Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or company. I do own Zeinzu, Raiza, and Aiko.

Chapter 10: Love

Inuyasha showered Kagome with gentle kisses all over her face. She was suffering for so long and he didn't even notice. It shamed him that she was fighting a battle alone when he was with her. His Kagome was so strong even though she had yet to realize it. He needed to be more supportive of her than to chase his selfish desires.

He kissed her closed eyes and held her tightly as she cried softly against his chest.

"You're so good to me, Inuyasha."

"I told you and I will tell you again that I am here for you. Your demons may still be around, but know that I will fight them for you even when you have given up." Kagome smiled up at him. "I love you." He whisper.

"I love you too."

"Then let me in." Kagome nodded and tilted her head as she welcomed his lips again.

The kisses were no longer gently. Passion flowed through each kiss Inuyasha placed on Kagome's lips. She placed the palms of her hands against the sides of his face to pull him closer. He licked and nipped her bottom, demanding entrance. She complied, opening her mouth. He stroked his tongue against hers. Inuyasha explored every inch of her mouth until he was satisfied.

"Inu." She whispered against his lips. "I want…"

"I know." He bent down and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed. Inuyasha gently laid her down on the bed and stepped back to look at her.

Kagome smiled and stretched out her hands to him. "Come here."

He slowly crawled over top of her until their faces were mere inches from each other. His hair curtained over her.

Inuyasha kissed the top of her head. "Are you sure?"

"I thought you would be eager." she said with a laugh.

"Don't get me wrong, I am, but I want this to be what you want."

"Less talk, more action." Inuyasha shook his head and complied to her demand. He trailed kisses down the side of her neck. His hands trailed under her shirt, caressing her smooth skin. He smiled when he felt her shiver underneath him.

Kagome tugged on his shirt. Inuyasha sat up to pull his shirt over his head. He did the same for her, carefully and ever so slowly lifting it away from her body. Kagome helped by arching her back and lifting her hands. Inuyasha tossed both shirts to the floor. He just sat and watched her, eyes roaming over her exposed skin, taking in every detail, every imperfection.

"Inuyasha."

"You're so beautiful." She smiled up at him. He took his right hand and brushed the hair out of her face. Caressing her cheek, his hands traveled down her neck and to her collarbone. "I love you so much." he whispered.

"I love you too." Inuyasha and Kagome spent the night loving each other until they were both exhausted.

Inuyasha smiled as he looked at Kagome's sleeping form. He brushed her hair away from her face. His goal was finally reached. Although it was not the way he had planned it out, it was still perfect. He never knew what Kagome had been thinking while in their relationship.

Kagome never expressed the feelings she had kept bottled inside. Hell, Inuyasha didn't even know that Nathaniel was still haunting her. He wished that he had known earlier. Maybe, he could have helped more.

"Why are you staring at me?" Inuyasha snapped out of his trance. Kagome was gazing up at him.

"Did I wake you?"

"No." She leaned up and kissed his lips. "What were you thinking about?"

"You," he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. Kagome rested her head on his shoulder.

"Really?"

"Yep." He drew lazy patterns on her arm. "I was just thinking that our love making was beyond words and that I might become addicted to you."

"I thought you already was." She said with a laugh.

"I am more so now than ever. Sex does that to a guy."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "That is such a guy think to say."

Inuyasha rolled on his side to face her. He didn't say a word, just gazed into her eyes. Seconds turned into minutes. Kagome looked away. He turned her face to his again and brushed his lips against hers.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Inuyasha grinned. "I have a confession to make."

"Do I even want to hear it?"

"Probably not." Kagome snorted in response. "But," he ignored her. "I think we should be honest with one another."

"Honest about what?"

"Well." Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. When he didn't continue, she pinched his arm. "Ow!"

"Talk."

He sat up and rubbed his arm. Kagome did the same, pulling the blanket up to cover her chest.

"So remember how I've kinda been pushing for us to spend time together." Kagome remained quiet. "Well, I had ulterior motives. I wanted our relationship to advance a little."

"Meaning?"

Inuyasha knew that Kagome knew what he was talking about. She just wanted him to say it out loud.

"We've been together for two years at arm's length with one another. I have been practice abstinence for two years! Do you know how hard that was for me? To make matters worse, you teased me in your little outfits. So I decided that I would seduce you. In the end, you would be happy and I would be happy." There, he said it. It was out in the open now. Inuyasha had no regrets. He braced his self for a tongue lashing, but one never came. He looked over to Kagome and noticed that she was watching him quietly. A smile was on her face.

"Your dad told me you would do something like this."

"My dad?" Inuyasha's face scrunched up in disgust.

She let out a laugh. "No, not this exactly. He just said you would do something drastic to get what you want."

"I can't believe you talked to my dad about sex." Inuyasha shuddered. "That's just wrong."

"I didn't!" Kagome threw a pillow at him. He caught it before it could make contact and tossed it on the floor. "Sex was never mentioned in our conversation."

"But he was hinting at it. New subject please!"

She shook her head at his antics. "Thanks for telling me."

"You're not mad."

"No, I'm not."

"Good. I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders." Inuyasha laid back down on the bed. "My conscious is clean now."

"I bet you were just dying inside for not telling me." He gripped her arm and tugged her back down beside him.

"Yes. I've had many sleepless notices because of it."

"Sure you have."

Inuyasha brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I promise to never keep anything from you."

"Okay."

"You don't believe me?"

"Nope."

He reached over and turned the light on that was on the nightstand beside the bed. Reaching over more, he opened the draw and began going through it. Kagome propped herself up with her hand.

"What you are doing?"

"Going to prove to you that I mean it." Whatever he was looking for was not in the draw. He sat up and climbed out of bed. Grabbing his boxers off the floor, he slipped them and headed to the closet. He turned on the room like. Kagome flinched.

"What are you looking for?"

"Give me a sec."

Kagome looked around. She picked up Inuyasha's shirt off the floor and put it on. Getting out of the bed, she walked over to him. She watched him go through shoe boxes.

"Inuyasha."

"Wait."

She sighed and continued to watch him. She was at a lost at what he was looking for. He was determined to find it.

Several minutes passed by before Inuyasha spoke again. "I found it!" He pulled out a small black box from the back of the closet. He turned to Kagome and smiled.

Kagome eyed it and looked at back at Inuyasha. Her heart quickened and she took a step back.

"Kagome, I told you that I promised that I wouldn't keep anything from you." He held up the box. "I got this a year ago and I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you." Inuyasha got down on one knee. "Kagome Higurashi, will you marry me?"

Tears formed in her eyes. Her mouth opened and closed several times. Inuyasha was shocked when Kagome ran out the room and locked herself in the bathroom.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that to happen." Inuyasha was trying hard to not let her reaction get to him. It wasn't like she said no.

He groaned. Sometimes he just didn't understand her. He wanted to go after her, but knew she needed space. Even though he came to that conclusion, he found himself standing by the bathroom door.

"Kagome," he said with a knock, "I'm sorry if I shocked you, I wasn't trying to." He paused, giving her a chance to speak. When she said nothing, he continued. "I just want you to know that you don't have to give me your answer now." His voice dropped to a whisper. "You can say no if you want."

When he was greeted with more silence, he turned and began to walk away, but stopped when he heard the door open. Kagome walked out and walked towards him, stopping when they were only inches from each other. She took several deep breaths before speaking.

"I'm sorry I reacted that way. Yes, you did shock me. I didn't expect you to propose to me." She bit her lip, gazing up at him. "Are you sure this is what you want? What if…" Her eyes glistened with fresh tears, but she held them back.

"Kagome, I love you so much. You keep thinking about the future, stop. Just live in this moment with me. All I know is that I can't live without you. I love waking up next to you. I love seeing you smile and know I am the reason for it. I love just how perfect we are together. I just want to be with you. You told me you just want me remember. I just want the same from you." Inuyasha reached forward and pulled her close until their foreheads rested against each other.

They stood there in each other's arms, taking the the comfort that they received from each other.

"Yes." Inuyasha moved back slightly. Kagome tilted her head up and smiled. "My answer is yes."

It took a split second for it to register. When he caught on, he picked her up and swung her around. Kagome let out a laugh. He put her down and kissed her deeply.

"I'm so happy." he said.

"Me too."

"Now everything is perfect."

Inuyasha was happy. He finally got what he wanted. Kagome loved him and she said yes. What more could he ask for. Life could only get sweeter.

A/N: This is not the end. I just wanted to make that known. Okay, I am really sorry that I have been neglecting my stories. I have been very busy with school. Being a senior, I am taking harder courses. I have four papers that I have to write, but I guess that is my fault for trying to be an overachiever by double minoring. Plus I am in the middle of making plans to study abroad again, this time in Tokyo, Japan for a month. But enough about that. Anyway, I'm trying to dedicate an hour every day to writing and I hope I can stick to it. Hopefully that I will get that chapter ready before the week is over. I will at least try and have a chapter up every week if I don't have writer's block. I am really trying and thank you all for sticking with me!