I don't own these characters.

Chapter 3

Sesshomaru silently entered the condo and stared at Kikyo. She was resting on their expense leather sofa with her laptop open and her fingers rapidly working the keys. He noticed that she was wearing her glasses; he was the only person on the planet that knew that she wore spectacles. She wore contacts when she went outside; he was often amused by her tiny touch of vanity. He decided to just take in the sight of her until she noticed him, which did not take too long.

"Sesshomaru," Kikyo said as she turned away from her computer to look at him. "Do you need something?" she asked in a very controlled tone. It took every ounce of self-control and all of the resolve that she possessed to not charge him and trap him in a fiery, exulting kiss.

"I do," he replied in his usual aloof tone. He definitely needed something and what he needed could only be found inside their home.

"Well, feel free to get whatever you need," she told him. She turned her attention back to her computer to avoid staring at him. She had forgotten that he was so handsome, even with the pictures of him around the apartment. The photographs were not the same as him in the flesh. She tried to ignore the flash of heat throughout her body and the increase in her heart rate, but it was difficult to concentrate on anything else.

Sesshomaru nodded and strolled over to her. He grabbed her notebook computer and moved it out of the way; he made sure to be careful with the device because he knew that she wrote articles using it. Before she could say anything in regard to asking what he was doing, he leaned down to kiss her. He nearly sighed in relief against her soft lips. He had kissed plenty of women during their year-long separation, but none of them were like kissing Kikyo. There was something soothing as well as passionate about touching her smooth, sweet lips.

Kikyo's lissome arms wrapped themselves around Sesshomaru's long, elegant neck without any commands from her brain. Her limbs had done the right thing as far as she was concerned. She felt a burning euphoria suffusing her entire being. There was almost a sensation of being drawn into him, fusing with him, and becoming one with him.

She pulled him closer to her, reveling in the feel of his mouth on hers. She realized now that she had missed him so much more than she had ever imagined; he would realize the same thing later on, but that was not on his mind at the moment. She missed everything about him so much; she never wanted him to leave again. She would never suggest that they separate again if he was there to stay.

It did not even cross her mind that he might not be there stay. She missed him so much and wanted him too much to consider the little details, like the fact that he might only be there for the day since he had not stated his business for being there. He, too, could not consider the little details, like she might ask him to leave at the end of the night; it was possible.

At the moment, Sesshomaru was running on his demon male instincts; sex first, details later. Right now, just the feel of her mouth was overrunning his senses. He could not even imagine what it would feel like to make love to her, but he would discover it soon enough. He lifted Kikyo up and wrapped her legs around his waist; she locked herself into position to hold herself up and that freed up his hands. One of his hands went to rest on her rump to help support her and to also fondle her. His other hand busied itself by working its way into her shirt to touch that creamy flesh that he missed so much.

Touching her through her clothing was almost too much for him. His mind reeled and it felt like he would forget to breathe because even breathing was not as important as knowing all of his precious Kikyo. It took every ounce of strength and willpower to not take her against the wall. She deserved better than a hard rut.

He carried her to the bedroom in the back and he hardly took in the scene. If he had noticed anything around the room, he would have realized that she had hardly changed anything at all. As wanting as he was of the whole situation and wanting to get down to business, he gently placed her on the bed and he calmly freed her of her clothes. He never let his instincts take over to the point where he might do something to harm her.

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Sesshomaru pulled Kikyo close to him; their nude, sweaty bodies needed to be as close as possible in his opinion. The dog demon moved her bangs from sticking to her forehead and nearly covering her eyes. She looked at him and she smiled a little; she hoped that he was staying.

Kikyo could only think about how much she wanted him there with her always; she was also trying her best to fight off sleep. She was not accustomed to the workout that he had just put her through anymore. It had not occurred to him that she might not be able to handle hours of coupling, but she had. As exhausted as she was, she had missed him and longed for him too much to stop.

"Are you all right?" Sesshomaru asked as she snuggled into his shoulder. He stared down at her, just loving the sight of his little woman. There was no other woman like her. He doubted that there were would be another like her, so he was going to keep her close to him and never look for a replacement again.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" she countered unable to keep the smile off of her face. Even though he was far from perfect, he was still the only man for her. He cared about her, respected her, and loved her; she did not need anything else from him, even though he would and did give her so much more.

Sesshomaru only shook his head. He knew that she was all right just from looking at her and he knew that she would confirm that, but he still felt it necessary to verbally check. He had to make sure that his little Kikyo was as good as she could possibly be. He needed to make sure that she was content. It was his duty.

"You are going to stay, aren't you?" Kikyo inquired out of the blue; well, it seemed out of the blue to him. It was eating away at her brain, though. She wanted to know that when she fell asleep and then woke up, he would still be there. She needed to know that he was going to be there with her forever because she knew that she was never going to get over him.

"Stay?" he echoed in a confused tone. He did not understand why she would ask such a thing.

"Here … with me," she clarified her question.

"Of course," he answered the obvious. Why would he not stay with her? She was everything that he desired and required in life. He never wanted to be apart from her again. He would stay with her until the day that he died.

"Good," she sighed and she was now completely relaxed because her mind was at ease. She nuzzled her cheek into his shoulder and Sesshomaru understood that she missed him just as much as he missed her.

"I was missed, I suppose," he remarked. Every now and then, he could tease her, which was something else that let him know that she was special to him. He would never think to playfully tease anyone else except for her.

"Don't get too full of yourself, demon," she taunted him while running a hand lightly over his pale torso. They both supposed that they were probably the palest couple in existence.

"Kikyo, let's never do this again," he said while tenderly massaging her back. He enjoyed touching her almost as much as he enjoyed having her touch him; he was reveling in the fact that she was lovingly caressing his chest.

"Do what?" she inquired, keeping in a yawn. She was trying her best to keep her eyes open, but the way that she was touching her was making it very hard to do so. His touch was so soothing and she was so wonderfully worn out. She just wanted to fall out right on him and then she would get the great sight of waking up to him.

"Break up," he answered.

"Yes, let's never do that again," she concurred.

It was a foolish thing that they had done and they had not helped by acting as if they could get along without each other. They should have stopped pretending to respect the other's wishes and just had said something earlier to make the pain stop. Instead, they just suffered alone, which was so like them, they realized.

"Whose idea was this, anyway? Did I suggest it?" Sesshomaru asked curiously. Through out their relationship, he hated to admit it, even silently to himself, but almost always when they did something bizarre or regrettable, it was upon his suggestion. He did not see why he would think of something so ridiculous as to suggest that they break up, though. But then again, he did not see why she would suggest such a thing either.

"No, it was my idea," she admitted. She did not think that it was a bad idea, but she thought that they dragged it out much longer than it needed to be. They should have taken care of business and then went right back to each other.

"Why would you suggest it and why did I agree?" he inquired in an almost baffled tone. He frowned slightly and scratched his chin in thought with his free hand.

Kikyo laughed a little bit and reminded him of how it all had occurred. She told him about how they had been so focused on their careers that they hardly noticed each other, and even when they did, all they did was glance at each other before going about their business. They just had not been there for each other at the time in any way, shape, or form. To prove her point, she asked Sesshomaru if he could remember the last time that they had made love before just now. He could not answer the question.

"How is that possible?" Sesshomaru wondered aloud.

The golden-eyed male could not believe that he allowed something as insignificant as work take priority over his beloved Kikyo. He must have been insane a year ago, he concluded. It was the only thing that could explain to him why he would treat work as if it was more important than his dearest, precious Kikyo. After all, work was just work and Kikyo was Kikyo. She was the world, the sun, the moon, and the stars to him; she was everything that ever was and would ever be as far as he was concerned. Work should always be damned when it came to her. Maybe he had taken her for granted back then; after all, they had been together for ten years. Maybe he had gotten too used to her in his mind and did not realize just what he had.

The petite female considered the same case for herself. She probably took Sesshomaru for granted, which was why she had been able to suggest that they split up. She had grown too used to him it seemed. She had not had an idea of what she had until he was gone. Well, she would never do something so idiotic again, especially after seeing what it was like without him. She never wanted to be without him again.

They both silently vowed to never take each other for granted again. They never wanted a moment to come up again where breaking up seemed like a good idea. They never wanted to be apart again. They were made for each other it seemed and they just accepted that; it was the smart thing to do.

"Kikyo," Sesshomaru said while moving his hand from her back to her arm. He caressed her arm now, just enjoying the feel of her skin. She felt so soft and he wanted nothing more than to stay there, touching her for as long as possible. If he could just lie in bed with her for the rest of their lives, he would do that.

"Hmm?" she replied with her eyes barely open. He really was not helping her in trying to stay awake by continuing to touch her in such ways. She figured that it would only take a few minutes for her to fall into a deep, coma-like sleep.

"I am going to formally claim you," he informed her. He had to do it, even if her father flipped over it. It would show that he was never going to give her up and that no one else could ever have her. She was his and he was going to make sure that everyone knew that.

Kikyo, being an expert on demons and the culture of demons, understood exactly what her lover meant. She guessed that it was a good way to make sure that they never broke up again. She would be off the market as far as anyone with demon blood would be concerned. It would take a very strong willed demon to try to pick her up because the demon would be able to sense that she was with Sesshomaru and it showed Sesshomaru's deep and complete devotion to her.

The only thing that she worried about was her father. He would be angry; he might even go into a murderous rage when he found out. He honest and truly loathed Sesshomaru and nothing was going to change that fact. She supposed that she could talk to him and help him at least accept what had to happen. It was necessary.

"Not tonight," the raven-haired woman said; she was too tired to go through any more activity.

"No, but soon," he replied. He could tell that she was wiped out. He had forgotten that she did not have the same level of stamina as he did. He did admire that she was hanging on to speak with him.

"All right," she agreed. She was rather flattered that he finally brought up the fact that he was going to claim her. She had thought that they would go on as they were, never making a commitment to each other beyond what they felt in their hearts. How they were worked for her, but she would love to been officially his and for him to be officially hers.

"And we will get married," he added firmly.

Kikyo was very stunned by that declaration. Sesshomaru typically showed no interest, if not absolute disgust, for anything that was considered "human." So, it shocked her that he would want to get married since that was something only humans did. Demons claimed each other, which was something like a marriage, but it was much more personal and there were no certificates, rings, or other physical materials involved. It was not something that other people witnessed either. Being claimed was a wholly spiritual and emotional experience between lovers.

"You are supposed to propose marriage, not state it," Kikyo informed Sesshomaru once she got over her astonishment. She knew that if he was going to do it, he would want to do it right, but he would also want to do it his way.

"Propose it?" he repeated as if he did not comprehend such a thing, which of course he did. But, he made orders and statements, even with Kikyo. She, unlike everyone else, had the will and option to not comply with his commands.

"Yes, you should offer to marry me, not declare it without my consent. You must request such a thing and then wait for my response," she explained.

"Any other rules to go with this human ceremony?" he inquired with some frustration in his voice. He often wondered why Kikyo could not have just been born a demon. It would have saved him so much annoyance and made things so much simpler.

"Well, in many places, the man gives the woman a ring to openly show their engagement," she replied with a tiny smile. She liked when he was irked by something so frivolous.

"As a signal to let other men know to stay away from you," he guessed. It made the best sense to him.

Kikyo could not help it; she laughed just a little bit. His mind worked like such a demon, or maybe his mind worked like such a male. Most men probably did like the idea of an engagement ring because it signaled to other men that they needed to stay away or there would be problems.

"If that's the way that you wish to look at it, all right," Kikyo conceded.

"Then we will get you a ring tomorrow," he proclaimed. The sooner they got a ring, the better in his opinion. He did not want humans checking out his woman anymore than he wanted demons doing such a thing. He wanted the entire population to get it that she was taken and they had better leave her be.

"I have yet to confirm that I wish to marry you, sweetheart," she pointed out just to tease him a bit.

"Why wouldn't you?" he asked in a puzzled tone, arching an eyebrow.

"Because you haven't asked," she reminded him. She was smiling a little now.

"Oh," Sesshomaru said with a nod. "Dearest Kikyo, would you do me the grand honor of becoming my wife and mate?" he proposed.

"Of course, sweetheart," Kikyo replied without hesitating.

They shared a short, sweet kiss to seal the deal. The plans pleased both of them and they both thought that they should have approached the notions a long time ago. It seemed that his father had had a point, Sesshomaru silently yielded.

"Now, might I have the honor of being able to go to sleep?" she requested with a small yawn.

"Goodnight, beloved," he replied.

"Goodnight," she said and before she drifted off to sleep, in a mumble, she informed Sesshomaru that it was nice to have him back. He actually smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. They were best when they were together.

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The end.