(A/N: Ohayo! Here's the new chapter. I hope it is to everyone's liking. It was a beast to write, and was re-written at least 5 times over the last month. I just couldn't get it right. That's one of the reasons why it's late. The other is... I lost my beloved cat. She was 19 years old and the grief has really been hard to work around. My creativity pool is a little dry. So, if the chapter is not quite up to par, you have my deepest apologies. God Bless, Kanzen ne Tsuki)

Chapter Twelve

Kaoru stayed at the Black Snakefor a week, or rather seven nights as she spent most of the daylight hours at the Star S Ranch under the guise of Ru. That was how long it took before the bruise around her eye faded enough for make-up to cover it adequately. Otherwise, there would have been just too many questions to try and answer, and neither she nor her partners in crime wanted to deal with those. She might have stayed at the Black Snake longer if Sano hadn't come by one evening after work and pleaded that she return.

While in the company of the dark, blue-eyed rancher, Aoshi Shinomori, she learned that he was not only a gentleman to a fault, but he was a generous host and becoming an invaluable friend. At the very least, she knew if 'Ru's' identity was discovered and Saitou threw her off the Ranch, she would have somewhere to go. Aoshi and Kenshin had both told her that. What a couple of interesting fellows they made. Kenshin was starting to effect her a lot like Sano did only he didn't irritate her quite as much. Rather, he was a much calmer more level headed version of a brother and she was getting to the point that having him around was comforting to her.

Then there was Soujiro. The baby-faced cowboy who was parading as her brother. She could feel herself growing closer to him every moment they spent together. There was just something about him that pulled her to him. It felt totally natural to sit and talk, joke, and harass just like he was a real member of the family. Sometimes, she felt like she'd known him all her life, and was even more inclined to confide in him than Sanosuke. She decided it was because they were so close in age and similar in personality.

She was downstairs in the main house at Saitou's ranch peering at herself in a mirror when the baby-faced cowboy in question caught her just after returning from Aoshi's.

"Careful, look too hard and it might break, you know."

"Hey, that's not nice." She glared at him. "Can you see it?" Her fingers touched the delicate tissues beneath her eye where the bruise had been. "Is it noticeable?"

"Hmmm," Soujiro moved to stand beside her and considered her pretty features as they reflected back beside his own. "No, can't say that it is. Of course, you do look like a floosey with all that make-up on." He grinned.

"I do not!" Her elbow found his ribs and he grunted. "All it is is foundation and powder. What else am I going to cover it up with?"

"Dark glasses? I don't know." He laughed and hugged her. "Seriously, it looks fine. You can hardly tell. It's nothing like Tokio's nose."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I promise. No one will even know."

"You better be right, Sou. If someone spots it, I'm blaming it on you."

"Would I lie to you?" He laughed again and led her toward the kitchen. "Come on, Tari's looking for you. Something about helping him with dinner."

"Oh God..."

Dinner was a slow-cooked pot-roast with baby carrots and stewed potatoes. A green salad with Italian dressing on the side and peach cobbler for dessert.

Since Kaoru was back, and almost everyone knew about it, Ru had to do another disappearing act. When Saitou queried to Soujiro where the young man was, his quick reply came back without any hesitation.

"He was having some double vision and a headache today. Dad thought he needed to go see the doctor, so he took him to the hospital just to get him checked out. He says it was probably just the heat and all. I've been trying to get Ru to carry more water with him, maybe this will convince him to listen to me."

"You mean you think he got dehydrated out there?" Saitou leaned forward, concern clear in his voice. "You kids know better than to let shit like that happen. Soujiro, I'm making you personally responsible for making sure that brother of yours has at least two full water bottles on him at all times when your out in the field. Understood?"

"Oh, Yes sir. I already warned him today about that, and he agreed...reluctantly. He's stubborn, you know. Like all the Seta's." Soujiro grinned to himself. Not a bad lie for spur of the moment.

"Obviously, but I won't have him getting seriously ill out in the middle of the range. If I have to threaten the boy myself, I will."

"Not necessary, sir. I'll take care of it."

"See that you do."

Sano grinned behind his hand as he shoveled food into his mouth. At least this time he got left out of the interrogation and the old man even seemed to forget that it was his ultimate responsibility as foreman to make sure the men took care of themselves out in the field. But considering he was still fumed over the way Saitou had man-handled Kaoru, it was just as well that the Rancher address him as little as possible. As it was, the two men were dancing circles around each other anyway. Neither seemed prepared to approach the subject of the ebon-haired girl.

In the kitchen, Kaoru was groaning and thumping her forehead on the small table she shared with Kamatari. As if Saitou didn't have his nose far enough up Ru's butt as it was, now he would be watching the boy for health issues.

"Thanks, Sou." she muttered, glowering at the swinging doors. "Thanks for nothing. Dammit!"

"Oh, now Kaoru. It's not that bad." Tari patted the girl's shoulder. "At least the Boss is worried about the boy's welfare. It could be worse, you know."

"How?" Kaoru looked up into the smiling face. "I really don't see how?"

"He could have as much trouble dealing with Ru as he does with you and then you'd be getting it from both ends, hmm?"

"Arrrgh," Kaoru dropped her head on the table. "I didn't think of that. Thanks, you just made my day." The thought of having Saitou chewing up Ru the same way he did her...well that was just plain unpleasant, but then again, the last time she saw Saitou neither of them were doing any chewing except on each others bottom lips and then there was the bathtub incident. Heat and embarrassment flooded through her at the same time and she felt her face grow uncomfortably warm.

'You promised yourself you weren't going to think about that.' Foolishly she believed spending every day in the fields and every night at Aoshi's for the past week would keep her far enough away from the golden eyed terror that had set her blood on fire with one kiss, that she would be able to push him and the kiss out of her mind. She was wrong. The moment Kaoru returned to the Star every minuscule second of that torrid event came rushing back. It didn't help that one of the first places she wanted to go was the stable. She wanted to see Exitor.

Standing outside the big horse's stall was not the usual exhilarating experience, instead all it did was bring the memory of Saitou's mouth burning into hers slamming back along with the undeniable assurance that he had kissed her more thoroughly than she had ever been kissed before, but then again she did make it a point to avoid being kissed. An image of herself sandwiched between the exterior wall of the stall and Saitou's hard body with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist flashed through her mind and she turned, running back to the house where she stayed in her room until dinner.

The fight with Tokio and her brother's anger didn't even make the top ten on her anxiety list. Now, as she sat with her head pillowed on the small kitchen table, the deep baritone of her boss's voice drifted in from the dining room. Kaoru closed her eyes and prayed he would stay out there because so far, she'd been lucky. She hadn't run into him since coming back as herself. Hopefully that luck would hold out for awhile longer.

Unfortunately, luck was not one of Kaoru's strong suits.

"Kamatari?" The broad shoulders burst through the swinging doors in a flurry of black shirt and grey trousers. "We need more meat and vegetables out here. What you laid out is already gone. I guess everyone is starved."

"Be right out, Boss." The thin man jumped up and proceeded to dump steaming food onto clean platters, humming as he went and completely oblivious at the moment to the rise in tension behind him.

Kaoru's head had shot up from the table the minute Saitou opened his mouth, and now that he stopped talking, their eyes were locked together and the two of them were wordlessly sizing each other up. Heat boiled in the atmosphere as her breathing escalated to a swift, shallow pace and his heart began beating a feverish tattoo inside his chest.

"I heard you were back from Shinomori's." Saitou's voice was low and tight, a muscle started to tic in his cheek. "Did you enjoy your...stay?"

"I...I guess I did." Mentally she slapped herself for sounding so stupid. 'What kind of lame answer was that?' "Has that rabid, she-dog of yours calmed down, or do I have to watch out for knives in my back?" It was a nasty hit below the belt and she knew it, but she hated the fact that he was making her feel like her knees were made of water. She was a strong, intelligent woman. Didn't everyone over at the Black Snake say so? This was Saitou, for God's sake! He wasn't supposed to be able to do that. She didn't even like him... did she?

"My she-dog?" he asked, raising a thin eyebrow in disapproval over her choice of words. "I wouldn't know. She seems to have set her sites on your brother, although, I think she's doing it in some stupid attempt to try and make me jealous."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Jealous?"

"Not in the least." he shrugged and turned to accept the full platters of food from an overly quiet Kamatari. "I lost interest in that activity a long time ago. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Kaoru was finally able to look away and chose to study her fingernails. Why did she ask? It wasn't like she cared if he was jealous over what that bitch did... was she?

"However, I did take the liberty of telling her to stay away from you once you came back. I hope you don't mind. I would also suggest that you do your best to stay away for her as well. Perhaps we can avoid any further violence between the two of you in the future. Yes?"

"Sure," she mumbled, ignoring him as best she could, refusing to look at him again. The emotions those golden eyes were pulling out of her were just too confusing.

"And just to set the record straight." He waited until she looked up. "She isn't my she-dog anymore."

Kaoru just stared at him, trying to understand just exactly what he was getting at but his face was completely impassive. It told her nothing. Kamatari nervously cleared his throat and the spell binding her to Saitou's eyes was broken. She looked away and nodded not knowing what else to do.

The 'thump-thump' of the swinging doors told her when he left, and she let out a long sigh of relief. Not exactly the meeting she had planned on, especially since she wanted to avoid him, but it was better than him biting her head off.

Just barely. A nice Saitou was even more confusing than a mean one. Maybe he developed a conscience sometime between the time he caught her in the bathtub and now.

Later, Kaoru tossed in her bed, rolling from one side to the other and then finally threw the covers off in frustration. Casting a blood-shot eye at the digital clock on her bed stand, she saw that is was just after two in the morning. It was too damn hot to sleep. Getting out of bed, she plodded over to the window and unlocked the latch, pushing the pane open and sighing when the cool breeze blew over her sweat damp skin. She wondered how people lived here year round in this unbearable heat. It was tempting at this point to sleep outside with the lizards and cactus finches.

Instead of going outside, she opted for a glass of ice water. It was so late, she figured no one would be up but her so she left her robe behind and flitted through the pale dark in nothing but her flimsy nightgown. The knee length white silk clung to her curves like a second skin, the thin straps barely keeping it in place. She looked like a ghost passing through the shadows. Had it been six months ago her nightclothes would have consisted of an oversized t-shirt and sweat pants, but lately she'd been more confident in her femininity. Perhaps it was a result of spending half her time as a boy she needed the reminder that she was indeed woman.

It wasn't hard to find the kitchen, even in the dark. She'd been there so many times, and the layout of the ranch house was so simple. Down the stairs, turn right through the entryway, cross the dining room to reach the swinging doors. Go in and the light switch was on the left. Glasses were in the cupboard on the right of the sink, and the ice-maker was part of the refrigerator door along with the filtered water. Cool set up.

She was done and on her way back to her room with her water in less than three minutes. Only this time, her shadow was not the only one crossing the dining room. As she reached the foot of the stairs, a hand reached out and grabbed her from behind.

Terror, cold and numbing streaked through her bloodstream and froze her nervous system. She felt the water glass slip from her hand, heard it hit the floor with a dull 'thud', and then she was being pulled back into the iron bands of two very strong arms. Her voice failed her as a lump of fear the size of a grapefruit clogged her throat, and all she could think of was someone had broken into the house and she had surprised him. Then her brain clicked 'on' and the frenzy started as it dumped an overload of adrenalin into her system.

Kaoru opened her mouth, taking in a great gulp of air, preparing to scream the walls down, but a large hand clamped down across her lips effectively silencing any noise she might have made. Then she was crushed against a hard, broad chest and dragged passed the stairs and down the dim hallway leading to the back of the house.

'Oh God,' her mind was sobbing in terror as she struggled against her assailant. 'I'm going to die...Help! Somebody... Sait...'

Suddenly she was roughly thrown through an open door where she stumbled in the dark, landing unceremoniously on her hands and knees. Then the room was flooded with light and she flipped over onto her rearend to face her attacker. It was not what she expected.

"Saitou?" She screeched, clamoring to her feet in a very undignified fashion. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You scared the hell out of me." His desk was behind her and she sagged back against it. He'd tossed her into his office.

"What the hell am I doing?" He stormed, closing the door behind him, his face a mask of furious indignation. "What the hell are YOU doing? Traipsing around the house in the middle of the night like some fucking burglar. You're lucky I didn't blow your head off when I saw you sneaking around. For God's sake, what's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with me? I was getting a glass of water, you brainless ass." Her eyes blazed blue fire at him as she pushed herself off the desk and stomped over to him. "You know, water? The stuff you drink when you get hot and thirsty?"

"Don't patronize me, little girl. I'm mad enough already."

"You're mad? How do you think I feel?" Her nose was about two inches away from his. "I come downstairs to get a drink because it's so bloody hot in my room I can't sleep, and what happens? I get molested by a crazy old man who can't tell the difference between one of his house guests and an intruder."

"Molested?" He roared, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Girl you don't know what molested is if you think that's what just went on."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Well you could have fooled me. Grabbing me in the dark like you did. How was I to know YOU weren't the intruder and you were planning on doing terrible things to me? Huh? Answer that Mr. Know-it-all." Her finger poked him in the chest, emphasizing each word. "And stop calling me girl!"

"Well, if I had been an intruder, you wouldn't have stood much of a chance running around in this little number." He said, flipping one of the straps on her nightgown. "Don't you have any modesty at all? You're on a ranch full of men. Don't you know if you parade around half naked like this, you're bound to cause problems? Is this what you did at Shinomori's?"

"Half-naked!" She raged, shoving her nose further up into his face. "I am not half-naked. Besides, it's two o'clock in the morning. No one is supposed to be up..."

"I'm up!" He shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and glaring molten fury into her flushed face. "And you look pretty fucking naked to me."

"I..." Kaoru's tongue suddenly turned to lead in her mouth. He was so close she could see the individual golden flecks dotting his amber irises, she could smell the faint aroma of his last cigarette still clinging to his black shirt, and she could feel the heat of his breath fanning her face. 'Say something...' Her voice was screaming in her head but she couldn't seem to make a single sound. Just like before, she felt trapped and hypnotized at the time. 'I can't breath...Oh God, is he going to kiss me again? Saitou?'

"Fucking hell," he muttered between gritted teeth as he watched her eyes go from glittering anger to smoldering desire. "You're going to drive me insane."

"M-me?" She stammered, her hands turning to rest flat on his chest. The thundering beat of his heart slammed against her palms and her eyes fell to watch the leaping pulse in his throat. "How am I going to drive you insane? I didn't do anything? Did I?" She asked, looking back up into his tight features.

The look in her eyes, the way her lips pouted, and the flush on her cheeks; it was too much for one man to resist. Cursing and growling under his breath, Saitou crushed the girl against his chest, seizing those tender lips in a hard, hungry kiss, bruising them. For a moment she stood stiff in his embrace, and then, like pudding sliding into a mold, she melted into him, her jaw dropping while her hands fisted in the front of his shirt.

A low groan of passion and need crawled up Saitou's throat as he splayed his hands out over the slender curves of her back, pulling her into him and erasing all empty space between their bodies. Kaoru moaned beneath his kiss and reached behind him to curl her arms around his shoulders, flattening her breasts and stomach against his unyielding planes.

Their tongues slipped free and started a duel of heat and hunger, and he lifted his hand to cup the back of her head, deepening the kiss. She shuddered and opened her mouth wide, letting him in to explore the moistness of her. He eagerly accepted her invitation, running his tongue over her teeth, along the roof of her mouth, and across the slithering muscle of her own tongue which rose to curl around his. It was the most devastating kiss he'd ever shared with a woman, and his sense of control was quickly disintegrating into a pile of useless rubble.

His free hand slid from her waist to caress the smooth roundness of her butt, urging her into the hardened heat of his need, and she whimpered, digging her nails into his back. He squeezed and then lifted his hand to palm her breast. She was beautiful. More beautiful than he'd ever imagined, and the urge to possess her was overwhelming.

With a groan, Saitou lifted her up against him, cupping her rear in both hands. Her legs were around his waist again, her head dropped back exposing her throat, and he burrowed into the succulent flesh. Three steps carried them to his desk where he bent over and laid her down, sliding both hands up the underside of her exposed thighs.

"Kaoru," he groaned, pulling her hips against him as he trailed fire up her cheek and back to her mouth. "Dear God. I... I want..." His hands palmed her breasts again and she arched up into him, her legs pulling him into her. Through the silk of her nightgown, he rolled her delicate nipples between his fingers, shuddering as they turned to hard pebbles beneath his touch. She was like a burning flame under his hands, and Saitou felt himself teetering on the edge of the abyss. His tongue was in her mouth again, and she was meeting him stroke for stroke. No woman in his life had ever effected him this way, not even...

Suddenly he stopped. His logical hindbrain was screaming at him and he shook his head trying to clear it enough to understand. This was no woman he was holding in his arms. This was a girl. For the love of Pete, he was almost a decade older than her!

Saitou slammed his ardor under an iron fist and began to deliberately remove himself from the wild entanglement that was Kaoru. Stepping away several paces, he ran a shaking hand through his hair and tried to calm his erratic breathing. He had to stop this now. It was wrong on so many levels; he didn't even want to think about it.

"Get up," he muttered. "Go back to bed."

"Wh-what?" Kaoru sat up, drawing her knees together, feeling suddenly very exposed and unsure of herself. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Just do what I told you to, girl. Go back to bed. It's late. I have to get up early and I can't be playing around down here with you all night."

Kaoru felt a stab of pain pierce through her and slipped off the desk to unsteady legs. It had been years since she'd allowed a man to kiss her like that. She didn't appreciate being blown off either. "Did... did I do something wrong?"

"No, I just don't need this right now." He swung around and looked at her with hard eyes. "I have a business to run, responsibilities to take care of. I don't need another complication in my life like a half-grown kid hanging all over me, wanting my undivided attention."

"Half-grown kid?" Her eyes went wide with indignant pain. "How dare you! I am not a kid." Tears were threatening but she blinked them back. "And I am not some complication that you need to worry about. So don't concern yourself, Mr. Saitou. I'll do my best to stay out of your way and hopefully we'll be able to completely avoid each other in the future. I'd hate to take up anymore of your precious time."

As she stormed past him, heading for the door, Saitou reached out and grabbed her arm. "I never said that," he bit out. "I just don't think it's a good idea to start something neither of us really wants."

"Fine," she spat, yanking her arm out of his grasp. "Then do me a favor."

"What?" Somehow he had a feeling he'd just chopped off his own nose.

"Stay away from me, and don't you ever touch me again, or I'll tell my brother and you can deal with him." Pain filled blue eyes met and locked with shuttered gold and the two stood staring at each other for several long seconds. Then Saitou stepped back.

"Fine. Consider it done. As far as I'm concerned, you don't exist. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough." She pulled the door open and ran up the hallway, sped up the stairs, and raced to her room. Once she was behind the door, Kaoru burst into tears. She's never felt so wretched in all her life. How could he have done what he did and then just stop? How? And why did he say all those horrible things after? Was she just a convenience that happened to pass by when he was in the need to live out a wet dream? If she lived to be a thousand, she knew she'd never understand that horrible man. Never.

Downstairs, in his office, Saitou poured himself a double shot of whiskey, swallowing it all at once. He winced, grimaced, and shuddered as it burned a pathway down his esophagus to his stomach. Then he shut his eyes and leaned on the desk. Sure, he was a hard ass. More so in the last years than ever before, but he'd never done anything like this.

It was as if in the week during her absence he'd been saving up all the misery he usually gave her and delivered it all in one cruel blow. He'd never deliberately hurt someone who'd done him no harm. But he knew it was for her own good. He was too fucking old, and it just wasn't right. Besides that, he didn't have time to fall in love, especially not with some wild-cat girl who threw insults like snowballs. She was more of a handful than he wanted to deal with.

So, if that was all true, why did he feel so empty?

(A/N: Thank you to all the wonderful readers who keep Belle and I busy. God Bless. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tsuki-san)

Edited: 2/26/10