Bliss! by Trouble In Shangri-La

Waltz of the Tongue

Author's note: Once again I've been sidetracked from the big fic I'm

writing. The idea for this kind of derailed me and demanded to be written.

More will surely follow in the future. ^^()

Setting: Feudal Era.

Universe: Canon.

"I can't believe this writing project! I actually have to interview

a person that's a mystery to me and write him or her into a frigging adventure!

Not that I have a shortage of adventures. But mystery..." Kagome glanced

sideways at her circle of friends all perched around the golden campfire

glow.

Inuyasha was grousing about the ramen being too soggy. Sango and Miroku

seemed off in their thoughts. Kirara slept peacefully near Kagome's sleeping

bag. Shippou ate in silence while rolling his eyes at Inuyasha's complaining.

They were as familiar to her as the back of her hand. Too familiar.

"I already know too much about them," bringing her tape recorder back

to her lips, she said, "...they just aren't mysterious enough, and I refuse

to cheat my way through this."

But I haven't given up hope. I know exactly who I can ask. I have

to wait for them to go to sleep and then I can seek him out and maybe get

myself on speaking terms just enough to get what I need for this project...boy

I hope this doesn't get me killed!

Her plan set, Kagome shut off her tape recorder and rejoined her friends

by the flickering flames.

Soft snoring woke Kagome from the edges of sleep. Freedom at last. She

slid out from under her sleeping bag, much to the dismay of a slumbering

Shippou, and tip-toed to grab backpack. A quick check let her know she

had snacks, water, her tape recorder, extra tapes, batteries and a pencil

and paper in case the recorder failed.

Kagome cast a quick look at Inuyasha. He was sound asleep for the first

time in three days. His soft, purring snores were barely audible, but also

meant he was deeply asleep. If Inuyasha snored when he slept, it practically

took Godzilla to wake him up. She would have no problem escaping for the

night.

Kagome shouldered her supplies, grabbed her bow and arrows and flicked

on her flashlight. They had set up camp in a triangular grove of trees

on the borders of the Western lands. Silently, she was thankful, for it

meant the area was easy to remember and her target would be somewhere close

by.

She steeled herself and padded briskly away from the warm embers of

the campfire. The chill night air made goosebumps break out over her bare

legs. Her green jacket with her school's insignia on the back provided

just enough warmth. Nights of shivering and huddling almost too close to

the fire taught her that evenings in Feudal Japan often got downright COLD

unless she brought a jacket.

The dirt path before Kagome curved to the left around a large black

pine, stopped at a white boulder that marked the boundary of the Western

lands and went straight ahead on its other side. She twisted her flashlight

every which way before she even dared step past the heavy rock. Her senses

were so on edge that she startled every time her feet crackled a leaf or

snapped a twig.

A full moon ruled the sky that night. Everything beyond the meager flashlight

beam appeared only as shadows in shades of blue and gray. The stars above

were brilliant, especially the misty veil of the Milky Way stretched between

the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius.

Kagome figured she was a half mile away from camp when she paused to

rest. She partook of her water bottle, stretched her legs and resumed her

cautious steps.

An eerie hoot startled the living daylights out of her. She jerked back

and pointed her flashlight at the sound. A horned owl with gleaming red

eyes and poisonous talons glared down at her from its perch in an old tree.

The second she met the owl demon's stare, it sprang from its perch and

dove at her throat!

Brilliant green flashed across her eyes. The owl demon came apart from

forehead to rump and disintegrated without ever touching the ground.

"Stupid creature," said a smooth, baritone voice.

Right behind her!

Kagome whirled by reflex, burning adrenalin curling her stomach. The

flashlight shimmered over silver hair, amber eyes and maroon stripes. The

demon's upper lip, cheekbones, button nose and moon-adorned forehead were

the only parts of his face not in shadow. His slitted pupils contracted

in the light. He squinted at her. As usual, his expression betrayed nothing.

She stood frozen in fear and awe. Sesshoumaru always reminded her of

a rose. Beautiful to behold, but dangerous when touched. He stood so close

she could smell his odd natural scent. His clothes smelled of roses and

thyme swirled off his skin.

Sesshoumaru's delicate hand blurred. Kagome's found her fingers suddenly

empty. Her flashlight now rested lightly on the high demon's silky palm.

The wind played with his empty sleeve and hair.

"You carry an odd torch," Sesshoumaru turned the silver cylinder over

in his hand, sniffed it once and arched a narrow eyebrow. He gripped it

like a sword and pointed it this way and that, looking as if he used one

every single day of his life.

"It...it's called a flashlight." Intimidated by the pretty demon's presence,

she started babbling, "It's kind of a magic torch that's safer to carry

because it uses a light bulb and batteries instead of wood and fire."

"Hn." he eyed her, "and how do you extinguish something without a flame?"

"Push the circle on the side." Kagome reached out to show him, but he

scowled and pulled it out of reach.

Sesshoumaru's thumb revolved against the cylinder's edge. He finally

located and depressed the rubber button. Instantly the flashlight winked

out. Under the full moon's glow his skin became fine ivory and his hair

the finest spider's silk.

Kagome had only seen him up close once before tonight. The day she pulled

Tetsusaiga free of its prison, he appeared right in front of her and tried

to take it. He was a frightening demon with eyes like golden diamonds then.

But here, in the moonlight, he became a stunning porcelain angel bearing

a champagne stare.

"Strange." He pointed the light end towards his face and examined the

defunct light bulb. If having it shine right in his face a moment previous

ruined his night vision, he didn't let it show. "It does not burn."

His voice roused her. She didn't realize she was staring. "N-no, like

I said, it just makes light. No fire, no burns."

Sesshoumaru got bored with the flashlight. He shoved it back in Kagome's

face and started to walk away. As he turned, a lock of his hair fluttered

up and brushed her cheek with the softest satin touch. Not a sound signaled

his abrupt departure. Even his luxurious white pelt, which wrapped around

his right shoulder and dragged on the ground, brushed silently against

the dirt path.

"Wait!" Kagome turned the flashlight back on and ran after him.

He paused. "Shouldn't you be off with Inuyasha right now, wench?"

"Well...yeah," she forced herself to meet his insanely pretty eyes.

"but I was looking for you."

His eyebrow twitched. If he still had both arms she was sure he would

have crossed them over his chest or folded his hands in his sleeves. "What

could a human like you want with this Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome's back stiffened. She said, "I have a name, it's Kagome. And

I need you for a school project. My teacher wants me to talk to someone

that intrigues me and write them as a character in a short adventure story."

"An educated female? Hmph." The eyebrow went up another millimeter,

then relaxed. "Why don't you use Inuyasha?"

She bit her lip. Okay, maybe if I stroke his ego...

"He isn't mysterious enough for what I want." Kagome fumbled in her

coat pocket for her tape recorder. "All I'll do is ask you some questions

about....you. I won't even use your real name if you don't want me to...uh...cause

a panic at my school. I'll record what you say and use some of what your

quotes in the story. I promise it's not a trap or anything."

Sesshoumaru's face remained a stoic mask. Faint amusement danced across

his eyes. She could almost see his ego roll over and present its belly

to her.

"You'd get me the best grade in the class." Kagome went on, "Some questions

might be kind of personal. But like I said, nobody will know it's you if

I use a fake name...so uh...is it okay if I record you so I can play it

back later?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Words are like the wind. They can not be captured

anywhere except on paper."

"Oh no?" She clicked the 'record' button and held the recorder near

him, "Say something."

He glanced at the device. "I don't see the point in participating in

this foolishness."

Kagome hit stop, rewound the tape and played his own voice back to him.

"I

don't see the point in participating in this foolishness."

For the first time in her life, Kagome saw Sesshoumaru look startled.

His eyes widened and he peered at the rectangular object in her hand like

it might eat him. "What magic is this?"

"It's a tape recorder. Um...uh..." she struggled to find an explanation

he would understand, "it uses special parchment that uh...when you roll

it a certain way it can read the, um, words out loud. But they're too small

to see, so, uh, it can only be read on a tape recorder like this."

Sesshoumaru turned his head, considering. Two locks of silver slid across

his pointed ear to fall in place with the mane cascading down his back.

He seemed oddly small for some reason. Kagome finally realized his armor

was missing and his swords were tucked into his obi instead of their proper

gold sash. The armor must have been obliterated in a fight she never witnessed.

Perhaps Totosai or some other talented demon was in the process of making

him a new suit as they spoke.

"Very well." the demon lord veered left. "In return, you will show me

this tale you wish to spin before you give it to your teacher."

"Deal."

He said nothing, but led her towards a small hot spring amidst ragged

foliage. Little more than a rocky crack in the ground with bubbling water

spewing steam into the cool night air. His empty boots sat lifeless beside

a prickly bush.

She blinked and looked down at his feet. Of course they looked just

like Inuyasha's, only they had maroon stripes like the ones decorating

his hand and face. Her cheeks flushed and she fixed her eyes straight ahead.

Seeing Sesshoumaru dressed any less than what she was used to seemed somehow

sacrilegious.

"Extinguish that...flash-light...it will attract lesser demons."

Kagome promptly turned off her flashlight.

Sesshoumaru clearly didn't see her as a threat. He took off his obi,

laid his swords aside and straightened. His unbound kimono top parted slightly

to expose his collarbones and a hint of his pectorals.

"You may sit anywhere you like," he said.

The demon slid his kimono shirt off and bent to remove his leggings.

He seemed to have grossly underestimated the human eye's ability to adapt

to darkness. Swallowing at the sight of him stripping, Kagome perched on

a fallen log not three feet from him. Part of her wanted to turn her head.

Though a shadow and a long tuft of silver fuzz shielded his most intimate

parts from view, the rest remained naked for her perusal.

He's so...perfect. Then her eyes beheld the remains of his left

arm. Little more than a flattened stump ending just above where his elbow

would be.

"Sorry..."

His head turned, hair swishing across his back. The moon made it flash.

"For?"

She tore her gaze off his body and stared down at her tape recorder.

Even if she couldn't see him perfectly, he saw her clear as day. He'd know

it if she stared too long.

"I um...interrupted your bath."

"Tch, nonsense." Sesshoumaru snorted and swung himself over to sit in

the hot spring. He sat in a manner that let his hair fall over the side

like a stationary waterfall, bone dry while he soaked away all his cares

of the day. "If my bathing bothers you - "

"No! No, it's okay. I can close my eyes or something if being seen bothers

you."

"If I was ashamed of being nude in front of another person, I would

not be bathing now, would I?"

"Guess not." Kagome's cheeks warmed deeper. "I just never thought you

the type to not care."

"There is a lot about me that you don't know."

"You're right." She started her tape recorder and set it on the log

beside her, pointing the microphone side towards him. The sulfur scent

of the springs stung her nasal passages, making her nose run. "Then enlighten

me. How old are you?"

"Older than most of the trees in this forest," he gestured lazily, but

gracefully, to indicate the surrounding foliage.

"How many years is that?"

"You humans...must you be exact with everything?" Sesshoumaru's tone

remained calm and careless, "Why can't you accept things for what they

are? Not everything needs a name or number."

Kagome wiped a strand of hair off the back of her neck, closed her eyes

and sighed. This wasn't going as easily as she hoped. At the rate this

was going, she'd have been better off using Inuyasha, Sango or even Kouga

for this project. And get a big, fat F for it.

So she went on, "What are your days like?"

"I awaken, patrol my lands, hunt and endure boring territory border

meetings. If catch Naraku's scent, I seek him out."

Grrrr!

"Ah," she latched on to the Naraku part. "What's this score you have

to settle with him?"

"He insulted me."

Good, good. "By taking Rin behind your back, I'd assume?"

"Yes." said Sesshoumaru. Not once had his half-closed eyes strayed from

Kagome's face.

"Okay then," she boldly fixed her eyes on his gold ones. Her lips curled

into a devious smirk, "What about your love life?"

Sesshoumaru actually snickered at that. His lips curved until they mirrored

hers. "Love, as you call it, is just a trick to make two people trust each

other enough to mate and produce young." He lifted his knee out of the

water and rested his hand on top. Perspiration made his face glitter in

the moonlight and his hair cling to his brow. "It's a useless emotion.

Lust is much more powerful and doesn't last as long."

"But I know a demon can feel love." Kagome said. "Otherwise Inuyasha

wouldn't exist now, would he?"

A derisive snort. "My father let his foolish emotions rule over his

head. They were his downfall."

"Then how did your parents manage to create you?" She found her eyes

straying to the hand resting on his knee. His long, sharp nails extended

from tapered fingertips to dent the skin perfect stretched over his kneecap.

"Arranged marriage, naturally." he said lazily, "The most beautiful

demoness in the land paired with the strongest."

"So two people who hardly know each other are expected to mate and have

kids..."

Both eyebrows went up a millimeter. "You learn fast."

"That's so wrong."

"Wrong?" Sesshoumaru sat up slowly, water cascading off his chest and

shoulders in tiny rivulets that made his nipples stand erect. "You humans

go off and mate with the ugliest of your kind because of this thing called

'love', and then you wonder why your race is so weak. Love can be a weapon

used against you. Love breaks your spirit, weighs you down and turns you

into a sniveling fool."

Kagome watched the water roll down his body and felt her own nipples

harden. She crossed her arms, praying the sulfur smell of the hot springs

covered the beginnings of her arousal. "So can lust."

What the hell is wrong with me!? Kagome silently berated herself

while staring at him. This is Inuyasha's human-hating older brother!

Beautiful as hell...oh yes, very beautiful...now think of something gross

before you get horny!

"Indeed, but the consequences aren't nearly as damaging. Lust, when

used properly, can bring anyone to their knees." He scooted back so the

water came dangerously close to exposing him, leaned forward and stared

straight into her eyes, "All one needs is skills in seduction and the world

is theirs." Another smirk, "Even as we speak, I'm seducing you. You should

see yourself...your eyes are dilating. Your heart is beating faster...you

are aroused and I have not even laid a hand on you."

Kagome averted her eyes. She drew a deep breath, squirming on the rock

where she sat, "Don't be stupid."

He's pretty and he knows how to use it.

She steeled herself for a potentially deadly question. "So you're saying

you basically slept your way through a few negotiations?"

"Very astute." he said, "Women are extraordinarily easy to sway once

you wet their desire."

Boldly, Kagome leaned over until they were almost nose to nose. "But

has anybody ever turned it around on you?"

His small, perfect lips curved into a larger smirk. "I liked to let

them think they did."

Egotistical bastard.

"Okay, then, what's this secret to seduction, hm? Care to share?" She

raised both eyebrows.

"It's more simple than you think, but it takes practice to perfect the

art." he said, turning his head to stare straight at her. "All you have

to do is take simple, every day things and look at them from an erotic

perspective. How you speak, the way you touch things," when he said that,

he kneaded his knee a little, nails denting the skin even more, "and staring

deeply into someone's eyes. Anything that can be seen as 'dirty' or 'innocent'."

"Basically, you seduce like a gentleman." Kagome reached down and swirled

her index finger in the water. Let's just see if I can turn this game

back onto him.

"Mm, perhaps." He settled back to his original position, but not before

accidentally-on-purpose allowing the water to slip well below his hips.

Did he just flash me?! Ohhh, two can play at THIS game.

"So if I were to..." Kagome placed the tip of her index finger into

her mouth and sucked on a pretend pinprick, "sit around doing this, I'd

put ideas in a man's head?"

A lazy arch of one eyebrow. "You learn fast for a human."

The salty end of her finger made her lips burn. She watched Sesshoumaru's

face and rolled her fingertip back and forth with her tongue.

"If you wish to play this game with me, undress and join me in the spring."

Kagome let her hand fall. "Excuse me?"

"Woman...if I was going to rape you, I would be imbedded in your depths

before you could blink. Please, feel free to disrobe and join me. There

is room near my feet."

Apprehension and excitement shot through her veins like liquefied lightning.

This had gone from a school project to a game of who could seduce the other

first. And Sesshoumaru was winning.

Maybe I'll learn something. Maybe...I'll glimpse what nobody else

gets to see. Kagome thought to herself. She couldn't believe what she

was doing when she slowly let her jacket slide off her shoulders. Heat

flooded her cheeks when she realized where the cold had its greatest effect.

It was the price she paid for skipping a bra today. Seduce me, you bastard.

"Show me."

"Hm?"

She heaved a breath into her lungs. "Let's just skip the teasing part.

Show me something...more advanced."

"Why should I?" He asked, tilting his head at her.

"I'm curious."

"Curiosity can get you killed."

Kagome slid her shoes and socks off, making sure she rubbed her hands

down her legs as she did so. Pretending to ignore him while lowering her

skirt and removing her shirt, she stretched and sighed. The thought of

being naked and vulnerable in front of Sesshoumaru both frightened and

excited her. She crossed her arms to cover her breasts and slid into the

hot spring. Her hip brushed against his smooth shins and ankles. With her

foot she felt the muscular curve of his thigh. She blushed when she realized

her feet had nowhere to go except against his hip. His skin felt smooth

like the best silk.

She stared across the tiny hot springs, trying to read the mysterious

demon's gilded eyes. They betrayed nothing.

"You are a mouse trying to be a cat." Sesshoumaru sat up again, "You

will give the game away before it starts. You must relax."

The next thing Kagome knew, Sesshoumaru bent over her, his nose barely

an inch from hers. His hot breath bathed her face in wine-scented warmth.

Behind him, his endlessly long hair floated on the water and teasingly

caressed his bare skin.

I see...he's just a little bit intoxicated! She blinked, Must

have been a boring meeting if they were passing plum wine around like water...

A long look into his eyes confirmed it. Sesshoumaru was just

a little drunk. Inebriated enough to be uninhibited, but not so drunk that

he couldn't think or fight properly.

He was a brutal, selfish being that sought nothing but power power.

An insanely beautiful demon....and right in that moment he had complete

power over her. The realization both scared and aroused her.

"I can smell your virginity," Sesshoumaru whispered. "It's been awhile

since I've had a virgin." He pressed himself to her, pinning her to the

rocks with his weight.

Kagome's heart upped its cadence. It throbbed in her chest, fell down

and pulsed in the depths of her pelvis. She felt nothing but the solidity

of his form against hers. His quivering arousal seared her navel like a

flaming sword.

"S-Sesshoumaru... I-I've never even been kissed before! I don't

know what I'm doing here..."

"Just touch me, woman." He said simply.

"Where?"

His lips were inches from hers. He stared at her with eyes made of champagne

droplets framed by velvet curtains, "anywhere."

Her pupils dilating with excitement and feelings she couldn't name,

Kagome raised her hand and cupped his mutilated stump. He twitched as if

it hurt. The skin was thick and tough like the swordsman's calluses all

over Inuyasha's palms. Beneath it she felt where his tricep and bicep fused

to cushion the bone from pushing through his flesh. So different from the

silky smoothness covering the rest of his body.

"I'm sorry, I caused you this."

"Hn."

Kagome moved her hand up his shoulder to his ear, tracing its edge.

Sesshoumaru licked his lips, smirking down at her. She curled her finger

and gently stroked the back of his pointed ear. Aside from a sharp intake

of breath, he gave no outward signs of liking or hating it.

She smiled. Like most dogs, he seemed to like being stroked behind the

ear. "Do demons kiss like humans?"

"It is..." he exhaled, "similar."

"Show me."

His face came even closer. So close his eyes became whirling gold and

black blurs. They breathed each other's humid breath. "But it is not called

a kiss, woman."

"Oh?" She whispered, "Then what is it called?"

Sesshoumaru touched his lips to the corner of her mouth and brushed

them sensuously across hers, slick with heat and engorged by desire. "Waltz

of the tongues. Follow me and I'll show you how it is done."

Tilting her head to the left, Kagome mimicked the pass of his lips.

He swiped the tip of his tongue across her mouth. She did the same. His

next pass brushed her teeth. Hers slithered across his fangs. Slowly their

tongues spiraled together until no space existed between their mouths.

I'm being kissed by the most beautiful man in the world, she

thought as his bangs tickled her forehead. His liquid heat coursed through

her body, pouring itself deeper into her melting core. A soft moan worked

its way from her throat to the depths of his mouth.

Sesshoumaru instantly pulled back. "You reveal your weaknesses too soon."

"But it felt good," Kagome protested, annoyed and relieved that he'd

given her a chance to breathe.

"The purpose of seduction is to seem unattainable yourself." His smooth

voice became velvet in her ears, "If you shiver, moan and squirm every

time someone tickles your belly the right way, you will wind up giving

out valuable information almost on command."

She let her eyes drift away from his face. They focused on his nipples,

which made her recall how they stood erect when the hot water cascaded

across them. Looking once more at his face, she smirked, reached down and

circled the pink areolas with her fingertips.

The demon's breath hitched. Not much. Not noticeably from a distance.

But enough for her.

"Funny, I thought only women had sensitive nipples," she mused.

"Your naiveté is refreshing," said Sesshoumaru. "But now you've

given away that you found a sensitive weakness, which will remind me to

protect it in the future. You do not want to give away that you know."

Kagome tweaked him for that. She expected a pained reaction. Instead,

he kissed her furiously. As if he could suck her soul right up her throat

and into himself. He braced his half-arm on the rocks and caressed the

end of her nipple with a foreclaw. His touch was electric. Pleasure bordering

on pain. She struggled to remain silent.

"Good..." he murmured into her ear. Then his finger began torturous

little circles. Her nipple hardened and the sensation shot down into her

crotch, making her bite her lip. He nipped her earlobe and continued, "Now

I found one of your delicacies. The hard part in this is to act disinterested,

yet at the same time you must exploit the weakness you discovered."

She was afraid to open her mouth. If she did, she would moan.

"Try not to think about what I'm doing to you right now." Sesshoumaru's

nails circled her areola in a way that gave her goosebumps. "We're having

a conversation, nothing more."

Reaching out, Kagome clamped his nipple between thumb and forefinger,

and rolled it back and forth. "Very well," she panted, "What...what does

your moon mean?"

"Mark of the firstborn." His tongue flicked wetly across the opening

in her ear, "I was born under the waning moon on a hot summer night."

"So..." she paused as his nails glided across her belly and down one

thigh. In retaliation, she bit his earlobe. "All firstborns have them?"

"The symbol is always the first thing the..." he swallowed, "the father

sees after the child is born."

Suddenly his fingers grazed her outer core. Kagome closed her eyes and

buried her face against his neck. Deciding two could play at this game,

she reached down and grasped the hardness pressed to her abdomen. "How

is...it...put there?"

"It is a tattoo," Sesshoumaru's body shivered against her. "A very painful

process...with the fur being plucked from my brow...and then the needle

constantly going in and out, piercing my flesh."

In and out. Kagome pulled his foreskin up over the head of his

engorged penis and let it slide back down. Her digits barely circled all

the way around, leading her to believe he was indeed very large. How could

something smaller than her palm grow so huge? "So you were born in your

- " his finger grazed her, making her pause. Concentrating on their conversation

grew more difficult each time he touched her somewhere new. " - demon form?"

"Yes." He spread her outer lips with his index and ring fingers. His

middle finger dove between, bypassed the hole in her virgin barrier and

stroked along her inner walls. "And I killed everything that did not smell

like my mother as soon as I was born. Hence my name."

She flinched and nodded once, trying not to let herself gasp. Her aching

pelvis felt so full and heavy. "I-it's a very f-fitting name f-for a d-deMON-

" his finger nailed a really sensitive spot, " -like you." As she

spoke she worked her trembling hand down to cup his scrotum. His testicles

were drawn up tight to his body. How could he be that aroused and not show

it?

"Virginity is as fragile as life," Sesshoumaru said, panting, his breath

stirring the steam rising from the water. It swirled around him as if under

his control. He pumped his finger in and out. Kagome bit her lip, struggling

not to rock her pelvis. This was a new sensation she had no name for.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru pulled back. Water splashed as he stood up and

stared down at her, his entire muscular body on display. Rivulets ambled

off his glistening skin in irregular streams. The bottom half of his hair

was all wet and clung to his legs and butt. Oh how Kagome wished she was

that hair. He smirked, stepped from the hot spring and tugged on his pelt.

Arranging it in the shape of a nest.

"Come," he rumbled it like a command that she could not help but obey.

"But," she stood shivering beside him, wet in more ways than one. Her

swollen genitals throbbed from need. "I'll get your fur all wet."

"Water won't harm it." Sesshoumaru took her hand and knelt, pulling

her down. He let go, using his hand to push her into a supine position.

The fur cradled her like a delicate cloud. She smiled, watching as he shook

off in a way that made his beautiful hair swirl around his body. He even

commanded the moonlight. It followed every strand, making them shine like

mercury.

Next thing she knew, he knelt above her. His body gave off a heat that

penetrated her skin like fine mist.

Kagome wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru's neck and dragged him down

for another liquid kiss. She just could not get enough of how he wrapped

his tongue around hers. Then she pushed his head away and flicked her tongue

across one nipple. With her other hand, she raked her nails across his

skin.

"When I lay with a woman," he shuddered and caught her wrist, "and come

close to climax..."

She pressed kisses all down his throat and across his collarbones. His

perfect skin called out to her, forcing her to taste its salty creaminess.

"Yes?"

"I lose some control of my human form. I may partially transform." His

voice escaped in a hiss of breath, "Your human orgasms are so fleeting

compared to a demon's." A soft growl, "I am amazed you get any pleasure

from this game at all."

"If I wasn't so curious about seeing you lose it, I'd slap you for that

remark." Kagome stared straight into his eyes and teased one of her nipples.

She smirked inwardly when he gulped like a hungry puppy awaiting a meal.

A corner of the demon lord's lips curled. He gracefully folded himself

into a kneeling position, opened his mouth wide like a vampire about to

bite and took almost all of her crotch between his lips. She stiffened

at the moist, hot invasion. He pulled back, smirked more and outlined her

with his tongue.

"Oh, God..." Kagome thought her body would catch on fire.

"No interest, remember?" His voice vibrated her loins, making her shiver.

"Why?" she purred.

"Because, woman," he punctuated every word with a quick swipe of his

tongue, "Sometimes feigning disinterest will make a potential seducer try

harder and spoil his own plan..."

She chuckled, "But you're the one that did all the..." a gasp died in

her throat when his tongue plunged inside, "...answering."

God, if he keeps this up, I'll -

"Silly female," he passed his lips slowly across her slit and came forward,

bringing them nose to nose. Somehow, he braced his stump on a tuft of his

pelt. As a result he was as stable as a man with two working arms. Which

left him with a free hand to once again tease her teats with one foreclaw.

"I simply let you think you had control. All this time I've had

complete power over you. You have no idea how quickly a look, a gesture,

or even a word can sway a person."

"Bastard," she tweaked his nipples as hard as she could, causing him

to hiss through his teeth. "If this means you've won, then let's finish

this game."

Sesshoumaru placed his hand under her tailbone and tugged her off the

center of his pelt, using its furry edge to prop her hips almost vertical.

A dizzying sensation passed through her. She watched him sit up on his

knees, using his one hand to guide himself to her entrance.

"Losing your virginity is like being impaled on a blade. Relax your

body and it will not hurt as badly. I will enter you slowly."

Easy for YOU to say, you're not the one being impaled!

Kagome stared into Sesshoumaru's eyes and nodded once. Instantly he

came forward. His moist, hot tip contacted her folds. He outlined them

with it a few times, teasing her. The instant her attention drifted off

the fear of pain, she felt him push on her barrier. Pressure turned to

fire. Red hot, white hot, blue hot. And then a popping sensation as he

broke through and came to rest deep within her.

She winced and moaned at the new fullness. He felt so huge inside her.

She became aware of his pulse throbbing at a rhythm slightly different

than her own. Looking down, she studied their joined bodies and how his

silver fluff laid over her dark curls. Then his washboard stomach flexed,

forcing her to look up.

Gracefully, Sesshoumaru lowered himself to rest on his elbow and stump.

His long, silver tresses surrounded her in a satin curtain of him. She

watched his face descend in slow motion like an exotic angel from the stars.

Heaven shone in his eyes, Hell burned in his mouth and Earth moved within

his body. All at his command.

"You're so beautiful," she heard herself say. Cupping his cheek, she

brushed her thumb against his lower lip.

"Don't." Sesshoumaru shook her hand off. "We are not making love."

"Oh, so we're fucking?" Even though she'd heard Inuyasha say 'fuck'

thousands of times, she winced when saying it herself.

"Yes." He began to roll his pelvis in intoxicating circles, making his

skin slide tantalizing against hers. Not a single muscle flexed without

her knowing it.

Kagome felt his engorged manhood outlining her inner walls. She clung

to him and gasped, too shy to admit she didn't know what to do next.

"Relax," he whispered. "Wrap your legs around my hips."

She did so. He slid in another inch. Now only her internal barriers

stopped her from swallowing him whole. "Ohh...it's so big..."

"Hn." His small lips and velvet tongue silenced her. "Now," he exhaled

against her mouth, "circle your hips opposite to mine."

Sesshoumaru's hips swirled gently clockwise. Kagome bit her lip because

his long pubic fringe kept tickling her outer pleasure centers in the most

delightful way, and at the same time he was pressed firmly against the

bottom of her womb. She could feel it moving, yet another thing bent to

his will. Steeling herself, she began revolving counterclockwise. The sensations

it created went beyond any words invented by man. Her mind, body and spirit

reeled with new feeling.

"Woman..." said his silky, sexy, delightfully intoxicating voice, "you

are allowed to show your pleasure." And with those words, he began to pound

her into the ground in slow motion. His withdrawals were slow, his entrances

swift.

"Sesshoumaru!" moaned Kagome, her fingers clamping down against his

scalp until his hair spilled over her knuckles. She stopped caring what

came out of her mouth. "Oh...oh God...I'm being seduced by a demon!"

He growled into her throat, "And do you like it?"

"YES!" The ragged edges of her rational mind noticed he panted through

parted lips, the tip of his pink tongue poking out in a manner that reminded

her of a dog. His gilded, lustful eyes swirled in the moonlight. She opened

her mouth and let him consume her in another waltz of the tongues. His

savage kiss tore at the last shreds of her sanity.

Sesshoumaru's thrusts wound Kagome tighter and tighter, creating pleasure

coils that screamed for release. All she heard were her throbbing heart,

his heaving breaths and the wet sounds of their sex organs slamming together.

"Cry out to me, little miko," he breathed in her ear, plucking at her

right nipple. Kagome turned her head to see his moon glow blue while his

widened eyes shone crimson. His teeth and fangs had all separated into

sharp, carnivorous daggers.

Just the sight of him about to climax set her body on fire. She clung

to him and wailed as he pistoned himself through her body. Her frame writhed

and flopped under him, helpless against his delightful onslaught.

Sesshoumaru's changing face greeted Kagome when she came back to herself.

His perfect, immaculate features had been replaced with ragged hair, irregular

markings and arterial red eyes.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him to the left. With no

arm to stop him, he plummeted sideways, growling at her. Falling to her

knees across his hips, she began to ride him. "Cum for me, demon," she

commanded through clenched teeth. Two could play at this game.

A low moan rumbled in his chest. Not a second later she felt his hot

fluids spill out. Every time her body crashed down he gave her more. His

nails extended into claws. She heard his soft breathing accelerate to a

constant growl. He glowed and pulsated as if on the verge of transforming.

Every muscle in his sweat-soaked body stood out in sharp relief. The seed

he spilled overflowed out of her body. Her wet thrusts sent white waves

squishing out all over his stomach and scrotum.

Sesshoumaru looked just like he did when Inuyasha's Wound of Wind ripped

over his body. Kagome reached down to comfort him. He snarled and his jaws

clamped down on her hand. Not painfully, but in a way that suggested his

rational mind was utterly obliterated.

He was completely at her mercy.

Despite his previous warning, the sight of his face elongating into

a snout still scared her a little. But she kept thrusting, kept moving,

kept bringing him pleasure until the pulsations in his loins ceased, his

face regained its shape and his jaw relaxed its hold on her hand. The next

time he met her gaze, his eyes were once again amber pools.

"A-are you okay?" Kagome asked. Her body still trembled from aftershocks

of their activity. She only felt it because he was shaking too.

Sesshoumaru replied by sliding her off, pulling her down next to him

and rolling over so his hair covered her like a blanket. His thyme scent,

thicker because he was sweating, flooded her nostrils. Kagome felt tickling

warmth as he licked the perspiration off her face. Grooming me,

she thought with a tired smile. Maybe I changed his mind after all...

"I told you...lust can be a powerful weapon. Now do you understand why?"

The bliss Kagome settled into blew away like an extinguished flame.

Turning her head, she prayed to find something in his eyes. Some hint of

emotion. Anything to show her she'd touched his heart. There was none.

Just the same, cold champagne droplets as always. Her heart moved with

pity for him. Pity that he didn't believe in something as wonderful as

love.

She brushed a strand of silver away from his eyes. The arousal haze

was already gone. "Do you ever get jealous of the people who can feel love?"

"No." came the cool reply. "Lust is enough for me, Kagome."

Kagome wondered if she just imagined him saying her name. A slightly

sad sigh blew past her lips. Reaching down, she took his one hand between

both of hers. "I could love you. There are a lot of women who would give

anything to win your heart."

"People love my face, my hair, my body, my status as Lord...and that

is all I let them love." He pulled his hand away, trailing slender fingers

through his parted bangs. "You should go."

"Yeah...it's late." With much reluctance, Kagome uncurled from Sesshoumaru's

warmth, reverently draped his beautiful hair across his chest and began

to methodically dress herself. Most of the semen he pumped into her body

wound up running down her legs the moment she stood up.

Blushing, Kagome rinsed her legs off in the hot spring. Her privates

went from engorged to mildly sore, probably from his vigorous thrusting.

She stopped the tape recorder and stuffed it into her bag. "I should get

to work on this if I want to be done in time to let you read a copy. Where

should I leave it?"

"Inside the stone you passed to get here." the demon lord stretched

and rolled over, looking more content than she'd ever seen him. "There

is a crevice where couriers sometimes leave secret messages to me in times

of war."

She forced herself not to stare at his naked body. "You'll have a written

copy by tomorrow afternoon. I'll find an excuse to come back and drop it

off."

A soft grunt. "Very well. Consider your one lesson with me concluded."

"Thanks...I think." She blinked, "And how will I explain your scent

being all over me? It won't just wash off, will it?"

"Perhaps not." he said, "But this is my territory, my scent is on a

lot of things you brush against when you walk. Brush against enough and

it can become quite heavy."

Kagome tossed a last look at Sesshoumaru's languid form. He lay spread-eagle

across his pelt, eyes closed and cheek resting on his forearm. Maroon stripes

drew slashes over his pale sides. His hair spilled around him in graceful

waves. Long eyelashes formed perfect crescents on his cheekbones.

Is he sleeping?

One eye cracked open.

Guess not.

"If you are concerned for my safety, stop it. Once you leave I'll erect

a barrier so I can sleep."

The miko nodded once and walked away. Leaving him alone to do...whatever

he did when he slept. Briefly, Kagome wished she could stay just to glimpse

his sleeping face, but images of his half-transformed state chased the

idea away. If he lost control during sex, she'd hate to see him have a

nightmare.

I have writing to do...

But Kagome had to look back again. Sesshoumaru's barrier was already

up. Instead of seeing a hot spring in a clearing, her eyes beheld a thick

wall of thorny bushes. She sighed. In attempt to avoid imagining the long

length of him sleeping in the grass, she spent her journey back wondering

what turned his heart away from love.

Listening to the tape again proved almost too difficult for Kagome to

stand. Recordings did something amazingly sexy to Sesshoumaru's voice.

The sounds of their foreplay and sex dug into her body like burning daggers.

Good thing she wore headphones, or the entire camp would know what she

did.

Frustrated tears pricked at her eyes. She struggled to write something,

anything, about the story of a hunter she had in mind.

The words just wouldn't come.

Kagome suddenly smiled and shifted gears. Putting her pencil to paper,

she spun a story about a young spy, named Emiko, posing as a princess.

Sesshoumaru, whose character she code-named "Killing Blade", became the

stoic mentor who taught Emiko how to romance her way into the criminal

king's bedchamber, where she got him to confess to all of his crimes. It

became a story filled with lust, hate and action. Lots and lots of action.

She rolled the pages up like a scroll and, after assuring Inuyasha wouldn't

follow her, left it in the agreed-upon drop point.

"What are you doing?" the hybrid in red groused when she returned.

Kagome rolled her eyes. She folded herself into a sitting position and

picked up her pencil. "I had to pee. Do you mind?"

"You didn't have to go hiking half a mile!" Inuyasha glared at her,

his golden eyes reminding her of Sesshoumaru. "There's plenty of bushes

here. Besides, you're just dragging Sesshoumaru's nasty scent back on you."

"You have no idea how quickly a look, a gesture, or even a word can

sway a person." Sesshoumaru's words crept into her head.

"I didn't want to go so close to camp. Wouldn't want the scent of my

pee ruining a meal for Shippou or you, right?"

"Keh!" he bared his fangs, "Sesshoumaru's smell is just as annoying."

"I don't see anybody else complaining. Besides, why should I flip my

skirt up when I know someone would be trying to peek?" Almost unconsciously,

Kagome stuck the tip of the pencil into her mouth and flicked at it with

her tongue. She watched Inuyasha's eyes slide towards her lips.

"...whatever." He squirmed, blushed and swallowed, quickly averting

his gaze.

Kagome pretended not to notice and stared down at her history book.

A slow smirk creeped across her lips. When she looked over again, he'd

folded his hands in his lap to hide a raging erection.

"Where's your comeback, Inuyasha?" Miroku nudged Inuyasha with the butt

of his staff.

"It'll be my fist in your face if you don't screw off," came Inuyasha's

annoyed reply.

"Then what are you hiding?"

Shippou covered his eyes and tried to hide behind his fox tail. "That's

gross, Inuyasha!"

"Wha- shaddup, Shippou!" He turned to Miroku and snarled, "I'm not hiding

anything!"

"Let's see -" Miroku grabbed the half-demon's arm, "oh, and you accuse

me of being lecherous?"

"Shaddup!"

SLAM!

"Miroku! Inuyasha!" Sango sat up from where she'd been sleeping, her

hair ragged. "Stop it! I'm trying to sleep here!"

Inuyasha's white ears twitched in rage. He pointed an accusing finger

at the lecherous monk, "He started it!"

"Inuyasha..." Kagome said sweetly. She had to smile at the 'oh shit'

look on his face. "SIT!"

WHAM! Inuyasha hit the dirt in an ungraceful red and silver heap.

Dust settled on his pointy dog ears, which made Shippou laugh at him and

call him an idiot.

If only he could be more like his brother... Kagome mused, closing

her book.

A sudden, massive breeze stirred the camp. Any light objects not anchored

to the ground instantly went flying.

"What the hell?!" Inuyasha sat up, shielding his eyes.

Sango covered her ears. "Hey! Who did that!"

Shippou squeaked, "Don't look at me!"

"Hmm," came Miroku's curious murmur.

Confusion kept erupting from all directions. In the midst of it all,

Kagome felt rolled-up papers fall gently into her lap. Everybody was so

flustered with grabbing their supplies that none noticed her reading the

note written across the scroll.

You could not have portrayed me better.

It was signed with a crescent moon.

She looked straight ahead. Sesshoumaru stood half shrouded by foliage,

his eyes fixed on hers. He sported a shiny new suit of his usual armor.

So new it gleamed almost as much as his amber eyes. He nonchalantly caressed

his fluffy pelt in a manner that made her blush, smirked and walked away.

The wind toyed with his majestic silver mane and empty kimono sleeve.

Kagome would never look at Sesshoumaru the same way again.

Inuyasha's nose twitched, probably catching a whiff of his brother's

scent. He didn't pursue it, but looked pretty annoyed nonetheless.

"Kagome?" Sango's soft, sleepy voice snapped her back to reality, "You're

flushed! Are you all right?"

"Huh? Oh!" she started babbling, "Yeah, I'm fine...I was just remembering

something I thought I forgot, but I didn't forget what I thought I....oh

forget it. I'm fine."

Sango just stared at her, blinking. Then she shook her head and smiled,

"Whatever you say, Kagome."

"Good, then start cooking." Inuyasha pulled her backpack open and dug

around for 'his' favorite snack. "Ramen..."

"Say the magic word, first."

He huffed and gave her the most annoyed, dejected look. "Please?"

Kagome hid the papers under her pillow and laughed. Same old Inuyasha.

Three days later, when the creative writing teacher handed the story

back to her, she silently thanked Sesshoumaru for helping her get an A+.