Lead Me Down the Garden Path
You Saved Me
Totosai's ears resonated and burned with Kagome's cry to Inuyasha about the gun. Before the old man even saw the revolver in the limo's right side mirror, Totosai slammed his foot on the gas to race ahead. Shouting a "hold on, miss" to Kagome in the back seat, Totosai barely slowed down to round a corner.
The driver's stomach dropped upon noticing how promptly the SUV responded to the limo's attempted escape. The passenger with the gun—his upper torso sprawling out the window—held onto the roof of the car, the gun still extended, as the SUV speedily rounded the corner then dodged around two cars in the next-most lane.
The SUV was trying to position itself alongside the limo.
Totosai reacted on instinct, steering away from the SUV, intentionally placing another car between the limo and the SUV. Totosai feared he knew what the SUV longed to do, and it didn't bode well for the limo's inhabitants.
Totosai turned his eyes, his heart throbbing, to watch the SUV jut to the side towards the limo mere seconds after Totosai had moved over. The SUV's front hurtled into the back bumper of the car Totosai had placed between them. The car fishtailed uncontrollably before rushing towards a storefront. Totosai turned his red eyes away when he heard the fateful, crunching impact, unable to stomach what he had just had a hand in doing.
However, as he watched the SUV encroach closer, Totosai realized that if he hadn't created that instinctive distance, the SUV would have collided into the limo. His wrinkled eyes lowering, the speedometer reminded Totosai that the limo travelled 60 kilometres over the speed limit. The speed and the environment hot on his mind, Totosai's mouth dried at the sudden reality of what would have likely happened to him, to Kagome, if the SUV had made that contact with the limo.
As Totosai drove on, he watched the SUV continuously try to get alongside the limo. This much was clear to Totosai: the SUV was dead-set on ramming the limo off the road.
A groan lurched up Totosai's throat and between his teeth as he just barely avoided rear-ending a mini-van. The SUV less than a car length behind the limo's bumper, Totosai drove the limo a lane over, desperate to keep that gap of distance between them.
He just needed to buy time.
While Totosai wove in and out of traffic, avoiding the SUV, Kagome fell on all fours onto the floor of the limo. She covered her head and released a scream. The rear wheels of the limo jerked over the edge of a curb, tossing Kagome's body from side-to-side across the car mats.
The recognizable sound of a car crash rang in Kagome's head. Then, she screamed again. The sound of a gunshot ricocheted past the vehicle.
"Keep your head down!" Totosai shouted, gripping the wheel and turning down a side street, trying to evade the three bullets that came rippling after the first. The driver's eyes quaked as he bade mental apologies to the pedestrians he watched dive out of the limousine's way.
Turning his gaze to his rear-view mirror, Totosai's eyes stung to see the SUV demonstrate no regard for the people or objects it trampled in its chase of the limousine. Holding his breath, Totosai cranked the wheel, twisting his arm, to avoid a lamppost.
Over the engine whirring and the road noise, Kagome heard pedestrians screaming around the car. It sounded like a few people were crying while she could clearly hear others screaming 'gun'. In her attempt to hide away from the windows at the sight of the gun, Kagome had reflexively dropped her phone from her hand. The device lay screen down on the floor, just a few fingers out of reach. Sobs caught in her throat, Kagome didn't have the capacity to check if Inuyasha was still on the other line. Her knees aching from the textures of the car mat, Kagome's body jostled unsteadily, tears freefalling down her cheeks.
Kagome's body jolted sideways and she fell onto her side, tossed by the motions of Totosai's flustered driving. She screamed when more gunshots sounded behind her, followed by the screeching of the limousine's tires. Kagome felt tears drippling onto the backs of her hand from her downcast head. She gasped for air when a loud crack hit the rear window of the limo. Taking a chance to angle her head upwards, Kagome's bottom lip quivered.
A bullet wedged itself into the glass, cracks like spider webs surrounding the grey metal. Her chest heaving, Kagome swiped her palms over her cheekbones to dry her face. Immobilized by her fear, Kagome instinctively stuck out a hand when the limo screeched to the right and Kagome's body fell to the other side. Holding herself upright, her back against a car seat, Kagome tried to control her laboured breathing.
She had been tossed around so carelessly she had no idea which direction she was facing. She heard the continued screams, car horns blaring, and she instinctively flinched whenever she heard the heart-rending crunch of metal on metal. Turning her eyes upwards, lingering fearfully on the bullet in the window, she gasped, horrified, as another two bullets drove themselves into the pane. Shaking her head, her mouth open, Kagome tried to blink away her fear.
She pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Her legs screamed in the pain from the mat texture indenting into the reddened, bruised flesh of her knees. She also flinched in pain, not realizing she had twisted her one ankle when the car flung her around. Kagome felt adrenaline pushing her to action. She couldn't just sit there.
"To-Totosai!" she shrieked from her position on the floor. Her head snapped to the side in response to a sharp, tire-squealing turn. Her face contorted in a cringe at hearing two vehicles collide just moments after.
"Stay on the floor, Kagome!" the old man wailed from the front seat.
From her level, Kagome couldn't see Totosai through the privacy screen or the SUV behind them, which, from the gunshots, revealed their pursuit.
Why are they doing this? Kagome's mind screamed constantly.
Her fear stabilizing in its intimate dance with her adrenaline, Kagome blinked her eyes furiously. She couldn't stay like this. She couldn't leave it up to Totosai to save her life like this. She needed to do something. Not knowing what options she had for proving herself useful to Totosai, Kagome realized the first necessary step was to get herself off the floor.
Fear and desperation clinging to her chest aggressively, Kagome slowly inched her bum off the ground and sat herself in a low slouch on the seat behind her. Totosai, seeing Kagome's head come into his vision in the rear-view mirror, shouted at her to get down, to keep herself safe, but Kagome needed to see the pursuit for herself. She needed to see the face of the man who held the limo at gunpoint.
The limo jostled Kagome around as Totosai took a sharp turn down a cobbled road. Holding her breasts to her chest to prevent the painful, rough bouncing, Kagome turned behind her, to peer at Totosai through the open window to the front seat.
"Why are they chasing us?" she begged, her eyes widening. She watched in fear as Totosai zigzagged all over the six lanes of traffic to maintain his speed and avoid a collision.
Kagome held her breath as she watched the old man expertly direct the limo around oncoming cars who skidded and honked as they tried to stop once they saw the limo bounding towards them. Her heart plucked viciously at the sudden realization of Totosai's driving skills. His hands clutched tightly at 10 and 3 on the wheel, Totosai masterfully chartered the stretch limousine through the congestion, using the sidewalk or shoulder of the road if he had to. Kagome's mouth dried from bewilderment and fear.
Another four gunshots caused Kagome to dive the length of her body along the leather car seat, tucking her head and shoulders into her cradling arms. She puckered her lips tightly to prevent a scream from curdling. She didn't want to be helpless, useless. She needed to be brave. She needed to do all she could to help Totosai. And if that meant congealing her high-pitched, reactive screams in her throat, she would. She could only imagine how distracting her helpless cries must have been to Totosai. She needed to give him the environment he needed to concentrate. After all, she realized with a gulp, due to their speed, one slight alteration of the wheel could lead her to death.
Turning to look over her shoulder, Kagome's stomach dropped at seeing six bullets sheathed in the rear window.
"The car's bulletproof," Kagome half-asked, half-said wildly as she raised herself onto her knees on the seat, facing forward through the window.
Totosai nodded his head without saying anything more than "hold on," and sharply took the next turn. Kagome's fingers hurt from how tightly she clutched the opened window frame to keep her body in place.
That's why Inuyasha was so adamant Totosai take me in the limo, she thought, her eyes stinging. Why, though? Her mind ached in yearning. Why would he be so resolute on a bulletproof car? Did he think this would happen?
"Why is this happening, Totosai?" Kagome shrieked, her thoughts taking verbal form. She turned her head every few seconds to peer over her shoulder at the trailing car.
Her face cringed at seeing the destruction the SUV seemed content to leave in its wake. In the same manner that Totosai expertly evaded and navigated traffic, so too did the SUV. Kagome had to hold her breath to prevent more tears from following. Why couldn't she shake the feeling that this wasn't Totosai's first time in a car chase? Or the SUV's?
Who were the people in the pursuing vehicle the man with the gun, particularly? When he leaned his upper torso out of the window, Kagome couldn't place his face. She stared in horror at the man's image through the webby cracks of the rear window, which distorted the man's face. Her eyes narrowed to trace the green stripes of war paint across his cheekbones and vertically across his forehead. His beady eyes grinned menacingly as he gripped the firearm in his hand. Kagome watched his eyes not even flinch as each bullet barricaded in the limo's direction.
Why was he doing this? What was with the paint? Kagome's mouth grimaced with the thought that the man appeared to have dressed up for the occasion. But why? Wave after wave of nausea consumed Kagome's midriff. When another swell of nausea finally teetered, Kagome felt her body vibrating from the fear and desperation to have her questions answered.
"Where are you going?" Kagome shouted instinctively when her eyes looked over Totosai's shoulder. Her body turned rigid as Totosai propped the left side of the limo on the sidewalk to avoid oncoming traffic. Kagome watched in revulsion as pedestrians dove out of the way of the surging stretch limo, and the SUV a few feet behind them.
"Where was Inuyasha?" Totosai shouted at Kagome, not even turning his head to look at her. Kagome blinked her eyes feverishly in response. "When he called you? Where was he?"
She didn't know. She hadn't asked him. Kagome felt her body shaking with adrenaline.
Totosai responded to Kagome's silence as if she had provided him a verbal answer.
Turning over her shoulder, Kagome's eyes tremored: the SUV drove a sedan into the side of a building. Bricks and dusty smoke bellowed from the collapsing building material, scattering into the air and onto the road behind him.
"Those people!" Kagome screamed automatically, raising a hand to her mouth. She couldn't help the few tears that trickled from the corner of her eyes upon seeing the elderly driver crumple into the airbag. As Totosai turned down a road, the accident was gone from Kagome's sight, as if it had never happened.
"Where are you taking us?" Kagome screamed again. This time, she reached her arm through the window to place it on Totosai's shoulder. The bony joint went rigid under Kagome's touch and Totosai turned an apologetic look to Kagome through the rear-view mirror.
"We need to keep you safe, Kagome," the old man hoarsely asserted. "We need to buy time for Inuyasha."
"For Inuyasha to do what?" Kagome spat, her heart hammering away in her sternum.
"Get down!" the driver screamed, bending his arm towards her and motioning his hand madly. "Kagome! Down!"
Kagome's body fell to the seat when another onslaught of bullets came charging at the limo. The windshield took in two more bullets and Kagome's stomach lurched as Totosai drove diagonally, away from the SUV. Pressing her face against the cool leather seat, Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep a groan locked tightly in her throat.
After a few moments, she peeked over her shoulder. Kagome could barely breathe when she saw how all the bullet cracks were almost touching. The window may have been bulletproof, but it wouldn't be able to hold much longer.
"Stay as close to the front as possible, Kagome," the old man urged, as if reading her mind. "One more shot and it's done for."
Sitting up, Kagome locked eyes with the man temporarily through the rear-view mirror and she nodded her head speechlessly.
"Where the hell is Inuyasha?" Totosai swore angrily from the front seat, veering across the lanes of traffic.
Where the hell are the police? Kagome's own mind mirrored. How had they been left alone for so long? Why hadn't there been any interference, any aid sent to them? She had heard the people screaming. She had seen all the collisions, accidents, and damage done from their chase. How could it take this long for anyone to intervene?
But then again, for how long had they been tailed? How long had the SUV been hunting them? Time had no meaning to her then. It could have been hours. It could have been minutes.
Hearing Totosai curse Inuyasha once more, Kagome's eyes landed on her phone facedown on the floor. Keeping her eyes on the rear window, Kagome fumbled to reach for the device while simultaneously trying to keep her body as far away from the cracked window as possible. Her body lying along the length of the car seat, Kagome brought the phone to her chest, turning it on and seeing that she had 11 missed calls. Three were from Kouga. The rest were Inuyasha.
Seeing how many times Inuyasha had tried to call her, Kagome frantically unlocked her phone, pressed her fingertip to Inuyasha's name, and held the device with both hands to her ear.
Crackling and wind howling met Kagome's ear when the call was answered and she strained her eyes to help her hearing.
"Kagome!?" she heard Inuyasha's hoarse voice scream.
She yelled his name into the device in response, but the crackling of the speakerphone on Inuyasha's end, mixed with the road noise, made it almost impossible to hear him.
"I—Behind you—Left—Kagome, get—okay?—Left! Totos—Kago—"
"I can't hear you, Inuyasha!" Kagome cried into the phone, moving it from her ear to the front of her face. She held it in front of her mouth as she kept repeating, "I don't understand," or "I can't hear you."
"I—There! Left! Kago—now! Get Totosai—now!"
"What do you mean 'left'?" she screamed, pleadingly. "Where are you?"
"Turn left now!" Inuyasha's blaringly clear voice screamed at Kagome suddenly, and she sat straight up, immediately shrieking the instructions to Totosai in the front seat.
Kagome's body collapsed heavily onto the floor in response to the immediate jolt of the vehicle. Raising a hand to her head, Kagome looked up to the side window. Rushing to her knees, Kagome stared in horror as the silver Porsche forcefully rear-ended the SUV to ram it forward. The two cars surging forward where the limo had just been.
Kagome understood then. Inuyasha had been trying to tell her he was there. He had found them. He had caught up to them.
Seeing the SUV hot on the limo's trail, Inuyasha had been seconds away from calling Kagome for God only knows the umpteenth time; however, as if she had sensed his intention, she called him. Inuyasha growled as the fucking Bluetooth kept cutting out and Kagome couldn't understand him. He couldn't strike the SUV while it was near the limo. Totosai needed to get the fuck out of the way before Inuyasha could do anything.
Finally, when there was enough of a clearing for Totosai to switch lanes, Inuyasha made his final order. Kagome must have relayed the message to Totosai, because Inuyasha watched the limo dart unevenly into the next lane and Inuyasha held his breath. He stomped the pedal to the ground.
The Porsche lurched from the impact as the front hood collapsed, devoured by the SUV's trunk from the contact. The two cars skidded together. Inuyasha's head reeled from the sound and force of the impact, the windshield crumbling and slicing into her skin from the force. A roar coursed from Inuyasha's mouth as he drove the SUV sideways towards the side of the road, unable to see from the rushing airbag pushing his head into the headrest.
Fighting the white, billowing material, Inuyasha snarled. He wanted the driver dead. He wanted the shooter dead. He wanted those assholes to pay for all the damage they had done, for the fear they had caused Kagome. He wouldn't allow them to get away with this.
Kagome screamed Inuyasha's name as she watched his silver hair disappear once the airbag activated. Her heart pounded from seeing the force with which Inuyasha rammed into the back of the SUV. She watched as the Porsche continued forward, the front end surrounded by the broken trunk of the SUV. The respective ends of the vehicles had crumpled from the energy of the blow. Inuyasha's rear-ending the SUV pushed it away from the limo and drove it toward the barricade along the side of the highway. Smoke poured from the SUV's tires from the driver pumping the brakes. Kagome watched in horror as the SUV crashed into the barricade, causing the two vehicles to pitch upwards from the contact then break apart, the tires bouncing from the force.
Just as quickly as Kagome watched the collision happen, Totosai followed a bend in the road and the scene was gone from her line of vision. Kagome kept her eyes peeled, desperate to see the shattered front end of the Porsche dash into her sight. However, there was nothing: no SUV, no Inuyasha. Yet, Totosai didn't slow down. If anything, Kagome would have sworn the man sped up to get away from what had just happened.
"Totosai! Please!" Kagome implored, her eyes burning. "The SUV's gone. We need to make sure he's okay! We need to go get Inuyasha!"
"Stay down, Kagome," Totosai responded, his tone cold and rigid. His fingers ached from the grip he had of the wheel.
"But, Totosai! Pl—"
"Stay down!" the man screamed, his voice cracking.
As Totosai propelled the limo forward, Kagome was choking on tears. The sight of Inuyasha's Porsche colliding into the SUV replayed before her eyes as the limo turned off onto a ramp.
"Please," she sobbed, wiping her bangs from her forehead madly. Impatience and desperation were swelling within her. She felt like a trapped animal. She couldn't stand not knowing if Inuyasha was okay.
The front console ringing, Kagome spun her body to face through the privacy window to see Miroku's name appear. After one tone, Totosai answered the call.
"Miroku!" Kagome screamed through the window, her pitch causing Totosai to somewhat jerk away. "We're on the Toll Road!" she screamed. "Inuyasha was—"
"The van picked him up already, Kagome. Inuyasha is okay. A little cut up, but he'll live."
"Oh, thank God," Kagome wheezed, shutting her eyes as a grateful tear trickled down her cheek. "What about the—"
"Totosai," Miroku said hotly, interrupting her. "Where are you now?"
"We just exited onto Expressway number six. As discussed, we'll be taking the Bayshore Route where I'll transfer Kagome onto the Keiyo Line, which she can take back to the house."
As discussed? Kagome's mind seethed. They had a plan for this just in case?
Miroku sighed tensely. Kagome could almost hear him nodding.
"And the limo?"
Totosai turned to look through the rear-view mirror, his eyes taking in the rear windshield.
"Somehow it's still intact."
Kagome, fearfully, turned to look over her shoulder, amazed that the window hadn't shattered from the amount of metal casings lodged into it.
"Miroku," Kagome spoke up, her voice tense. "Why were they after us? Why would they shoot at the car?"
Miroku groaned over the vehicle's speakerphone. Kagome heard another muffled ring from Miroku's side of the call. It sounded like the tone from a walkie-talkie. Broken male voices communicated over the speaker for a few moments, but Kagome couldn't really understand.
"Totosai," Miroku deviated. "Change of plan. Inuyasha and the van are on route to your location. When you make it to the riverfront, pull off onto the side of the road. Inuyasha wants to take Kagome home directly."
"Understood," Totosai nodded.
"What about the SUV?" Kagome cried. "Why am I in a bulletproof car? What is going on?"
"I was just informed that the van exited onto the Expressway," Miroku continued. "ETA to the riverfront is eight and a half minutes."
"Understood," Totosai sighed.
Kagome saw red.
"Why won't either of you answer my questions!?" Kagome hollered with narrowed eyes at the console. "For fuck's sake, I'm here!" she screamed, anger coursing through her veins. "You can't just ignore me and pretend everything's okay. They fucking shot at me! There was a guy with a gun shooting at the car. Miroku!" she pleaded, her breathing rampant. "Please," she begged. "Tell me what is going on."
Miroku's sigh crackled over the speaker and Totosai's body flinched.
"I can't, Kagome," Miroku breathed. "It's not my place. Inuyasha would—"
"I don't care what Inuyasha would or wouldn't do," she spat. "My life was in danger, Miroku. I want—"
"—Miss Kagome, please," Totosai interrupted, his tone soft and imploring. He made eye contact with her through the rear-view mirror. His eyes almost seemed to beg her silence. "Miroku," he stated, the kindness in his tone shifting to assertiveness. "Confirm with Inuyasha we will meet him at the riverfront. I'm going to engage in the appropriate protocols to ensure we're not being followed to the destination."
"Be careful," was all Miroku said before one of the two men ended the call.
Kagome's chest felt heavy in the silence of the car.
"Totosai, please," Kagome hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes quivering. "Why were we being shot at? Why were those men following us from the house? What is happening?"
Totosai sighed before turning a sorrowful, wrinkled eye to Kagome in the rear-view once more.
"If it were my place to tell you, Kagome, I would, but Inuyasha," he stopped to sigh. Maintaining the formality of address towards his employer seemed hardly appropriate after what had just happened. "It's not easy for him to talk about this stuff."
"What stuff?" Kagome prodded, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"It was such a long time ago."
"What was?" Kagome asked, becoming impatient with Totosai's indirectness.
"The band."
Kagome shriveled her nose and shook her head back and forth with misunderstanding. "What does this have to do with the band?"
"That man was Suikotsu."
"Which man?"
"The one with the gun."
"You recognized him?"
Totosai nodded after a few second delay, Kagome's words sinking into his chest.
Kagome furrowed her brow and opened her mouth, her eyes searching madly for the answers. "Wait, so you're saying Suikotsu was with the band?"
Totosai nodded before turning his attention to his side mirrors and changed lanes on the highway.
"But…" she paused. "Those three men at the house," she ventured, trying to piece together and understand the big picture. "They were with the band too."
"Yes," Totosai affirmed.
"Wh—why is the band coming after Inuyasha?"
Totosai merely shook his head in response, a gesture that caused Kagome's lips to tighten angrily. Crossing her arms under her breasts, Kagome sat herself down on a leather seat and turned to look out the window, her heart still racing from the earlier chase. She still expected to look out the window and see Suikotsu with the gun. She turned her eyes to the rear window, expecting the bullet-ridden glass to shatter, any minute, under the weight of the metallic stowaways.
When the riverfront came into view, Kagome felt her heart flood with relief. Totosai slowly edged the limousine to the shoulder of the road closest to the water and he released a loud exhale and cracked his knuckles when he finally put the car in park. The last drops of adrenaline still lingering in his system, Totosai left the vehicle running, just in case.
Inuyasha had the van door open before the vehicle even came to a complete stop. The car slowing down enough that he could easily land on his feet, Inuyasha propelled his body forward, landing on the ground with a grunt.
Totosai intended to get out of the limousine to open the door for Kagome; however, the moment the girl's eyes found Inuyasha, Kagome couldn't get out the vehicle fast enough. Her fingers scrambling, tears cascaded from Kagome's face as she flung the door open. Kagome launched herself into Inuyasha's arms, burrowing her face into the material of his shirt as she finally let the tears wash over her body. Inuyasha gripped her so tightly that, if she weren't so devastated by the recent events, she probably would have complained that that he was squeezing her too tightly.
But right now she needed to feel him.
Vehicles on the highway slowed down to watch the fumbling embrace. Passengers took out cameras and smartphones to snap photos of the celebrities, the damaged visage of Inuyasha, the bullet-filled rear window that was somehow still intact.
"Inuyasha, I—"
"Kagome, don't," he interrupted, pressing his lips to the top of her head to prevent them from quivering. He tightened his grip on her shoulders, clinging to her as if he was about to lose her.
Pulling away from the man slightly to look up at his face, Kagome gasped and held Inuyasha an arm's length away, her hands still on his chest. His face was badly torn up from the collision with the SUV. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, down his temple, across his brow. There were lacerations across his entire body, tears in his clothes. His neck throbbed anytime he moved his head, and his right wrist—likely broken from the collision—ached dully by his side.
Tears caught in her eyes, Kagome couldn't help the pained hand that reached upwards to Inuyasha's face, her eyes vibrating with grief as she took in all the cuts and gashes. Her fingers gingerly touched his skin, finally cupping his cheek in her palm. Inuyasha impulsively closed his eyes from the tenderness of her touch. Kagome shook her head at him, her heart pounding.
"That was so reckless," she whispered, his skin feeling hot under her fingers. Her eyes roamed the shape of his eyebrows, the dried blood that connected his lips with his chin.
Inuyasha snorted a laugh and opened his amber eyes to peer down at her, never feeling so relieved in all his life to make eye contact with this beautiful creature. Mirroring her gesture, Inuyasha brushed a loose strand of hair from her cheek and rested his cut hand on her jawline. His thumb trod back and forth across her tear-stained cheek.
"I needed to protect you."
Kagome tried to laugh away the comment, but she couldn't help a few tears that tumbled instead.
"You're such an idiot," she sniffled, dropping her hand from his face to wipe away her tears. Trying to laugh through her tears, Kagome shook her head at him again. "You could have been killed."
Inuyasha shrugged away the comment. Looking over the top of Kagome's head, Inuyasha clued in to the bouts of stopped or slowed traffic around them. He was painfully aware of the cameras and voyeuristic eyes watching the two of them together. Before he opened his mouth to respond to her concerns, Inuyasha wrapped a protective arm around her back and led her into the black van.
In the silence of the vehicle, Kagome stared out the window, the earlier tender moment with Inuyasha now gone. What had been a moment of relief and gratitude that each was safe, melted into the seriousness of what had happened once they buckled their seatbelts. Both sat silently, staring out their respective windows. It didn't feel right to speak; even the security guards were mute. Kagome's body swayed side-to-side gently with the motions of the vehicle. What had been a full car when Inuyasha was picked up after the collision now only had four of them, including Inuyasha and Kagome; a few of the security guards stayed behind with Totosai.
Thinking of Totosai, Kagome felt badly that she hadn't said a word more to the man; she wanted to thank him for saving her life. However, the sight of Inuyasha had overwhelmed her, and everything except him had disappeared in that moment.
"Are you hurt at all, Kagome?"
Inuyasha's low, soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts and Kagome turned to face him. His words sounded almost strange in the former silence. She offered him a small smile of appreciation.
"Nothing permanent," she smirked, turning her eyes lower to look at her ankle.
Inuyasha sighed in response, his brows furrowed.
When the van finally pulled up to the front door of Sengoku Manor, Kagome thought Sango was going to knock someone out in her attempts to seek out her friend. Before Kagome had even left the van completely, Sango had flung her arms around her friend, sobbed into her neck, and almost shoved Kagome to the ground from how intently she latched onto her friend. The two girls held each other, not saying a word, and cried; both of them were grateful to see the other. Miroku had clapped Inuyasha on the back, commending him for saving Kagome, but Inuyasha merely stalked off, too angry to utter a word to anyone, even Kagome.
Kagome detached herself from Sango in hopes of reaching out an arm to Inuyasha before he disappeared into the house, but she was too slow.
The rest of the day went by uncomfortably slow. Kagome lingered in the Jacuzzi tub for a long while, hugging her knees to her chest as she tried to decipher what had happened. Forcing herself to eat despite not being hungry, Kagome headed into the kitchen after her bath, only to find Kaede trying to turn off the radio when Kagome walked in. However, Kagome told the woman not to. She wanted to hear the news, hopeful it would help her understand what had happened.
Suikotsu had died from internal injuries resulting from the collision. Paramedics made it to the scene, too late, in response to an anonymous phone call. When police arrived, there was no sign of the driver. He must have been well enough to flee the scene before authorities arrived.
The news reporter told of the pursuit along the Arakawa River, including mention of the gun, the amount of damage done to public property, and the hype around the public embrace between Inuyasha Taisho and Kagome Higurashi. Apparently, it was the first public display of affection that satisfied the public's hunger to know of any intimacy between the pair. The media made no mention of why the pursuit happened, or what the aftermath of it would bring.
In listening to the news, Kagome was pleased to know there was no mention of Kouga, although, the man had rung Kagome's phone several times, demanding she call him back to confirm she was okay. She had text him she was okay and apologized with all the sincerity she could muster; however, when he called, desperate to hear her voice, Kagome ignored the call. She couldn't stomach an explanation of what happened to prevent their meeting, when she herself was fraught for answers.
Kagome had no appetite for dinner and spent the rest of the evening restlessly in her room. Sango stayed overnight at the house. Miroku arranged an appointment for Kagome the following morning with the authorities; she needed to provide a statement regarding what happened, although she still had no idea, herself, what had actually occurred.
Inuyasha, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen or heard from for the rest of the evening. The briefest, tender moment between them on the side of the highway had ended, and Inuyasha had left her alone once again. But now the public had seen them, and Kagome shook her head angrily at the realization that the embrace renewed the public's obsession with her. However, that same embrace, and his kissing the top of her head, also did nothing to help her confusion regarding him.
Sitting up in her room, Kagome's mind twisted and turned to discover the world now knew that yet another band member had gone after Inuyasha and died because of it. What were the repercussions Inuyasha would face? Would the authorities consider Kagome an accessory? What constitutes murder? Was there intent? What was the result of the last investigation involving the break-in at the house?
Kagome's mind went round and round with questions she had no answers to.
Her phone screen informed Kagome that it was almost three in the morning, but she still couldn't sleep. Sitting up against the pillows in her bed, Kagome clutched her shins to her chest, her brain running itself ragged.
What really happened between Inuyasha and the band? Why were they after him? Why were they after her? How could she learn the answers if no one was willing to tell her, and Inuyasha was never around?
Sighing and leaning her head back against the onslaught of pillows, Kagome stared up at the ceiling. She was desperate for something to provide her the answers for which she yearned.
Grabbing her phone, Kagome saw the earlier missed calls from her family; the voicemail icon flashed in the top corner of the screen. She hadn't had the ability to listen to the messages yet. Kagome instinctively cringed at knowing how her mother had likely responded to yet another attempt on her daughter's life, and the fact she had to learn about it through the news.
Kagome's eyes raw and tired from the amount of crying she had done that day, she turned her glance away from the phone and slid down lower into the sheets. The silk nightgown she wore bundled underneath the small of her back, exposing her lower torso to the warmth of the down duvet. Growing suddenly very flustered, Kagome's heart flared up angrily, and she grabbed handfuls of pillows and threw them to the floor. One by one she grabbed at the claustrophobia-causing squares and pitched them away from her. She felt strangled, suffocated. She needed room to think. She needed room to breathe. Her heart rate fluttering obscenely, Kagome grunted with each toss until eventually all the decorative throw pillows. had indeed been thrown. and lay scattered around the room.
Her heart racing, Kagome rested each hand on either side of her on the mattress and stared daggers into the swirling floral pattern on the duvet. She jumped when the soft knock of knuckles on her door sounded from the stillness.
Uttering a hesitant hello, Kagome grabbed for the straps of her nightgown, having a momentary pause, concerned for her modesty in the garb. When her wild brown eyes met the cool, questioning gaze of Inuyasha's gold-touched irises, Kagome's heart presumed to thud even louder.
"You're still awake," he said, opening the door a little further.
Kagome continued to grab at the straps over her shoulders, gulping down a mouthful of saliva. She wanted to gaze down to see how much cleavage the nightgown exposed; however, she realized she couldn't do so subtly. So Kagome just dropped her hands into her lap and stared up at him nervously.
"You too," she responded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.
She felt very uncomfortable and restless, taking note of her position in her bed and his leaning against her door frame. Kagome's eyes took in the sight of his black, baggy sweatpants and his tight, corduroy-patterned tank top. The muscles of his biceps caused Kagome to gulp. She thought she could almost make out the small scar from where he had been shot those months ago.
"Sorry I missed the pillow fight," he stated with a smug expression, his eyes trailing the floor.
Kagome's cheeks flushed and she impulsively tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. She didn't know whether decency required her to stay where she was or get out of bed. However, her lack of a reply caused Inuyasha to move forward, closing the door behind him. The edge of the bed sank underneath the weight of him where he turned to face her, his eyes low and remorseful.
"I—" He started and stopped just as quickly as Kagome's heart was thudding. He didn't know how to explain to her what had urged him into her room. Should he tell her he saw the light on under her door? Tell her he heard her throwing her pillows around the room? Tell her wanted to check in on her to make sure she was okay?
Realistically, Inuyasha didn't know what had drawn him to Kagome's room. He had just been emanating with such concern and guilt, it was like his body guided him to her room on its own volition.
"I'm glad you're okay, Inuyasha," Kagome spoke up quietly when Inuyasha seemed unable to finish his thought.
The man snorted and rolled his eyes before adjusting his position on the end of her bed.
"I was—"
"—Can you tell me why it happened?" Kagome interrupted, her heart fluttering from within her chest. She turned her eyes to the sight of her duvet, unable to look at him. The thin straps and sweetheart-cut of her nightgown caused her shoulders to feel uncomfortably naked in his presence.
"Kagome," Inuyasha sighed, his tone full of disquiet. He turned his eyes from her. "I can't."
"Why?" she urged, sitting up further in the bed, turning her eyes—hungry for information—to beg his. "Why can no one tell me why that Suikotsu guy came after Totosai and me today?"
Inuyasha's body went rigid upon hearing Suikotsu's name on Kagome's lips. His eyes turned to her questioningly, wanting to know how she learned who it had been.
"Totosai told me who he was," Kagome offered sullenly, able to read his expression. "He said he was in the band."
Inuyasha nodded.
"Why can't you tell me?"
Inuyasha groaned and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I don't want to talk about it, Kagome."
She breathed heavily through her nose and narrowed her eyes at him. She gripped the material of the bedsheet in her hand to stay her growing temper.
"Inuyasha, listen to me," she pleaded. "You insisted I take a bulletproof car to go meet Kouga. You intercept the man who held the limo at gunpoint. This Suikotsu," Kagome paused, "he wanted to hurt me, Inuyasha." She took a breath before pressing on.
"You were clearly worried about me," she mumbled, her cheeks pink. Inuyasha's eyes widened at her words. "You thought something was going to happen. And," she paused again, "you were right. If it weren't for Totosai—"
"—Stop, Kagome," Inuyasha barked, his tone harsh but his words quiet. "I wish I could tell you, alright? This shit isn't easy for me."
Kagome's eyebrows furrowed. "And you think it is for me? Inuyasha, I've been attacked for reasons I can't even imagine. And you know but won't tell me? How is that supposed to be easy?"
Inuyasha grimaced under the truth of her words. "I know, Kagome, alright?" he snapped, his eyes dark. "I know."
"If you know," she pressed, "why can't you tell me?"
"Because I can't fucking talk about it!" he bellowed. The loudness of his voice caused her to rest her back against her two remaining pillows. Releasing her grip on the sheets, Kagome's fingers ached dully from the tension.
"Inuyasha," Kagome sighed, blinking her eyes madly to try and understand this confusing, enigmatic man. If he hadn't come to her room to give her the answers she sought, why was he here at all? Why had he come to her like this in the middle of the night?
"This was stupid," Inuyasha said, getting to his feet suddenly. The weight removed from the mattress made the bed suddenly feel cold.
Before he could turn to leave the room, Kagome shot her hand out to catch his fingers in her grip. His body stiff, he turned his head to the side, barely able to look at her. He wished he could tell her. He wished the truth of his past didn't have to be so hard to give voice to. He was scared for her. He was ashamed for allowing her to get into the middle of it. He had come to apologize to her; however, he realized the idiocy of it. How could he apologize to her for something he couldn't even talk about?
"Please don't go."
She uttered the words so quietly, so delicately, Inuyasha almost had to strain his ears to hear them.
Returning the grip on her hand, Inuyasha grasped her long, thin fingers in his before sitting back down on the edge of the bed. This time, however, he sat closer to her so their hands could stay connected.
"Kagome, I," he paused, licking his lips. He couldn't take his eyes off the floor. "I shouldn't have let you go today. I—"
"It's okay, Inuyasha," she soothed, rubbing her thumb across his palm. "I'm okay."
"No, it's not fucking okay," he seethed, turning to her.
The look in his eyes caused Kagome's heart to lunge to life in her chest. For a moment, she genuinely feared the organ would propel itself from her chest cavity, so she raised her other hand to press a fist to her sternum.
"I should have protected you."
"You did."
"No," he snapped with dejected, downcast eyes. "I didn't. I didn't fucking do anything."
"Hey," she soothed, removing her hand from Inuyasha's grip. Leaning forward, Kagome rested the same hand on Inuyasha's cheek, turning his face so his eyes would look at her. His skin flushed under the contact of her palm. While her hand urged his eyes to meet hers, Kagome whispered at him, "Look at me." His quivering fire-touched eyes slowly rose to meet hers, and they were burning for her. She could see the hurt contained in his eyes, the desperation for her to accept his apology, the desperation for her to understand.
"I'm in one piece," she said, her cheeks aflame from the boldness of her gesture. "I'm okay. I'm not injured. I'm alive, Inuyasha. And you know why? Because of you." She smiled at him and caressed his cheek with her thumb. "You saved me."
"I wasn't fast enough, I—"
"You," she emphasized, turning her head so he couldn't turn his eyes away from her, "saved me, Inuyasha." She licked her bottom lip before meeting his eye again. "The way you did it was really dumb," she laughed. "But I'm still grateful."
Chuckling, Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her, finally gripping her hand on his cheek in his. He squeezed her fingers appreciatively in his, and, to Kagome's surprise, he leaned forward towards her. Her eyes trembled, her face warmed, trying to understand what he was doing. Was he going to kiss her?
Before Kagome's brain registered his actions, her eyes took in the sight of his clean-shaven chin. Simultaneously, she felt warm, moist lips caress her forehead. Kagome blinked her eyes in hopes of dispelling the embarrassment from her vision. After a moment, his other hand rested on the back of her neck, cupping her hair. Kagome closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of his breath on her forehead. When his lips finally detached with the gentlest, sweetest pucker, he rested his forehead against hers, their noses meeting. Kagome allowed her eyes to stay closed as she listened to him breathe, listened to her racing heart. Her neck began to warm from where he rested his hand on top of her hair, and his breath carried the hint of wintergreen and peppermint from when he brushed his teeth earlier in the night.
He opened his mouth to say something to her, but he immediately closed his lips together. There were no words to express just how devastated he had been, how afraid for her he was, how infuriated he had been with himself for allowing her to be in any danger because of him. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her so badly. Why couldn't he muster the courage to talk about the Family? Why were shame and guilt so strong a feeling that they rendered him silent?
When Inuyasha's mind weaved and spun with questions, his eyelids flew open when he felt the gentlest graze against his lips. Blinking his eyes to understand what had happened while he was lost in thought, his heart raced at realizing Kagome had kissed him, was kissing him.
His chest felt hollow except for his pounding heart. Intensifying his grip on the base of her neck, Inuyasha pulled her mouth against his hungrily, revelling in the gasp that flew from her lips and caused her eyelashes to flutter. Their last kiss had been a gentle exploration of trust, of intimacy. Now, Inuyasha's body was consumed with guilt, shame, and desperation for Kagome to understand. He needed her to understand how he felt, both about his past and for her.
Kagome groaned into his mouth when his palm found her cheek again, and she pushed her face into it, enjoying the feeling of his skin on hers. Desire for Inuyasha and a hunger to replace the fear and confusion that had consumed her, Kagome gave every bit of herself into that kiss. Resting her bent fingertips on his cheekbones, Kagome's mouth followed the waves and motions of his. She could feel the glorious sensation of his saliva and breath painting the innermost part of her lips, the parts where not even her lipstick dared to venture.
When his teeth captured the sensitive skin of her bottom lip and puckered the flesh in his mouth, Kagome shuddered. She could feel the tips of his teeth grazing along the sensitive moistness of her inner lip. She moaned against the feeling of his tongue stirring the area of her lower lip. Relaxing her fingers until her palms cupped either side of his face, Kagome sighed into his mouth, her heart thudding with need.
"Kagome," he moaned into her mouth after her sigh. The name caused goosebumps to shoot across her limbs.
Wrapping her arms around his neck one by one, Kagome couldn't prevent the erotic groan that rumbled in her throat when Inuyasha's tongue cautiously trailed the outline of her lips. The sound was all the permission he needed and Inuyasha tightened his hold on her, pressing her breasts into the firmness of his chest while his tongue plunged into her mouth.
Kagome was restless, tightening her arms around his neck, gasping for air, savouring the taste of his moist organ as it explored her gums, the backs of her teeth, the length of her own tongue. She felt his chest rumbling against her breasts, and Kagome's body ached with need. For two months she craved him, begged to know what that kiss had meant between them on the clearing. Now, she could feel his need. She could taste his desire for her, and the thought was deliciously paralyzing.
When Kagome felt Inuyasha's body pressing into hers, urging her onto her back, her eyes flew open with both panic and desire. She couldn't help the juvenile places where her mind went, suddenly remembering she hadn't shaved her legs that morning, or waxed her bikini line. Feeling her body tense against him, Inuyasha pulled back slightly, weakening the kiss.
"We can stop," he said against her lips, placing an isolated kiss on her wetted, swollen pillows. Her lips felt cool from the breath of air seeping between his lips when he spoke.
Loving the feeling of his hands on her skin, his lips on hers, Kagome kissed him again. She couldn't get enough of the savoury sound of the smack when their lips parted, the puff of air when he inhaled through his nose, the wheeze of excitement that left his lips when their heads changed angles, each of their noses pressed against the cheek of the other.
"Inuyasha, I—"
His lips capturing hers again, he seized her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked raveningly on the flesh. He could feel her body tense against his, the reservation in her words. He knew she wasn't ready for anything more. But that didn't mean he needed to stop his exploration of her mouth.
"Inuyah—" she groaned, unable to complete his name. The sound caused his groin to pulse in need.
Panting against his lips, Kagome pulled back slightly, resting her forehead against his, exploring his cheeks with her fingertips.
"We can stop," he said again, kissing the side of her mouth where her lips met her cheek.
When her eyes looked up at his, Inuyasha's own glazing of lust rendered him unable to understand what her eyes emoted to him. Mistaking her pulling away for something else, Inuyasha leaned away from her.
"Do you want me to go?"
Kagome shook her head as a small 'no' escaped her tender lips, puckered from being sucked, licked, and attended by Inuyasha.
"I don't think I can—" she stopped, her cheeks burning red with downturned eyes. "I'm not—" Kagome sighed, unsure how to phrase her words. "I want to but I—" She stopped when she felt Inuyasha's spotlight eyes on her. Taking a deep breath, Kagome was urged to speak by the fear of seeing him go.
"But even though I," she paused to shake her head. "Can you," she stopped once more, slowly raising her eyes to meet his. The look he saw there nearly toppled him over. "Stay with me?"
Inuyasha wasn't paying enough attention to observe whether her words were a question or a demand, but he nodded while simultaneously reaching for her face once more. Connecting their lips, Inuyasha lovingly circled the tip of her tongue with his, moulding his mouth to hers, relishing in every little moan of hers that his mouth captured like a net.
I don't think I can…I want to but I—
Her incomplete words had been sign enough to Inuyasha that she wasn't ready. But he couldn't help the triumphant smirk that overtook his features at the realization she didn't want him to leave. Kagome wanted him to spend the night with her, even if that just met sleeping next to her warm body, kissing her goodnight, kissing her good morning. Inuyasha couldn't have dreamed of asking for more.
Disconnecting their lips, Kagome watched hungrily as Inuyasha crawled over her legs to the side of the bed, lowering his body down onto the mattress. Her panting breaths loud through her swollen lips, Kagome couldn't help licking her lips as she watched him lay his body down beside her.
"Is this okay?" he asked, laying on his side and altering the pillow underneath his head so he could sit up slightly.
Kagome nodded dumbly in response, simultaneously proud of herself and enraged that she had told him she wasn't ready. The wetness between her legs and the erectness of her nipples argued otherwise, but she knew there would be a time—a better time—when the two of them weren't just responding to the distress they both experienced that day.
Lowering herself down on her elbows, Kagome adjusted her own pillow so she could lay on her side to face Inuyasha. Her cheeks flushed as she met his eyes, a more illuminous pink overtaking the red that had developed in response to their intimate kiss.
When her head rested on her pillow, her eyes dipped to take in the redness of his own lips and listen to the panting of his own erogenous breaths. When her eyes rose, swimming browns met storming golds and Inuyasha smiled at her. Tucking his arm underneath the pillow, Kagome saw the billowing of his bicep and felt her heart thud in response.
"Do you want some of the sheets?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Inuyasha smirked, loving every minute of their current situation. "I'm a little warm right now. Maybe later, Kagome."
Kagome smiled in response, fighting the urge to close her eyes in response to hearing his name on her lips. She had never imagined her birth-given name being one of the most erotic things a man could say to her.
Reaching behind her, Kagome felt her heart thudding as she flicked off the light on her bedside table. When the room became consumed with darkness, she wouldn't have known Inuyasha was still there if it weren't for the sounds of her heartbeat and his panting breath.
The sudden weight of Inuyasha's hand on her blanket-covered waist caused Kagome to close her eyes expectantly. She could feel him shuffling around; however, her eyes still hadn't acclimatized to the dark. Her body went rigid as her mind tried to grasp what he was doing. Feeling the sudden coolness of the duvet being lifted, Kagome realized Inuyasha had changed his mind and decided to climb under the comforter with her.
Kagome's body stiffened when she felt his hand land upon her nightgown-covered waist, the warmth of his palm heating her skin almost to boiling point. Her stomach churned from the warmth, her womanhood pulsed. When the duvet enclosed them both, she could feel his body heat inching closer to hers.
Knee bumped thigh. Breast grazed pectoral. Stomach met pelvis.
She could feel his breath on her eyes, forehead, and the bridge of her nose. His knees bumped her and she gulped deeply, her heart ravenous.
Kagome jumped from surprise when she felt his hand bunch in the satiny material of her nightgown, lifting the material to expose more of her thigh under the sheet. She felt his other hand slither underneath her pillow, underneath her cushion of hair to grip the back of her neck. With her head angled up at him, Kagome removed her hands from her own chest and placed them, daringly, on his.
Inuyasha held back the groan he wanted to emit from the feeling of Kagome's warm palms on his cotton-covered chest. His skin scorched wherever she touched and he pulled her head towards him, gripping his fingers tightly in the material of her nightgown. Even just the feel of her puckering skin underneath the cloth was enough to cause his throat to tighten. He could hear the quivering of her breath with every inhale and exhale between her lips. He could almost make out her searching eyes in the darkness, scouring his face to learn what was to come next. Her heart yearned with every passing second in expectation.
Bringing his lips to her forehead again, Inuyasha planted a soft, almost tickling kiss along her tight skin. With her nose pressed against his Adam's apple, Kagome closed her eyes and inhaled his scent until it filled her lungs entirely. Her body quivered in the warmth of his, only separated from the heat of his touch by a thin sheet of satin. Kagome's breath hitched when she felt Inuyasha lowering his lips to follow the trail of her face. So slowly she would have swore he was teasing her, he planted small, loving kisses along her temple, her cheekbone, her cheek, her ear—the moan that left her lips caused his cock to ache wantingly—her jawline, her neck.
"Inu," Kagome started, pausing to lick to her lips, "yasha."
He couldn't help himself. He could feel her taut, full breasts against his chest, pushing into him from the delight of feeling his breath on her skin. Loosening the material of her nightgown in his hand, Inuyasha trailed his palm along the small of her back, dragging it up her spine, and then caressing her shoulders, trailing her arms.
When she angled her head up for him like that, how was he not supposed to focus the attention of his lips on her jugular?
Kagome's fingers fisted into the material of his tank top when Inuyasha intensified the pressure of his kiss to the side of her neck. Her mumbling his name urged him on. Releasing his lips from her flushed skin, Inuyasha deeply inhaled her scent. His senses devoured by her, Inuyasha couldn't help taking a mouthful of her neck between his lips. He sucked on the mound of skin captured between his teeth, trailing his tongue in circles. Kagome pushed her breasts and pelvis into him, her breathing escalating along with her tightening fingers. Wanting to hear her moan for him once more, Inuyasha opened his mouth and drew the outline of her jugular with the tip of his tongue.
"Inuyasha," Kagome moaned, her womanhood on fire. "Please, I—I," she gasped, her words drowning in her arousal.
"Do you want me to stop, Kagome?"
He breathed the words into the side of her neck, simultaneously sliding his hand down her spine to grab a handful of her nightgown over her tailbone. The action exposed her thong; however, Inuyasha didn't know that. If he had, he wouldn't have been able to control himself, helplessly grabbing a handful of her cheek and pulling her against his hardening pelvis.
"Inuyah," she gasped, "sha."
"Do," he kissed her neck. "You. Want," he said nipping at her jawline. "Me. To," he captured her ear lobe in his mouth and sucked on it dotingly, his eyes almost rolling back into his head at feeling her hips buck against him. "Stop?"
The sound of the 'p' exploded in Kagome's ear and she lowered her head uncontrollably, grabbing for Inuyasha's face, maddeningly pulling his lips to meet hers. Willingly acquiescing, Inuyasha grabbed her arm and pulled her on top of him, growling pleasingly into her mouth as he felt the inner parts of her thighs land on either side of his hips.
"Oh god," Kagome moaned in his mouth as Inuyasha's one hand cupped her face while the other stroked the milky skin of her thigh. "Inuyasha, I—" she gasped.
"You what?"
Kagome moaned against his mouth as his tongue separated her lips. When Kagome pulled back for a mouthful of air, Inuyasha greedily sucked on her lower lip, the smacking sound of their disconnection echoing around them.
"Inuyasha, I—"
"Want me to stop?"
Inuyasha couldn't stop the growl that rumbled his chest when he felt Kagome buck her moistness against his belly. He wanted to push the girl's smaller body lower. He wanted to instruct her to do that again. He wanted to feel how wet she was against the length of his manhood.
"I want you so badly," she whispered against his mouth, pulling away with a gasp. Her intense, glazed eyes met his. Her hands flat against his chest, she stopped him from leaning forward to capture her lips in another kiss.
She needed to take control. If he were to kiss her like that again, or suck on her like that again, Kagome knew it would only be a matter of time before their clothes started coming off.
"But," she spoke, running her fingertips across his lips tenderly. "I want to wait."
Inuyasha smirked against her fingertips and grabbed the hand in his, kissing the pads of her fingers softly.
"You want me to stop?" he repeated, his gruff, aroused voice causing Kagome's eyes to flutter.
"Yes."
Inuyasha smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her gently on the lips before angling his chest so Kagome would slide off him. Laying on her side, Inuyasha adjusted his arm so it rounded her shoulders, holding her small body against his. Kagome's face rested on his shoulder, just above his armpit, and she smiled at listening to the panting breaths of air entering and leaving his lips. Part of her felt badly for getting him so worked up. However, another part of her loved that he had reacted to her this way.
"Is this okay?" he asked, looking down at her flushed face.
Kagome nodded, her pounding heart unable to allow any words to escape her mouth. He was so gentle, so considerate. She could tell he wanted to please her, and it warmed her heart at how understanding he had been of her request.
"Thank you," she said into his shoulder, the side of his neck taking up most of her field of vision. It took all of her willpower to keep her eyes closed to prevent her from reaching forward to take the flesh into her mouth.
With his free hand, Inuyasha wiped her bangs from her forehead and placed a gentle kiss on the warmed, damp skin. Cradling her in his arms, Inuyasha closed his eyes, his arousal slowly melding into sleep.
"Thanks for letting me stay, Kagome."
Author's Note
*Fan's self* Oh my. What a chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! (^-^) Lots more where that came from.