Disclaimer: I don't own any Inuyasha anything. Sad, but true.

A Real Good Man

By: BittersweetLady

Chapter Twenty-Five

Three years. Three long and fruitless years she had put up with his ever dwindling presence. He never missed one of the boys' birthdays. He never missed Christmas Eve when they opened their presents, but other than that he couldn't be bothered with his family. Kagome was tired of working at it on her own, was tired of being in a solo-monogamous relationship. Kagome was done with listening to people whisper behind her back and pretending not to care what they said. It was hard loving someone who didn't love you. She knew Sesshomaru didn't love her, but she also knew that he cared deeply for her and the boys. At least she could say that he hadn't cheated on her. She had at least that much.

Kagome looked up from shelving books on one of the floor shelves of her book store. After Kaede had passed away, she had left everything to Kagome, everything being the book store and the apartment upstairs, plus a small fortune in savings. Kagome hadn't touched the money at all. She had had Sesshomaru put it away in a trust in her name. She had redone the apartment upstairs and refurbished the store and ordered tons of new books. She couldn't say she loved her life or that she was completely happy, but she was content.

She couldn't wait to get home. Tonight was her anniversary and she knew for a fact that Sesshomaru had no work of any kind that night. Kagome planned on getting a few things from him. If not a last ditch effort to get an 'I love you', then at least she could get something else from him. To say their sex life hadn't suffered from the distance between them would be a little lie. They still had it, but it was few and far between. Kagome still felt wonderful after he loved her, but something was always missing and she knew what it was. Kagome knew what she needed to be happy. She needed love. It only made it worse seeing how everyone around her had it, but she didn't. It made her envy her friends, Sango and Miroku and their daughter Sukia, made her envy Kikyou and Inuyasha and their son, Hiten. That in turn made her ashamed. She didn't want to envy her friends their happiness, but she couldn't help it. She was finishing up when the phone rang.

"Hello, Kagome's Book Store, how may I help you?" She asked cheerfully.

"Kagome?" her husband's voice came over the line. A few years ago, his voice would have made her melt. It still felt like velvet brushing over her skin, but she didn't feel as if she would have an orgasm just from the sound of it.

"Yes Sesshomaru?" She may have sounded just the littlest bit snippy.

"I have to work late tonight. I am sorry." He said. Kagome sighed into the phone. Number three in the line of anniversaries he had missed.

"It's fine. How long do you have to work?" she asked. Deciding she might as well have some fun by herself and beat him home.

"I am not sure. I know late because the Ambassador of Qatar is coming to the office tomorrow morning to discuss a merger of our two companies. It was a last minute thing." Sesshomaru sounded distracted. She could hear papers being shuffled and people talking.

"It's fine. I might go out with Sango tonight for a while. I…" She was cut off before she could finish.

"No. It's a Friday, the end of the week. People will be drinking and most will be driving. I don't want you out late. Just come home when you get off work." Sesshomaru used his stern voice. Again a few years ago, she would have conceded victory to him, but now that voice barely fazed her.

"Alright, fine." She told him. Even though she knew that she would do it anyway.

"Alright, then I will see you at home." He said.

"Bye." She hung up. She had stopped saying she loved him a long time ago, thinking that if he didn't feel pressured after she said it, he might say it on his own. Kagome shook her head and dialed Sango's cell phone.

"Hello?" Sango asked.

"Hey honey, what are you doing tonight?" Kagome asked. She heard Sango chuckle in the phone.

"Going to dinner at Miroku's parent's house. Why?" Kagome didn't let the sinking feeling in her heart weigh her down.

"Nothing, never mind. I can do it on my own." She said cheerfully.

"Are you sure?" Sango asked.

"I am sure." Kagome talked to her friend a while longer before hanging up. Kagome decided she could go out alone. It had been a while since she had done anything really for herself. Mrs. Smith was always telling her she needed to go out. Well she was tonight, even if she had to go alone. It was around four in the afternoon when a familiar face came in.

"Hello, Dr. Onigumo. How have you been?" Kagome asked. He smiled.

"I have been well." His voice was smooth and she could help but notice that he had a dimple on one corner of his mouth. "I think congratulations are in order." He said. When she looked at him blankly he continued. "It's your third anniversary and I am newly engaged."

"I am so happy for you." Kagome smiled at him.

"Yes. I am for you too. By any chance what are your plans this evening?" He asked as they walked down the aisle, passing the few customers in on a Friday afternoon.

"Well. I don't know. Sesshomaru just called and he has to work, so I was just going to go out for a little while on my own." She told him as he selected a book, Candid by Voltaire, and walked with him to the register.

"Well, a few of my friends and my fiancé's friends are throwing a sort of party for us. A drinking party, but I don't drink. You could come if you wanted and help us celebrate and you wouldn't be alone tonight and I could give you a safe ride home." He looked so hopeful when he suggested it. Kagome almost declined, but then she didn't feel like spending another anniversary alone.

"Okay. I close at six, how about I meet you at the place?" She asked. Naraku nodded and gave her the information to the rooms his friends had rented.

It was ten-thirty at night and she had yet to come through the damned door. Sesshomaru sat in the informal dining room, the remnants of a romantic meal still on the table and the blue velvet box sitting in front of her plate. Perhaps he should not have told her he was working. But every other time he had worked and called in to Jaken to make sure she was there and safe, she had been there. Or had Jaken merely been lying for his mistress? No, Jaken would not have lied to him. His butler may love Kagome, but her feared Sesshomaru. He had told her to be home after work, which should have been at six-thirty. He would have allowed for seven, maybe even a little after eight o' clock, but ten-thirty was ridiculous.

He had no idea where she was either. Sango didn't know where she was and Kagome was not answering her phone for anyone. Sesshomaru had already called all the hospitals in Tokyo and the surrounding area, so he felt certain that she wasn't hurt. But where the hell could she be? He had planned this whole thing as an apology for the past. He could see how his behavior, how his work drive had put distance between them. Sesshomaru could honestly say that he missed his wife. Even though he saw her every day, he missed her. He missed her voice and her touch, missed the way she used to look at him after he had made love to her. Kagome never let him see her face after any more; she would roll over and press her back against his side and go to sleep.

He was contemplating another round robin of the local hospitals when he heard cars in the drive way, cars as in more than one. His heart started pounding as he made his way to the foyer to peek out the side window at the people getting out. There were two cars, a sleek black Lexus and Kagome's car. He could see who drove the Lexus, but a tall male unfolded himself from the driver's seat of Kagome's car and then came around to the passenger's seat to help the other occupant of the car out. Sesshomaru felt a slight tick start in his jaw and work its way up his cheek to his eye when he saw that the other occupant was a slightly intoxicated Kagome and the male was Naraku Onigumo. He had never liked the man, solely for the fact that he was his wife's female doctor. He watched Naraku help Kagome up the stairs before he wretched open the door. He was beyond pissed at the both of them. She had gone out drinking with the damned man on their anniversary. The surprise on her face was it. Had she really not expected him to be home? He couldn't very well blame her based on his previous track record, but that though escaped him.

The only thing he could comprehend was that his wife was drunk, escorted by another man home and it was their anniversary. Not to mention that the said man probably thought she would be an easy lay. Sesshomaru reached out and jerked Kagome from Naraku none too gently into the house and slammed the door in Naraku's face. He heard a woman shout at Naraku and then a moment later he heard the car pulling out of the drive way. He looked her up and down. She was beautiful, his wife, in her little green sundress and kitten heels. Her hair was slightly mused and her cheeks and lips were slightly flushed, as though she had been thoroughly kissed.

"Where they fuck have you been?" he yelled at her. Kagome winced slightly and then turned to walk away for him.

"I went out with some friends for a little while." She said over her shoulder, "And if you don't mind, I am going to bed." Sesshomaru grasped her arm and pulled her back around to him.

"Yes I bloody well do mind! You were supposed to be home hours ago! I sat here and waited for you for hours!" Sesshomaru yelled and turned her to face the open door of the informal dining room. Kagome blinked up at him a moment later.

"Well I am sorry someone called me at work today and told me you had to work late this evening. That someone would be you! So don't you dare yell at me because you fucked up your own dinner!" Kagome turned form him again, but went nowhere and as hard as she tried she couldn't break his grip on her arm.

"I also told you to be home right after work. This was supposed to be a surprise!"

"Well I am sorry I was under the impression that I was going to be alone tonight again so when Naraku asked me out with him, I said yes!" Kagome yelled back. She vaguely knew that she was in no state to be fighting with him, but she wasn't going to take his shit anymore.

"Went out with him?" Sesshomaru was silent for a moment, giving Kagome time to rethink the wording of her defense.

"Not like that Sesshomaru, I mean…"

"You went out with that bastard on our anniversary! Did you kiss him?" Sesshomaru asked.

"What the hell are you talking about? No he didn't kiss me." She said.

"I find it hard to believe that a man who has those feelings for a woman isn't going to try and act on them if said woman is drunk and alone! I will ask you again, did he kiss you?" Sesshomaru said softly.

"Did you not just hear me? He is engaged! He wouldn't kiss me even if I wanted him to." She told Sesshomaru back. A dark look passed over his face and he stalked her back against the wall.

"You wanted him to kiss you?" he asked softly. Kagome sighed.

"No."

"I think you did. I think you wanted him to kiss you and touch you. That's why you come home to me the way you are. Why you went out with him when you were supposed to be here with me. I think you wanted it." Sesshomaru said hotly and looked down at her. Kagome sighed. She was in no mood to do this with him. Anything she said would be turned back on her anyway.

"Is that what you want to hear? Even if I told you the truth and said no, you wouldn't believe me. You want the answer to be yes so you can lecture me some more. So I'll save you the trouble of five more minutes of this argument. Yes, I did." And she was shocked to find that that was a little bit true. Sesshomaru's eyes darkened and she saw his hands clench. She looked him in the eye. "If you hit me Sesshomaru, I will leave. Make no mistake about that." She admitted to herself that she was a little afraid that he would hit her. He sneered at her. The look he gave his enemies in the board room.

"I told you I don't hit women. I respect them. But even if I did, where the hell would you go? Not to Sango's or my mother's and certainly not Inuyasha's. I know you, Kagome you wouldn't go to them out of pride. But you have nowhere else to go." He said matter of fact. A moment later he had started to rethink his choice of words.

"You respect them? How have you treated your own wife, eh Sesshomaru?" She asked.

"A wife I never wanted and never considered taking." The words were out before he could stop them. The look on her face was as if he had slapped her.

"Never wanted? Fine then I'll leave." Kagome said demurely.

"You're not going anywhere!" Sesshomaru yelled and caged her in with a hand on each side of her head.

"Why the hell not? I was just saving you the trouble!" Kagome yelled at him. She could feel the tears prickling in the back of her eyes. Sesshomaru leaned in.

"Because you are mine and I don't give up what is mine." His voice was soft as he spoke against her ear. Kagome pushed at the wall of his chest furious with him.

"I don't belong to anyone. I am not a possession." She said hotly. She felt his lips ghosting over her neck and she struggled against him. She didn't want him like this, didn't want him now when her emotions were so raw.

"What's the matter? Am I not good enough for the doctor's leftovers?" A loud crack was heard in the room and Sesshomaru pressed his hand to his stinging cheek. Kagome was crying now and her little hands were balled into tight fists.

"Don't you ever say anything like that to me again! No one but you has ever touched me!" She shrank away from him when he moved to touch her cheek. It made him angrier that she wouldn't let him touch her even after she had denied being with the doctor. He needed to get away from her before he dug himself deeper in this trench. He turned and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" She called after him. He didn't even turn as he answered her.

"I am going out for a little while." And he left her there in the foyer. Kagome watched him leave, her body shaking and her heart sore and bleeding. She went up stairs, kissed the boys' heads as they slept, showered and slid into bed. But she was too keyed up to sleep. So she rose and paced back and forth at the foot of their bed for hours.

Sesshomaru sat at the bar and ordered another drink. He had lost count of how many this new one made him a long time ago. He couldn't understand how he had managed to fuck things up with her so much. He knew she would never sleep with anyone while she was married to him. That thought sobered him a little. That maybe after tonight, she wouldn't be his anymore and he would have to watch someone else take his place with her. Someone better suited to love her the way he knew she craved and needed to be loved. But the thought of someone else loving her, being inside her, kissing her was too much for him at the current moment. He ordered another drink. It was really his fault. He saw what he was doing to her, what being his wife cost her. He should have just told her he loved her. Then it would have been okay. Sesshomaru ordered another drink and continued to think on his mistakes with his wife when he looked up and saw her in the crowd.

He stood up and went to her. She must have been worried about him and come looking. That made him feel low. That she would have already forgiven him and come to take him home. She was so beautiful to him, her long black hair and blue eyes. She wore a different outfit then her sundress; this outfit made him want her just by looking at it. The top was a low cut halter the color of blood and the skirt was a black leather mini that put all kinds of thoughts in his head. He came up behind her and whispered to her that they should leave. She took his hand and led him outside. Sesshomaru handed her his keys and slid into the car. He kept his eyes in his lap the entire drive. Knowing that if he looked at her, they wouldn't make it home and he wanted to make love to her in their bed. To whisper to her how sorry he was, how much he wanted her and how much he loved her as he showed her with his body.

Finally the car stopped and she led him by the hand up to the…clerk of a hotel. He asked her if they were going home and she only shook her head. Well, hotel bed would do too. He followed his little vixen up to their room and had her against the door before he had even closed. Cloths came off in record time and he was inside her as soon as they came down on the bed. Sesshomaru made love to her over and over that night, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. His phone kept ringing, but he wasn't going to answer it. Eventually she fell asleep against him and Sesshomaru cuddled her closer to him. She wasn't going to leave him, at least not tonight. He would tell her he loved her in the morning when she could be awake to hear it. Sesshomaru cuddled closer to his wife noting that the smell of her skin was a bit off, but dismissed it.

Kagome stared down at the bed and then out window at the rising sun. Sunrises were so pretty, the pinks and the purples and blues and oranges. She felt tired and worn. She hadn't had much sleep last night as could be expected. She tracked the shadows the sun cast on the bed. Noting the way the light played with the folds and creases of a perfectly made bed. He hadn't come home last night, hadn't even answered his phone or called. Kagome didn't know what to do. She looked at herself in her vanity mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy and had slight circles under them from not sleeping. She had a pounding headache from a number of things that had occurred in the last twenty-four hours. Kagome slumped in her vanity seat. At last she knew he would have to come home at some time.

Author's Note: Well here you go. I was so glad to get to this chapter because now the fun really begins. This is one of a few chapters where I will demand to have reviews. Only because I want to hear you guys thought on this chapter and the story so far. NOT because I have a bit head and need an ego boost. Any way I love u guys and loving hearing from you and this is a special chapter to me so I want to hear from you guys. Thanks for putting up with me. BSL.