Chapter 11

For this chapter, I used omniscient objective POV for the first part, then switched back to 3rd person multiple POV, which I pretty much used for the entire story. I am not a professional writer, so if it's confusing or distracting, that's probably why! But I wanted to try it, and I like how it came out.

Things get spicy in this chapter, fair warning! Let me know what you think by leaving a review. Thanks!

Rin dozed on and off, burrowed snugly within mokomoko. Occasionally she'd open her eyes to gaze up at him, snuggle closer into his fur and let out a contented sigh. He flew high in the sky as the verdant landscape gradually changed to mountainous terrain. Finally, his voice roused her.

"Rin, we are here."

Once he had alighted at their destination, she gasped as she took in the immediate area. He gently set her on her feet and she at once began to explore. They were on a wide flat ledge that served as an entrance to a shallow cave, which was gouged into the side of the mountain. The view from the ledge was spectacular, with forest below and beyond that, more mountains.

The mouth of the cave was enormous, but was protected on both sides by soaring cliffs. Rin squealed in delight when she saw the waterfall that poured over the side of one of the cliffs. Running to it, she dipped her fingers into the pool that was fed by the waterfall. It was cool and crystal clear. The pool then created another waterfall that spilled over the ledge to unknown depths. It was surrounded by fragrant green grass, made lush by the gentle mist from the falls. This was a secret oasis untouched by mortals.

She looked all around, mouth agape. Still, the cave had further secrets. With a cry, she ran to the far wall and gazed up at the soaring ceiling through a natural skylight that pierced the mountain, letting in soft sunbeams. The whole area was open and inviting.

"Where are we?" she called out.

"A refuge deep in the mountains to the west."

"I…I love it. Thank you for bringing me here." His eyes followed her as she explored the cave, but he stood still upon the ledge. When she had finished her exploration, she came to stand before him. Blushing, she clasped her hands and bowed her head, hiding behind her hair. He gently tipped her chin and their eyes met.

"I have come here many times since my youth seeking peace and solitude. It is my hope it provides the same for us now."

"Sesshōmaru," she whispered.

He cupped her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. They stood there some moments, simply gazing at one another. Rin trembled, leaning into his touch. His gaze was fierce, roving intently over her face.

Right then, her stomach rumbled faintly.

"You must eat, Rin."

"It wasn't that loud. You always catch me when I'm hungry," she mumbled. "I didn't think to bring anything. I will be fine, Lord—um, I mean, Sesshōmaru." A blush colored her cheeks becomingly. He smirked.

"I will never allow you to be hungry or want for anything, Rin." Her breath hitched as his thumb brushed her lower lip. A slight tilt of his head and movement of his eyes indicated a basket that sat on the stone floor of the cave, off to the side, and partially hidden from view by a large boulder.

"I believe you may find something in there to your liking."

"Oh!"

"There should be other items for your comfort as well." Though he did not need any such conveniences for himself, Sesshōmaru had tasked Jaken and Ah-Un to make sure the provisions were ready and available for Rin's use.

Rin's eyes became bright with tears as she knelt to examine the basket. "Oh, these are my favorites! Onigiri, some dried fish, and some beautiful plums! Master Jaken must have had something to do with this." She carefully set the fruit and the packets of food aside and fished around the basket. She quickly pulled out a large blanket. She froze, her eyes moving to a sizable stack of firewood nearby.

She stared at the blanket, then the firewood. She started to tremble. She flushed scarlet and pressed her hand to her heart. Rin looked down at her lap and began to nervously wring her hands.

Sesshōmaru cocked his head slightly and frowned. She had her back to him, kneeling before the basket, but she did not move for almost a minute. "Do you wish to go elsewhere?"

Rin's eyes widened with surprise. She scrambled to her feet and rushed over to him, shaking her head vigorously. "Oh no, my lord! I—I'm just—I wonder, or I guess I worry…that I will…we are going to stay here for, um…oh, drat! I'm not making sense!"

She covered her face and turned away from him.

Sesshōmaru moved behind her and placed his hands on her tense shoulders. She jumped slightly and then relaxed. He leaned down and gently nudged with his nose the place where her shoulder met her neck. He inhaled deeply. She whimpered softly and immediately tilted her head, baring more of her neck to him. He growled softly in response.

"Rin. You have nothing to fear from me. Tell me what troubles you."

Rin let out a shaky breath and clutched his hand that grasped her shoulder. He still breathed in at her neck. "I am not afraid, Lord Sesshōmaru. I don't know…I am overcome with my feelings, and well, I'm a bit nervous." Her eyes dropped closed and she let out a soft gasp when he pressed a kiss to her neck.

"I want there to be no misunderstanding, Rin. I have claimed you as my wife. But what happens here between us happens only if you wish it. Do you understand?"

She turned to face him, biting her lip, her eyes downcast. "I understand, my lord. But that is not what troubles me."

"Tell me," he murmured.

"I am not troubled by things moving between us too quickly. I want to be with you…intimately, more than anything I have ever wanted. For years, my secret dreams have been filled with you. It's just…being a human, I know I am ordinary. I worry I will disappoint you." Her voice was thin and quavering.

Sesshōmaru's breath caught and he stared at her in shock. He took her face in his hands and breathed her name like a prayer.

"Rin, is it possible you still do not realize how much I desire you? How ardently I crave your touch?"

She blinked owlishly at him, speechless. He went on.

"The first time you spoke my name as an equal, my blood ignited. The touch of your lips to mine made me feel more alive than I ever have. In almost nine centuries, I have never cherished another living being. Until now. Rin, rest assured, you will not disappoint me."

Eyes filled with happy tears, Rin finally relaxed. She still blushed fiercely, but kissed the palm of his hand. She didn't break eye contact with him when she slowly and flirtatiously flicked his palm with her tongue. He growled when she pulled away from him to retrieve the basket.

"You honor me, Sesshōmaru. Would you care to join me for a picnic? I know you don't eat human food, but perhaps you will find something else more to your liking?"

Sesshōmaru deftly removed his armor and swords as she spread the blanket upon the thick grass near the pool. Her bold flirtation had shocked and delighted him, but he did not wish to frighten her with his ardor. So he sat nearby upon a large flat boulder. She hummed to herself as she sat neatly on her heels in the middle of the blanket and began to eat.

Speaking his heart to her seemed to have had a positive effect on her. She was relaxed and smiling, whereas before she was tense and nervous. He thought of what Inuyasha had said to him about human women appreciating conversation, and Rin's dramatic change of mood seemed to validate that.

He wondered if his outward bearing might have contributed to her belief that she was unworthy of him, or even more preposterous, that she could ever disappoint him. This thought drove him to his feet. Why was he sitting so far away from her? What were her playful and flirtatious words, if not an invitation?

She glanced shyly in his direction and smiled broadly at him as he strode purposefully toward her. She had just finished a plum when he sank to his knees before her. She gasped and instinctively leaned back a bit. She was clearly not expecting his action, which spurred him to boldness.

He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her against his chest. He took her hand and brought it to his mouth, his eyes locked onto hers. He pressed a long kiss to her wrist and licked a bit of the juice from the plum that had dripped from her hand. Her lips parted and her eyes burned into his, lit with desire.

"Sesshōmaru," she breathed.

"Indeed, I have found something more to my liking, and now she is in my arms."

Rin slid her arms around his neck, beneath his hair, and her blunt fingernails lightly scraped his scalp. He shivered at her touch, and unable to resist her any longer, he captured her lips with his own, growling hungrily into her mouth. Her taste was sublime sweetness. But it was her scent that was most intriguing. The spikes of desire mingled with her maidenly innocence called to him to pursue her in earnest.

His tongue sought hers out as he deepened the kiss and the little noises she made went straight to his groin. She pressed closer to him and he answered her kisses and needy mewls with a possessive growl.

Sesshōmaru decided he would not protect Rin from the evidence of his desire. She needed to know what she did to him, that she was in no way ordinary. Her scent put to rest his fear of frightening her with his eagerness so as he mapped a trail of kisses along her jaw to her neck, he thrust his erection to her stomach. She gasped, pressing her breasts to his chest as she offered more of her neck for his delectation.

"I wish to make you mine, right here, but only if you are ready," he rumbled between kisses to her throat.

"Oh, yes, Sesshōmaru, please," she moaned. Her fingers had moved from his hair to his shoulders, squeezing and stroking. He pulled back from her lovely neck and looked into her lust-fevered eyes.

"Are you certain?"

"For goodness sake! Yes! If you cannot tell by my scent, then I will tell you plainly. I want you so badly I feel I will die if you deny me. Please don't make me wait, Sesshōmaru," she cried.

"As you wish, Rin," he murmured around a smile as he leaned down to kiss her again.

As if to demonstrate her determination, Rin pulled free from his arms and stood to her feet. Looking into his eyes, she reached behind to untie her obi. He stood to his feet as well and watched her slow movements. Sesshōmaru clenched his hands, the urge to dominate her warring with the reality that he could very easily hurt her with his desire. However, he would let her lead in this. Her resoluteness was incredibly alluring to him.

The obi dropped to the blanket, along with her kimono, leaving her dressed only in a virtually translucent hadajuban. She bowed her head, allowing her hair to hide her face as she slowly unwrapped herself from the sheer fabric. She let the garment flutter in a heap with the rest of her clothing.

She took a deep breath and raised her head to meet his gaze. Her chin came up fractionally, a look of challenge sparking her beautiful brown eyes. He swallowed, rendered weak with longing at the enticing sight of her so revealed. His own breaths were rapid as his eyes devoured the vision of his naked wife.

"Oh…Rin, you are so beautiful," he breathed.

Rin did not reply as she stepped directly before him and ran her hands up his chest, stood on tiptoes, and in one movement she pushed both his hadagi and kimono off his shoulders, along with his pelt.

A faint voice of alarm sounded even through the haze of lust and desire flooding his mind, though he freed his arms from the sleeves, the discarded garments hanging over his hakama, held in place by his sash. Still, he would keep them there, not wanting all barriers between them removed. She was tormenting him, taunting him to lose control. Her eyes never left his as she pressed her body to his. He hissed at the feel of her breasts on his bare skin and his arms pulled her close, his hips involuntarily seeking friction.

She tangled her hand through his hair and gently tugged.

"Kiss me," she commanded.

He obediently complied, leaning down to her upturned face and softly plucked at her mouth with his own, endeavoring to be gentle and slow. She was having none of it and whined in the back of her throat, deepening their contact. Her taste was the unknown thing that he had thirsted for his entire life and he drank of her like a parched man.

Her little hands grasped his head, stroking his ears, her fingers gently scraping his scalp. He gave up on being gentle and growled deep in his chest as he devoured her hungrily. She met his passion with her own, squirming against his need, mewling softly, her hands trying to reach inside his hakama. He hissed and caught her hand halting her exploration. He was so dizzy with desire that her hand on his erection at this point would end things before they started.

He tore his mouth away from hers with a snarl and pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes shut tightly as he panted. She was stirring something primeval within him. His feelings for Rin were so powerful that he would tear the universe apart to keep her forever with him if he could. The need to protect her, even from himself, to worship her was beyond the ken of his waking mind. It was elemental. It was knit into the very fabric of his being.

His thoughts took a dark turn, wanting to bend the god of time to his will before it took her from him. Such an idea was madness, his logical mind knew this! He gasped with the effort to keep his baser instincts in check. He wanted to hide her, to stop time's cruel hand…

Sesshōmaru was jolted from his spiraling thoughts by her delicate hands stroking his face, her fingers cool and soothing. She kissed his chest, murmuring, "Shhh…shhhh, my beautiful god. I am here now. I am here with you now. We have now. I love you so, Sesshōmaru."

His breath hitched and he gazed upon this extraordinary young woman in absolute wonder. How did she know? How could she know that if he were to dwell too long upon her mortality it would surely drive him to darkness and insanity? Oh, but her ancient and eternal soul knew. Rin saw right to his weakness.

He sank to his knees before her in supplication, sliding his hands up her sides. "Say it again."

"We have this moment, Sesshomaru. I am with you now." She smiled tenderly and brushed her fingers through his bangs. His hands reverently stroked her sides, her back and she let out a breathy squeak when he took generous handfuls of her arse. He stroked and slid his hands along her slender legs, reveling in the solid feel of her, youthful, alive and vibrant, and standing before him.

"Yes, Rin. We have this moment."

Sesshōmaru wrapped his arms around her small body and pressed his ear to her chest, listening to the strong sound of her heart. So steady and so true did it beat, as if it would always do so. He closed his eyes. This moment was perfect, and he would cling tenaciously to each one as it came. He would adore her with the all the love of a thousand lifetimes and he would not allow the anguish of the future to rob them of right now.

"Say it once more…" he groaned. She pet and stroked his hair, traced the stripes on his face, his forehead, and he shuddered as her blunt nails scraped lightly across his scalp. He was touch starved, and being a dog, he wallowed in her extravagant affection. His turmoil was calmed.

"Today is ours, my dearest. I love you more than the moon in the sky, the air that I breathe, and the life within me. I love you as far as here to eternity."

He gazed into her eyes, helpless in the snare of her inexplicable power. She was a bright and shining shooting star that had wrought the impossible when she crashed into the life of a ruthless demon with a heart of stone.

"A thousand lifetimes," he murmured.

She blessed him with a blinding smile. She just knew. "A thousand lifetimes worth of loving, Lord Sesshōmaru. I'd say that will keep us rather busy." She bit her lip, her eyes liquid with desire. "Now, make love to me."