Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha but the damn show owns me!

I'd like to thank all those who have taken the time to read this story thus far. Your words of encouragement do mean a lot!

A warning on this chapter...be ready to suck citrus. Pucker up, folks.

Warmth. No, something more intense than warmth. This was a heat. And it was spreading through Rin's blood. His deadly hands were smoothing over her skin, gently pushing aside the simple cloth kimono she wore, brushing the blanket from her. She wasn't about to make him stop. She had waited what seemed a lifetime for him to touch her like this. He had her pinned beneath his delicious weight, her arms trapped within the sleeves of the cursed kimono. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't free herself, touch him, explore him as he was exploring her. Over and over again his lips slashed across the valley between her breasts, his breath both warming and chilling her skin. She arched towards the touch, eager for more.

The low deadly growl that rumbled like thunder in his chest stilled her movements. Her fingers dug into the rich earth her bedding was spread on, filling the air with its scent, mixing it with the smell of him, her lord, Sesshomaru. What had inspired his change of heart? What had driven him into her arms this night? It mattered not. For her it was enough that he was there. The silkiness of his hair formed a cocoon around their heads as his mouth swiftly covered hers. His mouth was cruel, demanding, formidable. With a barely audible whimper, Rin surrendered to him. He had her heart, her soul and she gave those without being asked. It only seemed right for him to also have her body. His tongue danced with hers, darting, tasting, savoring. They seemed starved for one another.

The rush of the cool night air washed over her suddenly exposed flesh and Rin gasped. She had been so absorbed in his kiss she never felt Sesshomaru's skilled hands remove her kimono. Slowly, drugging her senses, Sesshomaru brushed the back of his knuckles over the velvety skin of her thighs. Of their own free will, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do, Rin's thighs parted, giving him free reign. His sharp youkai senses were overwhelmed with the scent of her want. She trusted him completely, yielding to him without hesitation. Rin felt the sharp quick nip of his fangs against the skin of her throat. Once more she arched her body, her head thrown back and spilling her hair across the grass like an ink black pool.

Her breath caught suddenly as she felt his bare skin against hers. How? When? Tentatively, her hands reached out to touch him, to feel the ripple and bunching of his muscles beneath his skin. Splaying her fingers over Sesshomaru's chest Rin shuddered. Beneath her fingertips she felt his heart pounding, its rhythm matching her own. Her lord was as swept up in this as she. And she felt exhaulted. Slowly her hands skimmed around him, gripping at his back as she pulled herself up and pressed a heated kiss to the hollow of his throat. Again Sesshomaru growled. This time the sound was more one of pleasure. Over and over Rin allowed the tip of her tongue to dip and taste him.

"Rin." his voice sounded tight, barely controlled and still she didn't stop.

She could feel him, hard and throbbing against the tender skin between her thighs. Her hips rolled involuntarily, seeking to tempt him into further play. She was no fool. She had been told what went on between youkai and their mates. Even know Rin knew her lord was holding himself in check, trying desperately to keep from hurting her. She wanted to scream in frustration. For two years now she had longed for this. He couldn't stop now! Her heart pounded in her throat as she spoke, her voice barely coherent in her need to have him.

"I won't break, I promise!"

It seemed to be all the encouragement the great lord needed. Between one heartbeat and next Sesshomaru had buried himself in her to the hilt, covering her mouth to swallow her scream of pain. And yet...there was none. Not even a twinge of discomfort at his intrusion. Rin's fingers had dug into the skin of his back in anticipation. As if in slow motion her lord began to move, allowing her to adjust. A slow shakey breath slipped past her parted lips as a whole new gammet of sensations overtook her. All other sounds vanished in the night save for the sound of their mingled ragged breaths. Her eyes fluttered open, peering up into the dark amber eyes of her lord who was now also her lover.

"Rin!" his voice was more insistant now, almost sounding...irritated?

His face swam before her, shifting, changing. Sunlight streamed down on them now, filtering through the trees overhead. Rin tried to gather her scattered thoughts. Something was wrong. Lord Sesshomaru stood above her, fully clothed, studying her dispassionately. Slowly Rin sat up and the tangled blanket fell from her as she glanced down at herself. She was still in her kimono! Her eyes darted around the tiny clearing they had slept in and it all became clear, hitting her in the belly like a cold splash of water. It had been a dream! Heat of a different sort now overwhelmed her and her cheeks flooded with color. Jaken stood at their lord's side, a look of mixed disgust and frustration on the vassil's face.

Rin scrambled quickly to get to her feel, rolling her blanket and hugging it to her still racing heart. How she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. What had come over her? To have such a vivid dream of her lord laying with her as a youkai would with his mate.

'Please, don't let him ask me any questions. I cannot look him in the eye much less give him an answer that will not risk making him all the more cross with me,' she prayed silently, her eyes locked on the ground at her feet.

Sesshomaru watched his young ward with the same cool and unwavering gaze he would give Jaken. The color in Rin's cheeks, the glassy look in her eyes which even now she could not bring to meet his...the scent that even now surrounded her. All the proof he needed. No need for questions. He had heard her soft words as she spoke in her sleep. His name. A plea.

"Go and bathe, Rin. Do not linger. Time is short...as is my patience." he instructed, his soft voice causing her to jump.

Quickly she bowed, carefully skirting around him and dashing into the woods. Yes. A nice long soak in a cold stream would hopefully wash away the stain of shame on her face. Bad enough she had to be on her guard against her heart and body...now her mind was turning traitor on her as well and giving her away.