AN
I just wanted to say once again thanks for all the support and reviews you guys. Especially you, Kireina-Ame! I love all of your stories and it's like a dream getting a review like that last one from you! Anyway, on with the story!
Disclaimer-I still own nothing.
Warning-Ichiruki kiss!
No Escape
Chapter 11
Rukia couldn't sleep. She could still feel Ichigo's big hands on her body, his thumbs stroking her skin. That simple touch had made her shake with need, and even though he was no longer touching her, she hadn't stopped shaking. None of her past lovers had come close to making her feel like this, but a few strokes from Ichigo's hands and she was halfway to meltdown. It was almost enough to make her give up her good intentions and go climb into bed with him. Almost.
Only the knowledge that Kon was in the room next door kept her in her own bed. She wasn't going to set a bad example for her son by sleeping with a man who'd been back in her life for only two days. What a lousy role model she'd be if she did that.
Rukia squirmed in her bed for what felt like half the night. She couldn't sleep comfortably on her back, so whenever she would doze off and roll over, it woke her up. By the time her alarm went off, she felt nearly sick with fatigue. Her joints ached, and her eyes were hot and dry.
No amount of caffeine was ever going to fix this, but she wasn't going to wimp out and call in a sub. She wanted to see Natsuki and make sure the girl was holding up okay. If Momo came home upset last night, Natsuki was sensitive enough to pick up on her mom's tension. A sub would never know how to deal with that.
Rukia pushed out of bed, stifling a wince of pain. Her back and neck muscles were stiff, and there were new bruises on her forearms where that guy had grabbed her.
By the time she was dressed, some of the stiffness was gone, but it was going to be a long day.
Ichigo and Kon were already at the breakfast table when she came into the kitchen. They were shoveling down a pile of scrambled eggs and toast. "Wow. Someone cooked on a weekday?"
"Don't look at me," said Kon around a bite of toast.
She looked at Ichigo, enjoying the view. His hair was still damp from his shower, making it look wilder than usual. He wore a tight gray T-shirt that showed off his muscular chest and made her question the sanity of her decision to sleep alone last night.
He gave her one of his patented smiles that sent her stomach for a loop and said, "We saved you some."
Rukia sat, noticing that she already had a cup of steaming tea waiting for her. "Thanks."
"No problem. I wanted you all agreeable when I asked you for a favor."
Doing favors for Ichigo sounded like a nice time. Especially naked favors. She could get into something like that. Whoa, girl! Just when had her mind become quite so dirty? "What favor?"
"My buddy Uryu wants to test out this new security system he designed. I was hoping you'd let me install one here to help him out and give me some practice putting one into an older home. They can be tough."
Rukia was sure that asking for her agreement in front of Kon was not a coincidence. It sounded like a cover story to her-one that would keep Kon from worrying about why she'd need a security system.
"I really can't afford something like that."
"Not a problem. Uryu said he'd comp it for the chance to test it out."
"If I agreed, he'd have to let me pay something."
Ichigo shook his head. "Uryu would never go for that. Sorry. You should still do it, though. With Yammy sniffing around, I'd feel better if you had some protection once I'm gone."
Rukia's lungs tightened at the thought of him leaving. She didn't feel vulnerable when he was in the house. He made her feel safe, and she was going to miss that. She was going to miss him.
Still, he was right about Yammy. She would feel better knowing she had some measure of security. Who knew what the future might hold and what she might be facing with the other foster children she'd take in. Kon was nearly a man, better equipped to take care of himself than the younger children she might care for. She owed it to them to do what she could to protect them.
Rukia nodded. She'd find a way to pay for it. "I suppose we can work something out."
"Great. I'll have to drill some holes in your walls. Not too many, but a few."
"Need any help?" asked Kon, his eyes lighting up over the possibility of getting to use power tools.
"Sure. That'd be great. Assuming Rukia will let us." Ichigo and Kon both looked at her expectantly.
"How can I refuse?" she said.
"Don't worry," Ichigo assured her. "I'll patch everything up once I run the wires, and the place will be as good as new."
"Better," said Kon. "It will have a security system. Keep thugs like Yammy from nosing around."
"Has Yammy bothered you again?" asked Ichigo before Rukia got the chance.
"No. But that doesn't mean he won't. Better safe than sorry, right?"
"Absolutely," agreed Ichigo. "What are you doing after school? Do you have another study group?"
"Not tonight."
"Do you want to help me when you get home?"
"Sure, if I don't have any homework."
"Sounds good."
She reached for the salt, and Kon's face drained of color.
"What happened to your arm?!" he demanded, pointing to her forearm with his fork.
Rukia saw the bruise and pulled her sleeves down to cover it. "I fell last night."
"Fell?" asked Kon in a flat voice. He looked between her and Ichigo, wearing the strangest look, like her bruise was somehow Ichigo's fault.
"You sound like you don't believe me."
"My Mom used to 'fall' a lot, too," he said to Ichigo, his accusation blatant in his harsh tone.
Ichigo sat there looking guilty, though Rukia had no idea why. Her injuries were not his fault.
"I really did fall, Kon. In the restaurant parking lot. That's why there's no takeout in the fridge for you. It got smooshed all over the pavement."
"Did you accidentally hit Ichigo in the face on the way down? Is that how he got hurt, too?"
Rukia opened her mouth to respond, but Ichigo beat her to it. "I already told you what happened," he said. "Some guys wanted my car. They jumped me, I got hit. Rukia fell trying to get me help."
"I should have watched where I was going," said Rukia.
"I should have gotten you out of harm's way," argued Ichigo.
"You were a little busy dealing with the carjackers." If that's, indeed, what they were. She still wasn't convinced they weren't friends of Yammy's sent to get rid of Ichigo so it would be easier to get to Kon. It was just one more reason to get that security system installed before he left.
"I should have handled it better," said Ichigo, his voice tight.
Kon looked back and forth between them. Finally, he seemed satisfied that they were telling the truth. "You're okay, right?" Kon asked her.
Rukia felt her heart warm with his concern. "I'm fine."
He frowned for a moment, thinking, then said, "I'll take care of the laundry and vacuuming this week-just until you feel better."
His sweet offer made her want to hug him, but she resisted embarrassing him. "I feel fine, Kon. It's no big deal, and you do plenty of chores around here already.""
"I'm still doing the laundry," he told her as if daring her to stop him.
Rukia couldn't help but smile. He was such a sweet kid to want to take care of her instead of the other way around. "Be my guest if it'll make you feel better."
"It will," he said. "You can wash your own underwear, though, 'cause that's just gross."
"Gee, thanks," she said, secretly pleased because that comment somehow made her feel like a real mom.
He checked the clock on the wall. "I gotta run."
"Have a good day," said Rukia.
"We'll start that project as soon as you get home," said Ichigo.
"Cool." Kon slipped his jacket on and grabbed his backpack on the way out the door.
Once it closed behind him, Ichigo smiled at Rukia, a slow, lazy smile. "I happen to like your underwear."
She lifted a black eyebrow at him. "And how would you know? You've never seen my underwear."
"I'm pretty sure I got a tiny peek last night. Purple with some kind of cartoon character, I believe."
A little shiver raced over her arms as she remembered the way he touched her, kissed her, last night. "Lavender. And it's Chappy the Rabbit."
His eyes slid over her face and stopped at her mouth. "My mistake. Guess I was a little distracted." Before she could revel in his last statement, he added, "But seriously, you have cartoon bunnies on your underwear?"
She blushed furiously. "Not all of them! And what's wrong with Chappy, anyway?"
"Oh, nothing at all," he said giving her a playful look.
She returned it with an indignant glare before letting her eyes drop to the table as she thought about what he'd said about being distracted. He wasn't the only one. She'd spent most of the night distracted, and thinking about it wasn't helping. She swore she could still feel the heat of his palms gripping her waist, the stroke of his tongue along her back, the soft sweep of his breath over her spine. A few touches from him was enough to spoil a woman for all other men.
She could only imagine what it would be like to actually make love with him. And it would be love, at least for her. Rukia didn't doubt that for a moment. She'd cared for him for too long not to fall for him if she let her guard down enough to sleep with him.
Ichigo would be an easy man to love, and it scared her to death. She'd already fallen for two men who couldn't love her enough to share her dreams. Her college boyfriend, Ashido, simply hadn't wanted children, but Kaien had been the one who'd really broken her heart. He wanted kids but refused to take in someone else's "unwanted problems."
He said it as easily, as if she hadn't been one of those unwanted problems.
Rukia had cried when he left two years ago, taking her dreams of a future together with him. But she'd gotten over it and moved on. Men left. That's just what they did. She knew that now and accepted it.
Ichigo would do the same. She couldn't let his kindness toward Kon fool her. It was one thing to include a kid in your plans for the evening, but totally another to include them for life.
She'd be smart and keep her distance, even though smart didn't sound like a good plan at the moment. Not when she was sitting across the table from his teasing smile and glittering, hungry eyes.
"You're a bad, bad man, Ichigo Kurosaki. You know that, right?"
"And here I was, all proud of how good I was being by not trying to seduce you." He slid the tip of his finger over the back of her hand, tracing each of the bones that led to her wrist.
"If you're not trying now, I think I'd combust if you do."
His smile melted into a hot, dark grin, and he was staring at her mouth. "Wanna give it a try and see?"
"I don't think so. I've got about three minutes before I have to leave for work."
"Three minutes is plenty of time."
"To do what?"
He stood and walked around the table until he was behind her. She should have stopped him, but she couldn't. She was too excited to see what he'd do.
He lifted her hair away from her neck and leaned down until she could feel his breath just behind her left ear. "I'd only need two of those minutes to make you want me so bad you'll agree to take a long lunch."
She wasn't sure he even needed two. Part of her was willing to skip work and let him show her what he could do with a whole day, just not the part that was in charge.
"Arrogant man."
"Only if it's not true. Otherwise, it's just confidence. Knowing my strengths." His lips glided beneath her ear, then down her neck until he reached the sensitive skin where her shoulder started.
Rukia tried and failed to stifle a shiver.
Ichigo's teeth grazed her skin, and she let out a faint moan.
"I'm barely touching you," he whispered, the mirth clear in his tone.
With him, that's all it took. "You're not playing fair."
"Who says I'm playing?" His teeth pressed harder against her skin, giving her a delicate bite that sent ribbons of pleasure flying down her spine.
Rukia hissed and tried to concentrate. She had to keep their relationship honest. She couldn't let him make her forget who she was and what was important to her. She couldn't forget that he wasn't here to stay.
"You're a player," she said in a faint, dry voice. "It's what you do."
His tongue soothed the marks she was sure he'd left on her. "You know me so well?" he asked. "How can that be when we've hardly shared more than a few letters every year?"
"I know you. I know what you want."
"And what, lovely Rukia, do I want?"
"Sex. With me."
"Absolutely. What sane man wouldn't want that?" He placed more soft, wet kisses over the nape of her neck, and Rukia nearly agreed to sleep with him right then and there. Screw work! She'd call in just this once.
But what about Natsuki?
Rukia strengthened her resolve. No one was going to cause her to neglect a child.
She forced her tone to come out lighthearted, teasing. "No. I mean that's all you want. You're a love-'em-and-leave'em kind of guy."
Ichigo's mouth stilled in its path over her skin, and he pulled away. Rukia's cool, slippery hair slid into place over her shoulders.
"What did you call me?" he asked her in a deceptively gentle voice. She turned around to look at him. He was more than just angry, he was enraged. His face was red, and a snarl curled his mouth. All the humor was gone from his eyes making them almost look yellow, and leaving behind only a glittering, feral glow.
Rukia stood up in shock and took a small step back. She knew he'd never hurt her, but she couldn't help her instinctive reaction to back away from such anger. It was so unexpected coming from Ichigo.
He kept his distance, breathing deeply as if trying to calm himself. "Don't ever call me that again," he demanded.
"Call you what?"
"Love-'em-and-leave-'em Kurosaki. I'm nothing like him."
"Him who?"
"Don't tell me you didn't know!"
Rukia struggled to make sense of his words. She'd hurt him somehow-hurt him badly enough to make him mad-but she had no idea what he meant. "I don't know, Ichigo. Whatever it was I said, I didn't mean for it to make you angry."
He loosened his fisted hands and took a deep breath. He crossed the room and stood in front of her. Rukia refused to cower or back away. He wouldn't put his hands on her in anger, no matter how badly she might have hurt him. She knew it deep down, the same way she knew the feel of her own heartbeat.
"Help me understand, Ichigo. What did I say wrong?"
He stared down at her, his eyes blazing with banked fury and pain. "Love-'em-and-leave-'em Kurosaki. That's what they called my father-all his loser buddies," he told her.
"And you don't want to be compared to him?"
"The fucker abandoned Mom and me when I was twelve. He walked out because things were tough and sent Mom spiraling into a drunken depression. When she finally drove her car into a tree and killed herself, he couldn't even be bothered to come back and make sure I was okay." He pulled in a harsh breath. "That's why I was in the foster-care system. Not because my Dad was dead, but because he didn't want to stop fucking around long enough to be a father."
Pain for him swept over her, making tears burn her eyes. She'd never seen him hurt like this before, never seen the bone-deep, gaping wound his father had left on him. She would have given anything to take back her careless words, but it was too late.
"Ichigo, I'm so sorry! I didn't know. I never would have said that if I had."
"Forget it." He closed his eyes and turned his head away as if not wanting her to see his pain.
Too late. She saw it all too clearly and couldn't stand to let him suffer.
Rukia slid her hands over his wide shoulders and pressed her body against his in a tight hug. She didn't know what else to do to comfort him.
He stood statue still but didn't fight her. She stroked his hair and back, telling him without words how much she regretted her accidental insult. "Clearly, you're nothing like him."
"Mom always said I was just like him." It was a confession given in a bare whisper of sound, as if he could hardly stand to say the words.
"Maybe you look like him, but you don't act like him."
"How can you know that? You never met him." His words were sharp-edged. Biting.
Rukia refused to let his anger push her away. She cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Maybe not, but I know that any man who would abandon his son when he was needed most is selfish. You're not."
"No? I think you're wrong." His gaze slid down to her mouth, and his hands found her hips. He tugged her forward until their bodies met from chest to knees. She could feel his heart pounding hard against her forehead. Or maybe that was her heart. She wasn't sure.
"If I wasn't selfish, then I wouldn't be thinking about seducing you. I'd find a way to keep my hands off you."
His hands tightened on her hips.
"If I wasn't selfish, then I wouldn't be looking for reasons to justify sleeping with you when I know casual sex isn't your thing. You've got good girl written all over you, and for some reason, it makes me want you that much more."
Rukia's body shuddered at the thought, and she was sure he could feel it.
"And if I wasn't selfish, I wouldn't have forced my way into your home where I could more easily seduce you. I can pretend that the main reason I stayed was to keep you safe, but the truth is that at least half of that reason was because I want you and have from the moment I saw you again. I want you in my bed. In yours. On the kitchen floor. Wherever and however I can get you."
The potent images his words conjured made her head swim. If she'd had some time and space to let herself calm down, she might have been able to think straight. But as it was, that powerful pull he had on her was at work, dragging her toward him until there was no escape.
Right now, she didn't even care that she might be making a mistake. Kon was gone, and the only person she could hurt was herself. Ichigo was definitely worth that.
He lowered his head to kiss her, and Rukia did nothing to stop him. She'd wanted this for too long. Needed it.
His lips brushed hers in a barely-there kiss. It wasn't enough, and she pulled him back for more, earning the rough sound of his pleasure against her mouth.
Rukia's body hummed with excitement, and the skin along her spine grew hot and damp. She could smell his aftershave-feel the smooth skin of his face beneath her palms. His breathing sped up, along with her own, and his hands tightened on her body, eventually lifting her off her feet for better leverage and causing her to wrap her legs around his waist.
Yes! This was what she'd wanted for so long it almost didn't seem real. Then he parted his lips, coaxing hers to open, as well, and she didn't care if it was real or not. As long as it didn't end.
Rukia didn't hesitate to let him into her mouth. She wanted to taste him, to feel the rasping heat of his tongue over hers. She couldn't hold back, not when she had her chance to kiss Ichigo the way she'd always wanted. Not when it might be the only chance she ever had.
His tongue glided over her bottom lip, and she slid her hands into his damp hair, making sure he wouldn't pull away again. Against her butt, she felt him grow hard, and it thrilled her to know she could do that to him.
She kissed him deep, sighing into his mouth. His big hands slid down to cup her butt and fit them even closer together. His erection jerked against her, hot and hard, and just like that, she was wet and ready for him, dying to feel him push inside her.
"The kitchen floor works for me," she told him as she unwrapped her legs from around him, dropped back to the ground and reached for the top button on his jeans. She kissed her way over his wide jaw and down his neck, where it was easier for her to reach. Her hands shook, making the job of undoing his jeans much harder than it should have been.
"Wait," Ichigo rasped out, covering her hands with his to stop her. "We can't."
His hands shook with restraint, but they held firm.
No way was she going to let him stop her now! Not when her body was hot and ready and she knew he wanted her just as much as she did him. "Yes, we can! I won't cling or cry when you go. I swear it."
He gathered her wrists in his hand, holding her tight. His chest worked hard as he tried to catch his breath, and a fine sweat dampened his brow. "We can't. It wouldn't be fair to you."
"What wouldn't be fair is to leave me hanging on the edge like this."
He closed his eyes and dragged in a ragged breath. "I'd do just about anything to have the chance to make you come undone, babe, but not like this. Not unless you've had time to make sure it's what you want."
"I'm sure!"
He stroked the back of her hand with one thumb as if trying to soothe her. It didn't work. She was aching inside, almost frantic to force him to keep going. "You and me have the kind of chemistry that could set a whole neighborhood on fire, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't be sorry later. I want you, but I care about you too much to hurt you."
"It's just sex."
He lifted an orange brow. "So you do this with men all the time?"
"You are not all men."
"That's my point. Who was the last man you slept with?"
"My last boyfriend."
"Did you love him?" he asked with a blunt directness that made her believe he already knew the answer.
"I don't see how that matt-"
"Did you love him?" he asked again.
Rukia forced herself to look him in the eye. "Yes."
"And that's why we can't do this. I don't have enough friends to risk losing you, Rukia. Not you."
"But you wouldn't lose me! I'm a grown woman, perfectly capable of making rational decisions about who to sleep with."
"And when you were rational, you told me no."
"I changed my mind."
"Fine. If that's still the way you feel about it after you cool off, then we'll talk. But for now you need to get to work. And so do I. The sooner we find the killer, the sooner we can stop tempting each other with a fantasy we both know would never work."
He was right. Rukia hated it, but she knew he was right.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
Detective Kira stared at the man hanging lifelessly from his own ceiling fan and felt nothing. A couple of years ago, he would have cared that some mild-mannered accountant had been murdered, but a lot could happen in a couple of years.
"Another suicide?" asked the photographer as he captured yet another angle of the scene. "Is there something in the water?"
"It's not a suicide," said Kira, his voice harsh and rough from too much worry and not enough sleep.
"What makes you so sure?"
"Forced entry. There were signs that the lock on the back door had been tampered with." That, and the fact that the man hanging by his neck was the next person on the list some special forces hotshot had given the police.
Kira had checked out Ichigo Kurosaki and found plenty of interesting reading material. Kurosaki had already murdered one man before he went into the military. Chances were he'd done it again now that he was out and back in his old hometown, free to do whatever he pleased.
Kira didn't care how clean his military record was. Once a killer, always a killer. He had Kurosaki's prints on file, both from his juvenile record and his military one. Maybe the guy was cocky enough not to have worn gloves. And even if he had, all Kira needed to bring the bastard in was a scrap of evidence, just one sign that Kurosaki had been here.
As spotless as the accountant's home was, Kira didn't think they'd have any trouble finding something out of place.
AN
Okay, so I know a bunch of you are probably not pleased with the way I'm painting Ichigo's loving and honorable parents, but I needed him to come from a bad situation. Happy deaths that resulted in foster care would be nice, but it doesn't really contribute to the horror aspect of this story. So I apologize once again if any of you were/are offended, but I remind you that besides the obvious Ichiruki romance endgame, this is NOT a nice, fluffy story. Anyway, please review!