Madame Masseuse

by princesspvmpernickel

Kagome Higurashi is a recently single massage therapist at "Madame's", a luxury spa in downtown Tokyo where client anonymity is the number one priority. Needing a distraction, Kagome picks up a shift the same night the spa is hosting a bachelor party. Just when Kagome wants nothing to do with men, there's a certain client she can't get out of her mind or keep her hands off.

20. All That's Left Is Checkmate

Madame Masseuse

"All That's Left Is Checkmate"

---

Kagome knew she could be petty. It was one of her strangest skills that also moonlighted as a character flaw; she could become stubbornly insular over the stupidest things. It never seemed to matter how small or insignificant or silly. She was good at grudges and settling scores. She didn't like holding a grudge, but it came to her naturally, and sometimes grudges felt necessary, especially when they led to restitution. Being petty felt vindicating somehow, and Kagome loved feeling vindicated. Nothing hit quite the same as a good I told you so!

That was why, at the end of their meal, feeling overwhelmed and so full—full of love, full of good food—she had no problem plotting ways to retaliate against Inuyasha, and she did so without feeling ridiculous in the least for how petty it was to be thinking of reprisal in the wake of his kindnesses.

But then again, this particular pettiness that she felt was a good grudge, if such a thing existed.

Because this whole night? Everything Inuyasha had orchestrated? Every romantic, considerate detail? She needed to pay him back for all this somehow. There was no way she could let him get away with planning and executing the most perfect night out without finding a way to return the favour.

He had told her he planned to spoil her—and boy, did he ever deliver!—but spoiling the one you care about is a two-way street, and now Kagome needed to get even. If Inuyasha wanted to make her feel important and cared about, then she would turn that back on him tenfold!

As dessert dishes were collected by wait staff, Jaken entered the space like he was three times his actual size, approaching Inuyasha to request a private discussion with the half-demon, which he accepted, albeit reluctantly with a nod of his head.

There was always a polished grace in the way Inuyasha's body moved, the coordination of his muscles an artistic exhibit of suave leisure and control. Kagome was helpless against the lean and brawny appeal of him. Her eyes pursued his biceps and shoulders as he rose, witnessing the power of those muscles within his confining dress shirt as he pushed up from the table with his palms. She fought a lustful breath, her exhale hoarse.

"Be right back," he whispered against her lips before searing her with a not-nearly-long-enough kiss that had her overcome with desire.

Inuyasha was slow to turn from her, a cocky grin creeping up the left-side of his mouth as he took a few retreating steps from the table. Kagome kept his gaze as her eyes turned glassy, hooded. She gripped the pendant around her neck like a prayer that she could hold her arousal at bay and Inuyasha smirked at her like she was the most transparent thing on Earth.

Kagome—poor, Inuyasha-hungry, sexually-malnourished Kagome—could only stare at his body with longing in response to his words, his kiss, his taunting leer.

Kagome knew she would never find joy in watching Inuyasha walk away from her, but she certainly couldn't complain about the sensual spectacle of it. The movements of his body were a choreographed masterpiece; she was helpless against it. The flow of his hair, the confidence and authority in his gait, the swing of his arms that tautened muscles in his back beneath his dress shirt. A girlish smirk snuck away from her mouth when her eyes trailed down to stare at his butt. She chewed on her lip and curled her fingers into fists, itching to palm the rounded curve of his rear that was the textbook definition of bulbously sculpted.

With one hand on the door, he turned over his shoulder to give his girl—hard L, hard stop—one final look. His eyes lit up to find hers lingering on him, fully aware of the dip in her gaze to appreciate every glorious inch of her boyfriend, whose body and flesh she'd know intimately within a matter of hours. Like he knew where her thoughts tread, Inuyasha threw her a quick wink before Jaken was yelling at him from the hallway to stop dawdling.

Kagome chuckled as Inuyasha left the dining room and she offered the wait staff a large smile and appreciative bow of her head while she was left nursing her room temperature espresso. Finding herself with a few unexpected minutes of alone time, Kagome decided to take advantage of the opportunity to plot how she could get even with Inuyasha. The upswell of a moving cello piece distracted her for a moment before her eyes turned back to the collection of flowers in front of her and she smiled.

What could she possibly do to even the score with Inuyasha given all he'd done for her? A nice gesture? A gift of some kind? Organize their next date and surprise him? That idea didn't seem terrible; she could take him out somewhere nice, but it certainly would not be cha-ching level nice. 'Cause there's no way she could ever afford this level of spoiling...

That thought took the wind out of her sails a bit.

A new idea had her biting the inside of her cheek, squirming in her upholstered seat.

What about something physical? He's an actions-speak-louder-than-words kind of guy. Could she seduce him? Organize a sensual encounter? Draft a roleplay exercise? He did respond well when she cooked for him that one time. She wondered how he'd react to her making him a meal in nothing but an apron...

Kagome sighed. Nothing better emphasized her lack of sexual experience than trying to think of a showy way to seduce her boyfriend and coming up empty-handed.

Maybe there was an e-book she could buy about the art of seduction.

She wanted to roll her eyes at herself.

Was seducing Inuyasha really the best thing she could come up with? Was that even good enough as a thank you-slash-act of revenge for this incredible night out? Somehow it didn't seem like enough.

Sipping her espresso while she schemed, she also didn't care how petty it was to feel indignant towards Inuyasha for being so...enough for her.

Like, of course, he would turn out to be her dream guy. Of course, he'd prove her wrong for being so ridiculously worried about giving her heart to him. Of course, he'd plan the most perfect first date that would literally ruin all future first dates—although, she wouldn't be that upset if this first date turned out to be her last ever First Date.

The premise that Inuyasha could be the one had her straying down an unintentional mental path, a complete detour from her conspiring. A dumb, little grin grew up her face as her gaze softened on the assortment of floral arrangements in front of her. Unsurprisingly, this wasn't the first time this evening that Kagome had pondered things with Inuyasha being endgame. Though, she had to admit, it was a really nice change of pace to be excited about a future with Inuyasha with no shadow of panic or doubt.

Her fingers wrapped protectively around the teardrop charm at her neck.

As soon as Inuyasha presented her with the necklace—this symbol of long-term commitment that she tried not to overthink—Kagome, for the first time, wondered if the pull she felt to Inuyasha could be a mate thing. After all, ever since Inuyasha explained the concept of mates to her, Kagome assumed that mates had to be demons.

But then she learned about Rin and Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha's parents.

Kagome's heart jolted with excitement to discover that a human and a demon could be mates, that there existed a possibility, a precedence, that Inuyasha could be her soul's mate. Maybe it was the Drop, maybe it was all this talk about claiming, but Kagome found herself excited to see Rin at brunch next weekend, eager to learn more about what it meant to be mates, especially a human female mated to a (royal) demon male. Kagome was hopeful that Rin could impart some valuable insight and help Kagome clarify her relationship with Inuyasha and their potential matehood.

Kagome sighed. The exhale was half lovey-dovey, appreciative wonder and half a chiding reminder not to get too attached to this idea for fear of disappointment.

Was contemplating being Inuyasha's mate just jumping to conclusions? The wishful thinking of a hopeless romantic? A case of overeager, hopeful appetency?

What if how Kagome felt about Inuyasha was simply how it felt to be in love? Just a girl super into a guy and nothing more—no universal implications or cosmic significance? Yes, she and Hojo had used the word, but maybe she hadn't actually loved her ex. Maybe her understanding and definition of love was just skewed and that's why what she had with Inuyasha felt so much...bigger.

If Kagome was being brutally honest with herself that seemed more likely than her and Inuyasha being mates.

But regardless what this was or the reason for it, she certainly didn't deny, couldn't deny, how crazy she was about Inuyasha. The longer she percolated in that truth, the wider and dumber her smile got and the heavier and faster her heart beat.

On the surface, Inuyasha was this asininely smug, alpha-inclined half-demon who was just as unapologetically impudent as he was stubborn, short-tempered and quick to frustration, with a sharp tongue and mercurial attitude. Yet, the longer Kagome knew him, the more she discovered that behind all that alpha assholery existed this beautifully complex and conflicted man who lived a double-barreled life, simultaneously torn and stuck between his demon and human heritage. At his core, Inuyasha was a man who yearned for acceptance just as wholeheartedly as he sought affection. The life he knew as a half-demon forced him to navigate a world that had hardened his skin to the point he believed himself impenetrable, that nothing benignant could ever breach the surface, that he deserved nothing less than what his environment made him believe he was good enough for.

The more exposed Kagome became to the real Inuyasha—the honest version of himself he only seemed to be around her, that he allowed out in small doses—the more aggressively she loved him. All she wanted to do was love him and hold him and kiss him and make love to him until he finally saw fit to reason that perhaps he was worthy of more than what a cruel world convinced him he deserved.

The fact that this unarguably deep and thoughtful and considerate and woefully complicated person could be meant for her to love forever was just...too good to be true.

But it was such a beautiful thought, that he could be her mate, that her life was bound to Inuyasha's in some mystical way that saw them as a perfect, complementary pair. She couldn't rectify how this tsunami-sized affection she felt for Inuyasha could be common, especially when how she felt about Hojo was nothing like how she adored and was drawn to Inuyasha. Because also like a tsunami, her love for Inuyasha was intense, intimidating, and a little scary for how powerful it felt, how easily this profound emotion could become destructive.

It seemed a little ridiculous, how protective she felt of him, how resolutely she would do anything and everything to save this man from any more emotional trauma.

Sitting at this stunning, rectangular table adorned in her favourite flowers, Kagome began feeling a little pathetic for how badly she wished to be Inuyasha's mate, for hoping that what the two of them had could be something uniquely special and even a little divine.

Was there any chance at all they were mates? After all, Kagome couldn't really blame herself for not recognizing a mate, since mating was a demon thing and she was a human.

Although, Inuyasha had given Kagome the impression that demons recognize their mate pretty immediately. If she and Inuyasha were mates, wouldn't the demon part of him know that and have already recognized her as such? There wouldn't have been the need to claim her with saliva or buy her a Drop. Kagome also felt a little dejected by the realization that, if they were truly mates, Inuyasha likely wouldn't have lamented to his mate, the possibility that, as a half-demon, he may not even have a mate.

Kagome sat in that reflective puddle of disappointment for a handful of seconds before she sipped her espresso again. It wasn't long before the caffeine had her stubbornly charging out of her funk. Inuyasha made her too happy to feel melancholy about this whole demon mating business.

Because what else could explain Kagome's attraction to Inuyasha? The incessant, borderline obsessive, need to be with him; the way she kept wanting to blame something biological or universal for her magnetic draw to him; the hunger she felt to bite, to be bitten?

Inuyasha only ever spoke about biting in relation to mating. Could non-mates even bite each other?

I mean, why couldn't they? She wondered. What makes a mating bite so special, so different than if non-mates want to mar each others' skin with their teeth?

Remembering their time in the library, when Inuyasha's teeth were a regular sensation upon her neck, Kagome tucked her lips over her teeth and took a deep breath to avoid becoming aroused. How was it that just the briefest thought of his teeth on her skin had her horny?

Inuyasha cleared his throat to announce his return and to draw her attention. Snapping out of her thoughts about being Inuyasha's mate, it wasn't long before Kagome remembered she was supposed to have been coming up with a plan to requite his thoughtfulness, not losing herself in her amorous desire to mate the guy. But she smiled up at him lazily, happily, regardless, because losing herself in a daydream of loving him seemed like a perfectly acceptable way to spend her time.

Inuyasha approached her steadily, standing beside her chair and running his palm down the back of her head until he cupped the base of her skull. Kagome leaned her head back in an invitation to kiss her that Inuyasha accepted with a swiftness that startled her.

"What did Jaken want?" She asked with glazed eyes after Inuyasha ended the kiss to return to the head of the table.

"Just goin' over what's next after dinner."

That piqued Kagome's interest. She leaned into her elbows on the table as she asked, "And what is next after dinner?"

Inuyasha grinned coyly. "We're goin' to Nocturna. I told you in the elevator."

That didn't explain why Jaken needed a private audience with Inuyasha, though. Kagome frowned. "But why—?"

"Don't worry about it," Inuyasha interrupted, leaning forward to lace their fingers together.

When the primary waiter reentered the room to replace Inuyasha's cold espresso with a fresh, steaming double espresso—without having been asked—Kagome turned reflective eyes to her lap. The reminder of the wait staff's diligence had her remembering how incredible this dinner had been...and how full she was.

The thought of dinner and Inuyasha's role in it had Kagome's petty indignation flaring again.

Of course, her perfect boyfriend would orchestrate the perfect dinner. Of course, he'd work with the owners of Michelin-starred restaurants to coordinate this five-course meal that was perfect and delicious and—holy shit, she was so full!

Kagome looked down at her solo espresso like this adorably tiny, little cup and its remaining contents just accentuated how glutted she felt. Feeling this indigested also made Kagome feel that much pettier because Inuyasha had some nerve getting her this friggin' stuffed before taking her dancing. Who has a five-course dinner and then goes dancing? She wasn't in any condition to consume alcohol and light up a dancefloor!

When Inuyasha looked at her over his own espresso, Kagome puffed out her cheeks, blowing out a breath as she slumped in her seat. She was too full to plot and Inuyasha was too handsomely distracting for her to focus on scheming. The bastard had the temerity to sit there, sipping from that tiny cup and looking vindicated, like he had undisputedly won some kind of competition between the two of them when Kagome hadn't even known she was a participant. He looked pleased with himself, the archetype of smug, masculine ego, like she never stood a chance of winning even if she had known the terms of the game.

"You look like you have something you want to gloat about," Kagome accused, toying with the itty bitty handle on her espresso cup, running her index finger around its rim.

Inuyasha's lips shook like he was holding back a boastful smirk. His eyes observed the motion of her fingers while he answered. "What makes you say that?"

"The look on your face." She grinned when his eyes slipped back to hers.

"What about it?"

"You look...smug."

Inuyasha's smug grin elongated until it crinkled his eyes. "Do I?"

Kagome didn't look away despite the silence that quelled between them. Her eyes tapered into a challenging leer when his stare returned from temporarily visiting her lips. She wanted to drink more espresso but she already felt bloated. Her fingers, she decided, needed the distraction more than her stomach wanted the extra liquid.

Inuyasha chuffed an exhaling laugh and leaned back in his seat, bringing his own espresso with him. "Maybe I'm just relieved the night seems to be goin' the way I hoped it would."

"Was he hopin' he'd get the girl?"

"You could say that."

"'Cause he went to a lot of trouble for this girl."

Inuyasha's lips pressed together, fighting his smile. "He did."

Kagome smirked into the rim of her espresso cup, taking a sip of convenience rather than want. "He must really like her or something," she ventured, failing to stop her own grin from growing.

"Or something." Inuyasha's smiling eyes pounced between hers.

Kagome exhaled a laugh through her nose, putting the cup down but not letting it go. "You in the habit of writing love letters to girls you tolerate, Inuyasha?"

"No," he sneered, sounding like a thirteen year old accused of a crush. His eyes broke away from hers to look down at the empty saucer that accompanied his espresso cup. "Although, I wouldn't exactly call that a love le—"

"What would you call it then?"

Inuyasha shrugged, his eyes resolutely not meeting hers, as if that could hide how flustered he seemed. "Just a letter."

"Just a letter?"

Why did she feel disappointed with that response? Was she hoping he'd admit to being in love with her simply because she referred to his note as a love letter?

Kagome, Kagome Kagome...you hopeless, lovesick fool, her mind chastised, which made her nibble contritely on her bottom lip.

Her face must have given away her disappointment, because Inuyasha asked, "Was she hopin' for more?"

Kagome gulped when his gaze finally returned to hers. The accusation in his unwavering amber stare made heat rise in her cheeks. "N-no." She licked her lips. "I wouldn't change a thing about it," she admitted, featuring the dumb grin that seemed to be her token expression of the night. "The letter was such a...a..."

"Yeah?" He prodded when he realized she wasn't going to finish that thought without help.

"It was a really sweet gesture," she answered after a blushing pause. "I liked it. I kinda like having proof that you have romantic feelings for me, Inuyasha, especially because I honestly didn't think you—"

Inuyasha made a noise in the back of his throat that was distracting enough for Kagome's words to come to a full stop. A silence followed his gagging scoff-like sound, a very obvious and mildly uncomfortable topic-changing silence.

"Without the letter, you seriously wouldn't've known otherwise?" He asked with a frown. It sounded like a rhetorical, self-deprecating question.

Kagome's stomach dropped with the sudden turn in the conversation, announced by Inuyasha's change in tone. She suddenly felt incredibly guilty...and dumb. "You could've made it obvious, Inuyasha, and I just...missed it somehow."

He snorted at that, his eyes not daring to meet hers.

She sucked part of her upper lip between her teeth, her eyes tracing the shape of the nearest marigold. "I tried not to read into things you did or said because I didn't want to be disappointed. My lack of experience with this stuff can make it hard to tell things apart."

His frown deepened. "What does that mean?"

Kagome sighed. "When it came to you, I was never able to tell the difference between romantic interest, sexual interest, or just being friends. Like yes, I know you flirted with me, but I could never tell if you did it because of your interest in sex or if that was simply your way of being friends with a female. I didn't want to get my hopes up that maybe you flirted with me for the same reasons that I flirted with you." When Inuyasha raised a questioning eyebrow at her, Kagome sighed heatedly. "You know my only experience with this stuff is Hojo, Inuyasha, and look at all the lingering crap that left me with!" She clenched her hands into fists on the tabletop. "I overthink and second-guess everything to death, you know that!"

"Kagome..." He shriveled his nose in response and she scoffed a self-conscious exhale at the way her name was both an empathetic lament and bleak admonishment.

She shook her head, her eyes low, continuing before he could interrupt her further. "I know I spent a good portion of our friendship being scared, but that's because I had myself convinced I'd develop these big feelings and only find disappointment looking for something between us that wasn't there, deluding myself that something you did or said meant something that it didn't."

Her sad smile turned into a bright, eye-sparkling beam. "But then I read your letter and that fear? Being scared? It disappeared, Inuyasha, I can't even tell you how fast," she laughed like she couldn't believe what she was saying. She sighed, her shoulders sagging from the heavy breath. "As nice as this past week has been, it's also been a lot, 'cause it's really solidified that you mean a lot to me." She paused as she felt the heat of her blush escalate. "And I'm glad, Inuyasha, relieved honestly, that everything I hoped was happening between us wasn't in my head, that you do like me too."

Inuyasha thought about everything she upheaved for a silent moment. "You really thought I'd go through with marking you if I didn't like you?"

Kagome found it hard to interpret his facial expression and she realized she had no words that would effectively answer his question, so she shrugged, his gaze burning the side of her face. Inuyasha immediately looked thoughtful again. The look he wore had her stomach churning with impatience to hear whatever came out of his mouth next.

"Obviously, I wanted to surprise you with some stuff tonight, Kagome, but, I...I guess I didn't think me tellin' you I have feelings for you would be this big, shocking thing for you." He lifted a single shoulder as his lips tweaked upwards on one side. "I thought I was...I dunno...not subtle about how I felt, but I guess not." He sighed, rubbing at the back of his head and then snorted. "If I knew the letter was gonna have more impact I probably would've spent more time on it." Kagome giggled at that and Inuyasha's brows pinched. "Maybe I was too worried about makin' an ass of myself with all this emotional stuff that I could've done a better job bein' clearer with you in general."

Kagome offered him a gentle smile. "You could have been more than obvious about it, Inuyasha, and I was just too hung up in my own worries and fears to notice. I'm not good at this stuff, remember? If I was better at romance and intimacy I wouldn't have been led on for five years," she sighed, "then roped along for six more."

"Kagome..."

"But even though I was surprised to learn how you feel, I can't begin to explain how nice of a surprise it was, Inuyasha," she said quietly, that idiotic, blushing grin resurfacing from her red-stained lips. "I knew you cared about me as a friend, but I didn't dare assume how you treated me went any further than sexual interest. I didn't want to put myself in a situation where I was guaranteed to be hurt, which, if you recall," she added, facetiously with a puffing little snort, "that was kinda the whole point of my being terrified to get involved with you from the beginning. I can tolerate things being one-sided for a bit, but after a while it just gets—" Her words trailed off as she chanced a look at him.

How was he so handsome her heart literally hurt?

Okay, fine, obviously not literally, but holy cow! How the heck did she land such a beautiful specimen for a boyfriend? Her heart and her stomach and her perpetually-leaking womanhood couldn't stand it.

"It gets old?" He volunteered.

"It gets depressingly sad," Kagome amended as a sigh, not sure how this dampener of a conversation got to this point.

She straightened her shoulders and leaned into her elbows on the table as she said in an overly-cheery tone, "But tonight is something to celebrate." Her smile was animated and joyful. "I know there were a lot of assumptions and fears that got us to this point, but things are different now that we know where we stand emotionally." She reached across the table to grip his hand. "So, thank you, Inuyasha, for the not-love letter, for being straight with me, and for knowing how bad I am at all this and being clear about what you want and what you feel." She smiled at their joined hands. "Thank you for braving through the things that make you uncomfortable and anxious to take a chance on me, on us. And thank you for organizing the most perfect first date in the history of first dates, for making me feel special and actually cared about for once."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes despite the grin that inched up his cheeks and grew once his eyes returned to hers. "You don't gotta be dramatic about it, Kagome—" He squeezed her hand back— "but you're welcome."

"Oh, please!" She huffed, smiling up at him, committing his laugh lines to memory. "Tell me that comment didn't make your withered, little heart ooze with happiness?"

Inuyasha snorted, colour to his cheeks. "It was fine."

"Just fine?" She eyed him suspiciously. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, Kagome." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her, smiling incredulously. "What do you want me to say?"

"That you're happy I'm happy."

"I am happy that you're happy."

Her eyes continued to dart between his before she asked, "And what about you?" Kagome turned in her seat to face him, reaching for his other hand so she held both of his. The questioning doubt that shimmered in her brown eyes was lush and striking. "Are you happy, Inuyasha?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He frowned like he didn't understand the question.

Kagome paused to look down at their hands. "I know you have this habit of second-guessing things, yourself, me sometimes too. I just wanted to, I dunno, check in, I guess."

"Kagome—" He squeezed her hands, his tone hesitant— "where is this coming from? Have I given you some reason to think I'm not actually happy about all this?"

Her eyes scanned his silently for a heartbeat before she spoke. "You know how you checked in, asking me how I'm feeling about us? I guess I want to do the same. Because, before tonight, you told me that closeness with me wasn't always easy, that you're nervous to be how you want with me because you're worried I won't like it." She scooted forward in her seat, eager to be closer to him. "How're you feeling about all this, Inuyasha? For a guy who was nervous about getting back into a relationship, are you...okay?"

His brows grew closer beneath his scowl. "I'm fine, Kagome," he repeated.

"Really?" Her eyes lapped a triangle between his eyes and mouth.

"Is that not a good enough answer for you or somethin'?" He studied her face for a couple breaths. "What're you wanting me to say?"

It was her turn to shrug before her words were slow to get started. "If you say you're fine, Inuyasha, truly, then I'm sorry for pushing at nothing. But I'm not ignorant that you and I went from being emotionally stunted to suddenly there being an overabundance of mushy, heartfelt sentiments flying around. I wouldn't be upset if you told me you're feeling something other than fine, like overwhelmed or anxious. You know I can handle whatever truth you tell me, right?" She chuckled quietly to herself. "You're allowed to like me and be kinda freaked out at the same time."

Inuyasha snorted a soft laugh, leaning back in his seat, bringing their joined hands with him until Kagome was as far forward in her seat as she could be without falling out of it. "Obviously, I'm happy that you agreed to be mine like a gushy, emotional female—" She snorted facetiously and rolled her eyes at the jab— "and you didn't say no to the Drop either, which has some big sentiments behind it—" He paused to flush— "So, yeah, all that stuff is fine."

"I'm expecting a but now..."

"But," he said, narrowing his eyes at her as she chuckled, "I'm tryin' not to get too ahead of myself here, Kagome. It's not that I'm not happy—'cause I am—I just don't wanna get swept up in all of this."

Her head cocked to the side as she knit her brow. "What's wrong with getting swept up in this, Inuyasha? Tonight is the first time we're allowing ourselves to get close without any rules or limitations. You're allowed to be happy about that, to celebrate that we're together now."

His thumb traced the soft U of her skin where her thumb and index finger met, like the repetitive motion helped still his mind, slow his racing heart. "There's still stuff I gotta work through, stuff we have to work through, Kagome. All the shit I was worried about, that you're worried about, it's not all gonna go away cause we're together now." He went quiet as a frown further creased his brow, like the words he wanted to say were blurry and hard to make out.

She clasped her hands tighter around his. "What're you so worried about?"

He sighed. "I guess I'm worried we're gonna get distracted by how good this feels and the other shit that's been a sore spot for us is gonna get swept under the rug, and then come out like festered resentment and be the reason we eventually br—"

Her sudden movement halted his words.

Kagome stood to kneel at his side, her hands on his thigh before pushing up on her knees to kiss him. "Okay, so yeah, you got a lot on your mind, Inuyasha," she said softly, smiling against his lips. "I kinda assumed as much by the way you said fine like...a hundred times—" He rolled his eyes at that— "but thank you for being honest with me, for letting me know what you're thinking. Yes, I'm beyond happy to be with you, and I've allowed myself to get caught up in the moment, but that doesn't mean I don't also know we have stuff we have to work through. Good relationships take work, and I'm committed to helping you work through your stuff while I work through mine. I'm not expecting all of our issues to disappear because I'm now calling you my boyfriend."

She smiled at him, kissing him again, moaning happily when his fingers started stroking her jaw, playing with strands of her hair. "What we have together," she whispered into his lips, peppering his mouth with small kisses, "is so good," she giggled. "Give yourself tonight, Inuyasha, at the very least. Allow yourself to enjoy me, to enjoy us, now that we're officially an us—please."

"I am enjoying you, us."

"Are you though?" Her eyes skipped between his until he turned his gaze away self-effacingly. "I just want you to be happy, Inuyasha, but how you seem with me right now? You're tense, like you want to enjoy yourself but are scared to let yourself."

He snorted. "I literally just said—"

"I know," she cut in, forcing her tone to stay gentle. She tenderly kissed his bottom lip, which was fuller than his top one and so sinfully pleasurable to kiss. Nuzzling his nose, she said quietly, "I remember what you told me, Inuyasha—that you want to be close to me but feel like you have to watch yourself, worried I don't want what you do; that you want to touch me but you're nervous to, worried I won't like it."

She cradled his face in her hands and kissed him, releasing a breathy little moan when his tongue slipped between her lips and stroked hers. She surfaced from their kiss by resting her forehead against his, brushing her nose against his. "I am so beyond happy you're mine, Inuyasha, but I want all of you. Please don't censor yourself. Please don't hold yourself back with me, especially not now."

He sighed a defeated-sounding breath.

"I know this is new for us, Inuyasha, and I know the things you're worried about aren't going to disappear just because I agreed to be your girlfriend. It's gonna take time—I know that, and I am committed to proving myself—"

"You don't gotta prove yourself to me, Kagome."

"I do," she corrected, tightening her hold on his jaw. "Because it's only with time and repetition you'll realize I mean everything I've said." Her eyes scanned his, looking for the answers in his irises. "I want your unfiltered happiness more than anything, Inuyasha, but I don't know how to—"

"I just want you, Kagome. That's it."

She smiled, kissing his cheek. "You already have me."

"No I don't, not the way I want you."

"Then tell me, Inuyasha. What can I do? What do you want?"

"You, Kagome, I need—"

"But, you—" She blinked up at him, confusion clearly visible in the way her eyes searched his.

He fisted her hair at the base of her skull to wrench her close, her eyes widening with surprise from the sudden roughness. The hoarse, guttural hiss of his words scalded her lips. "I need your taste branded onto my goddamn tongue, Kagome. I want your scent engrained in every pore of my body. I'm never fuckin' close enough to you. For fuck's sake, once I'm even inside you I still don't think that'll be close enough! I'm fuckin' insane about you, Kagome, and I don't know what the fuck I'm doing with you. I'm barely keepin' my shit together on the best of days. If I let myself go, give up even a little of my restraint, I don't think I'll be able to put myself back together after that."

"You're not gonna scare me away, Inuyasha," she professed, running a hand down the side of his face. Her heart was a frantic beat beneath her skin. "Be insane, fall apart, lose your shit, unravel and give me everything. Allow yourself to be happy and let loose to whatever end. Because I'm here," she emphasized, clasping his cheeks tenderly, "and I have you—I'll help you put yourself back together if that's what you need. Allow yourself to turn into a mushy pile of emotional goo if that's what feels good, because then, guess what? I'll be right there with you." She laughed, tracing his eyebrows and the wrinkles between them with the pads of her fingers. "'Cause that's what you've done to me, Inuyasha, you've turned me into a mushy pile of emotional goo."

He snorted. "She has such a way with words."

Kagome kissed him softly, resting her forehead against his. "Doesn't she though?" She chuckled, kissing him again. "My fears about love aren't going to poof into nothing because you're amazing and generous for spending time and a buttload of money on an evening to make me feel like a princess—" Because you're a literal prince of the demon world, which we still need to unpack at some point— "But, what I'm trying to say, Inuyasha, is you don't have to be perfectly put together, because God knows I'm not. You can be messy and raw and flawed and any and every version of yourself, and it will never change how into you I am." She silenced him with a kiss when he opened his mouth to reply. "And because I know you need actions and not words, I'm going to take every opportunity to prove that to you, starting tonight, right now."

Kagome didn't know if it was romantic or sexy to shove her tongue so far into his mouth it had their teeth banging together, but she did it anyway, throwing her arms around his neck to claim his mouth. She'd never been this forward with kissing him—which, honestly, was more pounding her tongue between his lips and salivating over how good he tasted than kissing—but that was the point. Inuyasha growled so deeply in his chest Kagome felt it in her nipples, shuddering into fine points that ached from how closely their bodies came together.

"I want you so badly, Inuyasha," she cried into his mouth when she gasped for a much-needed breath. Their lips rejoined in a rushed, maddening reprise. "What do you want?" She panted over her next breath. "Anything," she gasped when his hand found her breast, squeezing to the point it was painful pleasure. "I'd do anything to make you happy, Inuyasha. Kiss you, touch you, fuck you—my heart is yours, my body is yours." She strangled a breath when Inuyasha sucked on her neck. As soon as his teeth scraped her skin, her core wept for him. "How can I make you happy?"

She'd never felt his heart pound against her like this before. His eyes were wild, round, and muddled with awe and lust. Kagome leaned in to claim his mouth after their next separating breath, but Inuyasha cupped her cheeks, holding her steady so he could keep looking at her. Her eyes rebounded between his gaze and his swollen lips and she swallowed loudly. His gape was so intense she'd never felt so diaphanous.

"Fuck, Kagome," Inuyasha sighed, holding her head between his hands in a way that made her feel like the most cherished thing in the world. He kissed her forehead, his lips trailing across her hairline, down her temple. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

His cheeks flushed as his eyelashes fluttered shut. He took a deep breath and Kagome marveled at how calm he sounded despite feeling his heart ravage itself in his chest. "I honestly thought I was fine before you, but then you had to come along and weasel your way into my heart with your annoying kindness and kissable mouth that now I dunno how the hell I could possibly do this without you. I didn't realize how much my life was lacking until I met you."

"Inuyasha..."

When he heard the tears in her voice he leaned back, pressing a quick, smirking kiss to her lips. "That make you wanna cry?"

"Shut up," she replied to his taunting tone with a teary smile, "but yes! That was the nicest thing you've ever said to me, except for maybe the part where you called me annoying."

"Feh," he scoffed with a wide grin, trailing his knuckles over her cheeks, "she tells me to unravel and open up about shit and then she can barely keep it together after one little comment. And yes, Kagome, you are annoying," he teased, nipping her chin, "but I'm clearly not right in the head 'cause I like how annoying you are."

"Oh, hush," she chastised, kissing him. "For the record, you're more annoying than me—"

"Doubt it."

"—and when I encouraged you to let loose, I wasn't thinking you'd say something like...that. I was thinking more along the lines of you'd smile like an idiot, or do a happy dance, or tell me you think I'm pretty and you wished I was yours sooner, or something like that."

Inuyasha cupped her jaw and guided her to his mouth. His eyes skipped between hers to memorize the way she looked up at him expectantly with parted lips. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and smelled, and I wished I never had to wait for you in the first place, but I'm kinda glad I did 'cause waiting for you has been worth it, Kagome." When she blinked at him idly, her face a mottled blush, her mind spinning from his words, he grinned and kissed her nose. "Like that?"

Her face was so hot it could have been on fire. "Uh—um—y-yeah. That was..."

"Sweet?" He suggested with a jocular grin.

Kagome cleared her throat and nodded, an aggressive blush scolding across her features, causing a tingle beneath her ears, in the base of her skull.

When the wait staff returned to retrieve their long abandoned espresso cups, Kagome removed herself from Inuyasha's grip and stood, like she had forgotten she was kneeling on the floor beside his chair. She cleared the thickness from her throat again.

The air between them felt heavy, swapping silent, coy smiles as the remainder of their dishes were cleared from the table. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, but the stillness between them felt like the heat of their words needed time to settle and absorb. Kagome's eyes turned back to the flowers around her and she smiled. "How did you convince Sesshoumaru to let us use his space?"

If he found the change in topic jarring, he didn't show it. Inuyasha lifted a single shoulder lazily, his gaze following the line of hers. "I said I wanted the space and he made Jaken available to help."

"Just like that?"

"Yup."

"So...Sesshoumaru knew you were bringing me here tonight?"

"Not you specifically. But he knew I had a date."

"Did he know what you had planned for tonight?"

Inuyasha shrugged with that one shoulder again. "I guess he'd know as much as Jaken decided to tell him, and that toad enjoys complainin' about me, so I'm sure Sesshoumaru has some idea what I had planned, yeah."

Kagome blushed. That meant that as soon as Sesshoumaru detected Inuyasha's scent on Kagome when they met at Maru's earlier, Inuyasha's half-brother knew Kagome was the woman for whom Inuyasha orchestrated all of this. No wonder he was eyeing her up so intently, why he referred to her so strangely as Inuyasha's friend and Inuyasha's human.

Her cheeks flushed. "That's nice of him to lend you this space whenever you ask."

"He doesn't. This was the first time."

"You—you've never been on this floor before?"

"Oh, yeah, I have, lotsa times when my old man was still runnin' the show, and I'm here whenever I have to meet with Sesshoumaru about...stuff—" That's not ominous at all, she thought with an inward roll of her eyes— "but I've never used this space for my own personal reasons before."

"So that means—"

"I never brought Kikyou here or any date for that matter," he answered knowingly. The red on Kagome's face deepened and Inuyasha grinned. "What's with the face, Kagome?" When Kagome opened her mouth to answer, she paused, like the words couldn't unjumble themselves well enough for her to get out what she wanted to say. Inuyasha chuckled. "Tell me what you're thinking."

Kagome was pensive for a few heartbeats before she sighed. "I'm thinking that meeting Sesshoumaru earlier may have been more loaded than I thought."

Inuyasha's eyebrows tweaked together in response to that comment. "What makes you think that?"

"Because you asked to use his private space to host some girl for a date—"

"You're not just some girl, Kagome," he chided under his breath.

"—when you've never done that before, so obviously he's going to assume you were going on a date with someone special."

"You don't think of yourself as someone special to me?" Inuyasha's eyebrow quirked up, his gaze on her necklace.

Kagome flushed and wrapped her hand around the white charm. "Obviously, I do now," she admitted, fingering the pendant at her neck, "but it's just weird to think that your brother knew that before me."

Inuyasha snorted a laugh and pushed himself back in his chair to stand, holding out a hand to her. "C'mon."

Kagome's eyes jumped between Inuyasha's gaze and his outstretched hand. She smiled to notice that the lines around his eyes looked softer, less tense. "Is that the cue for us to head upstairs?" When he nodded, Kagome huffed a small laugh. "Can you hold that thought for a few? I want to fix this disaster of my makeup before we go up."

Inuyasha snorted a chuckle at that. "Kagome, your face is fine."

She pouted teasingly. "Just fine?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "I literally just told you you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You know that's not what I mean, dummy."

She giggled, leaning forward to press her lips to his cheek. "I know, I can't help but tease you, you know that. I'll be right back, okay?" She slung her purse over her shoulder and made her way to the washroom.

After the fastest reapplication of makeup she'd ever done, Kagome paused in the hallway when she saw Inuyasha waiting for her in front of the dining room door.

"Feelin' better?" He teased when their eyes met. He scoured her face, his eyes creasing at the corners from the breadth of his smile. He seemed radically focused on the deep red sheen of her lips.

"Much better!" she lauded, accepting his outstretched hand. "I'm re-lipsticked, presentable, and ready to go mingle with a room full of demons!"

She may have also freshened her perfume, applied her mini stick of deodorant, fluffed her hair, and wiped lingering arousal away from her vulva and inner thighs, but Inuyasha didn't need to know all that.

He snorted a laugh at her as the two of them walked down the hallway, side-by-side. "Well, sorry to go and throw a wrench in your plans, Kagome, but we're headin' into our own space in Nocturna." When she cast him a confused expression he smirked. "The club's got a bunch of private lounge-type rooms that can be rented, and a couple years ago Sesshoumaru got one of those rooms locked down for himself, 'cause Rin likes this place. You and me're gonna take advantage of the fact they're not here tonight."

Kagome cocked her head. "Is that why Jaken wanted to talk to you?"

He nodded. "Since the room is still technically Sesshoumaru's domain, Jaken had to help get things ready."

Kagome wanted to ask what sort of things would be readied for them in a private lounge, but decided against it when Inuyasha wouldn't return her eager look. He was silent until they reached the elevator at the end of the hall, turning to face her after pressing the call button.

She blinked up at him a few times while a question came together in her mind. "Was the plan always to use Sesshoumaru's room?"

Inuyasha shook his head, a rosy hue in his cheeks. "That wasn't the original plan, no."

"What was—?"

"I reserved a booth for us in the club," he explained with a sigh, squeezing her slim fingers in his much larger hand. "I'm not an idiot, Kagome, I know it upset you—the way those demons looked at you outside. Even though demons can't do or say shit inside, I didn't want you feelin' uncomfortable all night, bein' gawked at or whatever. So I had Jaken verify Sesshoumaru and Rin didn't plan on comin' out tonight and then I got him to prepare the room."

He brought her wrist to his mouth, kissing over the heel of her hand. "Sesshoumaru's room will be more private than occupying one of the booths in the club. We'll also have bar service, which means my girl gets easy access to as many vodka sodas as she wants." He grinned at her when she barked a laugh, his fingers mapping the apple of her cheek from the size of her smile.

"But what if I want to dance?"

Inuyasha smirked. "She wants to take me dancing, does she?"

She smirked back. "I don't think she'd mind an excuse to get all up on her boyfriend."

He cawed a bright guffaw. "I guess that doesn't sound awful. Although, I kinda like the idea of keepin' you all to myself." He grinned at her mischievously, eyeing her lips.

"Would that disappoint you, Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"If I kept you on the dancefloor all night even though it sounds like you'd rather keep me sequestered in our own little space?"

His lips curled up into a scandalizing smirk. "Having your body against mine and watchin' you get all hot and sweaty grinding up on me? What's there to complain about, other than the fact we wouldn't be alone?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "If getting me hot and sweaty is the name of the game, Inuyasha, there're other things we could get up to, you know."

She couldn't recall the last time he showed off so many teeth when he smiled. He looked devastatingly handsome and downright dangerous, and it had Kagome's pulse plummeting between her legs.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, brushed her bangs from her forehead. "Do you have any idea how fuckin' hard it's gonna be havin' you all to myself but still having to wait?"

"You don't have to wait anymore," she nudged huskily, her arms constricting around him while her cheeks painted themselves a lush pink. "Not if you don't want to. I told you I want you, Inuyasha, I won't—"

He sucked his teeth loudly. "I'm not allowin' our first time to be on my brother's goddamn couch!"

"I'm sure there are perfectly acceptable walls you could fuck me against instead, Inuyasha, if the couch is your issue."

He snorted at her crudely, which made her laugh. "You know what I mean, Kagome." His voice softened when he caught her chin between his fingers, tipping her head back. He caressed his thumb across the hollow of her chin, his eyes feasting on her lips. He bowed over her, his face closing in, like he contemplated kissing her. "Call me lame, but I wanted our first time to be..."

He paused to search for the right words and Kagome used the hesitation to palm his cheek and redirect his kindling stare to meet hers. "You're not lame," she whispered, "I know what you mean, because I want that too—" She giggled, removing her hand from his face to play with locks of his hair that fell over the lapel of his jacket— "but I also can't seem to help myself with you, Inuyasha. So, if you somehow had me backing up into a wall, I wouldn't complain, especially not if fucking me upstairs would make you happy."

Inuyasha's eyes returned to her lips before he towered over her, his arms drawing her in until her breasts rounded against him. "You want me that bad, Kagome, you'd let me fuck you against a wall in my brother's office for our first time?"

"I want you so bad I'd even consider the hallway," she answered, running her palms across the breadth of his shoulders.

"You are...somethin'," he chuckled, a low, growly rumble in his throat that found Kagome instantly wet, like a Pavlov reaction she couldn't help.

She smiled playfully up at him. "You know, not wearing panties is turning into a dangerous situation for me."

He snickered at that, seemingly mesmerized by the way Kagome rubbed and fingered the collar of his jacket. "How so?"

"You get me any wetter, Mr. Taisho," she began, tugging him closer by the lapel, "and I might just leave a puddle."

He rumbled an aroused hum in his throat that quickly led to him stealing one of her hands to slide her finger in his mouth. His tongue swirling around the pad as he guided the digit from his lips, he placed a delicate kiss to the moistened knuckle then said, "There're a lotta things about you, Kagome, that I like, but I think how soaked you get for me is my favourite."

She blushed, her cold, wet finger accentuating the hot dampness between her legs. "That's your favourite?"

He grinned a devious half-smirk at her that had her labia even slicker. "Well, it's my favourite right now."

Kagome pressed her thighs together, her palms caressing his chest. "You're unfairly good at that, you know, keeping me wet for you." Her eyes bounced between his and she leaned in like she was going to kiss him but then paused.

"What?" Inuyasha asked immediately, obviously having noticed her hesitation.

"I really want to kiss you," she admitted, "but it feels a little silly...redoing my lipstick just to ruin it so soon." She chuckled, leaning back to invite even more space between them.

Inuyasha reclaimed that space avidly, his lips dragging across her cheek as he voiced hoarsely into her ear, "There's somethin' about that colour on your mouth that has me eager to lick it off. Just say the word and it's gone, Kagome. I have no issue fuckin' up those pretty red lips of yours."

"Bold of my boyfriend to assume I don't have certain plans for how I'd like him to fuck up my lipstick once we get upstairs."

The look her comment evoked from Inuyasha had Kagome chewing the inside of her lip as a swirling heat sunk between her legs, a bubble of aroused discharge seeping from her core.

His mouth spread into a wide smile, his lips finding her jawline to place teeth-laced kisses there.

If we're not mates then I have randomly developed a serious kink for teeth, because holy crap, I want him to bite me, so bad!

Wouldn't that...y'know...hurt?

Geez, who cares? How do you think he'd react if I told him to sink his teeth into me?

Oof, Kagome, you read too many fantasy romance books about vampire love stories...

"Fuck, you smell so good right now," Inuyasha panted into the slope of her neck. "Between the Drop and your pussy, you're fuckin' intoxicating, Kagome, you know that?" He breathed in deeply as he nuzzled her jugular. His touch had Kagome's knees feeling shaky, which he seemed to notice because his arm snaked around her waist to pin her tighter against him.

She blushed as his words occupied her thoughts. "You like the smell of the Drop on me? But isn't that your—?"

He chuckled. "I really like the smell of my cum on your skin, Kagome, yeah."

"Jesus, Inuyasha," she hissed, the pulse between her legs becoming unbearable, like a beacon of how empty she was without him inside her. "Something must be wrong with me," she breathed, her head tipping back as Inuyasha's tongue drew circles down her neck. "I crave you, Inuyasha. I want you all the time and I can't stop. Hearing you talk about your cum on my skin? God, the thought of it is enough to drive me crazy."

Inuyasha exhaled heavily, the puff of air tickling as it dragged across her skin, leaving a trail of gooseflesh behind it. He hummed in appreciation of the puckered flesh. "I don't think that means there's anythin' wrong with you, Kagome."

"Then what does it mean?"

That we're mates?

"That you desperately need to be fucked."

She groaned as he nipped and sucked along the curve of her shoulder. Inuyasha paused to inhale her scent at the joint of her neck. "I think it's more than that, Inuyasha."

"Yeah?" He encouraged, dragging his lips and exhaling the heat of his breath over the hollow of her throat.

The elevator dinged open, and when Kagome turned like she considered breaking away from Inuyasha to enter the car, he gripped her waist tighter, firmly declaring that she wasn't going anywhere. Kagome watched the elevator door close before her eyes feathered closed from the pressure of Inuyasha's tongue along the side of her neck, his teeth wrapping around her earlobe.

"I'm not done here yet," Inuyasha asserted into her ear, the wet warmth of his breath causing shivers to flutter down her spine. "I need to know what you meant, Kagome."

She moaned a low hum in the base of her throat as her mass of raven hair fell over his forearm as he arched her backwards, granting himself a better angle to lick, suck, and bite her throat and shoulders.

"Tell me what you need," he ordered.

Damp heat had Kagome's heart fluttering and core quivering beneath the pressure of his lips on her neck. Her words were as gone as her discretion. "I need you. My body craves you like I'm an addict, like I'm empty, like I'm hungry and hollow and not having you inside me hurts—"

"Fuck's sake, Kagome..."

"—I'm so crazy about you, Inuyasha, nothing is enough. Your kisses are never enough. You touch me and all I want is more."

Kagome gasped when Inuyasha guided her by the waist to press her against the wall opposite the single elevator door. His hands were so large her ribcage felt puny in his grasp. His thumbs grazing the underside of her breasts, he wedged a thigh between her legs, pinning her with his hips. His left forearm fused to the wall above her head, caging her in, surrounding her in the musk of his scent. Inuyasha probably meant for the position to be sexually intimidating but Kagome could only find it dominating and hot as fuck. His erection was persistent and solid against her stomach, making her even wetter. For a brief moment, Kagome panicked her bared arousal would stain his pants. Yet, when his breath coated her face, amourous lust glazing eyes beautiful eyes, she became so lost in her arousal she decided she didn't care if her wetness marked his pants.

He'd probably even like it, honestly.

Her quivering brown eyes lingered in the the hungering presence of his golden stare and all Kagome knew, could feel, was lustful adoration. Jesus, he was so sexually sexual her brain was short-circuiting from it.

Her entire body was up against the wall, held there by hands sturdy and sure in their grip. An aroused, wavering breath leaving her lips, her eyes soldered to his. "I'm terrified, Inuyasha." Her whispered honesty was so hushed for a moment she wondered if she thought it rather than admitted anything at all.

His eyes faltered, if only briefly. "Of me?"

"Never," she murmured, her palm finding his cheek. "No, I'm terrified that we're finally going to make love and it's only gonna make this craving I have, this desire for you, worse. I don't know how to handle this, Inuyasha—I need you so badly I could die from it."

"Kagome," he hissed before hoovering a mass of her neck between his lips, his palm and fingers digging into her right breast, making her groan loudly. "You're mine. I promise you I'll give you everything you need and more. My cock will fuckin' live inside you if that's what it takes to satisfy you." He chuckled suggestively. "I'm yours, darlin', and I'm gonna take such good care of you. Your pussy's never gonna recover from me."

"Good," she cried, her fingers gripping the wall behind her, her knuckles blanching. "I never want to recover from you, Inuyasha."

When Inuyasha began trailing kisses across her clavicle, his breath painting her cleavage, Kagome embraced his head, her lips close enough to his ears that her breath had them flickering in response. "I need to be alone with you, Inuyasha. Now. Take me upstairs. Please."

Inuyasha abruptly raised his head from her collarbone. The lust that pooled and muted the gold of his eyes made the pulse between her legs intensify. That right eyebrow of his quirked as her words sunk in. He detached himself from her momentarily to press the call elevator button.

"Earlier, you said there are cameras and stuff everywhere..." She couldn't believe the hoarse, gravelly tone of her voice from how turned on she was right now. "Are there any in—?"

"No," he cut in, "not in Sesshoumaru's room. He uses it for business sometimes so it's not under the same security as everywhere else."

"Okay." She nodded. "Take me upstairs."

"Is she gonna beg me to or—?"

"No, I'm telling you to, Inuyasha. I'm your girlfriend and I'm telling you to take me upstairs."

His eyes shone playfully. "You're my girlfriend now, are you? What happened to all that time spent hunting for alternatives?"

She stepped away from the wall to circle his neck with her arms. "I've decided to hell with Kikyou," she murmured, tracing the line of his jaw with her nose. "She doesn't get to ruin anything for you anymore. I'm going to make you feel so good, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered into his skin, her lipstick leaving an imprint on this throat. "I'm going to worship your body until you know exactly how good your girlfriend can make you feel, do you understand me?"

He grinned into her hair, his erection throbbing a pulse against her hip. "How can I say no to that?"

Kagome scoffed a chuckle, grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing his fingers. "You're not the only one who's allowed to have some surprises up their sleeve tonight."

Inuyasha's eyes sparkled a molten gold. "Your dress hasn't got any sleeves, Kagome."

"Then I guess I'm hiding your surprise somewhere else, Inuyasha."

"I think she's up to no good." He hummed that low, husky chuckle in his throat that she liked so much. It had a noticeable, wet pulse between her legs. "'Cause you smell really fuckin' good."

Kagome squeezed her thighs together and felt a rush of moisture seep around her labia, leaving her damp and cold. "That's probably because I'm thinking about how much I want you inside me," she laughed huskily.

His hand released hers to wrap around her waist and squeeze her ass. "D'you think my girlfriend will let me take advantage of the fact she's not wearin' panties?" He beamed at the way Kagome moaned.

"Maybe," she giggled lustfully, leaning into his touch, her cheeks humidly flushed. "If you promise not to keep being mean."

"Me? Mean?"

Kagome scoffed an exhale, a smile etched on her lips. "Keeping me this aroused in public? It's a little mean, Inuyasha."

He hummed a wolfish sound as his palm continued to knead her ass over her dress. "Never," he retorted, placing a soft kiss against her cheek. "I could never be mean to you, Kagome. Teasing you? Keeping you nice and slick for me? That's not mean 'cause I know it's what you like."

She snorted a laugh. "You like teasing me too much."

"Don't make it so easy then." He smirked against her cheek. "Your drippin' pussy is only eggin' me on, Kagome."

It felt like such a cliffhanger, getting into the elevator when it arrived right after that final comment from Inuyasha, but they'd already bypassed one car and Kagome was so eager to move things forward with Inuyasha that she allowed his words about her dripping pussy to resonate around them in the otherwise silence. Inuyasha removed something like a vantablack credit card from his wallet and flashed it in front of a card reader. Then the elevator began to rise, a metallic buzzing layered beneath the soft music that Kagome almost didn't notice.

"What is that?" She asked, watching Inuyasha return the card to his wallet.

"Our entry to Nocturna. You can't get in if you don't have the card."

"And how does one get a card?"

"By becoming a member."

Kagome pulled her face into an exasperated, unamused expression and Inuyasha merely smirked cheekily at her in response. Fine, she'd bite. "And how exactly does one become a member of this elite demon club?"

"Just gotta pay the initial joining fee and then the annual fee after that."

"Dare I ask what those sums work out to be?"

Inuyasha grinned at her with his right eyebrow arched. "She really wanna know?"

"Kind of?"

"It's a fifty thousand joining fee and then fifteen every year after that."

"Are you freaking kidding me? Inuyasha! That is...ridiculous!" She didn't mean to shout at him, but for those rates, someone could literally buy a car.

Having heard those numbers, Kagome definitely didn't want to know how much money he spent on the flowers for her this evening.

He chuckled, grabbing hold of her hand. "In case it makes you feel any better, that includes twenty-four permitted entrances per calendar year, in addition to access to social and cultural events like concerts, as well as dinner on the second floor of the club. All ya gotta pay on top of the fee is booze, but the house red and white is included."

"Oh, well then, in that case!" Kagome snorted facetiously, which had Inuyasha chuckling and leaning in to kiss the side of her head.

Nocturne Tower ended up having thirty-seven floors and the doors opened to darkness on the the top floor: Nocturna's nightclub and lounge.

Pitch blackness and bass-forward dance music that thumped through her torso like an alternative heartbeat. Those were her first impressions of the demon club.

Kagome's eyes flicked to Inuyasha immediately, waiting for him to comment that the darkness was strange or unexpected, but he simply held her hand tighter in his and looked down at her with a broad smile, his skin aglow in the fluorescent, yellow-white light of the elevator.

"Ready to go?"

Kagome strained her ears to understand those three simple words, distracted by the heavy bass that reverberated around her body like she was a pinball machine.

"Why are the lights out?" She yelled above the music, her eyes wide as Inuyasha led her from the elevator into the pitch darkness. Kagome couldn't hear anything other than a breathy female voice crooning above a synthesizer-driven melody that there could never be another you.

At least the soundtrack was accurate.

"Inuyasha," Kagome tried again, aware her voice was tinged with a hint of panic, "Inuyasha, I can't see any—"

"I got you," his voice spoke directly into her ear, the gauzy warmth of his breath causing a shiver to ripple the skin of her arms. "I'll explain when we're in our room. Just hang onto me, alright? Both hands."

She nodded dumbly, Inuyasha's outline disappearing as they stepped further away from the elevator's light.

Kagome always found nightclubs to have this energy about them, an intoxicating allure like a whispered promise of mysterious encounters and anonymous opportunities to shed one's skin and go wild. With Nocturna, however, Kagome only felt disappointed that she couldn't see anything. It was also incredibly unnerving to hear people—just kidding, demons—around her without seeing them. It was even more unsettling to feel bodies and clothes touch her skin without seeing them as she passed through the crowd, shuffling her feet behind Inuyasha.

Based on the sheer volume of bodies that she brushed past, she imagined Inuyasha was separating the masses, clearing a path for them. It made Kagome realize that demons, including Inuyasha, must have exceptional nighttime vision because the crowd seemed to be parting for them of its own accord. Kagome thought she heard voices murmuring right next to her. Scales, feathers, fur, skin, and the material of luxurious garments rubbed against her bare arms as she was steered through tumultuous black waves of dancing bodies. Her heart was a wicked beat with unnerved panic, envisioning the creatures she was literally bumping elbows with. The music was shout-in-order-to-be-heard loud and Kagome wondered how Inuyasha, with his sensitive hearing, could even stand to be here.

It was a few dozen steps more before a door opened that had Kagome blinking rapidly from the brightness.

The same music in the main club was playing in the room they entered; however, once the door closed behind them, Kagome realized the music was thankfully more talk-louder-than-your-normal-volume loud and wouldn't require her and Inuyasha to yell at each other to converse. Once her vision acclimated to the fluorescent blue and white lighting, Kagome spun where she stood to take in the futuristically vintage room.

The waffled ceiling had strip lighting the richest pigment of ultramarine, coating the entire room, which was quite expansive, in a Tron-like glow. There was nothing soft about this space—it was all geometric shapes and cold surfaces. On the side of the room closest to them was a white and black marbled bar that was stocked with more types of alcohol than Kagome knew existed. Six black leather chairs on golden spear-like legs were tucked beneath the extended bar top. Directly in front of where they stood were firm, black-brown couches, low tables, and pedestal stools that looked like pointy cylindrical octagons. There were four separate sets of furniture, all arranged into their own conversation circles. The room was dark, moody, and if it weren't for the desk on the far side of the room, with wooden partitions around it, Kagome would never have imagined someone capable of doing business in this room. Yet, there was noticeably an office here, with a computer and a very large, villainesque leather armchair behind the seven-foot wide desk.

Kagome came out of her distracted reverie when Inuyasha released her hand to go behind the bar.

"I hope you don't mind," he said, crouching to open what sounded like a mini fridge, "but I told Jaken I didn't want the bar staffed tonight so we could be alone." He rose to standing with two tumblers in hand. Kagome heard the scoop of ice and then the soft plinks of ice cubes. "I told 'em our preferred drinks and a few were made ahead of time—just gotta add ice."

Kagome giggled at that, watching Inuyasha return to where she stood with a drink held out to her.

"If there's anythin' else you wanna drink, or if you get tired of making your own—"

"You mean when you get tired of playing bartender," she corrected with a laugh.

"—we can head out to the main bar, which is obviously staffed."

Kagome hummed a chuckle, sipping her drink, her eyes on Inuyasha. "Which is fine and all except for the fact I can't see out there." When he huffed a laugh, she leveled him an unimpressed glower. "Inuyasha, why is the club dark? Where are the lights?"

He drained almost half his beverage before smirking at Kagome, grabbing her hand to lead her to one of the leather seats and gestured for her to sit. "It's a demon club, Kagome," he started by way of explanation, "most of the demon population can see in the dark or don't need to see at all, navigating their way around usin' their other senses."

Her eyebrows drew together. "So, it's an energy cost-savings thing?"

Inuyasha bellowed a throaty laugh at that. "No, Kagome," he chuckled, smiling at her like she was the most endearing thing he'd ever seen. "What makes Nocturna such an attraction is it's designed to scramble demon senses, make everybody a little more equal so no one has the advantage of better sight or better hearing. I don't know if you noticed, but there's a specific scent on the dancefloor."

"We walked by the dancefloor?" Kagome echoed with a lifted eyebrow. Recalling all the bodies that bumped into her, that could make sense.

He nodded and sniggered. "It's a strong odor, at least I think so, with my heightened sense of smell. It makes it hard to focus on any one scent, which is the point. Nocturna's meant to be a humbling experience for the demons who can afford it. There's no other place like it, where demons can just exist and not have to worry about somebody bein' stronger or better able. Makes it a good environment to get wasted and make bad decisions."

Kagome snorted. She thought about what Inuyasha said for a moment, sipping her drink. "I would think jumbling your senses like that would be...alarming, though. Isn't that one of the reasons you said you hate your human night? Because you lose your senses?"

"It's hard to explain, but Nocturna's different. It's one thing to have your senses feelin' off versus just bein'...gone. It's also different when everybody in the same space is impacted the same way."

She hummed thoughtfully about that. "So, you originally reserved us a booth. Was the plan to have us sit and drink in the dark?"

Inuyasha chortled. "The booths line the room and have candles. You gotta pass through black-out curtains to get to 'em. So, no, not in the dark exactly."

That sounded kind of nice actually...sitting with Inuyasha in candlelight.

He drained his tumbler then smirked at Kagome, teasingly instructing her to keep up because he'd be coming back from the bar with another drink for both of them. Which he did. Kagome was just able to pound back her first vodka soda to accept the second when he rejoined her on the loveseat.

Yes, a loveseat.

Her brain was having a field day over that, and she wasn't even drunk yet.

By their third drink, a buzzing warmth evaded her bloodstream. If the mood between the two of them had been amourous and lustful earlier, it had settled into the comfortable companionship that was a foundational hallmark of their relationship. Yes, they were going to be lovers; maybe, they could be mates; but they had always been friends, and that was how the next hour went: two friends engaging in chummy dialogue, bickering, storytelling, and joking around.

Kagome finally told Inuyasha about her family and the awkwardness she felt surrounding how things with them were left off after her grandfather's death. He shared more memories about his mom, his friendship with Miroku, more insight into the details of his job and how he started and ran his firm. They placed bets on what Sango and Miroku got up to on their date, if they were still out together, if they thought the night would end in sex for their friends.

What was very obvious to Kagome, but became foggier and harder to keep a mental eye on the more she drank, was how Inuyasha seemed to avoid any talk about his dad, and now brother, being the Lord General of demons and what that meant, and Inuyasha's involvement in all of that. His royalty seemed to be a blip in his timeline when he regaled Kagome with stories of his youth and earlier adulthood.

Their bodies were close and cozy on the loveseat while they spoke. Inuyasha had draped his arm around Kagome, across the seatback, his fingers caressing non-shapes across her shoulder and bicep. Kagome cuddled up into his side, her shoeless feet propped on the couch beneath her, her knees resting against Inuyasha's thighs, nursing her tumbler in her lap. Her head alternated between laying in the space between Inuyasha's chest and shoulder and angling towards him when they were talking or, in the present instance, bickering.

Currently on their fourth, and last, pre-made drink, Kagome had somehow convinced Inuyasha that once their cups were empty, she wanted to take him to dance.

"Six songs."

"Six? Are you fuckin' kidding? No way, three tops."

"My boyfriend, the cheap bastard!" Kagome gasped around a laugh, coming out of her last, chugging sip with a grimace from how vodka-forward this final drink was. "Four songs, Inuyasha, come on!"

"Two!"

"How is your number getting lower? Have you ever haggled before? This is bullshit," she mumbled under her breath. "Fine! I'll accept your original three songs, but you better dance the entire time, Inuyasha! I mean it! If your hips or feet stop moving at any point, there'll be hell to pay!"

Inuyasha snorted a laugh, placing his empty glass on the table in front of them, his hand finding Kagome's thigh above her knee. "You won't even be able to see me," Inuyasha guffawed, "how are you gonna know if I'm dancing the entire time?"

She scoffed, resting her palm above his. "You think I'm gonna let you go for even a second out there? Yeah, right, Inuyasha! I'm gonna be glued to you the entire time." Kagome planted her cheek on his shoulder, closing her eyes as the alcohol exaggerated the dumb, little smile she wore. It was impossible not to feel drawn into the allure of Inuyasha's heat, his body emitted so much of it.

"Good," he rumbled, arching forward to nip her chin. When the feel of his teeth had Kagome gasping, her head fell away from his arm, which Inuyasha used as an opening to swoop in with his lips and teeth and tongue to savour the taste and scent of Kagome's throat.

"Don't get distracted, Inuyasha," she slurred as his feverish kisses had her spine arching from the seatback, her face a broad grin, "our glasses are empty and you promised me three dances."

"But I don't want to now," he moaned into her neck, licking the column of her throat and groaning with pleasure when he felt the first of her goosebumps. "You smell and taste fuckin' incredible, Kagome. I'd much rather lose myself in you in private than lose my senses out there with everybody else."

"Please, Inuyasha? Pretty, pretty please?"

Inuyasha retracted from her just enough that he could meet her eye, tossing her a smug half-grin. "Is my girl beggin' to go dancing?"

"No," Kagome drawled juvenilely, taking advantage of being free from his mouth to rise to standing. Stepping back into her heels, she swayed on her feet before gaining her balance—oof, those were some drinks! "I'm pretty pleasing to go dancing, which isn't begging. Silly, Inuyasha! There's an obvious difference, you know."

"My mistake," he snorted with a toothy grin, standing beside her. "You sure you can manage on your own two feet, darlin'? She's lookin' a little...unsteady."

Kagome scoffed at him, waving his judgement away with a broad stroke of her arm. "Nonsense! You know how sailors have ocean legs that prevent them from falling over on rickety waters? That's me but with dancing and alcohol. I have...dancing legs."

"I see." He was clearly fighting back the urge to laugh at her.

"Now, let's go! Lead me into the dark, Inuyasha, for I would like to dance with my boyfriend."

Inuyasha chuffed a laugh, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. "Whatever she wants."

"She?" Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "What did I say, Inuyasha? I'm your girlfriend."

"You are."

"Say it."

He rolled his eyes at her and smirked when she smacked him in the bicep. "Why?"

"Because we need to work on reclaiming my newfound title. So...?" She raised her eyebrows expectantly. Her glazed, brown eyes were so round and beautifully antagonizing that Inuyasha couldn't help but chuckle softly and lean in to kiss her cheek. "That's not reclaiming my title, Inuyasha," she accused on a flushed breath when his lips detached from her skin.

"You were too cute not to kiss."

"Your girlfriend was too cute, you mean."

"No, my girlfriend is too cute. Now, can we go get those three stupid dances out of your system?"

"Hey! You're excited to hold me close and dance with me in the dark."

"In the dark for you," he corrected, the two of them pausing in front of the exit to finish the last of this conversation. "I'll be able to see you the whole time."

"Aw man, really? That's bullshit."

Inuyasha laughed at her reaction. "Why is that bullshit?"

She shrugged. "Now I can't make faces at you or, I dunno, flash you or something."

He snorted at her and crossed his arms indignantly. "You better not fuckin' flash me out there. Your tits are for my viewing pleasure only, Kagome, you got that?"

She snickered, leaning into him until his chin was within kissing distance. She wavered on her feet slightly, raising her hands to his chest to balance herself out. "Yes, dearest. My tits are your tits."

"Good," he snapped, nibbling her chin and leading a trail of kisses along her jawline.

Kagome leaned into him for a few heartbeats; however, the first moan that left her lips had her jumping to attention, like she just caught herself slipping. "Inuyasha!" It was a chastising, seconds-long drawl of his name.

"Yes?" He asked with a shit-eating grin to shame all other shit-eating grins.

"Stop trying to distract me by kissing me! It's time to dance!"

"You sure? I think we'd have a better time if we stayed here." He wrapped his arms around her and flicked his eyebrows up at her. "I think I'd like to take advantage of the fact my girlfriend isn't wearin' panties right now."

Kagome groaned loudly with pleasure, fisting her fingers in his jacket-less dress shirt while she blushed thoroughly. "Oh my god, Inuyasha," she cried, her forehead against his chin, "I can't even begin to explain how much I loved it when you ate me out yesterday."

"Oh, Kagome," he teased, his voice lowering until she struggled to hear him above the music in their private room. "That wasn't eating you out, darlin'."

Her eyes widened into aroused, surprised orbs while her mouth formed an appealing O-shape. "It wasn't? Then what—?"

"I merely licked you yesterday. When I eat you out properly, Kagome, when I fuck your tight, wet pussy later with my tongue, you'll know the difference."

"Jesus Christ, Inuyasha," Kagome hissed, clenching her knees together, her fingers wrenching around his biceps to keep herself upright. "Do you have any idea how indecent you are?"

He lifted a shoulder in a playful shrug. "None whatsoever."

"God," she groaned, her cheeks humidly pink and blotchy. "Now I gotta go be surrounded by a bunch of demons who are gonna know I'm super hot for my boyfriend."

"Are you?" He grinned. "Super hot for me, Kagome?"

She sighed, leaning into him as he traced the helix of her ear with his tongue. "I've been super hot for you since the first time I met you, Inuyasha." She giggled. "Do you know, I had such a crush on you when we first met, I did a bunch of tests when you were still my client to try and see if you liked me at all."

He pulled away from her to chuckle, his cheeks feeling tight from his smile. "Did you seriously?"

She laughed, her hands hovering in front of her mouth like she wanted to hide her face. "Oh god, I did. Low cut tops to see if you stared at my breasts—"

"Which I did, since your tits are fantastic, Kagome."

"—and used the massage oil for dog demons which had you moaning for me," she giggled.

"It was lube, Kagome, you know that!"

"Not the first time, it wasn't! I borrowed massage oil from one of my coworkers and when you liked it so much you moaned I went out and bought my own. Except I'm an idiot and must've bought lube instead."

Inuyasha snorted. "I think my girl just—"

"Girlfriend!"

"—wanted to seduce me right from day one."

Kagome huffed a laugh, wrapping her arms around his waist. She was enjoying herself so thoroughly, the conversation such an effective distraction, she forgot they were supposed to leave the room to go dancing. "I'm glad you think I'm capable of seducing anyone, Inuyasha, because I feel like that's a skill I'm woefully lacking in."

He rolled his eyes at her, his hands roaming up and down her spine. "You can fuck right off with that opinion, Kagome," he lectured. "You're so sexy you wouldn't even need to try to seduce me and I'd be hard for you! I am right now and you're just standing there in that sexy little dress of yours."

She harrumphed. "See? I can't even take credit for your current erection since you just said it's 'cause of the dress."

"Maybe you should take off the dress and try again."

Kagome cackled, her hand over her mouth. "Nice try!"

"Can't blame me for tryin'," Inuyasha huffed, his palms molding to the shape of her hipbones. "But I'm serious, Kagome, if you seriously wanted to seduce me, it wouldn't be hard to do. I'm pretty fuckin' attracted to you, so anything you do, I'd like."

"Really?"

"Fuck yes."

"Could we try?"

Inuyasha's right eyebrow shot up into his hairline. "You mean now?"

"Yeah! I'm feeling a little inspired right now."

"I think that's called bein' under the influence, darlin'."

"No! It's not the alcohol, I swear! I'm super into you, Inuyasha. I'm pretty sure I have the sexiest boyfriend in the history of boyfriends, and I'd really like to try seducing you, if you're game for it!"

He rolled his eyes at her endearingly. "You sure it's not those vodka sodas talkin', Kagome?"

"One thousand percent, Inuyasha!"

He sighed, his eyes skipping between hers, which were narrowed from the intensity of her beaming smile. "You're not really helpin' your case," he chuckled.

"Come on, Inuyasha," she mumbled, running her palms up his chest and over his shoulders, cupping his neck, her thumbs cutting across his jawline. "I was gonna surprise you by seducing you anyway, and—Oh crap!" She swore, stepping away from him, her face red. "Goddammit...so much for it being a surprise!"

"Kagome..."

She exhaled a frustrated lament before meeting his eye.

His gaze paced between hers. A slight downturned curve to his brows had him looking a touch confused. "You don't have to—Why did you wanna—?"

She sighed, feeling suddenly overcome by a sobering rush of embarrassment. "You've done so much for me tonight, Inuyasha. I will dream about our first date for the rest of my life, and I'm not being dramatic about that. You've been incredibly thoughtful and detailed and generous with me." She paused to tongue along her teeth as her flush had her stomach clenching. "I wanted to do something to show you my appreciation, to not just say thanks, but to do something for you since you've done so much for me."

"Kagome," he soughed, "you don't have to do anything for me. I didn't do all this tonight so you'd be indebted to me."

"I don't feel indebted to you, Inuyasha. My boyfriend has done considerate things for me and I want to repay the favour and do something considerate for him."

"Like what?"

When Kagome lowered herself to her knees in front of him, Inuyasha's lips parted. When she reached for his belt buckle, he audibly gulped.

"Kagome, you don't—"

"Shush," she commanded, undoing the button on his trousers. She stopped suddenly, her eyes jerking up to his with a look of alarm on her face. "Oh god, unless this isn't okay, and I just shushed away your consent, because—oh god, if you don't—"

"It's fine," he laughed hoarsely, his voice gravelly. "I just...wasn't expectin' this."

"Obviously," she smirked, her eyes flicking up to him after she undid the button of his trousers. She was eye-level with the bulge in his pants and Kagome's heart drummed with eager expectation, her tongue moistening. "That's what makes it a surprise."

"Can we—uh—head to the—?"

"The couch, yeah, good idea."

By the time Kagome rose to her feet, Inuyasha was already waiting for her on the loveseat, his face coated in a pink, flustered expression and his eyes turned away from her.

"You okay?" She asked as she approached him, kneeling between his legs. Inuyasha's eyes flew to hers in response to her question, and it wasn't arousal that met her gaze, it looked like panic. "Hey," she said softly, pushing up on her knees, one hand on his thigh to steady herself while she reached for his cheek with her other. "Tell me what you're thinking."

He bit his lower lip and lowered his gaze to her hand on his thigh.

"Inuyasha," she called gently. "I know I might not be an expert seductress, but when I'm about to give my boyfriend a surprise blowjob, the first ever blowjob of the relationship, I don't think he should look...panicked."

His eyes flicked to hers and his lips parted. Kagome was mesmerized watching the tip of his tongue lurch forward to dampen his lips before retreating again. "I-I'm sorry—I—"

"Hey," she cooed, standing on her knees to cup his cheeks in both hands, "you're okay. We're okay. You don't have to apologize, Inuyasha. We don't have to—"

"No, Kagome, it's—it's fine."

"There's that word again," she grumbled, her brows creasing. "Inuyasha, I know you well enough to tell that this isn't fine. You're clearly troubled by something. You don't have to go into detail about what it is, but if you think I'm gonna go through with this now, you're—"

"Kagome," he groaned, cutting her off. "I'm sorry, I am. I didn't mean for—"

"I said you don't have to apologize."

"Yes, I do!" He turned his head away from her gruffly, his eyes falling closed as he released a heavy, panting exhale.

"It's okay, Inuyasha," she sighed after a poignant silence, returning her palms to his thighs, her gaze eager on his face.

When Kagome made to stand from her knees, Inuyasha caught her wrist, surprising her into stalling. "Kagome, listen," he started, his shoulders drooping from his exhale, "I appreciate this, I appreciate you. So much. I do. It's just—There's...baggage for me when it comes to this."

"This?"

"Blowjobs."

"O-oh." He sighed again, his eyes now open but arduously focused on the other couch and not anywhere near Kagome. "Is this—" She pressed her lips together while a sinking ache billowed in her stomach— "is this a Kikyou thing?"

Inuyasha nodded slowly, two, three times.

There were a few times I put myself out there with Kikyou. Bein' open about what I needed and havin' her turn that shit down? It fuckin' hurt.

His words haunted Kagome's memory, like she knew where this was going. She was quick to reprimand herself for jumping to conclusions. "Please tell me," she uttered quietly, her eyes locked onto the side of his face, "if you want to, obviously. If you can. If you'd rather we forget this happened and continue on with our night, we can definitely—"

"No, it's fine, Kagome," he interrupted.

God, I hate that word, she thought. It's not fine, Inuyasha! You look downright traumatized by the fact I wanted to give you head!

"I told you before that I'm a highly sexual person. Well, Kikyou wasn't. If we had sex once a month it was a good month."

Kagome tried not to flinch or recoil in response to hearing Inuyasha blatantly talk about having intercourse with his ex, but she steeled herself and took a stabilizing breath in order to be supportive, like he needed her to be right now.

More of his words from before echoed in her memory.

Kikyou just didn't wanna be touched all the time. She called it unnecessary. Eventually, I just learned to...keep that shit to myself.

"Anytime we fought about the lack of sex, or lack of intimacy—which was more often than I'd like—she'd...give me head, like that was her way of apologizin', like that should've been enough to give me what I need, to tide me over."

Kagome's heart burst into a million, Kikyou-hating pieces. She couldn't help herself when she found her arms opening wide and her body crashing against his where she kneeled between his legs. She hugged him firmly around the middle, her cheek against his chest. "Inuyasha...Oh god, sweetheart, I'm so sorry!"

And I just dropped onto my knees and started undoing his pants and probably traumatized the poor guy!

"No, Kagome, you don't gotta—"

"I should have asked! I shouldn't have just assumed you'd want it! I didn't mean to put you in this position."

"Kagome," he emphasized, his palm finding her chin and raising her head until he was looking her in the eye. "I promise it's fine."

"Please stop using that word," Kagome respired hoarsely, her eyes lowering despite the tilt of her head. "Every time you say fine, even if you really mean it, my initial thought is you're trying to hide how you really feel."

"Kagome..."

Her eyes snapped to his. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I am."

"I know, and I'm telling you I'm okay, Kagome. Honest. I'm not upset."

"But you—"

"You didn't upset me. If anything, I appreciate the hell outta you. You really would've gone through with it if I hadn't freaked the fuck out."

"You didn't freak out," she exhaled, fighting a soft humourless laugh. "And you have every right to be upset. I shouldn't have made an assumption that you're a guy and therefore giving you head is perfectly acceptable."

"I've told you before that I've thought about your mouth on my cock a hundred times, Kagome. Trust me, it is perfectly acceptable. I just...I just got some shit to work through when it comes to blowjobs, which sounds—" He groaned, rubbing a hand down his face— "so fuckin' lame."

"It's not!" she chastised gently with a frown. "God, I hate how she's ruined so many things for you."

Inuyasha snorted a laugh, guiding her head to his so he could kiss her softly on the lips. Kagome's hands rested on the tips of his shoulders to help balance herself. She barely felt the alcohol in her system anymore.

She smiled lovingly at him when she leaned away, observing the deep currant hue to his lips. "I promise we'll get to a point, Inuyasha, where you'll call me your girlfriend without flinching, and I can give you all the surprise blowjobs without you thinking twice about it."

He scoffed through his smile, bowing his head to rest his forehead against Kagome's.

She squeezed his thighs in her hands. "Can I make a request?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Can we go home?"

His head recoiled backwards on his neck as his eyes scanned hers. His gaze softened when he saw how serious of an expression she wore. "You wanna leave?"

"I want you to take me home, to your home, to clarify." She chuffed a self-deprecating, blushing laugh and gripped the teardrop pendant in a tight fist. "Tonight has been beautiful, truly. I am so appreciative of everything. But I would so much rather be alone with you in your condo than be alone with you here. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but—uh—you don't have any more plans or surprises or—?"

"No," he snorted as a laugh, "all the surprises I had planned ended at dinner, well, with using this room, I guess. We're just at the club now to have a few drinks, dance if we wanted to. That was all I had planned here."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "Would it be okay with you if we leave earlier than planned? I promise I'm not going to regret it if we don't dance."

"You sure?"

"I'm more than sure," she replied with a smile, reaching up to massage one of his ears tenderly. "I'd like to go home with you now."

Inuyasha leaned forward and captured her mouth in a gentle, lovely little kiss that had Kagome sighing as his tongue entered her mouth, stroking hers in long, languid, sensual strokes. "Alright, then," he whispered when their lips parted. He gave her two more, rapid-fire little kisses before he helped her to her feet.

When Inuyasha led her out of Sesshoumaru's private room, into the bass-pounding thunder of music and muddled voices, Kagome gripped his hand tightly and smiled into the darkness. Her other hand lovingly wrapped around the symbol of their relationship that she wore around her neck. Somehow, knowing they were on their way out, Kagome didn't find the pitch blackness overwhelming a second time, despite the number of bodies that crashed against hers.

In the elevator, she giggled as she wiped her lipstick from Inuyasha's mouth, happily ignorant of the looks they received from the other demons in the car with them. On the main floor, Inuyasha pulled her aside for a few minutes to make out beneath the covered shade of the indoor forest. As they approached the revolving door, Inuyasha had his jacket draped around Kagome's shoulders, his arm wrapped around her protectively, holding her to his side. Outside, Kagome had no interest in looking around, she only had eyes and a small, dumb smile for her boyfriend. In the Bentley, Kagome's pulse escalated when Inuyasha grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, and gave her two kisses, one to the back of her hand and the other to her wrist.

She turned to look out her window, then, demon territory fading behind them on their route back to Inuyasha's condo.

Kagome's heart had never pounded with such enthusiasm. For the first time, she didn't rue having expectations for what was to come.