A/N: I'm sorry! This update is late! I got caught up with my homework and that took precedence over updating this story at the time. But now I'm free to update and everything is right with the world! All right now on with the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Me, own Inuyasha? *Laughs hysterically* No way! But the plot is mine! Mine you hear!

Warning: Lemon Alert!

In Shackles

Chapter 3: An Unfounded Courtship

I woke up to the glorious rays of another sunny day stretching languid and warm across my bed. I blinked back the temporary blindness that overtook my vision and rolled onto my side. I caught a glimpse of my bedside alarm clock displaying the time in a brilliance that paled in comparison to the radiance of the sun. My alarm clock read 8:00 AM, which gave me a forty-five minute window to get ready for work. I rolled out of my bed, bringing my sheet with me so my naked body was covered from chest to foot in cottony comfort as I glided past my open window to my bathroom.

After a quick ten minute shower and twenty minutes spent getting dressed, fixing my hair, brushing my teeth and washing my face, I went downstairs to grab a quick bite to eat. I ended up spending far more time than I intended eating breakfast with my family and made it to work at 9:00 AM sharp. The day was lax in the amount of visitors and calls I got at the reception desk, which was just the way I liked it, especially after the night I had. About a quarter to five, a young man strolled up to my desk with shoulder length ebony tresses, enticing storm-cloud gray eyes and long full lashes to frame such alluring orbs that resembled the stormy turmoil of the sky just before a storm. His face was formed by delicate and sharp angles, giving him an almost feminine look that complimented his masculinity hidden in the complexity of his face.

His physique wasn't too shabby either and captured my attention as well. His lean bone structure at first made him appear scrawny but a second look revealed that he had a fine rippling of muscles, flowing underneath his skin that gave him a toner definition. He must have caught me staring at him because he gave me a look that said I know what you're thinking with a smile that nearly melted me into the consistency of a puddle.

"Is there something I can help you with," I managed to get out.

His smile broadened a bit and he said, "Yes I believe you can help me in that department."

I caught onto his obvious tactical use of sexual innuendo and pushed back from behind my desk draping my body over it so that our faces were mere inches away.

"Really," I said.

"Really . . . "

I don't know what had come over me, but it unnerved me that I was this attracted to such an absolute stranger. My lips burned to be pressed to his and I would have fulfilled this desire of mine if I hadn't come to my senses in that moment. I pulled away suddenly and I instantly began to miss the warm caress of his breath, but I had to fight my attraction to him. I cleared my throat and it sounded loud when it filled the awkward silence that followed soon after I pulled away.

"So . . . what can I really help you with," I said at last.

He smiled again and his eyes held a fiery intensity that didn't match his words as he said, "Can you direct me to the Children's wing?"

"Sure," I said. The stairwell is down the hall. Go up two flight of stairs and then—"

"No. I want you to direct me personally," he said with a devilish grin.

I got the sense that he was up to something and that his words held more weight to them than they should have. I gave him suspicious eyes, his pleasant face giving nothing away. I sighed and pushed away from my desk so I could precede him down the hall and lead him and to the Children's wing. I could feel the weight of his gaze boring into my back as I walked and it made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle with uneasiness. When we reached the stairwell I started climbing steadily up the lengthy flights up to the second floor and he followed close behind me, to my discomfort.

At last we reached the second floor and as I led him down the hall towards the Children's wing of the hospital, I noticed that no one was around. Before I could ponder the sudden vacancy of the halls, he suddenly grabbed me from behind and pulled me into a nearby room. It was dark and eerily quiet, with only my quickened breathing filling the silence. I couldn't scream because he had his palm about my mouth smothering any sound that would have tore from my throat the instant he grabbed me. My heart was in my throat and the fear made me panic.

I felt a spine tingling rush of power emanating from behind me just before he let me go and I whirled around to face him, ready to defend myself. I halted in my defense when I came face to face with none other than Menomaru. I gasped and jerked away from him, plastering myself to the door. His laugh filled the silence and sent a thrilling rush of power through me, making me shiver with unwanted excitement.

"It seems that you have taken quite well to my human form, Kagome," he said. He approached me as he said this and leaned in close to me so that our lips would have met with the slightest of movements. I watched his hair morph from its usual deep turquoise to the rich ebony that flowed darkly down his back, when he was in human form and his face formed the delicate, harsh complexity of his human face. It was unnerving staring into those crimson eyes. The face and eyes just didn't match.

"I was even permitted to touch you without your barrier interfering." He reached out to touch me with those hands and that face and I instantly jerked away from his touch. The face seemed so familiar and I struggled to find a name that matched that face, but nothing came up.

"Stop it . . . " I said, turning my face away.

"Why? You seem to be more responsive when I'm in this form. I can hear the excited thump of your heart, the silent thrum of your blood rushing through your veins. This form will allow me to touch you as much as I want."

I was breathless when I said, "But now that I know it's you, there's no way I'll allow you to touch me."

"Are you sure about that?"

I paused to ponder this and he watched my face carefully as various thoughts and expressions flitted across my mind and visage. He was right of course but I wasn't going to admit that—at least not to his face.

"Yeah . . . I'm pretty sure you can't touch me now that I know your true identity," I lied.

"Really? From your thoughts I would have assumed otherwise. I guess I'll have to test it to see if what you say is true."

He instantly morphed back into his demon form in a thrilling rush of power that drew a gasp and shudder from me. He reached out a hand to caress my face and I shrank away from his touch. He made no move to pursue me because I had nowhere to go; I was trapped between the door and him, which didn't leave room for much movement. He leaned in closer to me and at first I thought he was going to kiss me but instead he pressed his lips warmly to the crook of my neck exploring it languidly with his tongue. I jerked away violently and he gripped my chin suddenly bringing my lips to his. I tried to fight him, but ended up clinging to him like he was my only anchor to reality.

The kiss was filled to the brim with a fiery passion that I had never known and it made me wonder how Menomaru truly felt about me. I knew he had uses for me, but was it possible that he cared for me outside the casual lust he had shown me as of late? Did I care for him that way too? I wasn't sure, but the kiss we shared spoke volumes of what our relationship could become. At last he pulled away from our kiss, but held me close to him as he labored to catch his breath.

I was trembling from the passion and need he had ignited in me as I combed my fingers lightly through his tresses. At last he pulled away from me giving me a glimpse of his darkened eyes, brimming with unchecked lust; he wanted me and I knew I would let him have me, without hesitation. The instant I thought this, I remembered that we were still in the hospital and that we couldn't do anything here. He leaned in and tried to kiss me, but I managed to stop him with a finger to his lips.

"We can't; not here . . . " He took my finger into his mouth watching my reaction and I almost melted on the spot. Each sensual caress of his tongue sent a thrill of pleasure through me and yet I still managed to resist him. "We can't," I said again.

"Why not," he said giving me innocent eyes, once I pried my moist finger from between his lips.

"Because we're in a hospital. It just isn't the place."

"I believe that since I tracked you down and stooped down so low as to play human until I could get you alone that I deserve some form of reward at least."

He boxed me in with his hands on either side of my head and his body pressed tightly mine so I could feel every contour of his body through the barrier of clothes that separated our bodies. "And what reward is it that you so rightly deserve," I asked with a faint blush overspreading my cheeks and warming my face.

He brushed the back of his hand against the curve of my jaw where it met in a delicate line with my neck before he said, "A taste of this sweet body of yours."

All the blood rushed to my head as the intensity of my blush roared to a flaming inferno and a pounding rush in my ears. He said nothing more and only pulled me close to him, a searing rush of power biting along my flesh as we left the hospital behind. When at last I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in the middle of an expansive hotel room that was lushly furnished. I took a quick look around and when at last my eyes settled upon Menomaru, there was only one question on my mind.

"How did we . . . " I started, but he pressed a finger to my lips to silence my words.

"Less talking," he said backing me in the general direction of the bed. "More action."

Before I knew it, the back of my knees hit the edge of the bed and he pushed me so that I collapsed backwards onto the cushy, silk bedspread with him looming above me at the edge of the bed. He snapped his fingers and in an instant my clothes were gone and folded in a neat pile on the bedside table. I was glad at least this time he didn't rip them from my body, but I frowned up at him clearly displaying my disapproval.

"Part of the fun of foreplay is removing your lover's clothing," I said, crossing my arms over my breasts and rolling onto one side so he wouldn't have a full view of my front.

"We don't have time for that. But I'll remember that tip for next time," he said as he climbed onto the bed and sat beside me. Next time. Somehow I wasn't disturbed by the fact that there would be a next time; I was actually looking forward to it. Gag me with a spoon.

The bed dipped down, yielding to his weight and he shifted me into his lap. He stroked his hand along my side delicately and I forced myself to remain still against him. When he traced his hand up my spine I couldn't suppress the involuntary shiver that shook my frame and I fought off the whimper that begged to be released. He did it again and I bit my lip to fight off the response, but it somehow managed to slip out in soft needy whine. I knew this pleased him to hear such a response from me without seeing his face.

"Your responses to my touch are amazing Kagome. I want to hear more," he said quietly.

Menomaru lifted me into a sitting position in his lap and caught my gaze with his own. The intensity of his gaze made me look away, but he drew my attention back to him with a gentle caress of his hand down my shoulder. His hands trailed all the way down to the tips of my fingers and then trailed back up my side. His hands stopped so that they were level with my breasts and he captured my gaze with his. His hands were dangerously close to my breasts and the warm caress of his hands made my skin tingle with anticipation.

I desperately wanted him to touch me and with a quick shift of my body, I was straddling his hips. I gripped his hands in my own and guided them to my breasts. When the flats of his palms were pressed to my peaks, I locked gazes with him, waiting to see what he would do. His focus never shifted from my face when he started to gently squeeze my breasts and massage them in a gentle rolling motion. I arched my body into the gentle caress of his hands and he cupped my breasts lovingly before sealing one of my nipples in the warm, wet heat of his mouth.

A gasp escaped me, followed by a moan of languorous relief as my eager fingers tangled themselves in the silky warmth of his turquoise tresses. He milked sweet cries of titillation from me as he pressed my breasts to his mouth stroking my nipples with loving care with that wicked tongue of his. He cupped my left breast while he teased my right and then he shifted to my left, cupping my right this time. Then he drew away from left nipple with a slight grazing of his fangs, which drew a hiccuping gasp from me. Before I could complain, I was suddenly sprawled on my back staring up at him looming over my body again.

His hands found my body in warm rush and they glided down in a slick determined path to my aching core. I clamped my legs shut, because I didn't want his hands anywhere near there. I knew I would come undone by his clever hands and simply be a mass of unbridled lust; I didn't want that. I wanted to have some control over myself at least. All my big talk about control deflated in a wheezing hiss of air and a moan escaped me when his fingers tentatively brushed my clit.

Without a moment of hesitation, he began to work his fingers inside me, stretching me, loosening me up. I could feel the overwhelming pressure-filled weight of my impending orgasm building to a powerful crescendo. There was no fighting it, and thus I came undone as my body shook with little aftershocks from my orgasm. He didn't even give me time to catch my breath, for he suddenly lowered his mouth to my entrance and pressed his warm tongue past my slick folds and deep inside me. I cried out at the deep intrusion of his warm appendage and gripped his head positioned there between my legs so I could sit up.

I tried to push at his shoulders to get him away from me, and in response he wriggled his tongue inside me, hitting an extra sensitive spot. The sensations gyrating through my body hit me like a blow to the chest, knocking the wind out of me and pressing me back into the cushy silken bedspread. Menomaru drew his tongue out of me for a brief instant and I used the last bit of strength I had left to sit up. I found his face smeared with my juices and he used that wickedly long tongue of his to lap it all up, seeming to enjoy it. My body began to ache with an urgent need for another fulfilling release and he must have sensed it, for he lowered himself back down between my legs and began an unrelenting assault upon my womanhood with his clever tongue.

The incessant lapping of his tongue against my clit brought me with a sobbing cry of his name and the sensations left me panting and sweaty on his bed. He slid his body languidly up mine, so that every part of us touched from shoulder to hip, before he kissed me. Since I was still recovering from two powerful climaxes that he coaxed out of me, I had no energy left to fight him and so I allowed him to kiss me, tasting the bitter tang of me on his tongue. I pulled away feeling dirty and in desperate need of a shower, so I pushed him away, but he seemed reluctant to move and only lowered his mouth to the base of my throat, teasing it with tongue and fang. My breathing picked up again to ragged pants and I had to fight to breathe as he drove me wild with need again.

"Stop," I said. Menomaru pulled away then giving me darkened eyes, but they didn't hold anger, but rather an intense burning desire that practically screamed sex.

Behind that I could see a gleam of curiosity in his eyes that wished for a satisfying answer as to why I wanted to stop when my body clearly screamed for another round. I pushed at his shoulders again but he sat there like an immovable wall of lean muscle and strength and so I had to squirm out from underneath him. He watched my every move until I was propped up against the headboard and stopped me when I scooted to the edge of the bed with a hand about my wrist.

"Where are you going," he asked. I turned back to look at him catching a glint of his anger at my leaving without an explanation.

"I want to take a shower and I need to get back to work," was all I said as I tore my wrist from his grasp—though I knew he could have held on forever or even broken my wrist—and made my way over to the first door I happened to notice right across from the bed.

I assumed it was the bathroom and made my way over to it. I could feel his gaze boring into my back as I made my way across the room and I was suddenly painfully aware of my nudity. I could sense his control slip as he watched me and because of my connection to him, I caught snatches of erotic scenes starring him and I in a darkened bedroom. The thought sent shivers of pure pleasure up my spine and sent a blush flaming up into my cheeks. I opened the door and found it to be closet and so went to the next door I found.

And guess what? It was another closet! How many closets does a person really need in one hotel room? I found another door that led to the adjourning suite and my patience evaporated in flash of anger and frustration. I knew he was watching me the whole time, probably finding all this amusing but I refused to allow his amusement to get to me as I stormed over to another door that turned out to be another closet.

That was the last straw. I whirled on my heel, my anger clearly displayed upon my face, but I must say it's hard to stay angry when the person your directing your anger towards is staring at you like you're a delicious, ripe fruit fresh for the picking. I managed to maintain my anger and asked if he could show me to the bathroom so I could get cleaned up. He nodded and stood walking towards me, his gaze locked with mine. He passed by me and made his way down a hall I hadn't noticed before, his passing seeming to bring the coaxing caress of warm hands upon my body, sending a thrill through me.

I quickly grabbed a sheet from one of the closets and caught up with Menomeru. He led me down a short hall and made a sharp left and I stumbled after him. I didn't follow him for long for he stopped suddenly I narrowly avoided colliding with his broad back. When he made no move to step aside I squeezed past him and caught sight of the bathroom. I sauntered past him but stopped and turned back to him.

"Thank you," I said to him but his face never changed and I turned my back to him and silently glided into the pristine, white tiled hotel bathroom. I shut the door behind me and leaned against it heavily for a moment to catch my breath. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying to gather the ragged sheds of my composure. I then slid the sheet from my body and turned on the water in the shower on full blast. The water was scalding, but my mind was numb to the boiling, blistering heat of the water. Surprisingly it helped me to think and it brought memories to my mind that I thought I had forgotten long ago.

We were holding hands that night. Dinner had been great and we chatted for a long time about our hectic lives ending the evening with a fiery kiss that lit all my nerve endings on fire. It was dark and we were heading back to my apartment when suddenly a car fishtailed down the road, firing gunshots from an open window. I screamed and before I knew it I was flat on the ground watching in horror as he took the bullets for me. Blood splattered over me as the bullets impacted with his tall frame and when the shots finally stopped the echoes were carried with them as silence descended upon the area.

He collapsed solidly, limply by my side and I scrambled to over to him lifting his hand and holding it firmly in mine. I could feel the heat seeping from it and I struggled to keep him with me. I could barely hear myself screaming for help over the loud roaring in my ears. I kept telling him that everything would be fine and the paramedics would be there soon, but he simply smiled at me weakly and I knew that he was aware that he was going to die and perhaps I knew it too, I just refused to believe it. Tears sprang into my eyes and ran down my face lazily as I prayed that he would live.

He smiled at me and lifted his free hand to caress my face and told me that he loved me before all life left his eyes and his hand fell from my face. Rain poured down on us, washing his blood and my tears away as I leaned over his inert form. My boyfriend Luc died that day on the cold, wet concrete and a piece of me died with him.

I resurfaced from the awfully vivid memory with fresh tears running down my face and the stream of shower water cold as ice sliding down my spine. I knew why I had recognized the face of Menomaru's human form. It was Luc. I don't know why I hadn't seen it before, but I realized that Menomaru must have blocked his face from my memory so I wouldn't get suspicious. I wrenched the shower water off and quickly dried with a towel on a nearby rack before I tucked it securely around my body.

I flung the door open in anger and stormed out of the bathroom with steam billowing out behind me like a misty cape. I found Menomaru perched on the bed, utterly still as though there were no life in him and I marched up to the side of the bed so that he was within my reach. The anger boiling within me swelled in my chest and made my heart jump with the flow of adrenaline through my veins. Before I could stop myself I lashed out and hit him with all I had. He reared back with the force of my blow, but he made no move to retaliate, nor did I sense any anger from him.

Menomaru turned to face me after several minutes of silence but said nothing. My anger was still flaring as I said, "How dare you! How dare you! You sneaky bastard! You dug through my personal memories—one of my more painful ones—and found a face you could use to get to me. You probably figured you could get closer to me if you found a person I was emotional involved with."

"Yes," he replied quietly. I hit him again and the blow I gave him eased my anger a little bit. He faced me again, expression solemn and eyes devoid of emotion. "I had not known that the face I chose held such a painful memory. I was repelled from the more painful memories of your past by a strong mental barrier, which you erected when you chose to forget about him and move on with your life."

I had nothing to say to that so I just screamed wordlessly and sank to knees and wept by the side of the bed. I felt his hand begin to stroke my hair soothingly and I jerked away from his touch violently before I lifted my face and brushed my stray tears away. I stood and locked gazes with him anger making me want to hit him again.

"I want to leave," I said. He stared at me for only a moment and then snapped his fingers. In the blink of an eye I was dressed again and I couldn't help the amazement that showed on my face. He stood up and began to approach me, but I didn't particularly want him to touch me right now and I backed away from his advances towards me. He let the hand that he had outstretched towards me drop to his side limply and I stopped advancing away from him.

"I must touch if I am to bring you back to the hospital," he said quietly.

I nodded silently, though was I careful to show my dislike of him touching me at the moment and he advanced towards me again and this time I didn't try to avoid his approach or the touch of his hand. He stopped two feet short of me and reached out a hand to me. I stared down at his hand waiting patiently to grasp mine and then back up to his face before I placed my hand in his. He pulled me to him and held me to him tightly, burying his mouth against my hairline. The immediate contact of our bodies took my breath away and before I knew it, a thrilling rush of power surrounded me as we headed back to the hospital. When I opened my eyes I found myself in my darkened bedroom and when I stared at my bedside clock, I found that it was seven thirty at night and my shift had been over for well over an hour and a half ago. I couldn't muster up enough energy to care however and stripped out of my work clothes and hung them in the closet. I climbed into my bed soon after and surprisingly fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

I awoke the next morning with my alarm clock blaring and the sun's rays bathing me in the warmth of early spring. I clamored out bed, almost drunkenly and flung open my closet to pull out some work clothes to wear for today. What I found nearly knocked the wind out of me. Alongside the clothes I wore yesterday was a cute, strapless black dress with a split that would probably run up mid-thigh on me. Attached to it was a note that read: Join me for dinner, Menomaru. I tore the note from the dress and clutched it in my hand as I reread the neat cursive note over and over again. I sank to my knees and the hand holding the note began to quiver so violently, that I had to clench it into a tight fist to quell the fine tremble that would have started running up my arm and throughout my body. After all this time Menomaru wanted to have a civilized date with me, in public no less! This was big—truly big! Who would've thought a date with Menomaru would scare me more than him using me to take over Japan? Fancy that.

A/N: All right! Another chapter done! I hope you liked! Please leave a review! I'm out!

Silver Moon Vampiress

FYI: I've started a rewrite of this story. It's called Searching for Love, Sleeping with Danger. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Silver Moon Vampiress