I do not own the rights to Inuyasha.

Kagome sat panting. Her body still shaking from the kiss. It had been soft and gentle, yet passionate and needing at the same time. "I just kissed Lord Sesshomaru...I KISSED…"

He pulled away from her supple lips and looked her in the eyes — his heavily lidded and burning with desire. The gaze took her breath away. One hand was still buried deeply in her raven locks as the other traced small circles on her back. Her eyes were pleading and the deep brown pools were misted with an intense yearning — a yearning she had never experienced before. He took the plea in her eyes as her consent for him to continue kissing her when...her stomach let out a drawn out and incredibly embarrassing growl.

"You require sustenance. Do you not?" The demon lord asked her. She was barely able to finishing the slight nod of her head before she found herself blanketed in Mokomoko.

"I will be back soon."

Before she could protest, he was gone. She stroked Mokomoko slowly and startled when she felt it curl a little closer to her.

"Well, Lord Sesshomaru is just full of surprises isn't he fluffy one?" She tilted her head to the side slightly to nuzzle into the animated fur left behind. The fur nuzzled her back slightly.

With a moment left to herself, she slowly traced her slightly swollen lips with the tip of her finger. Her mind wandered back to the passionate encounter she had just had with the Lord of the West. Her cheeks flushing at the mere memory of the intimacy of his touch and the almost nonexistent distance that had been between the two of them.

. . .

His kiss had started out slow and light. Like a silken whisper barely gracing her lips. But only if the whisper carried the heat of embers with it. For a split second she had frozen, unsure of what to do. But as his lips barely fluttered away and his eyes met hers yet again, she could see the truth in his eyes. He wanted her. And yet, there was something deeper. He didn't just want her an an object. There was something more in that golden look. Something she just couldn't quite put her finger on.

As their eyes had locked, he took her passion as consent and slowly leaned in again. This time her lips responded as if this was what they had been created to do. Her lips molded softly to his the way his body was carefully molding around hers. Soon his hand found her hair. His claws barely touching her scalp, but the sensation was enough to cause her to gasp. He smirked against her lips and they both took the moment to deepen the kiss. His tongue darted out, barely grazing her lip. Her hand found it's way to his cheek, and then down to his neck, and slowly tangling itself in his silver hair. He moaned every so slightly as the feeling of her skin running over his.

His moan brought her confidence to the surface as she teasingly nibbled his bottom lip. He growled in approval, the depth of the rumbling sound causing vibrations in her stomach. His kisses gained more force behind them and hers held a desperation he never thought possible from the normally logical and composed young miko. Soon, the scent her arousal reached his nose and he found himself struggling to hold his beast back. He wasn't done exploring the young woman and wasn't about to give her over to his beast — not yet at least. He took a moment to slowly move his mouth away and clear his head. It was this moment that Kagome's stomach had chosen to voice its discontent at being empty.

. . .

She curled into Mokomoko a bit more. "I can't believe my stomach growled right then," she groaned to the fur. As if responding to her feelings of embarrassment, the ends of Mokomoko slowly drew circles on her legs — remarkably similar to the ones Sesshomaru had been tracing on her back earlier.

Moments later, she felt his immense aura approaching again. She thought about trying to reposition herself in a more appealing manner, but at the slightest shift of her torso, her ribs cried out in protest. She barely had time to remove the grimace from her face before the daiyoukai reappeared in the clearing. She noticed that he held something in his hands and as he came closer she was able to see it was a wad of cloth.

He knelt beside her in a graceful and effortless move as he unfolded the cloth, revealing what he had found. As Kagome looked down she couldn't help it. Slowly, a smile crept to her face, then a small giggle worked its way out between her lips, and finally a full laugh rang through the clearing. The Lord of the West looked both surprised and a bit offended. "Why is the miko laughing at what I have found for her?" He wondered to himself.

"Oh! Sesshomaru, I'm sorry for laughing. But...well I can't eat this."

The demon lord looked down and his brow creased.

"Why is that, Miko? I have seen Rin partake of berries and herbs many times before."

She could see that her laughter had caused him some distress. He continued to glare at the berries as though his eyes could turn them into something more acceptable — what that might be, he did not know.

She reached out and her hand cupped the side of his face, thumb slowly stroking the magenta stripes on his cheeks. His eyes slowly traveled up to hers.

"Sesshomaru. Thank you. I appreciate it so much. But … the reason I can't eat this is that you brought me all poisonous plants." Her eyes were kind as his widened and he looked down at the offensive food.

" But Rin always eats such things."

"There are a lot of plants that look alike but one is safe and the other isn't. Lady Kaede has been teaching me about the differences to look out for."

Before she could even blink, he had rid the clearing of the poisonous plants and was on his feet again.

"I will return, again. This time I will not bring you anything harmful."

She smiled at his insistence. "Wait." Her hand reached up and grabbed the edge of his robe. He stilled and looked down at her. "Please, let me come with you. That way I can help show you which ones I can eat." Her eyes sparkled at the prospect of staying by the powerful demon's side as well as having the opportunity to teach him.

"Very well, Kagome. But there is one condition." Before she had a chance to ask "what?" she had been gently swept up into his arms with Mokomoko protecting her delicate body from his sharp and hard armor.

Instinctively she draped her arms around his neck and pulled her body further into his. She felt his low growl of approval again as he began walking out of the clearing.

The afternoon became a blur with gentle and easy conversation, a good many giggles from the miko, and some truly priceless expressions on the demon lord's face.

"No, silly! Not that one. Remember? If you give that to a human they'll break out into hives!" She tried to stifle another giggle and failed.

"This demon is not silly," he replied in as neutral a voice as he could manage, but the young woman saw the amusement and spark in his eyes.

"How have I never noticed all the life in him before? I mean, sure I noticed he'd changed some but there's so much more to him than I'd ever imagine. And definitely more to him than Inuyasha ever let on. I wonder if he knows this side of his half-brother…" She was surprised with how quickly she could now think of Inuyasha without a twinge of pain. For a moment she was almost ashamed. "Am I betraying him by having such a wonderful time with his half-brother?" she began to wonder, but quickly shook the thought away deciding it didn't matter. Inuyasha was definitely not one for being faithful so she really needn't worry about betraying him after all this time. "Besides, he gave up his claim on me a long time ago."

"Is everything alright, Ka-go-me?" Sesshomaru's face was level with hers now, looking at her playfully.

"Huh? What?" She startled.

"You were staring at me, young Miko."

Worrying for a split moment that she had offended him she opened her mouth to utter an apology only to stop when she saw the twinkle in his eye. "I have to admit, Lord Sesshomaru, it's quite difficult not to stare," she quipped back at him. His eyebrow raised perfectly and suspiciously.

"She is being playful with me. She wants us. Silence. Her desires must be obvious to herself and her mind clear before we can afford to think that way. It will not do for the Lord of the West to be refused by a human — no matter how strong she is." His inner beast whimpered at the thought of her not wanting them and agreed. It would not do to frighten her away.

Slowly, Sesshomaru turned back and headed towards the clearing.

"We're already going back?" Kagome asked slightly dejected. She had been having so much fun on their search.

"You need to eat and rest. Your body will not heal if you do not."

She grumbled slightly murmuring something about how she felt just fine...until her stomach drowned out her complaints. She flushed and muttered that perhaps a bit of food wouldn't hurt. Sesshomaru grinned above her as she conceded and nestled her head against his strong chest again.

A/N:Thank you to all of you who let me know about my mistake! I didn't realize I'd reposted chapter 2 (silly me!). Here's the correct chapter. I hope you enjoy!