The Hot Springs

~~~~~~The Mansion of the Lord of the Western Lands~~~~~~

Inutaisho was only slightly peeved when Toku returned with Ikkatsu, who was sleeping soundly in his arms. Once Toku had her on a futon in a recently cleaned bedroom, Inuta met met him out in the hall and practically forced the entire story out of him. Toku wanted to see to Ikkatsu first, but Inutaisho was relentless. The day was entirely spent, and the moon was quickly rising to the top of the sky, but Toku managed to explain his situation to his elder brother’s satisfaction.

“Are you going to be…in the room most of the next few days then?” Inutaisho asked, a bit upset for several reasons. Not only did it mean that they would probably be doing what he wanted to do to Yokiri for a year, but it also meant that the house would not be empty when she arrived, and he wouldn’t be able to simply make love to her wherever he wanted.

“Hai, aniki…but I promise to stay out of your way. I’ll even cook,” he offered, knowing that Inutaisho hated cooking.

“You always make everything too spicy,” Inutaisho countered.

“Okay, so I won’t add so much,” Toku said, finding his brother’s jealous pout to be very funny.

“Alright then. When Yokiri arrives, though, I would like you to meet her…dressed formally,” he added as an afterthought. Toku raised his hands in appeal, agreeing to behave. Inutaisho sighed, feeling frustrated.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, looking to his younger brother.

“Hai.”

“Good…because I already ate.” The eldest turned away resignedly, rolling his eyes skyward before saying, “Oyasumi.” Toku watched Inutaisho retire to his bedroom, a few doors down the hall from where Ikkatsu lay sleeping. His shoulders slumping in relief, he opened the door to the bedroom in front of him.

He finally had her alone. Though the day had been long, and though he still had many more obstacles ahead of him in the next two weeks, he had her all to himself. He was surprised to see that she was no longer where he left her. She had been sitting against the wall, her eyes closed, but when he slid open the door, she was immediately on her feet.

The sun had extinguished itself upon the horizon perhaps four hours ago, so only the light of a half-moon lit up the room. The crickets he remembered from his youth were in full chorus outside, and a steady, soft breeze played with ends of her hair, its fiery color muted.

He removed his shoes and closed the door, the slide of wood-on-wood sounding loud in the room. Coming towards her, the tatami mats muffled his footsteps, and he saw her shy away, but she was otherwise silent. He pulled her tied wrists away from her body and found the knot beneath them, working to remove it.

She spent the next minute concentrating on not noticing the feel of his han
“
“I trust you not to burn down the house,” he softly commented, eventually freeing her of the unique rope. Only wanting to have her hands to herself again, she nodded in ascension. Looking up at his face, she unerringly noticed the vague threat in his eyes. What kind of threat it was, she didn’t know, but she suddenly needed more space between them and walked a bit unsteadily towards the window on the far side of the room, her nervous breathing audible to his ears. He quietly removed his sword, placing it a few feet from the futon that she had laid on earlier. Looking at her again, he saw that she had turned back around, and was watching him apprehensively.

“Nervous?” he asked, and she hesitated in answering, probably not knowing his intentions. Her body rolled and shifted in anxiety.

“Wh-what happens now?” Ikkatsu wanted to slap herself for stuttering, but she couldn’t help it. So many emotions conflicted within her, and it had reduced her to a spluttering mess. She wanted to leave this place—she felt like she didn’t belong, and she knew what he would do to Toku if he ever learned of the dog demon’s intentions towards her. And yet…she desperately wanted to stay.

Toku. She wanted him, and she wouldn’t deny it from herself anymore. He was honorable, a prime example of the higher-class demons, and the way he made her feel...

But she couldn’t let him into her heart, and she couldn’t stay there any longer.

He would kill them all.

“Now? …I’m going to mate with you,” he replied easily. His hands went to his waist, tugging gently to untie his hakama. Her heart went straight to her throat. She had suspected something, but not mating! “We will hold off the marking ceremony until I can officially ask my father’s blessing when he returns with my mother in a few nights.”

A panic began to rise within her, and she wasn’t so sure of what she should do now…the window? She wondered how fast he was. Fire demons were known for speed, but she had also heard that dog demons were incredibly fast, too.

He couldn’t make love to her—she wouldn’t be able to leave him then. She shuddered as images came to her mind without her own consent and backed up a step.

“I cannot. I cannot be your mate,” she somewhat shakily affirmed, glad that she at least didn’t stutter this time. “Please just let me go.” She lifted her chin a notch, but his face darkened, making her heart sink.

“Why? Is something preventing you from staying here?” he asked, his voice rising as a suspicion floated to the surface of his mind. Once again, she hesitated, thinking out the ramifications if she told Toku about him.

Toku would undoubtedly confront him and calmly stake his claim on her…and he would kill Toku. …She couldn’t say it…

Hearing her reticence on the subject, he decided to take her ambiguous statement into account…but he would make her his mate, no matter what obstacles lay in the way. With one final tug, his hakama came loose, and he let them fall to the floor. She gasped in surprise, backing up a step. He was still attired in his haori, which sagged open, but not much else clothed him, and he even rolled one shoulder to encourage his shirt to fall further open. Her cheeks blushed prettily as her gaze involuntarily flicked down to his now bare parts, and she seemed frozen in place, as if she neither wanted to leave nor wanted to come any closer to him. Either way, he was willing to stand there for her inspection and avoid overwhelming her.

Ikkatsu was at a complete loss. She seriously doubted her ability to flee, even if she really wanted to flee in the first place, but something inside her wanted to stay in that room. He had bared his body to her not as if he were displaying himself, but as if he simply wanted her to see him, and some secret part of her soul was begging her mind and body to stay and see what he would do next.

Her heart was wrenching inside her chest, as if it would rip itself to pieces. With a soft sigh, she looked at his face in the pale light of evening, and then made her move.

Whipping around, she dove for the window, ready to grab the sill, plant her feet on the bottom edge, and then launch herself from the room. She felt the wind rush past her ears, her hair lifting off of her back, and saw her hands reaching for the windowsill. However, she got no further. She felt a pressure on her stomach, and then was suddenly pulled back into Toku’s arms. Ikkatsu gasped, disbelieving that she was caught so soon. His nose nuzzled her ear, and his arms held her closer.

“Whatever it is, love…it has nothing to do with tonight,” he whispered into her ear. She felt the solidarity of his chest against her back, and the strength in his forearms as he lifted her away from the window. Her hands gripped his wrists for support. Wanting to shout at him, she barely managed to suppress her frustration, letting her mind scream the words instead. He’ll know!! As soon as you mark me, he’ll know!

She was stiff in his embrace, certain that he would hit her for trying to run, and she looked at the futon in the middle of the room, expecting him to walk towards it. Surprisingly, though, he walked towards the wall, letting her feet dangle in front of him. His grip on her was strong, but not too tight, and she considered his words again. He had said that he would not mark her that night—not until his parents had returned from their unexplained expedition. So if he did not mark her that night, he would be safe, and she would have another opportunity tomorrow to forever leave him. Ikkatsu felt like this plan was already doomed to failure, though, because he was determined to mate with her, and she doubted that she would even be the same person afterwards.

When they reached the solid inside wall of the room, he set her back on her feet, and firmly turned her around to face him. Then pushing her shoulder blades to the wall, he slid one leg between hers, effectively pinning her. Her hands were in front of her in a defensive position, for she still was unsure of his temper. She watched his face, which actually looked calm, and waited for his next move.

His haori now hung low on his elbows, and his long mane of silvery hair spilled over both of his broad, sculpted shoulders. Her palms itched to test the feel of his hair, the texture of his skin, and the warmth of his body.

She put her hands down.

The first things that moved were his eyes. They studied her face for a bit, then the set of her shoulders, which were tense beneath his hands. He slowly squeezed both hands, rubbing his thumbs in circles below her clavicle. His eyes traveled further down, and his voice was a bit rougher when he said,

“Don’t worry…” Her shoulders relaxed a bit under his massaging hands, and she let herself take a deeper breath. ‘Don’t worry,’ he says…I have many reasons to worry.

Before she could be relaxed for very long, his hands moved down the front of her haori. Sucking in a breath upon the first intimate touch he had shared with her since the kiss in the ravine, she forced herself not to lean into his touch. His nimble fingers splayed over her breasts, which were bound to her chest, but not so tightly that he couldn’t manipulate them with his gentle hands.

Ikkatsu could no longer keep her breathing in check, and sucked in a needed breath of air, her heartbeat out of control. Feeling something jabbing her hip, she looked down and saw something long extending from his body, but it was hidden mostly by nighttime shadows. She was confused for a bit, wondering if what she had seen earlier had somehow morphed into something else, but his hands were too distracting, and she leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes.

His hands caressed her sides as they moved down, molding over her hips. He leaned forward, nuzzling the bend in her neck, and dropped small kisses along the demonic markings visible at the top of her collar. Her mouth fell open, jaw muscles clenching, wondering how Toku could make her feel this much so quickly when before…with him…every touch forced upon her made her stomach turn.

She felt a sharp tug at her stomach and realized that he had pulled apart the knotted belt of her hakama, unmaking it before she could resist. Gasping as her hakama drooped dangerously low, she reached to pull them back on, but they slipped through her fingers, slipping past his knee and pooling on the floor around her ankles.

“Toku,” she sighed, feeling his hands on her bare hips. Her haori hung open, making it easier for him to suckle the skin along her collarbone. She felt one of his hands grip the back of her left thigh and move it outward to widen her stance. Then both hands smoothed their way upward, and he leaned back from her to work at the knot on the bindings that kept her breasts hidden from him. He made short work of it, flicking the two free ends aside. Pulling and tugging, his hands quickly unbound her chest, freeing the soft, spongy mounds of flesh. The bindings fell to the floor as well, joining her hakama. Ikkatsu took a deep breath, her chest pushing further into his palms. She forced her hands to stay flat against the wall, determined to get through the night without participating—it would be the only way she could leave him in the morning.

Though one of his hands remained to thumb the pink tip to her breast, his other caressed down her side again, squeezing and massaging as it went, testing the pliancy of her skin and muscle. She turned her head away when he wanted to taste her lips, but his hand gently brought her face back, and his mouth hovered above hers.

“Kiss me…onegai,” he whispered, his breath spilling over her lips. She inwardly grimaced with pain, having never heard anything said so sweetly. With him, every kiss was stolen from her, rudely and roughly taken. She swore that her heart twisted inside her chest, and it was painful to turn her head away again. She could practically hear all of his muscles freeze, and she knew she had hurt him.

His knee came away from between her thighs, and she half-thought that he was going to stop, but his hand quickly swept inside, cupping her. She gasped loudly, having never been touched there before—not even by him. He had done much, most of it against her will, but he had never ventured this far, which would chance the wrath of her family. For the first time in her life, she shivered.

“Iya,” she unevenly whispered. He pressed a finger between the outer lips, and his other hand pressed her shoulder against the wall, ensuring that she wouldn’t be moving too far anytime soon. Ikkatsu bit lightly on her lower lip, her breathing erratic and fast. She heard him shakily let out a breath,

“You’re so warm.” The pad of his finger did a quick search, finding something he had been seeking. Pushing and rolling a spot, he listened as she cried out, her entire body stiffening. She was feeling a new warmth building up inside, and though it was only a tiny trickle for now, she knew it was something she had never felt before.

His finger continued to manipulate her, and she couldn’t control the little convulsions and clenches of her stomach muscles. The movements varied, from quick rubs to gentle, slow circles, and eventually the pleasure reached a plateau. She clenched her jaw, trying to fight the instincts screaming at her.

“Don’t worry,” he grunted, his own body screaming at him as well. “Whatever it is…I’ll take care of it,” he promised, his voice raspy in her ear. She fought the urge to capitulate, and little noises escaped her throat due to the effort. She wanted to trust him, and felt like she betrayed her brother by wanting to do so, but she could not deny to herself what her body’s natural impulses said—-he shall complete me.

Her body jerked, a cry escaping her throat. She lifted her left leg, bending it and hooking it around his hip. Her head turned towards his, and as her arms slinked around his neck, clutching his shoulders, her lips opened for him, accepting his kiss.

She knew immediately that she had done the right thing. The first real kiss they shared was sensual—demanding but not forceful. The mild warmth that she had felt earlier was intensifying, melting her from the inside. His hand sped up, and she gasped into his mouth, feeling the pleasure reach a higher plateau.

“Toku,” she achingly sighed against his lips. Her fingers dug further into his shoulders, pulling her tighter against him. He shuddered against her, very relieved and very aroused.

“Hang onto me,” he gasped into her mouth. His hands slid behind her back, gripping her hind end and lifting her. Swinging towards the middle of the room, he held her close as he brought them to the futon, and slowly sunk down. He set her down gently, one arm behind her shoulders as he leaned her down ‘til her head met the mattress.

Ikkatsu had never felt this alive. Her heart was pounding furiously, and her body ached to have something from him. His hips were lodged firmly between her thighs, and something now rested against the area that throbbed with heat, so she began to get a general idea of what was going to happen. Just imagining it made her breath catch, and she wanted to claw the sheets with her impatience.

A wet mouth landed on her collarbone, and she felt his body weight lift off of her. He raised his head, leaning back, and pulled her arms from around his shoulders, placing her hands on the futon. Now sitting upon his heels between her knees, his eyes studied her body, and Ikkatsu watched him in confusion.

“Wh-what are you looking at?” she asked quietly, tempted to cover herself.

“Everything,” he answered. She became even more confused, and her body protested from the lack of stimulation from his lips and hands. Twinges of painful pleasure sizzled along the nerves in her lower abdomen.

“I…” she began, wanting to ask him to stop looking at her. She couldn’t get it out, though, too stimulated from watching his steady gaze travel over her bare skin. She stifled a gasp when he leaned forward again. He braced one hand next to her, and the other touched the base of her neck where her demonic markings began. His fingers feathered their way down her body, pausing to flick at her nipples and sweep along the clean line of her sternum. Then rubbing the smooth skin over the flat of her belly, he looked her over again, fascinated by the look and feel of her body.

Her skin was an alabaster pink, smooth and soft. Her markings were soft red flames that licked up her body like an attentive lover. They traveled from her outer mid-thigh, over her hips, flicking out over her abdomen, and then disappeared behind her back. The top edges fanned over her shoulders and ended at her neck, completing the picture perfectly. She moved her legs slightly, bringing him back to reality, and he leaned back again, gripping her hips. She took a deep breath, watching him lustfully.

The scent of her had almost a drug-like effect: the more he had of it, the more he wanted. His palms rubbed down her thighs, circling around her knees and traveling back up. Sweeping over her hipbones, his hands dipped low on her abdomen, heavily petting the more forbidden area. Ikkatsu was panting at this point, her back arching off of the futon. He watched her hands grip the soft sheet beneath her, and he suddenly needed to feel those hands on his own skin.

Reaching for her left hand, he grasped her wrist in his fingers, and her eyes blinked open, looking at him.

“Touch me…I need you to touch me,” he roughly whispered, bringing her hand down to where his member jutted out. She hesitantly curled her fingers around him, and he groaned, his head rolling back over his shoulders. Sitting up carefully, Ikkatsu tightened her hold slightly, watching his reaction with fascination.

“This…this feels good?” she asked, simply holding him.

“Aa…but can you…just gently pull…let it slide through your fist and then…aaahhh!!!” he growled, his flesh swelling even more. It felt so good in her hot little hands that he could no longer speak, and he had to show her what to do. She was so intrigued by his reaction that she quite willingly masturbated him. In only a manner of minutes, he was gasping for breath and perspiring until little drops of sweat rolled down the line of his back.

“S-stop,” he choked out, stilling her hand. He was coming dangerously close to losing it and coming in her hand. His eyes slid open, and he looked at her anxious face. He took a deeper breath through his nose, and could tell that she was even more aroused now than before.

“Now,” he grumbled, pushing her back. When his weight settled over her once more, Ikkatsu felt that hot trickle of sensation seep down her body again. His mouth met hers, and she felt his hand smooth the hair from her forehead. Her chest tightened, and she wondered what this wonderful and poignant feeling was inside her heart. It made her want to cry, but it also made her skin tingle as if it itched. There was a strange restlessness in her blood, and a pounding in her veins.

She could no longer stay quiet.

“Onegai, Toku!” she desperately whispered, pulling her lips away. Her thighs squeezed his hips, and her hands pulled on his shoulders. “Take me,” she sighed, embarrassed to admit it, but desperate for whatever it was that his body was promising to give to her. His lips quieted her, his tongue delving deep inside her mouth. She felt his body shift, and a blunt object probing where his finger had been earlier. Her assumptions confirmed, Ikkatsu groaned against her lover’s lips, anticipating what it would feel like.

Toku wanted to shout in exultation—her body was incredibly warm, warmer than he had felt before with previous lovers. He knew it had to be because she was a fire demon, and thanked the gods for sending her to him. He pressed forward, sinking deeper into the wonderful heat.

“Mmmmff! T-Toku!” she gasped, widening her thighs. She didn’t know such pleasure could be created between two people. The place at the joining of her thighs was wet from it, and the solid, slick feel of what had to be part of him entering part of her…I didn’t know!

She felt his arm slip beneath her thigh, settling her knee at the crook of his elbow. He pulled his arm forward, bringing her knee closer to her shoulder, and solidly bucked his hips, driving the last of his throbbing member into her. She gasped, her inner muscles squeezing tightly. It was such an incredible full feeling. Toku groaned into her shoulder, only hoping that he could hold out long enough.

It felt so overwhelming…and she loved it. She loved this incredibly intimate act… how his body pressed hers into the futon and how he attacked her sexual senses from every side.

His hips began slowly, rolling subtly and smoothly. Her body rocked gently beneath him, and her little moans and sighs were twisting his gut with urgency, but he kept it slow. Her armse cle clenched tightly around his chest, and he felt her other leg come to rest on his lower back. Hearing a catch in her breathing, he sped up slightly, gritting his teeth at the floor.

“Uhhnnn, Toku,” she sighed into his ear. After all the resisting she had done with him, Ikkatsu wondered what had made Toku different. Hissing as he rolled his hips into her, she let out a shaky cry.

Toku didn’t make her feel dirty. She felt genuine affection from him, and he seemed to know exactly how to make her blood boil. She wondered what he would say if he saw her now. With her legs wrapped around the driving hips of her lover, huffing and moaning beneath him as he gave her the first real adult pleasure she had ever felt… Her cheeks colored themselves pink as she imagined them from that angle.

“T-tighten around me, Ikkatsu,” he whispered to her, breaking her train of thought. She wasn’t quite sure what he meant, and held him closer with her arms. “The part of me that’s inside you…t-try to do it in time with me,” he attempted to explain. She bit down on her lower lip, contracting the right muscles as he drove into her. He growled in her ear, and she wondered if she had done something wrong.

“I—” she began, relaxing her muscles again. It was a few more thrusts before he said anything more.

“Th-that was it…uhhhh, so hot,” he gruffly remarked, suckling her neck. She breathed a sigh of relief, clenching her inner muscles as he once again hit a spot deep within her. He groaned against her neck, hitting his hips against her. Ikkatsu felt a surge of power, hearing his very positive reactions to what she did. The churning also intensified, like a twisting, burgeoning heat that grew with every thrust.

She felt his lips against her cheek, and opened her eyes as he lifted his head, which brought his face above hers. His eyes bored into hers, watching her as he pumped his turgid length in and out of her. Although the eye contact took her breath away and made her thighs shake, she felt embarrassed as he watched her, and let her eyes flutter shut.

“Don’t…don’t close your eyes,” he huskily said, landing another kiss on her chin. “Look at me.” A small shudder of pleasure fanned outward from where he joined with her, forcing a quivering sigh out of her. Opening her eyes again, she found his golden irises and held his gaze. As his body continued to move over her, bringing her closer to some indescribable goal, she watched him, watching her.

“Toku,” she softly sighed, her back stiffening. “Mmff…you feel so good!” she cried out, her eyes squinting as moisture gathered over her eyes. She felt a pressure rolling around inside her stomach, tightening the cords of pleasure that tangled together at the top of her thighs.

“That’s it…uhhhh…that’s it,” he uttered, speeding up his thrusts.

“Y-yes…yes,” she groaned. She was gasping for air, needing to scream in her frustration. She could feel everything acutely, hear everything with perfect clarity, and see everything clearly… The gasps and groans of her lover, the light rustling of the sheets beneath them, and the devastating attraction of Toku’s charm, faand and body.

“Unh! A-aah! T-Toku!!!” she croaked out, her voice cracking. Muscles that she didn’t even know existed began to convulse and shudder, sending out wet waves of love and warmth. Everything was silent for a few seconds, and when the world began to move again, her head was swimming, and the throbs between her legs felt so good. Through watery, half-open eyes, she watched his own ecstasy pass over his face.

“I-Ikka…” he choked out. He shut his eyes, harshly gasping as his body’s elixir shot into the hot, clenching smoothness. Her back was arched and rigid, jerking as each jolt of bliss discharged throughout her lower abdomen.

I…didn’t know. Oh, Toku, I didn’t know.

He unhooked her leg from his arm and sank onto her, sharing a final, lingering kiss before tucking his nose to the bend in her neck. A relatively long time had passed since his last lover, a cat demon many years his senior. He had thought she was his true mate, despite his father’s rather uncommonly vehement protests, and when he asked her to perform the marking ceremony, she laughed in his face. He was only twenty then—his mother was still alive and healthy, though much older than she appeared now. His brothers all wanted to seek fame and glory, and his sister was still learning the basics from his father. He met Kotoko while traveling east. She was already more than a hundred years old. She could best him at swordplay, and knew so much more than he did. He was hot-blooded, and thinking back now, Toku supposed that was the only attraction she felt. They had made love, and he had learned a lot from her.

He had thought to prove himself to her by returning with a kingdom and a renewed proposal of marriage, but as he struggled with Genbu to raise an army and defeat the northern kingdom, Toku realized that she didn’t love him, and never would. The day his mother died, his father, the most powerful demon in probably all of the four kingdoms, silently wept. None in the hallway could hear it, but they could smell the salty tears. His mother had no kingdom, no powers to boast, and yet his father had married her—because he loved her.

He didn’t know what would happen with Ikkatsu, but he hoped…

“Toku?” she softly called, turning her head towards his. Her cheek touched his own, and her arms held him a little tighter. He felt her legs move off of his back, and realized that his haori was still hanging from his elbows.

“Nani?” he answered just as softly. He heard a tiny sound from her throat, as if she were hesitating. “What do you want to say?” he asked, a little louder.

“I…I wanted to ask if I could wait until morning…to tell you,” she said, a little vague. He wondered for a moment what she meant. Then—

“You mean, the obstacle? You’ll tell me in the morning?” he asked, his heart lightening already.

“Yes,” was her simply reply. Toku wanted to shout for joy. He knew what it meant…she would become his mate, and trust in him to help her with this mysterious past that she feared.

“T-…T-Toku?” she gasped, feeling him swell inside her. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong,” he rasped out, kissing the lobe of her ear. “Everything is functioning normally.”

“Then…” she prompted, needing an explanation.

“Again.” With that, he began to move within her, starting off slow. Ikkatsu gasped and then softly moaned, bringing her legs around him again. Let’s hope he fights as well as he mates…

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MAN, this was a long chapter. Now you know why it took so long to get it out. I’m trying to end this thing by chapter 20, so a lot of stuff was crammed into this chapter. PLEASE review!

~~Sincerely,
The Black Cat