A/N: Another update! I've lost track of how consistent/inconsistent I'm being with my updating, sorry to anyone following!

Chapter Thirteen: Tension

After their short lunch in a small café, Kaiba and Alyssa returned to KaibaCorporation and continued working. Kaiba focused as much of his attention as possible on the reports for the new releases that the company would be promoting in the run-up to Christmas. Alyssa was shown her way around the large building, and sent on short errands to various areas in the building.

At around four that evening, Kaiba had Alyssa sit down in his office. "I have arranged for you to see my family doctor. There's no need to worry; if you answer his questions truthfully, he may be able to help you."

Kaiba watched as her expression changed and she timidly asked when the appointment was scheduled for. She didn't seem too happy with the arrangement, but was satisfied to learn that the appointment wasn't until the following day.

"Um, Kaiba..." Her quiet voice was worried about something, he could tell.

"Alyssa?" His reply made her smile slightly and blush. She fiddled with he hem of her skirt and sighed.

"The doctor won't hurt me... Will he?" Kaiba frowned at her.

"No."

"No needles? Injections? Anything?"

"Nothing of the sort. Why?" Alyssa looked up at the ceiling.

"I haven't had a good experience with doctors until now. They were always poking me and taking blood samples from me and... Asking me weird questions..."

"My doctor is nothing like that. You have nothing to worry about Alyssa, I can stay with you while you see him and if you feel uncomfortable, I'll end the meeting. Alright?" Alyssa looked back into his cobalt eyes and smiled a big smile.

"Thank you Kaiba." Despite the fact that she had only been staying with them for less than a week, she had seen and heard enough from Kaiba to know how he would react to certain stimuli. For example, she knew he rarely said 'please', 'thank you' and 'you're welcome', unless he was talking to Mokuba. Even toward Mike, one of his closest friends, Kaiba was cold and straightforward.

Thinking of Mike, Alyssa recalled Victoria and her image of an aged Gozaburo. The image unsettled her; Kaiba's image was of a man in his late forties, with dark grey hair and few wrinkles. Victoria's image on the other hand, was a wrinkled, light grey haired man in his sixties. Alyssa was well aware of the emotions sometimes connected to memories and noted that there was a fondness connected to Victoria's image of Gozaburo. Deep in thought, she almost missed Kaiba's quiet reply.

"You're welcome." Stunned, she turned to face him and saw his embarrassed expression.

"Kaiba..."

"I need to check something. I'll be back momentarily." He stood briskly and left the room, much to Alyssa's amazement. She shrugged and continued with the work Kaiba had asked her to do.

He stood outside the door of his office and sighed, running his hands down his face in frustration. 'What's wrong with me? She's affecting me in so many ways, it's becoming unbearable! '

His annoying blonde secretary suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs and took a step back in fright.

"Mister Kaiba! Oh, I was just about to give you the girl's ID..." She was panting heavily after climbing the fourteen flights of stairs and Kaiba wondered why she hadn't used the elevator instead.

"About time." He snatched the card from her hand and waved his hand is dismissal. She turned and began to walk in the direction of the staircase when his exasperated voice stopped her in her tracks. "We have an elevator for a reason." She spun around and flashed a large smile.

"Well Mister Kaiba, I'm on this new diet and it says I need to walk..."

"Save it. I didn't say I cared." He opened the door to his office sternly and walked inside, leaving his ignorant secretary standing at the top of a very long staircase, debating whether or not her new diet was worth it anymore.

Kaiba closed the door to the office and leaned his forehead against the door. 'I'm losing my mind...' He thought irrationally. He suddenly heard something that shocked him to his core, making his heart beat faster and his body temperature increase.

'He's such a distraction... Does he realise how good he looks from behind? '

"Alyssa..? What did you just say?" Turning around slowly, he faced a scared Alyssa who blushed a deep scarlet and shook her head.

"I... I said nothing..." She began walking slowly backwards, simultaneously shaking her head and waving her hands in an innocent manner in front of her face. Kaiba started to walk toward her, his face mostly hidden by his bangs. Alyssa suddenly bumped into his desk and jumped slightly in fright, turning around for a mere moment to see what she had walked into. When she turned around to face him again, he was directly in front of her. She opened her mouth and squealed slightly, only to have her mouth blocked by his large hand.

"You did it again? Communicating without speaking?" His deep voice was curious, and Alyssa nodded her head in relief. She honestly thought he would have been angry with what she said, but he displayed no such emotion.

Instead, his hand was pressed gently against her mouth and his body was so very close to her body that she could feel his body-heat. He leaned his forehead against hers in a spontaneous movement and whispered; "Do you know how many other girls would love to be in your position? Working with me? Living with me?"

She shook her head, of course knowing next to nothing about his fame and reputation. He smirked and shook his own head.

"Even when I was in a relationship with Sayoku, she never officially lived at the mansion. She might have stayed for a night or so, but she didn't live there..." He took his hand away from her mouth and pulled his head away. Staring into her aqua eyes, he continued his confession. "And yet, I welcomed you into my home. Why?"

His question was met by silence, as Alyssa simply stared back into his cobalt blue eyes and listened intently to the words he had already spoken; every word repeating themselves in her mind; as she wondered why, indeed, had he let her live in his large home. She had no doubt that she had interrupted his lifestyle and she felt extreme guilt when she thought of that. She turned her head away and looked down at the floor in response.

"Do you want me to leave?" Her question thickened the tension in the room and Kaiba struggled to silence a growl threatening to escape his mouth. He moved away from her, much to her relief and paced back and forth in front of her.

"I want nothing of the sort." When he finally had his emotions under control, he felt able to answer her query and tried identifying why he was acting like an infatuated schoolboy. 'Perhaps you're acting this way BECAUSE you're an infatuated schoolboy? ' Kaiba could not suppress the growl that left his throat in response to his conscience.

Alyssa heard the deep growl and was shocked at her reaction to the strange noise that Kaiba emitted. Her heart skipped a beat and her breathing rate increased; her palms became clammy as she began to perspire in the hot room; but, the most confusing part of her reaction was the heat she felt between her legs. She had noticed it first when Kaiba stood close to her, but his growl made it worse and she shifted her legs in discomfort.

"Kaiba, I need to sit down..." He nodded toward his large chair and Alyssa shook her head. "I'd like to sit on the couch please." He raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless allowed her to walk past him and toward the couch. She wanted to avoid his chair because it smelt of him, but she had completely forgotten the trenchcoat thrown carelessly across the small couch. The smell hit her nose like a fist and she pushed it to one side, trying to ignore the delicious scent.

'There must be something really wrong with me! I can't think right! I'm thinking confused things about Kaiba and I don't want to! ' Alyssa's inner turmoil didn't go unnoticed by Kaiba and he checked his watch hastily.

"It's time to go home Alyssa..." Saying her name now sounded dirty and Kaiba cursed mentally at the very thought of making the innocent beauty in front of him dirty in any way.

"About time..."