Chapter 96

The nightly torture



Mai sighed and dragged herself to the deck, wondering, when the day would be finally over. After finding Sesshomaru in the lowest deck, she had to babysit the brat for long hours, that dragged on mercilessly. In her minds she was counting down the days till they reach the haven in Hizen province.
One day passed by, six to go. The girl went to the deck and leaned on the ship's side, staring into the waves. Actually, it was her first time traveling with the ship. Putting aside all the commotion, the trip itself was fairly exciting. She smiled to herself and kept gazing at the sea below.

The girl was so concentrated on her current activity, that she didn't even notice, when Sesshomaru joined her.

"Woman." He suddenly announced his presence, making Mai jump from surprise.

"Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed, seeing the dog demon. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Hn." The demon flipped her words off. Mai couldn't not notice, that the sailors kept pointing Sesshomaru with the fingers and whispering among themselves, with mocking smirks on their faces. The girl clenched her fists, sharing the demon's desire to annihilate them.

Fortunately the inu-youkai wasn't paying to them as much attention as she thought he would. Instead, he noticed something else.

"You are being observed." Sesshomaru said quietly.

Mai widened her eyes and looked in the direction, the demon pointed discreetly. He was right, they were being watched. Sasaki's wary eyes were carefully observing her from the distance. The nobleman didn't even bother to conceal his presence. After glancing in his direction, Mai faked staring at the waves.

"What the hell does he want with us?" she hissed out, nervous. Sasaki must still suspect her and Sesshomaru of being the spies.

The dog demon stole a glance at her.

"Perhaps it is the right moment to make a show." He suggested.

Mai gawked at him.

"A show?" she repeated after Sesshomaru. Crap, he meant that affection-showing-bullshit, that included hand holding and cuddling. Her traitorous face felt instantly like set aflame. How the hell was she supposed to go through it, when she was so shy? She shook her head.

Pull yourself together, Mai! Just be like Bond, James Bond.

She stared at Sesshomaru's gloved hand, that was resting on the wooden railing. It was nothing scary, she just had to grab it, nothing complicated. She clenched her jaws and was slowly moving her palm towards the demon's at snail's pace.

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows, observing, what the foolish woman was doing. Apparently she intended to take a hold of his hand. Holding hands, walk, cuddling – he remembered the three activities he was supposed to perform together with her. The dog demon glanced with growing amusement at her flushed face, as though she was about to do something truly inappropriate, instead of connecting their palms. Sesshomaru arched his brow, when a longer moment passed and she was still in the middle of the move. Perhaps he should take the initiative if this was to be done today.

Without hesitating like Mai, the inu-youkai reached out and snatched her small palm, trapping it inside his, his gaze still set in front of him. The girl bit her lower lip at the contact. Technically, they were holding hands many times before, but it was always to help her up or to drag her behind the demon. It was never like actually holding hands, even though she was fully aware, that what they were now doing, was only acting. Still it felt strange to have a man hold her palm.

When Mai was emerged in her own small world, a violent pull make her come back to reality – Sesshomaru just began walking away, dragging her after himself. She tightened her hold on him and tried to pull the demonic jerk back, but he was simply stronger than her. Sesshomaru looked at her over his shoulder.

"Walk." He said simply.

Mai frowned. That was not supposed like a romantic walk should look like! She attempted to protest quietly, but eventually Sesshomaru circled the deck couple of times, dragging the girl after himself, almost making her jog. Finally he stopped. Mai was struggling to catch her breath, as the walk resembled more exercise than acting affectionate. Then she looked up and froze, feeling like a rabbit in front of a wolf.

Sesshomaru was staring her down with a determinate gleam in his eyes, that was beginning to make her seriously scared of him. Instinctively she took a step back, but the demon also took a step in her direction, not taking his eyes off her. She backed away a little more, but she bumped into the wooden railing. Mai nervously glanced back and saw, that she was cornered. She looked at the inu-youkai, who was definitely glaring at her, as though he was about to devour her. She gulped, unsure, what to do.

"Come closer." Sesshomaru hissed out, pointing with his eyes at the people, who were stealing glances at them.

Mai felt like making a face palm, when it became clear, what was that strangely intimidating aura for. Holding hands and walk were somehow ticked on the little mental list. There was only one thing remaining – they had to cuddle. To do such thing with Sesshomaru… The girl closed her eyes and quickly took a step forward, bumping into the demon. She put her hands on his chest, so that something would separate them. After a moment, she felt the demon's arm embracing her and pulling closer to him. She prayed, that he wouldn't notice her erratic heartbeat. The girl was totally inexperienced, when it came to those things, so her reaction was perfectly explainable. She was just nervous and embarrassed. Right, she really wasn't thinking, that it was nicely warm and Sesshomaru's chest felt so firm under her palms. No… she couldn't have just thought it. Crap, who was she kidding?! Mai pressed her face to the fabric of Sesshomaru's kimono, not wanting him to see, how horribly red her face was right now.

"Are you fine?" Sesshomaru asked Mai, seeing how desperately she glued herself to his chest. She only muttered a reply, still clinging to him.

With the corner of the eye he saw, that the human called Sasaki was gazing at them for a short while and then he left, apparently convinced by their little show. Sesshomaru knew, that he should tell the woman to pull back, as it was safe now, but the demon could not bring himself to do it. It was simply too pleasurable to feel her pressed tightly against his body. Even the curious glances of the onlookers were not as disturbing now. The inu-youkai closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of her little palms at his chest, her warm breath caressing his skin. The sensation was fairly enjoyable, but not even close to satisfying. The brief contact made him desire more of her and he had to repeat to himself with all the willpower to extinguish his want.

"Umm… how's the situation?" Mai managed to ask, turning her head to the side, as Sesshomaru simply plastered them together, making it difficult to even breathe freely.

The dog demon's eyes snapped open, when he heard her question. What was he thinking about? He mentally scolded himself for a moment of weakness. If he had such ideas every time she was close, the journey to Saga could prove catastrophic – he had no intention to have a hanyou souvenir from it.

"It is safe now." Sesshomaru said, trying to make his voice sound as usual, so that the woman would remain clueless of his indecent thoughts. Instantly he released her from his hold, taking a step back.
Mai let out a relieved breath.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" she asked, forcing herself to look cheerful. "I guess, that the first shock is the worst. One can get used to it."

Sesshomaru sent her a long look, she mistook for expressing, how displeased he was. She sighed. It would be a very long week.



After the embarrassing show on the deck Mai quickly took care of her chores as a maid and lectured the spoiled brat some more. After she readied his bed and said goodnight to him, she made her way to her almost-private-closet. She straightened the bedcovers, trying to make the bedding look more tidy, put on her sleeping kimono and slipped under the covers. She wondered if she should look for Sesshomaru and attempt to drag him here, but she gave up on the idea eventually. He was an adult, so he should manage to find his way to the bed. Trying to throw the annoying demon from her mind, she closed her eyes and made herself comfortable. However, the events from earlier kept on replying in her mind. And so, remembering Sesshomaru's embrace, she let the slumber overtake her.



Sesshomaru felt relief, as he finally reached the cabin, he shared with Mai. Even though he was waiting till midnight, he nearly became involved in a fight, when the drunken soldiers and sailors attempted to make him their victim. However, he successfully escaped. It was shameful for a warrior to avoid the confrontation, but he clenched his teeth and repeated to himself, that it was for the sake of regaining his lost powers. Now it was the time for him to relax and be at ease.

The demon slid the door open and froze in place, his eyelid twitching. He suspected, that he would not have a chance to be at ease tonight, after all. The pale moonlight was casting its light on a small figure, that managed to occupy the whole futon, laying on it diagonally. The bedding looked like a catastrophe occurred – the bedcovers were tangled in the corner of the small cabin, not serving their purpose to cover the woman. Unfortunately for Sesshomaru. The inu-youkai gazed at her, laying with her arms sprawled, her clothing revealing much more than it should. The demon could not divert his eyes from her cleavage, showing the tops of her round breasts to him. If the fabric slid down only a little more… He shook his head, chasing the indecent thoughts away from his mind. Finally, Sesshomaru's eyes managed to leave her tempting breasts, but only to rest on her legs. Her sleeping clothes rolled up, revealing her creamy thighs, that were seductively slightly parted, as though inviting him between them. He heard the girl moan something and saw her abruptly changing the position, as she flipped onto the side, moving like a fish in the river. It didn't escape the demon's attention, that her kimono slid from her shoulder in the process. She stretched her legs and moaned something again. Something, that sounded suspiciously similar to Sesshomaru's name.

Instantly, the inu-youkai slid the door shut, having difficulty to breathe normally. It was like hell. Sesshomaru did not have any delusions, that what was inside that room was more dangerous for him, that any opponent, he could meet at the battlefield. It was extremely disturbing, how tempting the woman was right now, even though she was soundly asleep. The demon was not entirely sure if he would resist her charms. He berated himself for even letting such thoughts into his mind. He was not that weak, after all. He was no mindless beast, but a Taiyoukai and a man of honor. He would not lower himself to taking advantage of the sleeping woman.

The dog demon hoped, that he truly believed all those things, he said to himself. He furrowed his brows, focusing as though he was about to face a powerful enemy, and slid the door open. Mai moaned again and rolled right onto the middle of the futon. Sesshomaru carefully stepped inside, taking off his sandals. He purposely avoided looking at the woman, especially when he swiftly changed his clothing. Then, the moment came, when he had to face his ultimate opponent – the sweet little temptress, who was laying in such a seductive pose, half-naked. Clenching his teeth, while fighting with himself, the dog demon pushed her towards the wall, avoiding to make contact with her bare flesh. He feared, that too much unnecessary touch may weaken his resolve.

Sesshomaru reached for the covers and was about to hide Mai under them, when another problem came to his attention. If she wakes up in this state, with so disheveled kimono, he would be the most obvious suspect. Even if it was true, that it was her own doing, it was highly doubtful, that she would believe it. Sesshomaru would not. He had to take care of her clothing, then. He clenched his teeth, readying himself for the task. Carefully, he took hold of the hem of Mai's kimono and placed it back onto her shoulder. However, the cleavage seemed to be even bigger now. The demon had to use his all willpower to refrain himself from cupping her perfectly looking breasts, that were begging to be set free from the prison of her clothes. Slowly, as not to wake her, he closed the front of the woman's kimono and rolled the fabric down, so that her legs were more or less covered. He pulled back, examining her. She looked decent now. Swiftly, not wanting to be subjected to anymore temptation, he covered her to the chin. After a moment of consideration, he laid down.

However, the dog demon was not foolish – he did not slide under the cover. He wanted to prevent the possibility of touching Mai accidentally. Now, that the situation was under control, he attempted to relax and closed his eyes.

The woman was sleeping fairly still, so he lowered his guard. In the most unexpected moment, she began tossing anew and abruptly rolled to the side, freeing herself from the bedcovers, she had been just tangled in, and clung to Sesshomaru. The dog demon tried to roll her back towards the wall, but she embraced him tighter, still deep asleep. It seemed, that the more insistently he was pushing her away, the stronger her grip was. Sesshomaru made the last attempt and almost wriggled himself out of her hold, when she made another violently abrupt move and the demon hissed with pain, as her knee landed on his crotch.

"Damn you." He muttered, as the unconscious woman trapped his leg, wrapping her tights around it.

To make the matters worse, her hand snaked under his kimono, when she put her arm across his chest. Once the damnable woman had him completely immobilized, she stilled and kept on dreaming, making no more strange moves.

Sesshomaru groaned with frustration. Did her ancestors breed with octopuses? The demon cast a doubtful look on her face – her eyeballs were moving rapidly under her lids, she was letting out a variety of sighs and moans. Probably attempt to free himself, while she had that strange dream of hers, would prove futile. He stared at the ceiling, deciding to endure the torture till her dream ends. However, it was not so simple, as the way the octopus-woman was rubbing her tight against his, while touching his bare chest and letting out those seductive little sounds, was getting him aroused. The inu-youkai fought it with all his willpower, but nature was nature after all. Soon enough he began to feel the painful tightness in the lower parts of his kimono.

"Damn you, Mai." He repeated, clenching his teeth and sending the ceiling murderous glares.


Author Note:

Hello, my dear readers. Thank you for commenting. I wish more of you voiced your opinon though. Come on, folks, let me know what you think, don't be shy!