes later he frowned as he saw her shiver, pulling herself more tightly into her sweater. However, when he reached for the paddle and slid it into the water to turn them back to the shore, Rosalind shook her head and said, almost in a whisper, “not yet… please. I can’t come out here like this on my own. I just… want a little longer, if it’s not too much trouble. I know it’s late and you’re probably tired.”

Sesshomaru considered this and said, “I’ll bring you out with me again if you like, when the night is clear. You’re cold.”

She was cold, and her lungs wheezed a little, but she wasn’t ready to give up the luminous blanket of stars above her just yet, not when all she had to go back to was her dark bedroom and bad dreams. Sesshomaru could sense her further reluctance to return to the beach and he laid the paddle back in the water. Carefully, he placed his hands on the board in front of him and lifted his body a little closer to the center, ordering her quietly, “move back.”

Rosalind looked over her shoulder a moment before she did what she was told, carefully sliding her butt back on the rubber-padded surface until she felt the warmth of his chest behind her. She stiffened for a moment and he instinctively reassured her with simple words in a smooth, baritone voice. “I have you.”

Cautiously, she relaxed into him, once she was sure that was his intention. Rosalind reveled a little in the heat that seeped into her with the contact. His body seemed to produce an impressive amount of heat, despite the fact that his pants were mostly soaked, and his legs dangled in the water up to the knee. His gray shirt remained open in the cool night air.

To her surprise and guilty gratification, the tall, silver-haired man behind her gathered her carefully against him, wrapping long arms around her, resting his hands around her knees over her own beneath the sweater. Her shivers stopped, and she felt a contented warmth spread from somewhere in her chest through her whole body.

Rosalind sank into this luxurious feeling and let him hold her, knowing it was only to keep her from foolishly freezing herself to stay out here longer, but indulging her heart in it none-the-less. No one had ever held her like this, and she wasn’t sure anyone ever would. But just for now, just for this short time on the water beneath the sparkling night, she could pretend.

After all the times men had gripped her in anger, or greed and lust… She’d never felt safe enough with one to let them hold her… to let herself be held. She’d tried half-heartedly, once or twice, only to meet with abysmal failure. But it was safe for the moment to let herself have this- because she did trust Dai-Yokai Taisho Sesshomaru… and also because there was no expectation of anything more. Rosalind knew he didn’t… wouldn’t… care for her in that way, and so she was safe from that too, even if she did privately appreciate the whimsy of the idea, and the fact that he was nice to look at.

She’d just have to beg Rhiannon’s forgiveness later.