Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Exploring

Inuyasha was not uneducated, just inexperienced. He found out the differences between a woman and a man when he was but a child. He took the rare pleasure of soaking in a hot spring when a human girl came to bath. He managed to leave without being seen, but that did not mean he did not see her. He found out about mating later in life. Traveling soldiers enjoyed talking about their experiences with women. Inuyasha heard that a woman's first time was uncomfortable and even feared from a young bride and her friends. That day he managed to steal a large bowl of rice while the women were distracted. He was informed that no woman would ever want to be touched by a dirty hanyou when he approached sexual maturity. Miroku filled him in with all the rest on his wedding day.

He never expected to be able to further then kissing. That one time he was able to kiss her he took in stride. Inuyasha never expected for a gift such as that, however he did not expect to be allowed a repeat. The fact that she allowed him to touch her once filled him with joy and pleasure he had never felt before. A month and a week had passed after then before the subject of what happened that morning was brought up. They were getting ready for bed. An awkward vile had been laid over the couple ever since they shared that wonderful kiss… Inuyasha believed that Kagome felt disgusted over how she reacted and what he had done. He would not be surprised. Being that the miko loved him was all he needed. She loved him as a hanyou, that's all that mattered. She did not have to touch him or have him in that way. If she did not want to consummate their marriage then he would not through a fit over it. He was lucky to have her in the first place.

The hanyou tried not to allow himself to show Kagome how sorry he was for what happened. He only wanted the two of them to go back to normal… he laid on their shared futon, curled up in a loose ball. He listened to the sounds of his wife getting ready for bed. Inuyasha did not dare to move as she laid down beside him. He kept his eyes closed and prayed to the kami's that the tension between them would melt away. But the kami's were never on his side. He winced when he felt her moved to face him. He tried not to flinch away from her when he felt her hand touch his bare back. "Inuyasha?" Kagome's sweet voice whispered in the dark. He swallowed hard and kept his eyes closed.

"Yeah?" He asked after a pause. He could practically hear her struggling to form a reply, or maybe she was trying to get the courage to tell him something? "Do you- do you regret it?" she whispered hesitantly. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open. He rolled over so that he was facing her. Leaning on his elbow he looked at her curiously.

"No. I don't." he replied without a second thought. His voice wavered though. Just because he did not regret it did not mean that she did not as well. She looked at him with wide, confused azure eyes; eyes which were filled with feelings of rejection. He looked back, tilting his head to the side slightly, why did she feel rejected? He would never not give her something that she wanted. So why was she-

"I can't say I'm sorry for what happened." He whispered before she could say anything. "I-I won't touch you again if you don't want me too. I respect that you don't want me too." He refused to look at her. Kami's he felt like an ass. He should have never touched her without talking about this with her first. Why did he have to be so useless? He closed his eyes and tried to force out the harsh words of his past from his mind. Kagome always brought out a softer side of him and with that softness echoes of his past soon followed. Two fingers lifted his chin; the warm breath of his wife fanned over his face and encouraged him to open his eyes.

"Inuyasha- I want you to touch me." Kagome mumbled shyly. Said hanyou's eyes opened and stared at his blushing mate. Did she really just- no, she couldn't have. Why would she want a hanyou to touch her? Seeing his inner turmoil, the miko grabbed his free hand and placed it on her headed cheek before running it down her neck, shoulder, then to lay over her fast beating heart. She refused to meet his gaze; her cheeks and collarbone were colored red as proof of her embarrassment. What she did was extremely bold, even for her, but she would do anything for her husband. Well… not anything. There were some things that- she stopped her thoughts before they escalated any further.

It had to be a dream. A beautiful dream, because this sort of thing has only ever happened in his dreams. The look in Kagome's eyes told him that it was not possible for it to be a dream. Fear of rejection and anxiety had Inuyasha's heart lurching in his chest. She was afraid that he did not want her? No, he wanted her alright, but did she really want him?

"Kagome, do you really mean that?" He asked running his nose over hers. "Do you really want a hanyou to touch you?" He whispered his insecurities to her. She smiled and kissed him gently, a kiss full of emotion and muttered while blushing: "Yes. I love you as a hanyou, I have told you that. Of course I want you to touch me."

His thought process was limited to near nothing; the only thing his mind seemed to understand was his mate's words: "Of course I want you to touch me". He flushed and refused to look her in the eye. Inuyasha can slay demons without having to have a second thought about jumping into battle. He was powerful, more powerful than his father. However, put him in an intimate situation such as this one and he would become figuratively blind. He did not know how to express his feelings; hell, he hated revealing his feelings as a whole. Kagome made everything complicated. Made him blush, made him a stuttering fool, made him think about his feelings, and he loved every minute of it.

Inuyasha wanted to touch her. He wanted to be able to explore the new territory of intimacy; however he did not dare make a move towards her. He was all too aware of his hand which lay on her breast; the beating of her heart underneath his palm. It took him a few moments to build up the courage to do anything.

Slow, he wanted to move slowly. He wanted to make it memorable. He turned towards her and leaned in for a kiss; Inuyasha bathed in the familiarity of it. This was his comfort zone, but he wanted to learn. He wanted to know more about the girl lying beside him. He knew what made her smile, what to do to make her laugh, and had memorized all the objects she loved to receive as gifts. He knew what irritated her and what she feared. Eventually, he learned how to comfort her when she cried; never again would he panic at the scent of her tears. He knew all these things about her, yet he still did not know everything. He did not know the scars that littered her body or the shape of her hips. He mastered the ability to make her scream in anger, but he wanted to learn how to make her scream with pleasure.

It did not take them long to continue from where they last stopped. Inuyasha had managed to open up her kimono without moving the one hand that was on her breast. He lay on top of her with his face buried in the crook of her neck. He was careful to keep the majority of his body weight off of her, only enough for her to feel the pressing of his bare torso on hers. His teeth grazed the skin of her neck before he sucked the abused skin back into his mouth. His mind remained clear despite his growing desire. Though the same could not be said for his wife, he smirked and lazily licked the mating mark on the miko's shoulder.

She was writhing beneath him. Her heart danced wildly, her lips parted as she panted. Kagome's head was bent to the side, willingly submitting to his sweet torcher. She wrapped her leg around his waist, trying ineffectively to pull him closer. If she had any idea as to what she was doing, the way she arched and grinded against his abdomen, she would have been mortified. Inuyasha did not give her the chance to try and savage a single coherent thought. Not that she minded. She ran her fingers through his long silver hair, pulling at the strands, craving for more.

Inuyasha growled when her fingers found perch at the base of his ears. The hand that laid dormant on her chest moved to experimentally brush the peak of her breast. He watched in fascination as she tossed her head back and released a moan. What was it that he touched? He mused. Inuyasha wanted to hear that sound come from her again, and he wanted to hear it now. To his wife's displeasure, he pulled back to look gaze at her. He vaguely remembered the few things Miroku told him, but did not linger to heavily on the memories. He did not want to be thinking about the monk, especially not right now.

He grazed his thumb over the tip once more, watching Kagome's reaction. Inuyasha smiled and leaned down to nibble at the curve of her breast. Slowly, too slowly for Kagome, he reached the bead that he so desired to explore first. He looked up in search for any objections on his wife's part. It surprised him when he met her hooded, azure eyes. He held her gaze when he wrapped his lips around her nipple and sucked. Inuyasha watched her with dark, amber eyes as she sounded her pleasure. A growled in satisfaction and grazed her heated flesh with his tongue. He watched her every move, listened to every sound. Over the years, Inuyasha promised that he would learn everything about his beautiful miko. And learn he will.

Her hips distracted him for a moment when he moved to her untouched breast. She kept grinding herself into his stomach, bucking with wild abandon. Her kimono had slipped off of her legs, leaving her bare for the exception of her arms. Her legs had remained wrapped around him, keeping him close. Her intoxicating scent of arousal flooded his senses, he welcomed it. Something wet on his bare skin made him freeze in question, but Kagome did not notice. She did not notice how his free hand traveled astray.

She was lost and he was the only thing keeping her grounded. As cliché as it sounded, it was the only way she could describe what she felt. Never had she felt this way before. In her time she had read a few things, what teenage female hadn't? But never had she imagined it to feel like this. Her hands, which found perch on her husband's shoulders, clenched and her finger nails dug into his skin. She shuddered at the sound of his growl. The feel of his mouth on her skin, the feel of his muscles clenching and his chest heaving as he breathed... If someone told her four years ago that she would be married to the hanyou she had come to love on her travels for the shikon jewel, she would have threatened to skewer them with one of her arrows. If someone were to tell her that said hanyou would be trapped between her legs, touching her body like he was - Kagome's eyes widened, only to close again with a loud moan.

Oh that sneaky dog, she thought. Kagome whimpered when he refused to move. She guessed it was punishment, for if she was paying attention she would have felt his hand drift across her body, drifting lower. She whimpered and tried to wiggle her hips, but he had her pinned to the futon. Kagome struggled. A feeling inside of her was starting to become increasingly uncomfortable.

"Please." She managed to gasp out. She bit her lip and blushed once she realized what she said. Kagome shyly lowered her eyes to look for Inuyasha. His eyes were hard, their molten gold depths swimming with lust and love. She shivered. He had long ago abandoned her breasts and moved to hover over her, a single arm kept her pinned down by her hips and his hand…

"Are you sure you want this?" He growled. His finger slid out before sliding back into her aching center. She whimpered and nodded. His eyes narrowed.

"Did not seem like you did a moment ago." He accused. She blushed, resisting the urge to look away.

"I-I do. Maybe not the... other thing. Not yet." She was just not ready for that. They may be married, but they were just starting to show affections towards each other when they decided to get married. She always felt as if she was the reason why they never did anything after they got married. She thought he knew of her hesitation towards the act and that was the cause of him holding back. How stupid she was, ne? "Y-ou don't have to continue if you don't want-" she screamed his name. Inuyasha smirked and continued to thrust his finger into her. He crushed his lips to hers when he pushed in a second finger.