Chapter Seven

The warmth from the sun on her bare back woke her. It had been so long since she'd actually slept outdoors and not beneath the roof of a small built hut. There was no reason for her to enjoy the medieval forms of house, but she enjoyed them none the less. Traveling through the Feudal Era had taught her that a night beneath the stars was just as comfortable as a night beneath a blanketed hut.

Kagome sighed, feeling mildly ill and comfortable at the same time. Her head hurt. It wasn't throbbing, just a mild ache that reminded her of the alcohol she'd consumed the night before.

Something grumbled above her head, more of a purr and Kagome turned her head and pressed her cheek against the rumbling. Hard. Warm. She inhaled and the grumbling followed her inhalation, mimicking her breathes. It somehow soothed the morning nausea of a night spent drinking, though it didn't dim fully.

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking against the sunlight heating her skin. What she saw beneath her head was smooth, muscle rippled tanned skin. It wasn't Inuyasha's pale skin, this was darker, warmer.

She frowned and lifted her head off the expanse of tanned muscle. She was nestled between two muscular thighs and she'd been blissfully unaware of the world growing to life around them, her cheek pressed against his abdomen as she slept. Something warm pressed against her left breast and Kagome pushed herself upward, realizing she was naked. A semi hard cock rested peacefully between her breasts from the movement, unaware of where it had precariously rested the night...among other places.

Her face twisted and Kagome could feel the dread and confusion as she lifted her head.

Kouga.

He slept peacefully beneath her, just as equally naked and oblivious to the waking world around him. It wasn't hard to put two and two together and Kagome reeled back onto her knees, one arm rising in an attempt to hide her breasts.

He must have sensed the sudden movement because she saw his muscles tense in wakefulness before he squinted up at her. His eyes dropped down to her naked shoulders and to the vain attempt she was using with her arm to hide her nakedness before he threw an arm over his eyes.

"I finally have you in my arms again, and I can't even remember..." Kouga mumbled beneath his breath, just loud enough for her to hear. He could hear the increase in her heartbeat, but he remained the opposite. His mind was struggling to catch up and move past the sluggishness. What had happened to finally drive them back into each others arms? They'd both been inebriated.

He mentally cursed himself. He remembered their conversation beforehand but not much of anything afterward...there were bits and pieces but nothing of what he wanted to remember...

Forearm still over his eyes, his nose twitched as he sniffed the air. He could smell the combined scents of their bodies. Yes, they had definitely engaged in something the previous night. He could smell her on his body. He could smell himself on hers.

He must have made his Spirits stronger than he'd thought, cause the God's knew he couldn't remember a damn thing where it counted. His lips firmed when something soft and covered in fur hit his neither regions. He lifted his arm.

Kagome was already dressed and tying a sash around her waist. Her hair was still ruffled and tangled, as if someone had thoroughly pulled and tangled the threads. His head fell back to the ground. He had—he just didn't remember doing the pulling.

He remembered kissing her.

He remembered her kissing him back.

Touching him. Her hands sliding down before she straddled him and his claws dug into the pale skin of her back...

"I'm sorry." Kagome said, bringing his attention right back to her.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Kouga said gruffly as he stood up. There was no point in delaying the conversation because they were going to have a conversation now. It had happened. There was no denying it. They had happened—again. Spirits involved or no, it had happened.

Kagome looked away, her cheeks flushing when Kouga stood. He caught the furred material before it could fall to the ground and then turned his back. The Wolf Demon had absolutely no shame when it came to modesty. She could still see him out of the corner of her eye and her eyes darted back to his muscled back and his bared ass. His ass flexed as he stepped into the furred clothing and pulled it up over his nakedness.

She knew what she had woken up to. With the both of them naked and her hair a tangled mess, it was easy to come to the conclusion. They'd had sex.

Her and Kouga.

Their history had just gotten bigger.

She sure as hell didn't remember the sex part but everything around them lead to the conclusion and she wasn't naive enough to think otherwise. There wasn't an ounce of alcohol left in her system and she was sure, not in his system either. "For this. I didn't mean..."

Kouga turned, his body bare except for the fur briefs covering his thighs. Her eyes dropped to the expanse of ridged abs bared for her view. Lord, but the man had a six pack that would have had her friends from the modern era drooling. She was certain she had drooled over them the night before, if not right before she had woken up.

Kouga stood before her, unashamed of his half clad body as he jerked the band out of his hair and righted his own tangled hair before pulling his hair back up. "It happened, Kagome." He said before she could continue. He didn't want her being sorry. He sure as hell wasn't and he said so. "Don't be—I'm not."

Kagome looked away. She knew he wasn't sorry, whether he had said it or not. She knew exactly how his mind worked and in his mind, he wanted her. This was exactly what he had wanted. She didn't for one minute think he had taken advantage of her inebriated state, though. She trusted him enough to know he wouldn't do that.

Kouga righted his clothing and Kagome knew he was struggling to remember the events of the night before, but alcohol was a powerful thing. The thought disturbed him. A night that should have been remember was amiss. It would have been easier to bare if he had forced her but not only would Kouga not resort to that, Kagome could defend herself just fine against his demonic aura.

She fidgeted. The knowledge of what had happened between them left her uncomfortable. She looked at Kouga again but she saw only acceptance. He wasn't forcing the issue between them. Within seconds he looked like the Kouga she saw on a near daily access. He didn't look as if they'd spent a night rolling around in the grass.

Not only did she look it, but she felt it.

Her cheeks heated.

Oh, but she could feel it. The reminder was there between her thighs, a soreness that where she hadn't noticed before, she did now.

"Kouga, please don't...tell anyone."

It sounded more like she was asking him not to tell anyone, then telling him. Kouga closed the distance between then and cupped her shoulders, his thumbs sliding over her shoulder bones through the clothing. "Hey, I'm not the type to brag, Kagome."

She didn't see the humor he was trying to get across and Kouga wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his muscled body. He heaved a sigh and hugged her before she could stop him. "I won't, Kagome. This is between the two of us."

"It's just...things are complicated enough as it is. I don't do one night stands and I don't want things to be awkward between us anymore." She spoke the truth without hesitation. Her and Kouga used to be friends. They still were, but it was growing more and more strained. Why? Why? Why was it so hard to want to be close to Kouga, but also so far away?

And Kouga, he responded in a typical Kouga fashion. "What's a one night stand?"

She gave a soft laugh against the fur covering his chest, she just couldn't help it. "Never mind. You wouldn't understand." She pulled out of the loose ring of his arms, the smile still on her face as she looked up at him.

Kouga arched an eyebrow. "It's one of those things from your time, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yes. You wouldn't understand." She was sure he would understand, though, if she told him exactly what it was. She just couldn't imagine herself explaining it though. Talking about sex was the last conversation she wanted to have with him. They'd just had this conversation.

"I would, if you'd talk to me about it." He wasn't just talking about a one night stand, either. He was talking about her time in general. He would hang onto every word she said as spoke of her time.

Kagome shook her head, but she was still smiling fondly.

"You can tell me about some of it, or I'll see it myself eventually."

His jaw was shadowed with stubble and Kagome was tempted to stroke it but she held back the urge. "You'll live that long?"

"If I'm careful."

That meant that Kouga was going to live for five hundred years. Maybe more. "It's amazing that you Demons can live so long."

Kouga gave a soft, fanged grin and brushed the hair back from her face. "You could, Kagome." Kouga damned the weak connection she had with Inuyasha. It was breaking, he could see that. What hurt him was the fact that Inuyasha was still on her mind.

But so was he.

Kagome was still here. She hadn't ran away the moment she'd woken tangled with his body. It wasn't like the first time between them. This time, he'd made a statement in her life. A mark on her, even if no one could see it. Her previous life was changing and the fragile bond they had started so long ago was finally...growing.

He didn't know exactly how, but she was here...and he pulled her back into his arms.

"I can't promise you anything, Kouga. You know that." Kagome said softly, reading the expression on his face. It almost broke her heart, the hope he couldn't hide, but the dismay in what he knew might never be his.

"I know that." Kouga said and cupped the side of her neck. "But that doesn't mean I can't hope." Kouga knew he was only hurting himself by leaning down. But she was so soft and pliant against him. She was so willing. He brushed his lips against hers. He thought he could control the feeling, the emotions moving through him but he was a liar.

When he kissed her, he knew he couldn't not fight for her. Her drift from Inuyasha...by God, he wanted her to hate the half demon.

Kagome knew he was going to kiss her and for the life of her, she didn't move. He probably had kissed her last night, but when his tongue swept over her lips and sought entrance, his taste exploded on her taste buds. It was achingly familiar, brought so even more by the dim memory of the night before. And a once upon a time long ago...

He tasted the same and Kagome sank against him, unable to help herself. The kiss didn't last long, though. She broke it before it could go any further and turned her head away, her cheek pressed against the hot skin of his chest. Whether it was the intimacy of knowing what they'd done, or something else altogether, she didn't know.

"Just don't...I can't promise anything." She said again.

"I can." Kouga murmured against her hairline and Kagome gave a soft laugh. Her eyes slid closed. He'd just made a silent degree that she read into all too well. He knew he was being given an opening and he was taking it.

"I need to go. If Sango hasn't realized I'm gone already, she'll wonder when I walk in."

He took her shoulders again and turned her away from him, pushing her a step forward. "Then go, because I really want to kiss you again."

Kagome took off towards Sango's hut in the distance. She felt...happy. The present was going to come crashing down on her, but for now, she felt...content.