As the storm settles [GaaSaku]
Title: As the storm settles
Fandom: Naruto
Prompt: #03 - Grateful 100_prompts
Character/Pairing: Sabaku no Gaara/Haruno Sakura
Rating: NC-17 (Smexy timez!)
Word Count: 3212
Summary: "Sakura was much better off after having caught the eye of a kyokushin fighter. High intensity in a man was something a girl could never have enough of."
Disclaimer: Don't own any of these characters.
Authors Notes: Spinoff of my fic Cold Front and continuation of Till the Clouds Clear. Just a bit of shameless and straightforward smut on my part because there can never be enough of a naked Gaara sprawled across a bed. *nodnod*
~~xxx~~
03. Grateful
‘It was evident it would be easy, just not this easy’ Inner Sakura remarked, making an effort to concentrate on something else apart from the muscles on the back of the man lying face down on the bed.
Sakura laughed inside her mind. ‘It just goes to show you we haven’t lost our knack’, she replied.
Taking up the small scented oil bottle on the bedside table, she returned her hands to Gaara’s skin as she continued to administer a thorough back rub. Her legs were straddling his hips and she leaned forward to give him a massage. His muscles were now sleek and relaxed underneath her touch, any tension he might have felt during the day long gone. As a matter of fact, Sakura wasn’t sure if he was still with her or if he had fallen asleep, his face buried in a pillow.
After quitting the dojo and picking up a pizza, they’d returned to her house to eat. They’d watched TV for a while, chatting and bantering happily in each other’s company. Sakura loved the way they, despite their different personalities, managed to get along in a completely natural way. It seemed making the decision of letting him into her life had been the right thing to do, after all.
Once the program they’d been watching finished, she’d slithered down the sofa towards him and deposited herself in his lap. A feline grin accompanied by a mischievous jade gaze welcomed her into his arms as he pulled her face down to his for a deep kiss. Taking up the remote as their mouths moulded together, Gaara turned off the TV and dedicated all his attention to her. It was exactly what Sakura wanted.
Her objective to show him exactly how much he meant to her was clear in her mind. It was her goal to dissipate any doubts he had in regards to their relationship. She’d accepted him for the man he was and didn’t want him to be anyone else. He needed to get that into his thick, stubborn head. After having spent most of her adult life surrounded by doctors, the last thing she wanted was to date one. Sakura was much better off after having caught the eye of a kyokushin fighter. High intensity in a man was something a girl could never have enough of.
Pulling back from their kiss, she smiled down at him as he leaned her head back against the sofa. “You were in a bit of a rage at the dojo today,” she said, her tone casual. She noticed how he tensed slightly but she ignored this, leaning forward and nibbling on the side of his neck. “Even now, you’re a bit edgy.” She backed up her statement by squeezing slightly on his right shoulder, feeling the taut muscle. “How about we do something about it?” she asked.
Gaara closed his eyes and chuckled. “What do you have in mind?”
“Come into the bedroom and I’ll show you,” Sakura replied. She stood and pulled him up, leading him away from the couch and towards the bedroom door. She pushed him against the bed, forcing him to sit back. “Take your shirt off and lie face down.”
The redhead looked slightly mutinous. “I have a better idea,” he said, pulling her closer and taking the material of her top between his teeth. He started pulling it up, revealing her navel.
She laughed at his tempting antics but pulled back. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”
Jade eyes looked up at her, unconvinced. But he did as he was told. He took off his shirt with a quick fluid movement and climbed up unto the bed.
Smiling, Sakura went into the bathroom and rummaged in the cabinet until she found the scented oil she was looking for. Once she returned to the room, she made him lift slightly so she could pull off the sweat pants he was wearing. Being stripped down to his boxers while she remained fully dressed didn’t exactly make him happy and he grumbled in protest. He was about to voice a complaint when Sakura’s oil covered hands started rubbing the base of his neck.
Gaara went completely still, the sensation her touch provoked travelling all the way down to his toes. He groaned in pleasure, any thoughts of protest flying out the window. Admitting complete defeat at her hands, he lifted his arms above his head and buried his face in one of her pillows, eliciting deep rumbles of enjoyment every so often.
Sakura grinned down at him as she allowed herself to relish in the feel of the muscles underneath her fingers. She made her way slowly down his back, taking extra time to give him a thorough massage at the base of his spine. Moving off him to one side, she continued down his legs and rubbed his thighs. It was inevitable to chuckle at the groan of utter bliss he elicited when she massaged his calves. After she was done with his legs, she returned to his back for another round. By then, he’d gone entirely immobile and the muscles under her hands were completely relaxed.
Finally finishing, Sakura lifted up from the bed and went into the bathroom. She soaked up a small towel and came back, rubbing off any residue oil left on his skin. The results of her back rub were utterly satisfactory: he was splayed across the bed in a semi-conscious state of total bliss. With a sly grin, she returned the towel to the sink and took off her own clothes as she stepped back into the bedroom. She resumed her position straddling his hips and leaning forward, this time stretching out above him, skin to skin.
The feel of her bare breasts against his back had the intended effect. His attention came instantly into focus and he lifted his head to the side to look at her. His eyes confirmed what his skin was already telling him: his lover was stretched out on top of him, not a single item of clothing on her body. All was as it should be.
Sakura rubbed up against him slightly, bringing her lips to his ear. “It would seem you enjoyed my backrub.”
His chest rumbled a positive response to her words.
“I take it you’re not tense anymore,” she said with a chuckle.
“I’m afraid that’s not exactly true,” Gaara said, finally able to find his voice through the pleasurable haze he’d been immersed in.
To prove his point, he turned on the bed abruptly. Sakura fell off his back and landed on the mattress as he continued pivoting until they were face to face. He lifted up from the bed and pinned her down, his legs between hers. “I think there’s some other tension you need to take care of,” he said, pressing down his hips against her.
Sakura moaned slightly at the feel of him through the fabric of his boxers and lifted her arms to hook them about his neck. Gaara brought his lips down to her and kissed her, taking his time to explore her mouth and fan the heat already coursing through her veins. The strain he’d felt throughout the day due his anger returned and found a much more pleasurable outlet than beating up a sandbag.
He caressed his way down the sides of Sakura's body, lifting up only to pull down his underwear. Kicking off his boxers he continued to kiss her, tongue travelling across her jawbone and down her neck. When he reached the hollow at her throat, he let himself fall halfway to the side and brought up a hand to caress her breast. At the catch of Sakura’s breath and the deep moan she elicited, he brought down his mouth to suckle her other nipple. She cried out with pleasure and he dedicated himself thoroughly to provoking more of those sultry sounds he liked so much. Gaara wasn’t satisfied until she was writhing underneath him and calling out his name helplessly.
Only then did he give her some kind of reprieve, bringing his hand down and letting his deft fingers travel up her soft thigh only to bury them into her slick heat. He took her higher and higher, his mouth, tongue and teeth at her breast and his hand between her thighs. Sakura arched her back and whimpered, her hands fisted in his hair as her hips moved to the rhythm his digits were setting. It wasn’t long before she let out a sharp cry as bliss overtook her, her velvet walls contracting wonderfully around Gaara’s fingers. He brought his mouth up to hers then, kissing her and swallowing her impassioned mewls.
“Just a small one for now,” he told her with dark amusement, every inch the feline she accused him of being.
Letting her float among the heavenly lights behind her eyes for just a moment, the redhead moved on top of her.
When Sakura’s gaze cleared and she managed to focus once again, he joined with her in a single, deep thrust. Unable to prevent from crying out, she lifted her legs around his hips and embraced him, relishing in the feel of his length inside her. Gaara didn’t give her time to regain her bearings. He set a quick strong pace, feeding the flames that hadn’t completely died yet. Sakura felt the heat build up again, a great degree more intense than before. The redhead murmured encouragement tempered with male amusement in her ear and all she could do was bite down on his shoulder to try to hold on to her sanity.
The friction between them was exquisite, making Sakura’s toes curl in delight. The feel of the muscles she’d so lovingly massaged only made her lose her control even further as her hands travelled up and down his back, nails grazing him as they went. She was so sensitized, every single spot where her skin touched his sent jolts down to her core. As the tension escalated, she threw her head back and mewled loudly.
It was the signal Gaara had been waiting for, letting him know she was quickly approaching her peak.
Without any warning, he pulled back and brought her along with him until he was sitting back with her in his lap, still buried to the hilt in her slick haven. There was no break in his movements and he continued to move inside her. Sakura saw stars behind her eyes as he pushed even closer to the edge. This new angle allowed him to hit the precise spot inside her that made her lose all semblance of reason. It wasn’t long before she was begging him not to stop.
His rumble of deep approval as Gaara took her mouth in his once more was all she needed to send her over the limit. Her orgasm hit her with the force of an incoming meteor as her vision shattered to pieces just before she closed her eyes. Pulling back from his kiss, Sakura leaned her head back in a silent scream. She came apart in his arms and he held her tightly as she contracted forcefully all around him and carried him to ecstasy. He joined her a few moments later, his hoarse cry delivered against her throat at the strength of his own release.
They slumped back down unto the bed together, unable to keep upright anymore. Gaara rested his head against Sakura’s shoulder as he regained his breath, closing his eyes in contentment. The intensity he experienced whenever he joined with Sakura was something that would never cease to amaze him. No matter what they did or how they did it, the results were always the same: mind-blowing bliss. It was something he’d once thought he’d never find with a woman. He was never happier to have been proven wrong.
After a couple of minutes, Sakura’s fingers lifted to his head and played with his crimson locks. She looked up at the ceiling as she did so, content to just lie there with him, sated and slaked, in the silence of the room.
“I’m so grateful I found you,” she said eventually. Their skins were already cooling and the night breeze was coming in through the open window.
Gaara lifted from her, conscious that he was crushing her, and rolled unto his side. He pulled her towards him and tangled his legs with hers. Instead of answering with words, he caressed her face and bestowed a series of kisses across her temple.
Sakura turned her lips to his palm and kissed it, relishing in the feel of his rough calluses. She looked at him from underneath her lashes and decided he was as calm and collected as could be. Thus, it was time to tackle her pending objective. Raising her hand, she took his fingers and fisted them, bringing his knuckles to her lips to bestow a kiss. They were raw and battered; courtesy of the pounding he’d given the sandbag some hours before.
“Care to tell me why you mutilated your hands to such an extent?” she asked between kisses.
He grumbled slightly. “I didn’t mutilate them,” Gaara said defensively, “this is nothing compared to how they used to get when I started out.”
She tsked at him. “You martial artists really are certified masochists.”
He smiled deviously and started to say something but she cut him off.
“Still, you didn’t answer my question.” Emerald eyes locked with his, letting him know she was intent on hearing his reply.
His brow furrowed and his jade gaze turned thoughtful. It was clear he was debating on how much he should reveal to her. He was, after all, extremely proud. It wouldn’t do to appear weak, especially not in front of his lover. Gaara shifted in her arms and leaned his head back against the pillow.
“A kid at the dojo today, he said something that pissed me off,” he told her, eyes focusing on a point beyond the bed. “He made a remark about you and me and I happened to overhear him.”
Sakura propped up on her elbow to get a better look at his face. “What did he say?” she asked. Even though she knew very well, she wanted to hear it from him.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Gaara replied.
“From the way you were intent on annihilating that sandbag, I’d say it does,” she countered.
The redhead let out a long breath. “He more or less said something about you being too much of a woman for me.”
“Please tell me you beat him to an inch of his life,” Sakura growled, her eyes narrowing in genuine anger. She still couldn’t believe the nerve of the damned kid.
Gaara’s low chuckle was self-deprecative. “No, I’m afraid I didn’t. By the time I went into the locker room he’d already left for his lesson with Naruto.”
“And you let him go?” she pressed. They both knew very well Gaara wouldn’t have stepped down from delivering punishment to any idiot who dared to speak out of line. Which meant there was a reason why he’d let the kid go.
He wriggled uncomfortably. “Yeah, I did.”
Emerald eyes narrowed when he didn’t elaborate further. They were reaching the crux of the matter and she needed to make her point. “Why?”
Gaara refused to look at her. “I don’t know,” he said edgily, his temper starting to show, “I guess he wasn’t worth my time.”
“I see,” Sakura remarked, knowing very well that he was lying. “For a moment there I was afraid you’d believed what that moronic upstart had said.”
Jade eyes lifted to her face.
“Which would have really made me mad,” she continued. “I would’ve had to trash the stupid kid and you as well if that had been the case.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his throat. “Then you really would’ve been in trouble.”
Gaara blinked at her words, looking down at her but unable to see her face clearly.
Sakura pulled him closer as she spoke. “It’s completely absurd, you know, for someone who barely even knows us to say something like that. I don’t know what the hell the idiot was thinking. Too much of a woman? Don’t be ridiculous. Too much of a woman needs too much of a man... which is exactly what I have.” She lifted her face up to him then. “I’d venture to guess the kid has never seen you fight. If he had, he’d know the calibre of the man I’m now holding in my arms.”
The low chuckle that rumbled in his chest was utterly delicious. Sakura couldn’t help gracing him with an utterly besotted smile.
“As a matter of fact, he hasn’t,” Gaara admitted. “He’s only seen me spar during lessons. He’s never seen me in a real fight.”
“Ah!” she exclaimed triumphantly, “there’s your answer.”
He smirked at her, burying his nose in her hair.
“Tomcat,” Sakura said, tightening her arms around him as she strove to ease his bruised ego. “You’re amazing at what you do. Worst part is that you know it! Just like I know I’m good at what I do. That’s the whole point. We may be different but we excel in our differences.”
She lifted her mouth up to his for a quick kiss. “It’s the reason why I fell for you so damned easily,” she admitted ruefully. She was aware that, despite her initial hesitation, she hadn’t truly put up much of a fight back when they’d first met. “Someone different is exactly what I want... I’d die if I were with someone who was just like me. I shudder at the prospect of ever dating a doctor!” As she said this, she literally shook with repulsion.
“I’d agree there,” he told her, his feline grin on his lips. “A doctor would never have the kind of stamina I’ve gained because of my intense training.” To prove his point, he rocked his hips against hers.
Sakura gasped slightly at the evidence of his already increasing arousal before laughing out loud. “That’s definitely one point in your favour,” she told him, bringing her hand down his back to caress his shapely rear. “Having a martial artist as a lover has its advantages.”
Gaara rolled unto his back, pulling her on top of him. His fingertips caressed slowly down her sides, making her shiver in delight. “You’d do well to remember that,” he told her, his voice low and lined with velvet.
“I do,” Sakura admitted happily, “every single day.” She leaned down and bit his lower lip.
“Then we’d better make sure you continue to do so,” Gaara said, capturing her mouth and leaving her breathless.
As he dedicated himself once more to making her cry out with pleasure, her limbs clinging to him as he lavished her with countless caresses, Sakura couldn’t help but reiterate the sentiment she felt deep down in her bones.
“I’m so grateful I found you.”
And this time around, doubts assuaged, she was aware he knew it was true.
Glad we got that straightened out, Inner Sakura managed to contribute before losing herself to Gaara’s lovemaking.
Sakura couldn’t agree more.
~~xxx~~
Fandom: Naruto
Prompt: #03 - Grateful 100_prompts
Character/Pairing: Sabaku no Gaara/Haruno Sakura
Rating: NC-17 (Smexy timez!)
Word Count: 3212
Summary: "Sakura was much better off after having caught the eye of a kyokushin fighter. High intensity in a man was something a girl could never have enough of."
Disclaimer: Don't own any of these characters.
Authors Notes: Spinoff of my fic Cold Front and continuation of Till the Clouds Clear. Just a bit of shameless and straightforward smut on my part because there can never be enough of a naked Gaara sprawled across a bed. *nodnod*
~~xxx~~
03. Grateful
‘It was evident it would be easy, just not this easy’ Inner Sakura remarked, making an effort to concentrate on something else apart from the muscles on the back of the man lying face down on the bed.
Sakura laughed inside her mind. ‘It just goes to show you we haven’t lost our knack’, she replied.
Taking up the small scented oil bottle on the bedside table, she returned her hands to Gaara’s skin as she continued to administer a thorough back rub. Her legs were straddling his hips and she leaned forward to give him a massage. His muscles were now sleek and relaxed underneath her touch, any tension he might have felt during the day long gone. As a matter of fact, Sakura wasn’t sure if he was still with her or if he had fallen asleep, his face buried in a pillow.
After quitting the dojo and picking up a pizza, they’d returned to her house to eat. They’d watched TV for a while, chatting and bantering happily in each other’s company. Sakura loved the way they, despite their different personalities, managed to get along in a completely natural way. It seemed making the decision of letting him into her life had been the right thing to do, after all.
Once the program they’d been watching finished, she’d slithered down the sofa towards him and deposited herself in his lap. A feline grin accompanied by a mischievous jade gaze welcomed her into his arms as he pulled her face down to his for a deep kiss. Taking up the remote as their mouths moulded together, Gaara turned off the TV and dedicated all his attention to her. It was exactly what Sakura wanted.
Her objective to show him exactly how much he meant to her was clear in her mind. It was her goal to dissipate any doubts he had in regards to their relationship. She’d accepted him for the man he was and didn’t want him to be anyone else. He needed to get that into his thick, stubborn head. After having spent most of her adult life surrounded by doctors, the last thing she wanted was to date one. Sakura was much better off after having caught the eye of a kyokushin fighter. High intensity in a man was something a girl could never have enough of.
Pulling back from their kiss, she smiled down at him as he leaned her head back against the sofa. “You were in a bit of a rage at the dojo today,” she said, her tone casual. She noticed how he tensed slightly but she ignored this, leaning forward and nibbling on the side of his neck. “Even now, you’re a bit edgy.” She backed up her statement by squeezing slightly on his right shoulder, feeling the taut muscle. “How about we do something about it?” she asked.
Gaara closed his eyes and chuckled. “What do you have in mind?”
“Come into the bedroom and I’ll show you,” Sakura replied. She stood and pulled him up, leading him away from the couch and towards the bedroom door. She pushed him against the bed, forcing him to sit back. “Take your shirt off and lie face down.”
The redhead looked slightly mutinous. “I have a better idea,” he said, pulling her closer and taking the material of her top between his teeth. He started pulling it up, revealing her navel.
She laughed at his tempting antics but pulled back. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”
Jade eyes looked up at her, unconvinced. But he did as he was told. He took off his shirt with a quick fluid movement and climbed up unto the bed.
Smiling, Sakura went into the bathroom and rummaged in the cabinet until she found the scented oil she was looking for. Once she returned to the room, she made him lift slightly so she could pull off the sweat pants he was wearing. Being stripped down to his boxers while she remained fully dressed didn’t exactly make him happy and he grumbled in protest. He was about to voice a complaint when Sakura’s oil covered hands started rubbing the base of his neck.
Gaara went completely still, the sensation her touch provoked travelling all the way down to his toes. He groaned in pleasure, any thoughts of protest flying out the window. Admitting complete defeat at her hands, he lifted his arms above his head and buried his face in one of her pillows, eliciting deep rumbles of enjoyment every so often.
Sakura grinned down at him as she allowed herself to relish in the feel of the muscles underneath her fingers. She made her way slowly down his back, taking extra time to give him a thorough massage at the base of his spine. Moving off him to one side, she continued down his legs and rubbed his thighs. It was inevitable to chuckle at the groan of utter bliss he elicited when she massaged his calves. After she was done with his legs, she returned to his back for another round. By then, he’d gone entirely immobile and the muscles under her hands were completely relaxed.
Finally finishing, Sakura lifted up from the bed and went into the bathroom. She soaked up a small towel and came back, rubbing off any residue oil left on his skin. The results of her back rub were utterly satisfactory: he was splayed across the bed in a semi-conscious state of total bliss. With a sly grin, she returned the towel to the sink and took off her own clothes as she stepped back into the bedroom. She resumed her position straddling his hips and leaning forward, this time stretching out above him, skin to skin.
The feel of her bare breasts against his back had the intended effect. His attention came instantly into focus and he lifted his head to the side to look at her. His eyes confirmed what his skin was already telling him: his lover was stretched out on top of him, not a single item of clothing on her body. All was as it should be.
Sakura rubbed up against him slightly, bringing her lips to his ear. “It would seem you enjoyed my backrub.”
His chest rumbled a positive response to her words.
“I take it you’re not tense anymore,” she said with a chuckle.
“I’m afraid that’s not exactly true,” Gaara said, finally able to find his voice through the pleasurable haze he’d been immersed in.
To prove his point, he turned on the bed abruptly. Sakura fell off his back and landed on the mattress as he continued pivoting until they were face to face. He lifted up from the bed and pinned her down, his legs between hers. “I think there’s some other tension you need to take care of,” he said, pressing down his hips against her.
Sakura moaned slightly at the feel of him through the fabric of his boxers and lifted her arms to hook them about his neck. Gaara brought his lips down to her and kissed her, taking his time to explore her mouth and fan the heat already coursing through her veins. The strain he’d felt throughout the day due his anger returned and found a much more pleasurable outlet than beating up a sandbag.
He caressed his way down the sides of Sakura's body, lifting up only to pull down his underwear. Kicking off his boxers he continued to kiss her, tongue travelling across her jawbone and down her neck. When he reached the hollow at her throat, he let himself fall halfway to the side and brought up a hand to caress her breast. At the catch of Sakura’s breath and the deep moan she elicited, he brought down his mouth to suckle her other nipple. She cried out with pleasure and he dedicated himself thoroughly to provoking more of those sultry sounds he liked so much. Gaara wasn’t satisfied until she was writhing underneath him and calling out his name helplessly.
Only then did he give her some kind of reprieve, bringing his hand down and letting his deft fingers travel up her soft thigh only to bury them into her slick heat. He took her higher and higher, his mouth, tongue and teeth at her breast and his hand between her thighs. Sakura arched her back and whimpered, her hands fisted in his hair as her hips moved to the rhythm his digits were setting. It wasn’t long before she let out a sharp cry as bliss overtook her, her velvet walls contracting wonderfully around Gaara’s fingers. He brought his mouth up to hers then, kissing her and swallowing her impassioned mewls.
“Just a small one for now,” he told her with dark amusement, every inch the feline she accused him of being.
Letting her float among the heavenly lights behind her eyes for just a moment, the redhead moved on top of her.
When Sakura’s gaze cleared and she managed to focus once again, he joined with her in a single, deep thrust. Unable to prevent from crying out, she lifted her legs around his hips and embraced him, relishing in the feel of his length inside her. Gaara didn’t give her time to regain her bearings. He set a quick strong pace, feeding the flames that hadn’t completely died yet. Sakura felt the heat build up again, a great degree more intense than before. The redhead murmured encouragement tempered with male amusement in her ear and all she could do was bite down on his shoulder to try to hold on to her sanity.
The friction between them was exquisite, making Sakura’s toes curl in delight. The feel of the muscles she’d so lovingly massaged only made her lose her control even further as her hands travelled up and down his back, nails grazing him as they went. She was so sensitized, every single spot where her skin touched his sent jolts down to her core. As the tension escalated, she threw her head back and mewled loudly.
It was the signal Gaara had been waiting for, letting him know she was quickly approaching her peak.
Without any warning, he pulled back and brought her along with him until he was sitting back with her in his lap, still buried to the hilt in her slick haven. There was no break in his movements and he continued to move inside her. Sakura saw stars behind her eyes as he pushed even closer to the edge. This new angle allowed him to hit the precise spot inside her that made her lose all semblance of reason. It wasn’t long before she was begging him not to stop.
His rumble of deep approval as Gaara took her mouth in his once more was all she needed to send her over the limit. Her orgasm hit her with the force of an incoming meteor as her vision shattered to pieces just before she closed her eyes. Pulling back from his kiss, Sakura leaned her head back in a silent scream. She came apart in his arms and he held her tightly as she contracted forcefully all around him and carried him to ecstasy. He joined her a few moments later, his hoarse cry delivered against her throat at the strength of his own release.
They slumped back down unto the bed together, unable to keep upright anymore. Gaara rested his head against Sakura’s shoulder as he regained his breath, closing his eyes in contentment. The intensity he experienced whenever he joined with Sakura was something that would never cease to amaze him. No matter what they did or how they did it, the results were always the same: mind-blowing bliss. It was something he’d once thought he’d never find with a woman. He was never happier to have been proven wrong.
After a couple of minutes, Sakura’s fingers lifted to his head and played with his crimson locks. She looked up at the ceiling as she did so, content to just lie there with him, sated and slaked, in the silence of the room.
“I’m so grateful I found you,” she said eventually. Their skins were already cooling and the night breeze was coming in through the open window.
Gaara lifted from her, conscious that he was crushing her, and rolled unto his side. He pulled her towards him and tangled his legs with hers. Instead of answering with words, he caressed her face and bestowed a series of kisses across her temple.
Sakura turned her lips to his palm and kissed it, relishing in the feel of his rough calluses. She looked at him from underneath her lashes and decided he was as calm and collected as could be. Thus, it was time to tackle her pending objective. Raising her hand, she took his fingers and fisted them, bringing his knuckles to her lips to bestow a kiss. They were raw and battered; courtesy of the pounding he’d given the sandbag some hours before.
“Care to tell me why you mutilated your hands to such an extent?” she asked between kisses.
He grumbled slightly. “I didn’t mutilate them,” Gaara said defensively, “this is nothing compared to how they used to get when I started out.”
She tsked at him. “You martial artists really are certified masochists.”
He smiled deviously and started to say something but she cut him off.
“Still, you didn’t answer my question.” Emerald eyes locked with his, letting him know she was intent on hearing his reply.
His brow furrowed and his jade gaze turned thoughtful. It was clear he was debating on how much he should reveal to her. He was, after all, extremely proud. It wouldn’t do to appear weak, especially not in front of his lover. Gaara shifted in her arms and leaned his head back against the pillow.
“A kid at the dojo today, he said something that pissed me off,” he told her, eyes focusing on a point beyond the bed. “He made a remark about you and me and I happened to overhear him.”
Sakura propped up on her elbow to get a better look at his face. “What did he say?” she asked. Even though she knew very well, she wanted to hear it from him.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Gaara replied.
“From the way you were intent on annihilating that sandbag, I’d say it does,” she countered.
The redhead let out a long breath. “He more or less said something about you being too much of a woman for me.”
“Please tell me you beat him to an inch of his life,” Sakura growled, her eyes narrowing in genuine anger. She still couldn’t believe the nerve of the damned kid.
Gaara’s low chuckle was self-deprecative. “No, I’m afraid I didn’t. By the time I went into the locker room he’d already left for his lesson with Naruto.”
“And you let him go?” she pressed. They both knew very well Gaara wouldn’t have stepped down from delivering punishment to any idiot who dared to speak out of line. Which meant there was a reason why he’d let the kid go.
He wriggled uncomfortably. “Yeah, I did.”
Emerald eyes narrowed when he didn’t elaborate further. They were reaching the crux of the matter and she needed to make her point. “Why?”
Gaara refused to look at her. “I don’t know,” he said edgily, his temper starting to show, “I guess he wasn’t worth my time.”
“I see,” Sakura remarked, knowing very well that he was lying. “For a moment there I was afraid you’d believed what that moronic upstart had said.”
Jade eyes lifted to her face.
“Which would have really made me mad,” she continued. “I would’ve had to trash the stupid kid and you as well if that had been the case.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his throat. “Then you really would’ve been in trouble.”
Gaara blinked at her words, looking down at her but unable to see her face clearly.
Sakura pulled him closer as she spoke. “It’s completely absurd, you know, for someone who barely even knows us to say something like that. I don’t know what the hell the idiot was thinking. Too much of a woman? Don’t be ridiculous. Too much of a woman needs too much of a man... which is exactly what I have.” She lifted her face up to him then. “I’d venture to guess the kid has never seen you fight. If he had, he’d know the calibre of the man I’m now holding in my arms.”
The low chuckle that rumbled in his chest was utterly delicious. Sakura couldn’t help gracing him with an utterly besotted smile.
“As a matter of fact, he hasn’t,” Gaara admitted. “He’s only seen me spar during lessons. He’s never seen me in a real fight.”
“Ah!” she exclaimed triumphantly, “there’s your answer.”
He smirked at her, burying his nose in her hair.
“Tomcat,” Sakura said, tightening her arms around him as she strove to ease his bruised ego. “You’re amazing at what you do. Worst part is that you know it! Just like I know I’m good at what I do. That’s the whole point. We may be different but we excel in our differences.”
She lifted her mouth up to his for a quick kiss. “It’s the reason why I fell for you so damned easily,” she admitted ruefully. She was aware that, despite her initial hesitation, she hadn’t truly put up much of a fight back when they’d first met. “Someone different is exactly what I want... I’d die if I were with someone who was just like me. I shudder at the prospect of ever dating a doctor!” As she said this, she literally shook with repulsion.
“I’d agree there,” he told her, his feline grin on his lips. “A doctor would never have the kind of stamina I’ve gained because of my intense training.” To prove his point, he rocked his hips against hers.
Sakura gasped slightly at the evidence of his already increasing arousal before laughing out loud. “That’s definitely one point in your favour,” she told him, bringing her hand down his back to caress his shapely rear. “Having a martial artist as a lover has its advantages.”
Gaara rolled unto his back, pulling her on top of him. His fingertips caressed slowly down her sides, making her shiver in delight. “You’d do well to remember that,” he told her, his voice low and lined with velvet.
“I do,” Sakura admitted happily, “every single day.” She leaned down and bit his lower lip.
“Then we’d better make sure you continue to do so,” Gaara said, capturing her mouth and leaving her breathless.
As he dedicated himself once more to making her cry out with pleasure, her limbs clinging to him as he lavished her with countless caresses, Sakura couldn’t help but reiterate the sentiment she felt deep down in her bones.
“I’m so grateful I found you.”
And this time around, doubts assuaged, she was aware he knew it was true.
Glad we got that straightened out, Inner Sakura managed to contribute before losing herself to Gaara’s lovemaking.
Sakura couldn’t agree more.
~~xxx~~