Notice: rating has changed.
He knew she was there, just behind the shadows of the trees. What he did not know is why she had stopped, why she did not come forward. If she did not want to be there, then she should merely make that clear, rather than make him wait.
"Kagura."
She flinched. Of course he couldn't allow her more time to think. As it was, she had already walked the whole way there, reassuring herself that this was the right decision. But it wasn't enough, her hands still trembled with apprehensiveness. She clenched her fists inside her sleeves, one hand wrapping around her fan. With a sigh, she took a step forward into the moonlight, vaguely aware of the leaves and dirt clinging to her toes, of the damp hem of her kimono. It shouldn't have bothered her the way it did.
When she stood just behind the line of trees he turned to her. Sesshoumaru sat just on the edge of the deck, one leg hanging over the edge, the other curled under his knee. Hands tucked into his sleeves and folded across his chest. The shoji, she noticed, was open wide, but the room inside was black. A gaping dark cavern only made blacker by the white screens on either side.
"Hn, were you waiting for me?" she said with a chuckle, trying to sound nonchalant. She brought the fan to tap her chin, trying to hide the tremble in her lip. Kagura would not let him see her unease. His expression was too cool, his posture too calm.
"Ridiculous." He turned away from her, he himself unsure how to proceed. This had always been so much easier before, but he would not go to her first.
But she remained where she was, perched on the tree line. She lifted her head to the stars, they seemed too bright, all of them glaring down at her. She couldn't keep her gaze for long, and turned back to look at the man before her.
"What, no sake?" she asked from behind the fan, "and here I thought you were a gentleman."
He realized it then, why she did not approach him, why she stalled. He could smell it on her, the edge, not fear, just a hint of nervousness. He could see it in the way she stood, toes close together, her back too straight, head too high. The way she hid behind the fan at her chin. All in an attempt to appear calm, like she wasn't anxious. He felt something warm bloom in his chest.
"Kagura." He called again, deciding not to comment on her taunt, and extended a hand to her. It was as if he was trying to appease a frightened animal, when all he wanted to do was calm her trembling nerves. "Come here."
She tilted her head to the side slightly, eyeing the clawed hand suspiciously. She could still run, turn around, and pretend nothing ever happen. But that's not what she wanted.
There was the sound of grass rustling and crunching beneath her small feet as she left the trees to stand a mere few feet from him, his outstretched hand still poised between them.
She reached up, but did not take his hand with her own. Instead she placed a finger in the curve of his claw, starting with the smallest and moving to his thumb. Her eyes did not rise to meet his, to give a reason as to why she did what she did. Sesshoumaru watched her actions as curiously as he allowed. Was she testing his motives? Afraid that he might attack her? Or was she just toying with him again?
Sesshoumaru was tiring of this, tiring of the games and the aversions and the charades. He made to grab her wrist, to pull her close, but found his hand closing on air.
She was farther away now, watching him, her eyes wide. A growl ripped it's way out of his throat in annoyance.
And she laughed.
It was a laugh that shook the trees, adding to the sound coming from her lips with the creaking of branches and the whistles of the leaves, leaves that now danced around her. The growl caught and she brought the back of her hand to her lips. She laughed at herself, at the hesitance she felt, at the confused look now plastered on his face.
"Sesshoumaru, you…" she breathed and shook her head, ridding herself of the giggles.
Again, she approached him, stepping forward until her scent assaulted him. She reached up, looping her fingers around his pointed ears, into his hair. He noted that her eyes sparkled slightly in the light. Was she crying? No, she would not cry over this.
Sesshoumaru himself felt like laughing now, at this mystifying woman, who ran and laughed and returned. Instead he allowed her to trail the pads of her thumbs across the markings on his cheeks. Those always seemed to fascinate her, and he wondered why something so simple would.
Something so simple, something like the small hands now in his hair. An innocent touch that was soothing, but could just as easily bring forth the need for this woman. Those red lips were taunting him, the smirk she could barely contain, begging to be crushed by his own.
But she beat him to it. The fingers in his hair tugged at his scalp, pulling him down to meet her. And again it was simple, the connection between them, just a pressure against his mouth. She was still questioning, herself and him, still unsure if this was right.
She realized she didn't care, as his arms snaked around her waist, gripping her obi to pull her closer. Kagura slipped between his knees, her toes still gripping the cool ground, the harsh edge of the deck digging into her abdomen. The knot in her stomach began to tighten as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips parted slightly, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside, tasting her.
Not close enough. They were not close enough.
The heat she felt through her silks was not enough, she wanted more of it. Wanted to feel him. Sesshoumaru understood, and as he moved his attentions on her lips to her jaw, he pulled her fully onto the deck, so that she knelt before him. He moved to her collarbone, as her kimono was loosened, revealing a sliver of smooth pale skin.
Kagura tried to breath, letting out heavy breathes as she reveled in the feeling of his cool lips against her flushed skin. Her fingers wove into his silver hair, he let out a growl as the strands tugged at his scalp.
Grasping her waist he flipped her over his thigh, earning him a small yip! of surprise as her back made contact with the deck beside him. Her hands still fisted in his hair pulled him down as well, so that he loomed over her still form. Kagura tugged at the locks in her hands, trying to bring him down to her, but he resisted the tug. Sesshoumaru brought a free hand - the other pressed to the wood beside her head -to her cheek, stroking his thumb beneath her crimson eyes. Her brows raised at the sudden pause.
"Kagura, do you wish for this as well?"
Her eyes widened slightly, and then she laughed again, a low sound from those now swollen red lips.
"Idiot." She smirked, digging her fingers deeper into his silver tresses. "I wouldn't have… wouldn't have come if I didn't."
His eyes glinted with something she couldn't name, and this time he let her pull his lips to hers again. She felt his weight shift over her, and suddenly felt a chill grace her skin as he slipped her kimono fully off her shoulders. He moved from her lips, leaving a burning line from her jaw to her clavicle. The hand upon her cheek moved, sliding down the curve of her shoulder to her waist, his claws ripping away the fabric of her obi til it came loose. The heat of his lips moved to her stomach, as he slipped a hand between the folds of her kimono, his claws skating across her feverish skin.
He didn't take the time to admire her when the silk came loose from her form, he didn't have it. Later, he would, but now was the time for tasting her, but he was brought up short when she tried to do the same to him. Her small hands finding their way into his haori, trying to loose it from his shoulders.
"Hn." Sesshoumaru quickly removed it, tossing the troublesome thing aside, he didn't allow her the time to admire him either, she could do so all she liked later.
Kagura couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips when he continued from her collarbone, nipping lightly at her skin. Her hands were in his hair again, tugging at his scalp, but he didn't seem to mind, and the growl it elicited caused her breath to hitch and her back to arch towards him, her hips to grind against the leg between her thighs.
Even as he took one sensitive bud into his mouth, nipping and teasing it to rise, the need for her was building. The need for her warmth, as her hands trailed from his hair to his shoulders, was becoming unbearable; he could feel the markings on his cheeks becoming jagged with each shallow breath she took.
Sesshoumaru released her from his mouth, which earned a soft moan as the chill descended upon her flesh once again. Kagura watched him from behind half-lidded, glazed eyes, and as his hand fell to rest upon her hip, which was perfectly suited for him to hold, something occurred to him.
"Kagura."
Her eyes opened slightly, the back of her hand trailing down his chest, across skin that held no significant memory of his battles, a few small pink lines scratched here and there, nothing he could not heal if he wanted. "Hn?"
"Naraku, did he…" he couldn't even form the words.
Kagura's eyes were wide now, staring down at him as her breath caught in her throat. The hand on his chest fell between them, hovering there til she brought it to her chin.
"If I say he did, would you stop?" She turned her head, staring off into the trees.
He felt the rage bubble for a split second at the thought of it, and grabbed her chin to force her to face him. Golden eyes were even with hers as he ground his hips towards her, so that she could feel his hardened length against her thigh. She gasped, trying to writhe out of the firm hand, but he held her steady.
"Know this, Kagura, any action the hanyou took against you does not affect this Sesshoumaru."
"Tch." She rolled her eyes, chuckling. "You're a liar." But she only nodded.
He released her chin, returning to the tie of the thin shift she wore at her hips, slicing through it with his claws rather than bothering to untie it. Just as his fingers dipped between the fabric and her skin, she spoke:
"He… he never did… anything like that… he threatened to, once or twice, but he never touched me…" the words were unnecessary, but she felt the need to say them regardless. Her eyes were somewhere else again, and Sesshoumaru was slightly insulted that she thought of another man while with him, despite the fact that it had been his fault in the first place. He regretted even asking.
Sesshoumaru pulled himself up, taking her lips with his own, roughly, biting at her bottom lip and drawing blood, to remind her that she was with him, now, to not dwell on the bastard who created her. To distract her from the sensation of the shift slipping out from between them, leaving her blissfully naked beneath him.
Her breaths were quickening again, as he pulled away from her, now he could allow himself a moment to admire the sight of her, smooth pale flesh that betrayed nothing of her lifestyle, no scars he could see to mar her perfection.
But even this, he could not do for long, as now with the shift gone, the scent of her arousal assaulted him, a soft growl rumbled in his chest. By the Gods, how he needed her.
And she was more than willing when he sliced away his hakama and positioned himself between her thighs, placing a light kiss upon each knee as he did so. He teased her with his length, eliciting a ragged moan and her fingers digging into his back.
When he entered her, it was slow, but he did not pause at the barrier that resisted him. Proof of her words that Naraku had never laid hands on her, something to be proud of, that he was the first.
He silenced her whimper with a kiss, and began to move before she adjusted to him. Her nails dug into his shoulders, the sting of it repaying him for her pains.
But pain gives way to pleasure, and he would see her satisfied as he fell into an ancient rhythm. And she fell into it, too, her hips rising to meet him with each deep thrust, her legs wrapping around his waist to pull him in deeper with every one. His hands found their way to her hips, fitting perfectly against the jut of her bones. The whimpers gave way to moans as sweat began to bead upon their skin, and a thumb slipped between them to toy with her most sensitive spot, coaxing her to release at the same time as he.
The heat that was coiling in his loins was clouding his mind, his markings broken across his cheeks and his sclera changing red. Sesshoumaru muffled the growl against her shoulder, his fangs elongating and poised to bite. A clawed hands released her hips and one fisted itself into her bun, holding her still against his chest as he began to move faster than before, sheathing himself fully inside her with every thrust.
He could feel the beginning of her climax and the red around his eyes darkened, his claws dug into the wood beneath them as she screamed. Sesshoumaru's claws tore into the palm of his hand, drawing blood, while his fangs buried themselves into the shoulder of her kimono as they both released.
Kagura still clung to him, panting and covered in sweat, unable to release the silver hair between her fingers, or unwrap her legs from his waist. Sesshoumaru waited til he felt his fangs shorten, his claws retract, before he pushed himself up and away from her.
He wiped away the blood on his palms and hoped she wouldn't later notice the tear in her kimono, or the splintered wood. A small lapse in control, he chastised himself, nothing he couldn't handle.
As he lay next to her, his claws still woven into her loose bun, he realized that these things were his.
The sounds she made, her every flutter, every shiver. He would know them, memorize them, and no other would know them this way but him. Every moan, every gasp, every sigh, were his to keep. And he would. He would commit them to memory, the planes of her, her curves and angles. The arch of her back, her collarbones, the crook between her neck and shoulder, the perfectly shaped jut of her hip. The scent of her hair, of her skin. The way her eyelashes had sparkled with unshed tears at the pain he had given her, and taken away. The rise and fall of her breasts with each heavy breath she took. The sweat that glistened upon her abdomen. The taste of her innocence. It was all his to keep.
Because when she left, what else would there be for him?
He allowed them both a moment to rest before he took her again.
.~*~.
A small whimper left her throat, another nightmare possibly. As gently as he could manage, he pulled her closer, bringing up her hand to rest against his chest. She took several shaking breathes before settling against him.
He listened to the soft sound of her breathing, could feel her breath against his chest.
The sun had just crested the horizon, setting her skin aglow. He reached a hand up to brush a few stray hairs from her face, to weave into her loose bun. Tendrils of ebony hair clung to the sweat still on her shoulders. He brushed those away as well, revealing glowing skin.
He took the time to trail his fingers along the lines of her shoulders, the curves and bends of a battle-toned arm. He felt the bumps of four knuckles on a hand that was dwarfed by his own. There was a tickle of loose hair as he traced his fingers across the jut of her spine at the base of her neck. There was the rise of her shoulder blade, the small dip beneath.
His fingers brushed a patch of raised skin, and he jerked them back just as quickly.
.~*~.
When Kagura awoke, she wasn't surprised to find that the bed was cold.
At the very least, she noticed as she sat up, he had left her a gift. A comb, a simple lacquer comb, wrapped up in paper and left where he should have been. She eyed it, holding it loosely in the palm of her hand.
Kagura chuckled, realizing how much like a dog he really was, and resisted the urge to snap the damn thing in half.
Sorry about not updating last week, been kind of busy and right now I've caught up with chapters so I'm actually writing them on a weekly basis, so from now on I'm really sorry if the updates get kind of sporadic. (Also this is the first lemon I've written, I pretty much just had the word "sex" taking up a good page for a week while I tried to figure out WTF I was doing, hope I did ok…)
So you know how it says what countries people reading your story are from? Kyrgyzstan, I love you just because the name of your country is awesome, even though I have no idea how to pronounce it. And shit, Finland, mad props for either being really lazy and just hitting the next chapter button each time or actually reading every chapter like 4 times. Unless you're c4, c4s my favorite anyway. Like actually though, I was taking a test the other day and one of the problems had "c=4" in it and I got super happy.
Also, in my Japanese exam, there was a reading portion talking about a "youkai" city. I was smiling really hard and probably failed that bit cause I got super distracted. Oh well.
Anyway, you guys should review because I know this is the chapter you were waiting for.