A/N: Minna! I'm back!
Yes, you may whack me now. I do deserve it after deserting you all for so long. Had a lot of stuff going on and so I was way busier than I thought I would be... Now I know this chapter is pretty short but I will update very soon.
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Shree - Thanks a lot for the wonderful reviews! Glad you liked it!
Temarixx - Bwahahahahaha! Your dialogue about Ichigo really made me laugh! And yes the tables turning is always fun! Thanks for the review!
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Disclaimer: Bleach = not mine.
My dear muse, Neko-chan ~~ Arigato!
Enjoy!
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Chapter – 11
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'Lust?' the pretty seamstress asked tentatively, almost sure that she had misheard the Earl.
'Yes.'
Well, judging by his usual behavior, she supposed she shouldn't have been quite so surprised.
'I see.'
She was graced with an eyebrow lift which was accompanied by a wry smile.
'What? Aren't you going to scramble away to the safety of your bedroom, knowing fully well where this discussion is headed?'
'If I may remind you, my lord, you are the only one who knows where this discussion is headed. I don't think there is any point in fearing the unknown.'
He held back the wide smirk that was threatening to take over his face. For all her fanciful dialogue, he could very well make out her clenched jaw and thudding heartbeat.
'That is correct, of course. Would you like me to enlighten you on what exactly is meant by different definitions of lust?'
'If you so wish.'
'Very well, then. You have to understand that as vampires, apart from the usual, er, desires, there is also the added factor of a want for blood.'
The corners of her eyes tightened as she contemplated that. She obviously didn't like where this was going. A more gripping thought entered his mind and he posed a different question with a tilt of his head and a smirk on his face.
'Miss Inoue, what do you think is lust?'
To say that she was flabbergasted would be quite the understatement.
'I – I don't – '
'Don't know?'
She frowned. Lord Ichigo Kurosaki was clearly enjoying himself, and at her discomfort, no less.
'Not really.' The auburn-haired girl huffed, 'I only know what I've read in books or heard from others and the like.'
'Such as?'
'Being flushed, a fluttering heartbeat . . .' she trailed off uncertainly, trying to rack her brains for anything else.
Something changed. There was an underlying emotion lurking behind the amusement in his molten brown irises and she decided that she didn't really want to find out what it was. Orihime stood up shakily but quickly, uttering a hurried 'I'm sorry but it's quite late and I must go to bed.' Before whirling around to do exactly that. However, this course of action was one that Lord Kurosaki was apparently not agreeable to since the next thing she knew, he was in front of her, trapping her against the large mahogany desk.
'You seem to have made a habit of this.' She said, trying to use the light banter to calm herself. He looked at her questioningly and she clarified.
'Of trapping me against surfaces.'
'It is so very entertaining.' He chuckled darkly.
He stepped closer and she gulped. The edge of the desk pressed against her backside and there was barely an inch of space between them. She felt her hands flatten on the desk behind her as she leaned away slightly, but he wasn't having any of it. Lord Kurosaki's bright hair looked even fierier in the dim, flickering light of the lone lantern as he moved closer still and the intensity of his gaze made her tremble. He bent lower, bracing his hands on either side of her waist and Orihime couldn't help but fall back onto her elbows. This only served to widen his smirk into a grin as he hovered over her. The sweet seamstress tried hard to find her voice in vain as the orange-haired man inclined himself forward towards her once more. Her breathing turned shallow and rapid and her eyes shut of their own accord as she felt his hot, moist breath brush over her ear.
'Tell me, O-ri-hi-me,' he muttered softly, making a shiver pass through her lithe frame, 'Do you feel desire?'
He'd asked a simple question, yet one that had her gasping quietly as his nose skimmed the side of her neck.
'No, I – '
'Go on.' He said, trailing feathering kisses along her collar bone as the pulse in her throat jumped in response. Her head fell back and her eyes shut and she gave in to his unfair assault on her senses once again.
'Deny it.' He continued, his deep, baritone voice reverberated within her veins as he placed a firm hand on her waist and gently kneaded the soft curve through her dress, 'Tell me that you feel nothing when I can feel the thundering of your heart every time I am close to you.'
The Earl was at his tricks once more, using his charm and skill to have her where he wanted her. She conceded that what he said was indeed true, but she wouldn't let him have his way again.
'Yes. Alright, fine. I'm not unaffected by your proximity.' She breathed.
Orihime's eyes opened to meet his, allowing her to glimpse the momentary surprise in his molten brown irises in reaction to her admission before his features melted the triumphant expression of the cat who'd swallowed the canary.
'You see, Miss Inoue,' he said, his fingers slowly brushing over the side of her face as he shifted her hair behind her ear, 'there can never be any love without lust and in some cases, especially in half-vampires, there is no blood lust or indeed, lust without love.'
The seamstress's piercing gaze bore into him.
'Then I wonder, which is it that you have for me?'
He froze.
What?
Ichigo looked at his own chaotic expression reflected in her clear gaze as he contemplated the possibilities that her question had thrown light on and he simply didn't know how to answer her.
What he said next was by far the most astonishing thing she had heard all evening.
'Is it that obvious?'
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A/N: Tada! Hope you guys liked it! I will definitely update soon. Lemme know your thoughts and please review!