InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pretending to Pretend ❯ Chapter 11

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

 

 

Chapter Eleven

 

 

 

Waking up Christmas Eve morning, Kagome didn’t even feel like getting out of bed, at first, until she realized that was depression talking and so she forced herself. On the one hand, she was glad she didn’t have to go out to the shrine today, but on the other hand, if she could’ve just worked it like any other Saturday, business as usual, she would’ve appreciated the distraction. But it was just as well that she wasn’t there, she supposed, because then that would’ve meant having Christmas dinner at home, and of course, that would’ve meant inviting Inuyasha, because how could she have possibly excused his absence without it instantly seeming as if the two of them must have had a huge fight? She hadn’t even told her mother what’d happened when she was there last weekend, so she had no idea that Inuyasha was suspicious of her feelings now, and Kagome herself still had no idea what that really meant as far as their friendship moving forward.

 

She got the distinct impression that he wanted to talk to her about it, too. How could he not, right? But so far she’d managed to dodge the proverbial bullet, even though she knew it was only postponing the inevitable. Something would have to be done, eventually, because they couldn’t go on like this. She couldn’t go on like this. But she’d known from the start that her heart was going to suffer, she just hadn’t realized to what degree, and she still did not truly regret saying what she had to Kikyou, because the one thing that had been a ray of sunshine for her throughout this last week was that she had, indeed, killed the rumor that she was only with Inuyasha for his money. People either applauded her position of standing up for their forbidden love, or ridiculed her and called her a traitor to mankind, some even going so far as to stupidly claim her and Inuyasha’s relationship was perpetrating human genocide because they had no idea what the word ‘genocide’ really meant – and the human race was in no danger of going instinct just because a minority of people chose to have hanyou children – but those assholes didn’t bother Kagome in the slightest.

 

As she forced herself to go through her usual morning rituals, Kagome’s loneliness really hit home. Tonight was going to suck. But did that mean she’d rather go have dinner with Inuyasha, pretending that everything was all right between them when it really wasn’t? No. He would either play along and pretend everything was fine, a phony act he’d never had to do with her before this last week and one that broke her heart a little more every time she saw it, or he’d want to talk, not be phony and get it all out in the open, and while she knew she’d have to face the music eventually she just didn’t want to deal with it tonight. Not tonight. Not on what had always used to be her favorite holiday. Hopefully, if nothing bad happened to taint her memory of this special night, it could continue to be her favorite holiday for years to come. One lonely Christmas wasn’t the end of the world.

 

Pulling herself out of her funk, Kagome made the decision to get dressed, go to the store, get herself some chicken for dinner tonight and maybe even a little Christmas cake if there were still any left, and then she’d put her pajamas back on and curl up with the TV, letting random shows distract her from her Christmas blues. She would get through this, and then maybe next weekend, for the new year, she’d make the resolution to start fresh, and honest, and tell Inuyasha the truth.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Sighing as he stared blankly into his kitchen cabinets, not about to go wait in the ridiculously long lines at KFC for a stupid chicken dinner, Inuyasha decided that chicken flavored instant ramen would suffice and retrieved himself two cups, before putting one of them back. The truth was, he wasn’t even hungry.

 

He’d called Kagome around noon. He’d actually braved calling her, and he’d kept his tone of voice sounding pleasant enough if he did say so himself. Asking in what he’d hoped was an innocent enough way if she wanted any company for the evening, telling her he remembered what she’d said last week about not feeling like going to out eat at a restaurant although that didn’t mean he couldn’t grab something at the market to make her a nice dinner at home, she had, albeit politely, declined his offer, telling him she wasn’t in the mood for company and just wanted to spend the day alone.

 

If that didn’t scream of a broken heart, he didn’t know what did, but at the time, he’d been too cowardly to say anything over the phone. Not wanting to sound desperate for companionship, himself, if he’d pressed the issue, saying something like maybe instead of dinner they could just go for a walk and look at all the illuminations around the city, he’d instead just told her it was fine, told her that she could call him at any time if she changed her mind, and that if not, he’d see her when he came to pick her up for school on Monday morning. Wishing her a Merry Christmas, then, that had been the end of the phone call.

 

“Fucking coward,” he berated himself as he heated up some water for his noodles. “Lonely miserable bastard.”

 

Talking to oneself was a bad sign, wasn’t it?

 

He sighed.

 

As much as he hadn’t really liked the idea of going home to have dinner with his parents it probably would’ve been worth the distraction, instead of being left all alone with his own thoughts as he was, but one of the reasons he’d politely turned down his mother’s invitation, besides not having wanted to risk them realizing something was seriously bothering him, was the fact that if Kagome had to spend the holiday all alone then he’d figured that he should have to, also. He probably would have stomached going home had Kagome also gone home to see her family, but he’d figured he had no right to try and distract himself from his woes by visiting with family when he knew she had no such luxury.

 

And Miroku had asked him last night via text if the two of them were going to put their awkwardness aside for the night and go enjoy a nice dinner somewhere, for the sake of Christmas. When he’d told him no, Miroku had actually asked him how come.

 

How come? Was he serious?

 

Hell, maybe he was. Maybe he should have just told Kagome he was coming over to make her dinner, rather than asking her if she’d like him to. Or better yet, he could’ve just told her to put on one of her fancy dresses because he was taking her ass out to a nice restaurant whether she liked it or not. But until they cleared the air between them and got the truth of their feelings, whatever they were, fully out in the open, he knew he would be putting on too much of an act in such a setting, and Kagome deserved better than that.

 

Eating his ramen without much enthusiasm, he was bored out of his mind and didn’t feel like watching TV, so he just went to bed early after he was done eating, hoping the sooner he lost consciousness, the sooner this blasted holiday for love birds would be over and done with.

 

Unfortunately, an hour or so later, he was still wide awake, staring up at the ceiling, playing the events of the last week over and over again in his head. Kagome had definitely changed, no doubt about it. Even though she was acting just the same on the outside, she was acting now, around him, when she never had before. Looking back on it, the contrast of before and after her supposed ‘confession’ to Kikyou was night and day. How was it that he’d never noticed her sincerity beforehand? Her lack of acting? Pretending to fall for him and then be in a relationship with him had seemed to come so naturally to her. Too naturally, he realized now.

 

Now, as he really thought about it, there only seemed to be one realistic explanation, and Inuyasha pretty much felt like the ideal time for speaking with Kagome about it would’ve been today, if he hadn’t chickened out yet again like the fucking chicken-hanyou that he was.

 

Glancing nonchalantly at the clock and suddenly realizing how early it actually still was, he abruptly realized the night wasn’t over yet, and feeling a sudden jolt of determination, he launched himself from his bed, threw on some clothes, and was out the door before he could chicken out again.

 

ooo

 

Kagome was brushing her teeth before bed when there was a hesitant knock on the door. Pausing a moment to listen, unsure if what she’d heard was actually a knock or just some knocking sound coming from next door, it wasn’t until she turned the water on to spit and rinse that a louder knock that definitely came from her front door got her attention.

 

With her heart beating a little bit faster, unable to think of anyone other than one person who would be knocking on her door at a time like this, although why he was was a mystery in its own right, Kagome briefly glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror before deciding her red flannel pajamas with white snowflakes and white fuzzy slippers were acceptable enough attire for answering the door on Christmas Eve when she hadn’t been expecting, or wanting, any company.

 

At least she wasn’t wearing her pastel pink ones with light silver-blue puppies and paw prints.

 

ooo

 

Fidgeting nervously as he stood outside Kagome’s apartment door for what felt like an hour but couldn’t have been longer than two minutes, Inuyasha was trying to psych himself up, reminding himself over and over again of the resolve he’d felt when he’d made the decision to come over here. A confidence that hadn’t left him all through the drive but had apparently decided to wait in the car as he suddenly found himself feeling terrified. But what was the worst thing that could happen, really? Aside from getting his heart torn to pieces for the second time.

 

No problem.

 

Finally reasoning with himself that he simply couldn’t go on not knowing, plus if he was right then not only would his heart not be broken, he would actually be mending the heart of his best friend, as well, the woman he loved, Inuyasha grew a set and knocked on the door.

 

Waiting a moment but hearing no footsteps, Inuyasha cursed himself under his breath when he heard her bathroom sink turn on. He was obviously still hesitating to a degree if she hadn’t heard him. Before he could start chickening out again, he knocked a second time, much harder. It was too late, then, and as he heard softened footsteps approaching the door, he mentally braced for impact.

 

Seeing her standing there in red pajamas with white snowflakes, fuzzy white slippers on her feet, to him, she was as beautiful as ever. Belatedly noticing the frantic pounding of her heart, her eyes wide in apprehension, her nervous state actually put his mind somewhat at ease. As far as he was concerned, there was only one possible reason for that type of a reaction to his sudden appearance, all things considered. Especially on a night like tonight.

 

ooo

 

Confirming her suspicions as soon as she opened the door to see Inuyasha standing there, dressed in a casual pair of blue jeans and her favorite red sweater, Kagome’s mind started running a mile a minute to try and decipher just what this impromptu visit could possibly mean. She’d already told him she wanted to be alone, so what could have possibly made him choose to go against her wishes and show up, anyway? And so close to bedtime?

 

Still, she knew she couldn’t just stand there gaping at him like an idiot, and she wasn’t about to actually, rudely send him away, especially when all she really wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and beg forgiveness. With worrying that he could most likely sense her nervousness only succeeding in making her even more nervous, a nasty kind of self-fulfilling prophecy that had her mentally cursing her inability to control her emotions as well as she’d like, Kagome nevertheless threw on a welcoming smile in answer to his own happy grin as she stepped aside and invited him in, apologizing lamely for her current state of dress.

 

“You look fine,” he assured her, still smiling as he slipped off his shoes. “I’m the one who should apologize for coming by so late, and after you told me earlier that you wanted to be alone.”

 

“Oh no, it’s fine, really,” she insisted, as they both made their way over into her living room and each took a seat sideways on the couch, facing each other. “But, what brings you by? Is everything all right?” she asked.

 

At least nothing dire had happened, she was sure, otherwise he wouldn’t be smiling at her like that, although his grin was making her apprehensive in a different way. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly why he was there.

 

No sooner than she thought that, his smile fell, a very serious look taking over his features. Now she was really worried.

 

Knowing his behavior was freaking her out, and feeling a little guilty because of it, Inuyasha figured the best thing to do, for both their sakes, was to just plow full speed ahead and get it over with, like ripping off a band-aid.

 

“Kagome,” he began, trying to keep his tone as gentle as possible. “I need you to tell me the truth, no matter what. Promise me.”

 

Her heart was beating so fast now it felt like it was trying to escape the situation by breaking straight out of her chest and making a run for it, but she nodded nonetheless, quietly whispering, “I promise.”

 

He nodded, accepting her word. Inuyasha knew that Kagome knew that he’d be able to tell, now, if she lied to him, because breaking her promise would compound all the usual signs of deception. Besides that, he personally believed she had too much honor to break her vow in the first place.

 

“I need to know,” he told her then. “I need to know if everything you said to Kikyou was really just a good story you made up on the fly, or if you lied to her with the truth, as you call it, the only part you kept a secret from her being our original plan to pretend. I need to know if you really do love me, if you have loved me, for the last two years. Please,” he pleaded, no longer caring that he sounded desperate, “just tell me the truth.”

 

Unable to stop her eyes from tearing up, certain her friendship with Inuyasha was about to be ruined forever, she nonetheless knew she had to tell him the truth. She had promised, after all. That he would be able to tell that she was lying didn’t even factor into it; she would never, could never break a direct promise to him like that.

 

“It’s true,” she told him then, her voice quiet, sad and defeated. “I...I’ve loved you, for so long.” And then, the floodgates opened. “I kn-know you d-don’t f-feel the same, so it’s f-fine, I just-”

 

That was as far as she got before Inuyasha silenced her with a kiss.

 

Her brain nearly shut down. It took several seconds to realize what was happening. The feel of Inuyasha’s lips as he moved them against her own was so foreign, but in a wonderful way. He wasn’t just pressing his lips to hers, unmoving, but instead, his slightly parted mouth was massaging her lips in a sensual pattern. It took a second to really hit her. Inuyasha was kissing her! And not just a chaste peck; a real kiss. She immediately started kissing him back, trying to mimic his movements. It took Kagome another full moment to realize she didn’t really know what she was doing, because this was her first kiss.

 

But if she was doing something wrong Inuyasha didn’t show it, as he reached up with his right hand to gently cup her left cheek while his left hand snaked its way behind her back, pulling her close. Kagome responded to his apparent enthusiasm by wrapping her right arm up and around his neck while her left hand clenched a fistful of fabric on his right shoulder.

 

Inuyasha rumbled approvingly in the back of his throat as she responded to him the way he’d hoped she would. His behavior didn’t show it, but he was a nervous wreck, himself, or at least he had been when he’d initially made the quick decision to kiss her.

 

Hearing her say the words, say that she loved him, had immediately caused his heart to swell. Even though he’d already come to the conclusion that he loved her, he hadn’t known for a fact, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how she truly felt about him in return until just that moment, and realizing there was nothing standing in his way, in their way, had made his love for her double. Triple. Then her sadness had registered and he’d acted without thinking, following his instincts, wanting only to devour her misery and replace it with joy. His brain had quickly freaked out once it’d caught on to what he was doing, but that didn’t mean he’d been about to stop.

 

Not after she’d started to respond, kissing him back.

 

Then that happy canine rumble of satisfaction had slipped out, without his permission, but before he could get embarrassed by the slip, because Kikyou had always hated it whenever he made those kinds of sounds and so he’d always tried to keep a lid on his youkai side to make sure it wouldn’t bother her, the tantalizing aroma of Kagome’s arousal drifted up to his nose and had him rumbling again at the realization that she found his canine sounds arousing.

 

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. Especially since that scent of hers was going to have him wanting to do things he was sure she wasn’t ready for yet. He knew well, from battling his own hormones, that sometimes the body had its own ideas and didn’t care what the mind or heart had to say. When Inuyasha finally pulled back and away, he made sure to keep his grin soft and sincere when Kagome blinked her eyes back open, lest he spook her with his body’s reaction to her own.

 

Seeing him smiling at her so tenderly, so full of love, was a dream come true for the miko, but even so, she had been through so much, and put herself through so much emotionally, that she was having a little trouble just letting go and letting herself just feel. His kiss had been amazing, and a part of her just wanted to get lost in sensation, but her heart was insisting that they get something cleared up first.

 

“I...”

 

Even though she couldn’t finish the thought out loud, her eyes and scent bespoke of her confusion. A part of her wanted to tell Inuyasha that she didn’t understand, while another part of her didn’t want to risk shattering the moment.

 

Just shut up and kiss him again, that half of her screamed at herself.

 

Recognizing the uncertainty in her eyes, the not daring to hope, it was a feeling the hanyou could relate to all too well. Especially over this past week.

 

“I love you,” he told her then, unafraid to make the confession now that he knew she felt the same way. She had been the one forced into admitting her feelings against her will, still believing them to be one sided, and he wasn’t about to let her go on for even one second longer with that lingering fear clouding her scent.

 

“You...” she murmured, as if unable to wrap her head around his words.

 

Actions spoke so much louder, anyway.

 

“Love you,” he finished for her, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into another kiss.

 

While still surprised, Kagome got over her initial shock much faster that time, immediately responding by kissing him back with all the pent up emotions she’d been repressing for over two years now. Grabbing on to him so tightly it was like she was afraid he’d disappear if she let go, Inuyasha reassured her he wasn’t going anywhere by tightening his hold on her in return.

 

When they finally broke apart for some much needed oxygen it was with great reluctance, and although Kagome unwound her arms from around his neck she latched on to his left hand with her right in a death grip, as if she were dangling over a cliff, hanging on to him for dear life. She knew he would never let her fall.

 

“You’re not just messing with me, are you?” she asked with a watery laugh, not really believing for one minute that he was capable of being so cruel.

 

Knowing she was only joking, he chuckled a little, himself.

 

“I might be blind and dumb as a post,” he started, in reference to his inability to see what was right in front of him as well as his initial confusion regarding his own feelings, “but one thing I’m not is a heartless bastard.”

 

“No way,” she agreed. “You have a heart of gold.” Reaching up with her left hand to cup his right cheek, she added softly, “It matches your eyes.”

 

Leaning into her touch, he closed the eyes she loved so much as his inner inu wagged its metaphoric tail. If he were a neko-hanyou he’d be purring.

 

“So, I guess...” she spoke back up after a moment of peaceful silence, lowering her left hand although her right was still holding his left, their joined hands resting on his left thigh as they each sat sideways on the couch in order to face each other, her left leg and his right both tucked underneath themselves while her right leg and his left both dangled over the edge. “I guess this will makes things much less complicated when we go back to Tama U after winter break,” she finished, “since our big lie is now true.”

 

He gave her hand a little squeeze, his eyes amused.

 

“I suppose that’s true,” he acknowledged. “But truth be told, school is the last thing I want to think about right now.”

 

“I suppose you’ve got a point,” she conceded with a wry grin. “I think my brain is just grasping for something simpler it can make sense of.”

 

“I’m sorry if I confused you,” he apologized lightly. “But if it’s any consolation, I confused the hell out of myself, first.”

 

Reaching up with his right hand, he brushed a wayward strand of hair behind her left ear.

 

“Finally, for the first time in what seems like forever, everything makes sense now,” he added.

 

He opened up to her then, telling her everything from when he’d first started to feel more strongly towards her, to when he’d realized that he had started to feel more strongly towards her. His initial hesitation, when he had been unable to determine if his feelings were real or merely a manifestation of his loneliness, and his absolute belief that nothing would come of it because she only saw him as a friend. Then his confusion and uncertainty after overhearing her infamous confession to Kikyou last week, and how he was unsure, at first, if he’d even wanted it to be true or not, although he had been determined to find out what was true, regardless of his feelings on the matter.

 

Then finally, this past week at school, as he’d observed her own change in behavior, at least under the surface. Her barely concealed anxiety, coupled with smiles that were far more forced than they’d previously been, which had helped him to solidify his own resolve. Feeling fairly optimistic but determined to get to the truth no matter what, he apologized again in that moment for upsetting her with the way he’d just asked her to tell him the truth without confessing his own feelings to her, first, but the truth was, he was a coward.

 

“If you’d told me honestly that you really didn’t love me, that your uneasiness around me over the last week was just because you felt awkward thinking that I thought you did, even though you’d already told me it was just a story you’d made up, then I would’ve probably tried to play it off, pretend I was relieved at the news and tell you you were just a very good friend to me, as well,” he admitted.

 

“I’m glad it didn’t work out that way, then,” Kagome acknowledged. “Even if I didn’t really love you as more than just a friend, I wouldn’t have wanted you to have to go through that, pretending you didn’t love me.”

 

“I’m sorry you had to go through it,” he apologized again. “And then to pretend that you were just a friend pretending to love me?” He shook his head. “Kami, I never would’ve let you do that to yourself if I’d known.”

 

“I wanted so badly to just tell you I loved you back when Kikyou first broke up with you, and you were convinced you were unlovable, but it wouldn’t have been appropriate,” Kagome admitted.

 

“I wouldn’t have reacted to the news the same way, I can tell you that,” he replied. “I guess, just like Miroku says, all things happen for a reason.”

 

“At least I got to pretend to be your girlfriend,” she said, in a tone of voice that was meant to let him know it hadn’t been all bad. “Until I screwed up last week, I was really having a good time.”

 

“Me too,” he acknowledged. “But I’m glad you screwed up,” he repeated teasingly with a wink. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have known my new found feelings were returned.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“And you don’t have to pretend to be my girlfriend anymore,” he added. “As far as I’m concerned, and I can’t imagine you’d object, you are my girlfriend now.”

 

“No objections here,” she agreed with a smile. “You were right, by the way,” she added playfully.

 

“Oh? About what?”

 

“That you know how to kiss without hurting me with your fangs.”

 

He laughed a little at that, before leaning forward just enough to kiss her lips gently, a simple, tender kiss this time that only lasted a second. He was half tempted to make a joke about his claws, that, eventually when the time came, when they got that far in their intimacy for real, he would know how to touch her without hurting her, too, but then thinking better of it, he didn’t want to risk embarrassing her and ruining the moment if she found the comment too forward.

 

“What are you thinking about?” she asked at the contemplative look on his face.

 

“Something lecherous, but I didn’t want to embarrass you,” he admitted with another chuckle, earning a giggle from her in return.

 

“At least you’re honest,” she said.

 

“Always the best policy,” he acknowledged with a nod and wink.

 

She grinned, before glancing up at the fuzzy appendages she loved so much, her expression becoming somewhat hesitant. “May...may I touch your ears?”

 

He was caught off guard by the question, but then immediately remembered that one unthinking tweak she’d given his ear a few weeks back and how, at the time, he’d actually thought that letting her touch his ears would be a cute Christmas present for her. He reached up with his right hand to rub his own right ear at the memory. So much had happened in the last week that he’d honestly forgotten all about his decision to let her molest them, but now that she’d actually asked it was a no-brainer.

 

“You really aren’t bothered by them, are you?” he asked in a rather conversational tone of voice, since he knew it was true. It was still hard to wrap his head around at times, though.

 

He would understand, especially since they’d been friends at first and she’d then developed stronger feelings for him over time, if she had come to love him despite his hanyou features, looking past his youkai traits to see his inner human since he was, in fact, half human, too, but he knew that that wasn’t the case with Kagome. In fact, once, over a year ago, she’d even told him she thought his ears were cute.

 

“You know I’m not,” she answered softly.

 

“I don’t really get why,” he admitted. “But don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’re okay with them, and sure, if you wanna touch ‘em, go ahead,” he said then, as he tilted his head down a little bit.

 

Not about to hesitate after being given permission, Kagome immediately started rubbing his right ear with her left hand, the hanyou closing his eyes and tilting his head into her touch.

 

“I don’t see you as a human man who’s disfigured in some way, you know,” she said after a moment. “You are half human and half inu-youkai, and that’s simply who and what you are,” she explained, finally releasing his left hand to reach up and start rubbing his left ear, as well.

 

He whined softly, tilting his head the other way a little bit.

 

“Many youkai have characteristics, like your ears, that make them look different from humans,” she continued then. “You are a person to me, a person who just happens to be half canine, and therefore you have canine traits, like your ears, claws and fangs. They not only do not bother me, but because I love you, that includes your youkai features because they are a part of you.”

 

Eyes closed in bliss, a content smile on his face, somewhere in the back of his mind Inuyasha was aware of the fact that Kagome was talking to him. That she was saying basically the same thing Kikyou had told him on more than one occasion, which had turned out to not be true, didn’t really worry him in that moment when she was massaging his ears so expertly. Kikyou had certainly never done that. Telling him they didn’t bother her was all fine and good, but Kagome was showing him how she really felt.

 

Vaguely, he was aware of her shifting her position on the couch, but so long as her talented fingers kept on doing what they were doing he was putty in her hands, as the saying went. He whined again when he felt her right hand leave his left ear, but before he could open his eyes, something warm and wet closed around the fuzzy appendage and he yelped in surprise, electric tingles shooting straight to his dick as his eyes snapped open to take in nothing but a sea of red fabric.

 

She sat back down quickly at his reaction, frightened she had overstepped her bounds when he stared at her in shock.

 

“I’m sorry! I just...I...I just thought...”

 

Reaching out and grabbing her, Inuyasha yanked Kagome forward, the miko tumbling into his lap, as he slammed his lips back down over her own in a fierce, dominating kiss.

 

Mentally filing that trick away for later, Kagome immediately returned his kiss, giving as good as she got. She was a fast learner and, after settling herself a little more comfortably in his lap, Inuyasha twisting so that he was sitting on the couch normally with both legs down, her legs spread and resting on the cushion on either side of his thighs, she reached up with both hands and resumed rubbing his ears again while continuing to kiss him. Inuyasha, in turn, had tight fistfuls of hair and pajamas in his right and left hands, respectively, as a low rumbling growl sounded from deep within his chest.

 

Kagome couldn’t miss it as something hard in his lap began pressing intimately up against her, but when she started rocking against him, making the hanyou gasp into their kiss, instead of eroding away his higher brain functions even further it functioned as a sharp jolt of reality, causing him to practically tear himself out of the kiss, his hands reaching up and grabbing her wrists to pull her hands down and away from his ears as he stared at her with a serious expression, his breathing labored.

 

Instead of feeling worried, again, that she had done something wrong, a sense of confidence overcame the miko. He was her boyfriend, after all. She hadn’t done anything wrong.

 

“You need to cut that out,” he ground out, his voice deeper than usual.

 

She smirked at him.

 

“Why?”

 

He smirked, too, the expression wicked, his fangs glistening in the light.

 

“Because,” he started, giving his hips a little bounce for emphasis, “if we don’t stop now, I might not be able to stop myself later.”

 

“Who says I wanted you to stop, at all?”

 

“Kagome...” Releasing her hands, he closed his eyes and audibly groaned, rubbing his right hand down over his face. She was going to be the death of him yet. “We can’t just...I mean...I think it would probably be best if I headed home, now, before we do something we’ll regret.”

 

She didn’t budge, except to cock an eyebrow at him.

 

“Would you regret it?” she asked. “And remember, honesty is the best policy.”

 

He laughed, but it sounded strained.

 

“Of course not, but you-”

 

“Then you didn’t mean before we do something we’ll regret, you just think that I’ll regret it,” she interrupted. “But I’m nineteen, not sixteen, and the only thing I would regret is letting you get up and walk out that door without finishing what you started.”

 

To make her point, she started rocking against him again, his denim encased erection still as hard as stone and resting snugly up against her pajama clad heat. Closing his eyes, his head fell back, his hands finding their way to her hips although he didn’t try to stop her movements.

 

How did I go from afraid she might not return my feelings to getting a lap dance? he vaguely wondered, until the friction getting just a little too delicious had his hands tightening their grip as he moaned.

 

“Okay, you need to stop that before I can’t finish what I started,” he said, and she giggled again. “See, it’s when you laugh like that that I see you as some sort of innocent little thing who should be offended by my nasty thoughts, and yet you’re not. It’s a really weird juxtaposition.”

 

“I wouldn’t be friends with Miroku if I’m that easy to offend,” she pointed out.

 

“Good point,” he acknowledged.

 

“I can’t help the way my laugh sounds,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him slowly and sensually. He moaned again, his hands tightening their grip on her hips. Pulling back after a moment she whispered against his lips, “But I can promise you I’m not as innocent as you think I am.”

 

He didn’t know what possessed him to actually smirk at her and say, “Prove it.”

 

The next thing Inuyasha knew, Kagome sat up straight, crossed her arms in front of her stomach, and lifted her pajama top clean off.