Misconceptions And Misunderstandings
Chapter 29
Sesshoumaru awoke early Sunday morning to an empty bed. He frowned. He had kept Kagome awake long into the night. He smiled remembering the pleasant activities that had kept her occupied. He frowned again. She should still be sleeping. He tossed back the covers. Where was she?
He dressed quickly. He had just gotten his shirt buttoned when the door opened and Kagome came in. She was dressed. And she was… hyper. That was really the only word for it. A child with too much sugar in their system.
"Good. You're awake. I brought breakfast up. After we eat we can go buy a tree. I have asked for any decorations left from last year to be brought down so I can see what we need. The cook is already working on a sample menu. She said she'd have it ready for me to look at later today."
She pounced on him, knocking him off balance. They tumbled to the bed behind him.
She squealed. "I'm soooo excited!"
"Yes. My ears alerted me to that fact," he deadpanned.
She kissed him lightly.
"Sorry. I can't help it. I love this time of year!"
He decided for the sake of his soon to be bleeding ears, he needed to engage her mouth in something other than her childish squealing. He pulled her down and covered her mouth with his.
She was breathless when he let her up. She jumped off of him and grabbed his hand pulling him behind her to the table in the sitting room where their breakfast awaited them. She made no move to touch her plate. She had gotten used to him going through his little courtship ritual. He took it very seriously. She stifled her giggle. She'd come to see it as cute. She waited until he had set her plate in front of her and filled his own before she started eating.
Kagome once again could talk of nothing but the plans for the upcoming celebration.
"Are you sure you don't mind? I know you aren't particularly fond of the holidays, or anything associated with them."
He covered her hand with his.
"We went over this last year. It is not that I object to the holidays. I just never had a reason to observe them before you came into my life."
He was satisfied his explanation was sufficient when he saw her enthusiasm return. I believe I could actually come to see it as a favorite time of year, he thought. If only because it made his miko so happy.
An hour later they were scouring the second tree lot for the perfect tree. Sesshoumaru had stopped suggesting trees after she had rejected his third suggestion. He followed along knowing his only duty was to pay for her perfect selection once she found it, and arrange for its delivery to the house. He hadn't been paying attention until he heard her squeal from somewhere ahead of him. He hurried forward to find her excitedly circling a huge tree.
She looked up at it, and then back at him.
"It's twelve feet. How tall is the vaulted ceiling in the living room?"
"Sixteen," he replied, knowing from her reaction he would be seeing this tree a great deal in the weeks to come.
"Yes! This is it. It's perfect. Don't you think?"
He looked at the tree. It was a Douglas fir. On the plus side, it didn't have as strong a scent as the pines that she had been looking at earlier. It had an almost perfect conical shape and had been imported from a tree farm in Oregon in the US. He found no fault with it.
He paid for the tree and gave the man delivery instructions. He then called and had the servants prepare to receive delivery of the tree. He had a sneaking suspicion that he would not be returning to the house any time soon. He was right. Kagome already had a list of items needed for the tree. They were headed to the mall. He sighed. His favorite place. Not. But it made Kagome happy.
Two hours later they were returning to the house. Finally. The trunk was full of decorations for the tree, including lights, garland, bows, and a large lighted star for the top. There was even a wreath for the front door. She had fallen in love with it the moment she saw it. At least it was tasteful and not some of the gaudy things he had seen on display. The poinsettias and red bows with brass sleigh bells at least wouldn't embarrass him.
He had drawn the line at reindeer on his roof, vetoing it firmly before she could turn the puppy eyes on him. He said no and stuck to it. That's why there were now two reindeer, one with a red glowing nose, and a Santa figure complete with sleigh in the trunk. He had won the argument about the roof, but lost the war about the front lawn. Puppy eyes on a human should be illegal. Punishable by death. Although he had to admit there was only one human who had any hope of swaying his decisions with them.
He allowed her to drive back from the mall. It being Sunday the traffic was less than during the week, but still somewhat heavy due to holiday shoppers. She handled it well. She would soon be ready to test for her license. He would need to teach her to parallel park and let her practice, but he was confident she would conquer it with ease.
Once they arrived, Sesshoumaru set the servants to unloading the decorations. Kagome grabbed the wreath and had it situated on the front door before he had finished assigning someone to assemble the yard decorations. She stepped back to admire her handiwork as he joined her.
"What do you think?"
"It is acceptable."
She shook her head. He would never see the holidays as she saw them. At least he wasn't totally against them. She knew he was humoring her. And she was not above taking full advantage of it.
Inside, there were servants staring at the tree, which had been set up in the living room. There had been low conversation about the change in the master, and how the mistress was making the house more welcoming. By the time Kagome arrived to inspect the tree, several of the maids had expressed a desire to help decorate it. Kagome was quite happy to accept the help.
Sesshoumaru grabbed her arm and steered her to the dining room.
"I've just been told lunch is ready. You can go back to decorating mode after you eat something. It doesn't all have to be done today. You can come out as often as you need to. You are welcome to spend the night at any time you choose."
She followed him to the dining room, his words on her mind. He really was giving her full rein to do whatever she wished with the decorations. Well other than the reindeer on the roof. But he had compromised. She was on winter break. She had the time. Shippo would be working all week. But how would she get here? It would really be easier if she still… lived here. She bit her lip.
She had taken over the decorating task as if she were… his wife. As if she lived here. She was. His wife, that is. And she could. Live here. If she wanted to. He had made it clear that is what he wanted. She knew her objections no longer applied. She had long since forgiven him for his mistake. He wasn't pushing or demanding. Not only did he not condemn her desire to get a degree and a job, he was helping her do it. He was teaching her to drive. She was sleeping with him. And the sex was amazing.
He was even indulging her love of the holidays. Going so far as to suggest a party, and inviting her family to spend Christmas with them. So far, he had been the perfect husband. She couldn't ask for more. She frowned. She was not being the perfect wife. She was a part time wife. He deserved more. The weekend had gone well. They were getting along well. And the sex was amazing.
Would anything change if she moved back in? Other than she was absolutely sure he would not agree to separate bedrooms any longer. He had agreed to her completing her degree. Would he change his mind? He had said he did not mind if she had a career of her own. He was being more than accommodating. More than understanding.
There was only one other thing that she really had to come to terms with. He wanted to mate her. She had not known that until the night they made love all night. He would have marked her that night if she had not objected. Mating was permanent. On a grand scale type of permanent. It was one thing to say 'til death do you part' in a marriage ceremony. You'd only be talking about fifty, sixty years or so. But mating him. A full demon. A very powerful full demon. Her life would be tied to his. She would live for centuries at the very least. With him. Would the sex still be amazing after five or six hundred years?
She loved him. There was no question that she did. She hadn't spent this much time agonizing over her answer to his marriage proposal. She had thought about the possibility of mating then, even though he had not yet mentioned it. He was centuries old and had not taken a mate in all that time. Yet now he was sure that he wanted her for his mate. If it was not an easy decision for her, how difficult had it been for him? To choose her as his mate after all these years. That spoke volumes about his love for her. Didn't it? With his long life, he would know more than anyone of the permanence of a mating.
She had to think on this further. He had only asked her to spend the weekend after she claimed she was not ready to let him mark her. Asking only for what he thought she might actually give. He had hinted at more, but not come out and asked. He'd only told her that she could have whatever access to the house she needed for their Christmas plans.
She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She would think more on the subject after she got back to the apartment. When she was alone. And not influenced by the moment. And the amazing sex. There was life out of bed. Although she wouldn't mind…
Sesshoumaru watched Kagome as she picked at her food. She was quiet. Her thoughts seemed a million miles away. He would really like to know what weighed so heavy on her mind. He was reasonably certain it was not the Christmas decorations. Was she giving consideration to coming back to him fully? To becoming his mate? He knew he had taken away most of her reasons for their separation. And he was certain that he had more than pleased her sexually. Her body's reactions and her screams had told him that.
He wanted nothing more than to carry her upstairs and mark her as his. He had waited centuries for the right mate. She was his. And he was hers. He just had to convince her of that fact. He believed he was wearing her down. She had agreed to stay the weekend. And to share his bed. He would miss waking up next to her when he took her back to Shippo's apartment tomorrow. But he would not push. He had gained much more once he stopped pushing.
He missed her conversation, but knew his interests were probably better served allowing her to contemplate her choices. He wanted the decision to be in his favor. But she did need to eat. She would need her strength for the activities he had planned for tonight. He wanted to make sure she would be thinking of him tomorrow.
"Your lunch is getting cold. I promise it won't really matter which decoration goes where. It will all look fine."
She smiled at him as she was pulled from her thoughts. She didn't want to spend her last day thinking such heavy thoughts. There was always tomorrow. When she was alone. And wishing she wasn't. Wishing his arms were still around her.
Kagome awoke wrapped in strong arms. He had allowed her to get at least some sleep since he had to go to work. She glanced at the clock. She had ten minutes before the alarm went off. He had set it for five so that they could shower and have breakfast before he dropped her at Shippo's apartment. She lay still so that she didn't wake him. She wanted to lay in his arms for a few more minutes. Her mind told her that if she lived here, she could wake in his arms like this every morning.
It had only been three days. But she felt as if she belonged here. It felt right to sleep in her husband's arms. She didn't want to leave. But she had to. She would not let a weekend of sex decide the rest of her life. Teenagers were known for letting their hormones make their decisions for them. Kagome was not a teenager. She was a mature adult. She would make a mature adult decision based on the facts, not her hormones. But the sex was still amazing.
Shippo had already left for work by the time Sesshoumaru dropped her off. He insisted on walking her to the door. He had said nothing regarding her stay at the house over the weekend. Nor did he say anything about taking her back to the apartment. Truth be told, it was a subject that he was trying to avoid at all cost. He didn't want to take her back. He wanted her to be waiting when he got home from work. Waiting to welcome him home and soothe away the day's stress. He had to settle for kissing her goodbye and telling her he would call her.
He was ambushed as soon as he entered his office. Shippo and Inuyasha were both waiting for him. He ignored them as he passed his assistants desks and went into his inner office. They followed him in. He set his briefcase on his desk and took off his overcoat.
"Is there something you wanted?"
He tossed his coat at Inuyasha who was leaning against the wall by the coat rack.
"Make yourself useful. The wall requires no support."
He sat down behind his desk.
Inuyasha caught the coat and hung it up. He said nothing. This was all Shippo's interrogation. He only came along for the entertainment potential. And to keep it from coming to blows of course. Although that too would be entertaining, as long as no one got seriously hurt. He let a small smile grace his features as he decided that he'd let them get one or two punches in before he broke it up.
Shippo remained standing.
"Did you take Kagome home?"
Sesshoumaru studied him with a disinterested expression on his face. He struggled to remember that this kit had claim to Kagome's affections and a right to protect her before Sesshoumaru made his claim. He had deferred to Sesshoumaru as his alpha when he married Kagome. Now that they were separated, the kit was reclaiming his right to protect his mother. Which was laudable and entirely honorable. But misplaced in this instance, and he intended to make it clear to the kitsune.
"No. I did not take her home."
Shippo's hands curled into fists at his side and he let out a low growl. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the growl, but held onto his temper.
"She was already home. But I did see her safely to your apartment."
Shippo relaxed a little.
"Your little word games are irritating, you know that?"
Sesshoumaru folded his hands under his chin and continued his silent assessment of the kitsune.
"Is that all you wanted? I have work to do. As I am sure, do you. If not, I am sure I can find something suitable to occupy your time and energy."
Shippo stiffened at the clear dismissal. He took two steps closer to the desk.
"She's not a toy for your amusement. If you hurt her again…"
Inuyasha came off the wall as he saw his brother's eyes bleed red. Sesshoumaru slowly stood. The flare of his youki was strong enough to have every demon in the building running for cover. He glared at Shippo.
"No. She is not a toy. She is my mate. And I will not tolerate any interference in our relationship. Not even yours."
His eyes strayed to Inuyasha. It appeared he was ready to intervene if necessary.
Returning his crimson gaze to Shippo, he uttered darkly, "Unless you are ready to challenge me for dominance, I suggest you leave my sight. Now."
Inuyasha gulped. He had not expected it to go this far. He glanced nervously at Shippo. He really hoped he wasn't that stupid. Sesshoumaru had centuries of experience on the kit. Not to mention the vast difference in their power levels. He had wanted a little entertainment. Watching the kit commit sure suicide was hardly his idea of entertainment. He put a hand on Shippo's shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go. You wanted to know if he took her home. You got your answer. Why don't you go back to your office and call her?"
He whispered urgently to the kit.
"Can't you see how pissed he is? Back down. Now. Before you get hurt. I don't want to have to be the one to explain it to Kagome."
Shippo reluctantly dropped his head in submission to his alpha. Inuyasha watched as Sesshoumaru's eyes returned to normal. He grabbed Shippo by the arm and pulled him out of the office.
"Later, bro. Got work to do."
Sesshoumaru sat back down as his office door closed behind them. He raked a hand through his hair. He made one colossal mistake and now everyone thinks all he wants to do is hurt his mate. He slammed his hand down on his desk making everything on it jump. He realized that Shippo's ultimate submission had done nothing to relieve his anger.
The more he thought about it, the more he decided he was unable to go about his daily tasks in this condition. He thumbed the intercom.
"Clear my appointments and hold my calls until after lunch. I will be in the gym."
He headed for a door on the far side of the office. The one that led to his private gym. No one used it but him. It was designed and reinforced to withstand even his fiercest bouts of frustration and anger. And right now all he wanted to do was punch something. Repeatedly. If at this point it had Shippo's face on it… He really hoped the kit had the sense to avoid him for the rest of the day. Good help was hard to find. And he was certain his relationship with Kagome would suffer a severe setback.
To be continued….
