Chapter 8- The Talk

"Sesshomaru…" I breathe. He leans down and nuzzles my neck, lightly nipping and licking.

"Kagome" he whispers. I shiver at the way my name sounds coming from his roughened voice. I feel him smile against my neck before he moves up and looks me in the eyes before kissing my lips softly.

"Kagome…" he whispers against my lips "my beast wants you…"

I whimper when he captures my bottom lip with his teeth and tugs gently on it. My hands tangle themselves in his hair and I pull him closer to me, urgently crushing my lips to his. I feel his tongue against my bottom lip and eagerly part them. Our tongues entwine and then he stops to run his along my flat, human teeth. I bite down gently and he allows me to breathe, if only for a moment before once more crashing his lips to mine. This time my tongue finds its way into his mouth and I run it against the points of his fangs. A shiver runs through me at his low growl. I feel his hand move down from my waist and he runs it along the outside of my leg, up and down, repeating the action over and over as our mouths desperately cling to each other.

A knock at the door has us both jumping apart, breaking heavily, and an annoyed snarl spills from his lips.

"Yes?" he growls.

"My lord! Aiko told me you requested my presence and I came as quick as I could!" Mizuki calls from other side of the door. My fast beating heart skips a beat at the reminder of what that woman is to him. I glance up at him as my eyes fill with unshed tears before I walk towards the door and open it. Mizuki looks surprised to see me, and quickly sneers when she sees the tears. I'm so upset my powers have risen and I don't notice until I push her aside that I've burned her arm because my body is coated with reiki.

"All yours, Mizuki" I spit at her before walking down the hall to Rin's room. The sun has gone down and I promised her a bedtime story. I also just want an excuse not to be alone, in case Sesshomaru comes around to 'explain'.

"I knew you wanted him" she calls after me and I spin to face her "you don't have a chance against Aiko or Akira! He'll never be yours!"

"I know…" I whisper brokenly before turning back around and rushing into Rin's room.

I close the door and lean my forehead against it and take deep breaths, trying to calm my upset nerves and clear my tears before facing Rin. The little girl walks over to me from where she'd been waiting on the bed and tugs on my sleeve.

"Are you ok pretty lady?"

I glance down at her through my tears and she gasps before hugging my legs tightly. I stop leaning on the door and stroke her head with my hand.

"I'm ok Rin. Promise" I say gently, wiping at my tears and sniffling.

"Then why were you crying? Rin cries when she is sad or hurt. If someone hurt you I'll tell Lord Sesshomaru on them!" she tells me.

"He's busy right now, Rin" I tell her quietly "Get back into bed, and I'll tell you a story. Just like I promised earlier I would."

She looks at me oddly before shrugging her little shoulders and skipping back to bed. It's slightly smaller than mine, but still dwarfs her little body as she scoots into the middle under the covers. I notice a lot of orange in the room as I walk to sit on the edge of the bed to tell her the story.

"Is orange your favorite color, Rin?" I force a smile and tell myself to be cheerful and push Sesshomaru from my mind.

"Rin loves orange! Orange flowers, oranges, my orange and white kimono-"

"Breathe, Rin!" I laugh softly.

She giggles before snuggling deeper under the covers and looking at me expectantly.

"Ok…do you want to hear 'Beauty and the Beast' or 'Cinderella'?" I ask her.

"Rin has never heard of those stories! Rin wants to hear 'Beauty and the Beast' Kagome!" she claps excitedly before settling down once more when I shush her.

"Once upon a time…"

When the story's finished she's almost asleep, but mumbles "Sounds like you and lord Sesshomaru…" before falling asleep. Her words cause a small ache in my heart and I flinch, but thankfully she doesn't notice because she's already closed her eyes. A small smile lifts my lips as I stretch and brush some stray strands of hair out of her face.

"Except Belle won the Beast's heart at the end. Goodnight, Rin" I say softly. Before I realize it, I find myself lying curled up next to her and closing my eyes. I'm too tired, emotionally and physically, to find the will to return to my own room…

Sometime later, the feel of a strong arm around me and the soft swaying of the person's body awakens me. I gaze up through sleepy eyes at the person holding me but only catch glowing amber eyes and silver colored hair.

"Inu…yasha?" I mumble before once again falling asleep.

Light filtering in through the slightly open curtains is what wakes me next, and I feel an arm around my waist tighten as I move to get up. I turn my face to find Sesshomaru asleep next to me, spooning me. A low grumble sounds from him when I try to scoot back so that our bodies aren't pressed so tightly together. Figuring I can escape when he wakes up, I take a moment to trace his markings with my finger lightly. The moon on his forehead especially fascinates me and I trace it repeatedly. When I finally move from the marking, my attention drifts lower to his lips, and I trace them too. I barely have time to see his eyes snap open before he has me pushed into the bed under him and he's letting out a low growl.

"Y-you're awake" I stutter.

"Yes, little one. And I'd like to know why you ran from me before."

"Before…before…" I say tapping my chin as though I can't remember "oh you mean when I left you to enjoy Mizuki's company?" I snap at him.

"I sent her away immediately" he growls "and then I went to get you only to find you hiding with Rin in her room."

"I wasn't hiding. I promised her a bed time story and it seemed the perfect time to do so, while you were busy with your concubine and all" I huff.

He glares at me and opens his mouth to speak but I interrupt before he can.

"I get it, Sesshomaru. I'm only in the competition to stop the others from winning. I get that you have to act at least a little bit interested in taking me as your mate. I know that when you do take a mate, you can still keep your concubine. But that doesn't mean I have to like it" my rant finished, I turn my head to the side as my emotions once again get away from me and tears pool in my eyes. They escape from my eyes and run down my face when he doesn't reply and simply continues to look down at me. I slam my eyes shut and try to pretend I'm anywhere else but in this bed with him, having this conversation, but when I feel a wet, slightly rough…something run from my jawbone to the corner of my eye, they fly back open in surprise.

Sesshomaru is licking my tears away? He's the one who caused them! A sob escapes me at his unexpected gentleness and I push at his chest but all he does is grasp my wrists in his grip and put them above my head, while he moves to straddle me.

"Sessho-"

"No, miko. Now you will listen to me. This Sesshomaru's beast…wants you as a mate. I am not used to having to fight to stay in control and the fact that you, a human miko, can make my control slip so easily…" he sighs and releases my wrists to run his hand through his hair slowly. My eyes follow the motion and I vaguely remember waking up to see those locks and his eyes sometime in the middle of the night.

"I did not call for Mizuki. You know this. But I am glad that she showed up when she did" I turn my head away from him once more and he grasps my chin to make me face him. He stares at me for several moments before continuing.

"If she hadn't come, my beast would have gotten out. He would have taken you and not cared about the consequences or whether or not you wanted it. He is my instincts. He does not think like we do, Kagome" he smirks "though by your reactions you probably wouldn't have minded."

I blush fiercely and try to duck my head to the side once again but he holds my chin tight, refusing to let me hide from him.

"I said you were mine before. I meant it, Kagome" he says seriously.

"I'm not a possession" I glare at him.

"No. But I cannot bear the thought of you with someone else. Just the thought makes my beast restless, and he's threatening to rise right now. I can hear his thoughts in my mind and can communicate with him, but when it comes to you, he is unreasonable. When you left and Mizuki entered, he was pissed. I sent her away and my beast wanted to go to you but I waited for you and Rin to fall asleep before doing so. Speaking of the thought of you with someone else…" he takes a breath and then narrows his eyes on me. I gulp.

"Tell me how you know my half-brother."