This chapter has been edited to add the ending of the story.

"Speaking"
'Thoughts'

Chapter 12
Worry

Sesshomaru knew that he would have to tread carefully or she would run away in maiden horror as if he were some common pervert. It would be difficult, but not impossible. She has already tasted the pleasures he could give her. Her body already knew his touch intimately and with some coaxing it will crave him. Human females are often ruled by their hormones and emotions. So, all he had to do was press the right buttons and she would be nothing but a feminine pile of compliance.

He knew he would have to start slow, but he would also have to be direct. There shall be no confusion in her mind as to what he wants. He knew that if this was going to work then he would need to stay near the group as they traveled. It would do him no good if the Miko was killed due to his brother's ill protection.

His small group followed him silently none asking why they were traveling so near to his hated half breed brother. Jaken could be heard muttering about the stench of the hanyou but he did not voice his option out loud knowing it would mean his head to do so. He did wonder however what could his lord possibly want with the hanyou that has him following them, but not approaching for battle.

As the sun began its decent Sesshomaru began to make his plans. If he was going to lay with the Miko again he would have to seduce her. 'Should not be too difficult' he thought as he began to survey the area looking for a place his group could make camp in that was far enough away from where he and his Miko would be. 'She is already aware of the pleasure I could give her mortal body and the promise of such a thing is not easily turned down when offered in just the right way. It may be difficult because of her attachment to the half breed, but such a thing is not insurmountable. I just have to appeal to the newly awoken woman in her and she would be mine.' He knew this was true; all women were the same whether they are demon or human. Only thing he had to do now was waiting for the sun to set.

The village was bustling with life as all the people continued their day to day activities, so, no one paid any mind to the Miko who was wondering about the village in a daze. As if she did not have enough trouble in her life to worry over fate had to add this huge worry to her plate. She may not know the demon lord all that well, but what she did know was that nothing was simple with him involved. Sesshomaru had always lived by his own set of rules

She could not wrap her mind around what was happening. She could not believe that Sesshomaru wanted to see her again. His motives for such a thing was confusing to get a hold of 'what could he possibly want from me?' she could not help asking herself as she walked the perimeter of the forest. 'I am not sure I can handle a conversation about what occurred with us not long ago, it was too embarrassing.' Kagome was never a sexual being and any kind of sexuality embarrassed her. So the thought of him actually wanting to discuss this terrified her beyond belief. At the same time though she knew that she would go and meet him; she had no other choice. If she didn't then he could come to the village looking for her and that would cause questions she was in no way ready to answer. 'But what to do when I get their?' she asked herself mentally trying to visualize many different scenarios without much success.

The not knowing was the worst in her opinion. What could he possibly want with her? She had given him what he needed to survive so he should have moved on, or at least pretend as if this whole thing never happened. Kagome knows that their time together meant nothing to him really, that it was just the spell at work and because of this she worried.

She was worried that she could not see him as he is anymore because now she knows what it is like to be loved by him. To be caressed as if her flesh was sacred, to be kissed as if he revered her as if he worshiped her. He made love to her body as if she were the only woman in the world that mattered to him, as if he truly and deeply loved her.

That was her weakness, Kagome craved to be loved. Sesshomaru was strong both mentally and physically and to be loved by such a man was not something that could be easily forgotten not even by Kagome. She was worried that after her experience with him, she would be looking for something within him that did not exist. Looking and finding, but it truly not be there. That she would see something only because she willed herself too see it.

'It would be so like me to see a loving man where there wasn't one.' Kagome thought as she roamed the tree line. She had only another hour or so before the sun would set and she would need to meet with her… she didn't even know what to call him anymore. She can't even call him enemy; she refuses to think of herself as sleeping with the enemy. Plus he has not been a true enemy for a long time. He had even gone so far as saved them a few times during her hunt for the shard of the jewel. And lover, that is not a correct term either. Using the term lover would suggest a repeat performance of that night. That the emotions of that night were true and would be occurring again. 'Which they won't be.' Kagome thought with a shake of her head. 'I can't allow myself to become confused over false emotions.' Kagome reprimanded herself. She knew that no matter what it felt like to her it was not the same for him. The emotions he was feeling was fabricated; they were false. It was the effect of a potion made by a desperate demoness.

'But no matter how short or how false it was; it felt nice to feel wanted. To feel loved.' She thought wistfully closing her eyes as the phantom feeling of over took her and the memory played in her mind like a movie reel.

0ooo0

As the sun began to set and the creatures of the forest all went into their dens to sleep Sesshomaru stopped inside a small clearing not far from where he told the Miko to meet him. "Jaken" he spoke his baritone voice apathetic.

"Yes Master?" Jaken scrambled to his masters side and bowed deeply awaiting his orders.

"Protect Rin" Sesshomaru knew that was all he needed to say to be understood. Jaken knew that this meant to make camp, but he added out of habit "Do not fail me Jaken."

"Ye-yes Master Sesshomaru" Jaken stammered bowing low to the ground before scrambling to search out fire wood.

Sesshomaru allowed his senses to roam the area making sure there were no demons nearby. Once he was satisfied that there wasn't he left in a blur of white.

When he arrived at the clearing she was already there waiting for him. She seemed to be meditating again and this time he did not stay back. He approached her silently, but it did not matter she sensed him when he was within a mile of the clearing. "Miko"

Kagome opened her eyes and stood up slowly turning to him. "You wanted to speak to me Sesshomaru?" she asked her voice soft knowing that he could hear her even if she whispered. She swallowed a startled gasp when one moment he was ten feet from her and the next his body was so close it nearly touched hers. She fought the urge to take a step back, to retreat. He looked so intimidating, so untouchable with his armor arm that it was impossible not to feel fear. Kagome knew that is she wanted him to respect her then showing fear was not the way to go. She battled her fear and pushed it down standing tall and staring him in the eyes like she had nothing to fear.

He could smell her fear and was impressed when she did not back down. She stood tall and stared him down like she wasn't afraid. He inhaled sampling the air and her scent, something he did not know until this moment he had missed. He tilted his head silently still not speaking; he surveyed her face and then the rest of her before returning to her eyes.

Kagome watched him as his eyes raked her body and she could feel the heat of his stare as if he was touching her. His burning eyes returned to her eyes and she nearly melted in desire. 'God, this was going to be harder then I thought.' Kagome complained in her mind knowing that if she does not stamp down this effect then he would be smelling it soon.

His sense of smell was much sharper then she gave him credit for and the moment the chemicals in her body shifted he smelt the difference. He was much to concentrated on her not to smell such a thing since he was looking for it. He mentally smirked 'this will be a lot easier then I had first expected.' Sesshomaru thought it was going to be a simple thing to seduce her into laying with him again.

Too bad he was wrong. As much as her body wanted him, remembered him Kagome was in no way an easy mark. She was not led by her hormones, but her heart. There was no way she would sleep with him again unless they loved each other.

"The potion seemed to have a lasting effect, though not nearly as fatal." he spoke wanting to cut right to the chase.

"What? What do you mean?" Kagome asked confused and curious all the same time. She had no idea what he was talking about. He did not seem as if he was under the influence of the potion anymore.

"I still desire you." he spoke his arm lifting to softly caress her side before grasping her hip and bringing her to him.

Kagome lifted her hands to his chest her palms resting flat against his chest armor. "What?" she stammered while she tried to push his chest from hers with no result. It was like trying to move a boulder.

"All our encounter has accomplished was to make me want you more. No one else has made this Sesshomaru feel so, hmmm" he ran off as if he could not find the correct word for what he was trying to convey. "complete…Satiated?" his voice continued after a moment but his tone was questioning as if he was unsure that was the correct term to use.

Her heart picked up speed with his words. She could not believe the reason he asked her to come here was because he wanted another 'roll in the hay' with her. When she was about to open her mouth and tell him where he could shove it he spoke again.

"It felt different then any other time I had engaged in pleasures of the flesh." He sounded so confused and Kagome knew that he must have pondered over this for quite a while.

He kept speaking about how different it felt with me then with others. She could not imagine how it could be different. The science of it is the same no matter who you do it with; the only thing that would be different was if he… and a light flicked on inside my brain. 'The only way it would feel so different would be if he had never loved any of the woman he had sex with before.' The idea of that possibility was not farfetched if she knew anything about Sesshomaru it was that he felt emotions were a weakness. And Love to him would be the largest weakness there is.

Kagome sighed in exasperation "It felt different to you because you were different." her tone was tired as if she had repeated this very thing a million times.

"Explain" Sesshomaru demanded his tone sharp as a blade.

"The potion changed you. It made you feel things you had never felt before. The feeling of love is actually a chemical reaction in the brain, so when the potion affected you it did so completely. The brain controls the amount of chemical it releases as it does with all other emotion. The point of the potion was to make you love to the point of obsession, which means that it made your brain release the chemical completely with no reservations. The potion not only tricked your mind into thinking it was in love but it also made your brain release the endorphins that accompany that feeling." Kagome said and he just stood their as if he was waiting for me to continue. She sighed again she was hoping that she would not need to spell it out, but it was obvious that she did in fact need to. "You had never loved any of the women you had sex with before, so when we…" I could not say it so I skipped the word all together. "You experience hollow pleasure with all the other woman, but when you make love to someone you are experiencing not only physical pleasure, but emotional pleasure as well. You had felt so complete because your emotional and physical pleasures were met."

"So, you say that reason it felt so much better was because of the potion?" he asked for clarification. She wasn't sure if he actually believed her or not.

"Yes, because of the potion you were in love with me and because of that your emotional needs were met for the first time. It would not feel the same as it did when you were under the influence of the potion because you no longer love me." She responded nodding her head in agreement with her words.

He narrowed his eyes for a moment in contemplation 'So, if her theory is right then when I do this and it is better with her then any other it would mean I love her?' he thought to himself before he acted on his impulse "Hmm" he hummed lifting his hand to the back of my neck and pulling me to his lips.

Kagome knew that she should not be allowing him to kiss her, let alone allowing him to kiss her the way he was. His tongue brushed along the seam of her mouth and she opened to him. Allowing his tongue access to her mouth and he plundered her. Memories of the way his hands and mouth felt as he worshipped her body the last time they were together flashed through her mind and she knew. She could tell this was nothing like the last time.

As his lips and tongue caressed hers he realized he was gaining no extra pleasure then the normal kind that comes with kissing a woman, any woman. 'Maybe if I put forth a little more effort,' he thought as he griped the cloth at her his intensifying his kiss as best he could, but still nothing.

He was not as gentle and tender as he was the last time, though he was in no means being rough. Kagome could tell that he too can tell the difference and was frustrated by the way his hands clutched the fabric at her hips. When she broke the kiss for oxygen she stepped out of his arms, her hands running over her rumpled cloths nervously.

The only extra pleasure he received was from kissing a mouth that tasted clean and of mint. She pulled away when the need for air became too much and he stared at her intently before speaking. "So it would seem you were correct in your assessment Miko. I'll be on my way." He stated his face as stoic as ever.

Kagome watched as he launched himself into the air on his youki cloud and headed west. She knew that would be the end of this, whatever this was. No longer would he come to her and try to seduce her because he thought her some kind of sex goddess or something.

Though Kagome was flustered with the kiss and run she was glad it was finally over.

Sesshomaru was relieved, no longer would thoughts of a human Miko plague his mind.