Orihime craned her neck to look towards the glass doors to her balcony. The familiar stranger appeared to be gone, but for some reason she wasn't entirely convinced that he was. "Yes, but in your room?"
"If that is what you prefer." Byakuya thought it was odd that she prefer to stay in his room when this one had been her home for an entire month. It was a place of comfort for her as far as he could tell. She had yet to see his room, but maybe that was the point. Was she attempting to know him more? "Shall we?" He offered her his arm.
"Do you mind if I change and brush my hair before I join you?"
"Not at all. I can wait." He walked towards an arm chair to sit down.
"Good! Then I'll meet you in your room." She blurted out before he had a chance to lower himself onto the seat.
"I suppose that is acceptable. I will send a servant for you in half an hour. Will that suffice?" She nodded happily and made her way to her wardrobe and began looking through her small collection of clothes. The noble watched her enthusiastically shuffle through the garments, happy with her reaction to each colorful dress. He shook himself out of his trance. He could get completely lost in her if he let himself. "Then I look forward to it." He bowed and took his leave.
After the door shut and she waited several seconds for Byakuya to make some distance from the area, she dashed over to the balcony doors and tore them open. "Stranger! Where are you?" She whispered, peering about. "It is safe now, but I don't have a lot of time."
"Safe?" She heard a man laugh. "I am always safe." He continued cockily. "Behind you, princess."
She turned quickly and her eyes widened as he dove in to kiss her. Quickly she leaned to the side causing him to miss his target. "W-who are you?" She spat out, frustrated with his forward action.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, the man you were in love with most of your life, and your boyfriend before..." He choked a little towards the end. "Before you passed."
"B-boyfriend? Before I... Died." This made things complicated, more than they already were. Her gaze dropped to the floor. "I'm confused."
"Run away with me." He took ahold of her hand, tightening his grip instantly, knowing that she would try to pry it free. She did, but did so in vain. His hold on her was too strong.
"I've missed you more than I can tell you." Heavens, it felt good to touch her again, even if she was struggling to get away. It was all reminiscent of the first night they spent together. His heart burst with pain as their recent memories flooded his brain. A tear ran down his left cheek, then one on the right, soon they were followed by more. "So much... I-I'm sorry."
"Please, don't cry." She stopped try to free herself and looked at the grown man before her pouring his heart out. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held her body close to his. "I am sorry I caused you so much pain."
"You never caused me pain a day in my life. I failed you." He pulled her in tighter, kissing the top of her head. It was comforting, he was comfortable. "I could have done something. I don't know what exactly, but I should have figured it out. I failed and you..."
"Please stop blaming yourself." She put some distance between them so she could see his face. "What's happened has happened. Nothing can be done now."
"I will figure something out. I need to change this. Save you." She took the sleeve of her gown and wiped the moisture from his face. He was touched by her gesture. Even as they stood there as strangers she treated him with kindness. He made up his mind then and there that he would not lose her to death, or Byakuya Kuchiki. "Come with me."
"I can't go with you. I actually should be going now to..." She thought better of what information she should give him. He obviously was distraught over losing her, believed himself in love with her. Telling him she was going to lie in the arms of another man seemed cruel. "... Spend the night with a very dear girlfriend." There! She emphasized that the friend she had to see was female.
"I could go with you."
"No!" She said too loudly for her own taste. "She would be furious."
"Maybe if I come by tomorrow-"
"Miss Inoue, are you ready?" The servant was there already, on time, and waiting in the hall. Everything in this house was on time, planned to the very last second, and she hated it. "Miss Inoue?"
"I have to go." She pulled away to answer the person waiting to show her to her fiancé's room. "Coming!"
"Tomorrow, princess?" Ichigo grabbed ahold of her waist. She glared at him in irritation.
"You are like an octopus!" He pulled her in closer and leaned in to capture her lips. Speedily she threw both hands over her face and cried out in defeat. "Okay, okay! Tomorrow! Just let me go!"
"Miss Inoue, I must insist we make haste." The servant spoke again, a hint of agitation apparent in his voice.
The redheaded man embraced the redheaded woman one last time in a firm hug, gave her a wink, and took a running leap off the balcony. She rushed to find another dress to adorn herself in.
"Miss Inoue! Master Ku-"
"For Christ's sake, I'm coming!" She snapped uncharacteristically, as she threw open her bedroom door dawning a new nightdress and frantically brushed hair.
"This way." The servant raised a brow and motioned for her to follow.
()()()()()
"Miss Inoue is here, sir." Byakuya replied with a slight nod, signaling the servant to let her in. She slowly walked in, slightly nervous. She was in awe of her ornate surroundings. His bedroom was quite grand.
Orihime was not prepared to stay the night with the man that was to be her husband, and felt she agreed to it too hastily out of panic, but she was a woman of her word. She always did as she promised. She also had questions for the noble. Questions about her past and the particulars of their relationship before she had died. Having a night with the man who could answer them would be worth overcoming her nerves.
"Hime." He spoke softly. She was a vision of deep blue that complimented her red hair perfectly. The gown she had chosen flowed down her curves like a river and pooled at the floor, making her look much like he'd envision a water goddess, or mermaid to appear. Her skin glowed in the moonlight that poured through the windows, and her hair looked the color of flame in contrast. Her lips and cheeks were pink like the cherry blossoms he favored so much... "How do you continue to become more beautiful each time we meet?"
"Thank you..." He flattered her every time they were together. Though she enjoyed the compliments to an extent, sometimes she felt like an idol of warship and not a woman. "You flatter me too much."
"I am sorry, it is just that I thought I had lost you and here you are before me." He could not help but want her. He had been starving decades and she was the only one who could fill his soul with what he needed to finally live. Relating how he felt tumbled out of his moth in compliments and showed itself in the form of overprotection and neediness. He hated himself for appearing so pathetic, but he had become a desperate man. Being denied her presence for so long turned him into an addict and now he was getting his fix. His love for her was overflowing.
"Byakuya... I wondered if you might tell me about us. Before I died." He cringed inwardly at the last word. She tried to say it as easily as she could, still trying wrap her thoughts around the meaning. He took her hand and lead her to a couch facing a warm fire in an unusually large sat down at one end and she at the other, curling her legs beneath her.
"I suppose I should start from when I first saw you. When I truly saw you..." He cleared his throat. It was a tender moment he did not even get to mention to the woman by his side while she was alive. Feelings made him uncomfortable, but this woman... "During the last war I had fallen in battle and was sure I was going to perish when an angel appeared to deliver me from my pain. I thought she would take me away to heaven, or wherever we go after... This. That angel had fiery, red hair, silver eyes, soft skin... That angel was you. You saved me from certain death." She looked at him with her big, doe like eyes, completely entranced with his words. He continued. "You healed my wounds at the cost of your own health. You used all of your power to heal me and almost died doing it. An act so selfless, so rare..."
"But all of you do that for each other during war, don't you?" It surely could not have been the only time someone had risked their own neck to save his.
"I had never fallen so far as to lose hope. I have never needed assistance, or saving before. You gave me a second chance." Uncomfortable with the emotions that clung to the words he spoke, he turned his gaze to the dancing fire. "I took you home with me so that we could both recover. To thank you properly, and to understand you better."
Orihime stared intently at Byakuya, hanging on his every word. She could tell he was uncomfortable sharing his feelings, even from their first meeting in this... Life. He struggled with expressing himself and she knew the fact that he did try with her was something rare, it was something to be cherished. For all she knew she was the only one he could connect with. No one else had the privilege of witnessing the royal so vulnerable, not even Rukia. She could tell by how he interacted with his sister and everyone else. His door was open to her alone. It was an honor, but left her feeling sad for him at the same time.
"Our friendship grew quickly, though quiet. We had an understanding of sorts. We both knew when to converse and went to stay silent. Much like now." He stole a glance at the woman on the other end of the sofa and smiled slight, then returned his attentions to the glow of the fireplace. "You impressed me with your wit, humor, intelligence, and grace, but..." He paused.
"But?" The young woman urged him on.
"Your heart was full of another at the time. Ichigo Kurosaki. A boy you had loved for years, a boy who did not return your affections." He took in a deep breath, determined to continue. "You were young and loyal, and I, a mere member of the Royal Kuchiki Family could not make you bat an eye in my direction." He sighed dramatically, adding a comical note to his storytelling. She smiled at him, playfully hitting his arm, urging him to continue further.
"He rejected you rather cruelly in favor of another young woman who couldn't possible hold a candle to you. In turn you fled town and only continued to correspond with myself, occasionally my sister, your best friend, and one of my least favorite persons, who you shall be reunited with... Eventually." The thought of a drunk Matsumoto, dragging his poor bride to be around town, wreaking havoc flashed through his brain and he cringed inwardly.
"I ran away?" She leaned back against the arm of the furniture and untucked her feet from beneath her. She was becoming more at ease with every minute that passed, and every word that was spoken.
"Yes, but it was for the better. You needed to prove your independence, and that you did. You became very successful." The raven hairs man picked up his fiancé's ankles and pulled her legs to rest over his lap. Her eyes widened in surprise by his gesture.
"Better?" He asked.
"Yes. Much!" She responded quickly with an awkward grin. He began to massage her ankles and feet. She sunk into the cushions beneath her in ecstasy. "T-thank you..."
"It's good to practice for when you are really going to need them." She would surely need them when she was further along with child. Swollen ankles and feet were normal in an advanced pregnancy. He would give her foot rubs until his hands became raw if it made her happy, alleviated her pain, and any stress put on their baby. Their baby...
"Byakuya?" She noticed she was losing him to his own inner thoughts. "Is there more?"
"Yes..." He took a moment to regather his thoughts, smiling as soon as he uncovered one of his favorite memories of her. The night she descended the stairs after they had been apart for seven long years. "You stayed away for seven years until my sister ordered to have you kidnapped for her wedding. That is when you were finally reunited with... Everyone."
"I could see Rukia doing that!" She laughed, thinking of the petite woman. "Why not sooner?"
"I advised against it. In your letters to me you sought growth and independence. You also needed time to heal."
"Oh." She responded simply.
"You grew into an incredible woman. More beautiful than I could have imagined possible." She sat up abruptly and closed the distance between them, leaning into his shoulder. His body tensed, but quickly relaxed into her contact. He took in a deep breath. "I thought I had loved you before, but when I saw you again... And after losing you..."
"I know. I can feel it too." She looked up at him. He could feel her eyes on him and the gentle caress of her soothing spiritual pressure. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his lap.
"I love you." He said sincerely as he pressed her into his chest. He did not expect her to say it back, he knew she couldn't. Not yet anyway. She placed her palms on his chest and pushed away gently to look at him. The familiar heat pooled between her legs as their auras intermingled. The reaction was electric, sending goosebumps down her spine. Her breathing became heavy and her lips tingled, yearning for his. He gazed back at her, searching for a sign that she would welcome his advances. She nodded once, and it was all he needed. His lips crushed down on hers, her mouth opened, welcoming his tongue. Her fingers clung to his hair, fabric, anything to keep her from floating away from this moment. His hands slid down onto her rump, fingernails sinking into the fabric covered flesh as he pressed her into his covered, hardened member. She groaned, breaking their kiss, and he dove for her neck. She pulled away and stood before him. As she stared into his eyes she reached behind her neck and untied the bow that held her nightgown on her body. The fabric slowly slipped down to the floor. She stood before him, completely naked.
"Are you sure you want this?" He said breathlessly, attempting to grasp at the last straws of gentlemanly behavior. This would be the last time he would ask before he devoured every inch of her body.
"Make love to me." Was her response, a confident demand. He opened his robe to reveal his hard, muscled chest and torso, his hakama followed. His, what she guessed was unusually large, member stood out proud, like a tall tower. She wasn't sure how it was to fit inside her. She set one knee down, then the other and held his head gently to her bare chest. He slid his hands up her smooth thighs, to her round hips, the small of her waist. He took a hardened nipple in his mouth and suckled on it, massaging it gently with his tongue. She squirmed at the erotic, yet sensitive feeling, and he held her in a firm grip.
"No..." She cried. The feeling was so good, yet so overwhelming. The feelings were conflicting to say the least.
"No?" He ceased his actions.
"Don't stop!" She pleaded and he obliged, moving to her other breast. She raked her fingers through his hair, moaning in ecstasy. Soon he moved to draw kisses up her chest, to her neck, over her jaw line, and finally to her lips. He ran his hands down to her round cheeks and lowered her body towards his aching erection.
She could feel the tip of him positioned at her warm entrance. She squeezed her eyes shut as he attempted to push himself further inside of her. He eased in, pulled out, pushed in further, until finally he was fully immersed in her core. She slowly lifted herself up, and eased herself down on him to better accommodate his size. As the pain subsided, she became more confident, riding him faster. He rose to meet each movement of her hips, each thrust causing her to let out a sensual moan that drove him crazy. He was at the point of no return.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tight. As he thrust into his lover he whispered to her, his hot, rasped breath caressing her ear. "Come for me, Hime."
With those words, her body became even more electrified, her breathing heavy. Immediately she found his mouth with hers and kissed him deeply. She ground into him, desperate for maximum penetration, to have him as close to her as humanly possible. As she did so, she felt pressure build up in her core, ready to explode. "I'm... I'm..." She cried out as the most powerful orgasm she assumed she'd ever experienced ripped through her body. At last she had release.