What Your Eyes Did to Me by SunsetMiko

The Botanical Gardens

Chapter 13 - The Botanical Gardens

Vaticinus - soothsaying, prophetic (Stella's Latin Challenge)

"What was so important that I had to rush over here?" Sesshoumaru asked his father with a glare. The way the old dog was smirking was putting him on edge. "Kagome and I have a date at the botanical gardens this evening."

"Sounds lovely, but aren't they only open days?" Inu asked.

"I rented the entire place for the evening," Sesshoumaru explained.

"How romantic. You're showing off your deep pockets," the older man said, his smirk widening. "If I were you, I would make sure they don't have any surveillance cameras."

"Why would I do that?" the younger taiyoukai asked in confusion.

"Really, Sesshoumaru? At the aquarium? Did it really never dawn on you that they have cameras?" He watched as his son's eyes widened, and his face paled, enjoying every second of it. "You are lucky I got the head of security his job there, or you and Kagome might have been the next Internet sensation."

"What are you talking about?" Sesshoumaru demanded. There couldn't really be a... No, of course not.

"I am talking about this," Inu said while sliding a clear plastic case containing a disc across his desk.

"That is not..."

"That is exactly what it is. You and Kagome now have the only copy of your own personal sex tape."

"Did you watch it?" his son asked.

"Of course not! I don't need to see my pup like that, let alone the girl I've considered a daughter for more than fifteen years."

Sesshoumaru was silent for a long moment before speaking softly. "Do I tell her?"

"That, my boy, depends on how you think she will react. Will she be embarrassed, or will she find it amusing?"

"She was very wary of being caught. I think she will be mortified," he replied.

"Then I say destroy it. Would you like me to run it through the shredder?" he asked, reaching for the disc.

"No," Sesshoumaru said sharply, grabbing the case before his father reached it.

"You want to watch it, you dirty boy," Inu said with a wicked smirk. "If you keep it, there is always the risk that she will stumble across it, and if she does, she will not be happy at being kept in the dark."

"I am aware," the younger taiyoukai said darkly, rising from his seat to leave.

"What? No, 'Thank you,' for keeping it off the Internet?"

"Thank you," Sesshoumaru shot bitterly over his shoulder. Kagome could not find out about this. He had pushed her to have sex somewhere they risked getting caught. She would never forgive him if she found out that someone had seen and there was a recording of them together at the aquarium. No, she could never see what was on the disc in his pocket. Never.

- Orexis - desire, appetite (Stella's Latin Challenge)

"This place is beautiful," Kagome said with a smile. "How did you manage to get us in after closing?" she asked.

"I rented it for the evening," Sesshoumaru replied.

"Oh, I see." Kagome smirked. "Showing off your fat wallet, huh?" When he made a rather stricken face at having been caught in the act, the miko laughed. "It's all right. One of the steps, anyway, isn't it? Proving you can support me financially?"

"It is," he replied. He hadn't expected her to see his motives so easily, but he should have. Kagome seemed very perceptive, except when it came to knowing that he wanted more than one night with her.

"You really didn't need to do that. I've seen your apartment."

"Our apartment," he corrected.

"Our apartment," she repeated with a smile. "That sounds nice."

"Come," he said, holding out his hand to her. They walked, hands clasped together, along the winding path through the gardens until they reached a gentle slope that led up to a blossoming sakura tree. He led her up the hill. "This is where most of the couples who get married here choose to do so," he informed her, watching her face.

"It would make a beautiful scene," she replied, and he mentally sighed. His father was right. The look in her eyes said it all. She would definitely want a wedding in addition to a mating ceremony.

Sesshoumaru guided her to the blanket he laid out earlier and helped her sit. He lowered himself to his knees, sitting back on his heels, and began to unpack their dinner. When he opened a container, the wonderful scent made the miko hungry.

"Did you cook all of this?" she asked. She spent the morning and afternoon with Inuyasha, while he had his meeting with his father and then attended to other, unnamed things that she now knew was preparing their meal.

"I did," he replied. He dished out their food and handed her a plate, pouring a glass of wine for each of them.

Facunde - eloquently, fluently (Stella's Latin Challenge)

"So," Kagome said with a smirk. "Tell me about being a food snob."

"A foodie," he corrected.

"Foodie... Food snob... Same thing," she said in a teasing tone. "You've been listening to me talk for days. It's your turn."

"What do you wish to know?" he asked, unsure of where to start.

"Tell me about your favorite dishes to prepare, your favorite menu items, your favorite restaurants. Anything, really."

Sesshoumaru did as she asked, finding it surprisingly easy to talk to her. He told her about his adventures in cooking, including some of his early failures. He described some of the more peculiar dishes he sampled. He explained in detail his favorite restaurants, including not only their food but the ambience, as well. He went on for more than an hour, fully expecting her to grow bored eventually, but she listened, nodding and asking the occasional question, as if she were hanging on his every word.

Kagome was enjoying listening to the taiyoukai talk. She never heard him say so much at one time before. She was soaking in the sound of his voice while learning a great deal about him through his hobby. He was definitely more of a food snob than a foodie, she thought. He had a rather condescending attitude about certain restaurants, and an idea struck her. She would broaden his horizons, whether he liked it or not.

"What is your favorite food? he asked, having run out of things to say.

"That's a tough question," the miko said, while trying to decide on just one thing. "Mexican," she finally said. "Be it fast food or fine dining, I love Mexican food. Oh! And Chinese, too. I love a good Chinese buffet, or any buffet, really."

Sesshoumaru's nose crinkled at the mention of buffets. He greatly disliked the entire concept. He didn't like cafeteria style dining, having to serve yourself, and he really didn't like the thought that someone else might have touched, or god forbid, sneezed on his food. He didn't trust sneeze guards in the least.

"Tell you what," Kagome said with a grin. "I'll go to your favorite restaurants if you'll go to mine."

"You want this Sesshoumaru to eat at a buffet?" he asked her, the snob coming through loud and clear.

"It won't kill you. It's not like demons can get food poisoning."

"You go to a restaurant fully expecting to get food poisoning?" he inquired in shock.

"No," she replied with a laugh. "But you certainly look like you think I would. You've got to loosen up a little bit. You liked the corndog at the amusement park," she reminded him. "And it didn't make you sick, either."

Sesshoumaru sighed but nodded. If it would make her happy, he would take her wherever she wanted to go, even a buffet.

Labecula - a little stain, slight disgrace (Stella's Latin Challenge)

"Good. Now, let's talk about something else."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked, worried by the devious tone of her voice.

"Your dating history," she said with a smirk that reminded him too much of his brother. "Inuyasha is so intent on making sure I know you're a big whore, so I figured you might as well tell me all about it. Then I can shut him up."

"I am not a whore," Sesshoumaru said, slightly offended.

"So, tell me, how many serious relationships have you been in?"

"What do you consider a serious relationship?" he inquired, looking for clarification.

"Umm, how about three months or longer?"

"None," he replied softly. He knew he wasn't going to come out of this conversation smelling like roses. He wouldn't be surprised if Kagome simply got up and walked away from him once she had all the information.

"None? Okay, then what's your longest relationship?"

"A month and a half," he answered. "Though it only lasted that long because Kagura was clingy and aggressive. If she hadn't been so pushy, it would have ended long before."

Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face as he described his ex-girlfriend. "No love lost there, huh?" she giggled. "So, I know I'm probably going to regret asking this question, but how many different women have you been with?"

Sesshoumaru thought about her question, trying to calculate, but found he honestly had no idea. "I don't know," he replied.

"More than ten?" she asked and the taiyoukai nodded. "More than twenty?" He nodded again. "More than thirty?" she asked with wide eyes.

"It is entirely possible."

Zelotypus - jealous (Stella's Latin Challenge)

"And how many of those were one night stands?" she questioned, having a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be.

"Most of them," he confessed. "This Sesshoumaru had no use for a relationship. I had no need for a woman in my life. Not until I met you did I desire more than one night." He looked genuinely embarrassed by his behavior, and more than a little worried that it would have a negative effect on both their evening and their courting.

Kagome quirked her head to the side in amusement at his embarrassment. "Did you use the 'I have to work early in the morning' line to get them out of your place?"

Seeing that she didn't seem upset, Sesshoumaru nodded. "Sometimes. I usually did not bring women to my... our apartment. I would go to theirs."

"Easier to escape that way, huh?" she asked with a smirk.

"Why does this not bother you?" he inquired, completely befuddled by her reaction to his confessions.

"Because I was supposed to be a one night stand, too. I can't blame you for being a guy. If women are willing to sleep with you without the benefit of a relationship, that's their problem. And how many of these women am I going to be running into at charity events?"

Sesshoumaru winced slightly. "A great deal of them," he told her.

"Fun."

"Indeed."

"And they're going to want to know why I got you, and they didn't."

"I imagine so. Some were quite upset when they realized I had no intention of dating them. Tell me, Kagome. How many different men have you been with?" He wasn't sure he wanted the answer to that question in his head, but he had to ask, since they were having this conversation already.

Iocosus - humorous, merry, facetious (Stella's Latin Challenge)

"Including you and Kouga," Kagome said slowly, acting as if she were counting for several long moments, amused by the way Sesshoumaru seemed to stop breathing while awaiting her answer. "Six."

"Six? That is all?" he asked in shock. He had gotten the impression from their conversation that first night that she went out and had one night stands often, especially once she told him that sometimes girls just need to get laid, just like guys do. "How many were one night stands?"

"Not counting you? Two." When she saw the expression on his face, she laughed. "What? Expected it to be more?" she asked while crawling around the food on the blanket to straddle his lap.

"I suppose I have Inuyasha to thank for it being such a low number," he said, his hands moving to rest on her hips.

"Well, he did save me from making several drunken mistakes, so yeah, he had something to do with it. But it wasn't just him. I don't like to sleep with a guy if I don't feel some kind of connection with him. Like with you. I felt something powerful from the moment our eyes met."

"I know exactly what you mean," he murmured before pressing his lips to hers. They kissed passionately, Kagome grinding against the taiyoukai, and his eyes widened as he realized what she intended.

Denuo - anew, again, a second time (Stella's Latin Challenge)

"What about the agreement?" he asked, his tone strained as he fought to keep from responding to her movements. He had been the one to initiate breaking their deal the first time. Did she truly intend to break it again? It was she who had decided to reinstate it to begin with.

"I'm tired of it," Kagome said softly, rolling her hips against Sesshoumaru's prominent erection. "I think we're doing fine learning about each other. Sex isn't going to keep that from happening, so long as we're not doing it twenty-four/seven. What do you think?"

"I think that you are incredibly tempting, and I would be stupid to deny you what you desire," he purred, leaving a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses along her throat.

How he wanted to simply finish the mating ceremony so he could truly call her his, but there were more things he needed to do first. It wasn't the same as in the past, when he would have to prove he could physically protect her, but he still needed to show that he would be a proper mate. Money wasn't everything, though thankfully he had more than enough to keep her in a very comfortable lifestyle. He needed to show that he could support her emotionally, as well, as keep her pleased physically, something he knew she was already convinced of. Getting to know each other was important for him to keep her emotionally happy, but she was right. Sex wouldn't get in the way of their doing so.

His lips found hers once more, and he kissed her with all the need and desire he was feeling. He was surprised to feel as she reached between their bodies and unzipped his slacks, pulling his erection out. She shifted, moving her skirt out of the way, before pulling her panties to the side. She pushed him back slightly, giving her the room to lower her body over his length, allowing him to slowly sink into her hot passage. The miko rode the taiyoukai at a lazy pace, while Sesshoumaru pulled down the top of her shirt, revealing her bare breasts for his attention. He licked and sucked at her nipples as she moved over him, making Kagome moan loudly.

"You are a naughty girl," he murmured against her flesh. "I didn't think you'd be up for sex in a public place again."

"Less talking, more kissing," she whispered, her lips finding his. Sesshoumaru kissed her passionately while his hands landed on her hips, helping her to move over his body. Her orgasm came quickly and powerfully, forcing him to join her in climax. The pair sat still for a long moment, panting for breath, before Kagome spoke again. "There's no one around here to catch us," she said. "But it's still exhilarating," the miko admitted.

"You are more than welcome to ride me whenever you wish," he purred, "no matter where we are."

Kagome grinned. "I had a feeling you wouldn't object."