Awakenings

Warnings: Just some limey goodness

Disclaimer: I do not own the beautiful redhead or any of his buddies. Only their smutty thoughts belong to me.


Previously
“Kenshin, let’s dance!” she squealed, then stumbled slightly. Kenshin automatically reached out to steady her with his hands to her waist.
“Ah, Kaoru, sessha thinks perhaps it would be best to return to the dojo and put you to bed.”
Kaoru pulled back to look at him seriously, loosing all her former giddiness. Reaching for his face, she stroked his cheek, then leaned forward until their lips were nearly touching.
“Okay” she said in a sultry voice while looking deep into his eyes, “but only if you come to bed with me,” Kaoru brushed her fingertips over Kenshin’s lips while he stared at her in wide-eyed shock. “and” she said while moving to whisper into his ear, “I promise to tell you how I like to be touched.”
End of chapter 4


Awakenings
By EmbersOfAmber
Chapter 5
A Taste

“Ah, uh,….” he stammered.

Kenshin’s mind was in a whirl of confusion. This was not exactly how he had envisioned their courtship! Sweet smiles, tender brushes of the hand, or maybe even a stolen kiss at some point. Shy and sweet; that was how he supposed Kaoru would behave when he made his intentions clear. Not that he was complaining, not at all, but Kaoru was just acting so strange. Not quite herself, more like his fantasies. Almost as if she could read his mind. What should he…

“Unnh!” The sound spilled from his lips in unguarded reaction.

‘Kaoru is kissing my neck!’ he thought frantically. His breathing quickened and his nostrils flared as he fought his passionate inner demon, which was clawing to break free and seize control.

“Kenshin” she whispered. Kaoru kissed a path up his neck, brushing her lips over his ear, then traced the sensitive skin with her tongue before gently sucking the lobe into the wet warmth of her mouth.

He held fast to Kaoru’s narrow waist, to steady himself as much as her. His grip tightened as he struggled mentally to hold onto the last shreds of his control, but her questing lips were obliterating all rational thought. They scattered like leaves in the wind. He could no longer think. Her passion was sending out a siren’s call to his own, and he wanted to answer. He drew in a shaky breath.

Closing his eyes he grazed a hand over her back to thread his fingers into the loose softness of her hair. He gently pulled on the dark locks, tilting her head back until he could meet her gaze with his own. She gasped when she saw his eyes, which were no longer the usual soft violet, but golden with blue flecks. The hunger he was no longer trying to hide was riveting, paralyzing her limbs and stilling all movement.

“Finally” she breathed.

Her single spoken word brought his searing gaze to rest on her mouth, and he closed the space between them slowly, sensuously. Kaoru’s eyes closed at the first touch of his mouth against hers. The first kiss was a light brushing of lips that sent a shockwave of desire over the couple. The kiss gave way to another, and then another; each more heated than the last. Her lips parted of their own accord, and Kenshin’s tongue dove in greedily to seek hers. They breathed each others breath as their lips and tongues increased the amative yearning swirling between them.

Kenshin kissed her jaw, then scattered kisses to her neck, reveling in her sweet scent.

“Kaoru” he said huskily as he nuzzled her neck. She moaned and clutched him tighter against her, pressing herself further into his heated caresses. He was so caught up in the feel of her and kissing her neck, that it was only when her soft snore sounded right next to his ear that he was jolted back to reality.

‘…the hell?!’ he thought as he pulled back and looked at her in disbelief. She was asleep on her feet, and all her weight was resting on him. He blinked several times as his sluggish brain attempted to process the situation. Another snore from Kaoru joined the other noises of the night, and Kenshin sighed in frustration. He drew in several deep breaths as he sought to calm his pounding heart.

“Kaoru” he called softly while shaking her shoulders. When he received no response, he swung her up into his arms, then began walking in the direction of the dojo.

“This night has certainly been full of surprises” he grumbled to himself.

XXX XXX XXX

Kenshin tucked the heavily sleeping Kaoru into her futon. He smoothed the hair away from her face and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. Such a little temptress his Kaoru was turning out to be. Some part of him seemed to be greedily rubbing its hands together in anticipatory glee. His lips quirked up in a smile at some of the images of the future that part of him was already reveling in.

He sat staring at her for several more moments, before rising and walking silently from the room. He sat down on the dojo steps, and considered carefully everything that had happened over the course of the evening. All seemed fine until they went for their walk. Kenshin furrowed his brow in thought.

‘Kaoru said she didn’t drink any alcohol, but she certainly seemed to be under the influence of ….something. Too bad it wasn’t me.’ Kenshin sighed inwardly.

He stood and walked to the kitchen, looking around until his gaze fell on an unfamiliar medicinal packet near the cutting board. He went and picked it up and examined it. A slightly sweet smell reached him, and he was reminded of the unusual flavor of the tea they had drunk with dinner.

“Megumi” he said grimly, when he realized where the medicinal packet had come from. Folding the packet and sticking it into his sleeve, he decided he would pay the good doctor a visit the next day. He had questions that he was sure Megumi could answer.

XXX XXX XXX

Kaoru groaned as she slowly moved towards consciousness.

“Wha..What happened?” she asked aloud. She pushed herself into a sitting position, and promptly clutched her head as a wave of dizziness assailed her. Slowly she remembered the details of dinner, then leaving to go walking with Kenshin. Fragmented memories was all she could recall past that point.

“Was it a dream, or did Kenshin really kiss me?” She looked around the room in embarrassment, wondering why she couldn’t remember what really happened. She took a deep breath, then stood up to get ready for the day, absently noting that she was still dressed in her kimono. She hoped Tokio could offer her some much needed advice.

XXX XXX XXX

Kenshin strode purposefully towards the clinic, squinting in the early morning light. He had spent much of the night trying not to think about kissing Kaoru. He was not thinking about the softness of her lips, nor of the sweet taste of her mouth. He certainly was not going to think of how it felt to hold her tightly against him, or of how she had responded to his touch.

When he had finally succumbed to sleep, it was only to be assailed by such erotic images and dreams as to leave him breathless and trembling. Despite suppressing that side of himself for so long, it had merely taken one taste of Kaoru to cause his control to utterly break. Like an erupting volcano spewing lava, molten desire now coursed unchecked thru his veins.

Gripping the hilt of his sakabatou, he forced his thoughts back to the matter at hand: finding out exactly what Megumi intended with the tea she gave Kaoru. He entered the clinic, forcing his face into its usual friendly smile that so often fooled others into thinking he was harmless.

“Ken-san, this is a surprise. What can I do for you?” Megumi asked while coming to stand in front of him.

“Megumi-dono,” Kenshin greeted her with a smile “sessha just wanted to ask about this tea.” he said. He extracted the packet and held it out to her.

Her brow furrowed in puzzlement. “What do you mean? Kaoru came by yesterday and told me she has been having trouble sleeping, so I gave her this relaxation tea to help.”

“Relaxation tea, you say” he murmured. “Are you quite certain you…gave her the right one?” He couldn’t help the small bubble of suspicion that was forming.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened, and we will try to get to the bottom of it.” Megumi suggested. She had never seen Kenshin so tense, and she worried that something had happened to Kaoru.

XXX XXX XXX

Kaoru smiled at Tokio as she handed her a cup of tea.

“So, Kaoru-san, you are a very quick study it seems. I admit that I am a bit surprised that you are back so soon.” Tokio lifted her own cup and took a sip of the warm liquid.

“Well, after all that happened last night; at least, everything I’m sure of, I think I need the next lesson.”

“Yes, I think you seem to have been quite effective on Himura-san.” Tokio gave her a long look before speaking again.

“However, the next thing I will teach you, is how to pleasure a man. I make no moral judgments. How you choose to use this knowledge is entirely up to you. You may save it as a gift for when you are married, or you may use it to- encourage Himura-san to rush you to the nearest shrine.” Tokio smiled calmly before lifting the teapot to refill both their cups.

Kaoru chewed the inside of her cheek as a light blush colored her face. “I suppose that decision will be left to Kenshin” she said. ’Either one is fine with me’ she added silently.

Tokio smiled with a twinkle in her eye and nodded. “First, let me explain how the male body works……”

XXX XXX XXX

Kenshin couldn’t help the small smile that curved his mouth at the sight before him. Megumi was blushing! He hadn’t even thought such a thing was possible for the kitsune.

“I assure you Ken-san, I have never heard of such a side-effect to this tea, although I will admit I only started offering it to my patients recently. I will not give it out again until I learn more about it’s effect on the human body. You say only Kaoru was affected? You suffered no strange symptoms?” she asked, peering at him closely.

Kenshin shrugged, “Sessha did feel a warmth that would be similar to having drunk a dish or two of sake, but nothing more.”

“You said that Kaoru-chan also behaved as though she had drunk sake?”

“Yes, but she had a much stronger reaction than sessha” he said flatly.

Megumi nodded then walked over to a cabinet and opened it, then walked back over to him with another packet in her hand.

“Here, this one will definitely only induce sleep. My father used to give this to his patients, so I know there will be no unexpected reactions.”

Kenshin took the packet and placed it inside his sleeve. He looked up to find Megumi regarding him through narrowed eyes.

“Ken-san” she began, “if you would like something else to help….relax Kaoru-chan, I have just the thing..”

“No thank you, Megumi-dono, that will not be necessary” he said while narrowing his own eyes slightly in annoyance.

She smirked, then flicking her long dark hair over her shoulder, she turned to walk away. “Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with” she said while she continued walking.

“Thank you Megumi-dono, sessha appreciates your help.”

Megumi waved, and Kenshin opened the door and walked out into the bright daylight. He wanted to get back and check on Kaoru. He hoped she was awake.

XXX XXX XXX

Kaoru wondered if her face would sport a permanent red hue after what she had just learned from Tokio‘s informative lecture.

“I had no idea!” she exclaimed with wide blue eyes.

Tokio laughed softly. “It’s all true, Kaoru-san, but some women take years to discover such things. That is, if they are open-minded enough to want to. It’s so easy to pleasure a man, but to drive him to the edge of sanity; that is an art.”

“Now, I want you to tell me what you discovered about yourself in the bath, then I will give you my talk on the pleasuring of a woman’s body.”

XXX XXX XXX

Kaoru walked back into the dojo deep in thought. She had never realized such things went on between men and women behind closed doors. Some of what Tokio told her had been shocking, yet she was still curious to know if it worked as well as her sensei claimed. Somehow the idea of being able to affect Kenshin to such an extent was very.. seductive.

“Kaoru” Kenshin called to her in an unusually low voice. The object of her musings was leaning against a tree with his arms tucked into his sleeves. His long bangs fell forward, mostly concealing his eyes.

“Kenshin! You startled me” she said while pressing a hand to her chest as though to calm her rapidly beating heart. She walked over to him and stopped a few paces away.

“Sumimasen” he murmured. “I went to see Megumi-dono about the tea she gave you,” he said with a pointed look, “and I was surprised to find you gone when I returned. How are you feeling?”

She looked down at the ground suddenly unable to meet his eyes. If only she could remember!

“I feel fine, Kenshin. Um, I guess what I really want to know, is what happened when we went for our walk? I, uh, can’t seem to remember, um, everything. Could you tell me?” She cleared her throat nervously, then looked up straight into Kenshin’s steel-blue eyes. ‘Wait, blue?!’

He was standing inches away from her and she hadn’t even heard him move. She flinched slightly at his sudden nearness, then met his gaze and waited for him to speak.

“You don’t remember?” He asked softly. He reached up and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Unable to speak, Kaoru simply shook her head.

“Do you want me to tell you what happened?” He asked as he looked down and took her hand in his. Kaoru inhaled sharply when he looked back up at her with solid amber eyes. He stepped closer until he was pressed against her, and his other hand went to circle the small of her back. Kaoru swallowed nervously.

“Perhaps it would be better if I showed you” he said as he pressed a kiss to her hand.

“Then” he said in a husky voice, with his eyes intent on her lips, “you must fulfill your promise of showing me how you like to be touched.”

XXX XXX XXX

End of chapter 5

A/N Well, we are nearly there! One more chapter, and then the epilogue. The more reviews I read, the more inspired I will be to quickly write the glorious lemon still rattling around in my head. So, leave me a note. Thanks to everyone that reviewed my other chapters. You all are the best!