Large, clawed hands sliding over flawless pale flesh.

Hot, sensual lips leaving a wet trail down an ivory colored throat as a slippery tongue flicked out to taste the racing pulse beneath thin human skin.

Fangs grazing over kiss-bruised, cherry colored lips.

Long silver hair.

Golden eyes.

A hot, whispering breath wafting across a passion sensitive ear, "Kagome…"

Kagome shot awake and came face to face with her wall. She could feel her face heat up as she realized what she'd been dreaming about, hastily wiping away the bead of sweat that traveled down her temple. It took her a few moments to calm herself down then she let out a sigh and tried to stretch out but found that difficult to do. She rolled over and her eyes widened slightly when she saw that Sesshomaru was still beside of her asleep.

Kagome carefully pulled away from his embrace and gazed down at him with curious eyes, memorizing every part of him. She had never considered a man to be beautiful before but there was no other word to describe the demon next to her. His face was long and delicately shaped like a woman's, complimented by his long perfect eyelashes and enticing, sexy lips. Even the stripes on his cheeks and crescent moon on his forehead did nothing to take one's attention away from his unique beauty, in fact they added to it.

It surprised her that he was still here, she thought for sure that he would be disgusted with her for the way she acted last night yet here he was next to her. She could recall what he had told her the night before, "this Sesshomaru is not like Inuyasha, he will not abandon his mate when she needs him."

"Does he really care for me the way he says he does? And if I really am his mate can I learn to love him?"

Kagome thought back to their first time in the cave. At first she truly was afraid of him and didn't want him but something had changed her mind and in the end she couldn't help but give into him and let him do as he wished with her. She could remember how good his touch felt and how he made her feel, like she was wanted and pretty. She had felt that way with Inuyasha as well at times but the way Sesshomaru touched her earlier made her feel safe and secure… certain of his feelings. The last time Inuyasha touched her she was uncomfortable and nervous and now she knew she couldn't trust his touch because of what he had done with Kikyo.

Kagome looked down at the sleeping demon and felt a small smile come to her lips, "He's never really hurt me, I don't know why I was afraid of him. But I can't help but wonder… if we do become a couple will he ever betray me like Inuyasha did?"

Sesshomaru stirred slightly in his sleep and licked his dry lips, drawing her attention there once more and she was tempted to kiss those lips but decided against it. Instead she turned away and let out a sigh, "I wonder what it will be like to have a demon for a boyfriend… maybe I can…"

"EEEK!"

Kagome yelped out when she felt a hand run up and down her back and she turned around to see Sesshomaru awake and looking up at her with eyes still slightly hazy from sleep, "What's wrong?" he asked softly

"Nothing, I was just wondering why you're still here is all."

Sesshomaru sat up and smiled at her, "I told you, this Sesshomaru would never abandon you when you need him. You fell asleep and I wanted to stay until I was certain you were alright."

"Oh… well I'm ok, you can go now if you want."

"Do you want me to leave?"

Kagome thought about that for a moment and felt a delightful shiver go through her spine when his hand found the ticklish spot on her side, "No… not really."

"Then I will stay."

Sesshomaru leaned into her and rested his chin on her shoulder, his hand leaving her back to come up and play with her hair. Kagome sighed and let her mind wander as his hand ran through her black locks. Up until last night she thought that her whole experience with Sesshomaru had been a dream but now it turned out to be real? She just couldn't believe it. Another thing she couldn't quite grasp yet was the fact that she was his mate. Wait… his mate! If she was really his mate… then they would eventually…

"What is wrong, Kagome?" his deep voice asked softly, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing… it's silly."

"I don't know if it's silly unless you tell me what it is."

Kagome looked back at him for a moment and saw a strange glimmer in his golden eyes, one that told her he wasn't going to let her dismiss her thoughts as nothing to him. She sighed and turned away from him to look at her hands in her lap, "We're… mates right?"

"Yes."

"Well… since we're mates doesn't that mean that eventually we're going to… you know… make love?"

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow gracefully for the briefest moment before he replied, "Yes, does that bother you?"

"Well… I don't know, I mean I know we've made love once before but…"

"No we didn't." he interrupted softly

"What?"

Kagome was utterly confused now. She knew that they had made love before that night in the cave and he had told her himself that they had so why was he denying it now?

Sesshomaru turned her around so that she was facing him and he began to trace the soft contours of her jaw with careful fingertips as he explained, "do you remember our first time?"

"Yes."

"Well it couldn't truly be considered making love because this Sesshomaru forced you to submit to him, in truth he raped you."

"Well… it… started out that way but I remember agreeing to it in the end."

"Because you really didn't have a choice in the matter. But as for your earlier question yes we will make love eventually but not until you are ready."

"You would… wait for me? Why?"

Sesshomaru smiled and leaned into her until their noses where touching, his breath mingling with hers as he answered, "Because this Sesshomaru does not want to repeat our first time, I want you to come to me willingly and without fear before I touch you again. The next time we make love it will be because you want this Sesshomaru not because he forced you to come to him."

Kagome couldn't help but smile at his words, she had never realized it before but Sesshomaru was actually very kind, he just didn't seem to be because he never showed it. In battle he was cold and cruel and he was that way with her their first time in the cave, well at least in the beginning he had been. But now he was kind and gentle in fact he didn't really seem like Sesshomaru anymore but knowing the fact that he had another side to his cold, arrogant personality was very appealing. She would have to dive further into the demon known as Sesshomaru before she made love to him again but she had a feeling that the journey there would be a fun one.

Without thinking she leaned in and kissed his cheek, surprising even herself at how comfortable the simple gesture felt, "Thank you… hey wait, don't you have to get back to Rin?"

Sesshomaru smiled evilly, "she is fine, Jaken is taking care of her for now."

"What's the evil smile for?"

"Rin has found the joy in play fighting with Jaken."

Kagome couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Rin sparring with Jaken; the match was obviously unfair because Jaken couldn't hurt her without severe punishment from Sesshomaru but Rin could get away with just about anything. The image flew from her mind when she felt Sesshomaru's hand on her waist and she looked up at him to see his lips coming closer to hers. For a moment she thought about pulling away from him but she forced herself to stay still and to her surprise he turned his head at the last second and placed a kiss to her cheek instead.

Sesshomaru chuckled at her confusion, "what's wrong, Kagome?"

"I thought you were going to kiss me?"

"No, as I said this Sesshomaru is not going to touch you unless you want him to."

"Oh…"

"Why, did you want me to kiss you?"

Kagome flushed brightly and before she thought about what she was doing she huffed and turned away from him. Sesshomaru chuckled deep in his throat and moved to sit behind her once more as his hands found her hips, "Are you angry with this Sesshomaru now?"

"No… not really."

"In any case, this Sesshomaru must leave soon to get back to Rin and Jaken."

"I know."

"Until then can this Sesshomaru hold you?"

Kagome turned her head to look at him with slight surprise. He was asking her permission to hold her? She looked up into his eyes and saw the smallest glimmer of hope within those amber colored depths and couldn't help but surrender to that call. She nodded and he pulled her to him letting her head lay on his shoulder as he set her in his lap.

Kagome sighed and leaned into him when his hand started rubbing her back again, she hated to admit it but his touch really felt good and made her feel… warm inside. They stayed that way for sometime after that and Kagome started to doze off then a voice in the other room snapped her out of her peaceful twilight zone, "Kagome we're home."

She gasped and sat up, quickly moving out of Sesshomaru's hold to lock her door, "Oh no… Mom! Sesshomaru you have to leave."

"Why?" he asked simply as he moved to stand in front of her.

"Because if my mom catching you in here she'll freak out!"

Sesshomaru still didn't understand what was wrong with her. It was just her mother so why should he have to leave simply because she came home? He gave her a questioning look and Kagome groaned as her mother called to her again, "Kagome."

"In a minute Mom!"

She turned to Sesshomaru and tried to push him to the window but she didn't even budge the large demon as he starred down at her. She gave up on trying to force him out and began to pace around the room to think, "Ok… what can I say to get you to understand? I know! Pretend that your father is still alive ok?"

Sesshomaru let his eyebrow rise in confusion but he went along with it, "Alright."

"Ok now picture him walking in on you and Rin."

Sesshomaru took a minute to think about that and he could picture the look on his father's face if he happened upon his eldest son and a human child and that would not be a sight to behold. Mating an adult human female was one thing but a child was an entirely different matter, "I see your point. Alright this Sesshomaru will leave for now but I will return to see you soon."

"Ok."

Sesshomaru started out the window but he paused for a moment before returning to Kagome, "What is it?" she asked softly.

Before she could do anything else Sesshomaru lifted her up into his arms and placed a firm kiss to her mouth, receiving a gasp of surprise from her before he set her down, "goodbye for now, Kagome."

With that said and done Sesshomaru left without another word and Kagome just stood there in shock for a minute until her mother's voice once again pierced through her haze, "Kagome!"

"Coming Mom!"

Over the next few weeks Kagome really started to get to know and trust Sesshomaru. He came to see her nearly everyday and they had even started to have actually conversations with one another. He would talk about Rin and what mischief she was into and the demons he'd fought that day and she would tell him about school and what she'd done all day. It was nice and Kagome had come to enjoy his company and now looked forward to seeing him.

To her surprise Sesshomaru had kept his word, he hadn't touched her since the night he first came to her room. Oh of course he would kiss her on the lips every so often and he even kissed her neck once in awhile but if he even thought he sensed her uneasiness he would stop. Most of the time she didn't mind his kisses, she enjoyed them in fact but there were a few occasions when she felt uncertain about his intentions like when his hand ventured farther than usual or when he had that lustful look in his eyes.

Besides that though everything was fine and she had even discovered a few ways to rub him the wrong way. Kagome was playing around one day and had called him 'Lord Sesshomaru' and she literally saw his hair rise up. He told her that he didn't want her to be formal with him so every time he did something to annoy her all she had to do was call him 'milord' and giggle when he fuzzed up. At first she was timid to joke around with him like that but she had discovered early on that he wouldn't do anything to her and to her joy he let her get away with it.

One night Kagome yawned and rubbed her eyes to try and stay awake. She looked at her clock and sighed when it read one a.m. She turned back to her books and began reading the paragraph again, she had a huge test tomorrow and she had to get as much studying done as she could. Kagome got up and walked around a bit to stretch her legs and get some blood going to her brain but it didn't do much as she sat back down. Eventually she laid her head down to rest her tired eyes, "I'll rest for just a minute then I'll get back to work."

The next morning Kagome awoke with a start and looked at her clock before screaming, "OH NO! I'M LATE!"

She quickly threw on her uniform and grabbed her books, knocking everything else off of her desk as she ran out the door. Somehow or another she made it just in time for the bell and opened her book once more to put in a little more study time before the test. A couple of hours later she finished her test and turned it in to the teacher before returning to her seat. As she was passing by Ayumi she saw a note on her desk and gasped to herself as she sat down. She knew she'd forgotten to do something today and now she knew what it was, she forgot to leave a note for Sesshomaru!

He often got worried about her when she wasn't there to greet him and he had even come looking for her once or twice, including that time he tracked her down at the mall…which hadn't been a good experience at all for anyone. So to make him happy she began leaving him notes to tell him where she was and when she would be back but she was in such a rush this morning she'd forgotten to do it and now she began to worry, "Oh no! I forget to leave Sesshomaru a note! What if he comes looking for me? I'm sure my room's a wreck and he's going to think that something bad happened! Oh well… I'm sure I'll make it back home before he comes to see me… I hope…"

After school Kagome tried to hurry home but as she reached the front gate her friends caught up to her, "Hey Kagome wait up!"

"Oh hey guys, I've gotta get inside and…"

"Oh what's the rush?" Eri asked with a smile

"Yeah you gotta get ready for a hot date?" Ayumi teased

"No! I just… left a mess this morning and I have to clean it up before my mom sees it. Hey… what's wrong with you guys?" Kagome asked when she saw the dazed look on her friends' faces.

They were looking at something behind her and her curiosity got the better of her and she turned around, letting out cry of surprise when she saw an unhappy looking Sesshomaru standing there, "Sesshomaru! You startled me! Wait what're you doing here!"

"I came to see you but you weren't home… who are they?" he asked with slight irritation upon seeing her friends staring at him.

Yuka nudged Kagome and asked, "Who's your friend, Kagome?"

"Um… he's… um…"

Before she could answer they surrounded him and started asking him all sorts of questions, most of which he ignored until Eri asked, "What's your name since Kagome won't tell us."

"Sesshomaru." He answered simply

"Sesshomaru huh? That's a really nice name."

"Yeah and I LOVE your hair!" Ayumi practically squealed

Sesshomaru just gave her a confused look, "Um… thank you… I suppose."

Yuka turned to Kagome and asked, "Hey Kagome is he half?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at that comment and he snarled at them, "This Sesshomaru is no half-breed!"

The girls jumped back, startled by his tone and Kagome quickly went up to him and took hold on his sleeve, "No don't be angry, they didn't mean it like that, Sesshomaru. They want to know if you're half Japanese."

"Oh… no I'm not."

"Sorry we didn't mean to offend you." Eri apologized

Kagome giggled nervously and started pushing her friends away from the gate, "Yes well Sesshomaru isn't much of a people person and I have a lot of stuff to do so why don't you go on and I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Alright we get the hint, see you later Kagome, bye." Ayumi smiled as she left.

The other two bid Kagome farewell and they too headed off. Kagome waved at them before quickly leading Sesshomaru in through her window. Once they were inside her room she let out a sigh, "That was close… Sesshomaru what were you doing?"

"I was about to come looking for you. This Sesshomaru was worried that someone had taken you."

"Why would you think that?"

Sesshomaru nodded towards her desk where everything was scattered on the floor and Kagome gave a nervous chuckle, "Oh that… I was running late this morning and I forgot to leave a note, sorry."

"Where were you all day?"

"School, I had a test today."

"A test? You mean a test of strength?"

"No it's a test that sees if we study and learn what we're supposed to."

"How did you do?"

Kagome sighed, "I don't know, hopefully I did well but…"

"Kagome?" her mother's voice interrupted

Before Kagome could lock her door her mother came in and gave her a worried look, "I heard a shout what's going on in… oh… you didn't tell me you had company, Kagome, who's your friend?"

Kagome looked from her mother to Sesshomaru for a moment until she could think of something to tell her, "Um… this is… Sess from school!" she blurted out quickly.

Kagome's mother gave her a questioning look, "Sess huh? That's an interesting outfit you have on there, Sess, what are you supposed to be?"

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to answer but Kagome beat him to it, "It's for a play we're doing at school later on this year!"

Her mother smiled, "Oh a play, what's it about?"

"You see… um… he's supposed to be a demon who kidnaps the princess and he came over to show me his costume! Isn't it convincing?" she giggled nervously as she scratched the back of her head.

Her mother smiled, "Oh yes very convincing, you even have claws I see."

Sesshomaru began to explain what was really going on but Kagome grasped his hand and he looked down at her to meet her pleading brown eyes, "Please just play along." She whispered softly.

Sesshomaru sighed and forced himself to smile slightly at her mother, "Yes… this Se… I mean I worked hard on this… costume."

"Well it paid off you look just like a demon. Well now that I know that everything's ok I'm going to town to get something for dinner. Will you be alright here by yourself for awhile, Kagome?"

"Yes Mom I'll be fine, don't worry."

"I'm off then, it was nice meeting you, Sess."

"You too."

Kagome's mother left and she let out a huge sigh of relief, "Oh that was close!"

Sesshomaru nudged her to get her attention, "Sess?"

Kagome flushed, "Well… it's close to your name, at least I didn't call you Sesshy."

Kagome giggled when she saw his hair rise slightly but he caught himself and cleared his throat to change the subject, "In any case, why did you lie to her about me? Are you ashamed of this Sesshomaru?"

"No it's just going to be a little hard to explain how I came to have a six foot demon in my bedroom is all."

"I see… do you ever plan on telling her?"

"Eventually yes, but right now I just want to keep you secret, it's fun that way."

Sesshomaru shook his head as Kagome started to pick up the things on her floor. He knelt down to help her then he felt something rubbing against his leg and he glanced down to see Buyo there, "What is this?" he asked lowly.

Kagome looked over and smiled, "Oh that's Buyo, he's harmless."

Sesshomaru reached out to pet the large cat but when Buyo sniffed Sesshomaru's hand he puffed up and hissed at the demon lord. Sesshomaru growled at the cat, causing it to fuzz up even more as Kagome came to pick him up, "You two stop it. Can't you get along?"

"No, this Sesshomaru does not care for cats."

Kagome rolled her eyes and tossed the cat into the hallway before shutting her door, "Well he's gone now. So are you happy now that you know I'm alright?"

"Yes, and I hate to leave but this Sesshomaru must get back, Rin was not feeling well when I left."

"Is she sick?"

"I don't know, hopefully it isn't serious but I need to make sure."

"I understand, you go and do what you have to."

"Can I come see you later tonight?"

Kagome flushed and looked to the ground, "Um… actually… I'm supposed to go and help Inuyasha look for a jewel shard later today… I don't think I'll be back tonight."

Sesshomaru huffed, "You intend to spend time with that half-breed, even after what he did to you?"

"He is still my friend despite what he did and I did promise to help him. You don't need to worry though, I don't intend to do anything with him, I don't care for him that way anymore."

"Very well but if I even think he's touched you then I will kill him."

Kagome rolled her eyes but hugged him, "If all else fails I can just tell him to sit."

Sesshomaru chuckled, "You do that and this Sesshomaru will see you later."

"Yep."

Sesshomaru leaned down and placed a soft kiss to her lips before heading off to check on Rin. Kagome gathered her things and left a note for her mother before she headed off to the well to meet up with the others.

Sorry again for the long wait but I had MAJOR writer's block on this chapter for some reason, any ways, I've already started chapter 6 and it should be up in a couple of days so stay with me, 'k?