So this was how it felt, Kagome realized—

To be wanted.

Not by a hormone-addled teenager, or one whose heart was forever torn. But this—this absolute, consuming desire. She had only ever felt this in her darkest dreams, yet she recognized it instantly.

Sesshoumaru’s kiss staggered her, even before he deepened it. It stole her breath and constricted her chest so tightly she thought her heart might burst. It filled her with awe—

And wild, abject fear.

Reiki boiled in her blood, and she wanted to scream. She wanted to break free, to run away. But she was frozen, her whole being paralyzed through to the core.

The tiniest whimper sounded in her throat. It died there, unable to go any further, because he was inside her, everywhere—possessing her from within. The rasp of his tongue against hers, claiming and subduing. The chafe of his fangs, bruising her lips to a tender, swollen pulp. The taste of him, melding with her, slicking the lower half of her face, overflowing her so relentlessly she felt like she was drowning in him, as she fought vainly for breath.

Her vision spotted darkly. She was going to faint, and she knew it. There was nothing she could do to prevent it.

Only when he pulled away could she find the space to gasp out, “Please, Sesshoumaru—no more…I can’t…”

Dangerously overheated, Kagome clung to him, sucking down one shallow breath after the next. Her skull felt like it was full of smoke. Despite the steam, she shivered incessantly. Sesshoumaru drew back a step, as if assessing her, before he swept her up in his arms and leapt from the pool.

Gritting her teeth, Kagome braced her forehead to his collar. Cool shadow washed over her shuttered eyes. Hesitantly, she blinked them open, as Sesshoumaru deposited her onto a cushion and drew a feather-light blanket over her shoulders. They were inside the tower now, in a low-lighted, elegant room that must be the main sleeping quarters of the place.

Curling her hands into the blanket to hold it shut, Kagome gazed blearily at him. He was still naked of course, but the wreath of his summoned fur made him decent enough. From a gleaming pitcher, he poured her a cup. Kagome thought it was wine, but only the taste of spring-water met her tongue.

“…Thanks,” she said, draining the cup in a few clumsy gulps.

Lowering himself to the cushion beside her, Sesshoumaru gestured toward the table before them. “You should eat.”

Kagome set down her cup on the polished floor. Skeptically, she eyed the pretty dishes arrayed before her. They looked similar to what she was used to—but indescribably different somehow. As if they were analogues to the mortal varieties. Judging by the sweet and savory aromas and the apparent delicacy, she could tell one thing for certain: Sesshoumaru’d had no hand in preparing them.

Warily, Kagome plucked up a piece of sparkling, round green fruit, which vaguely resembled a muscadine. “This isn’t some kind of trick, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

Kagome smiled thinly. Rolling the fruit in her fingers, she recalled a myth she’d learned once in school.

“If I eat this,” she said, “will I be trapped here forever?”

A cool hand took her by the wrist. Kagome’s smile vanished, as Sesshoumaru pulled her fingers to his mouth, and drew the fruit from her with a slow scrape of tongue.

“Now,” he said lowly, biting down as she stared, “if you are ‘trapped’, then so am I.”

As he pressed another morsel to her lips, Kagome received it meekly, gazing at him as she chewed and swallowed. “…Okay.”

The texture was supple and decadent, but she hadn’t really tasted it. She was too busy thinking of him. In all the years she’d known him, they’d never shared a meal together. Not like this…

What did it mean?

Kagome closed her eyes. She didn’t want to contemplate it. She didn’t want to contemplate anything. When she opened her eyes again, it was to drop her hold on the blanket around her and reach for him instead.

“Kiss me again,” she said, taking his face in her hands.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi