"Shika!" Ino hissed, delighting in the sensations that her husband's ministrations were sending down her spine. In the nearly seven months they had been married, Shikamaru had developed a disturbingly insatiable lust for her neck, of all things, and often concentrated most of his efforts there. An evil tactic, since Ino's neck was one of the more sensitive parts of her body, and Shikamaru knew it.
Her eyes narrowed. On the outside, her husband appeared to be a lazy, ineffective bum with no will or drive whatsoever. At one time, this was true. When they were students at the Academy, Shikamaru fell asleep in class and didn't even bother with tests because he claimed that the effort involved in using a pencil was too troublesome. During his Chuunin exam, he willingly handed the victory to his opponent, Temari, saying that he was too tired to finish her off, even though he was clearly the winner. Never mind that he was the only one of his classmates to receive the symbolic vest of an upper-level ninja for his decision that year. He would have happily remained a Chuunin, too, had it not been for Asuma, Shikamaru and Ino's former sensei, convincing the dark haired young man that he had the skill to try for Jounin.
Shikamaru would always be lazy at heart, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that, though not for lack of trying. However, there were some aspects of his life that he pursued with a relentless diligence that was completely out of character. Torturing Ino until she was putty in his hands was one of them. She knew it, and he knew that she knew it, which only made things worse. When she married him, the thought never even crossed her mind that she would have to keep her guard up virtually around the clock. It was Shikamaru, for crying out loud! She figured that she would have to beg him to show affection every now and then, let alone find the energy to make love to her. Naturally, she had been completely and utterly mistaken.
Like most tacticians, Shikamaru did not expose all of his tricks at once, but rather kept some on reserve for different occasions. His store of weapons had become quite large after years of careful observation, which began in their Academy days, and from the day they were married on, he began using them. Quite frankly, he had been more than ready to shed the stoic male image and show her just how much of a drive he really had. Escape, at that point, was impossible. His target was locked, and his resolve set in iron. Even after she picked up on her husband's scheme, Ino resigned herself to the fact that she was doomed. The element of surprise, it seemed, was always on Shikamaru's side. She could never tell when the devious side of his personality would rear its head; it was so...erratic. Sometimes it would lie dormant for weeks, even months, before deciding that it wanted to play again.
Shikamaru took an almost childlike delight in his wife's reactions to his little game, the current moment being no different. She had been sitting comfortably in her favorite armchair in the living room, a book in her hands and a fire burning in the hearth, completely oblivious to anything and everything around her. She had unknowingly left herself open to attack, and Shikamaru took advantage of it. Ever so quietly, he knelt next to the chair, surveying his options. Almost feeling the horns sprout from his head, he noted that her neck was exposed, and grinned. If there was one thing that could drive him mad, it was Ino's long, smooth, glorious neck. Gotcha.
The heroine in Ino's book had been just about to kick her cheating boyfriend to the curb when Shikamaru took the liberty of deciding that Ino was finished reading for the night. Taking the book out of her hands, he set it aside and began the insistent barrage of kisses to her neck that usually reduced her to a fawning little girl. It was working.
"Shika!" She hissed again, desperately trying not to enjoy the feeling of his warm mouth against her skin. She had to be at the flower shop early the next morning, and, if she let this go any further, there was no way that she would get to bed at a decent hour. "Come on! I need to—oh my." Shikamaru had just trailed his kisses up her neck and stopped at the spot right beneath her ear. Damn you! She thought, a shudder coursing through her frame. Before he could do any more damage, she mustered up the last of her willpower. "Shika, stop. Please? You know I have to work tomorrow."
