Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. And I don't make any profit from this story. The only thing I get is extreme satisfaction.

(If the words, scenes, or the plot of this story are, in one way or another, similar to yours or any of those that you have already read, it was purely a coincidence.)

I just want to thank the following people for their warm support and very trustworthy judgments and suggestions as to how I could improve my story. I have included the people from all the sites my work is published.

Luckylra827: My friend and my first beta reader! Not only that we share the same love for anime and fan fiction but also our nationality. Thanks for all the good conversations that we had.

Romancefreak: You are such an angel who accepted me and had given so much suggestions and tips! Thanks!

Inu_Yokai: You are really special and thanks for supporting me even before until now. Thanks!!

Special Thanks to:

Angel Wings-008, Leena-Kun, pnaiprincez, ilovetacos5, xxPunkRockBeautyQueenxx, Maiden of the Silver Fires, Mariisca, Okame, Rubberface, Tash, Xxizzyxx, LunaP, Shaelyn, Maribby09, Inu-kags4ever, lover_of_inuyasha_n_kagome, SunsetBoulevard

Thank you guys!

Here is the 7th chapter!!

Hope you like it and don’t forget to review!

Chapter 7

I want you here.

Inuyasha’s words echoed in her mind.

"Here?" she squeaked.

“Yes.”

“I--I” she stammered, “I can’t.”

"Why don’t you just admit the truth?"

Kagome laughed. She couldn't help it. "And what exactly is the truth?"

He stepped forward purposefully. "You need me."

"Oh, please."

"You do. You need me in every way a woman needs a man."

Kagome blushed. "Don't say anything more, Takahashi."

He chuckled. "You do."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Have I told you that I’ve always hated dogs?” she asked. “But right now, I am considering of adopting one, because clearly, a spaniel would be more intelligent company than you."

He laughed again. "Just look how quick you were to claim me as your husband tonight. You could have made up a name, but no, you chose me."

"I was using you," she spat out. "Using you and your name to protect myself. That is all!"

“Yes, to protect you from your own foolishness.”

Her hand shot out to slap his cheek, but he caught her wrist easily. Kagome wrenched it from his grasp.

"How dare you," she hissed. "How dare you belittle me? You—"

He cut her off by clamping his hand down on her mouth. "You'll say something you regret."

She stomped on his foot.

Hard.

"That’s it!" he roared. "I have shown the patience of Job with you! I deserve a goddamn sainthood!"

Before Kagome had a chance to react to his use of "goddamn" and "sainthood" in the same sentence, Inuyasha picked her up and tossed her effortlessly onto the bed.

Kagome's mouth fell open.

Then she started to slither off the mattress.

Inuyasha caught her ankle, though, and held firm.

"Let go of me," she ground out, grabbing the far end of the bed with her hands and trying to pull herself from his grasp.

She wasn't successful.

"Inuyasha, if you do not let go of my ankle . . ."

The lout actually had the nerve to laugh. "What will you do?”

Seething with frustration and anger, Kagome stopped pulling and instead used her other foot to kick him soundly in the chest.

He let out a grunt of pain and released his grip on her ankle, but before Kagome could scramble off the bed, he was on top of her, his weight pinning her against the mattress.

And he looked furious.

"Inuyasha," she began, trying to use a conciliatory tone.

He stared down at her, his eyes burning with something that wasn't quite desire, although there was a good deal of that, too.

"Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw the man pawing at you?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Mutely she shook her head.

"I felt rage," he said, his grip on her upper arms loosening into what could only be called a caress. "It was primitive; it was hot, and it was pure."

Her eyes widened.

"Rage that the bastard would touch you. Rage that he should frighten you."

Her mouth went dry, and she realized that she was having a hard time taking her eyes off his lips.

"Do you know what else I felt?"

"No," she replied, her voice merely a whisper.

"Fear."

She brought her eyes up to his. "I hadn't been raped."

Saying the word aloud made Inuyasha’s face grew tighter. "That’s not it. It was fear that you’d fight him by yourself. Fear that you'll value your independence that you'll prefer to run into danger than call for help."

She didn't answer.

His head lowered until they were nose to nose.

Then his lips brushed up against hers, feather light and startlingly erotic.

She couldn't answer, for his mouth had already taken fierce possession of hers.

His tongue swooped into her mouth, tasting her with palpable hunger.

His hips pressed gently into hers, reminding her of his desire.

His hand ran up the length of her body and settled onto the curve of her breast.

 He kneaded and squeezed, the heat of his skin burning through the material of her clothes. Kagome felt herself peaking beneath his touch.

"Do you know what I feel right now?" he whispered roughly.

She didn't answer.

"Desire." His eyes gleamed. "I want you, Kagome."

She let out a moan.

Inuyasha trailed his hands down the length of her body, pausing ever so slightly at her gently rounded hips. He squeezed, and Kagome could feel the imprint of each and every one of his fingertips.

His lips curved into a masculine smile. "Perhaps we should clarify the issue," he said, touching his lips to the delicate skin of her neck.

Kagome’s eyebrows meet in confusion.

"Do you want me?" he finally asked.

She said nothing, but her body was arching up against his, her hips straining for him.

He slid his hands under her skirt and moved up her legs until they reached the warm skin at the tops of her stockings.

One finger dipped beneath the edge, drawing lazy circles on her bare skin.

"Do you want me?" he repeated.

"No," she whispered.

"No?" He moved his lips back up to her ear and softly nibbled. “Not even a little?”

 “Not even a little.”

"Are you certain?"

"No."

Inuyasha bent close and brushed his lips across hers. “Really? “’Cause I just kiss you and you melt.”

Feeling more daring than ever, Kagome smiled as she looked at him, then ran her hand down his chest to his waist. She brushed her knuckles against the zipper of his jeans. “And what about you?” she asked. “I just touch you and you do the opposite.”

Inuyasha groaned.

“The answer is still no,” she said.

"No, you're not certain or no, you don't want me?"

She let out a frustrated moan. "I don't know."

He contemplated her for a long moment, looking very much as if he wanted to crush her to him.

His face was hungry, and his eyes burned in the candlelight.

But in the end all he did was roll off her.

He got to his feet and crossed the room, the evidence of his desire making his pants tight. "Tell me the truth, once and for all. Do you want this?"

She sat up, utterly dazed. Her body was shaking with need, and in that moment she hated him for giving her the one thing she'd been asking for all along—control.

Inuyasha stopped before the edge of the bed. "Make your decision," he said in a low voice.

The only sound she made was a strangled cry.

"Make it!"

"I-I don't know," she said, her words sounding lame and pathetic even to her own ears.

He whirled around. "Then get the hell out of my sight."

She flinched.

Inuyasha strode to the bed and yanked her by the arm. "Tell me yes or tell me no," he bit out, "but don't make me decide for you."

Kagome was too startled to react, and before she knew it she had been pushed back into her own room, the connecting door slammed shut between them.

She gasped for air, unable to believe how miserable and rejected she felt just then.

God, she was such a hypocrite!

Inuyasha's words had cut to the quick.

She was trying so hard to control her life, those aspects outside the trustees’ responsibilities but when Inuyasha finally put a decision into her hands, she was unable to act.

She sat down on her bed with a sigh.

She thought of Inuyasha and how honorable he actually is. How easy it is to give in to the feelings that he ignited with her. 

“Stop it!”She said aloud and rose to her feet, crossing the room to the window.

The moon was high, and the stars were twinkling in a manner that could only be called friendly.

Suddenly, more than anything, Kagome wanted another woman to talk to.

She wanted friends; she wanted a sister.

Most of all, she wanted her mother, who had died so many years earlier.

She stared up into the heavens and whispered, "Mama, are you listening?"

Then she scolded her self for foolishly hoping that a star would shoot through the night.

Still, there was something soothing about talking to the darkened sky.

"Sometimes I think it would be so great to have someone to take care of me, you know that, Mom? To feel protected and loved. I went for so long without feeling that way. Without even a friend. But I also want to be able to make my own decisions, and sometimes, the people are taking that away from me.”

She sniffed away the tears that wanted to fall down. “God, how I hated that.”

"Mama, if I let myself love someone, truly love someone, can I still be my own person?"

This time a star twinkled, but Kagome wasn't sure how to interpret that gesture.

She stood at the window for several minutes more, content to let the breeze caress her skin.

Finally exhaustion claimed her and after washing her face, she climbed into bed.

Ten feet away, Inuyasha stood at his own window, silently contemplating what he had overheard.

Author’s Note: Please tell me what you think!!:)