Madame Masseuse

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place"

Kagome bit her tongue and tried to silence her devious thoughts as she felt his hardened nipple pass underneath the skin of her palm. Her fingertips slid up his sternum towards his neck, resting lazily for a moment on his collarbone, before they scurried to grasp a shoulder tightly in each hand. She massaged and rolled her fingers along the length of his arms, stopping to rub his left hand between hers. Her eyes traced the cracks of his knuckles. She admired the pleasurable contrast of feeling his coarse, hard-worked fingers against her own digits, softened from years of handling massage oils.

A secretive smile drifted across Kagome's cheeks.

This was the fourth time Inuyasha had come to Madame's. His third time asking for Kagome after their initial introduction at the bachelor party. He had yet to miss a Wednesday evening appointment.

He was becoming a regular.

When Suki had handed Kagome her client schedule the Wednesday morning following the bachelor party, Kagome's eyes circled, traced, and memorized his name repeatedly. She even checked the physical copy again during her morning break: she just wanted to make sure she read it right the first time. Checking it again during her lunch break, Kagome had found her stomach fluttering with enthused expectation realizing she would get to see him again. Rolling her eyes at her own behaviour, Kagome had placed the paper face-down on the counter. Casually reviewing the sheet again later that afternoon, Kagome assured herself that she was just wanting a refresher on her next client; she most definitely was not checking it again just to verify that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her…

But then it was 18:50, and she was getting the room ready for him, and she kept habitually redirecting her eyes to the mirror in the room to make sure her hair looked okay, that her mascara hadn't flaked, and then she was paged that he was ready for her, and her heart pole-vaulted into her throat.

And then she went to get him, and she saw him—with his muscular physique, meticulous silver-hair, golden-pooled eyes that observed everything, and those adorable dog-ears nestled amongst his silver tresses that she wondered if it would be inappropriate to touch, after all appropriate demon etiquette was something never included in her orientation at Madame's. And then her eyes took in the so-well-defined collarbone peeking out from the billowing of his wrapped robe, and it made her mouth water.

Her churning, quivering insides had verified just how excited she was to see him again.

How long had it been since she was last this giddy about a guy? She couldn't even recall acting this way over Hojo.

That entire day joyous disbelief had sprouted from her stomach, a stupid grin worn on her face as proof of her excitement to see him again. Despite the awkwardness of going to escort him from the men's only waiting area, Kagome had found herself able to settle into the comfort of her usual routine. Although, he would have had to be pretty daft not to notice the flush on her face or her inability to keep eye contact when she said hello.

Thankfully, the fact that Inuyasha barely said five words to her helped her keep her cool.

Both the second and third visit followed the same unexciting pattern: he would offer her a brief greeting, engage her in some small talk, and then they would fall into the routine silence as Kagome's hands lavished his upper body with attention.

The rest of their exchanges while she worked were also like clockwork. Her eyes would follow the motions of her hands across his body while certain thoughts would tease and prod from the corners of her mind—thoughts Kagome knew she really shouldn't be having about a client but seemed to present themselves on their own accord. Then, she would let him know his time was up, a comment usually made with a blush coating her face, and then she would leave the room to give him privacy to change.

And then she would go a whole week before it started all over again.

And then…and then…

Kagome felt like she was living minute to minute whenever she knew she was about to see him, when he finally got there. It was hard not to show her disappointment when his hour appointment was over.

Every time she saw him, Kagome found herself harbouring on what to say to him. She found herself questioning if having a conversation with him during the massage would be a norm, like it was the first time, or if that was just a fluke because Miroku had been such a conversationalist. Much to her chagrin, he never uttered a word to her during the whole hour; only those few words of greeting when she went to collect him.

But, regardless of his silence on her table, being the stubborn female and professional that she was, Kagome swore herself to silence, determined to not speak to him until he spoke to her first.

It wasn't childish. It was professional. She was certain of it.

Her cheeks were stained crimson every second her hands were on his body. It was juvenile and ridiculous—not to mention completely unprofessional—but she couldn't help it! Every time he came back, she found her stability falter a little bit more. She would escort him to the room, force herself to follow process, but then she found her thoughts would drift into questions like: Was he always this attractive or is it just this stupid crush? Did he always look at me that way when he watched me work? Jeez—I wish he would stop watching me work! What's so wrong with having a back massage? I really wish he would just roll over onto his stomach already! Is it just me, or is he lying on his back more than last time? I wonder why he keeps asking for me...?

Her mind ravaged and circled with questions, all the while trying to fight back the urge to speak to him and to keep her professional composure.

Yet, she couldn't deny that it drove her absolutely crazy they still hadn't exchanged more than a few words each of the times he came back. Why would he have listened to her their first time parting and come back for massage—three weeks in a row—and asked for her—by name—if he had no intention of talking to her? Why was he coming back at all?

Maybe he has a really stressful job and just needs a massage, Kagome, she would chastise herself. Maybe you're just fixating on nothing because you miss the one-on-one affection with a male since Hojo dumped you…

Kagome tried to make herself see reality; she truly wanted to believe she was being silly, developing a little crush on a client.

But her brain struggled not to harbour on and encourage those devious little thoughts beginning with 'what if'.

What if he's lonely since Kikyou left him?

What if he's shy and that's why he can only muster small talk like, 'Hey Kagome, how's it going'?

What if he thinks I'm so sexy he's intimidated by me?

What if he thinks it's too cliché to hit on his masseuse?

What if he's waiting for me to make the first move?

Kagome didn't want him to be like Koji, or Myoga, or any of her other male regular clients. He was by far becoming her favourite client, and it wasn't for pure, innocent reasons at all. She looked forward to being able to touch him, despite the churning stomach that thought gave her. Every ministration of her hands, every indentation of her fingers into his flesh, it made her grow more attracted to him.

Kagome tried to shake her head of these thoughts. Turning her face away from his intense gaze, she tried to ignore the puzzled look he shot her, noticing the strange look on her face.

Inwardly sighing and telling herself off for her unprofessionalism—again—Kagome continued to apply her pressure into his palm.

If she was honest with herself, the worst part wasn't even the thoughts she had about him.

The worst part was when she started her little 'tests'.

When he was scheduled to come back for the second week in a row, Kagome had to figure out if the attraction was mutual; otherwise, she was going to drive herself crazy. She wanted to know why he kept coming back to her specifically. Why did he prefer to watch her work? Why would his gaze linger on hers if there wasn't some attraction there?

She was determined to provoke him into either speaking to her or she would catch him checking her out. Either way, Kagome knew she needed some closure. Either she was crazy and she could put her asinine behaviours behind her, or she could figure out her next step with confirmation that he was somewhat interested.

That led to test #1: switching her scrub top for a somewhat low-cut, v-neck t-shirt that matched her dusty blue bottoms.

Considering she had to bend over the table to perform her work, it didn't take a PhD to realize that her cleavage would be highly visible to him, especially since he seemed so intent to watch her work. However, to Kagome's chagrin, he either had absolutely no interest in her, or he was just really good at hiding a sneak peek. He hadn't even so much as flushed from embarrassment. Kagome had smiled inwardly in memory of that lovely pink hue that had coated his face when he first found his way on her table—he wanted her to finish him with her hands—as innocently as it was spoken, she couldn't deny that the thought still caused a ruffle of arousal to twirl in her stomach.

Test #1 a failure in her books, she moved on to test #2: using a scented massage oil exclusively meant for dog demons.

Kagura made the recommendation to Kagome directly, saying that the oil was one of the best ways Kagura made such a lingering impression on Sesshoumaru. Borrowing the oil from Kagura to use on Inuyasha, Kagome had to control her giggles when she heard Inuyasha groan for the first time. The flush on his cheeks immediately following the sound made Kagome realize he was embarrassed that the moan had escaped him. But Kagome just continued on as if she hadn't heard it, silently marking a victorious point on her scorecard.

The victory of test #2 caused Kagome to purchase her own oil for Inuyasha moving forward, and she brought out her secret weapon for his third visit. He may have still been as silent with her as always, but that moan was all the encouragement Kagome needed to continue on with her examinations.

Now, for this, his current, visit, Kagome thought why not try a combination of tests one and two? Why not bring back the low-cut t-shirt? Hell, why not accompany it with one of the sexist bras she owns?

Kagome was certain that single life and her raging hormones were not a good or flattering combination.

"Can I get you to roll onto your stomach, Inuyasha?"

He had closed his eyes for just a moment, only to reopen them at the sound of her voice.

"Why?"

Kagome sighed. This again. "You had identified shoulder pain on your client card. Don't you want me to address that pain?"

"What you're doing is fine."

Kagome wiped at her brow with the back of her hand in frustration. "Is it safe to say, then, that we can remove that comment about your shoulder? If you're just gonna lay on your back the whole time, I can't do anything for your shoulder."

"Listen, Kagome," he argued, his tone taking the defensive, "I'm the paying customer here and I said what you're doing is fine. What's your problem?"

Kagome bit her lip to fight the urge to retaliate. This was the most the two of them had exchanged in conversation and she didn't want to get carried away with an argument.

Her cheeks flushed. Was it wrong that his attitude had a certain level of sexiness to it? Lord, Kagome was not in a good place in her current singledom.

"Alright, fine," she conceded. She pumped another two dollops of oil into her hands and rubbed her palms together. "We'll keep going with this then."

"What is that stuff anyway?" Inuyasha questioned, angling his chin to observe the bottle. "It's different from the oil you used the first time."

Running her thumbs along the tendons in his neck, Kagome met his inquisitive eye.

"It's a type of oil meant for dog demons," she stated, trying to sound very matter-of-factly. "I got it thinking you'd like it, seeing that you're starting to turn into a regular."

Inuyasha snorted. "That's getting a little ahead of yourself."

"Well," she scowled, "what would you call coming to see me four weeks in a row? That's seems like the definition of a regular to me."

Kagome trailed her hands across his collarbone and leaned forward to rub her hands across his ribcage. She felt her breath hitch when she felt the underside of her breast knock into Inuyasha's chin. Despite the blush on her face, he didn't seem to notice.

"I'm not a regular, alright?" He exhaled a laugh through his nose. "Maybe I'll start asking for someone else then."

Kagome's hands stopped for a moment and rested on his collarbone, her back rigid.

"Then go ahead," she countered, refusing to meet his challenging gaze. "You have every right to ask for someone else. Beats me why you keep asking for me in the first place."

Inuyasha scowled at her, fighting the urge to dip his eyes into her delicious, beckoning cleavage when she leaned over him again. He was lucky he had such good self-control; otherwise, he would have held an erection for the entire last two sessions. He couldn't imagine that would end well for him.

"Don't let it get to your head," he grunted. "I just don't know anyone else who works here. I don't know who I'd ask for."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You don't have to ask for anyone. You can just come in for a massage and get paired up with anyone who works here."

"So maybe I'd still be assigned to you in that case."

Kagome raised a taxing eyebrow at him. "Well, yeah, but you're not guaranteed to get me. Like you have been since you've been specifically asking for me."

Inuyasha turned his face away from her childishly, a pout visible on his face. Kagome couldn't help but smirk in pleasure at receiving the response from him.

"You know," she continued in a singsong tone. "I think you like having me as your masseuse."

"Feh," Inuyasha grumbled, "what gives you that impression?"

"Well," she sighed, pretending to think. "You keep asking for me—"

"—Because I don't have anyone else to ask for!" He interrupted.

"You like to stare at me while I work—"

"—Because I don't trust you! Remember that time you stabbed me with—"

"—You also moaned that one time," she giggled at him, stealing the words from his mouth. "I must be doing something right then, hm?"

The crimson on his cheeks betrayed him and Inuyasha turned his face away from her. Why the hell did she have to remind him of that? Stupid seductive massage oil meant for dog demons…

Inuyasha inwardly rolled his eyes. She probably didn't even realize she was using an intimate oil the equivalent of lube for dog demons.

"For the last time, Kagome, I didn't moan, I sighed. There's a difference."

"Mm-hmm," she replied cheekily, circling the table to begin to focus her attentions on his external oblique.

Working her fingers along his waist, Kagome's eyes indulged in the sight of the profound contouring of his hip, leading to his pelvis. Seeing that the band of the cotton thong clients were told to wear was lifted above his hip, Kagome's fingers brushed it gently, causing a stir in Inuyasha.

"You don't mind if I—"

Kagome didn't finish her sentence before sliding her fingertips below the strap to guide it lower down his hip.

"Wha—what are you doing?" Inuyasha choked, promptly rising himself onto his elbows to stare at her questioningly.

Startled and confused, Kagome retracted her hands to her chest, unknowingly wiping the oil from her hands onto her breasts.

"It—" She stuttered, her cheeks a deep shade of pink. "—It was in the way!"

A smirk slowly taking over the surprise on his face, Inuyasha released a quick laugh before laying back down on the table. He liked the look of Kagome with greased breasts.

"And here I thought for a sec that you were trying to undress me."

Kagome sputtered for a few seconds, which caused Inuyasha to laugh again.

"But that was clearly my mistake," he continued. "I'm good for you to continue."

Without a word, Kagome had to excuse herself for a second to walk around the table and face her counter, licking her lips feverishly. Using this as an excuse to pump more oil into her hands, Kagome distractedly kept replaying the words he just uttered.

Trying to undress me…Trying to undress me…I thought for a sec that you were trying to undress me.

He's not even wearing very much to begin with! Her mind tried to argue. But somehow that argument was a moot point, and Kagome could still feel her Kegel muscles shuddering at the thought.

Her brain droning on, lost in thought, she was oblivious to the actions of her hands, now overflowing with oil.

She also didn't know that Inuyasha was slowly becoming more and more aware of the scent of her arousal over the scent of the oil.

"I know my skin can be dry, Kagome, but I don't think you need that much of that shit."

The sardonic words from Inuyasha's mouth drew Kagome of her thoughts. She cursed what she thought to be a silent, sonofabitch, but Inuyasha sniggered at her words. Oil was all over the counter, seeping between her fingers, oozing down her wrists. Looking down at her cleavage, Kagome, for the first time, became aware of the streaks of oil across her chest.

"What the—" she mumbled. When did I do that!?

Knowing her oil-coated hands were out of the question, Kagome used her wrists to wipe at the oil stains on her shirt, hoping the oil was a water-based solution that would eventually dry and absorb into the material. Forgetting that there was oil dripping down her wrists, Kagome released a small shriek when she made the stain on her breasts worse. Now, instead of there being a small streak, there were two large, circular oil stains on her breasts. To make things worse, Kagome's shirt was now translucent from the liquid, her red bra very visible underneath the light blue material of her t-shirt.

"Everything okay over there, Kagome?" An amused Inuyasha inquired. He could smell the scent of the oil getting stronger on her, meaning that she must have spilled some of it on herself.

A panicked Kagome didn't respond to him.

Shit, shit, shit, shit! She swore, looking around for a towel in her panic. I can't turn around looking like this!

"We're not done are we?" She could hear the sarcasm and attitude in his tone. "I paid for a full hour! Why the hell did you stop at forty-five minutes, Kagome?"

It's fine. I'm fine, she tried to reassure herself. A) Maybe he won't notice. Or B) Maybe he will notice, but maybe this could be test #3. Yes! Okay, maybe I can pretend I don't know about the stains on my boobs…Oh God, Kagome. What are you doing? You won't pull this off. Okay, positive thoughts! Yes, test #3. Here we go!

"Sorry about that, Inuyasha," she laughed, forcing an ignorant smile on her face. "I spilled some of my oil and was just cleaning it up. I apologize for keeping you waiting."

Refusing to allow her eyes to take in the expression on his face, Kagome immediately went back to her work. She tried to force her mind to compartmentalize his body again. He was just a pair of shoulders. He was just a neck and she could only see his trapezius.

Keeping her gaze forward, narrowing her eyes on her work, Kagome didn't realize what the sight of her stains was doing to Inuyasha.

His eyes widened at observing the translucent, almost completely see-through material of Kagome's shirt. His sight was transfixed, staring upwards to observe the appealing curvature of her breasts in their red-laced bra. His eyes could clearly make out the floral, feminine pattern of the lace, the darkened red in the middle, identifying the core of her areola.

Inuyasha's mouth watered. He could feel his heart racing within his chest.

She must have known how she looked, what she was doing. The supple mounds jiggled from the intensity of her motions on his neck. Inuyasha took a scathing breath between his teeth when she decided to dip forwards to reach for his abdomen.

Just like earlier, her breast grazed his chin. Except, this time, he was acutely aware that it was her nipple that stroked his face. His demon senses could feel the skin puckering from the contact, and his keen sense of smell could identify the sudden surge of her arousal.

Feeling her hands linger on his chest, he raised his chin, his eyes mounting to meet hers. Her soft, brown eyes returned his gaze; however, he saw her shimmering orbs break eye contact to gaze down towards his lower torso.

"Kagome?" He questioned, not able to identify the sudden change in expression on her face.

"Uh—uhm," she paused to lick her lips. "Inu—Inuyasha?"

Slowly lowering his eyes to follow the line of her vision, Inuyasha's breath caught in his throat.

A very evident, throbbing erection was protruding from underneath the bedsheet that covered him.

Author's Note

Oh my, my, my. Thoughts on what's to happen next? Haha!