DISCLAIMER:
Me no own.
- It's hard to keep up just because I have a lot on my plate at the moment.
The only reason this story is still going is because of you guys :) thanks.
¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤
¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤
¤¤ recap ¤¤.
"That you there?" He asked as the camera pined down on Kikyo and her sweet fake attitude.
"Hmm." She replied, seizing up if she wanted to take this man home for the night or not.
"Ah so you're the lady the town's been whisperin' about now." He smiled and leaned back. He had heard the old man Macey speak of the events at the rodeo and how a lady who broke a mans heart was back in town but she had lost to that very man.
"Well I suppose that would be me." He ducked his head down just as the television glanced to a scene of Kagome and Inuyasha and him holding his award up high. Kikyo placed her glass on the bar none too gently at the display.
"Ain't that bad off, you can just get him next time."
"What do you know." She scoffed at him she hated people who presumed more than anything, That bitch there, you see her? The one with the blue shirt, she's becoming a problem for me more then the stupid competitions." Kikyo's booze was starting to hit a little harder and she wasn't' hesitant to display her hatred for Kagome.
Naruku looked to the screen to see exactly the woman he had been looking for. He smirked and looked back to Kikyo.
¤ Chapter Ten ¤
It was back to work.
Work. Work. Work.
That's exactly how she felt.
It was just after dinner a few days after the rodeo. Sango sat in the homey living room of her house her father left to her two years ago. She was once again sitting on the couch and on the brown oak coffee table was a small stack of bills she was slowly sorting out from the week's leftover mail. Then to the left of the pile was another small sorted stack of mail to give to the hands, who of course had their mail delivered there as well. The television was off in front of her, perched high on it's mable mantel with surrounding bookshelves filled with paper and hardback novels. She had on her pearly, purple rimmed glasses that she only wore when her eyes were weary or she was too tired to read. She was sitting back against the worn floral patterned sofa thinking about the past few days, and trying to ignore the work laid out in front of her. Oh the joys of procrastination.
Inuyasha and Kouga brought home their awards and had a celebratory dinner out in town with the whole group. After they had all head home from the rodeo and had to feed the animals calling softly to the hands when they had arrived back home - calling of course for their food.
While out and about in town the few days before Sango was glad to see her friend finally cheerful and not having worried eye glances everywhere they traveled or went when they left the ranch. She thought the rodeo experience was good for Kagome. Especially for Kagome and Inuyasha's silent forming relationship. Sango had observed some shy flirting from both Kagome and Inuyasha's end at the rodeo. It looked promising, and she hoped it would convince Kagome to stick around until after the end of the summer season.
But things were up and running smoothly again two days later. Kagome was currently out at the field feeding treats to the horses, spoiling them rotten after a hard days work. She had spent much of her time in the past few days photographing and had plans to mail off her latest work to her awaiting agent in the city at the end of the week.
Kagome had also started to tear out the weeds in the garden, outside nearby the kitchen, during the warmer hours of the day, trying to clear the dirt for the seeds she would plant in the damp soil later on. Inuyasha had bought her all sorts of vegetable seeds, and flower seeds for the window boxes. Tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, and carrots. Bluebells, daffodils, sunflowers, and tulips.
It was nice. Sango thought having Kagome around really brought out a woman's touch within the home. She wished she could make it more homey like her mother had years ago when she was growing up in their home, but Sango was now in charge of a fully operational ranch and didn't have much time for the womanly touches. Which also made her sigh, thinking about all the women she saw fancied up at the rodeo - wishing she had a little more time to spend on her own style and appearance. That and, it was nice to have a younger female around besides Rin - who was too busy with Sesshoumaru anyways.
Sango sighed and then preceded to fill our her checkbook register when she heard footsteps approaching behind her in the living room.
Miroku had been watching her silently from the doorway. He assumed she hadn't heard him first walk in since she hadn't acknowledged his presence. She was working once again. Since they had been home she had dove fully back into the working ranch and he hadn't seen her take a moment for herself except for when everyone parted ways in the evening and she went to bed early. At least she was taking care of herself in that respect.
Without glancing up from her checkbook and her hand quickly scrawling away Sango asked, "What do ya want 'roku?" Her glassed tipped a little and she pushed them back up and tucked the hair which had also fallen across her line of vision behind her ear.
He smirked, "How'd you know it was me?"
"Cause you the only one dumb enough around here to try and sneak up on me." She didn't pause. She heard him walk a little bit closer and stop behind where she was perched on the couch. She didn't let her writing falter but her eyes wavered a bit unsure of what the perverted cowboy could be up to - that and her heart had sped up just a bit.
She didn't have time for silly unmannered romances.
Miroku placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pinched a slight massage looking down, "Sango working, always working." She tried to shrug off his hands and continue to write but he just pulled her back towards the backrest of the sofa and continued - a little annoyed with her actions.
"You need to take some time out for yourself every once in a while you know." He said it so nonchalantly and continued to squeeze the extra skin on the tops of her shoulders, molding them back softly with his fingers.
She had frozen her stance at his touch unsure of what he was up to or if he planned on setting his lechery in motion. It started to feel... great.
He must have had much experience. Hmf yeah with many different women.
But after a moment or two it didn't seem as if he had concocted anything out of line, anything they could pertain as normal pervertedness for Miroku. She dropped her pen down on top of the checkbook and gave up trying to concentrate.
"A ranch doesn't run itself you know."She retorted and finally relaxed a little under his ministrations leaning fully backwards into the back cushions against the sofa. Miroku was a little surprised she was letting him continue after the first few moments. So he pressed a little harder.
She almost purred.
Miroku bucked up a little bit of courage then, "Come with me."
"What?" Sango asked eyes closed and peacefully not thinking.
"Come with me right now, we're going somewhere where you can relax a little bit."
"What? No... no, I have work still to do, and I need to round up Jakotsu to take out the trash in the barn, Kaede needs groceries from the market, and Kohaku needs to go into town to buy his books for summer reading for school." She leaned to go back over the checkbook to finish writing the bills but Miroku stopped her hands anyway.
He grabbed her wrists and dragged her from her seat on the sofa, "I asked Kouga to take Kaede into town with Bankotsu and Kohaku so they could get him books and Kaede the groceries. I made sure Jakotsu took out all the trash before I headed over here." Miroku then started to walk out towards the door outside dragging Sango behind him.
"But I need to go with Kohaku to get his school..."
"Kohaku is growing into a man now, let him take on his own responsibilities. He's going to be helping you run this ranch very soon and the sooner the better I think. Now go get your bathing suit, I'll be down at the barn tacking up the two mares."
Sango was left without a retort when he started to walk casually away from the house out into the warm dusk evening and towards the barn where they would saddle up two horses for them to ride to Miroku's favorite woodland spot - where he could finally get some alone time with the woman he loved.
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Kikyo woke with a splitting headache in the evening of the following day. She was laying in a dark warm room up above some garage on a ranch nearby the farm she was staying at. The man's naked body next to her was laying twisted in the bed's worn quilt comforter. The fan was gently running on the ceiling above their bed. He was breathing deeply and seemed unmoving. She groaned and fell back against the pillow, what a night. What great sex, but angry sex- only good for so much.
She recalled the night before at the bar...
Naraku had smirked at her, "She's my girlfriend" He said pointed to Kagome on the screen.
Kikyo looked at him, "Right. That's why Inuyasha is alllllll over that bitch right? Besides if she was with you, why is she with them?"
"Oi, don't call her a bitch, only I'm allowed to do that. And I would love to be with her, if only I knew where she was staying." Naraku said to her dropping the deep dark hint. He looked back to the television screen, glowing in the dim interior of the moody bar, seeing Inuyasha and Kagome flirting shamelessly. He grinded his fingers against his class and cracked the rim at the top angry at the display of any many touching his girlfriend besides himself.
Kikyo was too much in a drunk stupor to realize Naruku was dropping the hint that he wasn't supposed to be seeing Kagome.
"Well then, sugah, maybe we can make a little deal." She said while trailing her hand with her pointer finger up his knee under the bar, and past the bulk of the muscle in his thigh near by his the meeting point of his pants but pausing just before reaching it's destination.
"I like the sound of it already." He licked his lips in anticipation of what was being promised. His girlfriend...no...future wife hand delivered to him, and getting booty in the waiting process.
"You help me and I'll help you. We'll set it up so that you can have Kagome and I can finally get Inuyasha back"
"Way I hear it, you got rid of him in the first place."
She sighed, "Yeah, but that was before I found out when Sango's father passed away he left a good portion of his fortune to the Takahasi brothers. Pissed me the fuck off, I could have waited one more year and it would have been allllll mine." She took another sip of her drink and placed it again none too gently on the bar top. The bar tender gave her a sour look - he didn't like the costumers slamming his wooden topped bar.
"I can't wait."
She looked back down at the sleeping figure and smirked. His black hair was strewn across the pillows in a wild frenzy of darkness. He was surely untamed in every aspect. His figured was nicely sculpted, but his appearance was moody and dark, he almost seemed like he would snarl from time to time. He had a nasty scar on his right hand and a very large dark tattoo of an ugly spider on his back. She closed her eyes to taste the victory she thought near.
They had a deal.
They had a plan.
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Kagome licked the seal to her envelope closed and placed that inside a larger cushioned brown package she would be mailing out tomorrow. They were her top seven picks of photographs, and the duds from the past few weeks. She had no development machines at Sango's or a dark lab. So she had to mail off the slides themselves to her agent to pick out from there and then to a dark lab to print in large format printers.
She sealed the package closed with specific instructions inside and then placed it at the bottom of the stairs where she could remember to send it off tomorrow. She headed outside. Sango and Miroku had apparently run off somewhere earlier, she had glanced at Sango running over to the barn and then the two of them riding out earlier when she was sitting on the fence giving out treats to the geldings. Wondering where the two of them were off to.
Inuyasha was busy stacking the leftover bales of hay from the loft in the barn into one of the extra empty wash stalls so they would be more easily accessible from the bottom aisle ways. Kagome had seen him earlier when she went to retrieve the treats from the fridge in the barn after dinner. He had taken off his shirt in the evening heat, in the barn it good get pretty humid and sticky when working - especially with heavy lifting. So - therefore Kagome earned herself a pretty blush when she stumbled upon the shirtless Inuyasha working with just his gloves and pants to cover that pretty boy body of his.
She almost bit her lip to stay and watch or offer to help - which he would most likely scoff at. But she ended up chickening out and running to the fridge instead to snatch the waiting treats there and then trotting back outside to sit with the geldings who would welcome her company anytime.
Kagome walked back towards the goats pen after walking through the kitchen and then onto the back porch where she could see most of whatever would be happening around there. She hopped up onto the railing by hoisting her weight up with her hands from behind. She perched there and wrapped her right arm around the railing pole on the stairs. She rested her head against it and sighed gently welcoming the slight breeze every few moments and the settling dust in the evening sky.
She could hear some noises coming from the ranch hand's portion of the house, it must have been Bankotsu and Hojou playing cards because the rest besides Miroku and Sesshoumaru had gone into town just after dinner with Kohaku and Kaede.
Kagome must have not seen Inuyasha who was sitting, still shirtless may I remind you, behind her on a porch bench sipping some refreshing lemonade he got after seeing Kagome walk off from the gelding's field. He hadn't made a peep since she had come out to the porch and hadn't turned around or acknowledged his presence so he assumed she hadn't an idea he was sitting behind her.
He watched her for a few moments enjoying the way she fit perfectly into the serene scene of the west in front of her form, and the setting light of day throwing most of her figure in shadow.
And then just for fun he decided to throw her off balance.
"Oi wench, you're blocking my view."
Kagome must have jumped 5 feet up on that railing and come back down - shock value. He smirked and smiled even brighter when she turned around and saw him sitting there shirtless. She became a bit flustered when it registered what he said to her as well.
"Christ you scared me, what if I had fallen backwards. My death would be on your hands pretty boy." She said turned back towards the scenery hoping he hadn't seen her look of appreciation over his chest.
He smirked.
"If you had fallen, I would be right here to catch you." He stood from his seat and placed his glass on the ground and then walked closer up to her to stand behind her. She could feel the warmth radiating from his chest onto her back. She was wearing a tank top and it wasn't shielding much.
She snorted at the cheesy line. Seemed like it was from a silly fanfic or something.
"What? Don't you trust me...wench?" He threw in that last part just to push her buttons.
She grunted with disdain over his nickname for her, "No, I mean... I do... I trust you." It surprised her more than anything, she hadn't realized how much she'd grown to love the ranch and the people she had formed such deep relationships with within such a short time. She leaned from the pole and sat straight up looking at the ground - confused that she had been so attached so quickly. It made her think maybe she should be more careful because in the past all her friendships and relationship had gone to shit because of a certain ex-boyfriend of hers.
She frowned.
Inuyasha walked closer and when he saw her frowning face from behind he pulled her gently against his chest and hooked his chin atop her head, "Jeez don't make trusting me seem like you're trusting the devil Kagome." He chuckled, she rested her weight in her back fully against him. The feeling would be brief, and she couldn't hold onto someone special like Inuyasha if he was only going to get hurt in the end, but for this moment, this one single feeling she could let it slide.
"Psh - you are the devil." She laughed jokingly and he smirked happy she was comfortable. It had been a very long time, three years almost, since he had been comfortable enough with a woman again. Kikyo had destroyed what had been once his heart. But this was something he was hoping he could continue on and heal both of their hearts.
"Do you trust me enough to tell me more about this ass wipe exboyfriend of yours?" He asked, pushing a little. He was relieved when he didn't feel her tense up at the question but instead she sighed once again and leaned her head towards her left looking over to the end of the porch avoiding eye contact.
"I'm afraid." Apparently blunt too.
"Oi, of what? You're safe here." He said reassuring her, he had no doubt no harm would ever come to her if he was around. He would
"I'm afraid if I get too close to...you...and everyone else will get harmed in some way shape or form." A strand of silver from Inuyasha's pulled back hair floated in front of her vision from the breeze. She reached out and grabbed the strand between her thumb and forefinger inspecting the silver glean of the wisp. She continued to play with it while he stood and watched waiting to see if she would reveal more.
"No one is going to become hurt because of you, don't you dare throw us away. I promise as long as you stay with...us we will be here to protect you. I will make sure of that." He nodded firmly, male arrogance.
"You don't know what he's like. What he'll do. What he's capable of."
"Feh, I've seen the results enough. On you." He looked down at the crown of her head remembering the bruises she had arrived with. It made him want to retch at the thought of a man hitting a woman for the pleasure of it.
"He liked to see the mark of his work." Inuyasha growled low in his throat when she said this referring to the marks she had arrived with on her body.
"He didn't like how I had made friends with a few guys from work. I had to keep up the appearance of a minuscule job since I couldn't give away my photographer alias. I always thought he was just a little jealous when I would come home and he was waiting for me and then would scold me staying out and not telling him. I always thought it was cute but an act. But one night I came back late and he had been drinking. There were cans everywhere when I got home. He rose to meet me at the door and then slammed me in between the wall and his hand the second I walked through the door frame."
"Did you leave after that?" He asked.
"Not the first time no." He sucked in his breath at the response.
"Kagome..."
She had heard it many times from many different sources. "Trust me I know. But it's done now, and the last time was enough for me to get the hell out of there. I got away, I thought I could stay away but he just followed me wherever I went - and hurt anyone in his path." She looked further away as she felt her eyes start to water thinking of her family and friends she couldn't even keep in touch with.
Inuyasha took his hand and ran his fingers slowly through her hair starting at the scalp and brushing them gently down til he was playing with the thin strands through the creases of his fingers.
"I won't let you use that as an excuse to not get close to us Kagome...not to get close to me." Her eyes had widened a bit, not realizing he could read her so easily.
By this point Kagome had forgotten any previous embarrassment with Inuyasha and him being half naked standing strong behind her. She relished in the warmth seeping into her skin under her clothes from his words. What was wrong with the woman years ago who hurt someone so genuine? Damnnit, stupid bitch. But... I guess I wouldn't be here today with him had she not done what she had.
"Inuyasha...I..." She was at a loss but he cut her off not letting her reject his soft spoken words.
He would have given anything, anything to kiss her at that moment then. The way the light had finally settled behind the hills and casted a low glow on her black hair and her unprotected expression. But it wasn't what she was looking for at that moment even if she didn't know it herself. He could read the signs of her slow healing heart. She would ask to be closer, she would ask for it when she was ready and he knew it. He pulled back slightly making sure she had her balance back on the perch before pulling away and heading down the stairs of the porch.
"I'm going to go grab a quick shower. And then come over later on we'll watch one of Jakotsu's stupid silly romances in my loft." She had done that a bit lately, visiting him to watch movies or hang out, or even sometimes they would go play rounds of gin and go fish with the rest of the hands at the dinning room table. But the prospect of them being alone together after he had just admitted wanting to being closer to her was... alarming and... exciting.
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The light hadn't set yet and left the air with a nice warm breeze as Sango and Miroku roped over to one of his more commonly visited spots near the woodlands on the outskirts of their field. It was close to home and a nice spot to visit when much relaxing was needed. A small river with a pebble beach.
Sango had worn her bathing suit under her clothes and Miroku the same. They didn't tether their horses to anything considering if there were ever danger lurking around they wouldn't want them defenseless. Miroku was the first to hop in the water with a splash. He immediately sighed and relaxed into the floating pool of calm water. It was a swimming hole the hands usually came to visit and take a nice relaxing day off in when the summer heat got to be too much.
"Hands to yourself leech." Sango said before getting into the water herself. She sat up against a warm dark grey rock in mid stream relaxing and wondering if she trusted him enough to close her eyes. It was very relaxing indeed. She hadn't come to the spot since the previous summer before.
"My hands haven't wandered in a long while." Miroku said aloud to her, he played with the water in between his hands trying to squirt it up by squeezing the palms together quickly.
She snorted.
"Alright I've had it." Miroku came over to the rock, Sango wide eyed unaware of what he had on his agenda or what had made him suddenly change pace to come quickly to where she was wading in the water.
Miroku took her arms as she tried to resist and placed them behind and above her head on the rock, not leaving her feeling very comfortable, but he wasn't in the mood for comforting.
"When was the last time I brought a woman home to the ranch. When was the last time I touched another girl."
"You tried to touch Kagome when she first got here! And she was abused!!!" Sango screeched to his face. She was not a match for strength when he was mad, but that didn't mean she was a cowardice either.
"You can't seem to believe I can go without touching other women when all I want is to be with you! You're the only woman I've wanted to touch but you won't let me get anywhere near you." Miroku shouted back - he was angry and she sure could see it. His black short hair had grown long enough to place in a small pony tail behind his head which Sango got a glance of when he looked away. He was breathing hard. She hadn't even seen the jump from the spot in the water he had been in before to the place he was in now.
The two horses looked confused over at the noises but then lowered their heads back to the grass when they realized there was no danger.
Sango was...speechless. He had never raised his voice to her before, even when he had first come he was still the silly pervert he was easily known as. But then again she always thought him weak and silly - not this strong man who was forcefully trying to show how he felt towards her now.
Miroku let go of her wrists quickly when he felt he was gripping too tight, it wasn't his intention to harm her.
He looked into the stream and quickly said before she could retort at all, "Let's just get back. It's dark anyway." It wasn't said in his usual way either.
He waded swiftly out of the water and back onto the pebble beach where the horses patiently waited for their riders to get dried off and remount them to head back on the newly darkened path. Sango lagged a bit behind unsure of how to take in this new side of her friend. Miroku even though angry didn't just leave Sango behind, but the whole way back he wouldn't look at her or even acknowledge anything she said aloud about work or what they needed to accomplish within the next few weeks. When they arrived back at the barn Kouga was setting up grain for the next morning's feed, he offered to take Miroku's horse for him and Miroku annoyingly took his horse to the end of the barn to silently take care of himself.
"What's up his butt?" Kouga asked her while pouring vitamin powered scoop into one pail with grain.
Sango sighed. She should have said something.