Ok, this thing came out a lot longer than I had expected but I'm actually really happy with it.

Warning: There's mature content up ahead… as much smut as lets me write without taking my fic off, but still, it's smut. xD

Thank you so much for the support you've shown this fic, everyone! You really have no idea how much I appreciate it.

This chapter goes out for my dearest friend Zelha, who directly requested some GaaSaku hotness from yours truly.

Hope I manage to make pull it off!

PART II

~xxx~

Gaara walked out of his hotel room shower while he towelled his hair dry. Wearing only a pair of loose jeans, he plopped down on the edge of the bed and turned on the television absently while he finished eliminating the excess water from his crimson locks.

The news channel was on and the lady on the screen was babbling about some sort of power shortage that had happened the previous night in a section of the city. He stared at the woman without much interest and quickly decided it really wasn't worth his time to pay attention.

He had better things to think about. Namely, how to win over a certain roseate haired beauty he had stumbled upon out of pure coincidence two nights before. She had looked decidedly striking and had invaded his thoughts constantly ever since. Gaara had decided she was even more beautiful than she had been during her college years. Sakura had had no problems admitting her attraction to him back then and he had been in no place to deny the pull he felt towards her either. But it seemed things were different now and it was evident she now wanted to give the impression that the attraction was gone.

Something Gaara was certain beyond belief wasn't true. At least not with the way her breath had caught when he had leaned in to kiss her.

Grinning at the memory, he put a stop to the reaction his body was having while remembering how amazingly sensual Sakura had looked in that navy blue cocktail dress. If he had had his way, he would've lifted the skirt of her garb right then and there and would have made that balcony a place to remember.

But Sakura had other ideas. She'd basically fled in full retreat when Ino had walked in on them.

He had treated the blond to all sorts of insults after he'd been left alone on the balcony. It had taken a while to get his body to calm down, too. He hadn't counted on the intense responses he had always experienced with Sakura's closeness and he had been forced to remember that fact in the most uncomfortable way possible. He had been extremely cranky afterwards and had no qualms with venting out his frustration by lashing out verbally at whoever was foolish enough to cross his path.

Needless to say, he had left Lee's party not too soon afterwards. He'd arrived at his hotel room to treat himself to the longest cold shower he had had in ages.

Standing up from the bed, Gaara re-entered the bathroom and took up his tooth brush. Quickly checking his reflection to make sure he was presentable, he applied some toothpaste and turned his mind to his quarry while brushing his teeth.

Sakura was going to put up a fight, he knew that very well. He would give her the pretence of allowing her to 'defend herself' but he would definitely not let her win. This had been an encounter he had been dreaming of ever since they had parted ways years ago. They had never had the chance to truly be with each other given that the month they had spent together back then had been gone by like a whirlwind. It had been over before either of them knew it. Gaara had never been able to get his fill of her and thus, he was planning on doing precisely that this time.

He finished with his teeth and put on a light-blue polo shirt followed by socks and his favourite pair of Pumas. Despite the fact that he wanted nothing else than to wait outside Sakura's door until she allowed him to come in, he actually had business to attend to.

As a matter of fact, it had been a surprise he'd wanted to announce to all his friends at Lee's party. Yet, he'd gotten distracted by… some pressing pink issues. Naruto was the only who knew of his plans, since the blond was actually part of them, and he had promised he wouldn't announce anything until Gaara told him to.

The two of them had decided to buy the Konoha Karate Dojo, one of the oldest martial arts academies in the city. Presently, the dojo was actually on the verge of bankruptcy, and their plan consisted on bringing the academy back to its former glory. They would be the two principal instructors but were planning on recruiting help from others. Lee and Neji were obvious choices; Gaara knew neither of the experienced fighters would pass on the chance to teach a younger generation of martial artists.

As such, there were a couple of meetings he needed to attend to before he could completely dedicate himself to seducing one Haruno Sakura into his bed… or her bed, for that matter. He really didn't care as long as they ended up sprawled under the sheets, blissfully satiated and exhausted.

Gaara was also grudgingly aware he had to consider the fact that Sakura had recently broken up with her ex-boyfriend. As much as he hated to admit it, she was probably still mourning over the useless twat. Any sensitive and considerate man would give her time to get over the guy before making his advances clear.

Luckily for both of them, Gaara wasn't what you would call sensitive and considerate. In his opinion, the sooner she realized he was hundreds of times better than that geek she'd been dating, the sooner she would finally accept the fact the two of them were simply meant to be.

It had always been extremely clear to him. It couldn't have been otherwise, not with the way they had basically crashed into each other back in college. If Sakura wasn't able to see that, he would make sure to parade it in front of her face until she acknowledged it.

Of course, this probably meant he would have to exploit her physical attraction toward him in the worst ways possible.

Gaara grinned. Oh yes, he was going to enjoy this so much.

His mobile rang, interrupting his enjoyable contemplation.

"Hello?"

"I'm already downstairs," a sleepy Naruto said on the other side of the line.

"Be down in a minute," Gaara replied.

Turning off the television, he grabbed the key to his room before heading out the door.

The sooner he got these business dealings out of the way, the sooner he would be able to enjoy and properly celebrate his return to Konoha.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sakura sat outside the coffee shop located just around the corner from her apartment. It was the same place she had shared a cappuccino with Ino some days before. She simply loved the coffee here and it was the perfect place to catch a good breakfast.

Even if it was almost 11 o'clock in the morning.

"More coffee, dear?" the waitress asked.

"Yes Linda, thanks," Sakura replied, lifting her eyes from the newspaper to smile at the woman.

"How's the job hunting?" Linda asked, leaning in to read the adverts Sakura had circled with a pen.

"Not too good," she answered with a sigh. "I've just come back from an interview and I'm not sure I did too well. But hopefully it'll get better. There's one here that's really interesting so, I guess I'll email them my CV this afternoon."

"Good luck with that then," Linda replied while filling up Sakura's coffee mug for the third time.

"Thanks", she replied as the waitress walked away to attend some of the other regulars.

Leaning her head back on her chair, Sakura rubbed her eyes tiredly. She couldn't believe how much her luck had turned in just a few weeks. She specialized in medical research and had quit her previous job in an attempt to move on to another field. As fate would have it, she had met Shune then and he had convinced her into applying for a position at the place he worked at. She'd landed the job quite easily. Thankfully, the two of them hadn't been working in the same department but had been in close proximity most of the time. The job had been wonderful and everything was going great.

Until she found the cheating bastard in bed with another woman.

Sakura had handed in her resignation the very next morning.

There was no way she would be able to work around Shune, she knew that very well. If she came across him in the elevator or in the middle of a hall, she was sure she wouldn't be able to control her homicidal impulses and she really didn't want to spill blood in front of innocent eyes.

As a result, leaving that place was the right decision and Ino had wholeheartedly agreed. It wasn't as if she couldn't get a great position somewhere else. She came with the best recommendations from some of Konoha's top doctors. So, after wallowing in misery over her break up, it was time to get her life back in order.

And she had done pretty good up until now, despite the fact she had probably blown her first interview. She had received a couple of calls already after having sent in her curriculum only yesterday. As a matter of fact, her fiasco of an interview didn't really matter anyway since she had another meeting with another research facility the next day.

She was sure she would find the perfect job. She just had to be patient.

Her mobile rang then and she scurried to look for it inside her purse. She didn't recognize the number on the screen. It was probably from one of the places she was applying to.

"Hello?" she answered, trying to sound calm and collected.

"Good morning, ouka," a sexy voice answered on the other end.

Sakura felt all the blood leave her face.

"How did you get this number?" she asked rudely, anger forcing her to drop any pretence of politeness.

Gaara chuckled deviously at her question. "Let's just say I have very reliable sources."

Naruto could consider himself a dead man.

"What do you want?" she asked, wanting him to cut to the chase.

"I just wanted to say good morning," Gaara replied casually, ignoring her evident irritation.

"I see," Sakura replied She fought the urge not to throw her precious mobile in her coffee mug just so he would leave her alone. "Well, you already said good morning so now you can go."

"Why the sudden hostility?" he asked. She could picture the feline grin of his lips pressed against the receiver on the other side of the line perfectly.

"I am not hostile," she refuted.

"Then why won't you talk to me?" he countered.

"Because I have nothing to say to you."

"Come on now," he replied, "is that how you treat the man of your life?"

"YOU ARE NOT THE MAN OF MY LIFE!" she screamed into the receiver.

A malicious laugh was all he offered as an answer.

"Well, it's been such a pleasure talking to you but I've got to go," he told her eventually.

"Wha-" Sakura started to ask but he didn't let her finish.

"See you around, ouka," and with that, the line went dead.

To say she was furious would be a complete and utter understatement.

How dare he?

"Sakura, are you alright?" Linda asked.

She looked up only to find the waitress and several other clients of the coffee shop staring in concern towards her.

If she had already flushed bright red from her outburst of anger, she turned deep crimson with embarrassment right then and there.

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied after a moment, "I'm sorry."

"No need to worry," Linda replied. Thankfully, the waitress had more tact than to ask her who it was that she had been talking to.

Of course, if she had fired the question, Sakura would have answered her without any hesitation: an insufferable, arrogant jerk.

Breathing deeply in an attempt to quench her anger, Sakura decided a work out was definitely in order to calm her fuming emotions. There was nothing better than to go out for run when you felt like killing someone.

She gulped down her coffee and thanked Linda before standing up and making her way down the street.

Of course, she would never admit it, not even to herself, that she had felt a shiver of delicious anticipation when she had heard the unexpected tone of Gaara's sexy voice when she had answered her phone.

-XXXXXXXXXXX-

Two days went by without any further interruptions from the crimson demon and Sakura found she was finally getting over the wrath that initial phone call has elicited from her usually calm and composed personality.

In truth, she had been extremely busy. She'd been to several interviews in just a couple of days. It seemed everyone in the medical research industry had found out she was unemployed and wanted her to work for their company. Even though this was a good thing, Sakura didn't really feel a particular inclination towards any of the jobs she had been interviewed for. She was deciding on whether she would say yes if anyone called her to tell her she'd been selected for the position they were offering her.

Still, she very much needed to start working or else her savings account was really going to disappear.

Walking out of her building's elevator, she stepped out into the 3rd floor corridor while looking for her keys. She approached her door and it was until she was putting the key into her lock that she noticed she had stepped on something soft.

Looking down, she noticed a bouquet of flowers lying on the floor. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, since she really couldn't think of anyone who would send her flowers.

Unless… no, that was completely out of the question. The day Gaara ever decided to drop off a bouquet of flowers for her would be the day she declared herself a direct descendant of royalty.

She lifted the blossoms up from the floor and opened the small card attached to the paper they were wrapped in.

Nausea abruptly churned in her stomach.

It definitely wasn't Gaara: it was Shune.

Opening her door with barely contained violence and slamming it behind her as she walked into her apartment, Sakura threw her things unto her living room couch and proceeded to rip the card from the bouquet.

Unbelievably, he had written her some sort of clichéd poem. She skimmed through it ruthlessly. Its message was clear: he was asking her to forgive him.

"Why can't the idiots leave me alone?" she yelled in desperation at the ceiling.

She finished reading the card, where Shune stated that he regretted not finding her at home and let her know he would call later to talk things over.

"Talk things over my ass!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing the flowers and the card. She made her way towards the kitchen and threw both into the garbage, trampling them with her foot against the bottom of the canister.

Her breathing was coming out in angry gasps but she was helpless to control her reaction.

Just what the hell was wrong with the world? How could this idiot think she could forgive him after what he had done? The stupid, conceited and self-absorbed bastard!

She was beginning to think that quitting her job hadn't been enough. She would probably have to move out of town for him to leave her alone!

Kicking the garbage tin one last time, Sakura stomped her way towards the living room once again. Plopping down on the couch, she buried her face in one of the pillows and screamed with all her might.

All the anger she had been accumulating abruptly poured out of her body with the scream, leaving her empty and drained. But as the ire left her, the intense wrath was replaced by an equally intense sadness and she couldn't prevent the tears from escaping her eyes.

How could he do this to her? After all the time they had spent together… how could he?

Sakura found herself sobbing into the pillow soon, holding on to it for dear life. The sense of betrayal she had been able to forget for the past few days flooded her once more and she could do nothing but succumb to the feeling of misery it brought her.

It was only after a while that she realized her mobile was ringing.

She took it out of her purse and answered it without even glancing at who was calling.

"Hello," she answered, not even trying to hide her misery. She was too tired to pretend.

"Good afternoon, ouka," Gaara answered from across the line.

This was definitely the last thing she needed.

"Hi," she replied without much conviction.

That seemed to catch him off guard. It was clear he had been expecting a very different reaction from her; but he recovered quickly.

"I find myself utterly bored this afternoon. I've finished with all I had planned for the day, so I was thinking you-"

"Listen, Gaara," Sakura interrupted without any hesitation, sniffing audibly. "This really isn't the time."

His demeanour took a hundred and eighty degree turn after hearing her say that.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked, his serious voice completely at odds with the arrogantly teasing tone he had used moments before.

"Nothing," she lied. "I'm fine."

He obviously didn't believe her.

"Where are you?" he asked, an impatient edge in his voice.

"I've got to go," she replied sadly and without giving him the chance to respond, she hung up.

Leaning back against her couch, she turned off her mobile so he wouldn't call back. She really didn't feel like dealing with him right now, especially not when her feelings of grief had been stirred from their hiding place by the bouquet she had found at her door.

Being the person he was, Gaara simply wouldn't understand what she was going through and she was in no mood to explain it to him.

-XXXXXXXXXXX-

The redhead punched the wall of the building he was standing next to with all his might, uncaring if people turned to stare at him as they walked by on the sidewalk.

After venting some his frustration, he dialled Sakura's number again.

As he had predicted, she'd turned it off and he only got her voicemail.

Any idiot could tell that she'd been crying. The fact made his insides churn with an uncontrollable and irrepressible rage.

She had been crying over him, he was sure of it. And the possibility that the bastard had been with her in the moment he had called only made his muscles tense with fury even more.

If there was something he couldn't abide, it was the idea of someone hurting his woman; be it physically, emotionally or in any way. And yes, he did think of Sakura as his girl, he had done so for a very long time and there was nothing anyone could do to change that, not even her.

The problem was his hands were tied at the moment. He didn't know where Sakura lived. Hell, he didn't even know if she was in her apartment! She could easily be at the bastard's place 'discussing' their relationship.

Gaara punched the building again, refusing to follow that line of thought. He trusted Sakura and he knew she was smart enough not to fall back into the arms of that cheating asshole. But still, he couldn't avoid the overwhelming rage that was consuming him from the inside out.

His emotions were getting the best of him and Gaara knew he needed to calm down before he made any rash decisions; the idea of storming her ex-boyfriend's place was sounding more tempting by the minute and if he continued to feed his wrath, he could easily end up being arrested for violent assault.

Even though that particular outcome didn't faze him much, as things stood he really didn't have any time to waste. He had better things to do; like helping Sakura forget all about that worthless scum.

Stepping out unto the street, the redhead signalled for a taxi. A strenuous and overexerting karate training session was definitely what was needed here and he planned on getting just that. He knew plenty of dojos in the city who would welcome him with open arms so that their best students could have a chance to spar against him.

And from the looks of it, he would definitely need to visit more than a few academies to successfully calm his anger down.

XXXXXXXXXX

"It's been a pleasure, Ms. Haruno," the manager who had been interviewing her said. "We'll be calling you soon to let you know how everything works out."

"The pleasure was all mine," Sakura replied with a charming smile. Standing up, she shook his hand in farewell. "Thank you for your time."

And with that, she turned round to step out of his office, intent on getting some lunch. The interview had started out pretty well and she thought she'd answered his questions in a rather good fashion; that was, until her mutinous stomach had decided to let her know it was starving.

Fine, it had been her fault for skipping breakfast but still. A professional medical researcher wasn't supposed to walk around with a growling stomach. Much to her relief, the manager hadn't heard her protesting belly but he did notice the fact her answers were becoming shorter and shorter; it was pretty evident she'd been agitated about something.

Thankfully, he was a man of tact and had brought the interview to a close soon after that. Now, Sakura was making her way out of the building in a hurry and trying to locate the nearest food stand. There simply had to be one nearby. This was the business district for crying out loud! People were in the need of constant food supply all around.

As she walked down the sidewalk in her search she breathed deeply, extremely proud of herself for not letting her sad feelings take over her life once again. Sure, she had cried and wailed yesterday after finding the bouquet but she knew she needed to allow herself some moments of weakness. If you ignored the feelings of misery that would certainly come up after a break up, you simply were denying the issue and the whole thing would come back to bite you in the rear sometime later if you didn't deal with it straight away. Therefore, she had given herself the chance to cry but this didn't mean that she would fall into a rout once again.

This was why she had taken up her job hunting again with full force and had sent out a few more of her CVs before stepping out for the day's interview. Sakura definitely wasn't going to wallow in misery more than was needed; she'd done enough of that the previous week. She was planning to get her life back together and there was nothing which could stop her from doing it.

If she could find that damned food stand!

Thankfully, her emerald eyes zoned in on a hot dog vendor stationed next to the sidewalk as she turned a corner. She took her wallet out of her purse as she closed in on him at full speed and gave him her order before he could even ask for it. The man smiled and prepared her food quickly, recognizing the starving look in her eyes. Sakura thanked him vigorously as he handed the hot dog over; she was already taking a bite before she started walking away.

She spotted a small plaza located between two tall buildings. The benches scattered around it where the perfect place to stop and indulge in her improvised lunch. As she sat down though, some of tomato sauce from her hot dog dripped unto the business suit she'd worn to her interview. She grumbled loudly for a bit as she cleaned it as best as she could with a napkin; but in truth, the suit had needed a wash anyway. Of course, if she got called for another interview that same day, she would need to go home and change.

Sighing as she finished her food, Sakura decided to make her way back home. It was only some minutes after midday yet she knew she'd be called in for another job offer before the day was over. Her job hunting had been seriously hectic; as a matter of fact, it seemed all the medical firms were hunting her instead of the other way round. Still, she ought to have enough time to relax for a bit in her apartment before she had to step out again.

Some time later, she walked out of the elevator of her building and narrowed her eyes at the floor in front of her door. She half expected another flower bouquet to be sitting there. Thankfully, there was none and she took out her keys with a smile as she stepped up to her door.

Her eyebrows lifted in puzzlement however, when it unlocked after just one turn of her key. She was sure she had double locked it when she had stepped out; even though she had been in a hurry and her mind had been elsewhere. Shrugging as if it didn't really matter, she stepped into her home happily and dropped her purse on the small table next to the entrance.

Sakura stretched languidly as she stepped into her living room. The idea of sitting down to watch TV for a while sounded just right yet, quite abruptly, her nose alerted her to a scent that definitely wasn't normal in her apartment.

It was mixture of male cologne with sandalwood and a little bit of spice. If Sakura had been asked to describe it, she would have said it was the smell of a fresh breeze travelling over desert sand: musky and exhilarating.

She froze. Her eyes widened in surprise as her mind quickly joined the dots. She'd be able to recognize that scent anywhere in the world. Her gaze darted all around the room in an attempt to locate its source.

Her face hardened as anger started to rise to the surface. He used to this to her back in college and she had always hated it. On her toes, she walked quietly down the small corridor that led into the interior of her apartment, trying her best not to make any noise. To her surprise, the television was off when she came to her petite TV room and there was no one sitting on the sofa.

That meant there was only one other option left.

Bracing herself as her hands turned into fists with her growing irritation, she stepped up to the door of her room and looked inside.

Only to find the most unexpected sight ever.

Gaara was lying on her bed, shirtless. He wore only a pair of loose jeans which allowed the top of his black boxers to show on his hips as he lay propped up on Sakura's pillows. His shoes and socks were on the floor next to the bed. His expression was laid back and completely relaxed, as if he had always belonged there. One of his arms was lifted back and cradling his head while in his other hand, he held a magazine. His brow was creased in concentration while reading whatever article it was that had caught his attention.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. The anger that had been building up inside her abruptly came to a stop. Her treacherous body was catching up with what her eyes were seeing. The way Gaara's muscles were outlined down every inch of his body was utterly sinful. And if that wasn't enough, the way he was lying there so casually made her realize that he did look good in her bed. Her hormones rose unbidden yet with such intensity Sakura thought she would have to grip the doorframe for support.

She had never been able to control the effect he had over her. She was afraid it was something she wouldn't ever be able to manage.

Due to her internal chaos, she realized belatedly that the magazine Gaara was reading was actually a Cosmopolitan Ino had picked up for her the previous week. Main article's title was written in big yellow letters on the cover: 'How to get over a guy in 8 days.'

'Oh God,' Sakura thought desperately.

In that moment, the smouldering redhead on her bed decided to look up at the door and finally noticed her standing there.

She was certain the sinful grin he threw her way ought to be illegal.

"I thought I heard you come in," he remarked nonchalantly.

At his smugness, the irritation Sakura had felt before managed to make itself heard again inside her mind. She grasped at the opportunity to be angry at him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, biting the words out.

"Waiting for you, obviously," Gaara replied matter-of-factly. "You weren't home so I let myself in."

Sakura's vision went as red as his hair. She'd never really known how he managed to pick the locks; it was something she had always wondered for years. Back in college, she would arrive back at her dorm room after class, only to find him sprawled in her bed… much like he was right now.

"I could call the cops!" she snapped furiously.

"No you won't," he told her with a chuckle. "As much as you hate to admit it, you're happy to see me here."

"No am I not!" she bellowed.

But he chose to ignore her outburst. "So, is this how you got over me?" he asked instead, lifting the magazine as he spoke.

"Give me that," Sakura snapped, walking up to the bed and snatching the magazine out of his hands. "You should leave!"

"I don't think so," he replied, his grin intensifying as he crossed both his arms behind his head. "I'm really comfortable here. You always had a preference for really soft mattresses."

Sakura wished she owned a baseball bat. She could've used it to chase him out of the house; moreover, injuring him with it wouldn't have been a bad idea. But such thoughts scattered abruptly because his arms were stretching in front of her as he moved them over his head. Her eyes were forced to admire the way his muscles rippled with the movement.

Gaara chuckled darkly, very much aware of the direction her emerald eyes had ventured.

"You are not welcomed here," Sakura said, trying to recover. "And just… why the hell aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"It was hot," he explained matter-of-factly.

"That does not give you the right to undress in my house!" Sakura exclaimed in reply.

Jade orbs lit up with a lustful glint. He quickly sat up on the bed next to where she was standing. "Then what does give me the right?" he asked, his eyes locking unto hers.

Sakura swallowed visibly. He was so close his scent was overwhelming her again.

"Nothing does!" she replied, but there wasn't much conviction in her voice. Wanting to put as much distance between them as possible, she turned to place the magazine on a bookcase a few paces away.

Gaara grinned at her antics. "What's with the business suit?" he asked, changing the subject again.

"If you must know," Sakura said, turning around to face him while crossing her arms in front of her, "I just came back from a job interview. And I will probably have another one soon, so you'd better get out of here."

"Will you now," he remarked. His jade gaze lingered in admiration over the way her outfit outlined her figure. "Well, you'd better tell them you won't be able to make it."

"Oh really?" Sakura asked mockingly. "And why should I?"

"Because you're going to be busy with me," Gaara stated simply. He stood up from the bed then and made his way towards her, his steps confident and sure.

"I don't think so," she replied but failed to keep the tone of her voice level as he came to stand next to her.

"I regret to inform you that you really don't have any say in this," he told her as he reached out for her with his hand.

"Oh yes I do!" she snapped, moving out of the way. His arrogance and haughtiness had suddenly triggered something deep within her. Anger mingled with self-preservation. It have Sakura the strength to stand up to him.

"You will not walk in here and pretend you belong in my life, because you don't," she told him furiously. "I haven't seen you in years and I have no idea of where you've been. During all this time, you never made any attempt to contact me. After you left, you showed not even the slightest hint of having any interest in what was going on in my life. You disappeared, despite the fact we had parted ways as friends. As such, you have no right trespass into my home and try to have your way with me. I will not let you into my life just for you to walk out on me again. Do I make myself clear?"

Sakura glared at him, her eyes glinting with rage. All the resentment she had felt towards him for leaving her, after being suppressed for years, rose to the surface like the lava of an erupting volcano.

Gaara blinked several times as if trying to assimilate the tirade she'd just delivered.

Sakura walked around him and made her way towards the TV room, intent on throwing him out. But before she could make it to the corridor, she felt his strong hands grip her round the waist. Before she knew it, she was pressed up against the wall, Gaara's hard body pinning her there.

"Listen to me," he said, his voice reaching the low timbre he only used when he was furious. "I know I left you. You don't need to remind me of it. It's something I've regretted all this time but there was really no helping it. I would've taken you with me but that wasn't a choice either. At the time, you made that very clear. You say I didn't contact you and yes, it's true. I did not seek to know anything of you because, for me, it would've been torture. Knowing you were living your life happily without me would have driven me insane. So I kept my distance and cut myself off from you. But all that is in the past. I came here today because I plan to make up for the time I was gone. And let me inform you: I have no intention of ever leaving again."

He closed his eyes, letting out a tight breath, as if trying to keep his anger in check.

Sakura stared wide-eyed at him, shock written clearly on her face. When he opened his eyes again, his jade orbs pierced through her.

"I know you're hurting," he continued, "it's inevitable. But the sooner you let go of your stubbornness the sooner I will make you forget everything that fucking bastard did to you."

Sakura realized she was gaping but didn't remember giving her mouth permission to move. Words got caught in her throat as her brain scrambled to grasp all Gaara was saying.

But luckily, she didn't have to answer.

Gaara mouth descended upon hers before she had time to take another breath. The urgency of his lips elicited such a primal reaction from her, Sakura found herself throwing her arms around his neck to pull him closer. She returned his smouldering kiss with equal intensity and all the years gone by suddenly seemed like if they had never happened.

It felt like it'd been yesterday that he was kissing her like he was doing now. The toxic attraction she had always felt for him awakened within her like a snake uncoiling at the bottom of her spine.

The redhead brought his right hand down to lift her leg around his hip as he pressed her even harder against the wall. Sakura did nothing to hamper him. She tightened the grip of her leg around him and pulled him closer still, her nails raking across the exposed skin of his back. He groaned into her mouth as she did so and his own hands began to travel over her body. Forcing her out of her suit jacket with barely contained violence, he broke their kiss for a moment just to dip his head to the base of her neck, licking her collarbone with his hot tongue.

Sakura let out a moan of delight as he licked his way towards her shoulder, leaving a warm trail over her skin. Once he reached the spaghetti strap of the blouse she'd worn underneath her suit, he lifted it up along with her bra-strap and let it hang loose from her shoulder. He suckled the bare skin exposed underneath it and Sakura felt the need to whimper loudly at the way his teeth nipped at her.

But she couldn't allow herself to get distracted. In the position she was in, with one of her legs wrapped tightly around his hip, she could clearly feel his increasing excitement. Desire burned through her at the sensation and it needed to find an outlet. Bringing her own hands down, she ran her finger over the edge of his jeans, slipping one of them into his boxers and playing with the soft curls she found there. After a moment, she let her palm reach even lower and started to caress him gently. Sakura felt him stiffen at the unexpected contact; yet, in the next breath, he was stretching against her like a large lazy cat. She was sure she heard a rumble from the vicinity of his chest that sounded very much like a purr. But Gaara was devouring her mouth again and bringing his hands up to undo the strap of her bra underneath her blouse.

Growling, he pulled back from her lips and coerced her to lift her arms. She pouted at being forced to stop the caresses she was happily delivering but did as she was told. Gaara, rather impatiently, lifted her blouse over her head and sent her bra flying along with it. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands caressing the warm skin of her back, as he groaned out loud at the feel of her breasts against his bare chest. Sakura wasn't prepared for the contact of skin against skin either; she opened her mouth in a silent scream of pleasure while being engulfed in his embrace.

She brought her lips to his neck and started licking her way up until she reached his chin. He grinned pleasurably at her antics but before she could continue with her ministrations, Gaara brought both hands down to her bottom and lifted her up with ease.

Sakura gave a small yelp of gleeful surprise, instinctively wrapping her legs around him. As he carried her back into the bedroom, she scattered a series of butterfly kisses all over the skin of his shoulder. Once they reached her bed, Gaara sat down on the edge as she straddled his hips. He didn't waste any time in burying his face in her breasts and giving them the attention he'd been dying to bestow. Sakura leaned her head back up towards the ceiling as he suckled her thoroughly, kneading her other breast with his hand. Lustful jade eyes looked up at her while he did so, wanting to catch the euphoric expression on her face.

Gaara chuckled at her attempt to prevent the moans she was eliciting by biting her lip but he knew it was futile. If there was something she had never been able to avoid it was the noises of undiluted pleasure she made whenever he made love to her. And he had made damn sure she didn't stop making them too. In the month they had been together back then, they had made love more times than he could count. He was looking forward to repeating the experience over an even longer period of time; he would dedicate the rest of his life to creating moments like this.

"Take them off," he heard her say, her voice hoarse with desire. He smiled against the skin between her breasts.

"Take what off?" he teased as he continued to lick his way down.

"Your pants," Sakura gasped. She felt his his hand at the clasp of her trousers.

"I'd rather take yours off first," he informed her, and without any warning, he reversed their position. He pressed Sakura up against the mattress as he undid her zipper. Her pants flew across the room before she knew it and he was suddenly lying on top of her, kissing her leisurely as his hands travelled all over her skin. She lifted her legs to lock them around him in an attempt to press him closer but as she moved, Gaara slipped off from her. He dropped on his side next to her, his nimble hands travelling down to the edge of her panties.

He never broke their kiss as his fingers slipped inside her underwear and continued their way down unhurriedly. Sakura knew he was teasing her but her brain had long ceased to functioning properly. She wanted him to touch her so badly, the entire focus of her world narrowed down to the feel of his fingers as they slipped between her legs.

Sakura let out a loud groan of pleasure as he finally reached his destination. She pushed forward with her hips in an attempt to bring his teasing digits even closer. All she could register, apart from the sensations of mind-shattering pleasure, was the sound of Gaara's low chuckles in her ear. She turned her face towards him then, only to find unabashed jade eyes looking intently at her.

"Did you miss me?" he asked as he continued to caress her.

Sakura could only whimper in response.

"Tell me, ouka," he prompted, "did you miss me?"

At the sound of the endearment, Sakura knew there was nothing she could do to prevent him from claiming her heart.

"I missed you," she whispered as she brought her face closer to his. "I missed you, Gaara."

His lips lifted into one of his characteristic grins but there was something different in his eyes, something deeper. Sakura swore she could lose herself forever in their jade depths without ever eliciting any objection.

With a growl, Gaara lifted himself up. Sakura cried out in protest at the sudden lack of his fingers. But before she could register anything else, she felt him taking her panties off. Looking up, she saw Gaara unclasp his jeans and take off his boxers. He stood in front of her, naturally at ease in his naked state.

Sakura had never truly forgotten how amazingly exquisite his body was. Sometimes, when loneliness had bitten deep across the years, she had allowed herself to indulge in daydreams of making love to him. Nevertheless, she had always managed to dismiss those fantasies as nothing more than stupid whims. Now, as she was confronted with the vision before her, Sakura now knew her dreams had been revealing the truth of what resided inside her heart: that she would willingly give herself to him until the end of her days.

He lowered his face to her belly, licking her bellybutton leisurely before making his way up to her breasts once more. When he reached her face, he caught her bottom lip between his teeth and nibbled on it. As he did so he settled on top of her, nudging her to she spread her legs to accommodate him.

In an instant, he was inside her. The world abruptly narrowed down to nothing but the sounds they were making and the rhythm they were sharing. Jade fell into emerald and there was nothing anyone could do to pull them apart; nothing. The time they had been forced to be apart was over. The sheen layer of sweat upon their skin, the heated whispers they shared, the way their bodies moulded together perfectly and the way they cried out each other's name was evidence enough: their union had always been meant to be.

Sakura's gaze sought him out, locking into his jade orbs before closing her eyes. Gaara knew she was close. He increased his rhythm and was rewarded with the way she whimpered in delight. A few moments later, he felt her tighten around him before she opened her mouth in a silent scream. She arched her back, plastering her body against his, overcome with wave after wave of bliss. Gaara followed her over the edge a few seconds later, her name on his lips as he collapsed on top of her, his breathing coming out in loud gasps.

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, neither wanting to disturb the moment of completeness.

After a while, Gaara lifted his face to look at Sakura, only to find her smiling at the ceiling. Although hidden by her dishevelled bright cherry locks, her emerald eyes were shining. When she caught him looking at her, she lifted her face up to his for a quick kiss on the lips.

"So it was that good, huh?" Gaara asked smugly, settling himself back down on the pillow.

"Hmmm, yes," Sakura replied in satisfaction. "But you have done better", she finished mischievously, unable to avoid the temptation of pulling his strings.

"Oh really?" he retorted, an angry spark coming to his eyes although he knew she was simply teasing him. "I'll show you better, then."

And with a fluid movement, he lifted her up in his arms before throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

"Gaara, what are you doing?" Sakura squeaked in surprise, unable to prevent a string of laughter from leaving her lips as he started to walk.

"Standing up for my manhood," he remarked, heading towards her bathroom door. "Do you have a tub?"

Despite her vulnerable position, Sakura giggled. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Doesn't matter," he replied, switching on the bathroom light. "As long as there's hot water, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Gaara, what-" Sakura started to say, but before she could get another word out, the redhead set her down on her feet and was kissed her breathless.

She didn't know what he was up to but she was more than happy to find out.

-XXXXXXXXXXX-

Hours later, they lay side by side on Sakura's bed, contemplating the lengthening shadows of the day as the last light of the sun filtered through the window.

Sakura couldn't believe how much had happened between them… and the day hadn't ended yet! Wondering what the night would bring, she felt a shiver of anticipation run over her skin and she smiled, turning to look at the man beside her.

Gaara had been dozing off for the last half hour, allowing her the opportunity to study his handsome face leisurely while he napped. She giggled quietly in remembrance of everything he had done to her; she really hadn't known a bath sponge could be used like that. But she was extremely happy she had made the discovery and that it had been with him.

However, despite their sudden closeness, Sakura knew there were many things she didn't know about him, especially after all the time they had spent apart. Still, they had time to rediscover each other all over again and just like Gaara, Sakura also planned on making up for all the time they had lost.

A sleepy jade eye opened slowly, fixing its gaze on her. He brought up his arm and pulled her close, allowing her to rest her head on the crook of his neck. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other's presence, until Sakura elicited a soft mischievous laugh.

"What?" Gaara asked suspiciously.

"Oh nothing," she replied. "I just thought of something."

"Which was?" he prompted.

Sakura rolled her eyes. She knew if she mentioned what she was thinking about, he would probably fall into one of his characteristic jealousy fits. But she decided to say it anyway.

"I'm just glad I didn't stop taking my birth control pills," she confided, snuggling into his chest.

Gaara knew she was referring to her recent break up. Inevitably, he felt an intense wave of rage at the thought of her in the arms of another man. But he refused to ruin this moment after all the time he had waited to have her in his arms like she was now. He was enjoying it too much. There would be time enough to give free reign to his jealousy in the days to come.

"I'm glad you didn't too," he told her after a moment, caressing her back with his hand.

Sakura smiled against his skin but didn't say anything.

They lay cuddled together for a while longer until the silence of the apartment was broken by the sound of Sakura's house phone.

"Don't get it," Gaara told her grumpily as she sat up on the bed.

"I need to get it," she said. She stood up and put on her panties. "It might for a job interview."

"I don't want you to work," he informed her moodily. He turned on his side to look at her. "I want you to stay home with me all day."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She had forgotten what a complete baby he could be sometimes. Turning around, she spotted the navy blue t-shirt he had taken off before she had come into the apartment on one of her shelves. She made a grab for it as she stepped out of the room, putting it on as she went.

"Hello?" she answered once she got to the living room.

"Yes, this is her," she added after a moment. "Oh, I see. Good to hear from you." In effect, it had been the call she had been expecting all day.

She stood by the couch as she talked to the woman on the other end, giving her some of the details of her previous work experiences. As she chatted away, she saw Gaara coming towards her, his boxers low on his hips. He moved past her, giving her legs an appreciative glance, and moved into the kitchen. He made a beeline towards the fridge, opening it to inspect its contents.

Sakura couldn't help smiling at the picture he made as he leaned down to do so. She stared in approval at his behind when he bent over to grab something from the back of the refrigerator. It really was good to have him back.

He took out the orange juice and drank directly from the carton. He stepped away and leaned against the kitchen doorway, looking at her with lustful eyes while she spoke on the phone. Sakura turned her back on him in an attempt to keep her voice even when she answered the woman's questions. If he kept looking at her like that, she might be tempted to hang up on her.

"That would be perfect," she said after a while, scurrying to write the details down on a piece of paper. "3 o'clock tomorrow will be fine."

As she was finishing up, she heard her doorbell ring but she was too distracted to pay much attention. She only registered the fact that Gaara, almost fully naked and with an orange juice carton in hand, moved to answer the door.

"Thank you Ms. Tsuki," Sakura said in farewell, "I will see you tomorrow then. Goodbye."

"Yes!" she shouted loudly in triumph after she hung up. "I've been waiting to get a call from this place. Gaara, who was-"

Her eyes widened in shock at the sight that greeted her when she turned around. Breath catching in her throat, she did her best to assimilate the magnitude of the situation occurring before her.

There, standing just outside her door, stood Shune, a bouquet of flowers in hand. His dark brown eyes were wide behind his glasses. He was wearing one of his customary suits and his briefcase was in his other hand. It was clear he'd come directly from his office.

Standing in front of him, like a menacing deity intent on retribution, was Gaara.

Absently, Sakura wondered at how scrawny-looking Shune seemed next to the redhead. Just what exactly she had seen in him?

Before she could come up with an answer to that question, Shune moved. He tried to look into the apartment but Gaara would have none of it. He moved to block his view. Shune glared and stood on tiptoe, spotting Sakura as he did so. From his expression, it was clear he'd quickly registered the fact that her garments consisted solely of a man's t-shirt and her panties.

Sakura would have laughed out loud at the situation but she knew Gaara was probably on the verge of effectively maiming Shune. She didn't dare move a muscle.

"So, you're the geek," Gaara remarked, his voice dripping venom. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Shune opened his mouth to speak but was simply too taken aback to come up with any coherent words.

Gaara didn't give him time to pull himself back together.

He stepped forward and with his free hand he pushed Shune with all his strength, sending him flying against the opposite wall of the corridor. Not caring that he was wearing only a pair of boxers, Gaara stepped out into the corridor.

"Listen bastard," he said, towering over the fallen man, "I want to make myself absolutely clear. I never want to see your sorry ass around here ever again. She was with you only because I wasn't around. But now that I'm back, she definitely won't want anything to do with the likes of you."

Shune looked up at him with wide frightened eyes, his face ghostly pale.

"So make yourself scarce," Gaara finished with a growl.

The man didn't need to be told twice. He slipped out of the redhead's way and virtually ran over to the elevator doors down the hallway, the bouquet of flowers ruined in his hand.

Gaara glared after him until he disappeared into the lift. Turning around, he was about to step back into the apartment when he noticed a couple of Sakura's neighbours sticking their heads out the door at the commotion. He nodded their way nonchalantly before going inside and shutting the door behind him.

"My hero!" Sakura shouted in glee once he was inside. Laughing delightedly, she threw herself at him.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her, thinking she might be mocking him. But as she pressed her lips against his and coaxed them open with her tongue, he knew she was being genuine.

"He definitely won't be bothering you again," he told her smugly after she had disentangled herself from his arms.

"I think you've won yourself a free dinner after that," she informed him with a wide smile. The look on Shune's face had been worth every second. "I'll cook you something."

Gaara cocked his head to the side for a moment as he regarded her. "I guess I am getting hungry."

"Good," she replied happily, ambling her way into the kitchen.

Gaara lifted the orange juice carton up to his lips and took another drink as he contemplated the exquisite way her behind moved when she walked in her panties. Even though his shirt covered most of it, it lifted just enough to give him a tantalizing view.

Food might be exactly what he needed. He really would need the energy for all that he planned on doing to her later on that night.

And we're done! I just couldn't resist giving Gaara his 'manly' moment with Shune… he was basically begging for it. XD

Now I shall look forward the Bleach smut!drabble Zelha promised to write if I wrote her this. (cackles in glee)

Hope you enjoyed it, guys!