DISCLAIMER: No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered...

Chapter Twenty-Two:
Dominance and Submission

I see your grace
From my window
When it is late at night
It'll show me your shadow
~Ed Sheeran~

The walk back to the Firefly Inn was silent and awkward. Naruto cocked his head at Sakura, studying her, taking everything in. From the frown of her mouth to the stressed furrow of her brow and her now rapid pulse beating against the thin skin of her neck.

"You're awfully quiet right now. Are you plotting revenge or just my own death?"

"You could've warned me about her," she muttered.

Naruto arched a golden brow. "I had no idea she would be here and besides… it looked like you had everything in control." He added in a placating tone, "You really were incredible back there."

She had her crossed arms squeezing tight across her middle as she carefully considered what she wanted to say. Too many negative emotions were swirling inside her, furling together to put her in one hell of a mood. Anger, jealousy, possession, fear. And one tall woman set all that into motion. At the moment, jealousy was seething at the top of the list.

To know that Yukiko touched Naruto's skin, felt his breath along her body, his hands on her skin, his beautiful body thrusting into hers. It was enough to have her hands curling into fists. God, she wanted to punch her way through the crowded street and make a break for the trees in the distance. Anything to burn off this coiling heat.

It was he who broke the lengthy silence. With a heavy sigh, he said, "I am very sorry about that. She and I have been over for months, and it was never anything serious anyway." She watched his jaw clench from the corner of her eye. He looked like he had more to say but was biting back the words.

Sakura had questions burning like hot acid in her mind. She closed her eyes and turned away, counting back from ten over and over. She'd always had this bad habit of wanting every bit of information and asking questions. Questions that lead to answers she was sure she wouldn't like. She opened her eyes to see they were nearing the inn.

She pictured herself a few months from now - scared that after all this is over, she would be just like Yukiko. Bitter and angry...sad that Naruto was gone from her life. That she was temporary to him. Just the girl he spent some time with.

"How long were you with her?" Old habits die hard. Shit.

His shoulders bunched. "Six weeks." So many emotions she felt from just those two words. But she didn't want to think about that right now, so she pushed it away. Even as she knew she had zero right asking such questions, another came out. It was like pushing a ball down the stairs; once it started it just kept going.

"What did you like about her?" She wanted to add that she didn't think it was her charming personality, but then again she apparently had some charm somewhere. Sakura was banking it was in the boobs.

He cut a hard glance at her. "I really don't want to talk about her." The hard muscle of his forearm curved and twisted as he squeezed his fists.

Sakura bit her tongue to keep from asking any more, or giving anything else away, afraid she'd already done too much. She made herself shrug and toss him a no problem smile.

By the time they pulled open the front doors of the lobby, she was nearly suffocating from the thick silence. When he stopped to speak with a guest that hailed him, she bounded up the stairs and was practically running to her room, keys in hand. She had only a moment to register the hot, male presence behind her before she was pressed forward against the wooden door. Her cheek and front from breast to thigh pressed into the wood.

"Don't run away from us," he muttered angrily.

Anger and pleasure engulfed her. A tingling butterfly sensation danced in her belly, spreading throughout her body at the dominate gesture. A hand found the nape of her neck, hips kept her locked tight against the door. He pushed the hair away from her neck and then teeth grazed her neck.

She cried out, husky and soft. Her hips pushed back against his hardness.

His arm pressed bold, possessive caresses down her spine, over her hips. It made her breath catch. Hot lips and then the wet press of tongue circled, then lightly bit her at the juncture between her neck and shoulder. He released only after she moaned in pleasure.

"Let's not talk about Yukiko. She's gone from my life, she means nothing to me." He ran long fingers through her hair at the nape of her head, grabbed the strands gently, and coaxed her head further to the side, showing his dominance.

Sakura loved everything he did until he mentioned her name. She moved to jerk away from him, but he held her tight, her breasts pushed hard into the door.

"I know you're mad, but I don't know how else to explain it except that there is no one else in my mind. Except you, Sakura-chan. Only you. Let's not talk about any exes, okay?" he whispered, then turned her, pulling her up on her toes to take her in a mind-consuming kiss.

"For now." Sakura stood no chance against the assault. Her knees weakened as his tongue plundered her mouth. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Yukiko's face burned in her mind… So that woman thought she could have him? Over her dead body.

Hot, wet, eager kisses. Two lovers desperate to taste each other. He made her weak with wanting. Excited with anticipation. And anxious to feel him pushing deep inside her again. A woman could die from so much lust and sexual tension surging through her all at once. At least, that's how she felt at the moment. Moaning deep in her throat, she rolled her hips against his, seeking more pressure. More friction. More everything. She was on the brink of going mad, and it was all his doing.

"Naruto." Her voice was soft and husky, pure aroused woman.

The sound seemed to snap something inside him because a second later they were inside the room with her back pressed up against the door.

"You need to get away from me while you can," he growled. His eyes were tortured and bright as they looked down her. She could see his features begin to change - his whisker marks becoming more pronounced, his eyes darkening and his canines elongating. There was something so hypnotizing about it. Sakura licked her lips slowly, feeling like she was drugged.

Her eyes remained locked on his. "No. I want it all Uzumaki. I want every part of you." Her tone descended to a sultry purr that riled him further.

Naruto clenched his fists and shook his head. He gritted his teeth, spoke gratingly through them. "You don't know what you're asking for."

One pink brow arched, deliberately challenging. "Don't I?" She held his gaze steadily. "I want to know all of you - all of your wants, all your needs. All your desires."

Before he could respond, she went first for his pants. The loose-fitting orange pants did nothing to hide the powerful thighs and bulging erection that lie beneath. She nimbly pushed the button through the hole and pushed down the zipper…the sound like a loud hiss. She gave a shove and watched those pants slide down to reveal his erection, the tip red with arousal.

She licked her lips again, and before she realized what she was doing, was dropping to her knees in front of him licking the swollen head.

"Sakura!" he rasped, his hands coming to her hair. "You don't have to do that…"

Would he push her away or take, she wondered, as she opened her mouth and took the head of him into her wet mouth.

She moaned over the male taste of him. He was hot like a fever and hard like metal. She twirled her tongue around the tip before pressing forward.

She pulled her mouth away and caught the heavy, bobbing flesh in a fist. She looked at the hard length of him, and then studied the full sac below. It was flushed and drawn up to his body. She had a strange urge to cup them in her hand, feel them.

She looked up instead. Naruto was breathing hard, a trickle of sweat dripping down his temple. His eyes were open but colored red hot with arousal, need, and something even more primal. She decided right then that she definitely loved that look. She flicked out her tongue and traced up the hot path of his cock from balls to tip, watching his expression.

When his eyes lowered and met hers, she did the motion again. And again. She licked him everywhere, wetting his cock until it shined from her mouth in the daylight. His hand tightened in her hair like he didn't know whether to push her away her hold her still.

She had a feeling he wasn't going to let her keep playing for long, so she wrapped her lips around him and bobbed down his wet shaft. She repeated the pumping motion three more times, as a deep answering throb from deep within her released a gush of heat like a mini-orgasm. She moaned over his cock as she felt her panties getting wet.

She knew he could smell her arousal. He knew how much she loved this, how wet it was making her, because a moment later he shouted, "Oh God!"

He pulled out of her mouth and lifted her, his hands tearing at her shorts and skirt until they slid roughly down her smooth legs. Mere seconds later, he had a condom on and her legs around his thighs, his erection nudging her slick entrance. He kissed her hard at the same moment he found her slit and thrust inside. She cried out into his mouth, his tongue muting the sound.

Each thrust sent her back digging into the wall. But she didn't notice. She had the distinct feeling that he was trying to mark her permanently. What for, she didn't know.

She hungrily kissed him, her nails raking his back through the T-shirt he wore. Heat spiraled inside her with amazing force. Pleasure tightened inside her coiling with each hot, thick slide. He tore his mouth away, breathing heavy and buried his face in her neck as he pumped his hips faster, harder. His thrusts were brutal, possessive. He licked the spot where he'd marked her outside then sucked hard on the skin.

Some small part of her recognized the dominant marking he was leaving on her. She should protest it, but instead she rocked her hips back against his. When he sucked her neck again, over his mark, she flew apart like exploding glass. Her muscles tightened and worked the hard cock inside her.

He groaned, pushing faster through the clenching muscles as Sakura cried out. She didn't even have time to catch her breath before she was pushed to her hands and knees. She looked behind her, still fighting to breathe normally, when Naruto knelt behind her. His eyes were dark and heavy with arousal, his hungry face intent.

Her muscles tensed with anticipation. She knew this would be rough. It would be raw. It would be what she wanted.

"God," he said, voice guttural. He smoothed a hand down her spine and then grasped her hips. "I'm not through with you, Sakura-chan. Tell me how badly you want this." When she didn't respond, his hand moved back up her spine, his fingers wrapping around the edges of her hair. He tugged hard enough to send a wave of prickles across her skull and another shudder deep inside her. "Tell me, Sakura."

Sakura couldn't believe the pulsing heat that curled inside her. Could she possibly be getting turned on again so quickly? "Yes."

The tug came again, and she cried out, already so close. "Yes, what?"

"Yes," she gasped. "I want this badly. I want it more than anything."

"That's my girl." He grabbed her hips, and the only preparation she had was a round thickness nudging her channel, stretching her wide, before he thrust deliberately and heavily home.

Filled her with one long, sure stroke that pushed all the air out of her lungs.

That left her feeling more full of him that she had before. Pleasure radiated out from her core, mixing with the small bite of pain. The sensation was heady, thoroughly sensual.

Once he was in, he shuddered as he wrapped his other arm under her breasts, holding her in place. When he started to move in slow and steady strokes, she thought she'd die from the pleasure, from the downright wickedness of what they were doing in front of the door to the hallway, in broad daylight.

A sharp swirl of tingles rushed through her body. Behind her, he moved his powerful body at a faster rhythm. Her hands slid over the tile. He groaned and took her in pounding thrusts that became faster, longer, ruthlessly demanding and a whole lot primal. His hands were everywhere, on her back, cupping her hard-tipped breasts, petting between her legs. But where he left her, and where she came apart, was with his hand at the nape of her neck pushing her face down to the floor and his hand stuffed between her legs rubbing delicious patterns over her needy clit.

"You're mine now," he murmured against the flushed skin of her back. "Completely mine."

It was true. She couldn't deny it. She was his. And he was hers. "I love you, Sakura-chan," he said, voice thick with emotion. "I love you."

He controlled her. He owned her. She knew it and he knew it.

And she didn't care at all.

Didn't care that she was in such a vulnerable, submissive position. Didn't care that his admission of love should scare her with its implications. Didn't care that Yukiko would be traveling with them and would most likely be attempting to entice him at any available opportunity. All she could think about, all she cared about, was the thickness rocking so fast inside her and the strong hands on her body.

Lightning flew through her veins. He rubbed one last circle over her clit and she came in a gush of liquid heat, absolutely mind-blowing in its intensity. Her cry mixed with his roar as he let go. His hands tightened momentarily on her neck and his hips pumped, throwing her headfirst into another orgasm. He stayed against her for what felt like forever, his body sealed to hers. When he did pull out, she already missed him.

Naruto turned her in his arms, kissing her cheeks, the lids of her eyes, and then her lips. Holding her close, he sat back, naked from the waist down, and pulled her into his lap.

Finally, her lashes fluttered open and their eyes met. Her gaze was guarded and her expression was tentative, even a bit uncertain. She looked so damn vulnerable, and that was a term he never would have equated to this woman beside him. No, the confident, brilliant Sakura he was familiar with would have shattered the silence with some sort of intellectual remark that would bewilder him.

He had the strong urge to reach out and touch her, gently this time. To smooth away the silky strands of hair that had fallen across her soft cheek. To lean down and kiss her slowly, leisurely, and make love to her with only her needs in mind this time around. That thought reminded him once again of what a self-absorbed lover he'd been, fueling the need to make amends for being so thoughtless with her. "Sakura… I'm sorry," he said, his tone low and rough, though the words alone seemed inadequate. His fingers hesitantly teased the skin of her arm. "Are you okay? Was I too rough?"

Sakura nuzzled her cheek against his hard chest and kissed the muscle there before answering. "I'm fine, but I can't stop thinking..."

He stroked his hands softly up and down her back. "Has anyone ever told you that you think too much?"

"Yeah. You."

"So stop thinking."

"But I have questions."

His fingers paused on her arm. "What questions?"

Her lifelong curse of asking too many questions echoed in her mind. Yet the not knowing, the unanswered, was too powerful. The damn insecurities. She hated it. She hated herself. So damn weak. Somehow those angry thoughts fueled her, had her turning toward him, and saying something she'd never expected to say.

"Am I going to end up like..." she started to say her, but stopped. She didn't want to start this line of questioning off with breaking the one rule they had.

She didn't have to finish the question. He sighed heavily and his fingers resumed their touch. "No, I don't think so." His voice was husky, thick from his hard orgasm. Her heart did a little leap at his words.

"What do you mean?" She made her voice sound only mildly curious, not eager.

Naruto searched Sakura's eyes as she searched his. He struggled to find the right words to explain to her. "This," he said slowly, "All that's between us, all that could be - not even that would ever be strong enough to change you. To make you into a different person. You're not like anyone I've ever been with before, Sakura-chan. You make me feel, hell, make me think about things...different things. You always have. There's a really big part of me that wants to tie you to my bedpost and never let you go."

Sakura swallowed hard. She felt the emotion swell in her throat as she lifted her head, blindly seeking his kiss. Words didn't seem like enough… She was beginning to feel the same things and that scared her. She opened her mouth to tell him that, but a knock interrupted her. Naruto groaned and extracted himself from her, planting a swift kiss on her lips before going to the door in only his shirt.

He answered it and spoke to someone Sakura couldn't see. "Yeah, yeah, give us a minute," he said and closed the door harder than necessary. He turned to her, his eyes taking her all in.

He shook his head as appreciation filled his eyes. "It looks like your treatment worked so well that Lord Kumosaki wants to head out as soon as possible while he's feeling so good." He was already pulling on his pants and the shoes he'd toed off. "Get dressed, Sakura-chan. I can't think when you look like your waiting for me to make love to you again."

Sakura gave a soft wicked curl of her lips that had him stopping dead in his tracks. He licked his lips, his eyes falling to her hardened nipples and open legs, her lips bared fully to him.

"God, you're so beautiful."

Sakura smiled widely at his compliment. She stood and snatched her clothes off the floor and gave him a quick kiss before sprinting to the other room to dress and pack.

AN:

Thanks to everyone that followed/favorited/commented on the last chapter! Also - no I haven't read 50 Shades of Grey or watched the movie, so any likeness to it is purely coincidental.

My recommendation this week is Sorakage by Timberwolfe: In a time of ninja and the earth, who is really in charge of the world? Is it the land, the sky, the sea? Is it the strongest ninja or the outcast? Is it the power of many or the power of the few? No one knows, but we try to understand through romance and adventure.

AZFAERYDUST