A/N: back from vacation! hello all my lovelies!
anywho. towards the very very end of this chapter (actually, the last few paragraphs or so and that's it) are again a teeny little bitty of explicit-y.
brief mentions of sexual encounter.
not full-blown lemon (yet?)
honestly, if you're surprised that i put this in here, you need to check the rating again. M for a reason, baby! :D
don't you love how i can integrate something quote unquote "dirty" into my plot? i find it quite fun, actually.
There was a knock on the door two days later—two days in which Gaara had completely ignored having to do anything with Emi, going so far as to lock himself away in the Kazekage's building again. "Come in."
Kankuro came into his room, hands in his pockets. "I'm surprised," said the puppet master. "You're in your rooms instead of your office."
"I couldn't stand it any longer. I felt like I was suffocating," said Gaara in a growling voice.
Kankuro put a hand on his brother's forehead, just a quick gesture. "You're warm. You might have a fever."
Of course I do.
"Relax for a day, why don't ya?" Kankuro grinned. "Maybe I'll order you some food later just to make sure you eat."
Gaara glared at the insinuation that he didn't feed himself.
"Kitamura-san was released from the hospital yesterday."
Gaara merely nodded. Kankuro gave his brother a steady look.
"She's already back at work."
Gaara's head snapped up at that. Are you kidding? She doesn't give herself enough rest!
"All of her customers are fawning over her now, the village is atwitter about her kidnapping." Kankuro chuckled lightly. "Temari said that Kitamura-san has even had some male company crawl out from the woodwork."
Sitting on the edge of his bed, Gaara's fists clenched instantly.
Kankuro noticed with a sly grin. "Does that bother you, Gaara?"
"No," he said through gritted teeth. "Excuse me, Kankuro. I suddenly remembered I have to do something."
It was getting harder to keep that damn smile plastered on her face every minute of every damn day. Emi found herself increasingly short-tempered, and it took all her concentration to remain the smiley, bubbly girl this village now expected. She was wiping down a table when she felt a familiar presence behind her. Gaara?
She turned, saw the shock of red hair, and began to bow. "Kazekage-sama—" Her greeting was cut short as he roughly grabbed her arm and started to tow her out of the shop. He didn't stop until they'd reached an alleyway, where he whirled around to face her and said, "Who approached you?"
"What?"
"Who was it? Tell me and I'll dismember them—"
"What are you talking about?"
"You told Temari about males who now find you interesting." His voice was deeply animalistic. It scared her and, though she didn't want to admit it, it kind of turned her on.
Don't think about that!
"I—"
"Who…are…they?"
"Why do you care?" she asked, completely lost. "So a couple of guys hit on me, why is it such a big—"
Suddenly, he was pinning her against the alley wall, his hands on either side of her face and his eyes staring deeply into hers. "They are unworthy of your time, Kitamura. You are a jewel to be admired, not a fallen flower to be picked up and tossed away. They can offer you nothing."
"All they did was flirt, I didn't agree to marry them," she protested. "And they're only doing it because I'm interesting at the moment, I'm not even pretty, in a week everything will calm down and—" Her eyes widened. "Are you…jealous?"
He pushed his body against her, his breath hot and heavy on her neck as his lips hovered inches above it. He moved his head, breath ghosting along her skin as his mouth followed her jaw line, went up to her forehead, back to her neck on the other side, and then the sensitive shell of her ear. All the while, he never actually touched his lips to her.
She closed her eyes as the sensations washed over her. I don't understand. Her hands gripped his maroon shirt, and she realized then that he wasn't wearing his Kage robes. He groaned at the feeling of her small hands tugging at his shirt, and his tongue snaked out, licking a trail up from her pulse point to her earlobe, which he gently took between his teeth. Her response was immediate.
"Gaara!" she cried, taken aback and unable to stop herself from arching against him. In a light rush of wind, he was off of her, his back pressed firmly against the opposite alley wall.
They both stood, panting, and staring at each other for quite a while. Finally, Emi looked away first.
"I have to get back to work," she said, swiping her bangs out of her face and lowering her head.
She didn't notice Gaara shaking with anger, and once she had left, he reached out harshly and put his fist through the wall.
"There's something wrong with me," murmured Gaara hours later.
Kankuro wrung out the washcloth, dipped it in the water, and wrung it again before placing it on his brother's forehead. "Yeah, I know. You have a fever."
"No, not that." Gaara's eyes were closed as he laid shirtless on his bed, feeling sick. "When you told me about Kitamura…I got jealous."
His older brother's obtained an amused smile. "I realized that from your reaction when I told you."
"I have no right to get jealous."
"Maybe you have more right than you think." There was a knock at the door, and Kankuro stood to answer it.
Gaara recognized the voice almost immediately.
"Sabiki-sensei is very good with homeopathic recipes…He said this herbal tea would be good for a fever." There was a slight hesitation in the female voice. "How is he?"
"He's not very bad," answered Kankuro. "But the tea, I'm sure, will make him feel better. Thank you for bringing it."
"Of course, Kankuro-sama."
"Stay."
Gaara's voice surprised them all.
"Kazekage-sama?"
"Stay, Kitamura."
"I couldn't possibly…"
"Kankuro, leave."
Kankuro raised an eyebrow, but said to Emi, "I'm afraid there's no point in arguing, Kitamura-san. Perhaps a woman's care will heal him faster."
She didn't miss the knowing smirk, however, as he exited the room and left the two alone. She took the seat Kankuro had previously been sitting in.
"You're such a hothead," she said. "Literally. You went and gave yourself a fever. Nice job, Gaara."
She stood up to get the tea and brought it over to him. Before she could help him sit up, however, he said, "Say it again."
She frowned. "Say what again?"
"My name." Gaara licked his dry lips. "Say my name again."
She felt her face begin to flush. "Maybe that fever is worse than Kankuro thought. You're not making any sense. Here, drink this."
Emi lifted the small bowl to his lips and he drank obediently. She put the bowl down, turned away from him. "You should rest, get lots of sleep—"
A too-warm body stood behind her, hands covering her wrists, forehead resting against her shoulder. She could feel the perspiration of his hot body—hot because of his temperature, she scolded herself mentally.
"I apologize," he said heavily, "if I've overstepped any boundaries in the past. I apologize ahead of time, for I'm sure I will continue to do so in the future. My self-control is…not at its best around you."
What would happen if he were to lose control?
Emi shivered, both in slight fear and in lust, an embarrassing emotion to feel towards the redhead.
"I feel how you react to me," Gaara continued. His hands traveled up her arms to her shoulders, and he gently pulled the sleeves of her kimono-style dress off until her shoulders were bare. Her body was tense as he did so, but as his fingers floated over her skin she felt herself relaxing. "I feel what your body does when I touch you like this. It's…intoxicating."
"This fever might be serious. I think you're hallucinating." She swallowed as her body began to betray her and her memory turned to the night in his office.
He placed his searing lips to her skin, across both shoulders and each side of her neck, and she felt herself lean into him with a breathy sigh. Encouraged and confident, he pulled the sleeves of her dress down farther, nearly exposing her breasts in the process. That seemed to have been his plan all along as one hand moved up painfully slowly until it slipped under the fabric and cupped her soft flesh. She arched into his hand as he experimented, trying to find the movement that would elicit the reaction he wanted—
A sharp inhale and thrust of her hips showed him what she liked as he continued to roll her nipple between his thumb and index finger.
"Mmm…" She reached behind and grasped onto the fabric of his black pants as he began to roll his hips against her instinctually. She could feel him.
His other hand slid downward, pressing against her soaked underwear, and upon feeling her wetness he let out a loud groan. "There's no denying me now, Kitamura. You can't hide how I affect you."
Abruptly, she came to her senses and stepped away from him, hurrying to fix herself. When she turned around, Gaara's expression was openly hurt. He's not himself. This would be a mistake. "You're unwell, Gaara," she said quietly. "Rest."
She pushed him gently back onto the bed in an attempt to get him to lay down, but he ground out, "No," and pulled her down with him.
"I want you."
Blunt. She shuddered again, but stayed firm. "Rest, Gaara." She pushed on his chest, and he laid flat, exhausted. She placed the cool washcloth back on his forehead, and the sick teen boy was asleep in a matter of minutes.
A/N: oh how i love writing about sexy Gaara...anyways. xD please spur on my good mood and REVIEW! thanks in advance :D