Black Touches

Anger. Power. Destroy. Shred.

The only things he understood. His golden eyes reviewed his predicament with simplistic thought. What was going on?

He had awoken to this woman making strange noises from the back of her throat. Where had he been? What had SHE been doing there? Each time he tried to ask her a question, she kept repeating those noises. Nothing made sense to him.

Even so, he had taken her with him when she had stopped doing anything but breathing. She had been surprisingly light as he had carried her over his shoulder to the cave he had sniffed out.

No one had been there for a while. It was obvious that humans had inhabited it a time or two. A small hole had been dug near the center of the room, surrounded by small rocks, but he did not build a fire; he did not remember how.

Her body lay nearby, dropped to the ground in a heap where he had left her.

What was she? Friend? Foe? …Mate? Somewhere inside, he held a fear of discovery. This mystery woman-child had befuddled his waking mind and scattered all thoughts but survival instinct.

He sniffed once. Twice. Still he could not place her scent. He must get closer.

Slowly, warily, he scuffled over to her form. She lay curled on her side, goose-bumps showing on her revealed flesh. He sniffed again, this time closer to her. The scent was strange, mixed. He discerned the smell of some substances clinging to her skin, not the smell of natural things, and sniffed until he found her woman scent.

She smelled pure and untainted. No beast had claimed her yet. She was free game. And…he felt somehow calmed by her presence.

A feral smirk twisted his lips as he uncovered his own scent coating her skin. That told him the thing he needed to know.

Mate.

Her body began to shiver in the night air, the chill entering the cave whispering over her skin. Alpha males knew what that meant.

Without another hesitation of body or mind, he lay beside her, wrapping her with his body to keep her warm. Her shivering subsided, and a pleased grunt left his throat as she scooted closer to him.

Her waking mind was comforted. She was wrapped in a blanket of protective warmth and strength. The fresh smell of nature and male entered her senses, keeping her from panicking.

Wait. Male?

Slowly, she became aware of arms around her body. Rough hands were settled on her stomach and over her chest. A hard, very male body was pressed against her backside, making it perfectly clear that she was not alone.

Her body went rigid in fear as her eyes shot open.

All she saw was blackness.

She blinked rapidly, trying to see. After a few moments, a few outlines of her surroundings became apparent. Well, obviously, she was in a cave.

In her mind, she told herself not to panic, to keep breathing normally.

The hands on her body moved, and she held her breath in anticipation. She had no weapons, no self defense. She was helpless in these claws.

CLAWS!

She swallowed, working even harder to calm her breathing. At least it didn't seem to want to eat her. That was a start

Her body was stiff in those arms as they pulled her closer. She nearly squeaked in fright. Okay, she needed to think. Don't spazz-out, just think. Concentrate. Oh, no. The hands were moving again. As far as she could tell, they were moving in a protective gesture. Her captor, it seemed, wanted to calm her down.

Why was she afraid? They were mates. She shouldn't fear her mate. He pulled her tighter to him, hoping to dispel her fears. He only felt her body tighten more.

Noises were emitted from her throat again. What was she doing? He only knew that she was frightened and cold. His arms tightened more about her, trying to dispel her fear, but he could smell the aura of her fear increase.

What was wrong?

She couldn't tell if he was asleep or awake. Maybe if she tried to ease out slowly, he wouldn't move. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Just be careful.

Ever so slowly, she began to move. First, she shifted her legs, gently separating them from the ones behind her. With trembling limbs, she eased her hands in front of her, daring to breathe slowly and gently, trying not to make any noise. Once her hands touched the ground, she inched her body forward, rolling from her side to her stomach. Alright, she was making progress. Maybe he was asleep.

What was she doing? She would freeze if she got out of his arms.

With that thought, he grunted and pulled her back to him, pulling his own leg over hers so she would not cause herself harm. Once there, he did not deny himself the pleasure of running his claws down her flat stomach, making it known that he enjoyed her form. He breathed deeply from her skin, pressing his nose into her hair. His throat rumbled in a satisfied purr as he kept her close.

Oh God, she was scared now. She would try to get out one more time, just to make sure. Trying not to cry, she pulled her legs slowly out from his once more and worked her arms free. With measured movements, she tried to ease her body out of his hold.

A growl ripped out of the form behind her, and she cringed in fear. She barely had time to gasp before she was yanked back, this time flipped to face her enemy.

"I'm!"

Her eyes widened in surprise as she caught sight of blood-red eyes and a whisper of silver hair.

"Inuyasha!"

That was it. He didn't know what the bitch was trying to accomplish, but she was not leaving his protection.

He growled his comand at her to stay and flipped her over to give her a firm hand on who was boss. He didn't expect to see surprise or hear her voice again, making those strange sounds. He was, however, grateful that most of her fear had gone.

Where were you going? It's not safe to leave. Don't try that again.

Her dumbfounded look only made him angry.

Don't try that again. Understood?

He watched her open her mouth, those funny noises emitted once more.

She shivered at his growls. "Look, I...I don't know what you're saying."

She could barely discern his face in the darkness, the moonlight filtering in just enough to make out certain shapes.

He seemed to stop trying to make her understand then. Instead of growling at her, he pulled her close, showing through his movements that he wasn't going to let her go.

"Inuyasha..." she whispered. "Please...just...just let me go..."

His hands were smoothing over her body, and she would have been a fool to admit she didn't like it. Even so, she knew he was not in his right mind, and she knew he would probably want to kill her when he came back to himself.

"Look, you won't like it when you find out what you've done. Don't do this to yourself." She paused a moment, trying not to let her tears come. "Don't do this...to me."

He seemed to work even harder to calm her, purring softly against her as he petted her.

She sighed in sadness and in frustration. Well, with him out of his mind, she could at least enjoy the feel of him. Hesitantly, she lifted her own hands, setting them on his sides.

Good. He had her consent now. His purring grew louder as he got closer, a small smile curving his lips. She would be his before the night was out.

He worked his claws beneath her clothes, wanting the feel of her skin. He felt her body shiver in response as he slid his palms across her skin. He liked the way she was so responsive.

Feeling more confidant, he bent his lips to the skin of her cheek, lightly licking the soft skin there. She tasted heavenly.

Suddenly, he could feel her fear rise again. He would have to work on that. He couldn't have his mate afraid of him.

He worked his way down, paying particular attention to her neck and shoulder.

She knew that didn't bode well. Sango had told her a little about youkai and the ways they claimed their mates.

First, they covered their chosen in their scent, often using their saliva as a base. That base was covered, she thought with slight panic.

Second, they would mark them. Most of the time, the mark would be at the junction between the shoulder and neck. That's how other males knew the female was already taken; it was easily seen, and they knew to stay away. Others chose to leave them unclaimed so they could join with other females; the thought just made her shudder.

Third, they...well...they mated. If one were to think of it as a business arrangement, the partners sealed the bargain by the last part of the ritual.

She could feel Inuyasha's mouth getting closer to her shoulder. She felt her panic rising. He would never forgive her if he came out of his youkai state and discovered that he had mated with her. Oh God, she couldn't bear that.

"Inuyasha, stop..."

Her words had no effect on the demon as he continued to coat her skin in his scent, claiming his territory. He slowed as he reached her shoulder.

She pushed against his shoulders lightly, knowing that if he truly didn't want to let her go, she'd never get free.

"Inuyasha, you're going to regret this. Please..."

She began to cry, her tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

"Don't do this..."

She heard him sniff as his head came back up, confusion written in their depths. He nuzzled her cheek, licking her tears away even as they continued to come.

Now what was wrong? He couldn't sense anything dangerous around. This woman was confusing him to no end. Better claim her quickly.

He held her close as he worked his way back down to her neck once more. He could feel her tremble with panic and fright even as he tried to calm her with his soft rumbles.

She continued to plea with him, he could tell, in that strange language of hers. He didn't know why. She had already been covered with his daily scent'; the thought that he couldn't remember giving it to her disturbed him only slightly, but only strengthened his resolve to keep her.

Gently, he grasped her hair, pulling her head to the side for better access to her neck. He could smell more tears as she cried harder. He determined to ignore it until he had at least claimed her for others.

As his teeth came down into her skin, her heard her soft cry of pain before she clutched at him.

Well, guys, I finally got it out. It took me ages, I know, but I had horrible writer's block. Please, don't hold it against me. Review and tell me what you think. Give me some pointers. I don't mind constructive criticism. Caring is sharing people!