Lemon warning
This is supposed to be a lemon chapter; however THIS is the 'clean' version of the chapter, for those who don't care for the lime. If you want to read the lime, it isn't posted here. according to their TOS, will not allow the posting of Adult Rated Materials, so if you want to read the lime/lemon, see MY BIO ON MY AUTHOR PAGE. There is a link to my fanfics on Media Miner, where the lemons are posted. If you have trouble, you might have to adjust the settings to see ALL rated fics, as Media Miner is set to default at PG-13.
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Chapter 73
Reprimand
Belle grinned as she quietly closed the door and slipped off her shoes in the darkened foyer. It was late, sure, but Kichiro was probably asleep, and surely he couldn't fault her for wanting to see him.
'I missed him.'
'Yeah, but you do realize that there's a good chance that Kichiro will be madder than hell . . .'
'He won't be mad at me! Why would he be?'
'Because it's two in the morning, and he thinks you're home in your own bed.'
She sighed. True enough, she supposed. She'd had him take her home early so she could finish her talk with Cain. Too bad Cain was already at Gin's for the night. Though common sense told her that he wouldn't be making another appearance until morning, she'd sat up for him until nearly one on the off chance that he would come home. In the end, though, she figured she might as well give up, but the sight of her empty little bed was just too depressing, and she'd called a cab . . . 'So I'll make sure he wakes up happy . . . I can think of a few things that should do it . . .'
'Yeah, I don't even think the mystical powers of the blow job are going to convince him not to be ticked off about it.'
'You worry too much.'
'And you don't think nearly enough.'
Ignoring her youkai voice, Belle slipped through the silent house, smiling as the familiar aura of Kichiro's bedroom surrounded her. 'Sleeping like a baby,' she mused as she smiled at the hanyou on the bed.
'What do you expect? You never leave the poor guy alone, do you?'
'Oh, stuff! Like he doesn't enjoy himself, too . . .'
'Enjoying or not, Belle, he's not a god. Even Kichiro gets tired.'
A moment's hesitation washed over her features, and Belle almost reconsidered her plan. 'He does look content, doesn't he? Maybe I should just go back home . . .'
'. . . Or we could just slip in bed with him . . . No one said you couldn't actually sleep when you're here . . .'
Belle's smile resurfaced, and she slipped off the thin jacket that barely reached mid-thigh. Cut like a trench coat only shorter, the coat covered enough skin that she hadn't been worried. She hung it on the handle of the closet before carefully slipping between the sheets, savoring the feel of Kichiro's skin against hers.
'And if he isn't mad about you coming over here in the middle of the night, the idea that you came over in just that jacket? Yeah, that'll do it . . .'
'No one saw anything. Be quiet, will you?'
The movement was so startling that Belle could only gasp as Kichiro rolled her over, pinning her against the mattress, eyes glowing in the darkness. "Give me one good reason not to beat you, Belle-chan."
Breath caught in her throat as her heart hammered wildly against her ribcage, Belle shook her head slightly, licked her lips as she tried to concentrate on the irritation evident in Kichiro's expression rather than the welcome feel of his naked skin against hers.
"Why would you do that when you could---?"
"In a minute, princess. Now answer me. How did you get over here?"
"Taxi," she murmured, running her fingers up and down his chest.
"Stop that. I'm not done growling at you," he grumbled. "Belle, it's two in the morning."
"Can't you growl at me later? Please?"
"No!"
She sighed as he rolled off her and sat up. "I took a taxi," she said quietly. "I was perfectly safe . . ."
"No, you were perfectly stupid! Don't you get it? I thought you were home. Why didn't you call me? You know I'd have come to get you."
Belle sat up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, smashing her breasts against his back. "But I'm here now, and I'm safe . . ."
"Entirely irrelevant, damn it! Belle, you could have been attacked!"
"In a cab?"
"By the cab driver . . . you don't know!"
"He was a completely boring older man, Kichiro."
"And if he had been youkai?"
She shrugged. "You would have saved me."
"Not if I didn't know you were fucking running around."
"Okay, okay . . . bad Belle . . . I've been duly chastised. Now will you---?"
"Belle . . ."
She sighed and sat back. "Okay. Rant and rave away."
"This isn't a joke!"
"I didn't think it was."
"Then take it seriously."
"Were you awake when I got here?"
He rolled his eyes, glaring over his shoulder at her. "No, I wasn't. I didn't wake up until you crawled into bed with me."
'At least he doesn't know what you were---or weren't---wearing . . .'
'Be quiet!'
'Fine, you're on your own . . . don't get us clobbered, all right?'
"I just wanted to be with you, to surprise you," she pouted. "If you don't want me, I can go home . . ."
"This isn't about wanting you, Belle. It's about you being safe. Can you understand that?"
"I was safe."
Growling in frustration, he raked his hands through his hair. "No, you weren't! You like to think you are all the time, but you're not! Do you have any idea what I'd do if something happened to you?"
"I wasn't trying to make you worry."
"You're just like Ryomaru sometimes, did you know? He doesn't think, either---at least, not when it matters! Belle, you could have been attacked or worse! You can't take chances like that! You can't!"
"I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think it was safe," she tried to placate him. "Kichiro, is it so bad that I just want to be here with you?"
He rolled his eyes and shook his head, but she could discern the hint of a blush tingeing his cheeks. "This isn't funny, Belle! This is serious!"
Belle scooted off the bed and stomped over to get her jacket. "Fine . . . you know, I'm not stupid. I didn't walk over here or anything . . . I---"
"Oh, for the love of---tell me you didn't wear just that over here."
Belle jerked on the waist tie. "Yeah, I did."
"Have you lost your fucking mind?" he bellowed, shooting off the bed and grasping her shoulders. "That's even worse!"
"I was fine," she assured him again. "I really was . . . I'm not stupid, you know. I---"
"I have doubts about that," he growled, shaking her just enough to cut her off. "If you're not going to take your own safety to heart, then someone has to!"
He grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward the bed. Belle tried to pull her hand away but he held on tight. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded as he sat down on the edge of the bed and jerked her closer.
"Something your daddy should have done long ago, I think," he growled.
"Wha---No! Kichiro! No!"
She might as well have been pleading with a deaf man for as much as Kichiro heeded her words. With one quick yank, she stumbled, fell over his lap, the breath forced out of her upon impact. He took the opportunity to trap her arms in one of his hands, trapping her legs between his own. "If you're not going to listen to reason," he gritted out. "Then you're going to listen to something."
The first smack of his hand on her backside was blunted through the thin fabric of the light jacket. What little breath she'd managed to suck in whooshed out of her again as she squealed in outrage. The second and third smacks brought on more of the same. Unfortunately Kichiro must have realized that he still wasn't getting his message across, and before he spanked her again, he tossed the hem of the jacket out of the way.
Sucking in a harsh breath as the sting of his palm exploded on her bottom, Belle whimpered quietly, struggling without much hope of escaping. Humiliation warred with the rioting nerves in the abused area, and she felt tears rising to her eyes.
'Don't you cry, Belle! Don't you dare!' she berated herself. 'That's what he wants! If you cry, he wins . . .'
Two more swats had her wailing, more out of anger than actual pain. There was a strange emotion underlying it all, but in her outrage, she didn't stop to consider what it meant.
Kichiro sighed and let his hand rest on her bared rear. "All right, wench. You can knock that off now. I know well enough that I didn't really hurt you."
She struggled to get away from him again. He held onto her firmly but gently as his hand started massaging her offended backside. "Don't do that," she squeaked, knowing her face had to be completely crimson and glad that he couldn't see it.
"Do what?"
"That," she said, clenching her rear as his hand kept massaging.
"You've been punished, Belle-chan. Promise you'll never do that again?"
". . . I promise," she whimpered, unsure if she were more embarrassed that he'd spanked her or that her body was apparently not getting the message from her brain that she still was upset with him for it.
"You have to be more careful," he admonished gently, relinquishing his hold on her arms and legs only to scoop her up and turn her around, cradling her against his chest. "It's not just about you anymore, you know. What you do affects me, too."
That gave her pause. She hadn't really thought about that, had she? It was true enough. One mate could mean the death of the other, couldn't they? If something happened to her . . . "I'm sorry," she whispered as tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry . . ."
He sighed. "Belle, don't cry . . . You just can't take risks like that, even if you don't realize that you are."
"I'm a bad mate," she sniffled, burying her face against Kichiro's chest. "I was stupid and bad and---"
"I'm glad you came over. Next time, call me, okay?"
She nodded as Kichiro smoothed her hair. "Y-you can sp-spank me again."
"Do you think I enjoyed that?"
"N-no . . ."
"I didn't, but if something happened to you . . ."
She hugged him, nestled closer to him, let him surround her in a feeling of complete and total safety. Still, now that the embarrassment of being spanked had worn off, she had to admit that she really hadn't minded it at all. In fact, she rather . . . liked it . . . the feeling of being completely at his whim; the knowledge that he wouldn't really hurt her, even if he had injured her pride . . . Even in the violence of the perceived act, there had also been a sense of control. He had known that he hadn't really hurt her. He hadn't intended to, and she knew it. "Kichiro?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you . . . want . . . to spank me again?"
He sat stock-still for a moment before pushing her back to look into her face. "Oh, kami . . . you liked it!"
She felt her cheeks heat with a blush but shrugged. "Maybe."
His gaze narrowed incredulously, and he shook his head before barking out a terse laugh. "That was meant to be punishment, you know."
"And I was duly chastised, my mate . . ." She trailed off as she shifted position, straddling him, rising up on her knees as he fell back against the bed.
"I don't think you were," he complained as he stroked her hips, claws drawing goosebumps as she slowly untied the jacket and slipped it off her shoulders. "Damn . . ." he hissed, gaze falling from her eyes to her breasts.
Belle leaned forward to grab a condom off the nightstand. Kichiro caught her, pulled her against him, his lips meeting hers as their bodies collided. Her arm dropped to the coverlet as she moaned softly, as coherent thought shot up in a rampant blaze of desire and heat. His hands slipped around to squeeze her bottom, the already inflamed nerves firing off, one by one. She was vaguely aware of movement. His kisses were too powerful, too consuming, and when he pulled her on her hips, bringing her forward, she gasped as another current of shocking sensation coursed through her.
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Labored breathing broke the silence as Kichiro rubbed Belle's shoulder. She cuddled against him, savoring the scent of their entwined bodies. Smiling as she struggled to breathe, Belle pressed a kiss on his chest and giggled unevenly when he shuddered.
"I'm glad I came over," she ventured.
He kissed her forehead and sighed. "I am, too."
"I'm sorry I worried you. I thought you'd be sleeping, and---"
"Just call me next time. I'd rather lose sleep and know you're safe."
She leaned up to look at the clock and grimaced. Nearly four in the morning . . . "Will you take me home?"
"Now?"
Belle nodded. "As soon as I shower . . ."
"Yeah, your shower . . ."
She frowned. "Kichiro . . ."
He smiled ruefully as he sat up to remove the used condom. "Can't have you smelling like your mate, can we?"
She shook her head. "It's not like that," she said. "I just---"
"No, it's fine," he cut in. "Don't worry about it."
The look on his face told Belle that he considered the subject closed. She stifled a sigh and drew a deep breath. "I want to be there when Daddy comes back. He wasn't there when I got home, and I really want to talk to him."
Kichiro nodded slowly, and Belle grimaced at the hint of doubt lingering in his gaze.
"I'm going to tell him," she remarked.
"I know you are," he replied.
"No, really, I'm going to tell him about us today."
"There's no hurry, Belle."
She forced a smile as she kissed him again and rolled off the bed, heading for the bathroom. She adored Kichiro for understanding, but the time had come. Every day it felt as though a small part of her was dying, every time he walked her home, only to reawaken when she saw him again. Tired of sneaking around, tired of hiding things, she wanted---needed---to tell her father. She owed it to Kichiro . . . and to herself.
'I'll tell Daddy as soon as he gets home,' she decided. 'He'll understand . . . I hope . . .'
A/N:
This is just a note to let you all know that because I just cannot concentrate on writing at this particular time, I'm going to take a break for a week or two. It's not fair to the story, this half-hearted effort to put out quality writing. It isn't fair to the readers, and it really isn't fair to my family or to me.
I don't like to broadcast things, however in this case, so that people might be able to understand just what I'm talking about, I will explain some of this:
If anyone's wondering, my husband's dad has to have reconstructive or replacement surgery on his shattered kneecap later this week. They're not too sure if he'll need a new hip or not. He can't have skin grafts yet because of the tissues, and he's got definite nerve damage in his spinal cord that will ensure that he will never be able to walk without the aide of a walker or some such again. They'll have to move as they live in an upstairs apartment, and Dad cannot take stairs anymore, as well. Add this to the two other vehicle accidents of the past few months, and, well, it's just that the 'strong one' (me) is finding herself extraordinarily weary.
My husband is going to try again over Labor Day weekend to make the 7 hr drive down to see his father in Nashville. So long as his work doesn't interfere again, he should be able to do this.
At this point, the news we get every day just seems to get a little worse every time, and while I love writing and do use it to 'escape' the stress in my life, at this point, I have to make sure that my husband is taken care of.
I'll post again when we have more answers. I just can't take the stress over this and then the lesser stress of worrying if my writing is still up to par, worrying about letting down the people who read my stories, worrying about someone leaving a review that I just take the wrong way because I'm just not taking anything the right way, at the moment.
Thanks, everyone. Take care while I'm 'gone' ...
Final Thought from Belle:
Now to tell Daddy …
Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Justification): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.
Sue