Bound by Corruption by BelovedStranger

Warm Embrace

AUTHOR'S NOTE: 

Word Count: 4,295

THE MILES FLEW by beneath them, and not once did the girl move to look where they were heading, didn’t separate from him even an inch. Sesshomaru didn’t mind. He relished this closeness—if not for her infernal tears.

Her sorrow for the warlord maddened him until his vision bled crimson. He still couldn’t believe she’d chosen the ningen filth over him. Onigumo had murdered her family, her friends, and burned her world to the ground. And still, she’d gone with the vermin, helped him.

What matter of creature was she?

Or, did she despise him so much that Onigumo’s presence was preferable to his?

Sesshomaru gritted his teeth, for this was not the first time his mind had dwelled on such doubts. There were others. Miko were no different from the rest of the scourge of humanity—only worse. Believing their spiritual powers set them apart from the rest of the herd, their arrogance knew no bounds, their superiority nauseating. He knew this, had experienced their conceit. How many times had other miko, or monks, tried to purify him, believing his very existence was an abomination in comparison to theirs?

Humans were weak, sniveling creatures. Monk, miko. They were all the same.

Kagome was no different, her self-righteousness oozing off her like a noxious miasma from the moment he’d set eyes on her in the Inu no Kami’s shrine. Or so he’d thought.

If she truly was the hypocrite he believed her to be, why was she crying, mourning over Onigumo? Why had she helped the warlord in the first place when vengeance had been hers for the taking?

“You failed!” Her words echoed back at him the day she’d turned her back on him. “The ground is littered with the dead of your kills. For my vengeance.”

Sesshomaru remembered her disdain—for him.

“You wanted me to know the taste of it. Demanded it! Well, I’ve more than had a taste, and you want to know what I’ve learned? I haven’t the appetite for it, and one more meaningless death isn’t going to change that!”

“This isn’t what I want!”

How many times had she flung those words at him?

During the long days without her, Sesshomaru had slowly come to understand that she truly didn’t lust for revenge. How could that be? The bandits had destroyed her home, killed her family. A violent act that was a direct attack on her character. As the protector of her village, she’d failed in her duty. Honour demanded recompense. But one miko against dozens of violent criminals, ningen who could not feel the wrath of her reiki? Powerless, there was only death—or disgrace.

Until he’d offered to restore her honour.

Kagome should be thanking him for his generosity, not spurning him.

“This isn’t for me. It’s for you, for your ends. Don’t you dare say this is for me!”

Her words tore into him, revealing truth from deceitful benevolence.

Revealing her to be a very different creature than he’d assumed her to be. Nothing like him, certainly.

Instead of repaying those who’d caused her injury, as any sensible—self-respecting—daemon, or ningen, she brought aid and comfort to her tormentor. Had gone so far as to try and save Onigumo from the town’s people’s justified vendetta.

What manner of being was she?

Just then, Kagome gave a choked hiccup. Without hesitation, he smoothed her hair at the back of her head in a gentle caress meant to console as she cried as though her heart were breaking.

He didn’t understand her. Instead of being frustration with her as before, he felt pensive. And something more. Something that drew his elfin ears to the back of his skull as he looked down at her dark crown, feeling her tremble against him.

“Why do you weep?” he asked quietly.

Too late, he wished he hadn’t spoken. Pride stiffened his shoulders. He had no desire to hear the answer he already knew to be true. She wept for Onigumo. He didn’t know why, but it was obvious Kagome preferred the vermin over him.

Her answer shocked him.

“People are cruel.” She shook her head. He sensed her bewilderment. It was almost childlike. Innocent. “I can’t understand it. I’ve seen these people’s generosity. They helped a total stranger who’d come to them in need. They give to the less fortunate. These are good people. They’re peaceful. Then all at once, civility melts away, revealing fangs and venom. They burned a man alive. There was no justice in it. I see them when I close my eyes. But they aren’t human. They’re…”

“Youkai.”

Kagome made a choking sound when he finished her discriminatory sentence. “How you must loathe me,” a pained whisper. Yet, she pressed closer, her grip tightening on his clothing, as though fearful he meant to pull away and remove his comfort.

Perhaps he should. Instead, he cupped the back of her head, keeping her close. “The intolerance between ningen and youkai are commonplace,” he consoled, surprising himself. “You,” and I, “are not so very different in that regard.”

Quietly, she confessed, “I’ve come to see the grievous error of certain accepted standards.”

Sesshomaru shook his head even though she could not see the gesture with her face hiding against his chest. “It would be foolhardy to hesitate when confronted by a youkai, or human criminals.”

Rather than maiming, she should have started by killing a few the moment the towns’ people had her surrounded. As it stood, her hesitation had nearly cost her her life had he not intervened.

“You are encouraging what you despise.”

Sesshomaru blinked, surprised.

Kagome continued, voice muffled. “You hate us miko, more so than other humans.” Leaning back, she stared up at him. He obliged her by tilting his chin down to meet her gaze. Hers were filled with sorrow but no condemnation. “I didn’t understand. Not at first. That first day we met, you saved me to establish a contract with me because you hate those with spiritual powers. Not because youkai and miko are natural enemies. You see miko as prideful, self-righteous hypocrites.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand you. When I’ve finally come to see the error of my biased beliefs, towards criminals, towards youkai, you encourage me to stay the course. You want me to be prejudice. That doesn’t make sense.”

“You confuse blind trust with ignorance. Turn your back on a thief, he’ll leave you with nothing. With a murderer? You’ll knife you in the back. Turn your back on youkai? You’ll find yourself in its belly.”

Kagome nodded slowly. “Caution is prudent, but one mustn’t forget the value of extending good faith, even to those who may seem undeserving. If we expect the worst in others, not only will we never see beyond our own preconceptions, it discourages everyone from making any effort to reciprocate.” Steel hardened her brown eyes. “And I refuse to believe there is no goodness in this world, and in others. Even the darkest soul may have a candle of light flickering inside them, just waiting to blaze brighter. However, when we expect the worst, they’ll prove it. Happily. Eagerly. And no wonder! When there’s no incentive to do better.”

His eyes widen ever so slightly under her impassioned words as he finally grasped what he’d—purposefully, willfully—been blind to. In his arms was a being who practiced goodwill. Extended compassion, empathy. And choose restraint over retaliation.

Sesshomaru stared into the eyes of pure, untainted innocence. A source of innocent that was not naïve but was strong in conviction, tempered by the fires of experience, and still chose to walk in the light. A path not for the faint of heart. It took resilience, fortitude, and courage. And above, trust, for it was paved in sacrifice.

Could he corrupt such goodness? The answer came readily: yes. More importantly, did he want to?

It was one thing to open her eyes to the darkness she harbored within herself, to coax it out to play with him, but it was a completely different matter to corrupt a soul yet unstained by this unforgiving world.

He almost growled, irritated that she made him doubt. Again.

Every human he’d ever come across was like any daemon—perhaps worse. Selfish. Self-serving. There were no exceptions. Right?

Were there others like her? A traitorous thought.

She was no different than the rest of humanity!

Grabbed the back of Kagome’s head, he pulled her back into his arms. Holding her. Forcing her eyes from his face, even as he shoved his uncertainties aside to focus on flying as they neared their destination.

When they arrived, he descended from the skies, where they landed gently upon the grassy ground next to a large boulder, one of many that surrounded the heated waters of the natural hot spring. A forest surrounded the little oasis, cocooning them in their own little world.

“We have arrived, aijin. Look,” he encouraged, tilting away from her without releasing his hold.

Her head turned, her cheek pressed to his chest, but she did not react when she saw the heated pool. He prompted her. “I’m sure you wish to bathe in comfort.”

He’d sought to please her, but she gave no response.

Sesshomaru curled a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. Her face was smooth, empty. He’d seen her like this before. Disinterested. Dissociative. As the silence stretched between them, she fell further into herself, insolating herself against the inequity of the world.

Wordlessly, he grabbed her bow from her hand and removed her quiver of arrows from her shoulder, before setting them aside. Next, he reached for the ties of her red hakama. She didn’t stop him, the red fabric pooling around her feet. Knelling, Sesshomaru gently grasped one of her dainty ankles and lifted. He felt her hand on his shoulder, light pressure, seeking balance as he removed her sandal and white sock, before lowering her foot and doing the same with the other. When he finished, he stood tall before her.

He stared down at her, but she did not look up to meet his gaze. He was not discouraged. Calmly, he reached for her haori, releasing hidden ties. The white garment fell open, and with a gentle motion of his hands, the garment fell off her shoulders, down her arms, to fall with a soft sigh behind her. Her inner nagajuban met the same fate at her feet, leaving her in nothing but a breast binding and strip of cloth covering her most feminine of flesh.

When his fingers pulled on the ties he saw below one breast, she finally reacted. Kagome took a small step back and covered her arms across her ample chest. “What…are you doing?” Her voice was low, quivering.

“Assisting you.” Not allowing her to escape, he crowded her, but he didn’t try to remove the rest of her garments, respecting her obvious wish to retain a measure of modesty.

Instead, he picked her up with an arm under her knees and the other supporting her back and brought her to the edge of the pool, before lowering her slowly into its warmth.

Kagome didn’t fight him, but settled against the rocks at her back with a content sigh. Eyes closed, she did not see him remove his clothes, every last stitch. Then he was moving behind her. When he settled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him, he felt her stiffen.

“Relax,” he breathed next to her ear. “My motives are pure. Allow me to hold you. To care for you.”

DISTRAUGHT, KAGOME HADN’T known where Sesshomaru was taking her. Hadn’t cared. She’d refused to leave the haven of his arms to look around. All she knew was that they’d travelled the skies, had felt the wind whip at her braid, pulling on her clothes. Yet Sesshomaru held her, kept her safe. Secure.

But the things he’d said confused her. Did he or did he not want her to learn from her previous misconceptions she’d been taught since birth? The answer came to her. A realization.

He was a hypocrite—like her.

He was prejudice against ningen, against miko, yet he judged her for being blindly bias. She had done exactly as he, but against youkai, while expecting him to treat humans with decency without offering him any in return. But now, when she sought to let go of such harmful teachings, he encouraged her to keep them. Encouraged her feelings of superiority. To view herself above other humans. Above youkai. He didn’t want her to change.

No, that was wrong. He didn’t want her to change for the better.

He wanted her to become a reflection of himself.

Everything finally became crystal clear, but clarity brought little comfort. Mostly sadness, and a lot of pain. And indignant anger if she wished to grasp it.

She didn’t.

Did she wish she’d never met him? He was cruel and hateful. Yet he’d brought her enlightenment but at a great cost. At the moment, life was overwhelmingly complex. She wanted to reject the comfort he provided, but he was the only source of solace in a world that had gone cruel.

The numbness that had been encroaching since they’d left the town rose to envelop her, and she had no defenses against the hollow oppression.

Sitting in the soothing warmth of the hot spring, she felt some life return to her. She sniffed, tears threatening, only to feel Sesshomaru smooth his hand down her arm, a soothing brush. She had her arms wrapped around her chest, but his touch stopped at her elbow and retraced its path. He made no demands of her, only gave, and she soaked in the comfort he provided, and tried not to cry at his simple kindness. His cruelty would have been easier to bear. She hadn’t expected…this.

Gentleness. Generosity.

Not from him. 

And he was naked. She could feel that part of him nestled against her lower back, felt it swell. Lengthen. Harden.

She made a soft sound of protest, to which she felt him rest his cheek against the top of her head, and his arms wrapping around the back of hers, cuddling her close. She was surrounded by his heat, scolding her hotter than the hot spring.

“Shh,” he murmured, a gentle rumble she felt from his chest along her back. “Calm yourself, aijin. I cannot help that part of me that responds to your nearness. Know that I will do nothing you do not wish.”

“Why not be considerate for once by allowing me to bathe alone in privacy?” Was that her voice? Too high, too breathy.

“I am trying to be considerate if you’d only let me,” he told her, voice as soft as a caress.

Before she could respond, she felt wet fingers touch her face. She flinched when they brushed lightly over the wound at her temple, but she did not stop him when he began to wash away the dried blood.

Unable to help herself, she whispered, “You came back.”

“Were you waiting for me?”

And like that, the dam broke, freeing her completely from the numbness that had overtaken her. Memories converged.

She’d left Onigumo, but before she’d reached the monk’s residence, she’d realized she should probably come with evidence to her claims. But what? Then she’d remembered Onigumo’s sword. She’d turned, intending to quickly and quietly retrieve the hidden item without Onigumo being aware that she had returned prematurely. When she’d neared the dilapidated hut they shared, she’d heard the shouting, saw the cloud of black smoke curling in the sky, and the screams of agony.

She’d come across a horrific scene. The town’s people, who’d been kind and welcoming, had morphed into an angry mob bent on murder. She’d been unable to stop them, had very nearly died trying.

Once again, Sesshomaru had saved her.

She didn’t even think to question his arrival, caught in a wave of gratitude, of pain and sorrow.

He’d come back, but the awful memories threatened to take away the ease she’d found with him. Desperate to stave off the stench of smoke and death, Kagome turned in Sesshomaru’s arms and pressed a clumsy kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Clumsy, she’d missed her mark.

A small sob escaped her.

Without a word, Sesshomaru cupped the back of her head with his left hand, repositioned her, before claiming her lips in a heated kiss, understanding what she needed from him without her having to utter a word. She responded with more eagerness than experience, opening her mouth for his invasion and boldly met his thrusting tongue with her own.

If her ardor surprised him, he didn’t question her or hesitate to take what she freely offered. It was the first time that she kissed him. She needed him, sought to use him to stave off the nightmares at the edge of her mind, waiting to devour her.

Kagome’s psyche was bruised and battered. She was hurting and needed comfort, but Sesshomaru’s possession was not gentle. He’d been soft and tender when she’d cried during their flight, was considerate to her need for modesty while undressing her, before placing her carefully in the hot spring, but in this, in passion, there was nothing but all-consuming need.

He did not hide his ardour from her, did not go slow and ease her into it. He took even as he gave, stamping her with his desire, forcing a fierce response from deep within her in return.

This was hunger, a craving. Lust.

He angled her, pressing the back of her head against his shoulder while he continued to plunder her mouth, like he couldn’t get enough of her taste.

She felt his hands on her breasts. Skin against skin. Without knowing how he’d done it, he’d freed her. Cupped her. Squeezing. She didn’t stop him. Couldn’t. A moan escaped her, only to be consumed by the intensity of his kiss. His answering growl made her shiver, but she was out of breath.

She cupped his chin, tried to shove him away. “Can’t breathe,” she whispered, staring up at him with heavy lids, intoxicated with desire.

Amber fire met her gaze. Whatever he saw in her own made him groan, low and deep. The sound went straight to her sex, pooling liquid heat. His lips found her jaw, nibbling gently at the same moment she felt him pinch her nipples. Kagome sucked in a harsh breath, back arching at the electric sensation. He did it again, pulled on them. She cried out. She heard him hiss when her derriere ground against his groin, felt him thrust his erection against her.  

Kagome writhed against his powerful chest as he pinched, pulled, and rolled her stiff peaks. She’d never known how much pleasure could be had when touching them.

Sesshomaru touched her, manipulating her body like he had the right, like she was his. Possession. Madness! She never wanted it to stop. She forgot why she had encouraged him, thought only of the need that built unbearably under his masterful handling of her body.

When his touch moved downwards to her hips, she moaned low in denial, needing the torment to continue. Instead of heeding her wordless entreaty, he lifted her, turned her, and she was straddling his hips.

She was suddenly staring up into Sesshomaru eyes, the amber hue deepening to molten gold. He wanted her. She needed him. His erection pulsed between them, drawing her attention. The water was clear, giving her an unmitigated view of that part of him. Unbidden, a thought emerged. He was larger here than Onigumo had been; much larger. And were those…mauve stripes along either side of his shaft, connecting to the markings curving over his hips?

The sight of him dried her mouth, had her heart galloping. Her core clenching in raw demand.

Compelled by curiosity—desire, she reached for him, wrapping her hand around his length. He was thick. Her fingers couldn’t wrap around him completely.

At her touch, he hissed.

Kagome flinched and quickly released him. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t stop.” A barked demand. A plea. Sesshomaru forced her to grasp him once more, making her squeeze him tighter. “Touch me. Feel me. Like this.”

He showed her how to please him, bringing her palm up his shaft to the tip before dragging her hand back down, only to repeat the smooth glide again and again. Once he was sure she understood the motion, he released her, allowing her control. At first, she felt unsure, clumsy, but the louder he groaned, the bolder she became.

“You’re killing me.” A growl.

Her breath hitched, pulse racing. “Is that bad?”

“Yes. No. Continue!”

Their eyes locked. His alabaster face was flushed, lips parted on panting breathes, revealing a hint of fang. He was a dangerous inuyoukai, and he was under her power. The thought was electrifying, heady. She didn’t break eye contact as she pleasured him, pumping him. When she reached the tip, she squeezed harder. Testing.

Sesshomaru shuddered powerfully, the force of it shaking her. His reaction did strange things to her heartbeat. Pulsing between her legs.

“Am I hurting you?” she whispered.

“Yes, but not in the way you are thinking.”

She did it again. Sesshomaru snarled. She grinned.

His hand grazed her inner thigh, her only warning. He cupped her, the wet cloth of her undergarments no deterrent. She felt his touch like a blazing torch. Kagome cried out and lost her rhythm.

Even as he rubbed her most secret place, he wrapped his hand around hers, forcing her to continue stroking him, following the pace of his fingers against her engorged folds. Making her want that part of him to rub against that part of her. Before she realized what she was doing, she was moving her hips, trying to rub against his wicked fingers harder. Faster.

But Sesshomaru kept the same, unhurried pace. Ramping up her desire, enflaming her further. Unbearably.

Abruptly, his fingers were moving her underwear aside, and she felt him, fingertips caressing where no man had touched before. His touch was shocking, her breath stuttering from her chest. Then he found an excruciatingly pleasurable spot at the nub of her sex. Kagome released a drawn out cry, hips bucking. Trying to get away, trying to get closer. And all the while, he forced her hand up and down, up and down. Feeling him, as he was feeling her.

Her cries mixed with his growls.

She was on the cusp of something, on the edge of a precipice. She needed, needed—

Her body was taut as a bowstring, when suddenly, Sesshomaru stopped and removed his hand.

Kagome shook her head in denial, crying out in despair, in unbearable want. But before she could demand for touch her again, he had ahold of her thighs. He was lifting her, positioning her, until she felt the head of his shaft pressing against her opening.

Kagome froze.

What was she doing?

Reality came crashing back as fear set in.

He’s too big!

Before Sesshomaru could make them one, Kagome wiggled, struggling against him, breaking the alignment of their sexes. “No! Wait, Sesshomaru,” she cried frantically, nails digging into his shoulders.

Pleasure fled in the face of her fear, of his size, of the unknown. They couldn’t do this! She was a miko, subjugated to duty. It was Kikyo who was expected to carry on the family line, while Kagome was meant to stay pure, chaste. Her duty was to others. She had not the luxury to live for herself, to make selfish choices.

 Worse, she consorted with a daemon. 

Mortified by her own boldness killed the last vestige of her desire. She did the only thing she could think to do. She pushed at his shoulders, banged her fists against his chest, and tried to wiggle away.

“Calm yourself, Kagome,” Sesshomaru commanded.

His arms went around her, holding her down, pressing his shaft between their bodies. He was still hard, an imposing presence. With her legs spread, her chest bare, she felt vulnerable. She wanted to crossed her arms over her chest, so sink further into the water, but his hold prevented her. Hunching down, her breasts slid along his pecks, grazing her nipples against the hard planes his chest. Felt her slick folds glide along the base of his imposing shaft. Her nerves sizzled at the provocative contact.

Her struggles intensified, and surprisingly, she was free.

Kagome wasted no time. She catapulted from the water. Ignoring the water dripping down her body, she lunged for her clothes, not bothering to search for her breast binding.

Sesshomaru reached her first. With narrowed eyes, he appeared before her, capturing her in his arms.

“Let go, let go!” She struggled against him.

“I will not force you,” he growled, the sound fearsome and deadly, stopping her struggles instantly. She looked up at him with wild, fear-filled eyes.

He stared hard into her wide-eyes for an instant, before sighing. He bent down and picked up her nagajuban. “Here. Clothe yourself and be calm.”

They dressed in silence. It was awkward. For her at least. Embarrassed, she couldn’t look at him once she was dressed, save for her chest binding. She’d found it, floating in the hot spring. Torn. Sesshomaru had sliced it right off her. The thought shouldn’t have been as arousing as it was.

She tried not to fidget. To cross her arms. She was fully covered, but it felt strange without her chest binding. Too free. The sensation intensified her mortification.

Sesshomaru broke the silence, saying fatefully, “Do you still wish to find your sister?”