Ceremony For The Knight
I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, sigh, but I did love to write and imagine about Kenshin and Kaoru romance
Actually, I get this story, read it and just want Kenshin and Kaoru to become the main character.
Edited and sorry for the grammar.
Kenshin paused at the door to Kaoru's home, taking a moment to straighten his tunic. He owed her the courtesy of looking his best when he came for her. He knocked, abruptly aware that his palms were sweating. Stand down, he chastised himself. Kaoru was an untried maid. She'd accepted his kiss. She wore his seal, had wedding with him but she likely wouldn't share his bed this night because they mating ceremony will do next month. Yes, in their ruler, bedding the bride will allowed if they already have mating ceremony not just wedding ceremony. Sigh. His frustration stirred that simply, and he forced his jaw to unlock...just in time for the door to swing open. Kaoru's father hesitated, then stepped back and waved Kenshin in. Was he uncomfortable with the idea that his daughter would soon be experiencing Kenshin's kiss and touch? Or did he disapprove but fear Kenshin's response to such a thing? In truth, the older man had no choice in the matter, but it wouldn't do to alienate him unnecessarily. Kenshin offered a tip of his head in greeting.
"Is Kaoru free to walk with me?" he asked formally. Were Kaoru any other woman or Kenshin not what he was, her father would be incensed by such a question. Even in their rules women promised in mating ceremony were not free to walk unescorted with their future mate or actually her husband. Again, he hesitated.
"She is. Will you sit?" Koshijirou waved a hand in invitation and turned toward the far reaches of the house. Kenshin ambled in, closing the door. He was too nervous to sit, so he stared into the fire, hoping not to appear too anxious for his mate's company. If the man was uncertain about this mating ceremony, eagerness could well push him further.
He turned at the sound of footsteps on the stone, his mouth going dry at the sight of Kaoru, freshly scrubbed and dressed in the same gown she'd worn for the choosing, most likely the best gown she owned. She met his eyes, blushing deeply...most likely at the audacity of being so bold in front of her father. Kenshin closed the distance between them, offering his hand silently. She took it, her color deepening another notch. He managed another tip of his head to her father and
led her out of the house and up a path into the woods.
It was several long moments before she broke the silence between them.
"I am surprised."
"Of what? That I came to you so quickly?" Or that I tarried so long? he taunted himself.
She smiled up at him, a spring in her step. "That you haven't kissed me again."
His heart pounded in excitement. "Are you inviting it? Would it...make you uncomfortable for me to request such a thing?"
Kaoru seemed to consider that. "Why would it make me uncomfortable, Lord Himura?"
That had to end. "I am not your lord, Kaoru. You are my mate."
She nodded her agreement. "Kenshin, then."
His name on her lips sent a shiver of delight up his spine.
"How long have you wanted me?" she asked.
"How long?" Kenshin perplexed, his face blank
"You were walking the edges of madness when you asked if I still intended to stand." She didn't question it.
"I was," he admitted. I am.
"How long have you wanted me in your bed?"
"In my life...not just my bed," he corrected her.
"How long?" Was there an answer to that he could quantify? He shook his head. "I know when I noticed you as a woman first. I cannot say when that became the need to make you mine."
"When?" There was a note of excitement in her voice that encouraged him to continue.
"The harvest festival, five years ago. You were cooking with the older women and Tokio. You were barely a woman, only months past the day of your turning. You were smiling, laughing at something one of the others said. Then you turned and looked at me."
Her voice was soft and wistful. "And you took the tray from my hands," she recalled. "You carried it to the table and came back for another...and another."
"I had to look again. You were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen and remain so."
"Would you have kissed me?" Her question surprised him.
"Had it not been against the laws of man and Warrior to touch you? Yes. I would have kissed you."
Kaoru stopped, and Kenshin turned to face her. He didn't question her purpose. One moment, he was staring into her eyes. The next, their mouths were meshed together. She tasted sweet...and her scent made his head swim. He drank her down, needing all she would give. But how much was that? Kenshin broke off the kiss slowly, staring down at her. He wanted to ask but feared pushing her too fast for comfort.
"What do you want, Kenshin?" she breathed.
"You...when you're ready." She deserved the truth.
"My body aches for you," she whispered, her eyes pleading with him. "It has since I knew your intent. No one would dare try to take me from you. This I knew. I have been yours since the moment you asked if I intended to stand."
His mind was slow recovering from that. Kenshin looked around guiltily. This wasn't right. "Come to my bed then."
She nodded. "Your bed. Our bed?" There was a
hopeful note in that.
"Our bed," he agreed.