By the Swing of the Sword

Chapter 4
And so we dance.....


Okay, as of the time I'm writing this, it's 1 for Ses/Car and 2 for Inu/Kag. Soooo, I'm doing....both. Logical eh? Starts off with our lovely bath scene, and then we catch up with the other two. Much evilness and nudity I promise. ;D

~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~


The steam billowed and swirled around her as Carine waded into the large hot pool in the cavernous baths under the palace. She stopped where the water caressed her waist, far enough away that she could easily ignore the bustling servants, but still within the laterns' glow. She closed her eyes and basked in the sensation of the hot water against her skin. Of all the luxuries of royalty, this was the only one she indulged in regularly. A hot bath could make everything right in the world... And this soap wasn't too shabby either. She ran the thick marbled bar over body, thouroughly enjoying the chance to clean the dust of travel off herself. She let out a contented sigh as she slid to her knees to wash off the soap, her entire body below the shoulders engulfed in the steaming water.

It was then that the doors were flung open and the sevants shrieked and fluttered about even more frantically. "Oh, no my Lord, the Lady is still bathing, we are terribly sorry that she wasn't ready, if you will just wait she will hurry-"

Sesshoumaru cut off the hurridly curtsing maid with the wave of his hand. "I intend to enjoy the baths in peace. Get out. You will be summoned when the girl has need for you."

Carine steeled herself for the moment when he would turn those piercing tawny eyes on her. When he did, she rose to her feet and performed the most formal bow she could think of that wouldn't result in plunging her head under water. "My Lord" she murmered just loud enough for him to her, then straightened. She met his eyes calmly, without a hint of defiance. "Do you have need for me? Or may I have leave to continue bathing?"

He waved her to continue, so she did, all the while listening closely to the padding of his footsteps and the rustling of his clothes. She felt the ripple when he got in, but forced herself not to look, to be concerned with the task at hand unless he spoke to her.

Sesshoumaru watched her carefully. The water and steam somewhat obscured his view of her body below the waist, but her back and breasts were bare and glistening, yet she made no move to cover herself. She stood with her back half towards him, methodically working the suds into her copper mane. Her calmness irked him. He was Lord Sesshoumaru, Tai-Youkai of the West, women trembled and simpered before him, particuarly the ones whose lives he threatened. They did not stand there naked, and non-chalantly wash their hair. She troubled him. She was the sacrificial virgin and yet she acted the part of the queen. He felt the need to strip her of her composure and reasscert his control over the scene.

"You certianly do not behave like the pure little princess. Are you perhaps jaded by the attention of persistant admirers? Maybe you are used to men watching you bathe..." the slightly bored drawl was contradicted by the sharpness of his stare.

She glanced back at him over her shoulder. He was lounging on a ledge that jutted out of the side of the rock-hewn pool, probably as naked as she, from what she could see. "Would you pefer that I shriek and cover myself whenever you come near, my Lord? Modesty seemed alittle pointless given the circumstances."

"Circumstances? Does that perhaps mean are not as unsoiled as advertised?" He rose from his seat in one fluid motion and closed the space between them in the blink of an eye.

She lifted her chin and met his gaze squarely. "No, I was refering to the circumstances of our relationship, my Lord. The fact that I have been sold like chattel, and you may do with me as you wish. In light of such a situation, it does seem rather futile to pretend that I could prevent you from looking upon my naked body, if you so desired."

He sneered at her. "And what makes you think I desire to look upon your scrawny body, wench?"

"You joined my bath, my Lord, I did not join yours."

He was annoyed now. She continued washing her hair, completely unconcerned with his proximity. Having power over someone is largely pointless, not to mention completely unenjoyable, if they do not fear you, even a little. She obviously knew this, and he was thouroughly irritated by that. His pride, however, would not let him give up.

"And as for you father, I would say that he threw you away, my dear." He cupped her chin in his hand, pulling her face towards his, "I certianly did not pay for you. At least not the price he was hoping for anyway. I imagine your King is quite disappointed in you."

"Oh? Why would that be? He got what he wanted."

Sesshoumaru briefly forgot that he was trying rip her confidance to shreds. " What he wanted? You cannot expect me to believe that a King would sacrifice two of his heirs for a mere fortnight's stalemate."

Carine simply shrugged. " He needed the time to amass reinforcements."

He studied her for a moment."If you think that telling me that will win you sympathy-"

"I would never dare to presume that you have a sympathetic bone in your body, my Lord."

He squeezed her arm tightly at that. "Then you should also 'not dare to assume' that I have a tolerance for sharp-tongued women. I am not pariculary fond of sharp-witted ones either, but your tongue is far easier to remove than your brain." He lowered his gazed slightly, and ran a clawed hand down her neck and chest until he cupped a small but shapely breast. " I'd much rather you be well endowed in this area. Pity you are not more like your sister."

That struck something. He would see a venemous spark in her green eyes now. "Indeed, it is a pity, for she was almost gifted to you, my Lord."

"Almost? But for the accident of birth you mean."

"No. I mean that my father first wanted to send Kagome as the peace offering. By herself."

Sesshoumaru digested that, while splaying his hand over her breast and then cupping it again, pulling slightly. He rather enjoyed the tremble in her jaw as she tried to ignore that. "I suppose that this arraignement is the better, for me anyway. You may have prefered to live, and your sister may have prefered immediate death, but rather like the idea of getting to use and despoil my enemy's daughters, before presenting their heads to him on a plate." He bent swiftly and bit her hard on the neck. "Finish and come to my chambers. Do not take long. And do not bind your hair, I perfer it free. I hope for your sake you can make up for your body's lamentable lack of vuluptuousness in some other way."

She waited until the door had closed behind him before dropping under water to let out a garbled shriek of frustration.

~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~

Her scent tingled in his nose long before he reached the door to his chambers. Warm young female flesh, the electric zing of youkai power, fear, and sakura blossoms combined to form a heady aroma that danced over his nose and sent shivers into his blood.

Inuyasha did not keep women as his brother did, a harem of mindless, meaningless beauties to use when the urge hit and discard after. No, Inuyasha was a connisuer. And he liked the hunt. This princess certainly smelled like fun......

He strode into his chambers with a cocksure swagger, his eyes sweeping her up and down. She was dressed in a dozen filmy layers of some womanish thing that though pretty, obscured her body slightly. Her eyes flashed at him in reaction to his crude appraising stare, and he allowed himself a rakish smirk. Tits, ass and temper. Delishious.

" And what might your name be, princess?"

Her expression was nothing short of suspicious as she watched him warily from her perch on the bed. "Kagome. My Lord."

"Kagome. Nice. You call me Inuyasha in private."

"Alright."

"Well........," the smirk was the only warning before he sprang on the bed, pushed her back against the pillows and straddled her waist. "Now that we have that out of the way...do you perfer top or bottom?"

"W-wha?" she looked shocked and frightened, and not alittle annoyed.

"Mmmm, you're right perhaps we should play abit first." He bit a breast through her gown and she squeaked.

"I did not say that!" She tried to push him off but he was too strong. He laughed softly in her ear. "You seem alittle bit flustered, Kagome. Is this a new situation for you?"

"YES!" She was blushing furiously now, and she hated it it, but it was so hard to stay collected when one had a prince on top of you and you could feel a hard heat pressing against your belly and he pronouced your name like it was a dirty word and he was doing that with his hand.......

She looked utterly mortified when he purposely stroked the base of her neck, a sure sign that it was indeed a sensitive spot, not that he couln't tell by scent, but boy facial expressions were fun! He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. "Kagome, you are wearing too many clothes!" he sang against her skin as he stroked his hand over her breast. "This would feel sooo much better if all those awful layers were out of the way."

"Well, maybe I'm cold. Can't you just, you know, lift my skirts and get it over with?" she was sure her face would never cease to be red, but she had to do something to get him to stop doing those things to her!

Inuyasha reared back and rested on his haunches, still straddling her, and looked at her sideways, his dog-ears flopping. Then he just laughed. He laughed long and hard, his head thrown back, fangs a-glimmer, and body shaking......and looking young and handsome and merry..and...and ...he really needed to stop doing that.

"Oh, you are an innocent, aren't you? Well then, Princess.." his eyes glittered dangerously as he bent over her once more, his silver mane falling like a curtian, cutting her off from the rest of the safe well-lit room and trapping her beneath this demon prince. "allow me to introduce you to all those dirty little pleasures good little princesses are not supposed to know about."

He caught her in a kiss then, deceptively soft at first, his tongue, tracing lightly across her lips, until a claw running down her neck cased a gasp, and he plunged in, searching, twirling, pulling her tongue into his own mouth, keeping her senses and mind so busy with her mouth, that there was no time to pay attention to his hands. Unable to find any sort of easy clasp he brandished his claws against her neckline, and ripped swiftly downwards, freeing her until her hips. She cried out against his lips and struggled to pull away at that, and he let her, if only to reach to rip her dress the rest of the way, and pull her out of it.

"What are you doing?!"

"Really Princess, what do you think? I am going to fuck you 'til you scream and probably then some. It generally helps to be able to reach all the fun bits." He flashed her a devilish grin and pounced. He kissed her again, pressing her back unto the mess of pilows and shredding clothing, his claws tracing tickly patterns along her sides, causing her to squirm underneath his touch. He moved from her lips to her neck and she suppressed a shiver.

She groaned out loud when he nibbled her ear, and found her herself entangling her hands in his hair when he made his way to her amble breasts. He looked up at that to wink rakishly, and she blushed and giggled. He wriggled down the rest of her, stopped to quickly nib her clit, eliciting a shriek from Kagome before shrugging out of his own clothes and flipping her onto her stomach.

"Oouf! Wha-OOOooAAAAAAAAaaahh!!"

He didn't give her time to think before plunged his erection into her, trying to take her by suprise so that she wouldn't tense and make the initial pain worse. She wimpered and trembled underneath him. "You're too big.."

"No, you'll get used to it. Before long you'll be begging me to fill you." He pulled back slowly and thrust forward again, this time slow and steady. He repeated the action until she began to relax and respond.

Kagome shuddered at the sensation of his huge length impossibly sliding into her and fitting, filling her until she thought she might burst and then pullling out again. When he began to pick up the pace she leaned into it willingly bracing herself against his onslaught. She became lost in the sensations that were strange and new and yet somehow very, very good, as she felt something in her head tensing, coiling tighter and tighter like a spring until.....

It felt like a small explosion in her brain, the colors before her eyes blurred, and she collapsed back down onto the bed with a ragged cry. She was only dimly aware of Inuyasha's final thrusts before he groaned in her ear and withdrew.

Despite his generally predatory sexual habits, Inuyasha was not entirely opposed to cuddling. There was something rather satisfying about waking up entwined in another's warmth, and there was something even more appealing about being tangled up in this girl. He settled into the pillows on his back, Kagome curled across his chest. Pity really, that Sesshoumaru had been so insistant killing the sisters. Inu knew that the possibility that he would accept a truce was very slim, and that was before this arm business. Maybe he could convince him to spare Kagome, or kill a harem girl that kinda looked like her. He rather doubted that a father that would sign his daughters' lives away so easily would cry over their bodies, he might not even notice....

~~~~~{@}

Carine took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and ran her hands one last time over her kimono. She raised one thin white fist to the ornately carved door that dwarfed her and everything else in the corridor. She gave two firm raps with her knuckles and stepped back, waiting for Lord Sesshoumaru to bid her enter.


~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~{@}~~~~~

A/N: Took forever didn't it? Sorry. Will try to be more consistant, but then you all know better than to believe that don't you? Anyhoo, thanks for reading, feedback is always appreciated