Part Three: Eternity

Satori watched the goings on in her mirror with amusement - the miko obviously had a mouth, and wasn't afraid to use it.

She relished the hell Kagome was currently unloading on the fool hanyou that was her former mates second son, feeling that the ignorant whelp deserved every bit of it. She could hardly wait to arrive at the Western Shiro, herself, and see him brought low in person when the miko mated her son.

Despite her humanity, the Shikon Miko was well known in this part of the lands, and most of those that would be attending wouldn't have anything negative to say about her son's choice in mate - but there would always be a few purists, and that's where she herself would come in.

Once it was known that the soon-to-be former Western Lady approved her son's choice, there would be no resistance - the worst would be a few malingerers... and the droves of useless females her son had never taken any notice of.

With a thoughtful tug on her necklace, she looked around her reception room, and nodded, absently thinking of what she should take with her - after all, a formal banquet meant dressing up formally, so she would need to actually pack herself some bags this time.

She glanced in the mirror again, and watched the argument with the hanyou progress to sittings - and just like her son, she found the sight of that amusing, in a rather sadistic fashion.

It's not as if she hasn't told the fool time and time again that she doesn't want to deal with him any longer - but he refuses to give up, and does not stop hassling her.

And besides... maybe, if I'm there, between her and I we can keep Sesshoumaru from gutting the boy... I do not want his blood on my son's hands.

Satori had no love any longer for her former mate - being cast aside and humiliated by his cheating on her with a human had taken care of that - but she had no desire for her son to so disrespect his father by killing his second son... and his only sibling.

She frowned as she watched the goings on in her mirror. I don't understand that whelp - he has a mate, a mate that he himself chose, and yet now he acts like the young miko is his. Perhaps he is more like his father than I had thought...

All in all, Satori could only be thankful that her son had taken more after her, and less after his father - the miko would not have to worry about Sesshoumaru running after some other female... ever.

He didn't have much of a heart, but what he did have was completely loyal to the one who had it.

Several hours later, she stepped back and nodded in satisfaction. This kimono will look well, she smoothed her hands over her flat abdomen, none will be better dressed than I... well, perhaps the miko. Knowing Sesshoumaru, he will go overboard in dressing her in magnificence to show off his conquest.

Once everything was packed, she sighed, and called in a servant, giving instructions on what she wanted done while she was away, and then taking her baggage with her, lifted into the air, headed for her son's domain.

---cCc---

Kagome sighed, closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples with tense fingers.

"Go away, Inuyasha! I have nothing to say to you." She opened her eyes and glared at the hanyou before her once more. "Go back to your mate, and stay away from me and Sesshoumaru!"

"Why, Kagome?" he tossed at her sarcastically. "Can't stand to see me because you know you're making the wrong choice? Because my presence reminds you that you love me, and not him?"

At that, she stepped forward and let fly, slapping him hard across the face. An enraged flush crossing her cheeks, she spat, "You're delusional, Inuyasha! Why would I love someone so selfish and self-centered as you? I got over you a long time ago, you jerk, and I have no desire to go back to the way things were." She narrowed her eyes on him as he reddened with anger.

"In fact, all I feel for Kikyou now is pity!" she finished loudly, and his ears snapped tightly to his head at the sheer volume of her voice.

"Bullshit! You're still mine, Kagome, and you always will be! Even if you actually go through with this fucked up idea and mate the bastard, your heart will still belong to me!" He glared at her, frustration clear in his gaze - and then his expression smoothed out, and he smirked.

"Even when he's fucking you, Kagome," his voice sank into a dark whisper, "even then, your thoughts will be on me - you'll be dreaming that it's me fucking you. It'll be my name you call out. He may have your body, but he'll never have your heart - it's mine, and I ain't giving it up." He smirked wider at her shocked expression, then turned on his heel and left the room.

How dare he!

Kagome was enraged beyond anything she'd ever felt before in her life - and with that, came a determination to prove to that bastard that he was wrong.

And there was only one way to do that.

She had been rather horrified at first, when Sesshoumaru explained the youkai joining ceremony. Most of it was nothing that would phase her - vows spoken before the court, much like a human wedding, and a formal banquet afterwards.

But the last part... the first mating... when she'd heard about that part of things, she'd paled, and told him she didn't think she could do that.

It turned out that the first mating of the pair was done before the court. While the couple was given a semblance of privacy by being behind screens, still... she was not an exhibitionist, and that part of it...

He'd been very understanding about it, and informed the courts that because of her status as a human, and how things were done differently in her culture, that portion of the ceremony would not be fulfilled.

But now, Kagome was determined to track him down and have him re-instate that part of the mating ceremony. Because, as the Inu no Taisho's second son, Inuyasha would be required to be there - and with the challenge that he'd just thrown out to her, he'd go - if only to see if he were right.

And she'd prove him wrong - because the only name in her heart, and the only one that would fall from her lips in passion, would be her mate's name...

Sesshoumaru.

Not Inuyasha.

She sighed again as she stomped to her betrothed's study - why was it that Inuyasha had to attend the mating ceremony again? It would have been so much more peaceful if he hadn't been there.

Despite Kikyou's threats to leave him, Inuyasha had immediately started hassling her the moment they'd all arrived - he wouldn't leave her alone, and she'd been reluctant to bring it up to Sesshoumaru, for fear of him killing his brother. Despite the hanyou's treatment of her, she had no desire to see him dead - especially at his brother's hand.

This time, though, he'd gone too far, questioning her heart as he had and saying something so wrong.

As if she'd mate one person while pining for another.

Since he's so stubborn, he's going to have to learn the hard way... by hearing it for himself, she thought, fierce anger still thrumming through her. One way or another, by the time he leaves here, he'll know just how wrong he was.

Tapping lightly against the shoji screen, she waited until he called out "Enter" in his distinctive baritone before going in - despite the fact that he'd told her she did not have to do so - then slid it shut behind her.

She met his enquiring gaze with her narrowed eyes, still angrily flushed, and his brows furrowed.

"What is wrong, Kagome?" he questioned, not liking the expression on her face.

She huffed, and walked over to sit before him, ignoring the pillows provided for comfort for the moment - she was too annoyed to get comfortable.

"The last part of the mating ritual - the one you cancelled," she blushed slightly as his gaze sharpened on her, but met it with determination, "I want you to re-instate it."

His face blanked and he blinked, surprised. "For what reason?" he asked.

"There's a stubborn fool of a hanyou that needs to learn a very valuable lesson - and that's the only way he's going to do so," she snapped out, her tone sharp, though she wasn't angry at him, and he knew it.

"Explain."

So she told him of his brother's harassment of her, and his latest words. It made his eyes bleed red, as anger began to get the better of him - but it stopped at her next words.

"Don't even think about chasing him down, Sesshoumaru. If you try to attack him, it'll only give validation to his words in his mind. Leave it. The only way to prove to him that he's wrong, is to let him be a witness to your claiming. He won't be able to deny where my heart resides when he hears my passion for you," she said, blushing deeply as she stared at her hands folded neatly in her lap.

He studied her for a few moments as the red cleared from his eyes again, then frowned just a bit. "You can not even look me in the eye just speaking of mating and passion, my miko - do you really think that you could withstand the public claiming?"

Her eyes snapped up to meet his, and though her face was still red, her gaze was determined, and she nodded.

"Yes. I can and I will. I want him to leave here knowing full well who has my heart - and my body, and my loyalty. There can't be any question in his mind, or we'll never get rid of him."

"Very well," he said slowly. He studied her for a moment more, then nodded once. "I will alert the court that we will complete the full mating ceremony. But you must be sure - you can not back out at the last moment."

"I know it's going to be hard for me, Sesshoumaru, believe me, I'm not hiding from that fact. But it has to be done. Besides... I overheard some women talking - if the claiming isn't done, then other females might still see you as free," her eyes narrowed dangerously at that thought, "and I won't tolerate them trying to slither into your bed."

His brow rose in amusement as the obvious jealousy in her voice washed over him. At least I am not the only one to feel the bite of that emotion.

"They were correct. It is very probable that some of the bolder females would react that way."

She tilted her head and stared at him suspiciously. "And why didn't you tell me about that?"

"Because it would not matter what they thought. You would be my mate whether they liked it or not. For your sake I was willing to forego the full mating ceremony, and simply ignore any questions from anyone. However, finishing the full ceremony, I will admit, will make it much easier, and will keep there from being any questions to begin with."

She eyed him for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, as much as the thought is mortifyingly embarrassing, I won't hide from it - we'll do the whole thing. And that should put Inuyasha, and any hussy out there that even thinks of trying to get down your hakama, directly in their places."

"Indeed," he replied, desperately trying to keep from laughing outright at the expression on her face - and the ire in her voice.

Possessive little female, is she not?

The thought pleased him immensely.

"Then I will, as I said, notify the court of the change of plans." He glanced at her, then looked back down at his desk. "Was there anything else, miko?" he asked wryly.

"Nope, that was it," she said, and stood up to let herself out. "I'll let you get back to work now." With that, she left, expression now cheerful, and Sesshoumaru watched her leave, amusement clear in his eyes.

Life with her will definitely be interesting, was his last thought on the subject before he once more immersed himself in his tasks.

---cCc---

"What?!" came the enraged cry of his hanyou brother as he made the announcement before the court of the re-instatement of the full ritual.

"You think this'll make any difference, you bastard?!" he yelled, enraged - but then his anger morphed into pleasure in a heartbeat, and he smirked.

"You'll only humiliate yourself when she calls out my name in passion, so go right ahead. Does she even know that your doing this, you fucker?" he asked, completely ignoring the expressions of distaste on everyone's faces as they all avoided looking at him.

Sesshoumaru stared at his brother haughtily for a moment, and his expression settled into complacency. "It was her idea, Inuyasha. And it will not be I that will be humiliated tomorrow, half-breed." With that, he turned to the rest of the council, nodding to dismiss them, then walked off, completely ignoring his half-brother.

Inuyasha fumed as he watched Sesshoumaru walk away, then turned on his heel and stomped off, as he in turn ignored the sideways looks and the low-voiced taunts of the youkai, males and females alike.

Bastards! They'll all see just who she screams for - and it won't be that prick!

---cCc---

Satori smirked, a wicked glint shining in her eyes as she waited for the vowing portion of the ceremony to begin.

She'd arrived late last night to her son's home, and because she'd stayed shielded, no one except her son knew that she was even here.

When she'd spoken to him last night, she'd been very surprised that the mating part of the ceremony had been re-instated - and even more surprised to find that it had been the modest little miko that had asked for it - but she understood immediately the reasoning behind it.

She could hardly wait to watch her former mate's bastard child get his comeuppance.

Neither could her son, truth be told. She was absolutely positive that Sesshoumaru was not going to make this the usual more modest claiming - he was going to go all out in a passionate claiming that the miko - and everyone else, incidentally - would remember for centuries.

Inuyasha would be humiliated before the entire court, and her son's mate would be claimed beyond a shadow of a doubt - none would dare question it.

On top of that, any females that would dare to question it now, in anger at losing the chance at her son, would face her - and she hadn't had a good fight in a while. Of course, with the simpering, worthless females around here, she probably wouldn't get a good fight today, either.

She sighed.

When Jaken knocked and bid her to follow him, as it was finally time to begin, she smoothed her hands down the front of her kimono, and with an almost vicious smile, followed the little toad - she could hardly wait to see the reactions of the court to her presence.

When she reached the doors to the formal audience hall, and Jaken opened them for her, she released her aura and stepped into the room, greatly enjoying the sudden ringing silence - and the angered growl ripped from the throat of the Taisho's bastard son.

Brow quirked, she glanced haughtily around the room, and stopped when she reached Inuyasha's red-tinged gaze.

"What's the matter?" she asked mock-innocently. "Did you all really think I would miss my only son's mating ceremony?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed with hate, but before he could say anything, one of the older council members stepped up to her and spoke.

"My Lady... we are a bit surprised," here he glanced around at the other council members, and the court, before looking back at her, "that you are... peacefully attending today."

"And why would I not? Did you all think that I would protest my son's choice? I do not." At that, she stared meaningfully at several of the more ardent pursuers of her son. "This Satori has approved his choice of mate. Therefore, there will be no objections from any of lower status than I."

With that, she moved to her spot at the front of the room, and awaited the arrival of her son and his chosen, completely ignoring the still-growling half-breed that stood at the back.

She was well aware of the angry whispers, as well, from the other females in the room - with her support of her son and his chosen, they could not even challenge the miko for her position. Their hands were tied, Sesshoumaru and his position and wealth were forever out of reach.

Once her son and the miko entered the room, it got quiet, and the vowing portion of the ceremony was quickly over. With an amused glance at her son, she took in the magnificent kimono he'd had his new mate dressed in, and chuckled.

"So, my son - I see I was correct about the robes you had prepared for your chosen. I knew that you would wish to show her off in nothing less than the best," she chuckled again at Kagome's bright blush.

Brow quirked, Sesshoumaru glanced down at Kagome, then looked back up at his mother. "You should not have even wondered," he said, as the three stepped elegantly along, leading the procession to the dining hall for the banquet. "There is no question that she will aways have the best that this one can provide."

"You know... I hope that doesn't include dressing me up like this everyday - I don't think I could stand it. This twelve-layer stuff is heavy and not at all comfortable," she muttered.

Satori laughed at that as they moved into the dining room and began to take their places.

"Even I, with my natural arrogance, and need to show off, do not wear things like this everyday, miko," she said, tilting her head at her son when he huffed in agreement with the arrogance part of the statement.

"And you, Sesshoumaru. You find my admittance of arrogance amusing? Where did you think you came by your own, my son?" she taunted lightly.

Kagome clapped a hand to her mouth to try and muffle her giggle as she followed her new mate down to sit on the pillows provided, carefully arranging herself as elegantly as possible. With smiling eyes, she looked down the tables until she met Sango's eyes, and blushed again, a sheepish look on her face.

Sango just chuckled and shook her head at her friends antics - and then she caught Inuyasha glaring up at the couple, and she scowled.

"You know, Inuyasha, you're damn lucky I don't have hiraikotsu with me," she snapped, and he whipped his head around and glared at her instead. When he opened his mouth, however, she cut him right off.

"Don't even think about it."

"Feh." He slumped back down onto his pillow with an ugly scowl, then flicked another jealous glance up to the head of the table, pissed as all hell at the happiness flowing from Kagome's aura. He completely ignored his own mate, who was already very angry with his behavior.

Kagome caught his petulant scowls, and it just firmed her determination more; he would know beyond a shadow of a doubt just who she belonged to. Not that she wasn't as nervous as hell, especially now, because as soon as the banquet was finished...

She'd wondered where the first mating took place - it wasn't as though they could all crowd into Sesshoumaru's private chambers, and there was none of the promised half-privacy there even if they could. So, she'd asked.

She'd been stunned to find that there was an actual room set aside for only that purpose.

When she'd asked why he hadn't shown it to her on the tour he'd given her, he'd glanced at her, surprised, and said that that would have been a bit presumptuous, since he hadn't, at that point, asked to mate her, and that room was never shown to anyone outside of mates or family - the only time members of court even saw it was on a mating day.

She'd flushed, he'd smirked - and taken her to see the room.

It was large, as large as the formal reception rooms, and open, with scattered pillows for seats. Except for one area that was sectioned off, sliding rice-paper walls keeping the area behind them from sight... if not from sound and scent.

That, she discovered, was the point; while an inuyoukai would never stand for others seeing their female unclothed and vulnerable, they cared not a whit if their mating was scented and heard, and so that's how it was done. That had made her feel a teeny bit better, truth be told... at least no one would be ogling her naked body but her mate.

It was still embarrassing, but she was determined to go through with it - and Sesshoumaru wasn't about to argue. He wanted his brother to know just who had the miko - who she belonged to, and she knew he felt that way.

She cast a shy, sidelong glance at him, and caught his gaze on her.

He smiled just slightly at her, and she read what was in his gaze without one problem.

Soon.

---cCc---

I can do this. I can do this. I will do this. I will do this.

Kagome kept repeating that mantra over and over in her mind as she was prepared for the final portion of the ceremony.

Dressed in a plain white silk yukata, her hair was taken down from its elaborate updo and brushed 'til it shone, she'd been bathed and rubbed with lightly scented precious oils, and now... it was time to head to the mating room.

She would be escorted into the presence of the members of the court, and with Sesshoumaru at her side, her virginal status would once more be affirmed by scent, and then they would retire to the partitioned area to consummate the vows.

Beyond even the nervousness about the witnesses to her claiming, was her fear of the claiming itself. She was well-educated, and knew that the first time for females was often painful. On top of that, it was a big step. She was still considered a girl right now - but within the hour, she would become a woman...

It was a rite-of-passage, and nothing as important as that was without a measure of fear.

Her mind wandered as she was led to her destiny, and she looked back at all of the places she had been - and then forward to all the places she might now go. It was frightening - and yet, she looked forward to it.

She took note of the whispers of the females surrounding her, and after hearing some of the talk, she blanched, grateful for one thing - that this mating was not a political one.

The male that would be taking her was doing it because he wanted to, not because it was necessary. From some of what she was hearing, those types of matings could be extremely frightening and painful for the female in question.

She swallowed hard as they finally reached the room, and with one final, deep inhale, she let it out, and nodded to the women. Once the door was open, she walked through, and, still shy enough to be unable to look anyone in the eye, she stopped just inside the doors, and waited.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward as she entered the room, instincts already in an uproar, and his blood beast quite close to the surface - he was fully aware that he was finally about to have the one he'd wanted for so long - and never thought he'd get.

Turning to stand next to her, he waited for the chosen council member to move forward and discreetly scent his chosen. It was more of a ritual than anything, as he was well aware that Kagome was untouched - and so was anyone else with a halfway decent sense of smell.

But still, it was part of things, and as the councilor stepped back, he said, "This female is untouched, so let no one now question her virtue."

The moment he finished, Sesshoumaru took Kagome's arm, and began to lead her towards the partitioned area of the room. As they walked past the hanyou, he sneered at Sesshoumaru, then looked at her and said, "It'll always be me, Kagome," softly, so that no one but Kagome and Sesshoumaru would hear him.

Kagome tensed, but did not answer, her determination flaring higher once again with his words, and in a way, she was almost grateful that he was being an ass - it successfully pushed her nervousness to the back of her mind.

Sesshoumaru refused to even dignify his brother with an answer, merely continuing to move past him as though he did not exist.

Hearing the shoji slide shut was surreal - it almost echoed, it was so loud; yet she knew that no one else would have agreed - to anyone else, it was whisper quiet.

The moment Sesshoumaru's hand dropped from the door, she looked up, and got caught in his eyes; gold, and yet warmer, like honey that was heated and thick.

It was sinfully decadent, looking in those eyes, and she could only bless whatever kami had decreed that she should be drug down the well on that day that now seemed so long ago.

Sesshoumaru studied her for a moment, watching as her expression underwent several changes, and with a curious half-smile, he wondered what she was thinking of; one thing he'd learned about his mate was that you couldn't successfully anticipate what she was thinking.

What she thought was one thing - how she thought was another.

"Tell me," he said softly, "what is on your mind, miko?"

She blinked, then dropped her eyes, a slight flush washing her cheeks. "I was thinking about your eyes," she whispered in response, and it was his turn to blink.

"My eyes?" He stepped forward, coming to a halt right in front of her, and he took note of her hitched breath. "Anything else?"

She looked back up at him slowly, her eyes dragging upwards, taking note of his attire - and what was hidden beneath. Same as her, he was wearing nothing more than a plain white silken robe, and it didn't do much to hide his magnificent physique.

Her eyes soon became heavy-lidded as they moved upwards, and by the time they met his own, he could clearly see the desire within them.

It made his breath come faster, and his body tighten in anticipation.

He reached one hand up and brushed her cheek with the back of it, softly, just feeling her. Her skin was so soft; unlike the humans of this day and age, she wasn't course and rough - her hair and skin was like warm silk, and he relished that as his hand came down, and he flipped it over, allowing the tip of one elegant claw to trace her bottom lip as his eyes followed it hungrily.

Her eyes closed as soon as he touched her, it was light, barely there, and with them closed, she was better able to focus on just the feel of him touching her.

It was decadent, the feel of his flesh caressing hers - there was no other way to describe it.

"Look at me," he whispered, his finger still tracing its way across her lip, and she opened her eyes, slowly looking up until she'd locked her gaze with his own.

He could feel her heartbeat picking up, and his eyes flicked to her neck and locked on her pulse for a moment as his own breath hitched at its rapid pace...

And then his eyes moved back up, and he kept her eyes locked with his own as he finally lowered his head and softly met her lips.

She was unable to look away as his head lowered to hers, distantly surprised that he didn't move his finger until the last moment - but then, nothing mattered, as he gently pressed his lips to hers.

It was chaste; yet the most erotic thing she could ever have thought of, having his lips caressing hers while still meeting each other's eyes... the intimacy in that one simple thing almost more than she could bear, and she moaned, just barely, the sound so light it almost didn't even escape her throat.

Nonetheless, Sesshoumaru heard it, and he responded by tilting his head slightly, and ever so slowly deepening the kiss. Softly, so, so softly, he brushed his lips across hers, nibbling and suckling the tender flesh, and then reaching out with the tip of his tongue, and tracing that same lip with it.

He never once let her close her eyes or look away, keeping her rapidly clouding gaze locked with his own.

His hands were not idle, either, as her hands came up and rested tentatively on his chest, his hands moved to cup her face and caress her cheeks, as he once more deepened the kiss, this time taking advantage of her sweetly parted lips and venturing inside.

He'd kissed her before, several times in fact, but not like this, and Kagome melted into him at the first contact between his tongue and hers - she could barely keep herself standing at that point, and the courtiers and others still sitting and bearing witness on the other side of the walls, were the furthest things from her mind.

Finally, after endless minutes of that, he slid away from her lips, allowing her eyes to drift shut as his fingers encouraged her head to fall back, baring her throat and all it's silky flesh to him as he moved down her jaw and trailed his lips over her vulnerable neck, tiny sucking kisses and gentle nips teasing the skin and making it flush.

This isn't what I expected at all, she thought hazily. It's not sex... it's seduction...

She was quite correct in that assessment.

Sesshoumaru was well aware that she was nervous, and uncertain. This was not only her first time, but it was a first time that was being witnessed, even if only by sound and scent, still, it was enough to make that normal virginal nervousness a thousand times worse, and he was bound and determined that those people outside their little room would be the last things on her mind.

Not only that, but as previously surmised by his mother, he was going to make this claiming one that would be remembered for centuries - by his mate, and everyone else as well - no one would ever be able to question his mate's heart after this night.

Not even his fool of a half-brother.

With those thoughts in mind, he poured every bit of experience he had to draw on into his touch, all while controlling his own need; this time was for her. His pleasure could come later, and in private - and so he set about drawing every response she was capable of from her body and soul.

Like warm molasses, her blood heated and thickened, flowing heavily through her veins as he nipped at her neck, repeatedly, always going back to her pulse point, then moving back and around kissing his way up to her ear and suckling on the tender flesh there as well.

She moaned again, and the sound pleased him.

Sliding his hands down while his lips were busy, he pressed her closer to him, his own blood running hot as he felt her body against his with only two thin layers of silk still separating them, and he pressed her into him harder as his hands came to rest on her lower back.

Kagome shivered, and her breathing deepened, it felt as if she was electrified - tiny shocks going off all over her body from his touch, and her hands clenched for a moment in his robe as all that sensation shot straight to her core, dampening her most intimate flesh, and signaling her mate that her body was readying itself for him.

As her aroused scent hit his senses, he groaned; it was delectable, and made his own knees weaken just a bit - he decided that it was time to find the futon - he had no desire to take her on the floor, which, if he waited much longer, was what was going to happen.

With that thought in mind, he swept her up into his arms, chuckling deeply at her surprised squeak, and laid her down gently on the bed, his talented hands removing her yukata as he did so.

Kagome flushed with red immediately, her hands coming up almost instinctively to cover herself, but she stopped dead at the look on his face, and slowly removed her hands, laying them nervously at her sides as he stared at what he'd uncovered.

The yukata slid to the floor from his suddenly nerveless hands - he didn't even notice.

She's beautiful, he thought vaguely, as his eyes swept over her. So much more than I ever expected.

She was sleek, like a greyhound, long and slender, but perfectly proportioned, and every curve spoke to him; it was as if she'd been hand-crafted by the gods to fit him and meet every one of his wants and desires.

Kagome watched him staring at her, and as it went on, she actually relaxed; unlike what most would think, his lengthy, silent stare didn't make her feel frightened that he didn't like what he was seeing - she could see that it was just the opposite, and she laid back, letting him look his fill without concern.

In fact, it made her feel hotter, the obvious desire burning in his golden eyes, and a warm flush swept over her body as it yearned for his touch more the longer he looked.

Sesshoumaru let his eyes linger over her form, taking in everything she had to offer - slowly - she was his, and he had no need to hurry.

After a few minutes, he began to follow the path his eyes were taking with one finger, the fact that Kagome kept her gaze on him the entire time making his desire flare higher.

As his finger made contact with the tip of one breast, her breathing hitched, and she gasped slightly, again, a mere breath of sound, and he let a smile take his lips.

"I see that I will have to work harder if I want to make you vocal enough for Inuyasha to hear, miko." At her blush, his smile degenerated into a smirk. "I must admit..." he paused and caught her gaze with his own heavy-lidded one, "I want Inuyasha to hear your passion, though I do not want him to ever see it."

She reached up and slipped her hands under the edges of his robe, then smoothed them down, pushing the garment away from his skin as she did so - and enjoying the shiver it sent down his spine.

She smiled.

"You're so beautiful, Sesshoumaru," she whispered. "I've never wanted anything so badly as I want you, you know."

His eyes, which had once more wandered to follow the path his hands were taking over his mate's willing flesh, flicked back to hers, and he could feel a strange sensation prickling inside him at the look in her eyes - she meant every word she said.

He could see the love and want in her expression - it was completely open.

That fact set fire to him, and he suddenly came down on her, pressing himself to her, and as she gasped and her eyes widened at the sensation of full skin-on-skin contact, he took advantage, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and taking it over completely.

This is as close to heaven as this one will ever get... she is heaven for me.

As his mouth dominated hers, his hands swept down her sides, eager to touch fully, to explore, and he slid slightly off to the side as one hand came up to cup a breast. She arched and gasped again, and he swallowed it, jealously wanting all her arousal for himself - he didn't want to share anything.

Mine...

Once again, he broke away from her lips and began trailing down, kissing and loving every inch of skin on his journey towards her core. He wanted every single part of her to know his touch.

Kagome was lost in bliss; nothing she'd ever read, ever been told had prepared her for what was happening to her now. She burned, she writhed, and yet, there was no pain, every nerve was ultra-sensitive, needing only the smallest touch to catch on fire, and she whimpered, mind already gone.

When his lips settled over one furled nipple and began sucking, she let out a keening cry, and Sesshoumaru grinned almost ferally in triumph - it was the first sound she'd made that the witnesses would hear - and he planned for there to be many, many more.

He raised up after suckling both breasts, and Kagome was immediately caught in his red-eyed gaze - he'd allowed his youkai blood out, but she had no fear.

"I feel badly - you're giving me so much pleasure, and I haven't done anything for you," she sighed.

"Do not," he rumbled, his normal smooth baritone jagged and unusually deep. "This one will pleasure you this time - there will be other times for me."

She started to speak; he placed a finger to her lips. "Your pleasure is pleasuring me, Kagome. Let me finish." She held his gaze for a moment, but she could see he meant his words, and she nodded.

With that, he went back to working his way downwards once more, but this time he spoke to her as he went, telling her how she was making him feel, how she felt to him, and what her scent was doing to him - it was highly erotic to her, though she was somewhat surprised that she was excited by such a thing.

With all the things he was doing to her, it wasn't long before her senses were completely swamped, and when his mouth finally opened over her core, she arched up and let out a choked scream; that's all it took, and her first orgasm washed over her body in waves as she sobbed and writhed under his form.

But he wasn't done with her yet. The taste of her was all he could desire in that moment - if he never got any further than this, he would still die happy, and he refused to relinquish his hold on the tender flesh he'd begun feasting on.

Instead, he chose to build a new, and deeper, tension into her body, as he toyed with that tender knot of nerves just above the entrance to her body, alternately licking and suckling. This time, his fingers joined the assault on the willing woman beneath him, one slender digit sliding gently into her as she gasped and panted and cried with the overdose of pleasure.

Sesshoumaru almost died as his finger was enveloped within her - never had he found anything so tight in his centuries of life. Nothing even his own great strength could create could equal the grasp her walls had on his finger, and his taut flesh spasmed as he imagined her wrapped around him.

Gods... he shuddered in overwhelming bliss, I could spend the rest of my life with her wrapped around me... nothing could ever bring me more pleasure.

She was close to climaxing again, and as she tightened even more, he slipped another finger in, stretching her tightness just a little as he continued to suckle her clit and thrust his fingers into her.

Kagome was almost delirious with pleasure - her mind unable to deal with the overload on nerves not used to such stimulation, and as her body began to convulse again, she almost lost consciousness, everything going black for several seconds as she tried to scream.

Her voice was lost inside, however; her throat muscles just as helplessly locked as every other muscle in her body.

He finally pulled away from her as she begged him to stop, with a growl, he moved up her limp body and licked the sweat from between her breasts before saying, "I see I will have to work harder, mate, to get you to scream my name."

Her eyes widened, and all she could think in that moment was - Harder?

As flushed as she was from two orgasms, when she felt him lay against her fully and press himself between her widely spread thighs, signaling his intent, she blushed even deeper and lost herself in his eyes as they slowly washed back to gold.

"Are you ready, Kagome, to become one with me?" he whispered to her, never looking away, his voice deepening sensually, and she shivered and nodded, her voice still lost to his seduction.

He studied her for a moment, knowing he had her mesmerized, that she was unable to look away; hell could descend on her in that instant of time, and she would still be unable to respond.

Once he was sure that she was willing and ready, he touched his forehead to hers, and with a soft kiss to the tip of her nose, he said, "I'm sorry, koi," and pushed forward, steadily moving inward and breaking through her barrier in one long, smooth thrust.

As he bottomed out, buried in her to the hilt, he shuddered all over and stilled, closing his eyes tightly at the feel of her as she cried out in pain and a few silvery tears fled from under her own closed eyes.

Oh... kami, he gritted to himself, I don't think I can move, she's too tight...

Kagome valiantly held herself silent until the last moment, and then the pain finally overwhelmed her as he came to a shuddering halt, and she jerked as he hit the mouth of her womb.

It hurts... oh, gods it hurts, she cried silently, determined not to make any more noise than she already had. He's so big - it's too much...

He watched her, still, unmoving, waiting for a signal that the pain had abated, and after several minutes, he felt her inner muscles relax - instead of fighting against an intruder, now they were stroking against him, clenching him - it was unbearably arousing. She moved, then, tilting her hips slightly and sighing as she felt her insides loosen up.

With that, he slowly withdrew, and her breath hissed between her clenched teeth as she felt him leave her body, the hiss smoothing out to a sigh as he came back inside, and as quickly as that, the pain was forgotten as she once more began to drown in pleasure.

The sheer eroticism of the moment wasn't lost on her as she watched him watch her - the passion glazing his eyes a match for the haze in hers, and it was oddly like being a completed power circuit as the pleasure looped from him, to her, and back again.

Sesshoumaru was in awe; though he'd coupled plenty of times for simple release, nothing he'd ever come across had even slightly resembled what he was experiencing here, and suddenly, he knew just what it was his father had given in to when he'd taken Izayoi.

Never before had he ever seen the other side of it, only being angry that his own pureblooded mother had been cast aside for a ningen - but his father had fallen in love with Izayoi, and Sesshoumaru was completely aware that if he'd been mated to another and then met Kagome, he'd have done the same.

He would never be able to be without her - he could only be thankful that his story would end differently from his father's.

As that realization washed over him, it spiraled his passion for her totally out of control, and his steady, measured pace fell by the wayside as he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her demandingly, taking total control of her lips and tasting every inch of her mouth, over and over and over again as he thrust into her in a steadily increasing tempo.

Kagome's eyes were closed by this time, she couldn't keep them open if she tried, and she gasped and panted and writhed and moaned for her mate as he began to let loose on her. The only words she could articulate were 'harder, and 'faster', and she begged, using those words as though they were the only ones she even knew.

Her mind had finally closed down completely - she was only barely aware of where she was anymore as every bit of sentience she possessed was firmly focused on the feel of his body driving into hers; she almost cried when he pulled away from her, but he flipped her onto her hands and knees so fast she didn't even have the chance to do so before he was back inside her again.

Over and over he took her, conquering her body as he'd conquered her heart, hips driving her relentlessly higher and higher, and orgasm after orgasm he continued to thrust himself into her, until she was too weak to even hold herself up any longer, the pleasure taking control of her and finally spinning her into eternity.

As it all coalesced inside her for the last time, she screamed, sobbing out his name as though he were a kami coming to save her soul from hell...

And Sesshoumaru was forced over the edge as she was, a roar pushing its way from deep in his chest as he finally released into her more than willing body, flooding her with his seed and his scent.

For long, endless moments they stayed that way, taut, tight, and finally, the pleasure coil released its hold on the two of them, and they both slumped over, Sesshoumaru having just enough presence of mind to land on his side and pull her into his chest protectively.

She did what she said she would - there is no way that half-breed could mistake what she screamed out at the height of her passion.

She's mine, finally - and now he knows it, too.

He tenderly stroked one hand through her damp waves, soothing his new mate into a light sleep.

She deserved it.

With a sated sigh, he swept the area with his senses - with the knowledge that everyone was now gone from the mating room, he let himself slip into sleep as well.

---cCc---

As the years went by, Sesshoumaru's vow that his mating would be remembered for centuries was kept; even his son and heir's mating, four hundred and thirty-five years later, was overshadowed by the memories of his own.

It was something he was proud of, though his mate preferred not to hear others talk of it, of course.

From what the council members and his mother had told him, Inuyasha had grown more and more sullen as the hours of his mating went on, but he broke completely when the end came and Kagome, as she'd said she would, screamed out her mate's name.

He'd left quietly, and he'd never returned.

From the little that came to their ears over the years, he'd gone back to Kaede's village and lived just as quietly as he'd left the shiro, keeping to himself and never mentioning Kagome's name again.

That was okay by her, Sesshoumaru was surprised to find; Inuyasha's actions at the time of his brother's and Kagome's mating had opened her eyes to his selfishness and the fact that he'd expected her to stay single and pine for him for the rest of her life only angered her further, leaving her with no desire to ever see him again.

Shippo grew to be a fine young youkai, happily ensconced in the shiro, he grew to adulthood beside an equally content Rin, and they chose to live their adult lives as together as they'd lived their young years, to Kagome's great joy, and Sesshoumaru's tolerance.

That wasn't surprising, and Kagome knew it wasn't anything against Shippo - it's just that no one was good enough for Rin, in his opinion. He was the same way with their own daughters.

His passion for his mate never died, only strengthening through the years, and he knew that without her, he wouldn't even be able to breathe. She was his everything, and he thanked kami every year - at the mid-winter solstice, he'd say a prayer in gratitude for his first prayer being answered... and his wish granted.

Kagome always joined him every year to do the same.

---cCc---

A/N: Phew! And it's finally done! That damn lemon took me four days to write! I didn't think I'd ever get it finished. Hope everyone enjoys the final chapter of A Winter Wish... and before anyone can ask, no, I won't be expanding it. I've got other stories I need to concentrate on, and I absolutely refuse to drag this one on. It's perfect the length as it is, even if there are certain questions that weren't completely answered. That's life.

This one is for r0o... I know she's not an Inuyasha fan, and since I am, I tend to portray him a lot more sympathetically than I think she likes. Enjoy this, r0o - I doubt I'll ever be able to write another story where I make Inuyasha out to be such a bastard again, LOL!

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