Chapter 2

As the group walked along the worn path, Masaki couldn't help but be assaulted by guilty thoughts of what her and Isshin had just done. She was betrothed. How could she do what she just did with this man? She didn't much care about her betrothed and how he would feel. They weren't married yet. Heck, they hadn't even met in over twelve years. The last memory she had of him was him stumbling over a rock in his backyard while they were playing tag as kids and running to his nanny with tears streaming down his face.

What bothered her now was how she was leading Isshin on. She didn't want to be that type of woman. She had gotten so caught up in the moment that she hadn't been thinking straight. His lips had been such a temptation and the lure of his warmth had intoxicated her.

But she couldn't let that happen again. No, she had to end it here and now.

In the back of her head she knew this internal battle was more for her than for Isshin. Every fiber of her body still remembered the feeling of being pressed against his large body and his lips moving over hers. If she didn't put a halt to this now she knew she would be lost.

They reached a crossroads, one path leading towards her house, the other leading towards a large pond nearby. Isshin's hand reached out to grasp hers but she flinched, pulling her hand away and stopping her feet. Her eyes slowly looked up, measuring the man now standing in front of her. He was staring at her with a look of confusion filling his face and she had to gulp back the lump that formed in her throat.

Ryuken and Ayden were already several yards away, making their way to the pond. Masaki took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, looking Isshin directly in his dark brown eyes.

"I have to go home," she said, thankful that her voice came out steady and strong unlike the way her stomach felt at the moment.

Isshin blinked at Masaki's words and felt his entire body deflate. What had he done wrong? Why did she want to leave? He remembered how she'd kissed him. He remembered the way her body had responded to his. Could it have been his imagination?

"Thanks for the evening," she said and turned to leave.

"Wait!" said Isshin slightly desperately, reaching his hand out and grabbing hers before she could take another step away.

Masaki didn't trust herself enough to turn around and look at him so instead she stood motionlessly, her hand held behind her by Isshin's larger one. Despite not being able to see him, her body could feel his presence behind her. The skin on her back tingled in anticipation. Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes closing and her free hand tightening into a fist at her side.

"Masaki…" Isshin whispered behind her right ear, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as the whispered caress sent shivers down her spine. "Have I done something wrong?" he asked as his body moved directly behind hers and very lightly brushed against her back.

She shook her head and said, "No, you haven't. I have."

"What do you mean?" asked Isshin.

Masaki took another deep breath and turned to face Isshin. "I'm betrothed Isshin. I can't do this."

Isshin didn't know why her words bothered him so much. He'd known all along that she was to be married to someone else. He'd only wanted to flirt a bit with her and maybe sneak in a few kisses here and there but the way his body was reacting to her denial unnerved him. It felt like something was being torn away from him. Like a part of himself was being ripped away and crushed. His body automatically reacted and his hands reached out, cupping her beautiful face and turning her closed eyes up to his, forcing them open to look at him.

"Please Masaki. I… I don't want you to go," he pleaded and watched as tears gathered in the woman's eyes in front of him. He hated to see them more than the feeling in his gut. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry." His thumb smoothed over her cheek and up to wipe away a tear that had fallen.

"I gotta go," Masaki said and tore herself away. She rushed down the path, the unshed tears blurring her vision. She dashed the wetness away with the back of her hand and picked up her pace, suddenly needing to be as far away from Isshin as possible.

Isshin watched her hurry away and he wanted more than anything to follow her but his feet stood still, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He didn't know how long he stood there; staring down the path Masaki had fled down. She was gone from sight now but he still didn't move. He hated the feeling inside him, the way his chest felt tight and uncomfortable. She was right of course. He knew that what they had done couldn't happen again but every fiber of his being was screaming that he was wrong, that he needed to follow her.

He glanced around the pond, trying to find Ryuken and spotting the couple on the opposite side of the small body of water, sitting beside each other on the slightly downhill slope. They seemed preoccupied enough with each other that they weren't paying attention to him so he turned and started walking down the path he'd watched Masaki hurry down just a few minutes earlier.

Masaki strode right past her house and made her way to the back where a large garden spread out, bathed by the moonlight. She used to go back their often while growing up. Her favorite spot was a wooden bench set beneath a large cherry blossom tree. It had been years since she'd been back there though due to her travels lately.

She curled herself up on the hard wooden seat, tucking her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She tried to stop the path of her thoughts but her body wouldn't let her. Her heart was still beating rapidly beneath her chest and her skin was extremely sensitive to touch, causing her body to quake at the slightest touch. Even her legs brushing against her breasts made her shiver with delicious warmth.

Her head turned abruptly when she heard a sound nearby, like something hitting the side of her house. She heard the noise again but this time it sounded like whatever it was, hit a window. She stood up and walked in the direction she'd heard the noise. Her feet padded down the gravel walkway, trying to make as little noise as possible. She crept to the corner of the house and heard the noise again, pinging against another window. Masaki stopped and peaked around the side of the house.

There, standing amongst several bushes was Isshin, winding up to throw another pebble at the nearby window.

"What are you doing?" Masaki whispered, coming out from the side of the house to stand in front of him.

Isshin dropped the rock from his hand and smiled sheepishly at Masaki. "Uh, I was trying to get your attention."

Masaki smiled and motioned for him to follow her. She walked back to the bench she had been sitting on just a few minutes earlier and took a seat, Isshin sitting down beside her.

"I'm sorry if I upset you earlier. I know I shouldn't be here now but… I couldn't keep myself from seeing you again," Isshin said, his head bowed as he looked at the ground in front of him.

"It's ok. You didn't upset me. I upset myself. I uh… I don't know what got into me earlier. I wasn't thinking straight."

Isshin sighed as he heard her words. "So you… didn't mean to kiss me back then?" he asked, raising his eyes to look into Masaki's nervous face.

"Well, I uh… I don't know. But it doesn't matter because it shouldn't have happened. I'm to be married to someone else. I can't bring dishonor to my family."

Isshin latched on to her lack of response to his question about the kiss. He knew she had wanted it as badly as he had. Who cares about some stupid betrothal that was created before either of them had been born?

He reached a hand out and gently cupped Masaki's chin, tilting her head up so that she had to look directly into his eyes. "Tell me to stop," Isshin said and started to lower his head, moving closer and closer to Masaki's face.

Masaki watched wide eyed as Isshin drew closer. Her lips started to move but no sound would come out. STOP! Her mind screamed but still, not a sound escaped. She was paralyzed. The sane side of her was screaming at her to put a halt to this reckless act but another side of her, a side that was screaming even louder was shouting, DO IT! Her breathing became stinted, her mind racing frantically with thoughts. When his lips finally touched hers, she froze. He felt so good. Every muscle inside of her was begging to respond.

Isshin carefully caressed Masaki's sweet lips, taking his time to let her resist him. After lingering a few moments, there was no response so he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along her bottom lip. He heard a muffled cry and suddenly her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and her mouth was pressed firmly against his. He slid his tongue inside her mouth and was greeted with her own eager one. It wasn't long before they were both breathing heavy, gasping for breath between kisses. Isshin reached a hand out and lifted Masaki, setting her down on his lap and wrapping his arms around her slender waist.

They were completely engrossed in one another and neither knew how much time passed as they kissed and caressed each other. When Isshin's hand started to slide beneath the bottom of Masaki's shirt, she reached a hand out and stopped him and pulled her face away to look into his eyes. "We can't," she breathed and Isshin immediately pulled his hand away and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I know. I'm sorry," he answered and smiled slightly when Masaki's arms wrapped tighter around his shoulders.

"I really should be going now," she said, leaning her head back and breathing a deep sigh.

"When can I see you again?" Isshin asked as he stroked Masaki's back with a light caress up and down her spine.

"I… I don't know," she answered, biting her lip.

"Let me see you tomorrow… please," begged Isshin.

Masaki couldn't help but giggle at the look on Isshin's face. He looked like a puppy begging for his favorite treat. "Maybe," was all she answered as she stood up from his lap and started making her way to the large house.

"I wonder what happened to your sister and Isshin?" said Ayden.

"Hopefully not getting in trouble anywhere," Ryuken answered, allowing himself to glance over at the girl beside him. She was sitting with her arms wrapped loosely around her bent knees, looking up at the cloudless night sky. "It's really nice out tonight," he commented and rolled his eyes at himself. Was he really commenting on the weather?

Ayden smiled shyly and looked over briefly at Ryuken before answering, "It's beautiful."

Ryuken silently cursed Isshin for interrupting them earlier. Sitting beside her now he felt awkward and uncoordinated. He wanted to reach over and touch her silky hair again, caress the smooth skin of her cheek and look deep into her eyes. Instead, he picked a blade of grass from the ground beside him and started tearing the thing apart, strand by strand.

"Can you whistle with grass?" Ayden asked and started searching the ground for a thick blade.

"Whistle with grass?" Ryuken questioned, looking at her with confused eyes.

"Yea…" she said and smiled. "Here, let me show you."

She picked a piece and positioned it between her two thumbs and raised her hands up to her mouth. She blew against her thumbs and a low pitched whistle came out and she turned to smile proudly at Ryuken. "Now you try."

"Uh, ok." Ryuken picked a piece and Ayden shimmied closer to look at the blade held in his hand.

"It's easier if you get a thicker piece," she said and started searching the ground for one. "Here, try this," she said, handing over a much large blade of grass. "Now place it between your thumbs and make sure it's pulled tightly with just a small space open."

Ryuken did as she instructed and looked over at Ayden whose face was only a small distance away now. She was smiling encouragingly at him as he lifted his hands and brought them to his mouth. When he attempted, a horrible, broken trumpet sounding noise came out and Ayden laughed. Ryuken looked over at her in embarrassment but a moment later he was laughing along with her.

When they stopped, both seemed to notice the small amount of space between them and stiffened. Their legs were brushing against each other and Ayden was turned slightly towards him. She tilted her face down, her cheeks flushing slightly at their nearness.

He was so devastatingly handsome. His sharply angled chin and slanted blue eyes made her stomach do somersaults. When his hand lightly grasped her chin and lifted her face to look at him, she could feel her heart pounding rapidly inside her chest. His head moved towards hers slowly, his eyes staring into hers. 'Was the really happening?' she wondered as his face inched closer to hers. She couldn't even fathom someone as good looking as him actually wanting to kiss her.

She stopped breathing when he was only a few inches away, her muscles tensing and her hands clenching her legs tightly. Lightly, his lips kissed hers, brushing against hers gently. He pulled back a little and she released the air that had been stuck in her chest. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, like at any moment she was going to spontaneously combust. Then his lips were back on hers, this time more insistent as he pressed firmly against her. She hesitantly responding, moving her lips against his though she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do since she had never kissed anyone before. When she slanted her mouth slightly over his, she heard Ryuken make a strange noise in his throat and an instant later his tongue was sliding against her lips, urging her to open for him.

She allowed the intrusion and almost squeaked when his tongue slid over hers, sending another wave of fire through her veins. Her hands started to feel anxious on her legs, wanting to touch him and sift through his brown hair but she didn't dare. Even when his hand that had been holding her chin moved down her neck, brushing his knuckles across her sensitive skin, she didn't have the courage to reach out for him.

His hand wandered from the side of her neck to her nape, pushing her closer to him as he deepened the kiss. Slowly she learned how to respond to his caresses, moving her tongue along with his in a way that made her yearn for something more but she didn't know what it was. When she gently sucked on his tongue, another sound came from his throat which sounded like a moan. She took this as encouragement and tentatively lifted her hand from her leg and raised it up to his head, sliding her fingers through his silky hair. Ryuken adjusted their position, moving his body more directly in front of hers and gathering her close with both of his arms. She in turn lifted both of her arms up to his head, enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around her body.

"Ayden…" he whispered between kisses, his body aching to be closer to hers. Her mouth started to hungrily move over his. He could hear her breathing becoming heavy and something inside him ignited. He straightened up onto his knees, bringing her up with him till she was kneeling directly in front of him, her arms circled around his shoulders and his arms wrapped around her back. She felt so good beneath his hands, her petite slender body curving in all the right places.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered and was confused when Ayden suddenly pulled her mouth away from him, looking at him with curiously surprised eyes. An instant later she was on him, flinging her arms around his shoulders and her mouth kissing him with a renewed enthusiasm.

Whatever it was that had gotten in to her… he liked it and his body responded, his hands moving over her back and down to the curve of her waist before sliding slowly over her rear. He didn't realize he had pressed his hips forward at that time but Ayden did and she gasped at the feeling.

"Ryuken…," she said, tearing her mouth from his. "I think… we… mmmm," she was interrupted by his mouth claiming hers once again and his hands moving greedily over her back. His lips moved from her mouth to her neck, trailing wet kisses down the side and nibbling lightly on the sensitive skin. "Oh my God…" she panted and arched her neck back. He teased her flesh, licking and sucking a path from one side to the other and leaving her swimming in ecstasy.

"We should what?" asked Ryuken without lifting his mouth from her neck, the whispered caress sending shivers down her spine.

"We… we should… s… stop," she answered but crushed her mouth to his when he lifted his head to look at her. Their mouths battled as their hands sought out every inch of each other that they could reach.

Eventually Ayden tore herself away, pushing him back with a hand to his chest and her breath coming in deep gasps. "I need… to go… home," she said, not allowing herself to look at his face.

Ryuken nodded his head and concentrated on evening out his own breath. When they were both finally calmed down… at least a little, Ryuken helped Ayden to her feet and they brushed themselves off before heading down the path towards her house. At the front of her drive, Ryuken laced his fingers with hers and leaned down to kiss her again, his lips lightly brushing over hers. The urge to deepen it was there but he fought it back, not wanting to risk being caught by her family.

"Thank you for this evening," he said when he pulled away.

"I had a great time," she answered but seemed reluctant to walk away.

"Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't know. I'll have to see if I can get away. What time?"

"Eight? We can meet at the pond again," he suggested.

Ayden smiled and nodded. "I'll try my best."

Ok so maybe not the greatest chapter but the story should really pick up from here.

What do you guys want? Do you want me to just cut right to the story and forget the romance so I can move back to Unforgettable or keep this going the way it is?