(Divider)

Rin kept her eyes on the ground as they walked back to her old pick-up truck that was parked on the far side of the parking lot. Though she had not wanted to be found out, she had heard what Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had talked about right as they were leaving.

"I do not intend on hurting her, Inuyasha. She is merely in the way. Once she sells her mare to me I'll be out of her life forever," that was what he had said, and Rin had known that had been his intention all along...so why did it hurt so much?

Why does it hurt? Rin thought as she remembered the flipflop her heart had done at hearing that cold statement pass Sesshomaru's lips, it's not like I thought something would happen between us.

"Where are you going?" Sesshomaru's voice called out suddenly and Rin snapped out of her trance as she glanced up at him. His auric eyes held her prisoner as they continued to stare at each other in silence before he closed his eyes and cleared his throat; freeing her at last.

"I'm going to my car," Rin replied after realizing (with a deep blush) that they had been staring at each other for a while. He raised a sole hand as one long, pale finger pointed towards the right.

"Isn't it that way?" he asked stoically as Rin's eyes followed the direction his finger was pointing and saw that her car was indeed parked over there. Her eyes widened slightly as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she waved her hands in front of her, trying to defend what little dignity she had left.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was distracted – and my mind was somewhere else, because...I was stressing on how I'd get the money for next month's rent! Yeah, that's right!" Rin exclaimed before rubbing the back of her head, "I have a one-track mind sometimes, and that kind of makes it hard to multi-task," she added with a light, nervous giggle.

His golden eyes narrowed slightly as he stared down at her, "You seem far too young to worry over such things," he observed as Rin glared at him before letting out a light huff.

"You keep saying that, but I am old enough to take care of myself," she assured him while crossing her arms over her chest, "and just how old are you?" she couldn't help but banter back.

"Too old," he responded as Rin's eyelids lowered and she let out a sigh.

"What's that supposed to mean? You barely look over twenty-five," she replied, and noted the slight quirk of his upper lip at the comment.

"That's kind of you to say, but I am much older than twenty-five," he replied as Rin cocked her head to the side as she surveyed him.

"Thirty?" she asked, though her brows furrowed forward in confusion when she saw him shake his head. Just how old could he be?

"Thirty-five?" she tried, but let out a defeated sigh when he shook his head yet again.

"Stop this silly game," he ordered when he noted that she was about to voice another number, "it's getting late, and you won't be any use to me if you freeze to death," he added as Rin rolled her eyes. Why was it, that whenever he mentioned something that could be vaguely sweet and caring, he had to morph it to make it sound like he was only helping himself?

"Oh, alright," Rin gave in, but only because the mention of temperature made Rin more aware of the cold that surrounded them. It was nearing winter, which meant that she'd also need to bundle up the horses before she went to bed tonight.

He shortened his strides to remain at her side as they made their way (in the right direction) towards her car. She pushed in her car key before turning it to the right to unlock the old, rusted doors. As Rin opened her car door, she didn't miss the slight disgust that passed over Sesshomaru's features as his door gave out an ear-deafening squeak.

She let out a light laugh, rather than be offended, at Sesshomaru's present expression. He merely scoffed at her before situating himself inside the car. A feat that Rin noted, seemed to be harder than it looked. His tall frame made it difficult for him to squeeze inside the small amount of space offered between the seat and the glove department.

It's funny, but I don't remember him having this problem when we left earlier, Rin thought with a slight smile. Of course, out of courtesy, she wiped it off her face when Sesshomaru turned to look at her through angry golden slits.

Once he got as comfortable as he was able to, Rin slid easily into the driver's side before turning the engine on and backing out of her parking spot.

"Drive faster," Sesshomaru ordered gruffly after they were on the road for a good five minutes.

"I'm driving ten over the speed limit. I can't go any faster without being pulled over," Rin replied logically before biting her lower lip to stop her giggles when he tried to situate his cramped in legs.

He pulled them into his chest at first, but seemed to grow tired of that. Then he tried to rest them on top of the glove department, but his legs looked more cramped than before. Finally, he returned his legs to the position they had been before, all while keeping his face relatively neutral.

"Don't worry, we'll get back soon," Rin promised with a wide grin before glancing back at the road.

Rin then let out an exuberant cheer the moment she spotted the first few snowflakes hit her windshield as she sped on down the open road.

Winter had finally come!

(Divider)

Sesshomaru let out a light breath of relief the moment they reached Rin's ranch as he stretched out his aching legs. That was the last time he'd ever ride in that...torture device! He kept his pain well hidden from Rin's view as the young woman walked around the car's exterior to reach his side with a friendly smile.

She's always so happy, he noted in slight interest, that is...unless she fuming at me, and his interest died the moment that thought entered his mind. A small frown tugged at the sides of his lips at that. There was no need to think about the woman in the first place. He was only sticking around because he wanted the horse. That was the only reason.

"Well, I bet you're happy we made it, huh?" she teased with a wide grin before giving his shoulder a quick, hard pat, "and I bet you're still after Mika,"

"Yes," he replied in return, only to be met with a light fit of giggles as Rin nodded before shutting her eyes and turning slightly away from him.

"You're very persistent, I'll give you that much, but I'm still not going to give you Mika," she answered with a playful shrug, "but you're welcome to stay and help me bundle up the horses and collect some firewood,"

"Fine, but do not think that you can take full advantage of me because you have the Russian mare so conveniently in your care," Sesshomaru advised as Rin let out another cycle of giggles.

"Of course not! I would never dream of taking advantage of such a...prestigious man," Rin replied sarcastically with a smile. Sesshomaru wasn't quite sure if he should take her seriously, or be offended at her teasing. Either way, he didn't much care for the undeniable...ease she seemed to have around him.

Most of the people who he came into contact with either hated or feared him. Two emotions that he had come to accept after years of finding out how convenient it was to have humans in such a state. It made living amongst them...somewhat bearable.

But this girl, Rin, neither feared nor hated him (unless she still held a grudge against him from when they had first met). It puzzled him, and also slightly worried him. He was used to scaring his clients into deals, using both his frighteningly strange features as well as his monetary power to sway them into doing what he wished of them.

So, why did neither work on Rin?

"Shall we go...?" Rin asked suddenly, snapping Sesshomaru back into reality as he glanced down at her. Her soft brown eyes brightened as a smile pulled at the ends of her lips, and caused something to stir inside of Sesshomaru. Something about her smile...seemed so right.

And at the fact that he was the cause of it amplified that odd feeling.

"As you wish," he replied nonchalantly, his inner turmoil safety hidden away by his usual stoic mask.

"Alright then," she chirped, "follow me,"

(Divider)

Rin had to admit, for a city-slicker, Sesshomaru had some major skills when it came to heavy lifting and chopping wood. He had chopped nearly triple what she could manage in an hour, and carried stacks of logs back and forth like they were marshmallows.

It sure beats sweating for hours doing it myself, Rin thought with a smile, I'm sure going to miss all this help when he leaves.

"Will this be enough to last you for the winter?" Sesshomaru asked as he cast a glance in her direction. She stiffened with a blush before giving him a swift nod. There was enough wood there to probably last her through the next years snowfall as well. When he turned towards her to give her his full attention, Rin felt her cheeks flush hotly as she hurriedly bowed her head to hide her eyes from his view with her bangs. Why was she acting like this love struck school girl all of the sudden? From what she could remember, she was supposed to hate the man!

"I suppose you'll want me to bundle up the horses as well?" he droned out as he turned away from her to glance back at the stables.

"No, it's alright if you don't want to," Rin mumbled, keeping her head low, "you've already done more than enough. Go inside and take a breather. Make some hot cocoa too, that always tends to hit the spot," she added lightly as she turned to head towards the stable, not bothering to give him a last glance.

She heard the sound of his retreating footsteps as he took her advice and headed back towards the house. Rin hung her head as she began to drag her feet towards the stable. What had she expected? For him to just run towards her and tell her that he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her? Rin's cheeks heated up at the image before she pushed it to the back of her mind.

There's no use thinking like that, Rin thought solemnly, he's going to leave the instant I sell Mika to him, if I ever do.

She wondered then if she was holding onto Mika for a whole other reason besides the fact that the horse was her best friend. Her eyes widened at the realization as she spared a glance towards her little, quaint house that began emitting dark gray smoke from its chimney.

Silly, silly Rin, she chided to herself, there's no way that he's here for you. It's already been established that all he wants is Mika, she added as she began taking stronger strides towards the stables. If she wasted any more time thinking about things that could never be, her poor horses would freeze.

(Divider)

Sesshomaru had decided that since the woman was practically holding him captive, he had rights to phone privileges. A privilege that he very well needed at the moment. The receiver on the other side rang a couple of times as Sesshomaru waited impatiently for an answer.

"Hello?" a high pitched, scratchy voice asked into the mouth piece on the other line.

"Jaken. This is Sesshomaru," Sesshomaru greeted, in his own way of course.

"Sess-Sesshomaru? I haven't seen you in almost a week! What happened to you, sir?" his faithful accounting adviser cried out, before he got all choked up and began talking again, "I was so worried about you, sir," he added, and Sesshomaru could practically envision the little man biting down on a tissue with tears flowing down his cheeks as he wallowed in misery.

"It is not important right now, Jaken," Sesshomaru stated, "I need someone to schedule a pick up,"

"Of course, sir. Of who, may I ask?" Jaken asked back.

"Me," Sesshomaru seethed, dearly wishing that Jaken was there presently so he could punch the living daylights out of the moron.

"O-Of course, sir! How stupid of me to ask such a silly question!" Jaken exclaimed, the nervousness at losing his job because of a "silly question" clearly evident in his shaking voice, "I'll have a ride arranged for you right away, sir! Better yet – sir – I'll come get you myself! Just give me your present address," he added, with a slightly larger amount of confidence.

"I'm at that woman's barn, the one that owns the Russian mare," Sesshomaru replied, Rin's address presently evading his thoughts.

"I'll be there in a flash!"

"Oh, and Jaken?" Sesshomaru called just as Jaken was about to hang up the phone.

"Yes, sir?" he asked back obediently.

"Bring a horse trailer, I brought one of my horses here by accident,"

"Of course, sir," Jaken replied before hanging up. Sesshomaru stared at the receiver for a moment before hanging up Rin's phone. He glanced at the fridge as he remembered Rin's words on making hot cocoa.

I'm sure she'll want some when she gets back in, he thought as he strode towards the fridge and opened it to grab for the carton of milk that sat on the top shelf inside the small, steel appliance. He searched through her cupboards for a kettle, as well as some mugs to put the hot chocolate in.

He had just put the water inside the red kettle and had hot chocolate mix poured in two mugs when he realized what he was doing. Why was he, Sesshomaru Tashio, making hot chocolate for the woman who was waving the fact that she had the Russian mare in his face and practically holding him prisoner? If she had just sold him the horse, then he wouldn't have been stuck in the middle of no where for almost a week.

By gods, but I don't want to go back to the office, he thought suddenly as the image of countless, horrendous stacks of paperwork decorating his desk and office appeared in his mind. A light scowl tugged at his lips as he held in the sigh of despair. He'd be working for weeks to make up for all the lost time.

"I suppose it's my last act of kindness before I leave this place," Sesshomaru murmured to himself, figuring that he could continue to "sway" Rin later; preferably over the phone now that the snow season was in full swing.

He stared out the window and was amazed that in such a short time, the entire grassy ground was completely covered in a blanket of snow. The once bright, green scenery was now silent and peacefully white. He also noted with a grimace that snow was still falling at an accelerating rate.

If this continues, Jaken will never make it over here and back, Sesshomaru thought solemnly. It seemed that he'd be forced to spend another day or two at Rin's place. Speaking of Rin, Sesshomaru added as he glanced around the outside for signs of the young woman.

He turned around to look up at the clock mounted above her stove to see that she had been gone for a good ten minutes. It shouldn't take ten minutes to bundle up a handful of horses. She had sold six horses that same day, which meant that she only had two or three left.

His silvery eyebrows furrowed forward as he noted that he was worried about Rin. Worried over a human. Pathetic, he chided as he scoffed at the window and crossed his arms over his chest as he proceeded to wait for her. And wait he did. He waited and waited. He waited until he couldn't take it any more and went to grab his black trench coat that he had worn to hide his identity before. It wasn't much, but his overly hot body temperature would keep the remainder of his body warm.

Once he put on the long coat, he went into the kitchen to shut off the stove before making his way towards the door. There was no way he was going to let the woman just disappear on him.

(Divider)

Rin had finished wrapping up the last horse when she heard the sound of heavy snowfall. She turned a fearful eye towards the entrance of the stable and noted that she had left the door open. Large snowballs that looked a lot like hail fell dangerously on the ground as the frozen snow shattered into millions of pieces.

Her horses snorted and neighed anxiously at all the noise as Rin rushed around the stalls, trying her best to calm them. If she had any hope of getting back to her house, she'd need to make sure that her horses could handle being without her first.

"Please calm down," Rin whispered as she shushed one black stallion and stroked his snout as he began to relax. His next door neighbor, a light brown mare, let out a frightened shriek as the amount of hail falling intensified.

Rin let out a frightened hiss when the stallion pulled out of her grasp and let out a powerful cry before pushing off the ground to stand on his hind legs and kicked his front hooves wildly. She quickly maneuvered around him to get out of his stall as he started to buck and shake his head this way and that, his fear causing him to act so crazily.

Rin took an unsteady step backward as she glanced at all the horses, including Mika, who were kicking and bucking wildly in fear. She didn't know what to do to calm them, and feared that she'd be stuck out there all night trying to think of a way, and it was starting to get really cold. Her light green rain jacket was too thin to really offer any warmth as the cold winter breeze blew in from the entrance.

She glanced back at the large open doors and hurried over to close them. Maybe after the cold air was shut off, the horses would calm down. She ran towards the entrance and went to grab for one door, only to let out a pained groan when her back was hit by a large ice ball that shattered on contact with her body.

Not wishing to give up, Rin pulled on the door's handle as she dug her heels into the dirt (which was now covered in a blanket of snow) as she pulled with all her might. But her tries were for naught as the winter's breeze kept pushing the door in the opposite direction, making it that much harder to close the gigantic, heavy doors.

Her hands began to freeze over, her fingers beginning to tingle painfully, as she pulled on the steel handles. She had not thought to wear gloves on her way over to the stable, and deeply regretted it now. She shut her eyes as the cold air seemed to seep into her skin and flow through her as if she were nothing but air as well.

She let out a pained gasp as she tugged and pulled with all her might, the left door she had been holding onto slowly inching towards her through the snow. She pulled and tugged until the door was practically closed, and then moved to the right one. She brought her hands to her face as she blew on them, trying to keep them as warm as possible, as she went to grab for the other door handle.

Tears pricked at the ends of her eyes as she felt the cold of the other door handle seep into her hands, the pain feeling far greater than it had moments before. She shut her eyes as she pulled on the door, finding it slightly easier to tug, now that her hands had gone numb. She had just gotten the right door shut when the wind whizzed by the small crack between them and pushed the left door all the way open once again.

Rin let out a choked sob, but didn't let go of the right door as she looked around for something that could keep the door stationary. She caught sight of a long rope situated on the nearby table, accompanied by a couple of used horse shoes as she let go of the door with one hand to reach for the rope. It took a couple of tries, but eventually she was able to make a grab for it.

Rin wrapped one end through the door handle before making a knot, and then moving to tie the other side to one of the horse stalls. After the one door was secure, Rin smiled at it in satisfaction when she noted that even when the wind blew on it, it remained closed.

Now all that's left is the left door, Rin thought as she rubbed her hands together to generate a little heat as she looked around for another piece of rope. She spotted one under the same table the first had been, and bent down to reach for it.

Once she had the rope in her hands, she looped it over one shoulder as she went to grab for the other door handle. Her hands began to go numb again as she tugged the door closed. Thankfully, there was a path of uncovered grass where the door had pushed the snow away before, so Rin could pull the door closed much easier.

Once she had the door closed, she knotted the handle and then tied the other side of the string to a stall near it. The doors remained closed even as the wind blew against them, and Rin rested her hands against her hips with a proud grin.

About time, she thought to herself as she turned to see that her horses had also calmed down, the barn quickly growing warm now that they were blocked from the wind. Rin blew on her freezing hands yet again before rubbing them together to warm up the twitching limbs.

"Now it's time to head back," Rin whispered as she turned towards the other end of the barn, intent on opening those doors since they were facing away from the gusting winds. On her way over she paused to pat Mika's snout affectionately, but whirled around when she heard the doors give out a loud groan in protest. To her dismay, the doors were being pulled backward, meaning that someone was trying to pull the two doors open.

"No!" Rin screamed just as the left door was flung open, taking part of the empty stall she had tied the rope to with it. The sight she was met with next surprised her even more. There stood, ever proud and agitated, Sesshomaru in what looked like a very thin black trench coat. Rin gapped at him as she saw that he had been the one who had opened the tied down door with his strength alone.

But how is that possible? Rin asked herself as she stared back in shock at the man, there's no way anyone could physically pull that door open – and take part of a nailed down stall with them, she reasoned to herself. Just what was Sesshomaru? Rin was starting to wonder if he was even human...

"J-Just what do you think you're doing?" Rin asked, finding her voice after nearly being scared out of her skin.

"I was looking for you," Sesshomaru replied nonchalantly as he glanced back when a big gust of wind blew into the stable. It shook the right door (which was still linked to an empty stall), but Sesshomaru didn't even stumble as it passed by him.

"It took me forever to get those doors closed!" Rin groaned as Sesshomaru glanced back at her before letting go of the door. The wind pushed it back against the front of the stable as he made his way towards her.

"You'll freeze if you remain out here," he stated logically, "I'll take care of the door," he promised as an afterthought. Rin glanced up at his face once he made it within reaching distance and adverted her eyes when she saw his golden eyes turn hard at her openly, blaming stares.

"I guess you're right," Rin murmured as she rubbed her cold arms, and felt her cheeks flush and her eyes widen when Sesshomaru's arms suddenly came around her to pull her close. Her left cheek was pressed against his hard chest as their bodies plastered themselves against each other.

One of Sesshomaru's hands came up to rest against her icy right ear, instantly warming it, as his other hand rested at the small of her back.

"You're so...warm," Rin murmured as her eyelids lowered over her dark brown eyes and she felt suddenly tired. She supposed that the vast temperature change was to blame; that going from nearly freezing to suddenly feeling like she was lying against a furnace was affecting her senses.

"And you're so cold," he whispered back as his embrace tightened around her. Rin shut her eyes then as she felt the day's stresses and activities finally catching up with her. She was just so tired...

(Divider)

Sesshomaru felt Rin's body go limp the moment he had whispered about how cold she felt. He glanced down at her, and did indeed see that her eyes were closed and she looked completely relaxed. He then moved her around so he could comfortably cradle her in his arms.

She's such a fool, he thought as he glanced down at her flushed, exhausted face. Her long brown hair cascaded down her neck and over his arm, its silkiness felt even through the layer of his trench coat as it seemed to almost lovingly caress his arm.

Judging by her body temperature, she would've frozen the moment she stepped outside of the protection of the stable, he thought as he coldly surveyed her, truly a pathetic fool, he added as he moved to cover her body with the front of his trench coat as he looked around for something to keep the front door shut.

His answer came as he looked down at the piece of wood still tied to a rope that had been stripped from the stall when he opened the stable door. He quickly cut the rope with a flick of his claws before he retracted the weapon and grabbed for the freed, chipped wood.

He walked out of the stable with Rin in tow as he grabbed for the open door and effortlessly pushed it to be level with its twin. Then he stuck the piece of wood between the back of the handles to keep the doors closed. Luckily, it was a large enough piece that there was no doubt in Sesshomaru's mind that it'd be there tomorrow as well.

He wrapped his coat further over Rin's body as he turned around to brave the storm back towards Rin's house. But, given the fact that Rin was asleep, Sesshomaru didn't worry as he used his demonic speed to reach the house in mere seconds; even though the snow storm would've slowed anyone else down considerably.

As he walked up on the porch, he closed his free hand over the door knob and opened her front door before swiftly closing it behind him. A few snowflakes fell into her home after them, but he had been quick enough to block out most of the storm.

Moving to sit down on the couch he situated Rin more comfortably on his lap as he let his abnormal body heat warm the young woman's body. She subconsciously snuggled closer to his form as she ran her hand over his right pectoral before resting it on his right shoulder. Her soft, cold hands sent tremors through Sesshomaru's body as he ran one hand down her forearm slowly. She shivered in response and tightened her closed eyes as she murmured something before letting out a quiet sigh.

His hand behind her body rested against the small of her back once again as he held her close and gently rubbed her back as he continued to slide his fingers back and forth along her outstretched arm. After a time he felt her cold body slowly begin to warm as the color returned to her cheeks and she looked more like herself once again.

It was only after Sesshomaru was sure that Rin was alright that he gently stood and laid her out on the couch. She let out a displeased moan as Sesshomaru pulled back. A small smirk tugged at the sides of his lips before he pulled his trench coat off and gently covered Rin with it, offering some of his body heat to her still chilled form.

He was just about to turn to head towards the kitchen when he heard Rin murmur something he was sure he had to have heard wrong.

"Sesshomaru..." the soft plea in her tone causing him to pause. So she dreamed of him, did she? A scowl pulled at Sesshomaru's mouth then as he glanced down at her with slight displeasure darkening his auric orbs.

A most annoying turn of events, he thought. He did not need her to fall for him. Such emotions as love or lust were extremely unprofessional, and he would have none of it.

Of course, he meant that warning for himself as well. For he felt a most dangerous mix of attachment and attraction towards the young, independent woman.

Her human scent was also...enchanting. A mixture of wildflowers and earth, the two causing strange things to happen to his acute senses. It was almost as if she were...intoxicating and...irresistible.

(Divider)

Woo! Exciting stuff! ^^ hope you liked it!