Guilty Passion

Chapter Seven

She closed her eyes to the sight of him and waited for the onslaught of feeling, waited to be overpowered by despair, but all she felt was guilt and a sick emptiness, as if she had been robbed of the capacity to feel at all. Words could not express her level of disappointment or the sudden twinge of hatred she felt for the unknown woman he was supposedly engaged to. If her pride had permitted it, she would have cried aloud out of frustration but her mind stumbled and stopped on the last four words, because they were the only important ones.

"If I wasn't engaged."

She chastised herself silently, bitterly, as she stared at him, daring him to say something in his defence. By all right she should be holding him at gun point for doing such a thing to her but instead she plastered a well noticeable plastic smile upon her lips to keep the snarl from her face. You're sickening, she told herself: mindless, weak and unforgivably dumb, to actually think that he'll just show up in your life and come sweep you off your feet.

But surely she never expected him to stay single all his life, especially with such ravishing good looks and a family of such high status. With an enormous amount of effort and will, she managed to sound cool when she congratulated him on his engagement.

He grunted, and she tried as best not to let her features go still, but she never realised that what she really felt shone clearly in those emerald eyes of hers.

"We'll figure something out," he said softly, but even as Sakura straightened slightly, lifting her chin even higher to meet his gaze she saw the uneasiness in his lilac orbs; and she in return felt her smile dying and her face going rigid regardless of his hot liquid gaze that threatened to strip away that expression-less mask that paraded upon her beautiful features. "We'll figure something out."

"Neji please!" her stomach churned and she couldn't take it anymore. The sudden frantic rush of guilt was too much to bear; her insides felt like they were about to crumbled. She didn't want his whole life to be ruined because of her. Why should he have to pay for something that she initiated? Though he wasn't innocent, he most certainly wasn't the guilty party here. Tears, swift and unexpected, filled her eyes. "This isn't your child," she told him in a broken murmur.

"What?" Neji's gaze tore away from Sakura with obvious reluctance, and frowned at the ground.

She felt her stomach lurch. "I'm not carrying your child," she answered firmly, though her mind was screaming with her to take back that obvious piece of fabrication. She was outwardly calm, but inside she was a rolling mass of confusion.

"But you said...?" His brows twitched slightly.

"I know what I said," she snapped. Looking touchingly gallant with her chin lifted stubbornly, her pink hair tumbling back over her shoulders, her eyes focused on the man standing in front of her.

"Is this about custody?" he asked narrowing his eyes at her, his tone reeked of exasperation.

"This is not about anything!" she said breathlessly, hurriedly averting her eyes from him. "I'm telling you the truth," the look he flashed her made her throat closed in alarm.

"No Sakura, you're lying," his confident respond didn't surprise Sakura all that much.

She stood with much difficultly due to the sudden tenderness in the sole of her feet. Neji was by her side in that instance, helping her to stand up. She blushed like crazy. "I've got this!" she complained, pushing flat-handed against his chest. Suddenly Sakura sensed an edge to his masculinity; a sharp, slashing edge that demanded control—whether it be machine or woman—and she shuddered once, then pushed so strongly against him that he took two stumbling steps backwards, his arms flailing, his mouth open in surprise. "I said I got it," she twisted her head to the side to hide her blush.

Breathing heavily, she faced him with her head down, lips compressed, her shoulders hunched against the explosion of rage she expected from him. To her surprise he chuckled. The sound sent shivers up her spine. "You're still stubborn."

With the sudden knowledge that he was taking joy out of her disquiet her chin lifted and her eyes narrowed. Nobody made a fool out of Sakura Haruno, nobody. Not even this handsomely smug man smiling patronizingly at her.

"And you're still..." her voice trailed, throat suddenly feeling tight under his gaze.

"Which brings us back to the original question, what are we going to do about the child?" he asked soberly, looking out the window.

She sighed; there was just no way around the guy. She hadn't even gotten over that stupid kiss. Even now as he rant about the unimportant Sakura could still remember his mouth, so cool and hard against hers, so hungry, searching, touching something inside her, some urgent place that she hadn't been taken to since she last saw him, four months ago. It had been frightening to feel all that power inside her, straining against him, wanting him, feeling him straining against her, too.

She stayed rigid, staring quizzically at him, "Didn't you not hear my previous admission."

"You're a terrible liar," he returned his gaze to her face.

She took a bold step towards him; she stared up at him, her eyes frankly speculative. Green glinted out at him through the lush forest of dark lashes. "Why are you so intent on making me say that you fathered my child?"

She was suddenly, acutely aware of his nearness. Her senses felt swamped with in scent, with fresh clarity on his skin, the luscious head of dark brown velvety hair. How easy it would be to tilt her chin to allow her access to his sweetly humorous mouth. It seemed as though the world had ceased to exist outside this prim room, a room suddenly charged with his sensual presence. She still couldn't figure out why she found his aura so compelling. It wasn't just the pregnancy hormones; she was genuinely drawn to him. For some reason just being in his presence or even by allowing him to cross her mind she felt weak. His infectious ambience was something she doubts that she'd ever be immune to. It almost felt like her Sasuke obsession all over again.

Neji looked away from her and back out the window again. His voice was hushed and grave. "Don't try another one of those stunts again," he told her referring to the kiss she had inaugurated earlier.

It took a moment for Sakura to register his words. "What?"

"Don't try to kiss me again."

"I wasn't going to kiss you," she said, more trying to convince herself rather than him.

"Yes you were."

"How do you know you weren't going to kiss me?" she smirked when a hint of pink grazed his cheeks.

"I wouldn't," she got have sworn that he squirmed.

"But you did once, actually you did many times before," she grinned and attempted to touch him but he shivered and she retreated her hands. "There's no need to be so cold," she said softly.

She gave a closemouthed sound of longing, of need when his hand involuntarily brushed her cheek and it was then that his control unravelled. He tipped her chin up and grabbed a fistful of her hair as he pulled her closer, wanting to luxuriate in its weight and scent. Their faces drew closer and their lips met again, gentler this time, Sakura's eyes fluttered closed. She sighed into his mouth when that sense of freedom surged throughout her veins once more. Her heart thumped like drums in her chest. Never had she felt so vulnerable. His hand moved over her body, caressing it with a heat that made her own hands move in an indistinguishable delightful, yielding constraint. She moaned when she felt him against her, hands tracing her spine, smoothed her hips. She was unable to contain all the sensations ripping through her body, her desire escalated with fresh awareness of having him so close and so willingly participating.

She brought her fingers to the corners of his mouth so that she could feel it against hers, trying to capture the mystery of how perfectly it fit over hers. He brought her up against him with a sudden surprising force. She gave a little sound when her swollen abdomen bumped into his hard body.

They both pulled away, trying to regain their breath. Neji was the first to turn away. "I'm sorry," he muttered obvious irritated with himself. He was after all engaged. And this pinkette was not making it any easier for him to deal with his uncle's decision.

She opened her mouth to say something, but the unspoken word died in her throat. It was pointless.

Just then the doors burst open stirring up the stifling muteness that had descended on them once more, to reveal a tall man with sparked gold locks for hair, dancing crystalline blue eyes and a wide, pearly white grin. "Naruto Uzumaki is in the building!" he announced, Neji grimaced at this and Sakura almost snickered at the cute little annoyed expression on his face.

"Naruto-kun, you're home," Sakura said, forging a smile; which didn't go unnoticed by Neji.

Naruto's lips curled in a half-smile when he caught sight of Neji, "Sakura-chan, who's this?" he asked, obviously fascinated by the presence of another male in Sakura's apartment. She blushed under his very knowing gaze and his grin widen. She hurriedly rush over to his side and laced her arm in his, planting a kiss on his cheeks, mindful of the very observant man whom she could feel boring holes in her back under his intense gaze.

"Welcome home honey," she said grinning at him, carefully watching Neji's reaction through the corner of her eye.

Naruto flushed, trying to peel Sakura off his arm, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. "Are you okay Sakura-chan?" he laughed.

Neji raised an eyebrow at the eerie couple and twisted his mouth in a smirk. "Sakura you haven't answered my question."

The loud blonde blinked a few times then asked who Neji was again. There was a minor glaring struggle between both males, before Sakura nervously stepped in, introducing a clueless Naruto as her boyfriend and Neji as an old friend. Both looked at her questioningly then resumed glaring daggers at each other. Neji folded his arms and turned his head away from Naruto with an arrogant grunt with an expression that spelt out that he was the more superior of the two. Obviously not fazed by the Hyuuga's hostility Naruto stuck his tongue out at Neji then turned to give Sakura a concerned frown when her previous admission got the chance to finally sink in.

"Boyfriend?" Naruto asked loudly, scratching his head as though trying to remember when he and Sakura started this alleged relationship. Somewhere along the line he forgot when he had moved up from the position of annoying neighbour to boyfriend.

Sakura laughed nervously, swallowing hard when she met Neji's chilly gaze and knitted brows. "Oh yeah, we had gotten engaged," she said rather tight lipped; smiling pleadingly at Naruto, hoping that he'd somehow get a hint and play along. "Can't believe it slipped me," she wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand in a slightly dramatic gesture.

"Engaged?" Naruto looked at her in utter bewilderment. "Congratulations Sakura-chan!"

"You're engaged?" Neji asked not hiding his consternation.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Naruto asked, trying to recall when last he'd seen Sakura in the company of another man besides himself, Sai or Kakashi. His memory proved to be faulty today. Because he couldn't for all the ramen in the world remember when he had started courting Sakura—or when they had supposedly gotten engaged. Hell, he couldn't even remember what colour underwear he had put on this morning; so maybe he really had a serious recollection problem. He stared down at his hands trying to remember which was right from left, he screamed—he couldn't remember that either. He found himself suddenly questioning the world. Was everything he believed in a lie? Dumbass...

Sakura mentally slapped herself in her wide forehead. If Neji didn't pick up that she was lying by now then he was just as slow as Naruto. Nevertheless she was intent on making him think he wasn't the father, more to his benefit. She didn't want herself and or the baby to come between what could have been a beautiful beginning to Neji's life.

"Naruto," she said grinding her teeth, "You're not helping..." she sang under her breath. She smiled at Neji all the while tightening her grip on Naruto's arm out of sheer frustration. She was walking a pathless distance with this idiot. The world would come to an end before he got the message.

"Ouch Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, "My hand hurts!"

"Is this a joke?" Neji asked seriously, staring back and forth between Sakura and Naruto as she smacks the petrified blonde across his head, obviously displeased with him for some dumb reason.

Unexpectedly Naruto linked his arms awkwardly around Sakura, "Is there a problem pretty boy?"

Sakura giggled and Neji scowled.

"Naruto-kun," Sakura warned tightening her grip on his arm. "Be nice to Neji," she smiled softly at the dark-haired male, but turned to the blonde with a monstrous glint in her eyes, "Or else..." she threatened. The rest was left unsaid and Naruto sweat dropped—he had no intensions of finding out what or else was.

"So far all you'd done is made a fool out of yourself posing with this masquerader," came Neji's candid remark, he was irritated. "Are you finished yet?"

"Watch your tone with my fiancée," Naruto warned, apparently finally catching on.

Neji's lilac eyes lit up with mischief and he gave both of them a wicked smirk. "Are you telling me this clown is the father?" he asked Sakura allowing his voice to hint his astonishment.

Naruto fumed, "Shouldn't you be in a box on a shelf somewhere waiting for some unfortunate girl to come along?"

Neji completely disregarded Naruto's comment. "Is he?" he went on to ask Sakura.

She nodded dumbly.

Neji studied the two carefully then he turned to Naruto, "Should I spread word of your new engagement to Hinata or would you like to do the honours yourself?" His voice reeked with cruel delight.

"Hinata?" Sakura asked quizzically.

"His former fiancée," Neji's looked her over, "Apparently..."

Naruto scratched his head laughing nervously, "I knew you looked familiar."