The next day was a blur of rehearsals, practicing, and meals. Whenever she made eye contact with Yunoki-sama, he was his usual self and showed no sign of what had occurred the night before. Maybe she did dream it!

As she was preparing for bed she wondered if he would return to see her tonight. Probably not. She kind of wished he would, though. It was outrageous of him to insinuate himself into her room, but she could admit to herself that she had enjoyed his company.

She was only half-asleep when he turned his key in the lock and made his way to the bed. "Hello Princess" he whispered when she raised her head. He got under the covers and smiled when Kahoko drowsily slipped into his embrace. He kissed her forehead, feeling quite sentimental about the fact that she trusted him. He held her close for several minutes, breathing in the soft scent of her as he stroked her hair.

His immediate goal was to set the scene for more intimacy. Stroking her head soon segued into stroking her face. Even she was aware that the feeling of comfort was becoming a sense of anticipation. Eventually changing his touch from using his palm to using fingertips and thumb, he delicately but steadily caressed every part of her face. When she got used to his attentions to her mouth, he decided it was time to get her permission to go further.

"Kahoko, may I kiss you?" Normally he wouldn't ask, but in this setting he couldn't risk her screaming.

She stiffened. Now she was waking up! "Kiss me? Why?"

He smiled. "I told you that I like you, Silly. Of course I want to kiss you."

As logical as he made it sound, she certainly wasn't going to give him the OK for this outrageous request! They were in a bed together, after all. Although...she had spent hours in his arms, which was almost as close as kissing…

"No, I don't think…" Damn; why did she sound so tentative?

"You told me you liked me. Don't you want to be kissed by the man that you like?...If you don't like it you can tell me to stop. You have the upper hand here."

He softly rubbed the corner of her mouth with his thumb. "Please, Kahoko."

His smile was gentle, belying the persistence of his requests.

"I feel shy…" she admitted, sighing. "I…I don't know what to expect."

"Ahh.... There's nothing to be concerned about. You don't have to do anything. I'll do all the work. You just relax…and trust me."

His eyes were compassionate. She let out a big breath, closed her eyes and waited.

She was rewarded with the sweetest contact of his mouth. Slowly and softly he kissed her again and again, each kiss feeling like a gentle sensual gift. The silence of the room made the tiniest friction of delicate flesh seem magnified. Unease was swiftly replaced with amazed desire. How miraculous that this beautiful man would be caressing her mouth with his, petting her with his fingers, breathing warmth into her. She moved her body closer to him, putting a hand on his cheekbone. She wanted more. He gazed at her eyes sparkling in the low light as he pressed her onto her back to deepen the kiss. He teased and coaxed and stroked, encouraging her to meet his initiative.

She lost herself in the texture of his lips, the wet arousal of flesh. She may not have any experience, but her body knew what it wanted and it yearned to reproduce the more pleasurable sensations. Azuma raised his head to see what she would do with a break in contact. He wanted to confirm that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. When she reached up to trace his mouth with her fingers he gifted her with another round of kisses.

This was undoubtedly her first time, so he refrained from touching her elsewhere. There was always tomorrow.

They fell asleep in each other's arms.

During the morning rehearsal she caught him staring at her. She gave him a quick smile and his eyes warmed in return. She wished she could be closer to him during the day and hoped he would visit her again tonight. She was possibly letting herself in for a world of hurt by hoping for his continued affection, but she didn't care.

Entering her room at midnight, he was eager to be with her again, to touch her soft cheek. She was fast asleep, which was no surprise considering how little sleep they had been getting. He carefully got in next to her and smiled at the sight of her sweet face. Gently he pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth and kissed that spot repeatedly until she awoke.

"Hello Sleeping Beauty."

She stretched and yawned, politely covering her mouth with her hand. With her head still on the pillow, she drowsily stared at him. Without breaking eye contact he sat up and began unbuttoning his pajama shirt one button at a time, revealing more and more of his lean upper body to her. With eyes round as pennies Kahoko blinkingly took in the sight of his chest for about 4 seconds before jerking the covers over her head.

Chuckling to himself, Azuma leaned over and gently tried to get her to release her death grip on the bedding, but to no avail. Although it would be easy for him to overpower her, it would be counterproductive. Instead he tossed the shirt on the bed, lay on his side and waited for her to settle down. When she finally peeked out of the covers he was watching her.

"Why did you do that?" she asked nervously.

He smiled. "I want you to touch me."

"W-why?" Ugh. Did she really want him to answer that? She was just stalling…

"I want to feel your hands on my skin."

She was still cowering behind the covers.

"Aren't you the least bit curious, Kahoko? What are you afraid of?"

"You're a half-naked boy!"

"So? It's just skin. Why don't you come over here and try touching me a little?" His grin widened. "While you're at it you can kiss me too."

"No!" she spat behind the safety of the covers.

He sighed and lay on his back, closing his eyes, waiting.

After about 5 minutes of her mind chattering at her in circles, she just couldn't take the physical separation anymore. It had felt so good to lay on his shoulder, to kiss him. This would be the same, minus one piece of fabric. She slid under the covers to his side, put her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. He acknowledged her gesture by stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head.

He waited for her curiosity to overcome shyness, and sure enough her hand began to wander. He had given her permission, after all. She slowly ran her fingers across his pecs, then sweeping up to trace his collarbone and his neck, back down toward his upper abdomen. He sighed softly with pleasure. She polished slow circles across his sternum as she tried to decide how low she could go without awakening the dragon. She enlarged her slow hand circles, until upon contact with his lower abdomen he arched and gasped quietly. She quickly removed her hand and propped herself on one elbow to look into his eyes.

His hands went around her back. "Kiss me" he suggested, his eyes dark and liquid with anticipation.

She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the mouth before pulling back with a mischievous smile.

He frowned. "That's the best you've got?"

She administered another peck, even briefer than before, giggling quietly as she retreated.

"All right, you asked for it! Obviously I have to show the novice how it's done."

Quick as a cat he sprang up and rolled her onto her back, stifling her gasp with his hand over her mouth. Pinning her with his upper body, he stared at her with electric eyes before leaning in. His kisses were probing and deep. Had she wanted to scream she wouldn't have been able to with his tongue in her mouth. She could have bitten him, but resisting him was the furthest thing from her mind. What she did want was to receive as much of him as he wanted to give. His mouth, his touch, his weight on her. She ran her hands along his back, marveling at the harder edges and denser muscles of a man's body.

When they reached the point at which they decided to draw the line against further intimacy, he pulled her into his arms. The time had come. He whispered against her temple "Kahoko, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Are you serious?" She whispered, pulling back to see if his eyes would make her believe it.

"I'm very serious. I want to make it official…so I can be with you all the time." He was smiling playfully, although she could see his conviction.

"What would be involved in being your girlfriend?" she asked, wanting to accept but wondering if there were any downsides to the arrangement.

"You're a funny girl" he chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Let's see; I will make sure that everyone knows you're mine. We'll hug and kiss each other anytime we want, we'll hold hands. We'll go on dates, I'll buy you nice things, and you'll introduce me to your family. The rest we can negotiate as we go along…How does that sound?"

She thought about it a bit more. Dating such a guy would have its complications, but she already knew what she would say. "Okay, yes…Thank you."

She looked adorably shy and happy. He kissed her on the nose and pulled her tight against his chest.

She was his now. Mission Accomplished.

Two weeks later:

She was on the roof, playing through a sonata but her mind was happily reviewing the past several days. Since returning from Sendai, Azuma had been attentive and affectionate. He was an ideal boyfriend, if the definition could be amended to include the steady teasing and manipulation that was his hallmark. Kahoko had no problem accepting all of him, though. He ultimately had the best of intentions toward her, even when his need for control required her to be patient. There were enough times when he was clearly making the effort to learn what would please her. Her Mom had always said that what men truly wanted was to make women happy, and Kahodo thought that certainly seemed to be the case with Azuma.

The petite redhead ignored the subtle creak of the rooftop door, but smiled in anticipation as she bent to put her violin in its case. A moment later his arms slipped around her from behind and his chin rested on her shoulder. "That section of the adagio sounds much improved…"

She inclined her head to rub against his affectionately. "Thank you for noticing."

He kissed her temple. "Shall we go see the circus this weekend?" He wasn't a big fan of the circus, so this was one of his concessions, meant to make her happy. She turned with a delighted smile. "Yes, Azuma!"

"You'll owe me, you know." In spite of his grudging tone, he was pleased with her reaction.

"Yes, I know." She stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. "Shall I begin repaying you now?" She took pleasure in her feminine power as she moved her lips over to his mouth to kiss him slowly and sensually, the way he liked it. His arms tightened around her waist and he rocked her subtly from side to side as she wove her spell.

The End