Kagome had fallen into routine, after a few hard mornings when Ken would wake her up at an ungodly hour, have her help the remaining women of the tribe prepare food, and then force her to sit still for several hours because "She was so small that if she moved too much, she might disappear". Needless to say, it irked her more than she can articulate without a bunch of patience that she didn't currently possess. She wanted to be back, with the gang and Shippo and Rin and everybody.

With a sigh, Kagome continued along the beach, looking longingly out towards the mainland, imagining that she was picking flowers with Rin, Jaken was getting kicked repeatedly by the village children, and Sesshomaru was looking on with a smile.

"… Sesshomaru…" Kagome said pathetically, biting her lip. She never would have guessed she missed that overbearing, cynical, sadistic, considerate, smart, handsome, witty… Where was she going with that? It was as if the old sayings were true, that absence did make the heart grow fonder…

-;-

Sesshomaru's patience was wearing thin. He had no sign of his mistress, no word or call or hint or rumor of her whereabouts. He had swept the countryside to the north, south, east and west. He was tempted to put a reward on her safe return, and yet he knew that the only thing that would bring about is pain and woe, and perhaps a few people dead.

He sighed softly, deciding to leave the mainland and search a few of the islands. He was getting desperate and he was tired of feeling his heartstrings – which he had no idea existed, mind you – pull and tug and burn with the desire to burrow her into his flesh and carry her around and never let her out of his sight. He transformed, taking to the skies and heading off of the mainland. He chose a random scent to follow, having exhausted all of his original leads long ago. He tracked it with haste, going farther and farther away from his home. He howled a warning to the skies, barring away all from his path.

-;-

Kagome looked up from the kettle filled with laundry she was tending to, her ears attuned to the reverberating sound that still echoed in her ears. Her heart quickened in her chest, and she abandoned the pot in favor of running to the shore of the island to scan the skies for his form, his smell, his shape, his color, anything that would tell her of his presence.

"Sesshomaru! I'm here! Sesshomaru!" She called fitfully, waving her arms, jumping up and down, sprinting a few paces to the left or right.

And then she saw it. She saw him. His form massive to her eyes, she stumbled back on her rear, looking up at him. He transformed and dropped down gracefully, not a hair out of place, a gentle smile plastered to his face.

Gods he is beautiful. Even more so when he smiles…

He stooped down to her, his lips meeting hers in a chaste yet tender kiss, his arms pulling her close to him. He growled softly in approval, trying to memorize everything about her: the way she smelled, the way she felt, the way she trembled slightly under his hands. He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, his tongue meeting hers in a flurry of passion. Kagome pulled him closer to her, her hands tangling in his stupid, perfect silver locks. She stood, her hands tracing their way to his chest and face and those glorious stripes of his.

He had to calm his breathing for a second to ensure he didn't take her then and there. He picked her up gently, smiling softly at her, the gesture meant for her and her alone.

"Perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps you do belong to this Taiyoukai." Said Ken softly, smiling at the couple. He bowed in respect to Sesshomaru, smiling softly at the woman-child.

"Explain yourself, atronach. Why has my miko yet to be transported back to my domain?"

"Why Sesshomaru-sama, I was honor bound to remain here. The hunting and scavenging parties have yet to return and I would be shamed forever if my people were slaughtered during the return of your precious mistress. However, I did keep her safe. Isn't that all that you can expect of me?"

Sesshomaru eyed him doubtfully, but pulled Kagome against him. He paused a moment, his face twisting with some odd emotion.

"Thank you, for keeping my mistress safe. You and your kin will receive compensation for housing and clothing her, and making sure no harm had come over her. We shall take our leave now. Jaken shall come here in seven day's time. Do not eat or attack him, and he shall work out the terms."

And then they were gone, Sesshomaru glad to get away from the island. He would never live thanking the worm for keeping his mistress safe down, but lucky for him they would likely keep it to themselves. He hugged Kagome tight to his form, content to fly her home with her leaning against his shoulder, snoring softly. He looked down at her, his eyes softening just slightly, but then his beast surged forward, seizing the moment to take the controls while his controlled, pristine, 'I-am-so-much-better-than-thou' other half was weak in the knees for their mistress. He smiled deviously in delight, his eyes bleeding red. He made sure he closed and locked the mental constraints of his own prison, locking Sesshomaru away. And while frosty lords are away, the dogs will play, ne?

He nuzzled her closer to his body, sniffing and frowning slightly. The stink of the Golem's was saturating her. He didn't like it. They smelled like the clay miko: of death and graveyard soil and life not rightfully attained. He would not stand for their stench covering up her gentle smell of sunlight and spring rain.

-;-

Kagome awoke to the feel of something warm, wet, and strange feeling rubbing itself along her neck and face. Ignoring her instinctual urge to scream like a sissy-girl and flail until she hurt herself, she cracked one eye open, only to be met with a ruby red eye. She resisted the urge to sigh.

"Stop it. Put me down." She said softly, awaking slowly from her beautiful, disgusting dream. She wanted to scream in rage and smack at Sesshomaru, for interrupting her sleep.

"Did someone have a good dream? It smells like it…" rumbled Sesshomaru as he was licking her neck in long, lazy strokes, cleansing the smell of others from her skin. He took a moment to take a deep inhale from her pulse point, delighting in the shivering of her slight form.

The blush that covered her face was immediate, violent, and all encompassing.

"W-what?" She said, looking away from him, her shaky breath coming out in strangled gasps. She struggled in his arms, attempting to get away so she could assess the damage.

"Relax, miko. It is fine. Quite a delicious smell, after all. Perhaps you would allow me to sample you some time, ne?" He smirked happily, latching on to her neck, sucking softly. He sat back and admired the mark he bestowed upon her skin. It was such a lovely shade of red, and it glistened in the light from the moon, for he had decided that he was going to take his time on the way home. And that meant all the more time to play with his miko. His.

She gasped, touching the mark, her fingers feeling the edges and she resisted the urge to yell.

"You ass! Why'd you do that?" She ground out, poking and prodding the hickey, willing it to disappear from her skin.

He cocked his head to the side, an innocent façade falling into place.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" He asked, his hands that were holding her to him inching higher, just centimeters from her plump rear. He smiled softly, thanking the stupid golems for one thing: easy access. Apparently, they didn't believe in underclothes, meaning that his dear priestess's dearer rear end was bare. He resisted the urge to salivate.

Kagome squeaked, feeling his fingers come into contact with bare skin. She sucked in a breath, the blush that spread across her features having a mind of its own, even as she willed the blood to go back to its rightful place. And she gasped, as he took hold of a handful of her ass, kneading the tender flesh. While her defenses were down, his mouth met hers in a needy fashion, and she nearly kicked herself when she responded, her mouth molding to his, her tongue tracing the shape of his lip, the curve of his fang, the tip of his tongue. She shivered and moaned in wonton delight.

"S-Sesshomaru… We're gonna crash. You should focus on the sky. So stop it…"

"Silly little woman. I could fly the simple route home half-dead and asleep. Relax. I will not take anything my so-called better half has not already." He said dismissively, his hands exploring the expanses of exposed skin that was bare to him. He ignored the thrumming in his lower half, and the fact that his loin cloth no longer fit properly, and the fact that the only thing he wanted to do was throw her down, and rut her until she was raw. He could keep himself in check. He just wanted to see how far he could push.

His fingers delved into the fur top that clung to her shapely form in all the sinful, libertine ways. He brushed the side of her breast, watching her expression change from one of embarrassed pleasure to one of complete mortification. He circled closer and closer to the already pebbled peak, whispering in her ear:

"I apologize for my controlled counterpart. He is simply jealous of the half-demon, and is worried that you do not like him as you do Inuyasha" He brushed her nipple with his thumb gently, smiling at her soft moan.

"I-I don't understand… Inuyasha and I are just friends. He's like my older brother, a-and besides, he has Kikyo." Kagome gasped out, squirming in his arms, trying to remain focused on the conversation and not the wetness between her legs. She groaned loudly, arching her chest closer to him as he pinched her nipple and twisted it.

"Oh, I know this, miko. However, lord Ice-stuck-up-his-ass is a bit of an insecure jerk. He didn't know how to go about telling you; however, I have the bigger set of balls between the two of us, and have no problem asking." He grinned, tugging the small bit of flesh between his fingers, delighting in her gasp of surprise.

"Well, tell him he is stupid! I. Do. Not. Like. Inuyasha. Like. That."

Sesshomaru smiled brightly, which almost gave Kagome a heart attack, and he leaned down and gave her a toe-curling, heart-stopping, mind-shattering kiss. At that point, she turned, clinging to him and attempting to return the kiss with as much fever as he was dishing it out.

His hand extracted itself from her ass and instead invaded her small thatch of curls, toying with them slowly, his hand squeezing and pinching her swollen nipple in a lazy, happy, drunk manor. He bent down a bit, licking and sucking on the tender flesh of her neck, marking her clearly for all to know.

How receptive would she be to a tongue bath? He wondered.

He set her down gently, making sure she was stably on her feet before letting her go. He tugged open her top and attempted not to drool at the barely-there shiver, the flash of lust in her eyes, the moment of fear. How long had it been since he had taken a woman? He, the more feral part of the being called Sesshomaru, was sure that his "master" hadn't let him partake of a female in this way in at least one hundred years.

He latched to her chest like a newborn pup, sucking her throbbing nipple as though he actually expected milk to coat his tongue. She hissed in response, having not expected such a thing. She attempted to dislodge him, before her arousal became so apparent that even she would have to acknowledge the fact that she was wet and needy and her hormones weren't helping matters at all. She was confused. Befuddled. Whenever Inuyasha touched her at all, she transformed into the blushing virgin she truly was, and yet when this man – Demon, she reminded herself sardonically – touched her in this way… All that she wished to do was melt.

The cocky smirk that met her when she looked down at the man – who she perhaps… maybe… no, she wouldn't admit the 'l' word, even to herself – who was touching her in these sinful ways was unexpected, but she had to resist the urge to throw a temper-tantrum when he removed himself from her and righted her clothing.

"It is time to make camp, miko."