Chapter 18: Late

Sesshomaru left her in the back garden to get the door, tossing his blade roughly into the grass, embedding it in a few inches of earth. She wondered for a moment why he hadn't noticed someone was arriving like he always did with her, but forgot about it when a pretty redhead waltzed in past his arm, carrying a couple bags. Kagome waited by the door, wanting to stay out of the way as she looked over the petite woman. She wasn't especially tall but her shining heels brought her nearly eye to eye with Sesshomaru. Her face was elegant, and Kagome had been right in her assumption she was western. She wore her hair in a high ponytail with sweeping bangs, the tail long enough to fall in soft waves down her shoulders. Kagome was right about another thing as well. She could be a movie star, for sure. She doubted she'd ever seen someone so gorgeous.

"Here's what you ordered Sess, hope it works for you. I won't ask who it's for but I'd like to meet the lucky little-" She noticed Kagome lingering near the back door mid sentence. "Oh! Hello there, you must be Mr. Sesshomaru's guest." She bowed politely at Kagome, dropping the overly familiar speech with her boss. He rolled his eyes, taking the bags from her.

"Kagome, Rose, acquaint yourselves." He left them with that, taking the bags to the room. Kagome smiled at the woman a bit shyly, beyond intimidated by her first impression of the woman.

"I'm Kagome, a- friend of his brother." She explained, trying to make it sound as simple and not-weird as possible. She held out her hand to shake, the woman accepting the gesture politely.

"Oh? How is it I've never heard of this brother?" Kagome thought she heard just a touch of less than innocent interest in the woman's voice. A little twinge of protective jealousy shot through her immediately.

"Ah- He's… passed away." She said a bit sadly, the words sounding odd on her lips. She didn't like admitting such a thing, even if it was true, and even if she would see him again. The woman nodded respectfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So you've known Sess-homaru a long time then?" Kagome smiled a bit at the woman's familiar nickname that she corrected a second too late, the second time she had done so.

"Oh yes, it seems like centuries." She joked, although the woman wouldn't get it, a little hopeful that he was listening in from the other room.

"Lucky you. He doesn't take many visitors." The woman pulled out her phone when it interrupted her with a hum, reading a few seconds before huffing.

"Mr. Sesshomaru, I'm late for a meeting. Do you need me for anything else at the moment?" She called towards the door. He stepped out, changed into black slacks and buttoning a crisp white shirt just as she finished her request, nodding to dismiss her. "Great, it was nice to meet you Miss Kagome. I hope I'll see you again." She smiled politely, while also winking at her flirtatiously, excusing herself before Kagome could even reply. As she watched her go she thought the woman reminded her of someone she knew, but couldn't quite place it.

As the door clicked shut behind her Kagome turned to look at Sesshomaru, who was straightening his collar. "Mr. Sess." She teased dryly, making him glare.

"Centuries." He responded, agreeing with her earlier jab. "Come change, we're leaving soon." He commanded, returning to the room. She entered to see he'd set the dress on the bed for her, along with a few other items. A shoe box, and a pair of lacy blue underwear, close to the same shade she'd lost the night before. She assumed they'd been ripped and he threw them away, all to familiar with how demons can be hell on lingerie. She held them up, turning to Sesshomaru with a questioning look. He was now standing before the mirror tying a black tie with the same precision he had swung a blade. When He caught her look in the reflection He gave only a little shrug. "I owe you a pair, don't I?"

She smirked. "Mine weren't this lacy." She shook thepair lightly to display the lack of any real coverage or substance. Hers had been far more simple. He pulled the tie up to his collar, pressing it flat before turning to look at her.

"I can always buy you more." He said, knowing that the suggestion would end her complaining, with the added bonus of embarrassing her. She blushed, pulling the garment protectively to her chest and shaking her head in succession.

"That won't be necessary." She muttered shyly, gathering the dress and taking It with her to change in the bathroom.

The dress was the color of red wine and thankfully a decent length at a little longer than her uniform skirt, though it was a bit tight. Once she looked it over she realized it was supposed to be tight, hugging her body and showing off curves she didn't even know she had. The straps were wide and seemed awkward at first, but she wore it like he asked, finger combing her hair down again before stepping out. Their eyes meet as she stepped out. Kagome was struck by how nice he looked in a black suit, thinking it made him look like a secret agent. The thought of him turning to the side with a gun like in a James Bond movie came to mind, making her smile to herself. "How do I look?" She asked in a small voice, suddenly a little self conscious that she didn't clean up as well as he did. He adjusted his cuffs, humming a note before stepping closer. He reached out and slowly slid the straps off her shoulders, making her drop down a few inches and clutch the top of the dress to stop him from taking it off. "Sesshomaru!" She squeaked shyly, earning a little sniff of amusement from him as he stopped, patting the sleeves of the dress.

"Settle down." He said softly, looking down at her arms still crossed protectively over her chest. "that's how they go." She realized too late he was only fixing her dress for her.

"O-oh… I see." She caught her reflection in the mirror, liking the off-the-shoulder look much better. It made the whole dress seem very mature. "I've never worn one like this…" She said absently, adjusting the sleeves to be a bit more even.

"You look fine." He said, walking away to find a belt. She thought that was about as close to a compliment she'd ever heard from him, so accepted it with a smile. She tried the shoes next, finding them attractive, but a little high. They were simple and black, but the skinny heel made them look expensive and elegant. She took a few careful steps, testing her balance.

"Can you walk in those?" He asked, watching her careful movements and remembering her lack of coordination. She blushed again, but nodded with determination.

"Yes, I just need to…" She wobbled a bit before she could even finish the sentence. He sighed at her lack of grace. She heard it, shooting him a determined glare before centering her balance and walking up to him confidently across the room without any further issues. He looked down at her skeptically, both because she was a little wobbly on heels and because the grown up clothes somehow made her look younger. "Practice." She finished brightly, clicking her heels on the floor as she stood at attention before him, innocently holding hands with herself behind her back. He couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Kagome, how old are-" He stopped mid sentence, furrowing his brows and losing his amused expression. He had planned to tease her about how bad she was at looking mature, but thought better of it. "Nevermind, I don't want to know." He finished quickly. She looked up at him, a bit surprised that he would care at all. He glanced away from her to look at his watch. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now." He said, happy to change the subject. She nodded, following him carefully.

She was just in the process of congratulating herself for mastering the heels, having walked all the way through the house without falling when the step before the door caught her by surprise. She hit his outstretched arm before the floor, thankful that he was faster than any human, and gravity. She was just about to thank him for the quick save when instead of setting her down he picked her up higher, tossing her over his shoulder and continuing on like she weighed nothing. "Ah! Put me down!" She protested, hitting his back with her balled fist, feeling the position was embarrassingly undignified. He ignored her yelling, holding her behind the knees with one hand and locking his door with the other before walking around to the garage and plugging in his pin. She continued to struggle the entire way, her yelling turning into little angry whimpers as she realized he wasn't going to put her down.

"I told you, we're running late. We don't have time to teach you to walk in heels." He said evenly, walking into the garage and setting her down at the passenger side of a sleek black sports car. She stumbled as she landed, but he caught her hand, helping her regain her balance once again, and proving his point.

"Sesshomaru!" She fumed, raising a finger to aid in telling him off. "You can't just manhandle people like that! Who do yo-" He interrupted her with a sudden movement, his shoe sweeping one of her legs and catching her like a dip in a dance as she fell. She made a funny little growl as she laid helpless on his arm, clutching his suit with one hand and his tie with the other.

"Actually, I can. Get in." He said, righting her again and opening her door. He walked around the front of the car to the drivers side, dusting his shoulder where she had been held and straightening his tie. As he opened his door he looked up at her, still standing completely still and glaring daggers at him. "Kagome. Late. In. Now." He said sternly. She made another little grown but did as he had told her, sliding into the car. "Don't slam the-" She slammed the door. She crossed her arms over her chest at the loud bang, relishing in the fact that it pissed him off even a little. He opened his door and joined her, shutting it firmly. They glared at each other in heated silence for a long moment. "You are the most childish-" He started evenly just as she chimed in to drown him out.

"I'm the childish one!? When you-"

"Loud, annoying, uncoordinated-"

"-Toting me around like an OVERSIZED TOY-"

"-Lacking ANY KIND of grace or sophistication-"

"-Nothing but a COLD, UNFEELING, JERK-"

"-BRAT WHO ISN'T WORTH MY TIME!" He roared, slamming his fist into the door. Her eyes flared with anger at that. He Hated that she could make him lose his temper, but she was trying his last nerve at every turn. Getting mad was one thing, but her tantrums he could not deal with. It was when he saw her bite her lip he noticed the enclosed space was drowning him in the scent that he loved, making him shoot her a disgusted looking sneer and undetectably hold his breath. That damned scent was going to make him forget how close to kicking her out of his car he was if he wasn't careful. Or worse, throw her in the back. He would hate to reward such terrible behavior.

Kagome was seething, to be sure, but her heart was also pounding for another reason. She liked it when he yelled at her. A lot. She sat there glaring at Sesshomaru wondering what the hell was wrong with her. That comment had crossed the line. Those insults were as cruel as they were genuine, and yet somehow the delivery had sparked a desire in her that she was finding hard to control. She hated him in that moment more than she'd hated anyone for making her want him when she was so mad. She squeezed her fists tucked in her crossed arms, trying to fight it back and failing. There was no way she was going to finally give in to him after being such an ass!

He examined her ferocious expression as he saw the look in her eyes shift to something softer, a little fearful. He knew the look to mean she was battling the same thing he was. He took a shallow breath, finding the scent had changed to that of desire although her insubordinate expression told another story. In an instant his fist was in her hair, wanting to remind her that he could do whatever he liked with her if he chose. He would never force her, but she seemed to forget who he was all too often, and worse, he'd been letting her get away with it. Maybe he needed to remind himself that he could handle her with such roughness, like any one of the hundreds of other girls. In the same moment, overwhelmed by her scent and the fire in her eyes, he locked her in a passionate kiss.

Her soft lips didn't fight him as he held her. She kissed him back, letting her tongue meet his. The taste of her, Kami, it was so sweet. He was mesmerised by it, his hand loosening in her hair and becoming a caress as he lost himself for a moment in a way that had never happened. Not only with her, but with any woman in his thousands of years. It was a sensation almost like her purifying light, like electricity passing between the two sets of lips. She too felt the change, not understanding how anything could feel so right while knowing it to be so dangerously wrong. He pulled himself back when he felt her pushing him away at his chest, catching just a glimpse of her true feelings before he was met with a sound slap to the face, sending his nerves into a stinging frenzy. He looked at her with complete disbelief as she stared back with a look of pure terror.

She hadn't meant to slap him, but panicked. What she was feeling was beyond what she should. Beyond what she thought she could! Not for him, or anyone other than the one she loved. It was more wrong than spending the night with him. She only wanted it to stop, but the heat of the moment had triggered some kind of fight or flight response in her. Why did she always choose fight?

He watched her, his eyes losing their intensity as his hand brushed his cheek. Little stings of sensation still flickered over the marks like a dying flame. Touching them in this way had only cleared his head, breaking him out of… whatever that was. He was almost thankful.

Just as she was about to gasp out an apology he turned back to the wheel as though nothing had happened, turning the key. "Put on your seatbelt. We're late." He said coldly. She was frozen, part of her wondering if she'd just imagined the last few moments. Maybe he was just too mad to yell, or pull her hair again. She absently moved a hand to the place in her hair that he had pulled, noticing it hadn't hurt when he did it. Had he meant it to? The sudden jerk of the car in reverse snapped her out of her thought, her hands bracing on the dash. As it stopped again to shift gears she hit the back of the seat, scrambling to put on the seatbelt as they tore down the street.