Chapter 108: Primal Need

"What?" Tohru says loudly, brandishing a garden trowel at him before letting her arm fall to her side. Her voice sounds hardened and formidable, amplified by the quietude of the mountainside. There is nothing but the hushed sound of the wind and the rustling leaves. Yet, there is no way she can keep up a threatening persona. It isn't in her nature and she is just too tired and defeated to keep up a resilient front when all she wants to do it crawl into a hole and...

"When are you coming inside?"

"Can't you see I'm busy? There are so many weeds in the shrubbery." She turns back to her task at hand, viciously pulling out one at its base. Innocent plant life is now at the receiving end of her wrath. Who has she become?

"It's lunch time," he says, not backing down against her dark, capricious behavior.

"Lunch is in the fridge, top level. It's cold sesame noodles. And you can heat up the salmon from breakfast. Steam some broccoli if you'd like." Her voice is cold and final, offering no conversational hooks. End of discussion.

He brazenly bends over to pick her up by her waist. A grand gesture because it's the only thing to get her out of this funk. "Come." He shakes her hand so that she drops the trowel before whisking her back into the house without protest. He treats her like a misbehaved child. And she is clearly too shocked to say anything or do anything. She's stiff in his arms like a wooden doll. Her face is flushed, her mouth dry.

He says plainly, "I'm not wasting anymore time with this standoff. Tell me what is going on in your mind."

Inside, he drops her down softly on the sofa, cupping her shoulders before whispering in her ear, "I'm going to get a cool towel for your head. You are overheated and you're going to get sick this way. After that's settled, you are going to tell me what is going on."

He returns with a damp towel to wipe over her furrowed brow. "Spill it."

"Fine!" She bites out, anger unleashed. "Why are you torturing me? Why don't you just let me go?" Tohru squeezes her eyes shut to hold back the frustrated tears.

Because I don't want to. Because the huge, throbbing, emotional side of me will never let you go. Can't. Because you've nurtured it from the start. You made me this way. I'm not made out of steel anymore. I don't want to be without you.

"I can't."

"You're interested in Kiyomi. It's wrong to keep me on the side like this." It's wrong to wring my love dry. "It's unfair to both of us."

"Let's just have a peaceful lunch."

"I can't. I can't just forget about everything that's happened between us. I can't have a civil lunch with you!" She shrieks, at her wit's end. Her addiction to him causes her to lash out like a banshee. The effects of the curse start to coil like a noxious fog inside her.

/

I'm about to lose it. I can feel it inside me.

I lift myself from the sofa and head for my room before he can stop me. No way am I showing Hatori my struggle. I'd rather lie in a coffin than let him have complete power over me. I've already given him too much to hurt me. He's saturated me. I shut the door quickly and soundlessly.

Alone, my ache multiplies. Fuck. I've tried to keep it under control, but when he grabbed me and lifted me - it just sent all my senses into a fiery pit of chaos. Now, my whole body is screaming for attention, tingling and aware. The tips of my breasts are hard and needy. I need him so badly - the memory of last night still fresh in my mind and just now, his touch... Quivering, I strip myself of the offending cloth and lie down on the bamboo mat naked. My body is hot. I get up to open the window, letting in the cool autumn air. It comes over me like a cool blanket, giving me relief for just a moment.

I part my legs until the inner muscles of my thighs strain. I can feel the pool of hot desire at my entrance. Why did I let myself get so worked up?! Because you have no self control, says the small cold voice. You're a parasite. I take a deep breathe before reaching my hands up to my breasts. I cup one of the swollen globes hoping to relieve myself at least a little bit. I scrape the hard point with my fingernail which only furthers the ache for him. I moan quietly, trying to get into it, but nothing works. I just want this weekend to end.

/

Outside her room, Hatori suddenly stops pacing when he hears her moan. No, it can't be! Pain contorts his face as jealousy rages inside him. It's a bitter pill to hear her whimpering like that - alone and frustrated when he can fix it in a quickie. He grimaces at the double meaning. A moment later, he finds the key pick and lets himself inside with the stealth of a spy. He stares in shock at Tohru lying stark naked on the ground, her eyes squeezed shut. Her legs are splayed and her hand is at her wet folds, desperate, stroking.

At lightning speed, he is by her side. He kneels down and drags her small hands away, clasping both in his. His other hand reaches down to the destination as he brushes his knuckles over her folds, giving her the slightest touch.

Tohru gasps and shivers and her eyes flutter open. "Tori…" Her eyes are glossy and unfocused, as if she's lost in another dimension. She thinks it's a dream.

"I want you to feel me here today, tomorrow, and forever." He says. The words roll off his tongue without any coaxing. Inherent. Without warning, his long finger plunges into her glistening wet cleft. She stifles her pleasure as his fingers stroke generously. He knows exactly how to make her scream. His finger curls to that sensitive spot inside her and presses enough against the wall to make her cry out with abandonment. Her hands try to jerk free of his grasp, and he knows enough to know that she isn't going anywhere so he lets go and leans away. She stills. Her eyes train on him and something changes in them. She sits up, folding her legs up against her torso, anxiety plastered across her delicate, worrisome features. Have I misread him? A debilitating throb settles in her chest. It feels like someone's just punched her in the stomach. She turns her head away.

"Don't do this," she begs, pain laced in her voice. "You'll regret it." You will resent me. Everything I've done to you. Forced you to be a part of this curse.

He cups her cheeks and brings her face back to his. "I won't." I will regret losing you to my own stupidity. "I don't regret a single moment of it. I find myself worrying about you at any given moment when I'm apart from you. I'm terrified of the thought of you being tormented by the curse alone and some sick pervert getting his hands on you and taking advantage." His eyes pleading with her and instinctively he crawls beside her. He pulls her into him and kisses her with ardent fervor. He breaks away and exhales raggedly before saying, "I don't want to hurt you. I'm going to take it slow."

"Please. Just hurry." There is nothing else. If she wants to live another day, she will have to suppress her pride. Her body squirms a little, just barely grazing his chest.

"Don't," he warns gently. He shrugs out of his shirt exposing his lean body. Oh gods. He jerks down his sweatpants and shoves away the boxer-briefs with brutal carelessness. His erection is already standing proud and ready. Her stomach quivers at the site of his divine nude form. She wants to explore every centimeter of his man - press soft kisses over the scars as if those simple gestures alone could erase the years of buried pain ingrained in him.

"Spread your legs," he commands.

Tohru does as asked, parting her thighs to accommodate his body.

"More."

Tohru eases her tense thighs further apart. Time to finish what she started. Clearly unsatisfied with her efforts, Hatori's hand clutches her thighs and separates them more, spending little time reveling in her exquisite body. She weeps at the strain in her legs. "No time for the niceties," he growls, "but if I hurt you, you must tell me."

She nods. "Hurry," she cries out, the anticipation suffocating her. She's about to go into a catatonic state.

"You are so swollen for me. You will take me and think of no one else but me. I have to be inside you." Her eyes connect with his for a brief moment and everything is right again. I belong to him in this moment. He grabs her hips and plunges forward, burying himself deep into her with a single stroke. It's a slow and deliberate stroke - savoring every delicious millimeter of contact. His back stiffens and he curses before saying in a strained voice, "Tight." His eyes are molten as they bore down on her, melting every bit of her steely facade. He eases back a little before surging in again, this time deeper, starting up a delicious rhythm. Tonight, Tohru can sense that even he is at the edge of his control. It's not just me. The friction burns in a good way. As he continues to slide deeply into her - penetrating her in the most pleasant way - her mind flashes to various moments in time. Them. Their first time. How desperate she'd been. All the stolen moments - in the car, here - at the vacation home under the 'guise' of doing landscaping, in public, by the lake.

"What are we doing?" He grunts, invading her flashback.

Her gut clenches, her eyes grow guarded. "Fucking."

/

He winces at her harsh words and stiffens, still inside her. Stunned. She's reduced it down to a bodily function. No. Did he hear her wrong? Those eyes are defiant. He looks away, unable to look at those accusatory dark orbs. No, she said it with a clear, conscious mind. Yet, it doesn't lessen his desire for her. He'd fallen off that cliff a long time ago, depraved bastard that he is. Nothing can ever hold him back. It's the primitive need to take her, mark her. She makes him less agitated. She is the missing puzzle piece that makes him whole again. Every single fucking cliche applies when it comes to her.

Determination spikes through him. I - will - show - her. He slips his arms behind at her nape and anchors himself to her. He starts up his deep thrusts again, willing her to think of this act as more than what she reduced it down to. Soon he feels that cataclysmic rush building up and rides her until he orgasms with reckless abandon. His body feels drained of life once it's over and he's furious. He's not done yet, but his body seems completely burned out. He reluctantly pulls out of her and shifts down the length of her body so that his face is settled at her apex. Using his thumbs, he parts her wet folds. He can feel her tense. Rather than ruining the moment by speaking, he laps at her clit once as if to ask for permission to continue. The curse is fulfilled for now, but he needs to do this. It's about stealing her pleasure right out of her body without any shame or apology. Confirmation.

Involuntarily, she moans and squeezes her legs together, but he keeps them apart. She's close and he wants to be the one - the only one - to ever see her unravel this way. Her fortitude can only stand for so long before he shatters it.

/

A/N: 11.17.2014 - Sorry for being MIA for so long. Unfortunately I have no chapters in reserve (well, I have a few, but they are the final chapters... ) and I've been busy with work. Urgh. I will complete this story and I hope you all will stick around! MUAW my lovelies!

Rei Eien: *Blasts you with A/C* Girls can be so illogical. T is overlooking the perfect guy!

kouga's older woman: H is the epitome of "avoidant/dismissive" attachment type. You all should check "Adult Attachment Style" out. It is very true (at leasts for me) and applies to this story too!

GoldenGryphon: Thank you for your long review. I like your outside perspective. The worst part of it is that T brought all of it upon herself. Dragging H through the mud with her.

LadyDraco67: Yeah H, get it together!

DreamingMerchant: Thanks my wonderful artist!

WonderRin: Lemons abound! Thank you girl!

Arialynn: Hi newbie! Thanks for catching up! It makes me so happy that you've fallen for an OC! WHOOT!

Abode of Mist: Thanks for the congrats. Angsty lemons are my thing. :)

Guest: Hmmm, T should disappear for a bit and let H stew… :)

AshAnime: -bows down- Love you dear!

Hopeful-z: I like your thinking girl (especially #3). However, I've already laid out the foundation of the story since chapter 2. -evil laughter- :)

Guest: Tyty! Your review reminds me of this graffiti I saw 2 weeks ago which said: "Money is your God."

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