Never Forget by BelovedStranger
Rebound
Word Count: 1,500
Prompt: Raise
In the two days that followed, Kagome didn’t hear much from either Rin or Sesshomaru, leaving her in an agony of fearful suspense. Had Rin told Sesshomaru the details of their girl talk? If so, was Sesshomaru stewing in anger at her betrayal?
Finally, on the second day of nonstop worry, Sesshomaru briefly called, asking if he could come over later to talk, and she agreed. Afterwards, Kagome’s worry escalated. He had not sounded happy, and she feared she had been found out.
The hours ticked by agonizingly slow as afternoon finally darkened to evening, and late that night, Sesshomaru knocked on her door.
As he stood before her, it was obvious he was trying to suppress his emotions, and Kagome feared it was anger—directed towards her.
“Do you want something to drink, Sesshomaru? I’ve got—“
“No, thank you,” he interrupted, pacing her living room with long, agitated strides, his emotions slowly revealing themselves.
Standing near the coffee table, trying not to fidget, she asked worriedly, “What’s going on, Sesshomaru? You’re worrying me.”
He stopped near the far wall and looked at her with an emotion she couldn’t name. He opened his mouth then closed it, before finally whispering in a hoarse voice, “She quit.”
“I don’t understand,” she murmured, taking a hesitant step towards him.
“Rin quit!” he said louder, more roughly. Eyes blazing with what she now knew to be pain and sorrow, he continued. “She couldn’t even give two weeks’ notice, claiming it was too painful to be near me any longer.”
Why did his tortured, amber gaze affect her so? Cause her heart to clench in shared pain even though she hated him so much?
“Sesshomaru—“ she whispered, moving towards him.
He didn’t seem to hear her as he looked away and shoved his hands though his silver locks. “I tried to tell her she was overreacting, but that only seemed to make things worse! You know as well as I do that to quit without notice looks bad on a resume, so what was I supposed to do? Let her struggle to find new employment? So I helped her, gave her a reference to one of my associates, and now she is working for another company. My willingness to let her go and help her after her rash decision proves my feelings for her, but she said ‘sometimes love isn’t enough’.”
He choked on the last, and Kagome stiffened when she saw tears in his eyes. Then he whirled around and punched her wall with a sickening crack.
“Sesshomaru!” Kagome cried, running over to him, fearful that he had hurt himself, possibly broken bone. Grabbing his elbow, she pulled on his arm, forcing him to turn around to face her. She took his bruised hand in both of hers and inspected him for further injuries. “Dammit, Sesshomaru. You shouldn’t hurt yourself like that. What if you broke something?”
He clinched his fist in her hands, proving that that wasn’t the case. “I’m fine.”
Looking up at him with real worry, even though part of her gloried in his obvious heartache, she corrected, “No, you’re not. I can see it in your eyes.”
She wasn’t referring to his bruised knuckles, both knew.
He blinked quickly. Her heart panged painfully in her chest, but in a dark corner of her mind she silently asked him, How does it feel to have your heart ripped out of your chest, Sesshomaru?
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his back, offering comfort.
When he tightly hugged her to his trembling body, Kagome’s anger notched higher at his show of emotion. She couldn’t believe he was this distraught over losing Rin, when he had given her up so easily. At the thought, all her sympathy for his pain vanished, and in its place, seething fury, a thirst for revenge.
Oh, she’d comfort him alright, say and do all the right things, but also dig the knife deeper into his black heart.
“Shshsh, you’re not alone, Sesshomaru. I’ll always be here for you. I know you don’t like giving into your emotions, but it’s alright to be sad, to feel hurt. It’s alright. No one’s here to see you break down. Only me, your best friend.”
He held her all the tighter, making it hard for her to breathe, but she didn’t protest. She felt him bury his face in her hair, his gruff voice at her ear. “My God, you’re always there for me, even after how I’ve treated you. You’re still here.”
He grabbed her shoulders, forced her to lean back and meet his wet eyes, a stark desperation in the gaze he bored into hers. “Don’t ever leave me. Please. I couldn’t take it if you ever left me, too.”
With a serious, grave expression, she reached up to cup his once beloved face in her hands, meeting his stare without flinching. “I’ll always be here for you, my love. I’m not going anywhere.”
She wanted this, needed him to be so emotionally attached to her, that when she finally said enough was enough, she would turn her back on him, leaving him alone, without a friend he felt as close to as he did with her at this moment.
When he cupped her cheek tenderly, saw the deep emotion in his eyes, she knew she had him. It was only a matter of time to pick the right moment to shatter his heart completely at her abandonment. However, now was not that moment. There was still a small chance that he and Rin would get back together and try to work out their differences, for a love as strong as what she now understood the broken couple felt for each other, one reconciliation could bring them back together, and possibly forge a stronger bond between them. Kagome couldn’t allow that to happen.
She would be damned before he found happiness again.
“Kagome,” he murmured in that voice she knew too well, interpreted the need in his eyes easily.
She didn’t stop him when he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers in a tender kiss, but soon his mouth pressed harder against hers, silently demanding she open her mouth, and she did. She couldn’t seem to help herself at that moment, as always, yearning for his kiss.
You’re pathetic, Kagome, she told herself, but she ignored the censorious thought.
He caressed her cheek while their tongues rubbed together before he clasped his hand behind her neck, making sure she couldn’t break the kiss—not that she wanted to. His wet tongue instantly ignited the fire of her passions, making her heart race, and her body tremble with sexual need.
His other hand tightly clasping over her hip, he forced her to walk backwards, and she followed his lead without thought, distracted by his wicked tongue, and rock hard body pressed intimately against hers.
She gave a surprised ‘eep’ when he lifted her into his arms, her own wrapping around his neck instantly. The kiss broken, their breaths mingling, he placed her flat on her back on her sofa, before forcing his knee between her thighs, making room for himself between them.
Coming out of her lust induced haze, Kagome lowered her hands to his chest, staying him when he tried to lean towards her.
“Sesshomaru…” she said uncertainly.
“Don’t stop me, Kagome,” he said in a rough voice, his hands already pulling up her shirt, before roughly yanking it over her head.
Thinking he only wanted to fool around as he had done countless times in the past, she allowed him to remove her bra, and cup her breasts in his hands. And yet, in the back of her mind she wondered, Will he stop as he had all the other times?
Thought fled when he bent down to suckle her nipple, and her arms circled his head as she arched towards his mouth with a harsh gasp of pleasure.
Before she could lose herself in pleasure, hands moved to the waistband of her jeans, unsnapping the button, and dragging the zipper down.
Reality set in as she realized that he might not stop himself this time.
“Stop, Sesshomaru!”
He didn’t. Instead, he yanked her jeans down to her thighs.
She pushed against him, twisted and turned to get away from him as her jeans lowered to her knees. “No!”
Finally he stopped with a loud ‘ow’ after she viciously pulled his hair.
“I need you,” he said gruffly, meeting her gaze with desperate eyes.
Angered at his gale, she forced herself to calmly say, “Not like this. Don’t use me because you’re hurting over Rin. It’s not fair to me.”
A pained expression passed over his face before he groaned and collapsed atop her, digging his arms beneath her to hold her close, burying his face in her hair again.
“You’re right. I’m so sorry. But…just…hold me a little longer.”
She silently wrapped her arms around his back in answer.