Gathering her papers on the desk, Kagome thought through her morning with a groan as she popped another Advil.
"Life can't get any worse than this."
It should have started out like any other morning, but yesterday was her twenty-first birthday, and her friends wanted to take her out for a night on the town. Needless to say, Kagome proved to be a light weight, but waking up in some guy's bed she didn't even know, was too much! Fortunately, she was able to get out of there without waking him up.
"Kagome!"
Why did her assistant have to yell like that?! Pressing the red button, Kagome cleared her throat.
"Yes, Ayame! What is it?"
"Someone to see you, boss."
Checking herself in the mirror she kept in her desk, she was thankful to have a locker stocked with emergency clothing, just in case she didn't make it home one night. Looking closer at her reflection, she noticed a gnarly hickey that even felt a little sore, so she moved her hair to cover the offensive mark, trying not to think of the painful fact that she lost her virginity to a stranger she didn't even remember meeting.
Moving back over to the intercom, she told her assistant to let them in.
As the door opened, Kagome put on her best professional smile and stood up straight. She had a meeting scheduled with the CEO of some cosmetics company, but she never would have anticipated how cruel fate would be.
Standing there, in all his masculine glory, was her one-night stand!
Smirking, he walked the short distance between them and wrapped his arm around her, nuzzling her neck lovingly.
"Why didn't you wait for me this morning? I had a big breakfast planned for you."
She pushed on his chest a little, ashamed of the way she reacted to his touch, like a wanton hussy!
"I'm sorry I didn't stay, but I was a little freaked."
Stepping back, he scratched the back of his head, "I know what you mean. I didn't mean for this to happen, but here we are, and I couldn't be happier to spend my life with you."
Staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed, Kagome slowly shook her head.
"Are you telling me we got married last night?"
"Sort of…basically."
One minute she was staring into his handsome face, the next she was passed out on the floor.
Kneeling over her, he brushed the bangs out of her face and kissed those sweet lips. How could he even begin to make her understand that last night was the best night of his life, and it was all because of her! Picking Kagome up, InuYasha moved her things off the desk and laid her down. Demon mating was meant to be highly important and sacred, but he mated with a girl he'd just met. For some reason, it didn't bother him because he fell in love with her…too bad she didn't remember any of it.
Drowsy and a little dizzy, Kagome opened her eyes and looked into the golden ones of a silver-haired Adonis.
"What happened?"
Helping her sit up, InuYasha gave her a sheepish grin, "well, you found out we were mated and fainted. I know it's a lot to take in, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes for you to accept me as your mate."
Blinking a few times, Kagome lowered her eyes, "mate, huh. So, is that like a wife for demons?"
Nodding, he pulled his gorgeous silver hair aside and showed her his neck.
"This mark we carry is a symbol that deems us mates, like with wedding rings for humans except you can't take this one off."
Letting his hair back down, he lifted hers and traced his fingers lightly over her own mark, eliciting a moan out of her. Immediately, clasping her hand over her mouth, she hid her face.
"Sorry, I don't know where that came from."
He sat on the desk next to her and reached for her hand.
"I do. You see, because we're mates, we are more sensitive to each other's touch; the more intense the sensations, the stronger the bond. Last night, our bond was stronger than anything I could have imagined, and the fact your instincts told you to bite me at the same time I bit you…it's meant to be."
Holding his hand, she looked at him sadly, "it's a shame I don't remember. Every girl dreams of their first time and I'll never get back the experience. I would say I wanted to be married first but we kind of were."
InuYasha cupped her face in his hands and gazed into her blue gray eyes.
"Let me take you out to dinner tonight and show you why you mated with me, why you fell in love with me."
His hands on her skin were causing pin pricks of pleasure to rush through her body.
"Alright, I'll go out with you tonight and maybe you can tell me everything that happened last night."
Smirking, he leaned in but stopped as he saw her expression. She wasn't ready for all this affection, and he wasn't going to push it on her. So, changing direction, he lifted his head and kissed her forehead, lingering a few seconds longer than need be.
Kagome closed her eyes as his warmth flooded her, but all too soon, he pulled back.
"I'll pick you up from your apartment around 7, okay?"
Shaking her head to get out of the clouds for a second, she smiled and said okay. Then, she realized she didn't even know his name.
"Wait, what's your name?"
"InuYasha."
"Okay, don't you need my address, InuYasha?"
Turning to look at her, he smirked, "you took me there last night."
As he walked out of her office, she put a hand over her heart.
"I lost my virginity to an incredibly sexy hunk of a half-demon, and mated with him. Mom is going to kill me, and Gramps will purify him…well, try to."
Collecting herself, she went through the day like nothing had happened, and it worked except for the strange looks and incessant sniffing around her from all the demons in the building.
He was nervous, why was he so nervous? She was his mate, but she didn't remember agreeing to it, or even confessing her love to him. It was like, the woman you love gets amnesia and you have to make her fall in love with you all over again.
Driving up to her building, he grabbed the bouquet of wild flowers (lavender, daisies, baby's breath) and walked up to her apartment. Pulling at the collar of his suit, he took a deep breath and knocked.
Kagome took one last look in the mirror before opening the door and her mouth dropped. There he was, dressed in black slacks, a black suit jacket, and a red button-down shirt, but his smirk caused involuntary chills to run up her spine. Did she react this way to him the other night? Did that ridiculously sexy smirk make her swoon and fall for him?
As the door opened, nothing could have prepared InuYasha for the sight before him. There was Kagome, in a flowy off-the-shoulder turquoise mini-dress. Her hair was half up in twin braids, and the other half flowing over her shoulders. Dark smoky makeup framed her blue eyes which looked more like a royal blue than her normal greyish blue.
Jolting himself back into reality, he shoved the bouquet in her face, "these are for you."
Kagome thought his nervousness was truly adorable as she took the flowers and put them in a vase.
"I love them. Most women prefer the exotic stuff, but I adore wild flowers…they remind me of being in the country for summer vacations."
Walking in, he leaned on her counter and watched.
"You were telling me about it last night, so I wanted to get you flowers I knew you would love."
Setting the vase on the counter, she grabbed her purse.
"You ready?"
InuYasha stood up and gestured to the door, "after you."
Walking to his car, InuYasha kept glancing over at his beautiful mate, but he wasn't being as inconspicuous as he thought. Kagome felt his eyes on her and was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
"Um, InuYasha?"
"Yes?"
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Yep, he was caught.
"I'm sorry, I just can't believe I'm with you."
"How come?"
"Well, if I could have created the perfect mate…it'd be you. I don't know many demons that end up that lucky."
Blushing, she got in the car and reached for his hand as she looked out the window. InuYasha smiled as he drove off, lightly rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand. It didn't take long for them to reach the restaurant and InuYasha was quick to jump out and open her door, doing his best to give her a good impression. She thanked him and wrapped her arm around his as they walked in and were assisted to their table. InuYasha scooted the chair out for her, but when she was almost seated, he pushed it back in too quick, hitting her butt on the seat.
"Ow!"
Mortified, InuYasha apologized profusely and Kagome just smiled through her wincing and told him it was okay, though she had a feeling her bum was going to have a good bruise on it in the morning.
A few minutes later, the waiter came up and smiled at Kagome, purposely ignoring the hanyou she was with. Oblivious to the obvious, Kagome asked for a water, but stopped talking when she heard growling coming from across the table.
"InuYasha, is everything alright?"
Finally noticing the hostile hanyou with her, the waiter adjusted his tie, "and what would you like, sir?"
"I'd like for you to stop hitting on my woman."
"InuYasha!"
Turning to Kagome, he took a deep breath, "forgive me, Kagome."
She nodded and smiled, "it's okay, let's just order."
Taking their drink orders, the waiter walked off, but not before winking at Kagome who rolled her eyes. Turning her attention to the handsome man in front of her, she crossed her arms on the table, "so, tell me about our night."
InuYasha turned a bit red, "well, uh, we went to my house and made love all night…"
"No, I mean, tell me how we met."
Chuckling nervously, he smirked as the images came back to him, "you were out with your friends at a bar, and I could tell you already had enough drinks, but there were a few men crowding around you, trying to get you to drink more. I had to put a stop to it, so I stepped in and said you've had enough, glaring at the other guys. Well, you didn't like that and slapped me."
"I didn't."
"You did, and it was a decent hit too because I moved just enough to hit the back of a woman and spill her drink all over her dress, which her boyfriend didn't like. He tried to jack me up, but I quickly put him in a head lock and proceeded to tell him it was an accident and I would gladly pay for their drinks. He agreed and I paid the bartender, but when my back was turned, you came up, hugged me, and said you were sorry about getting me in trouble like that. So, I turned around and said you could make it up to me by having dinner with me."
"So, I slapped you, almost got you in a fight, and you still wanted to have dinner?"
"Yeah, what can I say, you were really adorable. Anyway, we went to a nice restaurant and I wanted to get some food in you to help you sober up, but you kept needed to go to the bathroom. I got suspicious and found out that you were going to the bar section and ordering shots, so every time you came back to the table, you were a bit more drunk."
"Oh no! That was so awful of me to do that to you."
"Actually, I found it kind of funny, but the $200 bill was not."
"I-I'll pay you back for that."
"No need, so we left the restaurant and just walked around town. You told me all about your life and what you do for a living, you even told me about your pet cat back at your parents' house, Buyo; that's when you started crying and telling me how bad you missed that little guy since moving to the city and we sat down on the edge of the city fountain. I cradled you as you wept and continued to tell me how lonely you get sometimes…and that's when you leaned up and kissed me."
Kagome blushed and gulped, drunk Kagome was so brazen in comparison to the way she normally is, "I can't believe I initiated it."
Grinning, he gazed softly into her deep blue eyes, "you did, and it was the best kiss I've ever had in my life. You must have felt that too, because you started to moan and cling to me. I'm sure anyone that passed by thought we were two lovebirds sharing an intimate moment. After our kiss, we started walking again and just enjoyed the sights, you even bought a polaroid camera at a gift shop, saying 'you wanted to remember this night forever'. We took pictures in front of historical statues, different kind of stores and making funny faces, and all the while I knew I was falling in love with you. Every look, every joyful laugh, every light gesture and gentle touch, all of it made me fall."
Again, Kagome hated that she couldn't remember any of it. Life wasn't fair! She wanted to cherish those memories as much as he did.
"So, where's the camera?"
Turning red in embarrassment, he cleared his throat, "about that, you wanted to use it and take pictures of me as I stripped, and then you wanted me to do the same."
"Ugh! I had no idea I'd get so bold as a drunkard."
"It's okay! You were still acting innocent during the whole thing."
As he waved his hands around to stop her from being upset his claws somehow, made contact with the lit candle in the center of the table and sliced it in three sections, the lit point falling into his lap. He jumped up and quickly maneuvered to extinguish the fire. Everyone looked at him patting at his groin and Kagome just sat there with a 'I can't believe that just happened' expression on her face. InuYasha sat back down and adjusted his clothes, "sorry about that."
Shaking her head, she laughed nervously, "are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, so, where was I?"
Just then, the waiter came back to get give them their drinks, but he lingered on Kagome's side and even had the nerve to put his hand on her back, "and what can I get you two? The filet magnon is quite good, as well as the chicken carbonara and roasted sea bass."
A small little nerve in InuYasha's eye twitched as he watched the waiter's movements, "what I would like, is for you to stop getting so familiar with my woman, and if you don't remove that hand from her, I'll cut it off for you."
His voice was low and menacing as he stared with fire in his eyes, the waiter cocked a brow at him and smiled, "so the steak for you then, and what about you, miss?"
Kagome was shocked at how intimidating InuYasha could be, "um, I guess I'll have the chicken carbonara."
As the waiter left, Kagome glared at him, "InuYasha, I get that you're protective of me, but I think you took that too far."
Crossing his arms, he looked incredulously at her, "so you want some guy to put his hands on you like that?"
"Of course not! You know what, never mind, let's just try to go on with our date, okay?"
Nodding, he uncrossed his arms, "you're right, it's just so different being mated to someone than just dating."
"Speaking of which, I still want to know how the decision to mate came about."
"Right, so after a crazy night on the town filled with costume changes, role playing, and hustling me at billiards, we walked out on the pier and stared up at the stars. You were holding onto the railing while I was behind you, holding you close and covering your hands with mine. It was a perfect moment, then you said, 'it was the best night of your whole life, and even though you only knew me for a few hours, it was like your soul had always known me and had been searching for me this whole time.' I couldn't have agreed more, and that's when I told you that I was falling in love with you, and you told me the same."
So romantic and beautiful, "I can't believe I lived a moment like that. It's straight out of a dream."
Smiling softly, he reached for her hand, loving the awareness that sparked in his soul just by touching his mate, "it was like a dream, one I never wanted to wake up from."
Gazing into his golden orbs, Kagome could see love in them and wished it could be reflected in her own eyes. It was then that a waitress came by with their food. Kagome let go of his hand as she set the plates down. Saying a quiet prayer, she started eating but still wanted to continue their conversation.
"You learned so much about me, but did I learn anything about you?"
Chowing down on his steak, he swallowed what was in his mouth, "not really, but I cared more about knowing you."
"Okay then, tell me about yourself."
"Not much to tell really. I have a half brother who's a jerk, a dad who's strict but kind, and a mom that's the epitome of a sweet and gentle princess. Together, we make a crazy bunch. As my mate, I need to introduce you to them soon, or my mother won't let me hear the end of it."
Kagome softly laughed at that, "if my mom finds out I'm mated to someone she's never met, she'll have a conniption."
"Hey, don't worry about that."
As he was saying this, he flicked his wrist and the steak at the end of his fork slid off, flinging the hunk of meat into someone's wine glass. The two watched its journey in horror as the person didn't noticed the meat in their red wine and took a sip. Laughing nervously, InuYasha scratched the back of his head, "boy, I'm taking clumsiness to a whole new level tonight."
"Yeah, that's one way to put it."
Just great! He could tell that Kagome was not happy, and what do you know, the obnoxious waiter was back.
"Can I get you two anything else?"
Kagome shook her head 'no' and the waiter leaned against the table, his back facing the growling hanyou, "in that case, how about going out with me this weekend?"
"I'm on a date."
"Yeah, and it doesn't look like it's going so well, so what do ya say? I'd be way better for you than this guy."
She was about to respectfully decline when InuYasha stood up and jerked the waiter around to face him, "let's get one thing straight. This is not a first date with some chick, this is a date between two mates, and if you know anything about demon mating, then you know I have a right, by law, to do whatever I want to you except kill you, for even looking at her. Now, why don't you go get me a glass of red wine and come back with a more respectable, and polite demeanor."
As the waiter scurried off, InuYasha sat back down and felt the heat in her stare, "what?"
Gritting her teeth, she pursed her lips and raised a brow, "I had a handle on it."
"Right, more like he had a handle on you."
"That's not true! Just because we wake up being mates, doesn't mean I don't stand up for myself anymore. And you may love me, but I don't even know how I feel about you yet."
The waiter came by with the wine, shakily pouring it into the flask before scurrying off. Kagome closed her eyes and shook her head, "maybe this was a bad idea."
"No! Please don't say that!"
She moved to stand up and InuYasha reached towards her, knocking his wine glass over and onto the front of her dress. Shocked, she looked down and felt like crying. InuYasha swiftly moved and took a napkin, doing his best to dab at the spot on her chest. Turning red in the face, she pushed him away, "I can't do this."
Walking to the entrance, InuYasha rushed after her, knocking into a waiter who hit a fondue tray, which in turn spattered the gooey sauce all over a couple celebrating their Anniversary. He apologized and offered to pay for their meals and dry cleaning for their clothes.
When Kagome walked out, she started down the sidewalk on the way back to her house, needed the crisp fresh air over a stuffy cab. She wanted so bad for things to work out with her and InuYasha, so why did it have to go this way? The story he told, it was so sweet and beautiful, but this date was anything but. Knowing a few things about demon mating, she knows that InuYasha can only be with her and no one else, however, humans are still free to do as they wish, but she could never be one of those people that uses a demon's devotion to get what they want; she knew too many people like that in her life, including her cousin Kikyo who cheats on her mate all the time, knowing that he's powerless to stop it.
During her musings, she was unaware of the men stalking her, until they decided to show themselves. All seven leered at her and made her stomach churn in discomfort, "if this is a robbery, I don't really have anything. Not to mention, your timing is the worst…I'm just not in the mood to deal with something like this right now."
Instead of speaking, they all chuckled as one moved behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and cupping his hand over her mouth, "we don't want money, just your body."
She kicked and screamed into his hand as the others picked her up and tossed her in a van that pulled up, zip-tying her wrists and ankles together, putting a gag over her mouth, and blindfolding her. Before the blindfold, she could see five other women blindfolded, bound, and gagged. Suddenly, a flashback of the news, from a couple of days ago, came rushing back into her consciousness.
(flashback)
She was getting ready for work and glanced at the TV to see a banner at the bottom of the news channel. It said, 'tenth victim of human trafficking found raped and severely injured. Police are advising women between the ages 18-30 to stay indoors at night if possible and lock your doors. No further news is available, but we will keep you posted.'
(end flashback)
Great, she can add this situation onto the worst date ever. No longer able to see, she listened to everything, the demons talking up front were going on about how they wished they had enough money to purchase one of the girls for a night. That's despicable! It also confirmed her suspicions about this being the human trafficking demons.
Why did she leave the restaurant? Okay, so the date was a complete disaster, but the poor guy was just so nervous, most likely worried that she wouldn't want to be with him. Oh no! She probably hurt him when she left like that! The thought provoked an overwhelming sense of regret and guilt, and suddenly all she wanted was to apologize, go back to their date, and give him a second chance.
'Please, InuYasha, find me. I pray that our mating link is strong and reaches you.'
As InuYasha was paying for damages, he got a foreboding feeling and turned towards the entrance.
"Kagome?"
Running out, he saw a van driving off and had a sinking feeling in his gut as Kagome's scent was mingled with seven others.
"Oh, God, she's been kidnapped!"
Not knowing what else to do, he called his friend Miroku, who picked up immediately.
"Yo, Yash! How's the date going?"
"Miroku! I need Sango!"
"Dude, I don't like to share."
"No! Kagome's been taken and I need Sango to help! I have to get her back!"
Sango heard the yelling and took the phone from her husband, "did you say she was taken?"
"Yes! Please, Sango, I have to find her tonight!"
"Okay, okay, tell me what happened."
InuYasha told her what the van looked like and how many guys he could scent out, so Sango decided to head over, bringing Miroku along.
Pacing back and forth, he waited for their car and Sango walked out, "where did you catch the scents, InuYasha?"
He pointed to the area and watched her work.
"Okay, so the scuffs mean they came out of the alley, surprised her, and one came up behind her."
Picking something up, she handed it to InuYasha, "does this bobby pin have her scent?"
Taking a whiff, he nodded and Sango visualized what might have happened.
"After one grabbed her from behind, she struggled violently to get free, and that's when her bobby pin came out. Most likely, so not to alert anyone, the guy behind her put his hand over her mouth while the others maneuvered her into the van. Hmm, InuYasha?"
"Yeah?"
"How old is she?"
"Twenty-three, why?"
Standing up, Sango looked into the direction the van went, "have you heard about that case I'm working on, the one about human trafficking?"
Turning white, InuYasha remembered hearing how badly the girls were hurt when the police found them thrown away in a ditch…like damaged toys.
"You don't think…"
"I do, and if we don't get to her soon, there's no telling what will happen."
(with Kagome)
It seemed like forever before the van finally stopped. Kagome could hear shuffling around and them screams from the terrified women as they were herded out of the vehicle like cattle, herself included. One of the kidnappers cut the zip ties off their ankles and walked them in.
She followed in the line, but didn't act scared or cry, she was too focused on using her hearing and sense of smell to figure out where they were. Something she was certain about, they were underground. Voices echoed as if in a tunnel and she could hear rushing water…a sewage system? It definitely smelled that way. Then, she heard someone turning a mechanism and more water as doors opened. She knew they had reached their destination as women cried out form everywhere, rattling something…cages?
Finally, someone took the blindfold off and she internally cringed at the lust in his demonic eyes, but outwardly she practically looked bored.
"Well, you're an interesting one. Why don't you cry or beg for us to let you go, like the others?"
Her answer was a blank stare, knowing he thought it was funny to ask questions to somebody with a gag in their mouth. Confirming her thought, he chuckled and grabbed her by the chin, staring into her grey-blue eyes.
"I have half a mind to buy you for myself, you have a great body, but I'd buy you just for those eyes."
Kagome had no idea how to tap into her mating connection, so she thought about the handsome hanyou and kept his image in her mind as she catalogued everything she's heard, smelled, and now seen. 'Please, InuYasha, feel me and let my thoughts come to you.'
(with InuYasha)
Jerking his head up, he started getting images is his mind, and voices, and smells…it was Kagome! Somehow, she figured out a way to communicate with him!
"Miroku."
The grumpy guy next to him, didn't take his eyes off his wife, using herself as bait for the traffickers.
"What, InuYasha?"
"Kagome, she just used our connection to give me clues on where she is."
Turning his head, Miroku looked surprised, "that's impressive, wait, does that mean Sango doesn't have to do this?"
"Not exactly, we still need one of the kidnappers, so he can show us the way."
Hearing a scuffle, both men snapped their heads to the front and saw Sango make quick work of the men that tried to take her, but not before seeming helpless to them first. Miroku and InuYasha jumped out of the car and ran over to the van, hopping in and freeing the girls that had been bound, gagged, and blindfolded. They all said tearful thankyous, and quickly left.
InuYasha growled low and threateningly at one of the men still conscious, "where were you taking the women? Don't lie to me, because (InuYasha tapped his own nose) I'll be able to smell it."
While InuYasha was interrogating, Sango handcuffed the other four guys and called for back up. Smiling wide, Miroku came up from behind and held tightly to her, "thank God, you don't have to be bait anymore. Now, we can go home and-"
"Hoshi! I'm still going as one of the kidnapped women."
"Why?!"
Turning around to face him, Sango held his worried face in her hands, "this is something I have to do. I've been trying to find these guys, obsessed with catching them; I'm too close to stop now, and I can't let your best friend go in by himself…neither can you."
"You mean…?"
Smiling, Sango rolled her eyes, "that's right, I want you on this one. If you're there, nothing can happen to me, okay?"
Grinning, he pulled her into a passionate kiss, sliding his hand down to squeeze her plump bottom. She squeaked, broke the kiss, and slapped him across the face, "Hoshi! Not in public!"
The redness on her face was clue enough that it turned her on, "when we're back home, I'm gonna do so many provocative things to you, your face will stay red for a week."
Cheeks stull flushed, she smirked, "bring it."
InuYasha shook his head at how sickeningly cute they were, but honestly, he wanted to be like that with Kagome; young, in love, and unable to keep their hands off each other.
"Come on, guys, we got to go save my mate."
(with Kagome)
Kagome was placed in her respective cage and waited for her turn. She would die fighting before she ever let them hurt her.
Each girl was taken out and walked to a closed room. It would be about ten minutes before they came back out, clothes disheveled and trembling like a scared animal. Maybe the men were 'testing' the merchandise.
Closing her eyes, she cringed when she heard her cage door open.
"You're next, sweetness."
The one she heard, Bankotsu, grabbed her tied wrists and pulled her along. Heart racing, she gulped as they entered the room and was quickly shut in. Bankotsu cut her zip ties and grinned, "she's all yours, boss."
Promptly leaving the room, Bankotsu locked the door behind him, leaving Kagome in the pitch-black abyss, but she could feel eyes on her.
"Who's there?"
Chuckling came from a dark corner as the person lit his cigarette, "you can call me, Naraku, master of the underground slave trade. Hmm, you are gorgeous…I shall thoroughly enjoy myself."
Backing into the wall, she was well aware of the approaching feet and almost collapsed from her fear. Naraku stopped in front of her and slipped her dress down passed her chest. Clenching her fists, she tried her best not to do anything drastic, after all, a demon could easily kill her and she would be another tragic body in a ditch somewhere.
"Nice assets, very proportioned to the rest of your body."
"Thank you?"
That when he stripped the dress completely off, leaving just her lingerie. She tried to cover herself, but he pulled her arms away, "I have to get a good look at the merchandise, or I won't know how much to sell you for."
"So, I was right, you are the human traffickers that've been abusing women and leaving them for dead."
Grinning, Naraku shrugged, "you can't please every customer, and we don't accept refunds."
Looking at him with disgust, Kagome sneered in anger, "we aren't toys you can play with anytime you want, we're human beings that deserve respect."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, "you are a troublesome gender."
"Troublesome, troublesome?! I'll tell you what's troublesome, being kidnapped, taken to a nasty sewage tunnel, and having to stand here, practically naked, with you! Now, give me my dress, so I can leave the room."
Never, in all the years doing this job, had a woman spoken to him like that…and he liked it. Giving her a wry smile, he grabbed her panties and bra, ripping both of them off her, "it was troublesome being practically naked in front of me, so what is it to be fully naked then?"
Kagome squeezed her arms in front of her, but Naraku grabbed her already tender wrists and lifted her arms above her head, "you don't possess anything I haven't seen before, but I find you to be quite…entertaining."
Suddenly, he stuck his tongue out, long and grotesque, licking the side of her neck, but then it felt as if he had been shocked! Jerking her neck to one side, he peered down at the symbol brazened there.
"You're mated?"
Willing the tears to stop, she nodded her head, still shaking from disgusted anger towards him.
"This won't do. My men are usually very good at not picking up mated women, of course, I couldn't even smell it on you, which tells me that you haven't spent much time with him. Perhaps, the mating is not strong enough to survive."
He swiftly dropped her, Kagome falling to the floor, too weak to get up, "wha-what are you going to do with me?"
Walking to the door, he opened it and glanced over at her, "you will wait here until your mating is weak enough to use you. That should be in about a day, sweet dreams."
He shut and locked the door behind him and she took her chance to put her dress back on, even though her bra and panties were completely torn up, at least she could be somewhat covered.
(with InuYasha)
Sango was impressed with InuYasha's interrogation skills as the kidnapper was singing like a jay bird and drove them to the holding facility…a water treatment plant?
"You better not be messing with us."
The guy shook his head and pressed a button under the dash, two steel doors opened and they passed through, leading them to a sewage tunnel where they parked and got out. Sango held her gun at the ready and followed, peering down every tunnel and corner. Miroku stayed behind her and InuYasha moved up front with the kidnapper who opened another pair of doors with some type of lever. The hanyou took in his surroundings with all of his senses, "this is it, guys. Everything Kagome sent me…it's all here."
When the doors opened, they saw all the women in cages, and the men playing a card game and gambling with chips. Sango snuck around them, being quite stealthy as she eaves dropped on their conversation.
"Hey, Ban, what did the boss do with that new girl?"
"You mean the one with blue eyes?"
"Yeah."
"He locked her up in his room. Come to find out, she's already mated to a demon! So, Naraku thinks the mating will be weak enough after a day to make use of her. I'm not demon, so I could give a rat's ass about some lame mating thing. I've been saving up, and I'm gonna buy her."
"Wow, man, you've never taken a shine to one of the girls before."
Laughing, he placed his bet, "what can I say, boys, I have expensive taste."
It was obvious to Sango that they were talking about Kagome, just by what InuYasha said and her, so she made her way to the only room close by, not surprised to find it locked. Fortunately, lock picking was one of her strong points, so she took out Kagome's bobby pin and a credit card, using one hand to jimmy the lock, and the other to move the mechanism on the inside. Hearing the click, she opened the door to see a woman slightly rocking back and forth and crying on the floor.
"Kagome?"
She snapped her head up and looked over, "who are you? How do you know my name?"
"I'm Detective Sango Hoshi, my husband and I are very good friends with InuYasha. He called us the moment he felt something was wrong."
"Even after I walked out on him, he still did this for me?"
"Well, yeah, he a very nice guy, and he doesn't blame you for walking out. In fact, he told me what happened and I would have done the same thing."
Sango pressed a button on her Bluetooth in her ear, "Hoshi, I found Kagome, now do your thing."
"Aren't we going to get out of here?"
Walking over to her, she laid back against the wall and waited, "we are, but my husband and InuYasha are going to do some collateral damager first, oh, and back-up will be here in about fifteen minutes so I figure we can get you to safety about the time everyone else shows up to finally bust these guys."
"But there won't be a point in doing this if you don't get the ring leader. Naraku can just set up shop somewhere else if we don't get him too."
"I know the name, but no one has ever seen his face. Did you?"
Involuntary shivers went up her spine and she held herself, "just a little bit when he lit a cigarette, but he had glowing red eyes and a disgustingly long tongue."
They heard bashing and crashing noises for a good five minutes before the door creaked open, "Kagome?"
Just hearing his voice made her heart flutter, "InuYasha!"
She jumped up and ran to him, wrapping her arms around him. Cradling her close, he buried his head in her neck and gently laid one hand on the back of her head, and the other on her waist, "are you okay? They haven't done anything to you, have they?"
Shaking her head, Kagome just enjoyed the feeling of being close to him for a moment longer before pulling away, "InuYasha, I wanted you to come so bad. I willed it with everything in me, and you came."
"I did, but how could I not? You're my mate and I love you, even if those feelings aren't returned yet, I'll go to the ends of the Earth to find you."
Gazing into his golden orbs, she knew the truth in his words, just like she knew the truth in her own heart…she loved him. She may not remember when she fell for him, but there was no use denying it any longer.
"InuYasha, I don't remember that night, but when I told you that I was in love with you, I meant it then, because I can feel it now. I am in love with you, and I'm so sorry that I walked out on our date."
Smirking, he cupped her cheek, "it's okay, they'll be plenty more."
Not wanting to wait, Kagome hopped up and claimed his lips in a searing tender kiss, which left both of them reeling and wanting more. Getting his wits about him, he broke the kiss, "I would love to continue that, but can we do it when we're not in an underground sex slave operation?"
He did make a valid point.
When the coast was clear, Sango, Miroku, InuYasha, and Kagome made their way out, Sango reassured the other women that help was on the way as she hit a big red button which opened all the cages. The women ran out as fast as they could, overjoyed at seeing all the cop cars surrounding the area. Walking over to one of the men, Sheriff Myoga, Sango filled him in and told him about the kidnappers knocked unconscious inside and about Naraku.
Kagome chose to ride in a police car with InuYasha, not wanting to ride the van back. He cradled her close and she relaxed against him, the excitement of the night finally getting to her as her eyes drooped shut. Looking down, he smiled and moved some unruly strands of hair away from her face.
"I can't wait to spend forever with you."
Dropping them off, he told the officer his address and picked Kagome up bridal-style, taking her inside and laying her down on his bed. He wasn't surprised in the slightest that she would be this out of it. Who knows the kind of physical, psychological, and emotional strain this night had put on her? Walking into the kitchen, he made a quick snack to eat while she slept.
She was safe, finally safe and surround by the wonderful scent of InuYasha, "it's finally over."
The quiet was nice, but something needled at her mind, and that's when she heard it.
"That's what you think."
Jumping up, Kagome looked around frantically and turned on the light. There was nothing but InuYasha's room, and speak of, the hanyou rushed in when he felt her distress, "are you okay, love?"
Looking around again, she shrugged, "I guess it was just a bad dream. InuYasha?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you lay down with me? I don't want to be alone."
Shutting the door behind him, he quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, changing into some dark red and black plaid PJ pants, with no shirt on. He climbed into the bedding and patted the side next to him, "you coming, Kagome?"
She gulped hard at the ridiculously sexy hanyou and moved to lie down, but he stopped her.
"I'm not saying to sleep naked, but you've been in that wine-stained dress all night, don't you want to change? You can wear one of my t-shirts and your underwear."
Her underwear, "well, you see, um, Naraku…he…he ripped off my bra and panties, so I couldn't wear them anymore. They were torn to shreds."
Slowly, he sat up, "did he do anything to you after he did that?"
His voice was laced with controlled hostility brimming to the surface. Kagome looked down, "he licked my neck."
Getting out of bed, InuYasha didn't say anything, he just grabbed her hand and walked them into his bathroom. He turned the water on in the shower and looked at her, "I think you'll feel better if you wash off tonight's events."
He looked her up and down once before moving to leave, but she reached for his hand, stopping him.
So shy and innocent, Kagome couldn't look at him when she said it, "you can join me, if you want."
Was she serious? InuYasha stood in front of her and shut the door behind him, "I'm all yours."
Okay, now she was having a hard time thinking of doing anything but getting to know every 'inch' of him. He was her mate and she should not be nervous or embarrassed to show herself to him. Taking a deep breath, Kagome slid the dress down and off her body, still unable to look at him as she heard rustling on his side. His breath was hot on her ear, "let's get in."
Kagome stepped in the shower first, and then she felt him come in behind her. The tension between them was palpable, a tangible decadent chemistry, which made it hard for them to be so close and not touch each other. She started washing her hair, shocked to feel his clawed hands take over as he lathered the shampoo for her. Rinsing it out, she then took the bodywash and scrubber, handing it to him, still too shy to look all the way down at his sizeable manhood.
Grinning, he took the sponge and filled it with bodywash, "I'll do your back first."
The huskiness in his voice caused shivers of complete awareness to flood her body. He rubbed up and down, soft and slowly, reaching her butt and allowing his finger to graze the sensitive flesh of her cheeks. It was delicious torture and she moaned as he dropped the sponge and ran his soap-covered hands over her moist skin, feeling the bits of muscle twitching when he grazed that part of flesh.
"Turn around, Kagome."
Eyes closed, she turned to face him, intense pleasure wreaking havoc in her as he rubbed soapy hands over her tender breasts, paying close attention to their hardened peaks. It was nerve wracking and so good! He pulled her close, her body flush with his own so she could feel the evidence of his desire as it strained to delve into her.
"InuYasha, I can't take it anymore. Please, I need to feel you."
He lifted her legs up to wrap around his waist, flattening her into his shower wall as his stiffness found its target and slid in. Kagome gasped and bucked into him, taken back by the incredible sensations as he pushed all the way in to the hilt, filling her completely. She clenched him so tight he was sure he wouldn't be able to move out. Pulling away, he hissed at the intensity of the pleasure, before slamming himself back into her. The rhythm was quick as Kagome reached climax over and over again, unprepared for the next one each time. InuYasha was doing his best to hold out, but it was like heaven inside her! Dipping his head down, he took one pert nipple into his mouth, nibbling and sucking lightly, causing Kagome to scream and convulse even more. A few more quick thrusts and they both toppled over the edge together, panting and spent, but neither one wanting the separation as he lowered her legs and pulled out. He held onto her waist and steadied her, then he finished cleaning her.
Kagome never felt anything so intense, and she took the sponge back to wash him, looking down, she almost fainted, how did that fit inside her? Being very careful, she rubbed the expanse of his length, still hard and very sensitive. He moaned as she rubbed and got to know the part of him which gave her so much pleasure and ecstasy. Without realizing it, she had him feeling like he was going to burst again and couldn't hold it in anymore as he spent himself into her hand. She helped him rinse it off and wash the rest of his body before getting out and changing into one of his shirts while InuYasha chose to sleep naked. Snuggling up to him, Kagome felt so at home and let her eyes droop closed, feeling InuYasha move them into a spooning position.
"I love you, Kagome."
She smiled, "I love you too…my mate."
Kissing his hand close to her face, she scrunched in close and allowed sleep to take over in the arms of her love, her mate, her everything.