First off, this chapter is moderately long, because I made a promise, but I was pressed for time. Good thing is for you though, is that I wouldn't dare give you crap. Stay tuned for the next update to see how it all plays out! As always, please R&R!

(P.S.) Aww! You guize! I feel the love! Mwah! I am so stoked about all the reviews I have been receiving about continuing this story! I truly do it for you all… Even when it seems impossible to find the time, I think about you all every step of the way.

"I live for the applause, applause, applause..." – Lady Gaga

"Okay, okay! I surrender. You may leave my hippos to starve, you monster."

Shikamaru was rewarded with handfuls of kid.

"Hey, hey! No pulling hair! You've already won! No need to gloat, kid."

As he rolled around on the floor, trying to get away from an all-out attack, Kurenai saved the day.

"Come, Mirai. It's time for bed."

Her chubby little arms and legs stopped flailing long enough to pout at her mother. Kurenai mirrored her daughter's irritated eyes with her own. "What are you waiting for?"

"But mama!" She dashed over and latched on to her leg to plead her case. "Uncle Maru is here!"

"Your Uncle Maru is leaving soon, monkey-butt. It's time to sleep."

Aw, hell. That lower lip began to wobble. Those eyes started tearing up, and before she could suck in the final breath before it all started, Shikamaru gave in. He was such a wuss. "How about if I tuck you in? Will you listen to your mother then?"

She turned those big, wobbly and watery red eyes toward him, and his heart melted like butter in the sun. "Really..?"

"Yeah… Why not? Go get your sleeping gown on."

And just like that, she unlatched herself from her mother's leg and flew as fast as her little feet would carry her to her room down the hall, where the door slammed shut. That little girl was really growing on him…

"Shikamaru, I apologize." Kurenai started, and he snapped his head away from the hall the little pitter-patters ran down. "I can put her to bed. Really... You don't have to stay. She's just excited because she hasn't seen you in a while."

"Man…she looks so much like you…"

When he realized there was silence, he snapped out of his thoughts and hurried to stand up. "Kurenai, I didn't mean that—"

"Yes, you did, Shikamaru. It's okay." When he gave her a doubtful look, she smiled at him, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Stop that. I actually happen to disagree…"

"Do you now?" Shikamaru thoughtfully began picking up the mess that he and Mirai had created. Anything to distract him from where this was going. He would not cry again in front of her.

"I see Asuma."

His head snapped up, and he stared at her. She said his name. Not only did she say his name, she said his name without choking on it, and her eyes were dry.

"I see so much of him, Shikamaru, in her. It's almost like…I have him back…"

Uh-oh... He opened his mouth, but she held up her hand. "If you are going to tell me anything along the lines of "stop deluding myself," I would be insulted. I know very well that my daughter is not my husband."

He shut his trap and continued picking up the little plastic balls that the mechanical hippos ate. This time, when he spoke, he chose a different route. "She has his fire, that's for sure. You saw that look she gave you when you said it was time for bed?"

They shared a laugh, and smiled at each other when her little voice called out to let Shikamaru know she was ready to be tucked in.

"Guess that's my cue, huh?"

Kurenai nodded at him, and looked toward her daughter's room. "Mhm-hm. And you'd better hurry. She gets in a tizzy when she is forced to go to bed without a story."

As she made her way to the kitchen, Shikamaru headed into Mirai's bedroom. It was everything that you'd expect a little girl's room to be: full of teddy bears and purple and glitter. As soon as he closed the door in the dimly lit room, a little head popped up from under the covers.

"Did she fall for it?" she whispered dramatically.

"I'm here, aren't I?

"Yes!" She pumped her small fist in the air in victory. "I'm getting good at this!"

Shikamaru scooted her to the other side of the bed and made himself comfortable next to her with his back propped up against her headboard. "Don't sound so excited about it, monkey-butt. If I ever find out that you're lying to your mother without my permission, you're toast. Got that, kid?"

Very solemnly, she looked up at and nodded. "No lying. Toast. Got it!"

"Good." He mussed her hair affectionately. "Now… Which story shall it be?"

She didn't appear to be tired at all, bouncing up and down on the bed like a jack-rabbit. "Tell me the story when dad saved you from the Oto-ninja! Please! Please!"

"Easy, easy!" Shikamaru held her still by her tiny shoulders. "You're going to blow our cover." When she visibly calmed down, he let her go. "Oto-nin invasion it is, then. Once again, let me start of by saying that I really did have everything under control…"

He started from the beginning, and it didn't take long to be completely entranced by the story. Shikamaru was proud of the little smarty she was becoming, stopping him in random intervals to question something she didn't understand, and asking him to simplify it when she didn't quite know what a word meant. At this rate, she'd no doubt be smarter than he, and that was fine with him.

By the time he gotten to the middle of the story, she was fighting a losing battle with sleep. Her eyes would start drooping, her mouth would fall open, and her head would slowly slide off her hands and right onto his lap, where she would awaken on impact. This went on for about four more times. The last time, when her head landed on his thigh, she stayed, and her breathing deepened.

Shikamaru stayed with her for half an hour more, just watching her sleep. Amazing that the little tike was growing and learning so fast. It seemed so long ago when he was her age, and now, here he was, doing his best to raise a cool kid. Man…

He expertly slipped out from under her head and replaced his thigh with a pillow. Deep in thought, he headed toward the door when a drowsy voice called his name.

His hand stopped on the doorknob. "I thought you were asleep, kid?"

"Uncle Maru… Was my dad a hero?"

Shikamaru turned to look at her. She rubbed at her eyes, but already, she was falling back to sleep. Shikamaru never thought that he'd be in this deep with this kid, but looking at her now, he knew he'd do anything for her.

"Yeah, kid. Your dad was a hero. Your dad is still a hero… But he is more than that. He was the coolest guy I've ever known, the best friend I've ever had, and the best teacher in all of Konoha. Your dad is still my hero."

When there wasn't a reply, Shikamaru knew she was asleep again. He didn't know how much she heard, but he hoped all of it. She needed to know what kind of a man Asuma was, and it was his job to make sure of it. On the verge of tearing up like a little girl, he sucked it up and exited her room, where he met Kurenai in the kitchen, still busying herself with cleaning.

"You spoil her, you know that?"

"What can I say?" Shikamaru chose to lean against the counter. "She brings it out of me."

Kurenai nodded. "That she does. Thank you for telling her stories about Asuma. You kno—"

"Come on, Kurenai. Stop it."

She paused and turned to look at him.

"Stop thanking me. We're in this together."

She opened her mouth, closed it, and repeated the process for about a minute before she just nodded and continued cleaning.

"Fine. I won't thank you anymore. With that being said, who's this female that's had you all tied up in knots as of late?"

His phone chose this time to make a notification sound. Kurenai looked at him, smiled, and rolled her eyes. "How convenient… I suppose that's her?"

As Shikamaru pulled out his phone from his back pocket, his thoughts drifted to Temari, and he felt himself harden a little. He wanted her so much, but he had to be patient. When she got up to shower and left him there without a word earlier today, it gave him hope. Of course, she didn't say yes, but she had stopped saying no as well. Baby steps.

Turning on the screen, he saw that it was a text message from an unknown number. Strange… "No, I don't think so…"

He pressed that little unopened letter picture, and watched it unfold itself to reveal the message. He read it once. Again. And once more for good measure. Son of a bitch!

10:43 P.M. – Unknown: I saw you. I was there, inside the gym, late that night. You have a real thing for Sabaku no Temari, don't you? You enjoy that blowjob, Nara? Knowing full well that it wasn't really her?

"What's wrong?"

Shikamaru's head snapped up, and his eyes met red ones staring back at him, full of concern. Thinking fast, he cleared his throat and put his phone in his pocket.

"Someone screwed up at work. Terribly so..." He conveniently left out the part that it was him that screwed up. "Now, I have to do damage control."

"Now?"

The phone chimed again, and he yanked it from his pocket to look at it.

10:46 P.M. – Unknown: Don't deny it. I have pictures. I have proof. I have the upper hand. How does it feel to not be in control of everything, Nara?

Son of a fucking bitch! Shikamaru strolled to the living room and snatched up his keys off the table. He strained to keep his voice and features relaxed. "Yep. Duty calls and all that crap. What a drag, right?"

He didn't give her any time to question him further. With a wave, he was out the door and in his sport car, speeding toward the office. Shit! What the fuck was he going to do about this?

His phone went off again, and with another curse, he opened the message.

10:55 P.M. – Unknown: I'm sure you're good and riled up now. I will be calling in five minutes. Make sure you pick up your phone.

By the time five minutes was up, Shikamaru was on the elevator, on his way up to his office. As soon as the time hit eleven, the phone began ringing. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself, and answered the phone.

"Let me guess… Blackmail?"

"Straight to the point?" Any hope of him recognizing the voice deflated. Whoever was on the other side of this line was using some sort of device to distort their voice. "Well, what if I told you that you were correct?"

"Then I'd tell you to hurry this up. Don't play games with me. What do you want?"

"Let me ask you something… When you put your hands in all of that shadowy substance that was supposed to be hair, did it actually feel like the real thing? Tell me. I'm curious. Oh, even better question, when your eyes rolled into the back of your head, you had to be forcing your cock down her throat, right? I mean, only deep throat fucking can make a man's eyes roll."

Shikamaru resisted the urge to crush the phone in his hand. This person was really beginning to get under his skin, and he really was in no mood to deal with this shit to begin with. He had forgotten that he was even on the elevator until it dinged and the doors slid open. He strolled past the waiting area and the receptionist desk and fished in his pocket for the key to his door. "Okay, I get it. We'll do this your way."

"Glad you understand who's in control. Now, we can talk business. I have five photos, so let's say…ten million for each picture. You pay ten million, I give you picture. Deal?"

"And if I choose not to pay you?"

"Then I print copies and distribute accordingly. I'm sure Kurenai and her daughter would love a home movie. This is not a game you will win, Nara. Tell you what, just because you think you can outsmart me, I'll need the first thirty million in three days. I was going to give you a week, but I changed my mind. Goodbye, you fucking pervert."

Shikamaru lost his composure. "You listen to me, you little shit! I'm going to—

The line went dead.

You wanted to take shots at him? Fine, it wasn't a big deal. He was a well-known businessman. Being under fire was a part of the job. You wanted to try to outsmart him or undermine him? Cool. Bring it. He'd come out on top. But, if you decided that you have the balls to attempt to blackmail him, and then threatened to include his mentor's family, then you have royally fucked yourself, my friend.

Barely controlled rage tainted his vision red and hazy. He reached into his blazer breast pocket with shaky hands to produce the Asuma's case from his pocket. He saved them only for emergencies, and right now, this was a damn emergency. Hurriedly, he lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and held it in his lungs for as long as he could.

When he released the smoke, Shikamaru smiled and put his phone in his pocket, still annoyed, but almost completely calm. He remembered a time when he would complain about Asuma's smoke and stench. Now, he understood why Asuma needed them. They were his dirty little secret.

Asuma made his own cigarettes, and in doing so, created his own blends. When Shikamaru learned of his secret garden, Asuma had promised to teach him everything in exchange for his secrecy. At first, he didn't understand what the big deal was, but the more he learned, the more he became interested. Asuma had been very active when he'd left Konoha in his younger years.

Taking a seat behind his computer, he made short work of putting in passwords to get to where he wanted to be. When he pulled up the footage from the cameras hidden in the building, he clicked on the one that interested him, and rewound the time.

He was going to find the asshole that was responsible, and he was going to make them suffer. They had no idea what the hell he was capable of. All they saw was the truly unnecessary business suits and cash flow. But he was going to show a side of himself that had been long ago locked away…

When he came to the footage of him in the gym, three days ago, he leaned back in his chair and watched carefully. He paid special attention to the corners and dark spots in the gym, making sure he didn't miss the person who spied on him. When he watched himself sit down on the workout bench though, try as he might, his attention went to the shadow clone standing in front of him.

Temari…

He instantly began to harden, and just as he was about to curse himself, he saw something in the shadows move. What the hell?

Shikamaru leaned forward in his seat and rewound the footage back a little. There it was again! He rewound one more time, and waited for the right moment. When the shadow peeked over the rowing machine to take the pictures, he froze the camera.

"You have got to be fucking me…"

Θ
Θ Θ Θ
Θ

Temari leaned back in the seat of the cab and recited the address that had been sent to her in a text message. Sighing, she closed her eyes and fought the wave or mental fatigue that washed over her. Why did her life have to be so damn difficult?

Growing up, she thought that all she would have to do is have a lot of sex. She was a pretty girl, so no problem there, right? But, oh, it was so much more than that. Her thoughts drifted to Shikamaru, and even though she tried to beat it back, she really didn't have the mental endurance to do so. Mental images flooded her brain as she involuntarily thought about their last conversation, only hours ago…

"Let me help you, Temari."

His words rattled around in her mind. Temari really couldn't believe she was actually having this serious conversation. It was almost surreal. Many times, when she had awaken to find yet another stranger next to her, she had prayed that she would find someone who would take the time to be considerate of more than just her body. She longed to find someone who would be there for her, no matter what became of her.

And now it seemed possible. She had a man standing right in front of her, almost begging for just a chance. Of all the times she had imagined this, she had never imagined this outcome. Not even close.

"You can't tame me, Shikamaru."

She watched him scrub a hand down his face in frustration, and she wished like hell that she could say yes. She wished that she could throw herself into his arms and feel like someone finally cared for her and not just her body. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to thank him in any way she could. She wanted to feel relieved that someone was finally going to step up and be what she needed.

But, that wouldn't be very realistic, would it?

What happens when she gets bored of him, which will no doubt happen, because experience has taught her such. What happens when she starts disappearing and not answering his phone calls because she was fucking some other random person because of hormones and the inability to control them? What happens when she comes to and realized all the irreversible damage?

Those were the roadblocks in her path to her happily ever after, and as she screamed them at Shikamaru, she knew that even though she wanted him, she could never have him. She couldn't bear to hurt him in that way.

As she made her way to the door, he blocked her path. "We'll figure it out."

"Don't you think I've been trying to figure it out?" I flung the words at him, and even though he didn't deserve it, my bottled emotions began to spill over, looking for release. "Do you think I fucking enjoy this damn menace in my life? You think I like being the talk of a town? A bar? A club? All because I fuck people like some two-bit whore?"

He grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and looked her square in the eyes, his voice matching hers, decibels to decibels. "Then, let me figure out by myself, damn it! All I need is a little time!"

She kissed him. She leaned in so fast, and her lips collided with his so hard, that she was sure one of them would have a busted lip. He didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't care, because before she could think that this was a mistake, he arms wrapped around her, crushing her to him, kissing her back.

It was all force and dominance at first. A silent challenge. Neither came up for air. She had two fistfuls of his hair, and he had two fistfuls of her ass. Just when things were about to get out of hand, the kiss changed.

They both pulled back at the same time, gasping for the much needed oxygen in their lungs, but their eyes stayed locked on each other. A small bubble of blood well up on his bottom lip, but he didn't seem to notice in the slightest. Instead, he reached up with his hand to smooth her hair out of her face.

"Give me time. That's all I ask."

She looked at him; really looked at him, and her heart fluttered. They must have been quite the sight to walk in on, with their clothes all rumpled and his bleeding lip and her tears…

Tears? She was crying? Maybe that was what he was wiping at, and not her hair…

It didn't matter. How could it, when he was staring at her with such a fierce determination? His eyes were practically aglow, a soft golden hue in the semi-dark bedroom. And as she stared deep into his purposeful soul, she knew that she could never agree to this. She couldn't bear to tear him apart…

Temari was never good at relaying emotions, especially all the soft and frilly ones. Anger and contempt, she could do just fine, but not this. So when she pressed her lips against his this time, she hoped that it was all that romantic mushy stuff that she could never express out loud.

And again, another surreal moment... He tasted of the blood on his lip, and for some reason, she couldn't get enough of it. Emboldened when he groaned from her sucking on his bottom lip, she forgot everything except him.

She molded herself to him and deepened the kiss, and he rose to the occasion. His hands found the nape of her neck, where he massaged her gently. His lips were firm and warm against hers, and she could feel tiny little bumps dot her arms as she shivered in his grasp...

It was all so strange, but in a good way. She could feel his heavy erection on her thigh, but she didn't suddenly have an insane lust to have him deep inside of her. She was turned on—very much so—but not to the point where she couldn't keep a coherent thought. She knew what was going on, she knew that she was thoroughly enjoying this moment, and she knew that it had to end before she couldn't pull herself away.

She pulled away abruptly. He tightened his hold on her, but immediately let go once he realized she wanted to back up. His eyes searched hers frantically, and she desperately hoped that it was helping him understand what she just couldn't say.

She cleared her throat and backed away a couple more steps. "Thank you… Thank you for everything, Shikamaru, but, this can't happen. I don't want to hurt you, and even if you can't or don't want to see it, it truly is inevitable."

This time, when she reached for the door handle, he didn't stop her. She laid her hand lightly on the door handle, and sighed, her feelings almost choking her. But she had to say this one last thing. He had to know.

"I gave you the only thing that I am capable of giving you that no one else has had of me… I gave you my first kiss. My first real kiss…that was not controlled by uninhibited lust or temporary mental lapses. It was…beautiful."

She turned to look over her shoulder at him, and memorize him standing there, with his fingers on his lips, staring at her with emotions that she couldn't name. Her eyes started to burn with unshed tears, so she took a deep breath, and left the bedroom…

"Ma'am, we're here."

She jerked her head up from the headrest and looked out the window at the building, momentarily disoriented. Once she could focus, she gave the destination another stare, and then took out her phone to double-check the address, and stared again. This just could be right.

"This is the address you gave me, ma'am." The man defended himself. "Maybe you read it to me wrong?"

She shook her head absently, tossed a few bills into the front seat, and exited the cab. Satisfied at whatever she gave him, the man gave a curt nod, and drove off.

Outside in the fresh air, Temari breathed deep, and began to reorient her thoughts. She came because she wanted to have fun, not because she wanted to think. And with that in mind, she had dressed for the occasion.

With the last text to the phone he'd given her, he'd also told her to dress dirty. She had chosen carefully out of Sakura's closet, and right now, she felt really silly in her skin tight leather pants and skin-toned and sparkly halter top that dipped all the way to her navel. Of course, with such a time restraint, she didn't get a chance to choose best, but she could always work what she had.

Just as she was about to send him an angry and hateful text, the phone started ringing in her hand. When she checked the caller id, she blanched, and then checked again. He was calling?

She pressed the answer button. "Yes?"

"Are you here?" His voice was deep and powerful, and what he asked sounded more like a command than a question. Lucky for him, Temari liked that just fine.

She looked around again. "I am at the address you gave me. I have to say, I am very unimpressed by my welcome."

He laughed, and it was intoxicating. She had a very brief mental image of running her tongue up the side of his neck before he spoke again and interrupted the scene. "Then, by all means, let me change that. Welcome to Levels. I'm coming now to retrieve you."

Levels? Retrieve her? What the hell was he talking about? She once again inspected the mediocre business building in front of her. Before she could inquire further, the line went dead. Did that bastard just hang up on her?

Just as she was about to let her short temper get the best of her, the office doors opened, and a bouncer the size of a full grown gorilla stepped out, accompanied by a man with a black hoodie and dark denim jeans. Both turned to look at her.

"Nice..!" The bouncer nodded readily in agreement, openly admiring her. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and glared.

"Can I help you?"

The hooded man walked over to her and took her hand. She tried to snatch it away, but he held on tightly. "Easy, woman. Already you want to go for round two?"

Temari blanched. "Shadow?"

"Who else? I invited you, didn't I?" He pulled gently on her hand. "Come. We've a lot to discuss."

Wordlessly, she followed him into the building, and her mouth about dropped to the floor. There was a full on club going on, and Temari had never heard of it the whole time she'd been staying in Konoha.

"It's extremely exclusive." He seemed to know her questions before she spoke them. "Again, welcome to Club Levels. Each floor is has a designated theme, depending on where your tastes lie. The higher you go, the more…intensity that's allowed."

Shadow snaked an arm around her waist and was guiding her as he spoke, keeping her close no doubt to speak over the loud music with the thudding baseline. Temari listened, but was annoyed all the same that she couldn't identify him because of the hood he wore, but was content to let him keep explaining.

"For example, this building consists of seventeen floors, and floor one is just your ordinary club scene. Floor two is the gay club, floor three is the gentleman's club, and floor four is the equivalent of the gentlemen's club, with the exception that it is for the women."

They made it past all the writhing bodies and arrived at an elevator. He pressed the button, and turned toward her. Temari took it as Q&A time. "So, what floor are we going to?"

He looked her up and down slowly, and heat touched her skin wherever his gaze landed. Finally, he made it back to eye level with her, and if she could see his face, she would think that he would be smirking. "Personally, I prefer floor fifteen, but we'll start you off slowly. I'd say floor ten is the right place to figure out what I need to know."

"Of you could just ask."

"Easy, woman. Save all that for the dance floor."

Temari's eyes widened. She knew she looked like a fool, but that wasn't something she was familiar with in her clubbing times. "You are going to dance?"

"Mhm."

"With me?"

"Who else?"

"On the floor?"

"You ask a lot of obvious questions. How about you just wait and see?"

The elevator dinged, and they let a group of intoxicated stumble out before they got on alone. Getting on from the darkness, she had to blink multiple times for her vision to focus. When it did, she zeroed in on Shadow's face, and tsked in disappointment.

"That same genjutsu trick again, huh? Why are you so afraid to let me see your face?"

He chuckled, and Temari felt it in her nether regions. She ignored the response and continued to glare.

"You're just full of questions tonight aren't you?" He stopped her with a hand before she could retort. "Be patient. I have you here with me right now. I am certainly not going to waste this time with answering questions. Let me fantasize about what I can do to you for a while."

Fantasize? About her? Holy hell, he was bold, and he was turning her on. Even still, she managed to keep her glare in place, and rolled her eyes for effect. "I hope you can dance." Was all she could think of to say.

They watched the numbers in silence, and when it reached eight, he reached over and grabbed her hand. "Level ten: Lights Out. I sure hope you don't scare easily…"

"Of course not." She tried to snatch her hand away, but he held on. Another low chuckle vibrated out of him.

"Good. You're going to love this then."

The doors dinged open, and all Temari could see was a seat of glow sticks and body paint. Upon closer inspection, Temari could make out the bar, covered in glow. Even the damn bottles were glowing somehow! What the hell?

Shadow tugged her forward, and it wasn't long before they were swept up into the sea of trance-like dancing, thumping bass, and almost contagious atmosphere. Before long, he stopped in an open space close to the bar, and turned to her.

"What do you want to drink? Or should I guess?"

What the hell, right? She'd come this far. "Take a guess."

He turned toward the bar, and Temari couldn't hear what he ordered over the loud music. Soon, her turned back toward her and began tugging her away again.

"Booth six!" he yelled over his shoulder as they trudged through all the people. "Remember that for next time. She nodded, and then felt dumb for doing so. Luckily, the trip was short. They walked up some stairs, and into an even darker room that was almost silent. Temari was completely disoriented by this time, and made it a point to make it known.

"You'll get used to it." Was his simple answer that he gave. Before she could retort, he spoke again. "This is my private booth."

With the flick of a switch, Temari found herself in a frosted Plexiglas room—roughly six by nine—with colored backlights dancing playfully behind the glass. There was enough room for an immaculate white leather couch, two chairs, a table some kind of center display where the colored lights were stationed, and a dancer's pole in the corner.

Temari had to admit it. She was impressed. Turning to him, she cocked her hip to the side and placed a hand on it. "Just how exactly does this place run without waking up all of Konoha and the adjoining places around it?"

"Too easy… Soundproofing—with jutsu, of course."

Her mouth came unhinged, and another low laugh erupted out of him. "Come now, Temari. You knew about ANBU. Am I to believe you knew nothing about jutsu? I'd even go as far as saying that you know a few yourself—but, we don't speak about things like that in unsecured places, do we?"

He waved his over the table, and two drinks appeared in a small poof of white smoke. "Come to me, Temari. Drink with me."

His words were not a question. They were a demand, and shit did that turn her on. She ignored the urge to squeeze her thighs together to intensify the pleasure, and instead chose to walk over to the couch and have a seat. He sat in the chair adjacent to the couch, and their knees touch occasionally.

As he picked up his drink of choice in a squat glass and took a sip, he stared openly at her. To her horror, she flushed, and looked away. Desperate to get the attention off of her, she gestured toward his drink. "What are you having?"

"Whiskey; Straight. You should try yours. Now."

Temari sucked in a breath. Who the hell did he think he was, ordering her around like that? Most times, she did the ordering, so what the hell was so different from now?

Her mind brought up an image of Shikamaru's face, and she shuddered. She pushed it away. She couldn't think about that now. She wouldn't allow herself to think about it. He asked, and she gave her answer. End of story. She came out to have a good time and unwind, not be a depression case.

With her mind set, she picked up the tall glassed filled with light blue liquid, set the wedge of lemon aside, and drank deep. Halfway through the glass, she stopped and stared at the glass in wonder.

"Damn, that's good!" She laughed lightly and took another sip, more so to enjoy it this time. "What it is?"

"Adios Motherfucker."

Temari cut her eyes in his direction, fully alert and angered. "Excuse me?"

Quickly, Shadow threw up his hands in mock surrender and laughed. "Adios Motherfucker. That's the name of the drink. I thought you would enjoy it…"

"Oh." Her anger and irritation drained away as quick as it came, and she laughed as well. "I thought I was going to have rearrange your dental structure."

He sat forward, with his hands resting between his thighs. "I have no doubt that you aren't capable of doing such. I had my fair share of it at the massage studio."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You drugged me. As far as I'm concerned, you deserved it, so expect no apology from me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He replied, his voice was smooth and laced with tension of the sexual sort. "Besides, I enjoy that Temari more… The fighter… The hard-ass… The woman who doesn't take shit from anyone at any time. I was beginning to worry that had changed since we last met. Thankfully, all you needed was a drink."

She watched him strip her with his eyes again, and smirked, way more relaxed with every sip she took of her drink. "Mhm, indeed. So, what's on your mind? I'm sure I have a few good guesses though…"

"To the point now, are we?" He finished his whiskey with one strong swallow, and turned back to her. She could feel his eyes watching her again.

"I'll be frank, simply because there is no other way around it. I want you. I want to fuck you. I want to have you under me—or over, I'm not picky—screaming my name in the throes of ecstasy."

Temari's breath caught in her throat as she began to throb, but kept silent. "I want your mouth. I want your hands. I want your soul. I want to watch it shatter in pieces when I make you come over and over again…"

He paused and cleared his throat. "Now, with that out in the open, I realize that I cannot ask for these things if I give nothing in return. So, here's my deal. You give me what I want from you, and I will give you what you want from me, nothing barred."

She swirled the last of her drink around in her glass, drank it, and then set it down with a small thud. While this seemed like a pretty common thing to do, she was actually buying time to think. And did she suddenly have a lot to think about…

Thank you so much! You guize keep me inspired when I really don't feel like writing. It seemed that every time I wanted to stop, someone send a review... Wait..! Are you conspiring against me?! LOL! I do this for you!

As always, please R&R! Ideas are always welcome, btw. If it's good, you can bet I'll work it in there some way. Lata!