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No Escape

Chapter 23

Ichigo had done a lot of things for a lot of women over the years, but he couldn't remember ever making tea for one of them while wearing nothing but his underwear. Maybe that was because he never stuck around afterwards long enough for it to be an issue. Or maybe it was because he'd never cared about any of the women he'd slept with as much as he cared for Rukia. The thought of leaving her to fend for herself, even for something as simple as a drink, bothered him.

He was so fucked. He'd really dug himself a hole this time, getting involved with her like this. She wasn't just some woman that he could smile at and wave good-bye to when it was all said and done. She was part of his life, and no matter how complicated things got, he wasn't giving her up.

At least he'd gotten out of enough situations that appeared to be hopeless to give him faith that he might also find a way out of this one. He wasn't sure how, but he'd find a way. Rukia was too important to him not to find one.

Ichigo opened the bag of fast food and eyed the contents. The hamburgers might be salvageable, but no way was he eating those cold, greasy fries.

Rukia's refrigerator was nearly bare, thanks to Kon's bottomless stomach, but there was still a few oranges and some cellery sticks. Between that and the bag of chips he'd spied in the cabinet, there'd be plenty for a light lunch for both of them.

The microwave beeped and Ichigo pulled Rukia's tea out. A pretty flower of tea leaves with a pink center floated in the top of the cup. He'd never seen anything like it before, but knowing Rukia, she'd get a kick out of it. Even if one of her students hadn't been thoughtful enough to give her the gift, she probably would have enjoyed the frivolous bit of fluff.

Maybe he'd get her some more of the tea flower things when these were gone, just to see her smile.

Then again, maybe he'd be gone before they were.

What a fucking bleak thought that was.

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Kon felt Ririn's fingers slip between his as they walked out to his car after school. She didn't need a ride. She had her own car. But he'd been a dork and asked her if she wanted a ride anyway, just because he wanted to be with her every moment he could. The fact that she'd said yes still made him grin like an idiot.

Holding her hand made him grin even wider.

She was so pretty today with her blonde hair pulled up in a loose ponytail. On other girls, it would have looked sloppy, but on Ririn, it was just messy enough to be sexy. It looked like she'd been messed up a little by rolling around in his bed.

And it was his bed. No way was Kon going to ruin his fantasies by having it be some other guy who made her hair look like that.

She leaned close to him as they walked, and he was sure he could feel the soft curve of her breast against his arm.

Instant boner.

Kon shifted his books to hide it and slowed their pace so he didn't pinch himself. She looked up at him with those pale blue eyes, and he knew that no matter how much he wanted to do her, he'd hold back and be cool. He wouldn't so much as try to feel her up, because he didn't think he could stand it if she dumped him.

Not that they were really dating. Neither one of them had said anything like that. But she had kissed him. Saturday night when he dropped her off at her doorstep. She'd gone up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He'd been so thrilled he hadn't even cared she'd left a shiny patch of lip gloss on him. Hell, he hadn't even cared if he ever breathed again.

Thankfully, she'd slipped inside her house before he could screw things up with her. He'd had a full day to think about how to hold on to Ririn, and he'd decided to let her take the lead. He wouldn't push her to do anything, no matter how hard it got.

And it was pretty freaking hard right now.

"Do you want to go back to my house for a little while?" she asked him.

His mind filled with all the things he could do to her there, and blood loss to the brain struck him speechless for a moment. "Um."

"I mean, my mom will be there, but she won't mind if we watch TV or something."

A chaperone was a good thing. He kept telling himself that over and over in the hopes he'd believe it. "Yeah, sure. That sounds good."

Ririn smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Kon felt like a raging stud. He had the prettiest girl in town on his arm, asking him to her house. No guy had ever been luckier.

He was so wrapped up in the feel of her against his arm that he didn't notice his dad parked next to his car until it was too late. Yammy got out of his car and stepped in their path.

"Introduce me to your girlfriend, son," said Yammy.

"Is this your dad?" asked Ririn, smiling.

She held out her hand for him to shake, but Kon shifted his body, pushing her behind him.

Ririn gasped in shock or pain. Kon couldn't be sure, but either way, it made him feel like garbage to know it was his fault.

"Don't touch her," groaned Kon.

"Just trying to make nice, son."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Like hell I will! You're my goddamn son, and you'll show me respect!"

Kon felt shame and anger bubble up inside him. This was the ugly side of is life he never wanted Ririn to see. When he was with Rukia, he could pretend that he was a normal kid with a decent family, but now she'd know better. She'd never want him around again. The best thing he could do was get her out of harm's way.

"Go inside, Ririn."

"I'm not going to leave you," she said.

Yammy leered at her. "Don't send the pretty little thing away. I want to get to know her."

Kon saw the lust in his dad's eyes, and it made him sick. He tried to shield her more with his body and said, "Please, Ririn. Just go. I'll be fine. You won't."

He heard Ririn's feet pounding on the pavement across the emptying parking lot. He didn't stop to see if she'd drawn attention by running. He didn't want to take his eyes off of Yammy.

"She's a fine piece of ass, son."

Kon's fists bunched, and he longed to slam one into his dad's face-a face that looked so much like his own he hated looking in the mirror.

"What do you want?" Kon demanded.

"You and I are gonna take a little trip."

"Like hell we are."

Yammy rolled his shoulders like he used to do before beating Mom, so he wouldn't pull a muscle. "You've gotten uppity, son. We're going to have to fix that, you and I."

"The courts are never going to give me back to you. Why don't you just give up and go fuck yourself?"

"Don't push me, boy."

"Why not? What are you going to do? Beat me up on school grounds like some kind of bully? There are cameras all over this parking lot."

Yammy's eyes widened and he scanned the rooftop. "Get in the car, boy."

"Fuck you."

"Get in the car, or I'll make a late-night visit to your pretty little friend. I ain't making this trip alone. Would you rather she came with me?"

He'd do it, too. Kon was sure of it. That predatory light in Yammy's eyes when he looked at Ririn was proof enough for him. He knew exactly what his father was capable of.

Kon swallowed hard. All he had to do was get back into the school and call the police.

He took a small step back so he could turn and run, but Yammy was fast and grabbed the back of his jacket. Kon jerked to a halt. He flung the stack of books he carried at Yammy's head. One of them hit the mark.

Yammy reeled back but hadn't let go of Kon's jacket, so he went right with him. Kon landed on top and tried to scramble away.

By now, kids all around them were staring, but no one of them moved to help.

Kon had just made it to his feet when something hard slammed into the side of his head. Bright lights flashed in Kon's eyes, and a consuming dizziness swept over him.

A second later, he was shoved headfirst into his dad's car. Yammy climbed in after him, pushing him hard into the passenger's seat.

Instincts took over, and Kon scurried away from his dad, curling into as small a space as possible, protecting his head.

The car pulled out, jolting over the speed bumps as Yammy raced from the lot.

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Rukia let the answering machine pick up the call that threatened to interrupt her bliss. She was too busy enjoying the feel of Ichigo's mouth feathering light kisses over her stomach.

She felt like she was floating just above the bed, drowsy and content from the slow, lazy loving he'd given her after they finished their lunch.

He'd fed her slices of orange, and she'd licked the juice from his fingertips. That's all it had taken to put that hungry look back on his face, a look that made her feel like the sexiest woman alive.

Sweat cooled on her body as Ichigo kissed his way up to her neck. She tried to stay awake and enjoy him enjoying her, but her eyes kept drifting closed.

"I think you nearly killed me," she told him.

"Only nearly? Guess you've still got some life left in you, then." His hand smoothed over her hip and up to cup her breast.

Rukia gave him a weak smile. The man had loved her so good it made her head spin. "Too tired."

"Later, then." He kissed her mouth briefly and pulled the blankets up over her body. "You get some sleep. You're going to need your rest for later tonight after Kon goes to bed."

Oh, wow, that sounded good. Even as tired as she was, she couldn't stop the little spike of longing that slid through. Just thinking about having him again made her body quiver.

"Can I have a drink before you go?"

"Sure, Beautiful. Your tea's all gone, but you can have some of my Coke."

She tried to sit up, but her body was too weak.

Ichigo chuckled, and it was the sexiest sound ever. "I guess I really did wear you out. Here."

He lifted her head enough that she could sip through the straw, but the cool liquid did little to ease her burning throat. Maybe it wasn't just the heavy breathing that had dried her out. Maybe she was coming down with something. Heaven knew she was subjected to tons of germs at work with all the little munchkins running around.

Ichigo smoothed her hair back from her face. "You sleep. I'll see who called and be downstairs if you need me."

She opened her eyes for the thrill of watching him walk away, but everything was fuzzy and dim.

An uneasy sense of worry slid under her skin. This wasn't right. None of what she was feeling was right. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah, Love?"

She tried to sit up and couldn't. Her stomach rolled, and she thought she might throw up. Her head rolled to the side like an infant's. "I think something's wrong with me."

"Rukia?" Ichigo's voice was panicked, and she heard dishes crash to the floor but couldn't see anything.

He pressed a hand to her head, then lifted her eyelids one at a time. "Oh, God," he breathed out. "Did you take something?" he demanded.

She tried to shake her head but couldn't. "No."

"Any medicine?"

"No."

His voice was normal again. Eerily neutral. "Okay, Love. I want you to listen carefully. Can you do that?"

She made a sound that vaguely resembled an answer.

"I need you to stay awake."

She couldn't. She wanted to, but she was too tired, and that couldn't be good. She knew that much.

Her body jerked, every muscle locking down hard. It hurt. She'd never known pain like that could even exist. It had to be killing her.

Tears of fright leaked from her eyes, and she heard Ichigo's muffled curse.

She couldn't die without him knowing how she felt. How much he meant to her.

Rukia struggled through the pain to pull in enough breath to speak. "Love you," she whispered. Then another convulsion hit, harder this time, and she wasn't strong enough to keep it from dragging her down into the black.

AN

Okay, so this is heating up very quickly. My next update should be no more than two days because this is getting too good to just leave hanging. Hang in there guys. Review!