In His Arms

All previous disclaimers apply.

She was waiting for him when he came to her room late in the evening, after the last meal of the day and the evening rituals that had to be completed before Rin would sleep were over. That, in itself, was not unusual. Kagome generally waited for him in the evenings. What was unusual was that his favored concubine, indeed the only concubine he had required for many weeks, was still fully clothed and radiated nervousness as he slid the door open and stepped inside the room. He had almost gotten used to her being bare as the day she was born and waiting for him in the near dark unless he instructed her differently. He had not given her different instructions for this night, yet there she sat, in the middle of the room, in the most casual of day kimonos, her head bowed so that her loose hair covered her face. Sesshomaru frowned to feel the tug in his chest, the beast within him demanding that he take away whatever was causing his beauty so much pain and grief. He had to fight with himself not to simply swoop into the room and take her into his arms to nuzzle and demand that she let him correct whatever was causing her such distress. Instead, he walked calmly to where she sat, the dread growing in his chest with every step, and knelt in front of her.

“Tell me what causes this distress, My Lady Miko,” He said quietly, putting two fingers underneath her chin so that he could lift her face to look at him. His dread grew when he saw the tears in her eyes that she had not let fall and the tracks on her face from those she had.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen, My Lord,” she whispered. He could see her shaking and this time did not stop himself from taking her into his arms and settling her on his lap, “I didn’t think about it or what might happen.”

“What has happened, Miko?” he demanded, his voice a little more rough than he intended when he realized just how much he hated feeling like he could not breathe because of a distress that was not his own. He had sworn, years ago, that he would never let something like this happen. He would never care for anyone above himself. And yet now . . . Rin and Kagome. He was fond of her, he admitted silently. He wasn’t sure as to how the care might grow or fade, but he could no longer pretend that he did not care for her, and the girl he had taken on as his daughter. He didn’t bother to resist nuzzling the side of her neck to soothe when he felt her jerk at his tone of voice. Once it was admitted, there was no use in hiding it behind closed doors.

“It was confirmed for me this afternoon, My Lord. I am pregnant.”

He froze. Pregnant. It was the one thing he had not expected in the least. The Miko was pregnant by his seed. It would be a hanyou child. The one creature he had sworn to hate for all eternity, he was going to be partly responsible for creating.

“You are the only great lord who has not fathered a hanyou child,” Miyuki’s voice entered his mind, a discussion they had had not two days ago when they were making last minute preparations for the Great Gathering, “The others lords have come to realize fewer and fewer demons are being born each year. The only way to assure the continuation of demon blood in the future, no matter how diluted, will be the existence of hanyous and their offspring.”

“Why do you tell me this, Miyuki?”

“You are a strong ruler, My Lord, and your people are loyal. But, not even you could stand against the might of all three of the other lords together should you insult them without realization.”

It was a logical explanation, but somehow Sesshomaru was coming to realize that Miyuki perhaps had other reasons for expressing it to him at the time. Had he and the Miko been the only ones not to think about the fact that they made love with wild abandon and did not think to protect themselves from such a thing as this? Suddenly he felt like a very young lordling again, making stupid mistakes because he simply was not thinking. He had always been very careful not to impregnate any of the other concubines especially after Hiroko’s accidental pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage had caused her so much pain. But, just like the trembling Miko in his arms at the moment, he had simply not considered that it might happen. A part of him wanted to be angry at her and at himself, but a much larger part of him considered an argument Paru had made when he was considering taking the Miko as his most favored concubine.

Kagome was as powerful as any demon lord and she was his. There was respect for him in the fact that he had tamed the infamously untamable woman. The other lords had human lovers, but theirs were not nearly as powerful as even a base demon. They were good in bed, at times, and that was all. To have a child with the Miko, even a hanyou . . . the child would be powerful as well. His strength, perhaps her spiritual power. A hanyou child of such a union as this might just be as powerful as a demon lord, trained properly it was a certainty. Trained by the best masters, the child might even become even more powerful than a demon lord. To be the father of such a child . . . there was no shame in such a thing. And Miyuki had been correct, too. Fewer and fewer demons were born each year. Should he live a millennium longer, his line would still end. The inuyokai would die out eventually, unless the blood was preserved by the birth of hanyous.

And the Miko would be the only one he would consider pupping for all of his life. He knew it suddenly with a certainty that he could not explain. There would be no other for him. She would be his mate. But, first he had to convince her that it was a good idea. He would have to ease her into the idea, make her think she had thought of it. He would wait until she demanded that he mate her, even though his inner beast, now that they were in accordance, demanded that he stop nuzzling and mark her as his in that instant. He calmed it with a short assurance that she would be theirs as soon as she realized the benefits to such an arrangement. He had no pretenses. They would not love each other. They would be fond of each other, passionate lovers, and perhaps even friends. Many successful matings were made on much less. He was sure she would feel the same way and silenced his inner beast with a growl when it whined at him.

“Does the prospect of birthing my pup seem so terrible, then?” he questioned quietly of the trembling woman in his arms.

“You,” she looked up, her shock obvious on her face, “You’re not angry with me?”

“Why would I be angry?” He could tell she was surprised at the gentleness of his voice and decided that he liked when he could surprise her and keep her just a little off balance.

“The child will be hanyou, My Lord.”

“The child will be mine,” he said with strength of resolve in his voice he had not felt until that instant. Suddenly he believed all the things he had been trying to convince himself of in his mind and he finally realized why his father had had such affection for Inuyasha, “Nothing else matters.”

“Yes, My Lord,” her smile was like the sun. Suddenly, he knew. He would not be satisfied to be her friend and her lover. He wanted everything from her. When she looked at him he wanted her to feel the same tightness in her chest that he felt in his whenever he saw her. He wanted her to long for him when he was gone as he longed for her. He wanted her to feel she could not survive without him as he knew he could not survive without her. She was like the air to him.

It was disconcerting, to say the least. He had sworn that he would never love anything to the point of needing it to survive. He had sworn to hate humans all his existence. And yet, he needed her. He loved her. And she was human. With everything else he had ever had to deal with in his lifetime he had been able to separate his emotions from his head, almost to the point of killing them so that he didn’t think he had them anymore. Who could have known that it would take a little human girl to begin to crack the walls, then a beautiful woman he had tried to kill more than once to finish the job? He found he could not get angry about it, even when he should have. At one time in his life he had thought that if he allowed himself a weakness, as he had seen love, than he would be taken advantage of and never be the ruler his father wanted him to be. Now he realized that the compassion she had brought to him would make him a stronger ruler. He would be fierce in the protection of his lands because were he ever to be defeated she would be killed and he could not allow that.

He now understood why his father had died. To love one woman so much. He would die to save Kagome as well. It seemed the inuyokai lords had a weakness for beautiful human women. Perhaps not such a weakness, he thought as he began to kiss her neck and smiled when she moaned from the back of her throat in that way that drove him mad. A fondness, certainly. Yes, she would be his mate, and his love, when she asked for it. He was giving so much already, he had to salvage a little bit of his dignity. And his arrogance, he allowed. The other lords would arrive tomorrow to begin the Great Gathering. By the time they left, Sesshomaru of the Western Lands would take Kagome, the great Miko, as his mate.

He laid down, surprising her when he kept her up with an arm to her shoulder. When his other hand sliced the fabric from her body and reached in between her legs she understood. He was pleased to find that she grew wet quickly once she understood what it was he was looking for. He kept his eyes on her face as she rode his fingers, seeking pleasure only he would ever give her. She was beautiful with her eyes closed and her head thrown back. He felt the tightening of her muscles and pulled his fingers away, licking her essence off of them. She just smiled at him softly and went to work removing all fabric obstacles between their bodies joining. When he was finally free she positioned herself over him and sunk down, suppressing a scream. He could take it for much longer. He had to switch their positions or else he was going to disgrace himself. He wanted, more than anything, to get her up on her knees and take her from behind. But, he knew that if he were to do so, he would end up marking her, the instinct to do so just too much. So, instead he pulled out, rolled her over onto her back and got to his knees. He grabbed her hips and proceeded to reenter her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Harder,” she murmured after a moment. She looked up at him when he hesitated, “Sesshomaru, harder.”

“The pup . . .”

“Will be just fine. Please, My Lord, harder.”

“As you wish.” He held her hips down with one hand, and kept her arms above her head with the other as he jerked his hips again and again, going deeper with everything thrust. Her moans in his ear were getting to be too much for him. He would not allow himself to find fulfillment before her, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to last. He let himself go when she moaned his name in that deep, wonderful voice she only used when she was feeling too much to scream.

“Thank you, My Lord,” she whispered as he leaned over to kiss her deeply.

“Thank you, Kagome,” he answered back, not qualifying it with what he was thanking her for. Let her figure it out. Curious, he slipped down her satiated body until he was at her stomach. She giggled when he pressed his face to her and sniffed deeply, taking in the scent of his pups growing within her.

“There is more than one,” he looked up at her and was pleased to see her eyes brighten with joy.

“How many?” she asked.

“Too soon to tell. In a few more weeks I will be able to tell you. Genders as well if you wish it.”

“Hmm . . .” she murmured, “Maybe.”

“It’s been a long day for you,” It was a statement, not a question. She was already almost asleep when he moved her to the futon and laid down next to her, wrapping her in his arms.

“Will you stay?” she was too asleep to know what she was asking.

“I will,” he answered as he closed his eyes and let the rhythm of her breathing lull him into a contented sleep.