First Blush by Drosselmeyer

Chapter 1

FIRST BLUSH

By: DrosselmeyerWrites

An E Pluribus Unum Expanded Scene

~*`~*`~*`~

All it took was him shrouding them from the sun's first rays of light under the warmth of their blanket, whispering four unexpectedly provocative words: Do you want to?

A foreign shiver ran down her spine and, for a moment, blue stared into gold. The implications of that question held the power to shatter the boundary previously discussed. But before she realized what she was doing, her head nodded and neck tilted, eyes drifting shut against the tantalizing sensation of his fangs barely scraping over the shell of her ear. And just like that, her uncertainty blinked out of existence like stars lost to time.

Not giving herself time to overanalyze, she surrendered to his arms and her instincts, finding herself pulled skin to skin against flesh that was quickly becoming a familiar comfort as she reached up and pressed her burning mouth to his. His lips were warm. Soft. And they molded hers to his will as he rolled himself under her, never breaking their kiss as he pulled her to rest on his chest. She might have sighed—or perhaps it was him—but in the end it was neither here nor there. They lost themselves once again to sensation and the new, unexpected discovery of each other.

And it was so good.

An hour later, Kagome sank bonelessly into the futons for the second time that morning, her hips still cradling his. Their skin was warm where it touched, and she tried to catch her breath as long strands of silver hair glided over her and clung like spider silk to her damp skin.

"That was…" She had no words. Her body felt delightfully spent and relaxed under the reassuring weight of his, and the warm afterglow between them chased away any insecurities or embarrassment over her inexperience. Absently, her foot drifted along the muscle of his calf, not quite ready to lose the contact between them.

She hadn't expected him to respond.

"Enjoyable." Sesshoumaru's eyes locked on hers, the warm gold deepened to amber as he contemplated things. Considered them.

Her tongue darted out and wet her lips, waiting for him to reveal his thoughts.

He must have sensed her nerves. There was a moment where their eyes held each other's in silence, but then he rubbed his cheek against hers, skilled hands ghosting across her ribs as he slid down and lay a searing kiss just below her navel. "Worth repeating."

Kagome barely kept still. The low baritone of his voice resonated against her skin, and if that talented mouth of his wandered any lower again, her legs would be more useless than they already felt.

But he stopped, instead crawling back up her and letting his body warm hers as he lay flush against her once again.

Her sharp intake of breath surprised even her. "Sesshoumaru—"

"Shhhh." His head bent, and he closed his lips around the mark that claimed her as his.

Oh gods. Kagome melted under him, feeling his tongue lave the tender flesh. His was slightly rougher than a human's, like crushed velvet or a fine velour. But it was far from unpleasant and strangely eased some of the soreness still present. Before she realized it, her fingers threaded into his hair at the nape of his neck, a silent request that he not stop. He indulged her, and she felt his mouth widen, taking more of her in as he continued to soothe the healing skin.

It was too much and at the same time not enough.

Biting her lip to keep from moaning, Kagome closed her eyes and focused on not squeezing her legs around his hips to keep him right where he was. The paradoxical combination of relief and torture made her struggle to breathe, and she could feel herself begin to lose the battle against her body's need for more.

When he pulled back a second later, she almost cursed.

"Has the pain lessened?"

She tried to swallow and failed. "Yeah." No…

He looked at her skeptically. "Hn."

Kagome did swallow then and offered a weak smile. "So, what's this? You have magical, healing saliva now?"

He smirked. "Perhaps something like that."

Great! I have about three other areas that are aching.

The feel of his claws pulling through her loose hair interrupted her not-so-innocent thoughts.

"We have much to do."

"Okay." She unconsciously tried to cover her chest, her natural sensibilities taking over as the cocoon of intimacy holding them wavered to make way for the day and the responsibilities it held. "And we're okay?" She knew her eyes betrayed her worry as they found his, but she didn't have the capacity to hide it at the moment. "You and me?"

A small smile played at the corners of his mouth then, and his nose dragged up her cheek, inhaling softly as he did. "We are good, Miko." Turning to his back next to her, he stretched before sliding out from under the blanket to dress.

The cocoon snapped.

Kagome caught a quick eyeful of him bare in the morning light before shoving the blanket up over her reddened face. It was stupid, especially given what they had just been doing, but…baby steps. An uninhibited view of everything she had literally just become more intimately acquainted with was more than she could handle at the moment.

She didn't miss the quiet chuckle coming from him as she hid. Braving her modesty, Kagome peeked out over the edge of the blanket and leveled him with a glare. "No laughing at your mate."

Sesshoumaru's look was amused as he tucked his kimono into the waist of his hakama. "No timidity around yours."

The exposed part of her face flushed scarlet, but she narrowed her eyes. "Need a good reason first."

He chuckled again, finishing with his obi. "Then it is fortunate for this One that you were recently given two."

Kagome's eyes blew wide, and she choked on her voice. But the arch demon lord was gone before she could fire one back at him—not that she would have been able to get it out anyway.

Touché. She grumbled under her breath as she got up from the futons and began gathering her clothing. A bath—she definitely needed a bath. Standing with the blanket still clutched to her, she looked off the side of the futons to see her shredded yukata.

Her face heated to a bright, embarrassed red all over again. "Stupid, sexy demons." Snatching up Sesshoumaru's discarded robe, she scrambled into it, tying it shut before he could come back and catch her naked.

Her drying cloth and an unscented cake of soap were in her hands moments later as she dashed out the backdoor of their room for the spring.

Two. She snorted.

At least she had centuries to work up a good comeback.

*

*

*

A/N: These two are definitely bonding. Thank you for reading! And every time you leave a review, a fairy gets their wings! Stay safe, everyone!

(Work was previously a part of EPU One-shots. Chapters have been separated into single entities to avoid confusion with non-linear postings.)