Steam, citrus, oh and did I mention, steam?
Chapter Sixteen : Too Much
About a month later, Ishiru had still not regained her sight. But she insisted she was getting better. She could see patches of light and dark. Although it was taking longer than the last time, her eyes were healing. On the morning of the new moon, Ishiru was in the dojo, training. Naraku's shouki had burned away a lot of her muscle structure, so she had to re-train them to usefulness.
"I swear. . ." Ishiru growled under her breath. "This happens," Hook kick, "Too many." Back flip, "Damned," Full force punch, "Times!" She struck out again, and was surprised when Sesshoumaru grabbed her kicking ankle.
"Ah, Sesshoumaru." She said, by way of greeting. The two of them had become much more informal over the course of time. "Glad to see you decided to join the land of the living." Ishiru teased. "Just how long did you sleep?"
"This Sesshoumaru was not sleeping." He said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "He was imagining." With that, he pulled her towards him, by the ankle he still had not relinquished his hold upon. Ishiru was pulled off balance and Sesshoumaru caught her, pulling her against him and nudging her into the proper stance.
"And what were you imagining?" Ishiru asked, still teasing. She danced away from him, moving back into stance once she was out of reach. She stood a little ways off, waiting for his reply. It didn't come.
Sesshoumaru stood stock still, a slightly shocked look on his face. Ishiru's scent had changed, and not the way it had when her magics were strengthening. The hue took a firmer hold over her misty, earthy scent. Like lavender, ginger and red whine, combined into a thick, heady aroma. He resisted the urge to put his hand to his forehead. Her scent was getting to him, playing with his mind, and his instincts. Ishiru frowned worriedly, wondering if something was wrong. She snapped her fingers to gain a relay image. She saw Sesshoumaru's expression and startled stance. She had only a moment to wonder at it before she heard him move. The snapping of her fingers had startled him out of his odd trance.
"Nothing." He said, finally replying to her initial question. He moved to stand just behind her, nudging her back into stance with his body. But he didn't move away that time. Sesshoumaru took hold of her wrists and guided Ishiru's body through a complex, slow, fluid dance that we now call Tai Chi. Ishiru closed her eyes, enjoying the gentle, fluid movements.
Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, was having problems. His instincts were running rampant, unleashed by her scent. It took all of his willpower to resist them. He heard Ishiru sigh softly, tilting her head to the side in relaxation, still following his movements. Ishiru's yukata was loose-ish from her training, and with how he was tucked against her, the pale expanse of flesh on her neck was mere centimeters from his mouth.
Too much.
Ishiru felt his lips lightly brush the skin of her neck. She ignored it, thinking it an accident. But when his mouth descended fully, his mouth moving along her neck, tasting and nipping lightly, she froze. Sesshoumaru stopped with her and wrapped his arms possessively around her torso, lost in her scent. He licked hungrily at her neck, moving down to the firm muscle between her neck and shoulder. Ishiru felt him take the flesh in his mouth, biting down. The bite was not hard enough to break the skin, but enough so that Ishiru couldn't help but let out a soft moan in response.
The sound seemed to snap Sesshoumaru out of it and he released her, a little more harshly than he had intended. Without the support he had provided, Ishiru fell to her knees, finding her breathing to be quick and slightly ragged. Ishiru turned her upper body around, not really caring when the shoulder of her yukata slipped. She found Sesshoumaru several paces off, an odd look in his eyes.
Ishiru didn't have any idea what she was doing to the demon lord. It took every last shred of willpower he had not to grab the newly exposed upper arm and take her right there on the dojo floor. Ishiru was being drawn to him, the flame that was undoubtedly visible in his molten gold eyes tugging at her.
"Se. . . Sesshoumaru." She spoke, her voice breathy and soft, standing up and walking over to the demon lord. Sesshoumaru put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her approach at an arm's length away from him.
"You've trained enough for today." He said curtly, then turned around and left. Ishiru frowned at his retreating form. What had he just done? And why the devil did he stop?
OOO
Ishiru poured a bowl of the warm, hot spring water over her head, rinsing away the soap. Sesshoumaru's baths were quite splendid indeed, like a hot spring picked up and put in a room, complete with trees and shrubs. As soon as she finished rinsing, Ishiru waded back into the water, swimming lazily about.
She left the water over by a patch of steam-heated rocks. Ishiru pulled herself up onto the boulders, finding a comfortable position to relax. After a moment, she began to think aloud.
"What was he doing?" She mused, her voice soft and breathy from the steam. "Maybe I did anything wrong. But he never bit me when I did something wrong before. And it felt nice, not like a reprimand." She rolled onto her side and traced patterns in the water, still talking to the mists.
"When Naraku did stuff like that, I didn't like it, at all." She said, understatement of the year. "But, with Sesshoumaru, I want him to do that again. I wonder what brought it on? He seemed kind of shocked. But by what?" Ishiru turned back over to sit somewhat upright.
She put a hand to her neck, her fingers tracing where Sesshoumaru's mouth had gone. Her skin still tingled, almost burned. She rubbed the area, trying to get it to go away. Her actions sent small shocks from her fingertips through her body. Ishiru gasped, surprised at the sensation. She had felt something similar when Sesshoumaru had touched her, but not exactly the same, no shocks, more like a wave of warmth.
"Does anywhere else on me do that?" She wondered aloud. Curious, Ishiru began exploring, trying and testing different parts of her body. Her neck was definitely one. The insides of her thighs, as well as her breasts and in between her legs. She had never really given either of the latter areas much thought. Ishiru continued her little exploration, but she wasn't the only one who had opted to the baths that evening.
OOO
Author's Corner
OOO
And, for the sake of your boredom, I shall end it there. I've been trying to turn out longer chapters, but I don't want to loose all my hard earned readers! ;
Review Responses
bowwowlover : I'm sorry! I'm trying to keep the chapters long. But I've got most of the story blocked out from now on so I'll at least have a base to work off of.
Taiyoukai Lady : Will do.
Lucifer001 : If I told you that there wouldn't be any point to the story now would there?
