For several minutes as they walked through the gardens, they were both silent. Her heart ached for him, for the discontent she could sense and yet she could not bring herself to do anything. She was not willing to put herself back in his hold, so that even his silence hurt. He would have to settle for being friends, if he would even give her that.
There was a very large part of Sesshoumaru that was tempted to simply force her to mate him; it would not be hard. With his strength and her condition, she would be no match for him physically. He doubted the pups would allow her to purify him. He even considered, if only for a moment, black mailing her; making it impossible for her to have the Kit, before he completely disregarded even the thought, let alone the idea. Hurting her again was not the way to go about winning her back.
"Will you allow this one to court you?" he asked, voice quiet as he focused studiously on not looking at her.
Though she thought she shouldn't have been, Kagome was still surprised. But she shook her head. "If you should know anything about me by now Sesshoumaru, it's that I don't cheat. And I want to give Kouga a chance."
"Youkai have been known to court the same subject at the same time." Even just the thought of sharing her with the wolf disgusted him, but he would bare it, if she would only give him a chance.
"They have." Frowning, she looked up at the sky and smiled a little as she caught sight of falling snow. "And I have friends who will date several people at once. But I'm not made that way, Sesshoumaru. I won't be fought over, or chased after, if I don't wish to be. Even by you."
Gold eyes went molten at the challenge and instinct broke free of hard wrought control. Without a word, he snatched her wrist and gently but firmly pulled her as flush against him as he could manage. It warmed something inside of him to feel his pups pressed against his stomach. "Be careful how you speak to this one, Miko. I have made exceptions, considering our circumstances, but I am still youkai; I am still a Taiyoukai. Do not issue a challenge you are not prepared to meet."
Startled, Kagome stared up at him with wide eyes, before anger sparked in her. Purity sizzled along her skin and clothes to snap at the hands that held her. "Let go of me. I won't be manhandled. And if you think for a minute you could take me against my will, you've another think coming!"
As a warning, it was efficient. Pain danced along the palms of his hands, not enough to be anything more than uncomfortable, but certainly a warning. The thought that the pups would not allow her to harm him vanished, but so did the mask of civility. She didn't understand, and instinct was egging him on; instinct that had been mostly caged and controlled for centuries. He bared his fangs in a snarl even as one of his hands moved up to the back of her neck to caress the soft skin there. "You have power in your own right, but it is not enough to stop this one from taking you, if I so desired."
Bringing her even closer, he leaned over her to bury his nose against the pounding pulse in her neck. The subtle scent of chocolate and mint soothed him, allowed him to ease back into some semblance of control. Taking a deep breath, he nipped a gentle warning into soft skin. "The only thing that is stopping this one from claiming you now is that you would hate me, if you do not already." He let her go and with a pleased smirk, walked back to the house.
Anger warred with passion and surprise, and won. Biting back a snarl of her own, one that would have been surprisingly animalistic, she formed a bow and arrow out of reki and fired at him. When he merely turned and caught it between two fingers and suppressed the energy with his own, before continuing, she didn't bother to bite back the curse. "God damnit…."
o.O.o
Word Count - 718
