InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Daimyo Inutaisho ❯ Three ( Chapter 3 )

CHAPTER THREE

The demon lord Inutaisho was alone in his chambers, having successfully run off even the most stoic of his personal assistants. He stood before the tall mirror, his face creased in a scowl. He turned, trying to catch a glimpse of his back. The formal attire chafed at him despite the liquid texture of the fine silk. Unbound from his usual battle ready topknot, his hair reached to his knees. The fine strands made him uncomfortable, they clung to his face and hands. He scowled again, only untested boys had time to worry about their hair.

"So look at you," a voice drawled lazily from the doorway. Inoki was watching him, a rare smile on his face. "How long have you been standing there?" Inutaisho demanded.

"Ever since Caso ran into the reception hall blubbering something about you threatening his life. I thought I might stop by for a quick hello before you managed to alienate everyone in the household staff." Inoki casually circled his brother, appraising the older demon's court finery. "You know, I don't think I've seen you dressed like this since Father died and the clans declared you Daimyo in succession."

Inutaisho brushed invisible lint from the delicate silk of his sash. "Not true, brother. I did so for your own wedding, not ten years ago."

"Oh that's right, I remember now. Those can't be the same clothes, as I recall you made a flag out of them and ran around the courtyard waving it and singing some obnoxiously bawdy song about a demoness with certain legendary…"

"I was drunk," Inutaisho snapped, turning back to his mirror. The hair floated up again and he grabbed it, trying to force the slippery stuff into obedience.

Inoki chuckled. "Drunk doesn't begin to cover it," he said, his dark eyes glinting with enjoyment at his brother's discomfort. "I'd never seen anyone drink that much rice whisky without dying or at least vomiting for three days. The kitchen staff still speaks of you with awe."

"A wedding is supposed to be a happy event. People are supposed to celebrate," Inutaisho said stiffly. Inoki sighed, scratching at his own embroidered collar. His brother glanced at him. "I see Anuki managed to force you into your own finery. Did she need to use violence or just the threat of it?"

Inoki considered the question. "A bit of both if you want the truth. I did try to talk her into letting me get by with wearing my hunting clothes. After all, it's not like anyone's going to be looking at me today. But she got her way, as usual. I'm still better off than the kids are, she's threatened them with a most heinous fate if they let out even a peep during the ceremony."

His brother frowned. "She could have let them off, it will be long and boring for them at their age."

"I said as much, but they raised a stir about it. Not one of them wants to miss out on the first look at uncle's new wife."

"Don't remind me," Inutaisho growled. The thought of his yet unmet and unseen consort made him almost queasy with anxiety. His brother clapped a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "You'd better get used to the idea, Inu. She's going to be part of the family soon enough."

"Part of the family?" he asked, glaring into his brother's reflected eyes. "Damn you, it's a military alliance, the Azaryu heir is just part of the negotiated deal. She won't be my wife, it's a goddamn contract."

Inoki held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Calm down, Inu. I know why you're doing this, you don't have to bark at me. It's a smart move, better than spending another twenty years fighting all along the western border."

"It's still a fight," his brother answered sourly. "The tactics have changed is all, along with the location. I'm willing to make a few personal concessions to put a stop to the bloodshed, but it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it." He forced himself to stop fidgeting.

Inoki ran his hand through his own hair, startlingly black next to his brother's. "Listen, Inu. I know how you hate being cornered into anything you don't want. But I hope that you aren't planning on taking it out on the Azaryu girl. Remember, you negotiated this deal with her family. Think about how she must feel, dragged away from her home as part of an alliance and made consort to a man she's never even met."

Inutaisho glared at him. "What do you take me for, of course I've thought about that. It's her father that made this so called marriage a deal breaker. He wants his bloodline in power, he'd sell more than a daughter to get an heir of Azaryu blood over the Western lands. I get an end to twenty years of fighting, the waste of lives and resources."

"As long as you both get what you want, it doesn't matter what some stupid girl thinks, right?" Inoki said sarcastically.

"Come on, brother. She's probably been raised with the knowledge that something like this could happen, all highborn women are. Political marriages are common. Besides, she's Azaryu. We'll be lucky if she can string two sentences together. And once she delivers me a healthy child, she'll be free to go wherever and do whatever she likes. It doesn't matter to me if she's pretty or if she has a face like a bog youkai."

Inoki grinned. "Oh so that's what's been bothering you. You're worried that sly old Azaryu lord is sticking you with a dutiful ugly daughter for a bride."

"Wouldn't it bother you, never having seen the face of the woman who will bear your heir?"

His brother looked at him soberly. "I see your point. In any case, elder brother, it's time for the show to begin. Are you ready to go through with it?"

Together they left Inutaisho's quarters and proceeded to the reception hall. As they took their places, Inutaisho resisted the urge to pace the finely embroidered carpet. "Is it late?" he asked Inoki. "I think they're late."

"Quit squirming," his brother hissed, looking out over the honored guests. By their own choice, his and Anuki's wedding had been a simple, private affair. Only his brother and a few of their closest friends had attended. Anuki had been grateful her disapproving relatives had chosen to make themselves absent. Now, as the Sutakasi clanlord herself, she had found herself the subject of renewed popularity despite her choice of mates. He wished that he possessed his wife's natural social grace.

Inoki was willing to stand beside his brother even for the torment of an official state event like this. Inu was right, it wasn't a real wedding. When the Azaryu delegation arrived, treaties would be signed, a good many long speeches would be spoken and then, finally, the Azaryu lord would present his daughter to Inutaisho like a crate of wine or some other token gift. Inoki wished he knew why it bothered him, maybe it was because he could have easily envisioned the same fate for his Anuki if Inu hadn't stepped in and bent the rules for them.

A flurry of activity heralded the arrival of the Azaryu delegation. The Azaryu clan had been at odds with most of the West for generations. Border battles, disputes over resources, the Azaryu clan had been a thorn in his brother's side and their father's side before that. Of course their sire wasn't half the diplomat that Inutaisho had become. The old man's answer to the Azaryu problem had been to answer violence with more violence, surpass atrocity with atrocity. The moment the old lord had died, and no doubt been on his way to a richly deserved hell, the Azaryu had started pushing at Inutaisho. His brother had grimly set about the business of securing the borders, but unlike their father, never once did he press his advantage to vent a little vindictive justice against Azaryu holdings.

The Azaryu lord had been suspicious of these new tactics, but had eventually come to have a grudging respect for his new adversary. This treaty was the culmination of the last ten years of hard work and careful treading of diplomatic waters. Then the old lord had thrown a final bargaining chip on the table, his daughter. Surprised by the maneuver but unwilling to restart negotiations, Inutaisho had agreed and now stood waiting for the last act of the play to begin.

At the far end of the reception hall the guards threw open the tall double doors to admit the Azaryu delegation. The assembled guests stood as one, straining for a look as much as out of respect. Old Kashikoto, the Azaryu clanlord, swaggered boldly as he entered the hall followed by his bodyguard and entourage. He was an elderly youkai, stooped but still powerfully built. His iron gray hair fell around his shoulders in dank locks, his weathered and creased features scowling impartially around him. He wore a leather patch over where his right eye had been, legend had it that he'd lost that eye as a youth to none other than Inutaisho's father.

Inutaisho stood still, seemingly at his ease as his new ally approached him down the long length of the hall. Inoki discreetly moved away, slipping down to sit next to his wife. She flashed a quick smile at him, her hand finding his as they settled together to watch the formal ceremony begin.

*****

"Lord Kashikoto, may I formally welcome you to the Western lands as friend and ally." Inutaisho's voice was smooth, the treaty was now signed and all appropriate honors had been observed.

The old dog chuckled, his voice coarse and rough edged. "Indeed, lord Inutaisho. It will be a welcome change to stand down from our constant warring. I must say, you're every bit the bastard your father was in battle."

Inutaisho's expression never altered, but he heard the court's murmur at the old barbarian's rough language. He inclined his head. "I shall take that as a compliment."

Kashikoto laughed again. "As it was meant, pup, as it was meant." Inutaisho's eyes narrowed. No one who knew him would dare call him a pup to his face. And the Azaryu lord knew that. He let the comment slide.

"Still, I never thought I'd live to see the day that our clans would unite in peace. Your father must be spinning in his grave."

Inutaisho met the lord's gaze with a feral smile of his own. "I hope so, the thought pleases me."

Kashikoto blinked. "Does it now? Well, maybe we're better suited as allies than I had thought. In any case, you don't strike me as a man who would back down from a challenge. I'd say it's time for me to present you with my clan heir."

All eyes followed the lord's gesture. At the end of the room, a tall, slim figure appeared, draped in a long cloak. She approached silently, moving with an graceful, easy step. Inoki peered hard as the woman passed, unable to catch a glimpse of the she-demon's face. No doubt this was part of some last minute drama engineered by old Kashikoto. As she drew close enough to stand at her father side, the Azaryu heir paused, looked up at her new husband's face and cast of her concealing cloak.

The demoness was stunning. Her hair reached to her ankles in a perfect white-gold curtain of silk. The girl's skin was the tone of pale honey, a few shades darker than her astonishingly bright hair. In contrast to her dusky skin, her eyes were an usual shade of icy blue surrounded by dark, sooty lashes.

Inutaisho's face remained impassive as the lovely demoness allowed her father to guide her to her new husband, a satisfied smirk on the old man's features. So they thought the Azaryu were no more than coarse barbarians, violent, uncivilized hill demons who could never approach the refinement and sophistication of the west. Kashikoto felt an almost visceral sense of pride as he presented his matchless daughter to the Daimyo of the Western lands. "My lord, may I introduce my daughter and heir, the lady Seshiko?"

*****

Now that the honored guests had left, Inutaisho could breathe a sigh of relief. The tension that had ridden him mercilessly over the past week was finally free to disappate. At the moment all he could think of was a hot bath, a stiff drink and bed. Alone. He had no intention of pressuring the Azaryu girl tonight. It would be better to take slow steps with his new consort. He hadn't been lying to Inoki about having some consideration for the girl. The fact that she had turned out to be exquisite was a pleasant surprise. With a little luck and his own not unimpressive store of personal charm he was certain that he and the girl could find an agreeable acceptance of their roles. At the moment he had to confess his mind was more on the treaty than his new bride. Still, he had one more duty to perform before he could head off for his own much needed rest. A quick visit to her quarters, a polite personal welcome and bid the girl good night. It was in his best interest to establish that he wasn't an ogre and that her feelings would be considered.

Hr rapped lightly on the door which was answered by a short matronly looking Azaryu female. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. "My lord Daimyo," she said, nervously bobbing to him.

He smiled pleasantly. "No need to stand on ceremony with me," he told the woman. "I require a brief word with the lady Seshiko. I'm sure you've also had a long day and I won't keep you from your rest for very long."

"My lord." She guided him into the small sitting room. The lady was waiting for him there, dressed in delicate snow white gown, her glorious hair shimmering in the firelight. She turned and immediately dropped into a submissive bow. Inutaisho stepped forward, preventing her from kneeling at his feet. "No, please don't. No need for such formality here. I only wished to bid you welcome to my household and wish you a good night's rest."

She stood, her hands clasped before her, eyes downcast. Inutaisho tried again. "I am pleased that you have joined us. The treaty between our people will benefit both our clans. If you need anything, you need only to ask. The household staff has been instructed to bring anything you require."

Still the lady stood unmoving before him, her eyes focused on the floor at his feet. She can't really be that scared of me, he thought. Gods only know what she's been told to expect, maybe she really is just a frightened girl.

Inutaisho felt guilty to be the cause of such a beauty's distress. "Lady Seshiko, please believe me. I mean you no harm. It is my wish that we come to regard each other as friends. This is an uncomfortable situation for us both and I'm prepared to give you as much time as necessary to feel secure with me."

Impulsively, he reached out to tip her chin up so he could meet her gaze. His breath caught just a little at her loveliness. He smiled as gently as he could, keeping his eyes on hers, willing her to respond in kind. "You have nothing to fear, perhaps in time, you might even come to love me as your husband."

She smiled timidly, a shy, demure bit of innocence. Encouraged, he drew a step closer, hoping this meant a good beginning to the relationship. Gracefully, she raised her hand to her mouth, her eyes sparkling. Then she drew back that delicate little hand and struck him hard across the face.

"Love you?" she said harshly. "Don't presume that I am one of these pampered lapdogs that will roll over at your feet. I am an Azaryu warrior. I've taken more men in battle than most of my father's elite guard. Just because I have allowed my body to be used as barter in your negotiations doesn't mean that I'm here to spend the rest of my life as your obedient bedwarmer. I have a duty to my people to bear your child and seal this alliance. As soon as that duty is complete I will return to my home and never set foot in this cursed place again. Understand I'm not your trophy and I'm not some prize you won in battle. You can take my body but you will never take my soul."

She whirled on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving him shocked and staring. He reached up and felt where her claws had raked his cheek. Inutaisho left the lady's apartments, quite baffled by the turn of events. Once again he'd made assumptions based on incomplete information and lived to learn that with all his power and all his skill in battle, he still didn't know a damn thing about the minds of women.

*****

Inutaisho was in a towering fury. He stormed down the hallway, his bootheels ringing loudly against the cold stone floor. He couldn't believe the nerve, no the sadistic gall of the woman. Passing servants dove for cover in an effort to escape their lord's red eyed glare. He ignored them, tight lipped and almost glowing with his incandescent anger. He reached the woman's quarters, pausing for a moment in front of the thick wooden door. He first raised his fist to knock but instead slapped his open palm against the shiny polished surface and blew the door out with a sharp blast of youki.

He swept through the smoke and debris and glared around the room imperiously. Azaryu servants scattered before him, ducking away from the lord's wrath. His wife rushed out to meet him, her hair still wet from her recent bath as she pulled on a delicate pastel pink kimono. "How dare you invade my private apartments," she hissed, her ice blue eyes snapping furiously.

He held up his hand, stopping her tirade. "Where is it?" Seshiko turned her chin up at him, her eyes sliding away. Inutaisho reached for her, taking her roughly by the arm. It was all he could do not to start beating her to death where she stood. "I said, where is it, you miserable Azaryu bitch!"

She wrenched her arm out of his hold, tearing the fine silk of her sleeve. "I don't know what you're talking about." He shoved her away and sniffed the air. The bedroom, he thought.

She trailed after him as he kicked the door open. With an effort, he restrained himself now, not wanting to scare them more. Two human children sat on the bed, a boy and a girl, maybe two or three years old. They wore richly embroidered clothing, Seshiko had obviously dressed them up like dolls. The tiny girl even had paint on her face as she sat holding tight to her brother's hand.

Inutaisho looked at his wife. "You make me sick," he breathed, flushing with the effort it took not to murder her on the spot.

She laughed lightly, circling around him while keeping just out of his reach. "My lord, they're so cute. I just couldn't help but bring them home with me. Can't I please keep them?"

He moved across the room, hoping not to startle the children. They sat perfectly still, just like the toys she dressed them as. He knelt in front of them. He had been mistaken, it wasn't paint on the little human girl's face, but smears of blood. The children didn't react to his presence at all, for all he could tell they weren't even aware of him. He reached out to touch the girl child's cheek, her skin was ice cold and he could hear her rapid irregular pulse fluttering.

"They're in shock," he muttered. "Probably from watching you butcher their parents right in front of them. Gods woman, don't you have any sense of decency?" He rounded angrily on her but Seshiko just folded her arms and pouted. "Does that mean I don't get to keep them, my lord?"

"No, you can't keep them." His self control was definitely slipping, he heard a tremor of rage in his own voice. Seshiko grinned, a wicked look in her pale eyes. She moved behind the children, crawling sensuously over the wide bed. "Very well, my lord. I will dispatch them if you so desire."

Inutaisho glowered at her. "The hell," he snapped. With one fluid movement, he swept the stunned children up and stalked out of lady Seshiko's rooms, her amused laughter echoing evilly in his ears. They were like scared rabbits in his arms, they weighed as no more than air to the demon lord who carried them. More than one person he met on his way back to his own quarters gave him a curious look, striding around in his full battle armor with two frightened little babes in his hands. Personally, he had as little as possible to do with the humans that inhabited his territory. He still didn't approve of his people hunting them like animals and forbid the youkai who crossed his lands to harm or harass the peasants as a matter of policy.

He decided he would have to summon a healer to treat them for the shock they'd endured. Seshiko must have found the family while out on her morning run. She preferred to rise early, transforming into an elegant long haired hound and running at her top speed for hours. She said she wasn't used to the sedentary life of a lapdog. He ground his teeth, feeling a fresh rage beginning when he thought about what must have happened to the parents of these two innocent creatures. His patrol had alerted him when they found the site of Seshiko's amusement. Not enough left of them to bury had been the patrol's disgusted assessment.

The youkai lord knew that good judgment could be impaired when a youkai assumed their true form. Instincts took over, pure and simple. She might have attacked the humans without meaning to and then spared the children out of guilt. He shook his head, his long topknot of hair brushing his face. That would give the Azaryu bitch too much credit. Undoubtedly she'd stalked them and then taken the children as playthings. After six months enduring that woman, he knew well the type of demon his bride was.

He reached his own quarters, sweeping through the rooms and past his startled attendants with his unusual armload. He gently rested the children on his own bed and covered them with the thick blankets. He knew enough about human physiology to do that much. "Ansako," he called, pacing around the end of the bed.

His long time retainer nervously poked his head in the door. "My lord?" He gave the man a sour look. "Send for a healer, my lovely bride has given me an unwelcome gift. I can't undo the damage, but I don't want them to die of her callousness either." Ansako ducked out without another word.

Inutaisho sat on the edge of the bed and brushed back the boy's hair. The child's eyes were tightly closed now and the demon lord was aware of an almost inaudible whimper beginning in the boy's chest. He laid his hand over the child's forehead. "Hush," he said, barely brushing the boy's mind with his own. The child instantly fell into a deeper sleep, his breathing becoming more regular.

The youkai sighed, one hand rubbing his eyes. Damn her anyway, she just loves to find ways to piss me off. This was a new low, but he understood that the Azaryu had always viewed humans as vermin to exterminate. In the morning he'd send one of his men to the nearest village with the children, a few gifts and gracious words should ensure that they were well cared for. A pitiful substitute for the murder of their parents, he thought. For a brief moment he even considered sending Inoki, but changed his mind knowing that his brother's anger over this incident would make him impossible to deal with for weeks afterward.

No, it was his curse to deal with the woman. He looked forward to the day when she would finally deliver a child and he could banish her back to the barbarian wilds that had sired her. Inutaisho tucked a leg under him as he settled on the bed, absently reaching up to discard his armor. As Seshiko hadn't quickened yet, he was unfortunately bound to put up with her a bit longer. Alliance or no, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep himself from strangling her. He knew she wasn't any happier about the situation than he was, but her contempt of him was really beginning to wear on his nerves.

*****

Inutaisho tried to relax, finally able to put his feet up. It had been a very long day and the demon lord of the Western lands was at last alone. He'd dismissed his personal servants for the evening, it was rare enough he didn't have some kind of obligation that would take up his private time. Tonight he just wanted a chance to sit and stare blankly at the fire.

The healer had come and gone. She'd examined the human children carefully to be sure that lady Seshiko hadn't inflicted any lasting physical damage. Mental, emotional damage was an entirely different story. The healer thought that they could make a full recovery, their youth meant that it would be easy for them to forget and heal from what had been done to them. She'd sedated the children with some mild herbal concoction to assure them a dreamless sleep. In the morning, two of his junior lieutenants would take them to a nearby village. He'd instructed his men to tell the town headman that the children's parents had been killed by some wild savage beast. It wasn't all that far from the truth in his opinion.

He took a long drink from the cup he held in his hand, his eyes closed as the strong liquor trickled down his throat. He willed his muscles to relax, it would do him no good to try and sleep while this tense. He'd had a bit more than was his usual habit, anticipating a quiet evening of solitude.

It was not to be. He turned his head, Inutaisho's sharp ears detected some kind of commotion in the outer apartments. He waited, knowing his personal guard would hold fast to his order not to be disturbed. Finally one of them gave a perfunctory knock at his door before entering. The man clapped his arm to his chest in a brusque salute. "My lord, the lady Seshiko demands to be admitted to your presence."

Inutaisho sighed, the last thing he'd wanted tonight was to have round two with her. "Is she being verbally abusive?"

The guard nodded. "Very much so, sire."

He twirled the drink around in his cup, still looking at the fire. "I see. And is she threatening physical violence if she doesn't get what she wants?"

"Of course, sire. Shall I send her on her way?"

Inutaisho grinned at the disgust in the man's voice. This was the same guard who'd carried the patrol's report to him earlier. "No, Ari, send her in. I will attend to the lady personally." The lord's smile became positively bloodthirsty. So after the atrocity she'd committed that morning, Seshiko still had the gall to think she could bully his guard and make demands. Better and better, he thought, feeling his own blood start to rise.

Seshiko swept into the room with a furious glare for the guard who escorted her. "Your man needs a lesson in manners, my lord," she said in a waspish tone.

He sipped at his drink. "I'm sorry to hear that. I had instructed him to treat you like the murdering guttersnipe you are. Can I ask what the purpose of this visit might be?"

Her eyes flashed. "You destroyed the door to my quarters. It has not been repaired. I demand you order someone to see to it at once, my lord."

He snorted. He'd known that would annoy her. "It would have been fixed already if I hadn't ordered them not to make the repair."

Seshiko was taken aback. "You ordered them not to fix my door?"

Inutaisho grinned at her. "I most certainly did. You deliberately violated my standing provision against attacking humans. You want to act like a savage, you can live like a savage. I see no reason to respect your privacy when you have no respect for anything other than your own cruel amusement."

"Bastard!" she spat at him, turning on her heel and heading for the door. He jumped up and reached the door just as she opened it. He slammed it shut again, knowing the guards on the other side had to be confused. He spun her around and shoved her hard against the wall. "I'm not done with you yet."

She glared at him defiantly. "Don't think that you can intimidate me like one of your simpering servants, my lord. I cower before no one. You forget that Azaryu blood has not been thinned by living here like pampered human pets."

He struck her hard across the face for her insolence. Gods, he'd been wanting to do that for six months. She didn't so much as flinch. He knew it would take more than physical violence to shake fear into her. It was one of the few things he did like about the vicious woman. He towered over her just the same, letting his hatred of her seep into his voice and the youki blaze in his eyes.

"Seshiko, I may have agreed to the terms of the treaty by allowing you to live within my household. I have put up with your insulting behavior, your complete lack of judgment and decency. I have even gone so far as to tolerate your violent habits with the staff. I have made every effort to treat you with the respect your position deserves. Now I have had enough of you and your evil temper. You will begin to treat my staff with courtesy, you will no longer abuse your privileges of rank by destroying anything that suits your temper. And the next time you so callously slaughter anything, human or beast, within my territory I will by the gods beat you senseless myself. Then I will have you gagged like the common hill witch you are and send you back to that worthless, stupid, disgusting degenerate of a father who sold you to me."

Inutaisho knew he'd pushed her too far with that crack about her father. She flew at him, hissing and clawing for his eyes. He wrenched her arms back and grabbed a fistful of her hair. Why was it that the more she enraged him, the more he wanted her? These fights could almost count as foreplay between them. Just because he hated her didn't mean he wasn't enjoying having the little monster in his bed.

He pressed her back into the wall, pinning her body with the greater strength of his. One hand took her chin as he forced his mouth over hers, driving his tongue between her lips. As usual, she tried to bite him. Not that he hadn't tried gentleness before, she'd damned near killed him. He wondered if all Azaryu females were like this. It had to be her cussed nature that drove her to fight him so. Maybe her pride obligated her to turn every conversation into a confrontation, every attempt he made at gentleness or affection had been violently thrown back in his face. Not for the first time, Inutaisho wondered at the sheer perversity that had caused such a vicious spirit to be born into such a perfect form.

Seshiko leveled a kick at him, aiming for the groin. He evaded her with a practiced ease. It seemed to vex the girl that she couldn't outfight him. He took hold of her wrists and flung her across the room and onto the bed. She did bring out the demon in him.

He approached her calmly, grinning at her as he started to pull off his clothing. Her expression had changed, there was a new eagerness in her gaze when she looked at him now. Seshiko pulled her legs up and knelt on the bed as he came for her. He seized her, grinding his fingers into the soft flesh of her upper arms but her resistance had all but disappated by this point. Now when he kissed her, it was her tongue that was thrusting into his mouth. He sucked it gently, enjoying the sweet taste of her. As she bent the girl over on the bed she hissed into his mouth and bit down on his lip. He shoved her away only to reach for her again, biting her along the neck and jawline, letting her feel his fangs.

She sighed and because limp under his hands. He pressed her into the bed, moving slowly and deliberately. She twisted her face away from him and he ran his mouth down the smooth column of her throat. He grazed the soft skin with his teeth, growling softly from deep within his chest. He held her face in his hands and forced her to meet his hot, demanding gaze. Then he slipped aside the silken robe she wore and ran his hands down her body.

Seshiko moaned softly, almost a submissive whimper. He bent his head to nip gently at her breasts, running his tongue over the stiff nipples until she cried out. Her hands grabbed for him now, drawing him to her urgently. He hadn't yet begun to possess her and left off tormenting her breasts to slip his hands between her legs. She was soaked already, the hot flesh of her body demanding him. Smiling faintly, he watched her face change expression when he suddenly penetrated her with his fingers. She writhed against him, a feral, beautiful creature. He liked the way she gave herself over to the pleasure he was inflicting on her body. Her hips rocked urgently, trying to take his fingers deeper into her as she thrust against him.

The girl snarled as he continued to work her slick body, bringing her closer to the edge. She grabbed onto his shoulders, levering herself against him. A fine sheen of sweat had broken out over her body and his sensitive nose told him she was about to come when her musk filled the room. Seshiko flung herself back against the bed as the pleasure rocked her hips in a frantic rhythm. He stared down at her, fascinated by her primal response. It was difficult for him to concentrate. A deep flush covered her body and he drew his fingers from her and licked the taste of her from them. He couldn't restrain himself another moment, her body elicited such a powerful response from him.

She lay utterly relaxed now, no resistance in the lines of her body, only sweet satiation. Inutaisho took hold of her legs and spread her open, staring down at her face with undisguised lust. She cried out as he seized her hips to force himself deep into her hot center. He strove for the depths of her, letting his body fall forward and pressing her into the yielding surface of the bed. Crushing her with his weight, he rode her with an ever increasing rhythm. Her body was slick and tight around him. His hands slid under her shoulders to brace her as she raised her legs to clench desperately around his hips.

His head was spinning as he drove himself frantically inside her. Seshiko started to wail as her body clenched and spasmed under his. Inutaisho's teeth were set in a fierce grimace and his breath came ragged and short. Wit a last gasp he tensed and buried himself deep, his teeth biting into her shoulder as her claws raked his back. She screamed as he burst within her, her hips frantic as she milked him dry with the contractions of her climax. He collapsed suddenly onto her, their chests heaving as one as they both fought for air. He licked a bead of sweat from her throat and she shuddered in response, burying her face in his shoulder, against a pillow of long white hair.

END CHAPTER THREE