Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha.

Hello, Dearest Readers! Here I am, ready to go with the next chapter. :] In all honesty, I never thought I would continue on with it after I had my baby, but I just-so-happened to re-read it and even I would like to know what happens next.

I am addicted to Inuyasha.

Enjoy! 3KuwaiiEmmieChan

THE STUFF.

Chapter Nine.

Kagome was on cloud nine! Inuyasha, her horny companion, wasn't lying when he'd told her he couldn't get enough of her; they had been in her time going on five days now and she didn't ever want to go back.

But they had to, and they both knew it.

Kagome sighed happily as Inuyasha trailed his skilled fingers over and down her back as she lay on his lap, naked and exhausted from their lovemaking. He kept coming back to tickle the very sensitive area where her shoulder met her neck and she flinched every time.

"We need to talk," he said quietly, bending his head to kiss the same spot when he felt her tense at his words. She immediately sat up, pulling the sheets with her. He watched in surprise as she was suddenly on the opposite side of the bed, looking at him with a controlled, blank expression.

Even though Kagome seemed calm on the outside, her insides were in turmoil. She knew what it meant when guys say 'they need to talk.' It's another phrase for 'we need to break up,' or 'I found someone new.' She was trying with all her might not to let Inuyasha see how badly she was affected.

"What is it we need to talk about?" She asked quietly, her eyes downcast, looking at her toenails as she pulled her knees to her chest. What could he possible have to say? Maybe he didn't want this to be a serious thing, and wanted to go back to being friends once they returned to the feudal era. She was okay in bed, but he still had feelings for Kikyo? It's not like they were officially together, but now that she'd had a taste of him, she wasn't interested in breaking it off.

Inuyasha frowned as Kagome's scent grew more and more troubled. She was as far away from him as possible, farther than she had been in the last few days, and he couldn't stand it. He grasped her bare ankle, pulling her towards him. She tried to pull back, but he was stronger than her. Obviously.

"What's wrong with you, Kagome?" He rumbled, irked that she was continuing to fight him. He was having a hard enough time even trying to broach this delicate subject, and her sudden weird demeanor was putting him even more on edge. She pressed her lips in a tight line, a frown bringing her eyebrows together. He grabbed her other ankle, moving her across the bed on her backside, and yet she still didn't answer. He enveloped her in his embrace and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her relax a bit.

"I need to tell you something," he stated quietly, yet clearly, into her hair. She tried to look him in the eye, but he kept a tight hold on her. He seemed… worried. She waited a long moment, but he didn't expound any farther. She wriggled from his hold and turned to look at his face. His eyes were shining with an emotion that she was unfamiliar with, a blush staining his cheeks. He was looking at her like… well, she wasn't really sure what it was like, but she liked it.

"Kagome…" he whispered, his golden orbs flicking from her eyes to her lips. "Do you love me?"

The raven-haired beauty almost fell over in surprise.

The two stared at each other. One in disbelief and the other with hope.

"Inu… Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered, stunned. Did he expect her to just lay her heart out on the table when she had yet to find any indication from him that her feelings were returned? She gazed into his eyes, and realized… yes. This is what he needed to hear from her. She swallowed and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as to not show her embarrassment.

"I love you, Inuyasha," her eyes were closed, so she didn't see the surprised happiness in his face, or the grateful awe in his eyes as she continued. "I've loved you from the first moment I saw you trapped to that tree all those years ago, and it has grown until it has almost consumed me… I am almost nothing but love for you. You're my first thought in the morning, and the thing that keeps me up at night. I can't even imagine a me without you… Being pulled into that well, back through time, was the best thing that has ever happened to me."

She opened her eyes, and was shocked to see tears in his. The way he was looking at her made wetness spring to her eyes as well. She gave him a watery smile. "Because if I had not come, if I had stayed in my time, I would never have met you. I cannot think of anything else that would make me sadder than to lose you. I lo—"

She couldn't have been more surprised by the kiss that he cut her off with than if he'd begun to yell at her. It was fierce, intense, and powerful, and all she could do was cling to his shoulders as he, for lack of better words, kissed the hell out of her. His tongue was invading her mouth, and his hands had long ago pulled away the thin sheet that was covering her to roam over her body, touching and caressing her into a hot frenzy.

"Kagome," he ground out against her lips, his voice low and hoarse with emotion. "Oh, Kagome, I love you, too." He kissed her hard again, dragging the air out of her lungs and setting her on fire. "I love you more than anything in the world, and I want to make you mine. Forever."

He pulled his face away from hers, and she could finally distinguish the emotion in his eyes… Love. Love for her. If she hadn't been sitting, she would have crumpled to the ground as all the strength left her legs. He grasped her hands, bringing them to his chest, where she felt his heart racing even faster than her own. Like a hyper-active bird stuck in a cage.

"This is what I need to talk to you about, Kagome… I need to explain before you can give me an answer." She gazed up into his face, and nodded, confused but game. "Dog demons… we mate for life." He said slowly, making sure she was paying attention. "But it's more than just having sex…"

"Really awesome sex," Kagome chimed in.

He graced her with his sexy half-grin. "Yes. Really awesome sex, indeed." His smile faded, his eyes growing serious. "There is a ritual that is done… when you choose a mate… and I want to do it with you, but only if you give your consent…"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Stop beating around the bush, Inuyasha! I would love it more than anything to be your life-mate, so what do I have to do?"

He looked at her until she blushed, seeming to be thinking of the best way to put it. She was beginning to get nervous. Would she have to go through something painful? Or something scary? Would she have to battle someone, or… would she have to, like… let him stick it in her butt? Or MAYBE—

"I have to mark you as mine."

Kagome deflated slightly. That doesn't sound so bad. "Okay. Do you get me a ring? Like if we were to get married?" Her smile was so dazzling that Inuyasha made a mental note to talk to Miroku about human marriage rituals. If that wasn't so horrifying, maybe he would do it for her… but that was a different story.

"No… not exactly. It's so other demons will know that you're already claimed, and know not to approach you… I guess you'd call it a demon marriage of sorts…" Augh, he wasn't doing very well at explaining this… He never thought that any woman, demon or human, would make him feel strongly enough to take a mate, but you know that Kagome… she really was something else.

He smiled and pulled her to him, her back to his front, and started kissing her neck. Kagome shivered in delight, angling her head to give him better access. He moved up to her ear, his warm tongue darting out to run across the shell before he captured the lobe gently with his teeth. She groaned as all of his ministrations were sending threads of heat all the way down in between her legs. She shifted, trying to relieve some of the tension that was building up, and she felt him chuckle against her.

"To make someone your mate," he whispered against her skin, making her tremble, "you have to mark them as your own…" He was running his hands up her back and down her arms in slow, soothing circles that were driving her crazy. "The dog-demon's mark is a bite… Here." He started kissing, licking, and nipping that extremely sensitive area again, the place where your shoulder meets your neck. "But it has to be at the same time as when you orgasm, or the ritual is unfulfilled."

Kagome moaned. "Is that when you orgasm, or when I do?" She asked playfully, her voice in a lower register with desire, and Inuyasha took that as his queue. He turned her to him and kissed her full on the mouth and she couldn't help but melt into him, her hand reaching lower and lower until she found the proof of his arousal. He growled into her mouth and her excitement immediately heightened. That was just so sexy!