frozen by kittie le sabre

frozen part one

Disclaimer: I do not own “Inuyasha” Rumiko Takahashi does and all rights are reserved to her illustrious person. The lyrics of “Frozen” belong to Madonna from her awesome “Ray of Light” album. I felt it suited Sesshoumaru and Kagome & Yash and Kikyou pairings for this story. There is some citrus and bad language content in this story so if you are under age or easily offended DO NOT READ.

FROZEN

By kittie le sabre “ a rage 2 velvet” enterprise

Part I

It was another day without him after an endless night of tossing and turning. How could she bear to get out of bed at all? She wanted to call in to work again but her boss would become suspicious. Besides, she needed to pay her bills, and employees were only allowed two personal days in a month.

She was grateful for the fact that she’d just completed her finals and was now on Spring break. Maybe that would offer her time to recuperate from the blow of her heartache.

When she stumbled into the bathroom, all she could do was examine her face. What was she looking for? It was there; in the tautness of her mouth and within the deep brown depths of her eyes. She leaned closer to stare into the pale oval that lifelessly sat above the droop of her shoulders and was supported by the painfully swallowing throat and neck.

Yes.

There it was; the pain of losing him. What had she done to cause this brutal separation? Nothing, except love him. He was so cold, uncaring, and it tore into her like a serrated edged knife. Even now she could see and feel his frosty golden eyes boring into her, ending everything between them. Forever.

Her mind raced back to the late afternoon conversation between them three days ago. She’d just come home from work, waiting for Inuyasha to drop by. He’d called her earlier at the office saying that he needed to talk to her about his girlfriend, Kikyou, and the possibility that she might be pregnant. His brother would not approve since he despised her. Sesshoumaru only thought of Kikyou as a gold-digger and social climber who was after their family’s wealth and prestige. It did not help that Kikyou was a secretary newly hired by Sess’ business rival. Because of Kagome and Sess’ newly kindled relationship, Inuyasha was hoping that she could influence his immovable older sibling to see reason.

“Please Kagome, I know you and Sesshoumaru have only been going out for a month, but he really likes you! Yesterday when you came by, I actually saw his mouth twitch up in the corners! He almost smiled!” Inuyasha exclaimed on the phone. “You gotta help me with the bastard! Otherwise the fucker will cut me off!”

“Inuyasha,” Kagome had sighed on her end, “I think you are exaggerating. But if you have any ideas or need to tell me-”

“Kikyou just told me that she might be pregnant,” he interjected, “you know what that means, Kagome. I want to marry her and be with her and raise my kid. But my asshole brother might try to dick me over.”

Kagome sighed again. How could she say “no” to one of her dearest friends? She and Inuyasha had met in high school. They had bonded because they had both been misfits. She’d heard stories about his older brother, Sesshoumaru, who was away in college but had never met him until recently.

It had been a shock for both her and Inuyasha when Sess had asked her out! From his ice-cool introduction at the charity party he’d been hosting, she just knew he had not approved of her. Also, he’d been with a beautiful bitchy model named Kagura who had used a gold-painted antique fan to rudely gesture at anyone she didn’t like.

~~Flashback~~

“Look at these people, Sess!” Kagura laughed scornfully, waving her fan about in general at the partiers. “Did you invite this riff-raff?”

Sesshoumaru didn’t deign to reply, glancing over in the direction of Kagome who was standing with Inuyasha nearby. He took in her curvy, slender form enhanced by her lavender-blue gown which covered one arm and had a revealing slit up the side of the opposite leg. The dark cascade of her wavy hair was pulled up partially and left to spill across the bare shoulder.

She was mouthwatering.

He decided it was time to meet this young woman who’d been his younger brother’s companion and school mate for years. If Inuyasha was too stupid to detect a ripe and sensuous woman in full bloom beneath his nose, he certainly was not such a fool.

Sesshoumaru glided over to them, leaving Kagura to stand there with her mouth open in mid insult. She closed it angrily, all too aware that there was no point in addressing him when his sights were focused elsewhere. She narrowed her eyes, sizing up the competition. There was no way such an inexperienced little twit could compete with her or keep the attentions of a male like Sess for long. However, if she was wrong, Kagura had her stash of tricks ready. After a month of dalliance, and Sesshoumaru was still interested, then she’d have to resort to her skills of luring him back to her. It had worked before and she could do it again.

Kagome glanced up from the joke Inuyasha was telling her to just in time take note of Sesshoumaru’s approach. He was impeccably attired as usual, wearing a superbly tailored black silk tuxedo. The jacket was unusual in that it was a full length duster while still being formal. His silver hair was pulled back into an intricate braid that was bound with corded silk and leather. She’d never seen such a beautiful man in her life, even if he was distant. He reminded her of a star, exquisite and shining but far away and unreachable.

Inuyasha and he were not close. Sesshoumaru failed to hide his contempt for his half-brother and was angry because Inuyasha seemed incapable of (at least to him) of taking the family business or anything seriously. He had very little to no patience with Yasha and considered him to be an irresponsible hothead.

Kagome wasn’t sure what to make of him. This was the first time she’d ever been this close to the man.

“Inuyasha, please introduce me to your lovely companion.”

Kagome was stunned by the deep, sultry baritone that spilled out of his smooth throat. Amazing, the guy could make millions if wanted to go into phone sex.

Inuyasha was obviously shocked by the request. He frowned, his amber eyes glowing with suspicion.

“Keh, what in the fuck is that all about, Sesshoumaru?” Inuyasha scowled at him. “You already know Kagome!”

Sesshoumaru smirked. “We’ve never been formally introduced. As a proper host, I cannot shirk my duties to make your guest feel welcome, little brother.”

Inuyasha stood there for several moments, while Kagome held her breath in anticipation of his reply. After a bit, he conceded most likely in order to keep from looking like an ass or a jerk.

“Higurashi Kagome, this is my-my” Sess stepped in then, interrupting his sibling attempts.

“Taisho Sesshoumaru,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it with suave expertise. He inhaled the arousing combination of water lilies escaping from her young, clean skin. “It is pleasure.”

Kagome trembled at touch of his satin-warm lips upon her skin. What had just come over her? She’d never felt this way.

“Thank you, Taisho-sama,” she responded. “I am pleased to finally Inuyasha’s older brother. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Sess gave a low bark of laughter. Inuyasha blinked, appalled at his brother’s reaction. What in fuck was going on here?

“It could not be good,” Sess told her while still holding her hand and gazing into her midnight eyes. “Please allow me the time to defend myself. Perhaps, we could have dinner of lunch this week? Just to be fair and on the safe side.”

Kagome nearly keeled over in astonishment. She briefly peeked and Inuyasha who merely stood there flabbergasted.

“Sure,” was all that she could choke out, as he kissed her hand again (causing her to melt into the floor) and politely dismissed himself. She watched him as he wandered back over to the model to murmur something and then he continued to mingle with his other guests.

“What the fuck?” Inuyasha snarled into her ear. “That was not my brother! I swear it! He is usually a total prick to all of my friends!” He paused and glowered at her. “Tell me you aren’t going out with him?”

Kagome was a bit peeved. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do, baka!”

“I wasn’t telling you what to do, bitch!”

“Bitch?” Kagome was furious. She clobbered him with her beaded purse. “I’m going home, asshole! And don’t call me!”

“Oww!” He had yelled and held his bruised head, following her to the door but backed off when she threatened to pulverize him with the evening bag again. It had hurt after all and it was embarrassing to spot Sess’s amused smirk from across the room and the other guests looking appalled or tittering at him. Yash had decided to try and call her later to make amends.

Kagome was so miffed with Inuyasha that she didn’t speak to him for the rest of the week. It was during that week that she had “run into” Sesshoumaru. In all honesty, she could not tell herself that the only reason she was interested in his brother was to get back at him just because she was ticked off.

~~End Flashback~~

Sess had somehow tracked her down to the medical office where she worked. He’d been persistent for a week until she’d said yes to his invitation for lunch. From there on, he’d asked her out almost every day unless he was busy.

According to Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru’s employees and business colleagues, he was a strict boss and ruthless businessman. He’d taken charge of the family company before their father’s untimely death and had very few to no friends. Women threw themselves at him for his status, wealth and extraordinary good looks, but Sess remained unmoved by any of them. Behind his back, his enemies and discarded lovers had mocked him as an Ice King, often saying that his heart was an icicle and that his soul was frozen.

Whatever was said about him, Kagome never saw evidence of his frigid nature turned towards her. That is not until recently.

You only see what your eyes want to see

How can life be what you want it to be?

You’re frozen

When your heart’s not open

“Sess,” she had opened the door, surprised to see him standing there with an unreadable expression upon his face. Her heart clenched because he’d become an indifferent stranger. Cold and distant, the man she’d been warned about.

“Surprised to see me, Kagome?” He asked, with a cruel lift of his finely etched mouth. Before she could reply, he stepped inside, looking around the modest confines of her apartment, as if he was searching for the presence of something. Or someone.

“I thought you would be tied up until late this evening,” Kagome replied, “you told me you had a last minute board meeting.”

“So I did.” He towered over her, his lean and muscular body outlined in his impeccably tailored silk dark gray suit. Not a single strand of his perfectly groomed silver hair was out of place as it flowed past his shoulders and down his back.

“Can I get you anything?” Kagome felt nervous as he silently swept past her to stare out of the window. His back was towards her but she could feel the tension. She was afraid and didn’t know why.

Abruptly, he pivoted around to study her, his gold eyes brittle. He glided over to her, crossing the room quickly without effort in a sudden flurry of motion. Clasping her by the shoulders, she could only stare up at him helplessly.

“Yes,” he murmured, his deep voice filled with menace, “this is what you can get me.”

His head descended and his lips captured hers in a possessively urgent claim, as if he were staking his territory. He’d kissed her before, softly and with tenderness, keeping a rein on his passion but now it was unleashed.

Sesshoumaru’s tongue swept into her mouth, and he clasped her closer to him. She could feel the heat of his body, the hard thrust of him against her, fully aroused. His hands stroked her neck and shoulders and his lips seared her own and his tongue speared her. Her response was to shudder, and his hands grew bolder, drifting downward to cup her firm young breasts through her thin blouse. His thumb stroked over the nipple that immediately pebbled into hardness, and Sess released a sound that was partially a groan and a growl.

His lips wandered over her throat, nibbling and sucking there, inhaling the fragrance of her flesh. He deftly unbuttoned her blouse, as his mouth moved further downwards across her skin in an almost bruising pattern of fierce kisses. Kagome moaned and leaned into him as his strong arms supported her and her knees gave way. Never had she succumbed to such feelings, and it was so right to her as he bared her breasts and his hot mouth closed over her nipple to draw upon it and to lave it.

“Oh god, Sess,” she panted, “don’t stop.”

He continued to work his teeth and tongue and lips over her nipple and then paid equal homage to the opposite breast. She felt him lift her up as he carried her across the room to her futon. He laid her upon the cushioned surface and she pushed his jacket off his shoulders. He peered down at her and his eyes were blazing and brilliant as the sun.

“Kagome,” he murmured, his voice hoarse with lust and desire, as he pushed up her skirt. His hands lightly caressed her legs, then higher and upward to her creamy thighs.

She pulled his head downward for another kiss, and gasped into his mouth as he cupped her center through the thin lace of her panties. His fingers gently massaged her through the flimsy barrier. The kiss deepened and he touched her, until his nimble hands slid the lace from her hips, discarding them to the floor. He explored the wet dew of her silken folds, avoiding the enlarged tiny button, and then gently delved inside, teasing her until she was panting.

He broke the kiss to look down at her, gently calling her name. She glanced up at him.

“Do you want me, Kagome?”

She was aflame, hot and yielding as her senses threatened to consume her. His face was calm as he continued to stroke inside her with skilled fingers, and then he “accidentally” touched her little jewel and she quaked and cried out. Sess seemed to be in control as he watched her, but she was unable to speak at first. What was he waiting for?

“Sess…please…it’s too much…” she groaned. She stared in disbelief as he pulled away from her.

Sesshoumaru’s visage was cold and his eyes were artic as he perused her; his gaze skimming across her flushed and aroused breasts, her exposed and damp sex and thighs; the film of sweat coating her pale smooth skin. Roses were in her smooth cheeks and her dark eyes were confused but filled with sexual heat.

She was so fucking hot, burning, blazing hot. It was all that he could do to pull away from her, to keep from taking everything she offered to him. Or was he just deluding himself?

Was it for him? Or that bastard? No, it was time to leave now or he would consume every tempting inch of her.

“Tell me, Kagome,” Sess commanded softly, slipping his coat back on, “is it me that you want?”

She sat up, dazed by his question, looking at him in disbelief. How could he do this to her? Look at him! His body was still aroused, she could see the imprint of his erection through the fine silk. It had been real! Why was he so suddenly, outwardly cold? Who was he talking about?

Sesshoumaru walked up to her, his mouth twisting into a cruel smirk as she hastily covered her breasts and pulled down her skirt. His eyes flooded with cynical amusement.

“I guess it wasn’t me after all that you wanted,” he said, and she reached up to grasp his hand.

“Please, Sess, what’s wrong? What have I done?” Her eyes were brimming with tears as he pulled away with a caustic laugh.

“There’s no need to play games with me, Kagome. I know everything,” he told her. “You just should have been more upfront. We could have worked something out. You are, after all, such a hot little bitch, so free and easy with your body,” he observed.

“You bastard,” she gritted returning his glass-eyed stare. That he could just mock her after sharing such an intimate moment with her. He tilted his head in answer not deigning to acknowledge the insult. Had she meant nothing to him?

Damn him! She would not cry!

With as much dignity as she could muster, Kagome stood up and faced her tormentor, the only man she’d ever loved. It was sad that her judgment in men was a lousy track record. This time though she had been warned. She was playing out of her league. He let her see that.

“Get out, Sesshoumaru,” she ground out tightly, clenching the front of her shirt together.

His eyes wandered over her and despite her anger and hurt, she was aware of the desire still coursing through her body. He nonchalantly shrugged, grabbed his briefcase and wandered over to the door to open it.

“I guess this is it,” he remarked. “Don’t count on me calling you, Kagome. It’s over between us. You aren’t the woman I thought you were; just a little whore like all the others after my money. Just be sure to send Kouga my thanks for telling me the truth about you and him.”

Kouga?

Kagome cold only stand there long after the door had slammed shut. The tears flowed freely now as she stared at wooden panels unable to move. What in the hell happened? How was Kouga a part of this? He was nothing to her now!

Inuyasha had found her like that standing in the middle of the floor. He’d come exactly twenty minutes after his brother’s departure. He’d forced the building manager to let him in after she had failed to answer the door.

“Kagome! What happened?”

It was as if he were calling her from far away through a long endless tunnel. She could see him but was unable to reply. Her pain strangled every sound from her.

Inuyasha had looked distraught, alarmed by her pale face and clammy skin. Kikyou had been with him fortunately. She had helped him to bathe and put Kagome to bed. She had been in a catatonic state after that for hours.

The next day she had finally snapped out of it, calling in to work. Inuyasha had fussed over her, looking rumpled and disoriented.

“Your futon sucks, Kagome!” Inuyasha complained, after eating her food up. Kikyou had insisted that he replace everything and more. Kagome was grateful for their presence and was distracted by the news of the couple’s engagement and impending parenthood. Things had gotten awkward at the mention of Sesshoumaru. Kagome had to leave the room. She was glad for their understanding in letting her grieve alone when she needed to.

Her best friend, Sango, had been coming over after work for the past two days to check up on her. If it weren’t for Sango, she doubt if she would have eaten a thing. Her appetite was gone and she’d been sleeping poorly. The only thing she’d voluntarily related was that she and Sess would not be seeing one another. Sango had not pressed the issue but it was only a matter of time.

Inuyasha had been calling and was threatening to come by her place when she got off today. How could she face him now? His resemblance to Sesshoumaru would only result in more pain for her. Kagome didn’t feel up to that right now. But sooner or later, she would have to face the music.

How could she tell Inuyasha the truth? About how callously his brother had treated her? That Kouga had destroyed her chance at happiness with Sesshoumaru all because she’d dumped him two years ago? The lying son of bitch had failed to mention his fiancée Ayame and now he wanted revenge because she refused to be the other woman.

What hurt most of all was that Sesshoumaru had believed Kouga.

How could you Sess? She thought, overflowing with agony that was fresh and raw. It was only a short month but I fell for you hard. I never got the chance to tell you how I felt. Now you’re gone forever.

Her phone rang, shattering the myriad of bad thoughts crowding her mind. She glanced down at the Caller ID and saw that it was Sango.

“Hey! Kagome! Are you coming in today?” Sango sounded cheerful as usual but cautious of her friend’s state. “The clinic has been crazy with this flu going around.”

“Be careful down there, I don’t want you getting sick.” Kagome warned. “Yes, I am ready to come back…sorta.” She couldn’t lie to Sango. Time to change the subject. “How are things going with the handsome young intern with the “busy” hands?”

Kagome could swear she could feel Sango blushing through the phone line.

“It’s gravy, Kagome. I had to knock the hell out of him a few times but he is sweet. We’ve been out twice already this week.”

Kagome winced. It sounded so familiar. She glanced over at the clock.

“Listen, Sango. I haven’t even taken my shower yet. I’ll see you there.”

“Okay, sweetie. How about lunch today?”

“Sounds good. Later, girlfriend.”

“See ya, Kagome.”

Kagome immediately showered and dressed in a record time. She took extra care with her hair and make-up; touching her eyes up with bronze shadow and polishing her lips with a soft peach hue. Her suit crisp linen suite was taupe with a fitted jacket and a short skirt that stopped just above the knee. Her blouse was pristine white with tan and gold buttons. She pivoted in front of the mirror, looking better than she felt.

After locking up her place, she dashed down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. She was running late! So much for taking extra time with her appearance, she wryly thought. Although Kagome attempted to make a mad dash for the bus, it was already taking off without her.

“Shit,” she muttered. A few droplets of water splattered her face. Damn it, she forgot her umbrella. There was no time to go back and get it either. It was not her freaking week.

Fifteen minutes passed and still there was no sign of the bus. She made a quick call to her job on her cell phone to inform them of the delay. Her boss was in a good mood fortunately and inquired about her health. No sooner had she hung up from her phone call when she heard someone calling her name.

She glanced up to see who it was and spotted a flashy bright red Porsche looming up to the curb. The driver lowered the window to say her name again, this time making eye contact. When she saw who it was, she stiffened up.

“Shit,” she repeated.

It really wasn’t her week.