My Silver Protector

Chapter 9

"I need to talk to you." Ginji touches my cheek.

"I'm listening."

"About what Ranmaru-sama was speaking of." The nervousness is back in his eyes.

I grab his hand to keep him steady beside me. "Ginji please tell me."

"He wants me to mark you to keep Raiju-sama and the others away from you."

"Mark me?" I've never heard of such a thing.

"If I mark you, no one will bother you again like Raiju-sama has." He stares at me, gauging my reaction. I blink back with confusion. I feel so stupid. I should know what this means. By Ginji's expression I know it's serious.

"It would mean I've made you my mate," Ginji explains gently.

I can't seem to help it as I gawk at him in shock. "Like a marriage?"

"Similar but not exactly. It would mean I claimed you."

I blush scarlet with his words. That saying was intimate. "Like an engagement?"

Ginji nods.

I bit my lip. "I would like that." I speak the truth. I'm in love with Ginji. I need not question rather or not I want this. Every fiber of my being wants to belong to him.

"I can remove it when we get back to Tenjin-ya."

"No, I don't want you to remove it." I grab his hand. He looks at me with those soft blue eyes in question. "I want to be your mate, Ginji-san. I love you."

"Are you sure you really want this?" His brows furrow. "You don't need to be pressured. I know we've just now become a couple.

I answer him with a kiss. We seem to do a lot of this these days. My fingers find their way to Ginji's soft silver hair, grazing one of his pointed ears. It invokes a strangled noise out of the kitsune's throat. I fall backward with Ginji. He stares down at me, he's still questioning rather or not I truly want to be his.

"Ranmaru-sama said you needed to mark me today?" My words are breathless, even to me.

"It will hurt." Ginji warns, sitting up. I sat up with him.

"I don't care."

Ginji pulls back to his chest and I lean in to him. I refuse to let myself think too much about what's happening. He wraps an arm around me, tilting my head to the side. My heart is thrumming in my ears, my pulse thudding against my neck. Ginji can probably hear it. His nose skims down my neck, making me shiver. He kisses the spot between my neck and right shoulder, tenderly and silently apologizing for the hurt he's about to inflict.

I whimper the moment Ginji sinks his teeth into my flesh. It really does hurt and I force myself to stay still even as the hurt turns into an unforgiving fire. I bite back a scream.

Gini's teeth release me and I sag with relief against the arm across my chest.

"I--it hurts." I try not to cry but my voice is watery.

"Ssshh." Ginji soothes. His mouth presses to my neck again, sliding his tongue across the bite mark. The fire is put out, leaving a tingling sensation. "Rest, Aoi-san."

My body obeys and I fall into a deep slumber.

Hours later, I blink against the dark room. I try to sit up but something is holding me.

Ginji? He's sleeping so soundly, I'd hate to disturb him when he looks so peaceful. His eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. Is this beautiful being really mine?

I touch the mark on my neck. The skin is no longer smooth there. I wonder what it looks like. Right now all I can do is wonder since I'm trapped. All I can do is lay here and watch Ginji sleep. No complaints here.I quite like the way his arms keep me close to his chest.

I paint his features onto my heart for safekeeping. I lean closer, wanting to kiss him. It's far too tempting.

"It's rude to stare." Ginji blinks up at me. I gasp and jerk back, caught red-handed. I don't get far and his arms pull me back.

"I wasn't staring. You had something on your face." I smile.

The kitsune frowns and touches his face.

I giggle at his perplexed expression.

"You little minx." He flips us until I land on my back. He hovers above me with a smile. "Today will be a better day for both of us. I promise." He nuzzles my cheek and places a soft kiss on the mark on my neck. It tingles under his lips. "I love you, Aoi-san."

"And I, you." I draw his face back up to mine. We stay like this for most of the day.

I walk arm in arm with Ginji-san as we walk through the halls. It's nice to be out of his rooms for a while although I'm not too thrilled about where we're going. I've never been to Ranmaru-sama's rooms, and that makes me nervous.

We stop in front of a door. I stare at it, unmoving until Ginji pulls me through. It's too late to run away isn't it?

Ginji stops short at the figure sitting at the table with Ranmaru-sama and Raiju-sama. "Odanna-sama!" The kitsune is startled as much as I am. Ranmaru-sama never mentioned this visit but it's a pleasant surprise. But why would he have suggested Ginji mark me if he'd known of Odanna's visit? I'm reminded of my betrayal against by giving myself to Ginji-san.

We bow and so does Odanna-sama. His ruby eyes meet mine and I find I'm unable to look away as we sit down. I'm not ashamed of the mark on my neck but I'm still afraid of Odanna's reaction. Even as I wonder what he'll say and do I find his eyes straying to my neck.

A strange look comes over the ogre god. Shock, hurt, resignation. He glances at Ginji, putting two and two together.

Ranmaru-sama begins speaking but I only hear bits and pieces of the conversation among him and Ginji-san. Raiju-sama sits on the sidelines, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here. But duty comes before comfort. I find it satisfying when he won't even look directly at me. Ginji had told me the mark made me smell like him, deflecting any ayakashi from attempting to hurt me.

"Odanna-sama has come to negotiate both your freedoms," the dog god explains to us of Odanna-sama's presence. "We've come to a standstill on Ginji's behalf. With him no longer being the Young Master of this Inn, his reason for being here is absolute. We've finished everything that was needed."

Odanna-sama releases my gaze to look at Ranmaru-sama and nod in agreement. "We've agreed to a temporary peace."

"In other words, he's taking you back to Tenjin-ya today." Ranmaru-sama announces.

"What?" Ginji and I say in unison and shock.

This will be the next to the last chapter.