"Hands All Over"

They were a tangled mess of passion, a blazing flame that refused to be doused. Lips locked in one dizzying kiss after another, only when their lungs were yearning for air did they break apart. Emerald and gold eyes met, saying everything and nothing all at once.

His calloused hands reached forward to cup her soft face, losing himself in the depths of her warm eyes. She was beautiful in a vibrant, vivacious way. Her hair was a halo of auburn flames that fell past her shoulders instead of being pulled back in their usual ponytails. And her skin looked like the very sun had kissed it, and he marveled at the way it felt, how scars were scattered her and there, how hard and firm the muscles underneath felt.

She was the epitome of a warrior and a princess, a young woman so assured of herself, who felt comfortable in the skin she was in.

"What are you thinking about, Inuyasha?" Her voice, ragged around the edges, pulled said half-demon from his silent musings.

He loved the feeling of her skin beneath his hands. It looked like it was kissed by the very sun itself, and he loved touching it, feeling the hard muscles underneath. She was strong, but soft at the same time, her hair a halo of auburn flames surrounding her head. Her eyes, a gorgeous emerald green, were closed with ecstasy. Ayame was peering up at him thoughtfully, fangs grazing against her full, bottom lip.

"I never expected this to happen, not that I'm complanin'," Inuyasha admitted truthfully, as blunt as ever. And really, he couldn't complain. Ayame was a firecracker, fun to be around and easy to talk to. She didn't bite her tongue and refused to back down. She wore her heart on her sleeves for all to see, and refused to let her heartache define her. Why she had wasted time running behind Koga stemmed mainly from her grandfather wanting her to settle down with the wolf demon prince and unite their tribes more so than her feelings for him, she had told him awhile back.

Still, to have the one you like pine after another so blatantly had to have stung. That was something Kagome could definitely relate to; it made him grimace, but he made it clear to Kagome before that he was torn between her and Kikyo. He had always thought it'd be Kikyo or Kagome like this with him, but instead, it was Ayame, and he didn't mind it at all.

His relationship, if one could call it that, with Kagome ran its course, fizzling out into platonic territory. It wasn't nearly as painful or messy as he feared it'd be, thank the gods, and now she was returning Koga's advances, much to the wolf demon's delight. Truthfully, Inuyasha couldn't have gave less of a damn if he'd tried. So long as Kagome was happy, which she seemed to be, he had no reason to be bothered.

Why would he be when he had a sexy female demon to keep him company?

"Hey, weirder things have happened. Besides, you can't deny that we have great chemistry," Ayame purred, tracing her claws down his chest and stomach, her gaze smoldering as she smirked at him. He couldn't help but laugh, tugging her into his arms as they tumbled back to the ground, him landing on top of her.

"That we do," he agreed, before meeting her lips in another wondrous, delicious kiss. He eased her legs open, dipping his fingers in her molten wetness, swallowing her moans as he set about making her think of nothing but him and all the wonderful things he could do to her. Judging by her muffled moans and trembling legs, he'd say he was doing a pretty damn good job.

Sure, things didn't turn it quite like he assumed they would. He didn't end up with Kikyo or Kagome, but with Ayame writhing beneath him, moaning his name and praises the minute she was free to do so, he couldn't find it in himself to complain or be upset. She was beautiful, perfect, and she smelled so good, and she looked so damn good, and they were compatible in ways one wouldn't have expected, but that was okay.

He was more than content with the hand fate had dealt him.