Married to a WHAT?!

#21: Protection Mode: On

Kurama waited on the bed as Itachi showered. The older Uchiha seemed to have forgotten that fox kisses meant soulbonds. It was good to know that even as a hunter, that kiss still worked. It turned Itachi into a boneless mess in his arms, just the way he liked it. Remembering that flushed face and glazed over eyes made the fox demon growl. If only he could claim the man as his mate, the animal in him wouldn't be this restless. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very good time. There was trouble brewing beneath the surface. Of the four major clans, the snakes couldn't be trusted. Gaara the tanuki clan head gave him a warning about the current snake clan head - Danzo Shimura.

The sexy CEO came out of the shower with a towel around his waist and another drying his long locks. Kurama felt all the blood run south way too quickly and his eyes dilated. It was hard to keep control of his transformation but he tried. He didn't want to scare this fragile human away so quickly.

Itachi saw the hungry look in Kurama's eyes and became self-conscious. They had a wonderful time earlier despite the sexual tension in the air but right now, whatever he experienced earlier simply couldn't be compared. Everything in the room screamed scalding hot and Itachi shivered. Kurama's eyes were running over every inch of his skin and the desire oozing out of the handsome fox was domineering. Itachi isn't used to bottoming but that aura demanded nothing but submission.

Itachi keened and that was what broke the spell. Kurama reeled his emotions in and the steaming hot atmosphere turned into something more awkward and tense. Kurama looked like he badly needed to piss and Itachi was left wondering what went wrong.

The fox demon stood up and walked over with stiff steps. Itachi didn't know what to expect and closed his eyes when Kurama raised his hand towards his face. The CEO was disappointed when it wasn't a kiss. Instead, he felt the handsome older fox demon caress his freshly washed hair and inhaling the scent of shampoo and conditioner.

Kurama then moved to Itachi's nape, causing a pleasurable shiver to travel down the CEO's spine. The fox demon trailed his hot tongue over the skin and breathed into Itachi's ear. The older Uchiha felt strength leave him and the towel from his head fell onto the floor. Kurama wrapped one arm around Itachi's waist where they were separated by that thin towel and continued to kiss, bite, and lick all over the exposed skin.

While Itachi thought that this was foreplay and was ready for more, Kurama was checking for unmarked spots. If he wanted to be very sure he didn't miss a single spot scent-marking his future mate. He could never be too sure when it came to the snakes after all. Danzo was somewhere in the human world and he didn't want his fragile mate to be without protection while he attended to business.

"'Rama... we should move to the bed," Itachi panted. He was already hard and pent-up from all the teasing that he lost control of his collected self. Right now, he ached so badly for the fox demon before him and wanted nothing more than to become one with the nine-tailed fox.

Kurama froze when Itachi ground against his thigh like a cat in heat. Why did his human have to test his control like this? The heat pressing against him through that thin towel made Kurama swallow hard. As a man, he wouldn't deny a tasty dish served on a silver platter like this. However, in the human mating ritual, it wasn't right to bed the mate after only the first date. At least it wasn't proper in the 21st century. Times have changed since the Edo period after all. Men weren't samurais who took the woman they love before they went to war... the courtship game has changed since then.

Still, Kurama carried Itachi to bed and laid him down gently. His mate was too thin and the bags underneath his eyes were evidence that the man wasn't taking care of himself very well. This won't do. Kurama decided that he would groom his mate after scent-marking him.

Itachi didn't know why Kurama wasn't already ripping the damned towel off his waist. Instead, the fox demon licked, sucked and bit his way down his chest. The CEO was a little impatient when Kurama took his time and tried to remove the fabric by himself only to have his hands slapped away harshly. The fox demon pinned him down with a stare and Itachi felt his mouth go dry as his body heated up.

Kurama took his time to explore every crease, dip and crevice and overlapped their scents. This way, the world would know who this beautiful creature belonged to. Itachi was beginning to feel strange too. His body heated up and his mind was started to fog up. It was almost as if he was drifting off to sleep.

"No," he told himself. The CEO tried his best to fight the sudden surge of exhaustion creeping up on him as he tried to stay awake. Kurama's hands roamed feverishly, leaving heated trials behind on his body but Itachi just couldn't fight the sleep overtaking.

It didn't take very long for the spell to work and Kurama was surprised by how easily Itachi succumbed to it. He felt slightly bad for forcing the CEO to sleep but reassured himself that it was the right thing to do. His mate needed someone to take care of him and Kurama would try his damnedest to make sure Itachi doesn't work himself into an early grave.

As Kurama took care of his mate by finishing the scent-marking, he also decided to massage the tired CEO. Itachi had one of the stiffest shoulders he knew and Kurama did his best to pamper his sleeping mate. From top to toe, the fox demon paid attention to every single detail of Itachi's body. He then cleaned the place and made food before placing spell wards around the apartment. One could never be too sure when and where the snakes will attack but the fox demon wouldn't allow it.

Nobody harms his mate and family, not on his watch.