Hey. Back again, with another update.

I'm not sure how I feel about the results of this one...the first half I'm definitely pleased with, but the end of the chapter got a little murky. I think it's partly because it needs to be a little murky, and partly because it was originally supposed to be longer...but then I realized that I'm working from like 8AM to 9:30PM for the next two days, most of the day Saturday (likely followed by some other random weekend activity), and likely some of Sunday. I don't know. It's probably fine. I just wish I had some more time to tweak it. You guys can tell me what you think.

On a completely unrelated note, I just wanted to comment (for anyone who might be somewhat interested in knowing) that I really, really, REALLY enjoyed Yu-Gi-Oh: Duelist Manga volume 3. I just picked it up a few days ago, and find myself flipping through it from time to time...if you've read it you probably understand why. I swear even Yugi blushed when Seto got out of the helicopter! I humbly apologize to anyone who doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about.

Oh. And the chapter title...yeah, another song inspiration. And not a very creative one. 'Come Undone' is a well known song by (dun dun duuun) Duran Duran. I swear these things come up on my iTunes at freakishly appropriate times.

Disclaimer (haven't done one of these in awhile): I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

WARNING: This is another one of those chapters. The kind that are rated M. M, M, M! Hopefully not too M. The rating is for sexual situations. Extremely sexual situations. In abundance. As always, be sure to let me know if I've 'crossed the line'. Ugh...stupid line!

The Night Before

Chapter 10: Come Undone

x (Flashback (yes, still in flashback mode): Seto's Hotel, Midtown Manhattan, June 8 x

Anzu's breath was coming in short gasps as Seto pinned her up against the door leading to his hotel room. There were approximately three reasons for her labored breathing:

1. The somewhat restrictive corset built into the top of her dress was squeezing her.

2. Seto's body was grinding her into the door as he apparently fumbled with his keycard. The way his body molded to hers in...certain places...made it difficult to inhale and exhale normally.

3. She was still in quite a state after their recent activities in the elevator. Surely it couldn't be legal for him to do such things to her in a public place. Thank God nobody had tried to get on. She really didn't fancy putting on that kind of show for random hotel guests, with her dress hiked up, head thrown back and to the side in alarmed arousal as he touched her...

A growl from his chest (AKA Reason #4) was followed by some scraping sounds, a soft beep, and a strangely satisfying click. An arm slipped around her waist, steadying her as she was pushed inside the hotel suite. Anzu just barely heard the door slam and hardly saw Seto's blue eyes blaze before he conquered her mouth again, teasing her tongue with his as he lifted her up and propped her against the back of what seemed through the relative darkness to be a couch.

Seto paused briefly to shrug off his tuxedo jacket and discard his shoes before insinuating himself between Anzu's legs. Even with her dress somewhat in the way she could feel how aroused he was. His hands slid into her hair as he kissed her deeply, deftly removing the antique hair clip and brushing her hair aside so that he could caress her graceful neck.

He whispered into her ear in a rough and tumble voice, continuing to tug at her hair, running his fingers over her collarbone. "I couldn't watch anymore."

Anzu shuddered, eyes unfocused as he continued to move against her more than suggestively. "Umm...watch what?"

She jumped as his fingers dug roughly into her hip and she felt his breath heating up the skin at the neckline of her dress. He spoke in fragments as his lips continued to travel all over any exposed flesh they could find.

"You...dancing with him...him touching you...looking at you..."

Anzu yelped as his teeth grazed her pulse point. A thrill went up her spine at his possessiveness, even though she knew in the back of her mind that he really had no right to think that way about her...

He was breathing heavily, pressing his forehead against hers. "I wanted to smash him in the face and tell him that you're mine..."

Face heating up even more, if it were possible under such already fevered circumstances, Anzu's stomach churned with confused emotions. Why did he have to say things like that? And in that voice...velvet, gravel, whiskey...there was really no one word to describe it. Being referred to as 'his' made her head spin with happiness and her guts boil with anger all at the same time. But she felt one more powerful inclination that overwhelmed all the others.

Her hands moved of their own accord as Anzu unsteadily worked open the buttons on Seto's white shirt. He made a pleased purring sound as she pushed the shirt away and began running her hands over his smooth, warm skin. As Seto's tongue traced a path down to the junction of her breasts, some wicked force within Anzu compelled her to gently pinch one of his nipples. He gave an inarticulate groan, biting hard into her neck as the two of them lost balance and tumbled over the back of the couch.

Their limbs and remaining garments became so tangled that they failed to halt their fall, ending up sprawled on the carpeted floor. Anzu gasped as his face loomed above hers, sporting a tender and hungry expression. He leaned in closer, lips barely brushing against hers.

"Happy Anniversary," he growled against her mouth, running one hand up her side.

Fortunately unharmed in the fall, Anzu squirmed pleasurably under his touch. "W--what?"

Seto buried his face in her neck, pushing his body into hers. "Mmm. Remember? It's been a year today. Since the graduation party..."

A pair of crystal blue eyes widened in shock. He would remember such a thing? The night they 'got together'? Was that why he was here? Why they were...? Anzu's head swam with confused thoughts as she felt herself being suddenly pulled upright. Standing limply, she felt his fingers exploring her dress purposefully, as if he were looking for something. "I--"

He released a low chuckle as his fingers located the row of buttons that ran up Anzu's spine. "You forgot, didn't you? Don't worry. I'll make you remember..."

His lips bruised hers with a demanding kiss as he began to unfasten the buttons. The heat between them seemed to rise gradually as Seto struggled with the line of miniscule buttons, evidently annoyed at the amount of time it was taking to undress her. Finally losing his last ounce of patience about halfway through the unbuttoning process, Seto snarled in animalistic frustration, grasping the material at the back of her dress and ripping it apart with an ear-rending tear. Anzu gasped as she heard the remaining buttons scatter in every direction, pinging off nearby surfaces and rolling across the floor.

Seto fell slowly to his knees in front of her, dragging the now loosened fabric away from her body as he descended. Her eyes narrowed slightly as he knelt before her, eagerly revealing her now bare upper body and hurrying to uncover the rest.

"You jerk! Do you know how much this gown cost?"

Her righteous indignation was difficult to sustain with him sliding the dress off of her waist, latching his fingers into her undergarments to pull them away as well.

"I'll buy you another dress."

Seto placed a hot, open-mouth kiss on her hipbone as the dress pooled at her feet. He nibbled at the flesh and then traced it with his tongue, making her shiver.

"Fuck..." he ground out as he ran his hands over her naked skin. "I'll buy you twenty..."

Anzu moaned an incoherent response as he stood swiftly and picked her up in one easy motion, carrying her toward the bedroom. The whole suite was dimly lit from the glow of the city outside. All Anzu cared was that it was enough to see Seto as he pushed her onto the bed. Locking her eyes onto his she reached up to unfasten his pants. He shrugged out of them impatiently, along with his silk boxers.

Both Seto and Anzu cried out in broken exclamations of pleasure as their unclothed bodies molded together on the bed. Oh she remembered, alright. This was what she tried to pretend she didn't dream about all the time.

The embrace began to spin out of control as their hands wandered, trying to touch each other everywhere at once. They rocked against one another, kissing violently, overwhelmed by tantalizing sensations. Anzu didn't think she could take much more of this...

"S--Seto...please..."

His face hovered above hers, intently focused. His hair tickled her forehead, breath ghosting over her lips. "Not like this. I want to see you." Seto suddenly flipped their positions so that Anzu was on top. He maneuvered their bodies so that she was straddling him, causing her to whimper when she felt his hardness pressing against her...

xxxxx

Anzu was too busy with her own shout of pleasure to notice the moan of anguished, almost desperate relief that came from Seto's mouth as he gripped her hips and guided himself into her. Finally. His body was positively screaming as she squeezed around him, arching her neck back and crying out. He drank in every each of her naked form, from her eyes shut tight in ecstasy to her knees, snug against his sides.

He never closed his eyes when he was with her. He was afraid he might miss something. With the other women he'd screwed before it had been different. They had been there only to pleasure him, and he felt no need to see them. Not their bodies, not their faces. They hadn't mattered. Irrelevant, that was the word. But this, she, was different. With Anzu, he was completely absorbed. He could look at her face and know exactly what she wanted him to do. And he would do it. He had never figured out why, but her pleasure was almost more vital to him than his own.

As if sensing the intensity of his gaze, Anzu's eyes fluttered open again and locked with his. Seto moved one hand up her abdomen to grip a pert breast as she lifted her hips and rolled them down slowly. His other hand's hold on her hip tightened as he thrust himself even deeper in, never breaking eye contact.

"Mmmph...Seto..." Her voice was desperate with long-neglected need.

Bending his knees slightly upward, he supported her as she began to grind against him in a steady rhythm. He resisted the powerful urge to start slamming into her beautiful body with all his might. He would wait until she asked him to.

After awhile, Anzu pitched forward, changing the angle of their lovemaking. Her hands were propped on the pillow at either side of his head as she continued to slide against him, releasing breathy wails as the tension inside of her grew.

Sensing that she was tired of the position, Seto rolled her beneath him. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, fingernails scratching down his back as he pumped in and out of her. He found himself moaning almost continuously into the side of her neck as she met every thrust with one of her own.

Soon she was screaming his name over and over as he felt her tighten around him. That was the cue he had been waiting for. He willed himself to move faster, slamming her mercilessly into the mattress as she climaxed, latching her teeth onto his shoulder. He broke apart then, black stars shooting before his eyes as he pushed in as deep as he could go and held himself there as he found his release. He grasped Anzu tightly, growling as the erotic little noises she was making continued near his ear.

Collapsing on top of her, Seto released a long sigh. He felt her soft hands begin to caress his sweat-drenched back and push his hair away from his eyes. He lifted his head to look at her. She wore a small smile, appearing to radiate satisfied happiness. He loved being able to do that to her. Almost as much as he loved the way she'd just been screaming his name...

Anzu hummed into his mouth as he kissed her slowly, moving off of her and configuring them into a comfortable embrace. His arms were tight around her as she relaxed into him. He felt calmer than he had in months, kissing her hair where it stuck to her temple. He wouldn't have to live without her, not tonight...

xxxxx

xxxxx

As Monday morning began to dawn, Anzu Mazaki wondered whether Seto had slept at all during the night. She herself had managed very little actual sleep, and yet every time she woke up he was either staring at her, placing soft kisses along her neck and face, or running his hands over her skin and pressing against her in an insistent and not-very-subtle way. There hadn't been much time available for rest...

The term 'pent-up sexual energy' seemed like a pretty insufficient description of the uninterrupted passion that seemed to pour from him. He clutched at her like a scared child and devoured her like a starving man. He always had been a mass of contradictions.

Like now. He was sleeping. Yes, Seto Kaiba, actually snoozing happily away. She cursed the way he could seem so innocent yet so beguiling at the same time. The breath that left his mouth as a result of an endearing snore was the exact same gust of air that tickled her neck and sent delicious shivers up and down her spine. The am draped across her midsection made her feel warm and protected, but also spoke of forbidden pleasures and the absolute zero peril of daring to be in love with him. Which she obviously still was, Lord help her...

He looked so sweet and harmless in sleep, but now that it was morning and the haze of lust and re-ignited sensual fury was starting to lift, she had a foreboding feeling.

The feeling that he was going to hurt her, again.

xxxxx

Once he had managed to sleep, Seto had slept like a rock. No, he had slept like a child. Like a baby. He hadn't even wanted to; having Anzu again, in his bed, in his arms, was more stimulating than three pots of coffee and a shipment of illegal stimulants. He had memorized and re-memorized every sacred inch of her body, every quirk of her lips.

The subtle changes in her scent and appearance had only made her more fascinating to him. She was like a favorite book that never lost its charm; sometimes when you took it off the shelf and surrendered to it again, you'd find things waiting inside that you missed the first time around and only made you love it more.

Love...now that was a place he still couldn't go. That place was foreign and dangerous; especially now with the two of them leading these different, separate lives that were more than just miles and oceans apart.

Maybe it was because he loved her (he had finally admitted this, if only to himself) that he couldn't let them be 'together'. His mere appearance at her side had sent them both into an emotional tailspin that neither one of them could afford to endure at this point in their lives. He refused to distract her with a relationship that was bound to be tumultuous, and probably worse. And an arrogant, prideful corner of him just wouldn't settle for part-time devotion.

Maybe he had been foolish, even selfish, to come here and seek her out. He hadn't really been thinking, but now that he finally could again he realized that the encounter had been enlightening in many ways. He'd learned that their desire and need for each other had in no way lessened. He was also sure she still lo-- cared for him. Which made it even harder to conclude that they needed to have distance between them in order to function as normal human beings.

Anzu needed to dance, to live. He needed to devote attention to his company and Mokuba. He couldn't do that if he was flying to New York every chance he could find. Besides, he knew he wouldn't be there every time she needed him. There would be too much disappointment.

Seto normally wasn't a particularly patient man, but this would have to wait until the time was right. And it would be right, because he'd be damned if he was going to live without her forever. His determination would have to sustain him...

This day, though. Their little 'Anniversary'...maybe that was the exception to the rule. He hadn't been physically able to stop himself from running to her and reaffirming what he felt, what they had. Maybe he had broken his own rules, but wasn't that what they were supposedly made for? He had the feeling it wouldn't be the last time. Maybe the logic was unusually twisted; if he knew he could have her every day, he would want her every hour. But once a year? Maybe, just maybe...he could control it.

Seto stirred unwillingly from sleep, feeling stone-cold apprehension rip through his insides. He would have to say good bye to Anzu Mazaki yet again. He only hoped that she might be able to understand his motives...even if it was too much to hope that she could sense his true feelings.

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

(sigh) I told you it wasn't going to be easy for them. This chapter was originally supposed to contain a huge fight, too. That will be featured in chapter 11. After that, we'll have to revisit the 'present' and see how things are developing. There's a lot more of the tale to tell, and I have a few interesting twists planned, too.

I know a lot of people are concerned about the whole Anzu x Yugi dynamic in this fic, in terms of the fact that my plot thus far indicates that Yugi is really going to get stepped on and mistreated somewhere along the line. I can't promise that it isn't somewhat true, but I can say this: I'm not just using him as convenient plot material or a means of creating conflict in the story. When Anzu agrees to marry him, she does it for a reason, and not just as a means of trying to get Seto's attention (one reviewer seemed worried about this). I know the whole thing seems rather improbable with the way the story has progressed so far, but I have plans. Saying it will all 'make sense' may be pushing it, but I'll try my best.

Whew. So that ends my little author's rant for today. I'm sure we're all glad that we finally know what happened to Anzu's poor dress. That naughty Seto! Drop by and read next time if you want to see these guys have a bit of an...argument. Also, wouldn't you like to know what Jounouchi saw in a tabloid newspaper back in Domino? Hmm...

I've been so happy with the response this story is getting. Thanks for everyone who keeps giving me such enjoyable reviews and helpful feedback! Review this chapter and tell me if you liked it (or if I need to edit out some of the smutty parts)!