Animal Magnetism by Nefret

Animal Magnetism

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own, Inuyasha. The characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and I am making no money from this story. 

Warnings: One use of an objectionable word, and Kagome has some naughty thoughts. There's nothing terribly explicit in this chapter.
Word Count: 1,000
Author's Note: Written for the Spectrum Challenge at dokuga_contest on LJ. The prompt was "Red".

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For the first time in her life, Kagome truly understood the phrase ‘animal magnetism’. Despite her best efforts to distract herself, her gaze returned unerringly to him. It wasn’t even as if she was truly attracted to him. She didn’t love him. Heck, she didn’t even like him. Yet, despite all logical arguments to the contrary, she was completely and utterly unable to ignore him.

There was little doubt in her mind that she was devoted to Inuyasha. She’d stuck by him, despite everything that lay between them, plodding on tirelessly by his side. She would easily die for Inuyasha. For his brother, however, she had no such devotion, and she was mentally kicking herself for being even remotely drawn to him.Like a moth to a flame, her unhelpful mind supplied.

It was difficult not to compare the two brothers, even if only to remind herself of their remarkable differences. Inuyasha, despite his bluster and rather curt manner, was capable of kindness, and goodness. He was devoted to setting things right, even if he wasn’t yet prepared to admit that to himself. And, despite his constant bravado, he struck her as being soft and gentle — the sort of boy you’d eventually tame and settle down with, and together live a happily domesticated life.

But where Inuyasha was warm, open and (occasionally) kind, Sesshoumaru was cold, closed and cruel. None of which Kagome found particularly appealing. He was the sort of guy you’d meet at a bar, hook up in a dingy hotel room with for a quick wham, bam, thank-you ma’am, and never see again. Where Inuyasha would make love to her, Sesshoumaru would probably just fuck her brains out.

That last thought set Kagome’s skin alive with mixed embarrassment and thrill, and she felt a blush creep across her cheeks and neck. Still, she couldn’t resist sneaking a look at him from beneath her lashes.

There was no denying that he was beautiful. Kagome, however, had been raised to believe that beauty was far more than skin deep — and that personality was what truly made someone beautiful. If that were the case, she mused, Sesshoumaru would be about on par with Jaken. She suppressed a snort at the image of a Jaken-shaped Sesshoumaru, complete with a massive fur pelt and a stoic look.

The Taiyoukai in question, however, chose that moment to turn his face up to the night sky, the light of the stars setting his pale skin and hair aglow. Kagome bit the inside of her cheek to keep from gasping.

She was beginning to wonder if he was conscious of the effect he had on her. He certainly seemed to go out of his way to do things that made her heart beat so furiously she was certain that she was only one small step away from a heart attack. Death by pretty, her mind supplied with a slight mental grimace. Not the most glamourous way to go.

He seemed to constantly place himself around her. He’d spent the day walking just ahead of her as they searched for jewel shards, and every time she moved to get away from him, he’d find a way be walking ahead of her and tormenting him with his delightfully swishy (and probably ridiculously soft) hair, and glorious physique. Or, if he got sick of tormenting her by placing himself deliberately in her line of sight (and thus sending her mind straight to the gutter), he’d find ways to tease her senses with his youkai — brushing the edges of her mikosenses, teasing her and all the while acting as absolutely nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

It was infuriating for her to be so completely out of control of her own body. Sure, she’d felt small thrills before, butterflies in her stomach when Inuyasha stood too close to her, gentle tingling in her fingers after he’d touched her hand — but she’d never felt this complete and utter animal attraction before, and she hated it. She didn’t likeSesshoumaru. She wasn’t interested in him, even if he was ludicrously pretty. And the fact that he’d seemed to take an interest in her had made it even worse.

He was completely and utterly impossible to ignore. There were few good things that Kagome had to say about him, but there was absolutely no denying that he had presence. I just wish he had a little less presence, she thought with a grimace. Suddenly she felt a familiar prod to her miko senses.

He was still gazing up at the stars, seemingly pensive, and though she meant to glare at him, she suddenly found the way the light played off his skin surprisingly distracting. There was a luminosity to him that would have been unattainable by any human. Another reminder that he is nothing like you, her mind nudged. Desire silenced mind as she let her gaze trace the contours of his face. She memorised the shape of his pointed ears, absently wondering what it would feel like to run her tongue along them. What it would feel like to trail light kisses down that stretch of exposed neck, and along the underside of his strong jaw.

She bit her lip, clenching her hand as her heart sped up, her body reacting to the thoughts in her mind. As if remaining deliberately oblivious to her mental wanderings, he remained eerily still, the slight breeze waving tendrils of his fair hair.

She desperately wanted to run her fingers through that hair, catching it at the nape of his neck and teasing it between her fingers as she kissed the living daylights out of him.

She swallowed, the action suddenly seeming far more difficult than she remembered.

With excruciating slowness, his unearthly eyes turned towards her, meeting her gaze for a brief moment before she looked down, blushing furiously. He felt his gaze on her, burning into her skin, and she knew he'd known exactly what she’d been thinking.