InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity ❯ Dawn's First Rays ( Chapter 24 )

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

InuYasha awoke slowly, feeling as though the entire world was brighter, sunnier, with the strange inner knowledge that today was going to be a beautiful day. It had been a very long time since he had felt this way. Come to think of it, could he remember ever having felt this way before?

Kagome lay nestled against his chest, her hair tousled and soft as silk where it fanned over his arm. Her small frame was wrapped trustingly, securely against him. No doubt about it, he decided with a self-satisfied smile. She belonged right there, with him, in his arms.

The red tee shirt he'd given her to wear brought a rosy glow to her skin. It amazed him, how the shirt that fit him so well could seem so enormous on her small frame. She looked like a child playing in her father's clothes. The neckline that he'd cut slightly so that it didn't choke him allowed the garment to slide over her shoulder, and he stared at the exposed flesh, heart hammering wildly. To him it looked like the rest of the woman: soft, inviting, comforting. Brushing his fingertips over it, he felt the instant threads of desire tighten around him, drawing him closer to her. `What doesn't kill you will make you stronger,' his mind—the voice of his youki—taunted.

`Shuddup.'

InuYasha stifled a groan and forced his thoughts out the window. It wasn't quite light out yet. But dawn wasn't far off. He could smell it on the breeze, which meant his youkai powers were starting to return. He breathed deep again and moaned softly as his senses were engulfed by Kagome again, the richness of her skin, the sweetness that clung to her hair. With every beat of her heart, her body called to him. If she only knew what it was she did to him, if she only understood . . . He was going to drive himself crazy if he didn't get his mind off her quickly. `Easier said than done . . .' If he didn't stop thinking about her soon, he wouldn't be responsible for his actions . . .

The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon. He could see the ribbons of color beginning to streak across the sky. He yawned and sighed, smiling slightly as he let his eyes drift closed again. Having Kagome this close . . . It was enough, for now.


Kago me felt as though she was swimming up through the layers of sleep in no real hurry to crest the surface and actually have to open her eyes. She smiled slightly as she felt the strong arms holding her close, and she could hear his contented rumbles. Had he made that sound all night? If he had, then it wasn't really surprising that she had slept like a baby.

Cautiously, she cracked one eye open. His face was turned toward hers but his eyes were still closed. His hair was still black, and the slight breeze filtering through the many windows in the room ruffled it with invisible fingers. As she watched him sleep, his brow furrowed, as though he was having a bad dream. Without a second thought, Kagome reached over and smoothed the lines away. He moaned and grinned slightly.

He made her feel good inside, she realized with a tender smile. It was unsettling, almost frightening, how much she liked to look at him. When his eyes were open, it was easy to forget that he was only nineteen, probably almost twenty. There was something older in the depths of his eyes, something that bespoke an age that went far beyond his years. He baffled her. Most of the time, he was gruff, almost shy. But then he had moments when he would almost taunt her into doing something that she normally wouldn't have done, like wipe off his chest.

The memory of the intimacy in that action brought an immediate blush to her cheeks, and Kagome was glad that he was sleeping. He seemed to enjoy her embarrassment, as though he had accomplished something great every time he made her flush.

His tawny flesh seemed almost to glow in the dim light filtering through the windows and skylight above. The darkness of the prayer beads around his neck added a strange contrast. She wanted to reach out and touch him but she didn't. She wasn't sure if she was more afraid that she would wake him or if she feared what would happen if she did. But he was asleep, and as long as he didn't wake up, what harm would there be in looking at him?

She smiled to herself. There wouldn't be any harm done. None at all. Still, she couldn't allow her eyes to travel lower than his stomach. The muscles rippled under his skin as he breathed, like a symphony. She knew that he'd slept in the loose shorts he'd put on after their soap fight. Those were held up by a drawstring at the waist. Kagome bit her lip and quickly glanced over. The shorts were still tied. The bow stuck out above the waistband. But they had loosened enough that they just hugged his hips. Mesmerized by the sharp angle of the protruding bones, she stared. Harsh angles over delicate hollows whispered secrets that Kagome didn't dare listen to, InuYasha's body amazed her. `A modern girl, maybe,' she mused. `But some things,' she thought as she blushed again and quickly looked away, `are better left to the imagination, for now.'

A slight groan escaped him. With gentle fingers, Kagome reached over and smoothed InuYasha's bangs off of his forehead. As her fingers moved the hair aside, she frowned. The midnight strands under her touch seemed to be fading, and she stared in wonder as the color slowly receded, leaving behind the shining silver locks that she better knew. The human ears disappeared as his dog ears reemerged, and Kagome grinned despite herself. Why did she love those ears so much?

As if in answer to her unvoiced question, InuYasha's ears twitched. He sighed happily, and Kagome's grin widened. That had to be the reason.

Carefully so that she didn't disturb the sleeping man, Kagome extricated herself from his grasp and got up despite the almost overwhelming desire to climb back into the bed. The rumbling abruptly stopped, and he whined softly. Kagome very nearly gave in.

Unfortunately, there were a few very necessary things that she had to do, and she didn't think they'd wait. She smiled again as she walked around the foot of the bed, staring at InuYasha's legs. He had very fine looking silvery hairs on his skin. Was it as soft as his regular hair? She sighed and shook her head in self-disgust. She really needed to get a grip on herself.

The pale morning's light filtered in the higher bathroom windows, and Kagome was thankful. Artificial light had its merits, sure. But it somehow seemed out of place here, in InuYasha's domain. There was something completely simple about him, as though he didn't care at all for modern conveniences. The shower fixtures were gleaming and bright, and not for the first time did she wonder if he had ever even used it, and if he didn't, what did he do instead? Too many things in this, his home, seemed untouched.

She took care of her bathroom needs quickly enough and paused long enough to wash her face off and used one of the extra toothbrushes on the wall shelf. Curiously, there were about five of them on the shelf, and only one of them had been opened. She had opened another. She doubted he'd care.

When she tried to brush out her hair, however, Kagome had to blink back tears. Some of the soap residue from last night was still there, and it made it more difficult to brush through. With a few choice words, none of them overly harsh, Kagome finally managed to finish when the phone rang.

InuYasha was still asleep; she saw when she peeked into his room. Unwilling to wake him, Kagome ran down the hallway and snatched up the phone on the third ring.

"Izayoi residence," she said, careful to keep her voice down.

"Kagome? Is that you?"

Kagome made a guilty face. She'd forgotten that she'd said she'd be home shortly when she'd left the message last night . . . "Mama?"

"Did you sleep well? You sound like you did. Is InuYasha around? I thought he might as well come to breakfast since he'll likely see you home?"

"He's still sleeping," she said then flinched. `Wow,' she thought wryly. `That didn't sound good . . .'

"I'll have breakfast ready in about an hour or so."

"Um, okay," Kagome agreed, feeling suddenly dizzy. Guilt, embarrassment, and another, more unrecognizable emotion warred for dominance. Kagome wanted to run and hide. "I'll ask him."

Kagome's mom chuckled. "Oh, and Kagome? I think you and I need to have a talk after breakfast."

The line went dead, and Kagome stared at it with dumbfounded confusion. She drew a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her stomach as she dropped the receiver back into place and turned to head back toward InuYasha's room.

Still huddled on his side facing away from her, Kagome sat down and stared at his broad back, at the rise and fall of his breathing. Wishing she could draw some calm from him, Kagome willed herself to recall the contentment she'd experienced when she had first opened her eyes to see InuYasha's sleeping face.

Without thinking, Kagome reached out and gently stroked InuYasha's ear. Almost instantly, his rumble started again, and he rolled over toward her but didn't wake. Why did making him feel at ease and comfortable make her feel so good inside?

She wasn't in a hurry to wake him, either. He looked entirely too peaceful, too content. Actually, she was hard-pressed to leave him at all, and even though her mother was expecting her home, Kagome was loath to comply.

She was staring so intently at his ears that she didn't notice when his eyes opened. Suddenly, though, she could feel his stare on her, and she didn't have to look to know. It was enough to unleash a whole new brigade of butterflies loose, tremors erupting in her belly.

"Good morning," she said softly, finally daring to meet his gaze. Her breath caught somewhere between her nose and her lungs as she was captured in the liquid intensity behind those golden eyes. She drew her hands back away from his head. "Sorry . . . if I woke you . . ."

His hands moved so quickly that Kagome only saw a blur of flesh as he reached out and dragged her down beside him. He leaned up on his elbow and traced the curve of her cheek and jaw with the claw on his index finger. Her eyes drifted closed at the shocking yet gentle touch then snapped open again when he brushed the pad of his thumb over her lips. Delicious quivers coursed over her at the contact.

Grabbing at her rapidly scattering thoughts, Kagome had to clear her throat a few times before she could use her voice. "Mama called . . . She asked you to come to . . . breakfast . . ."

His lips fell to hers. She gasped at the contact. Sensation shot to the fore, and her breathing faltered. Warm at first but rapidly escalating to a burning scorch, the softness of his mouth was so different from the rigid strength that she knew he possessed.

His hand cupped her cheek, caressed her skin, and he leaned over her. His lips brushed against hers softly, gently, like the flutter of a butterfly's wings, only to return again. She held onto his shoulders, scarcely able to believe what was happening and unable to control the quavers in her belly, in her limbs. He leaned away from her, a slight smile toying at the corners of his lips. Kagome's breathing was harsh, grating to her own ears.

"See what happens when you mess with my ears?" he asked softly.

His words were like a dousing of cold water, and Kagome abruptly sat up. "You mean, the only reason you did . . . that . . . was because I—?"

His laughter cut her off, and Kagome was suddenly dragged back into his arms again as he sat up, too. He tilted her chin up with his index finger and kissed her again. Light, teasing, the merest breath of a touch on hers before he came back, sucking gently on her bottom lip as Kagome moaned softly. She reached up to wrap her arms around him. When her fingertips brushed over his side, he jerked back with a gasp and pushed her off his lap as he rolled away with a choked laugh.

Kagome blinked in surprise. Ticklish? InuYasha? A devilish glint lit her eyes just before she lunged at him. He realized what she was going to do but didn't scramble away.

To her surprise, though, he let her catch him. She straddled him and tickled him . . . until he decided to get some revenge for it. With a shriek of laughter, she rolled off him and tried in vain to get away. He finally stopped tickling but not until after she had tears rolling down her cheeks and was gasping for air.

Then he gathered her into his arms and kissed her forehead. Kagome sighed then groaned, remembering her mother's phone call. InuYasha leaned to the side to look into her face. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and grinned. "Mama wants you to come to breakfast. She called awhile ago."

It was his turn to sigh. He looked as though he didn't want to go. But he stood and dragged her off the bed, too. "We probably shouldn't keep her waiting, then, should we?"

Kagome watched as InuYasha headed out of the bedroom and down the hallway toward the bathroom. She grinned. There was something about him, she decided.

Something that she . . . loved.