The moments between the "x's" are flashbacks.

I hope you enjoy. Thank you for reading this and double thanks for your reviews. -Druidica

P.S - Sorry for the delay, life sometimes sees fit to rear its ugly head. Triple thanks for you patience.

P.S.S - This story does have an "M" rating. Let the reader beware.

Complete placidity. No thoughts and no emotions. A blank parchment inside his mind waiting to be filled, but the quill was dry and the ink long since run out. In this moment, he was only a receptacle to receive and process what his senses took in from around him. There were no more great plans. The path he thought he walked upon was now shrouded with an impenetrable darkness, and he held no certainty on whether he wanted the fog to be lifted. He had walked away from knowing his immediate fate, avoiding the permanence of her answer in the hopes it would buy him time to resolve a question he no longer knew the answer to.

Liquid amber eyes stared out across the horizon, a mirror to the landscape before him without letting the images to imbrue within his mind. He observed in silence as the fading light of the sun was gradually consumed by billowing clouds churning in the sky. They folded and rolled across the cobalt and crimson canvas in a dark tempestuous fury. Nature was seeing fit to make its presence known, growling at the land below in warning and cracking the atmosphere with its bright jagged whip. The bittersweet smell of a moisture kissed terra firma rose up from the ground, and he closed his eyes to inhale the scent. . He listened as every sane creature scurried across the fields and nearby woods to seek out shelter from the torrent that loomed near, but the demon could not be moved.

The storm did not see fit to give any additional warning, but instead poured its deluge onto the earth in a merciless cascade of bitterly cold rain. The heavy mass of his pale mane lay plastered against his skull and body as his kimono and hakama were saturated through, clinging to his frame like a second skin. The demon slowly opened his eyes and stared through the wet locks that streaked across his vision.

Xxxxxxxx

The imp lay sleeping against Ah-Un, his nasally snuffles reverberating along the back shell of the cave. The twin-head dragon occasionally shuffled the green demon when he became too loud and the small creature would grumble and turn onto his side, but would never really wake. Sesshomaru was amazed how some creatures could sleep through anything despite the roaring of the gale outside. The only one of his companions that shared his sentiments was the young girl sitting huddled under her small blanket with only her eyes peeking out.

Every time the thunder rattled the inside of the cave, the child would cover her eyes and shudder in fear. The smell of her terror rankled his senses even as the rain blanketed all other scents. Sesshomaru feared little if anything in this world, and it did not sit well with him that his ward seemed to have lost faith in his ability to protect her. When the sky cracked with a booming cannonade, Rin yelped and scooted closer to his side, shivering.

The demon casually reached out with his hand and uncovered the child's head showing a slightly mussed mop of hair with some of her bangs standing on end from the electricity. The girl was intent on keeping her eyes tightly shut especially since she did not have the protection of the blanket whose magical properties of warding away all harm were known only by children.

"Rin?"

"Yes, my Lord?" the child piped into her close-fisted hands.

"Have I not always protected you?"

His voice was flat and even, yet the child perked up under his question and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Always, Lord Sesshomaru!"

With a single clawed finger, he tilted the girl's head to meet his gaze directly. "Then why would you fear a little rain and thunder when I am here."

Rin mulled over her master's words, then slowly smiled up at him. Certain that her fears had been laid to rest, he turned his gaze back out to the storm. Nature decided to voice its anger and a thunderous growl erupted from the sky and shook the ground. With another yelp, the young child shot up from where she was sitting and jumped into the demon's lap with her blanket still tightly wrapped around her.

There were only a handful of moments that Sesshomaru could remember being completely shocked and most of them all contained the name Rin somewhere in the equation. On many levels, this single action left him confused to silence. Being one of the most feared demons of his time, it was strange that anyone would be so bold as to sit on his lap, but the other aspect, was that the child feared a small storm more than the one whose name meant "the killing perfection."

It would have been easy for him to shove her back to the floor and halt this lewd display of affection, but even as his mind contemplated the simplicity of removing himself from the situation, his hand had already resettled her form so that her back rested against his chest. Resigned in his fate, he wrapped his arm around the shivering bundle. As the moments ticked by, the child faded off into a contented slumber with her ear over his heart. It was clear to the Demon Lord that the child held no doubts in her Lord's ability to safeguard her life, but apparently when it came to boisterous storms, his protection had to be worn like a blanket. Shifting his gaze to the sleeping girl in his lap, he blew her flyaway hairs to the side and rested his chin lightly on the crown of her head.

I will chastise her actions tomorrow, he mused. Tonight I will let her sleep.

xxxxxxx

Rin.

The name echoed across his mind in an almost tangible fantasy and he was amazed how such a small word could amount to so much. He shifted his gaze to the manor house and saw that a single light flickered from his suite. The house had never beckoned him from his travels to return to his inherited lands. He had always returned with a specific purpose in mind, and it was without fail that within half a day he would be ready to leave again. Therefore, he could not understand why he did not feel that restlessness this time.

The light emanating from his chamber called out like a siren and stirred a deep longing in the center of his being. Sesshomaru did not at first register that his legs were moving steadily forward towards the manor, but with each step closer, the longing grew. In moments, he was in front of the panel door to his chambers and he could hear the gentle sound of her humming beyond the screen. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth as once again she had summoned him from the darkness to her side with her quiet song. Erasing all signs of the emotion from his face, he slid open the panel and stepped into the room.

Closing the screen, Rin stopped humming and stood silently with her back to him. Her hair had long since dried and hung in a wavy dark waterfall down her back, the flickering candles casting a soft glow to her silk wrapped body. His mouth went dry with want for the beautiful creature before him. He swallowed seeking moisture but he found that he still thirsted for something more.

"Rin."

It was the only word he could form, and it in it was a wealth of unspoken affirmations. Silently, she turned and faced her Lord. Her smile wavered when she took in his drenched state. Gasping, she went to the wardrobe, pulled out a cloth and quickly went to her Lord.

"My Lord, we must get you dry. The air is freezing."

The Demon Lord said nothing but watched her with a heavy lidded gaze as she pressed the cloth against his chest trying to sop up the excess moisture from his drenched kimono. Her eyes were focused on her task and only occasionally shifted up to look at his face. Sesshomaru stared openly at his mate, taking in every nuance of her fair skin, the shape and curvature of her almond eyes that were encased in dark sable lashes, the pink blush that suffused her cheeks as she came closer to him. His eyes fell to her soft lips and a hunger gripped his insides.

Lifting his hand to her face, he brushed back a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, tracing the outside edge with his claw careful not to mar her delicate skin. Rin froze in her ministrations for a moment, her eyes becoming slightly hazy at the contact. He sensed no fear from her or confusion. Instead, her sweet scent spiked with budding arousal and he inhaled deeply, letting it saturate his senses. Rin tilted her head up to her Lord and in response; he lowered his slightly towards her. Only a scant space remained between them, their mingled breaths a raspy plea of yearning. The need to taste her was swelling within him, but his desire to cherish what was to happen outweighed his body's growing hunger.

Tugging on the tie of his obi, Sesshomaru let the sash fall to the floor. He peeled back the material off his left shoulder and shrugged off the wet fabric, tossing it into the corner forgotten. He could feel her body's warmth in contrast to his cool damp skin and he knew he would relish when her heat would be pressed against his flesh. Rin's gaze lowered and she scanned his muscled torso. The demon could hear her heartbeat escalating in tempo and the smell of his blood taking over inside her. She dropped the cloth to the side and brought her hands up to his chest.

The moment her flesh touched his, he was lost. There were no other thoughts to be had except to revel in her touch and to pray to whatever powers that be that she did not stop. Her fingers scorched his skin as she traced his collarbone from the shoulders in before skimming down the plane of his chest and letting her nails scrape over his chiseled abdomen. His muscles contracted under her touch and a knowing smile lifted the corners of her mouth.

A drop of water fell from one of his tendrils and dripped onto his chest. The cold sensation was an unwelcome annoyance to the heat he wanted to feel, but his mate saw the tiny bead as an opportunity. Rin leaned forward and captured the runaway drop with her tongue then continued to trace the path it laid up his chest. When she reached the end of the trail just below his clavicle, she nipped his flesh with her fangs. The breath he sucked in almost sounded like a hiss and his hand shot up to the back of her head and gripped her silky mass of hair in a tight fist.

Rin shifted her gaze back to her Lord's intent stare. Sesshomaru lifted her face and brought her mouth close to his. Slowly he licked the outside edge of her lower lip coaxing her to let him enter. Her sigh wafted over his lips and he slanted his mouth over hers, languidly caressing her mouth his tongue. He reveled in her flavor and his mate responded in kind, her hands clutching his shoulders as she met him stroke for stroke. For the first time in his life, the Demon Lord was starving and the only sustenance that could satisfy his hunger was the woman before him.

With a low growl, Sesshomaru bent his legs and lifted Rin over his shoulder. The woman yelped but then giggled against her Lord's back as he walked the short distance to his bed and deposited her in the center of the feather mattress. That last time his senses had been befuddled, but this time he was fully aware of his actions. For him, this would be his true first joining with his mate.

Sesshomaru lithely untied the knot that held his hakama, removing the clinging fabric from his legs and kicking it aside. For a moment, he stood in full naked glory in front of his mate, his arousal an obvious protrusion from his body. Rin gazed at him openly, her eyes heavy with desire. Sitting up, she shimmied to the edge of the mattress her head in perfect alignment with his body. He was tempted to stop her from reaching the prey he knew she hunted, but his body was not about to heed his mind.

Rin leaned forward to the side of his manhood, kissed his stomach to the side of his navel, and proceeded to mark his flesh with her mouth, sucking on his skin and applying random nips with her teeth. His breath was becoming slightly erratic and his hand stroked her hair even as his insides clenched and his demon blood boiled in his veins. Satisfied with her work she rubbed the soft skin of her cheek against the velvety steel flesh of his arousal before tracing the magenta markings along his shaft with her moist lips. His grip tightened on her hair and a low growl was emanating from his chest. Rin smiled against his member, brought the tip of his manhood into her mouth, and licked the dewy liquid from his slit.

"Minx," he hissed between clenched teeth. He pulled her tempting mouth from his tumescent flesh and motioned her to lean back on the bed as he lithely climbed on beside her. Still fully clothed in her robe, Rin brought her hands to the ties of her obi, but Sesshomaru stayed her actions with his hand. While leaning on his arm, he nuzzled the side of her neck leaving soft kisses along her pulse point that had her shivering from the intimate contact. Slowly moving lower, the demon passed his lips down the silk fabric to the swell of her breast that was heaving slightly from Rin's ragged breathing. His wet hair had dampened the fabric and her turgid nipple protruded through the thin material. Sesshomaru's hot breath wafted over the nip and Rin gasped. He licked the cloth-covered tip and drew it into his mouth suckling her with slow deliberation. She arched against his mouth, her legs shifting restlessly wanting more.

With each tug of his lips, the scent of her arousal became headier and his blood burned to cease his slow seduction and ravage her, but he would not give in yet...