Heartbreaker

Chapter 4

Sesshoumaru stared at the man that had answered Kagome's door with something dangerously akin to jealousy. The man had answered the door with "What do you want with my woman?"

His woman? Impossible! Kagome was . . . Not Sesshoumaru's either. Sesshoumaru mentally shook himself and glared at the man until from inside the apartment there came a loud bang. The man whipped around and rushed inside. "Kagome!" he shouted. Sesshoumaru, hearing this, quickly followed. They stopped in the entranceway to the kitchen and stared at the amazing mess of pots and pans. The unknown man began to laugh hysterically, pointing at the bewildered look plastered on Kagome's face. Sesshoumaru glared his annoyance at the man and approached Kagome.

"Are you well?", he questioned. Kagome lifted her head to look at him then. Her eyes were watery as she raised her hand for his inspection. It was red, as if she had tried to catch one of the flying pots, and it had a small gash directly in the middle of her palm. As he watched, blood began to well from the abrasion and his eyes widened a fraction. The obnoxious man's guffaws immediately ceased. He ran from the room and came back a moment later with alcohol and a Dora the Explorer print band-aid…. Only to see Sesshoumaru pull his surrogate little sister up from the floor.

Kagome got to her feet with teary eyes and stumbled a little. Sesshoumaru, who had never quite let go, steadied her, inadvertently holding her a little too close. They stood there in the moment until Koga touched her shoulder, gently tugging. Kagome jumped back, turning a shade of red that had Sesshoumaru watching in undisguised interest. Koga muscled his way between them, giving Sesshoumaru a short glare (which he returned a hundred fold) before looking back to Kagome. He took her unharmed hand and led her into the living room. Giving her a small push to make her sit on the beige leather couch, he carefully treated the wee hurt.

Sesshoumaru watched this exchange with tightly leashed control. Somehow the mans confident touches on Kagome did not sit well with him. When the man finished and leaned in to look a little too closely at her face, Sesshoumaru cleared his throat in annoyance. Kagome and the nuisance looked up as if just realizing he was there. The man looked back to Kagome. "Who is this guy?" Sesshoumaru's brow wrinkled a bit at the disrespectful reference to his person. Kagome looked a little nervously at him then turned back to the nuisance.

"He's my boss, Sesshoumaru Taisho. Sesshoumaru, this is Koga. He's a . . . friend." Sesshoumaru severely doubted that this person could be called simply "a friend" and her hesitation did nothing but confirm his assessment. He and Koga studied each other through slit eyes. Kagome continued to speak. "ano, what did you need, Sesshoumaru?"

Dismissing Koga as one would a speck of dust, Sesshoumaru moved on to answer her question. Kagome's relationships outside of the workplace should be none of his concern. "This Sesshoumaru was simply curious as to your whereabouts. You have not deigned to answer your phone today." He would not admit, in front of this nuisance, that the great Sesshoumaru-sama could possibly need help. The admittance of curiosity was indiscretion enough.

Kagome's eyes widened. "You were worried about me?" Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow as if to state "How would that be possible?", but said nothing. Kagome's face slowly transformed as she smiled broadly up at him. "I'm fine, Sesshoumaru. I guess I was just a bit spaced out?" Koga snorted at the understatement. Ignoring him, Sesshoumaru nodded and turned toward the door. Seeing that he was preparing to leave, Kagome jumped up from the couch to follow. "um. . . ok. I'll see you at work tomorrow, then" To Koga's ears she sounded just the slightest bit disappointed. His eyebrows raised in reluctant interest. Kagome followed her "boss" all the way to the door and watched him get in the car and drive away. When she was satisfied she closed the door and turned to see Koga examining her like a bug under a microscope. "w-what?"

Koga snorted again. "Little familiar for an employee-employer relationship. Especially when you are MY woman" Kagome blushed at his lighthearted teasing. Shaking it off and mentally chastising herself for the obvious tell, Kagome walked towards her kitchen. She should clean up the disaster she'd caused. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with our relationship." Koga's only reply was another snort. Kagome grimaced, but of course the doctor could not see it. "And stop calling me your woman!" Koga simply chuckled mockingly and followed her in to help.

~,~,~,~,~,

It had been three days since Sesshoumaru met Kagome's "friend" and he still hadn't been able to shake his jealousy. Every time he looked at her he saw that man touching her as if he cherished her very existence. The new emotion was beginning to wear on his last nerve. The week was already starting off in a bad way. To make matters worse his adopted daughter Rin didn't have school today. He'd given his chief maid the day off a week ago because her family would be in town (the poor elderly woman definitely deserved some time off), and he would never leave his daughter in the hands of strangers, therefore his only choice had been to bring her to work with him. Granted, this wasn't the first time he'd been forced into such measures, but that didn't make him resent it any less. Kikyou seemed to love the child although Rin in turn just seemed a little creeped out by her. Yet and still Kikyou always gave Rin heinous amounts of sweets and snacks in order to gain some semblance of affection from the poor girl. Despite Sesshoumaru's orders otherwise the girl always became an admittedly cute, but scarily eccentric ball of hyper energy.

Speaking of energy, it was entirely too quiet out there. His door was, of course, open in order for him to see and hear the child's explorations while he worked. Growling as a headache began to beat a path through his left temple he got up from his desk. He didn't necessarily expect Kikyou to watch the child but he did expect her to keep her from causing too much trouble or going too far away. If she had lost Rin she would find herself without a job within the hour no matter how amazingly she worked. Anticipating the worst, Sesshoumaru walked to his door and growled out to the woman. "Where is Rin?" When Kikyou turned her face was almost forlorn.

"She abandoned me for Kagome a while ago" Lifting a distinguished eyebrow in surprise and curiosity, Sesshoumaru turned towards the office marked for his P.A.

He opened the door, expecting destruction and a continually rampaging toddler, only to be shocked at the peaceful scene before him. It seemed Rin had tired herself out. Kagome stood covering the girl with a blanket, an almost adoring expression on her face. Noticing his presence she turned and Sesshoumaru was shocked at how quickly her whole countenance changed. She briskly, but still quietly, came to stand just before him leaning close so as to be heard. "You shouldn't allow a small child to have so much sugar in one day" She was glaring at him as if he'd robbed a bank that held the majority of her income. He should be putting her in her place or, at the very least, denying that he'd simply allowed the girl to have sweets, but he was mesmerized. He could smell her scent. He wasn't even sure if it was her or some amazing perfume. It was just so natural, floral and sweet with some mysterious undertone that was familiar, but that he simply couldn't pinpoint.

The scent seemed to change and fluctuate. It took everything he had not to lean in and bury his nose in her hair, or pull her forward to nip at the hollow of her neck, or. . . He shook himself mentally only to stare down into blue eyes that sought to consume him. How had he dismissed her beauty when they met? She was captivating. "Sesshoumaru?" she spoke on a whisper that was less for the child's sake and more for the fear of shocking them both out of the haze that seemed to have fallen over them both. Slowly Sesshoumaru leaned down to reach her small frame and Kagome tilted her head upward, stretching toward him. Closer they inched towards each other, never averting their eyes and barely breathing… Until they heard a small squeak from the direction of his little girl. They flew apart as if burned. The little girl looked up at them with wide eyes but for once was quiet. Kagome turned beat red and turned towards her desk to hide the fact.

"Come Rin" Sesshoumaru turned towards the door expecting the little girl to follow, but she issued a whining noise that stopped him in his tracks.

"but papa! I wanna stay with Kagome Onee-chan!" he gave her a look that was clearly her only warning, but Kagome stepped in before the girl had a chance to pout.

"It's alright, Sesshoumaru-sama. I don't mind having a cute little girl stay here with me" Kagome then turned from him to coddle his daughter. Sesshoumaru gaped at the back of her head (in his own Sesshoumaru way) and at the giant wall she'd placed between them. She hadn't given him an honorific since a week after he'd hired her. Not only that she'd dared to dismiss him so? Unacceptable! Taking her hand almost roughly, he spoke to Rin as gently as possible.

"Rin stay here and behave." He turned toward his captured P.A. "I would like a word with you Ms. Higurashi" He pulled Kagome from the room without waiting for an answer from either of the girls, and guided her into his office without so much as a glance in Kikyo's direction.

He slammed the door and held the flustered girl's arms against it, standing close. He stared at her, the look in his eyes fierce and disconcerting to her. Neither said a word. They simply stared with every dark feeling in them, communicating silently. Slowly he released her, feeling almost. . . defeated. He turned from her to sit behind his desk. In a barely there voice he said "You may go back to work Higurashi-San." Kagome stared at him, pain in her eyes, almost hidden under the strong determination. She turned, opened the door, and left. It closed with a quiet click of finality. Sesshoumaru's gaze trailed back to the solid barrier.

"What is it that you fear, Kagome?"

So this seems to center more around Sessh and his experiences. Is it good? O_o