Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Inuyasha.

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Relish

-Chapter 11

It was Friday, the day after the coffee shop incident (as Kagome called it), or the day of the woman's 20th birthday.

She had work off today, thank the Kami above, and she was planning on spending it with Sango. That is, until the phone rang.

Kagome had woken up entirely too late in her own opinion (11:30- A/N: Psh!), and was relaxing in the kitchen with a cup of tea in hand and a piece of toast in the other. She had yet to journey out to get the paper, but since it was nearing winter…she didn't really feel like risking it. Propping her feet up in such an indecent manner for a lady, Kagome's robe didn't hesitate to part open around her legs, showing the tight, pink shorts hugging her hips.

"Ah…" The woman, despite having the luxury of owning a comfy and quiet apartment to herself, had to force her mind to ease. She had been having way too much trouble getting Hojo out of her brain lately. There was that, and Inuyasha with him. Why was it getting harder and harder for her to feel the guilt that seemed to keep her sane? Where was that guilt whenever she touched him? She had to be doing something wrong, right? Then why was the emotion fading as time went on? What was it that attracted her to him? The looks were obviously a great factor but—

"Wait! Hold the phone! We are not going through this right now," Kagome scolded herself. She was prepared to do almost anything to relax.

She forced her train of thought to derail and shoved it in a different direction. And that's when the shrill right of the telephone saved her.

Leaping off of the stool, the girl yanked the cordless up to her ear. "Kagome here!"

"Kagome-chan!" A feminine timbre flitted through the earpiece.

"Sango-chan!" The raven-haired woman squealed.

"Guess where I am!" The brunette sang from the other end, seeming extremely excited.

"Ohhh, where??" The younger woman had a pretty good guess that her friend was closing the distance from her house to Kagome's apartment, but decided to play along.

"Tokyo U!!" Sango shrieked.

Kagome felt a pitiful stab of sorrow where he heart used to be as it fell to her toes.

"Oh," the girl had trouble sounding thrilled, but that didn't appear to be a problem when Sango rattled on and on about her own excitement, almost completely tuning her out.

During the one-sided conversation, Kagome toyed with the idea of just yelling at Sango for forgetting about their day, more importantly, her birthday for goodness sake, but the anger quickly dissipated when she realized it probably wouldn't accomplish much except to make Sango feel guilty on her own big day. At a loss of what to do, the girl wasted her time, missed the pauses for breath, and before she knew it, the older girl was telling her goodbye in a "wish you were here" sort of way.

In shock, Kagome placed the phone back on the hook and just sat there, on the arm of her couch, unable to feel anything but a foreboding level of regret and self-pity for saying squat. She was so angry at the world all of a sudden, and she stood.

How could Sango forget?! They had talked about it yesterday morning!

Granted, they both had had a busy day…and she was only human, the logic in her brain chimed.

But-but…she wanted some regret, damnit! The raven-haired woman growled and said, "I wanted some guilt! Some, 'I'm so sorry, Kagome! Let me make it up to you!'" She stomped her foot and screamed through clenched teeth. Marching over to the kitchen she smashed her teacup on the counter, pieces scattering everywhere, "It's my birthday for goodness sake!" The stool scooted back an inch as she violently sat down. Sure, she was having a tantrum…but her mind groused, she had every right to!

After a while, the labored, angry breaths began to slow, and Kagome's anger calmed. Irked that a few hot tears had made their way down her cheeks, the girl furiously wiped them away and sighed. She really didn't mean to be selfish…but…Oh, God, she was acting like a child!

Kagome's head snapped up when a soft knock came from her front door. Instantly, a million things were running through her jumbled brain. Maybe it's all some sick joke and Sango was really on her way over? But why would Sango do that? Who else would it be? She wasn't even decent enough to open the door! If it was Sango, she'd know that I've been crying! "What do I do?!"

The woman didn't hesitate in her tirade as she made her way to the entrance and opened the door. But she was not ready for the person that met her.

There he stood, silver hair cascading from his shoulders with a silky delight, amorous from the tips of his velvet ears to his toes. Never had he seemed more glorious to her at that moment. With his hand poised to knock on the door again, Inuyasha blinked at her appearance. Realizing that she was still wiping a stray tear from her cheek, Kagome hustled to smear it away and dried the evidence on her robe. She looked to the floor; blushing at the recent states he had been finding her in.

Meanwhile, the hanyou was thinking along similar lines. Why was she crying? Again? More importantly, why was she still in her robe at noon on a Friday? Dropping the fist he had raised to knock on the door, his mind took a great leap. Was she entertaining another man? For some reason this made his heart lurch. Subtly peering over her shoulder, he searched for any signs of life with a feeling twisting in his gut. Is that why she was looking so embarrassed? But then why was the smell of salt permeating the air around her? The scent of her tears made him sick to his stomach. "If any bastard hurt her I swear…" The hanyou's brows knitted together with a threatening gaze in his golden pools.

Swallowing, Kagome was about to inviting him in when she was abruptly shoved out of the way. She stumbled back a bit as he barged into her apartment. Anger and confusion immediately surfaced, yet, she couldn't anything out before the demon was snarling, scanning the room viscously, "Where is he? What did he do to you?"

"Uh, come again?" Beyond bewilderment, the woman took a step back as the hanyou approached her, grasped her arms, and pressed his nose to her neck. Kagome flushed at the intimate contact, but narrowed her brown irises into a glare. After a moment, he leaned away, seemingly puzzled.

He didn't smell anyone on her…just…pure Kagome… And boy did she smell good…

"Inuyasha, what are you doing!" The question was meant to cover all the bases: What are you doing here, What are you doing get all up in my business, What are you going on about some guy…

Fortunately, the man captured the gist of her startled question and tried to explain, "I was…I was around and noticed," "more like caught your scent," "that this was your apartment complex…uh," he coughed, "just wanted to drop by or whatever…" Letting go of her arms, he shoved his hands into his pockets, "I guess I thought you had some guy over…" He gestured to her attire and coughed again with a faint rosy hue across the bridge of his nose. What right did he have to get jealous? It's not like she actually meant something to him. Psh! She could sleep with five men at the same time for all he cared!

As nonchalant as that thought may have been, reinforcing the fact that he didn't give a shit, it instead made his heart cramp, as he unconsciously grit his teeth. Okay, what was going on? A sickening feeling slowly overtook his stomach as his brain stumbled anxiously to a conclusion. He didn't care for the wench that much did he? Inuyasha warily looked at the woman before him, suddenly afraid of the emotions she had stirred up inside of him. That's when he realized she was preparing to say something.

"First of all, there isn't anyone here but myself, as you obviously found out on your own time, and second, I don't see why you should get so angry about it anyway!" she retorted, settling her hands on her waist and cocking a hip. The hanyou just averted his gaze, not knowing how to respond.

Kagome sighed, running fingers through her hair. She was trying to avoid all this emotional turmoil today…but he just kept popping up at the worst of times! "Honestly…" she trailed off, looking at the phone with a miserable expression. "I'm kind of glad you're here."

Without delay, the woman's chin was yanked up, forcing her eyes to meet twin moons of gold. "What's wrong." The decadent rumble of his voice swirled through to her eardrum, causing goose bumps to rise on her arms. Did she really want to explain this right now, though? No…but the way he said it— the way he said pretty much everything seemed so sincere. It made her want to spill her guts; to strip off her clothes and lay naked before the man just to see why he would say. It was like his thoughts were so unexpectedly important. Why did he do this to her?!

Kagome was so sure that he would find her reasons incredibly stupid, and he would scoff at her childishness. Heck, she knew she had been overreacting! It's just that things tended to pile on top of each other in the most aggravating way. Especially with this emotional stress and moral questioning today…it was becoming too much.

Finally, she answered him. "A lot of things at them moment." And when he slipped the clawed hand behind her neck in the most endearing way, she knew suddenly. She needed this man. Somehow, down the road, she had grown attached, possibly even more than she had ever felt with Hojo. A pang of guilt trembled through her heart, but this time it was softer, and ebbed like a far regret.

He melded his lips to hers, growling appreciatively when she jumped on him, hooking her legs around his narrow waist. The hanyou's strong arms held her up as she tenderly cradled his jaw with one hand and slid off her robe with the other. There was a small thud when her back hit the wall, and Inuyasha trapped her with his body. Gasping between kisses, he spoke breathlessly, "Let me…make you…forget then."

Kagome tangled her fingers in his hair and tugged his lips back to her own, feeling enrapture through her soul, gloriously delighting in the way his tongue consumed her mouth, heatedly mimicking what he planned to do to her lower cavern.

She slowly undressed him, whimpering when he parted their lips for a single second to rip off his shirt. In apology, he dipped his head back to hers quickly, and she produced a surprised "mm!" into his mouth from the force of contact. Wanting to ingrain her taste into the fibers of his tongue, Inuyasha shifted her off the wall and set her on the couch to his right. He began trailing his mouth down the side of her face and past her neck to her collarbone and was rewarded with a satisfied sigh. Continuing lower to the swell of her breasts, contained in the white tank top she wore, he kneeled over her, straddling her legs on the couch.

Kagome didn't know what to do. He was giving her pleasure she never begged or even asked for and he never pressed her for answers, though she could tell he was always genuinely interested… At that moment, never had she wanted to please him more. The woman trailed her fingers across his heated chest, glad that she could at least invoke some sensual satisfaction in him when he eagerly settled his obvious erection between her thighs and groaned.

She touched him anywhere she could reach. Anything to repay him for the desire he had manifested in her.

But that soon ended when Inuyasha abruptly ceased his ministrations, pulling back to lightly sit on top of her waist. Realizing that they had both been stripped to their undergarments, Kagome felt the heat in the room die off a bit. "Why…why'd you stop?" she panted.

The man was examining her in the strangest way. Then, gently, he reached over and slid the pad of his thumb across her wet cheek. Wait, wet? Not that she really minded if he had slobbered on her—

In the most serious tine he'd ever used with her, Inuyasha queried, "Kagome, why are you crying." It was actually closer to a statement than of a question, as if he were her parent, asking where she'd been out all night.

She had been crying? Touching her own cheek in a surprised manner, the raven-haired woman came to understand that she didn't know why. Her brown eyes met his gold ones, curiously baffled, and she stated as much.

The hanyou's delicate eyebrows knitted together in confusion, and he shifted above her. Awkwardly clearing his throat, he attempted to be placid with the girl in emotional tumult, "Something is obviously bothering you, and if we're gonna have a good time, you hafta let it go." Well, that sure didn't come out right. He meant to say that she should spill and get it off her chest, but Inuyasha noticed that a bit too late. "Sheesh," he cringed, "sounded like I wanted her to forget about whatever's bothering her for my sake. Way to be a bastard, Inuyasha."

Seeing the woman deflate angrily as she folded her arms, the hanyou tried to redeem himself. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips across her pouting mouth steadily. "Tell me," he rumbled. The action relaxed her body, but she averted her eyes and appeared to fight with herself.

Kagome was frustrated and at a loss, to say in the least. She wanted so desperately to tell him, he deserved that much for being so caring, but the other half of her heart just couldn't bother him with it. Why should he care? "Look, it's nothing really. I promise no more waterworks."

He gave her a skeptical look, "Oh, that's rich, wench." Crossing his own arms, the man fixed her with a glare.

"Really! I'm fine!" she shrugged.

"Bullshit." Pinning her with his best glower, he set his jaw, "So you were just tearing up over nothing? Don't give me that crap, woman."

The girl blustered, braving defeat. "I just— " she let out a pathetic huff and finally met his golden eyes, "Inuyasha…"

Her eyes were very hard to ignore, pleading at him like that. But he held strong and matched her look with one of his own. Narrowing his sunset orbs for intensity, Inuyasha tried to will her to cave.

A feeling of shame and embarrassment over came her when he fastened that look to her gaze. Dang it, she really didn't want to burden him with her stupid, dramatic life. But when he stared at her like that…sincerely wanting to know, Kagome felt like she was cheating him.

Becoming very interested in the elastic waistband of his boxers, the woman fiddled with if, thankful for any distraction from his eyes. "I don't want to tell you," she admitted.

"Kagome," the hanyou warned. The feather-light touches of her fingers down there were going to get him sidetracked, damnit.

Taking a deep breath, the girl continued like he hadn't said a thing, "I don't want to blow this out of proportion; my problems are completely idiotic… Inuyasha, just…please, I promise I'll be good… Can't we…" Ashamed even more than before, Kagome lifted her brown irises to meet his look, "Can't we get on with it?"

She tried to lighten the mood by jokingly running her hands up and down his well-toned chest. "Come on…" She teased, leaning up to kiss the underside of his chin. The woman felt him relax, yet at the same time, he became stiff down below.

Almost grinning in triumph, Kagome continued to press her lips to his neck. Out of the blue, the hanyou growled and pounced on top of her, pressing her lithe body back to the couch and nailing her with a bruising kiss.

"Well, that didn't take long," the woman mentally chuckled, leaning into him.

A rumble erupted through his lips as they were still resting against hers, cutting her silent giggle short, "You're going to be the death of me, bitch." Ripping off the last of their clothes, he dragged her lips to his with a hand tangling in her onyx locks and slid home.