Double Entendre by Jesaka Karanaka

Double Entendre

Double Entendre

"But you promised you would never sell Higurashi Organics, Mom! Souta and I were relying on it!"

"I know, Kagome, but times have gotten hard, and the Taishos have made an extremely generous offer. They have even promised to keep the spirit of the name and business going and have compensated us quite generously for the complete production property - the house and a small garden will still be ours."

"Which garden?"

"The one next to the house - adjacent to the citrus orchard. We'll be able to use what we like from a few of those trees, too, within reason." At Kagome's surrender-ous sigh, her mother continued. "Dear, we were coming up short on all counts, things were not coming out even, and we still needed to get you and Souta through college. You were supposed to have started two years ago, and I feel guilty every time I see you out in the orchards working as hard as one of the hands to bring in a harvest."

"It's ok, Mom. I do understand, I guess. Can you at least divulge how much you settled out for?"

"Seven figures dear. Not a penny under. I wouldn't let the Taisho boys get this much time, sweat equity, equipment, and a good name for nothing. Besides, you deserve a good education." Kagome leapt over the kitchen table and hugged her mother, laughing at their good fortunes. "Now, go out and get something done in that lemon stand. Those branches are so full, they'll break."

~

Sesshoumaru Taishou couldn't believe how poorly the negotiations for this hole-the-wall 'feature farm' had gone. Seven figures was entirely too much. Though, on second thought, the Higurashis had been there for a few generations, everything was done organically, there was a ton of land and income potential, if marketed right, the name was good, and the variety of foods was amazing. It would be a compliment to his natural foods chains. A secondary or tertiary producer. Granted at this time, they weren't the most bio-intensive of growers, but that could be changed without much pain and agony.

He was musing these thoughts as he walked through the warm citrus groves, taking in the focusing and energizing scent. He meandered slowly, taking long strides and absorbing the atmosphere. It was truly a peaceful place, this organic farm of theirs - well - soon to be his. The check was cut and soon to be cashed. If he understood well enough, the Mrs. Higurashi had a daughter and a son - the son was still school aged, but the daughter was supposed to be off at college or something and had refused to go, staying on to keep the farm going. Very quaint. Hopefully, she was on board with the takeover - it hadn't been hostile - and wouldn't create problems in the future. Maybe he could even keep her on in some faculty to help run the place - she'd know it better than any third party he brought in, and having her compliance would be good.

Scenting ripe lemons, he turned to his left and followed his nose well out of sight of the rest of the farm to the more secluded lemon grove.

~

Kagome had brought out three large hod buckets with her, and was gently pulling fruit off one particularly loaded tree. The new bees they had brought in this year had been very effective, and the koi pond scum/water fertilizer they'd used last year had boosted fertility to the max. All of the trees had produced well, but these were going gangbusters, more than ever expected. She gently twisted the fruit she could reach off by hand, and used an extended reach picker for those she couldn't.

~

Sesshoumaru had come upon the short woman on entering the grove. He'd been quiet, so she hadn't heard him, and he had time to observe her. She was short, wearing cut offs and a black tank top, with long black hair tied back in a single braid, and handled the yellow fruits she picked deftly with excessive care and gentleness. There was a grace to her that was the type that came from practical hours of long work in a garden. She was a little thin, but there were curves in the right places. Stepping forward on impulse, Sesshoumaru stepped on a small twig, breaking it, the silence, and both their reveries.

~

On hearing the snapping twig, Kagome snapped her head around and nearly screamed at the sight that beheld her. A huge man was walking towards her in the farthest part of the trees from the house. Just as she was about to throw a lemon at him and run, she noted the crescent moon on his forehead and the maroon stripes on his cheeks and wrists. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed her scream, gently put the lemon in the nearly full hod she had been working on, wiped her hands off on her cutoffs, and held one out to him.

"Sesshoumaru Taisho, right?"

"Correct. Am I to presume you are the elder Higurashi child?"

"Hardly a child, and the name is Kagome."

"Hn. Do you commonly work out here by yourself with no protection?"

"Well, on occasion, yes. It was my family's farm, and we did trust the people we had on it. The most protection I ever needed was a distraction and the ability to run." She went over to the empty hod buckets and picked one up, taking it over to another tree. "I didn't know you would be hanging around today after the sale. Mom didn't say much, so seeing you was a bit of a surprise." She began to pick more of the fruit and place it, as before, in the hod with a skill that Sesshoumaru found fascinating.

"How are you doing that? More importantly, why by hand? One might think that a machine might be more effective."

"Machines are effective, but they can also easily bruise the fruit and damage the trees. These trees were grown from seed brought here from Spain decades ago by my grandfather, so we always handle them with absolute care. The motion I use is a simple palm facing my face twisting to the inside to face out to the tree motion - sometimes it is seen in dance from Asia. It's not terribly wearing on the wrist and doesn't twist the branch too much. If done quickly enough, and the fruit is truly ripe, the fruit will come away with one twist."

He studied her hand motions for another minute or so, and then, being a curious creature, he grabbed the last remaining hod and went to another tree to try his hand. His movement was awkward at first, and she came over to see what he was doing, correcting his technique. Soon he was picking faster than she was and had filled his hod to the brim. He topped off the one she had started earlier while she continued to plodded away on hers.

~

What he didn't know was that she'd been distracted watching him. She'd expected a snotty rich boy - not someone genuinely interested in why she did the things she did the way she did them. And he wasn't too shabby to look at, either. French blue work shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black slacks, silver hair, those markings - so typical for a youkai, and yet, she hadn't even sensed that about him. Her miko training and senses had definitely lost their touch over the years. But then she realized that his hod was full and he had topped off her hod, and was now working on her tree next to her.

~

She'd practically stopped working now and was observing him. He knew that he was well desired amongst youkai females, but didn't know that human females liked his kind that much. He could smell the desire rolling off her, but kept working on the fruit. It would not do to plow a new acquisition on his new acquisition before the check cashed. But he couldn't help but be curious - what was it she was attracted to?

~

He was consistent, she'd give him that. But she'd noticed the sideways glances he'd given her while he kept up his pace. She swallowed hard, knowing nothing was going to happen and got back to work, reaching up just as he reached over.

~

Their arms crossed at the elbows, and electricity arced between them. Looking at each other, they laughed, and backed off for less than a second before they were shifting back towards one another. Kagome reached up and stroked, with a gentle, calloused hand, the stripes along Sesshoumaru's cheek, while he closed what little distance there was between them and placed a hand at her waist. His other hand went to the tassel of her braid and released the hair band, his fingers gently unweaving the thick silk.

Her hands stroked across his shoulders as he finished finger combing her hair, and he leaned in, capturing her lips in a needy, greedy, hungry taking that left her light headed and wondering just how far he would go. Kissing back, she tightened her arms around his neck and really didn't give a damn.

His arms went to her waist and began to pull at the tank top, pulling it out of the cutoffs, and her arms released his neck to glide down his front, releasing his front buttons in an alarmingly efficient manner. She pulled the tucked in garment out and ran her hands up and down his well formed abs and pecs, shivering in want.

Finally fed up with the tank top he pulled it up over her head and growled a purr at the black lace bra that greeted him. Her hands followed suit and unbuttoned his pants as he shed his shirt. She then shed her shorts and sandals as he shed his pants and got rid of his shoes. Before each other in only their undies, the resumed kissing passionately, he in his silk boxers, her in black lace.

Running his hands up and down her arms, he migrated them over her sides, then down her thighs, slowly backing her against the leaning lemon tree they'd just been working on and from which some of their clothing now hung. Pushing her gently against it, he kissed his way down her neck, reaching behind her and releasing her bra as he kissed between her breasts and down to her stomach, pulling it off, and then pulling down her panties as he continually went lower and lower on her, finally pulling off her panties completely.

Taking off his own boxers, he lifted her against the tree, and opened her legs, taking a long taste of her desire as she shuddered above him. Looking up, he shot her a heated look before he took her sensitive spot into his mouth and began pulling on it and playing with it, reveling in her flavor. She quivered above him, her entire body a bundle of nerves as he sucked and tongued her. The coil at her core tightened unbearably and suddenly sprang as she cried out her first release, while he lapped up what she gave.

Chuckling darkly, he smiled as he stood up, towering over her. His purr had never ended, and as he began to enter her, she could feel him vibrating. The pain was sharp, but ended soon enough as he began moving at a speed that was blinding. He leaned down and gave her a deep kiss, and she could taste a little of herself on the kiss, but more, she could feel his purr. His hands buried themselves in her hair as her legs wrapped around his hips and her own hands wrapped around his torso and grabbed fistfuls of his long hair.

Breaking the kiss, leaning his head back, he cried out several times, his pace never slowing, and his fangs elongated as Kagome was wracked by another orgasm. She looked up at him and it seemed like he had become ethereal. Sesshoumaru finally pulled up from her a bit and roared out his conquest and completion. Leaning back in as his body finished pouring seed into hers, he locked eyes with her, gold on sapphire, held her tight, and kissed her lightly everywhere on her face and neck and shoulders.

~

The roar had been deafening, but Mrs. Higurashi hadn't been too surprised.

She'd known he'd been out in the citrus groves.

The lemon trees really hadn't needed to be picked tonight.

If she hadn't been born a miko, Mrs. Higurashi mused, she should have been a matchmaker.

~

"You're going to college. End of discussion."

"What about the organics division? I'm not going to have time to run that, do homework, attend classes, AND have pups all at once. Two out of four, Sesshou." He growled at her implication, but knew she was right. He stared at her over the breakfast table of their home, which had been recently finished on the edges of her family's property, and he sighed.

"Perhaps three? I've got a couple of resources I can draw on that might be able to run the Organics division. Namely your mother. She's very good at handling things and taking suggestions. That and she loves working with my brother. Something about his puppy ears."

"That's probably the best solution. I feel like I'm about ready to pop," she said, rubbing her rotund belly and leaning back. Sesshoumaru was around the table in a heartbeat, rubbing the tummy and making his famous purring growls. He insisted the pups were able to hear and understand - and that they were answering him back. Getting his fill of his pups, he looked up adoringly at Kagome

"Just think - all this came about because I just had to learn how to pick lemons."

"Well, Sesshoumaru, Nobody picks lemons like you."