Bound by Corruption by BelovedStranger

Darkness Within

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Word Count: 4,695

SUNLIGHT FILTERED THROUGH the canopy of trees, revealing nature’s beauty of vibrant flowers with their remarkable hues and lush foliage of various shades of green. Small animals scurried, while birds sang sweetly. A far cry from the ominous darkness of the previous night. Nature’s splendor often captivated Kagome, heralding peace and joy, but as she walked through the forest, all she felt was a gnawing worry, and her eyes took in not the wonder around her, but the massive beast keeping pace beside her.

They’d been travelling for hours. In silence.

Loquacious by nature, the lack of conversation or friendly banter was depressing. But what could she possibly speak of with this youkai? Curiosity plagued her. She knew nothing about Sesshomaru other than he was an inugami. However, words escaped her. Not only was he an intimidating presence, she was uncertain if she even wanted to get to know him. They weren’t friends. Never would be.

They had a cursed contract. He wanted to corrupt her soul. She shouldn’t want to get to know him, to understand him—but she did.

If you wish to speak, then speak, aijin.

His voice. Inside her mind.

“How are you able to do that?” The intimacy was…disconcerting. A worse thought occurred to her. “Can you read my mind?!” That would mean he would know just how intriguing she found him. How mortifying!

A barking laugh, loud and grating, made her jump to the side, away from her companion. Sesshomaru met her wide-eyed amazement with humor dancing in his own. She tried not to find the unnatural crimson and blue of his eyes so captivating, and failed.

We share a bond, you and I, by the blood that binds us and the vows exchanged. Be at ease. I cannot peer inside that little head of yours. Not unless you concentrate and project your thoughts to me.

Her relief was short-lived. When next he spoke, she stiffened.

So, tell me, Ka-go-me. What thoughts are you so eager to conceal from me?

Clearing her throat, she averted her face, hiding the blush she felt heating her cheeks. “I cannot think of anyone who would want their every thought known. Some things are private.” Like how her fingers itched to pet his fluffy ears. Or that his deep baritone was like velvet, rubbing along her senses in the strangest, most scandalous, of ways.

Not wishing for him to delve further, she was quick to divert his attention. “About your domain. In this world, I mean. How does it differ from the one you have in the spirit realm?”

Though she knew of its existence, she’d never seen the spirit world where daemons and kami were known to tread.

If you are curious, then we may journey there instead of your village, and I shall show you.

“No, thank you.” Her refusal was instant, her voice flat. She was not going anywhere with him. Instead, he was coming with her, she thought gloomily.

How was she to explain this to her family? There was no avoiding the inevitable interrogation or close scrutiny. A lack of trust that would have irritated her had the truth not been so damning. Rather than provide aid to her village and prove her worth, she’d proven her incompetence. It was a lowering realization.

Kagome shook off her dejection. Thoughts of her family made her think of Sesshomaru’s. The question was out of her mouth before she thought better of asking. “Do you have a family?”

No.

She blinked, surprised. “No father or mother? No siblings?” Then she thought, was he married? Did he have children? Certainly not. He’d kissed her. Had admitted to having plans of seducing her. Surely, he was unwed.

Or was he unfaithful?

Another thought. Just how old was Sesshomaru?

No, he replied without inflection.

Compassion softened her heart despite the uneasy flutter in her belly. “You have no one? No…wife?”

You mistake me. The matter of my parentage and kin is not open for discussion. Then he turned to her with a sidelong look, eye gleaming. Though, if you are harboring hidden worries, I am yet unattached. I am unmated with no illegitimate pups scampering about. You, and you alone, have my undivided attention.

She should not have been as pleased as she was by his lack of ‘attachment’. Disconcerted by her inappropriate feelings, she frowned at him, all empathy vanishing. “You will be meeting my family soon enough.” She shuddered. “I think it’s only fair if I know something of yours.”

Or, we can simply return to my domain and forget about this dull business of families for the greater pleasure of becoming better acquainted with each other.

Kagome sighed, ignoring the heat that flickered to life at his suggestion. “You’re incorrigible.” Though the conversation was not going as well as she’d hoped, Sesshomaru being difficult, which was unsurprising, she was loath to return to the oppressive silence they’d shared all morning.

“Then what will you tell me? If we’re to spend an entire moon cycle together, I’d prefer to know a little about who I’ll be spending so much time with. I know nothing about you.”

The back of her hair was yanked. Not too rough but not exactly gentle either. Her head wiped around. When Sesshomaru saw her glance back at him, he opened his maw, allowing the end of her braid to fall from his mouth.

Kagome’s face pinched in disgust at the drool wetting her hair, but before she could voice a word of complaint, the husky quality of his voice choked off her next breath.

You wish to know me, aijin? Shall I show you exactly who I am? Despite his canine visage, there was no mistaking the sexual heat in his gaze.

Her face burned. “Forget it!” Let him keep his secrets!

Turning away, her pace increased. However, Sesshomaru kept up with her easily. She shot him a sidelong glare, to which he promptly ignored. Sesshomaru didn’t seem perturbed by the ensuring silence in the least, and for an hour, neither did Kagome, but once her annoyance subsided, her curiosity returned in force.

One questioned burned her lips. It was doubtful he would gift her with a satisfactory answer, she inwardly grumbled. Obviously, he didn’t want her to get to know him. To get close to him. Unless she wished to know him. Carnally. She was quick to banish any semblance of maiden curiosity.

Well, neither did she, she assured herself with a defiant tilt of her chin. She had no desire to become close with him—an any sense of the imagination, or for him to want to be close to her.

Still, she was compelled to speak. “Hey, Sesshomaru?”

Hn.

Not much of an encouragement, but she’d take it. “Why do you want to corrupt my soul?”

We have a contract.

Which told her nothing. Vexed, she demanded, “Is that the payment you require of everyone you make a contract with?”

It is what I expect from you.

Frustrated by his continual evasions, Kagome clenched her molars, vowing to remain silent even if it killed her.

How old are you?

His question was unexpected, and surprising. She sniffed, peeved. “If you refuse to share, then so do I.”

His chuckle filtered through her mind, aggravating her further.

Ningen age and die with unfathomable swiftness. Gauging your age is rather tedious. However, you appear of breeding years. Are you truly untouched?

“I am a miko,” she reminded him through gritted teeth, refusing to even glance at him.

Miko fornicate as well as any other female.

She shot him a sidelong glare, hating her curiosity, despising how much she cared for his answer. “And you would know this personally?”

Just how many miko had he made a contract with in the past? How many had he known…intimately? The blush never wholly manifested as another thought struck, piercing her chest. Was she just another long string of conquests? Her stomach roiled, a grimace pulling at the corners of her mouth.

You will be my first.

She blinked, then blinked again. Pleasure suffused her. She would be the first. Only for anger to incinerate her unseemly delight. The arrogant piece of— “You overestimate your appeal.” A defiant hiss.

Hn.

She loathed this creature! 

Surely even miko breed. How then would they pass on their lineage? Power comes from the blood.

The way he spoke was somehow offensive. As though there was no commitment in the act involved. And yet, he was not wholly wrong...

“Some marry.” Then she admitted, “Though, many prefer to remain unbound by matrimony.” Sadness pierced her. “Even so, the duty of passing on the family line lies with the eldest daughter.”

Such a strange custom, Sesshomaru remarked.

Thinking he being judgmental, Kagome defended, “A miko’s duty is sacred. And dangerous. It is far more important than the duties of a wife, hence few become wives.”

That does not signify. I refer only to the eldest being allowed the pleasure of sexual indulgence. Before his words could well and truly anger her, he asked, Are you the eldest?

“Are you?” She shot back.

Yes.

She hadn’t expected an answer.

Her own was abrupt. “Well, I am not.”

She had no desire to speak of Kikyo, and with Sesshomaru beside her, Kagome felt her own inadequacies acutely. Kikyo never would have agreed to a youkai’s aid. She would have fought, and died. Courageously. The weight of her own failures stifled any curiosity she might have had in learning more of Sesshomaru’s family.

Thus, making you unqualified to have sex, Sesshomaru stated sarcastically.

Kagome grit her teeth. “Unless my sister were to die before producing offspring.” The very idea was horrifying. And impossible. Kikyo was too intelligent. Too powerful.

Such foolishness. There are ways to prevent pregnancy. Who would know if you were to take pleasure from another?

His insinuation could not go unchallenged. “Listen here, you,” she snarled, fuming. “Miko are not promiscuous—”

Sesshomaru spoke over her. Why are you denied whereas your sister is not? Who created such a ridiculous statute?

Kagome opened and closed her mouth before answering lamely, “It is the way things have always been done.”

Surely, you have been curious. Not only of the act itself, but as to why you are to be denied pleasure, or even a family of your own.

She had no answer to give so remained silent. And hurting for the things she had always yearned for but could never have.

Somehow, Sesshomaru made the shrug of his canine shoulders appear regal. To fuck is a natural cycle of life. His crude speaking shocked her. Then he devastated her with a painful truth. Life is denied you. Has there never been someone you wanted? Someone you might dare break every rule for?

His words conjured a thought. A person. Hojo. An infatuation.

A farmer’s son in her village, Hojo was just a few moons older than she. His image solidified in her mind. Tawny hued hair, friendly brown eyes, a shy smile. All the young girls in her village were eager to be his bride—even Kagome.

Suddenly, short, brown hair lengthened, lightening to silver, brown eyes deepening to amber, and a face tanned by the sun became alabaster perfection. Hojo’s face had transformed into Sesshomaru’s, and Kagome stumbled.

“You pry into things that do not concern you!” Voice shrill, she spoke sharper than she’d intended, her traitorous thoughts appalling.

His reply was all too knowing. So, there is someone. Whom do you desire?

“You’re being ridiculous,” she hedged.

Has he ever kissed you?

Kagome sputtered and looked away, face burning. “Of course not. It wouldn’t be proper.”

Perhaps he does not desire you.

Kagome’s shoulders stiffened. “Whether he does or not makes no difference.” A lie. “I am a miko. The second born. It was never meant to be.” A sad truth. A painful one.

Poor, miko. Shall I soothe your unrequited affections with mine own? I would never spurn your advances.

Kagome’s braid whipped around her as she turned to Sesshomaru, eyes blazing. “My advances were never spurned. I never made any!”

No? Perhaps he would have responded well to them had you.

Kagome opened her mouth to blast him with an angry retort, but Sesshomaru continued, nonchalant.

How was your first kiss?

She flung up her arms, exasperated. “I already told you. He never kissed me!”

But you have been kissed, he insisted, voice silken smooth. Heated. By me.

His deep rumble made her shiver, but the male satisfaction saturating his words raised her hackles. “I wouldn’t be so smug,” she gibed. “For a first kiss, it was hardly memorable.”

Not a lie. Her first kiss, admittedly by him, had been so quick, the circumstances so dire, she’d hardly registering it as having happened. Even now, the memory was surreal. She recalled the shock of his mouth on hers. The sting of his fang as he pierced her lip. The taste of iron. But she couldn’t really remember how his mouth had felt upon hers, too focused on the threat of the bandits surrounding them, too consumed by fear and desperation.

Sesshomaru’s rebuttal exuded confidence. You refer to our contract, which is not equivalent. This morning we shared a true kiss. You enjoyed it.

How many times could her brain handle the rush of blood that flooded her face when this youkai managed to embarrass her? Her silence did nothing to discourage him.

There is much pleasure I would teach you, aijin.

“No!”

‘Sweet is the apple when the keeper is away,’ he quoted. No one is here but you and I. None need learn if you chose to experience gratification.

“I said, no!” Kagome screeched, loud enough to scare the birds in the trees above, who squawked in fear and indignation.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

Darkness had fallen hours ago, causing the flames of the miko’s small fire to cast an orange glow around their small camp.

Ignoring her reservations, Sesshomaru had insisted on the fire. There was a chill in the night air. His little human could become sick—or even expire. Unacceptable. His concern did not derive from a feeling of care for the girl but one of necessity. Ningen were pitifully weak. Until their contract was at an end, the miko was in his care. Afterwards, she would no longer be his concern.

He’d leave her. Forget her.

But for now, he watched her. Anticipation fired his blood. Already, she’d proven an intriguing distraction, her fiery spirit at odds with the innocence he saw reflected in her deep brown eyes.

A purity he longed to taint.

Sesshomaru, still in dog form, lay across the fire from the sleeping onna. It had taken her over an hour before she’d succumbed to sleep. He’d heard it in the way her breathing had deepened, her heartbeat slowing.

Her question came back to him. “Why do you want to corrupt my soul?”

His gaze traced along her pale, heart-shaped face, over her thick lashes, small nose, and delicate cheekbones. Even in sleep, she wore her hair tied back in a braid, making him wonder what she would look like with the inky blackness unbound. Framing her face. His roving eye went to her body, hidden by thick layers of clothing. Curled on her side, she faced the fire, the orange light dancing across her serene features, her face unmarked by blemish or age.

She was not the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes upon, not even by ningen standards. And compared to a daemoness, calling her plain was a kindness. There was nothing remarkable about her appearance, nothing to set her apart. And yet, she was not displeasing to the eye.

She wore the traditional white haori and red hakama of a miko; however, she did not follow the common standard of wearing her hair in a low ponytail, with a long loop of hair over either shoulder. Her braid was long, he recalled, the tail end kissing the top swell of her derriere. And she was small. Even for a ningen woman, she was short in stature, the top of her head stopping just below his chest. Generally, he preferred his females taller.

He continued to stare, but her clothing revealed little of her form. Perhaps a hint of bosom and buttocks, but much was left to the imagination.

A cruel smirk curled his beastly mouth. He would enjoy revealing every inch of her. Not just her body, but her very soul. In reality, she could be deformed beneath her garments and it would matter little. What he truly cared to bare was the darkness he knew lurked beneath that innocent façade she wore about her like a shroud.

A miko. A being of pure light.

Sesshomaru snorted.

Miko. Monks. They were revered amongst other ningen, all for being blessed with an energy of purification meant to eradicate youkai and malevolent spirits. Ridiculous. They were human. Not a kami to be worshiped. Not a daemon to be feared.

Humans placed far too much importance on their brief flashes of life, while viewing being such as he as an abomination, unfit to live in a world crawling with their humanity. As though this plane of existence belonged solely to them.

Sesshomaru stared at Kagome in contempt.

She was no different. A loathsome creature living a life of hypocrisy. He’d seen the face of malevolence, watched the hands that committed the vilest of atrocities, and each one of them shared one thing in common with the miko before him.

The power of purification. 

These human priests and priestesses hid their own darkness behind a pretense of goodness, and Sesshomaru was going to take great pleasure in revealing Kagome’s. To himself. To her.

He’d never thought to play such a game. Not until her.

Sesshomaru remembered the moment he’d become aware of Kagome’s predicament. He’d been passing through the area when he’d sensed a welling of wicked intent. And a flicker of pure light. Curiosity had drawn him, amusement swift on its heels at what he’d found. Dozens of humans had been converging on a small shrine, their repulsive intentions all too clear. There had been no pity in his heart for the shrine maiden’s fate, only cruel indifference—and a faint feeling of comeuppance.

The miko’s fear had been palatable, along with a fierce determination. The scent of her desire for survival had been cloyingly sweet. Decedent.

An idea had sparked, one worth the nuisance of dispatching such unworthy foe. And yet, he could not deny the thrill of killing—for her.

Their deaths had been an initiation for his little miko, a means for him to lead her into a broader world, one far more satisfying than the restricted confines she’d been forced to bear. He was liberating her. She just didn’t understand it yet.

He knew her fears of becoming one of the dark order, but she misunderstood. A dark miko was free. Free of the lies that bound them. Of the hypocrisy that plagued them.

He sensed it. The darkness inside of him had recognized a similar stirring, though small, from her. A kinship—of wickedness. His body reacted to their shared affinity, making him swell and harden—with need. Yes, he would have her. Then he would discard her. But only after she’d given him everything she had to give. Willingly.

Unable to stay away, he padded over to the sleeping girl, before shifted to his human form. As if compelled, he reached out, stroking her soft cheek. When she made a soft noise, he stilled. She did not wake but settled, her lashes flickering as though she dreamed. Her pulse drew his attention. So much so, he traced the throbbing point lightly. The memory of her blood heated his own. It had been but a taste, and he was eager for another, deeper sampling.

His caress moved to the edge of her haori, tracing the V of flesh at her throat. Temptation beckoned, the desire to reveal more of her smooth, satiny skin. A compulsion he didn’t understand. A part of him hated her for the power she seemed to have over him. What was it about her that drew him to her?

Perhaps, when her soul was as black as his own, he would kill her for this affront.

For now, he did nothing more than move behind her, curling his much larger frame along the curve of her body. Her back to his chest, her nicely plump rump nestled against his hips, Sesshomaru wrapped an arm around her, feeling just how small she truly was, before burying his nose in her black tresses. He took great care not to jostle her, least she wake and banish him from the pleasure of holding her, of filling his lungs with her scent.

Or would she?

Since his kind required little sleep, he spent the long hours of the night with the vision of the miko’s small hand wrapping around his much larger one, and guiding his fingers between her thighs. 

KAGOME AWOKE TO warmth and a heady scent. Blindly, she snuggled closer, breathing deep and humming in sleepy delight.

A low chuckle rumbled next to her ear, startling her to full alertness. She couldn’t understand what she was staring at—until she did. A bare chest. Muscular. Masculine. She stared blankly at her hand where it rested against the strong beating heart that lie beneath all that smooth, hard flesh.

Kagome jerked her head back, looking upward, where she met molten amber. Sesshomaru’s mouth curled, a suggestive grin. She felt a blush climbing up her throat to spread across her cheeks.

“Good morning, aijin.” His voice was too deep, raw with carnal heat. She shivered.

Aghast at her reaction to him, a youkai, she tried to scramble away, but the moment she pushed against his chest, the arm around her waist made itself known by tightening. Rather than putting distance between them, what little space that had separated them vanished as she was pulled closer.

Heart racing, a little breathless, she stuttered, unsure, “G-good morning, Sesshomaru.”

Unable to continue meeting the intensity in his gaze, her eyes fluttered away. The only other place she was able to look was at his chest. His naked chest. She tested his hold on her by pressing against him again, her hands burning at the heat of his skin. He didn’t budge. Which meant, neither did she.

“You, ah, can let me go now.” Was that her voice? It was too breathy, rasping.

The large palm at her back moved subtly, then a gentle tug on her braid. Still, the gesture caused a gasp to erupt from her throat as she was forced to look up at him, and what she saw in his eyes made her mouth go dry.

“I owe you a more memorable kiss,” he said huskily.

Before she could even think to form a response, his lips consumed her. His head tilted, aligning their mouths for a better angle. He was firm, insistent. His tongue pressed against her lips, demanding entrance. When she refused to open, denying him, denying herself, she felt him wrap her hair around his hand before he yanked. She gasped at the sting, at the way he pressed her breasts more forcefully against his chest, and moaned when he took possession of her mouth.

Unable to resist the strength of his need—of her own, Kagome was helpless but to respond. Her mind went blank. All she could do was feel. His tongue swept in, stroking along every dip and crevice. Instinctually, she sought more. Shy, her tongue met the next thrust of his. Sesshomaru groaned, the sound vibrating against her breasts, hardening her nipples to painful peaks, while sending a spark between her thighs.

She arched into him, pressing closer, needing something she could not name. Her body was no longer her own, crying out demands she didn’t understand, but when she felt a firm grip on her buttocks, pulling her hips against his pelvic, to grind, she stiffened, feeling a long, hard pole. 

She understood that.

Anatomy was one of the many lessons she’d been given growing up, as a miko was not only a villages protector against daemons but their healer.

Kagome began struggling in earnest. When that failed, she bit Sesshomaru’s tongue. If it pained him, there was no reaction, but thankfully, slowly, he drew back. If he was angered by her actions, she did not see it in the eyes staring back at her, only lust.

Her heart tripped in her chest at such stark desire.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Her demand was too breathless, saturated with a need she struggled to suppress. 

Ignoring her, he asked, “Was it better?”

Baffled, all she could do was blink up at him, mute. 

“The kiss,” he elaborated helpfully. “Was it more enjoyable this time?”

He was teasing her, she knew it. Sputtering, she demanded, “Let me go!” and recommenced with her struggles.

He was immovable. “Not until you answer me, aijin. Truthfully.” To make his point, he pressed that part of her more firmly against that part of him.

Needing to get away from him, immediately, she capitulated. “It was fine! Now will you let go?!”

His scowl warned her of his displeasure. Grabbing her chin, he held her still as he leaned closer. “I shall have to try harder than ‘fine’.”

He tried to kiss her, but she quickly placed her hands between them, covering the lower half of his face. His lips burned against her fingers

“Alright! It was better than fine. It was…good.” The warning in his eyes intensified. She was quick to amend. “More than good! It was great. The best I’ve ever experienced.” Now she was mocking him. Rather than be upset by this, she saw amusement flicker in his gaze.

It was then she realized he was no longer in his beast-form. Then she remembered. Yesterday, he’d told her to leave his soiled garments behind. Shocked, she stared at his chest, her eyes drawn downward, but with the press of their bodies, she couldn’t see below his muscular pecs. But she felt him. “You’re naked.”

“It appears to be so,” he answered carelessly.

The realization of just how intimate their position was struck her. “You’re naked!”

“I believe we have already settled the point.” His amusement didn’t seem to penetrate her shock, but what he said next made her dizzy with how swiftly blood rushed to her face. “Curious? Allow me to show you.”

When he tried to put space between them, Kagome lurched towards him, grabbing onto his shoulders with desperate strength. Her blush deepened as she willingly pressed into the hardness between his lean hips. “No, no! On second thought, I’m quite comfortable as I am, thank you.”

“Shy, aijin?” A taunt. A dare.

She cringed at the husky rumble of his voice, hating her reaction to it. “Did...did you sleep next to me? All night? Naked?” she squeaked the last.

“Yes,” he all but purred next to her ear.

She squirmed, which only caused her to rub against the thickness thrust against her abdomen—and lower. He was huge. It was thrilling. Intimidating.

The hand on her backside tightened, stopping her from moving. “As pleasurable as your movements are, aijin, if you are determined to deny the passion between us, you must cease. Unless you wish to continue where we left off?”

“Absolutely not!”

Surprisingly, he let her escape. She rolled away, ignoring the disappointment that he’d listened, that she hadn’t even snuck a peak. Not even a little one.

Kagome was on her feet and heading for the bushes. “I need a moment.”

Sesshomaru calling after her. “If it is satisfaction you seek, there is no need to hide and care for your need alone.”

“I need to relieve myself!” she hollered back before she could think better of it, only to suppress a groan of utter humiliation. Why had she said that?

“As I said, I am more than willing to be of assistance.”

“That’s not what I meant!”