"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked, eyes locked onto hers and waiting.

Orihime nodded slowly. It wasn't that she was completely okay with letting him into the shower with her after being more or less ignored by him all week, but her curiosity was too strong to refuse.

He sensed a slight hesitation on her part. He disrobed in the dry part of the bathroom, carefully removing one item at a time and piling it on top of the washing machine, watching her every breath. The words of his coworker from earlier in the afternoon echoed in his mind:

'Orihime has only been out to go to the grocery store. Otherwise she stays home and is lonely. She's used to living with Ran-chan. Now she is holed up at your apartment with no one for company except a ghost in the night and a rushed goodbye in the morning.'

His eyelids lowered and he sighed for a moment, silently acknowledging his part in her hesitance. A moment later, his eyes rose, slowly traversing her figure, the delicious sight causing the heavy feeling to fade into the background of his consciousness. He licked his lips and continued undressing only after his eyes locked back onto hers.

She stepped back into the steamy space until her back touched the wall.

He didn't look away as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Orihime's wide, searching eyes held his gaze until they were nearly nose to nose. She could feel the end of his erection graze her belly and come to rest on her navel, but she did not look away.

"You've been neglected, haven't you, Wife?" he murmured, lowering his face and pressing a kiss onto her shoulder. His hands found her elbows and slowly slid up her arms, then wrapped around her body, pressing her to him.

"I'm sorry."

His hushed words made Orihime gasp unevenly and shiver. He had neglected her. The acknowledgement exhumed her buried feelings, making her eyes burn and a pang throb in her throat.

Ulquiorra heard her breath and felt her stiffen. He did not know what to do. Clearly his actions bothered her more than he suspected. He tightened his embrace for a moment longer before releasing her with a sigh.

He had to do better.

"Sit," he commanded with a slight nod to the plastic stool in the shower. "Which shampoo do you prefer?"

Stealing a glance at regretful moss colored eyes, she dutifully sat with her back towards her husband. "The almond-scented one," she replied.

He saw the redness rimming her eyes and his heart sank to his belly. Wordlessly, he took the shower head off its mount and aimed it towards the back of her head, cupping her hairline to prevent the water from running into her eyes.

When her hair darkened to the color of melted chocolate, he hung the shower head back on the mount, deposited some shampoo into his free hand, and began gently massaging it into her scalp with slow, kneading movements.

"How was your week, Orihime?" he asked as suds began to form.

"Oh," she said, then paused. This was not the direction she thought this interaction was going to go based on the state of his arousal at last glance. "Good. The way you had everything organized in the apartment made it easy to navigate. I feel like I can find my way around no problem," she reported.

Ulquiorra took a deep breath in and exhaled heavily. She was putting on a brave face, but why? Black brows furrowed as he reached for the shower head again to rinse away the shampoo. He was halfway finished with that task when he finally decided to respond, "That is not what your aunt reports to my co-worker, Ayasegawa."

Orihime's cheeks blazed and she turned slowly on the stool, twisting her spine to look at her husband's face. "What do you mean?"

"She tells him that you are lonely. Is it true?" Ulquiorra replied. He stepped to the side so he could see her face when she answered him, seemingly unbothered by their nudity.

Orihime was not so unfazed. His cock, while less rigid than before, was still impressive and just above her eye level. It was difficult for her to drag her eyes up to his. She had to clear her throat before responding, "Well, yeah… I know you're busy at work, it's just…"

She swallowed hard, eyes drawn back to his manhood. Her tongue darted out for a split second to wet her lips as they pressed together. Wet nipples tightened and lifted as she took in another quick breath. She didn't even have the awareness to think of how quickly she was distracted by her baser feelings.

He did not miss a thing. The corners of Ulquiorra's lips twitched as he fought a hungry smile. Perhaps his wedding night performance was better than he remembered and she was desperate for more. That's how it appeared to him.

Patience, he reminded himself. "Just what?" he asked, then grabbed the conditioner bottle and stepped behind her again.

Orihime had to blink away the distraction she had fallen under before responding, "Just… I kind of thought married life would be a little more interactive." She had chosen her words carefully.

Ulquiorra sighed quietly as he smoothed the conditioner into her hair, at war with himself. On one hand, she was right that they went from marital bliss to marital desert. On the other hand, this was what they had agreed, wasn't it? Sex twice per week?

Okay, so he had dropped the ball, but the week was not over yet.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt frustrated but couldn't understand why. Was it her? No, Orihime had kept her end of the bargain. Ulquiorra had no complaints about her housekeeping or cooking. He enjoyed the few moments per day he spared for her, and he had very much enjoyed her body on their wedding night.

Why was he so annoyed with her disappointment? Why did he feel bubbling resentment towards her implied desire for more connection?

No. Her wanting more connection was not offensive. Is it that she seems to feel entitled to it when that was never something we discussed?

That was it. He couldn't tolerate additional demands on his time and attention when he had his own life that he was so entrenched in. This is why he never dated. This is why he made this kind of marriage contract in the first place!

Resolving to enforce the boundaries they'd set before she got too comfortable trodding all over them, he quickly rinsed out her hair and then asked if she was sufficiently cleansed.

After she nodded, he sent her off to the bedroom ahead of himself. He washed himself quickly and then toweled off to join her. He would meet his obligations to her but nothing more. She was just going to have to live with it.

Orihime toweled off in front of the sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror, wondering what just happened in the bathroom. He seemed excited to see her and then suddenly dismissed her.

Clearly they needed to communicate better. Wasn't it Ulquiorra who originally proposed that they would eat dinner together? He had not been home in time for a single meal except breakfast this week. And while she could understand work making him too busy to get home from time to time, they shared a household and they needed to be able to talk to one another!

While Ulquiorra showered, she sighed and went about her nightly routine of brushing her teeth and applying face cream, then went to the bedroom to use lotion on the rest of her body. When that was done, she put on pajamas and began to blow dry her hair.

When she heard the kitchen timer beep, she realized her mistake.

"A bit early to be getting ready for bed, isn't it, Orihime?" her husband asked as he entered the room with a fluffy white towel wrapped around his hips and nothing more.

"Uh…" Orihime had no words as her mind failed, eyes transfixed on the sinew moving above the towel. "I, uh…"

Ulquiorra frowned. It seemed like she was avoiding the question. "Are you going to sleep now?" he finally asked, clearly unhappy.

"Uh… I forgot what time it was," Orihime said, then swallowed hard and pressed her eyes shut.

Her stomach chose that moment to protest its emptiness, loudly.

Ulquiorra snorted and murmured, "Very ladylike."

Orihime would have felt embarrassed if not for his comment, but his audacity at chiding her for this after the rollercoaster of emotions he'd put her through this week was enough to make her snap out of it. "Well excuse me, Mr. Eats-at-Midnight, but I'm usually hungry earlier than this! I haven't eaten since noon! And then you come in here with your body and your shampoo and get me all distracted and now it's almost seven and I'm so confused and hungry!" she whined.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened along with her tirade, and his mouth parted as she subsequently began stripping out of her pajamas. Watching her bend over to step out of her pajama bottoms and stomp around the room with her tits out until she got to the foot of the bed and folded them into a neat pile made him more confused than ever. He wanted to argue with her. He wanted to take the two steps between them, grab her by the arms, and push her back up against the wall so he could press himself to her body. He wanted her to explain herself.

He had to clear the choked sensation from his voice before he finally sputtered, "Woman, what are you doing?"

She sighed and avoided eye contact as she twisted a bra around her torso. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting dressed for dinner," she muttered, expression mildly annoyed.

Her stomach rumbled again, louder and longer this time.

Too long for it not to be funny.

It even rose in pitch at the end, as if pleading for food.

She slowly raised her eyes to his. He held her gaze for a moment before his composure broke. He tried not to laugh, truly. He didn't want to let go of his annoyance. He wanted her to admit that she was wrong, etc., but he couldn't help himself.

His wife - his beautiful, bountiful, capricious, naked wife - was simply hangry.

He chuckled quietly as he closed the distance between them. He brought a crooked finger to her chin and lifted it slightly as he smirked at her and said, "You don't have to get dressed for dinner."

She was not impressed. "Are you for real? What if I spill hot food on me? It'll burn! And I just took a shower," she protested.

Ulquiorra was not so easily discouraged. "I would be happy to clean you up again," he seemed to tease, bringing his face closer to hers.

Her brows lifted and her heart beat louder as his lips brushed against hers. She really thought it wasn't fair how he was able to manipulate her feelings so easily. She knew if he kissed her again, she would throw herself at him.

She wasn't just hungry for food.

"I don't want you to burn this perfect skin, though," her husband muttered, then lowered his lips to the space just above the swell of her right breast and placed a soft kiss there.

Orihime's annoyed thoughts faded into the background of her mind. Her attraction to him triggered and she took a step closer to him just as he raised his head.

He saw the look on her face and smirked. "We will eat. I will be happy to clean you up again later, whether or not the mess is from dinner."

They ate in their bathrobes. Orihime briefly filled him in on the mundane events of the week. He told her about his co-workers ribbing him for working too hard.

"Do you always work this hard?" she asked, setting down her cutlery. She had eaten more quickly than he had.

He chewed the bite in his mouth thoughtfully, mulling over the answer. "No, only when I have work that needs to be done."

"Oh," she replied, sounding partially relieved. "What had to be done this week?"

He cleared his throat. He did not want to answer this question. The fact of the matter was, he was busy.

Busy avoiding her.

He refused to consider why that was before and he didn't want to start now, but she kept asking these questions…

"A project. It needed to be reworked. It was not done to my satisfaction the first time," he finally said before stabbing another piece of meat. She didn't have to know that the project was marital.

She nodded as if she understood. "I like that you always do your best, Ulquiorra," she said, offering him a small smile.

He could have scoffed. His best? No. She had never seen his best. He would remedy that oversight very soon. "This was delicious, Orihime," he announced, pushing his plate away from him a bit. "I'm glad we caught up. I will help you with putting everything away, and then…" he paused and looked at her suggestively.

This is it, Orihime thought to herself. They agreed to twice a week, and that was his cue. Well, she was clean, fed, and ready for bed.

She couldn't say she was really looking forward to it, not after the weird hot and cold thing going on all week, especially today.

She was curious, however, and curiosity was overriding her halfhearted inner protests. She got straight to work getting the leftovers put away while Ulquiorra loaded the dishwasher.

"Let the pan soak overnight, we'll wash it in the morning," Ulquiorra said after he washed his hands in the kitchen sink.

Orihime nodded. "All done, then."

He nodded at her, staring for a moment before turning towards the bedroom, expecting her to follow. Truthfully, he was nervous. Today was up and down and expectations seemed to be all over the place and hard to pin down. He really wanted to redeem himself for his poor performance on their wedding night, and he knew one surefire way to do that.

"Lay down on the bed, Orihime," he stated. "Get comfortable."

She watched his back and followed as expected. She had to admit to herself that she didn't have very high expectations after being let down for an entire week. Regardless, she climbed onto the bed, got into the center, and reclined her shoulders and head until they rested on the pillow.

Ulquiorra swallowed. He knew he could do this, but he didn't know how far and how long he would have to go for it to be a success. He knew he had to have patience for this seduction.

"Are you ticklish at all?" he asked as he put a knee on the bed and relaxed the tie on his robe but did not remove it.

"Only my feet, really," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I want you to get you relaxed, Orihime. I can't do that if you are a giggling mess, now, can I?" he replied with half a smile.

She returned the expression, but it didn't reduce the tension in her brow, he noted. Very well. He brought his other knee up onto the bed and crawled until he sat beside her left leg. Picking it up by the ankle, he set it in his lap and smoothed both hands up and down with firm pressure, from ankle to knee. He did it for the better part of a minute before pushing the limb up and over his legs, so he could sit between hers.

Orihime's lids fluttered shut and she breathed slowly as his hands melted the tense muscle beneath them. He picked up her neglected ankle and began to massage it the same way as the first, and a soft sigh left her lips. "That feels so nice," she breathed.

Ulquiorra looked at her face and hummed his acknowledgement. This was just the first step. When he finished the right leg, he returned to the left, repeating the same strokes as the first time, except this time dragging his fingers down the top of her foot a bit and spending some time at the back of her ankle. If it was massage she liked, a massage she would have.

The line in Orihime's brow started to relax. A heavy exhale left her lungs and her shoulders sunk into the pillow. There was still a lot of tension in her body, but her husband's fingers were working it out, stroke by stroke.

He knew he was on the right track with her reaction, so he again switched legs and repeated the motions he had used on the previous. When he decided enough time had passed, he scooted up on his seat and reached past her knees, carefully massaging her hamstring. He repeated on the other side, then slid his hands up to the top of her thigh and gave the same treatment to her quads.

By the time he'd reached her hips, the soft, closed-eyed expression on Orihime's face was all the encouraging he needed to wrap both hands around her pelvis and drag his fingers across her ass, grazing the apex of her thighs with his fingertips as he pulled at the muscle under her skin.

Orihime gasped and instinctively bent her knees, widening the gap between her legs. The action pulled her robe apart to expose her sex to him. Ulquiorra paused, waiting for a sign that she might object and try to cover up, but Orihime simply breathed deeply and let her legs fall open further.

Ulquiorra smirked and got back to work, lengthening his strokes, stretching past his wife's lower back, up and around the sides of her torso, then slowly pulling back down to her ass. He couldn't help but admire her body, and as his hands reached ever higher, his shoulders lowered, bringing his face down to wash his breath over her lower belly.

Orihime was reacting exactly as he had hoped. The tension in her neck and shoulders released and she felt a squirming heat pool in her pelvis. When she felt the ties of her bathrobe loosen and her husband's hands pulling the robe away from her breasts, she simply sighed and lifted her chin to expose herself further.

"Wife?"

"Hmm?" came the almost sleepy reply.

"I would like to see your shoulders."

A crooked smile appeared on her lips. She thought he was so strange, but she was happy to indulge his request.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened as they watched her breasts move while she pulled her arms out of the robe's sleeves. He had been so anxious all week that he had pushed the memory of her body out of his mind. Now that it was right in front of him again, he mentally kicked himself.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, sliding his hands up her torso until his hands caged her breasts.

She gasped as he squeezed gently and slid his body up until they were face to face, only then opening her eyes and replying, "You're not so bad yourself."

The rakish smirk and glint of his green eyes in response to her sentiment drew another sharp inhalation. The quiet voice in her mind telling her that she was still upset with him softened to barely a whisper. Her body was willing, and her mind was almost there.

Ulquiorra felt her body melt into the bed beneath them, and it felt to him like she was surrendering. That was good, but he wasn't going to be satisfied with mere surrender tonight. In order to restore the balance of their relationship, in his opinion, he needed to execute a flawless victory.

He lowered his face to hers. "You have no idea just how bad I can be, Orihime," he whispered against her lips, each word enunciated slowly so that she could feel the way they moved against hers while his breath washed over them. When he finally kissed her, she whimpered and twisted her hips in response.

He allowed her to press herself against his robe as he deepened his kiss and continued to massage her breasts for several minutes, hands not stopping when he broke the kiss and trailed his lips to her ear. "Do you want it, Woman?" he breathed, then nibbled on her earlobe.

She did not care what 'it' was. She just knew she was desperate for it. A whimpered "Please," fell from her lips as she raised her hips again.

He chuckled as his lips moved down the column of her neck, the deep tone rumbling against her skin as he tasted it. When he reached the swell of her breast, he latched on and sucked until she squealed.

When he released the skin, he lifted his head to admire the mark he'd left with a smirk. "Do you want more, Woman?" he asked, pulling his eyes away from it to hers.

There was a tiny trace of fear in her eyes until she saw the lust in his and glanced down at where he had his lips a moment ago. When she saw the darkening hickey, she understood. Where it had been slightly painful now felt alive with fire and yearning. Her eyes found his again and darkened as she replied, "Yes, more."

His smirk widened and his eyes narrowed as he lowered his mouth down to her other breast, leaving a matching hickey on it. His lips moved from breast to breast, marking the surface around her nipples until he couldn't resist the delicious peaks on top.

When his lips closed over her nipple, Orihime gasped and writhed. "Oh, it feels so good," she cried softly as her hips grinded against his robe, desperate to quell a bit of the impossible tension between them.

Ulquiorra continued to suckle until she was whimpering, then gave the other side the same attention. Only this time, he moved his hips away from her, getting both knees to one side of her body and snaking a hand between her legs, letting two fingers flick between her folds just once.

She was wet.

He wanted her wetter.

When he removed his hands and sat up, she nearly choked on a cry. It felt cruel for him to leave her in this condition.

"Oh, what is it, Wife?" he asked, faux concern dripping from his voice.

Her lower lip jutted out for a moment and sad eyes met his as she pouted until she felt his fingers slide up the side of her neck, thumb traveling slowly over the top of her throat with firm pressure. Her eyes widened as she understood the danger he posed for a second until the thumb crested her chin and pressed her pouting lip back into its natural position.

"You must learn to trust me, Woman," he scolded her gently.

Again she whimpered and her shoulders relaxed into the bed. The cool air between them chilled her skin and caused her nipples to rise into hard buds, drawing his attention from her face and causing him to smile. She was almost where he wanted her.

He removed the thumb from her lips and twisted his fingers so that his hand cupped the base of her skull and cradled her neck before he reached his other hand between her knees. Lifting her leg and neck slightly, he maneuvered her body so that her ass was on the side edge of the bed.

When she was where he wanted, he took a pillow and dropped it to the floor beneath her. Before getting off the bed, he kissed between her ribs and down her belly, leaving sporadic marks on the soft skin below her belly button.

He avoided her mound and kissed down the top of one thigh before he got off the bed and bent over to kiss the other one, sliding his tongue down the inside of it to her knee and lapping his way back up, almost to the apex of her thighs, before turning his face to the squishy flesh on the opposite side and sucking it into his mouth as much as he could without putting too much pressure on it, just enough to get his teeth on it and bite gently.

She keened and lifted her free leg in response, but did not try to escape, but rather pushed into the bite.

"That's better," he murmured against her skin and then lapped at it. He blew his breath over the wet spot until it was dry and then kissed the spot. "How do you feel, Orihime?" he asked, head nestled between her legs, facing her pussy.

A tortured whine answered him. "Please?" was the only word she could think of.

"Do you want me to touch you?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

With a nod, he grabbed her thighs and pushed them up and out of his way until they could rest on his shoulders, then got himself into position. He raised his hands to her slit, gently lifting and separating the outer lips so he could see the glistening pink skin beneath.

It was drenched, as if coated in nectar. "Let me know if it is too much," he said before tentatively pressing a kiss to her clitoral hood.

The action was met with soft whine, so he did it again, this time with more pressure.

Orihime could not find it in her to resist or object, even though she had never imagined anyone ever doing this to her before. When he raised his head away from her, her hips followed until they couldn't anymore.

This caused him to chuckle. "Patience," he scolded affectionately, before placing an open mouthed kiss on her slit, pressing his tongue flat against her opening and dragging it slowly up to her clit, letting her arousal coat it and travel to the back of his mouth.

The hum of appreciation he gave in response to her flavor rumbled through his kiss and made her whine and twist her hips. "Please, Ulquiorra, please," she begged, not really knowing or caring how he would satisfy her, but desperate for it nonetheless.

He was evil, though. He blew across her drenched pussy and chuckled again, watching the pink skin darken and throb. It wasn't until he saw her reach for her own breast that he started to lick her with purpose, dragging his tongue from her core to her clit at a consistent pace and pressure.

Orihime grabbed her lower back and helped to lift her pelvis closer to his face, and Ulquiorra indulged her, pressing his mouth more deeply into her pussy and letting his tongue dip inside her vagina as she began to pant. He continued, holding his breath and gasping for air every couple of strokes, until she was vibrating in his mouth.

When she began to vocalize, chanting "Yes," "oh," and "Ulquiorra," he continued until the burn in his lungs became increasingly uncomfortable, then finally brought his right hand to her body and slid one finger deep inside of her, focusing his tongue on the upper region of her clit and freeing his nose to breathe as he added another finger and coaxed them in and out of her.

It didn't take more than ten passes before she tightened on his fingers. Her legs began to shake uncontrollably and she slapped a hand to her mouth and then another as she shrieked and began coming, soaking his chin and chest as she lost control of her body and squirted on his fingers.

He was not discouraged. He kept going as the pillow at his knees became damp and the woman in his mouth cried, feeling her walls tighten and pull on his fingers as she rode out her high.

Only when she reached down for his head and started to twist away from him did he stop.

"Something wrong, dearest?" he said, wiping his face with the back of his hand and staring up at her as she heaved, propped up on her elbows.

"Haaaaangh…" came the unintelligent reply.

"Would you mind if I had my way with you now?" he asked, getting to his feet and moving the wet pillow to the side, wiping the product of her orgasm off his chest with the bathrobe he started removing from his shoulders.

Her eyes widened. He still wanted her after all that?

She watched as he wiped his face again, this time with the hand that had been inside of her, licking the palm as it lowered and then bringing the wet hand to his straining cock, giving it a few strokes. He glanced up at her with questioning eyes. "Well?"

Her legs were shaking. She didn't know if she could. "Is there a way where I don't have to hold my legs up?" she finally asked with a trembling voice when she found it.

Ulquiorra smiled. "Roll over," he said, sliding his free hand up the side of her leg to her hip and guiding her. "Get your knees up under you and relax."

She did as he said, and let the side of her head rest on the bathrobe that was still in the center of the bed. It was much less effort for her in this position. "Like this?"

Ulquiorra took a step back to admire her ass. "I could look at this all day," he murmured, stepping up to her and putting his hands on each side, giving each cheek a firm squeeze. He let go and gave one side a soft swat and then the other, not enough to cause pain, just enough to see the flesh jiggle in response to the impact and listen to her gasp.

"Naughty," she scolded, but there was no offense behind it.

He chuckled. "You have no idea. Do you still trust me?"

"Yes, wait, what do you mean?"

"I mean, do you want me to wear a condom?"

"Oh…" she replied. She didn't want to conceive, but she didn't really know a lot about how pulling out worked or how effective it was. "It's up to you? If you can do it without… You know…"

He smirked and leaned over to get into her face a bit. She could smell herself on him and it was turning her on again. "Hmm… As much as I want to mark you everywhere… I don't know if I trust myself," he said before kissing her cheek quickly and turning to the bedside drawer.

She heard him messing with the wrapper and a snap of latex and a hiss from him as he moved back behind her. "How are you doing, Woman?"

"I'm okay," she said. She had no idea what she was in for.

"Okay, here goes," he said, taking his cock and sliding it between her pussy lips, trying to gather moisture onto the latex. He smacked her ass a couple more times, not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to make her moan and wiggle and arouse her. When he finally felt she was wet enough again, he stopped teasing her and lined himself up to her entrance.

She grasped the bedding below her as he pressed into her, crossing her feet one over the other as the stretch kept going.

She still wasn't used to this.

Just when the fear that he was going to rip her apart started to make her whimper, he stopped, and she felt his balls rest against her mound.

"Fuck, Orihime," he hissed, staying still inside of her for a moment while he adjusted to her tightness.

Her fingers relaxed slightly, and she opened the eye not pressed into the mattress enough to see that he was squinting in a pained expression.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

His hands came to hold her hips still, thumbs drawing small circles on her ass in an attempt to soothe both of them while he came to terms with the way their connection felt to him in that moment. "It's… It's overwhelming," he breathed, then pulled out slowly about halfway and moved back in.

Orihime sighed. This slow pace suited her fine. She was still coming down from him eating her out and felt lightheaded. "Same," she admitted, a small smile on her lips.

He watched her expression gentle and a strong urge to take the condom off and breed her washed over him.

He stopped everything, standing stock still, hands grasping her hips.

Orihime kept the dreamy expression on her face for a few more moments until she noticed his grip tighten. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again.

"Woman, if you knew- I'm-" He had to finish. He had to do it now or risk giving into his desires. "Tell me if you need me to stop," he said.

As soon as she nodded, he started fucking her like it was a race against the clock. The sounds of their wet bodies slapping together filled the bedroom along with Ulquiorra's quiet grunts and Orihime's squeaks and squeals.

She didn't think it would be possible to come again, but while he pounded her, his cock and body hit the pleasurable spots inside her and around her pussy from different angles than it had during cunnilingus, so by the time Ulquiorra was rasping heavy breaths, she felt herself pushing back on him and clenching her teeth as her walls started fluttering around his cock.

"Oh fuck," Ulquiorra choked on the words as he felt her vagina ripple over his thrusts. He threw his head back as she began to whine and come on him again and a tortured groan ripped through his throat.

Rips of pleasure shot through his shaft as he filled the condom, seven thrusts until he couldn't take it anymore and he stilled deep inside of her, gripping her hips and choking for air.

Orihime whined and pressed back on him, swiveling her hips in a small circle as the last of her orgasmic contractions pulled him back in even as he began to soften.

He whimpered at the sensation. It was too much. Not just his oversensitive cock, but his entire body - his soul - felt almost wounded in the aftermath. "Orihime," he said, his voice small and pathetic.

She heard the distress in his voice and immediately lowered her hips, turning around as he fell out of her. "What happened?" she asked, worry coloring her voice.

He turned his face to the side. He didn't know what came over him. He figured it was better to move to the side of her where she couldn't see him as well. He peeled off the condom and tied the end, walking it to the small bin in the room and wrapping it in tissues before letting it fall into the trash.

He then glanced back to his wife and saw the sweet look of concern on her face.

Schooling his features into a characteristically more stoic expression, he shook his head. "It's nothing, Orihime. That was just… I'm glad I married you," he said with a tight smile.

She tilted her head in confusion.

"Don't look at me like that. What do you want me to say? You're sexy? You're hot? You feel like the best I've ever had? Okay," he muttered as he walked over to pick up the soiled pillow and robe on the floor.

She didn't understand. "You don't sound glad," she said quietly, reaching for the robe on the bed and pulling it up to cover herself.

He realized he wasn't being fair to her. He could see that his actions were hurting her. He just didn't know how he was feeling or how he could stop. "I am glad. I just…"

He pressed his lips together. This is why he had been avoiding her. It wasn't because he hadn't made her climax on their wedding night.

It was because he was afraid of her.

She made him feel things he had easily avoided in the past. Things that made him uncomfortable.

"I need to clean up and gather my thoughts, okay?" he said, trying to appease her. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight. In the morning, we'll clean up this mess and talk, okay?" he said with a contrite smile.

He saw her face fall. He walked away as he heard her sniffle and felt like the world's biggest asshole, but there was nothing he could do for her at the moment.

a/n: sorry for the delay. No beta this chapter, so lmk if you spot something weird - i just didn't want to delay it any longer.