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When Melissa woke from her coma Sesshomaru held her close and licked her. Then he tucked her head up under this chin and rubbed her arms and back. His eyes closed he tilted his head and placed a soft kiss on top of her head.
She leaned back and looked up at him. He opened his eyes and met her gaze. He lifted one hand to caress her cheek and his eyes traveled to her lips. He continued to stroke her cheek as he lowered his face toward her and closed his eyes again. She leaned toward him and her eyes fluttered closed too.
"Merissa, you're awake!" Shippo yelled happily from Kagome's shoulder as they entered. Both pairs of eyes shot open and Sesshomaru's hand dropped as Melissa leaned back.
"Ummm, maybe we should come back later." Kagome replied taking a step backward, But Melissa had already started to get up. The spell was broken anyway.
"Why would we come back later?" Shippo asked Innocently, "Didn't you say you and Keade would need to take a look at her when she woke up?"
Kagome looked from one to the other and realized the moment was gone. "I'll get Keade."
Melissa got a clean bill of health but Keade recommended they stay close to town for a day or two to be sure. Melissa did not stay in the village alone again, she always went to camp in the woods at the end of the day. She and Sesshomaru continued as they always had, but the memory of nearly kissing was there. They both wished it had happened, but neither made the first move.
Four days after they had arrived, two since she woke up Sesshomaru announced they would be leaving that day. They continued into town and Melissa stopped short when she saw a dragon standing outside Keade's house. The dragon turned two heads to look at them then continued grazing. Wait... grazing?
Melissa took a few running steps and grabbed Sesshomaru's hand and pointed at it. "It eat grass?!"
"Are none of the dragons in America herbivores?" Sesshomaru asked.
She looked up with wide eyes at him. "No dragon in America!"
He continued forward then realized she was not walking with him. She stood rooted in spot staring at the beast. He returned to her side and placed a hand on her back. "Ah Un will not hurt you. They once belonged to me. It was Rin who named them. If you would like to pet them I am sure Kohaku would not object."
"Who Kohaku?" She asked as they continued forward.
"He is Rin's friend and Sango's younger brother."
"Melissa!" Rin squealed as they passed Sango's house where she was sitting with Sango, the kids, and a young man who was barely more than a boy, maybe 15.
"Come meet my friend, Kohaku!" She ran up and began to drag Melissa over. The boy had already stood and bowed low to Melissa and Sesshomaru. they visited with the group for half an hour then said their goodbyes and went off in search of Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippo to say goodbye to them.
Melissa smiled as they left town, Kohku wasn't Rin's friend, he was her crush. Probably her very first crush. And they were adorable together! Sesshomaru seemed oblivious to the budding romance, given his overprotective nature Melissa decided not to point it out.
Things quickly returned to normal once they were back on the road. The exception of course was the fact she caught Sesshomaru staring at her often. And he caught her staring. There was a tension between them from the kiss that never happened.
About a week after they left Sesshomaru kept them walking longer than normal. She knew he was aware of the time, saw him glance to the sun sinking lower and lower in to the west. By the time he announced that they would stop for the night the sun was touching the horizon. She would be foraging in the dark, that was no good.
She gathered up fire wood as quick as she could and dumped it next to the fire pit Jaken was working on. When she turned back around Sesshomaru was standing behind her.
"It has grown to dark for you to forage tonight." He informed her holding up a dead rabbit, a meat she was fond of. She accepted the rabbit and hugged him. She kissed his cheek, or she meant to, but once again he and looked down at her and he kiss landed on his lips instead. She let go of him and without a word he walked away.
Once was an accident, twice a coincidence. This was the third time. The third time in less than two months. 'Why that sneaky sonovabitch!' She thought as the realization hit her and a grin spread across her face, he was doing this on purpose!
She reached in her sleeve for her knife and felt the geode he'd given her. She pulled it out and smiled down at it.
"You did not open your geode?" Sesshomaru asked
"Not have chance. You help?" She asked holding it out to him. She wanted him to see what was in it with her.
"The colors will be clearer in daylight. I will open it for you in the morning."
She gave him a radiant smile and dressed out the rabbit. She kept her geode out and looked at it in the moonlight as she drifted off to sleep. She really didn't care what was in it. It was from her Sesshomaru.
When Melissa woke up the next morning she was alone. Both Sesshomaru and Jaken had wandered off, but there was wood stacked by the fire pit for a fire to cook breakfast. She wandered off into the woods to tinkle. When she returned Sesshomaru was back and waiting for her.
"We will be spending the day here. I have sent Jaken on an errand, he should return late tonight or early tomorrow morning." Sesshomaru told her. She didn't bother asking what he'd sent Jaken to do. Often he just made crap up to get rid of the kappa for a day or two.
Grinning she picked up her geode and sat down in front of him, holding ti up. She cupped it in her two hands and he placed his large hand on top of it. He instructed her to close her eyes and squeezed the stone. He was right to worry about her eyes, when he crushed the top tiny bits of rock and dust bounced off her cheeks.
She opened her eyes as he lifted away a large fragment of the top. Rose quartz. She was very familiar with this stone. The soft pink crystals were popular for spells concerning love and friendship. It was one of the few things she could count on selling when she'd had her store.
Sesshomaru turned his attention away to the horizon while Melissa examined her crystals. After several minutes she slipped her geode fragments inside her sleeve, except one perfect quartz point as long as her thumb. She grabbed his hand and placed the crystal in his palm, pushing his fingers up over it.
"I want you have this." She told him. He opened his palm and lifted his hand, examining the crystal.
"Thank you." He replied and tucked the rose quartz inside his kimono.
She smiled and threw her arms around him. She went to kiss his cheek but stopped at the last moment and opened her eyes. He had already turned his face to hers, his lips were slightly pursed, the brazen mutt even closed his eyes in anticipation of her kiss.
When the expected kiss did not land on his lips he opened his eyes. It was amusing to watch, first the look of surprise then the flicker of pure panic. Then he had a guilty, nervous look that made Melissa think of a little kid with his hand in the cookie jar. Busted! Melissa giggled, then she leaned forward and placed a soft lingering kiss on his lips.
When the kiss ended she looked up at him and gave him a sweet, hopeful smile. He stared down at her, completely unreadable, for a long moment. Then he lifted his hands to cup her face, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. He closed his eyes and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Then another, and another. All soft sweet pecks.
She smiled and pressed her lips against his again, allowing them to part slightly she pressed her tongue against his lips. He pulled back, confused. "What are you doing, Melissa?"
She blinked in surprise at his question. He didn't know how to french kiss? Well people in Japan were not open with their affections. It was possible he'd never seen a french kiss before. She'd have to teach him.
"Is call French kiss. Is how lovers kiss. I can teach."
He was silent for a long moment, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. Then he let his hands slip down to her shoulders and gripped them as he spoke. "I want to kiss you again, and to learn this new way from you. However I cannot make any promises to you. If we continue, you must understand that it may go no further. Do you wish to continue?"
She reached up to touch his face. She was in no hurry, she'd learned that rushing headlong into a relationship you were not ready for was a bad idea. She was willing to wait for him to be ready, and when he was she was fairly certain she wouldn't stop him. She decided to echo the words he'd spoken long ago. "Do as you wish."
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close as he placed another soft kiss on her lips. "Teach me."
"When feel tongue open lips." She breathed.
She pressed her lips to his and they parted. When he felt her tongue he did as instructed and felt her tongue slip through them. She began to slowly lick the inside of his mouth. It was the most intimate, sensual thing he'd ever experienced.
When they kissed again he slipped his tongue into her mouth, caressing her tongue with his. They gripped each other tightly and the kiss intensified. He pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth and she pushed him away, panting.
"Not use much tongue, Sesshomaru. Be gentle. Like this." She again pressed her lips to his, he returned the kiss with equal passion. They both were slightly breathless when they came up for air.
Then the lesson was interrupted by her grumbling belly letting Melissa know it was well past breakfast time. She giggled and apologized. She began to walk toward the woods but Sesshomaru took her hand. "Start your fire, I will hunt for you."
It was the least he could do, having kept her from foraging most of the morning. He caught her a pheasant and sat near by as she cooked and ate it. She offered him some but he refused, he did not eat the same food as a human. They spent the rest of the day as usual, with a few breaks to practice kissing.