Chapter 27

"What are you doing?" I jumped nearly a foot in the air, slipping and falling backwards when I land. Luckily Gaara catches me before I hit the ground and I'm grateful for it, but I'm also upset he snuck up on me. I guess he's no longer making it a point to be 'louder' so I'm not scared when he walks around the house. I turn around in his arms and give him a sour face, "You scared me." I already know what Gaara was going to say next before it even left his mouth, "You look cute when you're mad.", then he kissed my forehead. I stick my tongue out at him and he chuckles softly.

His arms tighten around me, pulling me closer, and I instinctively melt into him while looking into his eyes. He really has too much of an effect on me. Gaara kisses me again, this time slowly on my lips. When he pulls away he softly asks his question again, "What are you doing?" I smile up at him and hold up my newly acquired prize, "Looking for the key for the chests in the living room. My trousseaux came today." Curiosity enters him and he looks around the room, seemingly seeing the sixteen boxes stacked against the walls for the first time. I'm not that surprised he hadn't noticed them until now, he seems to have tunnel vision and come straight to me when he gets home.

He then looks at the wardrobe with even more interest, "And are we keeping this here?" I chuckle and shake my head no, "I want to put it in our room but its too heavy for me to lift and move." Without skipping a beat Gaara uses his sand to effortlessly lift the wardrobe and take it down the hall towards our room. Once he places it on the wall by the closet I instantly blurt out, "Wow! You're amazing!" I then immediately giggle again at the reaction I get from him when I say it.

He stands up straighter and begins preening in front of me, "It was no problem." Its so cute, of course I have to egg this on. I begin to hang on his arm and with a sweet voice I begin to complement him more, "Wow, you're so strong. I can't believe you moved that all on your own." I can feel him flex his muscles under my hands and a small smirk forms on his lips. He closes his eyes and has a resolved look on his face, "I'll move the others as well." I can't help but giggle again, "That would be great, but we should look through them first." Which reminds me, I can now open that suspicious chest.

I take his hand and lead us straight to it, my curiosity growing with every step. When we sit in front of the boxes and I insert the key in the lock. When I finally open the chest and I don't know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't four live Ise ebi lobsters in a closed tank. "What?" They gave us lobsters? Though I appreciate the gesture, and I want Gaara to taste something from my homeland, I feel a bit bad because I have absolutely no idea how to cook these. And with my current skills I'll probably ruin them or give us food poisoning. Well at least now I know there's a library in the village, maybe I can find a cookbook there.

Gaara goes from surprised to happy, "I've never had lobster before." He must be excited to try it, I hope I don't ruin the experience for him. I decide to probe him, see how far I have to fall if I fail. "Do you eat a lot of fish in Suna? It's a staple back home." There's a small shift in his mood but he quickly recovers. What was that? He can't be upset at my question, can he? He shook his head, "Fish doesn't travel well unless it's preserved in some way. I've only had it dried here." Hmm, so a pretty steep fall.

Next we open the largest chest and it was full of glassware and tableware. There was a beautiful set of china, enough to serve six people, with dinner plates and bowls hand painted with desert flora imagery. A set of wooden chopsticks in the chest had carvings that matched the desert flowers on the china. For drinkware there was a tea ceremony set and, funnily enough, a sake set, all with the same desert flowers hand painted on them.

I hold the sake set up, "We won't even be able to use this for at least two years," Gaara snorted, "I won't be able to use it for two years, you'll have to wait twice as long." I kiss his cheek and lean into him, "I'll have you know my birthday is next month on the twentieth, so I only have to wait three years." Surprise overtook him, "Your birthday is next month?" Oh yeah, I guess we don't really know each other's birthdays. I wonder when his is.

I quickly nod my head, "Mmhm. My birthday always falls on the River Goddess Festival." Gaara gives me a questioning look, so I continue on, "The River Goddess was once the protector of the lands and rivers in the Land of Fish. When people began to settle there, she was very angry and would kill any person she came across to rid them from the land. Men, women, children, no one was safe from her wrath. One day monks that settled in the Land of Fish set out to defeat the River Goddess and sealed her away in a secret location so no one could resurrect her again. The festival celebrates the day she was sealed away."

"So you're born on a holiday? That must feel nice, a guaranteed celebration." I nod again, this time more softly, "Its nice that people aren't as focused on me for once. Everyone is too busy with the festival to really care about me or my abilities. And the festival makes everyone happy; those feelings don't change, even when I'm in the room." Gaara lifts my chin so we're looking in each other's eyes, but he doesn't say anything. Sadness fills him and he searches my eyes for something, but I don't know what.

I turn away from him. I don't really want to talk about home right now; we were supposed to be moving on from our talk last night. I quickly put the sake set back and open the next chest. I can feel his eyes on me but Gaara doesn't say anything or stop me, so I ignore them. The next largest box was full of linen for the house. Soft towels lay on top of an even softer blanket. Again, the desert flower imagery made an appearance, this time embroidered on the gifts.

Slowly and silently, I open the next box; this one was full of some of my favorite books and handscrolls for the library. Gaara inspects then further then looks at me, "There are a lot of horror stories in here. And yet the movie we watched last night terrified you." There's an amused tone in his voice and I can feel curiosity enter him. I stick my tongue out at him again, "Its different when you're reading it versus watching it on a screen." He only softly laughs in response. I breathe a sigh of relief, that brief negative air that circled around us was now gone.

For the rest of the night we opened each box, careful not to leave a mess. Every so often Gaara would ask the meaning or purpose of different gifts. I think my favorite reaction from him was when we opened one of the larger boxes full of food. There were different teas and sweets, wild blue rice, dried edible flowers, and adzuki beans. "Beans?" he looked so confused I couldn't help but laugh, "Adzuki beans. They're used to make sweet bean paste. They're given as a token of love and good luck." He only hummed in response, but his confusion died down.

I was the next one to be confused, inside the next box were dolls, beigoma, taketombo, and other toys. "Toys?" I picked up some carved rock animals and held them up to examine them. Gaara places his hand on my hip surprising me, "Your parents are probably just hoping for grandchildren." I frown at the box; they do understand that I'm only seventeen, right? Suddenly I'm pulled into Gaara's lap. I freeze because of what he whispers in my ear next, "We should practice trying." What? I thought he wasn't ready to have kids, I know I'm certainly not! "I'm too young to have a baby!" He laughs as he kisses up and down my neck, "Not have kids, just practice making them."

Oh? Oh! Gaara's hands begin to roam over my body and my cheeks start burning. Good to know he's completely back to being himself. I could feel his arousal growing and it was beginning to affect my own emotions, which just made his just grow stronger. I shudder when he whispers in my ear again, "Let's go to our room." When I nod my head he stands up, pulling me up along with him, then picks me up and carries me towards our room in the back of the house, kissing me along the way.

As soon as we're inside Gaara unceremoniously drops me on the bed. I cry out angrily as soon as I hit the mattress, "Hey!" I look up to glare at him but stop when I see him beginning to crawl on the bed towards me. I lay back on the pillows when he's completely on top of me; I feel so small under him, but I've also never felt safer in this position. And then there's that look of adoration again, and I can feel love mixing in with the arousal radiating off of him. I can't handle the way he looks at me sometimes.

I turn to the side trying to hide the embarrassment I'm showing on my face. I hear a low chuckle above me, then I feel the bed shift on my side before Gaara pulls me into his arms and turns us both until I'm straddling him. Now I'm even more embarrassed than I was before, and he seems to be eating it up. I let out a small squeak when he pushes me to sit directly on the bulge in his crotch. He eats up the fresh new embarrassment I feel.

"What do you want to do?" That question again; it was enduring but I'm finding it hard to answer right now. Or more like, I don't want to keep answering that question. "You don't have to keep asking me that." I want him to show me what he'd do if he had complete control. Gaara traced his fingers up and down my arm, "I want you to be comfortable." I know, and its sweet, but there's an itch I want him to scratch that he isn't by giving me all the power.

"I am comfortable, especially around you. I want you to do whatever you want to me." I leaned down to kiss him, making sure to grind against him when I do. There's a primal look in his eyes that dissipates so quickly I almost missed it. The look in his eyes push my arousal into overdrive, that's exactly what I want. How can I get him to lean into those feelings? The first night we had sex Gaara showed a little of that side of himself, what did I do to get it to come out then?

"The last time I pushed you past your limits you refused to talk to me for two days, I don't want that to happen again." I freeze and look down at his chest, this is all because of me? His mood turns downward, probably remembering those two days. I turned off my ability at the time too; hiding from the negative emotions I was sure I was creating. And of course he felt sad about it, he was just trying to connect with me, he was even following my lead, and I rejected those feelings. Knowing what I now know about his past it probably stirred up those past rejections as well. Now with those same feelings creeping up again, I'm forced to face them.

"I was just embarrassed," I lay down to hug him, "I didn't know how to sort through someone feeling the way you felt about me at the time. I wasn't ready for things to be so intimate so soon, but I am now; you don't have to worry about that anymore." That was when I was unsure about things, when I was unsure if I would even be happy with Gaara and this marriage. I know what I want now. I know that I want him, that I want to be with him. There's no one else for me but him and I can't imagine my life any other way.

Sitting up from my hug I kiss him and purr in his ear, "I promise there's no limits for you to push past now." from his reaction, I can tell he enjoyed my words. I begin kissing him again and his hands begin to roam my body once more. It doesn't take him long to claim dominance, flipping me back on my back when he does. I moan into his mouth, and he uses that opportunity to begin probing my mouth with his tongue; this only caused me to moan again as I followed his lead.

I gasp and moan once more when his hand moves to my breast; pinching, pulling, and twisting on my nipple. His kisses become rougher and greedier; I'm soaking from them alone. He moves from attacking my lips to kissing my neck, nipping and sucking on it as I moan. He pinched harder than he had ever done before and I can't help but moan from the abuse. He leans in to whisper in my ear just like I had just done before him, "You like it rough, don't you?" I can't help but shudder at his sultry words. I nod my head admitting that fact to him and myself.

I hear Gaara laugh above me before he begins biting and sucking on my neck with greater force, eliciting another large moan from my lips. I grip his shirt tightly and mew under his assault. In response he grabs my wrists and hold them with one hand over my head, the other pushing my shirt up so he could trace the tattoo lines on my stomach. It tickled and stimulated my senses in all the best ways. I writhe under him and his grip on my wrists tighten because of it.

This was exactly what I wanted and I don't know if I can go on without it now. Before I even realize it, the hand on my stomach unbuttons my pants and slip inside my panties, immediately starting to tease my nub. But he's going so slow; too slow. "Gaara…" I whine his name but nothing changes, he doesn't increase his speed at all. He's still going painstakingly slow. Why does he keep doing this? It's like he's trying to torture me.

"Beg." What? What did he say? "I know what you want, and I want you to beg me for it." What?! He wants me to beg? No. Never! First he tortures me, then he asks me to throw away my dignity. No way. He knows what I want so he should just give it to me. Why do I have to beg for it? Isn't this just like me telling him what to do anyway? Absolutely no way. I'd die of embarrassment if I did. I vigorously shake my head, "No… I can't…"

Embarrassment, that must be it. He's just teasing me; he can't actually want me to beg for him. I think that but when I look up his face is set in a determined way; he's being serious. At my words Gaara removes his hands from between my legs and grasps my chin, his thumb stroking my cheek. I shudder from the look he gives me but can't move much because of him still holding my wrists down. And he's so strong, I couldn't break free from his grip even if I wanted to; although I bet he'd immediately let me go if he sensed any fear in me.

I'm safe here but that doesn't solve my problem right now. I'm extremely horny and Gaara's being a jerk about it. All I wanted was for him to be a bit more aggressive but this is too much. He kisses me again softer but still forceful. He begins nibbling on my ear and kissing the area of my neck next to it. "I like hearing what you want from me." He's spreading his kisses over my entire neck now. "Hearing your desire turns me on."

My cheeks burn and my heart swells at his words; how could they not? I look down at his chest; mentally swallowing my pride before speaking next, "Um… please touch me…" He goes back to kissing and sucking my neck, "Touch you where?" I'm glad he's not looking at me, my embarrassment would go into overdrive if he were. "…between my legs" Immediately Gaara's hands slip back under my underwear and goes back to stroking me. He's still going too slow, "Faster… please…" Again, he immediately follows my direction.

Over the course of the next twenty-five minutes, I grow bolder and ask for more, instructing him on all the things I enjoy that he does to my body. Pinch here. Touch that. Lick and suck there. He followed every command and it all left me a writhing mess. It came to a point where I was too worked up for any comprehensible instructions to come out. At that point Gaara took over and showed me how well he knew my body, effortlessly continuing to tease me and turn me on.

After another five minutes I let out one last strangled command, "Gaara please…. inside!" He swiftly slams himself in and out of me. My body is on fire, burning from the passion. We both cum soon after that, lying tangled in the sheets together. I swim in the afterglow of our orgasms, amazed by the range of emotions emitting off of Gaara. Snuggling into his side, I begin to trace the lines on his heron tattoo like he did to me prior and think about all the moments from first meeting Gaara to now, "I never thought I'd have this."

He shifts on the bed so we're both facing each other. He brings my fingers to his lips, kissing them lightly before speaking, "What do you mean?" I think hard; how should I say this? I don't know if I want him to know that I had reservations about are marriage in the beginning. Or maybe he could already feel my nervousness after he was able to feel my emotions. Either way, I want to be gentle and choose my words carefully. "I…I never thought I'd find someone that loves me as much as you do."

Gaara kisses my fingers again and looks into my eyes, searching for the honesty in my words. I give him a soft smile and look at his chest, embarrassed by the attention he's giving me. I'm so used to negative attention; I don't know what to do when he looks at me so lovingly. It still feels bizarre that he cares about me so much. Especially since he knows about my ability to read emotions, I thought he'd hate me like all the others.

He pulls me closer into his embrace, his arms wrapping around my back. I feel his lips press against my forehead and I giggle from the extra attention before snuggling further into his embrace. I'm happy, truly happy. I try my hardest to soak up all the love he's releasing right now; its overwhelming. If I could, I would bathe in his love daily, its intoxicating. I wonder if… no, he has to feel the same way about me. He's so cuddly and he's always happier when we touch one another.

"I'm glad that you feel loved." When I look up at him, Gaara gives me a peck on my forehead and cheek. "I want you to have the best in life." The best hmm? I nuzzle my head deep into his neck before telling him, "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." I try to send him all the love my emotions could possibly show. I hope he can soak it all in and become happier because of it. Gaara tightens his hold on me and I can feel a faint smile being placed on my forehead. The feeling of that smile is the last thing I remember before lulling off to a deep sleep.