WARNING: MATURE CONTENT

Chapter 30: A Pleasant Mouthfeel

As soon as she got out of her last exam, she walked out of the building and cried tears of joy. She had done it. Barring any exam failures, which she did not anticipate, she had done it. She would be graduating on the eighteenth.

She decided to risk running into the blonde menace and went directly to Coffee & Sadness to celebrate, texting Ulquiorra on the way.

- I DID IT!

He was standing at the counter, ringing up orders, when he felt his phone buzz. After the customer was taken care of, he checked his messages, smiling when he saw it was Orihime.

- I'm proud of you! Come into the shop and you can have a freebie. Lol.

Ulquiorra put his phone in his pocket and then turned to look at Rangiku. "There's some business in the office you need to attend to," he said.

The blonde woman huffed and rolled her eyes before she left the front of the coffee shop.

It was only about two and a half minutes later that the bell on the door chimed and the redhead floated through the door with an inextinguishable grin on her face. She caught Ulquiorra's eye and couldn't hold back a tiny fist pump and squeal as she trotted down the few stairs toward the line.

As soon as she reached the counter, she stared up at Ulquiorra. She was practically vibrating in her excitement. She bit down on both lips to stop herself from shouting, but smiled through her buttoned lips and whined through her nose with a happy little sound.

He gave her a one-sided grin. "What can I get for you Miss Inoue?" he asked. It was nice to see her so happy.

She released her lips and said, "Coffee and happiness!" before grabbing one of his wrists and squeezing. She was on top of the world and apparently her brain lagged with the altitude.

A full smile covered his face. Ulquiorra tapped in her order of a peanut butter hot chocolate and a cookie and comped it before he moved to put Ethan on the register. "Come down to the pick up counter," he told Orihime before he got her order together.

She walked over to the pick up counter, giving the patrons who were already waiting there some space until they left, and then leaned over it, trying to be as close to the action behind the counter as possible. She hummed along with the song playing on the speaker system and even sang a random lyric here and there as she waited.

It didn't take long for Ulquiorra to have her order and several more orders ready. He passed them out to customers, saving Orihime's for last. "One delicious hot chocolate and a cookie for my lovely graduate girlfriend."

Her grin gentled a bit and her eyebrows rose as she placed her hands over his, which were still on the items he had made for her. "Girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend, unless you are protesting."

She shook her head as her face slowly heated. "No protests here," she finally managed to say. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

"Good. Tonight I would like to take you out. Nothing fancy, unless you want it, but you deserve to celebrate this big achievement. What do you say?" Ulquiorra asked, looking at the redhead. "I get off work here in a half hour."

"I'd love that. What should I wear? Is this drinks? Dinner?" Her excitement and happiness - and now a slight bit of nervousness - were making her anxious, but in a pleasant way.

Ulquiorra shrugged. "I was thinking of a nice Japanese restaurant and maybe a bottle of wine?" the words came out as a question instead of a statement. "It's your celebration, tell me what you want."

She tipped her chin up to the ceiling for a moment, then brought her face back down to his with a wide grin. "That sounds absolutely perfect. Oh, I can't wait," she said, her body wiggling from side to side. "I am so excited. I can't stop," she offered as a kind of apology for her behavior. She wasn't really sorry, she just knew it was weird.

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra leaned over the counter and gave her a quick peck on the lips, then went back to the register. He had some words with Ethan before he clocked out. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said as he came around the counter and walked over to Orihime.

"Quitting time already?" she asked as she turned to meet him with her hot chocolate and cookie in hand. "Do you want to come over and help me pick out my outfit?" she offered in jest.

"Is that all you want me to come over and do?" Ulquiorra asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "It's your day today. You've gone through a lot in the past year."

Her grin gentled into a sly smile as her gaze fell from his eyes to his lips and then down his neck and chest before reluctantly dragging them back up, biting her lip a bit. "Well, if you want to go up and get a change of clothes, I can have my goodies and then we can go to my place and have some boyfriend and girlfriend time. Interested?"

Ulquiorra nodded and led her up to his place.

They went out to dinner, and when they were driving back to his place, Ulquiorra grabbed her hand. "Do you want to spend the night with me?"

She was surprised at the invitation. "Do you want me to? I don't mind," she said with rising inflection.

Ulquiorra glanced at her before he focused on the road. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't. I think we should spend your first night of freedom celebrating."

She grinned and then bit on her lips. "I think that's a great idea, Ulquiorra," she said and gave his hand a squeeze. She looked out the window and saw her reflection in the rearview mirror. She almost didn't recognize herself. She looked so happy. Her heart fluttered and she looked back at Ulquiorra's profile. He was a big reason for the look on her face, she realized, and released a happy sigh.

He heard the sigh. "Is it too soon to ask you to spend the night?" he asked in a worried tone.

"No. I was just thinking about, um, that I'm really, really happy right now. Like to an almost ridiculous degree," she said with a quiet giggle.

"You deserve happiness, Orihime. You've been through a lot in the past eighteen months," Ulquiorra gave her a smile before he turned into the alley behind Coffee & Sadness. He got out and waited for Orihime before they entered the building. "Does it bother you to be happy?"

She got out of the car and gave him a curious look. She paused and then shook her head, coming to his side and sliding a hand between his arm and his body. "From time to time it makes me think. Like, I'm not used to it. It feels foreign, or like I'm stealing it. Am I? I don't know. But today I don't care about that. I did a big thing today. We, um, did a big thing today. I don't think anything could bring me down."

"We did a big thing?" He was teasing her. "I guess getting out of bed was a big thing. Or bitching at Ran for making your order wrong."

Orihime smirked. "Well, you know, she's been doing this for a long time. You'd think she would know how to make the thing I ordered," she teased, poking him in the ribs gently and smiling up at his face. "We did a big thing, I think," she murmured softly after that.

Ulquiorra squirmed away from her but gave her a smile. "Oh, you mean the fact that I claimed you were my girlfriend? You've always been my girlfriend. You just refused to acknowledge this while with asshat."

She stopped and looked at him with a disbelieving smile. "Are you serious? Since when?"

He turned his head when he felt resistance. "Since we both came back. The moment you walked into my shop in September."

Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head and started walking again. "I wasn't with asshat then. I was with you." She chuckled quietly and added, "I was with you in spirit for longer than that, and you know it."

Ulquiorra nodded. "I know. C'mon, I want to show you something."

She followed him up the stairs. "So, what are you going to show me?"

He didn't answer until they reached the third floor. "Something I think you need. I want to take this further… what we have."

Her excitement became a bit withdrawn and nervous, but she didn't hate it. "How much further?" she asked after swallowing.

"I want to do something I've only done to one other woman before you," Ulquiorra replied. He opened his apartment door and went in, waiting for Orihime. "I want you, Orihime."

Her skin started buzzing as she followed him in, stepping out of her shoes. "Um, same," she said on a shaky breath, and waited for him to take the lead.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Ulquiorra had her pressed against it. He bent his head down and kissed her, meeting her lips with a slight urgency. The tension inside of his body had been building since they had fooled around in her apartment days ago. He kept squashing it down because the time had never been right. It felt right now.

His hands came up, fingertips running up and down the column of her neck. "I meant what I said to you when we were in that candle shop. I'm falling for you."

She shook under his hands, the weight of his words actually giving her a boost of confidence as she pressed her lips up to his. She opened her mouth and slipped her tongue between his lips as her fingers slid up the sides of his arms until they rested on his shoulders. She broke the kiss a moment later and looked into his eyes, her expression a bit serious. "I've been falling for you, Ulquiorra. It's mutual. You asked me in September if you could try to make me fall in love with you. I told you then."

He kissed her again with more urgency. Ulquiorra broke their kiss seconds later before he took a step back from her. He flung his jacket off his arms. His long sleeved t-shirt came over his head and then he stared at Orihime. "Good."

Oh dear god. Oh dear fuck. He was looking at her like there was nothing else in the world. It made blood pool between her legs and her breath come in shallower draws. She slowly took her coat off and let it fall to the floor. Her sweater was next, and then she started on the zipper of her skirt. "Should I?" she asked, not wanting to put him off if that wasn't what he had in mind.

A single nod was all he gave her before he took off his boots, then unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, but they stayed up on his hips and thighs. "In the bedroom. I want you to be comfortable."

She held onto the side of her skirt and led the way to his bedroom, taking quick but careful steps. When she got to the door she stopped and stood to the side for him to lead her in. She didn't want to appear vulgar, so she showed some restraint, but ever since their rendezvous in her apartment earlier that week, she had been itching for him to touch her again. She was eager.

He took Orihime by the hips and led her through the open doorway and into his bedroom. Ulquiorra took her hands and placed them on his chest while he watched the fabric that surrounded her hips and thighs fall down to the floor. Half-lidded eyes came up then, to look into Orihime's. "If you need or want to stop, just tell me, okay?" he offered.

Her cheeks were pink when she responded, "I don't want you to stop, but thanks." Her eyes dropped to her hands on his chest, her fingertips spreading and pressing into it as she took a deep, difficult breath that pressed her breasts up against her bra cups, making her shiver. She looked back up into his eyes and took a step back towards his bed.

Ulquiorra followed her, matching Orihime step for step. Once they reached the bed, he gave her a little push so that she fell back onto the surface. As her body stilled, the green-eyed man sunk between her legs.

Orihime craned her neck to watch what he was doing. She was pretty sure she knew what he was going to try to do, but she couldn't know one hundred percent. The lower he sunk, the higher she rose her upper body off the mattress. She didn't want to miss a thing.

As soon as his knees hit the floor, Ulquiorra's hands came up to Orihime's hips, where her panties sat, fingers hooking under the material. He started slowly inching them down, but then stopped and sat up slightly to kiss the redhead's stomach. "You're beautiful," he murmured.

She whimpered at his words, feeling emotions surface through the lustier thoughts that were clouding her mind at the moment. "So are you," she whispered back, nostrils flaring. She meant it.

He gave a smirk before he went back to taking off her underwear and kissing the skin he exposed. As soon as they were off her legs, Ulquiorra spread her thighs open and looked. Her skin was unblemished. He could feel the heat from her already as his hand smoothed over soft skin. He could smell that heady scent of her arousal. His cock twitched as he thought about tasting her. "Orihime," he breathed before swiping his thumb through the folds.

A soft, high-pitched whine answered him, then she replied, "Do you have any idea how sexy you look down there?"

"Same question to you. Do you like seeing me between your thighs? You should prop yourself up so you can watch what I am going to do to you," Ulquiorra replied, repeating the touch several times.

She nodded, a slightly agonized look on her face as she grabbed around for pillows and the blanket, setting them up behind her, so that if she lost her strength she could still watch.

"Oh good. I like taking my time. I like seeing how my touch affects you. I like seeing how you look when I'm driving you to that peak of pleasure. I want to know what makes you tick and how I can turn you on with the littlest things." His eyes were glued to her pussy and what his fingers were doing. Seeing the pink of her skin come into view was an erotic sight for him, and he scooted closer, rubbing her clit up and down. Ulquiorra looked up at her, a small smile on his face.

"You're going to ruin me, aren't you?" she asked, raising a brow at him. The only person that she had received head from before was Grimmjow, and it was good. But Grimmjow was a selfish lover in general. Orihime was quickly learning that Ulquiorra was not.

"Ruin you? For other men, perhaps. If there is anyone after me, he won't be able to compare to me," he said, sounding smug. "I'm going to make you mine in every way I can, Orihime." With that, Ulquiorra brought his lips down and started kissing his way up and down her slit. He didn't force it apart. He just used his mouth to gather her wetness so that he could taste her. He pulled back and licked his lips. His green eyes never left her face.

She whimpered when he pulled back. "Is something wrong?" She was almost sure that if he stopped, she was going to have a very hard time explaining why she went on to fuck herself without him.

"No. I'm just savoring you. I promise I love it." This time when he lowered his head, his tongue darted out, lapping at her with long drags. Fuck, she tasted good.

She screeched, her legs tensing at the contact. Ulquiorra didn't do things halfway. "Oh, oh god," she groaned, fighting to keep her eyes open.

He hummed against her as he sucked on her clit. He backed off for a moment then started licking her again. She was hot and wet. His cock was aching as he teased her entrance with two fingers. "You okay?" He asked in a low growl.

"Mmhmm," she cried. "Ulquiorra… You…" Her head fell back with a groan. "You keep doing that and… Oh my god."

His fingers slid inside of her, slowly feeling each inch of skin that he could. God. Orihime's body felt like it was made for him. His gaze drifted to her face and he continued to tongue that tiny bundle of nerves.

It wasn't going to make him wait for long, either. Her passage flooded quickly, soaking his fingers to the last knuckle and then began to tug on them as it tightened. "Oh, Ulquiorra," she moaned, her ass tensing and releasing as she chased what he was giving her.

He continued humming as he ate her out and fingered her. He could hear how wet she was. He could hear his tongue flick against her. When her juices started dripping off his hand he knew it was about time. Ulquiorra curled the fingers inside of her and started moving them faster and faster. She was going to come on him. He could feel it. He wanted it.

A squeal that started in the middle of her range and rose steadily in pitch wound its way out of her throat and broke with a desperate gasp as her walls clamped down on his fingers. "Ulquiorra!" she chanted as her breath came in quick pants. Her pulse wooshed in her ears as a blinding explosion of pleasure overtook her. The tension in her limbs broke and she became limp in his care.

"Ulquiorra…" she whined after the tremors subsided. She had become a puddle.

"Hmmm?" He withdrew his hand from between her legs and stood up, his erection evident in his jeans. He smiled at Orihime before he licked the moisture off of his fingers. "Congrats on graduating college, Woman."

She closed her eyes and panted for a bit, and couldn't really respond, but after a few moments she opened her eyes and smiled. "Wow, um, you could make a woman want to go back to school and graduate again," she said with a chuckle.

"I'd rather not wait another four years to fuck you," he replied as sat down next to her. "Did I do okay?"

"Okay? Okay ?! Ulquiorra… That was, um… Do they have words for that in English?" she asked with a breathy laugh. "If you asked me for anything right now I would give it to you."

A soft chuckle came from his throat. "All I ask of you right now is your time. I want you here with me tonight," he said, resting a hand on her stomach. "That's all I want."

Her eyes glanced at his hips. She had seen how hard he was before he sat down. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'm saving myself for a special occasion… Christmas sex with you." Ulquiorra smirked.

Her face tilted slightly as an affectionate smile took over her face. "Really? That is… That is adorable." She got up on an elbow and reached for his neck, pulling him down to kiss her. Her scent on his lips made her skin tingle and constrict, and she took a fast, involuntary breath through her nose as their lips were pressed together. After the kiss was broken, she blushed deeply and fell into a fit of giggles, covering her eyes for a moment. When she finally got her composure back, she looked at him through her fingers. It was obvious that under her hands there was a huge, idiotic grin on her face. Then she said, "No wonder Rangiku hates me."

A look of confusion flashed over his face after her laughing spell. Then one of Ulquiorra's thick brows rose into an arch. "Huh? What?" As realization dawned on him, he started laughing. "Oh no. No. No. It wasn't Rangiku. Rangiku never deserved something like that from me. It was my first girlfriend," he explained.

That idiotic grin gentled, and her hand found his as she smiled at him fondly. "I see," she said, then carefully got up and scooted as close to him as her hips allowed and wrapped her arms around his body. "Well, I'm glad I'm your girlfriend, now."

"As I stated before, you've always been my girlfriend, you just refused to acknowledge that," he said, stroking her back gently. "I'm kidding, of course. I'm glad you're mine now, too."

"So…" she began, not sure where to go from here. "Do you want to stay up for a while and do something, or did you want to just rest?" she asked before tipping her face up to kiss his jaw. She wasn't overly sensual with it. He had clearly set a boundary, and she didn't want to push him tonight, but she wanted to be affectionate.

Ulquiorra gave a content sigh. "I'm okay with us just laying here, if you want to do that," he answered. "We've had an exciting day. It's nice to just be with you and relax."

She smiled against his skin, a warm puff of air bathing his neck as she did. "I agree. I'm going to go to the bathroom and then I'll be right back. Question though," she said, backing up a bit to see his face.

"Hmmm?" he hummed and then stared at her. "What is this question?"

"Is this a pajamas house or not? Because I didn't bring any."

Another smile graced his mouth. Ulquiorra sat up. "I actually have a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt you can wear."

Orihime woke up in the middle of the night, curled up with her head on Ulquiorra's arm and her face buried in his chest. A side lamp had been left on, and in its dim light she was able to see the tattoo on his chest as her eyelids fluttered open. She placed a soft kiss on it before rolling away to turn off the light.

She smiled as she felt his arms tighten around her body while she grasped for the pull that would turn off the light. She barely got it switched off before he rolled over onto his back, pulling her with him. Orihime kissed his cheek and nestled her face into the crook of his neck, half of her body draped over his, before slowly drifting back to sleep with a smile on her lips, her mind filled with warm, peaceful thoughts of him, and them, and more nights like this one.

He wasn't used to sleeping with anyone, but having her in his bed was a comfort. He felt her shift during the night. Automatically, Ulquiorra thought Orihime was leaving, so he held onto her. A content sigh left him as he felt her kiss him.

Then it was morning. His alarm was going off. He groaned as he gently untangled himself from the woman who was curled around him. This was a nice way to wake up; a nice way to start the day. "Orihime, I have to go to work," he said to her sleepy form.

"Work schmerk," she grumbled and burrowed deeper into his body for a moment, inhaling his scent and waiting for her own body to wake up.

"I'll clock out early and we can hang out. I have to go meet the delivery people. I need to take a shower. I never took one last night, and I cannot sign for produce smelling like you. I don't mind it, but I don't want anyone else to know what that scent is like," Ulquiorra said to her as he wrapped his arms around her.

She chuckled into the side of his body and groaned, finally bringing her face up for air. "Fine. You are that secretive?" she asked, smirking at him with sleepy eyes.

He shook his head. "No, you simply are for my pleasure until you decide otherwise. I don't mean just bodily pleasure either."

That intrigued her. "What other pleasures?" she asked, kissing his chin and then his lips before she found his eyes again.

A smirk crossed his face. "Well," he said before yawning. "You're mentally stimulating. You seem to respect my boundaries. You don't tire me out needlessly."

"Well, let's hope that continues," she said, pushing up on her palms and looking down at him. He looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him, and her heart skipped a beat. "Wow," she said softly, smiling and closing her eyes at how transparent she was.

"I know I look horrible in the morning." He laughed as he looked back at her. Ulquiorra scooted into a sitting position and then swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I'll be right back."

And he was. His morning routine took less than ten minutes and he was back in his bedroom with a towel around his waist, getting ready for work. He gave Orihime a glance before he whipped the towel off and pulled a pair of boxers over his legs and thighs. "So what are your plans for today, Miss Inoue?"

She blinked. She had been looking, and an eyeful she had received. "Um, uh…" she floundered for words for a moment. "Um, I was going to meet with Kuchiki's assistant about the second leg of my book tour. It isn't going to be until the new year, but they want to get the details sorted out before they close for the holidays," she said.

He opened the closet and disappeared only to return several moments later with his work uniform. "Do you like doing the book tours? Was it fun for you?" he asked as he continued to get dressed.

"I like the reading bit and talking to people about the book. The traveling and waiting around part is kind of meh, unless it's in a cool place and when my aunt visited. She says hi, by the way."

"Hello, Aunt Kathy," he said before he started putting on his tie. Once he was finished, he looked at Orihime. "Okay, I'm all ready. You're welcome to stay up here, but before you leave, make sure you have everything or you'll have to come get my key from me. The door automatically locks behind me."

"Right. I remember that from when I crashed here before. I'll probably roll around in your sheets and turn myself into a burrito for about ten more minutes, and then start getting ready for the day. Um… this is embarrassing, but, um… Do you have any plastic bags? For laundry?"

Ulquiorra rubbed the back of his neck and then shook his head. "If you need to do laundry, my washer and dryer are in my closet over there."

She blushed hard. "Um, no, I only have one thing that is dirty, so it would be a waste to run a load," she said with a nervous chuckle.

Again he shook his head but chuckled. "Sorry, I might have a gallon freezer bag around but no, like, plastic shopping bags."

She smiled. "Well, I could just throw them away, it's not like they are worth as much as a freezer bag…" she shook her head and laughed. "I'm sure I can do some kind of origami otherwise. Don't worry about it. Are you going to be making coffee this morning?" she asked, changing the subject.

He had turned to leave the room but stopped. "I will have a cup of coffee ready for you and maybe a muffin or a bagel. I'll make it myself. No mistakes this time."

She got out of bed and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She smiled up at his face and grinned before pecking his lips with a brief kiss. "Okay, I will be there soon. Have a good morning," she said.

His face got hot as he blushed. Ulquiorra kissed her back and then went out into the living area to get his boots on. He grabbed his wallet, phone and keys before he left the apartment. Once the door shut behind him, he grinned to himself. Maybe he could do this whole relationship thing. Seeing Orihime's face looking so happy was important to him.

She stood there in his room until the door shut, and then she squealed to herself and flung her body back down on the bed, kicking and rolling back and forth, completely giddy. After she finally calmed down a few minutes later, she took a deep breath and went to the bathroom. She went through her morning routine, cleaning her face and combing through her hair with her fingers, then redressing in her clothes from the day before, laughing at herself when she forgot that she had left her sweater by the front door.

She put it on as she stood in the entryway and then looked around his apartment from where she stood. It was a large open space, and as she took it all in, she felt like she was looking at another piece of him. That he trusted her with it felt significant. She nodded to herself as she went back to his bedroom and made the bed before finding her soiled panties and folding them up into a tiny ball, wrapping them in some tissues, and stuffing them into her purse before making her way downstairs, about forty minutes after he had left.

Ulquiorra had already signed for the produce delivery and helped Ethan with baked goods. Coffee beans had been ground and there was the hot chocolate mixture being melted in a coffee urn. Ever since Orihime had advertised all those months ago, he had people coming in all the time for the different flavors of hot chocolate that the shop produced. All that needed to be done was to make the cheese sandwiches to put in the refrigerator. He was in the process of doing that when he heard the door to the apartments open. "Ethan? Can you finish these sandwiches? I've got something important to do."

"Yeah, go ahead."

Orihime heard the men's voices as they worked, and opened the door that led to the shop quietly. She walked through and watched for a minute, not wanting to disturb anything. It felt a bit to her like being backstage at a concert or something; an enjoyable experience, but one she knew to not interfere with.

Ulquiorra could feel her eyes on him. As soon as Orihime came into view, his gaze went to her. "I see you made it," he said to her.

"I did. Hope I'm not getting in the way," she said, approaching him.

"You're never in the way. What would my lady like for breakfast this morning?" he asked.

She blushed and smiled at him. "I heard something about bagels this morning? Maybe it was just a dream I had though," she said, staying on the customer side of the counter and watching him work.

Ulquiorra had her coffee already made with just a splash of skim milk. He grabbed a bagel out of the display case and had it sliced open and put in the toaster before she could finish her sentence. "Cream cheese? We have three different kinds."

"Regular, please," she said, then glanced over at Ethan, who smiled at her. She smiled back and then returned her gaze to Ulquiorra. "It's weird being here before you open," she said.

"Why?" the green eyed man asked as he reached into the refrigerator for the cream cheese. He turned and looked at her. "Because you get the freshest of the fresh? Or seeing Ethan with bedhead?"

"Hey!" Ethan complained.

She laughed. "Looks organic, Ethan. It's marketable," she said to the younger man before looking back at her boyfriend. "It's weird because it's like I have a backstage pass to the big show."

There was some snickering from the men. "No big show here," Ulquiorra said. He finished Orihime's order and then brought it over to where she stood. "My payment is that you have a good and productive day."

She picked up the items and nodded. "Yes sir," she said with a determined expression. "I'll get out of your hair, then?" she asked, eyeing the door.

"I'll text you later on my break. Let me know what's going on. I know you're going to want to go home and change-"

"Hold up, did she stay at your place?" Ethan asked. His face broke out into a wild looking smile. "Oh my god!"

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes and then shook his head. "I'll see you later, Woman."

She glanced at his employee and waited until his back was turned before darting her hand out to Ulquiorra's vest and pulling him down for a quick kiss. "I'll see you," she said and left.

There were catcalls as Orihime walked away and out of the door, Ulquiorra turned and glared at Ethan. "Get to work."

A/N: Thanks for reading! Well? Let me know how it went for you :P