Well, I was liking this one too much to make it stop. So, I dunno if this still pertains to the "kissing" idea I'd been going with, but...I liked it.

I don't mind if you don't review, but thanks to those of you that do! (good or bad, I'm down with either). It's amazingly encouraging to see story alerts and such. Honestly, I don't think I'd get any of this on paper if you guys didn't do that :) Thanks!!


The walk to the Hyuga household was silent, both Sakura and Neji pondering the new situation they had found themselves in. His gate seemed driven, determined, while Sakura felt almost dragged behind him.

Despite their mutual confusion, his hand never stopped holding hers. The sparks remained almost palpable.

As they walked, Neji finally allowed himself a moment of retrospection. Now that the immediate urgency had passed, Neji was completely baffled with the situation he was facing. While he was used to being easily roused by the pink haired girl trailing slightly behind him, it most certainly had never been in the same way as he had been roused tonight. Not realizing it, his eyes narrowed with intensity as the Hyuga remembered the way Sakura threw her head back at his actions, making herself utterly vulnerable to him, regardless of surroundings.

It made sense, really. Their passion merely mutated, changing from hatred to lust. But was that all? Neji couldn't help but wonder why he was so willing to walk away from his date tonight – well, other than the more obvious fact that she was a complete and total bore. Without realizing it, he had frequently looked forward to their argumentative banter, feeling exhilarated afterwards like only sparring or missions could make him feel. Originally, Sakura had merely been the whining fan of Sasuke's. However, somehow over time, she had grown as a kunoichi, as well as proving herself time and again as a medic. She was a match for him physically, and their verbal sparring was unparalleled. Even Shika had commented one day after a particularly brutal round of spoken abuse.

A new understanding was dawning on him: he wanted Sakura. And not just physically. She was his worthy opponent, she was his companion. The cliched "other-half" he'd heard people refer to so often, never fully understanding its meaning. But he knew that her hand in his felt more right than anything he'd done in a long time, and he wasn't about to let it stop anytime soon.

As his thoughts returned to their meshed fingers, again he found himself recalling the way her lips felt against his. He could only hope that all forms of sparring, ranging from verbal and literal to sexual held the same spirit that he'd been party to previously.

It was that very spirit that made this worth it.

It was that very spirit that he planned to own and dominate.

After all, he was a Hyuga.

Pulling her through the side entrance to the Hyuga mansion was easy enough. As a member of the branch family, his living area was more secluded to the north wing, and he came and went freely through the separate entrance. They made their way quickly to Neji's room, Sakura vaguely registering the austerity of the house into which she had been impatiently pulled. Instead of arguing, instead of running with the same enthusiasm, and instead of even giddiness, Sakura instead remained silent, still not fully grasping how this had happened.

Once they had entered Neji's rather sparsely decorated room, their hands slipped apart.

Neji turned from closing the door quietly, and looking at the floor, running a hand through his long black hair. Without warning, he started toward his closet, taking his shirt off as he went, leaving Sakura blushing and looking awkwardly away. Her eyes landing on his bed didn't seem to help the alluring shade of pink creeping up her neck, a characteristic not lost on Neji as he grabbed a towel and began to wipe the remains of the spilled beer from his stomach, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, admiring his catch.

"Neji, I -" Sakura stammered. Inwardly she kicked herself for her inability to do more than sputter his name. While this territory was new with Neji, it wasn't new territory entirely, she needed to pull herself together and ignore the insecurities that were currently plaguing her. There had been one night stands in her past, and from what she could tell they were mostly less than fulfilling, scratching the itch momentarily. Having just been made aware of Neji as more than a rival, she couldn't comprehend why the idea of him being one of those people, the people you walk away from the next morning or earlier, made her stomach churn. Grimacing at the barrage of emotions plaguing her within such a short span of time, she sat down on the bed.

Coming to her rescue, Neji grabbed some boxers and a t-shirt, handed them to her and motioned to the bathroom for her to change, as the beer from his shirt and jeans had managed to transfer rather impressively to her own outfit.

As she walked back out of the bathroom, fidgeting with the edge of the shirt, Neji remained facing his dresser and said quietly but firmly, "Insult me."

Balking at him, Sakura replied, "N-No, that's stupid. Why would I insult you?"

"Oh come on Haruno-san, I know you can do better than that. Insult me." Neji commanded, purposefully pinning her with his silver stare over his shoulder.

A visible shudder went through her at his voice and the look in his eyes, as though he wanted to devour her right then. Inwardly, Neji chuckled at her response to his order, making a mental note that this would possibly be even more fun that he had hoped, which was saying quite a bit.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Sakura bravely launched in.

"I had always heard that pampered rich people were the ones with the weirdest kinks, but really Hyuga-san, I hardly took you for one that liked to be dominated, even if just verbally."

And then he was on her.

Hands fisting in pink hair, lips slammed against each other breaking skin. It was as if he couldn't get close enough to her, despite the fact that he had now pinned her against the wall of his room, grinding his hips against her own brutally. Sakura's response to Neji's plundering were small whimpers of pure need and desire, while running her hands through his hair and over his still naked back. She would have equally assaulted his front, except he had her pressed so tightly against the wall that there wasn't space enough between them for her to reach.

Her moan signaled the moment that he knew this was going to need to change. He wanted her, but he wanted her to submit to him. Call it a superiority complex born of his family name.

Whispering breathlessly in her ear, he murmured, "You're mine."

Sakura could only nod slightly, one of his hands on her ass and the other working its way under her shirt rendering her unable to respond verbally.

Suddenly everything stopped. Hands disappeared, warmth was lost.

Sakura's eyes flew open and she was about to demand to know why he had stopped something that was feeling so amazing, when her hands were jerked above her head and held there rather roughly. Neji was looking at her with lust and...something else. Something more primal.

"Say it," he demanded of her, having pulled back to better see her, though still pinning her arms uselessly above her head.

It was at that moment that she faltered. The pink haired girl had felt his intent - the pure seriousness of the situation that lay beneath the guise of panting and pawing - and she panicked.

None of it had ever been serious before, with past boyfriends or flings. Even with Sasuke, she knew in her heart of hearts that he would never go for her, which made him safe to lust after, and fall over. Because if you already know the outcome, there's no real chance of being let down. But here, in front of her, was someone that mattered. Someone that could mean something. No, not just something. This person could mean everything. Did he even know that? When he asked for that response from her, did he know what he was asking? Was he even asking it, or was he merely caught up in the moment? No. She didn't believe that last part. Otherwise she shouldn't have taken such pause.

Desperately wanting to answer him, but not yet knowing if she could trust the notorious playboy, she looked down and bit her lip nervously.

He was shocked. Not only did she not respond how he had expected, she wasn't even making eye contact.

He had lost her again.

Never with any of the women he'd been with in the past did he have to work so hard. And at the same time, it had never been so effortless. How did that even work? Yet, more important than the paradox of the beautiful girl in front of him was the fact that he had to bring her back.

Sensing her uncertainty, he knew it must stem from the same thing he was feeling at the moment. They hadn't built up to this slowly. Instead of love blooming over time, it had taken the cupid route, and smacked them squarely in the face without a moment's notice. But somehow, when thinking back, he knew that he had been falling for her all along. Every moment of arguing and fighting had only been leading to this.

"Sakura..." he trailed off, stepping back and letting go of her arms, which fell limply at her sides. How could he show her that he was hers and hers alone? He had thought it was implied. He would never be so dishonorable as to ask her to commit to him and not return the sentiment in kind.

Lost in his thoughts as to how to save this, to make her understand, he almost missed it.

But it had been there.

Very quietly. Covered by fear and lust and the hair that had fallen in front of her face, blocking her eyes from his view.

"I'm yours."

"Say it again," he commanded, immediately returning to the spot right in front of her, their bodies barely brushing.

"I'm yours," she said, with renewed force, shaking her hair out of her face and raising her eyes to meet his, almost as in defiance while simultaneously submitting.

This time his voice came next to her ear, "again."

A small moan escaped her lips, his unbridled masculinity assaulting her senses, and even though he had not resumed touching her, she felt as though the heat from the room was too intense.

"I'm yours, Hyuga-sama." she gasped out, her head tilted back and her eyes closed, begging for him to touch her.

He pulled off his own pants, leaving on his boxers, and without caressing her, he stepped back and grabbed the hem of his shirt which adorned her small frame, lifting it off of her compliant body. The shirt thrown to the side of the room, he returned to her bra, unclasping the hooks and letting the material drop to the ground. And finally he hooked his fingers under the waist of the shorts, tugging them and her underwear down her body.

Goosebumps had broken out all over her skin and her eyes remained closed, breathing labored. He was beside himself. It was like looking at the most beautiful painting, and physically hurting because the beauty was so intangible, so transient. Just knowing that the beauty exists causes a pang of inferiority for the inability to equal, maintain, or admire it as much as it deserves. Neji had never been jealous of Sai before, but at this moment he would give his bloodline limit to be able to paint the sight in front of him.

And she was his.

With no warning, he scooped her up and quickly deposited her on his bed, her eyes gazing trustingly into his own. Sitting next to her on the bed, he sat back on his heels, balancing carefully.

"What am I going to do with you, hm?" he smirked at the blush adorning her features.

And then the hellcat he had so quickly fallen for returned.

"Well, Hyuga-sama, since we've taken such pains to establish that I'm yours, I suppose that means that you can do...anything you want," a smirk of her own began to form, watching his falter and slip from his lips.

"Anything, hm?" Neji pondered the situation, his eyes slowly traveling over the cherry blossom presented to him, lazily letting a hand trail up her thigh and her side, enjoying the light shiver that he felt pass through his woman. His. It was then that he knew what he wanted to do.

Stepping from the bed, Neji walked over to his dresser.

Sakura sat up a bit straighter to see what he was doing, her curiosity getting the better of her. She assumed he was just getting condoms from his dresser, but he seemed to be gathering things, which was a little intimidating.

As he turned back around, Sakura saw rope and a kunai, but no condoms.

"I..I just...I thought you were just getting condoms," she stammered. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly at his newfound love, who seemed to keep switching between her two personalities. One second hot tempered and fiesty, the next shy and innocent. He enjoyed them both.

"Are you on birth control?" he questioned, looking down at the items in his hands, placing them on the table next to the bed.

"Yes," she knew that was a concern, but even with that she had always used condoms just to be safe, never a bad habit to be in.

"Sakura, are you clean? Like, have you been tested?" he asked her, selecting the pieces of rope from the table, and looking them over.

"Y-yes."

"Good, I'm clean too," at this point he looked directly at her, "and as I don't expect either of us to be fucking anyone else anymore, I see no reason to not take you bare."

That comment mixed with the look in his eyes made warmth pool in her stomach, and the ache which had somewhat subsided returned full force.

"And I don't like you questioning me, Haruno-chan," Neji said, his smirk in place, fingering the ropes with an evil glint in his eyes.

Grabbing her wrist, he placed a kiss on her pulse, and then tied her arm to the post of the bed. Walking slowly around the bed, he repeated the action for her right wrist, making sure that the rope was loose enough to allow her to pull a little, but tight enough that she certainly was not going anywhere. Never once did Sakura move, or make a noise. Finally, he ties her ankles to their respective bedposts, and walked back to the nightstand, her eyes silently following him as he moved, her breathing quick.

Leaning in, he started kissing her collarbone. He placed light licks and nips along her neck and jaw, finally letting his lips meet hers. A mutual sigh passed between them, finally being allowed to indulge in the lips of the other, but slower, calmer this time. Light licking of lips, softly locking together, and then exploring the other's mouth, back and forth. Putting a hand beneath her neck, he tilted her head to get a better angle, deepening the kiss and turning the heat up just slightly. When his other hand finally found its way to her breast, she squirmed underneath him, causing him hardness to ache even more than it already had been. Pinching, caressing, molding her breast to his hand, he teased her shamelessly, and he repeated the actions on her other breast, working Sakura into an impatient frenzy.

He moved his way down her body, and proceeded to lick and nip at her the whole way down, spending a little more time on the spots that seemed most sensitive: the base of her neck, her nipples, the spot on her left side about halfway down, her hipbones, until he finally came to the center of her.

As he parted her lips, she was tugging lightly on the ropes, panting but still silent. With a small lick against her clit, he felt her thrash slightly on the bed, begging silently for more. However, his eyebrows drew together in confusion. Why wasn't she making any of those sexy noises that seemed to flow so easily from her lips earlier against the wall?

At his hesitation, Sakura looked down at him between her legs, the sight causing her to get even more wet. His eyes, however, held a quizzical look, and she knew why he was confused. With a smirk, Sakura just continued to look at him, waiting for him to continue.

Realization dawned on him. He had known she would be especially fun in bed. Gladly he would accept her challenge, apparently put into place after he essentially had told her to shut up and not question him.

Crawling back up her body, depriving her of his oral ministrations, he leaned on one forearm next to her head.

Kissing her neck, he muttered against her skin, "Ah, Sakura-chan, you don't seem to understand. I won't order you to do it, but I will make you scream."

At the precise moment that the last word left his lips, he forcefully plunged three fingers into her, while capturing her mouth with his own. Even if she had screamed, he would have swallowed the noise - for all intensive purposes letting her know that there would be more to come than what he had just done.

His thumb rubbed over her clit as his fingers worked in and out, her hips rising to meet his thrusts, his mouth seeming to work in time to his fingers. Feeling her start to clamp down on his fingers, shuddering and breathing hard, he pulled his fingers from her wet core, and brought them to her mouth.

Green eyes met silver, as she obediently opened her mouth, sucking her own juices from his fingers in a manner that caused him to almost groan. The feel of her tongue swirling around his fingers, flicking against the tips made it all too easy to imagine her providing the same service elsewhere. The knowing look in her eyes told him that she was purposely trying to make him lose control, but only from within the confines of the position she was willingly occupying, both physically and within the relationship.

And still she was silent.

So he reached for the kunai on the nightstand. He had already planned this, but her literally unspoken challenge only further amused him, given what was in store.

Kissing her lightly on the forehead, he moved back between her legs. The next kiss he placed landed on the spot right above her left hipbone. And that was where he cut.

After only one slash, he raised his eyes to look at her. Biting her lower lip, with her eyes closed and forehead scrunched in pain and apprehension, his heart ached momentarily for her, before resuming his work.

And still she was silent.

Working carefully, he continued to cut her beautiful, pale skin. The blood was flowing freely from the wounds he was inflicting. Looking up to monitor her reactions, she was no longer biting her lip, but her eyes were still tightly closed. A tear squeezed its way out from under her lashes and ran down the side of her face.

And still she was silent.

Finally, he was done. Stepping from the bed, setting the kunai on the nightstand he made his way to the bathroom, returning with a washcloth that was slightly damp. With the utmost care and gentility, he wiped at the wounds. When he was done, he licked them lightly, and looked at her face.

She was watching him from the time he stood up, not fully sure what to do with what had just transpired. Luckily she had been very turned on before he started, so the pain was dulled a little, something she was sure he had planned. With a little work, she could easily look down and see what he had carved into her flesh, but instead of trying to see his handiwork, she instead looked him directly in the eyes, never letting the gaze waver. Kneeling beside her on the bed, he kissed the trail of her tears, placing his lips at the corner of her eye, softly. He rubbed his cheek against her own and whispered, "I love you."

And still she was silent.

He knew she would be. He didn't know if he'd love her quite as much if she had spoken at that moment.

Picking the kunai up again from the table, he made quick work of slashing through the ropes, freeing her from the bonds, and then finally removing his boxers, he quickly placed himself over her, careful to avoid the cuts.

Mouths met, moving against each other. Teeth scraped against lips, tongues licked at each other, at one point she bit his lower lip and he moaned. Pinching her nipple as he sucked on her neck, adding yet another mark to her body, which he now owned. Her hands, finally free, played through his long hair, loving the silky texture. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling down onto her despite the pain that shot up her side from his salty sweat and weight making contact with her new wounds.

Knowing she was in pain, he forced her to let him sit back, and instead positioned himself at her entrance. Locking eyes with her, he grabbed her waist and slammed into her. All that could be heard was her quick intake of breath, the sound of wet skin smashing together over and over, and an occasional grunt from him, as he took her.

He shifted the angle slightly and lifted one of her legs over his shoulder, both of them working equally hard to find release, which was desperately needed after the night they'd both had.

She was biting her lip so hard she was bleeding, trying to keep from letting the animalistic cries fly from her mouth.

Knowing she was getting close, he decided to up the ante, and moved one hand between them, rubbing her clit in quick circles, thrusting into her harder and faster.

So close, she arched her back, begging to fall over the edge. As the felt herself plummet, she opened her mouth and cried out, finally, one word, "Neji!"

With her silence broken, he himself broke simultaneously, feeling her quivering around him, he cried out, "Fuck!" as he shook with his release.

Panting, he pulled out of her, and lay on his side next to his pink haired marvel. Laying there, basking in the aftermath, their breathing slowly righting itself, Sakura pushed herself up on her elbows as Neji watched her.

Looking down, she gently brushed her fingers over her wounds.

It was a replica of his cursed seal.

She lay back down, and closed her eyes. He was watching her for a reaction, and was very close to being worried until he saw the slight smile grace her lips.

Without opening her eyes, she curled into him and whispered into his chest, "I love you too."


So, I dunno. I think it started off kinda slow, but was decent in the end :) I'm not gonna complain. I really like these two. I refuse to mark this finished, cause I'm in love with them as characters at this point (so easily attached, I know). We'll see. I'm gonna try some other stuff, but I could easily come back to this. Thanks for reading!!