Chapter 102

Sesshomaru's choice



After two hours of keeping close watch over the stubborn woman, who indirectly forced him to attend this farce, Sesshomaru lost his focus. Having assumed, that the males would not try to approach her anymore, he ceased instantly keeping his eye on her. Unfortunately, it proved to be a mistake. He underestimated the danger, seeing Mai drinking sake and disputing with the one called Sekiguchi. He assumed, that exchanging words with the old human was perfectly harmless and he should not disturb her. The demon averted his attention elsewhere for mere minutes, what proved to be a mistake. When he finally glanced at the woman, she hiccupped, her face flushed in an odd way. He noticed, that her coordination was lacking and instead of talking properly, she was mumbling almost incoherently. He narrowed his eyes, taking in the sight before him. She was drunk.
"You are drunk." Sesshomaru did not hesitate to inform the woman of her current state.
She smiled widely in response and shook her head.

"I'm not, Seshshuu… Shess… Shesho… damn your name!" she muttered, confirming the demon's observation. Sesshomaru arched his brow, hearing how she tried to say his name and failed. Perhaps it was the right time for her to rest for the night. He stood up and took a hold of her arm.
"Come, you need to sleep." The inu-youkai told her, yanking her up.

Mai wobbled on her legs, struggling to maintain her balance – the rocking of the ship was not making the task easier. Despite she was barely conscious, she still attempted to wriggle out of Sesshomaru's hold.

"Be gone, you demon!" she cried, the words surprisingly easy to understand.

"Quiet, woman!" the dog demon hissed, being aware of the fact, that they were in the very middle of attention.

Mai hiccupped again and opened her mouth, surely ready to tell the outsiders more than they should know. Sesshomaru decided not to give her a chance. Swiftly, he threw her over his shoulder and left the gathering as fast as he could, stalking towards the cabin, they shared. He opened the sliding door with a loud slam and, kicking off his sandals, he stepped inside.

SLAM!

"Ouch!" Sesshomaru heard the woman's pained moan, as she slammed the back of her head into the door's jamb, as he was carrying her in. The foolish female lifted her head in the most inappropriate moment.

The demon carefully laid her on the futon and closed the door. Not bothering to change the clothing, he positioned himself beside her, observing the ceiling.

"Cold!" he heard Mai complaining.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes, ignoring the whimpering of the drunken woman. He was irritated enough, because he had to attend the celebration and endure hours in company of noisy humans.
Then, he felt something disturbing – the weight at his side as little palms wriggled into the fabric of his kimono. The torture was happening again. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes and turned his head to see, what was happening this time. The damnable woman moved herself closer to him and cuddled into his side, drawn by the warmth of his body. She had her eyes closed and her breathing was getting slower and steadier with each passing minute.

Sesshomaru was close to sighing with relief – at least she was laying still, not making any dangerous moves. The demon turned his head to glance at the woman, who was clinging to his side. Her face was flushed from drinking too much sake for her weak head, the rosy lips slightly parted, as her breath was tickling Sesshomaru. She looked so innocent and yet so irresistible…

Then she began cuddling closer to him. Sesshomaru set his eyes on the ceiling trying to ignore, that the woman pressed her body extremely tightly against his. He furrowed his brows, maintaining his resolve, as her thigh entwined with his leg and he felt her soft breasts so close to him. It was a miracle, that the ceiling remained intact, as Sesshomaru's glare could set it on fire. With each passing minute, that seemed to be long as an eternity, his resolve was crumbling. It felt so enjoyable to have the damnable, yet sweet woman so close, to feel her heartbeat and the warmth of her body. The demon clenched his fist, still fighting to lay motionless. It was wrong to take any action now, he would only shame the woman. Besides, she was under the influence of sake, so touching her tonight would be an act near to violating her body. However, he did not intend to do any shameful things. Nothing more than during the previous nights.

Not taking his gaze from her lips, the demon carefully rolled to the side. He was positive, that she was asleep, so what he was about to do should not be risky. Delicately, he touched her soft cheek and cupped it, bringing his face closer to hers. He was aware, that his behavior was improper, outrageous even, but he could not ignore Mai's charms tonight. Slowly he approached her, about to attack her seductive lips.

When he was merely an inch from his destination, the woman's eyes fluttered open, as she stared at him. Sesshomaru stilled, having been caught on act – with his nose nearly touching hers, his hand cupping her cheek. He cursed himself mentally for his own foolishness. After all, it was certain, that it would come to this if he continued the pointless nightly actions.

Just when the demon was frantically if he could explain himself to Mai in the way, that would spare him shame, the girl grinned sheepishly to him. She tried to say something, but only a gurgling sound escaped her throat, as she was unable to construct a proper sentence or even word. She furrowed her brows, as though she was about to try again, but she gave up. She lifted her arm, her movements horribly uncoordinated and lowered it, slapping Sesshomaru's cheek. Then, she squeezed it slightly, as though mimicking the demon's actions. Her lids were half-closed and the gaze hazy.

Then, her eyes shot open and she pulled herself to the sitting position. The dog demon furrowed his brows, wondering, what was she doing. Mai set on all fours towards the exit. She was about to open the door, when Sesshomaru sat up and stopped her, snatching her ankle.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked.

Mai looked at him over her shoulder with a stupid grin.

"Party!" she exclaimed. "Let go, you… you old geezer."

Sesshomaru frowned, as he began pulling her back by her ankle.

"Who are you calling old, you foolish woman?" he hissed out, startled by her words.

With surprising speed and accuracy for someone in such condition, Mai whirled around and landed on the dog demon's lap. She hiccupped and flung her arms around his neck.

Sesshomaru frowned, seeing her gluing herself to him. She must be really drunk to do such foolish things. The woman ran out of steam and hung herself on the demon, mumbling something.
"You have no idea, what are you doing to me, do you?" Sesshomaru asked her.

"Eh?" Mai muttered, gazing at him with hazy eyes. Obviously having difficulty with understanding, what was happening around her.

The inu-youkai narrowed his eyes, still in such ridiculous position, with her sitting on his lap. Mai hiccupped again. Sesshomaru judged, that she was completely poisoned by the alcohol, barely conscious and. Surely tomorrow she would have no recollections of tonight. She was making this far too easy for him. The inu-youkai untangled himself from her arms and pushed the woman onto her back to lay her down on the bedding, lust reflecting in his eyes.

A small voice in the back of the inu-youkai's head had doubts, though. He had those feelings for her, as a man towards a woman, so would it be violation? It would be closer to showing her affection than taking advantage of the state, she was in, would it not? Besides, even if he did touch her, she would not remember it in the morning, so the risk was minimal, but it could relieve the tension at least partially – a perfect solution. Sesshomaru smirked to himself, as the thought crossed his mind – it would a double win situation, as the torture would cease, but nothing significant would occur.
Having assured himself, that, what he had in mind, was justified and a logical thing to do, he positioned himself beside the woman, so that he was laying on his side. When he moved, Mai gazed at him half-consciously, but closed her eyes after a brief while. Sesshomaru inhaled sharply, reminding himself of the borders, he could not cross – only touch, nothing more.

Hesitantly, as though he was still unsure, he traced his hand over the side of woman's face, sliding his fingers down her neck, taking his time to massage the flesh around the collarbone. Mai grimaced, but did not open her eyes. Fascinated, by the fact, that his actions could go unpunished tonight, Sesshomaru motioned himself closer to the female, leaning over her body. Carefully, he slid the fabric of the kimono off her shoulders, exposing more skin for him to view and touch. Having done that much, he desired to go further and caress her lower, but the demon had no confidence, that he would stop himself from claiming his sweet temptress if he did that. For now, he settled with tracing his fingers all over the already exposed flesh.

However, the woman's contented sighs nearly brought him to the brink of losing control. The inu-youkai swore to himself, that he would only touch her a little, but he needed more. Too much would be outrageous, but a bit more could be still fine.

Fighting with the overwhelming feeling of guilt, Sesshomaru kissed Mai's both cheeks, his kisses like a feather's touch. Unfortunately such innocent caress was not nearly enough to satisfy his raging desire. He pulled back slightly, looking at her napping figure and his gaze rested on the faint marks, he left on her neck sometime ago. He enjoyed seeing them and they were already fading. Perhaps he could prevent them from disappearing so soon. He smiled in a way, Mai would describe as devilish, and buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the scent of her body. The dog demon felt her trying to shift and mumbling something, but took no heed of it.

Without haste, he proceeded with his plan. Sesshomaru climbed atop the woman, pining her to the futon with his weight, as his tongue darted out to lick her delicious neck. Then, he began kissing her passionately in each place, the fading mark was. At first his actions were rather slow and delicate, but soon enough the passion flared, as he was nearly attacking Mai, eagerly sucking on her soft flesh. Sesshomaru groaned with content, as he was licking the woman's collarbone and preparing to leave a mark there too. Not enough. He did not have enough of her. With a jerky move, he slid his hand under her kimono and found one of her round breasts. Closing his eyes tightly shut, he began caressing it, as he delivered the kisses.

Mai was regaining her consciousness from time to time, only to doze off again. She wriggled and shifted, but it could not be called a resistance.

The dog demon finally let go off her breast, only to slide his hand up her leg, savoring the touch. His palm was close to her core, when it froze, as Sesshomaru tensed. The inu-youkai ceased moving for a moment, before he swiftly pulled back, bewildered by his own boldness and what he was about to do. Fortunately, he managed to stop himself the last moment. He sat up and stole a glance at the adorable female, now adorned with the reddish evidence of his ministrations, her kimono disheveled. The demon hoped, that she would not notice a couple of extra kiss marks.

What was he doing? Why could he barely stop himself from doing such shameful things? The inu-youkai was aware, that he was slowly losing this battle with himself and stepping along the path, that led his father to his downfall. To make the matters worse, he doubted if there was still turning back from him. Even if he could, would he want to?

The demon was torn between what it was propper and what his heart desired. As a Taiyoukai, he should not even consider a relationship with a human female, but he needed it at the same time. He wanted her to be close to him, to protect her, to walk through his years with her at his side. But, it was impossible. He knew it perfectly, but the part of him refused to accept it.

Then, he remembered the words, Harada told him: that he would live regretting. Perhaps the human was right – he could cast the affection towards the woman away, but he would feel emptiness within him. Maybe the right choice was to be with her? Did his father regret his choice? Sesshomaru clearly remembered the last time he saw his father alive and he saw no such thing in his eyes. While being with relationship with Izayoi, the Taiyoukai seemed to be the most contented with life than ever before.

Would it be the same for Sesshomaru? The demon knew the answer already, as he gazed at Mai's sleeping face. She would make him feel whole and he would do the same for her. A human's life was only a brief moment, compared to the one of the youkai. Even if for a while, he wanted to experience the happiness, his father knew.

The dog demon laid himself beside Mai and embraced her small figure, burying his face in her hair. He regretted it, but he could not either make her his spouse, nor produce a hanyou child with her. His pride was still in the way. If only she was a demoness… But, there was a way out, that could help him both maintain his pride and be with her. She could be by his side not as his spouse, but as his mistress. He would provide for her, care for her, he would bring her happiness. However, he had to be careful – he would have to avoid taking her into his arms during her fertile days, so that she would not conceive. Difficult, but manageable.

Having made his decision, he kissed Mai's forehead. Tomorrow he would inform her of his decision and she would become his mistress.