InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Freedom ❯ Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

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

A/N: I just want to give a shout out to all the reviews so far, you all are really encouraging and wonderful. I also wanted to reiterate that this story is rated M for a reason. There are lemons toward the end of this chapter and if that sort of stuff offends you, please skip this chapter. Cheers!

 

 

 

Inuyasha did not have long to brood about the future.

He extricated himself from the tangle of children and when he looked up, his path was blocked by a string of men and women who caught word that the young lord was in town and followed him to the outskirts of the orphanage.

Now what? He glowered as they placed small tokens of dried fruit near his feet, as if he were a walking demigod and scoffed lightly. These were the people that his late father had taken under his charge, and Inuyasha heard his brothers voice full of scorn as their dirty, smudged faces surrounded him. They are as loyal as stubborn pest who do not know that they have outlived their usefulness. His brother’s stony face flashed briefly in his thoughts, and Inuyasha curled his lip. Feh. Speak for yourself, bastard.      

“Welcome back, lord Inuyasha.” An elderly woman bowed deeply before him, and he shifted uneasily as the small crowd began to form a tight circle around him. He was forced to take in their gaunt faces, recognizing some of the aged veterans that served in his father’s army, as their fear became alive and flitted about them.

 “Any word from the war?” A haggard cripple questioned and before Inuyasha had time to answer, a nervous looking man with balding hair interjected. 

“Some fishermen from down the bay spotted gun boats near Honshu river. Is it true?”

“Pardon me my lord, but my family has gone missing in neighboring lands, you must save them, they’re all I have left.” An elderly man exclaimed, as he fell prostate and began sobbing at his feet and Inuyasha felt his muscles twitch.

A middle-aged woman, with four brown teeth chose that moment to press her half-starved infant into his chest, as she wailed about the spreading famine and the poor harvest.

Inuyasha began to panic, they were suddenly too close, as they all began talking at once. Their rapid-fire questions were peppered with doubt and anxiety, and all they wanted to do was talk about war. Inuyasha dimly wondered if half of them knew what the war was even about.

Never the diplomat, he barreled through them as he headed away from the village and towards the deep woods.

Inuyasha’s head began to pound with a vengeance. He hated lingering in human settlements for too long, it reminded him of the weak. But most of all, it reminded him of his childhood and his mother.

He straightened and decided that a routine perimeter check would help him feel more like himself. The fading light began to make familiar shapes, summoning old shadows from his past.

The wind whipped through the spruce woods, and he listened to the distant hum amidst the silence as he paused to watch the stars emerge. These were the lands that shaped him into the man that he was now. He could still trace the same constellations that had guided him back to these very woods and saved his hide many a season.

His mother’s ashes lay in the lush rotting earth, and it was her memory that pulled him to this place again.  

When he was still young, when the memories were far more vivid than they were now, he often came to this place to quietly reminisce. Inuyasha remembered the old fables from his youth about the dead returning and coming back to life.

He listened even now, seeking his mother’s voice in the creaking branches, recalling the lost thread of old conversations, and how the late sun streaked brownish red through her dark hair. Mother, has it really been so long? Those villagers seem to think that I am my father.  They can’t possibly look to me for guidance when I couldn’t even protect you. Inuyasha felt a familiar loneliness sneak underneath his robes as a shadow fell across his face.

Only the flurry of wind and the falling leaves answered him, brushing through his hair in a gentle caress before dying down.

His mother warned him about brooding too long over the past and looking too long at what had gone. It was not wise for him to think of his childhood home, the broad manor now shabby and broken down and sectioned off for a handful of half breed orphans sired by his late father’s soldiers who had long ago moved on. Now they had become his responsibility.

In the end, Inuyasha learned the hard way that everything that he held dear would be taken away from him. Nothing was permanent

It was his own self-fulfilling prophecy, but he was stubborn enough to believe that he could redirect his own destiny by his own hand.

What good is brooding on what is already long and dead? I have more important things to worry about. He thought, as he launched himself through the tree tops, pausing every now and then when he picked up some nocturnal activity.

The face of the priestess flashed through his mind and he sighed as he continued securing the village for the night. Now that he was alone with his own thoughts, he could quietly plan and speculate about the present.  

There was a small seed of hope that he had been carrying since they left the treacherous mountains, and he struggled with reason for a moment before the lower faculties of his mind seized him. To hell with reason, what good has it ever done me? Inuyasha silently declared.

Inuyasha tried to reassure himself unconvincingly that he was only thinking about her best interest. But he would be lying if he did not admit that he was secretly hoping that Kagome would choose to stay with him.

He knew that she wouldn’t listen if he said it outright, but he had secretly hoped that these sleepy lands would stir something inside of her to make her change her mind.  Inuyasha knew that she was without family, and just maybe, just maybe she could bury whatever haunted her behind her and would see things his way in the end.

It was this place where he gathered all the things that he cherished and could protect from a distance while the battlefield called him.

No demon was stupid enough to stake claim on this territory. Inuyasha’s heart pounded with excitement as he raced through the tree tops.  

 He knew that she felt it too, what lay between them was alive and the strange magic she had over him pulled his attention back to her like a magnet.

Inuyasha secretly hoped that she would stay here, in this small reprieve from endless war and bloodshed that rippled through the lands. He was planning on asking her tonight before they set on the road first thing in the morning. She’ll be under my protection here, and I’ll make damn sure that no harm comes to her. His mind flashed to the villagers and the cobwebs in their eyes as the pungent smell of their dread made him flatter in his boyish enthusiasm.

Suddenly, Inuyasha’s ears perked up as he detected rustling up ahead that caused him to skid to a halt, as he perched on a sturdy fir tree. He crinkled his nose when he picked up the scent of death.

“Oni.” He sneered in disgust and gripped his blade. With predatory grace, he stalked the unmistakable sound of crunching and sloppy chewing and sure enough the beast was hunkered over a slain carcass of a pig. Inuyasha quickly covered his nose with the sleeve of his robe, as he peered down and saw a clutter of animal skulls scattered about the demon.

“Bingo, so you’re the little shit that’s been eating the livestock.” Inuyasha dropped down in a crouch, startling the beast who reeled back in fear, before snarling unintelligibly.

“What’s that, ugly? Oh, never mind, let’s just cut to the chase.” Inuyasha smiled nastily and unsheathed tessaiga, as the demon lunged for his head. The oni was no match for Inuyasha’s speed. Inuyasha leapt over its head and cleaved the oni in two, making quick work of the lesser demon.

“Feh. Too easy, what a waste of time.” Inuyasha flicked the demons blood from his sword and frowned at the oni guts that splattered his hair, and he grimaced at the putrid smell. There was no way that he was sleeping in oni guts tonight.

He lowered to the balls of his feet and began sniffing at the earth until he picked up the smell of ground water. He came upon an overgrown ledge overlooking a cliff, beyond the mist lingered a vast and unbroken world of shadows.

He inhaled the mist suspiciously, but there was nothing outright that set off his instincts.

Inuyasha smiled in satisfaction when he saw a pool bathed in moonlight, and he begin disrobing until he heard a tiny splash that caused him to still and duck behind a moss-covered boulder. As the mist parted his heart started in his chest as his eyes lingered on a familiar face. He lowered his gaze of appraisal and warmed at the sight before him. Kagome? What the hell does she think she’s doing out here alone?

 He prepared to give her a stern tongue lashing, but he could not take his eyes off her lovely body.

 She stood before him in water up to her calves. She faced the bank of the pool bending to cup water to her shoulders. She seemed like a nymph in repose, combing a hand through her silky tresses.

 Inuyasha stared for an eternity as she turned her longing eyes to the moon. His jaw slackened, and he knew that he would be haunted forever by that upturned face. Inside of him seemed to be a rippling inferno of desire threatening to undo him, as his eyes helplessly clung to the swelling roundness of her breasts. He got to his feet slowly and stalked into full view of her.

 For a moment, she stared at him in frozen surprise. Then in a bold move, she stepped to the bank where her garments lay and did not draw her robes around her right away.

 “Good evening, enjoying the view?” He forced his eyes away from her chest, to eye level as she slowly bent to pick up her robe and he watched helplessly as she shouldered into it and tied it loosely at her waist as he felt his anger turn into sludge.

There was an unusual quality in her cool defiance that he had never heard before and he could not hold back any longer. Inuyasha crossed the narrow ditch that wound its way into the lagoon until he was within arm’s reach of her.

“Don’t you know the trouble you’d be in if I was anyone else?” Inuyasha said quickly. She stared at him for a moment, the moonbeam playing about her lips and bathing her in an evanescent silver glow. For a moment, she didn’t look human or like she belonged in this realm at all.

 “And what if you were anyone else? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” She fired back with open defiance.

“Have you finally lost it, woman?” Inuyasha caught her wrist and yanked her to him, “You are never to be out here alone, do you hear me?” His hand tightened around her arm, and she tried to pull away from him.

Her eyes opened wide and then narrowed slightly as an uneasy feeling wound its way inside of his gut. He felt a slight shock where his hand touched her skin, and he lessened his grip as she smiled unkindly. It should’ve been his first warning that something was terribly amiss.

“I hear you loud and clear, my lord.” She drawled out and lowered her lashes and placed her head on his chest. When he impulsively inhaled the scent of her hair, Inuyasha’s eyes suddenly widened in fright.

She smelled of the lagoon, something acrid and unfamiliar. A low growl rippled through him, as he grabbed her upper arm and she visibly winced.

“What kind of sick game are you playing at, witch? You’re not her.” With his haze of lust momentarily forgotten, Inuyasha shoved her away as he realized that the woman before him smelled nothing like Kagome.

 “What a shame, I thought we were having fun.” The demon said coyly in Kagome’s voice, and his face flushed in anger.

“What are you? Why do you have that face?” Inuyasha demanded as he felt a spike of trepidation.

The demon with Kagome’s face hissed as the black tendrils of her hair rose from her face like snakes and shot towards him, wounding tightly around his arms as the wiry hairs sliced into his wrist. Her mouth stretched into a sneer as she dragged him into the cocoon of her body.

“I am the mirror of your innermost desire, isn’t this what you want Inuyasha?” She cooed as she caressed him, and Inuyasha’s back turned rigid in her grasp.

“Yeah right, you expect me to buy that crap?” Inuyasha cursed as he threw a punch and slashed the tendrils of hair that were trying to engulf him. He heard about these demons on his travels. They wore glamor’s of young women and posed as lost lovers and close relatives to lure and feed on unsuspecting men who wandered astray. 

Inuyasha had the creeping suspicion that this was something else and the unfamiliarity of it all made the hairs on the back of his neck raise, and he didn't like it. What else could it be?

“What’s the matter Inuyasha dear, am I not woman enough for you?” She staggered and fell into the shallow end of the pool as she rubbed her sore cheek and frowned in disapproval. “Didn’t your mother teach you never to put your hands on a lady?” Inuyasha watched in horror as the creatures face contorted and slowly formed a perfect mirror image of his mother’s face. His mother stared back at him, her solemn eyes heavy and full of reproach.

“You fucking bitch!” Inuyasha felt a murderous rage bubble inside of him, as he whipped out tessaiga and sprang towards her, slashing a large swathe of her hair and nearly missing her neck.

“Inuyasha, would you raise a sword to your own mother?” The demon who looked like his mother began to cry, and for a moment he froze, as he felt a sense of humiliation. He remembered the nights his mother would weep well into the night, and suddenly he was that helpless boy again.

Sensing an opportunity, the demon smirked before she lunged with outstretched claws. Inuyasha didn’t move out of the way as she aimed for his gut. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and she struggled in vain as her sharp claws ripped into his back.

“What do you think you’re doing? Unhand me!” She tried in vain to free herself.

With an internal apology, he raised tessaiga and impaled the demon with his sword. He watched his mother’s face contort in pain as she let out an inhuman screech and slumped over his blade. He threw her away from him and for a long time the only thing that could be heard was his labored breathing.

Inuyasha threw tessaiga down on the bank. He faintly realized that he was bleeding and spat at the ground as his fury began to die down. Weak.  Inuyasha heard his brother’s voice sneak into his head and he whirled, gnashing his teeth.

“Damn it all.” He whispered as a wave of shame and revulsion washed over him. He gingerly kneeled at the edge of the lagoon and begin washing the blood from his hands and he dunked his head into the water, mechanically scrubbing the guts from his hair to the best of his ability.

 

 

Kagome methodically began combing out the knots in her hair, wincing at the frequent snags. When her hand began to hurt, she stilled her ministrations and looked at the front entrance.

Inuyasha still did not come back, and she was beginning to worry.

Totosai had brought a pot of rabbit stew from the kitchens and she had kept the fire going, hoping that he would return to enjoy their last meal together. She sighed deeply, and quickly changed into her sleeping robes as she tried to quell her disappointment.

It had been an emotionally exhausting day. The stars had already emerged and she was going to need all the rest that she could get.

She had so many questions about this mysterious village, and Inuyasha’s relationship to this place.  

As if pulled by her ruminations, Inuyasha sauntered into the hut stone faced, looking worse for wear and her eyes lit up, as she tried to disguise her pleasure.

“Inuyasha, you’re back.” She began, but he leveled her with a frosty stare that stopped her in her tracks, and she recoiled. He inhaled the air and sighed in relief when her familiar and comforting scent washed over him.

“I’m sorry, I had a rough patrol.” He scrubbed his face with his hand and rolled some of the tension from his shoulders. “Got anything to eat?”

“Yes, Totosai brought us some food a while ago.” She got up to tend to the fire and added a log to the dying flame. “I was getting worried and I was just about to go out there myself.” She half joked, as she brought him the extra sized portion that she had been saving for him. He grunted and chose not to comment.

Kagome fiddled with the sleeve of her robe and watched him from beneath her lashes. She tried her best to decipher his mood as the flickering flames and crackling wood hummed between them. She thought she might ask him about the orphanage or bring up Totosai’s strange request.

 Instead Kagome bit her lip and wondered what had gotten into him. She was not used to seeing him sullen and withdrawn and it made her nervous.

“Everything okay?” She tried to fish for information and when he didn’t respond, Kagome ended up babbling about her evening. She told him about the half demon girl, and her sick mother, but she was careful to leave out the vital bits that complicated the story.

“I don’t think she’ll survive the harvest if you ask me. It’s been such a long time since I treated anyone, and I really did the best that I could.” Kagome prattled on, and watched as Inuyasha took small, measured bites, not even inhaling his food like it was his last meal in his usual bad habit. He set the bowl aside and suddenly stood up, cutting her off in the middle of her story.

“I’m sorry Kagome, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to get some rest. You can have the cot, I’ll be out here if you need anything.” He averted his gaze as he moved to the far corner of the room. She nodded dumbly, and hovered for several moments, searching for the words that she wanted to say but finding none she turned her back and prepared to go to bed.

Did I do something wrong? She drew the partition screen to preserve some shred of modesty, and turned to face him, so that she could study his silhouette.

Her mind wandered to the day’s events. She shifted on her side, trying to find a comfortable position. Maybe he’s feeling melancholy too? I mean, I never stopped to ever ask him how he was feeling. And this is his childhood home. She felt a stab of guilt as she realized that she was so engulfed in her own pain that she took Inuyasha for granted. I’m sorry Inuyasha, it must be rough for you too. Kagome shifted again and settled on sleeping on her back as she tried to curb her longing.  

Her mind wandered back to the strange monk from before.  She was unused to male flattery, yet she wondered if Inuyasha would ever look at her that way or say such brazen things.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, a rush of heat caused her to tingle all over, as she chastised herself. Idiot, there you go making things more complicated. Kagome shifted her attention to something safer. She wondered about the children from earlier and how they came to this orphanage. She turned her speculations over and over in her head until she got fed up and left it alone.

At last, sleep granted her reprieve from her capricious mind.

That night she dreamed that she was standing outside of a door.

 She kept knocking feeling foolish and peeved until a man with a face full of shadows opened the door and stood over her. His gaze held her imprisoned, and he seized her upper arm dragging her forward as she felt a burning sensation in her left arm.

He was shouting at her in a foreign language, demanding something from her and she shook her head frantically as the floor began to melt beneath them into quicksand and she tried to get away from him before she was swallowed whole.

 Kagome began pounding her fist on his shoulders as they began to sink deeper and he refused to let her go. When she tried to speak, a swarm of bees buzzed around her head as she tried to tell him that she did not have it, she did not have what he was looking for.

Something burned in the pit of her stomach, weighing so heavily, that she wanted to rip it out and fling it into the darkness. Above the man, a spider’s head flashed ghastly red eyes and she felt as if a piece of burning ash had been thrown down her back.

Kagome shot awake, her eyes feeling grimy and strange.

She was still in the hut with Inuyasha, she felt her heart thudding in her chest. She got up from the sweat drenched cot and pushed the screen aside. To her amazement, Kagome felt lighter and she did not even feel fatigued.

The world was still plunged in blackness, and she guessed that it was a couple hours past midnight. She remembered her secret vow. Kagome felt the beginning of grief stir as her eyes begin to mist over before she pinched herself. it’s now or never.

A light from the floor lamp was softly shining on Inuyasha. He slept with his back towards the wall with his sword propped on his shoulder, like her own personal knight.

 His tight expression made her think of his strong, cold will, but when he was sleeping his mouth relaxed, and a soft warmth appeared on his long-lashed eyes and on his cheeks. A warmth which tempted her to go close to him and she felt a burning feeling in her throat.

Her hand hovered, before she lightly placed a hand on his cheek. Her mind was made up. Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she strengthened her resolve. She was eternally grateful that they found each other and for a fleeting moment, that she could know the happiness of an ordinary woman.  

Goodbye Inuyasha, I’m glad that we met. Please take care of yourself. She bit her lower lip and moved away but at the last moment he surprised her and caught her around the waist and held her retreating arm with his free hand. She flushed in embarrassment when he stared at her with his unwavering golden eyes. Kagome was at lost for words, as she tried and failed to come up with an explanation for her proximity. She had hoped to make a hasty exit.

“I- “was all she managed before he placed a gentle finger on her lips to shush her.

“You were planning on leaving on your own, weren’t you?” He drawled out, his voice still heavy with sleep, yet free of accusation. Inuyasha relaxed his grip so that she could pull away on her own accord, but the intensity of his gaze held her to the spot. She had done her best to make this easy for him, she had planned to make this as painless as possible.

“Am I really that obvious?” She heard the hesitant note in her voice, and looked away, but he placed two fingers underneath her chin and firmly guided her head back so that he could read the expression on her face.

“You reek of nervousness. I couldn’t sleep much anyway, and you talk in your sleep.” He quietly admitted.

“I thought it would be easier for both of us this way.” She continued in a hushed tone, as she squirmed.

“I know.” He whispered back simply.

Kagome couldn’t look away. His eyes were like two dark magnets and butterflies exploded in her stomach all over again as she saw the quiet understanding in his eyes. The soft curve of his mouth tempted her to come closer.

“How?” Kagome did not quite trust her own voice, and she unconsciously tilted her face upward.

“Intuition, I guess.  One moment, I think that I know what’s going on in that crazy head of yours, then you do something like this.” He laughed and shook his head.

“I guess you have me figured out.” Kagome lowered her lashes and stared into her lap. What are we even doing? She idly wondered, and when their eyes met, the intensity of his gaze caused a small tremor to shoot through her.

 “Don’t leave.” Inuyasha leaned in closer, breathing her air and causing her heart to pound wildly in her ears as something in his voice pulled something from inside of her. He was pleading with her.

She shifted again and recognized the longing and unmasked need in his voice. The larger part of her that wanted to protect him, even at the cost of pain wavered, as she unconsciously darted her tongue over her lips, shivering. In the darkness just before dawn, they both became hyper aware of those slumbering forces stirring outside, eager to become dawn again.

“Do you even know what you are saying?” She whispered back, feeling heat rise to her cheeks as she held her breath.

“Yes, but you haven’t been listening. I know this might sound crazy right now but think about it, you can stay here; no harm will come to you and you can start over.” Inuyasha said in a hushed voice and the spell was broken, as she finally pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You’re wrong. You bought me this far, and I need to go back on my own. You’re free Inuyasha, don’t let me stop you from your duty.” She closed her eyes so that she could focus on the future.

 It was the only road that she could take, and she had to go down it alone. She tried to move away from him and she knew that if he didn’t touch her, if he didn’t look at her and fill her with false hope that she could do this.

“Is that what this is about? My duty?” He scoffed, and she finally snapped.

“Yes.” Kagome said through clenched teeth. “You don’t even know who I am or what I’m capable of. I know you’ve been wondering all this time, so maybe I should enlighten you.” Kagome felt the blood rush to her head as she began to feel possessed by the compulsion to let him have it.

“I’m not who you think I am, Inuyasha. Bad things have happened since the day that I met you, and that’s not a coincidence. If I stay here, who knows what nasty thing will show its ugly head? I was deserted by my own clan because they know what I am. Don’t you get it? I’m cursed.” She finished feverishly, as she desperately edged closer to the truth.

“Is that supposed to be a joke? Because it’s not very funny.” Inuyasha frowned and for a moment, he felt a shred of his reason warn him that she might be right. He could feel a prickly feeling at the back of his neck, as a seed of doubt was planted in his heart.

“Why won’t you believe me?” Kagome sighed miserably as she felt the first frustrated tear trail down her cheek.

“Even if what you say is true, something doesn’t add up. I’ve seen you risk your hide time and time again for the people around you because you have a god damned savior complex, and not to mention a chip on your shoulder. You’re the most hard-headed woman that I have ever met, and if you think I’m supposed to run away with my tail tucked between my legs, then you haven’t been paying attention.”

“You must.” She whispered urgently, grasping the front of his robes and searching his eyes pleadingly.

“I can’t.” And it was the startling truth. Something wouldn’t let him even if there was a shred of truth in what she was telling him. He felt it even now. Inuyasha couldn’t explain with logic, but Kagome set something off deep down inside of him. His instincts overpowered his reasoning mind and suddenly he needed to touch her.

Before she could get another word out, he pulled her impossibly close, and kissed her so thoroughly that her anger sparked, then receded quickly with the promise of more of his salty kisses. Repressed desire coursed through her, and as she became hyper aware of his body heat, goosebumps rose on her forearms.  

 “We shouldn’t do this.” Kagome tried to warn him, tried to let her dread dampen those places where he lit her on fire and made her not want to let go.

 “Tell me to stop, and I swear I’ll never try to kiss you again. But look me in the eye and tell me.” He whispered fiercely, and her breath hitched in her throat at the passion in his voice and the earnestness that shone in his eyes. Her heart began to thunder in its cage as her eyes trailed to his burning mouth.

She wondered dimly if he was aware of what exactly he was saying. Caught by the lamplight, Inuyasha seemed to be under a spell.

 The smaller part of her knew that she was selfish. Kagome would be fooling herself if she sent him away, she was dizzy from his nearness and she pressed her face into his chest.

“That’s not fair.” Kagome sighed into the crook of his neck, as his arms tightened across her waist. He lifted her chin so that she was held captive by his molten gaze, threatening to burn her with his silent conviction.

 “When I first met you,” Inuyasha began, “for the life of me, I couldn’t figure you out and I thought I was crazy. I hardly knew you, but I wanted you before my brain could even catch up with me. Now I know, I want you Kagome and I don’t care about anything else.” His mouth grazed the shell of her ear as he hugged her to his chest and breathed in her scent.

 He had worn down her defenses, and she felt the bittersweet tears streaming down her cheeks as he continued.

“I want you by my side, Kagome. I mean it.” His voice dropped as he lowered his head to claim her mouth in a slow kiss. Her mouth tasted of tears and she whimpered into his mouth. Kagome clutched the front of his robes and something primal inside of him shuddered awake.

 When she murmured and gripped his shoulders, he tilted her head back and grazed her lower lip before he slipped his tongue into her mouth. His slick tongue began massaging her own and her heart began beating rapidly, as her imagination raced ahead of her. I don’t care anymore. Please God, let me not care.

When they broke apart for air, Inuyasha nibbled his way to her collarbone causing her to bare her neck and he rumbled in approval. Inuyasha’s lips began working magic up and down the column of her throat, her soft sighs deepened into moans and she rocked her hips into his thigh, brushing the rock-hard length of his manhood. Inuyasha groaned softly, he gathered his control and swept her in his arms and carried her back to the old cot.

Her knees felt weak. Heat pooled in her belly, chasing away all her warring emotions as pleasure replaced her sadness. All she could think about was the way he made her feel as his thick, silver curtain of hair covered her and shielded her from the world.

Inuyasha sharply inhaled the scent of her growing arousal and softly cursed under his breath, as he became hyper aware of her and his blood sang in his ears. He pressed his face into her hair, before quickly kissing her eyelids, her chin, and the bridge of her nose as she ran her hands up and down his back.

He easily reached between them and pulled her flimsy sleeping robe from her body. Inuyasha sucked in a sharp breath as he took in her beautiful body and knew that this time that he was experiencing the real thing as her hands automatically moved to cover herself. Inuyasha licked his lips as her nipples hardened under his gaze.

Kagome felt completely exposed as she began to lose her nerve. For a moment, she remembered a pair of cobalt blue eyes and the wolfish grin flashed into her mind and she shuddered in self-disgust.

“Is this okay?” Inuyasha asked in a ragged whisper, sensing her hesitation. He drew away from her and brushed the hair from her eyes as his soothing purr thrummed through her.  His voice pulled her back to the present and she smiled shyly up at him. The warmth of his body penetrated her, swirling inside of her and she needed to be closer to him.

“Yes, more than okay.” She murmured, pulling him back down to initiate a shy, gentle kiss, and she suddenly grew bold as she grazed his bottom lip. Inuyasha smiled as he grabbed her hips and pulled her against him and took control of the kiss. He greedily consumed her, claiming her mouth in a bruising kiss that made her toes curl and her breath thicken.

He felt her delicate hands reaching into the front of his robes, restlessly exploring the hard panels of his chest and he grunted as he wanted to guide her hands to where he needed her the most. 

The rough material brushed against her cheek, and Kagome plucked at the offending robe, and his pulsed slammed like crazy as he pulled away to shuck off his clothes before moving over her. Kagome blinked dumbly at the brief loss of body heat and in a bold moment her eyes trailed over him, until maidenly panic swept over her and she forced herself to stop at the tightly clenched muscles of his belly.

His mouth ghosted over hers, sending a jolt of electricity through her as desire coiled tight in her belly, and he pulled her tightly against him, his hands sliding down her curves as he claimed her mouth hungrily. The feel of her naked skin was almost too much for him, and he promised that he would savor her.

“Stay with me, Kagome.”  Inuyasha whispered into her ear, as his arms wrapped more securely around her waist, he mouthed the nape of her neck, trailing burning kisses down the column of her throat, grazing the juncture between her neck and her shoulder.

Kagome made a strangled sound at the back of her throat as liquid fire filled her belly.  A long, shuddering tenderness rose, welling up from the deepest part of her being, spreading throughout her body. Kagome was afraid to speak, instead she arched closer to his devilish mouth and ran her hands down the rippling muscles of his back and up over his shoulders in ardent approval.

His fangs lightly nipped the outside of her breast, before he captured one of the hardened peaks in his mouth, and flicked the sensitive bud with his tongue, relishing the taste and feel of her. She made the most delicious noises, as she pressed a hand to his head and rubbed his ears. Her sweet moans elicited a deep, feral groan from him as he throbbed against her.

Kagome clamped her legs shut from the heightened sensations that sent a rush of liquid heat to her nether regions where she wanted him the most. It was almost too much for her. She could hear her own labored breathing, as she opened her eyes a fraction and watched as he rolled her nipples between his teeth, before he pressed her breast together, taking the hardened nubs in his mouth, sucking and teasing her, and she clawed at his head as she bucked her hips and grinded against him, as his desire mounted.

Kagome made a noise in her throat, that caused him to groan as he breathed out her name. She parted her legs welcoming him into the cradle of her body, and he lifted his head from her chest, capturing her gaze with heavily lidded eyes.

 “Are you sure that this is what you want?” He looked down at her flushed face, as he strained towards her.

“I need you.” Kagome frightened herself by the roughness of her voice, he kneeled between the warm cradle of her body and brushed her lower lip with the pad of his thumb.

“I want to hear you say that again.”

“I need you,” Kagome whispered, in the same rough voice and he smiled and reached for her and pinned her hands above her head.

“Good, that’s what I like to hear.” He growled in approval, and claimed her mouth in a hot, desperate kiss, as he sank slowly into her heat. Inuyasha cursed as she tensed around him, and he kissed the side of her neck to distract her from his erotic invasion.

“Look at me, Kagome.” He ordered softly, and she opened her clenched eyes as he kissed her forehead and her eye lids, as he bit his lip to restrain himself.  When she began to relax and breathe regularly, she enjoyed the way his body felt pressed against hers and moaned softly to encourage him. Inuyasha slowly began to rock into the cradle of her hips, and her soft moans made his loins tighten.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” Inuyasha hissed through clenched teeth as her slick heat swirled around him, and he throbbed inside of her as he began to see red. At the back of his mind, he wondered if he was going to last. He seized her mouth in a savage kiss, as he quickened his pace and he swallowed her moans.

Kagome surprised him when she wrapped her legs around his hips and dug her fingers into the small of his back, encouraging him as heat pooled into the base of his spine as his hips snapped forward and he settled on a slow, hard, rhythm.

She moaned and gasped his name as her toes curled and tiny lights sparked behind her eyes, and for a moment she began to shine white hot as their bodies moved in perfect unison.  

Kagome had the brief sensation that she was flying as her back arched, her hips bucked, pulsing around him as she cried in ecstasy and she came with a strangled cry.

 Inuyasha panted heavily as his control slipped and he grabbed her hips and pounded wildly as he rode the waves of her climax and followed her with a shout as she clenched around him.

 Kagome was cradled in the slow, tender rocking of his body, all the wounds of the past faded away into the startling happiness of this moment. She gave him a tired smile, as he kissed her forehead and made a secret vow that no other man would ever know her like this.

“Will you just hold me for a while?” Kagome asked, and she sighed as he pulled out from her dampness, and shifted so that he spooned against her back, wrapping his arms securely around her.