TOP 10/22 RATED M for MATURE GRAPHIC SEXUALCONTENTYOUVE BEEN WARNED

Ai paced her room, in deep thought. The palace...to ourselves...alone...Sesshomaru...and I... She shook her head "Priorities Ai, priorities."

She suddenly remembered the beach, the moon in the sky. She was in his arms, as he leaned forward and kissed her lips. They were sweeter than usual, perhaps from the wine; his warm skin to hers, in the cool of the ocean. "I love you." He whispered to her, nuzzling his face into her neck, he bit at her skin gently and she weaved her hands through his hair.

Masa howled to the moon as Yato twirled her around. It caused the two Inu-Daiyokai to separate.

"Damn it." Ai quickly left her room. She could feel her cheeks, warm and flushed. She focused on her breathing, her goals, her plans. "The south will be mine again."

Scrolls, some were half open, others stacked in a pile, they surrounded Ai. The desk was cluttered with materials: books, parchment, ink and brushes. Ai was standing over them, leaning forward with her arms on the table. Her long dark hair hand been wrapped up and twisted into a lump on her head, loose strands falling around her face. She was comparing maps, reading old battle strategies, trying to access her own memories of those lands her family once ruled.

Sesshomaru stood in the doorway, watching his future mate. She was surrounded by scrolls, her features which were usually stoic were tense, focused and a hint of what looked to be, frustration.

"Do you have something important to tell me or are you here to admire my beauty?" She didn't even look up at him.

He smirked. Entered the room and shut the heavy wooden door behind him.

"You dare to speak to me like that?" He replied coolly, walking up to her. "Is that anyway to treat your future mate?"

She looked up at him, eyes narrowed, she sat up, her shoulders back and arms folded under her breasts as she stood tall. She smirked and flashed her fangs.

" If you think I am the type of bitch to roll over and submit to you in any form, you should reconsider your desire to court me... Lord Sesshomaru."

She stepped up to him, her chest less than an two centimeters from touching his. She looked him in the eye and he stared back. His heart was racing in his chest, he wanted to take her right there in the study.

Instead he scoffed at her reply. "What are you doing in here? He turned his attention to the scrolls and her hand written notes. Maps of the south? Old battle plans and notes.

"Distracting myself."

She admired him as he leaned over the mess of papers and notes, his large pale hand pushing some papers aside. The magenta stripes on his wrist and hands that matched his eyelids and the marks on his cheeks...his hips. He pulled a ribbon from his sleeve and tied his hair up high on his head. He sat down in the large chair, reading curiously.

"From what?" He asked, picking up a parchment and reading the notes on it, it was his fathers handwriting.

Ai sighed, blowing a curl from her face. "I have to stop thinking about something." She began rolling the scrolls up, making space on the desk. "However, I am failing..."

He turned his attention back to Ai, she wasn't making sense. "What are you talking about."

She grabbed the parchment from his hands and placed it on the desk. "You." She replied, looking down at him. "I want you, now." Her last word came out in a growl. She pushed him back in the large chair and straddled his lap.

Sesshomaru sat, slouched back in the chair, Ai straddled his lap, the position causing him to be forced to look up at her. He was taken aback by her sudden move, his heart pounding in his chest, he could feel the heat traveling through his body. The way she growled when she said 'now'. He could feel the beast within, rumbling deep inside his chest. Time seemed to move in slow motion, her chest rising and falling with each breath, her lips slightly parted, the way she leaned over him, her eyes piercing his own. She wrapped her dark arms around his neck and leaned forward, aiming for his lips. Is this love? He wondered. He knew lust, but this was different, he felt different in this moment. He was breathless, awestruck by her beauty, the fact that she had chosen him, agreed to him, wanted him.

When their lips met it was like lightning. Electricity ran through their body, his hands gripped her through her kimono. He sat up, sitting on the edge of the seat, he pulled her body closer to his, she smiled into their kiss, biting at his lower lip as she pulled away. "I don't want to stop, I don't care what consequences are." She whispered to him, pulling at his kimono so that it fell off his shoulders and revealed his strong pale chest. "I just want you, all of you."

He ripped off his Kimono, stood up, holding Ai around his waist, he leaned her on the desk, pushing that was left on its surface onto the floor and yanked her kimono open. "You are mine and I am yours." He replied. "This is my oath to you."

Outside of the Palace, the sun was high in the sky. Yato stood, looking over the seaside. He sighed, bits of the night before stinging his memory.

"It's too bright out here." Masa groaned, walking up to him. "What are you doing?"

Yato turned to face his short Kuma friend. She was beautiful, it was hard to imagine that she was that dirty tom-boy from class when they were children. She was still rough around the edges, but he loved her for it.

"About last night-" He started, watching her expressions, her face showed nothing. "I just wanted to apologi-"

"Stop." Masa suddenly laughed, she punched him in the shoulder. "It's okay, Nymph wine and all- let's just have no regrets...its not like anything happened anyway."

"Regrets?" Yato asked. "Do you regret last night?"

Masa stared at her tall Falcon friend. She hadn't seen him like this before, his personality was...different. "what?"

"Nothing." He laughed, patting her shoulder. "No regrets, you got it." He rubbed the top of her head which caused her to smack his hand away.

"You know I hate that!" She snapped.

Yato laughed. "I know, that's why I do it."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Annoying pigeon."

"Awe, pigeon! really?" He folded his arms. "That's fine, I'll be your pigeon. I do always seem to find my way back to you." He sighed and walked away.

Masa stood still, frozen by his comment. Staring out over the water, in an instant she had sobered up. I think I love him. She knew her father would never approve of such a pairing, he wanted her to marry another Kuma and keep the bloodline untainted and as his daughter that was her birthright and duty.

"Are you coming?"

Breathless. Heavy breathing echoed in the study. Cherry blossomed skin, Sesshomaru's cheeks were flushed as he panted. Rose stained lips, the blood rushing through Ai's body had caused her lips, cheek and nose to be tainted with red. Her lips were swollen from the ferocity of their kisses, in fact both of them, had noticeably fuller lips. A pile on the floor, Ai and Sesshomaru laid on the their mess of royal fabrics, covered only by Sesshomaru's Sash ,which open was enough to cover their lower parts.

Ai spoke suddenly. "I want to reclaim the Southern lands."

Sesshomaru listened. "It is your birthright."

"I want to understand why She killed my family, it wasn't just her, it was elaborate, the drinks were poisoned...there was more to the genocide of my people than just common heart break...I want to know what it was...I need to know what it was."

Sesshomaru turned his head to look at Ai, she had rolled onto her side to face him, a hand stretched out and resting on his upper torso. "We will find out together."

"I have to journey back to the old Palace...I have to see if there is anything salvageable in the libraries...if there is anything left."

He nodded.

Ai leaned forward and kissed him. He pulled her close, deepening the kiss.

"We can't." She whispered. "Ai and Yato are near."

"So?"

She pushed him away and flashed a devious smirk. "I would think that caving to such basic instincts would be below you."

"Not when those basic instincts are meant for you." He sat up, his eyes were glowing with desire. He had finally had a taste of the "divine" feminine that Yato always seemed to be getting into trouble for. He understood the allure. He wanted to swim in her ocean again, hear her moans, feel her fingers press into his flesh and nails dig into his skin, again and again and again. He smirked, reminiscing on their recent activities. She stood and began to dress. His eyes drank in her figure, her flesh, the marks he had left, bruises on her hips. He stood up and stepped behind her. He ran his hand from the mark on her back down to the bruises on her waist.

She gasped. "Sesshomaru."

"Did I hurt you?" He asked into her ear, genuinely concerned as he placed a hand on either side of her bare hips and rubbed gently.

"There is a thin line between pleasure and pain." Ai replied looking over her shoulder. "I remember nothing but pleasure." She caught his eyes, they swirled red with his beast, his aura spiked. He gripped her hips and pressed her backside against him, he was ready for more. He began kissing her shoulder, her neck. "Sesshomaru." She moaned.

Masa followed Yato into his room. "I'm telling you, you should try this." He picked up a small glass jar from the desk in his quarters. "Its taste is not the best, but it works for everything else."

Masa grabbed the bottle and raised it to her lips. "Oh god, it smells awful."

"Don't smell it, just drink."

"Drink!? This-" She dry heaved.

"DRINK!" He forced the bottle to her lips. She swallowed the fizzy liquid and then let out a cute un-kuma like burp.

"What the hell!-"She stopped. Her nausea was instantly cured, she still had some light sensitivity but she did feel better. "Huh."

"Told ya." He laughed jumping onto his bed, hands folded behind his head. "Stuff works like a charm...for the most part."

"Where'd you get this?"

"I made it."

"Made it? You?"

"Yeah, yeah." Yato waved his hand. "It's a family recipe, I guess we party to hard or something..."

Masa laughed. "Is that so?" She sat on the foot of the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"It's nice, all of us being together again. I like this."

"Me too." Yato sighed, staring at her. " A lot."

Masa smiled. "You know, I think Sesshomaru and Ai make a lovely pair and I think he really, really likes her. And, she definitely likes him, I mentioned Kei and she even got jealous-"

"You told her about Kei!?" Yato jumped up.

"Yeah! It was an accident. But, hey, look what happened. I think it kinda worked in his favor right."

Yato ran his hands over his face. "I guess you're right. But, ei~ish, he really hates everything about that incident."

"What even actually happened."

"Very little, but still, he told me once and hasn't mentioned it since. All things considered, he still is a...you know"

"No way!?" Masa gasped and blushed. "Really!? I mean, I guess it makes sense because I'm sure if he was running around breeding, there would be more rumors."

"He never really seemed at all interested to be honest, not even during heat. But, Ai is different, even when she first entered the picture she brought out something new in him."

"Maybe they're fated to be together."

"The red strings do have a way of entanglement. Bringing together even the most unlikely of pairs."

"Do you believe in fate stuff? Really?"

"I think sometimes, some things are just out of our control, no matter how much we hate it. I think we can shape our destiny or try to but at the end of the moment, what ever happens, was meant to happen...sometimes..."

Sesshomaru and Ai bathed separately for the better, the young lord found himself getting excited just from a glance in her direction. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, allowing the cold water of the bath to cool him down. She flashed through his head, he wondered how they seemed to fit together perfectly, two halves of a whole. Would he tell Yato, would she tell Masa? Or would this be their secret? He smirked, the study was a mess and reeked of them, there was no way they wouldn't get caught, especially by father. He rang a silent bell and a servant appeared.

"Milord."

"I need you to have the study cleaned, deeply and cleansed."

"Of course milord."

He sunk beneath the cool water , officially ridding himself of the impure thoughts and desires. He hoped the clean study would not be too...conspicuous. He also hoped the marks on his body would heal quickly. Their impromptu activities had left evidence. He had glanced at his body in the mirror, the scratches across his back, the bruises down his neck and chest, he wanted to flaunt them, brag about how well he had pleasured his mate, but he knew better, much better.

Ai soaked in the warm bath, biting her lower lip she giggled and blushed. She was a woman now. She couldn't believe what she did, what they did. She moaned in residual pleasure, thinking about her mate, thinking about his body, his hands, mouth, eyes...everything. Clean she got out of the water and stood in front of the mirror, she would have to wear her hair down for a few days, to cover the marks on her neck, almost everything else could be covered by her clothes. His marks covered her, especially her waist and hips, where his large hands gripped her body tightly as he moved within her. His lips had grunted and sighed, whispered and growled words of praise and she loved every minute of it. The way he felt as he finished, the way he held onto her, the way his body shuddered against hers, his heart pounding through his skin, his breathy pants between gentle shoulder kisses and the caress of her breasts. He pulsated inside of her and it drove her wild and when he could finally pull out...

"Cleanse your thoughts" She spoke to herself, and dressed. "Relax."

She wondered if she should tell Masa, or if he would tell Yato or if this would be their little secret. She laughed, thinking of the study, their scent and destruction was all over that room, there was no way this would remain a secret. She rang a silent bell and a servant appeared.

"Milady."

"Yes, please have the study cleaned and organized, please."

"Of course milady."

Quickly Ai returned to her room. Her hair was over both shoulders so as to cover her neck. And she wore the dark skin tight fabric of combat clothes, to cover any marks that would be noticeable should her sleeves or dress be pulled up or back.

"I've conquered his heart. Next step is to conquer the South."

Next soon