It started as a tingle: nothing more, nothing less. They needed to hurry, as the jewel shard rumor was days old. So, when Inuyasha offered, Kagome climbed on, like she always did. It was the same—the same hands on her thighs, the same hair that sometimes tickled her nose, the same muscles flexing under her as he ran. So… why did it feel so different, so good?

Kagome found herself concentrating on the tingle. It only happened when Inuyasha carried her just so. When she angled herself to sit on him just so. When his cadence of pounding the ground was just so. She found herself reacting when he found the right rhythm, oh-so-subtly grinding her hips into the small of his back… trying to hold onto that little tingle. Trying to grow it. Letting more of her body participate in the sensation. Her mind wandered. She saw him pressed into her, his own desire to have her stoking the tingle until it made her tremble. She was helpless, lost to the whims of the half-demon Adonis who played with her, nipping at her neck and earlobes, pushing his tongue into her pliant and welcoming mouth. Growling as he… as he…

When a little moan escaped her lips, she blushed and shoved the feeling down.

Had he heard her? Did he know what she was up to? Kagome bit her lip hard to return herself to the present. They were running. They needed to catch up to the Shikon jewel rumor. She couldn't think about what Inuyasha did to her right now. She had to concentrate, searching the landscape for signatures of the shard.

As Kagome clung to his back, Inuyasha couldn't help but notice that something was different about her. She'd been doing this—riding him—nearly since the first time they met, so why did it feel so different today? She smelled like something that put his instincts on edge. Something that threatened to drown out all the scents he needed to be concentrating on. He needed to watch for yōkai; he needed to track the scent of the source of the shard rumor. He needed to keep his ears peeled for the Naraku, or worse, the fucking wolf.

But, he couldn't fucking concentrate on anything else. He found that he could make that flirtatious little scent spike if he squeezed her thighs just so. Or if he leaned himself forward just so. Or if he let a little rumble run through him just so. It was intoxicating. He wanted his nose filled with that scent and nothing else. He could swear he felt Kagome's thighs work to the rhythm of his running. What the fuck was going on? It made him make sure his strides were just right, working in congress with the tiny little movements she made on his back. He let his mind wander—he wanted to explore the part of Kagome's body that made that scent. He wanted to bury his nose in it and he wanted to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

Then… he heard it. Kagome moaned. Inuyasha felt himself stumble, having to take an extra long jump to right himself.

Did she notice that he almost had them face planting? He fucking hoped not. Just what he would need. If she knew what had distracted him, if she knew how much he wanted to bury his nose in… well... he would be face planting from 100 osuwaris in a row.

When Sango suggested that they make camp for the night, it was met with enthusiastic agreement for everyone. Miroku had been running alongside Inuyasha and Kirara, and could use a hearty meal. Inuyasha volunteered to go hunting and dashed away before anyone could say an additional word. Shippō looked scandalized not to be invited along.

"He probably needs some alone time," Kagome explained.

Honestly? She could've used alone time too. Instead she boiled some water and added some instant ramen. She watched as the tongues of flame tickled the bottom of the pot. Inuyasha returned a half hour later with a couple of fat, cleaned rabbits, which Kagome added to the boiling ramen. Meat always seemed to make the ninja food richer. As they all ate, the group mostly stared at the dancing fire, lost in their own little worlds.

After the food was eaten and the campsite cleaned, Kagome snuggled into her sleeping bag, chancing a glance at the golden-eyed silver-haired half-demon who watched over them all. When she finally closed her eyes, her mind fixated on the tingle—how to get it back, how to make it bigger… and… how the tingle had to do with Inuyasha. Thinking about his bare chest pressed against hers brought little whispers of the tingle back, but it was never the same. She wanted—needed—to feel that sensation again. She wanted—needed—to find out just how intense it could be. That tingle. She needed more of it, and she would figure out how to get more of it tomorrow.

Inuyasha sat cross-legged near the fire as the rest of his companions settled into sleep, proud to stand watch and protect his little band. He searched for any threatening scent or yōki signature, deeming everything safe, for now. As he relaxed ever so slightly, he looked over at the waves of black hair that cascaded out of Kagome's sleeping bag. Her breathing was steady—sound asleep. A glance around to the rest of the campsite confirmed that Inuyasha was the only one awake. In a single silent move, Inuyasha removed his suikan, and buried his nose in the exact spot that Kagome's body made contact with it while he carried her. He wanted—needed—to smell that scent again. He wanted—needed—to saturate his senses with it. That scent. He needed more of it, and he would figure out how to get more of it tomorrow.

A poke to Kagome's back awoke her far too early. She was having a very nice dream, and who would…

"Oi, wench. We gotta get a move on." The gruff voice growled in her ear.

"It's barely sunrise Inuyasha," Kagome growled back.

"Yeah, well… if you don't get up the shard is gonna get further away." Inuyasha did not relent, shaking Kagome into wakefulness. She had half a mind to osuwari him.

Kagome crawled out of the warmth of her sleeping bag and shot Inuyasha a look as she ambled off to relieve herself and change. The jerk had roused her in the middle of a particularly graphic part of her nice dream. One that involved claws and fangs and skin. It was a dream that duplicated the tingle of yesterday. Of course he had to go and ruin it. When Kagome returned to the campsite, she glared at the half-demon that both lit her fire and doused it.

Inuyasha exhaled the moment Kagome left her sleeping bag and made her way out of the campsite to change. He didn't even mind the "I'm gonna osuwari you" glare she shot at him when she returned. She have no fucking idea how delicious she smelled while she was sleeping. The scent was so enticing it jostled him awake, and he felt himself wanting to snuffle into its source. If he had let it continue, let her scent intoxicate him, he would have stuck his fucking nose right into that damn sleeping bag with Kagome still in it. So he woke her up. It was a thin excuse, but… well… he didn't really want anyone else smelling that scent. It was his. For him alone.

But… well… that didn't mean he couldn't try to bring it about again.

"Why don'tcha ride my back again today Kagome? We… have a long way to go." Inuyasha averted his eyes.

"Fine," Kagome replied.
Who was she to argue when he was offering her exactly what she wanted?

As soon as Kagome climbed on, she swore she heard Inuyasha intake a deep breath. His hands squeezed her thighs just a little bit tighter than they ever had before, and he leaned slightly farther forward, bringing more of her body in contact with his. At a single glance to the rest, Inuyasha was off, and it was all Kagome could do to hold on.

Then there it was, the tingle, more intense than it had been the previous day. More intense than it had been in her dream. She closed her eyes and breathed in Inuyasha's scent. She relished in the feeling of his hair gently lapping against her exposed skin. She concentrated on the calloused but firm grip his hands had on her thighs—how his claws pressed ever-so-slightly into her skin and how exquisite the pressure of them felt.

Then she focused on the tingle. On how with each sway of Inuyasha's body, she felt the tingle grow ever-so-slightly more intense. Kagome found herself matching Inuyasha's motions, pressing into him with every stride he took. The tingle was growing. Coiling. Expanding. It was starting to come from a place deep inside of her. Below her stomach where… where… her body made intimate contact with the hard muscles of his back. Inuyasha's claws dug deeper into Kagome's thighs, but instead of wincing at the pain she… luxuriated in it. The tingle had grown, and now massaged the juncture of her thighs, and she knew the origin of that tingle. She whimpered as it grew more intense, trying to keep the moans from her lips.

At her voice, she felt Inuyasha's strides turn more languid, more in tune with the way her own hips were rocking as she rode him. Soon the vibrations of a deep rumble added to the rhythm of his strides, and the tension webbed out to overtake her stomach and shot lightning down her legs. She squeezed him harder against her, breathing heavily as their motions coiled her insides tighter and tighter, until the only thing she could think about was him and what she wanted to do to him to release the exquisite tension.

Her motions against him became less controlled as she tried to hold on, to find a way to break through the tension that had engulfed her. To get her head away from the half-demon Adonis she was riding, smelling, touching. To stop thinking about his fangs grazing her body, his hands teasing her nipples, the most intimate part of him invading the most intimate part of her…

"Inuyashaaaaaa..." She had to inhale to keep herself from crying so loud the others could hear, gasping inward as her body convulsed with spasms of pleasure. She felt him gp rigid under her, pressing his claws hard enough into her thighs that it broke her from her revelry.

Inuyasha's pace slowed as Kagome laid limply against him. Whatever the fuck she'd been doing and thinking as she rode him had been… entrancing. The delicious edge to her scent appeared almost the very moment she climbed atop him. He found himself yet again focused on nothing except for her. He started trying to move in ways that spiked that scent, and found that she was responding to his subtle adjustments. When she started moving in time with his strides? Fuck. He was done for. He could feel her rubbing herself on his back, rocking her hips to get as much contact with him as she could.

When Kagome started to whimper, Inuyasha nearly tripped over his own feet. He collected himself enough to smirk—so she was enjoying him that much huh? He could make it better. So he started to rumble—unleashing his yōkai instincts. He was rewarded with another bright waft of that scent, but that was only the start. Kagome's whines became more guttural, more instinctual, like a bitch preparing to rut with her alpha. Her motions against him became more frantic, more pleading, and all he could think about is how she would look under him, naked and prepared for him to claim her. And then…

"Inuyashaaaaaa…"
Words only for him. Words telling him that she'd found her way to pleasure from his body. Words that were sweeter and headier than even the delectable scent that exploded from her with her climax.

The rest of their day was spent in knowing silence. No blushes brushed their faces, and their gazes at each other carried the intensity of their shared secret. Their shared joy. Who knew what was to come with enemies like Naraku about and yōkai seeking the power of the jewel. But there was one truth cemented on that day, and it was this.

Kagome exclusively rode on Inuyasha's back from that day forward.