Ch. 3: Surprise Meeting

My, inspiration for this fic was long in coming, but here it is and in time for a holiday too! Enjoy, everyone!

There! It was there! Her sweet, heady scent; Sesshomaru would know it anywhere! Ahh, how interesting. The demon lord allowed the ghost of a smile to flit across his face; perhaps persuading the girl to mate with him would not be so difficult after all. Her scent indicated that she would probably be more… willing than usual.

He would soon find out.
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Kaname eased herself out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her hair and another one around her body. Sitting at the edge of the tub, she watched the lavender scented water swirl around her feet as she stirred them around. The hot water was making her heart beat faster than usual and a brief hiatus from her bath would help. Taking deep breaths, Kaname could feel her heart rate slow, but not by much. The bath had done the exact opposite of soothing her.

Heavy steam clouding the air, a heated mattress cradling her bare body, Kaname felt like she was floating. Reclining on the silk sheets, she felt her body trembling, almost aching with lust. She needed relief, needed to be fulfilled, needed…

Needed him.

"Kaname," his voice called.

"My lord," she murmured, not sure if it was really herself who was speaking.

"Ah, my lovely Kaname," Sesshomaru breathed striding through the steam, his eyes alight with-

"Ahh, Kaname, dressed to receive me, are you?"

Kaname yelped, jerked back to reality by, oddly enough, the subject of her fantasy. She couldn't believe her eyes, but there he was, standing in her bathroom surrounded by the clouds of steam. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose.

"Hmmm, lavender." He looked back at Kaname, a small smile on his face. "It suits you."

"What… how… you..? Sesshomaru?" Kaname hoped it was the hot bath that was making her feel dizzy.

"Indeed it is. I've been looking for you, Kaname."

Kaname gasped in spite of herself. Acutely aware of her near-nakedness, she drew the towel closer against her. Sesshomaru chuckled.

"I doubt that cloth of yours would stop me if I wanted to ravish you, Kaname. Unless that's what you want?"

"St-stay away!" Kaname shrieked. She tried to summon her Shikigami and was pleased when she felt the familiar tingle across her skin.

"Now, now, none of that." Sesshomaru approached his quarry, holding his hands- both hands she noted- up. "I have no intention of harming you at all. He sat down next to her, pausing to stare the full bathtub. "A cleansing ritual? You are wise to keep your power strong."

"I'm taking a bath! So, if you don't mind, I'm not exactly-"

"Oh, I think you look lovely." With a smirk, Sesshomaru reached out and swept a few stray hairs off Kaname's forehead. "And I promise, I will do nothing to you that you do not wish for."

"How can you say that? You broke in her while I was-"

"I merely came to call on you. I have missed you."

"Like I should believe that!" Kaname hoped he couldn't see her blush.

"Believe or do not. That is entirely up to you. But I do know that you've been feeling unfilled as of late." Shesshomaru had to hold back a grin as Kaname's face flushed as red as his brother's fire rat robe.

"I… I…"

"You are a Shikigami wielder. You have more power than most mortals and you will hold a greater understanding of the world because of it. Humans will bore you." Sesshomaru leaned in closer to her. "Demons will not."

Kaname was silent. It was true that since returning from the Feudal Era that her friends' gossip about who was going out with who had ceased to interest her. It all just seemed so petty; they were only in middle school, after all. It wasn't like her friends were about to get married or anything.

More often than not, now, she found herself bored. Her friends wanted to talk about boys and the boys she talked to just seemed so gangly and awkward, hardly the specimens of manhood unlike the one who was currently sitting right next to-

No! No, she couldn't be thinking about this now! She was practically naked in front of a a man- a demon - and she hadn't done anything except blush and stammer. Was she mad? She should-

Sesshomaru laid hand on Kaname's bare shoulder, his claws lightly tracing her flesh. Kaname gasped and looked up at him.

"I thought so. You've become something more than the humans around you. You seek something greater, something that only I can give you."

"I…" What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she say anything? Sesshomaru's hand trailed up and cupped her chin. "You… please…"

"Please what, Kaname? You only need ask." Sesshomaru's face was close to hers, his hand holding her face steady. His other hand traced the base of her neck, then suddenly dipped lower, his claws grazing her breasts through her towel. Kaname gasped, but didn't pull away; she lacked the willpower.

"You need only ask," Shesshomaru repeated as he caressed her, his hand slipping through the towel's fold to touch skin. His claws brushed against her breasts, then slid down, down across her stomach, down across her thighs, down toward-

"No!" Kaname jerked away, despite her body screaming for more. "Don't touch me!"

"Oh no?"

"No! What do you think I am?"

"I think you're a maiden who could use the touch of a male. Besides," Sesshomaru pointed out, "if it's not my touch you crave, then why not employ your Shikigami to send me away? Even I would have to put up quite a struggle against your power."

Kaname sat stock still, gasping for air. Why hadn't she used her power? She had been incapacitated before and that hadn't stopped her from using her Shikigami to send attackers away. What was going on?

Sesshomaru stood, towering over her. "Despite your obvious arousal, I shall keep my promise. I will engage in no further advances and I shall not take you until you are willing." He leaned down, touching her face again. "But know this, Kaname Kururugi, you will be willing in due time."

Before she could protest, Sesshomaru leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her brow.

"Enjoy your bath, my lady." In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Kaname sat stock still, dazed and with a head spinning from Sesshomaru's touch. Her brow tingled in reaction to his kiss while her… well, other places felt as though they were being heated over an open flame. Dropping her towels, Kaname slid back into the tub, her legs slightly spread to relieve the tension.

When you're willing Sesshomaru had said. Well, her body might be willing, but she was not, than you very much. In fact, she might not ever be willing to be with lord Sesshomaru!

Kaname bit her lip, shuddering despite the heat. Who was she kidding? Sesshomaru was the sole object of her desire, but how could she be with him? He was a demon and one from a time long past! She was a human from the present day with a life and future here. No, no! This couldn't be.

But she wanted it to be. And more than anything, Kaname wanted to feel Sesshomaru's touch again and, this time, far more intimately.